Sunday afternoon, I left for my flight to Denver. I was visiting a customer in Golden, CO. What a beautiful city! The scenery was just unreal. Totally different than Pittsburgh, that's for sure! The customer visit went very well. I'm starting to get the hang of things.
I flew back on Wednesday night. I didn't get home until 1:30am. I ended up taking yesterday off since I had been traveling for the past 2 weeks. I slept until 11am the next morning. That felt good! It was great to finally be home and see Justin and the doggies!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Work Travel
So I finally got my passport in for me to be able to travel to Canada for work. I had to get my name changed on it. I had stupidly waiting almost 2 years before doing it. It would have been free if I had done it within 1 year of getting married. I had 4 flights in 3 days. Not fun!
I got back late on Friday night. The next morning, we woke up early to head to Cooks Forrest for the weekend. Every year around this time, my Mom's side of the family goes "camping". (It's not really camping because we stay in a cabin but for my family, this is their version of camping!)
This trip is in rememberance of my grandfather who passed away from Cancer. This was a very hard time in my life. He was the first person who was very close to me to die. Justin had also lost both of his grandparents at the same time. What made it even harder was that we were living in Virginia at the time. It was so hard to hear my Mom talk about my Pap over the phone. She would cry for hours. It was so hard knowing that I couldn't be there for her. I still remember the day that she called to say that he finally passed.
Every year, around the time of his death, we do things that he would have liked to do. We sit around a fire and tell stories about him and talk about all the crazy things he used to say. It's a great way to remember him.
I got back late on Friday night. The next morning, we woke up early to head to Cooks Forrest for the weekend. Every year around this time, my Mom's side of the family goes "camping". (It's not really camping because we stay in a cabin but for my family, this is their version of camping!)
This trip is in rememberance of my grandfather who passed away from Cancer. This was a very hard time in my life. He was the first person who was very close to me to die. Justin had also lost both of his grandparents at the same time. What made it even harder was that we were living in Virginia at the time. It was so hard to hear my Mom talk about my Pap over the phone. She would cry for hours. It was so hard knowing that I couldn't be there for her. I still remember the day that she called to say that he finally passed.
Every year, around the time of his death, we do things that he would have liked to do. We sit around a fire and tell stories about him and talk about all the crazy things he used to say. It's a great way to remember him.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Our Nephew Jacob!!!!!!!
Jay (Justin's Brother) and Julie (Jay's girlfriend) had their first baby on August 24th, 2008. It's our first nephew! He is so cute! Justin is a little weary of holding him still. We haven't been around too many newborns. I think he will come around once he gets a little bigger though! Here's some pictures I took while visiting them at the hospital.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Buffalo Chicken Dip
This is another dip that is pretty popular with our family. Again, it's very easy to make and very good!
Buffalo Chicken Dip
INGREDIENTS:
2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Combine chicken, cream cheese, ranch and hot sauce in a bowl. Mix well. Transfer to oven safe dish. Cover with cheese and bake until cheese is melted.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
INGREDIENTS:
2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks® Red Hot®
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
DIRECTIONS:
Combine chicken, cream cheese, ranch and hot sauce in a bowl. Mix well. Transfer to oven safe dish. Cover with cheese and bake until cheese is melted.
Chili Dip
This dip is a staple in our family. Everytime we have a get together, this dip is there! You just cant help but eat it. It's so simple, but oh so good!
1 can of Hormel chili (we use beanless)
1 package of cream cheese
tons of cheddar cheese
Spread cream cheese in the bottom on pan or dish. Dump chili on top. Cover with cheddar cheese. Bake in the oven until cheese is melted. Eat with tortilla chips.
It doesn't get any easier than this people!
1 can of Hormel chili (we use beanless)
1 package of cream cheese
tons of cheddar cheese
Spread cream cheese in the bottom on pan or dish. Dump chili on top. Cover with cheddar cheese. Bake in the oven until cheese is melted. Eat with tortilla chips.
It doesn't get any easier than this people!
Pizza Casserole
Pizza Casserole
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 jar tomato sauce
Package of Pepperoni
Pam Spray
10 oz can of refrigerated pizza dough
6 oz part skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven 425 degrees. In a nonstick skilled over med-high cook onion and garlic until softened. Add meat. Brown. Drain if necessary.
Add tomato sauce to meat and heat throughout. (you will want your meat mixture more on the dry side than the saucy side)
While the meat cooks, coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with PAM cooking Spray. Unroll pizza dough and press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Pre-bake in oven for 5 minutes.
Remove crust from oven. Add a layer of cheese, then a layer of the meat mixture, then top with a layer of cheese and pepperoni. Bake- uncovered- at 425 for 12 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool for 5 minutes.
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/2 chopped onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1 jar tomato sauce
Package of Pepperoni
Pam Spray
10 oz can of refrigerated pizza dough
6 oz part skim mozzarella cheese
Preheat oven 425 degrees. In a nonstick skilled over med-high cook onion and garlic until softened. Add meat. Brown. Drain if necessary.
Add tomato sauce to meat and heat throughout. (you will want your meat mixture more on the dry side than the saucy side)
While the meat cooks, coat a 13 x 9 baking dish with PAM cooking Spray. Unroll pizza dough and press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Pre-bake in oven for 5 minutes.
Remove crust from oven. Add a layer of cheese, then a layer of the meat mixture, then top with a layer of cheese and pepperoni. Bake- uncovered- at 425 for 12 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool for 5 minutes.
Chicken Stuffed Shells
Justin's brother, Jason, and his girlfriend, Julie, just had their first baby on August 24th (Welcome to the world Jacob!!!). I decided that I would make a few dishes for them that they could freeze and have a quick and easy meal when they needed it.
I made them Baked Ziti and Chicken Stuffed Shells (recipe below).
CHICKEN STUFFED SHELLS
1/2 to 1 box jumbo shells
2 Cans of shredded chicken
1 pkg. Stove top stuffing
1 c. mayonnaise
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Cook shells according to directions on box. Cook stuffing as directions call. Mix chicken, stuffing and mayonnaise. Stuff shells. Combine soups with 1/2 can water. Cover shells with soup in casserole dish with lid. Bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees.
I made them Baked Ziti and Chicken Stuffed Shells (recipe below).
CHICKEN STUFFED SHELLS
1/2 to 1 box jumbo shells
2 Cans of shredded chicken
1 pkg. Stove top stuffing
1 c. mayonnaise
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Cook shells according to directions on box. Cook stuffing as directions call. Mix chicken, stuffing and mayonnaise. Stuff shells. Combine soups with 1/2 can water. Cover shells with soup in casserole dish with lid. Bake about 1 hour at 350 degrees.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
I love making Chocolate Chip Cookies. Mainly, it's because I like to eat the raw cookie dough and I love to see someone biting into one and saying "OMG this is really good!".
I have always used a stand by recipe that I got from my Home Ec. class when I was in middle school (Thanks Miss Webb, lol!). I am open to trying new ones though. I like my Chocolate Chip Cookies to be soft and chewy. I hate it when they are hard!
I have always used a stand by recipe that I got from my Home Ec. class when I was in middle school (Thanks Miss Webb, lol!). I am open to trying new ones though. I like my Chocolate Chip Cookies to be soft and chewy. I hate it when they are hard!
Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 Cups Flour
1 Tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tsp. Salt
1 Cup (2 sticks) unsalted Butter ( I only used 1 stick of butter and added 1/2 cup of Butter Flavored Crisco)
3/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
1 Tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs
1 12 oz. Package Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 375˚. Melt butter in microwave. Let cool completely (I like to just put the bowl of butter in the freezer for about 5 minutes). While butter is cooling, combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl (set aside). Beat (melted, cooled) butter, sugar, brown sugar & vanilla in a larger bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Gradually add flour mixture in increments. Stir in chocolate chips. Add more flour until not tacky. You want to be able to roll the dough in your hands without it sticking much. Roll the dough in your hands and drop on an air bake cookie sheet. Bake at 375˚ for 9-11 minutes. Be careful not to overcook! These are not supposed to be a dark brown, but a light color when they come out of the oven. Enjoy!!
Our 2nd Anniversary!
Sept. 2nd was our 2nd Anniversary. It's crazy how fast time has passed. I guess it's all down hill from here! Justin and I decided to go away to Peak N Peek in New York for the weekend. We golfed and had a really nice dinner. We really enjoyed it.
Last year, we decided that we would not buy each other presents but buy a present together. Something that we would have for a really long time and be able to say "Oh yeah, we bought that for our 1st Anniversary". We ended up buying a painting (since 1st Anniverary is paper). It's a Pittburgh Steelers painting that has 3 little lab puppies on it. It's really cute. It's hanging in our office.
This year, since the 2nd Anniversary is cotton, we decided to buy a new chair for our family room. Justin has always wanted a comfy oversized chair.
This year, since the 2nd Anniversary is cotton, we decided to buy a new chair for our family room. Justin has always wanted a comfy oversized chair.
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