The End?

I haven't been blogging because I've been drinking mainly Sangria. (see last blog)

However I am going on a diet and this means...gasp! No wine. No wine means- No wine blog.
An average bottle of red wine has 550 calories. Cutting that out should be easy. That along with exercise and hopefully I can lose 20 pounds by September for our Tennessee vacation.

Sangria! Sangria!

A local winery, Cherry Valley Vineyards, is having Sangria Sunday every Sunday until October. We went last Sunday, and I want to go back as often as I can. You can buy a cheese plate and a pitcher of sangria for $18. There is also, of course, wine tasting. There is live music inside and outside. You hang out on the vineyard grounds. There are tables, chairs, benches and a pavilion. It's like a big backyard. I enjoyed the sangria so much I got the recipe online and make my own, with some tweaks. They had red and white, I made the red.

I used a semi sweet red wine, Franzia chillable red in a box (only $12 for 5 liters). wash, cut up and add 2 apples. same with 2 oranges and 1 lemon (1 lime too, if you want) but squeeze the citrus juices into the wine before cutting and adding the citrus fruit. Simple and delicious! They add whiskey at the winery but I don't. I'm not sure if it's actually considered sangria or if it's just wine with fruit...but I like it.

Happy Friday

The Seven Brothers

Tonight I tried the second bottle I got from California Wine Club. It was Sauvignon Blanc. From the same vineyard as yesterday's wine, Robledo. Don't forget to use momblog-11 at checkout to get the discount.

I served it with fish, squash, eggplant, and rice. It was good with food, not so good alone. It's crisp and dry. Fruity and not sweet. I'd most likely drink this one in the summer. It would probably good with munster cheese and an apple.

For sure I am more of a red wine fan. However if you like a white wine this one could very well be your new favorite. Try it out!

Robledo Red Blend

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I'd be getting wines from California Wine Club. Please visit their site, you can get these wines for $13 shipping. Just enter the code momblog-11. These wines that I got to try came from Robledo Family Winery. I received a white and a red. Tonight I drank the red. The label is awesome.

It's called Robledo Los Bracerous 2005 Red Wine Blend. It's a rich, thick, dry wine. If you don't like dryness in your wine I wouldn't suggest it.  I however love it!

Tonight I had a glass while cooking and with dinner itself. It was great both ways. I served it with chicken, brown rice and yellow squash.

It was the first wine I've ever had with Tartrate crystals in it. They won't hurt you and all you have to do is decant the wine. They are there for flavor. 

Cheers! and Thanks again to Jon Boring from the California Wine Club.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

My tradition is to make corned beef and cabbage. This year, I've given up red meat for Lent. I'm cooking cabbage, potatoes and carrots in beer. My husband is having sausage & onions (in beer) and mac and cheese. He's not a huge fan of cabbage or potatoes. Or corned beef for that matter.

I'm drinking a Liberty Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. It's good. Nice, dry and an overall good Cabernet. It should go well with the meal. It's good by itself also.

Since we're not drinking green beer, I am drinking out of a green wine glass. Joe will most likely have a tequila and oj. Cheers!!!!

Joe has off tomorrow and it's gonna be about 60 degrees. He wants to fish and we may also hike and have a picnic.

Tomorrow night I'm having Girl's Night In at my house. I bought 2 bottles of Apothic Red Blend (see last blog)..Donna and Lynann are coming. I also bought blue tortilla chips, pita chips, hummus and cheese dip.

Apothic Winemaker's Red Blend

I'm on a diet (but I won't give up wine just yet) ...and gave up red meat for Lent. So it's fish and chicken here lately. Wine goes well with it.

Tonight I had a 2009 Apothic Winemaker's Blend Red Blend from Sonoma, California's Apothic Vineyard. It was really good. It's a mix of Zinfandel, Merlot and Syrah. I bought it on sale for $8.99, down from $10.99. It has tastes of dark berries and hints of chocolate. I was almost surprised I liked it because I don't like Merlot.

I cooked salmon, brown rice, yellow squash and broccoli. This wine was a good compliment to it. I had some while I cooked and it was good alone too. I'd pair it with a mild cheese and some whole wheat cracker for snacking.

My wine rack runneth over

So here in Pennsylvania they are taking certain wines and spirits off the shelves. See article here.
The clearance prices are fantastic...I've never tried some of these wines and at prices starting at $2.99 I have tried a few. I currently have 11 bottles of wine in the house.

I better start drinking/blogging because 2 more bottles are on the way...For FREE!!! Many Thanks to Jon Boring at the California Wine Club for that. Check them out.  I'll be receiving a Red Blend and Sauvingnon Blanc. Can't wait to try them. The wines come from a small California vineyard.

Princess Grace Kelly (dog blog)

I don't have much new wine news, although I'm working on that. I have Cupcake Chardonnay and Tisdale Pinot Noir.

In other news, we adopted a dog. Her owner died of cancer. About 2 weeks ago Joe said "We should look for another dog". I agreed but said "Not a puppy".

She came to us as Princess and is now answering to Grace. Her name is actually now Princess Grace Kelly. But it's like if Mom's mad the whole name is coming out...luckily we haven't had a reason to get mad at her.

It was fate that this dog came into our lives. I believe in things like that- Angels, God, Fate, Signs...etc.

I'm not happy about the fact that her owner died but I am happy she's here. Happy that we can take good care of her. She's such a good dog. Her and our first dog ,Layla, get along great. They walk on separate leashes but next to each other, ride in the car together and Layla sleeps on the couch with Grace next to her on the floor.

I took her to the vet on Thursday. She has a Urinary Tract Infection, Lyme disease and needs vaccines. The vet said we'll treat one thing at a time as to not overload her immune system. So I give her the meds daily for the UTI and after her 2 week check up we will start the Lyme disease treatment then after that the vaccines.

We would have taken her no matter what, at any cost, she's our family now.

Liberty Creek

Tonight I choose a Cabernet Sauvignon. I bought Liberty Creek. It's from California. It could easily be an "everyday" wine especially at the $8.99 price (for 1.5 liters) and for it's great taste. It has a bold smell and taste. I taste cherry more than berry and nut more than oak. It goes well with red meat or like I like to make red meat "substitutes" like ground turkey or chicken.

I wish I had a steak to cook tonight to go with this wine but I'm making sausage sandwiches. It should go well with that.

I'm really glad it's Superbowl weekend. Even if it means I need to find a new sport to watch, I can't wait until Sunday at 6. I bought a bunch of snacks and have beer to drink. Boneless wings, doritos, bbq chips, cheese, pepperoni, pizza rolls and spinach & artichoke mini bread bowls and Yuengling. Not sure who's coming over but they won't go hungry.

GO STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!

Tisdale

Tonight I'm making a new recipe for dinner. It's like chicken pot pie but with biscuits instead of crust. I got the recipe from a friend and a serving of it to try. It was yummy.
Right now the chicken is cooking in the crock pot and I am opening a bottle of wine. It's a lovely snow day here today. Soon I'll cut up the chicken and start on the pot pie. I'm gonna put on Taylor Swift's new cd and enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

The wine I opened is a 2007 Tisdale Pinot Noir. It's a nice mix of cherry and berry flavors. Not too dry at all. I have colby jack cheese and an apple to go with it for a snack later.

Enjoy the storm!

Barefoot Pinot Grigio

Happy Saturday!!!!

Tonight I"m making small pasta shells, chicken and broccoli with pesto sauce. I'm drinking Barefoot Pinot Grigio. We're watching the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona...and maybe playing Trivial Pursuit. Overall a nice Saturday night at home while the snow falls outside.

Of all the Pinot Grigios I have tasted Barefoot is by far my favorite. Not only for the taste but for the price!

New Job

 I went to talk to Carol today, at Little Discoveries. She hired me!

I am an assistant teacher in the older 2 year old room. I work in the afternoon, from 2:30-6:30. Plus sub hours if anyone calls out. I start tomorrow. I'm excited and happy and not so nervous, these are the kids I was with last week.
Daycare really is a fun place to work. I can't wait until I'm all settled in. This is gonna be great!

Tonight I made ham, bean and potato soup. I drank a glass of my "comfort" wine, Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon. Actually almost any Cabernet will do. It doesn't matter if I'm celebrating, like today, or sad. Cabernet makes a great wine.
Tomorrow I'm gonna brown some ground turkey and make chili in the crock pot before I leave for work. I love when dinner is ready when I get home. Crock pots are awesome. Wednesday I'll make chicken in it. Thursday it's burgers on the George Foreman grill. Friday I'm gonna make chicken parmesan and spaghetti.

Corbett Canyon

I'm making steak sandwiches tonight. I'm going to have a good old comforting glass of Cabernet with it. Probably while I cook too. It's my favorite wine right now. I knew it was gonna snow here last night so I went to the liquor store yesterday. Along with 2 bottles of Barefoot white wine, I bought a bottle of Corbett Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon. I've already drank it and blogged about this kind so I knew I'd like it.

Other than that I'm hoping for a nice quiet night at home in my pj's reading or playing trivial pursuit with Joe.
I haven't heard back from the daycare but the day isn't over....

Barefoot (Again)

My working interview was this morning. I think it went well but I don't want to jinx myself. I will say the kids were fun. She told me to call her in the morning.

 Today I'm baking a ham. It smells good in here. I'm also making brussel sprouts. They are currently my favorite food. I boil them for about 8 minutes then I cook them in the oven at 425 with olive oil, salt and pepper...Fantastic! I'm gonna try this with eggplant tomorrow.
I like a white wine with saltier meats so I picked up some Barefoot Chardonnay. It's buttery sweetness with be great with dinner. It also has plenty of fruity flavors in it. It's so yummy, I had to open it before dinner is even ready.
Maybe for a snack later I'll have some cheddar cheese and apples with a glass of it. That should be tasty.

Andretti

I was lazy with dinner tonight. I just shredded some leftover pork and added bbq sauce to it and heated it up. It was quick, easy and a  good way to use up the leftovers.
Along with dinner I opened a bottle of 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon from California's North Coast. It's made by Andretti Winery. Yes, it's Mario Andretti wine.

It had a full bodied, bold, nutty smell. It didn't disappoint when I tasted it either. It was a thick heavy wine. It was very dry with a strong oak flavor. I'd serve it with soft port wine cheese and crackers. As for a meal it'd go well with any red meat and even went well with pork bbq.

Snowed In

The daycare I was going to interview at today is closed because of bad weather. We got a bit of snow and then freezing rain. I called this morning and the voice mail said there was a 2 hour delay. About a half hour after that I found out they are closed today. I wanted the interview to be today but I didn't want to go in this weather. I'm going to call tomorrow morning and hopefully go in tomorrow too.

Since I'm snowed in I'm sitting here looking out the window with coffee in hand, watching very few cars go by. It's nice and cozy in here and I'm under a nice fleece blanket. I'd like to do this all day but I'll probably swiffer the walls, baseboards and hardwood floors. I also need to organize the upstairs closets. After that I might watch a movie or read some of the book I'm into.

Dinner tonight is Pork BBQ. I have left over pork from a roast I made the other day. I have a bottle of Andretti Cabernet Sauvignon to drink with it. Can't wait to try it.

A New Job?

In the beginning of Decemeber a friend of mine told me the daycare she was working at was hiring. I jumped at the chance because by far working in a daycare has been my favorite job. The opening is for the older 2 room and that is one of my favorite age groups. I went in to fill out and application and had an interview right then. It went well so I did wonder about not getting a call back. It was over the holidays so I had put it in the back of my mind.
Last Wednesday I got a call from them. They asked if I would come in for a working interview. I said yes and we set up a time for me to come in...tomorrow, Tuesday, at 9:30.
I am ready. I have the project we are going to do printed out. I have a book to read to them. I even know what I'm going to wear...So of course they are calling for freezing rain until noon tomorrow.

Keeping my fingers crossed about the weather being clear and the kids liking me.

Barefoot

I roasted a whole chicken tonight. I opened a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Grigio while I was cooking. Yummy! It had crisp and clean taste. Nice blend of pear and apple flavors. With a citrus after taste. It's not too dry but not too sweet, but a perfect blend of both. It was good with dinner too. Perfect with seafood or poultry dishes.

It's gonna snow tomorrow. The news says 3-5 but I want more. I am making chicken soup with the leftover chicken bones and meat. I have a Barefoot Moscato Spumante for tomorrow night.

the Little Penguin

Tonight I'm drinking the Little Penguin. It's a 2010 Pinot Noir from South Eastern Australia. It's tasty. It's not very dry. It has a sweet finish with many fruit flavors. Mostly berries, including a slight taste of strawberry. I would serve this with any red meat dish. I'd like it with a steak.

According to the bottle, the Little Penguin is the smallest of all penguins.It can be found along the coast of South Eastern Australia. It's a region home to many vineyards including the Little Penguin wines.

Wine Flights

We went out to dinner last night. We went to Sarah Street Grill, our favorite restaurant. We had a gift card. -Thanks again Kait, Kevin and Josh.- We went last night because Tuesday night is wine night there. It's 10% off a bottle or 1/2 price wine flights. I opted for the wine flights. --Wine flights are a few ounces of a few different wines.--
First I had the white wine flight.
The 3 whites were Menage a Trois, Napa Cellars Sauvignon Blanc and Glen Carlou Chardonnay. Menage a Trois is a white table wine and it was nice, crisp and fruity. The Sauvignon Blanc was my favorite. It was a nice dry white. I was surprised by the chardonnay, usually I don't like it. This one was not to buttery, it had a nice nutty flavor and yummy sweetness.

Next I tried the red flight.
The 3 reds were Gorrebusto Tempranillo, Blackstone Zinfandel and Hayman & Hill Cabernet Sauvignon. I wasn't sure that I would like all the reds, but at half price I was willing to try it out. I tried the Zinfandel first because I thought I wouldn't like it. But I did. It wasn't too dry but just dry enough. The Tempranillo was a spicy not too dry wine. I knew I'd like the Cabernet because it's my favorite. It was perfect. Dry, nutty and spicy all at once.

I guess it's the spice and the dryness that draws me to red wines but I know when I want something sweet, white wine is always there for me.

Gift of the Year

Christmas with Joe's kids was awesome, as usual. Everyone had a great time and got great presents. We got a gift card to our favorite restaurant. A new trivia game called smart ass, which we've had a lot of fun playing.
I got a wine pourer. A wine carrying bag for going out on girl's night. A wine preserver. A few bottles of wine. I also got a book, Huck (which is great so far), and a fleece blanket which are perfect for cuddling up with my new favorite glass to drink wine in. It is the best gift I got this year! Thank You Emily!!