Thai Spring Rolls

I made these Thai Spring Rolls for Election Night last year....that's a holiday/party in the house. My darling friend gets all psyched up with me and we spend the night talking, eating, and drinking. This was one of the snacks we had that night.

I made these again for our House Warming and they were LOVED and people asked for the recipe. I'm ashamed its taken me this long to get to posting the recipe.

I saw a spring roll recipe on a blog, and adjusted the ingredients for a Thai theme. I don't have exact measurements because it really goes by quantity and taste. Rice paper was hard for me to find, I had to go to an Asian market a few towns over.


Thai Spring Rolls

rice paper
rice noodles
shredded carrots
shredded purple cabbage
roasted red peppers, julienned
cilantro, chopped
green onions, chopped
peanuts
wonton strips
edamadme, cooked and cooled

1. cook the rice noodles as directed and cool by running under cold water
2. one at time, soak the rice paper in warm water until pliable, add small amounts of each ingredient and wrap like a burrito
3. serve with peanut sauce

**Squint close and you will see them on the white plate!

Buffalo Chicken Meatballs

I saw something similar on Pinterest and developed my own recipe. It's delicious and I think I will make these instead of wings for Super Bowl, so much easier and less time consuming.

1lb chicken sausage
2oz cream cheese
3T celery, finely diced
1/2 cup plus 1T Frank's Hot Sauce
2T blue cheese crumbles
2c panko
pepper to taste
1/2 cup butter

1. combine butter and 1/2 cup of Frank's Hot Sauce in a sauce pan until melted and combined, set aside.
2. mix remaining ingredients. form balls. brown in a skillet
3. place in baking dish, cover with butter mixture and bake at 350 until cooked through (20-30 minutes)
4. serve with blue cheese dressing

Picnic Table Makeover

I had this idea to have my cousins over for a bonfire in October. Great idea, right? It was, until I remembered that I didn't have any lawn furniture.

We had decided that a picnic table was the best choice for us because we don't have a patio for a table and chairs. Then I looked at the price of a picnic table. It was an unexpected surprise to see them go for $100 minimum. That just wasn't going to happen right now. So my sister in law suggested Freecycle. That night I searched and posted on Freecycle, Craigslist, and a buy/sell group I belong to on Facebook. Within 24 hours I found a style Joe and I agreed on and that was in reasonable shape for $10.

I quickly recruited someone with a bigger car then mine to help me pick it. After seeing it in person I became a little nervous. It wasn't in quite as great a shape as I had thought. It also didn't help that the guys wife, who was home at the time, seemed a little confused as to why I was buying something so old. (This is where I would like to show y'all a before picture, however I wasn't smart enough to take one or copy it from the listing before it expired.)

Never one to give up, we brought in home in several pieces, and determined that four of the supports had to be replaced, as well as one of the boards on a bench. We acquired some wood, stain and borrowed a power sander. That's when I got REALLY nervous. How were the new boards going to blend it? What am I sacrificing in my attempt to be ridiculously cheap?

And then Joe started sanding, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was going to be ok. I obviously have never done this before, or I wouldn't have gotten so nervous. Lesson learned.

And then it was time to stain. This was another decision based on cost. I wouldn't have chosen this stain, but thankfully it works out wonderfully! Especially with the red in our house and garage. Getting it back together was a little difficult. It also required a quick run to the Depot for some screws. We are still slowly acquiring things homeowners should have on hand.

Tada!!! Some other boards will be need to be replaced in the coming years. But it fulfills our needs for the rest of this season, and maybe even next. I, as always, was very happy to cross something off our Home To Do List (it really exists, I'm an organizational freak).

Total project cost: $10 for table, $10 for stain (with TONS left over), $15 for wood (also with lots left over) and a six pack for the gentleman who helped me pick it up. Not bad for our first project of this type.

Lessons of a Home Owner

We have learned a handful of things in our three and a half weeks of Home Ownership:

1. There may be 9+ smoke detectors in the house (don't ask....), but none of them will go off if someone falls asleep on the couch and burns the contents of a pot to smithereens, filling the whole first floor with smoke so much it messed with my asthma.
2. Apparently, if you want to save $20 you need to read the directions on the bag of fertilizer so you don't have to run out and buy a second bag.
3. Hard wood floors are pretty....and cranky.
4. Having a one car driveway means at some point I will HAVE to drive Joe's Accord. Shucks. ;)
5. There are too many hiding places....making you wonder if Tiger found a way to sneak out.

Dr. Who

Last night I went to a friend's house to see the latest two episodes of Dr. Who, a British Sci Fi show. I won't comment on those shows, not knowing who hasn't seen them yet. But I will say.....those weeping angels are not very nice.

What I did want to comment on is the fact that I now watch a Sci Fi show! You'd think that someone as geeky as me would normally be all over it...but I'm not. I don't really do Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. I'm not sure I've ever seen Star Trek. But Dr. Who speaks to me. Maybe its because a majority of the episode is about the story of the main characters or that they are doing good with their time. Loving London certainly has an impact on it. But I have grown to love the show. I get sad when the Doctor's companions leave....loosing the Ponds was extremely hard. I get invested in the Doctor. (Who here still doesn't miss David Tennant?....not that Matt Smith isn't good.)

Another thing that makes Dr. Who appeal to me? I got introduced to it while studying abroad with some of my closest friends. Well, I suppose if we are being literal, I was introduced to a Dalek cake and a few bottles of beer. But the same friends introduced to me to the Dr. Who TV show once we came home. To still be watching five and a half years later is pretty special!

TV Shows That Need A Reboot

With the Boy Meets World remake coming up, and with seeing Sally Field in a movie preview, I started thinking of shows that need to have a reunion.

1. Full House
2. Brothers and Sisters
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. TLR
5. The West Wing
6. Six Feet Under
7. ER

What would you add?

AFSP Update

I have blogged about my volunteer work with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in the past. This fall, in addition to being a chairperson for the Community Outreach and Education Committee, I became a Board Member for the Illinois Chapter! I am so excited to help this great organization in a great way!

Fiesta!

Today I received the new Fiestaware I ordered with some birthday presents. As it is every time I get new Fiesta, it was like Christmas! Big dork, I know...but if Joe can do his car thing, I think I can do a dishes thing.

I have a place setting in the new Flamingo, including a bread and butter plate, fruit bowl, ramekin and trivet. The utility tray (a new piece!),  a large canister and a small one, to complete a set I started a few months ago. I also have two replacement glasses....apparently they easily slip out of hands :)

I'm Proud

I am only 27, but in those 27 years I have seen lots of changes in society that I am proud of.

1. I am proud to be alive for the first African American president. This thought is NOT political. I am just proud that society has moved far enough past racism (its not perfect yet) that we can elect a non-white person to lead our nation.
2. I am proud that our soldiers able to talk about PTSD and get help for it. Again, we aren't nearly as far along as I would like to be, but those men and women are willing to give our lives for the rest of us and need to be taken care of.
3. I proud that psychiatric illnesses are being coming less taboo to talk about and receive medical help for.

Yes, at the moment this is a short list. But all of these are very significant to me. I can only imagine what else will happen in my lifetime!

Vote!

Crazy short post today. I forgot about NaBloPoMo until just now...

Please go vote tomorrow!!