Red Velvet..

Last night my father was telling me about this potluck he is having at work next week and of course being the person that I am I volunteered to make the dish for him to take. I was wracking my brain last night and tried to decide exactly what I wanted to make to impress all of his coworkers because I didn't want to make something I have already done. So after a lot of thought I decided I was going to make Red Velvet Cake. Now I can not say that it is a personal favorite but I thought I would give it a shot and see what it turns out like. I hate to say it but it always tastes a little bit better when you put a lot of time and work into it. So tonight I came home from work and slapped together a Red Velvet. From the little taster I just had (a crumb that fell out) it tasted pretty yummy to me. Once again I don't have my camera so the pictures are not going to be posted. Sorry! If it turns out well I will be making it again later down the road. Well I am about to go frost the cake. Have a great day everyone!

Gamin' it up!

So recently..I mean as recently as of 8:30 pm last night I have become an avid gamer! My fiance' and I were playing a game known as Rainbow Six and let me just tell you....this was the most fun thing I have done in a while haha. It was so much fun! We actually ended up staying up until like 12:30 this morning playing. As soon as I woke up I asked if we could play it before I had to go to work and then we played again just a few minutes ago. I like to think that I kick booty at it but we will leave that fact alone haha. We just got a new DVD from Netflix that allows us to do something with the Playstation so we are experimenting with that as I type this. Let us just say that I have a new outlook on the "gaming" thing as of last night. It is pretty darn cool! HAHA!!! I have to get back to it...

Lobstery Kind of Day...

So there is this restaurant in Pensacola which is a town about 45 minutes to an hour away from where I live and it has the best Corn and Lobster Bisque I have ever eaten in my life, and I have decided to try and recreate dishes that I love and want more of so I can eat them whenever I want instead of having to always go to the restaurants....So with that said I decided to make my own Lobster and Corn Bisque with the help of Matthew. It was homemade and I am super proud to say that it is the B-O-M-B!!! I only had a little taste test but man may I say so myself I am becoming quite the little "chef-et!" I would seriously love to explore my culinary talents more but I have other tasks to take care of before that can be accomplished. Anyways...I have included the recipe for such Bisque below if anyone else would like to take a stab at it. (It was not that hard!!!) Well I took a picture of this wonderful creation but can't manage to get it on here because I have lost the piece I need to use to insert the itty bitty memory card into my computer. Sorry. I will try and take a picture with my camera soon! Enjoy this dish and if you don't want to make it you can wait because in a little over 3 months Matthew and I will be moving up there and would be more than happy to make this for you!

Ingredients

-3 tablespoons vegetable oil

-3 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour

-1/2 minced yellow onions

-1 cup corn kernels (2 ears corn)

-2 tablespoons minced shallots

-2 tablespoons minced celery

-1 tablespoon minced garlic

-1 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon cayenne

-1 cup fish stock or water

-2 bay leaves

-2 cups milk

-2 cups heavy cream

-1 teaspoon crab boil (OPTIONAL)

-1/2 lb. cooked lobster meat, diced

-1/4 cup minced green onions

Directions

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the flour a tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until blended. Continue stirring to make a light brown roux, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the onions, shallots, corn, celery, garlic, salt and cayenne and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften, about 4 minutes. Slowly stir in stock. Add the bay leaves and bring to a boil. Add the milk, cream, and the crab boil, if using. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Stir in the lobster meat and green onions and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaves. THEN ENJOY!!!!

Interesting week....

Hmm...how should I start this blog. Well let me just start by saying that if it sounds like I am complaining bare with me...It has been a very hard week. I recently discovered that I have a medical issue that could become something very serious if I am not careful, the school transfer is not working out like we had hoped it would and the moving situation for me is not looking to be in May. Lets just say all of these situations have helped Matt and I to reassure the fact that we love each other and will be there until death do us part, which is very exciting to know. I have to say that right now through these situations he has been the rock and I am having to try and hold myself up. I never thought it was possible to receive so much bad news in a matter of a couple of days but I did and now it is crunch time for Matt and I to figure out the solution to this situation. Right now it looks like Matt will be moving to Oregon in March-ish time frame and I will be moving up in December when I finish my degree down here, UNLESS we can find a school who will transfer my credits like they should be transferred. The two schools we have checked into want me to retake anywhere from 60-90 credits over. Even general ed classes and I have my AA. Ugh....it is frustrating! I know it will work out. Matt and I have been praying about it and know that something is going to show up, it is just a matter of when it is right! Today is a new day...and I am going to look at the positives of today!

A new day...

It has been a while since I have actually been on here. Let me just update on what has taken my attention from this activity. Well first of all the LOVE OF MY LIFE....finally came home from Iraq and trying to get back in a routine with him back in the states has been interesting. I took a lot of time off from work and school when he first got home to get back into the swing of having him in the same town as myself. After that time went by he began a class called ALS (Airmen Leadership School) which has taken a lot of time from our relationship and being able to spend time together but we are making the best of this situation. It has been working out pretty good for the most part. And then we have also been plannin' this weddin'! We are almost finished or at least what I hope is almost finished with the planning haha! It has been let me see....from May until now which is October and pretty much everything has been done or at least the subject has been discussed. I have to say this is one time that being organized is coming in handy for me. It is interesting trying to go to school full time, work part time or everyday I do not go to school and planning a wedding....oh and pretty much being a full time wife! I have been taking care of Matthew..making sure dinner is ready by the time he gets home from school and picking up their house. Boys...!!!!! Whoever thought a bathroom could get dirty? hehe....Gosh I am just so excited that in exactly 5 months from today I will be walking down the aisle to say "I do!" to the guy I have been waiting for. Today we were watching tv and he looked up at me and said, " I am just so glad that I get to marry you." This is what I get to live with and be married to for the rest of my life. It is such a great and exciting feeling! I CAN'T WAIT!!!! I will probably be doing a count down here pretty soon! Well I am off to do some homework and then head to bed. I have a long day of classes and homework ahead of me tomorrow!

A new experience.....

So today I tried something completely new and different that I never thought in a million years I would ever make. I made sushi....I guess I should say more like that I attempted to make sushi! This is a very hard task to accomplish. It tasted good according to my father but I never tasted it myself. By the time I got done making it I was less than interested in eating it! Isn't it funny how that things like that work? You spend so much time making something so elaborate and then you don't have any interest in eating it. It is Matt's favorite food and I was trying to see if it was something I would be able to reproduce and make my own so that we could save money and not have to buy it out at a resturant. We will see. I think food like that takes a lot of practice so I will keep that up and then go from there. This was a fun experience even though it was really hard. If I have learned one thing from all of this cooking and trying new things involved with cooking it is that there is no harm in failing. You just suck it up and move on but you don't give up. It has been a great experience for me.

A brand new day...

Today August 14,2009 began as a normal day and then I saw something that I never knew could have such an impact on my life. This something was the movie "Julie and Julia". I have found a new passion for cooking ever since my fiance' deployed to Iraq but this movie has inspired me to take this passion to another level. It has taught me to make mistakes in my cooking and be okay with it. To never apologize for making a mistake in my cooking. This movie has inspired me to continue cooking and look for life lessons in each and every dish I make. This passion will not be a short lived passion but one that continues to play in my life each and every day.

Before this movie I had made an Asparagus Quiche and Garlic Cheese Drop Biscuits. It was a simple meal but a very good one at that. I do not have the recipes next to me or I would post them and the camera I took the pictures with is not here either but just trust me it was a very healthy* and tasty meal. I hope if you ever watch this movie it inspires you as it has me to continue a passion that has been started with such a small spark and has turned into something so great. I can honestly say that I have a new way of looking at cooking. I love this hobby and am excited to see what there is in store!