Trip to Las Vegas

My friend Lynn and I went to Las Vegas a couple of months ago and had a BLAST !! We took so many pictures but I took my photos and her photos and narrowed it down to my faves. Here is the book I made on Shutterfly. I love it !

Click here to view this photo book larger

Visit Shutterfly.com to create your own personalized photobook.

Wordless Wednesday - Donny Osmond in a Cowboy Hat

Crab & Swiss Quiche

 

Gee, can you tell where I usually grocery shop?

So..I haven't posted a recipe in a while and was thinking about how I haven't made quiche in a while.  I love this recipe.  Many, many, many years ago, I was flipping through one of my mom's church cookbooks (which are the best by the way) and came across a recipe my Aunt Evelyn had submitted called "Hamburger Quiche".  My mom and all her sisters are great cooks so it got my attention right away, especially when I read that crab could be substituted for ground beef.

Here is the recipe as it appears in the cook book:

 You can see it calls for green onion, which I admit adds good flavor, but I don't care for it because it is an overbearing/strong flavor to me, so I use a few dashes of onion powder instead.  Also, I forget the cornstarch about half the time - it helps the thicken up the quiche but if you leave it out, just cook the quiche a tad bit longer.

This recipe is very versatile and I can't believe it only calls for 2 eggs but it really is enough.   I always use a deep dish pie shell.  The funny thing is, I never made the Hamburger Quiche version.  I have made the Crab & Swiss many, many times.  I've also  made diced ham and swiss, sausage and Cheddar and even just plain cheese quiche with Cheddar, Monterrey Jack and Swiss.  I'll have to try the Hamburger version one of these days.

I posted this recipe on Allrecipes many years ago and they actually gave it 2 different names and put it in 2 different categories.  It is funny, the recipe is the same but the reviews can be so different - LOL !  One is listed as Crab and Swiss Quiche and the other is listed as Crab Quiche II.  They both have 4 1/2 stars so I guess that is pretty good at least.

Crab & Swiss Quiche

• 1 (9 inch) deep dish pie crust
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
• 1/2 pound imitation crabmeat 
• Onion powder (to taste)
• Black pepper (to taste)
• Old Bay Seasoning (if desired, to taste)

 Preheat oven to 350, mix eggs, milk, mayo, cornstarch, cheese, crab meat, onion powder (or diced green onions), black pepper and pour into pie shell.  If desired (and I always desire), sprinkle with Old Bay Seafood seasoning.

Bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes, until knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool slightly and enjoy.  Note:  At the 30 minute mark, I like to sprinkle the quiche with real shredded Parmesan cheese (not the grated Kraft in the can but the shredded kind you can buy or shred yourself), then bake the remaining 10 minutes.

Oh so good !!!

Funny Friday - Cute Kids Sprayed with Water

These kids are just too darned cute !!  I love the look of anticipation with the little girl is about to be sprayed.

I promise this will make you laugh !!

Favorite TV Character - Sue Heck !

I feel like there are not many shows on TV that families can watch and enjoy together.  There are plenty of shows for adults (CSI, Grey's Anatomy, Castle, 20/20, etc) but I wouldn't let my kids watch those shows.  There are plenty of shows for kids (iCarly, Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life, etc) but adults don't always necessarily enjoy them.

There are only a handful of shows families can watch and enjoy together, American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and The Middle.   When I was a kid, there were lots of sitcoms on TV that we could watch and my parents liked too.  But on the main 3 networks, I can only think of one sitcom that adults would like and I wouldn't mind my kids watching and that is The Middle.

My favorite character on The Middle (and one of my all time fave TV characters) is Sue Heck, who is the middle child and the only daughter of the family.

Why do I love Sue? Mainly because she is so upbeat and positive.  You rarely see Sue when she isn't smiling, even in situations where most people would not. 

She is definitely not the most graceful person in the world, in fact she is quite the opposite, a bit clumsy and accident prone but she is feisty and determined and when she sets her mind to something, she doesn't quit. Poor Sue, things don't generally go her way, even when they should.  Bad luck tends to follow her around but in the end, she remains upbeat.

She can take pretty much any situation and turn it into something positive.  Plus she is not afraid to try new things - most girls that are considered "geeks" or "nerds" at school would never try out for cheerleading but not Sue - heck, she decided to start a whole cheerleading squad for the high school basketball team because they didn't have any cheer leaders.

I love Sue's style.  She is bright and fun - while considered a geek or nerd at school, she does not see herself in that light - she is confident, smart, funny and positive.  Sue is the kind of girl that always sees the silver lining behind the dark cloud.  She is a go-getter.

I strive to be more like Sue, happy with yourself, confident, positive and always seeing the good things in life.  If more people were like her, the world would be a better place.

Recently, Sue was suppose to get her braces off but was told she had to wear them a bit longer.  I was looking forward to what she'd look like without them.  Now I kind of know....

Sue (who is approx 14 - 15 years old) is played by the incredibly talented 20 year old Eden Sher, who is anything but a geek and here is what she looks like without the braces.

So.... Here is to a good family sitcom with a positive and happy character - yeah for Sue Heck !!!

Funny Friday - Chocolate Bunnies

2012 Movies

Listing of movies I've seen in 2012 (does not include movies I've re-watched)

January 2012

Something Borrowed - good story but moved a little slow I thought

Mean Girls - really liked it

Hall Pass - just okay - was crude and predictable

Twilight - Breaking Dawn Part I - good, a little cheesy when the werewolves talked to each other though

Insidious - not as scary as I thought it would be but was creepy and spooky without gore

The Artist - I LOVED this movie - LOVED it !!    ❤ ❤ ❤
The Karate Kid (the newer one with Jaden Smith) - never saw it before, they should have named it The Kung-Fu Kid, I wonder why they didn't?
The Descendants - good movie, good acting, beautiful location 

February 2012
Extremely Loud and Incredible Close - good acting, had a lot of narration, a little upsetting
Warhorse - Epic storytelling in classic Steven Spielberg fashion - I loved it
Moneyball - true story - good but kind of slow for me
Ides of March - very good, incredible to know stuff like that (or worse) goes on in real life. 
Tree of Life - very artsy movie that was HORRIBLE
Midnight in Paris - sweet, charming and romantic. 

March 2012
The Way - staring Martin Sheen, about a man taking over a pilgrimage for his son, pretty good
Legally Blond 2 - I love Reese Witherspoon but ... the first Legally Blond was great, the didn't need #2
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen - very funny movie - romance but also drama - I loved it.❤
Cedar Rapids - watched on HBO, was just okay
Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son - also on HBO - also just okay
Bridemaids - not as crude as I thought it was going to be (really only a couple of crude scenes), it was a pretty good story but not sure what the big hoopla was about it.  Also don't know why Melissa McCarthy was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, she did a fine job but she wasn't any more special then the other girls in it.