Uh...

It's Not Taco Bell, But.....

Another recipe I made from my Taste of Home Simple & Delicious magazine. It's called Chicken Tortilla Bake. It was fairly quick to put together. I didn't start making it until after 6 and we were done eating and I had the dishes done by 8. It's layers of refried beans/diced tomatoes with green chilies, mexican corn, chicken, shredded cheese, and tortilla strips. It is made in an 11x7 pan and was plenty for the three of us. I even had enough leftovers for two for Sunday lunch. We all enjoyed it and I will probably make it again.

Photo Shoot

AWESOME!!!!!

I have tears in my eyes as I write this post. This past weekend was THON, held at PSU in the Bryce Jordan Center. You can see in the one picture how much money was raised this year. The mission as copied from their official web site:

The Mission of the Penn State Dance Marathon

The mission of the Penn State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon is to conquer pediatric cancer by providing outstanding emotional and financial support to the children, families, researchers, and staff of The Four Diamonds Fund.

*THON is fundraising over a year-long effort involving thousands of students and culminating in a challenging, two day, no-sitting, no-sleeping dance marathon.
*THON is changing the lives of students and children, reinforcing the importance of caring for one another, and inspiring the determination needed to beat cancer.
*THON is helping to conquer pediatric cancer through strategic investments in hospital bills, research efforts, and a new family-centered Pediatric Cancer Pavilion at the Penn State Children's Hospital.
Together we will find a cure.

(Yes, that's $6.6 million)

KUDOS TO EVERYONE WHO PARTICIPATED...YOU SHOULD ALL BE VERY PROUD!

My Buddy George

I have had a George Foreman grill for quite a few years, but have rarely used it. It works wonderfully to grill foods, it's just a pain in the butt to clean! It can't be submersed, so you have to clean both the top and bottom panels without putting it in nice hot soapy water. It's big and awkward and just a pain to clean. Well, I was excited to see that he now makes a grill with removable plates. I was perusing the Kohl's ad over the Valentine's Day weekend and they had them on sale for $70 (originally $100). In addition, I had a 20% off coupon (thanks, Martha!), which brought it down to $56....couldn't beat that!

I used it for the first time yesterday afternoon to make steaks and used it again this evening to grill wraps. It was a cinch to clean, especially when I also learned George also now sells a two sided sponge that is specially grooved to clean his grill. One side is a regular grooved sponge and the other is a grooved scouring pad (see pic).

I'm looking forward to using the grill more often to make chicken, burgers, pork chops, etc. So if you know anyone who is looking for a used George Foreman grill WITHOUT removable plates, let me know....they can have it!

Buy Of The Week

$6....Michael's...
Cute...

Winner!

All you cookers out there can appreciate how tough it gets sometimes to think of what to make for supper. This month's Taste of Home's Simple & Delicious has quite a few recipes that look yummy. I opted to try this Reuben Casserole tonite for supper. The guys loved it! It was nice, too, because we only ate half of it, so I have enough for one more meal. I meant to take a picture of it before we ate, but I was in a hurry, as I didn't serve it until 6:30 and Kurt and Adam had to leave for their 7 pm activities at 6:50. So I took a pic after we were done, and cut off the ugly half!

5 cups uncooked egg noodles
2 cans (14 ounces each) sauerkraut, rinsed and well drained
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons prepared mustard
3/4 pound sliced deli corned beef, chopped
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
2 slices day-old light rye bread
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the sauerkraut, soup, milk, onion and mustard.
Drain noodles; stir into sauerkraut mixture. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with corned beef and cheese.
Place bread in a food processor; cover and process until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss crumbs with butter; sprinkle over casserole.
Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly.

Yield: 5 servings.

**I used regular bread crumbs....I don't usually have rye bread on hand and it didn't seem to make much sense to buy a loaf for just two pieces.

Ark Anyone?

This is what we woke up to this morning:

Pink State University

(Title and pics borrowed from Sarah....thanks!)

Diaper Cake

Jamie and I were at a baby shower this afternoon where we saw this:

It is made of diapers.....75 Luvs Size One to be exact! It's not a very good angle to see exactly how it is put together, but isn't it adorable?!?! One of the games we played was to guess how many diapers were in the diaper cake.

All Is Good

Alyssa came back from class on Wednesday afternoon and noticed that her roommate had removed most of the stuff on her walls, which Alyssa found quite odd. The only thing she could think was that Kaylynn was moving out, which didn't make a whole lot of sense to her this late in the year. Well, several hours later, Kaylynn returned to the room and confirmed that yes, indeed, she was moving out! This totally took Alyssa off guard; she didn't know what to say. She never quite told her why she was moving, but Kaylynn had been clear from the start of the year, that she really didn't want to be in these dorms; that it is quite out of the way of where most of her classes are. In fact, she hadn't even requested these dorms in any of her three choices. Apparently a room opened up in her first choice of dorms, alongside one of her friends, and she jumped on the opportunity.

Well, this provided Alyssa with a prime opportunity, as well.....as of this post, and only three days later, Sarah is now rooming with Alyssa! They are both in heaven. Mom, Adam and I came up for the day and I am writing this up in State College in her dorm room, as Alyssa and Adam have the Trailblazer and are helping Sarah move the last of her belongings over. I'll get the pics posted once we get back home.

So whatever Kaylynn's reasons were, overall I guess it doesn't really matter....because now Sarah and Alyssa get to be together!

Alyssa and Sarah at Quaker Steak and Lube

Adam, Alyssa and Sarah

New name on that door

Still working on the room (note Nani sound asleep on Alyssa's bed...LOL!)

Looking better after I made Sarah's bed while they were still collecting her stuff in her old room

New chair....looks comfy, huh?

Squirrel Bait

Congrats!

(Last name deleted....gotta keep it safe....just for you Martha...OK, and for Alyssa, too!)

(Deletion by loving brother, Adam)

Leaning...

Lazybones X 3

(Although, I believe someone is peeking....LOL!)

Excellent Adventure

Kurt is in 60 degree Alabama (brat...) and here we are in this mess of snow, sleet, freezing rain and yuck! The tradition when he's away is that I don't cook. Well, this weather created a slight dilemma for me....do I cook or do we venture out in the lousy weather?!?!? Decisions, decisions.....

Well, it didn't take much convincing from Adam...."Mom, we do have a four wheel drive..."

Soo off we went to the chinese restaurant....good news was, there was no wait! Better news was, we made it to and from safely!

Now, what to do about tomorrow night...hmmmm....


(Oh, and p.s....that was Adam taking the driving pictures...not me...I'm not that much of an idiot to be driving in bad weather, plus take pics ....I save that for nice weather...LOL!!)

Look Closely

I had company last week when I went food shopping:

I Guess.....

not everyone in the family was into the Superbowl:

(Hee, hee, hee...)