its my birthday month

Therefore it is a good month:

I only have:
one more abstract to write
one oral test
2 mini tests
one presentation

and then Im a graduated women/no, I like girl better. might as well be done now holy easy-peasy!

And then I have an Easter weekend filled with sun, sand and biking @ St. George.

And then a bachelorette party for my cute Mari who will be marrying her cute DJ. Im pretty sure our husbands will be great friends.

And then a week of Mexico.

OH MY!

Oh I forgot my birfday. Yep its the 17th. I have all sorts of stuff planned for me. I want to go to Dave's Deli for lunch (the best philly cheesesteak sandwiches you can buy), go to the Tulip Festival, have a slice of the Costco All-American chocolate cake, and then make my brother and kevin let me win @ monoply on sunday. They never let me win. But that will be the Mal-ificient celebration day, so... I win. And I start off with $3,000 not $1,500. And I never go to jail. Its going to be a goooood few days.

the koran in florida and the mormons on broadway

I always like finding articles from writers who aren't LDS, but are inspired by our religion and our leaders.
This article is a good one.
And holy crap-a-doodle did you see what I just did!!? I just embedded a link. Wow. Figured it out finally.

I really liked how the writer said "Obama elevated the Koran burning to an extreme offense and therefore gave comfort to an extreme reaction. 'The desecration of any holy text, including the Koran, is an act of extreme intolerance and bigotry.' said Obama. The White House's use of the word extreme was inappropriate for this situation."

And our Church's reaction to the broadway show: "But the even tempered official Mormon Church reaction should make everyone take a second look at the religion." Our church always replies to anything with such sense and decency.

almost done with my college career

I only have:
one more abstract to write
one group project (working on this one right now)
two presentations
three more mini tests
and one more 10 page paper

and then im all done.
i am kinda sad. but I am sure I will get over it in Mexico...




In less than a month we will be here.
We recently were talking about our honeymoon here, and realized how cheap we were. I could seriously name everything that we bought while we were there. But I won't bore you. We now both laughed how hungry we got at night. We would go and eat the delicious dinner they provided for us, but a few hours later we would be starving. Since the rooms don't have fridges or provide room service, we were left without food. We didn't even think to go into town and stock up on treats to leave in the room. Oh we were so cheap. We both decided that is the first thing we are going to do when we get there: Stock up. So excited for it.

we went to the cheesecake factory...

....at our house.
Yep I made a cheesecake factory dish. The chicken madeira dish. Kevin gets this every time we go (ok we have only been there twice) and he absolutely loves it and talks about how good it is the whole time.
I went to work tonight, switched tonight's shift for friday night, and drove back home. On this drive home I had the urge to impress the husband with my cooking skills so I stopped at a state liquor store. I was scared. I have never been to one. But to make this you need the key ingredient: madeira port wine. Since my work has taught me all about wine, how you serve wine, how you pair wine and how you cook with wine, I walked into the liquor store with confidence. And it wasn't too bad, especially for someone who doesn't drink. I found exactly what I wanted ($6 bottle, booyah!), handed my drivers license to the checker since I knew he wouldn't make one move of letting me buy that bottle until he had proof I wasn't 14. And I walked out with the bottle in a brown paper bag. It felt weird.

So here is the recipe. Know that this is actually really simple and easy. I was quite surprised. Just make sure you cook the sauce on high for a good 20-30 minutes to let all the alcohol evaporate. If you don't, it will taste yucko. And I only know this because at our anniversary dinner at the Zermatt, I had some tirimisu for dessert. And when I took a bite, alcohol seeped out and I almost gagged and had to spit it out. It did not taste good. So now I assume that that is how all alcohol tastes.

Chicken Madeira

1 Tb olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 asparagus spears
4 slices mozzarella cheese
2 Tb olive oil
2 cups fresh cut mushrooms
3 cups madeira wine
2 cups beef stock (I used chicken broth)
3 Tb flour
1 Tb butter
salt and pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
You can flatten the chicken breasts so they are about 1/4 inch think, or what I did, butterfly them. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
Saute the chicken until browned. Mine were still a little pink. so I just broiled them for longer later.
Remove from pan, do not clean pan.
Add the 2 Tb olive oil, and then the mushrooms. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add the 3 cups madeira wine. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5-8 minutes.
Add 1 cup beef broth with 1 Tb butter
In a cup or bowl, combine the remaining 1 cup broth with the 3 Tb flour. Mix well. Then slowly incorporate this into the skillet.
Bring all this to a boil and simmer on med-high for a good 20 minutes. Keep your eye on it, it will reduce quickly at the end. This is the point, to reduce, but you don't want to reduce too much. When the sauce is a dark brown and thick, it is finished.

Now to finish, broil the chicken until completely cooked through and then top them with the mozarella cheese and asparagus and broil until melted.
Spoon the reduction over.

Kevin absolutely looooooved this. He recognized it right when he smelled it. I was proud.
Sadly, the only way to make this is with the madeira wine. Nothing can substitute. The flavors blended into this port wine are the flavors needed for the sauce. Good thing it was only $6! They had a bunch to choose from but they ranged from $14-$70. I was so happy to find the $6 cheapo bottle at the bottom.

All my latest posts are recipes. I guess I am on a cooking rampage. Husband is so lucky.

the best caesar dressing

Lately I have really liked to make my own dressings. I found this one all allrecipes.com and it is divine.

Caesar Dressing
(Servings 2)

1-2 minced anchovy filets (kevin likes more)
1 garlic clove (or to taste, I usually add more)
1/2 cup mayo
1/8 cup half and half
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 Tb lemon juice
1/2 Tb mustard
salt and pepper to taste

I then make my own croutons with whatever bread I have on hand:

cut the bread into cubes
spread evenly onto baking sheet
drizzle with EVOO
add garlic and salt
toss it all around to mix evenly
bake @ 400 for about 8 or so minutes, but keep your eye on it so they don't burn.
and you will want to make a lot of them because they are gooooood

now toss the dressing with some romaine lettuce, top with parmesan cheese and your warm croutons. walah! dinner is served.

hurry! go to your local harmons!

me hugging, not holding up, hugging, the tower. we got creative.
oh look here we are at the famous gelato shop. look at the love in my eyes.

Ok, this stuff is goooood.
The summer I met Kevin, I went on a Mediterranean cruise with my family. It was the best vacation ever (even though my family will tell you otherwise and say that I was grumpy, moody and missing Kevin the whole time). Like every other girl, I had always dreamed of going to Italy. Everything was as beautiful and grand as I had expected....except for the food. I expected the best panini and pizza I had ever tasted. I was so wrong. It was all bland. Granted we only ate two meals (one in Rome, one in Florence), but still, such a disappointment. I am hoping we just went to the wrong places. But, there was one food item that we had in Florence that had aspired to my dreams. It was the gelato. Our cute tour guide took us to her favorite gelato shop; I was a bit skeptical because we had had gelato in a little town along the Amalfi coast that was only ok. I decided to opt for the pistaccio. And then I fell in love. When we go back to Florence, and I am hoping one day I will, I am finding that little shop and getting the bucket size of pistaccio gelato.

Well everyone, even though its not as good as eating it in Florence, I have found it. I have found the amazing pistachio gelato in the great state of Utah, in the great store of Harmons.
Talenti Gelato: Sicilian Pistaccio.
It is all-natural, and all-tasting. It is amazing. Kevin made me put it away so I wouldn't eat it all in one sitting.
Maybe you don't like pistaccio, well they have a bazillion flavors to satisfy everyone.
I have found my new favorite treat. for now.

my maybe most embarrassing moment

So when work is slow we come up with games to play. Games such as 1) hit whatever with a rubber band 2) dominoes 3) make up drinks and make the drinkers try them 4) fruit ninja 5) tell a funny joke 6) pretend your the cook or 7) tell your most embarrassing moment. Tonight we opted for 7) tell your most embarrassing moment.
It took my a while to think of one...because I am perfect...but then I thought of this one:
In junior high (7th-8th grade), I was a loser. I had no friends. The only friends I had were A) the kids in my carpool (but it was one of those I-only-talk-to-you-in-the-car type of friendships) B) the one friend I had in a class (but again, it was one of those don't you-talk-to-me-outside-of-this-class-or-else types).
Well in P.E. one year we were working on the Presidential Fitness Award. Ugh I hated this. Don't get me wrong I was an athlete and very athletic, so the fitness parts- no problemo; it was just the strength exercises that got me. Pull-ups: couldn't even do one. The flexibility exercise: ha! So when it came to the sit-ups, I knew I had to do good.
So I get paired up with some random girl who has to hold my feet down. Ready! Set!....GO! I start. My first few are way fast. And then it starts. Every time I came up to touch my elbows to my knee....I farted....... And its not like I could stop. Ohhhh nooo. I had to finish. And its not like I could be like "oh uh...sorry.." to the girl. I didn't know her and was way to shy to say a word to her. I just kept on going.
Well I did pass on the sit-ups. I went over what I needed for the allotted time. I think I tried to make up for my farts.