Jane M. Says

I came across this while blog surfing...

What is the connection between Lindsey Lohan and Bryan Adams?
Wouldn' t he at the very least be twice her age???

Posted by Jane at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments

This is the cake I made for my parents' birthday yesterday. My mom's one requirement in a birthday cake is CHOCOLATE! So I made Fiddler on the Roof Cake with Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting. I found the recipe in "The Cake Mix Doctor" cookbook. The book describes the cake as making you feeling "like a rich man"... hence the name...

Fiddler On The Roof Cake

Vegetable Spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp pure almond extract
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set pan aside.
2. Place the cake mix, sour cream, oil, sugar, almond extract, salt, and eggs in a large mixing bowl Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well blended. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula.
3. Add the cocoa powder to the remaining batter and blend with the electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Pour this evenly over the batter already in the pan. Run a dinner knife already in the pan. Run a dinner knife through the batters to swirl them together for a marblized look. Place the pan in the oven.
4. Bake the cake until it is light brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 60 to 65 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting.
6. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a serving platter to frost and serve warm, Or invert it onto a rack to cool completely, 30 minutes more. Regardless of whether you want a warm or cooled cake, frost it while the frosting is still warm, spreading the frosting over the top and partially down the sides of the cake with the rubber spatula.

Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting

2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large marshmallows
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Sift the sugar and cocoa powder together into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Place the marshmallows, butter, and milk in a medium-size heavy saucepan over low heat. Stir until the marshmallows are melted, 3-4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Pour the confectioners' sugar and cocoa mixture over the marshmallow mixture. Add the vanilla and stir until the frosting is smooth and satiny.
3. Use at once to frost the top of the cake of your choice.

Posted by Jane at 8:29 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday (Sunday) Chad and I got together with my family to celebrate my parents birthdays. We had a late lunch at my brother's house. I was in charge of the cake and ice cream. It was great seeing everyone. It's so to hear the kids yelling my name before the door is opened when I first get there :)

Last night we went to church for a new member orientation. We met a lot of really nice people and are looking forward to the community feeling. We both just feel really comfortable there and the pastor is great!

Posted by Jane at 8:25 PM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday, Nicole, Nicki, Heather, and Carrie came over for some freezer cooking. We made a ton of muffins, Chicken and Cheese Shells, Greek Marinated Chicken, Stir Fry, Chocolate Chip Cake, and Chicken Noodle Bake. Plus Carrie made and froze Shredded Pork and Twice Baked Potatoes prior that she brought and shared.

It was a lot of fun. I was so exhausted. I can not sleep in in the mornings, and I'm usually good to go back to bed when I'm tired, I just didn't have time yesterday.

It's like when you have to get up early for work, but can't fall asleep until 2. I almost never have a problem falling asleep, it's staying asleep after 7 or 8 in the morning (Yesterday it was 6:45 am) So I was very tired, but I rallied and made it out to Eric and Yola's for their party.

Chad made a bet on an air hockey game with Amber, and she won the rights to the big screen TV on Sunday's next year when she comes over to watch the Packers! I, of course, rooted for Amber!

Posted by Jane at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments

I will be the first to admit that I didn't really know anything about Malcolm X before I read this book. So I did learn a little about him. I had never seen the movie, which I don't know if that accurately portrays him or not either, but I didn't really enjoy this book all that much (Sorry Anne) First I got bogged down when he kept going on about how the "white man is the devil" and then after he got past that, I got bogged down in the details of every person that he visited with and talked to.

It was strange. He has this passion for wanting equal rights and not for the "white man" to be bringing down the "black man" anymore, but his whole autobiography probably contained maybe 3 pages about his family. It was just weird. I guess family is just such a core part of who I am and important, that I relate well to people who hold that too... Anyway, it wasn't a complete loss, because I didn't know anything before. All I knew was that he was kind of stereotyped as promoting violence and that he was murdered... Now I am a little less ignorant... which is a good thing.

Posted by Jane at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Yesterday Lisa and Steph came over with their kids. We just ate lunch and hung out. It was a really nice day to spend with them. Maddie was full of questions. She wanted to know what came with the house and what we brought. Like the door, and the windows in the ceiling and the deck, and the curtains. She knows exactly what toys I have and where they are so, she likes to get those out immediately. Very fun!

She also asked (prompted by her mother) when I was going to have kids. I told her to ask Chad next time she sees him. So then she asked "He knows when?" Very cute!

Last night I got a massage as my shoulder was really knotted up. Today my back is sore, like I worked out yesterday. It was really bad. They of course suggest I come in monthly, but I think I would rather spend that kind of money on a trainer to help me actually get my musclese balanced. I think my whole thing is that my chest and back muscles are not balanced, so I probably don't sit back straight. I need to be more conscious of my posture.

I am off to run some errands this morning. Just a quick Target run, before the girls get here to cook!

Posted by Jane at 7:39 AM | Permalink | Comments

Wednesday was my last day at Oracle (Retek). So I headed over to the Local for Happy Hour after I finished up. It was weird to just walk away, but it felt good too. Happy Hour was fun. Of all the people that worked at Retek that came, only one was a co-worker from my current position. Everyone else there were people that I had worked with the first time. And I know there were people that couldn't come, that I talked to, but that was only a few.

Yesterday, I went to the Y bright and early. It was awesome going at 8 in the morning! I was the youngest one there! After the Y, Sarah and I met up at the Mall of America for some shopping and lunch. We then drove to Rochester to see our friend Kris, and her baby CJ, and also our friend Melissa. And of course we all stopped in to see my Mom and Dad. My mom got to hold the baby and be a Grandma for a little bit with CJ.

Sarah and I stopped for dinner on our way and headed back. It was a long day, but a lot of fun to spend time with friends and my parents too!

Posted by Jane at 8:21 AM | Permalink | Comments

Today is my last day at my current job!!

I'm trying to coast!

Posted by Jane at 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

Love this recipe. Made it last night. The steak is broiled and the veggies are fried separate, which I'm sure cuts out a lot of the fat from traditional fajitas, where everything is "sizzled" together. I would guess you could still fry them all together, but you probably wouldn't need to baste the meat...

I didn't have as much red wine vinegar as it called for, so I didn't have as much marinade to brush on while broiling. (I did get to use my new basting brush though, and my new tongs worked awesome for this recipe)

Beef Fajitas

1 1/2 lbs of sirloin steak
5 tsps canola oil (I used olive, as I didn't have canola)
1 cup red wine vinegar (I only had about 1/2 cup)
2 packets sugar substitute
2 tsp oregano
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt (I used Morton Lite)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 onion sliced
2 green peppers sliced
4-5 oz reduced fat cheddar
8" wheat tortillas

Cut beef into strips, place in glass or plastic bowl (not metal!)
Mix together oil, vinegar, sugar substitute, oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper
Pour mixture over beef. Turn beef to coat all sides.
Spray skillet with cooking spray. Saute onion and green pepper.
Broil meat 3" from heat; brush with marinade. Broil until brown. Turn beef; brush with marinade and then broil until done, 7-8 minutes longer.
Arrange onion and green pepper on a tortilla. Top with beef.

Posted by Jane at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments

Today is my Dad's birthday. I won't reveal his age, but he's still more than twice my age... for a couple years anyway! :)

So if you see him, say Happy Birthday for me, as he probably doesn't read my blog! Unless someone (my mom) shows it to him!

Posted by Jane at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments

My house is a mess... but yet I'm still able to just sit on my couch and ignore it...

At least I ignored it yesterday. I like to come home on Monday's and watch Grey's Anatomy from the night before... so that's what I did yesterday. Then I watched an episode of VH-1's Celebrity Fit Club 3, because Gunnar Nelson joined the show... I did not know that Mark Harmon was his uncle... and he's also related to Pam Dawber some way too.... Plus his dad was Ricky Nelson, and grandparents were Ozzie and Harriet... he talked about the pressure of being successful... poor Gunnar... This picture is one Chad took when we saw Nelson at the Star Bar... good times...



Anyways, then Chad and I headed to the Y and came home and made Beef Fajitas (recipe to be posted later, but yummm!!) And then we did a marathon dish washing session and vegged some more... me in front of the small tv where I watched How I Met Your Mother and Chad in front of the other watching 24.

I realized last night that How I Met Your Mother is similar to Friends, except that now I am older than the characters! The humor is different too, but same type of scenarios...

So all that, and my house is still dirty...

Did I mention tomorrow is my last day at this job??!

Posted by Jane at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

Posted by Jane at 8:54 PM | Permalink | Comments

I will be tired later today/tomorrow because I was a good socialite this weekend.

Friday night we had book club which is not a regular occurrance any more. We used to be good at meeting once a month, and then it switched to every 2 months and now seems to be about every 3 or 4 months. But it's a smaller group than when we started and it's more about dinner and catching up definitely talking more about other things than just the book. A very fun group that my friend Anne started. I went to high school with Anne. Several of her college friends come, a couple of my college friends and work friends and others who have joined through someone else... I can trace everybody back, but it's not that exciting to type it all out and expect you to want to read it :)

But it was a good night, and not only did we talk about doing book club more often, but also a game night, because I think Kathleen could beat me at TV Scene It!

Last night Chad and I went to a couple parties. We went to Heather and Travis' first. It was fun, Nicole, Noah, Carrie, Steve, and Frenchy were there. Plus I got to meet a couple of Heather's friends that I've heard a lot about. Chad met a great golfer (winner of the Wisconsin Open) and another gopher hockey fan. I love that he enjoys meeting new people in situations like that.

We then headed over to The Bird and Amy's for The Bird's 30th birthday and their housewarming party. They have a great house in Circle Pines. Huge and on a great lot. They definitely beat us on wallpaper! Plus they have some nice "roller rink" carpet in their game room. But really a nice place!

Today we are going to brunch for Chad's mom's birthday with the family. I know I will probably come home and nap during football this afternoon.. I was hoping that I could get the house cleaned up too... We'll see.

Posted by Jane at 8:57 AM | Permalink | Comments

I went to see the doctor today regarding my allergy shots. When I last saw the allergist, he told me that I could decide to quit taking the shots at the end of my current batch of serum, which was scheduled to expire the end of January. I started my shots 4 years ago, and the average time is 3-5 years for the shots to be effective.

So today, I went in to discuss it, as I will no longer be working downtown, coming downtown every 2-3 weeks for shots is a little much. Plus being out of town as much as I will be, it would be hard to coordinate even if I got the shots in Burnsville.

Since I have not needed allergy medicine for at least a year, the shots are working. Today the doctor told me that 1 in 5 will have their symptoms return within a year after ceasing the shots, but I am going to be optimistic, as they have really helped me so far. Plus I think with living in a newer house I am exposed to much less mold and dust, as I first really noticed bad allergies the first year I lived in our last house... so maybe that was a contributing factors. We'll see.

But as of today I have graduated from my allergy shots! Wish me luck!

Posted by Jane at 9:10 PM | Permalink | Comments

I met with my new boss yesterday evening. I had to go in for a drug test, and to get some information on benefits too. But he gave me the temporary travel schedule for the next 9 months. Looks like I will be going to Virginia starting my 2nd week of work there. But other fun places on the schedule for me, include Riverside, CA (ironically where Oracle headquarters are) in April/May, Lake Geneva, WI (!) in July/August and a few others TBD. When he did ask if I had any preferences I did say Chicago area (so I can hang out with Karin) , and he said one of them is almost downtown Chicago (perfect), so fingers crossed!!

Posted by Jane at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments

Just playing with some template designs! Let me know how you like the new look...

I may be doing some tweaking in the next couple days. This may be a little too RED for me... so bear with me!

But the credit goes to About.com where I found these templates.

Posted by Jane at 8:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

The Christmas Tree came down yesterday. Well down, and then up above in the garage. We had put it off long enough. And all the decorations got put away until next year.

I must say our family room seems much bigger (not cleaner yet, but bigger!)

Posted by Jane at 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

I put in my 2 weeks notice yesterday with Oracle. I have had so many ups and downs with this job. But I think I have tried so many times to make it work, that I am leaving without regrets.

I am going to work for Hearth and Home Technologies. The offices are in Lakeville, so it will be a much better commute for me. I will be traveling quite a bit for the first 9 months or so, but I think the travel will do a lot of good in my career development there too.

This has been such a long process. I applied for the job in August. I interviewed twice the end of September. They offered me the job end of October. I hemmed and hawed and decided not to take it. I found out that I wasn't able to move departments at my current job, so I went back to them and met with them a couple more times and finally they offered me the job again. Again I thought about it and gave my boss a couple options in retaining me which they were not able to do right away.

Ultimately I think it has been a well thought out decision and I'm very excited. My last day with my current job is the 25th, and my first day on the new job is January 30th.

Posted by Jane at 8:18 AM | Permalink | Comments

So we are trying to eat better this year. And fish is praised by so many "diets" and nutitionists... but yukkkkk!!! I don't really like it. Basically because it tastes like fish and it's a wierd flaky texture.

BUT I figure it's a taste maybe I can acquire... so last night, I had nothing planned for dinner. I headed to Byerly's. I told the guy behind the fish counter that I didn't like fish and what would he recommend. He had a whole slew of recommendations. I took some tilapia.

I came home and found a recipe, made some adjustments, and it was pretty ok. And I got to use my new meat tenderizer in making it! I really liked my breading and the seasoning. And we ate it with some peach salsa which was good, but it was still flaky and still tasted like fish. :) So if you have any more fish recommendations for me I would love them!

Here is how I prepared it.

Baked Fish
1 serving

1 7 oz piece of tilapia
10 reduced-fat wheat thins crushed (recipe called for crushed Melba toast, whatever that is?)
1/8 tsp salt (I used Morton Lite)
1/8 tsp paprika
dash of black pepper
dash of dill

Crush the crackers and mix with seasonings.
Rinse the fish in water.
Dredge the fish in the cracker mixture.
Spray baking pan with olive oil. (You could use cooking spray)
Place fish on baking pan.
Sprayed top of fish with olive oil.
Bake at 500 degrees for about 10 minutes or until flaky.

Posted by Jane at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments

Some days that's all I have to say!!!

Posted by Jane at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

This weekend is flying by! Friday night we went out to a birthday party and to catch up with the Peterson's one last time before they head back to Oregon. It was a good time. We went to the Chatterbox pub. Chad spent a good portion of his time there playing Nintendo... Double Dribble, Super Mario Brothers, and Duck Hunt. He had a good time. And I did too!

Yesterday we slept in and I went to the MOA to get a present for a baby shower I am going to today. I also found some cute shoes! I have a pair of shoes that I bought at TJMaxx last year for like $15, and they aren't leather and have super flat soles, so they're not always comfortable. But they're cute and I wear them a lot. I finally found a similar pair in leather with some support at DSW. I was pretty excited!

Last night Chad and I watched the Dukes of Hazzard (the movie). It was not great, but not nearly as bad as I had been expecting. Since it didn't get good reviews, I had zero expectations, so it was entertaining... although I will never watch it again most likely.

This morning we got up to go to church. We have found a nice church in Savage. It is called St. Mary Magdalene Lutheran church. I know, odd name for a church, but the congregation is small and friendly, and Pastor Paul does a great job.

I have a baby shower this afternoon in Maple Grove for my friend Carrie. Should be fun as I don't see these friends very often as they live in Maple Grove and Elk River.

Back to work tomorrow, I guess...

Posted by Jane at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments

Here's another recipe we tried this morning. Chad really liked it. Again I added a few more seasonings, but Chad really liked it. Each omelet is supposed to serve 1, but they're big.

Mexican Omelet

2 or 3 eggs (I used 3)
1 tbsp water
1/2 green pepper chopped
1 small tomato, diced
Dash of red pepper sauce
Dash of onion powder

Beat eggs, water and red pepper sauce
Spray skillet with butter cooking spray
Saute green pepper. Add egg mixture.
Slide skillet back and forth rapidly over heat and, at the same time; stir quickly with fork to spread egg.
Let stand over heat a few seconds to lightly brown bottom of omelet.
Tilt skillet; run fork under edge of omelet to loosen eggs from bottom of skillet.
Add tomato.*
Fold omelet in half, turn omelet onto plate.

*After adding the tomato, I also sprinkled in some oregano, garlic powder, and ground red pepper.

I still need some practice in the art of omelet making. I don't know about the sliding back and forth and I didn't use a fork as it would wreck my pans... And mine didn't fold well, but it still tasted good!

Posted by Jane at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments

In our attempt to eat better this year and trying to cut back on sodium and eating more vegetables (and unprocessed foods), I tried this recipe last night. I did break in and add some more ingredients to make it look and taste more like my traditional sloppy joes. It was good, but I don't think it came close to my regular recipe! So here is the recipe I started with, and then the recipe I made! :)

Sloppy Jim's, the Original recipe

1 lb ground turkey
3 tbsp onion flakes
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 small tomatoes, pureed in blender
few dashes of Tobasco Sauce
few dashes of Oregano
few dashes of ground red pepper (optional)

Brown ground turkey. Add onion flakes, mushrooms, tomato puree, Tobasco sauce, oregano, and ground red pepper.

Cook over low heat until mushrooms are tender. Serve over bread.

Sloppy Jim's, with my enhancements

1 lb ground beef
2 green onions, chopped (including stems)
1/2 green pepper chopped
4 small (Roma) tomatoes, pureed in blender
1 tsp brown sugar (I used Splenda brown sugar)
1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce without Salt
few dashes of each of the following to taste:
Tobasco sauce, oregano, ground red pepper, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, lite salt, ground black pepper, and worchestshire sauce.

Brown ground turkey. Add peppers, tomato puree, tomato sauce, brown sugar, and seasonings.

Cook over low heat until green peppers and tomatoes are tender. Serve over bun.

Posted by Jane at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments

So someone forwarded this to me at work... very funny. I only got 5 out of 10.

Posted by Jane at 9:48 AM | Permalink | Comments

I will keep updating this post as I finish books. And the link will remain under my "Currently Reading" section...

• Stupid and Contagious
• A Wedding In December
• Night
• Goodnight Nobody
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Waiting: True Confessions of a Waitress
• Jemima J.: A Novel about Ugly Ducklings and Swans
• The Mermaid Chair
• The Undomestic Goddess
• In Her Shoes
• Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X
• Girls' Night In

Here are the books I finished in 2005.

Posted by Jane at 7:40 AM | Permalink | Comments

I just finished Girls' Night In. Steph gave me this book as a birthday present. And it was really fun to read. It is a collection of short stories by best selling female authors. Many of who I have read... a lot of "chick lit" It was really enjoyable and I am going to check out books by some I had not previously head of.

Posted by Jane at 7:36 AM | Permalink | Comments

Last night, I went out and got a Dakota County Library Card finally. The library definitely isn't as convenient as when we lived in Columbia Heights, but it's much bigger and nicer.

I also finished my first book of the year, so it's time to create my list of 2006 Books!

Posted by Jane at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

I have finally tried Clementine Oranges...

They are so yummy! and easy to eat, because they peel so easily! I highly recommend picking up a box while they are still in the prime season! Plus they are the perfect size for a snack!

Posted by Jane at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments

This is the birthday cake I made for Melanie. The recipe comes from a book I got for Christmas: The Cake Mix Doctor. I had checked the book out from the library last year, and after much success with the Snickerdoodle Cake recipe, I kept it in the back of my mind for my Christmas list.

This cake was delicious and I didn't frost it. I also made it in a bundt pan, as I don't have a plain tube pan. I also couldn't find a German Chocolate Bar at the grocery store, so I just used a dark chocolate bar. It was very good, and not overwhelmingly chocolate, even my brother ate it, and he is not a chocolate fan.

Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake
Serves 16

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 bar (4 oz) German Chocolate
1 pkg (18.25 oz) plain yellow cake mix
1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 pkg (6 oz, 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325. LIghtly mist a 10" tube pan (or three 8" loaf pans) with vegetable spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set pan aside.

2. Break the German chocolate bar into four pieces. Grate the bar using a food processor or a hand grater until the bar is finely grated. (If you are using a food processor, insert the steel blade and drop the chocolate pieces into the processor one at a time.) Set the grated chocolate aside.

3. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine, fold in the grated chocolate, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. Fold in the chocolate chips. The batter should look well blended, and the chocolate chips should be evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan (or divide it equally amound the loaf pans), smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

4. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 58-60 minutes for a tube pan (50-52 minutes for loaf pans). Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes for a tube pan (5 minutes for loaf pans). Run a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert it again onto another rack so that it is right side up. Allow the cake to cool completely 30 minutes more, then serve. (Cool loaves out of the pans, on their sides.)

Notes:
I used my Pampered Chef Deluxe Grater for the chocolate. And I greased the pan with shortening instead of using spray, because I always have better luck with that.

Posted by Jane at 4:46 PM | Permalink | Comments

This recipe came from the manual of my ice cream maker, which I love. I have only used it a couple times, but I've always had luck. It's great that the bowl just goes in the freezer and you don't have to mess with ice (or snow) and salt.

Rich Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
Makes 1 quart

1/2 cup sugar (I used Splenda)
2 tsp cornstarch
1 cup half-and-half or whipping cream (I used cream)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries (I used some berries that I had frozen last summer)
1 cup plain lowfat yogurt, stirred

In medium saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in half-and-half and corn syrup. Cook and stir over moderate heat until mixture simmers; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from heat; stir in beaten egg. Return to low heat; cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool. In a blender or food processor fitted with metal blade, puree berries. Add to cool egg mixture; stir in yogurt. Freeze in ice cream maker according to directions.

Posted by Jane at 4:40 PM | Permalink | Comments

Today is my sister-in-law Melanie's birthday. She, my brother, and the kids came over for lunch after spending the morning at the Minnesota Zoo. We had cheeseburgers for lunch. And I made homemade Strawberry Frozen Yogurt and a birthday cake for dessert.

My niece Katelyn loves ice cream, so I showed her how it went in the ice cream machine and how it came out as ice cream. Of course I let her lick the ice cream paddle too when it was done.

Posted by Jane at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Comments

This weekend I went through magazines and recipes I had clipped previously and sorted them and purged ones that no longer interested me!

But here is one I found. Not sure where it came from originally. I had made a note that it was 3 points though. I made it for Chad last night without the frozen yogurt. The kitchen smelled great.

Cinnamony Apple Snack

1 apple, halved and cored (not peeled)
2 tsp brown sugar (I used Splenda brown sugar substitute)
cinnamon

Place halves in microwaveable bowl. Fill with brown sugar. Dash with cinnamon. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes; remove bowl from oven. Serve each half with 1/2 cup frozen vanilla yogurt. Serves 2.

Posted by Jane at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

I will keep updating this post as I try new recipes. The link is in my profile to the left...

• Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
• Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
• Pepper Jelly Glazed Chicken
• Fresh Peach Ice Cream
• Roasted Pepper Salad with Salsa Vinaigrette
• Chicken Enchiladas
• Jake's Meatloaf
• Wonderful Margaritas
• Butterscotch Cashew Scotchies
• Seven-Layer Southwestern Salad
• Crockpot French Dip
• Ultimate Chicken Fingers
• Peach-Blueberry Cobbler
• Beef Noodle Casserole with Cheddar-Crumb Topping
• Turkey Sausage Fajitas
• Pasta With Lentil Sauce
• Mexican Casserole
• Polynesian Pineapple Chicken
• "Limp Brisket" Chili
• Southwestern Skillet Macaroni and Cheese
• Hoisin Pork Stir-Fry
• Candied Popcorn
• Macaroni and Cheddar Cheese
• Baked Turkey and Jack Cheese Chimichangas
• Slow Cooker Chicken-Barley Stew
• Classic Chicken Panini
• Fiddler on the Roof Cake with Chocolate Marshmallow Frosting
• Beef Fajitas
• Baked Fish
• Mexican Omelet
• Sloppy Jim's
• Stacy's Chocolate Chip Cake
• Rich Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
• Cinnamony Apple Snack

Also here are my 2005 recipes.

Posted by Jane at 8:52 AM | Permalink | Comments

We have had a very nice start to the new year!

Last night we had dinner (and major appetizers) with the Rome's and the Peterson's. Then went to a party at another friend's house. Parties in someone's basement is still fun. We didn't make it in time for the minnow races, but they sounded fun!

Today we went over to the Peterson's. It has become a tradition. Mrs. Peterson (Dan's mom,Karen, not Heather) makes some fabulous broccoli cheese soup and always puts on a great spread. Plus it is fun to see Dan's whole family and spend time with them!

We stopped by Chad's parents on the way home since we were in the neighborhood. It was a very nice day. Unfortunately we missed my parent's coming home from my aunt and uncle's. It's nice that my parents almost come directly right by us when they head to Hutchinson.

Tomorrow is my sister-in-law Melanie's birthday and they are coming over after a stop to the zoo. And I think Dan and Heather are coming over to see the house too. Plus there are bowl games on.

Chad was a little disheartened today without bowl games. The Packers and Vikings games were a bit anti-climatic. Although I love to see the Packers win, even if it is against some team's 2nd or 3rd string... And Sherman still has his job tonight, unlike Tice... we'll see though... The next few weeks should be interesting...

Posted by Jane at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments