WDB (Weekend Dog Blogging)

I've missed the past couple of weeks of Weekend Dog Blogging. We were either too busy to take any pictures of Sophie or she was her usual camera shy self and ran from us whenever we try to snap a shot.

But last Sunday, Jim managed to get this picture of her and one of her favorite squeaky toys. Not sure if she had just attacked it or was about to but that snarl says it all .... this squirrel is toast.

Be sure to check out more adorable dogs at Sweetnick's this Sunday when she rounds up the hounds for this week's edition of Weekend Dog Blogging.

Spring is here!

Finally. No more snow, no more ice, no more freezing cold mornings! And because Sunday was such a nice day, Jim and I bought top soil, bedding plants and some new azaleas to plant around our patio.

We had some old cedar trees along one side of the patio but two bad winters with heavy snow did them in. However, they were the only barrier we had between us and the 6 foot drop from our patio to the one next door. So we planted new azaleas to form a new barrier. I got some pansies for a splash of color along the front and replanted my day lilies and Asiatic lilies (had to dig them up when our patio was repaired). I also think another trip to the nursery is in order to help fill in the front flower bed some more. Don't you agree? After we toiled and got everything planted, Jim and I (and Sophie) sat on the patio for a few hours sipping on nice cold beverages and playing a little cribbage.

When it started to get cool, we went inside and prepared dinner. Having acquired some vine ripened tomatoes and snagging some wonderfully fragrant basil at the market, we decided to put it to good use and make pizza. I sliced the tomatoes paper thin, chopped some fresh basil and let Jim do his magic. The freshness of everything was so good and a welcome flavor to help end the day.

Pistachio Cake

Another staff meeting, another wonderful lunch. Last month I posted about the lunches we have at our monthly staff meetings. It's something that we started years ago with soup during the cold winter months and over the years has expanded to every month on the day of our staff meeting.

This month to celebrate Spring, we chose to have salads as our theme. Some were sweet and some were savory and all of them were wonderful! I tried to sneak in a take a picture of the spread before it was completely devoured! Luckily, those who were still in line, stepped aside (but just barely) to let me snap one quick picture. Starting at the bottom of the picture we have taco salad in the red bowl, tuna salad to the left of the taco salad with potato salad just above it followed by hot sauce, chips and cheese sauce (for the taco salad). Just above the chips is Wurst salad with a basket of fresh bread just above it (if you look to the upper left of the cheese sauce there is a tub of fresh Amish butter for the bread). To the left of the bread is a fresh mozzarella a tomato salad. To the left above that is a tossed salad with balsamic dressing and to that right is jello salad and finally at the top of the table on the left is a fruit salad and to the right is a pear-pecan salad. Yes, we eat well at these meetings....very well.

We stopped midway for a quick break which is when I cut the cake. It went quickly. Some folks even went back for seconds. Jim was lucky that I was able to save him a bite.
I'll try to get as many of the recipes for the salads as I can then post them. The Pistachio cake was found in the March Issue of Family Circle. I first saw it while visiting family in Tennessee last month but didn't write it down. Thankfully mom still had it and sent the recipe via e-mail. Here it is:

PISTACHIO CAKE

Cake:
1 box (18.25 ounces) White Cake Mix
1 Package (3.4 ounces) instant Pistachio Pudding Mix
3 Eggs
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 can (12 ounces) Lemon/Lime Soda (such as 7 Up)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat two 9"round cake pans with non stick cooking spray.
Line bottoms with parchment paper and spray again.
In a large bowl, beat cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, vegetable oil and soda on medium-high for 4 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl after 2 minutes.
Equally divide batter between prepared cake pans. Bake @ 350 for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool layers in pans for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Turn layers out on to rack and cool completely.

Frosting
1 Package (3.4 ounces) Instant Pistachio Pudding mix
1 1/2 cups Milk
1 Container ( 8 ounces) Frozen Whipped Topping thawed
1/2 Cup Pistachio Nuts Chopped for Garnish

In a large bowl, beat pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Fold in whipped topping.

Place 1 cake layer on a serving plate and frost top with 1 cup of frosting. Place remaining layer on top and frost top and sides. Garnish with chopped nuts. Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving. Store in refrigerator. 16 Servings

Mussels

Once a month I have to get an allergy shot. And as luck would have it, Slavins & Sons Seafood is a short drive from the doctor's office. I usually plan to stop by there after my shot to get some fresh fish or seafood for dinner. The fresh mussels have been so good that for the past few months, that's all I've gotten. And can you blame me? Just look at those plump buggers.

Jim's come up with a broth to steam them in that is absolutely wonderful. Basically it's olive oil, garlic shallots, thyme and a nice dry white wine. He sautees the garlic and shallots (both minced) in the olive oil until the shallots are translucent. Then he adds a pinch or two of freshly dried thyme and a cup of wine. Toss in the mussels, cover it up and steam for 5-8 minutes. Pour it all into a big bowl and serve.

Lately we've also had freshly made oven fries and crusty bread on the side. The bread is for sopping up all that yummy, yummy broth.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Sorry it took so long to get this recipe posted. If you remember, I was going to post it just after I wrote this. This soup is so easy to make and very tasty.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
4 oz. chopped green chilies
14½ oz. beef broth
10¾ oz. chicken broth
10¾ oz. cream of chicken soup, condensed
6¾ oz. cooked chicken breast, chopped
1½ cups water
1 tbsp. steak sauce
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/8 tsp pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can whole corn, drained

Sauté onion and garlic in 2 tbsp. hot oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT the cheese and corn. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 hour. Add cheese and corn, simmer 10 minutes.

I’d recommend serving it with fresh cornbread.

Channeling the dark side and WDB

*Queue up the music from Star Wars*
Sophie is doing her best imitation of the Emperor from Star Wars. Here she is giving orders to Darth Vader. And what is she saying to Darth? "Your Emperor wants steak."

Actually, I'm drying her off after her morning walk. We had about 6 inches of snow on Sunday and being a small dog, she was belly deep in the stuff. She donned her purple snow booties to help keep her feet from getting clumps of snow stuck on them but her belly fur was full of clumps. After a few minutes wrapped up in a toasty warm blanket, she was all thawed out and snow free.

Be sure to head over to Sweetnicks on Sunday night to see other adorable dog in her weekly edition of Weekend Dog Blogging.