Velocity Update

Veronica and Joey had Velocity (winter drumline) tryouts on Saturday. They got the results yesterday. Veronica will be in the "pit" again and will either play vibes or marimba, apparently she won't know till she gets her music. Joey is playing cymbals. There are 20 kids total.

The music is going to be songs you know...the kids couldn't remember them all, but one is Dream On. I guess it's going to take on a "darker" theme, in contrast to last years "Love in Suspension" theme. The first practice is the first Monday back after Thanksgiving. They're super excited! Me too!!

Happy Mama

I had some company knitting today. No kidding...they wanted to knit without any prompting from me. Sweet...a knitting mom's dream come true!

What's for Dinner Wednesday!

I actually had a couple requests for last weeks dinner recipe, Tuna Broccoli Casserole...so here it is. It's just a guideline, but don't panic, it's really hard to mess up.

Tuna Broccoli Casserole

1 can tuna, drained

broccoli (about 2 cups chopped, fresh or frozen...fresh is better cuz you get the crunch, but frozen works, too)

Elbow pasta...or any kind of small pasta (not spag noodles, in other words) about 1.5 cups uncooked

1 can cream of mushroom soup

french fried onions

2 cups grated cheese (cheddar or jack)

milk

Cook the pasta just under al dente (it'll finish cooking in the casserole). While the pasta is cooking throw the chopped broccoli, tuna, soup, cheese and about a cup of the ffonions in a bowl. When the pasta is done, drain it and throw it in the bowl with the other stuff. Mix it together...add some milk to this, maybe 3/4 a cup, you want it moist, but not runny. Pour it in a 2 quart casserole dish (Spray it with Pam for easy cleanup, but you probably do this automatically, huh?). Top with more ffonions...or if you're not a fan of those, cheese. I usually bake it at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour. It's weird, but oh, so good!

Ok, now onto tonight's meal!

Black Bean Soup

This is a recipe I got out of a Cooking Light Magazine and have been cooking since 1997.

Here's the recipe:

Black Bean Soup

1 tbl. oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained (I usually get the low-sodium.)

1/2 c. water

1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 (14.5 oz ) stewed tomatoes, undrained and chopped

1 (10.5 oz) can chicken broth (I just pour out a cup or so from one of those box thingies.)

1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, undrained

1 tbl. lemon juice

plain low-fat yogurt

Saute onion and garlic in the oil till tender. Add 1 cup of the beans and mash with a potato masher. Add remaining beans, water and next 5 ingredients; stir well. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and summer 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice. Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of yogurt.

This is real quick to throw together and tastes super good. The soup is tangy and that dollop of yogurt is kinda sweet...great combo. The knit group is meeting at Panera tonight...so you know this is good if I'm passing up Panera soup for this! I do wish I had some of their bread to go with this...hmmm...I might have to make a quick stop for some bread after I go to Target. That's the ticket!

Day Off

So today is my day off. I'm not doing a whole bunch. It's cold outside today, for Florida anyway. I think the high today will be 63 degrees. It was in the 40s this morning and tonight and tomorrow night promise to get in the mid 30s. Burrr. Good knitted sock weather though... :D!

I cleaned out a few drawers (I had Justine cracking up this morning when I told her I was going to clean out my drawers.), gave clothes to the Goodwill and threw a bunch of old stuff away. I now have expanded my sock drawer to two drawers. I have...wait......for...........it................36 pairs of hand knit socks. I didn't knit them all...Jen knit two for me. I was curious how many 2x2 rib socks I had compared to how many non-2x2 socks. Twenty-two 2x2. (Weird.)

Anyway, I'm doing some knitting today, it is after all, my day off. I'm working on Meret (lacy beret) for Charlotte's mom, who's going through chemo and will need to keep her hairless head warm in the months to come. I need to weave in the ends on a pair of socks I just finished (they're going into the Christmas pile, so they don't count toward the sock stats). I really wonder; just how many socks have I knit? You know, all together, over the years. Hmmm. I really do need to get to work on the last of my Bridgewater shawl...that lace around the perimeter is going to take a while, but it'll take much, much longer if I don't get crackin! Um, I mean clickin!

Hope you're having a good day, too!

Next Race...bummer

The Mallrat Duathlon has been cancelled!
Due to a scheduling conflict with the mall, the November 21st date was
cancelled and with limited time to find an alternate date for the event,
we are unable to reschedule the duathlon for the remainder of this year .
Those athletes that had signed up for the event will be receiving a full refund
and an email within the next week or they can email info@drcsports.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience.
We look forward to bringing this event to Jacksonville in 2011.

(This is what was posted on the DRC website.)

Jen, Mike and I are so bummed.

What's For Dinner Wednesday

A long time ago, when I was a young bride, my husband used to cook for me. Oh what sweet days those were. Ok, he cooks now, but only if it's on the BBQ. When we were both working (before kids) we used to take turns cooking dinner. His speciality was "Tuna Broccoli Roll-Ups". Sounds gross, but it's really good. Then the kids came along and I started making this dish. You make a filling, use flour tortillas, fill them, line a 9x13 pan, make a sauce to cover, add grated cheese...it's a bit of work. I have since modified the recipe to suit my busy working-mom lifestyle. Now, I mix everything up in a casserole (substitute pasta for flour tortillas...for that comfort food feeling), top with cheese and french fried onions. Here's the ingredients for "Tuna Broccoli Casserole":

Here's the casserole after cooking:

It's so yummy...crunchy onions on top with pasta, cheese and broccoli (with a little crunch still in them). It's weird, but really, really good.

Gotta go eat now...

Happy Halloween!

Justine and Veronica's pumpkins.
Justine and Katie go trick or treating!

Bee-utiful!

Joey interference.

V in her awesome skull socks from Aunt Barb & Uncle Mark.