Why...

Is today my day off and I'm up before my alarm would have gone off. Why.

Happy Friday!!

Tasty Tuesday

When I found this recipe in my Cook Yourself Thin book I was a little leery. There's a similar recipe I make occasionally from Rachael Ray that is to die for, so I wasn't sure if this low cal impostor would stand up to the real thing. Surprisingly it was not only uber tasty it tasted pretty much exactly like the original! I had it with a small Caesar salad and a piece of lite Texas toast, it was delish! Enjoy!

Penne alla "Not-ka"
2 t EVOO
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c chopped red onion
3/4 t salt
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes pureed in a food processor
(if you can find a 14 oz can crushed tomato you don't have to puree)
Pinch of Red Pepper flakes
8 oz penne pasta (I used whole grain)
1/4 whipping cream
6 T evaporated nonfat milk
1/3 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c shredded fresh basil
1/8 t black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the penne. Cook as directed. Drain, reserving about 1/2 c pasta water.

2. Meanwhile in a large saucepan heat the 2 t EVOO with the garlic over low heat until garlic begins to brown, about 3 min. Add the onion and 1/4 salt, cover and cook until onion is softened about 2 more min. Add the tomato, 1/2 t salt and the red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat and simmer very gently 10 min. Stir in the cream and evaporated milk and simmer 1 more min.

3. Add pasta to sauce and simmer about 1-2 minutes. Add reserved pasta water if the mixture is dry. Stir in 1/4 c of the Parmesan, the basil and black pepper. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan once ready to serve.

Bon Appetite!

My cup runneth over

This weekend I kept seeing the commercials for Victoria's Secret new "Miraculous" bra. It claims to add two full cup sizes...TWO! As someone whose cup is literally already overflowing I balked at this. Dear lord help me, if I had two extra cup sizes I'm be into letters of the alphabet that should never, I repeat never represent a bra size.

I've always been pretty well endowed in that department, but lately they seem a bit outta control. I blame it on the few extra pounds I've found...they seem to have all settled in one place. My husband certainly isn't complaining. My mother even did a double take saying if she didn't know otherwise she'd think I was pregnant. Not the case. So you can imagine my surprise when I get an email from Victoria Secret today once again advertising their new bra. Sizes AA-DD. This sucker goes all the way to DD?! Has Vicky gone crazy? Why in the world would anyone who is already a DD need TWO extra cups worth?!?

Roses & Thorns

• Roses to 70 degree weather in November. Who's wearing sandals today....this girl!


• Roses to a "David Girl Day O' Fun" with my mom. I may be an EyeCanSee now but I'll always be a David girl at heart!


• Roses to finally starting to eat healthy and the scale showing me a less scary number than last week!


• Roses to Camp Bow Wow. You've saved my sanity by allowing me to leave the house on the weekend. Two full days of doggy care for my barking buddy only $28...sign me up!


• Roses to my Kansas State Wildcats. You may be horrible but you've still managed to climb your way to the top of the Big 12 North. Now please don't let me down tomorrow, let's fry those stupid Jayhawks!!


• Roses to my Aunt Sue. Even at 28 years old she still send me a card and some moolah for Halloween. You rock!
• Roses to PopSecret popcorn and their 100 calorie snack size bags. You saved me last night in my fit of "I NEED CHOCOLATE" rage. And kuddos for the combo box with both Butter and Kettle Corn...now we don't need to buy two boxes to fit both our hunger needs

• Thorns to ants. Who know who you are. Get outta my house!


• Thorns to not getting the job I interviewed for last week. Let the job search continue.


• Thorns to having big feet. Why oh why does no one carry size 11. I understand my feet are the size of a Sasquatch, but I can't be the only one!
• Thorns to drinking lots of water. How many times a day can one woman really have to pee. I mean seriously!
• Thorns to my DVR box who decided not to tape Vampire Diaries. Now I have to catch up on my fave new trashy tv show on CW.com. Thanks a lot!

Creepy Crawlers

Yuck. I hate bugs. HATE. I do not believe that there is anything good that comes from them. After living in a top floor condo for so many years I rarely had to deal with them. Guess they were too lazy to crawl up three flights of stairs. Fine by me! Well now we're living on the ground floor with both garage and patio access. Easy entrance. ::shutters::: And with the cooler weather the bugs are seeking warmth from MY shelter. Gross.

It started with a spider here and a spider there. The hubs can usually tell when I've spotted one cause the screams could break glass. Monday morning I pulled the scale out to see how much damage I'd done over the past few months and found one hiding underneath. EEK! There's motivation NEVER to weigh myself again. EVER. Guess the spider picked a good home. Then yesterday I saw a few ants by the patio door. Less offensive then spiders, but still unnerving. I got a paper towel and attempted to smoosh them. Fail. Dang these are some hearty ants. So I grab my Dyson hand vac figuring it's super sweet tornadic action will kill them for sure.

:::looks in clear dust container:::

WTF They're still alive in there. No freakin' way.

:::runs Dyson for a solid minute:::

Still alive.

What are these....super ants!

I busted out my kill spray and went all along the baseboards and exterior door frames. Got you now suckas!

This morning as I sit, enjoying my coffee and watching The Hills....I look to my right. Ants. Ugh, let the massacre continue!

The forgotten holiday

Did you know there's a holiday between Halloween and Christmas??

I did.
It's called Thanksgiving.

The forgotten holiday.

Apparently the rest of America does not remember.

Gone are the pumpkins and fall decor.

The radio stations are already playing holiday music 24/7

The Christmas trees and lights have already taken over.

The Sunday Ads are flooded with holiday gift ideas.

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation was on CMT.

W.T.F.

Somewhere along the line, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday.

For starters, it's way more low key than Christmas.

No shopping required.

There's tons of yummy food.

Great football.

Tons of family and friends.

It's a long weekend.

The weather is usually still pretty mild.

And it's the KICKOFF to the Christmas season.

Not the afterthought.

So why does it seem like this poor step child of the holidays gets overlooked every year??

Don't get me wrong.

I'm no scrooge.

I LOVE Christmas and all it entails.

But please, for the love of all that's holy, please stop with the Jingle Bells already!

Kthankbai.

Tasty Tuesday

That right folks....it's back!! After one too many weeks neglecting my kitchen and eating out WAY too much the scale showed me a frightening number I hadn't seen in years! Yikes! So it's time for the EyeCanSee's to kick their eating habits in the butt and I've got a great new recipe to get things rolling. It was sooooo easy and will defintely be making more appearances in our weekly menu lineup. The hubs gave it two thumbs up! Enjoy!!

Taco Soup aka Mexican Chili
1 pound ground beef (I used the leanest I could find)
2 cans beans (I used black)
2 cans Rotel (I used original and it was pretty spicy....try mild or hot depending on how hot you want it)
1 can corn
1 pkt taco seasoning
1 pkt dry ranch seasoning

Brown ground beef. Drain excess fat. Add taco seasoing and cook 2-3 min untill well blended. Add all canned ingredients. Do NOT drain any of the liquid...this is what makes the "soup." Add ranch seasoning. At this point I added some water to make a bit more broth. The thickeness is more of a chili then a soup making it a very hearty meal. Continue to simmer 10 min stirring occasionally.

Top with cheese, tortilla chips or sour cream if you want. Bon Appetite!!!