"Show Mommy how the piggies eat!"

Another good recipe!! And again with very few ingredients... :) To all the budget-conscious households out there AND to crockpot fanatics:

Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry-Mustard Sauce

1 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce
3 tbsp. lemon juice
4 tbsp. dijon mustard
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 lb pork tenderloin

Mix cranberry sauce, lemon juice, mustard and brown sugar. Spread a little over tenderloin. Put tenderloin in crockpot and pour remaining sauce over top. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

NOTE: I finally have proof from this that my crockpot cooks on insanely high heat, even set on low. Despite overcooking the meat a bit it was still soooo tender and falling apart! YUMMY!!!

This is so me!

OMG

Rob reads this blog called Geek Dad (yes, it's fitting) and someone posted this video that I found just hysterical and astounding. If you like Star Wars, WATCH THIS. If you like John Williams, WATCH THIS. And if you happen to be a fan of both Star Wars and John Williams then this is just about perfect for you. ;) Click here.

EASY recipe!

If you want the original recipe, click here. Since I couldn't quite find everything at our grocery store, I adapted. I think that any mom (or someone on a budget) should have this in their repertoire of recipes. :)

Mozzarella Stuffed Sausage Meatballs with Tomato Basil Sauce
2 lbs sausage (whatever you like or keep on hand)
3 sticks of mozzarella string cheese
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
4 oz pesto

Pre-heat oven to 400.

Cut up each stick of cheese into 4 even pieces (should have 12 total chunks). If the sausage is in link, cut open casings and put meat in a bowl. Combine the meat into a single mound and score into 4 sections. Each section will produce 3 large meatballs. Take a handful of meat and form a ball around one piece of cheese. Place on a non-stick baking sheet. Roll 12 balls. Drizzle each with a little olive oil and bake for about 20 minutes.

While the meatballs bake, pour the tomatoes into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 8-10 minutes. When meatballs and any sides are done, turn off heat and stir in 4 oz (1/2 cup) of pesto.

NOTES:

- This recipe has a LOT of oil (which excessive amounts of fat don't like me so much) so next time I make this I'll omit the oil on the meatballs and bake them on a broiler pan so that the grease falls away from the meat.

- I went ahead and made regular mashed potatoes with this but it'd be great on pasta too. Or make the potatoes in the linked recipe using whatever Parm or Parm/Regg blend cheese you have on hand.

- Much as I'd love to get all gourmet and roast broccolini with this, let's tune into reality. I keep frozen broccoli on hand so just steam some of that instead.

- The sauce is AMAZING!!! I'm going to use the leftovers as a pizza sauce next weekend and I might even get some breadsticks to dip too. :)

Santa came early

This one's for Kimi ;)

At long last!

So at long last here are some pictures from our Puerto Rico trip. :) In the interest of time, space, etc. consider this your appetizer. Main course can be found on Rob's flickr.com page. Also, you can find highlights on my Facebook page too. ;)

Happy Couple
(yup, that's the view from our balcony)

Palamino Island

(where the beach was)

Resort Room

Sitting Area in our room

El Conquistador Resort
(can we have our next family reunion here?? Please?????)

Tomorrow! Tomorrow!

Less than 24 hours to go people! Soon all the stupid ads will be over with (WAHOO!!!!) Soon I'll find out if I have to stand in an outrageous line or not to exercise my glorious right to vote (or right to complain, depending on how you look at it). Soon we'll see if history is made with the first black President or not.

Man this will be interesting to say the least!! :D I'm so excited to be apart of it...even if saying so makes me a dork I don't care!