Halloween Rats.

This weekend I wen to a Halloween party on Friday night. We were supposed to bring a spooky dish. After scouring google for a bit, I found this. I decided to share in case anyone else was needed to make a Halloween treat.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 (1.25 ounce) packet meatloaf seasoning mix
• 1 cup cubed Cheddar cheese
• 3 (10 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 ounce uncooked spaghetti, broken into fourths
• 1/2 carrot, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
• 1 tablespoon frozen green peas

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, egg, bread crumbs, and meatloaf seasoning. Use your hands to mix until well blended. Measure out 1/3 cupfuls of the meat mixture and mold around a cube of cheese like a meatball. Shape into a point at one end and lengthen the body a bit by rolling between your hands. Place your ''rat'' into a shallow baking dish, and continue with the remaining meat. Insert pieces of uncooked spaghetti into the rounded end of the rats to make tails.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the rats in the dish and cover the dish with a lid or aluminum foil.
4. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover the dish and continue to bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, basting occasionally with the sauce to glaze the rats.
5. While the rats finish baking, heat the peas and carrots in a small bowl in the microwave for about 15 seconds.
6. Carefully transfer the rats to a serving platter so that their delicate tails don't fall off. Press peas into the pointy end to make eyes, and insert carrot slices to make ears. Spoon some of the tomato sauce around them and serve.

It smelled great! I did only half the recipe. I actually didn't try it so I can't comment on how it tasted.

We are all ready for the weekend. Here, many people just set up tables and chairs outside so the kids don't have to come to the door. However, with our mere 10 bags of candy, we will maybe be outside for 20 minutes. No joke.

Babysitting Fun.

Nothing New.

I wish I had more to tell y'all about, but there hasn't been anything spectacular write-worthy material going on, along with a lack of time. So here are some bullet points of things going on...

• Brandon has only two more weeks of school for this session. He has yet another research paper due in a couple of weeks that will preoccupy most his time outside of work. He is headed towards an A in his computer programming class.
• We are taking care of our neighbors Basset Hound!!! Her family will be off-island for the next 3 weeks and we I was more than excited to babysit. Stay tuned for cute puppy pics. :)
• After being away for 2 weeks, last week was hard to get back into the swing of things which really means my list of things to do has been piling and I still have not managed to cross things off it.
• This past weekend was full of fun events: Bunco on Friday, Housewarming party on Saturday, and Date Night on Sunday.
• Brandon used his free day off yesterday for his birthday. We actually started Christmas shopping, can you believe it!! We are not close to done, but we want to be sure it gets to everyone on time.
• Speaking of, I have ordered our Christmas cards. I am determined to get them to y'all before actual Christmas!

And that about does it, maybe I will think of something interesting to write about my tomorrow.

Tropical Storm Otto.

You wouldn't believe the weather here. On my trip back to Texas, I kept updated with the weather going on in the Azores and prayed the worst would be gone by the time I got back. No such luck. The cold, the sideways rain, the strong winds have continued for a good week and a half now. The once Hurricane Otto which digressed into a tropical storm I believe has died out. However, it sure did blow out are summer, literally. You can read about it here... the Azores was in the news. :)

I keep trying to mentally prepare myself for winter and it is not working. The past two days, I have spent a significant amount of time googling Northface jackets and Ugg boots. The ocean is mad, the waves have been huge. Its a beautiful sight to see, but I will take my sunny skies and calm seas any day.

Back from Texas.

I am back! I had a wonderful time in the states. Thanks to those who came to say hi! I definitely got my fill of shopping, hot weather and Mexican food. I am set for the rest of the year, well sorta. I do have to say I am thankful for all the money we are able to save due to the fact that Targets are not around. I believe I went to Target at least 10 times in 2 weeks. I miss my family back at home already, but was so happy to get back to my husband and son. I think Brandon and Mason were on each others last nerve. :) I intended to take pictures so I could show everyone on the blog, but of course that didn't happen.

Until January Texas...