Going Under The Knife

You got it; I need surgery.  Between pain level, doctors appointments and lab tests - I was out of work all last week.  Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday just after noon time.

On one hand - I'm NERVOUS!! I've never had to have surgery before. I've been a very lucky girl who, despite some serious asthma issues, had never had other problems.  No stiches (except when I got my wisdom teeth out), no admissions to the hospital, no major broken bones (only little ones..heeheehee).

On the other hand - I can't wait for surgery! I'm in pain, and would love to feel human again.

Many thanks to those of you who have emailed, tweeted, IM'd or otherwise checked in on me.  You are all so sweet!  Fingers crossed, the surgery is done laproscopically.  It will start that way - but I've been warned that there are a few reasons why I might have to get cut open the "old way".

In the meantime, have you entered my CSN giveaway yet?  You still have PLENTY of time!

It's A GIVEAWAY - From CSN!

Guess what?  The lovely people at CSN reached out to me, and asked if I'd be interested in hosting a giveaway or doing a product review!  And, because I love you all so much - I decided to do a giveaway!

You've all heard of CSN, right?!?!  If you haven't yet, you're missing out!  SERIOUSLY!!  With 200 stores, just jam-packed with things I (and likely you) are all coveting, you can spend all day "window shopping".  I'm a huge fan of their modern furniture right now.  The rugs are right up my alley, and the modern Disney items would subtly mix into my house.

This time around, CSN is letting me give away a $40 gift certificate* towards the item of your choice.  To keep things simple, I'm not giving everyone quite as many entry opportunities as last time.

Earn 1 entry for being a blog follower.
Earn 1 entry for following me on Twitter.
Earn 1 entry for telling me what kind of goodies you'd buy with the gift certificate.

This contest will be open through Sunday, February 13th @ midnight.  The winner will announced soon thereafter.

Good luck!

*Please note that this gift certificate is not applicable towards shipping, but many items already ship for free!

Tuesdays At The Table - Meatball Bubble Biscuits

Hi gang.  Sorry my TATT post is so late!  I know, it's completely unlike me...but I'm sick. AGAIN!!  This time, they are pretty sure that I'm either having a gallbladder "attack" or they need to take it out.  All I can say is "holy moley, I'm in pain".

Because of this, I'm having another throwback week. Back from when there weren't even a fraction of you lovelies that read and linked up to TATT.  :-)  By the way - I love, love, love reading all your recipes each week!!

Meatball Bubble Biscuits

1 can (12 oz) buttermilk or original flaky Pillsbury biscuits
10 frozen cooked meatballs that have been thawed and cut in half
2 sticks (1 oz. each) of string cheese, cut into 10 pieces
1 tbsp of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp of italian seasoning
1/4 tsp of garlic
1 cup of marinara sauce, heated
Seperate the can of biscuits into 10 biscuits, then seperate each biscuit into 2 layers. Press each newly formed biscuit into a 3 inch round.

Place a meatball half and a piece of string cheese in the center of each dough round. Wrap around and press shut each dough round.
In an 8 or 9 inch cake pan, place each seam size down in a single layer.

Sprinkle evenly with garlic, italian seasoning and parmesan cheese.  Bake 20-25 minutes at 375.  Dip in marinara and enjoy. :-)

What's cooking in your kitchen?

But, Seriously....

Sorry I didn't blog much in the past week, ladies.  It was one heck of a week.

I had ice seep into my cellar, build up and crack/freeze pipes.  Then my oil company forgot to deliver oil to me.  Then the pipes froze enough that I couldn't feed water into my boiler.

Which meant I lived like a Pilgrim from Tuesday afternoon through Friday afternoon.  Four days without running water and inconsistent heat was a challenge.  Despite needing to melt snow to bath, to flush the toilet, to cook, etc - I REFUSED to give in and go stay at my parent's or cousin's house.  Stubborn, much?!?!  :-)

Add in a less than lovely (read: craptastic) work week, and a few other unforseen complications, and by Friday afternoon - I wanted to cry into a really large glass of wine.  But I made it!  I have heat, running water and enjoyed a fantastic game night last night.

This week will be better, right? It has to be!

Tuesdays At The Table - Crispy Chorizo Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

Happy Tuesday!  This weekend (Yes, I'm already looking forward to the weekend), I'm having my friends over for game night.  We meet once a month and all take turns hosting.  This will be the first time that most of them will see my home and since I can't disguise that the bought a money pit - my plan is to impress them with a new appetizer.  This is one that I can't wait to try out on them.

Crispy Chorizo Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

10 jalapeno peppers (the bigger the better)
10 ounces colby jack or mozzarella cheese
8 ounces cooked hot Mexican chorizo
1 egg
1 cup bread crumbs
Olive oil for frying

Remove stems from the jalapeno peppers and remove innards through the top with a knife and very small spoon (or a corer if you have it).   Stuff each jalapeno with layers of chorizo and cheese.

In a shallow bowl, beat the egg.

Dip the stuffed jalapeno peppers into the egg, then coat with bread crumbs.

In a deep frying pan, add about 1 inch of oil and heat thoroughly.  Fry each breaded jalapeno popper about 3-5 minutes each side, or until golden brown.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Review Of The Wine Expo

Today I went to the Boston Wine Expo.  What a fun time!  Wine, snacks, wine, girl time, wine, little freebies.  Did I mention WINE?!?!

There were some tried and true wines that I tasted - even though I knew I loved them.  Hello, Barefoot Wine!! I did get exposed to their Moscato Spumonte this time.  Darn, I love those little bubbles!

Then there were some newbies that I'll have to start looking for...

There was Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling.  It runs about $10-$12 a bottle and had a nice mellow fruity taste to it.  I really got a strong taste of pears to it.

Magner's Irish Cider, which came in traditional apple, and then in pear.  Both were yummy, though surprising (at least to me) to find at a wine expo.  A six pack will run you about $10.

Then Schmitt Sohne put out a new Riesling called Funf.  It's light, a bit sweet (though a dry version is out as well) and only runs at $7 a bottle.

Also, of note was Steen Chenin Blanc.  It's a South African wine that was a little green in color and tastes pineapple and citrus-y.  I apologize for not having a pricepoint on this one.

Another new experience for me was ice wine. This one was by Inniskillin, and essentially tasted like a slightly stronger apple cider.  Tasty...but not worth the $95 price tag.

Do you have any wines that I should try too?

Weekend Plans

After a week (fine, five long days) of feeling amazingly gross - I'm finally starting to feel better!  HURRAY!!  I hope none of you get this stomach flu.  It isn't pretty...

To celebrate feeling better, I'm thinking I might get a manicure on Saturday.  Not just any manicure, but an OPI Axxium manicure.  Have you heard of it? We all love OPI, right?!?!  Well, their gel manicures are so much more fabulous.  They DON'T chip!!!  Like...EVER!! (Almost!)  I got my first gel manicure right before Christmas and despite running around, shoveling, washing countless dishes, typing all day, and generally being rough on my hands - this stuff is still holding on for dear life.

Sure, the nail growth shows.  But, dang, I LOVE my manicure still.

And on Sunday I get to go here!  So excited!! A few sips of wine, a little shopping and some silliness with three fabulous ladies.  :-)

I'm sure that I'll have a few new wines to rave about after being there!

What are you planning this weekend?