_ _ _ _ and Cheese Party 2006!!

The atmosphere was perfect...

The food - cheese - was delicious...

Our hostesses were radiant...

An impromtu drumming session...

Great fun with friends...

Does anyone recognize the guy in this picture? I can't quite remember his name...

Baked Fun-Tina Cranberry Melts

So this is what I made for the super wonderful Wine and Cheese party tonight. I think it tastes super yummy but that's just my humble opinion.

Servings: 24
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 16 mins


Ingredients:

2 8-ounce cans refrigerated crescent roll dough
8 ounces Fontina, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 2 cups)
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto or ham,(I made it with prosciutto and I would recommend a little more than 2 ounces)
diced 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1/3 cup dried cranberries or cherries, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press contents of one can of crescent roll dough onto parchment paper to form a 9 x 12-inch rectangle, taking care to seal seams of dough.

Top dough with Fontina, prosciutto or ham, dried cranberries, 1/2 of the rosemary and sugar.

On another sheet of parchment, press remaining can of dough into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle. Using parchment paper, transfer dough to cover cheese mixture. Carefully peel away parchment paper. Press seams closed. Sprinkle with remaining rosemary.

Bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes.

To serve, cut into 12 squares and then cut each square in half diagonally to make 24 pieces.

New Camera!!!

So for those who know and those who don't...a few months ago my digital camera died suddenly (right before my sister's grad ceremony very upsetting). Anyway, today I finally went out and got myself a new one and I am so psyched - it's an HP R725 - it's 6.2 MP and has a lithium-ion rechargeable battery (which was a must for me). It is now charging and I can't wait to see what it can do.

Fudge Swirl Squares

So for "Guess Who's Coming to Lunch" at church on Sunday I made Fudge Swirl Square. They turned about pretty good. I think it took me a total of 1 hour to make them and that's including the 40 minute bake time. Unfortunately the 40 minute bake time probably should have been more of a 30-35 minute bake time. My oven is always hotter than it's supposed to be - so even though I cut the heat by 50 degrees the squares still burnt a little. Despite that they were still very yummy! Below is the recipe - its pretty straight forward - definitely use unsweetened chocolate though - I almost didn't and it would have been WAY too sweet if I had opted for semi- sweet.


Fudge swirl bars with cream cheese, chocolate, butter, and pecans. Scroll down to see more brownies and bars.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided
4 eggs, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

PREPARATION:
Butter and lightly flour a 13x9-inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350°.
In a medium heavy saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate. Using a wire whisk, beat in 2 cups of the sugar and 3 of the eggs until well blended. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour, salt, chopped pecans or walnuts, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Spread batter in prepared pan.
In another bowl with mixer on low speed, beat cream cheese with remaining 1/2 cup sugar, remaining egg, and remaining 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract until well blended. Increase speed to medium and continue to beat for 2 minutes, scraping bowl from time to times. Spoon mixture in dollops over the chocolate batter. With the end of a butter knife, swirl the cream cheese batter over the surface, blending it into the chocolate layer a bit. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden pick or cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack then cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen. Store these bars, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Since I know that you all care SO much...I thought I'd let you know that I went to bed at 6:00pm last night...I was just SO tired and had had too many late nights. I wasn't even sure that I would be able to sleep through the night but I did and I feel much better now. I whole heartedly suggest to anyone that if their schedules would allow to try going to sleep really early one day. Everything looks so much better after a goodnight's sleep.

Frustration!!!

I am SO FRUSTRATED!! I want to scream and shout and tear my hair out!!! I swear some people live only to make me crazy. I am at a loss, I'm speechless...God take this from me it's too much.

I, the chef...

So today I, the chef, will be preparing the fruit salsa and marinade for the chicken I'm cooking for Janelle's party tomorrow.

If anyone wants to help I won't say no to a little assistance in the Kitchen. Mama Maria is going to Ladies Night Out tonight so I'll be all alone *sob* *sob*.

Back to the grind stone...

So Thanksgiving was as wonderful as I thought it would. Alison was back and it was good to see and catch up with her again. Too bad my sisters couldn't come home for thanksgiving but I hear that Anna made a wonderful feast for her friends in Alberta. I'm quite proud of her for pulling off such an incredible feat.
Becca got to ride a motorcycle for the first time on the weekend and it's in her blood now. I got to have my first taste of riding on the back of a motorcycle a few weeks ago and Stephen got his motorcycle learner license on Thursday. So now Mama is upset. Motorcycles are much too dangerous for her children.
Works fine. My boss hasn't started her new job yet so I can breathe easy for another day. My neck is still SO stiff. I'm thinking of going to the doctor because I don't know what else to do. I keep trying to stretch it out but it's not loosening up at all.
I'm such a nerd. I went to bed yesterday at 7:00pm. But I was actually alert at 5:30am this morning so I guess it paid off. I'm just tired of being tired.
Yeah, I know my life is SO boring but that's fine because when it's exciting it's not usually a good thing.

2 Thanksgivings!

I get to have 2 Thanksgivings this year! YEAH!! I have always been SO jealous of people who get to have 2 Thanksgiving meals. 2 Turkeys, 2 mashed potatoes, 2 gravys...mmmhmmm good!
Today Mom and I got a surprise invitation to go to the Rempels for Thanksgiving and it was a blast as always. And tomorrow we're going to Naylors and as per tradition that should be a barrel full of laughs too. An extra bonus will be that I have tomorrow off since it's a stat holiday...woot! I love stats...get paid to not work...you can't beat that!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well it's Thanksgiving Day 2006 and I have lots to be thankful to God for this year.
I am thankful for God and His tangible presence in my life.
I am thankful for my mother who everyday I see her growing closer to God.
I am thankful for my baby sister at PRBI - exactly where God wants her to be right now and she is obedient to that.
I am thankful for my younger sister who has such an incredible drive and lust for life.
I am thankful for my brother who always comes through for all us girls.
I am thankful for my sister-in-law who is always willing to go the extra mile - even when there is nothing in it for her.
I am thankful for my friends who are never more than a phone call away and don't get fed up with my frequent disappearing act.
I am thankful for my job and my boss who is always providing opportunities for me to learn and grow.
I am thankful for my home.
I am thankful for my car.
I am thankful for my school - UCFV and the professors there.
I am thankful for every day in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone - God Bless!!

Pain, pain go away...

My head is KILLING ME!! And has been for the last few days. No matter how many pills I take or even what I take it doesn't ever help. But my pain is nothing compared to Mom's. She's had a really bad hip for the past few weeks. She went to the doctor's last friday and she said it was probably a pinched nerve. Mom got X-rays done and she found out on this Friday that she has athritis in her hip as well as her discs in her back are compressed and are pinching a nerve. Because of the reno at church they took out the internal vacuum and gave her an upright one. Doc says it's the twisting motion used to use a vacuum like that that caused her discs to compress. She will never be pain free again but it is possible that the pain may be lessened. Anyways, I was at church today vacuuming for her just doing what I can to help her out. She is such a trooper but I know she is in a ton of pain. So right now we're just taking it one day at a time and praying that the pain will be manageable. Such is the life.

Joining the blogging world!

So I too have decided to join the blogging world.
I cannot believe the last 2 days that I have had. Yesterday I got a raise (finally) and then today my boss sat me down for a serious conversation. I thought I was getting fired. I couldn't believe that one day she would give me a raise and then the next fire me but that was where I thought it was heading.
Turns out that she has taken a job at another company as a controller. So, I'm going to be essentially running the company on my own. She is going to be working 4 days a week at this new place - theoretically she should be in the office for atleast one day but that won't be happening because she is going to be keeping on some out of office clients and needs to be meeting with them on that day. I'm probably going to end up working a half day on Mondays and working a half day on Saturday - this is on top of going to school. I am also going to be working more at her husband's company - probably even moving over there so there will be that huge mess.
I am going to have a hectic few months that's for sure and I am kind of freaked out by the huge responsiblity.
But by God's grace I will be able to handle it all.