An awful movie and bread pudding mistake

Jay and I watched one of the worst movies last week. We got Disturbia from Netflix. The review said that it was a remake of one of my favorite Hitchcock movies, Rear Window. Um, no. The only thing that the two movies had in common were a murder going on outside the window of an invalid (or teenager under house arrest in the newer version). Rear Window was a thriller...no blood and no guts. Not so with Disturbia. Who would dare remake such a classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly with some teenagers? I don't think so. Huge disappointment.

Rant about the movie aside, we had Jay's dad over for dinner Sunday night. I attempted to make bread pudding from my friend/co-worker's grandmother's recipe. It tasted alright, but in my haste to make it, I left out TWO whole cups of sugar! Definitely not my finest culinary moment!

Jay didn't have night class tonight, due to bad weather! I guess there is an upside to tornadoes :)

No news

We watched American Gangster this week on DVD. Yes,about I know it's about a drug dealer and quite profane, but it was a great movie. I love any movie that is based on a true story. And strangely, I have some sort of twisted fascination with movies/shows about mobsters, crime, and spies. Jay got me hooked on The Sopranos. Maybe it's the Sicilian in me, but I find organized crime to be a fascinating subject. A lot of mobsters get caught on income tax issues (usually failing to declare income).

Jay and I are getting a Wii! I'm so excited; that is what we had planned to get each other for Christmas, but we couldn't find one :( Crystal told me that had some online at Toys-R-Us, so I got us one! It's going to be interesting...Jay and I are both very competitive.

Valentine's Day food pictures/recipes

These stuffed mushrooms were SO GOOD! I'm so going to make them again! They were really easy to make. I got the basic recipe from Allrecipes and changed it (as I usually do).

Stuffed Mushrooms

Yield: 8 mushrooms

3 T. "real" crumbled bacon bits

8 crimini/baby bella mushrooms

1 T. margarine

1 green onion, finely chopped

3/4 c. cheddar cheese, shredded (I used lowfat)

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Remove mushroom stems and finely chop.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Slowly cook and stir the chopped stems and onion until the onion is soft. Remove from heat.

Stir together the mushroom stem mixture, bacon and Cheddar. Mix well and scoop the mixture into the mushroom caps.

Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.

The chicken cigars are a Rachael Ray recipe. I think she has good ideas, but sometimes she uses ingredients that are difficult to find. I completely rewrote that recipe. I'm not a big fan of ground chicken you buy in the store, so I sauted chicken breasts in the seasonings and shredded it in the food processor. I also added 2 oz of cream cheese because I was worried that they wouldn't stick together right. They were DELICIOUS!

The shrimp cocktail was also Rachael Ray's recipe. I followed it exactly. I couldn't find the jumbo shrimp but the ones marked "large" worked just as well, although they didn't turn out as pretty as hers did. The cocktail sauce had a good flavor and a better texture than what you usually buy from a bottle.

Valentine's Day and Memphis

Things have been soo busy lately! We had a great Valentine's Day! Everything turned out great! :)

Memphis was a lot of fun! We didn't do much Friday night because we didn't get there until almost 9, and we were both tired. Jay had never been to see the ducks at The Peabody, so we went and saw them Saturday morning. Then we rode the trolley (it was right behind our hotel on Main Street) to Sun Studio. I went with my parents a few years back, and I thought it was really cool. It is the recording studio where Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and several other musicians got their start. We went shopping in the afternoon. We had a good time...until the ride home, when we had a flat tire. We were about 45 minutes from Madison when it happened, so it wasn't too bad.

Jay is working this morning and early afternoon. I have to work the next two Saturdays, so I'm not looking forward to that, even though it feels like I got off easy this year.

Rainy Day

I guess the gorgeous warm weather isn't going to stick around. It was pouring down rain this afternoon, and it was chilly when I went outside today. We definitely enjoyed it this weekend, though! My nose got a little sunburned from riding around with the top down.

My mom brought me my license information! (They sent it to my parents' house by mistake.)I have a number now, so I'm definitely official now! The ceremony is April 26 at the State Capital downtown.

I had to tell Jay what his Valentine surprise is. I made reservations for us this coming weekend in Memphis. He was telling me that he has a Finance test on Monday, so I wanted him to go ahead and know about it so he can get ready for his test (and not procrastinate until the weekend). Regardless, I am excited! It will be so nice to get away for a few days. We are staying downtown. Other than that, no plans...

Another Busy Saturday

I ended up going into work this morning. I didn't technically HAVE to (it's not one of the four Saturdays that we have to work during tax season) but I really needed to. I got so much done! It's amazing how no distractions make all of the difference!!!

The weather today is GORGEOUS. I wish it would stay like this. I took a long walk this afternoon, and I really want to go ride around with the top down.

I am so excited about Valentine's Day. We have a little tradition of having a picnic in the living room, with candles and snacky, appetizer type food. We go out to eat pretty frequently, and I hate crowds, so going out on Valentine's Day is not really something I look forward to. Last year, I was working so much that I didn't really get a chance to make anything too special. But this year, the menu is going to be really good (and relatively diet friendly). We are having:

• Stuffed mushrooms
• Chicken "cigars" (spicy chicken in phyllo)
• Shrimp Dean Martinis (shrimp cocktail)
• Strawberries with fluff dip

I'll post the recipes if everything turns out ok.

I'm not sure how we are going to handle Abby, since she is a new addition this year. I guess we'll put her in the backyard to play, although she hates being out there after dark. I'm sure she'll start barking and how romantic is that? Ugh! It's almost like she's a child and needs a babysitter. It's going to be a LONG time before that actually happens.

Work, blah, blah

Good news! New letterhead came in....and my name is on it! How exciting! Virginia M. Mooney, CPA! Unfortunately, I have yet to receive my board file number and other information. I will get my certificate at a completely optional ceremony in April. I'm definitely attending. My mom insisted I walk when I graduated from MC, and I did it half-heartedly, but I am super excited about this ceremony. I studied waaay harder for the CPA exam than I did for any class in college.

Jay and I are going to the HeARTS Against AIDS benefit Saturday night at Hal & Mal's.