Tail Wagging Tuesday

I'm linking up to Tail Wagging Tuesday found here Check out her blog, super cute and her dog is adorable!

 

Today's topic is to Share with us the most funniest picture of your fur child (children)

Here are a few:

Kirby and my hubby cheering on the Vikes (LOVE this pic)

My SIL, Whitney, got a new bag for Christmas and Kirby fit right inside LOL

(when Chris proposed to me, he got Kirby as part of my engagement gift and Kirby arrived to me in a gift bag. This pic reminds me of that sweet, sweet moment)

Oscar is Mr Independent! He likes to snuggle on pillows and blankets - by himself. 

We think he's going through his teenage years

Oscar is a lover of EVERYTHING (babies, animals, people). His new thing this summer is to kiss the fish we catch at the lake

This is from last Halloween. Oscar the Monkey and Kirby the Banana...hahaha, we're so mean to our "kids"

Share some pics of your fur babies and link up. 

Happy Tuesday!

Something New...

I'm pretty excited about a few recent purchases we've made. I'm typing this blog post on one of them. 

Last night we purchased a new computer!! Not just any computer, an iMac. I've been craving a mac computer for the past few months, mainly from jealousy of other people's macs. I threw the idea out there and my hubby went with it (yay!). Our local Best Buy was running a special of 36 months of interest free financing, so that pretty much sealed the deal for us. 

we went from this...

4 year old laptop that is slower than slow to this...

I'm in LOVE (sorry for the crappy lighting on the pic)

I was also able to get one of the items on my b-day wish list (found here)

Our living room went from looking like this...

See the ugly white-ish carpet that I desperately want to replace but don't want to pay for

To this...

After a quick trip to Home Depot last weekend, we now have this warm, pretty, soft rug to detour me from wanting to replace our carpet at a small fraction of the cost

Oscar and Kirby also love the new rug as you can see in these pics

I now have about 1,000 photos on our new computer and I'm so excited! Expect pictures in my future blogs!

Disclaimer: the pictures will still probably be as crappy in the future, new computer doesn't fix crappy photographer :(

Fill in the Blank Friday

Go on over to Lauren's blog
The Little Things We Do
to play along!

1.   My most favorite birthday was  my 28th (just last Sunday). My hubby surprised me with a trip to Chicago for the weekend! This involved booking a hotel (free due to a good friend we know!), coordinating with my boss to have Monday off, finding/planning stuff for us to do, coordinating with my parents to act like we were having dinner together on Saturday - even though we would be gone and keeping the secret from me, and collecting b-day gifts from family members so I could open them on my b-day!

 

2.  My worst birthday was   my 18th when me and a friend of mine decided to go to Canada to celebrate (it was like 3 hours away and the drinking age was 18 - party!). Let's just say there was a DUI, night in jail, calling my brother to come pick us up and my car was impounded for 30 days - IN CANADA. Luckily, I did not get the DUI or spend the night in jail but  that definitely goes down as the most extreme high and low in about 12 hours!

 

3.  My favorite birthday memory is   going to Happy Joe's pizza for my b-day party when I was younger (maybe 8-ish) and then I think we went to the zoo too. I just remember Happy Joe's and my friends and I all got ice cream treats for dessert.

 

4.  The best birthday present I've ever received was the picture frame from my sister-in-law (Whit) that has Nacho Average Nachos engraved on it. Every time  I look at that frame (with a picture of Chris and I eating nachos early in our relationship) it cracks me up. We're so weird and goofy!

5.  The  best birthday present I've ever given was    probably the "Dino Dan" vest I got my nephew this year for his b-day. He was super excited about it and it made me happy cuz I never know what to get him and he seemed to really like it.

6.  Birthdays are  still fun for me to look forward to. I'm sure in about 10 years I will dread when August rolls around it's another year to tack on :)

7.  My favorite age so far has been   22. That's the age I was when Chris and I started dating, I started my first "grown-up" job and I graduated college! That was a pretty monumental year for me.

 

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I finally got my computer back and I'm hoping to get some blogs going with pictures again, yay!

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Hey there bloggy friends...so my posts lately have been pretty far apart and not the greatest of content. I blame this on the fact that our laptop has been at the doctor for the past 3-ish weeks and posting from our ipad just doesn't seem reasonable. Also, my work has banned me from uploading pics to my blog (I mean, it's like they expect me to work all day while I'm here or something :))


So, with that being said, I would like to share a recipe today. I made this last night (1/2 batch) and it was amazing! Chris ate half the pan some when he got home from work and really liked it! Success! It's not as simple as Easy Mac, but I think it's definitely worth the extra effort. As she states, the ingredient list is pretty extensive, but I only had to pick up 2 items from the store to make this meal. I used 1/2 bread crumbs and 1/2 panko bread crumbs (that's what I had on hand) and I think the panko bread crumbs made the chicken crispier.


I hope you enjoy it as much as we did - let me know if you try it.


http://www.wearenotmartha.com/2010/06/buffalo-chicken-mac-and-cheese/


Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese:

• 2 C unseasoned breadcrumbs
• 11/2 T cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 T ground cumin
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 large eggs
• 1 lb. chicken cutlets
• 6 T canola oil
• 1 lb. elbow macaroni (whole wheat if you want)
• 8 T (1 stick) butter, divided (6 T and 2 T)
• 3 C chopped onions
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 C all-purpose flour
• 4 C 2% milk
• 1 C reduced fat cheddar cheese
• 1 C crumbly blue cheese
• 1 C buffalo spice cheese (use Monterey jack if you can’t find)
• 2 T paprika
• 1 C Frank’s RedHot Original (I used the extra hot variety)

Mix together the breadcrumbs, salt, cumin, cayenne, and pepper in one bowl.


And beat the eggs together in a separate bowl.


And you’re ready to make the chicken! Coat chicken cutlets with breadcrumbs, dip in eggs, and then coat again with more breadcrumbs. Put on a plate and repeat with all the cutlets.


Now, in a large skillet, heat 1/4 C of canola oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken tenders and cook, turning once, until golden brown on both sides.


Repeat with all the chicken and move to paper towels to drain. When it cools a bit, you’ll need to cut into 1-inch pieces.


Now you’re ready to cook your macaroni. Boil it in a large pot until tender, but not cooked through (super al dente, if you will). Drain and transfer to a large bowl.


Melt 6 T of butter in same pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook, covered, for about 6 minutes. Onions should be soft, but not browned. Make sure you keep stirring.


Now, add the flour and stir for 2 minutes.


Then whisk in milk and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce for about 2 minutes. Add all the cheeses, paprika, 1 t salt, and 1 t pepper. Whisk until all the cheeses melt and sauce is smooth, about 2 minutes.


Remove from heat and mix cheese sauce in bowl with macaroni. Also, mix in half the chicken pieces.


Now transfer the macaroni mixture into a 13x9x2 glass baking dish. I told you this is a lot of mac and cheese.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake macaroni uncovered until heated through, for about 25 minutes.


Now, stir the Frank’s RedHot and remaining 2 T of butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter milks. Take macaroni out of oven, top with remaining chicken, and pout ReHot/butter mixture over the top (about 4 tablespoons).


Bake 5-7 minutes more. And serve!