Aloha!

Last week, Devin had family come visit from Hawaii, who came bearing the most delicious food to prepare a feast from the islands. How lucky were we to be there!? Their family and friends gathered for as Devin described "Oriental food with Hawaiian flare". Someone said, "This is like having Bhan Thai come to your house!"


The cook, his cousin, began preparing for supper just after noon and everything was so amazing! I can still taste it just looking at the picture. Our neighbors said they could smell it on their walk around the pond that night!

These King's Hawaiian Sandwich Rolls were left behind, which sparked the idea to make my favorite sandwich from Gusano's.

Gusano's was another one of our favorite places in Conway to meet up with friends for dinner. They specialize in Chicago-Style pizza but their "Hawaiian Turkey Sandwich" has always been my pick.

Here's the description from their menu:
Freshly sliced Turkey Breast, Sweet Pineapple, Crispy bacon & Cheddar Cheese served on a Ciabbatta Hoagie Roll and served with a side of Ranch.
$6.99

Gusano's was one of our regular spots...We were actually "Spotted" by the Log Cabin Newspaper at a Gusano's Razorback Watch Party and here's the pic from their website:

For this sandwich, we were fortunate enough to have the sweetest pineapple I've ever tasted, flown from Hawaii.

We buttered the bread and placed the smoked deli turkey and pineapple.


Then finished with crispy bacon and cheddar cheese and baked at 325 degrees just until the cheese melted.

We had Ranch for dipping (a must!) and it all took just a few minutes.

Gusano's version is still my favorite, and I would try a few things differently next time. I think baking the pineapple with the sandwich took away the sweetness, so I would add the pineapple after baking. And the ciabbatta hoagie that Gusano's uses is perfect for this sandwich so I would try it on that bread. But it's different, it's delicious, and definitely worth a try!

XOXO,
Katie

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Horseshoe Lake

::"And when that summer sun starts beating down and you don't know what to do,
Grab your swimming trunks, ice up that old igloo and drive until the map turns blue."::
~Brad Paisley

Now that we've gotten somewhat settled back home, it is so much easier to spend time with our buddies and have a good time. We're so thankful. No more two hour drive or blocking out our entire weekend to make the trip back and forth. Last weekend, we spent a day at Horseshoe Lake. There may not be gorgeous lake mansions to pass by as with Beaverfork, but water's water! We had a great time.

{Seany and Dustin tubing. So cute!}


{They got their hardcore faces on! Sean approaches everything as if it's an olympic sport. You gotta respect that. :) Devin's roughing up the waters back there...}

{Nina and Dev pulled tubers on the jet-ski.}


{Ashley and Nina}

{Oliver loves his man-cave!}

{Wearing his daddy's hat}


{Ashley and Dustin}


{I was a bum. I wanted to ride, but I'm still dealing with the effects of my last tubing experience (whiplash anyone?) so it's a little hard to get back on the horse when your neck still won't turn...}

::"Live in the sunshine...Swim in the sea...Drink the wild air."::
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

{He is SO a boat dog}
:)

{The girls rode back to shore together.}

Yes, I'm wearing glasses. I said I looked like "secretary goes to the lake"...I've been without contacts for months because becoming a licensed and registered OT has made every other need take a back seat financially. BUT I can finally see the light at the end of the academic and college-poor tunnel, so there is hope.

XOXO,
Katie

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Couples Shower for the Martins

Last weekend, a couples shower was hosted at mine and Sean's "halfway house" (AKA Devin and Nina's). Jennifer and A.J. are getting married in 2 weeks.

The wedding party made some yummy goodies...

And Nina and I played florist and put together some flower arrangements.
The Smith's playing baggo in the yard...

Me, Nina, and Ashley with the bride-to-be.
Sean and Nina
A.J. with his Best Man, Devin. How cute! I love a good bromance.
And because our bunch can't stay "la-dee-dah" and all proper and froo-froo for too long...
The beer pong table was brought out. Yeah, we went there. I guess pinkies up is only fun for so long.


Dev finished up the A-mazing Watermelon Rum Punch...

And Trev gave his approval for a round.

And just to prove you never quite know how interesting a night with us can get...Graduate-to-be- Ashley gave me an impromptu teeth cleaning that I had been craving!
People think I am nutty as a fruitcake for this, but I LOVE to have my teeth scraped when I go to the dentist. I could just lay in bed and let someone scrape my teeth...So that's what we did.
Nina was next. We learned about all kinds of dental health. The night was fun AND educational. :)
Good luck to you with boards! I know EXACTLY how you feel...I'm sweating bullets but just keep trucking along. We'll make it!

You know you have close friends when everyone congregates in the bedroom!
We love each other!

Good luck and God bless to Ashley on your exam and A.J. and Jennifer on your wedding day.

XOXO,
Katie

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Zucchini Bread

"Vegetables are a must on any diet. I suggest carrot cake, pumpkin pie, and zucchini bread."
~Jim Davis

The garden has been producing some JUMBO sized vegetables this season. Look at these Big Mama Zucchinis! There's my itty bitty hand for reference...

Good luck finding those in the supermarket! They were so big, I ended up using just half of one for all the grated zucchini needed for this delicious, sweet Zucchini Bread from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 cups white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini (peel first)
  
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (I USED PECANS)

Grease and flour 2 8x4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Add your eggs.

Then your oil.

Add the vanilla then beat everything together. Now combine the wet and dry ingredients.
And beat well with a wire whisk.
Add grated zucchini and nuts and stir until well combined.
Pour batter into greased pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until toothpick or butter knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.
It smells amazing coming out of the oven! And tastes amazing warm or cool, for breakfast or dessert.

XOXO,
Katie

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Barbecue Baked Potato

If you celebrated the 4th of July somewhere in the South, most likely, barbecue was among the food served. It's a year-round southern staple but ever-present during the summer months. So, what to do with all that leftover BBQ? I got this idea from one of my favorite Food Network Shows, Paula's Party. Before the Neely's (Memphis bbq restaurant owners) got their own Food Network Show, they guest starred with Paula Deen and had an ultimate baked potato showdown. I mentally saved their version and new I would have to try sometime. It was absolutely delicious. Here's how:

Ingredients
Baking Potatoes (I had 1 per person)
Olive Oil
fresh parsley and chives (if desired)
salt and pepper
butter
leftover bbq
bbq sauce
shredded cheese (whatever kind you like)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Scrub the potatoes clean then poke several holes with a fork. Rub with a teaspoon of olive oil per potato. Sprinkle the outside with salt then place directly on the oven rack. Place a cookie sheet or pan underneath to catch any drippings and bake for about an hour.

When the potatoes are done, cut a slice down the middle and squeeze the ends toward each other to open each potato up. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste, and sprinkle with chopped parsley and chives.

Load each potato with reheated barbecue, drizzle with sauce, then top with cheese. Microwave for about 30 seconds or until cheese is melted.

Definitely a new alternative to tired bbq sandwiches with slaw!

XOXO,
Katie

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**Reginelli 4th of July 2010**

I spent my 4th of July at our annual Reginelli family party. Lots of family, TOO much food, and alot of priceless pictures. That is, until I unknowingly pressed the "delete all pictures from this device" button on my camera and EVERYTHING was erased...including the most adorable pictures I've ever taken of the family on the fourth.
How mad was I!?
Let's not talk about it. I've moved on.

I stole some images from my cousin Danica so here's a little taste of our family holiday...

We had Sean's dad make shirts this year, depicting an Italian flag on the front and shooting fireworks with the names of the 7 children of Henry (Enrico) and Rica Reginelli, who are the reason all 50+ people are together each year.

{With my brother and cousin Danica}

Sweet baby Gabe filling up his lil pool.

How precious?! Nothing like Arkansas heat in July.

Ellen-Claire in her lil polka dots.

Yum!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun fourth!

An update:

Friday, just before the holiday, Sean officially became a math teacher at Marion High School! After alot of people had his back and showed their support, he was offered the job the day of the interview. It's exactly what we hope for and couldn't be more excited. I may have been the only one who never doubted it, but I told him all along it would work out this way. I "had a feeling." And I operate heavily on "feelings"!

He's going to do a remediation course for students for a week then he'll start in August, the same time I'll start my job. He will most likely begin coaching later in the year or the next year. We are so relieved and blessed.

XOXO,
Katie

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