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Holy Moly Stromboli! (Giveaway Post)

Last week, I decided that it was a great time to start exploring all the fun gadgets and small appliances that Adam and I were lucky enough to receive for our wedding. I coined it “gadget week” and started with the mandoline, then the rice cooker, the fancy schmancy blender, the immersion blender, and tonight…the piece de recistance: The Kitchen Aid stand mixer. We registered for the standard enamel 5 qt. stand mixer with the top that lifts up to allow access to the bowl and paddle. Much to my surprise, my mom was generous enough to get us the KitchenAid Professional 5 qt. deluxe super duper mixer with the lever that raises the bowl to the paddle. Just look how pretty it is:

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I never in a million years thought we’d get the smaller mixer we’d registered for, let alone this one… so mom, again, THANK YOU!

I went a little mixer-crazy yesterday and today in preparation for this post, and you’ll see partially why when you get to the dessert at the bottom of this post, but trust me, you’ll want to see dinner too. One of the cool things about KitchenAid mixers is their ability to make dough. Now, I’ll probably still use the old school method for making challah, but the dough hook made tonight’s dinner that much easier.

Stromboli are kind of like calzones, but also kind of like a thin-crust pizza rolled up into an Italian-style burrito. I made this wonderful whole wheat pizza dough from AllRecipes.com, except I did the kneading in the KitchenAid. It was so much easier!

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
  • 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Sprinkle yeast over the top, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
  2. Stir the olive oil and salt into the yeast mixture, then mix in the whole wheat flour and 1 cup of the all-purpose flour until dough starts to come together. Tip dough out onto a surface floured with the remaining all-purpose flour, and knead until all of the flour has been absorbed, and the ball of dough becomes smooth, about 10 minutes. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn to coat the surface. Cover loosely with a towel, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  3. When the dough is doubled, tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide into 2 pieces for 2 thin crust, or leave whole to make one thick crust. Form into a tight ball. Let rise for about 45 minutes, until doubled.
  4. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Roll a ball of dough with a rolling pin until it will not stretch any further. Then, drape it over both of your fists, and gently pull the edges outward, while rotating the crust. When the circle has reached the desired size, place on a well oiled pizza pan. Top pizza with your favorite toppings, such as sauce, cheese, meats, or vegetables.
  5. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes (depending on thickness) in the preheated oven, until the crust is crisp and golden at the edges, and cheese is melted on the top.

Then, after I allowed it to do all its rising, Adam and I rolled them out and put our choice of toppings inside. I chose Canadian bacon, mozzarella, red peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. Adam chose the same but left out the “fungus and peppers” as he called it. They got rolled up, sealed, and scored on the top and baked at 425* until they were done on the outside. They looked fairly boring at first (Adam’s on the left, mine on the right):

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But upon slicing into them, we found some spiraled treasure:

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We topped them with some pizza sauce and dug in. They were delicious! It was like eating pizza with significantly more toppings and less cheese, and the dough was nutty and delicious!

Now, on to the dessert I made yesterday. There was something special about it… it had ingredients in it that I wouldn’t have normally bought: almond flour, organic cocoa, and sunflower seed butter. Why did I have these ingredients? Well, the lovely people at iHerb.com offered me a $50 shopping spree to test out their website and sample some of their products and I happily obliged! I got an opportunity to sample some things that I haven’t tried before due to cost or availability, and their website is fantastic. Some things I knew I wanted to try, so I just typed them into the search interface. Some things though, I found through a category search, or an alphabetical search. They have over 18,000 natural products, so it was a bit overwhelming! I ended up with:
  • 1 case PB&J Larabars
  • agave nectar
  • organic cocoa powder
  • Bob’s Red Mill almond flour
  • Bob’s Red Mill high fiber oat bran
  • SunButter

I had something in mind when I picked these items, besides the fact that I wanted to taste them. I wanted to use this (from Adam’s mom):

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to make some brownies! I found a recipe to adapt, and ended up with this result:

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The recipe for SunButter Cocoa Brownies:
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup oil
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/3 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 2/3 c. all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c. almond flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 2 heaping Tbsp. SunButter
  • 1/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Beat eggs until slightly frothy, then add oil and mix well. Add sugar and cocoa and mix well, then add flours. Once the batter has come together, add milk and SunButter and mix well. Pour into pan and bake 22-26 minutes. Enjoy!

These were great, and it was so much fun trying out new ingredients! Do you want to try new ingredients from iHerb.com? This is your chance! For the low low cost of a comment below, you can be entered to win your very own $50 shopping spree from iHerb.com! To get extra entries, you can:
  1. Post about the contest on your blog and link back to this post. (http://www.imadedinner.net/2010/01/24/holy-moly-stromboli-giveaway-post) Then, leave another comment telling me you’ve done so.
  2. Tweet about this contest by saying “I want to go shopping @iherb with @imadedinner! http://tinyurl.com/iherb” then leave me another comment telling me you’ve done so.
  3. Visit iHerb.com and tell me the ONE item you’re dying to try! Then (you guessed it) leave another comment to let me know you’ve done so.

Only comments will be counted as entries, so if you just comment, that’s one entry. You will need to comment that you’ve posted, tweeted, or visited as well. Good luck! Winner will be announced next Sunday, January 31! You may have noticed that it looks a little different around here… what do you think? Can you read the posts ok? Let me know if you’re having trouble…

Have a great Sunday night, and a pleasant Monday!

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On A Pedestal

Last night, Adam and I decided that it was time for an old-school “dinner and a movie” date night. Well, it ended up being “movie and dinner” as we went to the movies first.

Since we were away right after Avatar came out, we finally got on the bandwagon and contributed to its billions-of-dollars success. We saw it in Real 3D which was truly remarkable. I felt like we were there, and I actually found myself swatting away a bug that I thought was in front of me…and it was on the screen. I really loved what a beautiful movie it was, and the story wasn’t bad either! I’d highly recommend it!

By the time the movie ended, it was after 9 p.m. and my after-school snack had long since worn off, and I was super hungry! There is a new restaurant near the movie theater that I had read about on Biggest Diabetic Loser over a month ago when Biz got to visit the restaurant pre-opening. Any place that has pizza and great burgers is good with me, so Adam and I decided to try The Lucky Monk.

We walked in and I was quite impressed with the decor. It was cozy without being stuffy and trendy without being obnoxious.

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We perused the menu, and while The Lucky Monk is a brewery in addition to a restaurant, we declined to get beer. I’m not a huge beer fan, and Adam wasn’t in the mood for alcohol. Adam quickly decided on a 12″ New York Style four-cheese pizza, and I went with a burger. I really appreciated that the burgers came in two sizes: a “normal” 6 oz. burger and a HUGE 9 oz. one. I wanted to feel OK about indulging in some fries, so I went with a 6 oz. “Farmhouse” burger.

Since it’s a new restaurant, the service doesn’t quite “have their stuff together” yet. It took a while to get drink refills, and our server barely checked back, but once the food arrived, I didn’t care!

Adam’s pizza was crispy, chewy, cheesy and delicious:

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And my burger, a 6 oz. griddled patty with lettuce, tomato, red onion, dill pickle, Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, and 2 slices of applewood smoked Duroc bacon was so fantastic it deserved to be put on a pedestal. As a matter of fact, the burger was on a pedestal! It gave me somewhere to set it down between bites and still be able to pick it up. The hand-cut french fries were actually well-done and crispy.

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Before dinner, we decided to forgo an appetizer in favor of a dessert that had grabbed our attention: skillet s’mores. Just look at this:

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This, I believe, puts Fitnessista’s favorite Pizookie to shame! It was a small cast-iron skillet stacked with layers of graham crackers, semi-sweet chocolate, mini marshmallows, and a small amount of caramel on top. It was then broiled so the marshmallows got crunchy, the chocolate melted, and everything soaked into the grahams. I can see myself dragging Adam here for dessert and coffee in the future!

I truly enjoyed our dinner at The Lucky Monk, and I love that it’s a mere 5 minutes from our house! There are quite a few other menu items I’m looking forward to trying.

Don’t forget to enter the Souper You soup and jumprope giveaway by tomorrow!


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Wedding Week Recap!

I know, I’ve been gone for a while… getting back to reality after the crazy and amazing week I had last week has been a little difficult, and that includes blogging. But I’m back, and ready with a week-long recap for you! Are you sitting down? Get comfortable, this is going to be a long one, and it may take some time to load, as it’s very photo-heavy…but worth it!

Monday, November 23

I worked a normal school day full of meetings and inservices, and got home to find my dad sitting on our couch! I hadn’t seen my dad since our engagement party in January, and I was so excited to see him! We sat and talked for a while, then headed out for dinner. We went to Sushi Station for a light dinner, and then to Yogen Früz since he’d never had it (with living in Oregon and all). Then, we went to Macy’s to find a tie for him for the wedding, and went our separate ways after that, at least for that day. I had a busy few days ahead of me!

Tuesday, November 24

At about 10 a.m. I left for my mom’s house. Why you might ask? Well, when my mom and dad got married, my mom and her mom spent a day baking a challah for their wedding. I wanted to do the same thing! My sister came over as well, and we got to work. After mixing and kneading the dough, letting it rise an hour, then punching it down and rising again, it was time to braid. In the end we came out with one HUGE challah, two smaller ones, and three mini ones:

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Wednesday, November 25
It was a hair day! I met my mom at our favorite hair place for highlights, an eyebrow wax (desperately needed) and a professional blow-dry. The result was fantastic, but of course, I forgot to take a picture! I then spent the remainder of the afternoon dodging “Blackout Wednesday” traffic to get our centerpieces and other supplies to our wedding venue, then picking up Lizz’s bridesmaid’s dress from the tailor. We had sandwiches from Boloney’s for dinner, and I believe I was asleep by 10 p.m.

Thursday, November 26
Thanksgiving day! I debated not being a food blogger and just enjoying the day, but I realized that, down the line, I’d be bummed if I didn’t document the meal. My mom’s best friend put out an amazing spread as usual, and no one was left with an empty stomach. Just a sampling of the eats:

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Friday, November 27
Rehearsal day! Adam had to work Black Friday morning at his part-time job, so I spent the morning getting last minute things together and packing my bag for two nights. When he got home, we went for lunch, and then drove down to our wedding venue for a quick rehearsal with everyone involved. The guys left after that, and the girls went to get manicures and pedicures.

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Afterwards, we drove like crazy people to the rehearsal dinner at Gino’s East Pizzeria for some Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, salad, and pasta. At that point, I said bye to Adam until the wedding! We still talked later in the night, but it was odd not seeing each other.

Saturday, November 28
Wedding day!!! I’ll let the pictures tell the story… it was truly the happiest and best day of my life so far.

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We spent the night dancing, celebrating, and well, it was the best wedding EVER! I’m beyond thrilled with how well it all went, and even MORE thrilled to be married to my amazing HUSBAND (I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of saying that!) We were beyond exhausted by the time the night was over, and made a rather surprising decision for:

Sunday, November 29
Rather than staying in a hotel for Sunday night, Adam and I opted to go home and sleep in our own bed. We had some friends in from out of town we wanted to see before they left, and the measly 4 hours of sleep Saturday night just weren’t cutting it! We both took long naps after brunch, and decided to spend our “hotel money” on a great dinner out to celebrate. We went to Shaw’s Crab House near our house for a fantastic meal.
(I know what you’re thinking…enough with the wedding stuff and get onto some food!)

We started with a spicy crab california roll:

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And shared a cup of the amazingly creamy clam chowder:


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We decided to really splurge and get what we REALLY wanted, so I got King crab legs, the best I’ve ever had:

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Adam (the HUSBAND! Notice his ring?!?!) got these Nantucket scallops with spinach:

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Rather than getting dessert at the restaurant, we opted instead to have dessert at home. On Saturday, we didn’t get ONE piece of our wedding cake! Well, we each got a tiny bite when we cut it, but that was IT! So what did we do? We had slices of our top tier! Instead of saving it for a full year, we had one piece Sunday, we’ll have another Saturday (to celebrate one week married) another at one month after the honeymoon, another at 6 months, and the rest at a year.
This cake was alternating chocolate and red velvet with milk chocolate buttercream and white icing:

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(Are you still here?)

Thank you for reading the recap of the BEST week of my life… here’s to a hundred more years! Adam, I love you more than anything!

Speaking of honeymoons: We leave for our honeymoon December 19, and obviously, I’ll need guest posters! Send me an email if you’re interested!

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Cafeteria Inspired

How often is anyone actually inspired to cook something based on a lunch served by a middle school cafeteria? Honestly? Not often, I don’t think. Unless you’re me.

See, two days ago when I went to the cafeteria to pick up my big salad, I noticed some of the students eating something delicious. It was doughy, full of sauce, cheese, and pepperoni, and smelled divine. Our cafeteria cook had made calzones for lunch, and they looked fantastic! Of course, this got stuck in my brain, and all I could think about were calzones.

Tonight was the night! I broke out Biz’s 5 minute pizza dough recipe, bought reduced fat mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni, and some local pizza sauce, and threw together that which I’d been thinking about for days… and it was glorious:


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Craving satisfied.

I finally found low-fat pumpkin ice cream, and indulged in a bit of that while watching my favorite Thursday TV and trying to relax… is tomorrow FINALLY Friday? Really? YES!!!

Have a great one all, and don’t forget to enter my Blogiversary Giveaway! I’m adding some local coffee and Oskri sesame bars to the box!



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Simply Fantastic Pizza

Today, I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to cook. None. Zero. I knew what I have to cook for our staff potluck tomorrow, but I didn’t know about tonight’s dinner. What did I do? I used a bit of my after-school plan time to surf my favorite food blogs…and then it hit me!

Jennifer at Slim-Shoppin‘ had posted her sister Biz’s super fast, no rise pizza dough. THEN I remembered that I had a jar of Biz’s amazing tomato sauce that she gave me at our potluck on Sunday. And THEN I also remembered that I had Italian sausage from Christina! There was my answer… homemade pizza!

I picked up the ingredients at the grocery store, and came home excited to cook. I mixed up the easy recipe:

2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix together. Roll out and top!

When I saw Biz on Sunday, she pre-baked her crust so it got a bit crispier, and that’s what I did tonight. After baking at 375* for about 15 minutes, I topped each mini crust with some of the sauce, some sliced cooked sausage, and low fat mozzarella cheese. Then mine got an additional topping of roasted red peppers and Chavrie. I baked it an additional 15 minutes.

What came out was nothing short of glorious:


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That sausage, Christina, yet again was beyond fantastic. Seriously, I was sad when it was gone! This super-thin mini pizza was very satisfying, and Adam and I decided that next time, I should use whole wheat flour.

Tonight is a HUGE TV NIGHT!!! While I watch Grey’s Anatomy from 7-9, I’m going to be helping my friend Jenny set up her new blog… trust me when I say it’s going to be FABULOUS! She’s one of the best writers I know!

I almost forgot!! I need to announce the winner of the Jewish Boot Camp Cookbook from PopJudaica.com!
There were 49 entries to the contest, and using the Random Integer Generator, I came out with…
#24!!! Hallie from Healthy Twists!!!!! Congratulations my fellow MOT!

Have a great night, and happy ALMOST FRIDAY!!

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…And I’m Spent

Oh yeah, totally boring post ahead. And no post tomorrow as I leave for camp at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning, and won’t be home from the camp overnighter until 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Tonight I was feeling lazy, and when Adam suggested pizza, I jumped on the opportunity. We got one of our favorites from a local place: thin crust with sausage, and sweet peppers on half. I had 3 slices like this:


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It was SO GOOD!

About 2 months ago, I was reading the Iowa Girl Eats blog and saw these adorable cookies she’d made. They were duckies. I thought “my camp group’s name is the duckies, how cool would it be to get those cookies for them?!” I emailed Kristin, and we figured out how many cookies I’d need and when I’d need them…and they arrived today! They are the CUTEST (and most delicious) cookies I’ve had in a LONG time!!! My campers will LOVE them! Thanks Kristin!

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I think I’m just about done. I’m exhausted and have some bags to pack for tomorrow!! I haven’t packed for an overnighter since, well, last years’… Luckily someone is loaning me a sleeping bag, and I’m bringing the tent for the counselors. I’ll have a S’More for all of you tomorrow!!

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Splash Landing

I was a BIG winner at camp today! We had two counselor contests, and while I always participate, I rarely win. Today, however, was my lucky day! I won first place in the splashdown contest after this jump off the 10 foot high-dive:

I can't believe I just posted this picture...

I can't believe I just posted this picture...

And then my group won for “most creative” for our “TP Your Counselor” contest for making me this beautiful wedding dress!

Maybe I should trade for this one?

Maybe I should trade for this one?

It was great for my girls, because while I just got bragging rights, they got to get 2 treats from our “treasure chest”! When I got home from this productive day, Adam and I set about making pizza to put on the grill. The final product was good, but the process? Kind of a joke!

Now, when I was about 16, my good friend Mary and I started a tradition of making grilled pizzas as soon as it was nice out. She’d make the dough, and as vegetables in our respective moms’ gardens grew, they would become the toppings. We’d always use olives and feta cheese too. Mary’s house was the first place I remember having kitchen disasters, but also some of my best cooking memories were there with her. She larned to cook much the same way I did: with her mom.

What I forgot today, though, was that Mary and I would put the naked crusts on the grill, THEN top them once they were partially cooked. What did I do today (despite Adam-who’s-worked-at-two-pizza-places’ advice)? Definitely topped the pizza dough then tried to get it on the grill. It didn’t happen. I ended up putting the (not greased enough) cookie sheet on the grill and cooked it that way. It came out delicious (though hard to get off the pan!), and was topped with:

  • pizza sauce
  • low-fat mozzarella
  • fresh spinach
  • black olives
  • fresh tomatoes
  • fat free tomato basil feta cheese
  • drizzle of olive oil

It was easy and fantastic, and something I’ll be trying again soon, in the correct procedure order. Oh, and did I mention it was GORGEOUS?!

It was "just" frozen crust. Next time: homemade!

It was "just" frozen crust. Next time: homemade!

After dinner, I decided to finally use up the frozen bananas I have had in the freezer for a week to make Gena’s infamous raw banana soft serve.  First step: scrub out the food processor. Next step: pulse frozen bananas til creamy. Then: eat!

I topped it with the last of my almond butter packets:

delicioso!

delicioso!

I do agree with both Jenn and Heather that it is absolutely a delicious treat! My only gripe is that it needed to be 2 bananas to be anything substantial. Oh well, it was fantastic! Thanks Gena!

In other exciting news, one of my photos was accepted on Photograzing! See it here! I hope its not the last…

OH! And the girls saw Steve today… he says “bbbrrrrtbbttttt”. He also has a new friend whose name I can’t remember. It was something like Klooby or something similar.

Since it’s the exact middle of the summer (well, as of noon tomorrow), all this work is catching up with me… I’m off to bed THIS early! Happy almost hump day!

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Never Underestimate…

My sister has this saying: “Never underestimate the power of stupid people around free food.” Or something like that. Something that equates People + Free food = Dumb behavior. Oh boy, did I fall in this category today.

Let me rewind (squealing tape rewinding noise here) Today was a super long day. Got to work at 7:15 a.m. as usual, did some classroom decluttering, and taught my first two classes (which, by the way, involved Lilo and Stitch in Spanish!) I supervised some of 8th grade graduation rehearsal, taught my next two classes (involving a fish called Nemo), then the fun began.

I’m co-sponsoring the annual talent show at my school this year, and our full run through was today. It was supposed to end at 4 p.m. and I actually left the buiding at 5 p.m! Normally, staying late isn’t an issue since I go straight home (ok, or to the grocery store then home) but today? Oh no, not today. Today I had to drive almost 40 miles to the day care center that sponsors my day camp for CPR training. If I’d left at 4 as planned, I could’ve stopped for a salad with my friend beforehand, then gone to training satisfied, and avoided the inevitable free food. Since I was running late, something else happened.

Something ugly.

I was screaming at every person who cut me off (who was EVERYONE ON THE ROAD), cursing every red light (seriously, all of them!) and flicking off the crazy people (4 or 5 of them!) who almost RAN INTO MY CAR on the way there… and was seriously miffed by the time I pulled into the day care center. Don’t worry, no children were harmed. I walked into the office where the training was being held, and there was pizza. Not just any pizza… this was fresh, gooey, thick-crusted beautiful pizza from the small pizza bakery down the street. This was pizza like I hadn’t had since…well, last summer. So, in order for me to not seriously harm someone, this happened:

That's one cheese and one sausage, about 2" squares

That's one cheese and one sausage, about 2" squares

And then it happened again. And again. 6 squares of pizza later, my plan of a crack wrap and broccoli for a late dinner were gone. At least I didn’t indulge in the regular Coke that was there too! I now officially feel like I have a brick in my stomach. A cheesy, bready, delicious brick…but a brick nonetheless. Note to self: no more unplanned pizza!

In other news, I’m now American Heart Association certified for CPR and AED operation! The talent show is tomorrow, and my mom and stepdad are coming, and I’m excited to show off my students and my school!

…And I’m spent…

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My 100th Post Giveaway!

Ok, it’s really my 102nd, but who’s counting??

You’ve seen over the last 3 months (Has it really been that long?) that I have a HUGE obsession with all things sushi. My fiance and I go for sushi as often as we can afford, heck, we even got engaged over sushi! I’ll even go to the grocery store and get sushi for breakfast sometimes! I love the detail that goes into making sushi, and all the thought that goes into the flavors in the different rolls we get. I love the ritual of making it, the skill… ok, and the cute little table things that the sushi comes served on, the chopsticks, the tiny little dishes that the soy sauce goes into… get it? I freaking love sushi.

I also love my other random hobby (besides cooking and blogging), crocheting. I love zoning out with a hook and some yarn and just going nuts. Heck, I even crocheted a hat for my Secret Cupid! I decided a while back (just ask Beadie) that for my first giveaway, I would somehow combine my two hobbies.

What?? Crocheting and SUSHI?!

So I decided to make this scarf for you all to attempt to win (rules below).

100% handmade!

100% handmade!

It’s a nice long scarf, perfect for the coldest of days, or for those of you in warmer climates, I know you like to ski, or visit colder climates occasionally, so you’ll still want to enter.

BUT WAIT!

This scarf has a secret. When it’s rolled up, it successfully combines 2 of my favorite things:

IT'S SUSHI!!!

IT'S SUSHI!!!

It’s fat-free, salt-free, wheat-free, rice-free, gluten-free, vegan-friendly, completely and utterly wearable SUSHI! And the best part my lovelies? I made it. I can’t make edible sushi to save my life, but I can certainly make wearable sushi!

You want this scarf? Just leave a comment below!! If you have a blog and want to link back to this post, you can, but it’s not a requirement.

I’ll use random.org to pick a random number on Saturday, February 14! As much as I love my Canadian and other international readers, I’m a teacher and can’t afford the shipping to countries other than the U.S, so this is open to U.S. readers only.

Oh, and by the way, we had pizza for dinner.

Thin crust with mushrooms, green peppers, and sausage. YUM!

Thin crust with mushrooms, green peppers, and sausage. YUM!

Don’t forget to get those BSI entries coming!



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“Kid Food” on a Cold Day

It was even colder today than yesterday…so cold, in fact, that THERE WAS NO SCHOOL!!! I got a phone call at 4 a.m. telling me that school had been canceled!

Adam made dinner tonight, but despite my asking, he didn’t want to write the blog… so I’ll write about it!
We had a very “kid” friendly (despite our ages) dinner of:

See? Kid friendly!

See? Kid friendly!

  • hot dogs and beans
  • bbq baked potato chips
  • salad with baby tomatoes and low fat Caesar dressing
  • Whole grain crust frozen pizza (the Archer Farms brand from Super Target, by far the BEST frozen pizza I’ve had! Thanks Beadie!
Complete with diet orange soda!

Complete with diet orange soda!

After a few requests from various readers, I decided to post pictures of the smaller, furrier members of our household… our 3 amazingly cute pets!

First, there’s Raven. Raven is a 9-year-old Rottweiler, and quite possibly one of the sweetest, most loving dogs I’ve ever known! She “smiles” on command, but apparently not for the camera. She sleeps at our feet every night, and is a fantastic companion!

Raven, the sweetest Rottweiler EVER

Raven, the sweetest Rottweiler EVER

Next, we have Ozzy… Adam swears that one day, Ozzy will try to take over the world! He’s very smart, probably too smart for his own good. He likes playing with string, like any other cat, but he also will not eat from his bowl if the quantity left is less than 3 crunchies deep. He will meow at the door when Adam gets home.

Can anyone think of a LOL Catz caption for this?

Can anyone think of a LOL Catz caption for this?

Last, but not least, we have Big. Big was adopted by my stepdad, David about in 2003 or so. She’s always been a super-loving cat, and we’ve always joked that if she could snuggle UNDER our skin, she would! When David and my mom got married, Big and one of our older cats, Timmy, didn’t get along. That’s how Big came to live with James. She lived with James for 2 years until I got my own apartment, and then she came to live with me. She sleeps on my head every night. Literally, on my head. She has definitely lived up to her name…she’s BIG!

She's cute, huh??

She's cute, huh??

Wow, long post…sorry ’bout that…

One last thing! One of my friends started a food blog, and its seriously fantastic! Check it out at Bran Appetit!

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