Thanksgiving menu

Want to know what we're making this year. Prepare to be jealous!

For the meat eaters: Traditional Turkey

Sides:
Gruyere Mashed Potatoes
Baked Cauliflower and Cheese Casserole
Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Garlic and Thyme Roasted Mushrooms
Sesame Dijon Asparagus
Sweet Potato Fries
Green Bean Casserole
Garlic Rolls

Satisfy your sweet tooth:
Apple Crisp
Pumpkin pie

Ohhh - death by Thanksgiving :)

If you want any of the recipes listed above - I am happy to provide!

Going to NYC

Just booked us two tickets to NYC to visit my sister and Wes in January. Jet Blue was running a special that I just couldn't ignore :) Can't wait!!! It's going to be so beautiful in the city. We timed it with the first day of Restaurant Week, so hopefully we can go to some fancy place for very little money :))))))

Can't wait, can't wait!!

It's a one day only special - so check it out if you can!

My boss and super glue

Yesterday, we were in Outlook training and we were on the break (p.s. outlook training is very boring). My boss went to the bathroom and I went to make a phone call. There is a frantic knock on the door. I finish the phone call and go and check what is going on. My boss has squirted super glue in her eye. Yes, you read that correctly. She super glued her eye.

She mistakenly grabbed the small bottle of super glue from her purse instead of her eye drops and squeezed it in. Yes. This is bad. It turned to crystal pretty much immediately but she was able to get some of it out. We took her to her eye doctor who said she had a chemical burn on her eye and corneal abrasions. They had to pull out some of her baby eyelashes to get it out of there. It was right in her tear duct :/ She's going to be ok though.

I always told her that I wished I had a funny story about her. This one is it. Horrifying and hysterical at the same time.

Crazy week so far...

Ok, so it isn't as if a lot of CRAZZZZY things have been happening exactly. It just has felt like a week with a lot of ups and downs.

Monday - went and got my name officially changed to Grace Wallace Castellanos at the Social Security office. That was really cool. It still doesn't feel real. I need to go get a new driver's license etc. next and I hope I will have time to do that tomorrow.

Tuesday - made a bunch of coasters. Then that night, I had terrible insomnia because my mind works WAY too hard and couldn't stop thinking about things. I got a little discouraged too because I was unsure if my etsy shop is going to work out, but now I feel better.

Wednesday - booooooooooooooo for rain. I had to be at work alone and it was creepy and driving was scary, so booooo again. Happily, late at night, we got our wedding collection and slideshow and it was AMAZING!!!! I am so happy and cannot wait to start ordering a bunch and making albums and scrapbooks etc. YYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!

Sometimes I hate...

being a woman... ouch... that is all.

Curried Potato Soup

Just so you know. I love soup. I really do. This weekend, I got to make this soup and use my immersion blender for the first time. It was the bomb. LOVE that immersion blender. Thanks to Alex's family for that wonderful appliance.

Curried Potato and Vegetable Soup

Ingredients
4 Tbsp butter
2 shallots, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon yellow mustard seed
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, quartered, cut into 1/2-inch slices
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 cups roughly chopped cauliflower florets
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (more to taste)
Pepper to taste
1 cup corn kernels (I use frozen for less salt)
2 small yellow squash, roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Sour cream

Method
1 In a large pot (6-quart), melt butter over medium high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, carrot and cumin. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and the bell pepper is lightly browned. Add the turmeric, mustard seed, cayenne, pepper, and curry powder and cook for a minute more. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

2 Add the potatoes, the broth, water, cauliflower, and salt. Increase the heat to high to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high or medium, enough to maintain a simmer. Let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

3 Add the corn and summer squash, cook for 10 minutes more, until the vegetables are cooked through. Use an immersion blender (or a regular blender) to purée about half of the soup. Adjust seasonings.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and a big dollop of sour cream.

Game night - Yay!

So game night turned out to be a pretty big success. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and get along really well. I definitely want to make it a monthly thing.

In honor of game night - and because people requested it - here is the recipe for the zucchini patties I made last night.

ZUCCHINI PATTIES!

Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup chopped shallot
1/2 chopped red bell pepper
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I use regular and panko)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Grate the zucchini. Press out as much water as you can. I put it in a colander, salt it, and then press out the water with a dish towel.
In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini, eggs, onion, flour, breadcrumbs, cayenne, cumin, pepper, garlic, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and salt. Stir well enough to distribute ingredients evenly.
Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Make a ball of the zucchini mixture and pat on extra breadcrumbs (this is where I use the panko) and put it in the oil. Press the patties until they are about 3/4 inch thick, and cook for a few minutes on each side until golden.

To make sure they are cooked through - you can put them on a baking sheet in the oven on 350 for ten minutes.