ho ho ho.

Christmas Eve is TOMORROW!! It came soo fast this year! And let me tell you, I'm excited! I have been itching to blog lately and tonight I was debating going to bed or blogging and Isaac said "blog it up emma" so here I am, blogging it up.

Isaac had another tight party at his house at the beginning of the month.

Theme: JOCK JAMS.

So of course we had to dress according to the theme...

We like to move it move it.

A friend of Isaac's rapped. It was so cool, just look at all the people loving it.

Guess who else decided to show up to the party....

BOO. Way to ruin our fun police.

Me and my sweet boy.

Guess who went bowling. Me and Isaac. I'll be honest, WE HATE BOWLING. But all my friends were getting together at Fat Cats and we couldn't miss it! So our solution to our pure hatred of bowling was to bowl as one, as a team.

Well lookie lookie lookie who won.

IKE (we couldn't think of a good way to merge our names): 138.

Everyone else: LOSERS TO IKE

Who knew!! We will never bowl separately again!
PS - I tried sooo hard to get a pic of the screen without this "a new game please bowl" sign popping up but I could not do it!! Every time I snapped the pic that popped up. I am not the greatest, but hey, at least you can see our winning score!

We have had such fun attending Christmas parties this year!! We went to Isaac's family party, my family party, my work Christmas party, and a few friend parties. I love Christmas. After Isaac's family party we were driving back up to SLC and made a stop at Thanksgiving Point to see the lights.

Reindeer jumping. I bet its Rudolf.

FUN FACT:

Thomas Edison invented the string of lights on December 21, 1882.

I text Isaac that fun fact while he was at work yesterday and guess what his response was...

"Thomas is a jerk."

Jerk?! How dare he.

Of course he was joking, but he better be careful.

I don't take joking about the inventor of Christmas lights lightly :)

REAL LIVE REINDEER AT THANKSGIVING POINT!!!

hello Comet. hello Cupid.

Magical treeee.

Last weekend Isaac went to the bowl game in Las Vegas and I stayed here and celebrated Christmas with the gals.

Josh had an amazing fancy Christmas party with the most fab foooood. Its all about the food. Thanks joshie.

My favorite ladies.

So yes, thats about it. I am so excited for Christmas I could squeel! And I don't have to work! I have been working so much at the rehab I can hardly stand it. Literally. My back is about to break. Thank goodness for heating pads.

The semester is finally over!! I successfully got through finals and am very pleased with my grades so far, hopefully they continue to turn out well. I promise to blog it up allllll Christmas break, afterall, I have 3 weeks off!! Thank you University of Utah.

Merry Christmas!

Champagne Shrimp and Pasta

Ingredients:


8 ounces angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 1/2 cups champagne
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
freshly grated Parmesan cheese



Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 6 to 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan. Cook and stir mushrooms in oil until tender. Remove mushrooms from pan, and set aside.

3. Combine shrimp, champagne, and salt in the frying pan, and cook over high heat. When liquid just begins to boil, remove shrimp from pan. Add shallots and tomatoes to champagne; boil until liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 8 minutes. Stir in 3/4 cup cream; boil until slightly thick, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add shrimp and mushrooms to sauce, and heat through. Adjust seasonings to taste.

4. Toss hot, cooked pasta with remaining 1/4 cup cream and parsley. To serve, spoon shrimp with sauce over pasta, and top with Parmesan cheese.

Chilled Shrimp Fettuccine

Ingredients:


8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
8 ounces frozen peeled
and deveined cooked medium
shrimp -- thawed and drained
1 tablespoon
lemon juice
3/4 cup fat-free mayonnaise or salad dressing
1/4 cup
chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (about 1
small)
1/4 cup fat-free Italian dressing
1 teaspoon Creole or Cajun
seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper


Procedure:

Cook and drain fettuccine as directed on package. Rinse with cold water; drain. Toss shrimp and lemon juice in large bowl. Mix remaining ingredients. Add mayonnaise mixture and fettuccine to shrimp; toss. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours to blend flavors.

i'm one lucky girl.

I can't believe November has come and gone!! Guess where I went on November 22, 2008...

coldplay!

Best concert ever. They played song after song that I loved. Isaac and I had a fab time with his parents. How I didn't get a pic of us is beyond me, I never let that happen...seriously.

Thanksgiving. Loved you. I had to work in the morning, not great, but after I went and had dinner with my family at my Aunt's house. My cousin came home from Oregon with her sweet babies. I love that baby Max soo so much.

After dinner with my family I met Isaac and his family in Park City to spend the night. Isaac and I went to the outlet mall at like 10:30 pm prior to the midnight madness and a bunch of the stores were open early.

sweet deals + not too many people = jackpot.

The next day we spent the day in Park City shopping and then to SLC to see the lights turn on at Temple Square. Guess who got interviewed to be on TV!!! ME (plus isaac, ryan, and erin). Guess who actually was on TV!! Erin. Yeah, I was a little bummed I didn't get my big break that night...but Erin did a fab job. And guess what actually happened when we were being interviewed. The lights turned on. Yeah. I was so excited to actually be there to see them turn on and then all the sudden I'm distracted by the idea of stardom and the lights come on.

Great.

JUST GREAT. ;)

I love this one of us laughing. Please view it zoomed in below.

Zoomed.

We had such a great weekend.

Guess what is on it's way!!!

CHRISTMAS!
look who's ready.

are YOU?

Red Pepper Eggplant Chili

If you like your meal hot, as in chili hot, then examine the recipes below and re-invent your own. Adjusting is the key.

Description:

This is a spicy chili made with eggplant and cannellini beans.


Nutrition Info per Serving:

Calories 319; Carbohydrates 65 gm; Protein 13 gm; Fat 4 gm; Saturated Fat 0 gm; Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 1972 mg; Fiber 16 gm


Ingredients:

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large eggplants, peeled and cubed
1 16-oz can low-salt stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 4.25-oz can chopped black olives, drained
1 8-oz can low-salt tomato sauce
2 tbsp red chili powder
Red pepper flakes, to taste
2 tbsp dark molasses
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 19-oz cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), undrained
Garnish: Sour cream and sliced black olives, if desired


Directions:

In a Dutch oven, sauté onions, red peppers, and eggplants over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until tender, about 4-5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients except cannellini beans. Mix well. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour. Stir occasionally.

After 1 hour, stir in cannellini beans. Cover and continue cooking 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and garnish with sliced olives sprinkled on top, if desired.

Steamed Shrimp with Garlic Oil

Here is a simple and healthy (since it's loaded with garlic!) shrimp dish that is extremely simple to make. Just chop off the eyes part of the shrimp head, make a slit down the back, remove the vein, steam and then top them off with heaps of garlic oil.


Ingredients:

10 head-on shrimp
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 stalk scallion (chopped)
1/8 teaspoon of salt
3 drops fish sauce
5 drops sesame oil
1 1/2 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine
1 1/2 tablespoon of water
1 dash of white pepper powder
3 tablespoons cooking oil



Instructions:

Heat up the wok and add in the cooking oil. Lightly fry the chopped garlic until they turn golden brown. Set aside.


Chop off the eyes part of the shrimp head, slit the back and deveined. Pat dry and place all shrimp on a plate. Season the shrimp with the ingredients above. Steam for 5 minutes. Top the shrimp with the garlic oil and garnish with chopped scallion.

Hass Avocado Shrimp Cocktail

This version of an old standard has a contemporary twist. Fresh avocado in crunchy, spicy sauce makes a cocktail sure to be a taste pleaser for those in search of flavor.
Nutrition Information per Serving: 170 calories, 12g of fat, 55mg of cholesterol, 160mg of sodium, and 8g of protein.


Ingredients:

2 Tbsp thick, chunky tomato salsa
2 Tbsp seafood cocktail sauce
2 Tbsp chopped onion
2 Tbsp diced seedless cucumber
1 1/2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Hass Avocados (1 pound), diced
30 large (21 to 25 count per pound), cooked shrimp with tails
6 lime slices for garnish
6 sprigs cilantro for garnish


Instructions:

1. Thoroughly combine salsa and next 5 ingredients; gently fold in avocado.

2. Chill mixture 1 hour to marry flavors. (Mixture is best served the day it's made.)

3. To serve, divide avocado mixture among 6 stemmed glasses.

4. Hang 5 shrimp, tails outside glass, around each rim.

5. Garnish each with 1 twisted lime slice and 1 sprig cilantro.

via

Corn, Scallion and Potato Frittata

This frittata makes a perfect brunch or lunch -- it works especially well for a picnic. And on a steamy summer night, it may be all you need for dinner. Adding a green salad and a nice piece of bread is an easy way to round out the plate.

Nutrition info per Serving:

Calories: 395 kcal

Carbohydrates: 37 g

Dietary Fiber: 5 g

Fat: 20 g

Protein: 18 g

Sugars: 8 g

Ingredients:

1 bunch scallions, white and green parts sliced separately

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large russet (baking) potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

2 cups corn kernels, thawed if frozen

4 large eggs

4 ounces mozzarella, coarsely grated

Cooking Directions:

1. Cook white part of scallions and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add potato and cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add corn and salt and pepper to taste, then cook, stirring, about 1 minute for thawed corn or 3 minutes for fresh corn.





2. Preheat broiler.

3. Whisk together eggs, mozzarella, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in potato mixture and scallion greens.

4. Heat remaining tablespoon oil in cleaned skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking. Then cook frittata without stirring, shaking skillet once or twice to loosen frittata, until underside is golden but top is still wet, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat.

5. If skillet handle is not ovenproof, wrap handle in a double layer of foil. Broil frittata about 3 inches from heat until top is just set and golden, about 2 minutes. Slide onto a plate and cool to warm or room temperature.

General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's Chicken, is actually an American creation. It is a sweet deep fried chicken dish served in American Chinese restaurants and also very popular at the buffet line. Regardless of its origin, this is an easy dish to make at home without the gloppy sauce and soggy thick breading that you get from the take out place and you don’t have pay the expensive price for it.





Ingredients :



1 pound chicken meat cut into large chunks

3 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp white pepper

1 egg white

3 tbsp of cornstarch

1 tbsp of oil

4 green onions – cut into thin strip

6 dry hot peppers – cut into ½” length

1 tbsp of chopped ginger

2 cloves of garlic - chopped





Sauce:



2 tsp of cornstarch

1/4 cup water

3 tbsp of sugar (more or less depend on the sweetness you like)

4 tbsp soy sauce

3 tbsp of white vinegar

2 tbsp of cooking wine

3/4 - 1 cup chicken broth

1 tsp of pepper

Cooking Directions:

1. Mix all the sauce ingredients and set it aside for later use.



2. In separate bowl, mix chicken, soy sauce and white pepper. Set it aside to marinate for 30 minutes. Stir in egg white and add in the cornstarch and mix until chicken pieces are coated evenly.



3. Add the 1 tbsp of oil to the chicken as this will help to separate chicken pieces. Deep fry chicken until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Remove all the oil from the pan and leave about 1 tbsp.



4. Stir-fry garlic, ginger and peppers until fragrant. Stir sauce adding to wok. Bring it up to a boil and when sauce thickens add in the chicken. Stir and toss until chicken pieces well coated with sauce. Add in the spring onions.



5. Dish out and serve with warm rice.

i like to blog it blog it.

Howdy howdy howdy.

So here's the latest on what has been going on since my cruise. First of all, we went to Isaac's aunt's cabin for the weekend and had such a fab time.

I cannot take credit for any of these pics, Isaac's dad took them and I love them. This moose tried to get me. Jk, we saw him from the car and my bf jumped out of the car to take pics of the beast for me.

Hello Jason Mraz!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isaac took me to this concert and we had the best time.

Jason put on such a great show and sang so many songs directly to me, I just know it. Lisa Hannigan. She's Irish.

I love you Mr. A-Z.

Isaac had a Halloween/bday party for clintie...

The angel and the pimp. Ha!

These two sickies came with me...my moms/bffs.

Now for the latest...another house party at Isaac's. Best yet!!!

My boyfriend DJ Westwood. So hot.

My sis Jenna came with me and we had such a blast with Erin (Isaac's sister-in-law) and Allie, her sister.

No one even knew who this creeper was. He danced the entire night in front of Isaac. I was dying it was so funny.

Love him.

And them. Ryan and Erin. I'm so glad they came!

My fab sis.

Party.

So there you have it. A very quick update on my life. Besides these events I've been busy with school and working 2 jobs. I got a new job at a transitional rehabilitation place as a CNA and I love it! Its rough trying to balance 2 jobs + school but good news: there are only weeks left of the semester, thank goodness. And then one more semester left until I'm an official college grad...and then on to nursing school, I hope (cross your fingers!!!)

Bye bye bye.