I had tremendous success making the Butternut Squash tart tonight, woo hoo! I followed the recipe exactly with no substitutions. Funny how that works isn't it? It just kills me to use so darn much butter! I shared half of it with my neighbors, so they get to enjoy it-and prevent me from enjoying ALL of it by myself! I still want to experiment with making healthy substitutions and find a way that works before I post the recipe, though. If you want the original recipe, just comment below and I'll make sure to get it to you. Here are some pics of the process:

Yes, I spent my own hard earned money on butter. Real butter. It's in my fridge as we speak. Wow!

We have dough! In one piece!! Yay!

Sautéed butternut squash and yellow onion in EVOO with salt, pepper, thyme and Stevia. I was too concerned with getting the squash well cooked when I didn't need to be. The 40 minutes in the oven did the trick. Note to self….

8 tbsp of butter, so let's use Stevia to cut the calories! It's like ordering a Big Mac with a Diet Coke!

To my defense, I don't even own granulated sugar….just powdered and brown….oh, and Stevia ;-).

Looks fancy, but it's really easy. You basically pleat the dough in a circle.

Then you brush the dough with an egg wash.

Looks beautiful! Into the oven for 40 minutes at 375F.

Oh damn! Yes, it tasted as good as it looks!

Sprinkle a little bit of blue cheese on top and let melt for about 5 minutes.

Dinner is served! I ended up having another piece of tart about the same size. It turned out fantastic!

Ali got her “every six months ginormous Milk Bone” tonight with her 1-800-Pet-Meds order.

“Oh my goodness Mommy, open the box!!!”

Someday I'll change my nail polish and make my nails look presentable, I promise!

Ali wasn't the only one with treats in the mail! I got my Taste Guru monthly gluten free box today! I am really excited to have GF cereal! I haven't had cereal since before June 1st when I stopped eating gluten! It also came with an Avocado Vinaigrette that I can't wait to try. I had the “That's It” bar as my dessert tonight and have to say it was really good!

I was impressed, and would buy this again if I could find it in stores. I'll have to check Sprouts and AJ's next time I'm there to see if they carry them. Whole Foods might be a great place to try, as well.

I also got this fruit chute from Groupon Goods, check out how cool this is!!

It's perfect for my honeycrisps!

So all in all, today ended on a good note. The first half of my day wasn't great…my doctor never called me back, and I have an appointment tomorrow. I'm very curious to see what he has to say about that. I'll be sure to update you guys on my status after the appointment. (Not that I expect good or different news or anything….)

I finally gave Ali a bath she's been needing for the past couple of weeks.

I mean, you'd think I tortured the poor little thing-trying to jump out of the tub!

She always likes it once it's done. She has to feel better, too, because her skin has been really itchy these past few weeks. I use a Furminator anti-itch shampo, so I hope it helps her!

Now she is out cold and snoring on my decorative pillow (the sham is in the washer.) I love the things she uses to make her beds out of!

Is anyone going to Pugapalooza this Sunday!? I really want to take Ali, so we may end up being there. I mean, Chubbs the Wampug and Nugget the APARN spokes pug are going to be there, and they're like celebrities! Heehee :-).

Well, I am off to bed so I can rest up for tomorrow. You guys have a great day!

Happy Trails!

Stacey