Foodie Friday #2

photo courtesy of google (we ate them all before i could snap a shot!)

oh my! this past week, as i was grocery shopping @ the base commissary (on an empty stomach!) I ran across a holiday baking display with boxes of Betty Crocker Snowball Cookies Mix. Normally, I try to make my own holiday cookies but between packing up for our move to Texas and holidays travels, I felt like this would be the best route this year. Well, I made a 'trial batch' just to make sure they were actually good and...man! were they scrumptious! sooo delish. soooo easy - just add butter, stir, roll into balls, bake for 8 minutes, roll in powdered sugar (comes in package), cool. voila!! I shared them with a few friends and they all thought they were homemade. pick up a box today!!! =)

some new work...

here are a few pics for you to enjoy...the first nine are from our New Orleans trip we took in early September. the 'yellow flower' shot is from my little porch garden from this past summer and the ones of me, katie D's bridal gown, and charlie were actually taken with my trusty little Sony Cybershot awhile back and edited with picnik.com tools.

please speak up!!!

Dear friends,

It appears that as soon as today the U.S. Senate will convene to deliberate or perhaps to even vote on the Health Care Bill drawn up under the Obama administration. PLEASE - I URGE YOU - to do your part and write, call, or email your state's senators ASAP!! I know it's a little late for me to be posting this, but I just read that it may happen TODAY (Tuesday, 11/17). Below is my letter that I wrote late last night to our senators here in Florida. I thought I would share it with you. THANK YOU for taking the time to read it and for doing the same.

Dear Senator Le Mieux,

I am a very proud American and wife to a hard-working military man. I am taking the time to write and appeal to your position of authority within our government, namely within our great state of Florida, regarding the controversial health care bill that will soon be up for evaluation within the Senate. I am not writing this to appeal to emotion, to name call, mudsling, or even to 'impose my religious views' (unlike many) but to appeal to logical reason, common sense, and to the cherished endowments of 'life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness' as laid out in our great Declaration of Independence. I will get right to the point: If the left so loudly touts that it's strictly a woman's personal choice to have an abortion, why do I - and every other American - have to get thrown in the mix with our hard-earned dollars?! I feel that Nancy Pelosi and the rest of the left-winged Democrats' stringent agenda as laid out in this bill is truly impinging upon the Constitutional rights of Americans, let alone disrespecting the fact that many Americans do NOT support abortion and have a right to do so. It is simply unjust and WRONG to be bound by law to participate in funding a woman's abortion!! Personally, I believe that life is precious and begins at the moment of conception, so my heart burns with indignation not only at the thought that MY MONEY may soon be helping to snuff out an innocent life, but also that I would be legally REQUIRED to do so!! I appeal to you to really think about the Constitutional rights at stake with this health care bill, regardless of your personal stance on abortion. Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution states: "No preference shall be given by any Regulation of Commerce or Revenue to the Ports of one State over those of another; nor shall Vessels bound to, or from, one State, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay Duties in another." Please, please, please think twice about supporting this bill and its ramifications! Please pass my heartfelt appeals to anyone involved with the possibility of this bill going into law. I humbly believe that I speak on behalf of many responsible, patriotic, concerned citizens of this wonderful nation who are desperate for their voices to be heard! Vox Populi!

With hope, Mrs. Luke Grant

Pensacola, FL

below is a link for all U.S. Senators. simply click on their name to contact:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

happy photography moment!!!!

for our wedding, my dear in-laws blessed us with a camera, lens, and a bit extra to go towards a second lens and accessories. well, when Luke and I went to order everything back in July, the company from which we ordered was out of one of the lenses we wanted. months passed and since I was having so much fun experimenting with the lens my CANON came with - EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS - I had kinda forgotten about the other one.

well, my sweet baby surprised me with this over the weekend...

...aaahh!! the EF 50mm f/1.4 USM!!! i'm having so much fun w/ it! it's versatile for indoor shots, very sharp, and I love what it does with DOF (depth of field) since it's a shorter, fixed-distance lens. love it!

...and he got me a UV filter that I had been wanting for sunny landscape shots.

I am one blessed girl. pics coming soon!!!! ;)

i love piper

here a few messages I have listened to recently...they have been a great blessing to me:

Honoring the Biblical Call of Motherhood: A Tribute to Ruth Piper

John Newton: Tough Roots of Habitual Tenderness

Holy Women Who Hoped in God

...I pray you are blessed too!!

Foodie Friday #1

'fresh eggplant', Rouse's Market, New Orleans

okay, blog readers, it's time for a little fun!! every friday from now on (keeping my fingers crossed!) I will do a post related in some way to cooking and/or food. i'm reeeaaally excited about this for a few reasons:

1) I have been experimenting with a lot of recipes lately in my lil kitchen

2) I LOVE perusing gourmet groceries (Wegman's anyone?? I mean really!!) with my hot baby who also happens to be an amazing cook

3) Devouring (no pun intended! lol!) food websites/foodie blogs/cookbooks = true entertainment

4) Julia Child is my hero (well, one of them)

5) I ABSOLUTELY ADORE eating!! yay for food!!!!


I digress...anyway, I hope you enjoy the pics, recipes, random ramblings about all things culinary, funny stories about my 'kitchen experiments', etc. Bon appetit!

For our first foodie post, I would like to tell you about my new fav dish:

Eggplant Lasagna

Wait, wait! don't 'x' out quite yet! it was actually amazingly scrumptious!

please keep reading...


So I found this recipe from foodnetwork.com created by Danny Boome (no, not Daniel Boone!) and it intrigued me. We all know that eggplant is one of those 'ugly stepchild' foods that no one really likes to talk about. poor thing. Well, this recipe transformed our ugly stepchild into the 'belle of the ball'. The original recipe is here. Below is my revised version (much faster, less fat)...

Ingredients
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthwise into thin slices

EVOO for brushing eggplant slices, coating baking dish

coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 small cans mushrooms, drained

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 T. chopped fresh thyme (found in produce section!)

1 (15oz) part-skim ricotta cheese

3 large eggs

1 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese (optional)

Italian seasoning

1 jar marinara sauce (I like to use 'Bertoli w/ Burgundy Wine' brand)

Directions

Preheat oven to 455. Arrange sliced eggplant in a single layer on cookie sheets or pizza pans. Brush generously with EVOO, sprinkle w/ salt 'n' pepper. Roast eggplant, 10 minutes each side. Meanwhile, combine mushrooms, crushed garlic, ricotta, eggs, 1/2 cup parmesan, thyme, italian seasoning (amount desired), 1 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. pepper. stir until combined. Brush baking dish w/ EVOO. Spread 1/2 of marinara sauce down first, layer with eggplant, ricotta mixture. repeat. top with marinara, mozzarella cheese, and remaining parmesan cheese. Bake @ 350 for 3o minutes. serve w/ green salad and italian bread! yummmmy!!


ps ~ Luke said that this was the best meal I had made so far!!! wowzers!! try it tonight!

kinda like the SNL skit - "Really??"

random shots i snapped of my baby on a recent late-night starbux run!!

the other day, I asked Luke to be my little 'Christmas helper' by picking up some holiday stamps @ the P.O. So, on his way home from the airfield, he stopped at the post office (in full flight suit) and was waiting in line when the woman in front of him turned around and asked, "Were you in Vietnam?" Luke successfully stifled a laugh and politely replied, 'No, ma'am' and the woman turned around and ignored him the rest of the time. come on, lady...really??

I had to laugh out loud when Luke came home and told me this, since he is often actually mistaken for a teenager with his 'boyish good looks' - not a 60-something Vietnam Vet!!

hee hee!!!

(one more thing...I would like to include a big "Happy Veteran's Day" for anyone who has ever served or is currently serving in our nation's Armed Forces. Thank you!! We support and honor you for the way you have sacrificed so much on behalf of our country!)