Meet Lillian......Lily for short.

 
Do you remember my post about possibly getting Bella a friend?  Well, our daughter called and asked us if we would take care of Lily until May.  It seems a case of severe cat allergies from my daughter's roommate has brought Lily to our doorstep.  Bella is not pleased with the arrival of this new cat in her home.  This stealth cat has attacked Bella twice from hiding places in our home that I never even knew existed.  Lily also sits and stares at Bella for long periods of time, which makes my poor girl very uncomfortable. While Bella is relaxing on my bed, Lily will sit in the doorway just staring at her. I think the cat is doing this on purpose. There has to be some type of telepathic message this cat is transmitting to the dog.  While the cat is engaged in her intimidation tactics,  Bella immediately stares straight up at the ceiling.  So strange......I'll keep you posted.  

Update...The After Photo

You wouldn't know it was the same backyard would you?  You can still see the flower pot that was sitting on the stone wall yesterday.  I don't know the final snow accumulation, but my guess is probably over two feet.

 I couldn't believe the size of this snow drift on my car.   It doesn't look like I'll be going anywhere for awhile.

The snow on top of my car is as tall as the garage roof. There is a full dormer on the back of the house that is completely covered by the drifts on the garage roof.  My husband will use the roof rake after we clear the car off and move it closer to the end of the driveway.

We haven't had a chance to snow blow a path to the front door yet.  There is so much snow in the driveway and of course we had to snow blow a space in the yard for Bella to use.  It might not get done today.  The traveling ban that had been in place through out the blizzard will be lifted later this afternoon.  The good news it seems, is that most everyone has weathered the storm without incident.  Good news.

Wicked Storm Coming......

There is a snow storm heading toward the Northeast.  It is supposed to be a whopper of a blizzard with sustained winds of over 35 miles per hour and an expected 2 ft. or more of snow in isolated areas.  We are in the isolated area. The meteorologists are saying it could be a storm of historic portions.  We shall see........     
I'm posting a before the blizzard photo of the stone wall in my backyard taken 10 minutes ago at 12 noon.  Tomorrow if we have power, I'll post a during or after the blizzard photo. Right now I have a pot roast and all the fixings cooking and a batch of brownies in the oven. The house is toasty warm and the fireplace has a crackling fire roaring.  We are prepared.

Best Brownies from Pinterest...

A pin on Pinterest claims that these were the best brownies ever.  I would have to agree.  The recipe is from a blog called Saltbox House .   It seems her aunt was a lunch lady in a school cafeteria and this was their recipe for brownies.  Lucky kids!
Ingredients:.
1 cup of butter 

1/2 cup of cocoa ( I used double dutch dark cocoa from King Arthurs )
2 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs

4 teaspoons of vanilla

1 cup of chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions:

Melt butter, add cocoa, mix until smooth

Add flour, and sugar. Beat together and then add eggs, vanilla, and nuts. Mix until combined. Do not over stir. Pour into greased, floured  9x13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

The Chocolate Icing Recipe:

1/4 cup of softened butter

1/4 cup of canned milk (regular milk is fine)

1/4 cup of cocoa

3 cups of powdered sugar

dash of salt

Mix all together and frost as desired.

Baby Spinach and Arugula Salad with Pears and Dried Cranberries

As a surprise,  my husband bought a tasting for us at The England Olive Oil Company in Concord MA.  We had a fantastic time sampling their olive oils from around the world and balsamic vinegars imported from Modena Italy.  It was difficult to choose, but we settled on a red apple balsamic vinegar, a pear and cranberry white balsamic vinegar, an everyday extra virgin olive oil and and an extra virgin olive oil infused with garlic.   Pear, dried cranberries and blue cheese on a bed of baby spinach and arugula were the perfect ingredients to highlight our new purchases.  I splashed the extra virgin olive oil and the pear cranberry white balsamic vinegar over the greens and ripe Bosc Pear.   A little drizzle of my cranberry bog honey, blue cheese and fresh ground black pepper finished it off.   Easy and so delicious.

Spaghetti Squash.....Thai Style

More often than not when we eat spaghetti squash it is usually topped with shrimp scampi, spaghetti sauce or Italian style vegetables with herbs. I was cautiously optimistic about using the squash with Thai flavors.  I'm glad I stepped out of  my Italian box.  The dish was delicious.  Here is the recipe adapted from Allrecipes.

Ingredients:

1 lb. fresh shrimp, peeled and de-veined 

7 oz. bag fresh beans sprouts
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon garlic chili paste 
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
4 garlic cloves, minced
5 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup chopped cashews 
chopped cilantro

Season the squash with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  Cook the spaghetti squash in a 350 degree oven until tender, about an hour. While squash is baking,  start to mix the sauce. In a bowl combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, garlic chili paste, minced ginger, minced garlic, and green onions.

In a saute pan heat 2 tbsp. of the sauce and add the shrimp and bean sprouts.  Cook on medium heat until shrimp are pink.  When squash is done, use a fork to scrap out the flesh into a bowl. Add the shrimp and  beans sprouts. Next add the sauce, green onions, chopped cilantro and chopped nuts.  
Toss gently to coat.

Mary from Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes  called it an Asian- Italian fusion dish. I think no matter what you call it, you'll be calling it delicious.

Healthy Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup.......

 
Would you believe this soup is only 150 calories a serving.  Well, minus the shredded cheese and corn chips.  I threw everything in the slow cooker before work and when I came home I couldn't wait to have a steamy bowl.  Enjoy, it couldn't get any easier.  Here's the recipe courtesy of  my sister Ann.

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 16 oz. can chili beans (I used Bush's)
• 15 oz. can black beans, drained
• 15 oz. can corn ( I used Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn, 1/2 a bag)
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 15 oz. tomatoes with green chilies
• 1 pkg. taco seasoning ( I used my homemade no salt taco seasoning)
• 6 frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs

Put all the above ingredients in the slow cooker. Turn on low and cook for 8 hours.  Pull out chicken thighs, shred, then toss back in.