Country Music Awards | Amanda's New Life

11.2.2012

White Zinfandel. Last weekend, poor Josh got to see my redneck side (though I don’t think that was the first time). Since we both had the night off, we wanted to chill at home and drink a little while watching Breaking Bad. I, of course, just had to buy a giant bottle of White Zinfandel. In case you’re unaware, Wal-Mart does not sell cold wine (a good reason to buy wine from Target, I say). So I needed to chill said giant bottle of wine. I guess my ice bucket got lost in the move this summer, so I needed another way to ice it. What better way to chill a giant bottle of wine than with the giant bucket I happened to have in our outdoor storage closet? I dumped all of our ice in the bucket, added a cup of salt (learned this trick here) and filled the bucket with cool water using our sink sprayer. Josh stared at me in disbelief. But it was worth it. Within 20 minutes, I had a glass of chilled wine.
Halloween. For my last-minute Halloween costume, I dressed as a moose. Sort of. I just threw on some felt moose antlers and wore a sweater and jeans. Whatever. A costume wasn’t necessary anyway, since our only plans were to spend the evening watching Halloween movies.
CMAs. I listened to the second half of the CMAs last night (thank goodness for iHeartRadio because I don’t have cable to watch these sorts of things). I actually forgot they would be on until I heard the program on the radio while driving home. Anyway, I was stoked when Miranda Lambert won Female Vocalist of the Year. Her acceptance speech was so humble (you can read a little about it in the third paragraph of this LA Times article).
Gloves. Earlier this week, I had to throw away the gloves I use to wash dishes. They were too big anyway, but I was still disappointed because I hate washing dishes with naked hands (my skin gets so dry after an extended period of time under hot water). The last pair was a set of large gloves (way too big for my tiny hands!), so I was pretty excited about finally buying a pair that fit. Maybe these won’t try to fall off my hands while I’m scrubbing away.
Apple Cider. A week or two ago, Hilary gave me s bottle of Crispin Hard Apple Cider. If you like apple juice, I suggest it (no sarcasm, for real). It tastes like apple juice with a hint of booze. I told Josh I was drinking grown up apple juice.
No Shave November. It’s that time of year again. I don’t know if Josh will participate this year (I doubt it). Last year, I was diggin’ his scruffy beard for about a week or two. Then he started looking like a hobo. He was so ready to shave by the end of the month! So, yeah, I really don’t think he’ll go through with that again.
Sandy photos. I’ve been seeing a lot of crazy photos of this week’s superstorm & its aftermath. Some of these photos seem legit, while others… let’s just say I’ve seen them circle the Interwebs before. You can read a few interesting real vs. fake analyses here, here, here and here.
Spinach. I like spinach a lot. But I know a lot of people don’t. I’ll admit it is a little bland. However, I found a recipe a while back for Garlic Sauteed Spinach. (I always call it something different; right now, it’s “Garlic & Butter Spinach. I don’t know.) I tried it and–no surprise here–liked it. Since then, I’ve tweaked the recipe to make it easier to eyeball all the measurements and so it only yields two servings. Josh liked it. (He even requested I make it again!) I’m a happy camper.
Grilled Chicken Patties. I usually prefer to cook things from scratch, but with Josh’s and my crazy, clashing schedules, sometimes (often, as of late) that’s just not possible. So for a quick, healthy alternative we decided to try some pre-made grilled chicken patties from Great Value. (Who would’ve guessed?) They were tender and juicy and not too salty (I wasn’t too happy about the sodium content, but it was better than breaded chicken patties). We’ll probably buy them again. (See the photo here, on my Followgram.)
Oven Reds. To go with the chicken patties, Josh bought some Alexia Oven Reds. They’re seasoned with olive oil, garlic and Parmesan They’re pretty good, and a decent healthy choice for a quick fix. I’d love to make these myself, though. If I do, you’ll be the first to know. (Again, see the photo of these with the chicken patties here.)