MoniKitchen
Angel Hair with Creamy Turkey Sausage and Wild Mushroom Sauce
ingredients:
12 oz angel hair pasta
1 T olive oil
1/2 cup chopped shallots
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 C sliced mushrooms (button, cremini, portobello or any type of wild mushroom)
1 LB sweet or hot turkey or chicken sausage!, cut into 1/2" pieces (I used smoked turkey sausage! as I couldn't find hot or sweet?)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 C frozen green peas
1 1/2 C low-fat sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 T chopped fresh parsley
directions:
Cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook, stirring, for 1-minute.
add the mushrooms and cook, stirring a few times, until they are tender and releasing juice, 3-5minutes.
Add the sausage! and brown on all sides, about 5-minutes.
Add the thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and stir until well combined and the herbs are gragrant, about 1-minute.
Add the broth and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pan, and simmer until the sausage! is cooked through, about 10-minutes.
Add the peas and simmer 1-minute more.
Stir in the sour cream and Parmesan and simmer 1-minute to heat through.
Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the parsley.
Scoop pasta into individual shallow bowls, spoon the sausage! mixture over the top and serve.
***If you're confused by the overzealous-ness in regards to the sausage, please watch the clip below...
Will You Go Out With Me?
Wildfire
To celebrate my new job, we went out to a nice dinner at Wildfire http://www.wildfirerestaurant.com/. We went all out too - made reservations, which we never do, parked valet, got an appetizer, and martinis! We had $100 in gift cards so we thought, what the heck! The total bill with tip was about $150, but hey $50 out-of-pocket for a meal that nice? Not too bad :)
Here's what we had:
**Appetizer**
Four Cheese Crusted Portobello Mushrooms, stuffed with fresh garlic spinach
**Drinks**
-Tim-
1. Wildfire Signature Martini Flight
A sampling of their signature martinis~ Cosmopolitan, Green Apple, Wild Raspberry Cosmopolitan, Stormy Night
2. A full-sized Stormy Night (Effen Black Cherry, DEKUYPER Watermelon Pucker, DEKUYPER Island Blue Pucker, sour mix
-Monica-
1. Key Lime Pie Martini (ABSOLUT Vanilla, key lime juice, sour mix, cream)
2. Wild Raspberry Cosmopolitan (STOLI Razberi, DEKUYPER Triple Sec, cranberry juice, raspberry syrup)
**Meal**
-Tim-
Blue Cheese Crusted Filet Mignon (Broiled with a Blue Cheese Crust) with redskin mashed potatoes
-Monica-
Horseradish Crusted Filet Mignon (Wrapped in bacon and topped with a horseradish crust) with redskin mashed potatoes
TO BE CONTINUED!!! Did this entry make anyone else hungry?!?!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
WEEK #17: March 9 - 15, 2008
Home Cookin'
Angel Hair Pasta with Creamy Turkey Sausage in Wild Mushroom Sauce
Whew! that was a long one!! This recipe is from the "Quick Fix Meals" cookbook we received from Katie at one of our wedding showers. It was a very different and interesting recipe. There were many ingredients we've never had in any meal before! Look for it in my monthly entry :)
Social Butterflies
Amy Fabs' Birthday
Saturday night we went out in Lombard to Lucky Strike Lanes at Yorktown Mall for Amy Fabbiano's birthday! We got there early to eat and only bowled one game since there were like 8 people to a lane! But we talked a lot with the Amy's and their men about planning our upcoming Game Nights! I believe the next Game Night will be in April at Amy & Pat Hansen's and the theme will be "dress up as your favorite decade."
Tim drank Green Beer and I drank Midori Sours - I recommend!!
Humor
SAUSAGE!!!!!
See clip below...You'll recognize this commercial from around the Superbowl. It got back in my head on Wednesday night, and then like crazy on Thursday night whilst cooking the above recipe with Turkey SAUSAGE. yea..we wondered what our neighbors were thinking as I'm sure they could hear us YELLING "SAUSAGE!" randomly and repeatedly throughout the night....and actually even a few times whilst typing this entry!
Awww...That's Nice!
OUR niece Isabella called to sell cookie dough for her pre-school class, so we both chatted with her on the phone :)
20-Second T.O.
HOORAY!!!!!
Angel Hair Pasta with Creamy Turkey Sausage in Wild Mushroom Sauce
Whew! that was a long one!! This recipe is from the "Quick Fix Meals" cookbook we received from Katie at one of our wedding showers. It was a very different and interesting recipe. There were many ingredients we've never had in any meal before! Look for it in my monthly entry :)
Social Butterflies
Amy Fabs' Birthday
Saturday night we went out in Lombard to Lucky Strike Lanes at Yorktown Mall for Amy Fabbiano's birthday! We got there early to eat and only bowled one game since there were like 8 people to a lane! But we talked a lot with the Amy's and their men about planning our upcoming Game Nights! I believe the next Game Night will be in April at Amy & Pat Hansen's and the theme will be "dress up as your favorite decade."
Tim drank Green Beer and I drank Midori Sours - I recommend!!
Humor
SAUSAGE!!!!!
See clip below...You'll recognize this commercial from around the Superbowl. It got back in my head on Wednesday night, and then like crazy on Thursday night whilst cooking the above recipe with Turkey SAUSAGE. yea..we wondered what our neighbors were thinking as I'm sure they could hear us YELLING "SAUSAGE!" randomly and repeatedly throughout the night....and actually even a few times whilst typing this entry!
Awww...That's Nice!
OUR niece Isabella called to sell cookie dough for her pre-school class, so we both chatted with her on the phone :)
20-Second T.O.
HOORAY!!!!!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
WEEK #16: March 2, 2008- March 8, 2008
Home Cookin'
Heavenly Chicken
"say heavenly chicken again" - HA! I realize I've referenced this darn recipe like 10 times ;) But I did make it again and it was just as good as I remember it! I do recommend it for a cold Sunday when you don't have much to do, and let it cook in the crock pot. I think it's a recipe I could really have fun with, add some different stuff, etc. So far I've just added in a few random spices, but nothing big.
If you try this recipe and put a twist on it - let me know!!
I made Heavenly Chicken on Sunday night. I wish I could make it on a weeknight since it is easy, just takes 3hrs to cook :(
Social Pigeons (?)
Weekend in Milwaukee
On our way up on Friday night, we first went to Tim's dad's house for his dad's birthday. They made enormous steaks, that I had to pass on since it was Friday..but yay me!!! I ate little shrimpies instead.
We were there 'til nearly 11pm b/c once dinner wrapped up, Kirsten (tim's stepmom) wanted to show me MLS listings of homes for sale in our area and Taylor (tim's 1/2 sister) and Tim's dad wanted to show him Wii...so Tim played Wii tennis for like an hour while Kirsten and I chatted. We didn't get to my mom's until after midnight, so went straight to bed.
Saturday we got up, ate breakfast and chatted with my mom then went over to Josh & Tina's where Tim hung with the Josh & Ethan, and I went with Tina to meet Katie & Jamie for lunch at Houlihan's followed by dress fitting at Eva's for Chelsea's bridesmaid dresses! We had a lot of fun girl talkin' and reminiscing over random Whitnall High School people!
I went back with Tina and hung out a little while longer at their house, we all went to have custard at Culver's which was fun!
We headed down to the East Side around 6 for dinner with Michelle, Dave, Ian Thompson, Cheryl, Katie and Josh. Dinner was good, but reeeeeally slow and we were in a really cold area so I had been freezing all day in all the places we were!
Then we went to Landmark to "bowl" but we all pulled the "old card" and ended up just sitting around and having a few drinks!
Humor
J. Moose
J....J....J....MOOSE! has made a comeback. There was also a running theme between Josh & Tim all week quoting Superbad lines so I got a dose of that hilarity too :)
Aww...That's Nice!
On Friday when Tim was playing Wii and I was just chatting with my step-mother-in-law about raising children and real estate. Made me feel like a grown woman!
20-Second T.O.
Anyone else getting sick of hearing about these?!?!? I tell ya, recording our fights really puts it in perspective. There are actually times when we are fighting and I'm like "ugh! I'm gonna have to record this in my blog!!!" HA!
I picked up KFC on my way home one night after work and we were saying random weird things to each other as we were setting up to eat. Bear with me, the exchange went something like this:
M - i'm gonna eat this nasty piece of chicken
T - your face is a nasty piece of chicken
I laugh saying that that doesn't make any sense and then something along the lines of "you should be thanking me for picking up dinner instead of calling me names!"
And in my mind this was all said in jest with a smile on my face - BUT Tim got totally offended! Saying that he doesn't like to be told to say thank you, etc. So I was just completely annoyed that we went from joking to this AND then I started thinking "why is he defending NOT thanking me??"
It faded away as we ate, then I went off to band rehearsal. The next day Tim emailed me to apologize for taking it wrong and then we had a VERY constructive conversation about all sorts stuff surrounding that! YAY!
Heavenly Chicken
"say heavenly chicken again" - HA! I realize I've referenced this darn recipe like 10 times ;) But I did make it again and it was just as good as I remember it! I do recommend it for a cold Sunday when you don't have much to do, and let it cook in the crock pot. I think it's a recipe I could really have fun with, add some different stuff, etc. So far I've just added in a few random spices, but nothing big.
If you try this recipe and put a twist on it - let me know!!
I made Heavenly Chicken on Sunday night. I wish I could make it on a weeknight since it is easy, just takes 3hrs to cook :(
Social Pigeons (?)
Weekend in Milwaukee
On our way up on Friday night, we first went to Tim's dad's house for his dad's birthday. They made enormous steaks, that I had to pass on since it was Friday..but yay me!!! I ate little shrimpies instead.
We were there 'til nearly 11pm b/c once dinner wrapped up, Kirsten (tim's stepmom) wanted to show me MLS listings of homes for sale in our area and Taylor (tim's 1/2 sister) and Tim's dad wanted to show him Wii...so Tim played Wii tennis for like an hour while Kirsten and I chatted. We didn't get to my mom's until after midnight, so went straight to bed.
Saturday we got up, ate breakfast and chatted with my mom then went over to Josh & Tina's where Tim hung with the Josh & Ethan, and I went with Tina to meet Katie & Jamie for lunch at Houlihan's followed by dress fitting at Eva's for Chelsea's bridesmaid dresses! We had a lot of fun girl talkin' and reminiscing over random Whitnall High School people!
I went back with Tina and hung out a little while longer at their house, we all went to have custard at Culver's which was fun!
We headed down to the East Side around 6 for dinner with Michelle, Dave, Ian Thompson, Cheryl, Katie and Josh. Dinner was good, but reeeeeally slow and we were in a really cold area so I had been freezing all day in all the places we were!
Then we went to Landmark to "bowl" but we all pulled the "old card" and ended up just sitting around and having a few drinks!
Humor
J. Moose
J....J....J....MOOSE! has made a comeback. There was also a running theme between Josh & Tim all week quoting Superbad lines so I got a dose of that hilarity too :)
Aww...That's Nice!
On Friday when Tim was playing Wii and I was just chatting with my step-mother-in-law about raising children and real estate. Made me feel like a grown woman!
20-Second T.O.
Anyone else getting sick of hearing about these?!?!? I tell ya, recording our fights really puts it in perspective. There are actually times when we are fighting and I'm like "ugh! I'm gonna have to record this in my blog!!!" HA!
I picked up KFC on my way home one night after work and we were saying random weird things to each other as we were setting up to eat. Bear with me, the exchange went something like this:
M - i'm gonna eat this nasty piece of chicken
T - your face is a nasty piece of chicken
I laugh saying that that doesn't make any sense and then something along the lines of "you should be thanking me for picking up dinner instead of calling me names!"
And in my mind this was all said in jest with a smile on my face - BUT Tim got totally offended! Saying that he doesn't like to be told to say thank you, etc. So I was just completely annoyed that we went from joking to this AND then I started thinking "why is he defending NOT thanking me??"
It faded away as we ate, then I went off to band rehearsal. The next day Tim emailed me to apologize for taking it wrong and then we had a VERY constructive conversation about all sorts stuff surrounding that! YAY!
Friday, March 7, 2008
WEEK #15 continued...
Humor
Mostly it was follow-up conversations and references to teh "I'm @#$@% Matt Damon" and "I'm @$^@%^ Ben Affleck" videos!
Aww...That's Nice!
So, I'm a little crazy :) I'm always looking ahead to the next big step and next thing I can do with my life. Lately - and becuase it's been slow at my new job, I've been perusing the real estate listings for Hoffman Estates (where we live now) and the surrounding suburbs - to the south and southeast. I thought Tim would be annoyed by it, since we are still in wedding debt, but he's actually into it! Just a little behind me on the excitement level, but he's all about checking out open houses and keeping an eye out for our options in our price range. I think it helped b/c I assured him this is not something I want to do for at least another 6 months!
20 Second T.O.
No arguments to note! Just a few blah moments here and there, but none I can even recall?
Mostly it was follow-up conversations and references to teh "I'm @#$@% Matt Damon" and "I'm @$^@%^ Ben Affleck" videos!
Aww...That's Nice!
So, I'm a little crazy :) I'm always looking ahead to the next big step and next thing I can do with my life. Lately - and becuase it's been slow at my new job, I've been perusing the real estate listings for Hoffman Estates (where we live now) and the surrounding suburbs - to the south and southeast. I thought Tim would be annoyed by it, since we are still in wedding debt, but he's actually into it! Just a little behind me on the excitement level, but he's all about checking out open houses and keeping an eye out for our options in our price range. I think it helped b/c I assured him this is not something I want to do for at least another 6 months!
20 Second T.O.
No arguments to note! Just a few blah moments here and there, but none I can even recall?
Thursday, March 6, 2008
WEEK #15: February 24 - March 1, 2008
Home Cookin
All week I planned to make Heavenly Chicken on Saturday, but we were busy out shopping, etc. that there wasn't enough time to make the 3-hr recipe! So maybe I'll double up next week?
Social Robins (Butterflies)
Hal Sparks @ the IMPROV Woodfield Mall
On Thursday night we went to see Hal Sparks (Queer as Folk, VH1 shows) with Colin & his sister. He had free tickets but we still ended up spending over $60 on food and drinks ;)
Happy Hour (Monica)
At the end of my second week at my new job, our Account Director Amy took the entire Qwest Retail team (account execs and creatives) out for a Happy Hour! We got to leave work at 3 and go to McNally's bar where they had apps and covered our bar tab until 6pm! It was a great way to speed up getting to know some of my coworkers! And hey - can't beat getting out of work 2hrs early for free drinks and food!
Guido's Birthday
On Friday night we headed into the city, Irving Park & Damen to Silvio's for Guido's 30th Bday party. There was an opening band that were some of Guido's friends - then Billy's band "Something Worth Dying For" played, followed by Guido reuniting with some of those guys that he was in a band with a few years ago "Uphill Ski Team"
Tim bought Guido a Birthday Girl sash and tiara! Both were a hit! Oh, he also got him a "Man Boobs are Sexy" t-shirt :)
All week I planned to make Heavenly Chicken on Saturday, but we were busy out shopping, etc. that there wasn't enough time to make the 3-hr recipe! So maybe I'll double up next week?
Social Robins (Butterflies)
Hal Sparks @ the IMPROV Woodfield Mall
On Thursday night we went to see Hal Sparks (Queer as Folk, VH1 shows) with Colin & his sister. He had free tickets but we still ended up spending over $60 on food and drinks ;)
Happy Hour (Monica)
At the end of my second week at my new job, our Account Director Amy took the entire Qwest Retail team (account execs and creatives) out for a Happy Hour! We got to leave work at 3 and go to McNally's bar where they had apps and covered our bar tab until 6pm! It was a great way to speed up getting to know some of my coworkers! And hey - can't beat getting out of work 2hrs early for free drinks and food!
Guido's Birthday
On Friday night we headed into the city, Irving Park & Damen to Silvio's for Guido's 30th Bday party. There was an opening band that were some of Guido's friends - then Billy's band "Something Worth Dying For" played, followed by Guido reuniting with some of those guys that he was in a band with a few years ago "Uphill Ski Team"
Tim bought Guido a Birthday Girl sash and tiara! Both were a hit! Oh, he also got him a "Man Boobs are Sexy" t-shirt :)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
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