Tuesdays At The Table - Potato Patties

Happy Tuesday, ladies!!  Did everyone survive Thanksgiving and Black Friday?

I don't know about you, but I have tons of leftovers from my Thanksgiving meal.  One of my favorite leftover recipes is potato patties.

Potato Patties
2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup grate Parmesan cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 onion, minced
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil

Mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a medium size nonstick frying pan. Take about 1/4 cup of the potato mixture, pat it into 4 inch circles that are 1/2" thick and drop into the hot frying pan. Cook until bottom is browned and crisp, about 3-4 minutes. Carefully turn the patty over and cook the second side until brown and crisp, 3-4 minutes.

What's cooking in your kitchen?

Shop Til You DROP!

I hope that everyone had a fabulous, filling, fun Thanksgiving!  Mine was awesome.  :-)  Carbo loading potatoes and stuffing was a good idea, right?  I needed energy for shopping.

Here's where some of you are going to think that I'm absa-blooming-nuts or that I'm utterly genious.  (By the way, both are entirely true...)  Here is the Black Friday schedule that Kirstren, Heather and I used.

10 PM          Brush teeth and clean car
10:20            Leave for Kirstren's house
10:30            Pick up Kirstren
11:10            Arrive at Heather's house
11:15            Prep coffee to-go and get pep talk from Heather's hubby. 
                    His words of advice?  "Don't get stabbed, girls." 
11:40            Get in line at Toys 'R Us.
12:45            Get rained on in line at Toys 'R Us.
1:58              Successfully leave Toys 'R Us.
2 AM             Time for cupcakes and Christmas music in the car!
2:20               Old Navy - Hello, 5 dollar PJ pants!
3:30               Kohl's - I accomplished half my Christmas list here.
4: 45              Target - Easily the best organized store I was in all night.
6:10               Wal-Mart - Easily the least organized store I was in.
7:40               Breakfast with the ladies and a re-cap of our night.
9:30               BED!!!

Did you partake in Black Friday shopping?  Did you have to stand in line to get into more than one store?  Find any great deals that everyone should know about?

Giving Thanks

I'm thankful for so much this year.  Excuse the bullet points - but away we go:

• My job.  Quite frankly - my job sucks sometimes.  But I'm thankful that I have a job in this economy and that the seven years (in two weeks) I've spent there have flown by so quickly.
• My work besties.  They make long meetings and crabby customers bearable.  I look forward to our lunch and coffee breaks each day!  They are such special ladies. 
• My parents.  They are two individuals that have totally different outlooks on life, but they both instilled in me that it's better to give than to receive, to try hard and to make lemonade out of the lemons life throws you from time to time.  I'm so thankful that they've made me the person I am today.
• The royal court.  See below.  :-)  I look at the two of them and see in us the relationship that my mom, Kirstren's mom and our Aunt Donna forged 30+ years ago.
• Kirstren - aka the Princess. Don't tell anyone, but she's my favorite cousin and has become one of my best friends.  I love our shopping trips, knitting nights and other random outings.  She's always able to cheer me up after a bad day and I'm thankful for her just being her.
• Heather - aka the Queen. I'm hugely thankful that Kirstren brought her into my life.  They're besties - and I'm such a lucky person that the Queen saw past my natural shyness, "gets" my brand of sarcasm and welcomed me to their larger circle of friends. 
• My brother. Like most sibling relationships, we've had our ups and downs.  He is really a great person, I'm proud of the time he spent in the Army and thankful that he's home and living with me now.
• My dogs.  I'm so thankful that they chose me.  Such big personalities in such little dachshund bodies!  I'm thankful for their unconditional love and that they've been so patient while I wait to get my backyard fenced in.

Instead of the eloquent soliloquy I had planned, I'm going to share the Thanksgiving letter that a work friend did this year.  I just can't say it better than she can.  She's an amazing person, my ex-boss, and was kind enough to give me permission to share her words (even though she doesn't know exactly how I was planning to share it!).

Thanksgiving: As the name implies, a day for giving thanks. Since the day that the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock, Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving Day.



So, what am I thankful for this year?


The ability to get out of bed every morning, put my feet on the floor, and “get going”. So many people cannot do that.


A wonderful family and great friends, whom I love. Too many people do not have this either.


I have a job that I love and wonderful people to work with. How many people can say that, and really mean it? It’s all about the people, and I am blessed to work with the best group I have ever had to work with. There are probably not too many people who can say that.


I have fond memories of days gone by, which I pray I will have forever. Many people have lost their memories; they are gone forever. Some of them may be at our Thanksgiving tables. Be patient and kind, and thankful that they can still join us.


Every year, we celebrate Thanksgiving. But, do people really stop and give thanks for all of their blessings? Or are they too caught up in the cleaning and cooking and preparations for the day to stop and smell those roses.


I have a couple of assignments for each and every one of you this Thanksgiving. Take time for you this Thanksgiving. Enjoy your time off with family and friends. Think about everything you have and be truly thankful. Stop and smell those roses. They may not be there forever.


A very Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Tuesdays At The Table - Cranberry Sauce

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!  I have a little secret for you....I like cranberry sauce, but only the "fresh" stuff.  I find the cranberry jello in a can revolting.  Everyone in my family loves it!  Most of my friends love it!  Me?  Not so much.

Here's a cranberry sauce that's easy and so much tastier than the canned stuff.

Cranberry Sauce

1 pound fresh cranberries, washed and dried
2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup water
1 cinnamon stick (or a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 orange, zested and juiced

In a medium pot, combine the cranberries, sugar and water. Stir to blend. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer and add the cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon), allspice and nutmeg. Stir to blend and simmer for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Some of the cranberries will burst and some will remain whole. Add the orange juice and zest, stir and allow to cool before serving.

What's cooking in your kitchen for the holidays?

Dear Neighbor...

I bought my house two months ago, and still haven't met my next door neighbor.  Here are my thoughts on him so far!

Dear Neighbor...
I hear that you're a state cop.  Can I tell you how safe that makes me feel?!  Of course, the folks I bought this house from BS'd me on a number of levels...so maybe you're not a cop after all.  Perhaps you just work really weird hours.  Could you wear a uniform so I can tell for sure?

Neighbor, it's nice to know that you have an active social life.  I also realize that you have a small-ish driveway and we live on a main street.  I'm sure that trying to fit a bunch of cars into your driveway for poker night (or whatever it is) is difficult.  However, if you could NOT park in my driveway without asking - that would be super!  Please know that I'm a fairly reasonable person, but I have this thing about being able to get into my driveway after working a 10-12 hour day.

I hear your dog all the time!  I've seen him a few times too.  He's big, he's black, he's cute.  The "beware of dog" signs you have posted make me a little nervous though.  Is he a working dog?  Are the signs up because he's actually aggressive?  I'd really like the low-down before my "kids" meet him through the fence between our yard.

One last question, neighbor.  Is it really necessary to have the flood light in your yard on all night?  I only ask because that light shines in directly though my bedroom window.  You see, I'm an insomniac and that amount of light all the time disrupts the the little sleep I get.

Thanks, neighbor!  I hope to meet you soon!

Hamburger Helper

The folks at MyBlogSpark were nice enough to send me the link to a coupon for Hamburger Helper.  Click and save, peeps!

A more substantive post later.  Probably!

It's A Shutterfly Christmas!

I did a post a few weeks ago as I was just starting to contemplate Christmas cards.  Did I do anything about it?  NOPE!  Not a thing... But that's OK.  Fate and Shutterfly intervened and now it's time to get serious about picking my Christmas cards.

Can I even tell you how excited I am that I'm going to get 50 free Shutterfly cards just  for being a blogger?!?!  Who loves great quality, FREE* stuff?  THIS GIRL!! 

A few of my favorite Christmas cards (every time I look I have a new favorite!):

I know, the doggie comes as a HUGE surprise!

It's so elegant and scroll-y!

Not too fond of shoveling snow, but I'm all about a good snowy holiday card!

Then I started to think about gift tags.  These are the ones I gravitated to right away.  Yeah, I know that the Retro Wheels aren't very holiday...but who says I'd need to use the tags for Christmas?!?! :-)

Shutterfly also does the more PC holiday cards, Thanksgiving cards, Hanukkah and New Years too.  All of which are fabulous.

And guess what?  You could get free cards from Shutterfly too!  Click here to enter.

Start clicking, kids! ;-) Oh, and if you have a favorite that I should see - let me know!! With any luck, I'll make a decision on what cards I'll be sending before Thanksgiving.

**Disclosure: I am getting 50 free holiday cards in exchange for this post.**