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Two Things I Know For sure And One Of Them Is That You Will Want To Make This Super Easy Breakfast Casserole Cause It's SUPER EASY!

10/28/2012

I don't know much and I like to think I'm right all the time.
Just ask anyone who knows me.
No, seriously. It's true.
I'm okay with that though, even though being right all the time is SOOOO exhausting!
*wink wink*

Anyway, I do know two things for sure,
for certain,
indisputably a fact....
.

Number 1

I know that Little Boy Blue here.....

I happy boy. I yuv kisses from Mom and Dad. My face gets schmushed sometimes.

...is loved by so many people so much!

And Number 2

That this breakfast casserole was super duper easy peasy!!!

So easy!

Can not even explain to you how easy it was.

And super tasty too!

This picture is dark, I'll show you another one but I was eating it.

See?!!! Sorry you have to see that I eat with a pitchfork apparently, but this
Easy Breakfast Casserole is light and tasty!

I believe it's the Stove Top Stuffing Mix that makes this dish so savory.
Here's the fixins for this savory, tasty, super easy
EASY BREAKFAST CASSEROLE.

See the Stove Top there, yup, tasty. Also I used Breakfast Turkey Sausage from Jennie O but the recipe calls for regular sausage...I think spicy Italian sausage would be good too.

Here's the other thing,

the original recipe does not call for onions and green peppers. I added those in per people's reviews.

So start this delicious breakfast dish by cooking the sausage or ground turkey with the onions and green peppers.

Meanwhile, whisk up the eggs a little.

Now if this wasn't all easy enough,
see how fast the next part goes!

Once the meat is cooked,

throw the Stove Top stuffing in....

add the milk....

now the eggs....

Throw in the cheese....

Now add some salt and pepper and you're done!

Now the hardest part of this whole recipe
is if your doggie lays on your feet the whole time while you're cooking.

Not BY your feet mind you, but ON your feet.
Just sayin'.

Anyway,

pour the mixture into a greased baking dish and pop it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

And like magic, this super duper easy peasy dish is done!!!!!

And ready to be dug into.

Kids and adults will be scooping their piece out quicker than quick and going back for seconds and thirds.

I asked Tim and the kids why they liked this so much and one said they liked the stove top stuffing it it.

One said the meat was flavorful.

And the third person said, "It's good. I'm going back for fourths."
And she did.

Okay, Ima definitely make this again.
This fed 4 people who had seconds and thirds cause it was so tasty. For more than 6 people, you will want to double the recipe.

Okay, so here's the recipe....

CLICK HERE to go the Food.com recipe page...just remember I used turkey breakfast sausage instead of ham and I added 1/2 cup onion and 1/2 cup green pepper per reviewer suggestions!

See, as you all know, the beauty of making super simple, super easy recipes with little cleanup

is that you get to spend more time doing fun things like taking
Little Boy Blue to the Children's Museum!

Where he got to play....

And clap!

And show his Grandpa how much he loves the piano!

Okay, that's all I have for today!
I gave 'er all she's got.
No I didn't. I just thought I would say that. :):):)
Hope everyone's enjoying the weekend, take care
and
we'll talk at ya soon!!!

College Football Game Day Week 9 2012

10/26/2012

Bill's
Big 10 Predictions!

Bill with Bill's Big 10 Corner reports in with his power rankings this week...

Pointspread picks were (2-3) last week, so let’s switch to power ratings and bowl slotting for this week’s report:

1) Michigan (5-2) – tough test this week, tracking to play Wisc in B10 title game.

2) Ohio St (8-0) – plays at Penn State. Bowl inelgible.

3) Penn St (5-2) – plays Ohio St. Bowl inelgible.

4) Nebraska (5-2) – Outback Bowl but could move up with win over Michigan.

5) Wisconsin (6-2) – B10 title game (Capital One Bowl or Rose Bowl).

6) Northwestern (6-2) – Gator Bowl

7) Purdue (3-4) – Buffalo Wild Wing Bowl in Tempe

8) Iowa (4-3) – Need 2 wins (vs Purdue and Indiana?) Car Care in Houston

9) Michigan St (4-4) – Dallas Bowl

10) Indiana (2-5) – Don’t see 4 more wins here

11) Minnesota (4-3) – Little Caesar’s

12) Illinois (2-5) - Don’t see 4 more wins here

Thank you Bill :):):)

Our Most Favoritist First Birthday Ever, Scanty Fallish Decorating, And A Quick Trip To Amana

10/25/2012

Last weekend was such a fun time!!
We celebrated Little Boy Blue's FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

And all the newly minted 1-year-old wanted to do was climb the mountain of presents to get to that colorful twirly gig decoration thing! With his laser-like focus, he succeeded by the way :)

In other weekend news,

I sparsely
fall-decorated
the dining room.

I put together a quick
Halloween
table centerpiece....

This is a real Gerbera daisy.

I paid $10 for it but the florist said it would bloom for three more weeks....

Look at those cute votive holders!

I think I can use a couple of them at Christmas time too.

WHO?????

WHO????

WHO are you looking at???

Okay,
now see these INNOCENT turkey salt and pepper shakers?

They don't hurt a soul! Gobble, gobble.

But Vinny has decided they are enemies and must be hunted and destroyed
every ding.dang.day!

I CAN'T KEEP ANYTHING NICE AROUND HERE!!!

Did ya notice this handmade Halloween booklet on the table?

This is the front cover of this fun, quirky booklet....

This is the back cover.....

You open up the booklet and each page is a campy, quirky Halloween themed page.

And
this is the last page.

Well, I changed up the display on the vintage Record Player/Radio/Short Wave Radio console too...

A closer look at this season's tabletop display....

This is my collection of vintage drink stirrers back there.....

And a few wine stoppers given to me as gifts....

When I got out of the antique business 5 years ago, I made certain to keep this funky barware.

These stirrers are so fun to pick up and check out...

A lot of these are from the 60's Vegas casinos and hotels.

And this shaker is just too cute.

Course the top is missing.

The top is ALWAYS MISSING off these vintage shakers!

And I can't help it but I do love this vintage aperitif glass...silver and black with that art deco stem.
LOVE!!!

Oh by the way, remember Vinny The Turkey Hunter?

He also likes to destroy expensive wrap paper on the dining room table.

"You want me to do WHAT? Get off this wrap paper? No way Jose."

"Here,
if I act cute, will you leave
me
the heck
alone?"

Finally I was able to wrap the baby's present! This is the front side...

...and this is the meticulously wrapped back side.

I think I should have ironed that wrap paper before using it.

Oh! Putting this vase away for the season, but isn't it soooo pretty? I am mesmerized by bright, shiny, colorful things.

Seriously, all people ever had to do over the years was give me a marble for birthdays and Christmas and I would have been satisfied.

Shhhhh, we won't tell them that though. All Laura Ingalls Wilder wanted was a stick of sugar too.

So anyway, on Sunday Tim and I jaunted over to the Amanas to visit the shops, it was such a beautiful weather day!

Hello
My Main Man,

Stud Muffin,

Hard Worker,

Money Maker,

Person Who Will Eat My Unfortunate Cooking Mistakes,

Person Who No Matter How Much He Eats Never Puts On A Pound And That Is Sooooo Not Fair,

Dad Who Is Never Allowed To Say "Bratwurst" Again Like Chris Farley Per His Kid's Orders,

Good Looking, Studly Grandpa Of The Coolest Little Boy Ever.

We only went to three or four places.

Look at that blue sky, will ya!

Tim likes this shop because they have lots of manly man antiques, you know, boring stuff like toys, signs, and sports memorabilia.

I'm KIDDING!! It's not boring

if you're a dude.

Actually I know the owner and he's so nice and his stuff is super nice, TOP QUALITY! His stuff is rare and hard to find and it goes for top dollar because of that rarity and condition.

I do loves me this collection of animal milk glass plates though :)

Now how many times have Tim and I walked or drove past this house and did not realize it was full of antiques..an antique shop!

The answer is A LOT!

They need better signage.

Now, if you get out of the car and walk up, you see this.

Looks like a house and that antique sign on the left is hidden by tree branches by the way.

Cute display by the unassuming front door.

Heck, we didn't know what to expect...we didn't even know if we were going in the right door.

Yup, we were in the right place!
This is the beautiful, primitive side....

And this was more within Angie's budget....

You know how I loves me creaky old stairs in antique shops and figuring out where they lead...

BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANGIE LIKEY!!!!

Of course I loved this place!!

It was two houses and two stories put together!

Oh my gosh, I thought long and hard about several of these pieces, but one can only have so much crap in their house.

And I STILL have a lot of crapola in my house.

But I wanted those textured planters on the bottom right. The green, yellow, red and aqua ones. That's all.

But then
I
became

distracted

by this other

stairwell full

of old jugs

and crocks

and bowls.

Okay, last boring antique picture, I promise...

And it's not even that exciting but I did pick this black and white deco-looking bread box up in Stillwater, Mn a few weeks ago.

Don't know how I'll use it,
I just know black and white is hard to find in bread boxes.
This looks more stylish than most vintage bread boxes.

Okay, true to my word, no more boring antique pictures!!!!

Gotta get back to work now anyway.
Imagine that...I've been blogging when I should be working!! Okay now I'm really going!

Stay warm for those who are in the areas with the cold front coming in...have a good Thursday night and we'll talk to ya soon!

Really, Are We Gonna Go Through This Torture Again...Pumpkin-Banana Bread

10/24/2012

I'm not a baker;
I'm TERRIBLE at it,
as you know.
Click here to see what an impatient, horrible baker I am.

And to top it off,
my bananas are jerks!

Click here to see what other nasty things these jerks have said to me in the past.

But that didn't stop me from attempting this Pumpkin Banana Bread!

I saw this
recipe in a magazine and my mouth started watering so I threw caution to the wind and got my baking crap out again.

And this recipe was actually very easy and really quite tasty.

With some hot coffee and a little butter...

pretty darn yummy.

But in the meantime, let me just say...

NaNaNaNa
BooBoo!!!!
My counters are clean!!!

So THERE!

Exhibit A: Notice the Madsen household's far counter with the microwave.....

.........

........

that's called CLEAN for those of you who have never seen the Madsen's counters uh....clean.

Having doubts?

Let me bring into evidence
Exhibit B: the counter by the stove and the actual stove.

They are looking weird to Angie, but that's because they are.......clean.

Exhibit C: Angie's prep area. Angie must not be prepping anything because once again, those counters are of the "clean" variety, cleared off, sanitized, washed down, dejunked, you know......clean.

Here's the kicker, Mindy WILL NOT pick up after herself either. Hummmph.

I didn't say my floor was clean though!!!

Geez!

Anyway,

let's get to starting this Pumpkin-Banana Bread
from the
Midwest Living
Comfort Food magazine 2012.

And believe it or not, this was an easy recipe....even for me....

So here's the fixins for this fine Pumpkin-Banana Bread.

The recipe calls for toasted pecans, so I just threw some pecans in the oven on a baking sheet for five minutes.

YAY, I did not burn them this time.
It's the small successes in life.

Okay so let's get started with the sugar...

Add the
oil in...

Mix away.

Boring.

Add the eggs in one at a time.

Why?
Why do eggs have to be added in one at time?
It seems so, so time consuming.

See, when you're trying to just put one egg in at a time while holding the mixer,

ONE FREAKING FALLS ON THE GROUND!!!

SHUT UP you annoying piece of monkey fruit!!!

Moving on,

this is the wet stuff together.

This is the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger together.

Holy crap, grab onto your hats! This is the exciting dry stuff going into the wet stuff and getting mixed up.

Add the canned pumpkin in...

Mash up those mean, mouthy bananas
real good and dump them in.

Okay,

now I can see light at the end of the tunnel here,
fold the toasted pecans in.

Pour the batter into the greased pans.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

And they come out real nice too.

Okay,

this is a gratuitous shot of my pretty platter with the Pumpkin-Banana Bread on it.

Slice up some of this light and delicious snack bread.

The toasted pecans are awful nice in this bread as well.

So grab your coffee,

sit down for a spell,

and let's chat about the Bee Gees and their impact on the music world.

CLICK HERE to get the recipe for Midwest Living's Pumpkin-Banana Bread!!!

Hey wait!! Don't run a way!!!
What? You don't think the Bee Gees are the greatest artists of all time???!!????
That's okay, we can talk about other things. Wanna talk about polka and how Lawrence Welk is under appreciated? Well, how about the oppression of women over centuries of time...is that a better topic?
Well then answer this, who was cooler...Sgt. Pepper Anderson of Police Woman or Julie from The Mod Squad?

Seriously, come back!!! We'll talk about what you want to talk about................hey, you don't wanna happen to sing Sunshiney Day by the Partridge family with me, do you?

Why you squealing tires out of my driveway?

Geez.

Jazz And A Bacon And Baked Potato Soup

10/23/2012

So I was making this
Bacon and Baked Potato Soup
last night and listening to the Jazz station on the radio.

The Jazz station had a special on the
Dave Brubeck Quartet. Remember Dave Brubeck?
This is his most famous composition Take Five.

Dave is a famous jazz pianist and composer born in 1920.

He was always accompanied by his saxophonist Paul Desmond.

Dave Brubeck's heyday was the early 1960's where he was putting out four albums a year.

This is the album cover most familiar to me.

Dave was on the cover of Time Magazine in November 1954,

only the 2nd jazz musician to grace the cover,

the first was Louis Armstrong in 1949.

Dave was not happy about it.
He felt Duke Ellington should have been put on the cover.

Dave felt he was put on the cover because he was white and that Duke was being overlooked because of his race.

This is Duke Ellington and John Coltrane performing In A Sentimental Mood.

Duke Ellington is the greatest jazz composer of all time.

The following song is
Come Sunday
by Duke Ellington, sung by the ethereal Mahalia Jackson with Duke accompanying.
One of the commenters after this video on you tube says,
"When I was a child growing up in the desert of California in the '50's there was a show on Sunday mornings on KFWB called 'Jazz goes to church," it was gospel music and we would blast it from our old Philco Radio and it would always end with this song at 11:30. Brings back so many memories, good and bad, the whites weren't really happy to have us there in the late '40's and early '50's, but still in all, this brings it all back, yea, Mahalia Come Sunday indeed."

Okay, so anyway back to the
Bacon and Baked Potato Soup...

I saw this recipe and
could
not
get
it
out
of
my
head!!!!

So I made it

and all was right with the world again :)

A Baked Potato with yummy cheese, butter, sour cream, bacon and onion toppings...only in soup form!!!
Talk about comfort food!!!

Here's the fixins for this easy-to-make, yummy-to-eat
Bacon and Baked Potato Soup!

Oops, forgot to add this ingredient up with the fixins.

The recipe calls for half-and-half or light cream or milk...

I used fat free milk.

So start by frying up my boyfriend Bacon until crisp.

Bake 1 lb. of potatoes up in the oven...

I microwaved for six minutes first since this was such a huge baking potato, almost 1 lb.

then I put it in the oven to get cooked and crispy cause I knew I was gonna use the skin in the soup.

Chop up the onions and celery...

Melt the butter in the dutch oven and begin sauteing the celery and onions. Listen to them sizzle and craccccckkle...

Chop up the baked potato...
can ya smell it yet...mmmm?

Put the flour, salt and pepper,
and thyme in....

The thickening agent mix is ready for the milk or cream, whichever you are using...

Dat a lot of milk! Four cups!

Okay,

so this is the base of the soup and it will thicken up after 5-8 minutes...

Chop up the green onions and bacon...

Throw your chopped baked potato in the soup...

Add the cheese and chicken broth....

This is what the mixture is now looking like,

thicker with some yummy cheese and chicken stock in there...

But let's mash up those big chunks of potatoes.

Also I left the skins on my potatoes, you could totally peel the potatoes if you didn't want the skins in the soup.

Now we're nearing the end to this super easy soup...
throw in the chopped, crisp bacon and green onions.

OH! Keep some out for garnishing the bowls.

Getting ready to be sunk into that yummy, gooey comforting goodness.

Well, what are you waiting for????
Scoop yerself up a bowl!

Why does that spoon look dirty? It WAS NOT dirty, I swear.

It's like a creamy baked potato. In a bowl.
Only better cause it has all those toppings in it!
SUPER YUM!

Be sure to remember to throw some toppings on top!

Look at that potato skin in there!!

And those chunks of potatoes!!

Can you tell I'm a starch girl?

I think I'm having a love affair with these toppings, that's why I keep showing them.

Well,
Bacon IS my boyfriend after all.

Okay, here's the recipe.....

Bacon and Baked Potato Soup
www.midwestliving.com and their Comfort Food 2012 magazine
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
    2 6 - 8 - ounces baking potatoes (such as russet or Yukon gold)
    3 tablespoons butter
    1/2 cup chopped onion
    1/4 cup chopped celery
    3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
    4 cups half-and-half, light cream or milk…Angie’s Note: I used Fat Free milk
    1 1/4 cups shredded American cheese (5 ounces) Angie’s Note: Any cheese can be used, I used Colby Jack
    1 cup chicken broth
    8 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained and crumbled
    2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
    1/4 cup dairy sour cream

Directions
    Scrub potatoes with a vegetable brush; pat dry. Prick potatoes with a fork. Bake in a 425 degree F oven for 40 to 60 minutes or until tender; cool. Peel potatoes, if desired. Chop potatoes; set aside.

    In a heavy large saucepan or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and celery. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Stir in flour, thyme, salt and pepper. Add half-and-half or milk all at once. Cook and stir for 5 to 6 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Add potatoes, 1 cup of the cheese, and the broth; stir until cheese melts. Slightly mash potatoes with the back of a spoon or a potato masher.

    For the topping, reserve 2 tablespoons of the bacon. Stir the remaining bacon and 1 tablespoon of the green onion into soup. Heat through.

    To serve, top each serving with reserved bacon, remaining 1/4 cup cheese, green onions and the sour cream. Makes 6 servings (about 1 cup each).

All righty, that's all I have for today,
I just made this soup last night and was excited to share it with everyone.
If you make it, let me know what you think or if you changed it up a bit!

Mr. Potato Head and I wish you a good Tuesday night and we'll talk at ya soon!!!

1970's Mr. Potato Head.

Week 8 2012 Football Game Day Predictions

10/19/2012

College Football Game Day Predictions

Week 8 2012

HI All and Happy Weekend!!!! Let's start with Bill from Bill's Big 10 Corner and see what he's saying about this week's
Big 10 games...

Another (3-2) week vs the spread, will try to improve to the elusive (4-1) this week. Note, it looks like Wisconsin and Michigan are tracking to the Big 10 Championship Game in Indianapolis (on Dec. 1).

Purdue at Ohio State (-19) – Let’s go with Ohio St to cover as Purdue struggles to win their first Big 10 game.

Minnesota at Wisconsin (-18) – Minnesota to keep things close on the road.

Penn St at Iowa (-3) – Penn St to cover. One team to lose their first Big 10 game.

Michigan St at Michigan (-10) – Michigan to cover at home and remain undefeated in the Big 10.

Nebraska (-5) at Northwestern – I think NW can keep this close at home so I will take the 5 points.

Looking ahead next week ………… Michigan at Nebraska

Now let's go south a bit and see what
Bevo jr. has to to say about the TEXAS game this weekend....

‘Horns seem to be struggling on both defense & offense right now – we took a ‘behind-the-woodshed’ beating from Oklahoma last Saturday. Texas was supposed to ‘back in the game’ this season after two years of turmoil, but we are NOT there yet.What’s going on, Mack??

Even though Baylor comes to Austin on Saturday, at this stage it’s hard to predict, and harder to get fired up! Texas 24 – Baylor 17. C’mon,HOOK ‘EM HORNS!

Okay, Red 5 Standing By of the UTAH Utes checked in with his thoughts on the Utah game with Oregon State.....

The Utes continue to disappoint, and they’ve turned to a true freshman QB to see if he can get the offense going. Utah’s defense – which has typically been its strength – has been mediocre so far, but the defense doesn’t stand a chance when the offense goes 3 and out time after time. Utah plays undefeated and 8th-ranked Oregon State in Corvallis Saturday night, so don’t expect the Utes to reverse their slide this week. The guys in red could be in for a long night.

Turnkey Tim with IOWA is writing his prediction now. I will post his prediction of the game with Penn State as soon as I decipher his handwriting :):):)

Aaaaand here it is....Iowa and Penn State come into Saturday's game both 2-0 in conference play. How good is Penn State? They have won their last four-in-a-row after a horrible start. Then again, how good is Iowa? After writing off the Hawks after their loss to Central Michigan, a game in which the defense played their worst of the season. Since then, the defense has come together and played good football, one of the best three defenses in the Big 10. Penn State's defense is good, but not great. They have given up a lot of passing yards, but are stout against the run. I personally look for James Vandenberg to have one of his best games of the season. It's at home, a night game, and the crowd will be extra ready after tailgating all day. It's tough sledding at Kinnick, but Penn State will come to play.

Iowa will have to stick with the ground game to open up the play action pass. Without Mark Weisman, this will be tough. I feel if we have any success early offensively, look for Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis to dial up a few wrinkles that we have not seen yet. Offensively for Penn State, they will have their strongest test yet against Iowa's defense. They play a more traditional style offense, like Iowa, and will have to pass to win the game asIi see the Iowa defense not giving a lot of running room. I look for Iowa to bring more pressure up front this week as well, even some corner blitzes.

On a side note, turnovers and penalties will be key in this game. Iowa must play a clean game. At the end of the day I will pick the Hawks at home. Let's see if Vegas is right as they pick the Hawks to win. Turnkey Tim's pick Iowa 23 - Penn State 20.

Have a prediction for any college game this weekend?
Just email it to me (Angie) at [email protected] and I'll get 'er posted!

Balsamic Baby Back Ribs ala Nadia G of Bi*chen Kitchen

10/18/2012

cookingchanneltv.com

So this is
Nadia G of
Bi*chen Kitchen on the
Cooking Channel.

I love her!

cookingchanneltv.com

She's on Wednesday nights!

She's an Italian from Canada who learned cooking from her grandmothers.

Her co-stars are the hilarious...
1. Panos the Fish and Meat guy who is sometimes henpecked by his wife.
2. Hans, the Food Correspondent
3. The Spice Agent.

cookingchanneltv.com

Her show is awesome and her recipes are typically spot on!

I made Nadia G's Balsamic Baby Back Ribs.
The sauce looks burnt in this picture. It wasn't.
It was deep and rich and tangy and oniony sweet and
finger licking!!

Now I made these awesome ribs of Chuck Hughes last month, but they were very time-consuming.

But Nadia G's ribs were much quicker,
less prep, and finger lickin' to boot...

Now they didn't have the depth of Chuck Hughe's ribs, but sometimes a girl (Angie) or boy (Tim) just wants super tasty and finger lickin' food on. the. quick.

So here's the line-up for these awesome Balsamic Baby Back Ribs...

Oh, first of all, the recipe calls for maple flakes.

What???
Maple flakes??
What in the world are maple flakes??? Well, I googled, and maple flakes are common in Canada, but here in the rest of the world, the accurate substitute would be Sucanat, found in the baking section.

Okay, start the rub by mixing the parsley, sucanat and brown sugar together...

Now get out your smoked paprika.
Don't have smoked paprika?
Then buy some!!!

There is a HUGE smoky difference!

Add the smoked paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic and oregano together...

Mix up this super fantastic-smelling rub all together now!

See these nice baby back ribs?

Huh?

Do you see them??!!

Well, throw that nice rub on them!!!

Do it now before you eat the rub!!!
I can't wait,
it all smells so good!

And this is what the ribs should look like with the rub all over them...

Wrap the ribs up in aluminum foil and bake in a pan for 1.5 - 2.0 hours....

Meanwhile, let's start the sauce by chopping up the jalapeno or habenero, the garlic and the red onion...

Okay, start the balsamic sauce in the pan with the apple cider vinegar...

Add the ketchup, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar (and I used AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR), (expensive but worth it), and the bourbon/whiskey.

This is the aged balsamic vinegar I use...it's $14 for this bottle and well worth it.

Aged balsamic vinegar can be found at like Hy-Vee and organic stores. Smaller stores like Fareway do not carry it which is ridiculous.

Aged balsamic vinegar is fantastic on salads with olive oil or mixed in with other vinaigrette ingredients.

Now add the onions, jalapeno and garlic...

Okay, everything's together here for the sauce...bring to a simmer for 1.5 - 2 hours.
This smells fantastic by the way.

And after 1 1/2 - 2 hours,

this is what the sweet, sweet sauce should look like.

It's tangy from from the apple cider vinegar and sweet from the onions, the star is the AGED BALSAMIC VINEGAR which brings the color and the depth.

Okay, so when the ribs are ready, take them out of the oven and remove the foil.

MMMMMM
mmmmmmm,

can't ya just smell them...that rub is fantastic!

Now scoop up that nice sweet, tangy sauce.

And cover the ribs...

Broil for a couple minutes until the sauce is caramelized.

So plate 'er up and start chowing down!

And that's it!
Super quick and easy!
Well, as quick as 2 hours in an oven goes by anyway.
Have plenty of napkins ready cuz you is-a-gonna-be licking your fingers, this is a nice sticky sauce that keeps you coming back for more. It's like, the madness must stop and you just have to put the ribs down and finish them for breakfast the next day :)

Here's the recipe....

Nadia G’s Balsamic Baby Back Ribs
From Bitchin Kitchen show on the Cooking Channel, Wednesday nights featuring Nadia G
Courtesy www.turnkeyqualitycars.com

Ingredients
    Rub:
    1/4 cup fresh flat- leaf parsley leaves, minced
    3 tablespoons brown sugar
    2 tablespoons maple flakes
    2 tablespoons smoked paprika
    2 tablespoons kosher salt
    1 tablespoon freshly cracked pepper
    1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 sprig fresh oregano, leaves minced

    Ribs:
    1 rack baby back ribs
    1 teaspoon canola oil

    Balsamic Barbecue Sauce:
    1 cup apple cider vinegar
    3/4 cup ketchup
    1/2 cup maple syrup
    1/2 cup aged balsamic vinegar, minimum 7 years old
    30ml whiskey (1 shot)
    1 habanero chile, minced
    1 clove garlic, minced
    1 red onion, minced

Directions
Cook's Note: Use latex gloves to chop the habanero or wash hands thoroughly with hot soapy water immediately after chopping.

For the rub: To a bowl, add the parsley, brown sugar, maple flakes, smoked paprika, salt, cracked pepper, cayenne pepper, garlic and oregano. Mix well.

For the ribs: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the ribs down on foil, brush with canola oil and massage with the rub. Wrap the foil tightly around the ribs, place in a roasting pan and roast for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Unwrap the ribs and cover with the balsamic barbecue sauce. Broil, uncovered, at 500 degrees F until the sauce is bubbling and caramelized, about 5 minutes.

For the sauce: Heat a pot on medium. Add the apple cider vinegar, ketchup, maple syrup, aged balsamic vinegar, whiskey, habanero, garlic and red onions. Stir and bring to a simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Okay, that's all I have for today, kiddos.

Rainbow this past Sunday morning. Eventually this turned into a double rainbow.

THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. THE THORN IN MY SIDE. THE FLY IN MY CHARDONNAY. THE SABOTOGER TO MY CLEAN EATING! THIS MUST STOP!!!! YEAH, AFTER FOOTBALL SEASON, THIS MUST STOP!!!!

Have a good Thursday evening!!
Talk at ya this weekend!!!
Stay warm!

Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie - Man This Is Rich - A Dish For Christmas Entertaining - So I Made A Sweet Potato /Squash Soup Too

10/16/2012

Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie....I was confused....

Is it a pie? Is it a main dish?
I don't understand, it has pasta in it? Whaaaatttt????

It's a main dish! Albeit a very decadent main dish.

It's very good.

Because it was so rich,
I made up this quick, thrown together
Sweet Potato Squash Soup,
you know, kind of like a healthy side dish to counter the decadence.

So here's the line-up for this scrumptious, decadent Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie that would be wonderful for Special Occasions.

Here's the recipe, the printable recipe is at the end of the post...

Apple Cheddar Penne Pie
from BHG Holiday Recipes magazine 2012

2 tablespoons butter, softened
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
3 teaspoons snipped fresh thyme
12 ounces dried penne pasta (3 1/2 cups)
2 cups chopped, peeled tart cooking apples (3 medium)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion, such as Walla Walla
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup apple cider
6 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut up
1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
Fresh thyme sprigs (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 10-inch springform pan with 1 tablespoon of the softened butter. Sprinkle sides of pan with 1/3 cup of the panko to coat; set aside. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon softened butter. Stir the remaining 1/3 cup panko and 1 teaspoon of the thyme into melted butter; set aside.

2. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than directed by package directions; drain. Return pasta to pan; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan cook apples and onion in the 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Add flour, salt, and pepper to saucepan. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Stir in milk and apple cider. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat to low. Add cheeses and the remaining 2 teaspoons of thyme; stir until cheese melts.

4. Add sauce mixture to pasta; stir to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved panko mixture.

5. Bake, uncovered about 40 minutes or until edges are bubbly. Let stand on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove sides of pan. Using a serated knife, cut pie into eight wedges. If desired, top with fresh thyme sprigs. Makes 8 servings.

So start by cooking and draining the penne, cook it two minutes under al dente.

Then notice that you have a picture showing the melted part of your cheap colander...

Take a better picture,

hiding the melted part of the colander,

so that people don't know you use crappy, cheap stuff from auction in your kitchen.
There. Now that's better.

Do your prepping, chop the apples and dice the onions, cut the cream cheese into small chunks and shred the white cheddar.

You will need a spring form pan for this dish by the way!

Now butter up that spring form pan,

you will need a spring form pan for this recipe if you want it to look fancy.

Sprinkle the sides of the pan with panko.

Melt butter in a pan, add the panko and thyme...

And this is how the crunchy mixture will look.

Now melt more buttah and add the onions and apples in and saute for about 5 minutes...

Add the flour and salt and pepper in...

It should look like this consistency.

Add the whole milk in.
Now I gotta tell ya, one can lighten up this recipe easily by using
1. Whole wheat penne
2. Whole wheat panko crumbs
3. Maybe olive oil instead of butter
4. Skim milk
5. Light cream cheese
6. Lower fat white cheddar

No wonder this dish is so rich, all that butter, whole milk etc...but I must say, this is awful tasty :)

Now add the cider vinegar in and stir....

Now add the cream cheese and white cheddar and thyme...

Rich creamy white sauce....

To be poured over the cooked penne.

Stir gently....

Spread into the spring form pan...

Sprinkle with the panko crumbs...

So your dish is ready to go in the oven.

Bake for 40 minutes.
Remove and let cool on a wire rack....

Take a knife and work your way around the pan.

Gently take off the bottom plate....

Set on a pretty cake plate.

And this is a close-up of the top with that crunchy panko and some apples and penne sticking out.

Yum.

Go ahead and dig out a piece of deliciousness.

Now this is a rich dish,

so I went ahead and made up some quick, quick root vegetable soup to counter the decadence of the dish...

I simply took some sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, apples and squash (crap, forgot to put the butternut squash in the picture)...

I cut the vegetables up in chunks and drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper and the rosemary, then I popped the baking sheet in the oven.

I roasted these for 35-45 minutes.

So this is supposed to be pureed but I was lazy and didn't want to get out the food processor so I used a hand mixer.

Uh no.

Just no.

So I hauled out the food processor and deposited the chunky veggies in there.

OH, add several cups water or broth...I added water.

Yup,

much much better!

All that healthy roasted taste in a bowl...the squash and sweet potatoes meld nicely with the sweetness of the chopped apples and onion with a hint of garlic.

Now these two dishes paired up well. I don't have a recipe for the soup, just throw your root vegetable together with a couple apples, sweet onions, garlic, rosemary and salt and pepper and roast. That's it!

What would pair nicely with this Apple and Cheddar Penne is roasted asparagus too!!!!!!!

Okay guys, that's all I got for today!!

It's a beautiful day in Iowa today, hope everyone is having a good day!

This is a picture of somebody's porch down by Morning Sun.
I was traveling through there last week and spied this casually festive porch and asked the homeowner if I could take a picture of her fall decorating and she kindly obliged.

Okay, have a good day and we'll talk at ya soon!

Good Times and Silly Pictures at the Stillwater Art and Jazz Festival

10/13/2012

We went to an
Art and Jazz Festival
in Stillwater, MN last weekend.

Look!
Cute doggie at festival!

Cute
LITTLE
doggies too!

Tim and I visited Stillwater, Mn for the first time back in May of this year. You can read it about it HERE. This time we wanted to be right on the riverfront.

Location. Location. Location!

We stayed at the
Waterstreet Inn,
which is that brick building there on the right.
The festival was just outside the back door of the Inn, on the banks of the St. Croix River.
Location, location, location.

Because of location, we paid a bit of cash (kaching) ouch for this super loverly Victorian room.

Uh, yeah. Purty. Ain't it?

When choosing location, one can't always be picky but one will usually pay three times more than what they should.

This is where we took our brandy in the evenings.

I have no idea what that means, I just thought it sounded Victorian stuffy.

The bathroom is in an
OLD BANK VAULT though,
that was kind of cool.

Oh hello Tim!
Find any money in there?
Crap, didn't think so.

In all seriousness, this Inn is overpriced, but we would stay here again because of location....walking distance to EVERYTHING, tons of cute shops, top rated restaurants, coffee shops, lots of used bookstores and antique shops. And it WAS clean.
Just, uh, a bit outdated.

We hung out and listened to some good live music throughout the weekend at the festival.

We also saw some pretty cool art.

I wanted to buy this buffalo but it was 20,000 dollars.

So I didn't buy it.

There was urban art...

Beautiful contemporary
glass art....

I picked these colored glass magnets up at the booth above. Shiny. Pretty. Angie can't resistie.

There was cool, mid-century modern wood art...

Lots of photo art booths....

More metal art...
I wanted these fish!

But they were $1900.

Each.

So I didn't get them either.

However I peeked in their booth....

....and I looked a little closer and spied some cool stuff that wasn't $1900.

So I bought one.

What is it you ask?

It's a wine bottle holder.

See,

it holds wine bottles...even empty ones like most of these are.

How cute and practical is this!!!

And the metal was finished with an automotive clear coat!!
That's why it's so shiny.

All this obsession with bright shiny things reminds me of this cute,
well,
I think it's a bracelet.

But I'm using it as a wine bottle decoration.

Boo.

Anyway, back to the festival weekend,

fortunately there were food trucks too....

we were starving after having eaten breakfast a few hours earlier.

Wok on wheels...that name kills me.

Sweet and sour chicken and chicken on a stick wasn't too bad though.

Later on, we checked out some shops downtown before it got too late...

We saw this store with fun yellow confetti looking stuff on the windows and thought we would venture in.

Oh, who loved this shop from the get go???
This was the entry.

The next thing you notice is this cool Halloween display.

And then you look up and see THIS IS A
BIG
SHINY
BRIGHT
STORE!

And they offer soda and coffee and tea and wine.

And cupcakes!!!

Everybody is happy in this store.

Grumpy people not allowed apparently.

Maybe everyone's so happy cuz there's candy in this store.

Everywhere.

Bright, shiny candy!!!

After a bit of bright, shiny
overload,

we stepped out into another shop nearby called Cherry Berry.

Whoa!! Bright, shiny overload in here too!

But I LOVED IT!!

We decided to tone things down a bit and hit a couple different antiques hops.

I don't know what shop this was,

I just loved the entry.

The antique shop nearby was cool though.

Care for a couple of yellow figurines for a hundred something dollars?

No, me neither.

I did like this chandelier though.

And how about this motor oil can?

Love it.

Obviously I really like this cupboard.

I did buy these four champagne flutes for cheap there.

Not vintage, but heavy and etched and
art deco-ish.

I have no idea why I bought this Kerr canning jar.
But it spoke to me.
It said in a sneaky whispered voice, "Pssst. Angie. Yeah, you. Buy me."

Holla if you remember these Halloween treat bags!!!

Maybe I'll fill this $1 tin with candy canes this Christmas.
Or nuts.
Or love.
Or change from the bottom of my purse.

Tim picked up the coolest stuff from this antique shop....a full line of vintage Evel Knievel things.
Including the sky cycle!!!

Evel lived a VERY interesting life.
Ima do a blog post on him soon I think.

Man, I love this small picture.
It's the top to a vintage calender. But I LOVE that aqua frame.
LOVE!

Well, after a fun day of doing fun stuff, we went to a fun place and ate fun things but I will spare you food pictures this time. I'm certain ya'll are about ready to doze off from all these totally thrilling pictures...

....such as this heart stopping picture of a coffee shop we visited the next morning...

But it was very cute and lively....

And it had the
Best
Chair Ever!

Love it!

Before we left town,

we spur-of-the moment stopped at this Isaac Staples Mill.

We didn't know what it was.

We saw this non-descript sign and door that said "Antiques" and "Open" so we walked in.

And the heavens opened up and the angels started singing....

There were stairs and floors and booths and lots and lots of antiques!

After meandering through the first floor, we took these stairs to the second floor.

And then we took this ramp to the 3rd floor....

...where this barber chair greeted visitors...
come to think of it, maybe this is a shoe shine chair? Hmmm, anybody know?

...and more stuff.

The original wood floors were awesome.

Creak
Creak
Creak

The whole time. Creak.

There were landings....

...and stairs that went down to them.

See this bike on the wall?

Does it
or does it not

look like the bicycle from the Wizard of Oz?

Huh. Am I right?

Huh, huh?Am I right?

Personally,
I prefer this biercycle from the festival.

Much less scarier.

Quite honestly, after seeing the Wizard of Oz bicycle, we figured it was time to head on out, back to Frytown.
We didn't have any bicycles to fly, so we just drove back in our car :)

Okay, thanks for humoring me by reading this guys!!!!
Hope everyone's had a good weekend!
Have a great rest of the weekend and we'll talk to ya soon!!!

College Football Game Day Week 7 2012

10/12/2012

College Football
Game Day Predictions

Week 7 2012

And as always, let's start with Bill from
Bill's Big 10 Corner
and see what his thoughts are for this week's games...

Getting better vs the spread, last week (3-2), will try to again improve this week (pointspreads in parenthesis):

Iowa at Michigan St (-10) – Let’s go with Mich St to cover as Iowa struggles in their first Big 10 road game.

NW (-3) at Minnesota – NW bounces back with a road win.

Wisconsin (PK) at Purdue – Wisconsin to win.

Illinois at Michigan (-23) – Michigan beat Purdue by 31 last week, only the weather will prevent them from doing the same vs the Illini.

Ohio St (-17) at Indiana – Ohio St runs record to (7-0) with a big win vs Indiana.

Looking ahead next week ………… Michigan St at Michigan

Okay Ace , what's going on with MINNESOTA this week....

I hate Northwestern from a betting standpoint. they are the most unpredictable team ever. When you bet on them to cover they get blasted and when you bet on them to lose well they usually cover. So I'm takin the Gophers at home to win and cover, and they are actually favored to win by 5? The times they are a changin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moving on to the Big 12, BEVO jr, what ya got for this week's TEXAS game....

OU SUX! This is the week of the Red River Shootout; the Texas vs Oklahoma game played at The Cotton Bowl in Dallas on Saturday. The Cotton Bowl is on the state fairgrounds in Big ‘D’ and this is State Fair Week, so it’s always Xtra Crazy @ the Big 12’s fiercest rivalry. Some women and children leave crying after this game – some leave feeling ecstatic. If OU loses even the men cry. Both the Longhorns and Sooners have 1 loss apiece already, so it’ll be a dogfight. Horns have to tighten up the “D” a little more and get after Landry Jones hard to win the shootout!!!Horns 42 -OU 35(boo hoo).
OU SUX!

HOOK ‘EM HORNS!

Back to the Big 10, Turnkey Tim has finally checked in!!!! on the IOWA Hawkeyes!!!

Big game tomorrow. Iowa Hawkeys vs. Michigan State Spartans. I spent this past week on a daily basis checking in with the guys young and old at Hosty's about what they think will happen this week in the ball game. They don't have to ask me what ball game, they know what I'm talking about. The answers are all the same. I could have used a tape recorder for this simple message....I don't know, it's gonna be a tough one. It's gonna be a tough one and Vandy struggles on the road. Check out exhibit J...yes not exhibit A but exhibit J as in Juggernaut. As in Mark Weisman. What happens when you cage up a bull all week, let him loose and he runs wild. Mrkr Weisman's been under wraps for two weeks. You combine that with some wrinkles that offensive coordinator Greg Davis has dialed up for this week and that equals a Hawkeye victory. Yes, the Hawks will beat Michigan State in East Lansing. Final score Iowa 20 - Michigan State 13.

More predictions will be posted if they come in :):):)
Got a prediction on your team, any conference?
Just submit your thoughts to me (Angie) at [email protected].
I'll post 'em as I get them!!!

<<Previous

Two Things I Know For sure And One Of Them Is That You Will Want To Make This Super Easy Breakfast Casserole Cause It's SUPER EASY!

College Football Game Day Week 9 2012

Our Most Favoritist First Birthday Ever, Scanty Fallish Decorating, And A Quick Trip To Amana

Really, Are We Gonna Go Through This Torture Again...Pumpkin-Banana Bread

Jazz And A Bacon And Baked Potato Soup

Week 8 2012 Football Game Day Predictions

Balsamic Baby Back Ribs ala Nadia G of Bi*chen Kitchen

Apple and Cheddar Penne Pie - Man This Is Rich - A Dish For Christmas Entertaining - So I Made A Sweet Potato /Squash Soup Too

Good Times and Silly Pictures at the Stillwater Art and Jazz Festival

College Football Game Day Week 7 2012

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