Seeing that a few of the girls were having troubles remembering to post a blog update after hosting their evening (which is a bit of a stress in itself cooking for 9+ other girls), I, Amanda, am excited to announce that I have been appointed to collect recipes and post the blog on a weekly basis to see that it gets done, because after all, who wants to be without all of our amazing recipes and hear about our girl talk??
That being said...We were at Emily's this past Thursday enjoying lasagna, salad and some yummy chocolate peanut butter bars (all recipes to follow).
It was fun to be back at Em's. It is where GN originated over 4 years ago. We started with 5 of us and are now up to nearly 10+ at times. We decided a few months ago that we need to have a "secret of the week" discussion, as we would get half way through the night only to learn that something major was going on in one of our lives..."oh, by the way...I'm now dating so-and-so" or "oh, forgot to tell you, I'm pregnant"...ok, that one didn't really happen, but we didn't want it to get to that point. And frankly it doesn't even have to be a "secret"...just the biggest thing to have happened to you that past week. Hopefully Lauren will report in this week that she got Aiden potty-trained in under a week...hey, a mother can dream. Laur, if you have any tips, please post them as to aid the rest of us in a speedy process :)
My SIL, Jessica joined us this week since she just moved up from California. She needs some girl time as most of her friends are in the Tri-Cities or back in Cali. I was trying to keep her updated with what everyone was talking about, when I realized that WE ARE PROBABLY A PRETTY OVERWHELMING group. Ah well, she'll catch up soon enough. We were glad to have her there and hope she continues to join us. She is planning her wedding, and let's be honest here....WE ARE the group of girls you need to help you do that! :)
Okay, here are your recipes from last week:
Lasagna
1lb ground beef
1lb Italian sausage
4 cups mozzarella cheese
1 tub of ricotta cheese
Italian season (enough to taste)
9 ready bake lasagna noodles
2 bottles of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Brown meats, assemble 3 equal layers of all ingredients. Cover top layer of noodles with sauce and parmesan cheese. Bake 30-45 minutes until cheese is melted and center is hot.
Salad
Spring mix
1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
1 container (about 10) strawberries, sliced
toss with Poppyseed dressing
Peanut Butter Brownie Bars (courtesy of Betty Crocker...gotta love her)
Brownie Base
1box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix
Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
Filling
1/3cup butter, softened
1/3cup creamy peanut butter
1 1/3cups powdered sugar
1 1/2teaspoons milk
Topping
3/4cup semisweet chocolate chips
3tablespoons butter
Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease bottom only of 8-inch or 9-inch square pan with cooking spray or shortening. (For easier cutting, line pan with foil, then grease foil on bottom only of pan.) Make brownies as directed on box. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
In medium bowl, beat filling ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread mixture evenly over brownie base.
In small microwavable bowl, microwave topping ingredients uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds; stir until smooth. Cool 10 minutes; spread over filling. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. For brownies, cut into 6 rows by 4 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.
YUM YUM!
As happy as I am to take on the duty of posting this blog, I have to admit I'm a bit nervous to have Tiff read (and mentally correct) it :) She's our high school English teacher and I KNOW my punctuation can be a little erratic...I seem to over-use the comma...oh well, better that than to under use it, right Ms. Armstrong? :) Don't be too hard on me...
Enjoy everyone! Next week we're going to talk about couponing since a few of us are getting into it and we KNOW more ladies would like to as well. Let me know if you have any questions I can ask our pros (Em & Lauren), and I'll be sure to get some answers for you.
Amanda
About Us
- ThursdayGirlsNights
- Seattle/Tacoma area, Washington, United States
- Thank you for visiting! We are Amanda, Tiffany, Lauren H, Lauren F, Danielle, Lisa, Meagan, Teresa, Emily, Cassie, & Bea. We are a group of women ranging in age from 27-32. 2011 marks the 5th Fall season of us getting together weekly, on Thursdays, to make dinner for eachother, talk about our kids, marriages, jobs, weddings, homes, weekends and so on. We travel as far North as Kirkland and as far South as Graham to visit each week...that's a total of nearly an hour of driving (not counting traffic), so that should show you how dedicated we are to "the cause" of having some girl time each week. A few of us are mothers and have planned our weddings. Our group also includes a dietitian, wine distributor & a few teachers ranging from elementary to high school. We are here to share our favorite recipes, update you on our girl talk each week, answer questions from experience and review products for companies and share our takes on them for the women out there just like us. Please feel free to contact us with topics you'd like us to cover or questions you may have. Our group e-mail is ThursdayGirlsNights@gmail.com Thanks again, The Girls
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Tiff & Austin's Engagement Photos
Since Emily mentioned it, I think it's time to post some pictures! Tiff and Austin are busy planning a beautiful beach wedding but that doesn't mean they didn't have time to get in front of the camera at Redondo Beach in Federal Way. Don't let the glimpses of sunshine fool you, it was chilly out! Luckily that didn't stop the couple from smiling, playing in the sand and kissing on the dock. Afterward we warmed up with some beers and clam chowder at Salty's. Congrats again Tiff & Austin!
~Nelle
~Nelle
Friday, January 21, 2011
Welcome 2011!!!
After a busy holiday season we regrouped January 6th at my house. We had so much to catch up on....Christmas, New Years, Bea's birthday, and TIFF'S ENGAGEMENT! Congratulations Tiffany and Austin! Let the wedding planning begin! And that it did. We spent most of the evening discussing a beach wedding in Cabo San Lucas-woohoo! (I'll let Tiff post all the details as they become available)
We missed Amanda, Lisa, Jessica, and Meagan this week. Unfortunately, a few of us came down with a nasty winter flu.
Dinner this evening was chicken enchiladas with salad, chips and guacamole, and brownie bites for dessert. Here's the recipe:
Chicken enchiladas
Bake 6 chicken breasts, shred chicken after it cools
In the food processor mix chicken, mexican cheese, and green chilies (eyeball cheese and chilies)
Roll chicken mixture inside flour tortillas, cover with red enchilada sauce and more cheese
Bake for 30-45 minutes until hot
Emily
We missed Amanda, Lisa, Jessica, and Meagan this week. Unfortunately, a few of us came down with a nasty winter flu.
Dinner this evening was chicken enchiladas with salad, chips and guacamole, and brownie bites for dessert. Here's the recipe:
Chicken enchiladas
Bake 6 chicken breasts, shred chicken after it cools
In the food processor mix chicken, mexican cheese, and green chilies (eyeball cheese and chilies)
Roll chicken mixture inside flour tortillas, cover with red enchilada sauce and more cheese
Bake for 30-45 minutes until hot
Emily
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
6th Annual Girls' Night Cocktail Party!
Yup, that's right; this is the 6th year we have planned one hell of a Christmas cocktail party! The tradition started when Lauren and Tiff lived together at an apartment in Milton. The following year I moved in and since it was so much fun we decided to do it again. It helped that I was selling wine and had lots of samples! From there the tradition just kept on going. The 3rd year was at Lauren's, the 4th year at Meg's, the 5th year at my house and finally this year Lauren hosted us again! There is always yummy food, lots of drinks and some sort of "game" involving alcohol consumption. I know we are growing up but I swear some of us are just now getting our beer pong game down! Here are a few pictures from the party. Enjoy ~ Danielle
Teresa ~ Danielle ~ Meg
Tim ~ Jake ~ Amanda
Lauren ~ Jena
Amanda ~ Meg
Tyler ~ Scott
Lauren ~ Tiff
Teresa ~ Lisa
Monday, January 17, 2011
Holiday Gift Exchange
Ok, getting caught up here...
Thursday, Dec 16th we got together for our gift exchange. Since it's kind of a special celebration we go out to dinner. Luckily this year, the snow had melted and the roads were clear (we weren't so lucky last year), so we met in Tukwila at Grazie http://www.grazierestaurant.com/ It's a super cute, hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant with amazing food! We got a few bottles of wine, talked about the upcoming holidays and exchanged gifts & Christmas cards. This is the 2nd year we've used an online secret-santa system. http://www.secretsanta.com/ is like an evite...as soon as everyone has RSVP'd, it sends out an email with the name of the person you are to buy for. One great thing about it is that you can post a "wish list", another is that it keeps track of the people who's name you had been given in the past, so as you don't have a repeat person to buy for in the future.
More posts to come, plus a few pictures from our 6th annual Girl's Night Cocktail Party, so stay tuned...
Amanda
Thursday, Dec 16th we got together for our gift exchange. Since it's kind of a special celebration we go out to dinner. Luckily this year, the snow had melted and the roads were clear (we weren't so lucky last year), so we met in Tukwila at Grazie http://www.grazierestaurant.com/ It's a super cute, hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant with amazing food! We got a few bottles of wine, talked about the upcoming holidays and exchanged gifts & Christmas cards. This is the 2nd year we've used an online secret-santa system. http://www.secretsanta.com/ is like an evite...as soon as everyone has RSVP'd, it sends out an email with the name of the person you are to buy for. One great thing about it is that you can post a "wish list", another is that it keeps track of the people who's name you had been given in the past, so as you don't have a repeat person to buy for in the future.
More posts to come, plus a few pictures from our 6th annual Girl's Night Cocktail Party, so stay tuned...
Amanda
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Extra Orange Sauce & a Side of Garlic Please...
This week on Thursday (the 2nd) we got together for Amanda's 30th birthday dinner. Tokyo's Japanese Steakhouse is one of our favorite spots and for those of you that have never been there you HAVE TO go! It's a 'teppan yaki' style restaurant...meaning they cook your dinner in front of you. With flames flying, knives being thrown and eggs being lauched we enjoyed our dinners and eachother.
A few of the girls weren't able to be there this week...Teresa was dealing with a horrific ordeal at their house being that their pipes burst in the cold weather. We hope this will be a better week for you and Red.
The previous Sunday was spent by most of us (insert Amanda's sad face here) on the 3rd Annual "Christmas Tree Hunting" trip to Green Water. Many-a-Rainier beers were enjoyed. One of the girls will get some pictures posted for you all to see the wonderful winter wonderland tradition.
My birthday celebration continued at Crystal Mountain this weekend. Having Apple Cup the same day didn't allow all us girls to be together for it but hope Danielle, Lisa & Lauren had a BLAST over there...We'll get those damn Huskies next year...
Love all you girls and thank you for helping me ring in 30 this past week!
The Birthday Girl
A few of the girls weren't able to be there this week...Teresa was dealing with a horrific ordeal at their house being that their pipes burst in the cold weather. We hope this will be a better week for you and Red.
The previous Sunday was spent by most of us (insert Amanda's sad face here) on the 3rd Annual "Christmas Tree Hunting" trip to Green Water. Many-a-Rainier beers were enjoyed. One of the girls will get some pictures posted for you all to see the wonderful winter wonderland tradition.
My birthday celebration continued at Crystal Mountain this weekend. Having Apple Cup the same day didn't allow all us girls to be together for it but hope Danielle, Lisa & Lauren had a BLAST over there...We'll get those damn Huskies next year...
Love all you girls and thank you for helping me ring in 30 this past week!
The Birthday Girl
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Turkey and Black Bean Chili... oh yeah and wine!
Yet another great night in Kirkland. Love having all my girls with a few added friends in my little place. Thank goodness we had just enough chairs to go around. We all enjoyed my favorite turkey and black bean chili (recipe below) out of my absolute favorite Cooking Light 5 Ingredients, 15 Minute cookbook! I think almost all of us have a copy by now and if you don't you better put it on your wish list for Santa Exchange. :)
We came up with a fantastic new idea of secret of the week name tags, that must be filled out upon arrival as to have no late night confessions come upon us! Festivities are definitely in the air as well, phones, calenders and facebooks out we are starting to fill out dates and parties getting the holidays off to a great start. I also think we all learned a few things about how we all decide to take care of the "V" area. Good stories shared of waxing fun and horror!
On a Thanksgiving note, I want you all to know that in this season you are all one of the biggest things I'm thankful for in my life. Some weeks although crazy and rushed, once I have those few hours with you all to laugh, drink and eat I swear it saves me for the rest of the next week until I see you again! :)
Turkey and Black Bean Chili- (cook time of 15 minutes, makes 7, 1 cup servings)
1 lb of ground turkey
2 (15 oz) cans low sodium black beans, undrained
1 cup medium or hot chunky salsa
2 (8 oz) cans of low sodium tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili seasoning mix
low-fat sour cream
shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Cook- mean in large saucepan over medium-high heat until meat is browned, sitrring until crumbles (drain if nessessary)
While meat cooks, drain and mash 1 can of black beans. Add mashed beans, undrained beans, salsa, tomato sauce, and seasoning mix to saucepan; stir well. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thoroghly heated.
Spoon into serving bowls. If desired, top with sour cream and cheese.
Serve with chips and fresh pineapple slices.
Happy Thanksgiving Girls!!!
We came up with a fantastic new idea of secret of the week name tags, that must be filled out upon arrival as to have no late night confessions come upon us! Festivities are definitely in the air as well, phones, calenders and facebooks out we are starting to fill out dates and parties getting the holidays off to a great start. I also think we all learned a few things about how we all decide to take care of the "V" area. Good stories shared of waxing fun and horror!
On a Thanksgiving note, I want you all to know that in this season you are all one of the biggest things I'm thankful for in my life. Some weeks although crazy and rushed, once I have those few hours with you all to laugh, drink and eat I swear it saves me for the rest of the next week until I see you again! :)
Turkey and Black Bean Chili- (cook time of 15 minutes, makes 7, 1 cup servings)
1 lb of ground turkey
2 (15 oz) cans low sodium black beans, undrained
1 cup medium or hot chunky salsa
2 (8 oz) cans of low sodium tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili seasoning mix
low-fat sour cream
shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
Cook- mean in large saucepan over medium-high heat until meat is browned, sitrring until crumbles (drain if nessessary)
While meat cooks, drain and mash 1 can of black beans. Add mashed beans, undrained beans, salsa, tomato sauce, and seasoning mix to saucepan; stir well. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until thoroghly heated.
Spoon into serving bowls. If desired, top with sour cream and cheese.
Serve with chips and fresh pineapple slices.
Happy Thanksgiving Girls!!!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
So much to cheers to!!
We were all at my condo this week! While I thoroughly enjoy every second of having my girls over, I always feel bad that I don't have enough table space. The giant foot rest that came with my miracle-couch sounded like such a good idea in lieu of a coffee table...but I'm regretting that decision more and more when I have nowhere to put down my wine glass!
Anyway, this week, at the suggestion/request of Nelle, I decided to make personal mini-pizzas for everyone. I use the term "make" loosely as it only required the dicing of some toppings and the pushing of a button on the oven. However, everyone eats happily with their own style and personal touch to their meal!
Here's what I use to hopefully meet the cravings of everyone:
Mini pizza crusts (Boboli works great, but any brand will do)
Olive oil
Pizza Sauce
Mozzerella cheese (pre-shredded &/or whole block)
Pepperoni (I like the mini pepperonis, but larger sized works as well if you cut them in half)
Canadian Bacon (same as the pepperonis - either size will work)
Olives
Pineapple (tidbits)
Fresh basil
As the girls come in, I try to have them make their pizza right away so I can cook 3-4 at a time. Besides prepping the oven, brushing a small coat of olive oil on each crust before the toppings minimizes any burning. Once everyone has their pizza prepped, you can put them directly on the oven rack (no more than 4 at a time preferably) and cook according to the directions on the crust packaging. Be sure to check the pizzas about half way through the process, as some can bubble while cooking and cause all your toppigs to slide off to the sides or all over your oven - which is obnoxious to clean up later (not that that's happened to me or anything)! Once they're done, slide them on to individual plates, provide a pizza slicer if you have one, and everyone can enjoy their own creations!
Lots to celebrate in our group throughout the evening! Bea brought over her new baby Muggin puppy (Pug & Min-Pin mix), Baker, who was absolutely adorable and enjoyed snuggling in his blanket all evening. Stella named him, which was a short-lived worry for a few for Bea as the dog's original name was Tator (like the tot) and Stella's train of thought could have lead her to a puppy named after a potato topping. We also were filled in on Ryan's romantic proposal and the families' immediate planning that began for the wine-themed event this summer! It's going to be so perfect for them and we're all very excited! CHEERS TO BEA!
Em wasn't able to make it, being that she just recently finished "cooking" her first baby! But we re-capped her 24+ hrs of labor, 4+ hrs of pushing, the tramatic misinjected epideral, dislocated epideral, and non-functioning epideral, which all lead to a c-section that she had to be knocked-out for to produce her beautiful miracle baby!!! The miracle of life...it takes one hell of a woman to come out looking as beautiful and upbeat as our Emily and her supportive strong husband, Paul. She's absolutely perfect!! CHEERS TO EMILY!
Having taken the past year and a half or so away from her travel work to raise their baby boy, Wyatt, we have all greatly missed Amanda's glorious work perk of beautiful Fox & Co. samples to play dress-up in and shop out of the living room. But this week, she had the opportunity to do it all again and roll in the familiar rack for us to get a sneak-peek at next season's samples! Lots of t-shirst, purses, dresses and more guys' samples at her house available; we had lots of fun giving our own little fashion show. CHEERS TO AMANDA!
As our resident dietician, Teresa had sent an email earlier this week about some probiotics available through her work for a trial. They are live-cultures in a pill form that promote immunity improvement, decreased allergies, and a multitude of other possible intestinal improvements. She brought over a nice box for us to try and we're excited to see if we can tell a difference after using them. CHEERS TO TERESA!
Phew! I know there was more - Lisa's upcoming Holiday season at work, the local Delta Gamma fundraisers, Danielle & Jake's impossible-to-light fireplace, my neverending dance team season...all in good time will we cover everything!
Jess, we hope working at the dump in Mexico was awesome! Lauren, New York is amazing and we're sure you're soaking it all in, kid-free! Emily, can't wait for Ellie's first Girls' Night!!
~Tiff
Anyway, this week, at the suggestion/request of Nelle, I decided to make personal mini-pizzas for everyone. I use the term "make" loosely as it only required the dicing of some toppings and the pushing of a button on the oven. However, everyone eats happily with their own style and personal touch to their meal!
Here's what I use to hopefully meet the cravings of everyone:
Mini pizza crusts (Boboli works great, but any brand will do)
Olive oil
Pizza Sauce
Mozzerella cheese (pre-shredded &/or whole block)
Pepperoni (I like the mini pepperonis, but larger sized works as well if you cut them in half)
Canadian Bacon (same as the pepperonis - either size will work)
Olives
Pineapple (tidbits)
Fresh basil
As the girls come in, I try to have them make their pizza right away so I can cook 3-4 at a time. Besides prepping the oven, brushing a small coat of olive oil on each crust before the toppings minimizes any burning. Once everyone has their pizza prepped, you can put them directly on the oven rack (no more than 4 at a time preferably) and cook according to the directions on the crust packaging. Be sure to check the pizzas about half way through the process, as some can bubble while cooking and cause all your toppigs to slide off to the sides or all over your oven - which is obnoxious to clean up later (not that that's happened to me or anything)! Once they're done, slide them on to individual plates, provide a pizza slicer if you have one, and everyone can enjoy their own creations!
Lots to celebrate in our group throughout the evening! Bea brought over her new baby Muggin puppy (Pug & Min-Pin mix), Baker, who was absolutely adorable and enjoyed snuggling in his blanket all evening. Stella named him, which was a short-lived worry for a few for Bea as the dog's original name was Tator (like the tot) and Stella's train of thought could have lead her to a puppy named after a potato topping. We also were filled in on Ryan's romantic proposal and the families' immediate planning that began for the wine-themed event this summer! It's going to be so perfect for them and we're all very excited! CHEERS TO BEA!
Em wasn't able to make it, being that she just recently finished "cooking" her first baby! But we re-capped her 24+ hrs of labor, 4+ hrs of pushing, the tramatic misinjected epideral, dislocated epideral, and non-functioning epideral, which all lead to a c-section that she had to be knocked-out for to produce her beautiful miracle baby!!! The miracle of life...it takes one hell of a woman to come out looking as beautiful and upbeat as our Emily and her supportive strong husband, Paul. She's absolutely perfect!! CHEERS TO EMILY!
Having taken the past year and a half or so away from her travel work to raise their baby boy, Wyatt, we have all greatly missed Amanda's glorious work perk of beautiful Fox & Co. samples to play dress-up in and shop out of the living room. But this week, she had the opportunity to do it all again and roll in the familiar rack for us to get a sneak-peek at next season's samples! Lots of t-shirst, purses, dresses and more guys' samples at her house available; we had lots of fun giving our own little fashion show. CHEERS TO AMANDA!
As our resident dietician, Teresa had sent an email earlier this week about some probiotics available through her work for a trial. They are live-cultures in a pill form that promote immunity improvement, decreased allergies, and a multitude of other possible intestinal improvements. She brought over a nice box for us to try and we're excited to see if we can tell a difference after using them. CHEERS TO TERESA!
Phew! I know there was more - Lisa's upcoming Holiday season at work, the local Delta Gamma fundraisers, Danielle & Jake's impossible-to-light fireplace, my neverending dance team season...all in good time will we cover everything!
Jess, we hope working at the dump in Mexico was awesome! Lauren, New York is amazing and we're sure you're soaking it all in, kid-free! Emily, can't wait for Ellie's first Girls' Night!!
~Tiff
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