Mi Vida Ocupada

Randoms of the Week

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:26:06 +0000

One. I turn another year older this Thursday. Not sure how I feel about that!

Two. I had been saving my money to get a 50mm 1.4 lens for my Nikon. Looks like I will need to spend that money instead on new brakes (and possibly shocks) for Lexi.

Three. %&^*^%*!@#$% Potholes!!! The roads are in BAD shape around here this time of year. Just think, three more months of dealing with it and then construction starts for the whole summer. Isn’t Minnesota great?? Maybe its like that where you live too?

Four. Super Bowl is over and done with. I am still mighty angry that the Vikes were not the ones, but I have to give it to the Saints. I didn’t really watch the game closely but I am glad they beat Indiana! I could hear my girl Greta screaming and crying all the way up here! I wouldn’t doubt if she is still celebrating, I can imagine that New Orleans (and Biloxi, MS) is the place to be right now after the win and also Mardi Gras going on!

Five. I have added a new “Featured Posts” Box at the top of my main column. I have it set to show my latest 8 posts. Working on changing the text to a color you can read but not having very much luck at the moment. Really liking this new blog design and using Wordpress-installed software except for one thing (see #6)

Six. You may have noticed that all of my old photos are no longer appearing on this blog. They are somewhere in Cyberspace. I really regret not reading the Typepad to Wordpress transfer instructions better. All of my photos from Nov 2006-Jan 2010 had been mapped to sweetsauer.com and were overwritten when I moved my domain name. I could see them in every post up until the moment we transferred it so I had thought they were good to go. Realized too late what had happened. Really stinks but I am over it. I had someone trying to work some magic but I think it is a lost cause or just too time consuming to worry about. I have them all on my hard drive but just do not have time to re-post photos from the past three years.

Seven. I am also in the process of redesigning the Twin Cities Restaurant blog. Going to make sure all of the photos get transferred correctly before the same mistake happens!

Eight. Watched The Ugly Truth this weekend with Katherine Heigl. So funny!!! Adventureland was cute too

Nine. I am starving right now! What else is new??? I have had an outrageous appetite ever since the New Year and not feeling good about the way I look or feel right now. Can’t seem to stop eating though. I love food. Signing off so I can make some breakfast……

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Homemade Enchiladas

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:04:21 +0000

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Mexican food. Like A LOT. It’s been this way since as long as I can remember (however I think my first food-related-love was definitely Chinese). So how lucky could a girl be to have the most wonderful, awesome, generous neighbors move in next-door who know how to cook authentic Mexican food??? I know my girl is going to hate being put on the spot but DENISE IS THE BEST COOK!! Especially when it comes to cooking Mexican. I have been to Mexico twenty times and have explored all over the country, so I know that the cuisine is very regional. You will find at least 100 different ways to make tacos, depending on where you are in Mexico and how a particular family likes to make them.

Anyway, at least every few weeks Denise makes Comida Mexicana and invites us over for dinner with the family. What a treat these meals are to me!! I have become so spoiled that I prefer to eat Mexican at Denise’s house over 90% of the Mexican restaurants around town. Seriously.

Now I must say that there are many different recipes for enchiladas, but it all starts with corn tortillas. Corn tortillas can be very fragile and absolutely MUST be heated on a camal (or flat skillet) before using.

Stuff each corn tortilla with meat of choice and cheese, then roll up. You can use a rotisserie chicken from local market and it turns out great. Shredded beef, pork, ground beef- they are all good too! You could also add black beans. Do this with as many enchiladas as you plan to make and squeeze them in the pan nice and tight so they do not unroll.

Pour favorite enchilada sauce over tops of enchiladas to cover completely, top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Serve with Mexican rice and beans. Or if you’re like me, top with spicy chile’ and avocado too.

Muy delicioso!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Early Bday Celebration

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:25:09 +0000

Last weekend my parents had us all up for dinner to celebrate my birthday. ( They have since then gone to Florida where they will be for the next several weeks like they do every winter) . My mom made Chicken Marsala and we also had some cake.

A few photos…..

Me and Michelle. No, we did not coordinate our neon outfits for this photo! LOL

Blowing out candles……. Not sure how Jeff did it when he took this picture, but you can see the reflection of the candles on my head!! Certainly it isn’t a halo……..!

Thanks to my fam for celebrating with me ;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Chicken Marsala Recipe

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:13:03 +0000

Here is my mom’s recipe for Chicken Marsala. She prepared all of food in the photos I took below.

Chicken Marsala

2 large skinned, boneless chicken breasts, pounded flat with mallet

Flour to dredge

1Tbls. Each Olive oil, butter

1 tsp. chopped garlic (optional)

Chefs Secret Seasoning, to taste

1 bottle Marsala Wine (cooking wine works well and is much cheaper)

½ cup heavy cream (optional instead of flour to thicken. Can also use Greek yogurt to reduce fat)

1 8 oz. package fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 box penne pasta

To make ahead, reduce wine by half by simmering on low for about 45 to 60 minutes.

Cook the pasta to al dente stage (slightly undercooked) drain and set aside.

Just before cooking the mushrooms and chicken, add cream and pasta to the reduced Marsala wine and simmer while finishing the mushrooms and chicken. Simmer until sauce reduces by half and thickens-@ 10 to 15 minutes.

Before cooking the chicken, sauté mushrooms lightly and set aside- they’ll need to be drained before adding to the sauce.

Last, dredge chicken in flour and sauté in olive oil/ butter and garlic until browned lightly on both sides @ 5 minutes total. Season.

Don’t cook too long or chicken will get stringy and tough.

Finally, add mushrooms to chicken and pour sauce over all and serve immediately.

Bon Appetite!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Isis the Ice Princess

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:37:11 +0000

This is Isis, our female Manx. Her icy-personality has earned her the name “Ice Princess”. It isn’t often that she’ll pose for me like this, but I’ll take it!

F5.6 1/50 ISO400

F5.6 1/50 ISO 800

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Dinner with my Besties

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:15:54 +0000

Last week was my Bff Mary’s bday and so our little group of girls (minus LVJN – we missed you!) plus a few of Mary’s friends from work went and had a nice dinner on Saturday night at Loring Pasta Bar (new review to come soon). You know we always take 79845245985754 photos when together, so here are a few to share!

Hope you had a great Birthday, Maria Elena!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Photo Hunt Challenge #6

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:02:08 +0000

A New Challenge (PH#6) has been posted over at Photo Hunt Challenges for the month of February! Go sign-up if this looks like something you would like to tackle ;)

Here is the list, all items are open to interpretation!

1. A tower

2. “Main Street”

3. Five

4. A dog or cat

5. Two of a kind

6. A clock

7. A game

8. Something sweet

9. B&W w/selective coloring

10. Your own reflection

11. A mirror image

12. Night image

13. Something homemade

14. Something pink

15. Something romantic

16. A candid shot

17. A portrait

18. A symbol of love

19. A landscape

20. Chocolate

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Welcome to the NEW sweetsauer.com

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:39:35 +0000

The day I have been waiting for is now here…….. the new blog is now live!

I know it hasn’t happened YET but I think we may even have worked it out so that you can still receive this feed in your feedreader without having changed the feed from what it was before (fingers crossed!).

New features include a Top Commenter ranking in the sidebar…… a little incentive to leave more comments!

PS I am aware that all the images I imported from my old blog at Typepad are currently not displaying. They should be back up within the next day or two ;)

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Thoughts for Thursday: Dreams

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:05:05 +0000

I had an interesting conversation last night with some of the neighbor-girls about what we dream about. Dreams are so fleeting….. they are to me anyway, with bits and pieces that sometimes flashback at random times. Most of the time I do not remember my dreams at all, other times I can recall them vividly. I have had some recurring dreams, even some that go all the way back to my childhood that I still remember. For the past few years I have dreamt of a unknown city. In this dream I drive all over the city, taking different routes. I have had it so many times that I swear I could navigate through that city if I ever happened to be there in real life. What do you think that is supposed to mean? I think I am a suggestive dreamer in the regard that I often dream about things that are on my mind before going to bed. Other times I have dreams that are so bizarre, I wonder where they came from?! I am not the type to analyze my dreams normally, but I sure have had some C.R.A.Z.Y. dreams! (I will have to write a post just about some of them just for the record!)

Just curious if you remember your dreams or not? Which dreams do you tend to remember the most? Scary? Happy? Bizarre? Do your dreams center around things in your real life or that you were thinking about before bed or are they totally random?? Do you ever dream about strangers that you don't recall ever meeting in real life??

Go ahead and share your thoughts of dreams with me! Or even share a dream you've had if you'd like ;)

PS On an unrelated note….. sweetsauer.com will be moving to a new server and platform this weekend so make sure you subscribe using this feed otherwise you will not continue to receive my blog updates!

Frigid Sunrise

Kristi S (sweetsauer) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 22:31:00 +0000

Some mornings I leave for work long before the sun makes his appearance, other days I can catch a spectacular sunrise over White Bear Lake while enroute. Today was one of those days! (Thanks to a super-sweet loaner bag (Coach!) from a friend, I am able to conveniently carry my camera around in style- camera bag problem temporarily solved)

PS On an unrelated note….. www.sweetsauer.com will be moving to a new server and platform this weekend so make sure you subscribe using this feed otherwise you will not continue to receive my blog updates!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!