Griffin Wallace Update

Griffin went back to see Kristen at North Bark this week for another haircut. I have to say he looks like a handsome devil! And he loooovessss Miss Kristen. He gave her a kiss before he left.

Before

After

Enchiladas made easy

I got this recipe from my sister in law who got it off the side of the Old El Paso enchilada sauce can. It is so easy and so good.  For example, on Monday I got home from work around 5:30 and by 6:08 I had fed the dog, let him out, cleaned up the kitchen, made the enchiladas, and cleaned up the dishes. Just in time to change and get out the door for Zumba class. Josh turned on the oven about 20 minutes before I got home, popped these suckers in and they voila! Hot, fresh, and delicious.
Here's how it's done.

2 cans enchilada sauce
1 lb ground meat (I've used turkey and beef, both are good)
10 taco size tortillas (not the big ones for fajitas or whatever)
1 packet taco seasoning
1.5 cups of shredded cheese (Mexican mix)
Salsa, sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce or whatever suits your fancy

Grab a can of your favorite enchilada sauce (mild, medium, hot, pick your poison)
Read the back and follow instructions but I do make a couple modifications so here's how I do it:
Brown the meat and drain
Add taco seasoning per instructions on packet
Add in 3/4 can of enchilada sauce and 3/4 cup of cheese and stir

Lightly grease a rectangular baking dish (I use the one size smaller than 9x13 because the little shells fit well).
Spoon meat mixture onto shell one by one. Roll shell around meat. Place in dish.

Pour over remaining enchilada sauce and cheese.

Bake at 350* for about 20-30 minutes or until the shells just begin to brown.
Tip for saving for later: I don't recommend pouring the enchilada sauce and cheese over before freezing or storing in the fridge. Do this right before you put them in the oven so the shells aren't soggy.

Enjoy!

PS. We often pair this with margaritas

The Kid Rock Concert

I know you will probably all be surprised to hear me say that I rocked at the Kid Rock concert this week. I'm by no means a hard rocker and I rarely ever swear so what would be appealing? His show is awesome! This is the second one I've been to and both were fantastic especially compared to other artist's concerts. He plays for a few hours without breaks, he's got rhythm, and it's fun to be part of the crowd. It probably helps that he is very loyal to his roots (Detroit and Michigan) and that is very appealing to me. Like him, I was born in Michigan, I will die in Michigan. Maybe not physically because there is only one person who knows where that will happen, but home is where the heart is.

Easy Mostaccioli

Let's face it, there is not time every day to create a master piece from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking cook book.  Last night our brother and sister in law (Jeremy and Mary in case they are referenced in previous or future posts) came over for dinner. I had to make a quick decision based on what I had in the cupboard and what I could easily get from the store.  Maybe I should back up and set the scene: this was our first weekend home without plans since before Thanksgiving and it was a snowy, wintery weekend perfect for snuggling and watching movies. Who wants to snow blow to get the car out of the drive way, fight traffic on Alpine, trudge through the snow pushing a cart at the consistently busiest store in town? I wasn't in the mood yesterday.
Decision made: Mostaccioli
I don't follow a recipe. It is a lot like spaghetti but with a different twist. Here goes nothin'

Pasta - eyeballed, enough for 8 servings which equaled 1 box of Barilla
Sauce - jar and a half of whatever I had
Ground beef (or turkey) - 1.5 lbs for 4 people (with plenty of left overs)
Mozzarella cheese - enough to suit your taste
Boil pasta. Brown the meat & drain. Pour in the sauce. Pour meat/sauce combo over pasta in a 9x13 baking dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350* for 20 minutes (or so).
Paired with:
Garlic bread
Caesar salad - Dole makes a kit complete with dressing, croutons, and cheese. You can even get it "Lite"
Glass of wine
I season the ground beef with garlic as its cooking.  It turned out really well this time so it was either the sauce or the right amount of garlic, or it was infused with the proper amount of TLC. Not sure but we have plenty of left overs to get us through the week!

Amore Trattoria Italiana

This is a new restaurant in Grand Rapids and it. is. fantastic.  It is my favorite, and I have never really had a favorite restaurant.  In the area of Grand Rapids where I live there are not many non-chain restaurants (Logans, Applebees, TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, BW3's, Panera, Perkins, Golden Corral, Steak and Shake are all within throwing distance). Amore is a breath of fresh air because of its authentic recipes, friendly atmosphere and owners, and homemade recipes. I have visited 3 times and had a wonderful experience each time.

Visit 1

Amore was my pick for our weekly dinner club. Our table ordered:

Layers of fresh pasta, meat sauce, béchamel and Grana (2 of these)

Penne with peppers, eggplant patties, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato cream sauce & smoked provolone

Grilled homemade sausage in a light tomato cream sauce

Everybody loved their respective meal.

Visit 2

Kylah and I went for a girls night when she was in town for the holidays. We enjoyed the bread and a bottle of red wine along with:

Fresh mussels cooked in white wine with garlic, fresh tomatoes, parsley and a touch of anisette

Half of a slow roasted chicken marinated in beer, garlic and fresh garden herbs 

Egg nog tiramisu (this was divine)

It was perfect because we got to sit and chat while enjoying great wine and food. Perfect.

Visit 3

Josh and I went back for a nice New Year's Eve dinner before our party.  We split the calamari (which was OK) and the same chicken as above and it was delicious the second time too!

Here is a review from MLive.com.  I encourage you to go have a meal at Amore for a few reasons.  1) I would like them to stay in business, and 2) you will love it. If you go be sure to read the newspaper article on the wall near the hostess stand to learn the back story about the owners.

Things you find at Ski Weekend: 2011 Edition with some past highlights

This past weekend was our 5th Annual Ski Weekend with our friends Pete and Katie, Brittany and Andrew, Phil and Michelle (who couldn't make it this year) and Amy and Dave (who also couldn't make it this year). Ski weekend takes place in northern Michigan during the month of January and has since 2006. Here is how it works... Friday night you pack up your car and head north. Upon arrival we play board games, have some adult beverages, and lots of laughs.  Saturday brings the skiing and more laughs (and more beverages & board games). Sunday is whatever you like, but typically we get up, have breakfast and get on the road.  I forgot to mention this weekend is infused with plenty of food.  Friday night is snacks, Saturday morning is a special breakfast, Saturday lunch is on the slopes, Saturday dinner, and another special breakfast Sunday morning. Each couple takes a meal except everybody is responsible for providing snacks (and their own beverages).

So things you might have found at Ski Weekend 2011:

Upon arrival Pete realized he did not pack a sweatshirt. It was 52* in the house. So he opted for the Jedi outfit instead.

Beer Tender!

Wood ewe lie two ply gay mess?

Thanks to White Elephant Christmas!

I think I am so funny at this game. Turns out Im mostly true.

This was really funny after getting the giggles from playing the board games. Its not as funny now...

Josh and I opted not to ski this year so we spent the day in Traverse City instead. We had pizza and a beer at Pangea.

The Grostics

The Reeds

The Grasleys

The perfect Monkey Bread

Things you would not find at Ski Weekend 2011 (but maybe in past years...)

Phil you are doing your Alma Mater proud.

Amy and Zac, 2006

This was at Treetops in 2006

This was also at Treetops in 2006

Katie, Pete, Erin, Josh at Crystal Mountain, 2010

Wingman. Buelah, MI Jan 2010

Phil and Michelle, 2010

Sort of like pictionary... but not really.

Can't wait for the 6th Annual!

Croque Monsieur

Last week we watched It's Complicated on HBO. This was the second and a half time I had seen this movie and every time it makes me want to move to California, plant a beautiful garden in my back yard, start my own restaurant, and have my girlfriends over once a week for wine and a spectacular meal.  Instead of doing all of those things, I tried making Croque Monsieur which she serves the architect who is designing her addition after one of their meetings. It was so intriguing I had to try it.  I began by looking up what the heck Croque Monsieur is, which is a very fancy ham and cheese sandwich from France.  I found a recipe that I liked at marthastewart.com, picked up the fixins at the grocery store and voila:

Makes 4

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for baking sheet
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup Gruyere or Swiss cheese, grated, plus 8 ounces, thinly sliced
• Coarse salt
• Freshly ground white pepper
• Freshly ground nutmeg
• Cayenne pepper
• 8 slices brioche, cut 1/2 inch thick, toasted
• 6 ounces baked ham, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Butter a baking sheet; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add flour, and cook until foaming, whisking constantly, for 3 minutes.
3. In another medium saucepan, heat milk over medium heat. Slowly add milk to butter-flour mixture, whisking to prevent lumps from forming. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook 2 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup grated cheese, and season with salt, white pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat; transfer to a bowl, and set aside to cool.
4. Place 4 pieces of toast on a work surface and spread each piece with a 1/4 cup of sauce. Cover sauce with a slice of cheese, a slice of ham, and another slice of cheese. Top each sandwich with remaining 4 slices of toast. Spread each sandwich with 1/4 cup sauce and sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 cup grated cheese. 
5. Place sandwiches on prepared baking sheet, and bake until heated through, about 5 minutes. Preheat broiler; transfer baking sheet to broiler and broil until golden brown and bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

This recipe made a lot of the sauce which I saved and I will make more sandwiches in half the time later this week. I also struggled with the cheese because it did not come sliced and was very thin. Since I have a solid track record of slicing my fingers I improvised and got it into the thinnest slices I could.

Our assessment was that this does taste quite good.  It took a long time to make what seems like a hot ham and cheese sandwich.  There might be a trick that I am missing.  Worth a shot if you feel like your sandwiches are too boring.  It is probably not all that healthy given the massive amounts of cheese.

Can spices expire?

I recently heard that expired spices can be very bad for you. Since I have had spices in my cupboard since I moved into my first apartment 6 years ago I decided to explore this topic for myself. And as I think about it, there is nothing I would keep in my fridge for six years and then eat it, so why spices?  This made me want to investigate.  Over the past few weeks I have been reading through web sites and blogs about expired spices and what I have concluded is this: expired spices may not be bad for you but they probably are not good for your recipe either. Expired spices lose their flavor, color, and smell which is how you will know if they are not good any longer. 

I discovered the McCormick's Spice Dating Calculator


According to McCormick's website, ground spices are to last 2-3 years. If you open them and their color appears to have faded, more than likely their aroma and flavor has faded also. Toss & replace.  You can look on the bottom of the bottle for an expiration date or sometimes they include a code. If you type the code into the McCormick's Spice Dating Calculator it will tell you if its still good.  5 of the 5 McCormick spices I inspected in my cupboard all had "Best By" dates and the soonest is in 2012 so I guess I don't have much to worry about (or replace) for a while.  I don't think these are the ones I purchased 6 years ago, those must be at the back of the cupboard somewhere.

Good ol' fashion family fun

My mom and dad's mantle. Next year Griffin gets a stocking too. Aww.

This holiday season we got to spend time with all of our families and friends (this equals about a bakers dozen parties, pun intended). They were all your run of the mill gatherings with cut out cookies, adult beverages, and white elephant gift exchanges. We received some good loot including a gift card to Chow Hound (Griff's excited about this). We hosted 2 of the parties this year, Dinner Club Christmas and the Peters' family gathering (Josh's mom's side). This was great fun since we got to make use of the upgraded man cave. Plus my tree got to have lots of presents under it.

Griffin and Roxy received matching beds! Griffin laid in both and eventually wouldn't even get up. He partied pretty hard I guess.

Both of these were heavy appetizer parties which makes it much easier on the host.  We provided taco salad, cheesy potatoes, and meatballs in some combination at each of these. It is fun to be the host!

Onto the probably biggest and loudest party which was at my mom and dad's house: The Shaull Family Christmas. This was a riot!  In attendance were: Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad, Aunt Terri and Uncle Jim, Uncle Mark and Aunt Coleen, Courtney and Eric, Rob, Casey, Erin, Josh, and Griffin.

Griffin with Aunt Courtney and Uncle Eric.

Let me tell you how this goes and then I will share some 2010 highlights.  Typically, we all arrive at our own convenient times, happy hour and snacks begin immediately, soon we'll do our gift exchange, then eat dinner and Grandma's pies (usually pumpkin, pecan, and/or apple). Then we'll have another splash (happy hour) and enjoy each other's company watching movies or playing games. This goes on for 1-2 days. Usually not more than 2 over nights.

2010 Highlights:
My parents have a large finished basement and this year that is where we all hung out playing Poker Pool, or Pool Poker, I don't remember but it goes a little something like this. All players receive 5 playing cards. Players take turns taking 1 shot at a time attempting to drain a matching ball in the pocket. Other players may have the same card, so if you or they make a ball that matches your card you turn your card in, the first one with all 5 cards gone wins the pot!  Oh yea, you have to put in $1 to play.  And the lucky winner gets to wear this hat. Josh won a lot.

 

During these festivities Rob's girlfriend Heather came over to visit and met the whole family. I am certain this was overwhelming.  To make sure she felt as comfortable as possible my Uncle Mark introduced himself as Rob's lover.  Nice.  This is the same uncle who introduced himself to my mom's (Pam) best friend as Pam's ex-husband and brother. Maybe you need to know him, but this is hilarious.

And, if you know us Shaull girls at all you know we love to keep a clean house. Which means having the proper tools. Which means the vacuum you use on hard floors is not the same as the vacuum you use on carpets which is not the same as the vacuum you need with attachments for corners, window sills, and so on. This year my mom received the Hoover Flair. We got to talking about our vacuums and I admitted that some times I vacuum my vacuums. It didn't seem that weird to me. I got a few weird looks but then all the girls in the room admitted to the same activity. So we all have our quirks.

After all the holiday-ing Griffin had a very important meeting with his financial planner to discuss his investments. He is concerned about his college fund.

Here are a few more pictures I just thought it would be fun to include.

Griffin's first Christmas card.

Pretty flowers for my mom

New Year's Resolution

I'm not usually big on resolutions, probably because I can't usually come up with anything good, or because why only commit yourself to a self-improvement idea one time a year?  I've been working on this for a few weeks now and I am going to call it my 2011 Resolution so then if somebody asks I can answer without giving some self-righteous explanation of why I don't have a New Year's resolution.  Drumrollllll......

Create less waste! Especially when it comes to food. I feel like we are always throwing away leftover this or part of that.  Recently I have lived up to this resolution in the following ways:

• I made pumpkin bars for Thanksgiving and had purchased a large can of pumpkin puree of which the recipe only required half. I put the other half in an air tight container and made pumpkin bread with the leftovers.
• We made mac & cheese two nights in one week (I will not disclose if it was homemade or out of the box). After night 1 we had a Tupperware of left overs, so on night #2 I mixed the leftovers into the fresh batch and voila! Extra mac & cheese without having to eat the crusty leftovers or throw them away.

I'm going to work hard at this, I'll post some new creative ways of producing less waste if I come up with any. What is your New Year's resolution?