Sweet Dreams

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Vegetarian Spanish Rice! Ole!

Tried a new recipe tonight: Vegetarian Spanish Rice & Sausage.
It's based off of some recipes I found online, but mostly my own creation.

Source: Confessions from Household Six 2010 (view)

Vegetarian Spanish Rice and Sausage

• 1 package Italian Smart Sausage
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 package frozen corn, thawed
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes (the kind with green peppers and onions in it)
• 2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 1/4 cups uncooked Jasmine rice
• 1/2 cup salsa
• Just a pinch of Chili Powder
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 
  

Preparation:

1. Saute the onions and Smart sausage in a large skillet or paella pan. 
2. Add the corn, tomatoes, broth, rice, salsa and chili powder. 
3. Cook covered on low heat for about 30-40 minutes until the rice is cooked. 
4. Add the cheese at the very end, letting it melt on top. 
5. Enjoy :-) 

Allie in the City

Great weekend in NYC. Usually when Tim and I go, we have something big planned: Yankee's Game, show, zoo, etc. This time, it was all about relaxing and seeing friends.

After arriving on Friday night, we spent all day Saturday in the city. We hit a few bars for the SU game and time before dinner:

Mikey met up with us at the Blarney Stone.

Brian (hiding) me and Tim

We found this bar called "The Junction" where beer pong is encouraged. 

We went to Rare for dinner. Definitely recommend the 

parmesan truffle fries, sweet potato fries, and waffle fries. 

I got to see LITC at Rare :-)

We went to The Ginger Man after dinner. 

Tried an interesting drink: Hoegaarden and Framboise.

Sunday morning we headed out and stopped to see Heather's new place - Gorgeous. She made us brunch. Bagels, Coffee, Homemade Hummus. Yummmy!

Great trip. Home in time for the superbowl :-)

Allie in Cali

I went to visit my brother Matt and his beautiful family: wife = Kimber and daughter = Kierra. They are a gorgeous bunch!

We visited Matt at work! I got to see his office and meet his co-workers!

After I arrived on Saturday night, we stayed in a fun hotel, The Bahia Resort. See Sunny in SoCal. Then, on Sunday we went to Sea World. Most of it was a little overwhelming for little Kierra, but she did like the whales.

After going to Sea World, we went to Filippi's Pizza Grotto, which was delish. Kierra tried a lemon. 

We arrived at Matt and Kim's house in 29 Palms, and they have a great place!! Kim has done such a beautiful job of decorating! She is so artistic - great colors, themes, and textures. She needs to come decorate my house :-)

On Monday, I got to meet Lindsey and Morgan. I showed everyone how I make Baked Macaroni and Cheese from the Joy of Cooking Cookbook. I also got to see Morgan's dancing skillz.

Kierra, on the other hand, was too busy playing with Chewie to dance.

On Tuesday, Kim and I had a girl's day, including lunch and pedicures. Our toes were gorgeous.

For dinner that night, Matt's friend Jeff came over, and he was really cool. Kim made the best eggplant parm I've ever had! She is such a great cook and hostess!

At dinner, we all got to see another Kierra Trick.

Wednesday was a Lazy Day. I was really excited to meet two of Kim's friends, Lexi and Ivy. They were really nice girls. We just relaxed and watched Shrek :-)

For dinner, Matt and Kim took me to Appleby's. For dessert, we went to the best frozen yogurt place ever, Utopia Yogurt! When you go there, you take a cup, and it's self serve. You pick from about 12 different kinds of yogurt, and then they have a whole long table of about 40 toppings to choose from. Once you have made your sundae, they just weigh it, and you pay. It was amaaaazingggg.

Thursday was a Sad Day. Matt and Kierra drove me to the airport. The only part of it that was good, was that Matt and I had three hours to chat in the car and catch up. We talked for the whole ride. Clearly he has found a great life out there. I miss him like crazy, but I am so proud of him, and I can't wait to go back soon :-) Thanks Matt and Kim for such a great visit!!!

Sunny in SoCal

I missed out on writing some blogs. Here's the update: I'm in Cali visiting Matt and Kim! Check out where we stayed in San Diego before we came out to their house in 29 Palms.

Traveling Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down

So, traveling is always a bit of a risk - good moments and bad moments.

Here's a running list of things that have happened:

1. Flights leaving on time: Thumbs up.
2. Friendly people: Thumbs up.
3. Too much talking from friendly people (I'm not into talking when I'm traveling): Thumbs down.
4. Someone being gassy on the airplane: Thumbs down.
5. Real food and good wine while you are sitting in the airport: Thumbs up.
   
6. Watching at the airport bar while SU loses against Nova: Thumbs down.
7. Going to California to visit Matt, Kim, and Kierra!!! 

Powder

Mikey and Lacey came to visit this weekend. Good times.

We went to Labrador Mountain so that Lacey could learn to ski before she and Mike go to Vermont next weekend. The conditions were amazing. Hardly any ice. A rarity for CNY.

A photo of Lab

This is the kind of snowboard I ride, a K2 Lunatique. Tim just got it for me with

 awesome Ride bindings for Christmas. Love this board <333

Mikey and Lacey at the bar at Lab. Special on Yuengling Light, $2.50 drafts, yummm. 

That guy behind Lacey = solo person who took the corner in a crowded bar = party foul. 

Can't wait to see these two again soon xoxo