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Friday, February 23, 2007

The life of a dog

Hi All,

Well, I had to post this pic because my co-workers Eileen taught Rosie how to get the box of Lorna Doone cookies out of our co-workers filing cabinet all by herself. It is very funny to watch! She goes crazy over any type of food, but especially seems to love Lorna Doones. We've thought about making a video of Rosie in action and submitting it to the company that makes the cookies. What do you all think?? She's pretty darn cute!!!Work has been crazy for me lately (Cait writing this.) I wonder if it is sometimes confusing to try and figure out if it is Kyle or me writing-it's usually me. Today is a pretty low-key day @ work & I am relishing in it. Kyle and our brother-in-law Jay are tiling our kitchen & one of our bathrooms this weekend. We'll try to post before and after pictures :). Other than that, not much is planned for the weekend, except of course the Oscars on Sunday night! More later. TGIF!!!!!!!!!!!

Saturday, February 17, 2007

We've Been Tagged!

Okay - a few of you may know that it is my friend Tami from California that started us on this whole blog adventure. I would frequent her blog on a daily basis and get disappointed when she had not posted anything new. So, I guess a tern in the Blog world is tagging someone when you want them to respond to their blog. Well, Tami tagged us and here is the assignment:

Rules: Each player of this game starts with the 6 weird things/habits about you. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird habits/things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read your blog.This is hard for me. We found it hard to come up with a list.

Caitlin's 6:
1. I love buying make up and get sucked into buying the expensive kind if there is a free gift involved, even if I don't need it!
2. I'm very fussy about coffee (especially Kyle's)
3. I obsess over food too much & it annoys me
4. I've become a lot more anxious over the past few years
5. I'm very particular about certain meals much to the dismay of my older sister. For example, I need to have applesauce with pork chops and cranberry sauce with a certain family chicken recipe.
6. I am a total dork sometimes and use cheesy works like "yumarooskie, okiedokie, groovy, etc.

Kyle's 6:
1. I watch the History channel sometimes to an extreme. A while back, I was obsessed on learning about the Vietnam war. They never really went into the war in detail when I was in High School or College. I just wanted to know why it took the course that it did & how it relates to the US's military policy today. I was only interested in learning about the war, in terms of a history standpoint, not a political one. I am not trying persuade anyone's feelings in terms of war. It is what it was.... besides I was just born during it...
2. I sometimes fixate on songs. I keep saying the same words over and over again.... Just like some musicians...lol
3. Yes, I also believe in ghosts. I find that subject fascinating.
4. I also give many nicknames to the dog. i e: Rosegirl, the baby rose, the big old girl.
5. I like Christmas songs... I like to hear them the day after Thanksgiving thru Xmas. I just figure I hear the same old music all year long that it is nice to hear them for usually less than a month.
6. I can be a packrat.

Well that is it for me. Tag your it Kerri & Aunt Mo.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, we finally have our first snow storm of the season bearing down on New England. As usual, the TV stations are blowing it way out of proportion. They are making it seem like the blizzard of 78' is bearing down on us again. For most of Massachusetts they predict 3-9" of snow, hardly anything to freak out about. The Buffalo area has been getting pounded with snow, day after day... Now that would be something to freak out about...

Anyway, Today is V-day and we had to post a picture of our cute Rosie with her V-day scarf. Thanks to our friend Jeanette, she has a scarf for almost every holiday. I think the only one we don't have is Halloween. Overall we had a nice night. I made a yummy "Nor'easter Beef Stew," which came out fantastic if I might say so myself. It was actually really easy too, which is even better! Kyle liked it a lot but I think he still prefers my mother's. We also had a yummy salad to go with it. No pictures this time folks! However, if you want the recipe, let me know.

My thoughtful hubby gave me these beautiful flowers below! They are pink & white and I love them. Also notice my pretty V-day place mats and heart napkins behind the flowers, which I got for a total of $7.00 on sale @ HomeGoods I love when I get a good deal!
Well, off to go watch one of my favorite shows "Friday Night Lights." Two Netflix movies came in the mail today "The Departed" & "Half Nelson." We will watch those this weekend as I am in a mad rush to see as many Oscar nominated movies B4 the 25th. Have a great day!
















Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Sharing Yummy Recipes



Hi All!
Above is the yummy chicken pot pie recipe that is actually called Chicken Stew with Biscuits. We decided to copy Tami and take a picture of it although the picture doesn't do it justice. I was never a big biscuit fan, but they are so good in this! Yummy! Anyway, the recipe is below and it makes a lot. We didn't use as much chicken as the recipe says. I think we went with 6 split chicken breasts with the bone and I highly recommend using the same because that type has so much flavor. If you aren't a pearl onion fan like myself, I'd still use them as they add a great deal of flavor to the sauce. Just pick them out. Anyway, if you wind up trying it let us know what you think!!! Anything we've tried from Ina Garten's cookbooks have been outstanding! Kyle says that I'm understating that!!!

Mo.. Kyle really wants your sausage and chicken pasta dish recipe.
OK, here it is Bon Appetite! Did I spell that right?



The cookbook is: The Barefoot Contessa Family Style.
I found a copy of the recipe online for you.

Chicken Stew with Biscuits
Recipe By :Ina Garten Serving Size : 8

For the Stew: 3 whole (6 split chicken breasts -- bone in, skin on 3 TBSP olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 5 cups chicken stock -- preferably homemade 2 chicken bouillon cubes 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter 2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 cup heavy cream 2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots) -- blanched for 2 minutes 1 pkg frozen peas (2 cups) -- (10 oz) 1 1/2 cups frozen small whole onions 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley For the Biscuits 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 pound cold butter, unsalted -- diced 3/4 cup half and half 1/2 cup fresh parsley -- chopped 1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35-40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4-6 cups of cubed chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over med-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce.
Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring until thick. Add 2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and parsley. Mix well. Place the stew in a 10x13x2 inch oval or rectangular baking dish. Place the baking dish on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the biscuits. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Add the half and half and combine on low speed. Mix in the parsley.

Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and, with a rolling pin, roll out to 3/8 inch thick. Cut out 12 circles with a 2 1/2 inch round cutter.
Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return the dish to the oven. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, until the biscuits are brown and the stew is bubbly.

Monday, February 5, 2007

Oh, the exciting life we lead....

Hello All,

It is absolutely freezing here! I just read online that it is 16 degrees here but I don't think that includes the windchill. I took Rosie out a few hours ago to try to get her to go to the bathroom and I had on a neck warmer, scarf, hat and gloves!!!! BRRR. I know I should not complain b/c it has been a mild winter but I really hate it when it is this cold. At least we are half way through with winter.

We had a pretty exciting weekend for us. I worked @ home on Friday, so by the time Kyle got home a little before 6pm, I had a little bit of cabin fever. We decided to see the movie Letters from Iwa Jima (see Link below)http://iwojimathemovie.warnerbros.com/lettersofiwojima/framework/framework.html
I've been on a mission to see as many of the Oscar nominated movies before the Oscars on 2/25 and this movie is nominated for best picture. It was very good but not what I expected. I guess that is what happens when you go to see a movie and you don't know much about it beforehand. Anyway, it was a nice time and we used movie gift certificates that we got for Christmas, so it was a cheap night. I've been on a real cooking spree. On Friday, I made meatloaf and homemade meatballs. We had spaghetti and meatballs before the movie and I must say they were delicious. My sister Meg always puts ground pork and hamburger meat in her meatballs and I finally tried it & boy does it give the meatballs a lot more flavor. I was disappointed in the meatloaf though. I was winging the recipe and put too much ketchup in and it was too moist. Oh well...
On Saturday, we went to BJ's and spent too much. For those of you that don't have a BJ's near you it is like Costo or Sam's Club. Then around 3:30 we went to my mom's for a little while to drop off an Avon eyeliner that I purchased for her and to pick up Kyle's V-day present! My mom picked it up for me b/c the store isn't accessible. Normally I don't give places the time of day that aren't accessible but this place has the most amazing turtles (don't worry--he already knows b/c my mom spilled it by accident.) After visiting my momma, we went to our niece's (Lauren) basketball game. It was the first game we've made it to this year and it was great to see little Lauren! After that we headed to my sister Megan's house (Lauren's mom) and had dinner w/ her family & my dad & Barbara who were in from New Hampshire. We had a great time and we watched most of the movie Anchor Man, which neither Kyle or I had seen. It was very funny. I'm not usually into those kind of movies, but I found it very amusing. I parked myself right in front of the fireplace and was super cozy!!

On Sunday, I were on a cooking spree again! This time Kyle was my helper though. We made this yummy Barefoot Contessa recipe that Kyle has been wanting to try. It was chicken pot pie with biscuits (homemade) on the top instead of crust. It was great!.While Kyle was watching the Superbowl I made a Cooking Light Cheddar Chicken Corn Chowder, which is also fantastic! Only 7 points Tami! The pot pie on the other had is majorly fattening.

Now it is Monday and I'm off and am having a nice relaxing day. I'm off to take a shower. We hope you all have a great week and please let us know how things are going. We really look forward to your comments on our blog (HINT.)