My Favorite Things - Ketchup

I love ketchup. I love ketchup so much that I would have a smaller list of things that I wouldn't put ketchup on than I would of what I like to put ketchup on...
If I don't have ketchup, I panic and get very cranky (just ask the folks at work). I scared one student so badly that I had a brand new bottle in our faculty refrigerator the day after he had witnessed one of my "episodes". Thanks Logan!
It can't just be any ketchup either, it's gotta be Heinz... OK, that is a lie, in a bind I will use any kind of ketchup.

Ketchup PEEVE #1. restaurants that leave their bottles 3/4 empty before filling
#2. restaurants that fill their "Heinz" bottles with no-name brands (I can tell)
#3. ketchup packets that have been sitting around too long and the ketchup has too dark red of a color
#4. ketchup packets that ooze out clear drainage first and then the ketchup has too light of a red color
#5. fast food chains that don't give you ketchup unless you ask for it, come on
#6. fast food chains that only give you 2 packets after you asked for it, seriously, that's barely enough for the burger you so generously smothered in ketchup... NOT!
#7. people that let their ketchup bottle rim get too crusty (you aren't using it enough people)

Ketchup is red,
Without it, I'm blue...
Ketchup is sweet,
Without it, I'm not.

My Favorite Things - The Crock Pot

As a working mom, nothing can replace the ease of home cooked dinners than the crock-pot. I love coming home and smelling dinner already waiting for me. Easy to put together, easy to clean up afterward.

This afternoon we went to my sister-in-law's house and let our kids make gingerbread houses. This has been a long standing tradition. It is fun to see how creative the kids can get in decorating their houses. Jace even had a great time chewing his candies and then sticking the remains to his house with icing.

I was responsible for bringing the main course so I thought slow cookin' chili would be good. It was... and will continue to be until the wee hours of the morning, if you get my drift! My mother-in-law wanted the recipe, so here it is...




Just add this, some water and a can of tomato paste! Serve in bread bowls with a sprinkle of cheese. You will have people thinking you sweated all day...




Some of my other favorite CP dinners are: pot roast, sweet & sour chicken, sloppy joes, sweet potatoes, peas and ham, and the list goes on. I have 3 or 4 different cookbook dedicated to crock pot dinners...

By the way, today is blogging DAY 50!! Only 300 more to go...

My Favorite Things - Time Off

Well it took me nearly 25 years to find myself the perfect job. I love working at South Campus. I love the kids (mostly) and the staff (mostly) and I love the amount of time I have off during the year. I only work 1600 hours compared to the 2080 that most full time employees do. So here is to the next 16 days off for the holidays... Yah!

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Happy Birthday Zoe!

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweet niece, Zoe.

Zoe is an adorable little girl. I don't get to spend a lot of time with her but the time that I do spend with her is precious. She takes her time to warm up to me but when she does, she is all hugs... She likes to sit on my lap and read books. Zoe has always had a special fondness for her Uncle Justin.

Zoe loves the water, this is her at Lake Powell (one of my favorite pictures)...

Zoe has got some moves, this is her dancing to "Boom Boom Pow" by the Black Eyed Peas...

The one person in our family that she loves to death is Dax. She is always following him around and wants him to pay attention to her. He loves her too, but he doesn't want anyone to know it! At Dax's birthday party this year, I asked the kids who their favorite super hero was, without any hesitation Zoe piped up and said, "Dax".

.

My Favorite Things - 853

853 is my favorite number and has been since I was 9. In grade 4, my best friend and I used to pretend that we were secret agents. During summer break we would pick a person in our neighborhood and then for 1 week we would spy on this person. We would track their every movement. When and where this person would go when they left their house, what they ate, what they had in their garbage can,who their family members were. I think we even broke the law by occasionally opening their mail. We would document and file everything we could about them. Then we would create stories about them and cases against them. We had quite the imagination...
Murder, theft, abduction... all our neighbors were criminals!
Anyway, my favorite number was 5 and hers was 3. Our agency name was the combination - 853.

A different friend in Jr. High had the same favorite number but for a different reason. She had lost her purse on bus number 853...

For whatever reason this number stuck with me and to this day I still use it. It is part of my email address, my lottery numbers and I use it in some form on all of my login ID's.

Crazy huh?

My Favorite Things - Clean Babies

A former student of South Campus came in today to show off her new baby... Oh he was so cute and smelled so good. I love the smell of a freshly bathed baby. What more can you say about that? Does it make me want another one? Well of course, but only for a moment...

My Favorite Things - Feta Cheese

Yum! My favorite ways to enjoy feta cheese:

1. Eating it plain
2. With tuna sandwiches and kalamata olives
   
3. On my spaghetti
4. On my pizza
5. On my salad
   
6. In my scrambled eggs
   
7. Make spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

SPANAKOPITA

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 pounds spinach, washed and drained
• 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts, chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pound feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 to 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 pound filo pastry sheets

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saute pan, add half of the spinach and saute until spinach wilts, tossing with tongs, about 2 minutes. Remove spinach and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop roughly. Repeat with remaining spinach, using 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Pour off any liquid from the pan, and add remaining olive oil. Add scallions and saute until soft, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the spinach to the scallions, along with the parsley, salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, then remove from heat to cool. (This part can be done ahead and kept refrigerated).

Stir the feta and as much beaten egg to moisten the cooled spinach mixture.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a baking sheet with some of the melted butter.

Unroll the filo dough on a flat surface and keep it covered with waxed paper and a damp towel so it doesn't dry out and become brittle. Using a sharp knife, cut the filo into 3 by 11 inch strips, and recover with the towel. Use a pastry brush to brush a strip of filo with melted butter. Place a small spoonful of spinach filling 1 inch from the end of the pastry. Fold the end over the filling to form a triangle, then continue to fold up the strip in triangles, like folding up a flag. Continue with remaining strips of dough, placing filled triangles on the baking sheet and keeping them covered with a towel until all are ready to bake.

Brush the triangles lightly with butter, then bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Serve hot. (These may be frozen before baking, layering waxed paper between layers of triangles to keep them from sticking. Bake frozen triangles an extra 10 minutes.)

Variation: Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking pan, and spread 6 sheets of filo, brushing each with butter, on the bottom. Spoon the spinach filling over the filo, then cover with 6 more sheets of filo, buttering each sheet. Score the top 3 sheets with a sharp knife. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until top is golden, let stand 15 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm.