A new way to make eggs...

For the life of me, I cannot remember what the name of this recipe is that I found but it is super yummy and super easy. I made it again last night for dinner.

Ingredients:
6 eggs
6 pieces of ham (from the deli preferably)
some cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Put one piece of ham in six of the muffin spots. Fill each with a little cheese and then crack one egg into each. Bake at 350 until the egg is done.

Merry Christmas

Wish we could have been with everyone in WI last night but it just keeps snowing and snowing in ET!!

Merry Christmas!! We love and miss you all!!

Weekends and snow

While at work on Friday, I was sent these wonderful pictures from my mom. Evidently East Troy got slammed by the snow fairy!! Yes - mom stuck a ruler in the snow and it is measuring 10 inches!

Friday in MN was much better than East Troy which was fabulous since Joe and I were going to spend another fun filled evening with Todd and Anna again, but this time at First Ave to see Soul Asylum. It was a blast and I can't wait til next year's concert!

Saturday and Sunday were truely lazy. We awoke Saturday morning, around 8 am (mind you it was about 1:30 am by the time we got home from the concert) to my lovely sister calling who kept saying, "Do you remember this song? Listen." They were in the car and I couldn't hear the song and was barely awake.

Anyway, I am glad she called because soon after Joe and I went to Best Buy and the grocery store and the snow was a comin' down. On our way to the grocery store from Best Buy we saw numerous cars in ditches and a 3 lane 94 was only 2. Not fun! Here are some great pictures of the snow.

Weekends...

Last weekend (as in 12/13 and 12/14) I practiced being "domestic." Friday night was a fun filled evening playing games and drinking a few beers at Todd and Anna's which meant a naps on Saturday.

About 7 pm or so I got a second wind so Joe and I put up our Christmas tree and decorated the house. Well, I decorated the house and tree while Joe kept telling me I was doing a good job. :)

On Sunday I decided that I wanted to bake too - this doesn't happen to often so I thought I would go with it. I made lots of Christmas cookies and was able to recruit my hubby to help decorate them too!!

Twilight Series

Ok - I confess, I am a nerd.

I have always loved to read and as I have gotten older, I only have time to read now while on vacation. My friend Carrie was over about a month or so ago and was telling me how she wanted to see the movie Twilight. Because I am a nerd and listen to talk radio and read CNN.com instead of People.com, I had no clue what she was talking about.

She told me about the plot, basically it's a family of "vegetarian" vampires (they don't feed on humans) and how a human girl (Bella) and one of the vegetarian vampires (Edward) fall in love but way more in depth. It's not too gorey or inapropriate as the series is for young adults. *Note: The plot is way better than what I just wrote but if I were to write more in depth, this post would be pages and pages!! Anyway, Carrie said they were fantastic and couldn't put the books down. I all but forgot about the Twilight Series until...

As you know, Joe and I decide to go to ET for Thanksgiving and he, being the wonderful husband he is, said he would drive. I thought perfect, 4 days of no work, I am going to read - but what? Then I remembered Carrie! The Twilight Series! So off to Barnes and Nobles I went on Monday 11/24 over my lunch hour.

By the time we left on Wednesday 11/26, I was 1/2 way through the book and finished it two hours into the drive. It was about a 500 page book and it was fantastic. It literally consumed my mind!!

Friday, 11/28 I found the 2nd book, New Moon at Target. I bought it and had it finished by Saturday morning. We arrived back at home (MN home) around 6 pm and I helped Joe unpack in record time and took off to MGM for beer and Target for books 3 and 4 (Eclipse and Breaking Dawn). As I headed out the back door to Target I heard by fabulous husband say, "I married a bookworm."

I returned home and started reading Eclipse while Joe watched some metal show and I had that book finished by Sunday morning. I started Breaking Dawn and wasn't able to finish that book until Tuesday (I had to go to work on Monday - couldn't just stay in bed and read).

Now each book is 500 - 750 pages long and I had all four finished in 8 days - they are amazing - all I thought about were these damn books and what would happen next, if I was Bella what would I do, etc. So I called Carrie and yelled at her and she laughed and we made a date to see the movie Twilight. We went this past Saturday (12/6) and I just don't know. The movie wasn't terrible, but I had hoped for more. The books are so deep and complex and the movie lost some of that. The actress that played Bella wasn't super convincing but the guy that played Edward was well worth it.

If you want to see the movie, see it before you read the book - you may be more impressed than I was. And yes they are going to make New Moon into a movie and yes I will see that too (right Carrie - you and I have a date for that one too?)

Happy Thanksgiving - a bit late

Joe and I dined in ET for Thanksgiving this year. Of course this year wasn't as eventful as 2 years ago when Joe surprised us all - this year was much more relaxing.

Wednesday 11/26: Joe and I got to mom and dad's. My wonderful husband drove the whole way while I read Twilight (there is going to be a whole seperate post about those books). We got in about 9 pm and had a couple brews with Mom and Dad as we waited up to see Amy and Luke.

Thursday 11/27: I made meatballs in the morning to bring to Aunt Mary's. We picked up Grandma Lu around 11 and spent the day at Mary and Keith's. Lots of food and "drinks." Aunt Mary and Uncle Keith bought my husband an apple pie from the Elegant Farmer after we saw an episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay.

For those of you without the Food Network, Bobby surprises people and challenges them to a "cook off" of their "specialty." The challenge was Elegant Farmer's Apple Pie Baked in a Paper Bag - that's a mouthful. After seeing that episode Joe wanted to try it so Mary and Keith bought us one and it was way better then the apple pies that I make!

Friday 11/28: We started the day at 3:40 AM!!! Joe, Amy, Mom and I went to Kohls first. It was dark, we were sleepy and we were at a stop light. Now, we were coming off of a side road where you have to go left or right so the stop light usually takes forever. This morning, it was taking extra long so I told mom she should just turn right and do a u-turn. Instead Mom puts the car in reverse and goes to pull into a parking lot to our right, to then take a left onto the main road from their parking lot. As she is going in reverse and turning into the parking lot, Amy asks what she is doing and tells Mom she should use the entrance, not just drive over the curb. Yes, she didn't realize there was no entrance and drove over the curb. Thankfully it was 4 Am and nobody was around but we laughed the whole day.

We stopped at George Webb's for breakfast and then continued on to Best Buy and Target and I think we were home by 8 AM. At noon Amy, mom and I were off to Janesville for dress shopping. Yes they were beautiful and yes you will have to wait until 9.19.09 to see what they look like! :)

Joe and dad went on a "boys adventure" - no clue what sort of adventure but they made it back in one piece!

Friday night we hung out with Mom, Dad, Luke and Amy and made home-made pizzas. We watched Amy be a goof ball and just had a nice time sitting around the table catching up.

Saturday 11/28: Headed back to MN.

Me, Amy, Grandma Lu, Mom, Aunt Mary

Dad and his sons (soon to be...)

The models!!

Joe and I

Early Thanksgiving

On Sunday, November 23rd, Joe and I went to Grandma Jo's and Grandpa Jim's for an early Thanksgiving, Italian style!

There were meatballs, sausage, gnocchi (sorry honey, but nobody can make it like your Grandma), desserts, salad, olive tapenade - it could have fed an army. There were about 24 of us including Joe's Aunt Annie and her family from North Dakota.

Annie is super hilarious. I first met her this past Easter and then it all fell into place. You see Joe is the male version of Annie - they're loud, boisterous, fun and you can't help but laugh when you are around them. It was great to see Annie and catch up with her not to mention the other members of the family.

New Job

As of November 10th, Joe is now the Corporate Executive Chef for PHT Systems. What does exactly does he do? I have no clue...I just know that he had to make food for a luncheon earlier this week and brought me home prime rib, Gouda mashed potatoes, potato and leek casserole and asparagus. It was wonderful!

He gets to wear dress clothes and he has his own office!! It is also really nice having him home at night too - It's been almost a month and we aren't sick of each other yet.

I will have him put a post up about what he does at his job too...

Way to go Ray!

This post is way overdue. On Saturday, November 8th, Joe and I proudly watched as Ray (his pop) accepted an award for his work with the Mexican American Veterns. To make it even better, in Saint Paul, November 8th is now known as Ray Rangel Day! Talk about having a famous father-in-law.

Here are some pictures from the ceremony as well

Me and Ray

Ray and his boys

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday DAD!! (or POP as Joe would say!)

We wish we could be there to celebrate with you! Next time you're

up, we'll buy you a birthday burger and beer at the 5 -8.

Love you lots and hope you have a fabulous birthday!!!

He'll be home in February

I got an email today from cousin Brian. He loves the blog (just had to throw that in there) and he told me that he will be back in Wisconsin in February...for good! He will be getting a civilian job and joining the Air Force Reserve in Milwaukee.

Brian ~ Let us know when your settled so we can come visit!

Also, he passed along a picture of a very handsome young man and his pumpkin...Happy Halloween Draiman!

Another one bites the dust...

When I first started at InTouch, I was put on a project with this gorgeous blonde named Kelly. She was nice enough to invite me to eat lunch with her and some others and we quickly became friends.

For about 2 straight months we went out together every weekend and then at the end of May that year, she moved back to Chicago. We've kept in touch and she made the 2hr or so trip to come to East Troy for my bridal shower (which my mom thought was just too sweet) and the 6 or so hour trip from Chicago to come to our wedding last year.

Well, on Thursday morning, I got an email from her with fabulous news - she is finally engaged! I don't have a picture of her and Chad but I do have one of her and Joe...

Congratulations Kelly and Chad!! I can't wait to hear all of the details!

Happy Halloween

Sloppy Joe Hash Browns

Sloppy Joe Hash Browns - To spice it up a bit, add a little taco sauce on top. Next time we are going to add taco sauce to the sloppy joe/chili sauce. PS - this is what Joe made last night for me!

Ingredients:
8 Frozen hash brown patties
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
15 oz sloppy joe sauce
1 tbsp chili sauce (I would add more to make it spicier)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (mozzarella, taco, colby jack, etc)
2 cups lettuce
sour cream
taco sauce

Directions:
Cook hash browns in batches according to the package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add sloppy joe sauce, chili sauce and pepper; bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.

Place two hash brown patties on each plate. Top with meat sauce, cheese, lettuce, sour cream and taco sauce.

Joe's new job

One week from tomorrow, I will have my husband back. Joe accepted a new job last Wednesday and starts on Monday, November 10th. His new title will be Corporate Executive Chef and I am not really sure what he will be doing but his hours are Monday through Friday 7 am - 3pm.

So what does this mean for us? Well first, I have to give up the boyfriends that I have acquired throughout the last year and a friend of ours says she gives us one month before Joe or I file for divorce, although she did assure me that she was just kidding. The funny thing was, when I told Joe what she said, he laughed and wondered how long it will take him to annoy me.

You see, as much as I miss not having Joe around Monday through Friday, I have gotten so used to being alone and having my own space I do wonder how quickly we'll get on each others nerves.

Well, I got a glimpse last night and I think everything will be ok. Joe had yesterday off (gasp!) because another manager is on vacation so he will have to work everyday from today through his last day, November 5th. ICK!

So back to last night...

I got home about 4:45ish or so and there my husband was - slaving over a hot stove for me! I can't tell you the last time he cooked for me and man was it good! Call me crazy but all of a sudden I don't think I will be that annoyed at having my husband home with me now.

Falling Prices

Who would have thought this price would make think "Wow $2.19?! That's cheap!"

And just a little further down the road..

That's $2.14 if you can't quite read it!

More fall color...

Here is a view of our block - I love the red trees!!

Congratulations Kari and Bryan

I was in Boston on Sunday, October 5th for work and was in an all day certification course. At the lunch break I saw that I had a missed call from Kari. When I was finished with the course and getting ready to meet the group for dinner, there was another missed call.

Now that is pretty unusual - we can go forever without talking so if one of us keeps calling the other, it's usually for a pretty big reason. I thought either she's mad at Bryan or she got engaged.
I was on a time crunch so I made a mental note to call her after dinner since I was heading to the lobby to meet the group. Well after dinner, on my way to my room, there was another call from her this time with a voicemail. Yes! She had just gotten engaged!!!!!


Congratulations!! Kari and I have been friends since 7th grade. We used to talk during reading class and the teacher would yell at her and say, "Kari - Brooke can talk and still answer the questions, why can't you?" or something to that effect and what can I say, Kari still wanted to be friends.

We've been through lots together and she is the one person that I know will always be there for me no matter how far away I move as long as I keep vacationing with her.

I am thrilled that she has found someone besides me who can tell her that she is being completely insane and to knock it off and she'll actually listen!

Bryan and Kari, I couldn't be happier for you both. I can't wait until 2010!!!

Happy Belated Birthday Luke

It was my soon to be baby brother's birthday on Monday. Isn't he handsome?

Happy Belated Birthday Lukie!!

Your gift is going in the mail tomorrow morning

Love you!

Cranberry Chili Meatballs and Potato Keilbasa Skillet

Cranberry Chili Meatballs - These ROCK

Ingredients:
16 oz jellied cranberry sauce
12 oz chili sauce
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 cayenne pepper
38 oz frozen meatballs (thawed)

Directions:
In large saucepan over medium heat, combine first six ingredients; stir until sugar is dissolved. Add meatballs; cook 20-25 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally


Potato Kielbasa Skillet - Yummy! *Next time I make this, I am going to cook the potatoes in the skillet and not the mircowave. If you choose to try that, cook potatoes first.

Ingredients:
1 pound red potatoes, cubed
3 tbsp water
3/4 pound smoked kielbasa; cut into 1/4 slices
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups baby spinach
5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (pre-cooked hormel bacon works great - in the veggie section)

Directions:
Place potatoes and water in microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender. Drain.

In large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.

Combine brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper. Stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add spinach and bacon. Cook until spinach is wilted

A wonderful Sunday

I love Sundays that are productive but still have that lazy feel to them. This past Sunday was just that.

I woke up early and started laundry and made my grocery list while Joe slept in (we have cable now and it keeps him awake for hours!). Joe awoke and off to the grocery store I went. I came home to find him "winterizing" the house.

He was unhooked the hose and draining it out, putting away the grills, sucking up the leaves with our leaf vacuum (best invention ever) and then was going to climb on the roof of our garage to cover the hole. Yes, there is still a hole in our garage from the big tree that fell on it.

I figured since he was outside doing "husbandly" things, I would stay inside and do "wifely" things. Here is what I created:

Cranberry Chili Meatballs

Potato Kielbasa Skillet

Apple Pie

Harbor View Cafe

At work there are four of us who try to have a "ladies night" once a month which consists of dinner, maybe some drinks and lots of conversation. About a year ago we took off on an adventure to a purse party in Durand, WI and stopped in Pepin, WI at this little restaurant called Harbor View Cafe.

Amazing - and I have wanted to take Joe there ever since. Well last Saturday we acted like an old married couple and took off for Pepin, WI which is about an hour and a half drive. God bless Joe for putting up with me on that drive. I was snapping pictures left and right and making him pull over at "Historical markers" so that I could take more.

I have been up here 5 years and this is by far one of the prettiest falls that I remember. Here are a few photos of the drive

Now, I knew that Harbor View was a pretty popular place to eat. It's only open part of the year and doesn't open until 5 pm and doesn't take reservations. I figured if we got there by 4:15ish, we'd be set. Oh was I wrong. We got there at 4:15 all right and Joe went to put our name on the list. He came back saying that we wouldn't be seated until 6:30!

What to do in a town of 400? Well mosey on down to The Pickle Factory for a couple drinks where Joe finally got to try New Glarus Spotted Cow beer!!!

Harbor View was still packed at 6:30 but we were seated promptly and had an amazing dinner. If you are ever around Pepin, WI stopping at the Harbor View is a must!

Anna's Big Day

Well it's official, on September 13th Anna and Todd tied the knot. It was a fabulous day and Joe and I had a blast!! Here are some pictures from the day - although I just realized, I have no pictures of Anna and Todd together - sorry you two!

Anna, Katherine, Me and Molly - Katherine and Molly were our neighbors freshman year at Carroll

The boys pretending they are rock stars (or at least Joe)

Dad, Mom, me and Joe

Travis, Joe and Todd at the end of the night

Congratulations Todd and Anna!!!! We love you!

A night in Duluth

On September 6th, Anna and I were in Duluth for her final bridal shower at her parents house. The last time I had been there was 10 years ago!!


It was an absolute blast staying with Mom and Dad Schifsky. Anna's aunt from TX was there (what a riot!), Tya (Anna's sister-in-law) and Tya's mother (you put her and Anna's aunt together and watch out - what a hoot). We were busily getting everything ready for the shower Sunday morning and what fun. There were probably 30 some ladies in all that came to celebrate Anna's big day.

Amazingly - we were able to fit all of Anna's (and Todd's) presents in her little Honda Civic and there was even room for her and I too.

The best part about staying with Anna's parents? The pink fleece sheets!!! Yes - there were pink fleece sheets on the guest bed and they were the comfiest and warmest sheets I have ever slept on. I have been looking all over and finally found a set of my own, although I had to settle for beige since they didn't have pink. Seriously - do yourself a favor and if you ever come across fleece sheets, buy them!

September Birthdays

In order not to forget anyone's birthday here are the September Birthdays:

Draiman - September 6th

Josh - September 18th

Troy - September 19th

I hope everyone gets some great presents and Troy - don't have too much fun on your birthday (it's on a Friday so watch out East Troy!)

Happy Belated Birthday

Happy Belated Birthday to all of the August Birthdays -

Uncle Keith - August 28th
Aunt Ginger - August 30th
Stephanie - August 31st

I know I called 2 of the 3...my bad...sorry Stephie - so this post is really for her.

Happy Birthday to Stephanie, Happy Birthday to Stephanie
Happy Birthday dear Stephanie, Happy Birthday to you!! :)

Stephie - Please forgive your absent minded cousin - I feel even worse about it now that I know you have "the pool on order."

Hope everyone's birthday was great!

The Great Minnesota Get Together

Reason number 6 for not blogging was the MN State Fair. Ahh...the fair. I vaguely remember going to the WI State Fair a very long time ago with Aunt Ginger and Liz and riding some ride that spun backwards (or forwards or both) - and that is it - that is all I remember. I know the WI State Fair is (or at least was) known for it's cream puffs well the MN State Fair is known for all the foods you can eat on a stick. Here are some examples:

• Chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick
• Macaroni & cheese on a stick
• Tator tots deep fried on a stick
• Cajun seasoned alligator on a stick
• 1/3 lb of bacon on a stick (yes, Joe bought it and there is a picture below)
• Cheese on a stick (it is really good - a big chunck of pepper jack with a corn bread breading)
• Pork chops/chicken breast on a stick
• Pronto Pups/Corn Dogs (I prefer pronto pups - crispier breading)
• Deep fried candy bar on a stick (seriously - GROSS)
• Fried Fruit on a stick
• Spaghetti & meatballs on a stick
• Giant pickle on a stick
• Scotch Eggs on a stick (hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried)

Does everyone get the picture?

I have been to "the fair" (as we in MN refer to it) every year (some years twice) since I have lived up here. Oh how I love it and I actually start to crave it come the spring. This past Saturday Joe and I went and had a blast. Normally you have to wait in line forever for everything but this year Saturday just wasn't that busy (at least in the morning). The only thing Joe waited in line for was his 1/3 lb of bacon on a stick (they also had chocolate covered bacon but we couldn't find it).

Here is my lovely husband and I bright eyed at 8 AM Saturday ready to eat and walk.

And here is my lovely husband eating his bacon on a stick...

I wonder what they will think of next year...

I know, I know

Oh - there have been a few people who shall rename nameless (who am I kidding - Amy, Anna and Carrie - this is for you) who have let me know I have not been blogging regularly and are quite upset with me for that.

However, I do have some excuses...

1. I had a minor procedure done on my upper jaw August 7th (please direct questions to Sally Bower - my publicist)

2. August 11th was our 1 year anniversary and I was doped up on painkillers that week

3. Work has been incredibly busy - I worked 13.62 hours last Wednesday (I only left my desk twice)

4. Anna's upcoming nuptials have been all consuming - Every weekend we have been doing something with the house and/or yard - Joe and I wouldn't trade it for anything though - We're thrilled that we can open our home to their family and friends.

5. Last weekend (Anna's fault again) was her showerette - surely nobody expected ANYTHING of me that weekend...

6. Labor Day weekend - The Great Minnesota Get together rates the highest among our other responsibilities

Ok - so those are the reasons I have not been blogging - I will now start again and I am sure that if I take a month sabbatical again, Amy, Anna and Carrie will let me know! :)

August already...

Can you believe that yesterday was August 1st? August 1st has quite the memories...

Yesterday was the 1 year anniversary of the 35W Bridge collapse in Minneapolis. They expect that the new bridge should actually be done by as earlier as the middle of Septmeber. Last weekend a 6 x 9 ft piece on concrete fell from the 35E Bridge in Saint Paul and hit 2 cars. Nobody was injured but 35E was closed the rest of Saturday evening (it happened about 5 pm) and was inspected. All was ok and it was reopened just in time for me to drive under it on my way to work.

On a happier note, yesterday was also the 5 year anniversary of me moving to Minnesota...can you believe it? It feels like just yesterday that Mom, Dad, Amy and I made the long drive up here to move me in to the townhouse in Burnsville. I have moved more times the 5 years I have been in Minnesota than in my 23 years of living in Wisconsin!

I went from Burnsville to Saint Paul (across from Anna's apt), to the ghetto (with Joe - thank goodness!) to Highland Park (above Joe's sister) and now the East side! I think it will be quite a long time before I (we) move again and if we do end up moving in the next 5 years (not expected, but hey you never know) we are TOTALLY hiring movers!!!

Joe is AMAZING

We had this super old heater in our garage - I should actually say ancient - and it hasn't been turned on in like 20 years. Joe called Thursday night and asked if I would help him take it out on Saturday. Well, my first thought was, dear Lord - the garage is going to blow.

I now have a new found respect and admiration for my husband. He got the heater out, and he and the heater are all still in one piece. The piece of wood that the heater was on was rotted so Joe got a new piece and made himself a little work space while pulled up a chair in the garage, had a beer and watched. Well, I didn't watch the whole time, I did help a little - he let me cut a piece of wood with the miter saw and hammer in a nail (hammering in not my strength). Anyway - Joe is becoming quite the carpenter and it looks great.

A big ol' nasty heater used to be in that spot

Joe and his work space

This morning I added some solar lights to the front yard (ones that I bought last year and never did anything with) and I can't wait until tonight to see how they look. I also looked at the flower pot I had planted about a month ago and I can't believe how the flowers have mulitiplied. I guess I do take after my mom's green thumb after all.

Flowers that I planted on 6.28.08

Flowers as of last night (7.19/08)