Holiday Toilets

So the Thanksgiving Holiday week is over. I am back home and somewhat ready to go back to work tomorrow. I did lots of shopping and got lots of great things. I made and ate lots of good food. I had a great time with lots of friends and family. And what do I have to show for it? What wonderful things did I take pictures of this past week? Nothing, nothing but toilets. See...
Yeah pictures like that one are all I have to show you about my fabulous week. I am amazing aren't I? I suppose I have sort of a good reason. I totally forgot that I even had my camera with me until last night. I found it in a bag and was so happy because that meant I could take a picture of our toilet. I had good reasons for taking a picture of the toilet. The Penguin's dad is a plumber and we have asked for 2 new toilets for Christmas. Our current ones are yellow and avocado green. They need to be replaced badly. As do the tubs and counter tops and floors and wallpaper and fixtures, but we figure one step at a time. So on Thanksgiving I mentioned to the Penguin's dad that 2 new toilets would still be a great Christmas present. He told me no problem but asked me to look at the toilets and tell him what kind of nut was on them. (I am avoiding all the dirty jokes I could make with that statement, but trust me there were quite a few witty comebacks.) Apparently the shape of the nut tells you what kind of fittings go under the toilet to help seal it to the floor.
I don't know if you can really see that or not but the nut on our toilet is cone shaped. If I got any closer to the nut the pictures came out all blurry like this.
Out of the twenty some odd pictures I took of this nut on the toilet, I only got that one semi-good picture of the nut that I posted before this one. I knew I needed a new camera but this experience really made me sure of that fact. I have already asked Santa for a new one, I even pointed out which one while we were at the mall this weekend. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

The entire point was that our nut is not flat like a normal nut. This means something to the plumber and he wanted to order all the stuff together which I think is awesome. That way we can actually install the toilets when we get them, which would be a good thing.

So yes, those thrilling pictures of my lovely dandelion colored toilet is all I have to show for such a great week. I totally rock!

Unreliable Wireless

Internet connection is being spotty. Every time I write a post it gets deleted as I try to put it up. I am getting tired of writing it all over again. I suppose this is my cue to get off the computer and just go shopping. Have a good day!

Black Friday

So I spent the day with the Penguin's mother and sister. We had a quite a good day. We did not wake up early by any means. Matter of fact we were quite lazy, but it worked for us. We did go shopping and it was not absolutely crazy like we were expecting. Then again were were in no hurry at all.

We were successful in finding the cutest strappy red shoes to wear for Christmas parties, with no lines at the checkout, woohoo. We found a few Christmas presents for family. We managed to avoid long lines everywhere we went. I actually had a really good time.

So if you went out shopping today I hope you had a successful trip. I know I enjoyed it more than I dreaded it.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a happy Turkey Day.

I hope you had a good time with your families.

I hope everyone is going to bed tonight happy and full,
no matter what you ate for dinner.

I Made Cookies Today

Spaghetti & Cheese

I promised that if I was able to find a decent substitute for Velveeta that I would post my recipe for Spaghetti & Cheese. Well luckily I found just such a thing. I was very happy with the way my casserole turned out using this new cheese. I found this wonderful creation:

It is Kraft Deluxe American Cheese. I found it right next to the Velveeta. My only qualm about it is that it only comes in a 1lb loaf when Velveeta comes in 2lbs. I do not really mind the price difference so much since I like the way it tastes. The 1lb loaf means adjusting and having to buy some sliced cheese for the top of the casserole but I can handle that. So as promised here is the recipe.

I used these ingredients

I hope you can see all of that. But here is a list of ingredients you will need. This recipe will make a 9x13 pan and can easily be halved.

1lb Spaghetti

1/2 Onion, diced

1/2 Bell Pepper, diced

1 can Evaporated Milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter
1lb Kraft Deluxe Cheese

1 package Kraft Sliced Cheese

As you can see I don't have a Bell Pepper in my picture of ingredients. I used what I had on hand which happened to be 2 green onions and they worked just fine.

So here is how you put it all together.

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, dice 1/2 Onion and Bell Pepper. Once the water comes to a boil throw in the Spaghetti, Onions, and Bell Pepper. I like to break the noodles in half before I add them to the pot, but that is just me. You can add in a spoon of minced garlic as well, I always do. (But I always add garlic to everything, except dessert.) Boiling the noodles with the vegetables gives the noodles a really good flavor and I promise you will like it.

While the noodles are boiling you will need to dice the pound of Kraft cheese. Toss a few cubes in your mouth because you just can't wait. Pour the can of Evaporated Milk into a medium bowl and whisk in the egg. Toss in the cubed cheese and stir together to get the cubes to not stick together so much. Set this aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take your 9x13 baking dish and add the 2 tablespoons of Butter. It helps if you dice up the butter some. Once the noodles are done drain them and then add to your pan. You will more than likely have too many noodles but that is normal. You want to make sure to leave enough room for the cubed cheese mixture so you do not have to fill the pan to the top. Now toss the spaghetti around in the pan until the butter is melted. Once the spaghetti is coated level it out and pour in the cheese mixture. Use the pasta fork to kind of wiggle the noodles so that some of the cheese gets pushed down and isn't all just laying on top of the noodles. You want the level of the liquid to be right at the top of the noodles. If you think the level of liquid is too low you can add some more evaporated milk, or be like me and just add a splash of half and half or milk since you already have some in the fridge. You don't want the noodles to be swimming but you want an adequate amount of sauce, so adjust to your taste. Now take the sliced cheese and cover the top of the pan.

Place the dish uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes. Check on it after about 15 minutes to make sure the cheese on top is not getting too brown. You can always cover it if you don't want browned cheese. After 30 minutes take it out of the oven and be sure to let it cool for about 20 minutes or so. Allowing it to cool lets you cut and serve it easier.

Enjoy the cheesy goodness!

This is what mine looked like when it was done.

I kind of browned it a little too much but it was still yummy. You definitely do not need to brown it this much, I made it in two small pans and it cooked faster than I was expecting. If you do brown it this much don't fret I promise it still tastes great.

And this is what my serving looked like

I was very happy with my results.

So lets recap:

Boil the spaghetti with onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

Put the noodles in a pan with some butter to coat them.

Add in the diced cheese, evaporated milk, and egg mixture.

Cover with sliced cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

It is really pretty simple and you can adjust proportions for your needs. Please use this recipe as more of a guideline and add in whatever else you want. I sometimes add in frozen broccoli with my noodles. You could definitely add other ingredients and make it your own like diced chicken or maybe even spinach. What makes it unique is the use of spaghetti and the fact that it is a casserole. It is really easy and really versatile. Make it special!

P.S. If you do not think Velveeta tastes funny and/or you want to use it because it is cheaper and you only have to buy one cheese, go right ahead. Dice about 1/3 of the loaf for what goes inside the casserole. Use a cheese slicer and the rest of the loaf for the cheese which covers the top. One 2lb loaf of the Velveeta will be more than enough for one recipe.

P.P.S. The type of noodle you use will affect how dry or wet the casserole turns out. We normally use spaghetti and I remembered the first time we used angel hair it was soupier. If you use more of a fettuccine I can say it will be more solid.

P.P.P.S. You can make this ahead of time and keep in the fridge until you need it. Just make sure to have a little less milk in it if you want to do this so that it is not too runny.

Color me Black

It has been a pretty good weekend. I am ready for the coming holiday. I am ready for cold weather. I am ready because I got a wonderful black pea coat yesterday. It looks a little something like this:

I love this coat. I have been wanting a pea coat for years now. Seriously I have always adored pea coats and been envious of the really nice ones. I just never could make myself break down and buy one, they were too pricey. Well I finally found one I liked. And it was on sale! I got it for about $75 and was sooooo happy. It is black, does the whole double breasted thing as pea coats do, and has this "belt" around the middle which is sewed directly onto the coat so I don't have to worry about losing it. I quite adore it.

I took it out of the closet today to pack for my trip home for thanksgiving. And I noticed something was not quite right. They left the freaking security device on the coat, you know the ones you can't remove on your own because they have the dye in them and will explode all over you and ruin your clothes and make you look like you just robbed a bank? Yeah one of those, still on the coat. I was not happy. Now I have to go back to another store on my way home today and hope that they will take it off. I hope I can find the receipt! Anyways, I started to think about how they could have left this on my coat, I mean this has never happened to me at this store before. Well the lady who was checking me out was a little older and really nice and was all chatting me up and we had some trouble with my gift card and she got distracted, which is totally acceptable. But she was not even the one who bagged my coat. Another person, a manager I think, came over to help with the gift card and then proceeded to bag my coat for me. So I had to laugh at the fact that two people missed this security thingy. I am not however laughing at the prospect of having to go out of my way to get to another store to have the device removed. It is in such a spot that I cannot wear the coat without it being noticed. So I have to find a store to remove it before I can wear it. I was so looking forward to wearing it, like today.

Oh well, such is my life.

Tired Equals Meme

Today was great.

We ate Breakfast here:

And went shopping at an outlet mall and La-Z-Boy.

Then we ate lunch here:

Then we went shopping here:

And I got lots of neato kitchen gadgets.

Then I went shopping here and here:

Then I made french bread pizzas for dinner. And now I am too pooped to come up with anything else good to write so...I am going to do a meme. I stole this one word meme from hokgardner because I liked how simple it was. My brain needs simple right now.

Where is your cell phone? pocket

Where is your significant other? home

Your hair color? brown

Your mother? knitter

Your father? cook

Your favorite thing? home

Your dream last night? none

Your dream/goal? happiness

The room you’re in? living

Your hobby? reading

Your fear? loneliness

Where do you want to be in 6 years? together

Where were you last night? Houston

What you’re not? perfect

One of your wish-list items? ring

Where you grew up? country

Last thing you did? packed

What are you wearing? jeans

Your TV? tiny

Your pet? boyfriend

Your computer? ancient

Your mood? sleepy

Missing someone? Penguin

Your car? reliable

Something you’re not wearing? shoes

Favorite store? Wal-Mart

Your summer? crazy

Love someone? duh

Your favorite color? royal

When is the last time you laughed? tonight

Last time you cried? Wednesday

Shopping Trip

My parents are in town for the weekend. They do not get to come visit me often and I am glad they could make it. We are going shopping! The main purpose of this visit is to make a trip to IKEA tomorrow. They have never been before and I think they will like it. I know I am going mainly for cool kitchen gadgets but I think we will enjoy the whole place. So this post is short because I was busy at work today, cleaned up when I got home, then took my parents to dinner. And now I am going to bed. But I am going to bed happy, dreaming of IKEA.

P.S. My spaghetti and cheese turned out well, mother approved, and I promise to post the recipe with pictures soon!

Love Flowers!

This made me smile today!

One thing you should know about the Penguin is that he is a very practical person. He likes things to make sense. Flowers do not make sense to the Penguin. According to him they are a waste because all they do is die and you have to throw them out. Why give someone something that will only last a few days and then die? I tried to explain that it doesn't matter that they die, it matters how they make a person feel. But you know he has a pretty good point with the whole dying thing. Anyhoo, I have come to expect that the penguin does not give nonsensical gifts but instead prefers things that are tangible. But every now and then he does something that makes no sense at all, and I love him for it. (The first flower he ever gave me was a fake rose from the grocery store, a little bent, with the price tag still attached. I had asked him to pick up parmesan cheese for dinner and he was on his motorcycle so he had to put it in his backpack. So of course he chose this night to get me a flower, a fake one so that it would never die of course!, and so he had to bend it to get it to fit in his backpack. And I loved it! It is still on my table at home.) But anyway the point was that a few weeks ago we were out of town and visiting some friends of his. We were all out dancing when I suddenly noticed the Penguin was not beside me anymore. He snuck back up behind me and put a single rose in front of me. I turned around and smiled. He never does things like this, but he is a gentleman after all. So of course there was not only one rose but three, one for each lady there. And he succeeded in his mission to make all of us smile and make all of us feel special. These were not the freshest roses, the temperature was quite cold, we had no place to put them, nor water to put them in, and we had to carry them around the rest of the night. So by all measures this was something that did not make much sense. But he did it anyway because he knew we would like it. And I did like it. I liked it a lot. So much that even though I forgot the rose on the dashboard of the car overnight and through the next day, that I put it in my car to take home with me rather than throwing it away. I think leaving it in the car all day dried it out super fast and it did not mold or anything. So I still have it, it still makes no sense at all, and it still makes me smile!

Happy Love Thursday Everyone!