Thursday, March 31, 2011

MC: Day 02

day 02 - your least favorite song

Well yet another day I risk the wrath of my readers... LOL

So I don't know if it's just from years of singing this song in church or what, but to this day I cannot stand this song! Call it blasphemous, I do not care, but here is my least favorite song for your..er..."enjoyment."


Wednesday, March 30, 2011

MC: Day 01

day 01 - your favorite song

Ok, so I have a ton of favorite songs, because well MUSIC in general is my favorite thing ever! However, I will only post two, but I'm posting two because I know I'm gonna get flack for the first one, so I hope to redeem myself with the second song. ;)

Favorite song #1:

Don't hate...

Favorite song #2:

Really, anything by this man is amaaazing, but I had this one on repeat for weeks after the CD came out. :)

30 Day Challenge: Music Edition

Ok, so I'm lacking inspiration since my previous 30 day challenge... It's been cold and rainy here in the great state of Georgia, and it drained all my happy-beach-time-tanning-goodness out of me, like WHOA. So I'm stealing this from Facebook (of course), in the effort to supply some musical inspiration for you and me! Wish me luck, and join in if you feel inclined. :) Leave a comment if you do, so I can be inspired by your music as well.

30 Day Song Challenge:
day 01 - your favorite song
day 02 - your least favorite song
day 03 - a song that makes you happy
day 04 - a song that makes you sad
day 05 - a song that reminds you of someone
day 06 - a song that reminds you of somewhere
day 07 - a song that reminds you of a certain event
day 08 - a song that you know all the words to
day 09 - a song that you can dance to
day 10 - a song that makes you fall asleep
day 11 - a song from your favorite band
day 12 - a song from a band you hate
day 13 - a song that is a guilty pleasure
day 14 - a song that no one would expect you to love
day 15 - a song that describes you
day 16 - a song that you used to love but now hate
day 17 - a song that you hear often on the radio
day 18 - a song that you wish you heard on the radio
day 19 - a song from your favorite album
day 20 - a song that you listen to when you’re angry
day 21 - a song that you listen to when you’re happy
day 22 - a song that you listen to when you’re sad
day 23 - a song that you want to play at your wedding
day 24 - a song that you want to play at your funeral
day 25 - a song that makes you laugh
day 26 - a song that you can play on an instrument
day 27 - a song that you wish you could play
day 28 - a song that makes you feel guilty
day 29 - a song from your childhood
day 30 - your favorite song at this time last year

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Home, & A Recipe

Well, I am home from Thailand and crazy exhausted/jet-lagged, of course. I pretty much slept all day Friday, which wasn't the best idea, but like I said, I was exhausted. LOL Anyways, today I'm just relaxing at home, doing laundry, unpacking, etc. But a girl's gotta eat, right?
So I go to the fridge/freezer to see what I have - not much, obviously, since I just got back from a two week trip, but enough that a plan forms in my head. This plan turned out to be pretty darn amazing, if I do say so myself, and so I thought, "I must share this "recipe" with the world!!" Of course, I don't really have world-wide domination [yet], but onto to blog it goes. :)

I'm going to call this the "Creamy, Hearty Pasta Sauce" because well, I'm jet-lagged and that's about as creative as I can get at this point... ;)
Ingredients:
water
1 tomato
1 tblsp. olive oil
1 tblsp. butter

1/4 onion, diced
basil
oregano
black pepper
salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 pint of heavy cream
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
chicken stock or broth
parmesan cheese

*Also, you'll need a blender*

Step 1: Boil enough water to cover the tomato. I used an electric kettle, then placed the tomato in a measuring cup (bowl works too) and poured the water on top. Cover with a plate or something to keep the heat in. Leave it soaking while you prep everything else. You're doing two things: 1) softening the tomato skin so you can peel it & 2) warming up the tomato.

Step 2: Heat oil in skillet on med-high heat. When hot add onions & stir. Add butter & stir. Cook 2-3 mins, stirring occasionally so they don't stick or burn. Add salt, pepper, oregano, & basil. Keep stirring. Cook approx. 5 more mins, until the onions have softened a bit and the spices are smelling really good. Add the garlic, stir and cook another 2-3 mins.

Step 3: Add the heavy cream. Bring up to a boil and reduce heat to med. Keep stirring, and watching, because cream will boil over if you're not careful. Add yellow pepper, stir and bring back to boil again. Continue cooking the cream mixture for approx 8-10mins until it thickens up a bit.
While sauce is thickening, remove the tomato from its bath, pull the skin and top off, and place it in the blender.

Step 4: Add a splash of the chicken stock/broth to the thickened cream mixture (approx. 2-3 tblsps.), and stir. Pour cream mixture into blender, over the tomato. Blend mixture on the "Puree" setting, until everything seems mixed together well (2-3 mins). Pour back into skillet. Stir in 3-4 tblsp. of parmesan cheese, add to your pasta, top with a little more parmesan, and voila!

I had mine with ravioli, and while good, I think the filling over powered the sauce a bit. So, here are a few suggestions on how to use this sauce:
~ Toss with steamed veggies (peas, carrots, asparagus, etc.) and angel hair pasta, for a "Pasta Primavera" style meal.
~ Toss with linguine or fettuccine pasta, and top with grilled chicken.
~ Add some ground sausage or turkey and toss with spaghetti pasta.

Let me know if you try this out, if you enjoyed it, and what kind of combo you used or came up with! Bon Appetit!