Second Chance Happiness

Moving Day!

2011-01-29T06:30:00.000-06:00

My amazing, flower-giving, wine bottle-opening, take-the-dog-out-of-my-space-so-mama-can-breath-for-a-minute man did something even more thoughtful than all of that this weekend. Yeah, I know. How can that be possible?! Well, I assure you, it is.

What wonderful thing did he do? He bought me a website! He paid for a full year of registration and web hosting out of his own fun money; just because he thought I’d like it. I woke up last Sunday to find that I had my very own URL. Now, go ahead. Gush. I did.

We’d been talking about doing this, but we hadn’t really moved forward on it. Blogger likes to keep from actually publishing my morning posts about once a week. It’s terribly frustrating. I really like my little blog here, and I’d like to see it grow. That just doesn’t seem entirely likely here.

So, with my husband’s mad computer skills (cuz Lord knows mine are extremely limited) and a year’s worth of paid-for service, Second Chance Happiness is moving. Stop by and visit me, please.

www.secondchancehappiness.com

Food in Review

2011-01-28T06:30:00.002-06:00

I may have played it a bit safe this week, considering last week’s epic failure. I still think we had some nice dinners though. I did one thing different this week. I went to Sprouts. I hardly EVER go there. My first experience was…..off putting. Now that I know what to expect, my second trip was fantastic. I actually plan to go back this weekend.

Saturday: I like to make meals that my husband would consider a treat when I feel like maybe I haven’t been the best at being a wife. Enter burgers. Real beef burgers. Wait, correction, real ORGANIC beef STUFFED burgers! (Organic ground beef was on special at Sprouts.) Stuffed with what? Oh, just local, organic white cheddar! I mixed the beef with half a can of diced green chili peppers then made four very thin patties. Shredded cheese topped two of the patties. Then the remaining patties topped the cheese. I pressed the edges to seal the burgers, but they managed to ooze nonetheless. Who cares?! It’s a cheese-filled burger?! Topped with avocado and served with sweet potato fries. He was in burger heaven.

Sunday: I wanted chicken and dumplings again before the weather grew too warm to eat it! I made it exactly the same as last time, except I had 2% milk instead of whole. It was sort of a fail. The difference in milk made the texture and consistency of this pot less appealing than my chicken and dumplings of last month. Still, it was totally edible and we went through two bowlfuls each. I believe that’s where the issue in texture comes in. Last time we each only ate one bowl.

Monday: I found chicken bratwurst and Sprouts, and I had to try them! I love brats. The traditional pork ones are great. And I’ve had turkeys, which are an okay, healthier substitute. So, I was intrigued by the chicken ones, and from a real meat counter no less. Per the butcher’s suggestion, I broiled them in the over on a rack for 30 minutes at 350. To finish them, I simply seared the skins in a very hot skillet. While the brats were in the oven, I glazed baby organic carrots in butter and brown sugar and simmered sauerkraut until nearly dry. The mustard was a bit odd. I had a waning container of Dijon and brown mustards. Not enough in either, and both were entirely stuck to the sides of the jars! Enter a little water and a sauce pan! I rinsed and shook each container into the pan, set it to simmer, and added brown mustard seeds, pepper, and a little extra horseradish to the mix. Then I just whisked it occasionally until it thickened back up. It made and excellent dipper. And the chicken brats? They were perfection! Juicy and bursting with flavor. Delish!

Tuesday: I had about 1/3 pound of ground beef left from the burgers that I’d reserved for taco night! I browned the beef, drained it, and added all the usual “taco” spices: garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, and salt. I don’t like seasoning packets for this. I want to control the level of each spice. Just add water and let it simmer till thickened. I added the same spices to a jar of refried black beans and nuked them till warm. The refried beans and seasoned ground beef were stuffed inside La Tortilla Factory wheat corn tortillas topped with a pinch of shredded jack and sliced avocado. One the side, I pan-fried some sweet potatoes that I’d diced and roasted when the brats were in the oven the day before. Might as well multi-task right?? I’d coated the potatoes with sunflower oil when roasting them, and since the pan was non-stick, they didn’t require any additional oil to pan-fry. Tacos are comfort food for me! I just loved the combo on these. I sprinkled chili powder and cayenne on the pan-fried sweet potatoes. They were sweet and spicy, crispy and gooey all at once. Perfection.

Wednesday: Dinner started with a gigantic glass of wine. For me, not for the dinner. To say I had a hard day wouldn’t cover it. So, dinner was desperately simple: jarred sauce, frozen ravioli, garlic bread. The jarred sauce was left over from last week’s eggplant pizza: Mezzetta’s Artichoke Parmesan Marinara. This sauce is fantastic. So thick, more the consistency of a pesto than a marinara. The frozen ravis were my favorite: Central Market’s organic ricotta and goat cheese. I boiled the ravioli, laid them on a bed of spinach, heated the sauce in the pasta pot, and spooned it on top. Totally lazy right? Yes, but also totally delicious. I made garlic bread on the side out of Nature’s Pride potato bread. Num.

Thursday: This is a "clean out the fridge" meal. I soaked wheat berries over night then cooked in broth. To the side, I sauteed onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and quartered frozen sprouts. Once things looked lovely and caramelized, I added pinches of flour until the veggies were lightly coated. Then I poured the wheat berries into the veggies, broth and all. The two cooked together until a nice, thick sauce formed. Finally, I added a can of Starkist Roasted Garlic marinated yellowfin tuna. The tuna was too strong for me. Don't think I'll be using it again....but we ate it for dinner anyhow. Live and learn? Everything else was so good together. So, either leave out the tuna and have a veggie meal or perhaps chicken would be better.

Riley has been a BEAST this week. She's decided I don't matter, so she's not minding me. I certainly hope that she's better next week.

Yeah, you puppy! Cuteness does not make up for being bad!

I hope you have a great weekend! I have exciting news tomorrow!!!

The good stuff

2011-01-27T19:43:00.000-06:00

My husband came home with flowers.

He told me to draw a bath and pour a glass of wine.

He put Pandora on the Maroon 5 channel.

Then he took the dog for a long walk.

Bliss.

I don't know how I deserve him.

Prescription for a daydream

2011-01-27T06:30:00.000-06:00

What would change about my life if I didn’t have to go to work:

I’d workout. No, not more. Just workout. I pretty much never do anymore.

I’d play with the dog WAY more. As it stands, she gets about 10-20 minutes out of me in the morning and again in the evening, then I have more pressing things to do.

I’d cook more thoughtful meals for us. Instead of simply QUICK meals with very little variety or creativity….because those things take time and are reserved for the weekend!

This blog would be WAY better. More content, more photos, more life. I don’t think any of you really want to hear about my day-to-day as an accountant, right?

(Source)

I’d have a clean house. It’s currently covered in dog hair and puppy footprints.

I wouldn’t stress as much about work environment. No, instead I’d stress about lack of funds….because apparently I require X amount of stress in my life in order to function. I’m kind of ridiculous like that.

(Source)

We’d be on a MUCH tighter budget. I’m already a cheapskate, so you can imagine! Organic what?! No, no, no.

I’d never be considering buying a new car while the Element was still running. I’m kind of amazed I’m considering it anyhow! It’s so not like my cheap self. But there is a plan and sound reasoning in place.

My Etsy shop would likely have merchandise in it. Whoopsie! Totally let that one fall by the wayside, didn’t I?

Don’t worry. Nothing is changing. I’m still going to work every day. This was just a little exercise in daydreaming. It was prescribed to me by my optometrist. She told me that the best thing for my eye strain issues was simply to stop staring at the computer screen and let my eyes go out of focus a couple times a day. This is the result of one of those unfocused moments.

What would change about your life if you didn’t have to work?

Encouraging news

2011-01-26T06:30:00.001-06:00

For the first time, I think there might be progress on the ring front. I went to the jewelry store today, expecting the same blaize brush off I've been getting from the jeweler.

To my surprise, he was actually pleasant. He realized he didn't have any info on me in his customer files (after having my ring for five month, I never made it into the system, huh?) and added me. He even took an email address and promised photos of the mock-up next week for my approval.

I was floored. Had I received this sort of reception the other times I'd gone in instead of having him call my husband a smartass, I think I would have been far less frustrated during this whole process!

All I can say is that I hope this time it's genuine. It's been five months. My wedding anniversary is in less than a month. I would absolutely love having my replacement by then. I'm not holding my breath, but I am far more hopeful that I've allowed myself to be in quite some time.

What are you hopeful about right now?

Granola - Attempt #7

2011-01-25T06:30:00.003-06:00

I asked my hubby what kind of granola he wanted this week. He said something with a berry. Okay, that's doable, but I don't really like dried fruit in my granola. A little is okay, but I'm not a fan of heavily fruited granolas.

My solution? Leave the dried fruit out! There are other ways to incorporate fruit if you don't mind purple-tinged granola.

Blackberry granola

1/4 c brown rice syrup
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/4 c blackberry jam
3 c rolled oats
1/4 c milled flax
1/2 c almonds
1/4 c pepitas
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/4 t salt

I started out by toasting my nuts and seeds because they are all raw. 10 minutes at 325 was plenty to get just a little color and aroma out of them.

Meanwhile, the first three ingredients were heated slowly over a low heat until well incorporated and very pourable.

The remaining ingredients including the pre-toasted nuts and seeds were combined and the syrup pour over. Fold until everything is a lovely purple color and evenly coated.

I baked the granola at 325, stirring every 10 minutes till dry. This batch took 40 minutes.

Unfortunately, the granola isn't nearly as purple as I'd hoped, but the berry taste is still there. I think next time I'll up the jam a bit but leave everything else the same.

What crazy flavors would you like to see worked into a granola recipe?

First scones

2011-01-24T06:30:00.004-06:00

I happen to be head over heels with scones. I live the biscuit quality they have while incorporating more intriguing flavors like a muffin.

I knew I wanted something with blueberries and the two over-ripe bananas on my cabinet. I set out in search of a muffin recipe. Then I was tempted by a scone recipe. Torn and too tired to make a decision between the two, I went with both, naturally.

Blueberry banana scone
(Inspired by Mama Pea)

2 beyond-ripe bananas
1/4 c plus 1 T milk (I used Good Karma's Whole Grain Unsweetened Rice Milk)
1/2 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 t baking soda
1 t vanilla extract
2 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t cream of tartar
1/2 t fine sea salt
1/2 c vegan shortening (I used Earth Balance Shortening Sticks)
1/2 c blueberries

As with Mama Pea's pumpkin version, combine the first 5 ingredients and set aside. I added the vanilla since I left out all of the pumpkin pie-type spices.

In a larger bowl, add flour through sea salt and stir well.

Then add shortening, cut into small bits. I used a cheese grater. WAY easier than trying to cut that slick stuff with a knife!

Add the shortening to the flour mixture and cut it in with two forks (I have a pastry cutter coming in my next
Pampered Chef order!).

Once crumbly, I added the banana and milk mixture to the flour and folded it in. This is where I discovered that a half cup of milk is just a tad shy. I needed an extra tablespoon for the mixture to form a ball.

At this point, I added my blueberries and folded them in by hand. I didn't want to crush the little blue beauties.

This meant I couldn't roll my dough out. I'd have squashed every single berry. So, instead, I scooped them out like cookies. What....you've seen round scones before, right? Okay....so the shape is less than typical, but I will say that it made getting them out of the bowl and into the oven way faster and easier.

20 minutes later.....golden tops and soft insides. The blueberries burst with every bite. Tender and delicious. Quite the winner!

Do you have a favorite scone? Mine is this one the bakery at Scarborough Faire makes with candied ginger!

Day of firsts

2011-01-23T08:12:00.000-06:00

Today, I bought my very first LaraBar. Yes, I realize I am WAY behind the times. I also realized I started making something similar at home before I tried the real thing. And let me say that I am very glad about that last fact, because I never would have started to make them at home if I'd tried this first. I am hoping I just selected a bad flavor, because I did not care for this at all. I ate enough bites to steady my blood sugar and discarded the rest.

It was also Riley's very first day at Doggy Daycare! I took her Canine Courtyard in Flower Mound.

This is how she looked when I got her back.

She was struggling so hard to keep her eyes open on the way home! She finally gave in and collapsed on my hand, half falling off the front seat.

Immediately upon coming home, she did this.

Then relocated for this.

Which resulted in lots of this.

She perked up for about an hour in the evening while I was cooking, but then she curled into so tight a little ball that I decided to cover her up.

And this was the result after she's realized it was cozy and warm.

I'm very pleased with the daycare! She never exhibited any fear while I was there. The lady at the counters said that she and her husband run it together, and you can tell she loves dogs and knows how to handle them. They put Riley in a separate run where she could "sniff out" the doggy she'd be playing with later and acclimatize herself to the area. They match the dogs by size first. So, she told me Riley was paired with a pit bull. Hey, she's THAT big now. Anyhow, the pit proved to be a bit too aggressive. She said that as soon as Riley showed that she was scared (usually it's her tail that will let us know), she was put with a group of smaller, extremely hyper dogs. She fit right in there! When I returned, I got to see Riley and her playmates in an indoor play area via closed circuit cam. She was playing happily and even sprawled out on the floor to rest at one point. Her tail was wagging nearly nonstop. She was happy, happy. YAY! Our half day trial was free, and you can bet we'll be back soon. It's totally affordable, and having a calm dog all evening was well worth the cost! As a bonus, they board. So hopefully, we've found a kennel as well as a solution for very busy weekends.

Have you ever taken your doggy to daycare?

Through the looking glasses?

2011-01-22T07:17:00.000-06:00

That whole business of doing scary things is moving forward.

Last week, the scary thing was the brisket. While that didn't turn out ideally, the chopped beef creations were delicious. I will be trying it again, and I feel confident that I can do a much better job the second time around.

The fear to be faced this week is, again, two-fold. It will require money and just doing something I have grown to hate. What is that, you ask? Wearing glasses. I know, silly, right?

(Me going to the 8th grade homecoming dance in 1992)

For some background, I've worn glasses off and on my entire life. I had a weak eye as a child, which crossed severely. So, at two or three, I had coke bottle lenses in order to correct my wayward eye. I stayed in glasses until high school. It totally worked. My right eye only crosses when I'm very tired (or drunk).

As an adult, I had prescription reading glasses off and on, mostly when I could afford to get them. They were meant to be worn whenever I was at a computer. I'm on a computer all day at work. In case you don't know, computer monitors are hell on the eyes! My last pair was misplaced when I was going through a divorce (truthfully, I think they got thrown out in the chaos), and I was in no position to replace them.

It has now become overwhelmingly apparent that I need glasses again. I'm getting frequent headaches with black spots in my field of vision and have had an ongoing twitch in my "good" eye for the last three weeks. Oh, and I really should have failed my vision test at the DMV in February when I changed my name. She let me try it like six times. Thank God I have a memory because I just kept track of what I'd said and went through all the options of what those fuzzy shapes could possibly be!

So, the bullet has been bitten. Glasses are being ordered. I am not happy about spending the money (ehm...my $160 a month health insurance doesn't have vision coverage!) or about being chained to glasses again. But I can't handle the headaches or the spasms any longer.

Oh....and the husband says he finds girls in glasses sexy. That's a perk, right??

Food in Review

2011-01-21T06:30:00.009-06:00

Okay, so you all know of my tragic brisket on Sunday. Thankfully, one bad meal did not define the week's meals as a whole.

Sunday: I used the recipe described here. The flavor was great. The cooking time should probably be adjusted, or the temp, as I have been informed by someone I trust that I did not cook it long enough. The sweet potato was amazing...cooked for over an hour in the stove with the brisket.

Monday: We test drove cars, so we did the $1 pulled pork sandwich deal at Dickey's. Delicious.

Tuesday: I had chopped brisket on the mind. I thought it was the only way to save a tough brisket, which was backed by others. I chopped most of the remaining brisket and simmered it in the remainder of a dwindling jar of salsa. Meanwhile, I played with something new! I've eaten plantains in Brazilian restaurants before, but never cooked with them. I decided to go with baked plantain chips. I tossed the sliced plantain in sunflower oil, salt, pepper, and hot smoked paprika then baked at 375 for about 18 minutes, turning once. The result was might crisp and filling. I do believe another good glug of oil would have been good though. They were a bit dry. I served the chopped beef in La Tortilla Factory half wheat/half corn whole grain tortillas. Oh man, those tortillas were killer. If you find them (these were at my local Kroger and very affordable), try them. Great texture and flavor. No compromise needed for going healthy on these.

Wednesday: I wanted stuffed acorn squash. I know, typical. About every third week, I crave roasted squash. This one was very similar to all my others. I baked the squash at 400 for almost an hour and cooked up some kamut the night before. So, when it came dinner Wednesday, I just reheated the squash and made the filling. This filling started with sauteed garlic and onions. I added these amazing chicken sausages I found at Central Market. They were orange cranberry walnut with actual segments of orange, whole cranberries, and chunks of walnut. Oh my goodness. Must have more. I went with the citrus theme and added the juice of an entire lemon and two teaspoon of tahini with some veggie stock to flavor the kamut. I threw in a little kale for something green and let it simmer till all of the stock was gone. This was heaven.

Thursday: Pizza time. Pizza Melanzana! Okay, I made that up. But I bet the Italians like eggplant on pizza....wouldn't you think? I used the same crust as last time the night before. When I got home, I peeled and roasted an eggplant at 350 with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper flake till gooey. I topped my pizza with a sauce I found on sale that looked great....Artichoke Parmesan Marinara by Mezzetta who make the giardiniera that I love. The whole thing was covered in shredded jack and parm then baked till GBD (sorry, channeled my inner Alton there...that's Golden Brown and Delicious). The crust was SPOT ON this time, just the right amount of chewiness, fluffy, and light. The eggplant melted into the pizza. I cannot wait to eat this again!

And a little view from my evening on the floor with Ri.

Happy Friday!

Challenge accepted

2011-01-20T06:30:00.000-06:00

I was issued a bit of a challenge by one little PurpleBird regarding kale and nutritional yeast. I've never had either. She basically told me to stop being a chicken and eat the darn stuff! And well, that's exactly what I did.

I went on a hunt for a baked kale chip recipe and the first one that popped up was Smitten Kitchen's version. Well, that blog makes me drool so I didn't bother to look any further.

I used her method, but added some flare of my own.

Spicy sesame kale chips
3 large leaves of kale
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
sprinkling of smoked hot pakrika

Tossed together and baked for 18 minutes at 300.

The verdict? Well the smell is unique. Green and stinky akin brussel sprouts. The kale will literally shatter it's so crisp. The flavor though, hmm, yeah......I have to be honest. I don't like it. I gave a piece to my husband, he wrinkled his entire face and loudly proclaimed "Eeeewwwwww!!!" and gave the other half of the piece back. I'll be trying them again after they've cooled to see if that makes all the difference.

I feel like a bad blogger. I'm supposed to love these, right? ;) Maybe I'd like it better if I did the hummus trick that Christin does?

Test Drive

2011-01-19T06:30:00.000-06:00

I’m in sort of a negative rut. Perhaps my brisket knew this? Anyhow, today I’m focusing on the positive.

First up.....and oh so exciting....my girlfriend at work is being induced today! I am so happy for her and her man. I hope their little girl comes into this world smoothly and swiftly. I cannot wait to meet the little missy.

Secondly, I test drove THREE cars on Monday night! Okay, I have to confess, window shopping is one of my very favorite things. I absolutely dread actually spending money, but daydreaming about spending money is sheer bliss to me. This applies to large and small purchases, but I especially enjoy the shopping process when it comes to larger purchases (you know, until I have to part with real money.....eek!). I love doing research and testing things out. So, test driving cars, “building” them online, and researching reviews is just downright fun!

First up: Toyota FJ Cruiser

(Source)

Next: Subaru Forester

(Source)

Finally: Subaru Outback

(Source)

Several weeks ago: Hyundai Tucson

(Source)

All of this test driving is in attempt to find an alternative to the Element, since it has been discontinued. I was holding out hope that the 2012 Elements would have the features I really want in a car like integrated bluetooth, an iPod connection that allows the music to be controlled through the car instead of the actual iPod, and controls on the steering wheel for both. I realize those things seem rather frivolous, but I drive a lot! My commute is long and boring. It’s not really safe to look down at my iPod or my phone, so I rarely use either. Now that I know how nice it is to have those things (the hubby’s car does all that and more), I sort of want them too. Yeah, I know, that’s just wrong! What can I say....I want some bells. And maybe even a whistle or two.

Does anyone have experience with any of those models above? Or do you think I should just stick to the paid off (though very, very base model) Element?

Not your grama's cookin'

2011-01-18T06:30:00.001-06:00

Spoiler Alert!

I made a brisket this week. I’ll tell you the hows and such on Friday, as usual, but the brisket is sort of integral to what I’m about to say next, so sorry if I’ve sort of ruined the whole “reveal” on the Food in Review post. I promise, there will be more than JUST brisket. Especially after what I’m about to confess.

So, I made my very first brisket! I was so excited to be making it. My grama is the queen extraordinaire of southern oven-baked briskets. She’s always told me to look for one with lots of fat still on it and cook it low and slow.

I’ve had this brisket in my freezer since the end of the farmer’s market, and it seemed a good week to work meals around a brisket. I cooked it for hours at 225-250ish (my oven sucks at holding a steady temp), and my house smelled delicious.

At dinner time, I started to “disassemble” my brisket. Right off the bat, something was wrong. My fat hadn’t really shrunk any. Grama’s disintegrates upon a single touch. My meat was hard to cut. Her’s doesn’t require cutting. It actually took SO LONG to cut it that the meat got cold and I had to reheat our dinner portions.

Horrible. Tough. Dry. Upon my first, I dropped my silverware in my plate, threw my face in my hands, and had to start doing some seriously focused breathing to keep from bursting into tears. Another mediocre, barely edible dinner. WTF?! Oh my grama would be horrified at this monstrosity of a brisket!

We ate it. The flavor was actually quite nice, just the texture and chew-ability was all wrong. It wans’t what I’d expected at all. I’ll be attempting to salvage it by turning it into chopped beef (with a backup plan in case the chopped beef idea is also a total failure).

I tell you all this to say.....bad meal happen. Even to people who love to cook and cook often. Just like the pancake debacle two Sundays ago (though I blame a bad recipe on that one). My only saving grace is that idea that perhaps this brisket was a bad cut, but I got it from a good source. So, I’m just going to take the hit on this one and call it a day. Sometimes I make things that don’t turn out. That doesn’t mean I’m a bad cook and should never try again. It probably also doesn’t mean that I need to fling flatware and cry, but hey....I’m only human.

Anyone got a kitchen disaster they’d like to share?

Pancake redemption

2011-01-17T06:30:00.002-06:00

Last Sunday, my husband asked for pancakes. I searched a couple of my favorite blogs, picked one, and made pancakes. We had guests, so I made a LOT of pancakes. Our guests arose, not realizing the time, and rushed out the door in order to make it home in time for prior obligations. No worries, I don't mind re-toasting a pancake during the week. My husband and I sat down to with our steamy, maple drizzled cakes and dug in.....and immediately threw the entire batch in the trash! Worst pancake ever.

So, this Sunday, I was determined to redeem myself in the pancake department. I wanted them to be wheat and contain oatmeal. After about an hour of searching (my hubby doesn't eat until he's been awake for quite some time), I found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for that looked very promising.

These Golden Oat Pancakes from The Kitchn were very simple to make with simple ingredients. I made two swaps: molasses for brown sugar and whole wheat flour for "flour" (it didn't specify).

The batter got bubbly, just like it was supposed to.

The cakes pumped and turned golden.

The texture of these simple, fluffy cakes were spot on. Nice and tender. My husband said they had an after taste, but I couldn't detect it. I served mine with a slather of homemade PB and maple. My hubby is a purist....just syrup.

Pancake craving pulverized! Huzzah! Victory really does taste sweet....or maybe that was the maple syrup.

Another party meal

2011-01-16T06:49:00.000-06:00

My friends decided I needed to hold another Pampered Chef party, to which, I happily complied. I love hosting parties. To me, party = good food. Right? I get the chance to feed far more people than I usually get to. Feeding people is a bit of a thrill for me. Being that it was sooooo cold this week, I went with chili. I know, right, I just had chili. Exactly. So I changed it up. This is my first vegetarian chili!

I used a huge organic sweet potato, peeled and cubed, for the bulk of the chili. I also added an entire onion, an organic zucchini a can of black beans, Muir Glen fire-roasted diced tomatoes (instead of the kidneys in the photo....seemed too beany), roasted pablanos, tomato sauce, and a chili kit.

The onion was first up! I let it sweat then added the sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, two cans of water, and all the seasonings from the kit. As a note, next time I'll only use 3/4 of the chili powder. It was a little overwhelming at first bite, but then it tasted perfect a couple bites in. Still, I wouldn't want anyone turning it away because of the strong chili bite at the beginning of the dish.

While that simmered away for 30 minutes, these bad boys were roasting away. Look how black they get!

After 30 minutes, I mixed the masa with water and added all the other ingredients. I let this simmer another half hour then put it away for serving at the party. The chili had the change to chill in the fridge for a couple days. I honestly feel that chili is best after a day or two, just like lasagna. So, this was intentional.

The day of the party, I warmed in on the stove while I made this cornbread, only I made it in muffin form for easy serving so I nixed the melty butter step. That seemed like too much work for each muffin cup!

Somehow I managed not to get one single photo of the finished goods, but let me just say that everyone gobbled it up and no one missed the meat. The sweet potatoes melted upon contact with your tongue creating a creamy sweet pillow against the spice. The combination is phenomenal! I would make this again in a heartbeat and serve it to even the meatiest of eaters.

The best part (other than it being ridiculously good)? Feeding a crowd on just a few bucks! The whole pot (and it was a huge pot, the net was probably 10-12 cups) was roughly $6....and I made the cornbread out of pantry staples. Ah, how I love a well stocked pantry!

What's your favorite crowd pleasing dish?! Chili is always one of mine, but this was a nice twist!

Pet therapy

2011-01-15T06:30:00.001-06:00

This week, I had to take a personal day. The premise started out simply that the dog threw up really early in the morning. So, after cleaning that, I was wide awake....and extremely sick to my stomach. Whatever she got into made her smell like death!

As you can imagine, I didn't go back to sleep. Instead, I went about the business of getting ready for work. Then I realized that the dog wasn't quite right. Usually, if she throws up, she's fine and dandy after. Fresh as a daisy, as it were. Not this time. She was trying to snuggle me and whimpering....and gassing me out of the house! Call me crazy - yes, I realize she's just a dog - but I couldn't go to work with her in that condition. I would have worried about her vomitting in her crate all day long. That's no way to be.

Thankfully, my boss is a dog owner and my work was all caught up. I took a personal day to stay with the whimpering pup.

She slept in my lap all day long. Literally, all day long. There were a few times she went outside, but she'd come right back in, curl up in my lap, and fall asleep. Somewhere around lunchtime, I realized that even though I stayed home for the dog, it was really me that needed the snuggling.

Having a puppy all snuggled in my lap, warm and twitching in her sleep, was good for my soul. During the periods that she'd go outside and play, I did some cleaning that was long overdue and made three different butters. I fixed the photos for my blog during her naps. All of this stuff was severely stressing me out. I realize that sweeping, dusting, and nut butters shouldn't stress a person out, but it does. Dirty houses stress me out. Lingering, unfinished projects stress me out. Feeling like I don't spend enough time focused on my family stresses me out. Fixing some of those things felt cathartic. And quite frankly, parts of my work stress me out, so NOT dealing with that was blissful too.

I'd hoped to end my cathartic day with some yoga, since I still have my 10 day pass, but the highway to the studio is closed! Guess that's my cue that I'm just supposed to be in my home and with my family....no where else.

Food in Review

2011-01-14T06:30:00.000-06:00

You’d think from the fact that we got over 10” of snow last winter, that snow wouldn’t be quite the big deal when we get 3” the next year. Not so! I think it would have to get up to 10” regularly before we DFW area Texans stop marveling at this crazy thing called snow.

The snow set the pace for a the week, which is basically to say that it was colder than a witch’s, um, toe this week and required warm, comforting food! Seriously, most nights were in the teens here. That’s cold. Period.

Sunday: Well, I think we can all agree that chilly weather calls for......chili! I realize this is FAR from original, and you’ve seen my chili before. But wanted to show you what goes into my process. I tend to let my chili cook for hours to get all the flavors nice and acquainted. The other tidbit about this week is that all the dinners had to be really quick because I intended to do the 10 day unlimited yoga trial after work every day. So, yes, our meals revolved around the chili.

First up, brown some meat (or don’t, vegetarian is good too.....I’m doing that soon). This was the last pound of the ground beef I got from the farmers’ market. Once it was browned, I drained the fat and added a diced onion to sweat until translucent. The meat went back in, along with a can of tomato sauce, two cans of water and all the seasonings from the chili kit. Yes, I own all of these spices. But I love this kit and how it turns out, so I just buy the kit. I only use half of the “red pepper”, as an FYI. I love spice, but I also like to feel my tongue. So, I guess technically, I make one alarm chili. That simmers away for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, roast a couple pablanos. You can either stick them under the broiler, turning until blackened, or stick them straight on an electric burner. The result is extremely similar, except that I find the skin is easier to feel using the broiler method. Once black, pop into a zip bag or a bowl sealed tightly with plastic wrap. The key is just to allow the peppers to steam. Again, this is helpful in removing the skin.

Once 30 minutes are up, mix the masa from the kit (another reason I buy the kit) with water, pour it into the chili and allow to simmer for another 20 minutes. At this point, add any fun stuff you want. My typical chili gets the roasted pablanos (de-skinned, de-seeded, and chopped), a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, and a drained can of dark red kidney beans. Really though....the door is wide open to add whatever suits your palette! Once I stir my add-ins thoroughly, I let it simmer till we’re ready to eat, however long that might be.

Sunday’s dinner was a simple bowl of chili with a dollop of organic sour cream, grated sharp cheddar and multigrain tortilla chips on the side. Perfection on a snowy night.

Monday: When there is a vat of chili in the fridge, chili dogs are irresistible! Especially when I happen to know my husband loves them. I used Applegate Farms organic uncured beef franks for our chili dogs. These guys were out of this world good! Seriously one of the most flavorful dogs I’ve ever eaten. I didn’t feel like committing to an entire bag of buns, so I used my newest obsession under the dogs: sea salt ciabatta from the WF bakery. (Go out and get this! Put it in a breakfast casserole. Thank me later.) I was leery about the ciabatta, but it was a foolish worry! It held up beautifully! No sogginess. No tearing. Just thick, chewy bread in every bite. I tried a little experiment and split a dog down the middle. I’ll be doing the rest this way when I cook them. Great for stability since we weren’t using traditional buns. The ciabatta and wieners were doused in chili, onion, and cheese, of course. More multigrain tortilla chips on the side. Dinner was done in 15 minutes. Gotta love that!

Tuesday: Another quick and easy pleaser: chili topped taters. I “baked” the russets in the microwave, split them, filled them with chili cheese, and sour cream. Dinner. Done.

Wednesday: I had another chili recipe planned out, but lacked the cheese to bring it to fruition. So, I changed the focus from chili to chowder. I had a box of Pacific Natural Foods rosemary potato chowder, and I wanted to make it into dinner for two. So, I diced up a russet and a half (left over from the Tuesday.....I bought extras). I added a pat of organic butter and some olive oil to my pan with a little diced onion (left over from the chili dogs) and the diced potatoes. They sauteed until the potatoes were just a starting to get color and the onion was soft. Then I got a little weird, with the husband’s blessing. I split two of the Applegate Farms beef dogs down the middle, sliced them thin, and added them to the potatoes. In went the box of chowder and some veggie stock to thin it out. It simmered, covered for about 15 minutes while more sea salt ciabatta reheated at 350 in the oven. The resulting chowder was extra thick, warm, and utterly DE-licious! I know the hot dogs are probably a little ghetto, but they worked. Oh man did they work. These might be the best dogs I’ve ever eaten. The texture is strictly hot dog , but the flavor is far more like kielbasa or smoked sausage: hearty and noticeable. And I’ll hand it to the Pacific soups. So far, I’ve had two and both have been rich, thick, and full of flavor with excellent ingredients lists.

Thursday: Hot dog alert! Yeah, two days in a row. I know. Nothing right about me. And on nachos. Really? Yeah, I went there. The package says to use them within 4 days of opening. I got a little creative. Sue me. Okay, well, the husband was quite fond. I found it meh....I wouldn't recommend it, personally. But that's really the great part of cooking: you get to try it and see for yourself!

And some Riley for the road....thought she's bounced between sweet, sickly pup to hellhound this week! Lord give me strength.

Lesson learned

2011-01-13T06:30:00.008-06:00

Roughly four hours were spent correcting my stupidity in order for me to continue posting photos on my blog. Basically, I didn't realize that my camera took HUGE, MASSIVE photos. I'd naively been pulling photos off of the camera and posting them directly onto the blog. Tuesday, Blogger let me know that I had no more space available for photos. It did not take my husband long to figure out what I'd done wrong. (Whaaa, whaaa!)

I'm happy to say that all of the photos have been resized, and I have lots of space left. As a matter of fact, I went from 99.9% full to 10.29%. Huzzah! Yeah, I know, I'm a dunce. That's something I really should have known. Lesson learned, right?? Another thing I learned, Picasa's editor Picnik is really cool. I find photo editors too complex, mostly because I haven't taken the time to learn how each function works. So, until I get more serious and take a class, I think I'll definitely be putting Picnik to use!

For today, I wanted to share a delicious and embarrassingly simple lunch. I made this for us on Sunday with the snow falling, and I am so pleased with it.

I'd picked up this box of Annie's mac and cheese on a whim when I saw it on sale. It's been in the pantry for weeks. I'd forgotten about it until I reorganized the pantry and discovered it. I prefer to make my own cheese sauce, but sometimes you just want easy, right? I was intrigued by the fact that Annie's was at least healthier than the usual box of mac. This was the organic 5-grain elbows and white cheddar, and according to their nutritionals, there are 10 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber!

I cooked it according to box directions, added a pack of Starkist smoked tuna, a bunch of frozen peas, and a handful of parm. This was a seriously delicious and filling lunch, done in 10 minutes! I'm good with that.

Granola Bars - Attempt #7

2011-01-12T06:30:00.003-06:00

So, my lovely husband is working on something for me, and it seems it’s not a moment too soon! There’s going to be some, how shall I put this, redecorating around here!

I was given quite a scare yesterday when Blogger informed me that I was completely out of room for any more photos. Can you imagine?! No more photos of drool-worthy dinners? Or, heaven forbid, no more photos of Riley!! The horror. (Okay, so maybe some of you would be totally okay with these changes, but I am not.) So, he’s helping me fix it and helping me be a more savvy blogger. Lord knows, I only know enough to be dangerous when it comes to computers and the internets!

In the interest of conservation while the hubs is fixing my mess (sorry baby!), I’ll leave you with an entry a little light on photos but big on taste.

I made Anne’s 5-minute granola bars this weekend. I made a couple substitutions. I left out the coconut and added an extra ¼ seeds. So, I had a cup of seeds total that included almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, and the dregs of a bag of chias. The other substitution? Dark Chocolate PB. And let me tell you.....heaven doesn’t even begin to describe it.

I cannot wait to make this again....but with the my hubby in mind! I’m going to try to mimic the flavors in one of his favorite cookies! Wish me luck.

Puddin'

2011-01-11T06:30:00.000-06:00

My uncle calls me that to this day! Even at 32! Love it.

And this is worth calling Puddin'. I drooled over Mama Pea's bread pudding for far too long. I love bread pudding. I order it at restaurants. Yet I've never made the stuff! It was time I finally did something about it. With huge snow flakes fluttering to the ground, it seemed like a good day to make that happen.

If you recall from my pantry photos, there was a panettone in there (hiding on the bottom shelf).

That is not my favorite kind. I like the fruited pannettone far better than the chocolate one. My mother-in-law had three at Christmas: two chocolate and one fruited. She and I agree on the fruit and we pretty much ate the entire thing throughout Christmas day and into the next morning. Panettone, for those that might not know, is the eggy, doughy, orangy stuff that sweet dreams are made of. It's a traditional Italian Christmas bread.

I've always wanted to make a bread pudding out of panettone. Fantastic recipe + panettone just begging to be eaten before it goes bad = MUST DO, right?

I followed Mama Pea's recipe, nearly to a tee. The only exception is that I used a loaf of panettone and subbed ground ginger and ground allspice for the cinnamon. My hubby does not eat cinnamon. No biggie. It was great with the other "pumpkin spices".

For the sauce, I subbed a tablespoon of maple for the whiskey....simply because I didn't have any whiskey. It would have been better with the booze, but I think the maple was a good choice. Maple, pumpkin, spices....that's a good combo in my book.

The top was crisp. The inside was creamy and chewy. The sauce was sweet but not overwhelming. Awesome, lovely bread puddin' bliss.

Riley's first snow

2011-01-10T06:30:00.008-06:00

I'm a little embarrassed to say exactly how much time I spent yesterday watching this.....

The snow fell in thick, fluffy flurries. And when it was done, this beautiful sunshine came out and glistened on all the fallen snow....and my romping puppy. It was a perfect day. I watched the snow fall from my kitchen window while I cooked and took trips outside to giggle at Riley's funny "snow run". There are bars, pudding, and a stupidly simple and delicious lunch to share, but this was a much better way to start the week, don't you agree?

Oh, and there's also this.....enjoy!

New yogini in town?

2011-01-09T08:10:00.000-06:00

So, I finally managed to face a fear, after a little trial and error. On Thursday night, I took my very first yoga class in a real studio!

The studio is lovely with cornflower blue and dark chocolate walls. Three lovely velvet flower chandeliers hang from the ceiling over the practice area. Quirky signs fostering the idea that friends and smiles are all over the walls.

The Hairdresser and I took the Yoga Basics class. Turns out I knew every pose from my Biggest Loser Yoga DVD, but I had no idea if I was doing any of them correctly. During the second downward dog, I realized that I'd forgotten how challenging yoga is! We crackled and popped over in the corner together, but we made it through the entire class and felt so good afterward! It was the most loose I felt in a very long time.

I went back for a "Yoga for Awareness" class at 9am on Saturday. This one was far more sitting and breathing, but I can honestly say that I have never breathed that way. It was odd. I didn't dislike it, but I am not sure how much I enjoyed it either. What I did like was the philosophy the instructor was telling us while we practiced our breathing. Very insightful. "The most important thing is to be a good and kind person" He said it about five times throughout the hour. I liked that.

As I've already said, group exercise intimidates the heck out of me! But both instructors were very open to helping beginners. Both adjusted my positions without being demeaning. Instead, it was actually quite the opposite. It was more of "excellent position, but if you just correct your hip position a tiny bit" and WOW did that half an inch make a difference. The second instructor actually called me a natural yogini. I think that's a compliment, yes?

So, in case you're curious, the studio is called Blue Anjou in Lewisville, TX. They offer a promotion to any new students for unlimited yoga for 10 days for $10. That is unbeatable! I intend to go to as many classes as I can in the next 10 days. I intended to go to one this morning, but my shoulders cannot handle it. They are unbearably sore this morning. Again, I forgot that yoga is challenging! I'll definitely be there Monday evening for a Hatha class though!

Any thoughts on types of yoga? I really don't know my hatha from my asana! I cannot wait to tell you more as I discover it myself.

Food in Review

2011-01-08T07:51:00.000-06:00

As much as I love the holidays (and the long weekend that come with them!), I am so glad to be back in control of our meals. That being said, I went a little “easy” this week because getting back into the swing of making all the meals and lunches again isn’t always glitch-free. This turned out to be an excellent strategy because Riley really had a hard time getting back to the normal schedule of no one at home and her in a crate all day. She’s been a heathen this week!

Saturday: Yes, I follow superstition and eat “new years luck” foods. I made a pot of Bob’s Red Mill Bountiful Black beans with corny cornbread on the side for lunch. There’s black-eyed peas in the bean mix. Black-eyed peas are essential on new years day. So is cabbage. Ours came at dinner in the form of sauerkraut served with beer brats and oven-fried okra. Delightful!

Sunday: I wanted something we could feast on several times, and lasagna came to mind. I made my own sauce out of a 15 oz. can of Muir Glen organic fire roasted crushed tomatoes, a 15 oz. can of Private Selection organic tomato sauce, a can of Private Selection organic tomato paste, sauteed onion, garlic, s&p, dried oregano, red pepper flake and several cans of water (using the tomato-y cans to get every last bit!). It simmered for at least two-three hours until I was ready to make the lasagna.

Right before assembly, I browned a pound of lean ground grass-fed beef (still from the stock from the last farmers market) and created the cheese mixture in my food processor. The filling consisted of an entire 16 oz. container of part-skim ricotta, ¾ of a bag of shredded mozzarella, a handful of parm (yes, I deem that a technical measurement!), a clove of garlic, an egg, and a handful of cilantro. Okay, I know cilantro is NOT parsley and you should use parsley in this dish. But I like cilantro better, and it didn’t taste the least bit odd. Also, a trick for getting the clove of garlic all chopped up nicely in a food processor is to drop a skinned clove through the shoot at the top with the processor running. So, that was actually the first ingredient in the kitty.

Okay, after all that, it’s time to assemble the lasagna. (You can see why I make this on the weekend, right? So many steps! So much waiting!) Start with a layer of sauce in the bottom of a rectangular casserole dish. Lay out three lasagna noodles. That’s right....raw straight out of the box. I do not pre-cook my noodles. They cook in the sauce. Next dollop cheese all down each noodle. I usually just drop about four little mounds per noodle. You can try to spread it out, but it’s sort of a futile mission, especially in the higher levels. I promise, the cheese will spread out on it’s own. Next, sprinkle the ground beef around then top, evenly but thinly, in sauce. Repeat, starting with the three noodles until you’ve run out of ingredients or reached the capacity of your casserole’s sides.

I try to make sure I reach both limits at the same time....meaning that last layer might have extra cheese because I’m not about to throw out any cheesy goodness. End the process with three more noodles, sauce and the remaining ¼ of a bag of mozzarella and another handful of parm. I also grind some Italian spices on top (one of those grinder mixes from McCormick) to be pretty, but I’m not sure it actually adds flavor. Take a second to gauge your sauce level. The sauce around the noodles should come up the side of the casserole at least halfway. Remember, we’re cooking our pasta in there! That requires moisture. Mine was a tad lacking so I put a half cup of water around the edge of the casserole. Cover the casserole with tin foil coated in non-stick spray (this will keep that finishing layer of cheese on the casserole and off the foil) and bake at 350 until bubbly and the noodles are done.

It took mine an hour and a half. Then let it sit at least 15 minutes. Else you’ll have a huge runny mess on your hands and inedible left overs.

Serve with a salad and extra sauce....because you can. That’s why. This lasagna was amazing. I haven’t made a lasagna in over a year (don’t really know why other than it’s time intensive), and I was nervous as can be that it wouldn’t turn out right. Thankfully, it did. And we ate it Tuesday night and Thursday night as well!

Monday: I had left over brats. I had cabbage because when you can get a whole head of cabbage for $.21, it’s foolish not to. Then I had some other random odds and ends in the fridge. In true kitchen sink fashion, I decided to make an bastardized version of colcannon, which is an Irish left over dish. Now, don’t go all Flogging Molly on me. I am totally aware that what I made is NOT colcannon. But that was the inspiration, nonetheless. I cubed up two random yukon golds from the veggie drawer and allowed them to simmer in the little water until the moisture was gone and they were close to fork-tender. Then I added and entire thinly sliced onion (from the food processor....my slices are NEVER that even). One the onion and potato were both soft and a little caramelized, I took them out and added half a head of shredded cabbage with some olive oil. I allowed that to get soft and lovely then added it to the onion and potato on reserve. More olive oil went into the pan along with two sliced brats. Once the brats were browned, I made a quick sauce of dijon mustard, a splash of apple cider vinegar and veggie stock. Once combined, everything went back into the pan to get evenly coated. I had no clue if this would be good, but I had a pan of lasagna in the fridge as a safety net. Thankfully, this required no such saving. It was delightfully different. I love cabbage, so I might be biased. I “mmmm”ed my way through the whole bowl. I’d totally do it again.

Wednedsay: When I asked for inspiration for dinners for the week, the husband said pizza. And I have the fancy new stand mixer. So, yeah, I had to make real, yeasty pizza dough! This is a first! I’ve made non-yeasted pizza dough. I’m made other things with yeast. I’ve bought real pizza dough. I’ve never made it. I found a recipe that I really like the looks of on VegWeb and made it Tuesday night when we had leftover lasagna. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have an hour and a half during my designated dinner prep time to wait for dough to rise? If you do, I’d like to trade schedules with you, please. The dough came together beautifully within about 15 minutes then rose on the stove (turned on just enough to make a warm spot in the house) for the full hour and a half.

I wrapped that bad boy in saran and popped it in the fridge for the next day’s dinner. I woke up Wednesday to find that the dough had busted out of it’s saran wrap encasement. No big deal. I just re-wrapped it and moved on. Wednesday night, I grated some cheddar, sliced some onion, pulled out a container of BBQ sauce (Stubb’s Spicy is SO good), and took some help from Dickie’s BBQ in the form of pre-cooked pulled pork. I set the oven to 375 with my Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan heating up inside while I rolled out the dough. Once I was happy with the thickness, I pulled the hot bar pan out of the oven and assembled the pizza. Fifteen minutes later the dough was puffy and lightly golden, the cheese gooey, and the smell in my house out of this world. My husband was so happy with this dish. And that makes me one happy girl. I’ll definitely be doing this again....but doubling the batch so I can freeze a doughball for quick use!

Friday: Seeing Emily's fried rice made me what to make some. I did my own thing, because it's not my first fried rice party....and I wanted to use the stuff I had in the fridge. So, my fried rice had a small block of sprouted tofu (cooked a la Emily's tutorial), brown rice, cabbage, carrots, peas, onion, and scrambled eggs. I seasoned it with soy, sesame oil, srirasha, and a tiny bit of ground ginger.

As I said, Riley’s been a bit of a beast this week, but she always realizes when she’s been too bad too often. That’s when she turns into a sweet little bundle of face licks that wants nothing more than to sit in your lap and make you feel like the only person in the world that matters.

Have a great weekend y'all!

My first blogger goodie swap!

2011-01-07T06:30:00.004-06:00

Okay, this is exciting to me. Very! I mean, I'm the kind that jumps up and down when someone I follow comments....or heck reads the blog but doesn't comment. I realize I've been doing this for over a year, but the excitement simply has not worn off.

I just retrieved a package from the porch, and I cannot wait to share it! Don't worry, the usual food in review post will be up tomorrow.

I've been exchanging comments and emails with Christin at Purple Bird Blog, which has been totally awesome. I made a comment about not understanding the hype (and therefore being too cheap to buy) Barney Butter. She generously offered to send me some sample packs. That blew me away. So, I offered up some granola (since it's probably the most creative thing I do). She went for it, and I started scheming.

The package I received was WAY cooler than the one I sent. My package had Zbars, barney butter, homemade accidental dough balls, 18 Rabbits granola, and a gorgeous scarf! I immediately ate a dough ball. My husband immediately ate a Zbar. :) The dough balls were coco-tastic! I loved it.

And look at this gorgeous scarf! I love the color.

Doesn't really go with the workout gear, but I think you get the idea. I dove into a Zbar after working out. I love the chewiness. And the Barney Butter. That stuff is velvet. It made a river through my oats this morning. I'd use it as an ice cream sauce, not as nut butter. Ooohhh, or on noodles in place of my usual peanut sauce. Yeah, one pack is definitely getting saved for that!

Thanks Christin!!!

Not quite as planned

2011-01-06T06:30:00.001-06:00

I had big plans to attack life using my mantra this week! I don’t know about you all, but when I set a goal or find a new outlook, I tend to go for it with gusto right at the beginning. So, I had “scary” on the brain.

I made three attempts at things that scare me for vastly different reasons, and the universe just doesn’t seem to be cooperating.

Attempt #1: I’ve been putting more and more thought into a graduate degree. This is scary because of the expense and the amount of time it would take. It’s a serious endeavor that I cannot enter into lightly. This isn’t the same as going back to school to finish my bachelors like I did in 2006. Then I was single, freshly divorced, and didn’t have anyone but the cats depending on me. I wasn’t putting anyone else through hell but myself! The financial risk of all the government loans I was taking on way mine alone. No one else was affected if I stayed up till 1am finishing a project. Just me. Because believe me, the cats went to bed without me! Or on whatever book I was trying to use at the time, like cats do. Now, I have the husband. We have a big house to keep clean and meals to make and a dog that demands lots of attention. The debt we take on is both of our burden. And while that should make me feel better, it really just makes me feel like a burden. I realize he doesn’t see it that way AT ALL. This is my own little paranoia.

So, going back to school is scary. On Monday, I sent out an email inquiry into a program. I got some info, but no one could tell me if I should (or could) attend an orientation being held this week. So, though I put myself out there, I really don’t feel comfortable going to the orientation this week. If it were labeled “info session” or something along those lines, I’d be far more comfortable. I just wish someone would have answered me one way or another. I’m not even sure what my next action should be.

Attempt #2: This involves my ring. This one is scary because of the emotion behind it and the fact that I hate confrontation. I will do just about anything to avoid a fight. I don’t like fights! I haven’t gotten into any confrontations with the jeweler about the ring, but I certainly am not happy. The potential for confrontation is high!

I marched myself into the store at lunch on Tuesday with a Project Get My Diamond Back on the brain. I was basically shoo’ed out of the store in minutes. No, I do not have my ring back, either in a new form or the old. No, I still have not seen the artwork. I was given another “time frame” and another “call you tomorrow”. And yet again, I have received no phone call.

Attempt #3: Group exercise intimidates me. I’m not the fittest. I’m not coordinated. I don’t like being the center of attention. All of this adds up to the fact that when I’m supposed to do synced moves that require a certain level of fitness is nerve racking. But I also don’t like going to a gym and cannot seem to motive myself to work out at home. So, a fitness solution needs to be found.

I decided that yoga would be a good place to start. There’s one on my way home. I decided to seize the moment on that particular anxiety, and go to Tuesday’s evening class. I’ve been assured by others that yoga is usually forgiving, and so I felt encouraged. I pulled up to the studio 25 minutes before class, because I assumed there be some paperwork for payment-sake to find the studio completely dark and the doors locked. So, I went home. No yoga for me! That one has a hopeful ending at least! I emailed the studio and was told that they usually arrive 15 minutes before class, so I was just too early. Then I recruited the Hairdresser to go with me this evening! Fear hasn’t got a chance of stopping me when I have a friend by my side!

So, friends, I really did try to put myself out there this week, but it just seemed like fail after fail. It left me rather listless by Wednesday! I don’t really feel like I accomplished anything. Perhaps next week will bring greater success?

Has anyone else had better success with their new years goals?

Destructo Dog

2011-01-05T06:30:00.000-06:00

So, I've lamented a wee bit about Riley and her chewing ways, but I don't tell you everything she destroys.....like THREE potholders. To say the least, finding toys that interest her and keep her from destroying our good stuff isn't exactly easy. The toys have to be extra durable.

We've had great success with Nylabone and Kong, so we tend to turn to their toys when we want to get Riley something new. Occasionally, though, even those brands fail us.

We've had two Kong failures. But at least they took the course of a couple play sessions to fail, so I haven't complained. When I came home with a new Nylabone and she destroyed it in minutes, I complained.

Thankfully, the good folks at Nylabone stand by their products. Their customer service got in touch with me very quickly, and after a few exchanges, offered replacements or a refund. I chose replacements.

They came in today! They doubled down on our replacement, giving us not one but two new toys. They gave us a more durable bone and a plush toy. Knowing glances were exchanged by the hubby and I as we held the new plushie toy. Then the glances gave way to wagering on exactly how quickly she'd dismantle the plush.

We were pretty spot on, sadly. Before the hour mark, Destructo Dog had two "antlers" torn off, squeaker removed and stuffing strewn all about. Yes, I was watching...taking away bits as she tore them off so that she couldn't hurt herself. Obviously, the Nylabone folks underestimated her chewing capacity.

Still, I very much appreciated the replacements, and Riley is happily chewing the replacement bone in her Kong bed now.

Hey....when you find a product worthwhile, you stick to it! Right?

Not a resolution, but a mantra

2011-01-04T07:00:00.002-06:00

So, I have never been huge on resolutions, which seems to be pretty darn common. I am big on goals and mantras though. Wikipedia defines a mantra as 'a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are considered capable of "creating transformation"'.

I poured over quotes of all kinds - from philosophy to literary to pop culture - for the wedding. I wanted to rely people far more wise and insightful to put words to my feelings. I love the outcome!

And so, in the new year, I think I'll just adopt a mantra that I hope will propel me forward....to make me stretch a little and get uncomfortable. Comfort creates ruts. And ruts lead to apathy. I certainly have no desire to be apathetic toward my life.

I'm leaving my mantra for the year up to Eleanor Roosevelt, who apparently is one insightful gem of a woman! My mantra for the year is simply "do one thing every day that scares you".

I don't mean that to be literal....as in every single day, but simply more often. I'm a play-it-safe girl. I have a low tolerance for risk. It nearly kept me from meeting my husband (because internet dating is expensive and scary!). It nearly kept me from going back to school (because college is expensive and scary!). It nearly kept me from getting a dog (because dogs are expensive and scary!).

I think you see the issue. Not only am I a scardy-cat, but I'm a cheap one! So, I am going to do a little investing in me if need be to try to expand my life. I've allowed myself to become overwhelmed far too often by simple stagnation and the ho-hum every day. I don't want to drift through life and watch it happen around me. I want experiences that enrich my life and bring me closer to my loved ones, especially my husband.

I'm starting with something very scary this evening. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Everything in its place

2011-01-03T07:00:00.000-06:00

Something has been vexing me. And when I returned home with my lovely new stand mixer, I knew I had to do something about it.

It started out simply as "find an appropriate spot for the new toy, er, highly-necessary piece of kitchen equipment" and turned into operation kitchen makeover!

As I've told you all before, I have three coffee makers on my kitchen cabinets. I know, I know. Why does anyone need three different kinds of coffee maker? And why does anyone need three different kinds of coffee makers OUT on the cabinets?! Well, the espresso machine and the Keurig were both wedding gifts. I purchased the standard coffee pot. I didn't ask for the Keurig, but my brother loves his so much that he wanted me to have one. We're both huge coffee lovers. He's right; it's totally wonderful. They're all out because I used them more when I can see them. The same goes for the processor, and that's why I wanted the mixer out too.

So, I cleaned off all the cabinets, wiped them down, and redesigned the kitchen countertops to accommodate my fun machinery.

Still, I things didn't seem in their place. That's because every cabinet and the pantry were a mess. Fine, we can fix this too.

And so a project was born.

The pantry before:

The process of cleaning the sty up:

The glorious aftermath:

Isn't it gorgeous?! I'm so pleased with it. I made more dough balls for a lunch with my aunt and cousin as well a few side projects, and it was so nice to be able to find everything! Bliss! This was accomplished by a flat of quart jars, a flat of pint jars, and several Better Homes and Garden's airtight canisters. It wasn't the cheapest undertaking, but it is so satisfying!

It even inspired me to clean up the spices and plasticware. I forgot to take before, but here is the after.

This is a good way to start the new year.

2010 recap

2011-01-02T08:15:00.000-06:00

I hope this isn't too cheesy, and I hope you all aren't too bored with New Year stuff. Because I just couldn't resist!

January

I had a PJ-themed bridal shower (yes those are footies on one of my bridesmaids!) and my hen party.

And wedding DIY consumed my life, though apparently I found it too drab to blog about till a recap in February.

February

It snowed. A lot. But marriage licenses were had!

And that happened. Best thing of all this year.

And we spent a week honeymooning in Baltimore and DC.

March

I must have spent the month decompressing from the wedding mayhem! I cannot find a single photo. Weddings are hard work!

April

We bought the husband a new car with the oh-my-goodness generous gifts from family and friends from the wedding. Seriously, I was overwhelmed by the generosity.

Oh, and I discovered food blogs. There's not photo for that, but I think it's important.

May

Our Summer Hafla

And as usual, Scarborough ruled my weekends.

June

More dancing.

And I started taking pictures of my food.

July

We went to the Oklahoma Shakespearean Festival and stayed the weekend with my uncle.

We lost our minds and got a tiny pup.

August

Nothing but food and Riley.

September

Riley graduated from puppy class.

I did something really hard and gave my ring to a new jeweler. The ^&%&* has had it for four months and can't even be bothered to do the artwork.

October

I realized I loved baking and did more of it than ever.

November

The husband turned 30, and we took him to Austin to celebrate!

December

We just did December, so seems silly to recap it now. :)

Have a great new year!!!

Consider it rung

2011-01-01T07:45:00.000-06:00

Good morning and happy new year! Or as my husband calls it, happy arbitrary calendar day! :) Yeah, the holidays are way more my thing than his, but he plays along just fine.

We stayed in with a homemade feast last night. I think we ushered out 2010 in style....or at least good eats.

First up, was an appetizer of bacon-wrapped dates.

I cut three dates in thirds, removing the pits. I cut three strips of good, thick bacon in thirds. Each third of a date was wrapped in a third of a piece of bacon and secured with a toothpick. I baked them on a lipped pizza stone for 20 minutes at 350. I turned them once but I don't know if that was necessary.

Next up was a spinach salad with two spicy crab cakes from Central Market perched on top.

Their crab cakes are loaded with crab and so flavorful. I am totally okay with letting them make them because I can't get that quality for the money making them from scratch. I simply baked these for 20 minutes at 350 until golden. I sprayed the top with olive oil cooking spray to help with the browning. The spinach was dressed in Caesar vinaigrette, and the crab cakes were topped with a yogurt, lemon zest, and cilantro sauce made in my teeny processor.

Our main course was steak and bake.

We shared a New Year strip with a twice baked potato. I made the potatoes much earlier in the day then just did the "second" baking while the steak cooked. The potatoes were stuffed with milk, sharp cheddar, and more of the good bacon. The strip was seared on a stainless pan then transferred to the oven until it read medium rare on my meat thermometer. I let the steak rest while I made a sauce in it's pan. I used a little whole wheat flour on the dripping from the steak for thickener then added veggie stock to make a gravy. Bleu cheese went into the gravy to make a bleu cheese sauce! Sadly, the color was basically green because of the blue veins and the wheat flour color mixing. Don't be fooled by the color though, it was totally delicious!!!

Lastly, dessert!

I made panna cotta for the first time. I followed Giada De Laurentis's espresso-based recipe but swapped espresso for vanilla and DiSorrono. I actually made this hours before dinner. It came out SO good. Like a cross between flan and creme brulee. My husband loved them too. That made my day. We enjoyed our dessert with my favorite bubbly.

It was such a wonderful meal, spent with my wonderful man and pup. It was perfect.

How did your celebrations go?

Wrap it up now

2010-12-31T08:04:00.000-06:00

Happy New Years Eve!!!

Like I said, I like the eves way better than the actual holiday. So, I'm all aflutter today. We have some fun errands planned including a lunch at one of my favorite local places and a fancy home-cooked surf and turf dinner.

We got a jump start on celebrations yesterday with happy hour at a new-to-me bar. See, I love pubs. A lot. There's something about dark wood and really great, diverse beer selections that hits all the right buttons with me. So, today, I want to list my favorite bars, in case you're in any of these areas and are looking for a place to ring in the new years!

#5 The Flying Saucer

Source

They actually have these all over the place, but the one in Ft. Worth is my favorite so far.

#4 Abbey Inn

Source

This one is in Denton, TX, on the Square, which is gorgeous at night. Plus the food is killer.

#3 The Holy Grail

Source

This is the pub we went to last night on a recommendation that I'd love it. He was right. The menu was to die for, and the atmosphere was very non-Plano-esque. Just chill. I liked.

#2 Mick O'Shea's Pub

No source, we took this one on our honeymoon!

This was a find on our honeymoon in Baltimore. A place so nice we visited it twice! There was a redheaded bartender that took shots of a rare and newly imported Irish whiskey! I loved that and instantly felt at home. I'd be a fixture in this pub if I lived in Baltimore.

#1 The Ginger Man

Source

We went to Austin just for this one, and it was everything I could hope for and more! Luckily, they're all over Texas, so you don't have to be in Austin to enjoy this one. You just have to come to Texas, y'all!

I hope you all have wonderfully fun and safe new year eves! Please let me know what you decided to do!

Food in Review

2010-12-30T07:00:00.009-06:00

So, I decided to skip the real “food in review” this week, recapping our meals. It’s just too random during the holidays. So, I’ll just call this general meanderings about food this week.

We ate at my grandparent’s house for breakfast Christmas Eve. We had an all-seafood meal at the in-laws that night. No lunch. :) Perhaps that’s why I gorged myself on two and a half biscuits slathered in homemade gravy? Nah, I did that simply because that stuff is pure euphoria on a plate and worth every calorie!

We were at the in-laws or driving from Friday around lunch straight through Sunday evening, so I didn’t get to cook anything. My in-laws made a lovely feast for lunch on Christmas day, but everything else was literally just munchies. One meal. That’s it. No wonder my husband only ever ate lunch every day before I came along. I changed that!

All I could think of by Sunday was “I want something green!” The only veggie I’d seen all weekend was a potato cooked in heavy cream! Don’t get me wrong, it was delightful, but still. So, I’ve been feasting on all things vegetable since. For lunch every day this week, I had a spinach salad topped with bleu cheese, homemade balsamic dressing, and about two cups worth of roasted veggies (sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower). Hooray veggies! Such a nice change from the decadence and sweets.

I even had veggies on the mind for dinner. I picked up a package of Bob’s Red Mill Vegi Soup mix. I am really impressed with this mix. I customized it, which is what they intend for you to do, hence the fact that it is totally unseasoned. So, no overwhelming salt of fake anything here! Just lentils, two kinds of split peas, little pasta, and barley. I opted for an entire small onion, two cloves of garlic, and a can of fire roasted tomatoes. I seasoned it fairly simply with salt, pepper, hot smoked paprika and regular Hungarian paprika. I also chunked up some ham that my mother-in-law sent home with us. I hate seeing things go to waste! I only used a cup of the soup mix and it made enough for two full dinners for two hearty-eating people. We’re the type that will go for seconds without batting an eye if we’re still hungry. This is another reason cooking healthy food is so important to me. Because if I want more, I’m getting more. Period.

I picked another Bob’s Red Mill mix up for my New Year’s superstition fix. I must have my black-eyed peas! And cabbage. And pork. But that’s another issue. For the black-eyed peas, I picked up the Bountiful Black Bean mix (black beans, navy beans, black-eyed peas and barley). I really hope this is as good as the Vegi Soup mix! I’ve always been a fan of their oats and flours, and I am just so pleased that the “entree” mixes are just as good.

Did anyone else go through veggie withdrawal or did you have more control over your food than I did?!

I don’t know about you all, but I’m way more excited about New Year’s Even than I was Christmas. We’re continuing the tradition of “entertaining in” with a home-cooked, yet utterly fancified meal. I’ve got it all mapped out in my head. You bet your sweet patootie I’ll be sharing it after the new year!

And so you don't think I forgot, here's a little puppy love for you all! My hubby sent this to me at work. Those are his feet and PJ'ed legs and her sleeping soundly on him. Melts me to my very core. I love those two so much.

First use!

2010-12-29T07:00:00.002-06:00

The mixer has been christened!

After looking for a recipe for garlic knots and not having all the ingredients for any of them, I decided to just improvise and change a recipe I did have all the stuff for.

I took the cinnamon roll recipe from Side of Sneakers I used to make the Non-Cinnamon rolls and made it garlicky!

I swapped the teaspoon of cinnamon for a teaspoon of garlic powder. For the "filling", I mixed olive oil, roasted garlic, and Italian seasonings. I let it rise for half an hour on the stove, then baked for 20 minutes at 350.

I need to use more roasted garlic next time. I had half a head in the fridge, but a whole head would have worked much better. So, I made a little garlic butter and dipped these. The texture was excellent, though. I wouldn't change anything about the dough.

And I love my new mixer!!!! :)

Bead on a Wire

2010-12-28T07:00:00.002-06:00

So, now that the gifts are doled out, I can show you the beading I did for Christmas. Unfortunately, the overseas folks haven't gotten theirs yet (the husband's cousins are friends of mine on facebook and might see), but I think it's okay if they get a sneak peak. I was told they're only getting mail in Italy once a week. So no one knows when the packages will arrive!

For my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, I made rosaries. I'm not catholic, so this took a little research. Thank goodness for the Internets! :) My mother-in-law was so thrilled. Yay.

For all the other relatives, I made bookmarks with the first letter of their sir name as the "charm" at the end.

Forgive the photos. The white balance is all off, but hopefully you get the idea.

Overwhelmed

2010-12-27T07:44:00.000-06:00

So, generous doesn't even begin to describe my family or in-laws. They're all very giving people. And around the holiday's they're extra giving. So, I got way more than I could possibly have guessed. It was a little overwhelming!

Reversible PJs and slippers from my mom.

Storage containers from my mom. Apparently she saw my pathetic collection at Thanksgiving! Hehe.

Funny masks for the hubby and I from his brother.

These gorgeous hand-made earrings from my brother made by my insanely talented cousin in Seattle. You can find her work here. I have a pair of her Itty Bitties, similar to this but just two tiny rings, that I love that she gave me when I found out that I would probably be watched for cancer, well, forever. And for my brother to order a pair, just for me, in colors I love from a lady I love. They're just doubly special! I cannot wait to wear them!!!

So, this BLEW me away. I know how much these KitchenAid monsters cost! I never, even asked for one....because I know how much they cost! But the hubby knew I wanted one. So, he told his parents to put all of their gift money toward me for this mixer and give him nothing (well, he benefits from me having the mixer, but still). How sweet is that?! Well, of course, they ignored him. He got a very nice gift, but I still got the mixer. I have visions of non-cinnamon rolls dancing in my head!

From left to right, a card from my grandparents, a gift certificate to a new spa from my bro, a card from my uncle, and a card from my mother-in-law. The cards all had generous gifts inside! My other uncle handed out gifts as well, I just didn't have a card to display to show it. :) And that spa thing is so cool! It has like 7-8 different treatments, and I get to do them all! I've had one massage and three pedicures in my life. That's it. So, as you can imagine, I am utterly thrilled to have that gift.

Christmas has never been about "what can I get" for me, and I am not at all good at receiving really generous presents. My family continues to awe me with their generosity year after year, nonetheless. I am so grateful to have them! I love you all.

Christmas pets

2010-12-26T07:54:00.000-06:00

So, our Christmas has been largely dictated by these pesky critters.

Thank goodness they're cute! Because all of the growling, hissing, spitting, shedding, and general nuisance has not really been so cute. Three dogs and three cats....in one area....all weekend. Yeah, annoying doesn't even begin to describe it. It's been good for Riley though. She's learning boundaries. The big heeler there is teaching her when no means no! He is also quite protective of the cats and the tiny dog. So, he basically acts like the bouncer and bites Riley's snoot any time she steps out of line. Nothing that draws blood or anything. She's my baby; I wouldn't let THAT happen. But I will let him make Riley mind her manners. It's only proper, yes?

We're on our way back home. Let's hope traffic is also polite. All of you traveling out there, please be safe!

Christmas Adventure

2010-12-25T07:50:00.000-06:00

So, yesterday there was a whole lot of this:

But we made is safely without incident.

Before we left though, there was a lot of this:

Yes, that's my mom in footy pajamas. HA!

Aren't they cute together?

And here he's showing off the Scooby Doo just-his-size backpack that we got him for Christmas.

I would have taken a photo of the older nephew to share was well, but he's just too cool for photos. You know how that goes. Still, Christmas with my family was awesome. The food was amazing, as usual. I ate two and a half biscuits loaded with gravy, just because I could! My uncle brought Christmas crackers, so we all got to pop them together, wear paper crowns, and read silly laffy-taffy style jokes with one another. The cookies were a hit (thank goodness!), and everyone was in a fantastic mood. It's just how I like to see my family. I wish we were able to do that just a little more often.

Now we're with my husband's family. There's sure to be a feast tonight and lots of presents this afternoon. I'll have to get back to you with the gift, as I left the ones my family gave me at home. I want to show you everything at once, because I got some great stuff! My brother got me a very special gift that I'm excited to show you. It'll have to be Monday though. Sorry guys!

I wish you all the happiest of holidays shared with someone who appreciates you.

Giving goodies

2010-12-24T18:00:00.000-06:00

My family received "build your own" goodie tins! I laid out platter of homemade treats for them to eat during the festivities (even though we won't be there) and provided containers to take their favorites home.

This platter contained peppermint bark which was dark chocolate layered with white chocolate spiked with creme de menthe extract and green food coloring topped with crushed candy canes. Peppermints are my grampa's favorite candies. So, this was specifically for him. Still, I hope everyone likes them.

The other little delight is a homemade peanut butter cup. The bottom layer of chocolate is dark chocolate. The peanut butter is homemade from my food process with simply roasted peanuts, kosher salt,
and canola oil. Just for fun and for a little something different, I made the top layer of the cup white chocolate. White chocolate is the husband's favorite!

This platter has something for my grampa and my brother. Never Home Maker's cornmeal cookies really caught my eye. My family thrives on cornbread, so a cookie that has no chocolate (grampa's not a fan) and contains cornmeal is seriously up his alley. I really hope he likes them!

The half dipped cookie is for my bro. It's his favorite of my cookies. Sadly, it didn't turn out right. See, I usually use packaged sugar cookie dough. I was attempting to make everything from scratch, so I made the sugar dough instead. Sadly, the dough I picked, while delicious, was far too puffy. It created a soft cookie where I was looking for a crisp cookie. Oops? Still, I truly hope my bubba likes them anyhow. The method for this cookie is to cut sugar cookie dough VERY thin. I usually freeze the dough and shave it off with a sharp knife into little discs. I cook them till golden, allow them to cool, then do them up sandwich style with raspberry jam. The ends get dipped in chocolate, well, because raspberry and chocolate are just meant for each other, aren't they? I gave these to everyone several Christmases ago, and my brother literally stole them out of people's gift baskets. So, on his birthday, I made an entire batch (that's not nearly and entire batch in the photo!) just for him. Well, he ended up eating the whole thing, save four that he gave to coworkers, in ONE day. Talk about a tummy ache. He said it was 100% worth it. So, though these aren't quite the same, I hope it conjures the same memories. I used Mama Pea's sugar cutout dough, though mine had butter. Great for puffy, soft sugar cookies!

Okay, I DROOLED over Mama Pea's peanut butter dough balls, and I knew my mom and grama would go gaga over them too. So, this was at the top of my must-make list. And oh my word, they are so much better than I could ever imagine. New favorite cookie right there. Now, I used butter in this too. See, the store I went to didn't have earth balance, so I rolled with unsalted organic butter in all the recipes.

The last cookie is a delicious failure. It was my first attempt at making graham crackers for the girls at work. I mis-read an ingredient though. I thought it said whole wheat pastry flour. Nope! It said whole wheat flour. Quite different beast! So, I kept adding the pastry flour and it never hardened enough to roll out. Instead of giving up and tossing it after adding an additional half cup of flour, I decided to bake it. Thank goodness I did! These are excellent. And the dog loves them too. Molasses must draw dogs in. Who knew?! So, if you think a cookie version of a graham cracker sounds good, then just take Ashley's recipe and use 2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour instead of the recommended flour!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Eve!

2010-12-24T07:20:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you all, but I've always loved the eves better than the actual holidays. Christmas Eve and New Years Eve just hold so much anticipation and magic.

This morning, we're having breakfast with my family before we hit the road to the husband's parent's house. I expect my grama will have a huge southern breakfast full of bacon-lard laden gravy! Don't judge me too harshly, but bacon fat rules in gravy. I usually don't make it that way, so I consider it a supreme treat! Then this evening, we're having the Feast of the Seven Fishes with my in-laws because my mother-in-law is both very Catholic and pure-bred Italian. I hear there is sea bass this year.

I'll post the goodies I made for the family a little later (after they get them). They are pretty darn tasty! Till then, I hope you're with the people you love, enjoying the magic of Christmas Eve!

Food in Review

2010-12-23T07:00:00.001-06:00

Since Thursday is my (and a lot of other people's) Friday, I decided to do the food in review post early. I've been pathetic this week....and stilll we had a few good meals.

Friday: We joined my husband's old boss, turned my new friend via Facebook and Pampered Chef, treated us to happy hour and our dinner. What does that say about the husband that an old boss would buy us beer and a pulled pork quesadilla?! Go baby! And thanks Brenda!

Saturday: I found skinless chicken sausages at Target that had a great ingredient list, so I picked up a package. Served with grilled onions on whole wheat buns with sweet potato fries. These were actually very good. I prefer the CM sausages, but these are a great packaged option.

Sunday: I took out some reserved lamb stew meat out of the freezer from my last farmers market stalk up. I cooked it Guinness stew style with carrots and potatoes. I was SO looking forward to this meal, and it was supposed to constitute two dinners. Yeah, it was horrible. Like nearly inedible. We ate the potatoes and carrots with as little broth and lamb as possible and threw all the rest out. I do not like wasting food ever, so you know it's bad when I say that we bagged it and put it at the curb in the morning. Total fail.

Monday: I found some great tofu at Whole Foods that is packaged in smaller blocks! That means less wasted tofu, as we never seem to need a whole block. I used Emily's tofu method, as usual. Then I stir fried onion, carrots, baby bellas, and frozen snap peas. I served this dressed with 365 brand ginger sesame sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, sriracha over soba noodles. Totally delicious and made up for the stew!

Tuesday: Still elbow deep in Christmas making. so we opted for Panera. Our landlord dropped off a gift card. How cool is that?! I had a soup and salad. The husband had a panini. It was excellent.

Wednesday: The left over sausages were added to cupboard and pantry items. I used some onion, garlic, frozen bell peppers, and frozen spinach with a can of Muir Glen fire roasted tomatoes with garlic. This went atop gnocchi with some grated fontina. Thank goodness, another really good dinner!

As soon as work lets out, it's holiday time. Not sure I'm in the spirit, but at least I'm all prepped!

Riley is ready. Are you?

Work Gifts

2010-12-22T07:00:00.000-06:00

Was anyone curious what was in the goodie boxes for my coworkers?? Well, here it is! S'more kits!

The ladies got homemade graham crackers a la Ashley at Edible Perspective with marshmallows and Ghiradelli chocolate squares. I even made a gluten free batch of grahams with rice flour. They were far more crumbly but the taste was still spot on!

Fun fact: Riley LOVED graham cracker dough and thought it was make for her.

In return, my boss and coworkers gifted me with these lovely items.

That's a beautiful turquoise sweater from Old Navy, a Target gift card, homemade sugared pecans, chocolate covered pretzels, and chex mix, and a scrapbook.

The scrapbook was from my boss, made by her good friend and neighbor Amber at Lily Pad Designs.

Pretty cool, right?!

Disaster zone

2010-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a little ashamed at the state of my kitchen. I supposed that's what happens when I decide to bake everyone's Christmas presents....

And cook dinner like normal.

And breakfasts and lunches too. (What was I thinking?!)

My poor kitchen.

But the end result should be worth the mess. Can't wait till the ladies at the office open these goodies in the morning!

Homemade shower gift

2010-12-20T07:00:00.002-06:00

Two of the lovely ladies at work are expecting girls early in the new year. We had a lunchtime shower at work last week in celebration of both of their first babies!

So, I asked someone that would KNOW what mommas need and use for gift suggestions. That's right, I went straight to momma-of-four; the Hairdresser. She said that she received embellished cloth diapers for each baby, and that was hands-down the most used item in the house.

So, that's what I did.

These are simple prefold cloth diapers that I "sewed" ribbon onto. I used the no sew seam tape to do the binding, so this was time-consuming but extremely simple. If you own an iron, you can do this.

Best of all, the momma's loved them! I used colors from their baby bedding in hopes that they'd match a little better. I guess that was a good call because they seemed to find them fashionable! I call that a win!

Christmas dancing

2010-12-18T08:15:00.000-06:00

I don't really have photos to share this time around. I forgot the camera. My husband used his phone, but that meant long-shots only with elbows and such in the frame. I'm okay with that because, really, I don't feel I did all that great. I'm simply looking forward to doing better next semester.

Food in Review

2010-12-17T07:00:00.000-06:00

There was one theme this week: fast and easy! Dance practices, dance performances, baby shower gift prep, and Christmas prep took over my free time. So dinners had to be fast and super simple to throw together.

Friday: We had a friend in town who treated us and The Bringer of the Fun to dinner at Aubelo’s. It’s possibly my favorite Mexican restaurant. I love the decor. I love the menu. I love the food. I stuffed myself with a pick-your-own enchilada platter with Mexican papas and espinaca casserole. Delightful! Gotta remember that I love this joint, because it tends to fall off my radar. But the company really made the night.

Saturday: We’d eaten out Thursday and Friday. This is how I know my husband’s opinions about food and money might have changed a bit since we met. Even HE said we needed to eat in after having two dinners out! I was stoked. I had chicken and dumplings planned since the weather had been cool enough for me to justify making it. This was a staple growing up. My grama made it regularly, and it holds a special place in my heart. I started by sauteing a small onion and a few cloves of garlic in safflower oil. I removed them and set them aside once translucent. Then I added two bone-in, skin-on split organic chicken breasts to brown on all sides, seasoned with a little salt and pepper. Once, browned, I added two cups of veggie stock and five cups of water. The goal was just to get the chicken covered and that’s what it took. I let the breasts simmer away until the meat fell away very easily from the bone, but didn’t actually wait for it to fall off on it’s own. That’s just too much of a time investment on a Saturday night. I removed the breasts and shredded one. Then I realized that one breast was plenty so I put the other in the fridge. I added a cup of whole, organic milk to the stock the chicken simmered in. Surprisingly, there wasn’t any scum from the chicken to skim off! Those were some lean breasts! I’d expected that since it was skin on, there would be a lot of fatty residue to skim of. Nope. The onions and garlic were added back to the stock and milk mixture, then I took my immersion blender to it, just to make the finished product smoother and more uniform. It’s totally not necessary though; so no immersion blender, no worries.. The shredded chicken and some dried thyme went back in the pot, and I dropped in dumplings a la Bisquick’s Hearth Smart dumpling recipe. I just added a little dried parsley added in and cooked according to box directions. I have to say it. This was my best batch to date. It was thick and velvety. The dumplings were light and doughy (we like the kind that float, not the kind that sink). The chicken was utterly tender and flavorful. I can’t wait to make it again. And again. This might be the over-made dish of the winter for us. I always have one for every season it seems.

Sunday: After seeing HEAB’s sweet potato fest last week, I just had to have some too. We love shepherd’s pie. So, I thought, let’s do it up with sweet mashers instead of the traditional mash (i.e. HEAB’s cottage pie). I made my standard filling: ground beef (this was part of my Rebohoth Ranch stash), sauteed onion, garlic, and thyme with pearl onions, peas, and carrots in a sauce made of whole wheat roux, stock, Worcestershire, salt, pepper, and a little Dijon mustard. I steamed cut sweet potatoes then mashed with real butter. It was good, but we both agreed we’d rather stick with the traditional route on this one. That didn’t stop us from devouring it and declaring it delicious over and over. Forgot to take a photo! Been a while since I forgot.

Monday: More sweet potato shepherd’s pie. I had a two hour dance rehearsal that night, so Sunday’s meal was made with the intention of also being Monday’s meal.

Tuesday: The fate of the other chicken breast was decided. It would be the inspiration for tortilla soup! I love tortilla soup for the mix-ins, honestly, and mine is no where near traditional! I start with a sauteed onion and garlic (looking at this post, I’m wondering if ALL my meals start that way), then added an entire organic zucchini and about half a bag of frozen corn. Once everything had a bit of char on it, I added the shredded breast, a can of Muir Glen fire roasted diced tomatoes with chipotle, organic black beans, a can of veggies stock (to get the remaining fire roasted tomatoes out of the can) and a can of water. The spices included garlic powder, cumin, hot smoked paprika, and salt. Then I simmered until we were ready to eat. Our bowls of piping hot soup were topped with shredded sharp cheddar, tortilla chips, and avocado. This is a go-to soup and can be changed in a million ways. I love forgiving recipes! It was totally delicious, but the best part is that it not only made dinner but three additional lunch portions.

Wednesday: The husband’s favorite: RUEBENS! These ruebens featured WF marbled rye, smoked uncured ham (from Target and utterly delicious), and gouda with brown mustard-spiked, grilled sauerkraut and special sauce. Okay, so the sauce isn’t all that special. Combine mayo, ketchup, garlic powder and salt....in any amount that tasted good to you. Ta-da! the secret is to “grill” everything. I put the lunch meat in the pan to allow it to get warm and charred. I saute the sauerkraut with spicy brown mustard until it’s completely dry. Then I assemble the sandwich and grill it, grilled cheese-style. Grilling everything makes this sandwich. Heck, it’s got two of the husbands most hated things in it, yet it’s his favorite dinner. You know that means it’s gotta be good! Served with oven-fried okra, one of my favorite things.

Thursday: I knew the performance would eat most of the night, so I picked up a frozen pizza during my weekend grocery outing. It’s Archer Farms Italian capacolla with peppers, because that sounds right up my husband's alley. He’s a fiend for Italian deli meats, and who can blame him. We ate a very similar pizza at our favorite downtown Ft. Worth Italian spot about a month ago. He stole the capacolla off uneaten pieces. I realize a frozen pizza isn’t quite the same as a wood-fired pie from a downtown eatery, but it’s the best I could do under the circumstances. I did add some cheese to this pizza after seeing that it was quite skimpy. It was a surprisingly good little dinner, for a frozen entree. Exceeded my expectations and was super easy, obviously.

Riley says...have a peanut butter covered Friday!

Reality escaped

2010-12-16T07:00:00.000-06:00

In case you were unaware, I just love certain reality shows. I’m a huge fan of Biggest Loser, Amazing Race, and Survivor. I’m not heavy enough for the Biggest Loser, but Lord, do I find the show inspiring (while eating something fattening....yeah, I eat my worst while watching it). I’m not rugged enough for Survivor (I’d burn to a crisp within a day). Amazing Race is a different story though.

For Amazing Race, I can have sunscreen. And a partner. And an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience. To say that I’d do the Amazing Race in a heartbeat might be a bit of an understatement. I’d go TODAY! Just let me buy a better pair of sneakers, and I’d be gone. Here’s the rub though, I don’t have anyone that would want/could go with me. And you need a partner. No partner, no race.

They held auditions today at a casino about an hour and a half north. One of my husband’s coworkers sent me a link and said she wanted to see me do it. But again, no partner, no race.

I’ve pleaded with my hubby to go on the race with me. He says there are more enjoyable ways to see the world. And I agree. But will WE ever have the funding to just go to some random destinations all over the globe. Probably not. We’ll hit a few, call it the highlight of our journey together, and that will be that. His second issue is that we, as a couple, aren’t really suitable for television. Our inner monologues, which we let be outer dialogue when in each other’s company, aren’t really the stuff that prime time television is made of! Just as our dog trainer. He’s heard us say some pretty bizarre crap in class because we forgot to turn our filters on. Given that they force you into stressful situations on that show, I cannot imagine we’d take the time to remember the filter. Yeah. We’d need our own censor for sure. We’re not at all PC.

So, who else could I chose? I’d love to run the race with my brother, but he has two jobs and two adorable little boys. Add to that, he’s seen the world already while in the Navy. And that’s really all I want to play for. The money would be a nice cherry on the sundae that is what I feel is unattainable....world travel and lots of it. So, he out too.

Who else? Well obviously, my best friend. And really, she and I would make FABULOUS television. We’re kooky together. Absolutely bonkers. We very often get ribbed by waitstaff for our inability to stop giggling. And really, the funny part about that is that we’re usually laughing so hard it hurts, with tears streaming down our faces, over things that make us MISERABLE. Yep. We’re laughing at ourselves most of the time. And we’re total opposites. We’d get ourselves into some sort of mess. She’d pray. I’d curse. We’d work together and get it done int he end and at least I’d be a better person for it, all the while leaving the viewing audience to wonder how on earth we ever became friends in the first place and annoying the other players by singing old camp songs in a round. It would be epic. But again, being an adult with responsibilities means that leaving to gallivant all over the world isn’t exactly doable. And so, I don’t think she’d be able to go with me either.

So, I guess I’ll just have to suffice with watching these shows and deciding “which one of us should do that challenge” from the comfort of my couch. Then doing the responsible thing the next day....going to a job.

Stalled

2010-12-15T07:00:00.000-06:00

Okay, so Christmas is 10 days away. Ten.

Am I ready?! Heck no! I keep thinking, well hopefully this weekend I can find the time. Um, no. This weekend you MUST find the time, missy. After all, next weekend is the big she-bang. And really, some gifts have to be handed out far earlier than the Saturday after next, so time's a wastin'!

But the issue is that I'm sort of wrapped up with dance right now. I had a two hour rehearsal Monday night, in costume no less. I have an hour rehearsal tonight. Then I have the performance on Thursday. Performances pretty much take up the whole evening. So, I only had Tuesday night free. And with that, I painted my toenails and actually COOKED a dinner instead of just heating it.

We're gaming on Saturday, so to say the least, this Sunday had better be VERY productive. Capisce?

And yes, this was entirely a post to me to tell me to get my butt in gear.

Sad News

2010-12-14T07:00:00.000-06:00

It's official. 2011 will be the last year Honda will produce the Element. I was planning on buying one in a year and half or so. This created a bit of a dilemma. Buy one a year ahead of schedule or forgo getting a second Element? Believe it or not, that's a really hard choice for me. I'm pretty sad about it. I love my car! But Honda sold less that 15,000 units last year. That's horrible. So, I must be on a island with this one! Ugh...what to do?!

Granola - Attempt #6

2010-12-13T07:00:00.011-06:00

My first peanut butter granola trial was NOT peanut butter-y enough. Period. So, I purused for more inspiration. I found The Kitchn's peanut butter and honey recipe and thought that it had great potential. So, I made some tweaks to suit my tastebuds. See, I don't love honey. I'm okay with it in the background of something or drizzled on a sopapilla or a piece buttered cornbread, but I do not like a strong taste of honey. I do, however, love the flavor of molasses. Think molasses cookies. Oh yeah. And really, in my family, molasses or even old fashioned cane syrup was on the table at every country breakfast, so it holds a far more special spot in my heart than honey ever will. I also used half homemade peanut butter and half Archer Farms All-Natural Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Man, I splurged (an on-sale splurge at $3!) on this jar last week. It's almost gone. There's enough to top a few of my bowls of oats this week, and that is it! Dangerous, dangerous PB.

Peanut Butter Molasses Granola #2

3/4 c dark molasses (or black strap if that's you thing)
2 T unsweetened applesauce
1/3 c peanut butter
1/3 c dark chocolate peanut butter
1/4 t salt
3 1/2 c rolled oats
1/2 c flax meal
1/2 c almonds
1/4 c sunflower seeds
1/4 c pepitas

Preheat oven to 325. Mix the first five ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat until PB is as incorporated as it's able to get. Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Pour the wet over the dry and mix until everything is thoroughly covered. The wet is a little thick, so it may take some time. Pour out onto a parchment lined sheet pan and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until dry. This batch almost took 50 minutes, which is longer than I usually have to bake it for. Perhaps I need to scale back the molasses to decrease the moisture content.

I LOVE the color of this granola. It's so rich and dark brown. As a bonus, the entire house smelled of molasses. Sweet memories. This recipe created large clumps of granola. Both the molasses and the peanut butter are detectable and pair well. This one is much better than the first try, where I couldn't taste any peanut butter goodness. Though, next time....I won't use the chocolate PB. It's amazing by itself, but you can't taste any of the chocolate in this recipe. So, why waste it?! More for my oats! And peanut butter molasses granola for my yogurt. Oh yum!

Gift central

2010-12-12T12:06:00.000-06:00

I've been making baby shower gifts and holiday gifts since 7am this morning! Woo.....

Wish I could share them with you, but then that would give the surprise away to the gift recipients!

Alright, back to the kitchen I go!

Weekday mornings

2010-12-11T08:22:00.000-06:00

Weekday mornings are sort of nice for me. Riley and I have a very "strict" routine. Once we leave the bedroom, we both have to take a walk around the backyard. See, she's spoiled rotten and will not go out and potty by herself first thing in the morning. I have to go with her. Once the walk is done, it's time for her to eat. I make my breakfast and coffee, then it's couch time!

She and I curl up together on the blue couch in the front living room while I eat my breakfast. Seriously, it's the best part of my morning. She picks a toy very excitedly, then bounds onto the couch into my lap. She'll get as close to me as she can the entire time, which generally means that she's sprawled across me. She stays there until breakfast is done and I tell her to get off the couch. I get to pet her ears while I eat, and that right there makes me one happy puppy momma.

For about ten minutes every morning, I'm quite happy we have a puppy.

Food in Review

2010-12-10T07:00:00.021-06:00

There was no discernible them for the week. Call it mish-mosh if you will.

Friday: I felt like really treating the husband. I went to Whole Foods and got the makings of a seafood extravaganza! We started with mussels steamed in white wine and garlic. I used the 365 brand southern Australian Chardonnay. Sadly, I can’t figure out exactly how to debeard a mussel. We had lots of debearding going on during the eating portion of the meal. Oops! Didn’t detract from the fact that the sauce for the mussels was amazing. We sopped it up happily with half a loaf of sea salt ciabatta! Next came the fish: wild Alaskan salmon for him, turbo fillet for me. I baked them, separately, in ginger soy marinade and served with a mache salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette, bleu cheese, and almonds. Sadly, neither of us are sophisticated enough to enjoy the fish. Honestly, both were far too fishy. I have to believe that was US and not the fish, because I don’t think I’d get back fish at WF. Oh well, bring on the canned tuna and the fish sticks? At least the mussels were good.

Saturday: We hosted a game night with The Bringer of the Fun, our dog trainer, and his wife. Turns out their gamers too! Anyhow, we were testing a role-playing game that my husband and The Bringer of the Fun designed. I set up a nacho bar for the occasion, but totally failed to snap a photo. Use your imagination. The bar had grass-fed ground beef seasoned in my usual taco seasoning spices, real cheese nacho cheese (no processed cheese here!), tortilla chips, sour cream, onions, and salsa verde. I ate a plate full and nearly had seconds. I opted for hot peanut butter cookies instead.

Sunday: The slow cooker was employed for a spin of of the beef spare ribs that Aarti posted last week. I used boneless organic beef ribs and halved the recipe. The ribs were seasoned with salt and pepper then browned on both sides in a stainless steel skillet. I transferred the ribs to the slow cooker (already set to warm....warm food means preheating your slow cooker) and added garlic and onions to my pan. Once translucent, I added 1.5 c of wine. I went with a Zin called Budo that was on sale at WF that the husband described as dangerously drinkable. I let that bubble away for about 15 minutes. Then everything was transferred to the slow cooker and topped with sliced sweet potatoes. That went on low from 3pm till 7:30. The ribs held together but could be easily cut with a fork. Perfection, if you ask me. The sweet potatoes were extra creamy and not at all water-logged. I also served the same salad from Friday because I liked it so much.

Monday: I had to work fast because I had rehearsal. I soaked wheat berries overnight as a prep for this dinner. As soon as I got home Monday night, they went into a pot with water. You really do have to cook wheat berries for a full hour, even if they’re soaked for 24 hours! Who knew?! Well, everyone but me, I’m sure. Thankfully, since I started them before I even changed, there was still time to eat dinner before rehearsal. While the wheat berries did their thing, I reduced the liquid left over from the ribs in a high-sided skillet until thick. I actually went too far and had to add some veggie stock. I also popped some broccoli in the oven to roast. When the wheat berries were done, I added a dollop of sour cream to the reduced liquid. The last rib was shredded and added along with the wheat berries to create wheat berry stroganoff! I topped the broccoli with left over cheese sauce from Saturday and dinner was done. I love how much chew the wheat berries and the kamut have compared to rice. Way more satisfying to eat.

Tuesday: I need to make up for my seafood flop, so I did a go-to tuna dish: Alton Brown’s tuna croquettes. I stuck to the recipe (reduced to ⅔) and roasted brussels and sweet potatoes for the side. Totally simple and totally delicious. Guess I really do need to stick to the canned stuff after all?

Wednesday: I turned random fridge items into quesadillas. I fried sweet potatoes, home-fries style, sauteed onions and baby bellas, added smoked cheddar, and bacon. These were topped with sour cream, salsa verde, and avocado. You know it's good when your husband says "these are delicious....wait, what did you say was in them again??" Totally unconventional but delicious.

Thursday: Buffalo Wild Wings boneless Thursday called out names, and we answered. Ahh....wings and beer!

And this is how I feel about this week!

Sour grapes

2010-12-09T18:10:00.000-06:00

A few things are really bothering me right now.

My ring. It's bothering me so much that I dreamed about it last night. It was a frustrating dream. The prima donna I took it to has zero customer service points in his favor right now. He's had it for four months now. This is what I've been wearing as a wedding band since.

My dog doesn't care if she's petted or not. She's sort of indifferent to it. That's just rough. I want her to want to be pet....does that make any sense? At least she's cute? My husband was trying ot film "carzy puppy".

And Christmas music. They've been playing it since December 1st in the office. Dear Lord, make it stop.

Final gripe....the post couldn't be published this morning due the the internet crapping out.

Okay, that's enough griping for one day. Got anything you need to get off your chest?

What the camera doesn't show

2010-12-08T07:00:00.000-06:00

The stereo system fought us all night. The husband was sore almost our entire honeymoon from literally leaping over the bushes again and again trying to fix the issue in time for the ceremony. He worked his butt off from the moment we got to the venue till people forced him to stop and put on his tux.

The only moments of panic/stress I had were while driving to the venue with a car full of stuff we’d worked SO hard on, worrying that it wouldn’t come together like I’d envisioned. Then again when blood started dripping down my cheek where I’d catapulted a hot curling iron into my face while touching up my makeup. Yeah, the smack from the hot iron didn’t panic me. Blood a couple hours later from the wound right before the pretty dress went on was a tad worrisome!

Our bridal party (minus one), my mom, and a couple close friends did not stop until the venue looked fantastic. Period. It was hard work....but all I heard what “what can I do next?” until it was all done. And when we were close enough to done, everyone insisted that I hand over the reins and enjoy the rest of the day. And I did.

My brother was petrified he’d ruin my day (which is a far cry from the truth...he ADDED so much to it) and was way more nervous than I was. I had to calm him down when Hairdresser Bridesmaid told him that he was in charge of making sure my train was spread out properly. I saw panic setting in and immediately told him that I didn’t give a rip.

I lost two friends because of my bridal party selections (one that was included and one that was not). People don’t really talk about those sort of things, but it happens.

The cakes were massacred instead of cut. The groom’s cake looked like a chocolate death scene! Especially since there had been a “battle in minis” on top of it prior to being hacked at. Our photographer said she had to WORK for a pretty photo. And I believe it. I saw the table.

My husband’s family REALLY was happy. I swear it! Apparently it’s just not their style to smile in formal photos.

Dance card

2010-12-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

Monday marked the start of two very hectic weeks for me. I’m not one to make a zillion obligations during the week. I prefer to have my evening to cook, spent time with the puppy and the hubby, and refuel for the next work day. I’m not exactly what you’d call a fountain of energy or excitement during the week. Most weeks, my only obligation is Wednesday night dance class a couple blocks from my house for an hour.

The next two weeks, however, my dance card is quiet literally FULL. This Monday and next Monday night, I have rehearsal in our performance space from 8-9pm. This Wednesday and next, I have my regularly scheduled practice from 6-7. This Thursday we have a performance opportunity (a mini hafla). Next Thursday is the real deal, our Christmas Hafla. (FYI - hafla just means dance party.) Add to that, I don’t have my entire costume all ready, so I need to find the missing bits in my “spare time”.

Why all the rehearsals? Why not skip some? Well, because I stink at the dances. These two dances have been harder on me than any of the dances I have learned yet. I honestly think the dance we did for the Summer Hafla was more difficult, but I picked it up much more quickly than either of the two we’re doing at this performance in less than two weeks. I have been nothing but frustrated this semester. See, I have an issue. When I set my mind do doing something, I generally just “put my chin down” (what a good friend of mine calls my determined face) and get it done. Period. So, even though, I’d set my mind to learning these, I’m still struggling. It’s foreign territory for me, and I can’t say that I like it one iota!

I suppose a lesson in humility is good every now and again, right? Well, I’m taking my medicine via going to every single extra practice offered without making excuses. I will nail those suckers on the 16th. And that is all there is to it!

On top of all this rehearsing, I really need to get my new family (aka my husband’s overseas family members) Christmas gifts in the mail by the 10th. Gifts that I’m making and have not finished yet. Tis the season?

Milestones

2010-12-06T06:23:00.000-06:00

Lil Miss Escape Artist (Yeah, she did it a second time on Saturday, but this time it was human error. We forgot to shut the gate after making the repair. Um, oops!) managed to accomplish something even more impressive....

She graduated from Intermediate Dog class at PetSmart! Pretty darn impressive for a seven month old puppy!

She was far younger than the other graduates, but she pulled off all the requirements well enough to pass. Now, it's up to us to make sure those skills are refined and made even more consistent. After all, the Advanced class will be far more difficult. I think she can do it though. They're training Canine Good Citizenship in that class, and I really want Riley to have that. I don't want a dog that I have to worry about mauling anyone. I want a well-behaved little lady. And I think she has the potential.

Go juice

2010-12-05T07:42:00.000-06:00

When did I lose my ability to stay awake past midnight? What happened to the girl that closed down the bars? Yeah, she's gone. In her place, a happy little married gal that really cannot make it too much past her very early bedtime.

We had a great time last night with new friends and old, testing a game that the husband and a friend designed But it went past my bedtime, and so, today, I'll be sucking down coffee like it my job. And I'm okay with that. It was totally worth it.

Have a pleasant Sunday, friends!

Nearly

2010-12-04T16:24:00.000-06:00

Well, we nearly made it to my family reunion today.

Then we nearly missed the window to pick the husband's car up from the dealership.

But before all that, we nearly lost the dog. She fit through some slats in the fence. I realized she hadn't come to the door or even run past it in far too long. So, we investigated, and there was no dog in the backyard. And no one came when we called.

Several explitives were muttered and the hunt commence.

And thankfully it ended as soon as it began. A very scared puppy ran straight up the driveway and barreled into me. PHEW!

So, after all that excitement, a nap was taken and then a chai was consumed.

Ahhh....now don't you feel better? I do.

Food in Review

2010-12-03T07:00:00.024-06:00

Okay, what do you do the week after Thanksgiving when you have a fridge packed with leftovers? Oh yeah, you know it. You morph them into a brand new week of deliciousness!

Friday: Since we had the requisite turkey sandwich (the served open-faced with homemade cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing, and turkey breast dripping in lovely gravy) on Thursday, I was sort of done with traditional meals. For one, we had a Thanksgiving luncheon on Tuesday that had so many left overs that I also ate it for lunch Wednesday. Then add Thanksgiving lunch with the family and a drool-worthy turkey sandwich for dinner, and I was totally carbed out! Well, perhaps not totally, because Friday’s meal did indeed have carbs. This time they were in the form of whole wheat linguine. I can guarantee you that other than the bottom slice of bread on the turkey sandwich, none of the other carbs I’d had this week were the good kind. Feeling the need for greens and whole grains, I opted for turkey tetrizinni. I sauteed half an onion and a sliced portobello in olive oil and garlic while the pasta boiled away. Then I added shredded turkey breast. I deglazed with veggie stock, then added a spoonful of leftover gravy, which added a ton of turkey goodness and thickened the sauce quite a bit. Drained pasta met up with the tetrizinni sauce, then I added frozen peas and a couple dollops of low fat sour cream. The two mingled in-pan until it thickened up and coated the pasta beautifully. I served this atop a bed of organic baby spinach. It was delicious, but I should have either used a short-cut pasta or perhaps a grain like rice or wheat berries (which was the husband’s suggestion). The linguine was just not quite the right delivery tool for that delicious sauce!

Saturday: Still in “we need more veggies in our lives STAT” mode as well as needing to use up as many item in my fridge as necessary.....a casserole was born! Isn’t that always the way. My best casseroles are of a kitchen-sink nature, and those almost always turn out to be the best kind. This was a mexican-inspired kitchen-sinker. The goal was to come out with something similar to a layered enchilada bake. As prep, I sauteed onion and garlic in olive oil. Then I added handfuls of spinach until the container was empty. I allowed the spinach to wilt just slightly before added some pulled pork I had leftover from enjoying lunch out with the hubby while running errands. I admit, I ordered the pulled pork with full intentions of putting it into dinner. Now for the layering. A can of Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes served as enchilada sauce. I pour a bit in the bottom then layered in Ezekiel sprouted corn tortillas, then a layer of the spinach and pork mixture, next (here’s the creative bit) when blobs of my mom’s oh-my-word-this-is-amazing corn bake with jalapenos, half the remaining can of tomatoes, and shredded smoked cheddar. Repeat starting with tortillas and ending in cheese. A note about the corn bake, I don’t have the recipe even though she’s made it for eons. I can get it if anyone is interested. It’s like a custard, but with corn. The casserole spent 20 minutes in the oven at 350 then was dished out and topped with sour cream and salsa verde. Out of this world good. I love using things in less-than-usual ways. I put pulled pork into the weirdest dishes! I just love the stuff.

Sunday: Chili time! White chili, which is something I’ve never made. This chili consisted of a bag of pre-soaked northern white beans, half a sauteed onion and three cloves of garlic, a serrano pepper, and two small cans of green chilies. I cooked it in veggie broth, water, and some more of the gravy. Seasonings included cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and oregano. Then I simmered if for several hours. A dollop of sour cream is always welcome, no matter what color the chili, right? I also added some Mexican hot sauce to mine. The hubby didn’t. He liked it as is with the sour cream. One the side, I pan-seared little patties of the cornbread dressing. I think my husband will be requesting this on all subsequent thanksgivings with my family.

Monday: Leftovers of the chili were served exactly the same as the day before....but oh.....isn’t chili better the next day?! This was. The beans had absorbed all the goodness of the broth. I loved it.

Tuesday: Realizing that we’d nearly missed out window for our monthly trip to BJs (where we had our first date, where he proposed officially, and where our rehearsal dinner was held), so we seized the opportunity and ate out.

Wednesday: I bought pumpkin mezzaluna (aka pumpkin-filled ravioli shaped like half moons) from Central Market (their brand) a few weeks ago, and it was one of those meals that never was. Sometimes I like meals that don’t end up happening because they make for easy meals later that don’t require a huge amount of thought. The only thing I had to come up with was a sauce. What sort of sauce do you use with pumpkin? Pumpkin sauce seems too.....pumpkiny. Marinara seems off. Coconut curry sauce? Don’t mind if I do! I sauteed about a ⅓ of an onion, two cloves of garlic, and an inch of grated ginger in olive oil, then added a hefty shake of curry powder, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flake. Half a can of light coconut milk was added and allowed to reduce by half. At this point, I boiled the frozen ravioli because they don’t take long to cook at all. I wanted the sauce to be smooth and creamy so I whirred it up with my immersion blender. The sweet, spicy coconut sauce really worked well with the slightly sweet pumpkin filling in the ravioli. We also agreed that creamy goat cheese would go great with the pasta if we didn’t feel like using the curry sauce next time.

Thursday: This is it! The last of the leftovers. I saved a few bites of turkey just for this. I soaked a cup of kamut overnight then set it a’bubbling with three cups of liquid which was a mixture of the remaining coconut milk and veggie stock, mixed in risotto style. The kamut can take up to an hour to cook, even with the soaking, so I knew it had to be started right away. After that, I diced up a butternut squash and roasted it in salt, pepper, and olive oil at 350 until tender and a little brown at the edges. Brussel sprouts were added after 40 minutes. I mixed everything together with a handful of golden raisins and roasted almonds. This is the same idea as my stuffed acorn squash, but butternuts just don’t have a big enough opening for my grain mixture.

And here's Riley showing off her very early Christmas gift....a new bed! She completely snubbed her old one once this one was put out. Go us!

Granola - Attempt #5

2010-12-02T07:00:00.006-06:00

I’m having a chocolate craving.

I know what you’re thinking. A girl with a chocolate craving? Yeah, not exactly a big deal. And I agree. Except, I’m not a chocolate lover. I blame my mom and grama. They’re HUGE chocolate lovers. Who wants to compete with their mom and grama for a chocolatey confection? Not this girl. No way. Nope, I’m generally chilling with my grampa when it comes to sweets because both he and I would prefer something without chocolate. A nice carrot cake or coconut cream pie are way more up our alleys.

So, just get some chocolate right? Well, yeah, that’s simple. I don’t do simple too well, if you haven’t noticed. I also haven’t made granola in FAR too long.

Dark chocolate granola to the rescue? Hells yeah.

Dark Chocolate Granola

2 T unsweetened apple sauce
2 T (heaping) dark chocolate chunks (or chips, or a broken bar, etc)
1 T dark chocolate cocoa powder (I used Hersey’s Special Dark)
2 T dark brown sugar
⅓ c brown rice syrup
1 t vanilla extract (note to self: quite being cheap and buy better vanilla!)
¼ t salt (which I forgot to add and I can tell it’s missing!)
3 c old fashioned rolled oats
¼ c wheat bran
2 T flax meal
¼ c sunflower seeds
¼ c pepitas
¼ c roasted almonds (I used raw, soaked overnight, then dry roasted in my oven at 300 for an hour)
¼-? c white chocolate chips (for my husband since all the dark chocolate is for me)

Preheat the oven to 325 and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Throw the first 7 ingredients into a small saucepan over medium low until completely combined and looking like an oozing chocolate lava! Don’t forget the salt. Sheesh.

Combine the remaining ingredients except for the white chocolate chips. Pour the chocolate lava in and stir until everything looks thoroughly covered in dark chocolate goodness. Spread the mixture evenly onto the parchment paper and bake, stirring every 10 minutes, until dry. It took me 30 minutes, but ovens and moisture levels vary. My oven is ancient and has hot spots, so I don’t even pretend to use is as the end-all, be-all standard for baking times or temps. Once completely cool, stir in white chocolate chips. Use as little or as much as you like. I actually left them out and am adding the chips to the individual portions. After all, the hubby likes them more than I do. So a few in mine. A handful in his!

I stirred this goodness into my yogurt and absolutely died in chocolate heaven. Now, this is a dark chocolate granola, so it isn’t sticky sweet like milk or white chocolate. It’s just barely sweet at all. So, be warned in case you were expecting otherwise.

Enjoy!

Gifting

2010-12-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

And a little more about Christmas....gifting in particular.

In my family, a homemade gift is totally acceptable. Last year, I made those cool refrigerator magnets out of engagement photos, the moms got homemade beaded bookmarks for Mother’s Day, and the dads got framed photo collages from the wedding for Father’s day. The year before that, we gave everyone got homemade cookies and candies for Christmas. The husband and I even gave out homemade gifts to our wedding party. I made non-identical jewelry for all the gals. He hand-painted gaming miniatures for all his guys.

If you can’t tell, I like creating things to give to people. I like investing more time than money. I find it more rewarding. Though, I do often wonder if people feel a bit shafted by a homemade gift instead of a bought gift of gift card. I worry that they’ll feel it’s a cheap way out. I don’t feel that way, obviously or I wouldn’t do it; but I wonder if I’m in the minority on this one.

I definitely felt like I’d gone amiss two years ago. I made my little homemade candies and cookies. My family just got a little gift sack full of treats for each family. It was some of their old favorites and a few new things I wanted to try. I went a little farther with the hubby’s family. It was my first Christmas with them, as he and I had only been together for 10 months. So, I thought I’d erred on the side of caution in dressing their goodies up a bit more than I did for my family. I got a lovely basket from the craft store, filled the bottom with basket shreds, nestled my little goodies and a nice bottle of Italian wine down inside, and wrapped the whole thing in holiday cello, tied with ribbons. Surely gift baskets are always appropriate, right? It was quite a bit fancier than my family’s 99 cent store holiday bags, but they’re used to my home-spun ways. I felt good about my gussied up version.

That is....until I gave it to them. Home-spun really isn’t en vogue in all families. Nor are gift en masse. So, homemade treats in a basket for all members of the family to share was a definite faux pas. I realized my error when I found my boyfriend scribbling out a Christmas card specifically one member of his family on Christmas day in order for that person not to feel left out. I immediately felt wretched. I’d convinced my boyfriend that gift cards weren’t the way to go. He reluctantly let me do as I pleased, especially since we’d just moved about a month earlier and funds were tight. I wanted to hide under the table. It never occurred to me that making a gift or having a shared gift was taboo until that moment.

The moral? Different strategies for different families. I just wish I’d listened to him that first year and saved myself a heap of embarrassment. I persisted in making gifts the next year for his family: the magnets. I hoped that since it was photos of us, they’d be better received. They were, but there was still a bit of puzzlement. So, I give! This year, only one of them is getting something “homemade” and really, it won’t look like it is since I feel my skill level has improved greatly. My family on the other hand, yeah, 100% made by me.

So.....which do you and yours dig: home-spun or store-bought?

Oh Christmas Tree?

2010-11-30T07:00:00.001-06:00

With Thanksgiving neatly tucked into the archives of Holiday’s Past, it’s time to turn our attention to Christmas.

Our first Christmas together, my then-live-in-boyfriend and I were just settling into our new (rental) home. We’d moved in 11/15/08, so we still hadn’t quite made the place feel like home. I decided that it would feel decidedly more cozy with a Christmas tree. And so, he and I trekked out to the craft stores. We picked a tree and all the trimmings together. Then we decorated it in our pajamas. Really, is there any other way? It felt wonderful to bask in the glow of Christmas time.

Last year, we were elbow deep in wedding prep by the time Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled around. The dining table had turned into Craft Central. Wedding and Christmas projects were everywhere. I blew up on Thanksgiving day due to stress......of the wedding looming, of hosting my soon-to-be mother-in-law for the first time, of dealing with two huge elephants in the room (aka excessively troubling family drama), and of hosting the holiday during all of that foolishness. So, when we rolled past Thanksgiving and into Christmas, I decided the tree was simple more clutter than I could handle with all the unfinished projects lying around. I had visions of the tree still being up after we returned from our honeymoon on March 1st! And that was just being realistic, not lazy. So, we nixed the stress of the tree. Good call.

This year, there’s a 7 month-old puppy in the house that likes to eat inedible objects. My tree is fake and wired. My bulbs are glass, not that shatter-proof plastic stuff. The only place the tree could go is the room that the puppy considers her “play room”. Yeah, that tree’s got a snowball’s chance of seeing daylight this year! I don’t need another $300+ vet bill.

So, how do you get into the Spirit of the Holiday sans tree?

Recovery weekend

2010-11-29T07:00:00.001-06:00

Everyone in the family seemed to be in recovery mode this weekend.

Ms. Riley needed to heal her tummy from the obstruction. This involved bills, supervised restroom walks, and trying to get as much food as possible into her tummy. It also involved a lot of sleep. Apparently trying to pass an obstruction is really hard work.

For the husband, it was recovering from a long break from one of his favorite hobbies. His weekend consisted of caring for the sickly dog and miniature painting. It's so nice to see him at it again.

Me, well, I've been sick for almost two weeks. I haven't been sick enough to really warrant slowing down, but I've been sick enough to feel run down. My body forced a full-stop this weekend. I fell asleep Friday night (after working a full shift Friday) on the couch by 8pm. I was in bed and completely out before 9. I slept till 6am. Saturday, after running some errands and getting lunch, I took a three hour nap on the couch. I turned around and went to bed before 10pm and all three of us slept till 7am! Totally unheard of since we got the dog. To say the least, I felt the best I have in two weeks on Sunday. I even manage to take Riley on a nearly hour long walk. We both needed it.

Here's to hoping the vigor carries over into the week! I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Maybe she's worth it

2010-11-28T07:20:00.000-06:00

The dog that ate Christmas

2010-11-27T16:36:00.000-06:00

What does a $300+ vet bill do to the holidays when incurred the day after Thanksgiving? It cancels it. We’re not huge gift buyers, as I usually make all of the gifts that are handed out, but this year we were going to at least exchange gifts. Now, I really doubt that we will.

And no, it wasn’t anything related to the thanksgiving festivities. It was the hose she ate in the backyard. Or maybe the sticks. Or some other such thing that she ate in the backyard, unbeknown to us. I think that officially makes me a really horrible puppy parent. The x-ray to find obstructions did indeed find one. It happens to be very small and very low in her intestine, so the vet recommended that we wait and see before flaying her open needlessly. She’ll be on meds for the diarrhea and vomiting for the next few days. Ah, the joys of dog-parenthood. Definitely time to look into pet insurance, else this beast it quickly going to become far too expensive.

Food in Review

2010-11-26T07:00:00.062-06:00

It's hard to think about anything but the big meal on Thursday during Thanksgiving week, but I did try once we were home from Austin. We ate out Friday and Saturday night, of course, but we ate in the rest of the week thanks to a quick shopping trip between the four hour drive home and Riley's training class.

Sunday: I found Boar's Head kielbasa on sale during my grocery trip and decided to make all of my non-turkey dinners around it. First up, simple grilled kielbasa with brown mustard for dipping, a slice of utterly soft and delightful Nature's Pride 12 grain, and sweet potato fires. It was SO nice to eat in after having restaurant-made food for three days in a row.

Monday: I tried to recreate a gnocchi dish that worked surprisingly well in the past. Last time I made it with bacon. This time I made it with small bits of kielbasa. I browned the sausage, then removed it from the skillet. Quartered brussel sprouts were added the the sausage drippings. I let them get good and caramelized before I moved on. Meanwhile, I made an arugula pesto and boiled whole wheat gnocchi. Everything was added to the skillet with the sprouts along with about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of cooking water from the gnocchi and a handful of parm. This dish was so hearty and filling that one bowl filled us both up. No sides, no seconds. And it was delicious to boot.

Tuesday: Kielbasa made its last appearance in cabbage stew. I simply browned the sliced sausage, then added half a diced onion and an entire (small) head of green cabbage. Once the cabbage wilts a bit and the onions go translucent, I added a can of fire roasted tomatoes, veggie stock, two bay leaves, old bay, smoked hot and regular paprika, oregano, and Louisiana hot sauce. I let it simmer until the flavors have a chance to do their thing. I love this stew in a bread bowl, but I didn't buy any this time. So, I made a small batch of cornbread to go with it instead. This is an excellent dish to crumble cornbread into. It's also one of my very favorite comfort foods.

Wednesday: I wanted to keep it very simple because we had a bit of prep for the holiday to do. Grilled ham and cheese sandwiches accompanied Thai sweet potato soup from Pacific boxed soups. I'd never had one of their soups, so it was a bit of a gamble. It totally paid off. The spice in the soup and the coconut flavor you expect with Thai curries was spot on. It was an excellent and very easy combo.

Thursday: Well, we feasted at lunch. So, dinner is simply grazing on leftovers, like you do on Thanksgiving. I do intend to reinvent some of the food for next week, but today, it's nice to just have a second helping of turkey dinner, or rather open-faced turkey sandwiches. Yes, that is cranberry sauce, cornbread dressing, and turkey covered in gravy.

Riley got very little of the feast, as she had a tummy ache anyhow. But she sure did enjoy some peanut butter.

I hope you looked as happy as she did while enjoying your feast!

Thankful

2010-11-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Every day, I am grateful for the wonderful man who calls me his wife. He truly is the answer to a very often-repeated and heart-felt prayer.

Every day, I am thankful that I have little fuzz babies to love and delight me.

Every day, I am grateful for another day where my grandparents are still with us and very much a part of our daily lives.

Every day, I am so thankful that I have always had these men as my “big, bad protectors” and examples of what good men should be so that I didn't make the same mistake twice.

Every day, I am thankful for every single person in this photo (all of which will soon be in my house save one), for loving and supporting me unconditionally.

Every day, I am grateful to be called friend by people who enrich to this crazy little thing called life.

On Thanksgiving and every other day, I do my best to remember to be thankful for the blessings in my life and never take them for granted. I hope you do as well.

Much ado about turkey

2010-11-24T07:00:00.001-06:00

Thanksgiving is tomorrow. Are you ready for it?! Is there a turkey thawing in your fridge? Do you have bread/cornbread going stale ON PURPOSE? Is there an unusually large amount of butter in the little compartment in the door of the fridge? Have you made sure your “roomy” pants are clean for the occasion? Well, if not, you had best jump to it! Time’s a-wastin’!

In our family, we do our best to play to each other’s strengths to divide and conquer the holiday vittles. For the past six years, I’ve been on turkey duty. The first year I was horrified that I’d kill the whole family. I didn’t. So, I got the privilege of repeating the next year. And though the skin on the breast was a bit too brown, the actual meat underneath was still very good. I knew at that point that I’d never be able to relinquish turkey duty again. It was mine and will remain that way (expect for the years that we visit my husband’s family, that is).

I don’t mind this duty too much. It’s actually very simple, especially once it goes in the oven! The hard part is getting it to the oven. First, it has to thaw for days in the fridge. Days. Then you find that the neck and giblets are still frozen inside the cavity even after days of thaw. I’ve never had one that wasn’t in six years. Not a big deal, just means your fingers are going to feel like they’re going to freeze off your hands by the end of dressing the turkey.

Now, I go SIMPLE for the turkey. We like it traditional in our family. And we’re southern, so we don’t stuff our birds. Nope. We like cornbread dressing, not stuffing. So, that’s one less worry. I find that an onion and an orange in the cavity along with butter under the skin of the breast with olive oil, salt, pepper, and rubbed sage all over the bird is all it really needs to be traditionally delicious. I cook my birds in an oven bag to save myself the haste of basting. No one has complained, and the turkey is always moist. So I do not see any need to mess with a good thing, even if some people find the bags to be cheating. I’m okay with simple.

What? You’re shocked to see butter on that list, huh? Why? It’s the holiday, and no substitute will do what butter can in that case. So, I use butter. It’s less than a stick for the whole bird, and I think it adds quite a lot of flavor. Believe it or not, I don’t try to make everything as healthy as humanly possible on the holidays. My family would HATE that. I don’t want my need for all things healthy and organic to alienate my family during the holidays. So, the things that it would kill me to make “traditionally”, in this case it’s the mashed potatoes that I know have more butter than is in the compartment in the door of my fridge, I let someone else in the family make. That way I can eat just a little without having a coronary (pun intended) over how fattening they are, and everyone else in the family can just enjoy some of the world’s greatest mashed potatoes because that’s not something they obsess over like I do. No, instead of changing tradition, I simply try to limit portions. It’s easier than forcing my entire family to eat they way I chose to on a daily basis. I’m the odd man out, so I feel I should bend for them. Not vice versa.

And besides, it’s the holiday. One day. One day celebrated with all my nearest and dearest. It’s worth the butter intake.

And yeah, I’ll sneak in a few healthy dishes too. Just not the mashed potatoes.