Tuesdays At The Table - Grilled BBQ Pizza

Happy Tuesday, ladies!  I hope you all got to enjoy a nice long weekend with family and friends.  I was lucky enough to see a few of my favorite soldiers - and say "thank you" in person this weekend for their service.  So many of you put up fabulous posts about Memorial Day! Way to go!  :-)

I know we have a few weeks before we are technically into Summer...but in my mind, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the season.  That means - TIME TO GRILL!!!

Grilled BBQ Pizza

1 cup pre-cooked chicken chunks/strips
1 ready made pizza crust
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup BBQ sauce

Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat and lightly oil grate. Roll out prepared pizza dough to a size that will fit your grill. Place on grill for 5 minutes, or to desired doneness, and flip over. Now add the BBQ sauce, cheese, chicken and onion.  Cover the grill and allow to cook over high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

 

A Yard Sale, A Trip To The ER and A House Update

Phew, day one of the Memorial Day weekend was exhausting!! 

Kristin, Heather and I had a yard sale at Heather's house.  I have to say - we had a good set-up!  Heather has a great yard and we had a pretty consistent flow of people stopping in to check out our stuff. I had more fun hanging out with the girls than anything else...but selling stuff was pretty fun too.  :-)  We all have enough left (and I know we'll accumulate more!), that I think I'll host the next yard sale!

The single cruddy thing about the yard sale?  A woman who spent over an hour poking and prodding everything managed to somehow steal the web cam I was selling!!  How rude!  It was priced cheap...just buy the darn thing!

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Kristin and I moved along to visit Grandma after the yard sale.  We got there right in time to call 911.  She wasn't breathing quite right and was complaining of chest and leg pain - primarily on her left side.  Poor thing had only been out of the hospital about 24 hours from her last episode of chest pain.  At 87 years old - I think we all expect that she have some problems.  But I feel so bad for her!  She's been in the hospital three times in the last month!  Knock on wood the doctors figure out how to really help her this time.

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To end on a bright note - my house update!  Things are moving right along.  YAY!!  I had the home inspection last Sunday and it went pretty well.  There are definitely things that will need to be addressed...but no home is absolutely perfect, and most have a list of repairs to be made.

Thursday morning I applied for my home loan.  And think I killed a few trees in the process.  I know, I know.  If I want dead trees, wait until closing!  Friday morning, my fabulous real estate agent's hubby came all the way to my place of work so I could sign the P&S.  What a great guy.  :-)

All that's left now is waiting!  Waiting for the loan to be approved; the seller's bank to approve the short sale; wait for my closing date.

Tuesdays At The Table - Tortellini Salad With Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Happy Tuesday!!  My weekend was action-packed, but fun.  I hope yours was too.  :-)  More on all the house hunting hoopla tomorrow!

It's almost Memorial Day.  How did that happen?!?!  To me - that signifies the beginning of summer, the fun of cook-outs, the beach and Cape traffic in my way on Friday afternoons.  :-)  It also means more salads.  Green, leafy salads and potato salad and caprese salad...and this salad too.

Tortellini Salad With Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing


1/2 pound Tortellini, frozen (or dried), cheese filled
1 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Garlic, minced
2 teaspoon Basil, chopped
1/4 cup Sun-dried tomatoes, re-hydrated and pureed
1/4 cup Parmesan, grated

Cook the pasta according to the package directions then drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside. Place the tomatoes in a bowl and cover with hot water. Allow to soak for 20 minutes. Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of water and place in a food processor. Puree. Whisk together the mayonnaise, basil, garlic, and pureed tomatoes. Toss in the pasta. Chill at least 2 hours. Garnish with Parmesan before serving.

*Note: this is my base recipe.  However, I tend to double it, then instead of all the mayo - add some ranch dressing and/or sour cream.  Add some shrimp or left over chicken for a yummy entree.*
 
What's cooking in your kitchen?
 

Adventures in House Hunting...Volume 2

Yep, I'm still on the search for the perfect home. :-)

House one was fabulous in pictures.  I Googled. I MapQuested. I did a drive-by.  I wish I could tell you what the inside of this house looked like in person...but I can't.  You see, I told my trusty Realtor - Elaine that I wanted to see this house.  She called, and called and called.  The selling agent.  The phone calls weren't returned for an entire week!!!  And then, it was only to tell Elaine that the house had been sold to someone else.  Gee, lady - update the status on the freaking listing!  It's not that hard.

House two was questionable in pictures. It could be fabulous; it could be hideous.  So, I dragged dear old dad to see said house.  And I liked it.  Really liked it...but didn't get the feeling that this was "the one".  You know what I'm talking about right?  The feeling that this is the house you were meant to buy.  So, I walked away. 

But, it's been a few weeks since the home tour.  And the house is really growing on me.  To the point where I put an offer on it today!  It all happened so fast!  I got pre-approved for a loan at 4 o'clock and was submitting my offer two hours later.  I should have news before the end of the week!!  Eek!

So, based on the two pictures I can share...what do you think of my potential new home?

Tuesdays At The Table - Scottish Scones

Happy Tuesday, ladies!!  I hope you all had fabulous weekends.  Mine was great - I got lots of errands done, just about finished planting my garden and I'll have some pictures from a friend's bridal shower to post later this week.  :-)

Like a good little Scottish girl - I'm sharing one of my many scone recipes this week.

Scottish Scones

2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
Milk and sugar

Stir dry ingredients together then cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.  Combine egg with buttermilk; stir into dry ingredients.  Turn dough out onto board, knead lightly.  Divide in half; roll each into a round, 1/2 inch thick and cut each round into 6 to 8 wedges.  Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar, and bake on greased baking sheet in preheated 425 degree oven for about 10 minutes.

(My mom likes these with clotted cream and lemon custard - but some raspberry jam is really good too!)

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Tuesdays At The Table - Albondigas (Cuban Meatballs)

Thanks to everyone that linked up last week!  You are all AWESOME!!

I know that by posts have been less frequent than normal.  Everything should be back on track soon. *fingers crossed* 

A friend of mine made these for me last month and they are delicious!!

Albondigas (Cuban meatballs)

Meatballs:
2 eggs
1 cup cracker crumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon dry yellow mustard
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 small onion chopped fine
1/2 cup green onions chopped fine
Flour for rolling
Olive oil for frying

Sauce:
Olive oil for frying
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 garlic cloves mashed
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 can tomato sauce

In a large bowl, mix eggs, cracker crumbs, and milk together. Blend in the ground beef and all remaining ingredients. Form mixture into large balls. Roll in flour to lightly coat and sauté in olive oil until cooked through.

To make sauce, sauté onion and green pepper in olive oil until translucent. Add mashed garlic during the last minute or two of frying. Drain thoroughly.

Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour the sauce in a large sauce pan, add the cooked meat balls, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

 

The Life and Times of...Um, Me?

Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. I miss blogging and I miss all of you. It’s been a rough couple of weeks…


My “girls” decided to have a little fight. Carmella bit Meadow’s ear and tore it close to in half lengthwise. Their jostle for Alpha status is an extremely rare occurrence and despite my mom running towards them, she didn’t see what started the problem. Meadow is a tough little cookie – and after then went to their separate corners – we thought everyone came out unscathed. Not so, unfortunately. A few minutes later Meadow ran up to her Grammy with blood dripping quickly off her ear. I was called home and the little princess had to have emergency surgery to sew up the ear. She’s been in an Elizabethan collar since then (just over a week) and I bring her for a re-check tomorrow night. To make her more comfortable (and to limit her jumping off my bed), I’m sleeping with her on the couch. I miss my bed!

A few of you lovelies have seen my job tweets. I try to keep where I work as shielded as possible, but I do need to share my utter disappointment here. I have been performing a job function (in addition to my normal job) for about 2 years now. Well, this project is getting off the ground and it’s time to hire a permanent person to perform this job function. As the person already doing it – and LOVING all that it entails- I applied for this position a six weeks ago. A month and one day after going through four interviews for said position, I found out that someone else was hired to assume my role. I’m sad. I’m disappointed. And, frankly, I’m a little ticked that I need to train the person taking my position. However, my boss has told me that my hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. (HURRAY!) I have yet to see the job description, but it seems a new job is being created for me. As soon as I know more, I’ll let you all know.

This weekend was hospital-centric. Mom has been experiencing side-effects from chemo. Saturday she went into the hospital with a fever, racing heart and shortness of breath. Right now, it looks like these symptoms are all part of moderate dehydration. Darn chemo!! With any luck – she gets to come home today. Not to be outdone by my mom – my grandma has been admitted to the hospital too. Grandma passed out in the parking lot of a restaurant yesterday after breakfast and had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital. This freaked out my poor Aunt and Uncle! Anytime an 88 year old woman passes out, it causes concern. Both of these lovely ladies are now in the cardiac care unit.

As soon as life settles down a little, I’ll be back to blogging with a vengeance. I know I said it before – but I MISS YOU GUYS!!!! Please let me know what I’m missing. :-)

Tuesdays At The Table - Mixed Berry Sorbet

Sorry I ended up taking a week "off" from blogging, ladies!  It's only in the past 2-3 days that I don't feel like I got run over by a mack truck!!

I hope you all had fabulous weekends.  :-)  We had some great weather, and I got to enjoy a night out with the girls and got all my tomatoes & peppers planted.  YIPPEE! I'll be around to visit all of your blogs. What have I missed while I've been hiding under a rock?

This is such an easy recipe, and a great treat as we get ready for summer.

Mixed Berry Sorbet

1 bag (12 oz) frozen mixed berries (slightly thawed)
1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp sugar or honey
2 tsp real vanilla extract

Place slightly thawed berries, juices, sugar/honey and vanilla extract into blender and blend until liquified.
Strain berry-juice mixture through small sieve (to remove seeds) into a flat, freezer-safe container (9x9 Pyrex dish works well).  Cover with plastic wrap, making sure wrap touches entire surface and freeze for about 2 hours, or until firm.

What's cooking in your kitchen?