Easy Tortellini Bake

You guys.

I seriously meant to blog this weekend. Truly, madly, deeply, I did. And then... it was like vacation mode. I didn't even open the blog. I didn't read any blogs. I just watched football. And it was wonderful.

Granted, it was technically a terrible weekend of football. Just terrible. The Duck's had an ugly game on Saturday, and let me tell you, the Steeler's on Sunday was no picnic either. But it was nice to just relax. Drink some wine. Yell and throw my slippers at the TV every so often. 

But now it's Monday and I haven't posted in almost a week. Eek. Luckily, I've got something on board that is easy. Delicious. And most of all, comforting. 

January in Review: 2016

Did January fly by... or did January fly by?

I cannot believe the first month of 2016 is already gone. It's going to be another one of those years, I can feel it. It'll be gone before we know it. Now, I know I was a very bad blogger and I started my monthly wrap-up's again in November. Then I skipped December. Me oh my. 

I'm just going to pick right up where I left off. Let's talk about January!

We started off the year with Oregon vs TCU in the Alamo Bowl. The hubby and I were on point with our spread-

2015: By the Numbers

Oregon Trip 2015

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a healthy, happy, and safe holiday season. Let's wrap up 2015 by summing up last year in numbers, shall we? Here we go!

1- Oregon finally has a Heisman Trophy!
59- amount of points the Ducks scored in the Rose Bowl (new record!) against Florida St. on January 1st

25 Things You May Not Know About Me: October 2015

Happy Wednesday friends!

I was all set to post a roundup of 25 chocolate recipes. Yummy, right? Then, I had a change of heart. We can get to those chocolate recipes at anytime. I decided to do something fun instead. Everyone likes to get to know the blogger behind the blog. I actually haven't done a post like this since June 28, 2013. I really tried to dig deep this time. So, enjoy! I'll be back with a new recipe on Friday :-)

Lately: January 2015

Happy Superbowl Sunday everyone!

Oh, how I love Superbowl Sunday. It truly is a holiday for me and the hubby. We make hot wings, drink beer, snack on chips and salsa, and oh yeah, watch some football. Our holiday is going to be cut short this year, as the hubby has to work, but we are still making wings. I can't wait.

Boozy Salted Caramel Milkshakes

It's a sad day in our house today.

The Oregon Ducks fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes last night, and our house is now in mourning. Even though we live squarely in Buckeye territory, we proudly ran our errands yesterday in our Duck gear. And yes, we got comments everywhere we went. Especially at our little bar we always stop at. We popped in yesterday for a couple of beers, and were definitely ribbed by some good-natured Ohio State fans. I was pretty surprised that no one was ugly, everyone we encountered was a good sportsman. 

My FaceBook friends? Another story. Ha!

Mom's Famous Family Clam Dip

Let's talk clam dip. Because talking about clam dip leads us to talking about family. And football. And holidays. Special occasions. 

But seriously, let's talk about it because it's delicious!

Clam dip has been in my family since the beginning of time. I remember eating this stuff as a toddler. I believe my grandma used to be the one to make it, but for as long as I can remember, my mom has been the one to make it. There wasn't a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Super Bowl where clam dip wasn't served. Our family clamors for it (Get it? Clamors? I'm such a dork, I know).  

Lately: November 2014

Happy Sunday from two warm and cuddly Chihuahuas! This is truly how these guys like to enjoy the weekends. Curled up in their favorite spots. Happy as little furry clams :)

I thought I would squeeze in a little weekend post here. I've been overflowing with food ideas lately, and haven't been thinking much about the in-between. But I do have a life outside that wonderful kitchen of mine. I read books in between batches of cookies. Scatter bird seed while concoctions are chilling. Or roasting. Or cooling. I run to get my creative juices flowing. I kind of wish there was an invention to dictate what goes on in my brain while I'm running, because I write some of my best stuff as my feet pound the pavement. A new techie idea perhaps? C'mon, doesn't anyone from Apple read my blog? Hehe. 

Anyhoo, it's been a great weekend thus far. The hubby actually had a 3 day weekend of Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We don't get these traditional weekends very often! We took full advantage last night by getting together with one of our couple friends. We watched the first half of the Oregon game (Go Ducks!) and sipped margaritas before heading out for Mexican food. There may have been a tad too much tequila last night, but eh, life is short. I'm currently hard at work on pie crust, my first batch yesterday having been a dud. Rest assured, by the time this pie is completed, I'll have lots of "don't's"! I made a new batch of dough that chilled overnight, so I'm soldiering forward today. Fingers crossed. 

I hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend so far. I've got a few pictures to share of what we've been up to lately-

Haloti curled up in the hubby's sweatshirt. If you leave clothing on the furniture, the Chihuahuas will find it. 

The affair continues. It's been going on for almost 4 years now. We are venturing into common-law marriage territory at this point. 

My beautiful new FoodSaver! It arrived last week and I am so thankful! I literally squealed with joy when the UPS guy left it at my house. Thank you Mom and Dad! There was no hesitation- Out went the old FoodSaver, and in its place went the new. Immediately after getting the new machine set up, I sat down to write my totally overdue big-box store grocery list. 

Ah, the fruits of my labor. I picked up loads of chicken, ciabatta rolls, and bacon in bulk to freeze at aforementioned big-box store. And what did I do as soon as I got home? Vacuumed-sealed it into 2-person portions. I cannot say it enough, I LOVE that machine. I cannot live without it. Love it. 

So, I've been using FoodSavers for 8 years now. I do have a common-law marriage with my FoodSaver! :)

I think this poor little dude flew into either the side of the house, or the living room window. I heard a soft thud, but not the hard thud that usually kills these kids. I went outside and looked on the ground, and didn't find anything. However, when I went to empty my compost buckets, I found him sitting on our large composters. And he didn't move. He did let me pick him up, though. I was having the hubby set up a nesting box on the front porch for him to recover in when he decided he'd rested enough, and he took off. 

I'm just glad he ended up being ok :)

The snow everyone was so worried about getting around our parts. Can you even see this dusting? Not especially. 

Contrary to popular belief, not everything I cook winds up on the blog. Sometimes the recipes are too awful. Sometimes, the recipes are too good, like this Garlic, Lemon, and Fresh Herb Stuffed Chicken.  This bird never made it onto the blog because the hubby and I devoured it. I mean, we really scarfed this one down. All before I took an after photograph. Oh well. A similar recipe may make it onto the blog someday. That is, if I can keep my hands off of it long enough. 

Cheese enchiladas that never made it on the blog. I'm still playing with my chile gravy recipe, and I don't get to play very often. The gravy on these ended up being too heavy, too thick, and too salty. The hubby is not the biggest enchilada lover, so I only get a shot at this one every couple of months. I hope I perfect this recipe in 2015, though. That will be one of my New Year's resolutions.

Asian Roasted Asparagus. What can I say? Also scarfed down without many pictures.

Broccoli and Chard Garlic Spaghetti. This recipe may still make it onto the blog, however I wasn't 100% satisfied with the pictures. It was delicious, don't get me wrong. It might take a repeat making with new pictures for me to publish it, though.

The hubby and I's favorite tequila we brought back from Mexico. I love this stuff! We broke it open last night for Oregon's last home game of the season. It must have been a good luck charm, because the Duck's pulled out the win! The hubby and I were happy campers. We were told by an employee at duty-free in the Cancun Airport that they only sell this tequila in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York City. He tried to talk us into buying a more expensive tequila that they only sell in Mexico, but we quickly informed him we didn't live anywhere near any big city and this was the bottle we wanted. I highly recommend trying this tequila if you ever see it anywhere. It makes the BEST margaritas.

Cue to the internet razing. Nickelback snuck a brand-new album out on Monday with absolutely no publicity. I had no idea they were even working on a new album. Some fan I am, right? Anyway, once I discovered their new album, I snapped it up. I've been listening to it on repeat. For days. Multiple times a day. I love running to this album. Most of the album has a really funky beat running though it and combined with Chad's voice, well, I've been tearing down miles. Well maybe not tearing them down, I did take a month off running. And lost a ton during that month. I really don't care that everyone hates Nickelback, I'm definitely not a person who follows the crowd anymore. That's one thing I love about getting older- the sheer inability to really care what other people think of your Nickelback addiction :) #iamunashamed

Here's my lazy morning. Finishing off one of my library books while loving my morning coffee. And pretty soon, I'll be rolling out my 2nd batch of pie crust dough. Oh man, oh man, I hope it's not crumbly!

I hope you all are having a lovely weekend! Ciao!

The Parental Visit: 2014

Long time, no see bloggy friends!

Yes, it has been 2 weeks since I've opened or thought about my blog. Heck, it's been 2 weeks since I've even looked at my blog. Sometimes, you just need a little down time to reinvigorate.  It's not like I was too busy to blog, that wasn't even the case. Except in Minnesota, where my 80-is-the-new-40 year old aunt ran us ragged. We were all exhausted after the Minnesota weekend. I laugh, because who says that after attending an 80 year old's birthday party? WE DO! All I can say, is you haven't met my aunt. The gist of that tangent? No time to write in Minnesota. Plenty of time to write in Kentucky. Writing still didn't happen.

What did happen in the 2 weeks I've been gone?

- The hubby and I crossed 6 states in 14 hours driving to Minnesota. Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota! Oh, and a word of advice- If you are going to drive through Chicago, expect to spend about $20 in tolls. And Illinois' toll booths don't take debit cards. Are you kidding me? In Chicago. In 2014. For the love.

- My aunt's birthday party was amazing. It was wonderful to be there for her, plus I also met tons of family that I'd never met before. And they were definitely my kind of people!

- We had a huge spaghetti dinner and family baseball night with my parents and Jerame's side of the family back in Kentucky. My favorite moment from the baseball game? My niece and nephew accidentally running full speed into my dad, and everyone collapsing on the ground.

- A cat has made our yard his home.

- We drove my parents out to Lesage, WV to visit Hillbilly Hot Dogs. My dad was in hog heaven.

- We toured our local Brewery.

- The Ducks beat Washington State!

- The hubby made his homemade wings for the fam. Always a highlight!

- We found a fantastic restaurant in downtown Cincinnati, right before dropping the parents off at the airport. It's called "The Senate" and if you are in downtown Cincy, it's a must-try. They had an awesomely eclectic menu of fresh food combinations. The hubby had a Lobster BLT that was to-die-for. My dad's Korean Dog was filled with flavorful short rib and homemade kimchi. Trust me, I'll be back!

And, oh yes- I stole a bunch of pictures from my Mom's iPhone. My blog-vacation included a vacation from my camera :) Without further adieu-

Taken at Grizzly's in Minnesota. Our waiter just couldn't believe that my aunt (white sweater) was turning 80. "No way!" were his exact words. My aunt was stoked :)

Me with my aunt, my mom, and my mom's cousin (my 2nd cousin). 

Another picture with my mom's cousin, her, and I. Taken at my aunt's birthday party. I'm not sure who took this picture, an iPhone newbie perhaps ;)

This was my aunt's name-tag for the party. I love it!

My aunt opening gifts with her great-grandchildren. I can't believe she has great-grandchildren.

Back home in Kentucky, I made Turkey Pesto Sandwiches for the fam. 

Lunch at the local brewery. I apologize for the bad lighting!

Getting a tour of the brewery.

Our trip to Hillbilly Hotdogs.

No one left hungry. Or without a couple of beers. Correction- Dad easily passed on the beer, but found it rather difficult to turn down a vanilla milkshake :)

The parents loved Hillbilly Hotdogs!

Here's the cat that just showed up. He (she?) showed up about a week ago. He was passing through the yard and when the hubby went to shoo him away, the cat came to him. The poor kitty was skin and bones, so we fed him. Thank goodness for my animal shelter donation pile in the basement! Anyhoo, it's been a week and he hasn't stepped one foot off the property. Not one foot. He now has a cat house, a food and water bowl, and a name. Samuel. Samuel the cat. We aren't exactly a cat family, having 2 small dogs and being backyard birders, but we'll see how it goes. Sam hasn't shown any interest in the birds. So far...

Scotch, wings, and Monday night football. It doesn't get much better. The hubby made wings for my parents the night before they left, and they were a hit. As usual :)

My parents and I outside the Senate, right before we dropped them off at the airport. It was a wonderful trip. Too short, as usual, but tons of fun!

That's it for tonight folks. I've got a couple of recipes to share this week, and then hopefully, I'll get back on track next week. I apologize to my fans to who check the blog in the morning with their coffee for the lack of new reading material as of late. Ahem, Norm. Yes, my parents let me know how much you read and enjoy the blog. A big, hearty "thank you" from me to you :)

Happy Wednesday!

Everyone Gets Homesick...

A funny thing happened. I was editing photos for this week's recipes in iPhoto. I had just finished up the work I wanted to do that day, when an older photo album caught my eye. Actually, it was the first photo album the hubby and I have on iPhoto. I'm not sure why, but I felt compelled to browse through the photos. That album happened to be the first trip the hubby and I ever took to Hawaii. Looking at that album inevitably led me to looking at quite a few other albums. Which led me to feeling a touch homesick. I've been here for 3 1/2 years, but I still get pangs of homesickness that are as strong as they ever were. It's hard living so far away from everything you grew up around. Don't get me wrong, I love living in Kentucky. I love the weather, the wide open spaces, the old-fashioned politeness people still have around here. But, I love everyone and everything I left behind too. Well, maybe not the weather, but you know what I mean! I'll be back with recipes tomorrow, but here's what's on my mind today:

Well,  duh. The main reason I always get homesick. My parents and little brother. Yes, I said little brother :)

Boating with friends at Fall Creek Reservoir.

Grilling out at my parents house.

Autzen Stadium!!!

Oregon football. It's tough watching games out here on the East Coast. First of all, you're lucky if the game is on a channel you have. Second, you're lucky if the game starts before 11 pm. Damn prime time!

Multnomah Falls.

Haloti loves the falls :)

Going to the coast whenever you feel like it. Heck, having fresh seafood whenever you feel like it!

Being so close to California. I was only a {long} day's drive away from San Francisco.

Camping at Detroit Lake.

Fresh crawfish from Detroit Lake. I didn't eat them, but the boys sure gobbled them off. Could be all the cocktails they downed with them... :)

I miss all the evergreens! Taken from a bridge that my brother jumped off. Yep, the hubby and I watched the little brother bungee jump from here. I stayed up high with my feet safely on the bridge.

Dog parks. Actually, I think both Haloti and I miss the dog parks.

Uh, my friends. Another duh :)

So many gorgeous parks. This park was near the hubby and I's last house in Beaverton. 

One of the last sight's the hubby and I saw as we were leaving Oregon in December 2010. 

Annnnnnnd, I think it's time to book my trip home this year!  

Happy Monday everyone!