Friday, October 9, 2015

It Doesn't Feel Like Friday!

We did not get to have our chicken cheesesteaks yesterday...so sad...but if we are hungry later we are having them tonight. Den had his drinks after work mixed up...wrong person...wrong date...he came home early because he needed to work a bit today from home. This one day a week schedule of his is a killer on my schedule! So...I made Pasta With Slightly Spicy Vodka Sauce...really easy and really good!

I think I didn't tear the basil small enough. The sauce is made out of tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of vodka that burns off and heavy cream...it was so good.
But mine looked just like the Bon Appetit one! See! Except for the basil!
So Den and I slipped out to The Whip for lunch today...I had an October beer...On draft called Goose Island! Yummy! I always have the tiny glass but I opted for the big bad boy glass today! It was delicious!
Then we had house made smoked salmon on tiny little potato pancakes...yum!
And Tavern Salads with Stilton dressing...these are so good!
We added really need rare steak to ours...
Sunday we are going to see Peter Cetera (from the group Chicago) in concert! He is about 30 minutes away and was so amazing in the summer...we are doing it again! In the summer he sang with an orchestra. This time he is singing with his band! Every concert we go to seems to be far away...this one is almost in our back yard! So excited!
I am almost finished with this book...which was slow to start but now is getting really good!
Up next? Who knows? One of these I think!
Off to relax! Off to read! Off to order dinner!
Happy Friday! Happy Week End!
Patty
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Things I Know...

I love divided plate dinners...I forgot to take a picture of last night's divided plate dinner...but picture in your head...Sweet Baby James Barbecue sauce in one...Pioneer Woman's Cheese Sauce in another...chicken strips and steamed brocolli in the biggest section...the middle section was empty because there was nothing to put in it! We called it the overflow section. Yummy comforting dinner...

Today is a day out of my past life...Den is at the office...I am reading but soon I will either put the girls in their stroller and walk through our 'hood or get on the treadmill and then work on basement bins. But the entire day is mine alone...
Reading this and it is soooo dystopianly good. The children of the rulers of countries live together until a certain age. If their countries don't go to war they get to live. If there is a war they are killed. If they reach that age without dying they get to go home and get married and give up one of their kids. Wow! Everyone follows rules until a certain "different" boy enters the group...and then...chaos!
It is getting warmer here again...we almost turned the AC on last night...but...I still love this time of year and the temps dropping just a little...we call it Sweater Weather! I love these examples...the top three are from Zara...
Not sure what we are eating today...Den has drinks after work so he may bring home Chicken Cheese Steak Sandwiches from a local place...I really don't want to do anything today...my priority! Yum! Thank you, Giordano's!
French Fries or their amazing Onion Rings? Or carrots? Heeheehee!
Have a great day...
Patty
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The Best News Ever...

I read it over the weekend...scrunchies are back! And even better news...I have tons of them! They hold your hair back without denting it! I kept one black velvet one out to hold my hair back when I shower...the rest were tucked away...but not any more! They are out! In drawers...in bins...I now have scrunchies tucked all over the house! Roxie has been stealing them for toys. Lucy wears them well!

Look at this! It's macaroni and cheese baked in tomato soup? From...https://arlingtondarling.wordpress.com/2012/10/03/recipe-tomato-soup-mac-n-cheese/...you literally bake macaroni and cheese in soup in the oven! In PA the traditional way to eat macaroni and cheese is with stewed tomatoes on the side. It's served that way even in school cafeterias...so...we are all over this one!
Finished this...sort of so so...but fun.
Sort of reading this now...private school, impoverished former student returns years later to teach but she has never taught before, plus there are hidden secrets from her time as a student here...and as soon as she gets there someone starts tormenting her...
Today is clean the deck day! Plus we are having comfort food for dinner!
Chicken strips with barbecue sauce and brocolli in cheese sauce...aka Pioneer Woman!
Plus I have sectioned plates from Williams Sonoma...so there will be no sauce mixing!
Life is good!
Fondly,
Patty
 
 
 
 

 

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

My Stay At Home Tuesday!

Just finished this...not quite a cozy British mystery...it was too much of a page turner...and sooooo good...a neighbor is found dead in his bathtub...is this suicide or murder? The family next door...what do they have to do with this? The answer? It's complicated!

Up next? Thirty somethings...marriage...that says it all?
Making this for dinner...pasta shells with roasted butternut squash and ricotta cheese! It's from Martha! You sauté the seeds and the gunk the seeds are connected to in a pan until the gunk disappears...you have crispy seeds left that you then use on top of the pasta...oh...and you sauté the squash...in the same pan...basically other than cooking the pasta it's a one pan dinner. The fresh sage leaves are sautéed, too, until crispy...a bit of parmesano reggiano on top...and you have dinner!
Today is Roxie's birthday! Happy Birthday to my sweet Roxie Blue! She is four! I can't believe it but she was already a year old when we got her! Of course there will be a small cake. Den says she wants chocolate? But she can't have chocolate so...we shall see!
When we got her...
Now...she has more swagger/swaggah now...don't you think?
Off to vacuum and clean because we took the afternoon off yesterday to see The Martian. It was fantastic! I saw an interview with the author where he said he could not give the book away for 99 cents at Amazon when he first published it! Loved Matt Damon in this movie!
 
 
 
 
 

 

Monday, October 5, 2015

While You Were Gone...

While I was gone we have had rainy days and cold nights! I actually put on long yoga pants during the day instead of yoga shorts...brrrr...kitties were sprawled on the floor heaters and have totally abandoned the sunroom!

It's heated beds for these two babies...I actually saw them in bed together but the minute Lucy sees me she hops out...I think they love each other more than I think they do! And they are keeping it a secret!

While I was gone I finished this...I loved it...
 
and this...enjoyed it, too!
I am finishing this...it's sometimes what I need in a book...clever, funny, sweet and dysfunctional! Two sisters dealing with their issues and their mother and ex husbands and sexting! OMG!

I hope to read this today...
These are new...from Amazon and NetGalley and Edelweiss...
Den spent part of our Sunday crying about football...the Eagles are really really bad, apparently. And the Broncos are mildly good. And all the other teams he watches are just good fun! For him! But I get tons of reading done!
This was in the slow cooker for dinner...from a blog called...http://lecremedelacrumb.com/. I even attempted gravy...notice I say attempted? It was really good...comfy and what my mom and dad made every Sunday!
That was my week end! How was yours?
Fondly,
Patty