The Swanson.

  

Mike's brother was in town recently and while he was here he had a request--that we make "The Swanson."  The Swanson is named after the one and only Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation.  Have you seen that show?  It's pretty hilarious.  Ron is a very stereotypical manly man.  He loves steak, bacon, and meat in general.  One of the local parks named a bacon-wrapped turkey leg after him and called it "The Swanson."  I couldn't find an exact recipe for this many meal, but I was able to consolidate a few recipes and make something pretty good for Mike and Pete.  I told Mike he should feel lucky because while I like bacon once in a while, I never cook with it and I honestly don't think he has ever seen me touch it. 

Here's how I made "The Swanson."

Marinade:

• 1 tbs paprika
• 1 tbs black pepper
• 1 tbs garlic salt
• 1 tbs olive oil
• juice of 2 lemons

Cover 6 skinless chicken legs (I couldn't find turkey at the grocery store) in the above marinade for 24 hours.  After marinading, wrap the chicken breasts in bacon strips without using any type of fastener (you have to tuck the bacon under itself) and stick in a pre-heated 250* oven.  Pour 1/2 cup water in the pan with the chicken (to keep it moist) and cover with aluminum foil for 50 minutes.

After baking, take the drumsticks out of the oven and let sit for 50 minutes.


Now comes the grilling.  I feel like these little guys would have turned out better if I actually had a barbecue...but I don't, so I tried to cook them on a griddle.  Anyway, set the drumsticks on the grill or griddle (medium-medium high on the griddle) and allow 3-5 minutes to cook on each quarter.  After they are a nice golden brown, brush on the glaze which consists of...

• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• the juice of 2 lemons
• 1 tsp of red pepper flakes

Cook until they are as well-done as you'd like.

In the end they look like this.  I took about one bite and I was done, but the boys really liked these.  They weren't cooked as well as I like (I need my chicken overdone or I freak out a little), so I think that if and when I make these again I'll cook the drumsticks in the oven (without bacon) for 20 minutes or so before wrapping them.

I served them with biscuits and roasted green beans & brussel sprouts. 

I hope you enjoy a very manly barbecue sometime soon!

MUSE.

Oh my gosh you guys, last was seriously one of the most fabulous nights of my life!  I wanted to say that it was the very best Saturday of my life, but I remembered that Mike and I got married on a Saturday, so that claim would be a little weird.  Nevertheless, last night was one of the most exciting and giddy of my existence.  What could be so wonderful you ask?  Well, I got to see possibly my favorite band of all time live, in the flesh, in the glorious city of San Francisco.  Yesterday was a beautiful and sunny day.  The temperature was just right, the night cooled off perfectly, and the heat of the crowd kept me perfectly toasty in a thin fleece jacket.  We spent most of the day at the festival, pushed our way toward the front of the crowd and got a great spot to watch Muse rock everyone's socks off.  And they did just that.  They were fantastic!

One of the reasons I love so Muse so much is because the band is full of incredibly talented musicians.  Most of them were trained classically and decided to pursue rock and roll.  (Sounds like someone else I know).  I love the classical piano and orchestral elements of their music, I love a good run to any one of their albums, and now more than anything I love seeing them live!  When Mike and I were first married they came to Salt Lake City.  We decided to be responsible and use our money for other things like, you know, rent and school, but he promised me that he would take me someday.  When I told him "thanks" last night he gave me a big hug and said, "I promised I would!"  It was sweet and wonderful and one of my favorite nights with Mike to date.  Peter is also in town for the festival and it was fun to have him there too!

I have never been to a concert quite as dynamic as the one last night.  The stage presence of the band was incredibly demanding and interactive, the light show was flashy and in sync, and it was just plain fun.  I love being at concerts where everyone can sing along, and aside from screaming and jumping, that was all I did last night.  It was fabulous.

What is it about holding a newborn?

Many of you know that the Johnson family has a very new member--Alyse. I just got back from a fun visit to UT and I was lucky enough to meet the little lady on the very day she was born. The first time I held her, I stared down at her in all her perfection and said, "I want one of these!" Don't worry, the "hunger" for my own baby subsided pretty quickly, but I couldn't get enough of holding that little angel! There is something so sweet and precious about holding something so new to this earth in my arms. I love babies, and the fact that I currently have three (soon to be four!) nieces and nephews to keep me busy for a while!

Congratulations to D & K on the new addition!

Ode to the Facebook profile quotes.

I heard that all of you were wondering about the quotes on my Facebook profile.  Okay, not really, but I realized today that I haven't really changed them in, you know, four years (some of them at least), and wanted to spice things up.  But as I looked over the quotes I thought to myself, "I love that no one but me understands half of these."

Well, I have decided to explain the context of these quotes so that you can understand me a little bit better.  Trust me, they probably won't seem funny even after explanation.  And some of them aren't funny.


I'm solar powered.
Not a quote, just a fact.  I am happier, healthier, and more productive when I have access to vitamin-D year-round.

"I see you're wearing your bourret."
My favorite GG quote since "I'm Chuck Bass."  XOXO!

"Oh don't worry Missy.  I'm sure your little sister sits there sometimes and thinks to herself, 'Man, I'm sick of being famous and talented, I wish I were more average and normal like Missy.'"
I studied abroad in Italy the summer of 2007.  One of my roommates, Stephanie Godinez (now Manwaring, writer of the hilarious Bolivian Underground), said this and created an absolute uproar in the apartment.  We had just gotten back from grocery shopping at the open-air market, were all getting to know each other, and after I bragged about the awesomeness and ridiculous talent of my little sister, she stood there awkwardly and said what is quoted above.  Ginny, Julia, and I just stared and then burst out laughing.  We had no idea that Steph was going to be one of the most hilarious parts of our semester abroad.  One night we had a group of people over to our apartment and she read excerpts from her journal out loud.  We all cried, literally, from laughter.

"Missy, you're just one big bunch of ridiculous."
One of my favorite experiences in college was working at a residential treatment center near Provo.  Those girls were struggling with everything from drug addiction to borderline personality disorder, and one of them spat the above quote out one night.  I felt that it described me well.


"You're so dense you could be a boy."
Jennifer Kellis, or Jenny Redhead as I liked to call her, was my roommate during my 4th (but definitely not last) year of college.  I liked to play this game where I acted like I had no idea a boy liked me if I wasn't interested in him, so one day she told me how dense I was when I acted clueless.  Good times.


"There's something Freudian going on in here.  I know it.  I'm not sure what it is, but it's there."
I took a short story class in college.  My professor was very stern and had a hook, which is completely irrelevant, but it gives you an idea of how random the above comment was.  The best part about this quote is that the awkward silence inspiring the words followed something completely un-Freudian.  It was just too funny not to remember--especially coming from him.

"You left your chi at the Quarry.  Go find it."
I'm 90% sure this comment followed a conversation with Tyler where I tried to convince him and myself that I shouldn't date Mike anymore.  Because hello, I was falling in love, and that was not part of the plan!  Ty knew very well that rock climbing was one of the only things that could really relax me, so he was sending me to the right place.

"The future is as bright as your faith."
Attitude is everything.  I loved this simple and relevant quote from the president of my church a few years ago.

"Perfection is a direction, not a destination."
I am a perfectionist.  Big time.  when I get down on myself, my dad likes to remind me that I can't be perfect now, but can aim to be so in the future.  I need to be reminded of this every once in a while.

I like clean stuff.  
I do.  You might call me a clean freak.  Which is tricky in a tiny San Francisco apartment, I can assure you.

I have a crush on Michael Squints Palledorous.
Have you seen the Sandlot?  Love that movie.

On caramel.

San Francisco has been a place of new beginnings for me (I'm not there, by the way).  I was thinking recently that I have probably changed a lot since I have been there--growing up in ways that are normal for people who get married and leave their home street.  You see, I lived at 1452 on my street until age six, when my family moved across the street to occupy the home located at 1451.  So when I talk about home, I am referring to not only the place that my mother so lovingly crafted into a haven away from the stress of the world, but also an actual house and building that I have seen changed and remodeled, but one that actually looks quite similar on the outside to the way it did when I moved there nearly 20 years ago (that sentence made me feel old).  

The home tangent was a bit of a strange one, I must admit.  (Explanation: I like caramel-->I used to hate caramel except for my mom's homemade goodness-->But I also like peanut butter-->I generally prefer peanut butter-->It seems like peanut butter and caramel are always competing big time for attention and flavor power-->I have always preferred peanut butter-->But sometimes I like caramel now-->When did that start?  San Francisco-->Odd that my taste change when I moved away from home).  That was a trip through my brain.  Are you exhausted?

When Mike and I moved to San Francisco, we had his family with us and did a bunch of touristy things on our first weekend.  One of those things was visiting Ghirardelli Square, which always hands out free samples.  They happened to be passing out milk chocolate + caramel squares.  I was a bit hesitant to try it, because I have always considered myself a "peanut butter person," but I decided it was worth a try.  I fell in love instantly.  The caramel was so sweet and perfect, I had never tasted any store bought caramel so delicious (you see, my Momma makes insanely delicious caramel for "turtles" at Christmas sometimes and I'm a bit spoiled in the caramel department).  Anyway, Ghirardelli chocolate + caramel squares are now one of my favorite treats.  And because my life has been opened to the possibility of delicious store-bought caramel, I have found myself trying new caramel things.  At Christmas time I tried salted caramel hot chocolate, I recently put a "shot" of caramel in steamed milk (so good), and a few weeks ago I tried salted caramel frozen yogurt at Pinkberry.  I'm not ready to call myself a "caramel person," because I still love peanut butter with an apple once in a while, but I'm proud to say that I am nearing neutral territory in the battle of peanut butter versus caramel preference.

Fin.

YouTube.

 

So I have a confession.  I am not the kind of person that can just sit and watch YouTube videos for hours on end.  In fact, every time that starts happening in a group setting, I get very bored very quickly and want to leave (or do leave).  I do, however, have a few favorite YouTube videos that friends have showed me over the years.  The above is done by a group called Trigger Happy TV.  I'm not sure exactly what their show is like, but they are some form of British Comedy TV/prankster group.  I was shown this clip before I fell in love with Muse.  I am going to see them in a few weeks in concert and I'm ecstatic!

 

This is ridiculously funny (and sad).

 

Every time I see this clip I think of Catherine laughing hysterically for five minutes straight.

 

The last two are just fun and creative.  I've only seen them a few times, but I do think they are great.  I like the Tetris video better than the Pacman...

Speaking of YouTube, I came across this hilarious blog post a few weeks ago and nearly cried from laughter.