Tuesday, April 20, 2010

An emotionally loooong few days...

So I totally failed in my commitment to blog every day! Oh well! Life is simply too hectic right this second to do it every single day. Although there is a ton that I want to post.

To catch everything up since Friday....Saturday there was an FCW potluck planned. They are so much fun and I love seeing so many people come out to make friends. It's awesome. Saturday's potluck was very emotional not only because it was my last one here but because I have these totally amazing friends that did their damnedest to surprise me with a "Farewell Potluck". Great food, great friends, old and new, a few tears, some melancholy moments and a whole lot of fun. They brought cakes and cards and had a throw embroidered to commemorate my time here. It was very special. Told ya I have amazing people in my life. Howell also got a cake and card as a congratulations for graduating Drill and taking me away from here...lol...ok so it wasn't for taking me away from here but you know what I mean. After the potluck we went to hang out with our friends Cari and Shane and had a nice evening just hanging out and talking. The men got a little silly with Irish Car Bombs (Guinness and Bailey's) and we had a mildly scary moment when their daughter's dog decided to latch onto her arm...but overall it was a good day. Just emotionally draining.
Sunday was an interesting day in many ways. I woke up emotionally done and in one of the absolute worst moods possible.My plan was to avoid people so I wouldn't snap at them...didn't work so well. While giving a girl on the boards advice, some little twit decided she wanted to jump down my throat because she mistook what I said. Hormonal me, jumped up her ass and out her throat and went back for me. I already had an issue with this girl and a friend of hers because I had received a couple of personal messages between them in my inbox because one or both of them was stupid enough to hit the wrong button. So in our little interaction, I brought it up and told her she was on notice. LOL....omg! all hell broke loose because they knew they were busted for being catty bitches....so I'm now a privacy invading bitch that INTENTIONALLY reads their trash mail. Ummm NOT! Love how people turn shit around when THEY are the ones doing something wrong. But whatever. Can't stand people like them so it's all good.

I made my super duper World's Best Shepherd's Pie on Sunday....love that stuff!

World's Best Shepherd's Pie

 From FamilyFun Magazine
  • Rated by 71 members
World's Best Shepherd's Pie

Baked in an oven-to-table casserole, this dish will be very hot when it comes out of the oven, so be sure to let it cool for several minutes before serving.


Ingredients
  • FILLING:
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 1/4 pounds ground beef
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup beef broth
  • 1 cup diced canned tomatoes or crushed tomatoes in puree
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • MASHED POTATO TOPPING:
  • 6 cups peeled and chopped potatoes
  • 1 to 1 1/2 cups grated white Cheddar cheese
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 teaspoons salt, plus salt to taste, paprika
Instructions
  1. Cook the corn according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
  2. Start the potatoes for the topping. Put them in a large pot with enough water to cover them by a couple of inches. Add about 2 teaspoons of salt to the water. Bring the potatoes to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Cook them for 10 to 13 minutes. Meanwhile, make the meat filling.
  3. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 3 Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion and celery in the butter, stirring often, for about 5 to 6 minutes.
  4. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 4 Add the ground beef to the pan and break it up with a wooden spoon as it browns. Remove the skillet from the stove and, resting it on a heatproof surface so it won't feel so heavy, tilt the pan so that the excess fat runs to the side. Carefully spoon out the fat and discard it (this will make the dish leaner and healthier, as well as lighter tasting).
  5. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 5 Put the skillet back on the burner and set the heat to medium low. Stir the garlic and flour into the beef mixture. Stir in the beef broth, then the canned tomatoes, then the herbs, reserved corn, and Worcestershire sauce.
  6. Gently simmer the mixture for several minutes, partially covered, then add salt (1/4 teaspoon, give or take a little) and pepper to taste. Transfer the mixture to a large buttered casserole. Set the oven to 400°, and while it heats, check to see if your boiling potatoes are done.
  7. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 7 To test the potatoes, use a slotted spoon to transfer a cube from the water to a cutting board and allow it to cool for 30 seconds or so. If you can slice through the chunk easily with a butter knife, the potatoes are done.
  8. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 8 Set a large colander in the sink and drain the potatoes in it (this job can generate a lot of steam, so it is best done by an adult or under adult supervision). Transfer the drained potatoes to a large mixing bowl and scatter the butter pieces over them. Spoon the sour cream here and there over the hot potatoes as well. Wait several minutes for the butter to melt and the sour cream to warm so the ingredients will be easier to blend, then partially mash the potatoes with a hand masher.
  9. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 9 Switch to an electric mixer set at medium speed and continue to mash, adding enough milk to make medium-soft mashed potatoes. Don't make them too soft, however; you want them to have some body.
  10. World's Best Shepherd's Pie - Step 10 Salt the potatoes to taste and spoon them evenly over the filling. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, then sprinkle on some paprika (be sure to wash your hands right afterward so you don't accidentally rub any of the spice in your eyes). Bake the pie on the center oven rack for about 20 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Cool for several minutes before serving. Makes 5 to 6 servings.
 
Monday was crazy day! We packed what was left of the house to pack! The only thing not packed in this place is the brat's room.  Ugh....kids. 

And today is Tuesday....I should  be working on the insane amount of classwork and end of term exams that are due this week...instead I am sitting her updating my blog and cruising FB. Yeah, I know...Procrastinator. It's really a bad thing because I am supposed to be heading to a friends for coffee this morning, meeting another friend this afternoon and then we are heading to Nashville this evening to watch the Predators play the Blackhawks in Game #3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Crazy busy day and I'm sitting here being lazy instead of getting all teh crap done that needs to be done. grrrrrrr. 

We pick up the truck to move a week from today. Good grief, the time is just chugging on by. I want to cry, and am hormonal enough to just stay a blubbering idiot for the next week or so. I can't get used to the "We're moving NEXT week" thing. It's great, but it sucks.

So anyway...off to figure out the essay for my ethics class (hopefully in time for coffee) and then a crazy busy day!

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