Friday Five

1. I have pretty much finished my Christmas shopping - except for a few things that I will have to get out in Kansas City. Woot! Now I just have to get wrapping. That is my task for the weekend.

2. We had a dessert party and an ugly/tacky holiday sweater contest at work this week. I stuffed my face with treats and won third place with my ugly sweater.

Polly says hi!

3. I put up my little tree Wednesday evening and Gus was only mildly interested. I will be putting ornaments on the tree tonight. We'll see how this goes.

4. What else? What else? I can't believe I'm blank. I feel like more has been going on. Oh well, I guess that means I'll end on this note...

5. I love my kitten. He is cute. Here is photographic proof.

Friday Five

1. I got a new iPhone this week. I ordered it online and Verizon said it would ship on December 9th. It shipped on Monday! Yay! I love it. It rocks my socks. And is very fast. And I love it already. A friend at work forwarded me an article on the 50 Best iPhone Apps 2011...and I've already downloaded a bunch of them.

2. I hope to be about 95% done with my Christmas shopping today. There are a few things I have to wait on, but I'm looking forward to being mostly done.

3. I meant to do some decorating last weekend, but just didn't have the energy when I had the time (story of my life). I need to just do it this weekend so we have plenty of time to enjoy all the prettiness.

4. We aren't getting a real tree this year since we will not be in town for Christmas. I bought a decorative wrought iron tree last year that I will try out. I hope I like the results! I'll post pictures later.

5. I am a little leery about how excited Gus will be by the decorations...specifically the tree and ornaments. LOL! I may put a few things out at a time...and I guess I need to make sure he has a chance to sniff things thoroughly.

Sausage and Tomato Rigatoni

* This is one of Rusty's favorites!
* Save some of them starchy pasta water (about 1 cup) to add to the sauce.

Ingredients:
4 cups rigatoni pasta (8 ounces), uncooked
1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
2 red onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup Kraft sun-dried tomato dressing
1 cup pasta water
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Brown sausage in large non-stick skillet; drain. Stir in onions and tomato paste; cover. Cook 15 minutes, or until onions are tender and sausage is cooked through, stirring occasionally.

2. Meanwhile, cook pasta as directed on package.

3. Stir in dressing and pasta water. Toss sausage mixture with pasta. Sprinkle with parsley and cheese.

Taiwanese Tuesday - short break

You have probably noticed that I having been posting much lately, including Taiwanese Tuesday. Do you know how hard it it to come up with something for Taiwanese Tuesday every single week? Well, it is.

Given that, and this busy holiday season, I am going to take an official break from this series until next year. See you then!

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound chicken breasts
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 (4.5 ounce) packages long grain & wild rice with seasoning
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk

Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, bring water to boil, and add chicken. Cook until done, remove and let sit 5 minutes before shredding. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat and sauté onion, celery, and carrots until soft. Add salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Stir in rice, seasoning packets and flour. Slowly stir in broth and bring to boil. Cover and cook for 18 minutes or until rice is done.

3. Return chicken to pot and stir in butter and milk. Cook until slightly thickened.