Da Dogs

We were dog-sitting for the past ten days while our friends took an international trip.  Moose, their corgie-mix, has been to our house numerous times with the same mixed results: while he's a great dog, he doesn't exactly jump at the chance to play with our spoiled puggle.

For example: the Mister and I sit on the couch and watch TV after work.  Pugsley, the puggle, likes to sit next to/on top of/ascloseaspossible to us at all times.  Recently he's taken a liking to our new living room chairs.

Hi, Mr. Pugsley!

At some point during the evening, we start wondering what happened to Moose, the corgie-mix.  We have photographic evidence of what we saw next:

He just lays there... on his back... not making a sound...
This became a normal sight.

Sigh.

Recipe: Legit Nutella Cheesecake

We are long overdue for a good recipe but I promise this one won't disappoint!  A co-worker passed along the recipe after I heard him going on and on and on and on about his wife's cheesecake.  Admittedly, I'm not a huge cheesecake fan but I am fascinated by the Nutella obsession.  My MIL requested chocolate cheesecake for the Mother's Day dinner so I found this to be the perfect opportunity to try-out a new recipe.  It didn't disappoint.

Note: I made a Gluten Free version by using GF oreos for the crust and GF flour.  

Ingredients:

• Crust
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• Filling
• 24 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 (13 ounce) jar nutella
• 
  

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine crust ingredients. Pat into the bottom of springform pan and bake for 10 minutes.
• In the bowl of a mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla extract until just combined. Add egg yolks and egg, beat on low until just combined. Add milk and Nutella and mix completely.
• Pour filling into springform pan. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F. Place springform pan on a deep cookie sheet and then place in oven. Create a water bath by adding water to the outer cookie sheet, just enough to fill the pan halfway up the side of the springform pan. This will help buffer the heat from the bottom of the oven.
• Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until center appears set when shaken lightly. Remove from water bath and cool on a wire rack. Remove cake from pan, cool, and store in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

First Dance Awesomeness

...and we're back! The hubster and I just returned from an amazing vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. We went with his company who sponsored the trip after the team hit their sales goal for 2011. The weather was perfect, the water was gorgeous and the food and drink were plentiful. Only problem: I forgot my camera. Seriously. Who does that?! I'm gathering photos from our fellow travelers and will post a few soon. In the meantime, I highly suggest you plan a little beach vacay to PC, DR. It won't disappoint. We went to our first wedding of the season a few weeks ago here in Denver and they did something amazing with their first dance that I've never seen before. Their DJ, a radio guy, pulled them both into his studio several weeks before the wedding and interviewed them separately. They spoke about how they met, their favorite memories, their engagement and their wishes for the future. He then inserted their comments into their chosen first dance song during the instrumental periods. The couple didn't hear the finished product before the wedding so it was all a surprise. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house after that one! Take note, Brides! That's all for now... Coming up: bathroom renovations pictures (finally!), landscaping update and new living room furniture!