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!

A little something I threw together....

Well today I felt like trying to make my own Red Pepper Pesto Pasta! Tongue twister I know!!! I also burnt the toast under the broiler haha! It was an interesting dinner. I cooked a bunch of chicken along with this meal and it was really yummy. I coated the chicken in Italian seasoned bread crumbs and then sauteed it! The red pepper pesto pasta was really a simple dish. While you are making the pesto sauce you can be boiling the pasta. I used bowtie pasta so it would hold the sauce a little better but any type of pasta would work. The only ingredients used in the pesto are: fresh basil, red peppers, parmesan cheese and olive oil. Then you mix all of these ingredients in the food processor and then it is complete. It tasted better than it looks in the picture haha! If you try this meal I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Lazy summer days....

The last few days I have taken off from cooking and all kinds of other fun activities. I have been taking finals and picking up extra hours at work just to try and earn a few more bucks. Only 3 weeks or 28 days left until the Love of my life returns. THANK GOD!!! This deployment has been a very interesting experience. I will say that now that I have completed this summer term of school it feels very odd to be able to enjoy some down time. I actually can play the Wii with my father and not feel guilty because I should be studying for an exam or something of that nature. Needless to say today is the beginning of my summer haha! I finally get to have some lazy summer days! These are very much needed. I hope everyone is having a great day!

Feeling creative....

Well today I was feeling very corageous and creative and decided to try something I have never had the courage to do so before. I made a chocolate souffle'. It was a tough adventure but one I overcame haha. I am not even going to sit here and try and say that it turned out like I would have liked but it is edible haha.

Chocolate Souffle' Recipe

Ingredients

-1/3 cup all-purpose flour

-sugar

-1 1/2 cups milk

-3 squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsley chopped or grated

-6 eggs, separated

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. In 2-quart saucepan, into flour and 1/4 cup of sugar, slowly stir milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and starts to boil.

2. Cook mixture 1 minute more. Remove pan from heat and stir in chocolate until melted.

3. With wooden spoon, rapily beat in egg yolks, all at once, beating until thoroughly blended; refrigerate to cool the mixture to lukewarm, stirring occasionally.

4. Grease 2-quart souffle' dish or round casserole with butter or margarine and lightly sprinkle dish with sugar. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

5. In large bowl with mixer at high speed, beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form.

6. With the mixer at high speed, gradually sprinkle in 1/4 cup sugar; beat well until the sugar is completely dissolved. The whites should stand in still glossy peaks.

7. With wire whisk or rubber spatula, gently fold chocolate mixture, one third at a time, and vanilla into egg whites, until blended. Pour mixture into souffle' dish.

8. With back of spoon, 1 inch from edge of dish, make 1-inch indentation all around souffle. Bake 35-40 minutes until knife inserted under "top hat" comes out clean.

Along with this dessert I was watching the Food Network and saw a yummy looking recipe. It was Potato Chip Crusted Chicken. I did substitue regular potato chips for Sun Chips to help with the health factor but that doesn't help when you put a lot of butter like the recipe called for. Either way it went down well. Along with this type of chicken I also made some mac-n'-cheese and some asparagus. Needless to say it wasn't the most healthy dish I have ever made. But I found this tonight to be a HUGE stress relief. I am getting pretty good and I know my fiance' is going to be ready to come eat my meals haha! Or I least I hope so!

Potato Chip Crusted Chicken

Ingredients

-8 tablespoons Butter

-6 cloves of garlic minced

-2 tablespoons olive oil

-10 oz. of potato chips

-6 boneless chicken breast

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Put aluminum foil on a cookie sheet to cover pan and then grease the foil.

2. In a skillet, melt butter. Add garlic and saute' for two minutes. Remove from heat. Cool for about 2 minutes and then add olive oil to this mixture.

3. In a plastic bag (sealed), take a rolling pin to crush the potato chips.

4. Roll chicken in melted butter and garlic mix. Then put into potato chips crumbs, pressing to adhere. Let chicken set at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

5. Bake in oven for 10 minutes the first side, flip over then 8 more minutes.

Well I hope you enjoy these dishes if you choose to make them as much as my family and I did. Cooking is a very fun hobby and I am so glad I am finding myself becoming more mature in it!