Crab & Shrimp Delight

I was thinking the other day that I haven't made this in a very long time. It may not be the most healthiest dish in the world but it tastes oh so good. If you like crab and pasta, you should really like this. I'm pretty much a semi-homemade kind of cook as you can see from the ingredients.

1 can crabmeat
1 can salad shrimp
1 can condensed cream of shrimp soup
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk (I use skim because that is what I always have)
8 oz Gemilli pasta (can use other small types of pasta but I like Gemilli)
8 oz shredded cheese (I like the 3-cheese blend but sometimes just use Cheddar)
1 (6 ounce) can French-fried onions (this is what makes this dish extra tasty - don't leave them out)

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, combine the soup, milk, and mayonnaise. Stir with a wisk until smooth. Stir in the crabmeat, shrimp and uncooked noodles. Yes, I said uncooked - there is no need to pre-cook them - that is another reason this dish is good and easy to make.

3. Spoon into an ungreased 9x12 inch baking dish. Sprinkle top with cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle french fried onions over the top. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.


Another good thing about this - the leftovers are just as good, if not better, the next day. After I reheat the next day (in the microwave), I add a few extra french fried onions to give it more crunchiness. Mmmmmmm!

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1st Movie of 2009 - Doubt

I have many goals for 2009, one of which is to see at least 2 movies a month (would love to see one weekly, but not sure if that is feasible).

I saw the first one yesterday...Doubt, which stars Meryl Streep, Philip Seymore Hoffman and Amy Adams.

The movie (previously a play) is set in the Bronx in 1964 at St. Nicholas Catholic school. Meryl Streep plays Sister Aloysius Beauvier, a VERY strict and disciplined nun and Principal of the school. The kids fear her and she is very quick to slap a child on the back of the head if they are not sitting up straight.

Amy Adams portrays Sister James, a young nun who is a fairly new history teacher at the school.

Philip Seymore Hoffman portrays Father Flynn, tries to bring some relaxation to the school - much to the dismay of Sister Aloysius The school has just accepted its first black student, Donald Miller. Father Flynn knows that in 1964, this student is bound to be harrassed so he decides to befriend him.

Sister Aloysius suspects something is not quite right with the relationship between the priest and the student so ask Sister James to "keep and eye out". When Sister James notices some unusual behavior from Donald, she reports it to the stern principal. Sister Aloysius begin a search for the truth and works to expose the priest, even though she has no proof or evidence except her moral certainty. The priest denies the charges but she has no doubt he is guilty. The two battle it out.

In the end, it is really left up to the viewer to decided. He is the kind of person you want to believe and his explanations seem plausible, but you believe the nun has strong reasons to believe in his guilt. I saw this movie with 2 other people. Two of us thought he was guilty, one of us didn't think so.

I recommend this movie - great story and really keeps you waiting to see what will happen next.

2nd Blog Added

I never quite understood why someone would have 2 blogs... until now that is. I have been thinking for a while now of posting a picture a day of our beautiful city. I thought the best day to start would be January 1st.

My first thought was to add it to this blog but I primarily want to use this one for craft projects and other tiny bits of personal info so figured I would start a separate one for the daily Atlanta photos. Plus, the ONLY thing that will be posted on the new blog will be Atlanta pics.

You can check it out HERE. Let me know what you think - comments always welcomed.

Yarn Ball Wreath

I decided I needed a new wreath for my door. I love knitting, I love yarn, so what better decoration than a yarn ball wreath ?

I made this using styrofoam balls and some scrap yarn I had. I found an extra set of bamboo knitting needles and ta-da! My yarn ball wreath was born!

Wrap scrap yarn around styrofoam balls - glue the end when done with the ball (I used a hot glue gun)
Arrange balls in a wreath shape (just lay on the table or floor)
Insert a toothpick between the balls to help hold them together
Glue the sides of the balls together
Insert knitting needles, hang and enjoy.

Geese Ornament Prayer Vigil

I just love where I work - I have some wonderful co-workers. . . who also have a fun sense of humor.

One of them was unwrapping the ornaments to put on the tree a couple of weeks ago and found one little goose that was broken. He felt so sad for this little ornament so...

he decided the rest of the geese needed to gather around it and had the little angel ornament to lead them in a prayer vigil.

Every time I walk by this display I smile.

AARP Games - who knew?

No cracks about my age - I'm nowhere ready for AARP (not that there's anything wrong with that) but who knew that AARP's website had games?

Here is a cute one - who doesn't love kitty cats and balls of yarn?

Try it, it is kind of fun - YARNZ

Bake Cookies Day !

December 18th is Bake Cookies Day so I decided to make December 19th Eat Cookies Day at my office. I sent out a flyer asking people to bring cookies if they so desired. I ended up make 3 kinds.

First, the easy ones, which I packaged in cute little Christmas patterned Chinese Take Out boxes. I gave these to my staff, along with a card and a restaurant gift card.

White Chocolate Dipped Fortune Cookies



Next were the:

Peanut Butter Double Delight



This is a really good and simple recipe - it was good enough to win the last Pillbury Bake Off - to me it tastes like a cross between a Snickerdoodle and a Peanut Butter cookie.

1/4 cup Dry Roasted Peanuts, finely chopped
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup JIF® Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 cup Confectioners Powdered Sugar
1 roll (16.5 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated peanut butter cookies, well chilled

Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, mix chopped peanuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon; set aside.

In another small bowl, stir peanut butter and powdered sugar until completely blended. Shape mixture into 24 (1-inch) balls.

Cut roll of cookie dough into 12 slices. Cut each slice in half crosswise to make 24 pieces; flatten slightly. Shape 1 cookie dough piece around 1 peanut butter ball, covering completely. Repeat with remaining dough and balls.

Roll each covered ball in peanut mixture; gently pat mixture completely onto balls. On ungreased large cookie sheets, place balls 2 inches apart. Spray bottom of drinking glass with CRISCO® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray; press into remaining peanut mixture. Flatten each ball to 1/2-inch thickness with bottom of glass. Sprinkle any remaining peanut mixture evenly on tops of cookies; gently press into dough.

Bake 7 to 12 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets to cooling rack. Store tightly covered.

Now... onto my favorite one:

Mrs. Field's Chocolate Dream Cookies



These are very good but are a bit time consuming - but oooh so worth the time. I don't believe I can post the recipe here because it is published in the Mrs. Field's Cookie Book and I assume, therefore, it is copywrited material. I love this cook book - I've made many of the cookies out of it but these are my favorite.

It is kind of like a butter cookie with a chocolate ganache filling. I do think there is some kind of misprint in the book though. It says to use a 2" round cookie cutter, which I do. It says it yields 2 1/2 dozen. I double this recipe EVERY time I make it and still only manage to get about 16 or so cookies and that is with the recipe doubled ! That means I would only get about 8 cookies with a single batch - not even a full dozen.

So I'm not sure if the size of the cookie cutter is wrong or if the yield is supposed to be 1/2 dozen instead of 2 1/2. Either way... if you ever make this - double the recipe - you'll be glad you did.