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Vodka Pasta
I made an interesting vodka pasta dish using some of the leftover the remaining leftover ham from Easter. It was delicious, so I thought I would share it with you. You can view the recipe here:
Recipe Exchange
I enjoy cooking, and Wanda has been trying to get us to eat more healthy (goodbye meatloaf, I barely knew ye). I was wondering if any of you folks have some decent recipes you’d like to share with me – perhaps some of your favorites that you make at home. Some easy-but-healthy ideas for chicken, pork, turkey, fish and veggies would be ideal, but we’re open to anything. I’m looking for something different from our usual line-up.
Pasta Concoction
I was in the mood for spaghetti today and Wanda okayed the idea. I had most of the stuff for spaghetti, but I didn’t feel like thawing chicken*. I wanted meat in it, so I decided to go to Festival Foods to pick up some Italian sausage. While there, Wanda called me and asked if we could put peppers and other vegetables in it. She also wanted healthier noodles.
I went to produce and picked up a red pepper, some Anaheim peppers, a small zucchini, a yellow onion, and a handful of spinach. I also picked up some canned mushrooms, Barilla Plus rotini noodles and about a pound of mild Italian sausage.
First I cooked the sausage, chopped up, and set aside. Next, I sautéed the sliced-up veggies in olive oil until they were tender in my Dutch oven (adding the spinach about 5 minutes before the rest were done). I then poured the spaghetti sauce (26oz can of Hunt’s Garlic & Herb) into the pan and combined a suitable amount of meat and the veggie mixture. I also added about 6 cloves of minced garlic, stirred it up, and let it simmer while the noodles were cooking.
We put a layer of noodles on a plate, then added some Mexican shredded cheese (don’t ask why, we like it) and then topped with the sauce. It turned out to be very delicious!
No Air in Oshkosh
Today I drove down to West Bend to help my sister-in-law’s boyfriend move his stuff into their apartment. When I got to Oshkosh, I remembered that one of my tires was very low on air pressure, so I decided to fill it. I ended up going to SIX different gas stations looking for air.
I went to a Shell station first, which had a broken pump. I then went to a BP nearby and discovered some guy was unloading a truckload of tires and checking the air in each. I didn’t want to wait for him. I got back on the highway and took the next exit. I went to some Open Pantry first – no air. Then I went to a Mobil station nearby. They had air, but it was $0.50 for 5 minutes. I had 55 cents with me – one quarter and three dimes. I inserted the quarter then the dimes. The dimes kept falling out. At that point I noticed it only took quarters, and there was no coin return, so I lost my original quarter and also still could not get air. WHO CHARGES FOR AIR ANYWAY?
I finally gave up since I was sick of hunting and my wife was getting increasingly annoyed at me being off schedule. When I got to Fond Du Lac, I decided to give it another shot. I took the first exit that looked like it might have gas stations. I found another Mobile – no air. I then drove to my 6th gas station, a Kwik Trip, and they had a free, working compressor. Yay!
Conveniently, I discovered that my tire pressure gage has gone missing from my vehicle, but the tire was obviously quite low, so I just filled it up to where it “looked good” and figured I would do it right later.
On the bright side, moving the belongings went smoothly, and they treated me to a Prime Rib Ranchero at Quiznos. It was absolutely delicious (though very spicey and expensive).
Lean Pockets
I usually keep Lean Pockets in our freezer for a quick and cheap snack. Probably not the most healthy thing to snack on, but I’m not into the whole fruit thing. I’ve tried most of their flavors, some good and some not so much. A couple of my favorites are ham & cheddar, whole grain supreme pizza, and meatballs and mozerella. I didn’t like the chicken fajita, cheeseburger, or philly steak flavors. I can’t do the breakfast ones either. I don’t like the texture of the faux cheese.
I found a new favorite flavor recently – Spinach Artichoke Chicken. Festival Foods, as usual, was out of nearly every other flavor, so I decided to give it a try even though it sounded gross. It was actually delicious!
Johnathan’s Italian Bistro
We went to Johnathan’s Italian Bistro tonight. It was our second time there. The prices are a little high, but the food and atmosphere are very good. I don’t know a whole lot of people in the Fox Cities anymore, but if you’re in the Appleton area and are looking for something more romantic, I’d recommend it. For those familiar with the area, it’s off of Casaloma near the Timber Rattlers’ stadium.
Best of all, they don’t play Italian music while you eat.
Of course, if you’re looking for Italian for a bargain, you can’t beat Victoria’s on College Ave.
Curry
Wanda and I enjoy Thai food – especially curry. There are a couple of restaurants in the area that we enjoy very much, and we treat ourselves once in awhile. We have made curry at home in the past, and it was very good, but it wasn’t quite the same as our favorite Thai restaurants.
Initially, we quickly discovered that using Minute rice, although convenient, wasn’t cutting it. We switched to Jasmine rice, and that made a big difference. We experimented with various canned curries, but weren’t able to duplicate the flavor.
We eventually found a canned curry that we really like and one that is roughly as good as those we get from the authentic restaurants. You see, Wanda has always enjoyed the masaman curry from a Thai restaurant here in Appleton. Upon visiting a local Asian grocery, she decided to give Maesri’s Masaman Curry Paste a try. It turned out to be excellent! It combines the flavors that both of us enjoy from our favorite dishes into one can.
I recommend you give it a try.
Green Bay Blizzard
We saw the Green Bay Blizzard vs. Louisville Fire game at the Resch Center last night. It was the first arena football game I had ever gone to. Wanda had a team outing organized at work, and she wanted me to come along. We also invited our friend Trent.
To be honest, I thought I was going to have an awful time. I generally don’t like football nor annoying crowds. I ended up having a blast. It was $1 beer night, which I took advantage of, and the game was a lot of fun. We had excellent seats, and I liked that it was faster paced than national league football.
Also surprising: I had one of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had from the concession stand, and I hate hot dogs. They were only $1.50 last night as part of the special.
July 21st, 2007 
Entertainment & Media 
Tags: blizzard, drinking, Food, football, Recreation, resch center, more... Frozen Pizza
I love to eat pizza. For delivery/dine-in, I enjoy Pizza Hut most for its flavor (however, I’ve discovered not all Pizza Hut franchises are created equal). I also enjoy Papa Johns (although I find it a bit expensive), and Dominos for the value. Papa Murphey’s is also very good for take-and-bake, though Sam’s Club makes the best take-and-bake for only around 8 bucks. Little Caesar’s is on the bottom of my list.
Now on to frozen pizza, which is the point of this post. For frozen pizza, I generally look for value – Jack’s is okay, but I had previously bought Tombstone when they were on sale. Orv’s and Bernoulli’s, though inexpensive, just don’t do it for me (too bland). DiGiorno’s has volume, but for the price, I expect more flavor.
I have discovered an amazing frozen pizza – “Connie’s”. I’m not sure where they sell it, since I couldn’t find any information online. They may be regional. They sell it at the local Piggly Wiggly and Festival Foods in the Fox Valley area. It costs about the same as DiGiorno’s, and has perhaps slightly less volume, but the taste is amazing. Besides a moderately reasonable amount of toppings, they have this amazing seasoning on top. It’s very good, even as leftovers (cold or reheated).
That is all – I just wanted to share my enjoyment of Connie’s frozen pizza.
Weekend
Wanda and I did more than we usually do on the weekend. Yesterday (Saturday), we went to the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay because Wanda had never been. We enjoyed a lot of the local history, although we could have done without the “dairy” and “Green Bay Packer” exhibits (not that I have anything against dairy, but the exhibits seemed more geared towards children). Overall, it was a good time.
We then took a quick trip to Circuit City to look for an HDTV antenna. After that, we logged many miles throughout Green Bay looking for a decent seafood place and just going for a “Sunday Drive.” We knew where Red Lobster was, but Wanda wanted to try something different. Eventually we decided to try Marty’s Boston Crab near the stadium.
The restaurant turned out to be a letdown. The bill+tip came to $70, which we wouldn’t have necessarily minded since it was a date; however, we expected a lot more for the price. We both ordered steak with “Dungeness crab legs”. Salads were extra @ $3.50/ea. For sides, Wanda chose Asiago mashed potatoes and a salad, and I chose the Asiago mashed with “pub chips with skins and seasoning”, which I assumed would be something like steak fries. I should have asked – they turned out to be overcooked potato chips. Wanda’s sirloin was very good, but my rib eye (which cost more) was all gristle. I make a way better New York strip at home for a lot less money. Finally, although the crab legs tasted very good, they were extremely meager. On a bright note, their seasoned bread was amazing, but it wasn’t all-you-can-eat like Red Lobster’s garlic cheddar muffins. Red Lobster for the win.
Today (Sunday) was fairly uneventful. Wanda wanted to go for a bike ride really badly with me to show off her new bike. I hadn’t ridden a bike in probably 9 years. I was very reluctant because a) I look gay on a bike, and b) I hadn’t intended on riding a bike again until after having kids (due to the male fertility thing). However, she got me to go along and it turned out to be fairly nice. We biked to the gas station to get a newspaper and then around the neighborhood a bit.
Wanda got a lot of cleaning done. I did a bunch of dishes and some laundry. Wanda was sweet enough to make a romantic dinner (“supper” for those of you in Rio Linda) of lobster tail, king crab legs, garlic cheddar muffins, and caesar salads. (Yes, we had seafood two nights in a row.) It was fantastic! My cat Josie couldn’t resist jumping on the kitchen table to investigate the strong smell of seafood. She hadn’t jumped on the table in quite some time since she knows she gets yelled at if she does.
We settled the night by listening to All Request Love Songs on I94 (which play Sunday nights from 8pm to midnight), while Wanda did her homework and I goofed off on my laptop.
March 26th, 2007
Uncategorized Tags: Food, green bay, museum, music, outdoors, quality time, seafood, more... Powered by WordPress.
