Vegetable Pizza

2 tubes crescent rolls
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 ranch dressing seasoning packet
1 1/2 cups chopped veggies, any will do, peppers, red onion, celery, carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, etc.
1-2 cups shredded cheese

Press crescent rolls into a large jelly roll pan. Bake 15 minutes at 375. Cool completely. Mix cream cheese with mayonnaise and dressing packet. Spread over cooled crust. Press vegetables and cheese into cream cheese and chill for 2 hours. Cut into squares and serve.

This recipe is modified from a Decatur County Hospital cookbook. The recipe calls for a bunch of seasonings for the cream cheese. Also, the recipe can be halved and made in a 9 x 9 pan (as pictured).

little smokies

2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp Worcherstershire sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp onion chopped
4-5 drops Tobasco
1 pkg. lil smokies


Heat first nine ingredients together in saucepan. Add Li'l Smokies and simmer 30 minutes (even longer is better)

Are you ready for some football?

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!!!!
I am honestly not that excited. I had to go to lab for most of the afternoon and then I was trying to make food in time for the second half. Jason and I just stayed in for the game since we trecked all the way to Dodgeville last night. I honestly don't care who wins.....


As it turns out, it was a boring game. I don't even think the commercials were that memorable, I guess Prince gave a good halftime show (I was suprised to see that he braved the rain). At least the food was good. Now I am stuffed. Time for bed and look ahead toward the week.

For dessert, I had this.... corn made out of white chocolate... yummy. It was a gift from Jason's mom. I am surprised it has lasted this long!

How cold is it?

That is a great question. Jason and I have a two car garage that is in the front of our townhouse. We like the winter because it means we can keep all of our pop and water cold.. without taking up precious space in our fridge.
As it turns out, this is not a good idea when the temps don't get above zero. Now when we open a soda, it almost immediately freezes and then starts to spew out of the bottle or can.
Even the water is freezing solid.. I guess it's time to bring them all inside.

Pizza Pasta

* 1 1/2 lbs bulk italian sausage
* 3 cups rigatoni (uncooked)
* 4 cups mozzarella cheese
* 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 (15 oz) can pizza sauce
* 1 (8 oz) can pizza sauce
* 1 pkg (3.5 oz) sliced pepperoni
* 1 can (6 oz) pitted ripe olives, drained and halved
* 1 can (6 oz) sliced mushrooms

Cook sausage in a skillet until no longer pink. Cook the pasta according to package directions. In a 5 quart slow cooker, layer half of the sausage, pasta, cheese, soup, onion, pizza sauce, pepperoni, mushrooms, and olives. Repeat the layers with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. Serves 6-8.

This recipe came from a slow cooker recipe book that my sister gave my mom for Christmas (I took the liberty of copying down some recipes while I was home).

I Dream of Jeannie.....

I have that stupid theme song stuck in my head. Tonight when Jason and I went to the gym, I was heading to my (yes my) elliptical trainer and all of the sudden I heard the song. Now, there are TV's in our gym but they can only be heard by inserting earplugs into the individual machines. So Jason walks up to my machine and looks in the little holder and there is a cell phone. The gym was pretty empty but a woman a couple of machines down said that 'it might be that guy's' and pointed at a 20 something guy in shorts (funny, even though I am 29, I don't really consider myself 20 something anymore). Anyway, Jason is standing behind him while the guy is doing pull ups, and his phone rings again. The guy didn't have headphones on and was completely oblivious! If you are expecting a call important enough that you have to take your phone to the gym for the hour you are there... maybe you should know the ringtone? I don't know, just a general observation.
Other than that story, there isn't much exciting.. its still cold. Im not sure which groundhog to believe... Phil in Pennsylvania says spring will come early but Jimmy in Sun Prairie says it will be a long winter. I just want the high temperatures to be above 10!

Dinner tonight was pizza pasta, garlic bread, and salad. I think I should have done a better job with the recipe... we have food for the next 3-4 days!
Have a good weekend everyone, stay warm!

36 things

For lack of anything else to write about, I am answering some questions I found on anolther blog (thanks Nicole).
I can only tell you about my typical days so many times (get up, go to work, come home, go to the gym, eat, watch TV.... although it IS Thursday so the TV is good!). I don't even have a new recipe to share since we just ate some leftovers from earlier in the week.

Anyway, here is a list of 36 things (9 x 4) about me.

Four jobs that you have had in your life:
1. Valleyfair Merchandise Dept Team Lead (sounds alot more important than it was)
2. Minnesota Zoo intern (it was one summer for no pay, but an amazing experience)
3. Junior High Volleyball coach, Denver, IA
4. Associate scientist

Four movies you could watch over and over
1. Forrest Gump.. I think I still know all the words
2. Field of Dreams... both for the Iowa reference and the fact that I could look at Kevin Costner all day
3. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery... it still cracks me up!
4. Wedding Crashers

Four places you have lived
1. Leon, Iowa
2. Minneapolis, Minnesota (summers only)
3. Columbia, Missouri,
4. Madison, Wisconsin

Four TV shows you love to watch
1. How I met your mother
2. Anything on the food network
3. Just about any reality show on MTV (I know, I'm almost 30 but I love the Real World)
4. My name is Earl

Four places you have been on vacation
1. San Diego, California
2. Lake Superior North Shore
3. Denver, Colorado
4. Branson, Missouri... the list is really endless

Four websites you visit daily
1. www.washingtonpost.com... for soduku puzzles
2. www.msn.com... for the news
3. www.gmail.com.. to check my email
4. jjmeyer.blogspot.com

Four of your favoritie foods
1. Chocolate chip cookies
2. Buttercream frosting
3. Chin dripping peaches
4. Chicken mole

Four places you would rather be
1. San Diego
2. Mexico
3. Brazil
4. Bahamas
(the theme there was definitely warmer climates)

Four albums you cannot live without
album... what is an album?
1. Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits
2. Dixie Chicks Home
3. Our wedding CD
4. Allison Kraus and Union Station Live