Menu Monday: Trifle and Thanksgiving

This year we celebrated our first Thanksgiving (as married) at my brother(s)-in-law's house in the Boston area. They have an adorable little bunaglow that they just finished remodeling (well, as homeowners, do we ever "finish?"). Aaron and I have a lot to be thankful for. I, for one, can't say enough how grateful I am to be part of this family. I have an amazing career (most days), 4 healthy animals (and yes, the dogs came to Thanksgiving dinner) I'm blessed with the best people in my life- both family and friends, and we've had a big year; buying and remodeling a new home and having our dream wedding. We are very fortunate and we're very appreciative.

 

Matt is an amazing, amazing cook. He is always prepared with a knock-your-socks-off meal, dessert or drink. The menu was amazing; from the thyme stuffed turkey to the rosemary seasoned squash, fresh flax seed rolls with garlic butter to pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. It was over-the-top.

My contribution to Thanksgiving this year was, of course, the turkey grown by my mother, my famous homemade cranberry sauce, an apple pie and new to the menu, my Kahlua Trifle, which I will share the recipe to today.

Kahlua Trifle:

1 Box Devil's Food cake (cook as instructed- using a 9X13 pan)
3 Cups Cool-whip (thawed)
2 boxes instant chocolate pudding (make as instructed on box)
1 Cup Kahlua (I used way more- LOL)
1/2 Cup Skor candies (you can get this in the chocolate chip aisle)

1. Make the cake and pudding as instructed on their respective boxes and refrigerate the pudding.
2. Allow cake to cool for about an hour then poke holes throughout the cake with a fork.
3. Pour the Kahlua over the cake and put in the fridge for several hours (I did this overnight.)
4. Cut the cake into small cubes.
5. In a trifle bowl layer cubes of cake, pudding, cool-whip. Do this three times and allow it to set in fridge for about 2 hours. 
6. Add Skor to the top before serving.

You can see my trifle among the other desserts. Isn't it gorgeous? I used my new Pampered Chef Trifle Bowl. Aaron and I took the rest home and ate it the next day, right out of the bowl.

After eating like pigs we all hung out in the living room. Each one of us took a nap at different times throughout the conversation. :)

Happy 5th Birthday, Bing

"We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made." - M. Facklam

I can't believe my little boy is 5 already!!! It seems like just yesterday I picked him out at the breeders and he was 8-weeks and under 2lbs!

I have to say; I've changed more in the past 5 years than I have at any other point in time. My dogs have saved my life in more ways than I can recount. Since having them in my life I've become a more emotional, sincere and softer person (hush now, really, I have improved over the past 5 years.) It sounds so odd but sometimes I think I am more compassionate about people and life in general because I have two little creatures that love me unconditionally.

I make no "bones" about the fact that I'm a "dog person." Don't misinterpret, I LOVE my cats, but I am a "dog person." There is just something about dogs and any "dog person" knows what I'm saying. Cats are so moody; they love you on their terms. Bing and Manny on the other hand, well, Manny is in my lap right now and Bing is at my feet. They love to be around me. They follow me around just waiting for me to love them. Maybe that says something about me, maybe need to know where I stand with an animal, but I have to say, I don't own my dogs, they own me. I really don't think there is anything I wouldn't do for them.

Anyway, back to Bing. Bing Francis is 5-years-old today. This makes me incredibly sad. I hate that he's growing up and getting older. I want him to stay a healthy puppy forever and ever. Bing can bring me out of any bad mood. He's not only adorable, but his temperament is gentle and quiet. He is the sweetest little thing and he is extremely handsome. He's not cute; he's H-A-N-D-S-O-M-E. He is my first born and I completely act like I birthed him.

Most often Bing can be found lying in front of any source of heat, or curled up next to me at night. Yep, he sleeps with us.

There is nothing in this world even close to the feeling of coming home and having a puppy so incredibly happy to see you. When we take the time to walk and love and kiss and play it makes Bing and Manny so happy- to them life is so simple; eat, sleep, get love, give love.

I am so grateful to have the best little guys in the whole world. I can't remember what it was like to not have them around.

Bing, you're the sweetest little guy and you have no idea how much I love you. Happy Birthday Bing (aka" Bee, Be-a-zel, Boppy, Francie, Francois, Besus Christ, Bingy, Beasty, Bells, Beazlebobincero, Francois- Louwah) we love you so very much!

Say What?

Aaron can eat whatever he wants; something I hate love about him. Because he spends so many hours each week training and exercising he can eat whatever (and A LOT of whatever.)

I am quite the opposite. If I even smell food my pants get a bit snugger. Because of that I have to savor any type of junk food I buy. For example, I might buy a pack of peanut butter cups and take a bite out of one and put it back in the cabinet for later. Aaron, on the other hand, might buy a bag of chips and eat the whole thing in a sitting. Honestly, the cost of feeding Aaron while he's training is astronomical. I'm not complaining because he's definitely is easy on the eyes, but what I do HATE is when he eats MY stuff.

I know, I know, in marriage there is no "mine" or "yours." But, when it comes to food there certainly is a "mine" and a "yours." Often I will walk over the cupboard, quite excited for the rest of my whoopie pie only to find it has turned up missing.

J: Aaron! Where is my ________?
A: (innocently) Oh, it's been in there for a few days I thought you didn't want any more of it.
J: Of course I did. Do I need to start hiding food from you? Don't eat my stuff!

So tonight, as I was skulking around online and eating my pretzel rods, I had a thought, "You know Jessi, some Pepsi would be great right now." It's MY Pepsi and I purposely drink right from the liter just to mark my territory. As I walk over to the fridge, completely ignoring the concept of a glass, I lift the 2-liter-bottle and find it's a bit... light.

J: (screeching) Aaron!!!! Did you drink MY Pepsi? (completely pissed because he asserts that he isn't a Pepsi guy, he's a Coke guy- I'm a Pepsi girl.)
A: (startled... standing in the shower- fixing the window trim) Uh, I had a sip.
J: A sip? A SIP?! You took more than a sip... YOU TOOK A FREAKING CHUG-A-LUG!

I am turning into my parents. Who says chug-a-lug? In this argument, I immediately lost all credibility when I said chug-a-lug.

Photographic Friday

Aaron recently cut a “kitty door” out of the door that leads from our kitchen to our cellar. Up until about a week ago we were keeping the litter box in our upstairs den until we realized it was a waging a massive assault against my allergies (yes, I'm allergic to cats) thus moving the litter box has improved my quality of life.

Rocko and Shredda love having access to the cellar where they can sniff around and hide. It's not a huge room, but we keep it tidy and there are plenty of nooks and crannies for a feline to explore.

Surprisingly, Bing and Manny have very little interest in the cellar. Being nosy, they will check out what’s going on, but wouldn't dream of going through the actual portal into the unknown; just hanging out spying.

I captured this picture of Bing on Sunday evening. I love this picture.

Bathing the boys

Once per month Aaron and I give the boys a bath. It's not the easiest process, but luckily they are tiny little guys who we can easily throw into the kitchen sink.

Bing, as you can clearly see, HATES to be bathed.

Mean Daddy... but I do love how Bing is scrunching up his body.

Manny, on the other hand, loves being scrubbed down.