stuffed chicken parm

Well, we're back home now and both exhausted.  It was a full week of shopping, seeing old friends, and working out (for J).  It was a lot of fun and great to get out of town for a while to spice things up a bit.  Maddie seemed to have fun at "Grandma and Grandpa's" (my in-laws) -- she's been sound asleep on the couch for most of the evening.  No matter how much fun we have away, it always feels so good to be home (I could do without all of the unpacking and laundry though!)

Tomorrow morning we'll be up bright and early again to run in the Race for the Cure like I talked about earlier.  Might be a bit of a rough one- I have only ran once this week while we were away (along with eating out several times and a few glasses of wine here and there....) and J is sore and tired from a hard week of workouts.  To help prepare us for our big day tomorrow, I made some stuffed chicken parm with spaghetti, green beans & red wine (no shame) for dinner tonight.  It was pretty delish so I thought I'd better share my recipe with you all:

Stuffed Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts
1/4 cup diced mozzarella & parmesan cheese (more or less, to your liking)
2 slices of bread, crumbed
1 tsp. oregano (more or less, to your liking)
1 tsp. parsley (more or less, to your liking)
a dash of salt & pepper
1 egg
small amount of flour

Wash and clean up chicken breasts, removing any excess fat.  Cut a pocket into the chicken breast from the top (like you're slicing it in half the long ways, but just cut a small opening with the pocket, don't go all the way through).  Stuff the pocket with cheese, filling to your liking.  Use a toothpick to hold the opening closed.

Mix together bread crumbs, oregano, parsley, salt & pepper in a bowl.  Line 2 more bowls up next to it,  pouring the flour into one and beating the egg in the other.  Roll chicken breast in flour first, then egg, then bread crumb mixture.  Place breasts in baking dish and bake ~30 minutes at 375 degrees F (190 C). 

While chicken is cooking, prepare the spaghetti:

Ingredients:
1 can (10 oz.) of tomato soup
1 can (15 oz.) of tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz.) of tomato paste
oregano, to taste
parsley, to taste
garlic, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste
Whole Grain wheat spaghetti

In a sauce pan, mix together tomato soup, sauce & paste.  Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally.  Add in oregano, parsley, garlic, salt & pepper as desired.  Continue to simmer until well mixed and the sauce begins to thicken a little.  While sauce is cooking, boil water and cook pasta noodles.

Top noodles and chicken with spaghetti sauce & grate parmesan cheese on top.  Enjoy!

*I use the same recipe without the chicken to make regular old spaghetti... but I usually add 1 pound of ground beef to make it a meat sauce.  Sometimes I swap out garlic salt for fresh garlic & salt and sometimes I don't add the parsley and oregano (depends how much flavor we're in the mood for)  It's simple but delicious, and definitely a dish we long for when we're in Finland and can't find the exact ingredients! :)

I promise to have more and exciting posts coming soon... but for now, this girl's gotta get some shut eye before the big morning tomorrow.  Good thing we've got some lovely new sheets & new comforter to sleep with, courtesy of tax-free shopping in Minnesota! :)

baked potato soup

I tried a new recipe out today that I have to share with all of you.  I wanted to give Baked Potato Soup a try, because soup is so delicious in the winter and both of us love it.  It's also a great way to use left over baked potatoes.  I found a recipe online, changed it around a bit, and came out with a pretty delicious product. 

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:
3-4 slices bacon
1/3 cup margarine/butter
1/3 cup flour
3 1/2 cups milk
2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/2 Tbsp. chopped onion
1 tsp. parsley
1/4 tsp. garlic salt (or garlic powder)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. salt (if used garlic powder, use 1 tsp. salt)
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Cook bacon in skillet, crumble and set aside.
Melt margarine in a pot over medium heat.  Whisk in flour until smooth.  Pour in milk, whisking frequently until thickened.  Stir in potatoes, onions, parsley & garlic salt, bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Add bacon pieces, sour cream, cheese, salt, and pepper.  Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

Serve hot with bacon pieces and cheddar cheese garnish.  Makes 3-4 servings.  Enjoy!

*I'm currently working on a post about Moving to Europe with your Dog.  Check back tomorrow or Wednesday for some tips and a how-to!

cake recipe, book reviews, and birthday cupcakes :)

Well, it's been a couple more busy days around here!  It's so funny how life goes from basically nothing going on to being busy non-stop for several weeks.  It's nice to shake things up a bit and keeps things interesting.

So, now that I'm back, first order of busniess:  My cake recipe!  It is basically chocolate cake layered with peppermint ice cream.  It's kind of Christmas-y, since peppermint is one of the main flavors, but if you're like me and loooove peppermint ice cream, you'll enjoy it year-round!!  If you're not into peppermint, you can really use any flavor of ice cream that you'd like (J doesn't like peppermint ice cream either though, but he LOVED this cake!)  It was a huge hit with everyone at our Christmas gathering.

Peppermint Ice Cream/Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
CAKE:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter

6 tablespoons milk chocolate (chocolate chips, or broken up chocolate bar both work)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg, room temperature

ICE CREAM:

3 Litres (about 3 quarts) vanilla ice cream, softened

about 3 tsp. peppermint extract

2 cups crushed peppermint candy canes (or round peppermint candies)

(You could use store-bought peppermint ice cream if you prefer... I couldn't find any here so I made my own using this recipe and it came out great!)

CAKE

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 C)

Grease and flour a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking sheet (38 x 25 x 2.5 cm, I think mine actually ended up being 38 x 29 x 5 cm, but just as long as the dimensions are big enough that the cake ends up being about  3/4 to 1 inch thick.)

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a large bowl.

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan, remove from heat.  Add chocolate, stir until melted.  Whisk in water, cocoa and vanilla until blended.  Whisk in the egg.  Add to dry ingredients, and whisk together until well blended.  Pour batter onto baking sheet.

Bake cake until toothpick stuck in center comes out clean/with only a few moist crumbs, about 20 minutes.  Cool cake on rack at least 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake.  Turn cake out onto a sheet of foil (do not do this until it is plenty cool or it will crumble and break into pieces! I learned that the hard way...)  Cut cake crosswise into 3 equal strips.  Freeze cake strips for one hour.

ICE CREAM:

Mix the softened vanilla ice cream (soft enough to stir well, but not runny), peppermint extract, and chopped candy pieces together.  Stir until very well blended.  Add more or less peppermint extract to your taste preferences.  Return to a freezer-safe container. 

ICE CREAM CAKE:

Place one cake strip on a platter.  Working quickly, spread about 3.5 cups of ice cream onto the cake strip, smoothing to the edges.  Layer with 2nd cake strip, and repeat with 3.5 cups of ice cream, again smoothing to the edges.  Top with the last cake strip, return to freezer for 1 hour. 

After 1 hour, spread the remaining ice cream (about 6 cups) over the top and sides of the cake, covering generously (being sure to work quickly!)  Freeze for at least 3 hours, until firm.

For decoration, I added some whipped cream around the edges and sprinkled it with M & Ms, broken candy canes, and other various candy pieces.  The cake will make about 12 servings. 

 The Finished Product:

Hope you enjoy it as much as we all did!

Order of business #2, book reviews!  I am now onto the 3rd book in Lauren Conrad's series of L.A. Candy books, Sugar and Spice.  I promised to give my reviews of the first 2, L.A. Candy and Sweet Little Lies, so here they are! 

A quick synopsis: The first book in this series, titled L.A. Candy, is about 2 girls that move to Los Angeles after high school, one to go to USC and one to work for a high-end event planner.  Shortly after the 2 girls arrive in town, a reality tv producer "discovers" them at a club and convinces them to be a part of a new reality show called that he is going to film called L.A. Candy.  They soon discover that there are 2 other girls that will be on the show with them, requiring them to become "friends".  The girls are excited to get into the world of reality tv (some more than others...) and all of the new opportunities it will give them- VIP access to clubs, a new apartment, spa days- and to get paid for them.  However, they quickly learn that it's not always all fun and roses, and the drama begins to unfold.

My opinion of it:  This was a pretty good book.  I mean, it can't be that bad- I finished it's 300 pages in 2 days.  If you like reality tv shows, you'll definitely like this book.  I was curious to find out if it was going to be just like The Hills, which it sort-of-was and sort-of-wasn't.  The chapters are told in the point of view of different characters, which I liked, because you can get into each character's "head" and learn the unspoken things that are a big part of the drama in the story.  It was an easy read and just something fun and lighthearted to get into.

A quick synopsis:  The girls of L.A. Candy are starting to realize the negative side of being a reality tv star.  As the show ratings skyrocket, they cannot go anywhere without being recognized.  They begin to learn that not everyone is their true friend, and their boy drama that began in the first book continues to escalate.  The girls are starting to forget what it was like to be "normal", and sometimes find themselves longing for what their lives used to be like.  Others, on the other hand, can't get enough of the fame, and will do just about anything to be in the spotlight.  There is backstabbing, heart break, lies, suspense, and even some happiness all mixed into this second book in the series.

My opinion:  Now that I already knew all about the L.A. Candy girls from the first book, this one was an even quicker read, finishing it's 300 pages in a mere 24 hours (I know, I know, I need a life... :) )  It's the kind of book that is so easy to finish because you keep wanting to know what is going to happen.  Each chapter ends with a cliff hanger that keeps you going back for more.  It also kind of gives you an inside peek on  how a reality show really works (if you didn't already know) and what sets apart the "real" reality from the "fake" reality. 

Not only is Lauren a #1 NY Times Bestselling Author, but apparently these books are very popular here in Finland.  When I have been searching for them at the bookstore, all of the sales people I have asked help from all know exactly what I'm talking about right away.  They get 10 new copies in and they're gone within a day or two.  I had to go to 3 different stores to find the 3rd book. I give Lauren Conrad a lot of credit for not only making millions by starring on a reality show, but then going and writing books about the exact same concept and making lots more money.  The girl is good!  I didn't like her when Laguna Beach was popular way back when (I thought she made herself look too desperate, or at least the show made her look that way) but I really liked her in The Hills.  I also like that she broke away from the show tomove on to bigger and better things than reality tv.  She is an all around respectable girl (which can't be said of many reality tv stars), and knows how to write a good book or two, also! :)

Now that I've gotten that taken care of, I'm off to enjoy the rest of my BIRTHDAY!   The guys have an away game (go figure, happens every year on my birthday! haha)  But it's a short trip so I was able to see J for a good part of the beginning of the day, and he will be back shortly after the game.  One of the girls has invited me and our other fellow American girl over tonight for dinner and to watch the game and have a little something special to do on my birthday, which is super sweet of her and I'm very excited to not be sitting alone all evening on my special day ;)  Oh, and the best part of the day? 

FUNFETTI cupcakes with pink frosting!!  My faaaaaavvvorittteee! My mom sent a box from home in her Christmas package of goodies because they haven't yet discovered the-greatness-that-is-funfetti-cake in Finland.  Thanks Mom!!

Ok, reading back over this post really makes me feel like I shouldn't have taken the day off the gym today.  But hey, a girls gotta indulge now and then! :)

snow, snow and more snow!

Well, yet another snowy day here in Finland!! It's been snowing almost non-stop the last 2 days.  We have almost 20 inches on the ground here.. 40-some centimeters!  Woo hoo, no worries about a White Christmas here!!  I'm so thankful that I don't drive here though... they don't do the greatest job plowing the roads, and the fact that it was a national holiday- Independence Day- here yesterday didn't help that fact either!   I feel bad for all of the people trying to dig their cars out of their plowed-in parking spots on the streets.  I took Maddie for a walk to play in the snow earlier and she was in heaven!!  Almost lost her in a couple snow banks (I was struggling also!) but we both had fun.   

This picture is from a few weeks ago... there is WAYY more snow than that now!

We watched Marley & Me last night (for like the 25th time) and, yet again, I sobbed like a baby.  Not sure if it was a result of the wine I was drinking, but that movie gets me every time.  My childhood dog was a yellow lab and a lot like Marley...not quite as troublesome, but had the same goofy antics, so it always hits close to my heart.  It also makes me spoil Maddie like rotten for a several days after (like she's not spoiled enough already!)  She's becoming quite the spoiled brat lately... I guess I've been giving in to her a lot more with J being gone more frequently.  Hey, I need someone to keep me company!! :)

Now tonight I'm trying out a new recipe (Cheesy Spanish Rice) and watching people outside trek in the snow to J's game.  It's technically an "away" game, but we live right next door to the other team's arena.  I thought I didn't care to go, but now seeing all of the people heading to the game makes me a little jealous... haha.  The team is their big rival, since they are from the same city, so it always makes for an exciting and intense game.  The other team's arena is significantly smaller than ours (8,000 vs. 13,000) and the game tonight is sold out... so I can't even change my mind about going.  Oh well, at least I'll stay warm and dry! 

cold weather and cooking

I finally have a chance to sit down and write.  Things have been so busy the past few days, with 3 home games last week, the Christmas party, and Thanksgiving, there wasn't much down time around here!!  It was a nice change of pace.  Now I'm preparing to have things slow down quite a bit... the guys are gone 10 of the next 18 days.  Time to find things to do to entertain myself (ideas are very much welcomed)!! 

One thing I've started doing more now that I have the time to do it is experiment with cooking and baking.  It's not that easy to do here with a) the difficulty grocery shopping and understanding what you're buying and b) trying to convert measurments!  I wish I had paid more attening in what... 2nd grade? when you learn the metric system.  I'm catching on more as I go, and a lot of things I "guesstimate".  It's all turned out okay so far!!

The first thing that I made was Chili.  Neither J nor I like beans in our chili (or at all for that matter).  I found a recipe without, changed it around a little bit, tried it out... and it was delicious!!  It doesn't have onions or tomatoes either.. but you certainly could add them if you'd like.  I told my mom I'd send her the recipes a couple weeks ago... but figured this way I can share them with all of you :) Here they are!

My Chili Recipe

3 lbs. ground beef
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
3 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. dried oregano
28 oz. beef broth
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper

Brown beef in pan, add garlic.  While beef is browning, combine chili powder, cumin, and flour.  Sprinkle mixture over the beef once browned and stir until evenly coated.  Add oregano over meat and pour in 21 oz. of the beef broth.  Add salt and black pepper, stir well and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 90 minutes.  Pour in the remaining broth and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.  Let chili cool, cover, and refrigerate to allow flavors to blend.

tips: 
1) Refrigerate overnight.  It allows the flavors to blend even more.
2) I found it easist to brown the meet in a skillet, and then move it to a larger pot that was easier to stir liquids in. 
3) This recipe makes several servings (I'd say about 6-8 medium sized bowls)
4) Serve with grated cheese, sour cream, crackers, bread, or however else you like your chili. Enjoy!

Another recipe that turned out to be absolutely delicious was the Chicken Noodle Soup.  J was sick so I figured I'd give it a try... turned out to be the best Chicken Noodle Soup I've ever had! (and those of you who know me know that I think very highly of Panera's Chicken Noodle Soup... this was even better!)  Similar to the chili, we don't like onions, carrots or celery in our soup (if you haven't noticed, we're very particular eaters!) so this recipe cooks with the whole vegetables to make it easy to strain them out when serving.  All of the flavor, no picking out the onions and carrots! :)  Here is the recipe for that:

Chicken Noodle Soup

1 L (about 4 cups) water
1 lb. Chicken Breast fillets
1 small-medium sized onion, peeled and halved
3 whole black peppercorns (or a dash of ground pepper, preferably freshly ground!)
2-3 whole carrots, peeled
2 chicken bouillon cubes (this may change your water measurments, so follow the measurments on the bouillon box to determine exactly how much water to use)
About 2 cups dry pasta noodles (I like the spirals!)

Bring water and chicken breasts to a boil in a pot.  Reduce heat, add bouillon cubes (stir until dissolved) cover and let simmer for about 30 more minutes.  Add whole carrots, onion, and pepper into the pot, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour.  Pre-cook the noodles in a separate pot, drain.  Remove chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.  Add chicken and noodles to the broth, warm on low heat.  Strain whole vegetables and serve.

you can add chopped vegetables if you'd like, this is just how we prefer it (we're not big fans of cooked veggies)  This makes about 2 large servings (we ate it as a meal) or 4-5 smaller bowls (to eat as a side with a sandwich or salad).  Hope you like it as much as we did! 

And the last recipe that I'll share is for the Apple Pie that I made as part of our Thanksgiving meal.  I was really winging it.. but (as long as the guys weren't lying to me just to be nice) it was a big hit!  You can make your own pie crust, of course... but especially on a day like Thanksgiving, that was way more than I was willing to take on!

Apple Pie

1 frozen pie crust, thawed
6-8 medium sized apples
1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup butter 
1 1/4 cup oatmeal
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees/175 celsius.  Combine flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, nutmeg and cinnamon in a bowl, mix well.  Once pie crust is thawed, roll out and put in a greased/floured 9 inch round pie pan.  Peel apples, slice thin and add to the crust, filling almost to the top of the crust.  Melt butter and mix it with the flower/brown sugar/oatmeal/nutmeg/cinnamon mixture, stir until well coated.  Pour topping evenly over apples.  Put in oven for about 45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.  Allow to cool a little bit (but not all the way!)  and serve with vanilla ice cream.  mmmmmmm :)

My next recipes I want to try are something with rice, and a ham one.  I'll have to report back once I try them out and let you know how they go!

After I made the Thanksgiving feast on Saturday, J made us an absolutely delicious meal on Sunday.  Too bad we're both such bad cooks, huh? ;)  Guess being domestic comes along with the marriage certificate.  

Speaking of which, we have found out that we need to send our marriage certificate BACK to the U.S. to get an Apostille seal (?) (we're still not 100% sure what that means, but it's a way of 'legalizing it' and is sort of like getting it notarized but for foreign countries, we think)  so that I can register here and get a Finnish ID number (like a social security number).  J was able to register without a problem with the team being his employer, but since he/that is the reason I am here, I need to prove my relationship to him.  It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, because they accepted our certificate as it is when we got our Visa's... but who knows.  So, just a heads up to any hockey wives coming over to Europe, get your marriage certificate legalized BEFORE you leave the U.S. so they will recognize it when you are abroad.  Just wanted to save anyone the step of sending it back like we have to do!

Another note: I see there are lots of you reading from different places across the US/Canada/Europe... I can happily say have been able to connect with a few other hockey wives through this blog, and if you are reading this, feel free to become a follower, comment, or contact me :)  It's such a small world that we live in and no one else understands our crazy lives like a fellow hockey wife!

Well, J is at an away game tonight (if you could call it that, they're playing 10 minutes down the road...) so I'm going to try and stay warm by curling up on the couch with a blanket and a glass of wine.  It's been very cold here lately (single digits fahrenheit, around -15 celsius!) and we have lots of snow.  I better get used to it, I don't think it's going to get any better between now and April!

Hyvää Yötä!