Giving Back

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Josh took his first service trip to the region. Being the handyman that he is and having the good heart that I fell in love with he committed himself to helping rebuild New Orleans. Josh also has inspired many of his students over the years to take the trip with him and lend a hand. 

Nearly 6 years later there is still work to be done. Hundreds of people still live in trailers in their front yard, and thousands are still waiting for the means to rebuild their homes.  Many people are living in partially gutted houses and families are packed into small apartments.

For the fifth year, Josh and a group of his students are heading down to help in the rebuilding effort. They are once again working with the amazing and inspiring St Bernard Project. During this time the look of the devastation has changed, but the mission is still the same. Help residents return home, because everyone should be able to go home.

Because not everyone can help with their hands, here is a great opportunity to help raise money to pay for building supplies. You can bid on Boston Celtics tickets with media notes, Kaplan SAT/ACT course voucher, or New England Patriots Celebrity Basketball tickets.

Please visit http://gannnola.blogspot.com to help support this great cause.

Product Test

Thursday is product testing day I guess. Last week it was Chobani, this week, plastic wrap.

For years Josh and I have been looking for the perfect plastic wrap. For some reason, we have struck out time and time again. Since we are so into buying in bulk, cooking for dinner and our freezer, and not letting our food spoil, effective plastic warp is an essential kitchen tool. And until now, we did not have a good tool at all.

The first plastic wrap we bought was Glad Cling Wrap

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The Glad was fine, but didn't work as well as we wanted. It stuck very well to itself, but not to our bowls (unless they were glass). We found that with our plates, any paper products, or many of our non-glass serving pieces, Glad did not hold up.

The next plastic wrap we tried was Saran Wrap.

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We figured thebrand that the product is named after would be the best one to buy. Saran did not live up to our standards. Again it was great for glass and some ceramic, but not everything. It was also hard to get out  It was better than most, but not ideal.

Finally we tried Stretch-Tite. It was as if all of our plastic warp prayers were answered.

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Stretch-Tite sticks to everything! It creates a great seal around every bowl, dish, and plate we own. It is easy to use, never gets stuck, and lasts a long time. Since we started using stretch-tite our food has been fresher and lasting longer. We could not be happier with our choice to use stretch-tite.

While I'm at it, I can not say enough good things about Reynolds Wrap Heavy Duty aluminum foil.

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There is nothing this stuff can't do. If you haven't tried cooking with it or using it to save left overs, you have to. You will not be disappointed.

Are there any every day kitchen items that you have found work better than others?

Once An Eagle!

Always An Eagle!
 AU! 

I spent 4 wonderful years at American University studying politics, hanging out with friends, and watching AU Men's Basketball. Us Eagles, we love our school and love our basketball team.

Check this out!

Pat Green

The best day of the year has come and gone...and it did not disappoint. Pat Green was everything I remembered. He was funny, entertaining, and an amazing guitarist. He played all of his best songs, sang directly to me (in my dreams), and he kept the house rocking all night long. It was pure country bliss!

The show took place at the House of Blues. I love seeing shows at the House of Blues in Boston. It is such a cool venue. It is small enough that you get to interact with the artist but large enough that you feel the energy of the crowd pulsing through your veins. No one rocks the House of Blues like Pat Green. He is hands down the best artist to see in a club like venue. He works the room like no other. He literally makes you feel like he is singing just to you (or me), especially the love songs :)

This year my friend Emily joined Josh and I at the Pat Green show. While it was her first Pat concert, she is a country fanatic like me. She even has the boots to prove it...we both do!

Emily and I had a blast at the show together. We chatted, danced, and sang our hearts out. There is nothing, I mean nothing, like going to a concert with an old girlfriend.

First up for the night was Wade Bowen. Emily and I enjoyed him, but Josh loved him. Wade definitely gained a true fan that night. His music was entertaining and uplifting. It was also cool to learn that he and Pat were old friends and they had written some of my most favorite songs together. Wade was a great opening act!

But after Wade finished, the real fun started. While I got ready for Pat's arrival, Emily and Josh took a minute to pose for the paparazzi a picture.

From the minute Pat came on the stage to the minute he left it was pure perfection. He sang every song I could have wanted to hear from Southbound 35 to Three Days to Feels Just Like It Should to Way Back Texas to Wave on Wave.

As if that all wasn't cool enough, a girl in the crowd asked where in Texas I was from because no one from around here could ever love Pat and his songs like I did. I just smiled big and said, nope, I'm from here. She was shocked and I was tickled. This Massachusetts girl LOVES Pat Green!

And fun nights out at concerts with her husband!

Pat Green 2011 was far and away one of the best yet.

Disappearing Act

Let me let you in a little secret. For all of our healthy eating and constant working out, both Josh and I always fall victim to treats. And while all treats move quickly in our house, none moves faster than brownies.

Brownies are so easy to make and so delicious to eat! They also sell the parve Duncan Hines brownie mix at BJ's so of course we always have an enormous stash in the basement. Needless to say, brownies are often in our house.

 
But, as often as we do make them, it still amazes me how quickly they can go from this:

to this:

That's right, the average life expectancy of brownies in our house is about 2 days...or shorter than I have the ability to photograph them.

Twice Is Nice

When Josh went downstairs to get some potatoes to make dinner, the oddest thing happened. I still can't believe I am about to write this, but in order to make the following recipe Josh had to go out to the store and buy some potatoes. I was shocked! I mean, after the great potato overbuy of 2010 I never thought we would ever, ever run out of potatoes. But alas, we did. Well, we only ran out of the regular potatoes, we still have 4-5 sweet potatoes left.

After we purchased our potatoes, Josh made the most tasty concoction I could have ever imagined, Twice Baked Stuffed Potatoes with Broccoli and Cheese. YUM! Although it did take a while to make this dinner, and it was not the most healthy option ever, the taste alone was well worth the wait and the calories. This was one delicious meal!

Ingredients:
3 large potatoes
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheddar Cheese
Paprika
2 green onions

Directions:
Start by baking the potatoes at 425-450 degrees for about 45-60 minutes. Be sure to poke some holes in the potatoes before baking.

Once the potatoes are baked, slice off the top of the potato. This should happen easily once they are soft.

Scoop out the insides of the potato and place them into a bowl.

Mash the potato insides with the sour cream, butter, salt, pepper until there is a smooth consistency.

Next, combine the cheese, broccoli, and onions into the mixture.

Finally, refill the potato skins with the mixture created above. Top each skin off with any remaining cheese or broccoli. Don't forget to sprinkle the top with paprika.

Bake the potatoes at 425 degrees for another 20-25 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle a few more green onions over the top of the potatoes. Last, but certainly not least, eat and enjoy!

Well Hello There

I love when things work out!

Last week Josh and I were faced with yet another homeowners dilemma. Do we try to fix our dryer or replace it? After finding out just how old our dryer was, and washer for that matter, the cost of fixing it felt a little pricey. And, there was no guarantee that if we had someone come out to look at the dryer that they could fix it.

After much back and forth and a few pro/con lists, we decided to take advantage of a Sears sale and purchased a new dryer. Then we were faced with another homeowners dilemma. Do we replace the only the dryer and hope that the washer lives long past its life expectancy, or replace the washer too? This was a tough decision, but in the end was a lot easier of a choice. There was no question in our minds that we were the kind of people who would buy a new dryer and their washer would die a few weeks later. That's just our luck.

And so, last week, we bit the bullet and bought a new washer and dryer set. In the 3 days it took for the new set to arrive I was filled with doubt. Did we make the right choice? Did we buy the right set? Did we jump into this big decision without thinking it through?

And then our new washer and dryer came and there was no doubt in my mind. This set is wonderful! It cleans and drys our clothes significantly faster than our old set and uses a lot less water and energy. It also sings a pleasant song when it is done. How great is that! I can honestly say that without a shadow of a doubt we made the right choice! I love using our new set :)