Enjablog

Thursday started out with breakfast with Ian’s parents. I got my first stocking and have plenty of Christmas candy to last me until the new year. :)

Thursday afternoon was with Ian’s extended family. The big differences from previous years was the musical extravaganza and birthday cake for dessert. We sang happy birthday to Jesus. It was a fun day.

Did Christmas with my family on Boxing Day. There was dancing, more snorking, and bingo! Plus, Anna had a chance to enjoy the activity book I received the day before.

Mac & Cheese (I made this for Thanksgiving too, but forgot to link the recipe. Thanks to Anna for sending this to me!)

INGREDIENTS
For topping
1/2 stick unsalted butter
2 cups panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs) or 3 cups coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 6 slices firm white sandwich bread)
1/4 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

For macaroni and sauce
1 stick unsalted butter
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 cups whole milk
1 pound coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 pound elbow macaroni

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

Make topping:
Melt butter, then stir together with panko and topping cheeses in a bowl until combined well.

Make sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour. Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes, then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in cheeses, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Remove from heat and cover surface of sauce with wax paper.

Make Macaroni:
Cook macaroni in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 4 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni in a colander. Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl. Transfer to 2 buttered 2-quart shallow baking dishes.

Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

NOTES: Add a tablespoon of mustard to the roux. I’ve been using progressively more pasta each time and I think for my taste, about a pound and a half of pasta with some ham mixed in was a good cheese ratio (can reduce final baking time to ~15 mins). I mixed whole wheat with regular rotinis and started that when I started the sauce and let it sit in the water to overcook the noodles until the sauce was ready.

Go vote!

Went over to Lenny’s place last week to have a sibling potluck for the brothers’ birthdays. I pulled out my camera at one point and Eliana just started dancing. I was told that she learned from my brother…

Anna made General Tso’s chicken from scratch. We were all thoroughly impressed with her cooking skillz. Sooo good!

And a belated happy birthday to Crit!

Aarrrrgghh-2-d-2

Avast! ‘Tis Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Yeah, uh. It’s an entertaining holiday and all, but that’s about all I got. Hope everyone has a fun time today! :)

Why do pirates like communists?
Because of the U.S.S.AARRRRRRRRR!

Why did the pirate ship look so good?
They used varrrrrrrnish!

What did the Pirate who injured his knee get?
Arrrrrrrrthroscopic surgery!

How do pirate programs get input?
Through ARRRGV and ARRRGC!

What did Black Beard say to his men before they got on the ship?
Let’s get on the ship, men!

More Pirate Jokes… Come on. You know you’re going to click it. You need to have some good pirate jokes on hand, especially if you go out tonight.

Happy birthday, sis!

…and I’m off to Wisconsin again. I have been tasked with bringing cheese back for the family. We’ll see how it goes. ;)

Happy Birthday, Anna! :)

Happy birthday Laura and Pamela! :)

Happy Memorial Day!!

Got a bunch of stuff done this weekend… Bought a new light fixture for my dining room, went for a bike ride, went to 2 bbqs, and watched some movies.

Today: I went to see a dermatologist. I was prescribed a new medication and instructed to wrap my joints in plastic wrap before going to sleep. “You know, the stuff you wrap sandwiches in.”

After I do that for a month, I get to go back and have an allergy test done.

After work today, I spent over an hour between two CVSs waiting to fill this prescription. So hungry, tired, cranky.

Sleepy time.

Spread the word! | RSSDay.org

Feedburner recently reported that they track around 60 million RSS subscribers. Even if we bump that number to 70 million RSS users (counting people that use RSS with other applications or platforms) this would still convert to a meager 5,4% of the Internet users around the world, as of today.

Really?? 5.4%? That’s nuts. You guys all use RSS, right? Right…?

ARRRRRbor Day!

Hahha. Hope everyone has fun plans to plant a tree this weekend! Or maybe another weekend if you don’t live in the same region as me.

Hmm… I feel like I should make an Earth Day resolution or something. I know I’m more wasteful than I should be and it’s mostly out of laziness. So, I can at least try to do something about it.

I get a lot of tote bags from conferences and stuff. I think I’m going to gather some of those up and throw them in my trunk for when I go grocery shopping. I have a lot more plastic bags at home than I need. I usually use them to line small trash cans, but I also try not to produce so much trash. So I have a lot of plastic bags around already.

I also need a lunch bag. I usually put my lunch in a plastic bag and put the bag in a box at work. Then, when the box is full, I bring all the bags home and start over. But, alternatively, I could just use a lunch bag. Thrilling life I lead, right? :)

What’s your Earth Day resolution?

Happy birthday, Juniorita!

(My niece turns 1 today!)

Happy new year, everyone!

Had lunch with the parents, knitted some, watched Gilmore Girls, and traded 2 ducks for some chow fun. It was an exciting day. :)

I love that Friendmas is starting to collect traditions aside from just occurring every year. So tired right now though. Will probably link to Squidgey’s entry later when she posts pictures. Yes, I’m that lazy. ;)

So glad almost everyone was still able to make it, even though we’ve been having to relocate the past couple years. And thanks Santa!! I got a new game, some cookies, and a spiffy light for my bike so I can put safety first. Woohoo!