Amy's Own Sausage Apple Stuffing

I know I suck at keeping a blog, but this Thanksgiving was the first time I cooked dishes on my own and I loved it.  Also, this is the first time I've combined multiple recipes on the web to make my own, original recipe.  Just wanted to write it down for myself, and also for anyone else who's interested!

Amy's Sausage and Apple Stuffing

(Because it was that good)

Ingredients:

• 1 loaf sour dough bread, cubed (about 10 cups)
• 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 lb Mild Italian Sausage, casing removed
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 ribs of celery, chopped
• 3 tablespoons fresh sage, finely chopped and divided
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 cup white cooking wine
• Garlic Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 cups chicken stock/broth
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cubed sourdough on 2 baking sheets. Bake 10-15 minutes, stirring bread occasionally until toasted, but not browned. Place toasted bread cubes into extra large bowl, add cranberries and apples. Set aside.

Butter 9x13-inch casserole dish. Set aside.

In large skillet over medium heat, cook sausage using spatula to break it up as it cooks. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons of fresh herbs. Cook through, but do not brown. Remove sausage from skillet using slotted spoon and add it to bowl with bread cubes. Leave 2 tablespoons of sausage drippings in the pan (drain any extra) and add onions and celery. Cook until translucent; add pecans, herbs, garlic and apples to skillet. Cook 3-5 minutes stirring frequently. Pour skillet mixture into bowl with bread cubes.

Add wine to skillet and scrape browned bits from bottom of pan as it cooks. Add butter and chicken stock. Bring to boil for 3 minutes, remove from heat and pour over bread cubes in bowl. Add eggs. Toss gently until combined and pour into prepared baking dishes.

Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake 15 minutes more.  Done!

It's Been Forever.

Life happens, and then you forget to blog about it.

I'll keep this update short and sweet...And hopefully, I'll become better about updating this highly-neglected blog more frequently.

I have been living in Denver, Colorado for the past month!  Time flies when you're having fun -  And I really am having a fantastic time.  

The past month has consisted of: 

• Adjusting to Stepmother-hood (just kidding-ish, he's a dog, my boyfriend's amazing 2 year old pup Cooper).  I love having a second pup around to give love to!

My chillin's.  I swear Taz is happier than he looks about having a little brother.                 

• Job hunting -  I'm being really picky and it's going way too slow for my liking.
• Camping -  That was last weekend.  It was beautiful being up in the mountains and seeing the fall colors.  The leaves, they are a-changing.  Oh, and we stopped by Fairplay, CO - Where the fictional town of "South Park" is based upon.

                       

Luckily I went camping with 4 guys who fit the parts just right.

Absolutely beautiful.

• Beer festivals/Oktoberfest.  These go without saying.  Denver has some pretty rad breweries and pumpkin beer.
• New friends.  This also goes without saying.  I really love meeting new people, so it's been fun!

Giant Jenga is a big deal here.  This is Julie, Katharine and I trying our hand at it.

The past summer I guess I should highlight as well.

• My little brother Matt came to visit Utah in June.  He loved it.  Besides me almost fainting on our hike up Grandeur Peak, I'd say it was a success.

   

Hiking Grandeur Peak with my little-big bro.

• I visited Colorado, a lot...Mainly to see this guy that I have a really big crush on  (he's pretty sweet).  



My first Red Rocks show.  Elephant Revival and Gregory Alan Isakov played -  Backed up by the CO Symphony.  It was BEAUTIFUL.

• I saw some amazing shows at Red Rocks Ampitheater (that place has been on my bucket list for years; it did not disappoint) and we did a lot of camping.  I love camping, and I can now say that I make some mean camp-tacos.  

This camping picture of us makes me laugh.

July 4th camping.  We floated the Colorado River on inner tubes, probably best 4th of July ever.

Primitive.

• I also visited another spot on my bucket list, Lake Powell.  It was one of the most amazing, fun experiences of my life and I cannot wait to go back again!  I don't think I've ever laughed so much in one trip.  

Our spot -  Yes you're seeing that right.  That's a blob.  Oh, yes we did.

• For my East Coast friends, an explanation: Us West Coast people (or something like that) rent a house boat, boat to an undisclosed location (with no cell phone service!) in what's basically a flooded Grand Canyon, and play house for the week.  On a lake.  It's as awesome as it sounds.

Just ya know, proof I was there.

                       

• I went to a beautiful wedding following that, and then Andrew, Cooper Taz and I rented a Uhaul and hauled my stuff out to Denver.  

                      

And here I am now, living in a sweet house in Denver with 3 other roommates, 4 dogs, and a cute yard.

Talk soon, yeah?

P.S.  Yes, it was one of the hardest things ever quitting my dream job, but as much as I love my cancer kiddos, I needed to take care of myself...And working nights and days, having a hugely unpredictable schedule made my body hate me.  No joke, I got diagnosed with high blood pressure this summer...And as soon as I moved out here, it's magically disappeared.

Glimmers of Hope.

I feel like the past couple of months have taken their toll on me when it comes to my job.

I love it, but sometimes it hurts my heart a lot.

The love I have for these patients and their families is so big, so naturally when these patients I have come to know and love just can't fight anymore, it is heartbreaking.

As a nurse, you become these kiddos' biggest cheerleaders in life next to their family.

It sucks.  Plain and simple.

There are glimmers of hope.

Like for instance, today a cute kid who I hadn't seen in a few months walked into our unit...With the most beautiful  re-grown blonde hair and those same smiling eyes of his.  We all yelled "Spiderman!" as he walked in (a superhero nickname for a superhero kid).  He immediately retorted with "It's NINJA BOY now!!"   

I hope he always knows he can be whatever he wants to be, as long as he loves it.

So tonight I sit here, reflecting on these last few months and hoping I can always find the little glimmers of hope to get me through.






(INSERT picture of me dressed up in a Spiderman mask with my patient...It happened, and is somewhere out there on the world wide web.)

Visits, Ski, Hike, Denver.

This update will be random.

It's hard to catch up on three plus months worth of life events.

My little sister Ali finally came out in April to see what Utah was all about...And I'm pretty sure she loved it.  It was so cool to be able to take my sister around and show her that Utah is actually amazing and not weird...She actually called me the night before she flew out here to ask if there were any malls in Utah.  Operation: get my family to move out here has officially begun.

Sistas forever

I skied on May 16th, which was cool because it is my dad's birthday...But, even cooler because it's MAY 16th!  I skied in the middle of May!  Another perk of living in Utah, except skiing in slush is way harder than it looks.  I went with my rad friend/coworker Kristin.  It's always a party when we work/play together.

We may or may not have given up early...

Next, forget how terrifying I may look...But know that I have the coolest friends to go hiking with, ever. Taz, Vater, Jadie and I are the greatest of hiking pals.  I can't wait to go on more hikes this summer with our group! 

Last but certainly not least, I went to go explore Denver, Colorado for the first time the other weekend.  Although I didn't get to explore as much as I would have liked to (I lost my ID on the second day there...Major fail), I had a lovely time with this sweet guy!

Somewhere in Boulder, Colorado.  

Bike ride selfies.

More later..This summer should be pretty sweet!

Update Intro.

Heads up: I wrote this about 3 weeks ago...I think.

I woke up this morning thinking about my blog.

It's been nearly a three month hiatus.

It's time to update!

(Fun fact: at that time, I saw an anonymous person commented on my blog saying they wish I'd update again.  Well, Anonymous...Today's your lucky day.)

A lot has happened in three months.

Two and a half of those months have comprised of me adjusting to being a dog mom.

I love it, and Taz does too.  I call it Taz's "retirement" phase of life.  He's almost nine, and in dog years that's AARP-worthy.  

Taz started out his retirement by a cross-country trip to from New York to Utah, followed by lots of hiking in the mountains.  He's discovered a love for dog parks.  He has also discovered that water is okay to casually wade through.  I think he's also discovered he's a dog...He has made a couple of dog friends, finally!  

He has even hiked Nevada..How many of you have hiked in Nevada?  This is one lucky dog, living it up!
      

 (At this time, he also rolled around in cow manure out of excitement..I hope none of you have done that)

I'm lucky to have extended family live just a two and a half hour drive away, and that they live in such a beautiful part of this country.  Yes, Nevada can be beautiful!  No, it's nowhere near Las Vegas.  I stay away from Las Vegas like it's the plague.

I'm just pretty lucky is all...

Except when I sliced my finger open with my brand new chopping knife and landed myself in the emergency room with 5 stitches.  My bad.

Dreams, and Dogs.

I love my dreams.

Since my skiing helmet came in the mail about one month ago (it's seriously been that long!!) I dream about skiing all the time.  My dreams involve me doing crazy Olympian things.  I also have many dreams where I am skiing in deep, deep powder.  So deep that it goes up to my neck and I end up nearly buried, stuck under the snow..But I don't mind, because it's powder.  I think I very may well have caught the "powder flu".  

Last night, I dreamed of Icees (the best slushies ever) and chugging cherry coke.  I wish that was real life.

So last week, I turned down this crazy, amazing opportunity to go to Thailand.  I got as far as buying the plane ticket, and then turned it down last second because I didn't want to get in trouble with work (I would have had to call in sick four times in a row, which is one time too many).  Reflecting on that, I realized I must really love my job.  And the verdict is in.  I really, really do love it.  I love the kids.  A lot of the time it's hard to muster up the energy to go to work.  But it really is so rewarding.  So rewarding that I wouldn't risk a runaway trip to Thailand for fear of losing it.

Also.  By the end of next week, I should have a dog living with me, permanently.  His name is Taz.  I'm sure you know him...As I have so affectionately referred to him as my boyfriend for the past few years.  He loved me so much, he decided to hitch a ride across the country for me.  That's true love.

Random Amy-ness.

It's just one of those days where I'm contemplating my life and laughing at how crazy it is,

but in a good way.

If that makes any sense at all.

I wake up at 12:30 pm, after the best 4 hours of sleep I've ever had.  I was so tired after my night shift last night.  Extremely tired.  Usually I need more than 4 hours (at least 10) but for some reason I wake up feeling so great.

I go brush my teeth, and it looks beautiful outside.  Of course since I'm so smartphone-reliant, I go to look at the weather on my phone.  52 degrees and sunny?   Sounds lovely.  I get on some clothes and go outside.  I hear this little girl literally singing her heart out.  It sounds like this is a make-up-the-lyrics-as-you-go kind of song.  She's probably six years old.  She is with her dog alone on her balcony and I'm pretty sure she thinks no one can hear her, but she makes my day absolutely fantastic.
It reminds me of when I was a little girl and used to go into my backyard and sing at the top of my lungs -  Now I'm a little embarrassed, and laugh about how I've probably been caught many a time doing the same thing.

Next, I shower.  I'm listening to spotify.  After the shower and while I'm getting dressed, some amazing dance music comes on.  I'm dancing my heart out in my room, in a towel.  I start practicing my twerking and just start laughing at how ridiculous my life is.  Doesn't every girl practice twerking in the mirror though, or is it just me?  And why is twerking showing up as incorrectly spelled?  I need to update my computer spellcheck.

If you've stuck with this amazing narrative so far, you're in for a treat of a story.  A story that is totally irrelevant to you, but so relevant to me.

When I was little, I used to ask my mom why she named me 'Amy'.  I thought names were fascinating. Say your name ten times in a row, and suddenly it doesn't seem like your name anymore.  It's weird.  My mom could have gone with the fact that her mother's name is Amy, and I was named after her because she is an angel (she really was the most wonderful woman).  But no, my mom swears up and down that I am not named after her mother -  I am named after a song.

It's a beautiful song, and I remember listening to it when I was little and thinking that it was written just for me.  As a little girl, I pictured, and this was not creepy at all at the time, a group of 3 guys (think Uncle Jesse and Uncle Joey on Full House) at my house, singing to me "Amy, what you wanna do?" like they're asking me, what do I want to do?  Play dolls or watch Sesame Street?

Now I listen to the lyrics and think it's so fitting of my life right now in general.  

Whoever wrote the song seems equally as confused as me in life, and he really doesn't know what he wants.  He doesn't know if Amie is really a keeper or not, but he thinks it'd be fun to just hang out and see what happens.  I think we'd be a perfect fit.

Olympic Games.

It's that time again, you guys.

The Olympics.

I have quite the history with my love for the Olympics.

However, only my family truly knows how much I love the Olympics.

Let's rewind back to 1996.  That is the year I fell in love with the Olympics, everything about it.  I was obsessed.  Shannon Miller, Dominique Moceanu, Dominique Dawes, Amy Chow, Jayci Phelps, Keri Strug, Amanda Borden.  The Magnificent Seven.  They were so magnificent that I remember all of their names, first and last...And I even got re-tweeted by Dominique Moceanu during the 2012 Olympic Games (I cried).  Not trying to brag y'all.

I remember watching the Atlanta Olympics so vividly.  My days those two weeks comprised of going into my backyard or the basement to practice my moves, going into the pool to pretend I was an Olympic swimmer, and going back to the television again to watch primetime/highlights that night.  Those were the days.

Nagano 1998: I fell in love with Tara Lipinski in Nagano, but who didn't?  She was precious, and at the age of 10, figure skating sounded like the coolest thing on earth.  So I tried it, and I sucked at it.  Surprise.

Fast forward to Beijing 2008....The year of Michael Phelps.  So, my dad planned this great vacation to Disney World during the Olympics.  But I just had to watch all EIGHT of his events, live.  No five star restaurants that trip - only places that had televisions mounted so that I could relish every second of his Olympic glory.  And it was glorious...Worth every second.

Vancouver 2010:  So I have to admit...As a huge summer Olympic fan, I would kind of shrug off the winter Olympics.  Until this year.  I found myself coincidentally flipping the channel to Shaun White winning a gold medal in snowboarding, and then the National Anthem played, and I started crying  Red, white and blue American tears (they weren't literally, but they were..you have to understand).

London 2012:  I began these games watching in Mexico (of course I had to make sure I didn't miss it)...And oh boy, I put my heart and soul into that Olympics.  I was a basket case full of emotions alongside those athletes (or at least I felt like I was right beside them).   So my most vivid memory of the 2012 Olympics was watching the All-Around Women's Gymnastics finals with my sister.  Except it became less vivid as the night went on....We dyed each other's hair, and when Gabby Douglas won I was apparently bawling my eyes out and kept saying "DID YOU SEE THAT?  OUR GIRL GABBY WON".  Over and over again.  In case no one could hear me the first time.

Taz and I watching the Olympics.

So there was my Olympics: Amy's Life timeline.

Let the games begin!

Me, two days ago.  Sochi '14.  (In my dreams)

Two Months.

Hey.

It's been a while.

Almost 2 months to be approximate.

Life is good.

I celebrated my one year anniversary of being a pediatric cancer nurse yesterday.

By celebrated, I mean: Looked at my phone around 8pm, noticed the date and said:  "Oh my, it's my one year anniversary of work!" and carried on.

The past two months:

I got a pass to ski at Powder Mountain.  I've skied there only twice so far, but I WILL break even by season's end!

Speaking of which, I skied for the first time by myself yesterday.
Pro:  It was fun to explore a mountain by myself.  Con: It was kind of lonely, and I learned I prefer skiing with a buddy (or multiple).

I skied Brighton once with my friend Kristen from work.  It was such an epically beautiful day to ski.  I felt like I was in a dream, or a winter wonderland the entire time.

I went climbing for the first time at a climbing gym this past weekend.  My body is almost done recovering.  Can we say full body workout?!  Also, I'd like to think I'm not afraid of heights but for some reason fear kicked into full gear up there.  Such a fun experience, though.  I think Jenny and Daysha are onto something with starting a Girls' Climbing Club.

I've been sleeping a lot, cooking less, and listening to podcasts more often.

I've been enjoying time alone and quiet.

Sometimes it's lonely, but life goes on.

I love my new friends, and old as well.

  

My dad got engaged - I tell people this and many wonder "how I feel" about it...I'm so happy for him!

I love Chris (his fiancee) and I am happy that they found a life with each other.  

I just hope they come visit me this summer....because I miss them!

And let's be honest, the mountains are my playground...

And I absolutely LOVE it, and I am so lucky I live here!!!