200

This is my 200th post. Holla! Who'da thunk it?

That is all. Have a great day.

Good Eats

I'm happy to report that this weekend went much better in the cooking department! And I'm sure Trey is very thankful as well.

Friday night I made homemade sloppy joes and used ground turkey burger instead of ground beef. They were delish!! I'm like 99% sure I got this recipe from Charlotte's blog, but I can't for the life of me find where she posted it up so I'm not completely sure. At any rate... here it is.. It made enough for us to have leftovers all weekend!

SLOPPY JOES
Ingredients:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
12 parker house rolls
Directions:
Set a heavy-based pot over medium-high heat and add a 3-count of olive oil. Add onions and saute for 2 to 3 minutes until translucent. Add ground turkey, season well with salt and pepper and brown well all over, breaking it up with a wooden spoon - about 7 to 10 minutes. Add ketchup, mustard, cayenne, brown sugar and tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar and season it once more before serving on parker rolls (or any large whole wheat buns).

I'm pretty positive that I'll never use regular ol' sloppy joe mix out of the can ever again!

Saturday night we had a couple friends over for the Bama/Carolina game (of which I had lots of mixed feelings over and can't say that I'm terribly disappointed that Carolina lost. Please no hate mail) so I just made some munchies. A dip made with ground sausage, package of cream cheese, and rotel and then a buffalo chicken pizza.

Sunday night I made Shepperd's Pie. My grandmother used to make this when her and my grandfather visited and I loved it! This one was made a little differently... let's just say I'm a little overly excited to have it for leftovers tonight. Here's the recipe for this one:
Ingredients:
1 tbs vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1lb lean ground beef
1 tsp dried basil
1 clove garlic, minced (I used two)
1 cup of corn
1 cup of tomatoes, diced
2 potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 2-qt casserole dish with cooking spray
2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil for 5 min, stirring frequently. Stir in the ground beef and basil, and cook and stir for 5 more minutes. Mix in the garlic, corn, and tomatoes, and simmer for 5 min. Transfer beef mixture to prepared dish.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together the mashed potatoes, egg, and water. Spread evenly over meat mixture.
4. Bake in a preheated over for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes start to brown on top (I had to do much longer for some reason) Sprinkle with cheese and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

Although it wasn't even close to being cold here, that was a great meal to eat after watching the Pats play a full football game and kicking some serious ass... in the SNOW!!!! Snow.. in October... I have a feeling it's going to be a long winter for some of us!

I Forgot My Anniversary!!

Thanks for all of your input on that email I received the other day! I've decided not to go with it. I'm not totally convinced it's a scam (I took Becca's advice and googled the email address - nothing negative came up, in fact a lot of other bloggers have heard from her and have taken her up on her offer - who's to say nothing happened with them though), but basically it comes down to me not wanting to take the risk. Not worth it. I didn't make this blog in order to make any money off it... not that I'd complain if I did.. but it's not my goal. Problem solved ~ moving on ~

I realized - almost a month too late - that I've been blogging for a year now! I really can't believe that. When I started this, I never knew it would become this much a part of my life. I've said this before, but I am extremely thankful for the friends I've met over this. Y'all got me through one of the toughest parts of my life that I've had to experience so far. This kept me sane and all of you kept me happy, grounded, and in the know when it comes to everything Army. It thrills me to think about where we'll get stationed next.. chances are it could very well be near any of you! I'm keeping my fingers crossed at least. We'll be moving again before you know it!

Major success story of the week:
Hubs and I were at Starbucks last night (for the my 3rd time this week..) when I spotted her. The one girl I've been looking for since I got here. You know... the one with the fabulous haircut. I walk up to her immediately and beg kindly ask where she gets her hair done. "Oh", she says, "I work at so and so. Right down the street". She's a hairdresser!! She gave me her card with a promise of $5 off on it. I know a good cut when I see one!! I'll be making my appointment shortly. I pray they wax eyebrows as well bc these monsters ARE NOT looking so hot!