Another recipe! :)

This is called broccolini and bucatina...and it's yummy!  I got this one from Rachael Ray's TV show. 

 You should DEF. try this!

Here are some suggestions though: 

I added chicken so that there was a protein with the dish.  I just put some extra virgin olive oil in a pan and then threw some chicken in there with pepper and thyme.  Then, later I sliced it into slivers and added it to the pasta.

Also, when adding the red pepper flakes, add with caution...it was pretty spicy.  Maybe use 1/2 of what she suggests, unless you like it hot!

Ingredients

Salt

1 pound broccolini or broccoli trimmed into 3 inch long, thin florets

1 pound bucatini pasta

1 cup pecorino Romano cheese, freshly shaved or grated

3 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 small Italian red chili or Fresno chili pepper, thinly sliced or substitute 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced or grated

2 tablespoons fresh thyme, finely chopped

 

Preparation

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta. When it comes to a full boil, salt the water and add broccolini or broccoli and par-boil about 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted kitchen utensil and cool in an ice water bath, then drain. Add pasta and cook to al dente.

Heads up: you will need a couple of ladles starchy cooking water just before draining pasta.

Place cheese in the bottom of a shallow serving bowl.

Meanwhile, heat EVOO, 3 turns of the pan, over medium heat and add chili pepper and garlic, sauté a couple of minutes. Then add thyme and stir, then add broccolini or broccoli and heat through. Add pasta and cheese and toss with a little starchy water to combine and coat pasta.

Garnish with additional grated cheese.

ENJOY!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today was my dad's 48th birthday.  I just wanted to wish him a happy birthday! :)

Man, they grow up so fast!

My Parents' 25th Wedding Anniversary...

July 20th, 2010 marked 25 years of marriage for my parents.  I was born 11 months after they were married, so I feel like I had the opportunity to watch their marriage throughout the years, which is neat.  I have always wanted to throw them a 25th anniversary partty, and had honestly been planning it for years.  These days, I feel like 25 years is REALLY something to celebrate.  So, I applaud all the couples who have made it through THICK and THIN.  YOU are something to celebrate!  And to my family...my mom and dad, my Aunt Terri and Uncle Jim, and My Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rick...THANK YOU.  Thank you for making it! :)

Here are some pics of the party.  It was held at our new house...that proved to be challenging, especially since we had only lived there for 6 days.   :)

This is a picture of our front room.  I decorated with their wedding albums.

These are the decorations.  We had the party in our backyard.  I chose my mom's favorite colors: Red, black and white.

Of course I thought the party would NOT be complete without a chocolate fountain.  THIS was WAY worth the investment!  It was a HIT!

David's best friend owns a catering business, so we had him cater it for us.  We had a taco bar.  It was really YUMMY!

I wish I could take credit for this AMAZING cake, but I can't.  My friend's sister did it for me.  It was BEAUTIFUL, and really good too!

This is a picture of my parents and their friends from high school.

My grandpa was hamming it up with all the ladies! :)

My mom wrote this letter when she was 9 1/2.  It was saved in a safety deposit box and taken out for her wedding, and NOW for her party!

Here are some more photos:

Overall, it was an AWESOME party.  Thank you to those who came, and ESPECIALLY those who traveled from out-of-state!  I SO appreciate your presence. :)  To another 25 years...

Lettuce Wraps

 I made these YUMMY lettuce wraps for dinner tonight!  I have had them at P.F. Chang's Restaurant before, but I wanted to try and make them at home, so that I could be in control of what went in them.  We like to try and stay away from salt and preservatives.

You should try them.  They were WAY good, AND easy to make.  They would even be a great snack.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil

1 1/4 pounds thinly sliced pork or chicken cutlets or 1 1/2 pounds ground pork or chicken

Pepper

1/4 pound oyster, baby white or shitake mushrooms, chopped or thinly sliced

1 bunch scallions, chopped or thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 1 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger root, cut into thin matchsticks or finely chopped

2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice or chicken stock

1/4 cup Tamari (dark soy sauce)

A few dashes of hot pepper sauce

1 small head iceberg lettuce, core removed and head quartered

Preparation:

Using a food processor, finely chop the peanuts.

In a large skillet, heat the oil, two turns of the pan, over high heat. Add the pork and cook until browned, about 5 minutes; season with pepper. Add the mushrooms, scallions, garlic and ginger; toss for 2 minutes. Push the ingredients to the side of the pan and add the peanut butter to the center to melt. Whisk in the apple juice, Tamari (eyeball it) and hot sauce. Stir in the peanuts.
Spoon the satay into a serving bowl or individual bowls. Serve the lettuce wedges alongside. Scoop the satay mixture into lettuce leaves to wrap up as you eat.


****I also added wontons, which made for a good crunchy texture.  I would highly recommend!

VOILA!  Enjoy your yummy creation!

My Time in UTAH! :)

UTAH...that word makes me so elated!  Sappy, I know...but, I don't care what anyone thinks.  I left my husband for 2 weeks, and headed to the great state of Utah, to see my family.  It was blissful, to say the least.  How do I love them so much?!  My friend told me before I left that I had the most AMAZING family...and you know what?!  She's TOTALLY right!  I am sooo blessed!

Sometimes I think it's best that I live far away from them.  Maybe I appreciate them more that way ;)

I am a loser and didn't take any pictures, so I will just use some older ones to describe my experience the best I can.

Here is what I did...

I traveled with my GREAT Aunt Linda to Salt Lake via Jet Blue. :)  I do not have a picture of her, so you'll have to use your imagination.

Once we got to Salt Lake, my cousin Alison picked us up!

I stayed the night at her house.  The next morning she took me to my Aunt Cindy's (where I would be staying during the duration of my trip).

This would be Aunt Cindy and Uncle Rick.  I know, I know...I look just like my Aunt Cindy...we're practically twins...sheesh...if I aged a year every time I heard that, we WOULD be twins! bahaha! (She is gonna kill me for that little joke!) ...Love you auntie! ;)

So, I got to hang out with these two cool kids.  Lucky me, right?!  My Aunt Cindy and I did a lot of running around to get ready for the annual family reunion the first few days I was there.  We went to lunch and hung out too, so it wasn't all work. ;)

  Lucky for me, I got to have lunch with my Aunt Terri too.  It was great to spend time with both of my aunts.

...and I got to see these pretty ladies. love my cousins!


Unfortunately, because I suck at life, I have NO pictures of me meeting baby Charlie, or me and my aunt taking Luke and Layna to the zoo.  BUT, we did do that...and it was more than enjoyable.

Overall...it was amazing...and, while I may try, no amount of gushy words will begin to express how much I cherish the times I share with these extraordinary people.

The Adventures of Cindy and Samm

Later in the week we headed to our family reunion...Uncle Rick had a golf tournament, so he
was gonna have to meet us later. So, my Aunt Cindy decided she was going to just drive the RV herself. YA...I thought...girl POWER! So...we got in and drove off...but not before we almost drove off with the RV plugged into the house. Oops!
SO, now I must finish my story in a dialogue, because that is THE ONLY way I will do this story any justice.
Achem...
We get on the highway...and....


Aunt Cindy: (singing "I am Woman hear me Roar")
Samm: Wow...(thinking: are you really singing that right now?!)
Aunt Cindy: It's the adventure of Cindy and Samm!
Samm: (laughing...and thinking my aunt is sooo cute!) Yup, it is..
We keep driving...
Aunt Cindy:  I hear somthing weird...do you hear it?!
Samm:  Ya, I do...

Sound goes away...

Aunt Cindy:  Ahh...I think it went away...
Samm: Cool.

5 minutes later...

Samm:  Do you smell that?!
Aunt Cindy:  Smell what?!
Samm:  I smell something burning.
Aunt Cindy:  No...I don't
Samm:  Humm...
Samm:  Are you sure?!  It smells like something is burning...
Aunt Cindy:  No...let me check the gauge.  (looks at gauge)  No...the engine isn't overheating or anything.
Samm:  Oh, okay...just keep your eye on it.

2 minutes later...

Samm:  I STILL smell burning...

Meanwhile Grandpa and Aunt Terri are in front of us.  We're following them.
 
Aunt Cindy:  Woah, look at my dad swerve!
Samm:  Geez...grandpa is gonna kill someone.
 
Grandpa pulls over fast and so we pull over too...
 
Aunt Cindy:  I wonder why he is pulling over.
 
As we stop, smoke fills the air, and it's coming from the engine!
 
Aunt Cindy and Samm: (screaming!!!!!!) Ahhhhhhh!
 
Aunt Cindy:  Get the dog!!!!!!!  (yes, we thought the car was on fire, and YES she screamed "get the dog!"  not "save my niece...she's too young to die!")  LOL! :)
 
The RV was smoking and it looked like it was on fire.  Luckily it wasn't.  We just blew the radiator hose.
 

I knew I smelled smoke! :)

We had to call my Uncle Jim to come and save us.  He did...and we made it to the reunion...AND we had a good story too!

TOM'S

Have you heard of these?! They are called Tom shoes.  Now, you're probably thinking..."okay...so what?!  What is so great about them, anyway?!"  Well, ladies and gents...I have an answer!  They are so wonderful because everytime you buy a pair, the company "TOM" will give a pair of shoes to a child in need.  I told you it was pretty great, now didn't I?! 

What could be better than buying a pair of shoes?!  How about getting a pair of new shoes, AND helping a child...THAT'S what's better! :)

So, go buy some...seriously.  And, if you're thinking, "oooh...I wanna help a child in need, but I don't need those shoes...," well, of couse I have a solution.  I'm a size 8.5! :)

<3 SammAsh

PAUSE!

Ever wish you could make time stand still?!  I DO!  ...and if I had the power, I would have pushed the pause button here!  Then I probably would have rewound and replayed a few times.  <3 my family to pieces!

I did, however, make sure to soak up all the time with them the best I could.  Afterall...it's gotta get me to Christmas, and I am ALREADY having withdraws! :)