Awesome week!

This is a great week.  Did you know that one February 28, 2006, the one and only Rockstar came into our lives from Lousiville, Colorado.  She was just 14 weeks old and the cutest puppy I had ever seen.
 

(Are those pictures blurry to everyone else?  What is with that?  I might have to post these again later.... but it will have to work for now!)

Fast forward two years later and February 24th, 2008 - Kipp officially became a part of Team O'Brien.  He came from somewhere in Wyoming, waiting in rescue for 7 months to find the right family to be with forever.  It was us.  I still can't believe I ever convinced Jeff to get a second dog but I don't think he regrets it for one second!  I mean-look at this face!

So we are celebrating by going to a doggy play date tomorrow, which is also good practice for the upcoming disc dog season!  :)   And they also got some new toys-because let's admit it-it doesn't take a lot for me to want to get them some new toys.  (It helps that Rockstar destroys toys in less than 2.5 seconds.)

Last weekend we also got together with some doggy friends for a long distance competition with floppy Frisbees....it was so much fun!  We all bundled up in our ski gear and loaded the dogs up to take them to the park.

The dogs had a blast in the snow and chilly weather.....the humans got a little too cold at the end and we decided to go and warm up with a beer and some mexican food.  :)

Just One

Rockstar is the most helpful little pup on the planet. See what I mean? Here she is helping Jeff with the dishes!

Kitchen helper

New favorite past time? Shopping at the grocery store. A lot. Last time we were there looking for hoagie rolls for our Italian Beef Sandwiches (more on that to come later) I gravitated toward the clearance section.....and look at what I found!

Isn't she awesome? I know!! My very own My Little Pony. She has a bowl full of batter, half a dozen eggs, a carton of milk, and a pie in a box (which isn't in the picture because it's too big and flies off the top of the microwave when I open the cabinet doors.)

On to the food from the past week and a half!

I have been trying to branch out a little from my usual chicken and rice, spaghetti, and taco dinners. Which I'm sure Jeff appreciates because I've actually been buying beef! Go Amy, go Amy, go Amy.

London Broil with a fresh herb butter:

Homemade Bread:

In honor of World Nutella Day last Friday we had homemade bread with Nutella:

We had 3 other couples over for Italian one night last week. It was lots of fun, we ate a ton of food, and started off with this delicious caesar salad. YUM!

Then we ate lasagna. It was so good, there was only one serving left....you know, the one no one will touch because it's the last piece....
Jeff didn't mind eating it for lunch the next day! He said it was just as good reheated. :)

Valentine's Day!!! I love Valentine's Day! We had such a delicious dinner.

Started off with this! Cheesy artichoke and tomato squares. They are amazing. I found the recipe in a Pampered Chef cookbook that my Grandma gave me when we were out in Texas visiting her in December.

Now onto the entree! Chicken Tikka Masala with saffron rice and homemade naan bread. Indian food is one of my new obsessions. I love the flavors and the simplicity, and the colors. We both really enjoyed this and decided it's going on the list of staple dinners.

A picture of our V-day dinner table. Look at those lillies!

And last but not least, Italian Beef Sandwiches with munster cheese and giardiniera. Jeff was in meat heaven. Since we are going to be in Chicago in less than a month I figured we better get to practicing our 'Chicago Lean'.

What's that? You don't know what the Chicago Lean is? Blasphemous! From italianbeef.com:

The Chicago Lean (a step-by-step guide)

Put your sandwich on the counter and stand in front of it, with your chest about 12 inches from the edge of the counter.

Lean forward so your chest is at a 45-degree angle to the counter (Note: if you’re wearing a tie, make sure it’s tucked inside your shirt)

Pick up your sandwich, resting your elbows on the counter

Angle the sandwich at a 45-degree angle to the counter, with the top end towards your mouth. (Imagine making a triangle: the counter is the bottom, your head and chest are one side, the sandwich is another)

Eat and enjoy. For best results, keep the sandwich wrapped in the wax paper it most likely came in, unwrapping it as you go.

I think we are ready to go to Chicago now. I know I am ready for the food! I can't wait.

Random awesomeness

Today at work I received a ketchup bottle in the mail. Say whaaaaa? Yup-as a reminder from the company that catered our (fun, fantastic, rad) company holiday party that we had this past year, that they also cater picnics as well. I adored our catering company. They were SO easy to work with, had friendly, knowledgeable staff, and the price was right! You can't beat that combination any day of the week.

I can't imagine paying someone to cook burgers and hot dogs though-but in any case I love my ketchup bottle and plan on taking it home and using it for oil. The little fun things like this (paired with the delicious food and great service) will always keep me coming back to a company because it shows a little personality. Job well done, Catering By Design!

Weekend plans

Well, let me start this post by telling you all about my predicament. I hate shredding cheese. Yep-there in lies my predicament. For Christmas I received a most wonderful present - a KitchenAid Slicer and Shredder attachment. I was in love! See the picture of my love below:

But alas when I got home and pulled out my mixer to put my lovely Christmas gift to good use.....I discover that my mixer is no KitchenAid at ALL!! I didn't even know that other manufacturers made stand mixers! Ha! So, in an effort to never shred cheese by hand again I was on a mission to find a KitchenAid mixer. I just so happened to run across one on eBay-so WEIRD!

3-5 business days later this lovely little beast arrived on my doorstep.

Beautiful, isn't it? Well I sure think so! And I am going to put it to good use this weekend. I haven't made homemade bread yet, but I think it's time. We just ran out, and I have a delicious recipe waiting to be made!

Other than that we are helping a friend move back to Colorado tomorrow, and then it's Super Bowl Sunday time!