Madison, Wi.

Not too much to blog about today. This week were in Madison for a business trip for Nick. We are enjoying some new foods and taking in some sights. My birthday is fast approaching and i dont think hes even shopped yet lol. Typical male, sorry guys! Anyways ive been getting way more homework done then usual which is a good thing. I cant believe in another month itll be over with already and on to the next semester. Everyone has been asking how school has been going. Its been going good. Im only struggling with one class which i have dreading from the start Statistics. Im sorry but im not going to utilize this later in the future. Anyways im off to do some more homework and do some more decorating research. Hope to post something new soon!

Pasta with no cook tomato sauce

Another rachael ray fav! I cant believe i didnt find this sooner. This is perfect because it isn't that much work at all and only requires one pot on the stove!! Always a goodie. To make it healthier for Dh and I, we used Ronzoni Smart taste Rotini noodles. Once again i forgot to take a pic but it was very easy and yummy. We have plenty of leftovers!

This serves 4-

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves crushed

2 TBSP EVOO

1lb pasta shells or whatever you would like

2 lbs diced tomatoes

Salt and pepper to taste

2 TBSP butter or margarine

2 tsp of lemon zest

1 c. fresh Basil sliced thinly

grated parmesean for serving

1. In a cup, combine the garlic and olive oil. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.

2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, crush the tomatoes with your hands; season with salt and pepper.

3. Remove the garlic from the olive oil and discard. Add the garlic oil, butter and lemon peel to the tomatoes. Add the pasta and toss, adding a splash of the reserved pasta cooking water to thin the sauce, if necessary. Add the basil and season with salt and pepper; toss. Serve with the parmesan.

Creamy Apple Chicken Chili

Another great one from Rachael Ray. Perfect for a cold day!!! We reduced the cheese in it and it was perfect! Heres a link to the recipe. Very yummy!!!!! You can also use skim milk and margarine instead of the butter which makes the recipe less in calories. We also cooked the chicken on the george foreman first and then made it in a large stockpot on the stove because we dont have a dutch oven. Its so good and makes plenty to freeze or for leftovers! Here is the recipe.

Target deals!!!

We went in with the intention or looking for some 8.5x11 plastic inserts for my Mom's recipe book. DH and I walked out with two huge bags of clearance. When I spot 75% off I dont hesitate for one second. I have always wanted to get a coverlet for our room during late spring into summer. This past summer was so warm we always ended up with the comforter on the floor. They had a set that was $80 marked down to $17! I would have preferred a different color but I ended up getting the navy & light blue reversible coverlet set. Most likely we will have the light blue showing most of the time. They also had an orange rust color, it was very fallish and pretty but would not go in our room at all. We also scored some throw pillows for our couch for spring & summer that were orig $16 marked down to $3.87. If you need a mattress cover, any comforters for guest rooms or anything definately check out target. Who would think that a former manager from target would still be shopping there years later!

Christmas isnt too far away!

So I know im crazy and thinking about christmas already! We went to MOA today and purchased a bunch of things but these two items we purchased at the Dept. 56 store. My MIL collects houses from there so we went in with the intention of buying something for her for christmas. Now we only go to MOA like once every couple of months. We already know we will not go back before christmas. We purchased something for her and then this ornament and the stand. Its going to make a great centerpiece on the coffee table with some extras around it.

Malma Mirrors!

This is not my own picture but the one of the only one's I was able to find. These are Ikea Malma mirrors. We bought four of these when we were in Ohio at the beg. of September. We love ours and one day soon ill take a pic of our own. We have them in our living room and they look so nice. I believe they were only 2.49/per mirror. They come in this dark brown or pine which you can paint. We chose the dark brown.

Apple Cheddar Turkey Burger

Yum-o!!!! Literally this was so good. I made this last night for dinner. Dh is actually begging to have it again because he loved it so much and i really expected him to just say it was okay. We cut the recipe in half to accomodate just the 2 of us but i will post the full recipe which serves 4 people. We also switched a few things around which i will post under the recipe. This is one of Rachael Ray's Recipes from her magazine. Enjoy it, we sure did!!!

Serves 4
Ingredients:
2 lb of ground turkey
4 scallions finely chopped
1/3 cup flat parsley chopped
1 TBSP grill seasoning
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
1 granny smith apple cut into 12 slices
4 slices of cheddar cheese
2 TBSP of mustard
1/4 c. cranberry preserves
4 english muffins toasted
lettuce

Directions
1. In a bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, parsley, grill seasoning and poultry seasoning. Form into 4 patties, pressing your thumb into the center of each to prevent it from bulging.

2. In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the patties and cook for 6 minutes on each side for medium. Top each with 3 apple slices and cheese slices, tent the pan with foil and cook until the cheese melts, 1 to 2 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce and mustard; slather on the muffin tops. Pile 2 lettuce leaves on each muffin bottom, top with the patties and set the muffin tops into place.


***Here are the changes we made other then cutting the recipe in half, we used shredded cheddar cheese instead of slices and we ended up placing only 2 apple slices on top since we couldnt fit the 3rd. Instead of making the cranberry/mustard sauce we actually used raspberry preserves because we already had them and my Dh doesnt like mustard at all. Instead of scallions we used a regular white onion chopped finely it was about 1/4 cup, we already had this instead of scallions. It came out wonderfully. Remember that 1/4 c. i put in was only half the size recipe of the above so thats only for 2. It made 2 really big burgers. I highly recommend it!**