What we did...

Alright, I realize I'm a little late on my Father's Day post, but hey..things have been hoppin' around here! =)

For the big day, I got up and made a brunch of chocolate gravy and biscuits. Then the hubby and I Facebooked some (and totally made a spreadsheet for Farm Town, because we're JUST THAT COOL!), the fam went to the pool for a bit, we played Lord of the Rings (we being hubby, the boy, and myself), and then I made a yummy yummy dinner of Salmon & Spinach in Phyllo!!!

And I'm going to share that last bit with you today! Every time I tell people about this (and they're eaters of salmon and spinach) they drool profusely and beg me for the recipe. hehe I got it from a Pampered Chef Cookbook (Cooking for Two & More) and it IS that yummy!

So here's the recipe AND a step by step pictorial for everyone.

Salmon & Spinach in Phyllo
Prep Time: 20 minutes (which is pretty accurate without taking all the pictures)
Total Time: About 40 minutes

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon Basil Oil or Olive Oil (I use a garlic olive oil)
4 cups baby spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper
8 sheets (9x14 inches) thawed, frozen phyllo dough
Nonstick cooking spray
2 skinless salmon fillets (4-6 ounces each), about 1 1/2 inches thick
2 Tablespoons garlic and herb cream cheese spread (I use laughing cow cheese wedges)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Remove stems of spinach leaves and coarsely chop.

Heat oil in Saute Pan until hot.
Add spinach; season with salt and black pepper.

Cook and stir until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute.
Remove spinach to paper towel.
Squeeze out all excess moisture; set aside.

Lay one sheet of phyllo on large work surface and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place second sheet of phyllo over first, pressing sheets together to seal. Continue laying down and spraying phyllo sheets to create a stack of four sheets of phyllo. Repeat with remaining phyllo and additional cooking spray to create another phyllo stack.

Spread each salmon fillet with 1 Tablespoon (or 1-2 wedges) of the cream cheese spread and top with half of the spinach.

For each phyllo bundle, place salmon, spinach side down, on phyllo stack about 2 inches from bootom of edge of short side. Flod long sides of phyllo in toward center. Gently roll up phyllo from bottom to top. Using a bread knife, make three diagnobal slits across the top of each bundle.

Place bundles on baking stone, seam side down. Spray bundles with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 11-13 minutes or until centers of salmon register 130 degrees F and phyllo is golden brown. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yields 2 servings!
I always make extra since we LOVE having this for leftovers the next day. We always serve with steamed asparagus and rice pilaf, and this time we had a nice 2007 Reisling to drink with our dinner.


Hint: In order for the spinach to end up on the top, the salmon is placed topping side down. Once rolled, the spinach ends up on top. To easily measure the temperature of salmon wrapped in phyllo, insert a meat thermometer horizontally into the center of each phyllo pocket.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories 450
Total Fat 21g
Saturated Fat 6g
Cholesterol 80mg
Carbohydrate 36g
Protein 27g
Sodium 560mg
Fiber 3g

If anyone else tries this I'd LOVE to hear how it turned out for you! It has become the main thing hubby requests for any "holiday" (birthday, Father's Day, Valentine's, anniversary...) and since its done in under an hour that is not at ALL difficult to accommodate. I just love how its REALLY easy to prepare, but looks all fancy schmancy. hehe

Venting

Headaches SUCK!

That's all.

~Dorsey

Summer Slump

I realize that my summer blogging slump really started more in the Spring than Summer, but ah well. I have been busy, I guess. Mostly house and kid stuff. By that of course I mean trying my damnest to clean this house at least to half of my hubby's standards and taking the kids for rides in the car and to the neighborhood pool.

My computer has recently come down with a new ailment. Where it used to have issues charging, now it would appear as though it is narcoleptic. For no apparent reason it will just shut down. I usually have a 2-3 second warning...nothing moves, mouse stops working, and then the screen goes black! Here as of late I have taken to waving at the screen when I see the warning signs. Well, that or I flip it off. Neither seems to be helping. So hopefully after I find a dream job and finish paying off the new car, I'll be able to get a sweet new laptop. But that'll probably be more than a year or two from now. Ugh!

Another thing that's been on my mind is divorce. No worries, peeps!! Not me!! I just know an increasingly large amount of people who have been, are getting, or are contemplating visiting the Big D (and I don't mean Dallas). It has gotten me wondering some things. So many times, I hear that people just feel like they can do better. They settled and they're tired of putting up with it. But I know at some point, they did NOT feel like they were "settling" for anything. At some point they said those words, and believed them...."till death parts us...I will love you forever...etc..." But when asked what I think about all of it, I keep coming back to the same question for them. I ask, "Do you WANT to work it out? Or do you just want out?" I firmly believe that if deep down you don't WANT to work it out, then you won't. Things will NOT get better.

A while back, Hubby and I went through a MAJOR rough patch and it just about did us in. But we BOTH really WANTED to work it out. So we did. We talked about things even if they were painful to the speaker OR the listener. We never went to professional counseling because we didn't feel we needed it. I believe that counselors help you to talk about things you wouldn't on your own. This was never the case. There was a lot of cleansing crying, but very little yelling. We just talked about everything! Why is it that someone you pledged your life to one day, days, months or even years later you feel nauseated talking to about your feelings? When and HOW does that happen? I don't understand it, honestly.

I'm concerned for my friends who are going through, have gone through, or are considering these life events. I think of them often and hope they find peace and happiness in whatever their decisions. Believe it or not I even pray for them all. Nightly I pray for everyone. Friends, family, acquaintances, people I have never met or might never meet, and my enemies...

I gotta say...sometimes I just wish I understood more, but at the same time, I'm happy I don't at the same time. They're right...ignorance IS bliss! =)

Be well friends, and know I think of you all often. And I'm going to try to get back to writing here more.

SO much to tell!!!

So the last time I left you all, I was sporting a new haircut and still searching the near un-gettable deal on a convertible!!

Friday night my loverly daughter, Hannah, celebrated her 12th birthday with a sleepover. We had hot dogs, cake, movies, and more. She had a great time and had about 4 other girls here. Luckily, NO major drama moments! (Which is saying A LOT with that many 11/12 yr old girls! hehe)

I didn't have time to bake her a cake,
so we picked this one up at Albertsons.
(She picked it out)

Saturday I went to a tea house in a nearby town and it was DIVINE!!! We had finger sandwiches, scones, fruit, and plenty of hot tea in pretty and dainty little china tea cups. I went with some moms that I've been bowling with a time or two. Here's a couple of pics...

The table before everyone got there

The birthday girl =)
LOVE her hat!!!

The Grand Tea presentation
fruits and desserts on top,
scones in the middle,
finger sandwiches on bottom

All of us in front of the loose teas

And last, but certainly NOT least....I GOT MY CAR!!!!!! I left the tea house and went to Dallas Dodge to check out a car I'd sent an email request with offer in on the day before. When I got there, the gentleman I'd spoken with before was busy with some other customers, so he handed me to another salesperson. I looked at the car, drove it, sat in the back seat while she [salesperson] drove it (to check the real comfort the kids would have), and then started to hammer out a deal. As I was talking with them (Korneljia, the salesperson, and John, the used car general manager) I explained that I knew I'd have to get a job to help make the car payments. John mentioned that they were looking for a night receptionist. Hmmm...I replied "I could do that job, I could do that job well!" So I took their offer home to discuss it with Kyle. On the way home, I determined that is THIS didn't work out I was giving up on the whole thing. Get the damned Intrepid's transmission fixed and just drop it! So he and I wnt round and round. We looked at the NADA site online to compare values, we argued prices, we talked jobs...etc... We decided on Monday that I would first call the other dealership and ask about the car we'd been keen on until then (a hard top convertible) and see if he could work any better deal. Nope! He wasn't willing to budge. So I went back to Dallas Dodge armed with my resume. I gave them my resume (should hear something this week about an actual interview), arranged for them to pick up the Intrepid from the mechanic's shop (instead of us having to tow it in ourselves), and agreed on a price. Then I went to get Kyle and we got all the i's dotted and t's crossed! Here are pictures of my new car, a 2008 Chrysler Sebring Convertible, Touring Edition....

When I brought it home, my son said..."Oh are we trying out another one?" I simply replied.."This ain't a test drive, boy!" He smiled so big I could almost see his molars. hehehe

And my hair works GREAT with the top down!! hehe No tangles even!!