Dish-o-the-week: Broccoli and Cheese Casserole

Today we're trying out a Broccoli and Cheese Casserole, slow-cooker recipe for the dish-o-the-week.  Who doesn't love cheese, and broccoli, and garlic, and salt, and heart attacks?  I mean come on it's delicious together.  If you're eating well, or trying to avoid the goodness that is cheese, then be warned, stay away from this post.College students, Grad students, busy people everywhere....meet your new best friend...the crock pot!  Was that not epic enough?  Let's try it again....THE CROCK POT!!!  Better?  I kinda feel like I should be saying, "RELEASE THE KRAKEN'!!"  Anyone? Anyone? The crock pot (or you could call it the Kraken if you like) is a delightful invention.  Speed Racer's Aunt and Uncle gave him this particular one back in his bachelor days, so he could have dinner ready when he got back from work.  You really can go as blinged out as you want with a slow cooker these days.  They have digital displays, timers, inserts, stainless steel, and lots and lots of gizmos.  If you do not want to spend money right now do not look at William Sonoma's website, fo real.  I just did for some "research" and I am sorry.  Now that I have told you how much I love my crock pot, we can move on.  But really I love my, I mean "OUR", crock pot.

So first things first, you want to boil yourself some rice.

Next up, chopping up some celery.  You really don't need specific measurements for this recipe.  It's pretty basic and in the end you are just mixing everything together, so pretty much just put in how much you want of each, and what will fit in your crock pot.

And of course you will want to thaw some broccoli or cook some fresh broccoli.  I went totally lazy on this recipe, so most of my stuff is store bought.  Sorry fans.  I also added cream of chicken soup, salt, pepper, garlic, mushrooms, and cheese sauce.  Like I said, not the healthiest recipe in the world, but hopefully it will be yummy.

One of my friends who also uses her crock pot a lot would have actually made chicken broth from a chicken, instead of the can.  But I bought the can, I even bought the discount can.  What can I say?

Then you mix it alllllllll together.

And Ta-da!  I can't tell  you how it tastes yet, because we haven't eaten it yet.  It was prepped this morning.  So jury is still out on that, I could be giving you a recipe that tastes absolutely horrible.  But I will let you know.  I put mine together pretty early, so right now it's in the fridge.  You want to cut it on low and cook for about an hour and a half (until it's warm all the way through) before you serve.  Enjoy!

Evening Escape

After a long day of editing and writing, Speed Racer and I just absolutely had to get out of the house last night.  We didn't want to spend money, and we wanted to just talk and relax, so we headed to the mountains.  It wasn't as relaxing as planned (there was a lot of traffic) but we did manage to get some photos!

We headed up to Cade's Cove, which as you know from previous posts, is one of my favorite places to go.  As Speed Racer pointed out last night, it's also always kinda hard going there, because it's so similar to where we use to live.  It does make us a little home sick at times, but it's also nice to get some fresh air.

The rest of his turkey friends were too fast for me, sneaky sneaky turkeys.

It's like being on safari!  I'm not lying, half the time I'm in Cade's Cove I expect a T-Rex to come attack our vehicle like in Jurassic Park.

You can't see it, because I didn't have a long enough lens, but there were two beautiful bucks in this field.

We had a little company.

It was a gorgeous night.

I was kind of in love with this tree.

There are lots of pictures of it.

Lots.

I'm sorry.

I....

Love...

It.

It's official.  It's going on my wall.

The Enderson Family

Last night I met up with the Enderson Family at their beautiful home.  They decided to take advantage of the Summer Portrait Special and have some family portraits taken.  They were wonderful, and we had a lot of fun despite the heat!

Busy Weekend

Speed Racer and I had a very busy weekend.  Although there was some down time (like when I took a nap because, let's just face it, there was no way I could stay awake anymore) in between everything going on.  Mostly we worked on our house and yard.  What most people don't realize is that with both of us being primarily freelance, our weekends often get taken up with work, so when we have a free weekend, we have to catch up on maintenance and improvements on the house. 

To catch up on all the updates, improvements, and messes we've made (and haven't posted about since November, eek!) click here.

I was also in a baking mood...and when I get in a baking mood there is no stopping me.  On Thursday night I baked a cherry pie, on Friday I made homemade spaghetti sauce (a recipe I'm going to share with you, hooray for you!), and then Saturday morning I baked two blueberry pies (with made from scratch crust of course) before we started the days work.

Now some of you may think "Wow, that's great that you baked all that stuff, you must be really motivated!" But for those of you who know me, baking is always therapy in some way...a way to stay busy.  Right now I find myself in an interesting employment situation, I am part time employed by another photographer, Rebecca Claire Photography.  I am also trying do some of my own photography on the side, and due to the summer turning out differently than planned and the financial status of just about everything right now, I am also looking for a part time job for some extra cash in my pocket.  Although I would not say I have a lot of down time, between photo shoots, editing, marketing, and filling out applications.  I have had some at home time however,  to realize how big a job budgeting, looking for deals, and cooking from scratch can be.  I am both busy all the time and not employed all the time.  It's a weird situation to be in, and can be discouraging sometimes.  So I guess what I'm trying to say is, my hat's off to you home makers out there!  It's a full time job and I don't even have little munchkins to distract me.  And it's an important job, and a harder job than you think.

On a lighter note:  Here is my recipe for home made spaghetti sauce!  I like to take snippets from other recipes until I can combine something that I like.  This is what I came up with.

What you'll need: 6 med tomatoes peeled and chopped, 2 green onions minced, 1/2 white onion, minced, 3 Tbsp minced parsley (I used dried), 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp. sugar,  or 1/2 tbsp. dried basil, 1/8 tsp. pepper, 2 garlic cloves minced, 1 tsp. oregano, 1 bay leaf, 1 (4 oz.) mushrooms, 1/4c. flour and of course Spaghetti!

First you will want to peel and chop the tomatoes.  If you haven't done this before, it's a lot easier than it sounds.  Prepare a bowl with ice water and ice cubes in it.  Then boil another pot of water.  While your water is starting to boil core your tomatoes and on the underside score them with an "X".  This just provides an easy place to start to peel the skin.  Once your water is boiling, add your tomatoes.  Leave them in the boiling water for about 20 secs, then move them into the ice water for another 20 secs, repeat one more time with each.  After they have cooled in the ice water you should see the skin start to crinkle, at that point it's very easy to just peel off.

Chop your garlic, green onions, white onion, and tomatoes.  I sauteed the onions and garlic first in some olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan.  Then I turned the heat off, added the tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients except for the flour, mushrooms, and spaghetti.

I let this sit, unheated for about 2 hours to let the flavors mix.  Then about an hour and a half before I wanted to serve, I cut it on high until it began to bubble, then turned it down to low to simmer uncovered for the rest of the time.

I had some trouble with mine thickening up, so I sprinkled in some flour.  You may want to sprinkle some, mix, wait a little while and then add some more until you get yours to your desired thickness.  This is definitely a personal thing.  Some people like theirs runny, some people like their sauce thick.  About a half hour before dinner time, I added the mushrooms and of course got started on the spaghetti noodles.

Then, presto!  You've got yourself some spaghetti with fresh spaghetti sauce.  This made just enough for Speed Racer and I so you may want to double the recipe if you've got a bigger family.  It turned out pretty fabulous if I do say so myself, but the real cause for that was the fantastic tomatoes that our neighbors provided us with.  They were soooo tangy!  So make sure you choose your tomatoes wisely, my friends.

Now I'm off for another week of photos, editing, applications, house work, house maintenance, cooking, and who knows what else.  Happy Monday.

Camera Basics: Depth of Field

On our last camera basics post we talked about camera settings and Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and Manual.  We lightly touched on what aperture is and depth of field, as well as shutter speed.  Today we're going to talk about how aperture affects your depth of field and how depth of field affects your pictures. Depth of field is literally, the "field" in your photograph that is sharp or in focus.  Your aperture is what determines your depth of field.  Smaller aperture number 2.8 means the larger the opening in the camera is (I know it's confusing it's backwards!), the higher the number like 22 the smaller the hole and the more that is going to be in focus.  Let's use some pictures to illustrate, that always helps me figure it out a little better, and after all this is a photography site!

For example if your aperture is set at 2.8 (wide open) you are going to have a shorter depth of field, meaning the things closer to you will be in focus and the background is going to be soft and out of focus.  Here is a prime example of that.  The red circle highlights the area that is in focus while the background is out of focus.

Here is another example.  In this photograph my aperture is set at 5.0, shifting the depth of field more towards the middle.  Now I am highlighting the corner of the lantern (yes it's a funky lantern, oh the things we use for examples).  This allows the closest part of the object to go out of focus, while also keeping the background out of focus.

Again, as we continue up the aperture numbers, this is at about an 8.0.

And all the way up.  Now, even though aperture controls your depth of field, the point on which you decide to focus on is obviously also going to change what is in focus and what is out.  For example if I were to zoom out in this photograph but keep my aperture at 12-22, then everything would be in focus, not just the back ground.  But I am choosing to focus on the background.  But I am also able to do that because of my aperture being set at the higher setting.  Confused yet?

Sometimes it helps if you take your camera lens off of automatic focus, set it to manual and then set your aperture.  See when you move the focus what is in focus and what can't be in focus at that setting.  That will give you a little better idea of what I mean.

Most of the time I prefer a short depth of field, meaning I keep my camera at 2.8 a lot.  I think it just adds an intimate feeling to the photographs.  But even in this picture I should have paid attention a little bit more and got his little antennae in focus as well.  Focus and depth of field help you tell the viewer what is important to you.

Like pretty flowers...

And tomatoes...

Here is another example of changing the depth of field within the letters on the truck...

A little bit farther out on the focus...

More over all in focus.

Although I prefer the shorter depth of field, there are times when having everything in focus is nice.   Like for large sweeping landscapes, or group shots, or big honkin' trucks.  If you take a landscape picture for example at a shorter depth of field (but you want it all in focus) it may look all in focus at the time, but then you'll get it home, put it in photoshop and go, "why is that mountain back there fuzzy?" Same with group shots, it will look wonderful but then you'll exclaim when poor ol' Uncle Bob is all fuzzy.

The only last thing to remember is that as you're changing your aperture, remember that you have to adjust your other elements like shutter and ISO to compensate for your lighting.  So, if you're in Aperture Priority (AV) your shutter will adjust for you.  But remember to change your ISO if you're going from inside to out, or sun to shade.  If you're in Manual, remember to keep your eye on that light meter in your viewfinder and change your shutter speed when you adjust your aperture.  Now go out there and have some fun with depth of field!!

Dish-o-the-week: Butternut Squash Baked with Tomatoes and Cheese

Last week Speed Racer had a hankerin' for a dish his Step-Mom use to make, Butternut Squash Baked with Tomatoes and Cheese.  She delightfully shared the recipe with me and it is this weeks, dish-o-the-week! 

That's right you heard me!  My first non-Pioneer Woman dish-o-the-week!  Ha!  I'm not an addict.  I'm not sure what cookbook this recipe is from, but pretty much the name explains the recipe.  You chop up butternut squash, saute it, saute some onions, add pepper and salt, put it in a casserole and add tomatoes and cheese.  Then pop it in the oven and wait for the delicious to seep in.

So first thing's first.  You peel and cut up the butternut squash.  Admittedly I've never cooked anything with butternut squash before, so this was a new experience.  A frustrating new experience.  I don't know if it was my peeler or me, but peeling with a potato peeler did not work.  So, after some help from Speed Racer when my frustrated sighs brought him into the kitchen, I switched to a knife.  Then you have to clean out the seeds...which is kinda like cleaning out a pumpkin.

It's pretty amazing I didn't cut off my finger.  I was frustrated, it was not working, and I started on this too late so I was really really hungry.  Not a good combo.

Speed Racer was enjoying taking frustrated pictures of me.  He only enjoyed the picture taking though, not the frustration...or did he?

Finally, I got all the squash chopped up and in the pan.  It smelled delicious with all that oil and butter.  If I were to do this again, I would go for smaller chunks though.  But that's just me.

Next I chopped up some green onions which was far easier than the squash.

Yum, I love me some onions.

Next we layered these over the squash in the casserole dish.  Then sauteed up some tomatoes that our lovely neighbors shared with us.  They were divine.  Just the right mix of tangy and sweetness.  And I put these over the onions, and then grated the cheese.

Delicious delicious cheese.  It turned out pretty well, I should have sauteed the squash a bit longer but live and learn.  Speaking of learning, Speed Racer's Step-Mom had doubled the recipe and added little numbers on each side, but I wasn't sure how many people that was for.  So thinking that it was just the two of us, I stuck with the recipe thinking it would be enough.  And it was, I guess.   I don't know about you, but I like my leftovers.  Usually the dish-o-the-week is precisely that.  It feeds us for the entire week.  Oh well, we just might have to cook up something extra this week.  There may also be some baking in my future, so stay tuned.

Anniversary Party

Last Tuesday before I got the Plague, I was invited to take pictures of my Aunt and Uncle's Anniversary Party.  It was a great time and we had several opportunities to take some much needed family pictures. 

It was one of those classic summer parties, there was seafood, laughter, kids, kisses, hugs, big kids eating baby food (do not try that at home), lightening bugs, prayers, Eskimo kisses, and lots of Red Light Green Light.  But most importantly we were able to celebrate what a wonderful couple my Aunt and Uncle are, and the great example they have set for all of us.

Thank you both for letting me take photos of you (thanks to your sneaky daughter) and more importantly thank you for being a wonderful Aunt and Uncle to me.  Aunt Carol thank you for encouraging my love of art and photography, for being willing to make mud pies with me at the cabin, for nursing me when I inevitably would fall down your basement stairs, and for being my name's sake.  Uncle Walt, thank you for teaching me how to fish and your patience when I caught fish and you didn't, thank you for teaching me your love of nature and letting me quietly enjoy it with you, and thank you for always sharing your stories with me and being willing to listen to mine in return.  I love you both and I hope you enjoy the photos!

Hard Knox

So I realized today that after all this time of posting about places I like and the rural area around my house, that I haven't posted any downtown Knoxville pictures! 

I really do love downtown.  It has the feel of a small town main street but with a lot more to do.  So without further ado, here are some of my favorite downtown pics.

It's funny, Speed Racer always seems to sneak into my pictures.  Weird huh?

Food Poisoning: Not for the light of heart

It was 7:00 AM.  Why was I awake?  I looked around the guest bedroom at my brother's house for some sort of explanation.  I love sleep, I don't usually wake up on my own unless there is a reason.  But everything appeared as normal as can be.  I started to roll over and go back to sleep when it came again, a pain in my gut so violent it could have been a contraction.  I instantly went into the fetal position and tried not to cry out.  Eventually I eased out of bed and went downstairs to where my brother Warnie was reading, he looked up quizzically as I entered.

"I think I might be sick," I whined.

"Oh no.  Well let's get you something easy on your stomach to eat.  Maybe eating a little something will help," he said.

He is such a good brother.  After bringing me a plain bagel, peppermint tea and some pepto he sat and ate with me while we watched some Daily Show.   The stomach cramps finally started to ease and we started talking again.  Today was the day I was suppose to be leaving to head back to Knoxville.

"Thanks for the food, I really do feel better," I said smiling.  Food always makes me feel better.

"No problem, I'm glad you're feeling better."

I smiled and walked towards the kitchen to put my plate up.  Suddenly, I put my plate down and dashed to the hall bathroom.  I puked my guts out.

When I came back Warnie looked concerned, "I thought you said you felt better!"

"I did feel better!" I said, equally frustrated.

A look of horror crossed his face, and I could see something dawning there that he was not excited about.  "Maybe your pregnant..." he said.

"I'm not pregnant." I said, matter-o-factly.  There was no way.

"We could get you a pregnancy test if you wanted..." You could tell he was saying this to ease my mind, he didn't really want to.  No big brother wants to get their little sister a pregnancy test, no matter how old they are, or if they're married.  Really I think it's probably still pretty weird for older brothers when their little sisters get pregnant period.  But he loves me, so he was willing to do that for me.

"That's ok, seriously, I think I'm just sick."

As the morning progressed, there was lots more puking.  I couldn't keep water down.  I got a fever.  I got a splitting headache.  And all hopes of moving, eating, or working subsided.  I gave in to my caretakers and just laid on the couch and watched "The Blind Side," which I loved.  I have an incredible soft spot for feel good football movies, they make me cry.

Between listening to wonderful quotes from Sandra Bullock's character like, "If you so much as set foot downtown, you will be sorry. I'm in a prayer group with the D.A., I'm a member of the NRA and I'm always packing," and racing to the bathroom to pray to the porcelain gods, I decided it was undeniable.  I had food poisoning.

If I have ever known you and known you had food poisoning, and took it lightly...I am sorry.  Next time, I will come hold your hand and hold your hair.  It's that bad.  Luckily mine only lasted for 24 hours.  Once I had purged my system I was a lot better.  Wednesday night my 102 fever finally broke and the next morning I braved the 8 hour drive home.  Luckily, I split it up over 2 days and stopped at my parents house half way there, still exhausted and weak.

I'm just now getting back to normal.  The thought of some foods still make me queasy, and I'm still tired.   But that is why, dear readers, I did not post all last week.  I hope you'll forgive me, but I had the plague.

Independence Day

I spent a great 4th of July weekend with my family first at our cabin and then enjoying some in town festivities.  I ran into some friends as well and just thoroughly enjoyed myself.  It's always hard going home because there are so many people to see!  Sadly I was absent Speed Racer, but he was busy with his own tale (more on that later).  I am however, still out and about on my travels so this is going to be another quick post.  But here are a few pictures of the 4th festivities to give you an idea of all the fun we had.