Nov 18, 2012

Don't Step on the Star!

Mission GET OUT OF SALEM COUNTY was a major failure this weekend.  At this point, Drew and I are both getting South Jersey cabin fever.  We skipped our monthly trip to Connecticut since we would be seeing family a few weeks later at Thanksgiving, and 7 straight weeks down here has just been too much.  We both miss our friends and family, and desperately need a break from the parasite that resides in our home (AKA, Room Dog). Yes, RoomDog, who is currently parked on his desk chair in the middle of the living room, watching football at top volume and using his cooler-on-wheels as a computer table.  Not to mention the stench of his Tostito's cheese dip that has saturated the air.  PLEASE HELP US.  Luckily I have something amazing in the oven for dinner that is covering his stink!

Anyway, we planned on going to Philadelphia on Saturday for a change of scenery.  We thought we might check out some free museums (always looking for a deal, I am!), and then stick around for dinner at one of the many, many amazing restaurants in the city.  This plan did not happen for two reasons:
  1. My troublesome little dog just started taking medication for his itchy allergy skin flare-up, which contains a low dose of a steroid.  Steroids make dogs pee.  My dog already pees a lot.  Therefore, my dog on steroids pees even more.  Like, can't hold it all night.  There's nothing like the sound of a pee stream to wake you up at 5 am on a Saturday morning!  Soooo we were concerned that if we left him home alone all afternoon, we would come home to a guilty dog and a urine-filled house.  No fun for anyone involved.
  2. We made online dinner reservations at a sushi restaurant in the city called Fat Salmon.  The menu looked amazing, and BearFace wanted some sushi but unfortunately the restaurant later called to tell us that they were full until 9:00 that night, so our reservation was a failure.  Bearface cannot make it past 7:00 without eating, and everyone knows 9 pm is WAY past our bedtime!  
This reminded me of a story that one of the girls at work told me...apparently there is a star on one of the sidewalk blocks somewhere in Salem.  If you step on this star, you will NEVER leave Salem County.  I must have inadvertently stepped on this star, because I sure as hell feel stuck here!

Our Philadelphia trip cancelled, we decided to head over to Fort Mott State Park with Murphy for a walk.  The park is right on the Delaware Bay, and the beach had some rather impressive damage to it from Hurricane Sandy.  Nothing like Atlantic City, of course, but there were some rather larger trees that washed ashore!


My dog likes to climb stuff...


We did eventually manage to make it out of Salem County and over to Gloucester County Saturday night.  After some general confusion as to the whereabouts of the restaurant, we had a nice dinner date at Samurai Sushi in Glassboro.  Or I should say I had a nice sushi dinner.  BearFace refuses to eat raw fish, and instead orders things such as sweet potato rolls, shrimp tempura rolls, and a even chicken tempura roll! BLASPHEMY!  (I was actually slightly embarrassed to be seen in a sushi restaurant with him and his chicken).


If you think I didn't eat all of this sushi, 
you clearly don't know me very well.

We didn't even attempt to escape Salem County on Sunday, and instead resorted to our usual routine of riding, grocery shopping, and a home-cooked dinner!  As a side note, DON'T GO GROCERY SHOPPING THE SUNDAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.  Just don't do it.  Not worth it.  As a rule, I try to avoid shopping on the weekends altogether.  Unfortunately Drew likes to go with me, otherwise I would only shop on Tuesdays!  But seriously, the weekend before a holiday = absolute madness.  I thought I was going to have to take someone out to get to the cheese (and no one gets between me and my cheese).

Shopping done, we headed home to whip up a delicious dinner and tasty dessert.  I was looking forward to a relaxing evening of cooking, which was quickly ruined by RoomDog and his cheese dip.  But the wonderful aromas of this dish (which I absolutely did not share with him) covered up his stink quite well:

Kayla's Turkey Lasagna (My friend Kayla made Drew and I this dish at her house one night, and it is definitely the best lasagna I've had!)

1 pound ground turkey meat
1 box No Boil lasagna sheets
15 oz ricotta
2 cups shredded mozzarella
2 cups shredded Italian-blend cheeses
1 egg
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
2-3 cloves minced garlic
2 jars marinara sauce
Italian seasoning
Olive oil
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Brown turkey meat in olive oil.  Add about 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic. 
  3. Add 1 1/2 jars sauce to pan and cover, then simmer for 15-20 minutes.  
  4. Mix egg, ricotta, and some Italian seasoning in a bowl.  
  5. Add a thin, even layer of marinara sauce to bottom of a 13x9 glass baking pan.  
  6. Place 3 sheets of pasta on top of sauce.  Sheets should not be touching each other.
  7. Spread ricotta/egg mixture on top of sheets of pasta.
  8. Add a layer of turkey and sauce on top of ricotta.
  9. Sprinkle a layer of mozzarella or Italian cheeses on top of meat sauce.
  10. Repeat 2 more times, alternating mozzarella and Italian cheese.  
  11. For top layer, make a thick layer of mozzarella, Italian cheese, and grated Parmesan.
  12. Bake for 50-60 minutes.  Let stand to cool for 15-20 minutes after baking.  

Home-made lasagna goodness

I served this with a crusty loaf of bread for sopping up extra sauce!  But that's not all...for dessert I treated our bellies with:


I have been wanting to make this for a while, and it did not disappoint.  The texture was a bit unexpected...very moist, dense, and kind of doughy.  But the glaze had amazing flavor, and I am always in favor of moist, dense desserts!  

I am going to have to lock up our dessert somewhere RoomDog cannot get to it...in the last 4 days, he has consumed an entire half gallon of Breyer's ice cream, a pint of Ben and Jerry's, and a HUGE bag of Reese's peanut butter cups.  The only explanation for this recent over-consumption of sweets that I can come up with is that he is having his period.  Pumpkin cake, beware!

Lots of chores and errands to do tomorrow...I'm heading to Atlanta with the family on Wednesday to visit my long-lost aunt, uncle, and cousins for Thanksgiving.  I will also be seeing the lovely Jenny McCoy, who will also be in Atlanta visiting her sister.  I haven't seen her since I went to Kentucky last year, so we are both SUPER EXCITED FOR A REUNION!!  Murphy and BearFace will be going back to CT for the holidays...wonder if they'll miss me!   

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