Beef Stroganoff

Yesterday was a day for a warm comfort dinner - so I made stroganoff. This was the first time I have ever made it. It was very easy and made quite a bit!
Braise the meat in a bit of EVOO. After browning on all the sides I took it out of the pot and sauted my onions and mushrooms. Then I added about a cup and 1/2 of red wine and put the meat back in in. Add 1 can cream of mushroom soup with a bit of water and about 1/2 cup of cream. I added frozen peas as well, but that is optional. Salt and pepper. Let simmer for about 30 minutes. I cooked my no yolk noodles for only 5 minutes - added to the meat and cooked for another 10 minutes of so.

Roasting, Green Chile that is

I found some Hatch Green Chile at the grocery store. That's right, HATCH GREEN CHILE! Only one of the best things ever. EVER. I roasted it over our tiny camping grill, cleaned it, put cheese on it, and then had my way with it. And IT WAS AMAZING. I almost cried when the smell of the roasting chile started permeating the air. It is by far one of the BEST smells in the ENTIRE WORLD.
It is a smell of my past. It brings about so many pleasant memories. It makes my mouth water to even think about the smell. It is a signal of the start of fall in New Mexico. Even if it is still hitting the mid-90's, you just know that Fall is around the corner. The welcome relief from the heat is soon, along with scarecrows on front porches, surrounded by pumpkins, your house smelling warm and welcoming like fresh baked snicker doodles, school supplies, football games, sweaters. All these memories and more flood back to me with one wiff of the roasting chile. I wish everyone could know this amazing smell, and the even better taste of a FRESH roasted green chile. Oh the possibilities...rellanos, green chile cheese burgers, plain on a fresh tortillas, fresh green chile enchiladas, green chile stew!!

Our Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. We stayed here in Maryland. Just the two of us. Last Thanksgiving our friends Jenni and Rob came out and the Thanksgiving before that Tony's parents came out. So this was new, just us...but we made the most of it. We did the full spread and just sipped on wine and relaxed all day. Very low key.
Here's some pics! I threw one in of Kirby for good measure!

Enjoying the fall

Tony took this picture. The colors were so great this weekend.



Looking down from the lookout onto Harpers Ferry.
Tony and I went hiking at Harpers Ferry this past weekend. I've been wanting to go there for a while and I figured right now would be a beautiful time to go. The weather was perfect. The people at the AT visitors center were extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Harpers Ferry is known as the halfway point for the thru hikers from Georgia to Maine. They also have a really nice bike trail that runs right by the river. It actually goes all the way from Pittsburgh to DC. I'm not sure I'm up for that, but it would be fun! Hopefully we will make it back out there before it gets too cold.

Home, Sweet Home

I got to go home to NM a couple of weeks ago. It was amazing. I got to be with family, and as if that weren't enough, I got a few days of the beautiful New Mexico fall. I also got to eat enchiladas, mom's homecooking, and Sonic. I miss the food!Nothing out here can touch it. It's so hard to be far away and I think that I'm always more homesick whenever I get back. You go about your daily routine and you get used to being homesick, used to being far away from those closest to your heart, it just becomes part of what you do, you adapt and deal with it.But then when you get to be with the people who love you the most, you realize how lonely you've been. Fingers crossed, we'll be closer to home sooner rather than later.
Here's a pic of me and my sister. I'll try to put some more on Flicr and put in a link. Don't hold your breath though. This whole going back to college thing has been a lot more time consuming than first thought.