yum

I JUST finished a scrumptious dinner (I'm still licking my lips!!!) and HAD to post the recipe.

it's Mac and cheese!
I bet you all think that's the only thing we eat around here...

well I actually got this recipe from a (must I say High Class) restaurant that I used to work at back East. The Fat Canary- and do they know what they're doing or what!!

sauce:
2 1/2 T butter
3 1/2 T flour
2 C half and half (divided)
2 C aged cheddar grated (I used regular med. cheddar and it was still delicious!)
1/2 t salt
grinds of pepper
1 C chopped scallion (again I substituted with shallots)

start the macaroni (2 cups) in salted boiling water and move on to another sauce pot for the ruex.
start off with the butter in sauce pot on moderate heat until bubbly, add the flour and whisk well. cook off the flour until foaming (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 C of half and half whisking vigorously until there are no lumps. Return to the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes- thinning the sauce every now and then with a dribble of half and half when it gets thick. Whisk in the salt and pepper and remove from heat. Incorporate the cheddar and whisk until smooth. Drain the pasta and fold into the sauce along with the scallions.

and you thought this couldn't get any better! Ha! just wait!!!!

take a rimmed baking sheet and toss some shrimp and cherry tomatoes in some olive oil and set the oven for broil under 400 degrees. keep the shrimp shells on and season with salt or old bay seasoning and broil for 5 minutes- or until the tomatoes have burst. turn the shrimp over about half way through. it makes such a huge difference when the shrimp shells stay on- oh wow! and it's worth every slight delay shelling them when your eating!

Even though Treson couldn't have shrimp- he sure loved the tomatoes with this creamy version of a favorite!


I hope you enjoy!

maybe this will wet your appetie.... for mac and cheese

so it kinda bums me out that not a lot of people have been commenting on our blog lately- even when I throw free stuff at you all, no one seems too enthusiastic to catch it :(
Maybe you guys were all scared of commitment or it could be that you don't have a blog to "pay it forward" on.... either way I should get over it...

So what better medium to get lost in when you're down than your children?!? I did promise cute videos did I not?













hope you enjoy!!!


oh and please leave a comment!

Pay it Forward

great movie is it not? made me cry.

well this is something a bit different, the concept is there, but it's between me and the first three that comment on this blog post.

here's what you're in for- the first three people that comment on this post will receive a cute hand-mad craft (i.e. bracelet, earrings, scarf, mitten- the cutest mittens you ever saw!- etc...) then those individuals will "pay it forward" on their blogs. there is a general one month rule though- you must make the gift and pass it on within a month of committing.


so time starts now!

hurry!

go go go!

Treson boy!

Sorry I haven't posted pictures of the Treson boy lately, but these should be more than enough to make up for it!





he was so excited to get a valentine from his great-grandparents





yay for cup drinking!


helping me fold laundry- aka eating socks


it's his new thing- putting chapstick or lipstick in his mouth


I know he looks 3 here... but he's really like 10 months and tall for his age



Tre and his cousin Chloe- they really look a lot alike!


here's one where he pulled the chair down on himself and was laughing about it

these are out of chronological order- but I know you won't judge.

so valentines day was fun- AJ and I went ice skating at the Olympic oval and went to dinner at Macaroni Grill (good thing for reservations!!!!)We came back to our house watched a chick flick and had fun with rose petals.

AJ made it an extraordinary week that lead up to a wonderful day spent with him. it's all about the thoughtful little things! He thinks you should let your loved one know how much you care more than just one day a year. yes I know I'm lucky :)


I hope you all enjoyed the photos- we'll post some fun videos soon!

Saturday Night Fun.

So this past Saturday the 7th of Feb. We spent some time with our upstairs neighbors. Our partys get a little crazy :)



The Dye only cost 3$ so it was hard to pass up. My mustache looks really weird black. We decided Todd looks like Blackbeard or something hehe. I'm gonna shave here on Monday Night after work.

Everyone says i look like one of the Following guys:

Stan from Italian Job


Luigi


Or Groucho



Which one do you think I look like?

Don't let the picture fool you. Mandy digs it :)

happiness in my mouth!

Every now and then I like to experiment with different recipes that come my way. I just had to pass this one along because it was so good!!!! I had my doubts after looking over the ingredient list- but WOW, you can't pass this one up!!!


Asian Kabobs

1 C. Mayonnaise
1/4 c. apricot preserves
1 T.soy sauce
1 T. Dijion mustard
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 t. of ground ginger

mix all of the above together and reserve 1/3 cup for dipping.
skewer shrimp and chicken (in my house- shrimp for me and chicken for my husband, everyones happy!)and brush the remaining sauce on the kabobs. grill until done(chicken takes a bit longer than the shrimp, so I would grill them first and set them aside to juice back up) serve with rice and steamed veggies with the dipping sauce along side. You've got a little piece of Heaven on Earth!

enjoy!

What sites do you check regularly?

Just for fun I thought I would post some of the sites I like to visit. In no certain order.

Check them out, maybe you will find one that you will like.

Reply with some of your favorites :)

http://www.ovguide.com/index.html - A great site for finding Online Movies, games, Tv, etc...

http://www.geeksaresexy.net/ -tech, science, news and social issues for geeks :)

http://lifehacker.com/ - Life Hacking... Tips and Downloads for getting things Done.

http://artofmanliness.com/ - Fun site with random guy stuff.

http://www.popsci.com/ - Popular Science Online.

http://www.deviantart.com/ - Various artsy stuff. Especially the flash section.

http://www.tutorialized.com/ - Random Tutorials for computer stuff.

That should be good for now. Share what you like to surf on your down time :)