Tasty Turkey Tetrazzini

This is my second dish since documenting my cooking journey. What I've decided to do is to document recipes I've made and tried as I'm learning how to cook by teaching myself. This one was another good one. I'll probably only share the successes since nobody wants to read about the failures. So, here is another Pampered Chef recipe I tried. I really only started with recipes from there since I wanted to get some use out of some things I bought from a Pampered Chef consultant. Not all of the recipes will be Pampered Chef. To get this recipe and others it is from the Weekday Dinners--Done! collection (so is the Savory Salisbury Steak). Available from your Pampered Chef consultant or if you don't have one then get it from the one I bought from here!

Tasty Turkey Tetrazzini--Yields 6 servings

Ingredients:
8 oz uncooked spaghetti noodles
1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
1 can (10.75 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/3 cup), divided
1/2 cup 2 % milk
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 8-oz slice oven-roasted deli turkey (1/2 in. thick), diced
1 pkg (8 oz) sliced mushrooms
1 cup frozen cut green beans, thawed

Directions:
1) Prepare all ingredients before starting.
2) Combine noodles and broth in a 12-in skillet. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook 5-6 minutes or until most of the liquid is evaporated. Add mushrooms and 1/4 cup water. Cook, covered, 5-6 minutes or until mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally.
3) Prepare soup mixture while step 2 is cooking on the stove by combining the soup, sour cream, 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese, milk, onion, pressed garlic, and black pepper; mix well.
4) After step 2 is complete, then add the turkey, soup mixture, and beans to the Skillet. Cook 5-7 minutes or until noodles are tender and soup and beans have had time to heat up.

Savory Salisbury Steaks

I am not much of a cook at the moment. It is rare that I will go ahead and cook something. I made this recipe I got from The Pampered Chef Weeknight Dinners collection and it was very simple. It also tasted yummy. Since I made it for myself and it has six servings, I was able to have some tonight and have leftovers for tomorrow and will probably still have some extra. The six servings is if you have one steak per person/serving. Below is a link to the recipe on my Tumblr. account.

Read the recipe on my Tumblr. Account

First Thoughts on The Sims 4

Okay, so I admit it I do play The Sims from time to time. I started playing regularly when I was 13 with the original The Sims and now after having all of The Sims, The Sims 2, and most of The Sims 3 I decided to go ahead and get The Sims 4. I have to say I was skeptical. I almost didn't get it. I'm still unsure of all of the features as I've only played for a couple hours between yesterday's USA launch and tonight, but I will say that I do like playing it. I think avid Sims fans will like the new version even though it is missing some fan favorites. Here is what I like so far:

• Build mode seems to be much easier and quicker
• Create A Sim makes it possible to truly customize your Sim's looks
• The loading seems to be very fast (much faster than previous games)
• Love some of the objects (tablet, phone is smartphone that allows you to do much more than before)
• Love the new skills
• The emotions seem cool
• I like how easy it is to play
• Love the multitasking capability!
• There are some goals associated with careers and the aspiration you pick and it's laid out nicely
• I like the goals for parties (even though I've only done one party so far)
• You can spend aspiration points for awards like in previous games
• There are achievements for your game if you wish to go that route

Dislikes:

• I do miss the open neighborhood, however this game makes up for it because The Sims 3 would truly take forever to load sometimes and this game is very fast in comparison, the loading screens you encounter between lots are much faster than The Sims 2 and The Sims were so it really isn't that bad. Also, it is a partial open neighborhood. There are sections of each neighborhood that are opened based on the lot you are on at the moment. You can still walk out your front door and interact with neighbors that are walking by in your immediate area. 

Overall, I'm so far in love with the game and look forward to exploring more and seeing what happens. I will say that with real life I don't have as much time to play as I used to play, but I will keep everyone updated on my thoughts and I may even start a blog specifically for my Sims in The Sims 4.

Here is my Sim I've been playing :-)

Multitasking is my favorite feature so far. Here she is watching a video game livestream and watching television at the same time. Multitasking is TOTALLY me! I do stuff like this all of the time. Usually on my computer and watching tv at the same time. :-)

-Amanda