Caramel Fondue

Here is a recipe for a caramel dip/fondue. It's really good to dip fruit, brownies, pretzels, popcorn, etc. It's really easy, try it out!

1 stick butter
20 Lg. Marshmallows
1 bag kraft caramels (use kraft, the off brand is hard to un-wrap)
1/2 C whipping cream or canned milk


Melt butter in fondue pot, then add mellows, caramels, and milk. Stir until melted. Enjoy!


If you don't have a fondue pot just do it on the stove top it will work just as well.

Legend of Sleepy Hollow

We took a day trip to Sleepy Hollow, NY today - we had lots of fun with our friends, and there wasn't any rain (but only because we hauled our umbrella around everywhere). It was such a quaint little town, and very different from the city! There were a bunch of locally-made holiday decorations lining the streets and parks of the town.

The jack-o-lantern man
Everybody non-posing in the middle of the city's gigantic cemetery. I think this is their version of Central Park. I would definitely spend a lot of time here if I lived in Sleepy Hollow - but it might be strange with all of the dead people around.

Trying my hand at some scenic pictures.
Graveyard for Washington Irving and family. Too bad the gate was locked, or else I would have gotten a closer picture. I just realized I probably could have climbed over the fence...but I'm glad I didn't. I don't need any headless horseman curses.
Here we are on the infamous bridge of Sleepy Hollow - great fall activity with lots of fun people!
- Scott

Day & Night

I've had these photos for a while now, but haven't had time to post them until now. We are fortunate to have an apartment that sits just next to the Hudson river, just south of the George Washington Bridge. When we drove here from Utah, our route basically consisted of this:

Get on I-80
Drive East for 2000 miles, give or take a few.
Continue on I-80 until it ends and turns into the George Washington Bridge
Cross the bridge, turn right, and drive 1/2 mile to our apartment

Needless to say, we have an amazing view of the bridge, the river, New Jersey, and a slice of the NYC skyline.



I saw this while eating breakfast one morning as the sun was rising, and thought it was worthy of a picture.

At night, with the lights, the bridge lights up (as well as our apartment - a nice little nightlight). On special occasions, they light up the pillars on either side of the bridge - but then it gets a little TOO bright...

Sunsets are beautiful while eating dinner - except when the sun reflects off the surface of the river at just the right angle. It's like the river becomes the sun...and we go blind...but only for a few minutes.

- Scott

We bought our tickets...

To fly to home to Utah for Christmas!

Scott and I finally purchased tickets to go home for Christmas. We were trying to wait until I got a job to make sure I could get the times off. But, I haven't gotten a job yet so we decided to buy them before they got too expensive. I heard that plane tickets go cheaper on Wednesday mornings so I compared the prices each day to see. Sure enough this morning the plane tickets we wanted dropped in price so we bought them. We will be in Utah for almost 2 weeks---I am excited! So...if you live in Utah, see you in a couple months!

Salisbury Steak Recipe

I was trying to think of what we could make for Sunday Dinner and I realized we had a lot of hamburger. I went online and googled recipes with hamburger and this is what I found. I made it and it ended up being really good!

1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (I just used dried, and sprinkled it in until it looked good)
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Saute onions and garlic in 1-1/2 tablespoons butter until translucent and set aside. Mix beef in bowl with eggs, bread crumbs, parsley, and cooled onion mixture. Form mixture into 6 patties and saute in pan with 1 tablespoon of butter until golden brown on both sides. Set aside in a casserole dish. Patties should still be pink inside.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in pan and add 3 tablespoons flour. Cook 1 minute and whisk in 1-1/2 cup beef broth. Pour over patties in casserole.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes

Yield: 6 Servings

I served this dish with mashed potatoes, Yum!

2012 - Adam Lambert

If you like Adam Lambert check this out! His song is going to be on the movie 2012 coming out. I think that's pretty cool!

2012 - Adam Lambert Music Teaser - Moviefone

Recipes I've Made Lately

I made these recipes lately and really liked them! I love finding recipes that are good and would like to share them. I found these recipes online.

Artichoke Chicken
Ingredients:
8 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 jars (6 ounces each) marinated quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups chicken broth

Directions:
In a skillet, brown chicken in butter. Remove chicken to an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; do not drain pan juices. Arrange artichokes on top of chicken; set aside.

Saute onion in pan juices; blend in flour, rosemary, salt and pepper. Add chicken broth; cook until thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat and spoon over chicken.

Cover and bake at 350° for 50 to 60 minutes or until chicken is tender. Serve chicken with sauce.

Yield: 8 Servings


Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
No-Stick Cooking Spray
8 6-inch corn tortillas
Salt
2 tablespoons Oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 can (15 1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes, with juice
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies, drained
1 package (1 1/4 ounces) taco seasoning mix
2 cans (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth
1 tablespoons lime juice
Shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped cilantro
Sour cream
Lime slices (optional)

Directions:
Spray a baking sheet and both sides of the corn tortillas with No Stick Cooking Spray. Slice the tortillas into strips; sprinkle lightly with salt. Place on baking sheet; bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp and lightly browned. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat Crisco Canola Oil over medium high heat. Add onions and saute until soft. Add chicken, corn, beans, tomatoes, chilis and taco seasoning; stir to combine. Add chicken broth; stir. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, 10-15 minutes. Stir in lime juice.

To serve, place a few tortilla strips into soup bowl; ladle soup over. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Top with remaining tortilla strips. Garnish with sour cream and a lime slice.

Family Visit

My parents and three of my siblings came out to visit us in NYC this past weekend! It was so fun to have them here! It was nice to be able to have something to do during the day. We did a lot of fun things, some things that I haven't done yet. We went to Lombardi's one night which is the original New York pizza place. It is really good! I got to go with my family on a shuttle tour while Scott was in class. It was fun to see a lot of the sights since I haven't seen some of them yet. My family got to see our apartment and neighborhood in Washington Heights. I'm sure if you ask any of them the will tell you that our neighborhood is quite different than Utah. We were able to go to a Dominican restaurant with them which they all enjoyed. The restaurant is called El Malecon which is just a short walk away. We also walked across the Brooklyn Bridge which was really cool! I'll have to go do it sometime at night. We went in the morning which was cool, but I think it would be fun with all of the lights. We went to Mary Poppins which was really good! The sets were cool! My brothers were also able to go to the Priesthood Session with Scott which they watched in the same building that the Manhatten temple is in. We did all of this in just a couple days along with a few more things I'm sure I missed! It was so good to see them! This weekend definitely wore me out---not used to doing that much in a short period of time. Now it is already getting boring around here. I miss them already! Come again soon!

Brrr, it's not too cold over here!

I thought it has been cold here in New York City being in the mid 50's to low 60's.... but, then I looked at the weather in Utah... 46 degrees today! Brr.... makes me cold just thinking about it. For all of you in Utah---I wish you luck!

Yay! More Mail!

It makes me so happy when I get something in the mail! It was a very pleasant surprise to see this envelope from my family in Utah.

What's inside the card?

School pictures of my little bro and sis: Cody and Courtney! These are going in a frame! I have good looking siblings--No fair they didn't have to go through an awkward stage like I did in Jr. High and High School. Love you family, thanks for the pictures!

My cool new find...

I was watching Rachael Ray and it was all about saving money and clipping coupons. They mentioned the website http://www.alice.com/ to save money on things like shampoo, soap, snacks, paper products, etc. You should check it out! It automatically applies coupons to what you order and the shipping is free. I just barely submitted my first order! I bought things like foil, index cards, bleach, granola bars, etc. The best part is I didn't have to pay any shipping! It talks about it on Rachael Ray's website: "Keeps track of the items you use most, finds coupons, and reminds you what's running low! Discount for Rachael Ray viewers - spend $50 and receive $10 off!" I just wanted to share my find with all of you. I have learned living in New York City that delivery and low prices are a major convenience!

More Job Interviews!

Since we have lived in New York City I have had 5 job interviews! Doesn't sound like a lot but before we moved I had only had 2 job interviews in my whole life! This is a different thing for me, but I'm getting better at it. I'm hoping that something good will come from all of these interviews. If not, I'm just going to become a pro-interviewer. I have had 2 interviews in the past two days and they are jobs that I am really interested in. I'll just be patient and wait...

Secret Service Guys Everywhere....

I had a job interview today and on the way we saw a lot of secret service guys. My first thought was that Pres. Obama must be in town---turns out he is! We're not positive that it was for him, but it's a good guess. After my interview there were even more! Then, while Scott and I were waiting at the bus stop there were a lot of black cars driving by with secret service guys sticking their heads out checking things out with sirens going. It was quite a disturbance on the street. We never did get a glimpse of anyone famous, but it was an experience seeing so much security

This Made My Day...

I got a package from my older sister Amber!

Thanks Am!
Pictures colored by my niece Taesya and nephew Canon, and one from Am
And pictures of the Kids!
Getting mail is so fun!

Operation

I shadowed my first doctor last week here at Columbia, and it was one of the highlights of my education so far! He is an orthopaedic surgeon, specializing in the hip and knee. To give you a brief run-through of my experience, I stumbled through the hospital trying to find the right elevators and offices, had to ask directions to find the operating rooms, wandered some more, and finally had to ask random nice lady in the OR recovery room where the doctor was that I was supposed to meet. She told me that he must have already gone into surgery early (but in reality, he was just running behind a lot, and started his previous case very very late).

"Just go find him in room 10," she said.

So I'm thinking to myself, "What? Are you crazy? You expect me to just walk right in there??" However, the only thing that comes out is, "Ok." . . . . . . "WAIT, I'm sorry, I'm new to this whole thing..."

So she helped me find where I needed to go, and then in I go to room 10. And while I was feeling completely out of place throughout this entire experience, no one ever questioned my legitimacy as I wandered through the inner corridors of the operating rooms with my trusty name badge.

Sparing all the surgical details, I got to watch a total hip replacement, and a partial knee replacement. I came away with an entirely new appreciation for surgeons and what they do. There are a lot of specialties in medicine that I think are somewhat interesting, but I never really know if it would be my "thing." But after that experience, I told Ashley that "I could totally see myself doing that for a living."

- Scott