Ham and Cheese Panini... oh my.

Our cable has been out for the past month or so-- so that means no Food Network, which really bums me out. However my Internet is NOT down, so I got on Food Network's website and found a sandwich that Ann Burrell had made... And that is how I discovered Sweet Pepper Relish. Oh my gracious-- it's so good.

Ciabata Bread
Smoked Ham
Provolone and Swiss Cheese
Sweet Pepper Relish
Slices of Red Onion
Olive Oil

Cut the bread in half and drizzle the olive oil in the bread. Put a thin layer of the relish on (I did it only on half the bread, but do it on both sides if you choose). Layer the Provolone and Swiss on one side of the bread and several slices of ham on the other. Put the thin slices of onion on. Spray your panini maker and cook/bake until the cheese is melty and gooey.

It's a GREAT sandwich--- that Sweet Pepper Relish is sweet and spicy, and so good.

Yummy goodness.

4th of July fun..

Josh and I went up to Kentucky this weekend to see his family and celebrate the 4th with everyone. His aunt, Shelly, had a cookout and fireworks "show" at her house. Now I love the Beam side of the family-- they're a lot like my family- laid back, fun, silly, etc. There are more children in this family which always makes the gatherings more interesting and definitely funny.

Josh and I were getting ready to head out to Shelly's house, and we were trying to figure out if we were going to Paisley or not. I really didn't want to because she's a big girl, and I didn't want either one of us to have to deal with her. But Josh brought up a very good point, "If we take her, then she'll get worn out. And she'll sleep-- if she sleeps, we sleep." So we took her.

It's a good thing we did!!! Everyone- adult and child- loved on her... EVERYONE!!! The kids gave her Cheetos and bites of cake and hotdogs... but the greatest Paisley had was a marshmallow. Now this was no ordinary marshmallow- this was a little girl's marshmallow. Here's what happened.

There's a three year old little girl named Abigail who is the cutest, funniest, drama queeniest thing EVER. She can cry and pooch that lip out at the drop of a hat. All the kids were outside getting their marshmallows ready for the campfire. Abigail had come back inside, for whatever reason, and was standing in the doorway. She had her little bowl with her marshmallow inside when all of a sudden you see this black and white thing take a couple of steps towards her. The nose goes into the bowl, and you see Paisley starting chomping on something. Everyone's trying to pull Paisley back and they're yelling, "Paisley!! Come here!!! What's in your mouth?? What do you have???!!" Then you see Abigail's face drop. She looks in her bowl and looks at Paisley like, "What just happened there?" Then you see the chin quiver and the little mouth turn into a frown. Someone said, "Abigail.. what did Paisley do?!" She responds very soft and meek, "She. Just. Ate. My. Marshmallow." Everything changes after that-- we started laughing hysterically, and Abigail walks outside and starts crying and screaming, "PAISLEY ATE MY MARSHMALLOW!!!!!"

After the fireworks are done, Abigail comes back in and walks towards us but definitely keeps her distance from the marshmallow stealing thief. Josh asks her, "Are you still mad at Paisley for eating your marshmallow?" And her little head nods. Of course after two or three minutes have passed, Abigail is loving on Paisley-- and the whole "Paisley stole my marshmallow" thing is over. But oh it was great!!!!!

First Attempt...

I was off this very hot, humid Monday afternoon and went to our favorite park- Reep Park- to do a photo shoot with two very hot chicks. Josh had done a shoot with one of the girls before, but this time it was her and one of her friends. After the two hour shoot was over, Josh and I were getting ready to pack it up and go home when I annoyed him and said, "Can we go pick some blackberries?" There are several wild vines on the path down to the water and trails, so we loaded everything up and went back down to pick blackberries.

As we were picking our two quarts I got a bright idea, I'm going to attempt to do a blackberry cobbler. And I must say that it turned out VERY, VERY well. Here's the recipe:

4 cups of fresh blackberries
1 cup of sugar

Cook/simmer over medium or medium-low heat until the syrup forms and the berries are sweet.

1/2 cup oats
1/2 flour
1/2 brown sugar
1/4 cup softened or melted butter

Crumble everything together.

Put the berries into a loaf pan and put the crumble mixture on top of the berries. Bake for about 30-35 minutes. When it comes out, add whip cream or vanilla ice cream and voila--- wonderful blackberry cobbler/crumble.

The Biggest Pet Peeves EVER..

It seems to be a daily complaint to my husband (God bless him) about the fact that I am underestimated and second guessed--- ALWAYS!!! I shocked a fellow co-worker today when I told her, "I put on a good front," because she always thought I was happy where I was.. which I am to a certain extent.. BUT when it's a daily thing-- it gets old and tiring and stressful.

Now I'm not saying I'm perfect because I'm not... I make mistakes and forget to do things- BUT don't ever underestimate me. If I don't know or if I do make a mistake, I'm a big enough person to say, "Hey I screwed up." I'm a good speller- don't ever ask me to spell something and then turn around to use your dictionary to look the word up b/c 9 out of 10 times, I'm right. Trust me.

Don't blame me for something that you did when it clearly says that YOU did it. And if you do, have the freakin decency to apologize.

Don't ever cut me off when I'm trying to tell you something important... OMFG... this happens several times a day. At first I just shut up and let people talk-- now I'm like, "OKAY like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." Or I will just go ask someone else and get my answers. Fortunately my doctor has recognized this and says, "Amanda what were you going to say?!" Interrupting people is the rudest thing another person can do. I don't open my mouth and talk much, but when I do-- you better freakin guarantee that it's important-- especially where patients are concerned. Don't cut me off in mid-sentence because you THINK you know what I'm going to say when you really don't.

I roll my eyes a lot and shake my head a lot because I'm so sick of being underestimated and second guessed... but I have to remind myself, "It's only temporary."

My Name's Amanda and I'm a Food-a-holic.

My second blog in a day... pause for shock...

Recently Josh and I took a day trip to Gatlinburg, TN (the same night we got the cops called on us b/c our dogs were raising hell). We ate some of the BEST food that day. First was the Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant for a late lunch. Josh and I ate pulled barbecue pork sandwiches with caramelized onions on Hawaiian Sweet bread.. oooohhhh they were SO good. We made a trip to the candy store (a tradition we seem to have when traveling out of state) where I ate some crabs, aka Turtles. Then there was dinner... oh dinner...

We made our first trip to Bonefish Grill after being disappointed that Cheeseburgers in Paradise had closed down. Once we got seated at Bonefish, we quickly got over our grief. LOL... Bonefish gets fresh fish five out of seven days. And EVERYTHING is made to order. We started out with a crab cake-- a fairly large CRAB cake that had more crab meat than stuffing. I have grown fairly fond of crab cakes-- it started when Josh and I ate at A.J.'s Dockside (except that was more stuffing than meat but still good). Then came our entrees- me shrimp pad thai and Josh got sesame crusted tuna that was perfectly seared on the outside and perfectly raw inside. It came with jasmine/parsley rice and some sort of carrot salad.

So what have I made recently?? Well last night I bought some boston roast and made some bbq in the crockpot. It turned out really well!!! And today I perfected my bechamel sauce and made a mushroom lasagna. This recipe I'm very proud of b/c it's something new, I did a good job, and I think it's going to taste wonderful!!!! With my herb garden, I've been trying to make recipes that require fresh herbs, so I've been using a lot of rosemary, thyme, and some oregano. Still trying to find a good recipe that uses fresh basil... maybe I'll try a pesto or something of that nature.

Se7en Weeks and Counting...

This past Friday marked our seven week mark until the big move from NC to GA. Yes after 29-30 years of living in the state of NC, Josh and I have decided to spread our wings and fly to Rincon, GA.

Why, you may ask? Well that's just one of the MANY questions we've been asked ever since people have found out we're moving. Quite frankly, I'm tired of answering the same questions over and over again. SO here are the answers--

Why Georgia? Because Josh and I have been in NC our entire lives (me more than him but still), and it's time for us to go. Plus when we go on vacation, we tend to go to the beaches of Tybee and downtown Savannah... and a very good question was presented to us, "Why don't we just live here?"

What's in Georgia? What I really want to say is, "What's in NC?" You know this area used to be booming but now... well... it's not. But I just shrug and don't respond. Personally I'm sick of NC-- it's the same routine, the same way to work, the same environment, the same scenery, and hours away from the beaches of Tybee Island and Hilton Head.

Do you have family down there? No.

Where in Georgia are you moving to? Atlanta? No, to a town to called Rincon. Where is that? About ten minutes or so from Savannah. Thirty to forty minutes from Tybee and Hilton Head. Rincon is in the halfway mark.

What are you going to do for jobs? I'm going to work on Hilton Head. Josh is going to get a part time job and is going to promote the crap out of his photography.

Are you staying in ophthalmology? Yes.

Since you're going to be on the beach, can we come stay with you and visit? If I like you, yes. If I don't, then no. (I don't really say this, but I want to. Those of you know who I love, who I tolerate, and who I really don't like AT ALL).

Are your dogs excited? Sure- why not? Actually they'll probably be excited once they discover the beaches of Hilton Head and a dog park at their new apartment.

Is your mom freakin out? She was at first, but now she's more on board with it. She's helping us move.

And last question is: When is your last day? July 23rd.

Beauty Tip # 18.

I read this in my May 2010 Allure magazine and wanted to do a short blog about it. The article is called: 22 Reasons to Look Better Naked.

"It's obvious that feeling good in your own skin requires that you take it easy on that creature looking back at you in the mirror. Less obvious: being kind to other women. 'There's nothing positive or attractive about criticizing another woman's appearance,' says self-esteem coach Laure Redmond. 'Even sitting around with your friends talking about how fat a certain celebrity looks or calling women 'cougar' is destructive- and it certainly doesn't make you feel any better about yourself.'"

I say this because there are a LOT of girls- yes I have certain ones in mind- that criticize girls for their hair, their weight, their life, etc. And you know what I think? That they are so miserable in their own life that they have to talk about other girls to make themselves feel better. But you know what?? You have to love yourself before you can attempt to love anyone else.