Fast, easy dinner

Hi everyone:

I just had to blog about the dinner I made tonight.  It is very easy and tasted fantastic and requires only 6 ingredients.  It is a simpler version of the best-selling dish we used to make at the restaurant I worked at, many years ago.

The original version was called " Seafood au gratin" and we couldn't keep up with the demand for this dish.  Here is a simpler, but just as tasty, version for those of you who need something good, but FAST. This will feed about 4 people, with some leftovers.

Simple Seafood au Gratin
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2-3 cups cooked rice (I used leftovers)
1- 1 1/2 lbs. of cooked shrimp
1 can  Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup - ready to serve - 540 ml
Pinch of garlic powder
Pinch of onion powder
Grated cheese (I used leftover shaved Parmesan and a blend of  Monterey Jack and cheddar)

Layer the cooked rice in a casserole dish.  Sprinkle the cooked shrimp onto the rice. Sprinkle the onion and garlic powders onto the shrimp.  Add the entire can of soup onto the shrimp.  Sprinkle the grated cheeses on top.  Bake at 350* for approximately 45 minutes - 1 hour. Voila!

The original restaurant version was more involved. We used sole, shrimp and scallops (any white fish will do) and made our own white sauce with fresh mushrooms, topping it with Swiss and gruyere cheeses, but this is a fast way to prepare the same type of meal.  Add a green salad and you are done.

My family loves seafood au gratin and this couldn't be easier. I hope you try this and enjoy!  Let me know how you like it.

The World According to Me

Hi, to anyone out there that finds this:

( this is kind of like putting a message in a bottle and throwing it out into the sea in the hopes that someone finds it)

My name is Rose G. and I have wanted to write a blog for a long time, so here goes! 

Why write a blog, you might ask? Well, it seems that I feel I have a lot to say about a lot of things; or so my family seems to think! I have a real knack of giving people my "2 cents' worth" so to save my family from my tirades, I am now writing a blog.

I am a stay-at-home Mom; or rather I was.  My son is now college-aged so he doesn't need my constant supervision anymore, thus I have a lot more free time on my hands. I have taken it upon myself to go back to school and enroll in a University transfer program for Music.  I wish I had done this 30+ years ago when I first graduated, but somehow, life got in the way of that dream.  Also, the Music Theory entrance exams were very intimidating and since I had little formal theory training, I felt I could never pass the entrance exams, so I never pursued it further.

Fast forward to three years ago:  a friend mentioned that you can usually take lower level theory classes first, to bring you up to first year University level music theory.  I was astounded!! What, you say?  You don't need to take Grade 10 Royal Conservatory to have a hope of entering a Music Program? I was hooked, so I promptly set up a theory assessment  test at my local College. Well, I was right! I failed the theory assessment miserably, but the college offered Basic Musicianship Theory classes and so I enrolled in those first. I  have now completed 3 years of Music Theory and  Ear Training/Sight Singing and have also finished Composition and some Piano.  I would like to finish this 2 Year College Program now that I have started it and who knows where it will lead.  The moral to this story is: Don't think you can't enter a Music Program if you have little theory background. You can take lower level theory classes to bring you up to  first year University level music theory. I did this and you can too!

My main instrument is the Trumpet, which I started playing again about 7 years ago, after not playing for 26 years. I am so sad that I did not play for such a long time, but am happy to be back playing the music I love, which is Big Band Jazz and Concert Band Music.  It is never too late to realize a dream and I am the Poster child for this exact sentiment.

Well, enough of my ranting!  This blog will be about my opinion on many things.  I dabble in a lot of different things - music, painting, quilting, jewelry making and writing and I will share some of these things with whomever is out there reading this.  We shall see how this goes.  Jump in and visit, from time to time.

Rose