I swear, I'm alive! I'm in here! I was just...busy! Making things! like...more babies! ; )
I'm busy currently trying to clean up my google reader, since it's going the way of the dodo in July (WTF, GOOGLE?!?!?!) and updating my blogs. I have a Twitter account, which I try to update with humorous quips to keep you all entertained (however many of you are left - like, all two?). I'm working on this social media presence thing. Especially since I have now converted to a stay-at-home mom! Yay, no more work! Wait...
O_O
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Saturday, September 29, 2012
The Burrito Eats; and other small plates of food
I'm not sure where I was, but I was out at a store (shocker), probably tarjay (another shocker), and saw these awesome plastic partitioned lunch-tray-type plates. So I bought some for the kid. Because, who doesn't like lunchable-style shit?
That's right, no one. I'm pretty sure even that baby who doesn't likeJimmy Fallon free money likes lunchables.
So sometimes for dinner, I make him a little plate of a bunch of different things so he can pick and choose as he likes. Because I know picking and choosing are a toddler's favorite things (and it all belongs to him of course, even if he doesn't choose it).
Also on my list of fun small bites: a fun appetizer I first had at my friend's house, made by her momma, when I was like 13. And now I'm old and shit. But don't think I'm old. Which is made even more clear by the interns from local colleges at work *sniff*.
It's really simple: slice baguette in rounds about 3/4 inch thick, add mayonnaise (the real stuff, we like fat), a cucumber slice, and some Krazy Salt. It's real, I promise:
Also fun to snack on? Cookies. I had some extra time and almost a full bag of chocolate chips one day, so I decided to grab the bull by the horns and make some cookies.
All of these are fast and pretty easy, which are good for nights when I don't feel like cooking or cleaning, but want something familiar. I mean, if we're talking comfort food, you know it's going to take me forever. I can't even nuke a can of soup in under a minute.
That's right, no one. I'm pretty sure even that baby who doesn't like
So sometimes for dinner, I make him a little plate of a bunch of different things so he can pick and choose as he likes. Because I know picking and choosing are a toddler's favorite things (and it all belongs to him of course, even if he doesn't choose it).
 | |
| mamarazzi, I'm eating here. |
Also on my list of fun small bites: a fun appetizer I first had at my friend's house, made by her momma, when I was like 13. And now I'm old and shit. But don't think I'm old. Which is made even more clear by the interns from local colleges at work *sniff*.
It's really simple: slice baguette in rounds about 3/4 inch thick, add mayonnaise (the real stuff, we like fat), a cucumber slice, and some Krazy Salt. It's real, I promise:
Also fun to snack on? Cookies. I had some extra time and almost a full bag of chocolate chips one day, so I decided to grab the bull by the horns and make some cookies.
 |
| mmm, cookies |
All of these are fast and pretty easy, which are good for nights when I don't feel like cooking or cleaning, but want something familiar. I mean, if we're talking comfort food, you know it's going to take me forever. I can't even nuke a can of soup in under a minute.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Mmm...bacon
So with this whole new Paleo thing I am actually trying to eat more bacon. I almost never ate bacon before, but since meats are our friends, I bought a package.
As anyone who has been in my house when there is food being prepared can attest to - I am a wuss. A big wuss. Giant one. I don't like doing anything where there is a chance of something blowing up or catching on fire. Hence, I have only cooked bacon once before in my life.
I made bacon my bitch this week when one of the girls from BotB said how she had cooked it in the oven. I thought to myself, there is no chance of anything catching on fire if everything is lined properly and the toddler stays out of the kitchen...let's give this thing a go!
Well my friends, it was awesome.
Ingredients:
Bacon
Directions:
Lay bacon gently on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Stick it in the cold oven and turn the oven to 400. Let the bacon alternately chill and sizzle for 17-20 minutes, however done you like it. Put it on a paper towel-lined plate after you take it out, because it will keep cooking on the sheet. Oh, and you can save the bacon fat for later too if you want - mmm, bacon fat potatoes. Not as good as duck fat potatoes, but it's not like I've had either so far (fear of things that may cause fires and all).
Le Bacon:
Le Bacon in use - my Paleo lunch:
As anyone who has been in my house when there is food being prepared can attest to - I am a wuss. A big wuss. Giant one. I don't like doing anything where there is a chance of something blowing up or catching on fire. Hence, I have only cooked bacon once before in my life.
I made bacon my bitch this week when one of the girls from BotB said how she had cooked it in the oven. I thought to myself, there is no chance of anything catching on fire if everything is lined properly and the toddler stays out of the kitchen...let's give this thing a go!
Well my friends, it was awesome.
Ingredients:
Bacon
Directions:
Lay bacon gently on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Stick it in the cold oven and turn the oven to 400. Let the bacon alternately chill and sizzle for 17-20 minutes, however done you like it. Put it on a paper towel-lined plate after you take it out, because it will keep cooking on the sheet. Oh, and you can save the bacon fat for later too if you want - mmm, bacon fat potatoes. Not as good as duck fat potatoes, but it's not like I've had either so far (fear of things that may cause fires and all).
Le Bacon:
I cut up cucumber slices, tomato slices, and avocado, and stuck everything between two cuke slices and ate them like sammiches. It was a fab bite-size lunch.
Monday, July 2, 2012
The One Where I Start to Meal-Plan
Soooooooo...I'm plotting. Lots of things, actually. But one of these plots involves planning. That sounds bad, in a funeral-home way - I'm not dying, nor is anyone else (hopefully) promise!
I need to start getting more organized about life, especially with my new-found ADD-ness, and that means planning. Household cleaning planning, meal planning, five calendars-type planning.
My new meal planning will involve some aspects of the new Paleo craze that's going around. I think it's awesome, because it allows you to have ATB for every meal (avocado, tomato, bacon). Of course, no more grains (wah wah wahhhhhh). But I won't be doing the Whole30 completely, just modifying our meal planning to include more of the things in the hunter-gatherer menu and less of the refined/processed stuff, white flour and sugar and all that.
So, what I'm thinking on the dinner front is one whole-grain meal per week (I usually plan for dinner 5 nights a week and then wing it on the weekends - leftovers will suffice too), and the rest will be fruit-veg-meat. It will require actually learning how to cook beef that is not ground. But you know, if I can make my own taco salad, I'm pretty sure I'll be awesome at the rest. ::puts on charlie sheen winning button::
I will not stop baking though, don't you worry your pretty little heads about that. I use whole wheat flour now and I will continue that but also will start adding in some Paleo-inspired goods also - almond flour, coconut oil, etc. So, here begins my push to start eating whole...er... yeah.
My new meal planning will involve some aspects of the new Paleo craze that's going around. I think it's awesome, because it allows you to have ATB for every meal (avocado, tomato, bacon). Of course, no more grains (wah wah wahhhhhh). But I won't be doing the Whole30 completely, just modifying our meal planning to include more of the things in the hunter-gatherer menu and less of the refined/processed stuff, white flour and sugar and all that.
So, what I'm thinking on the dinner front is one whole-grain meal per week (I usually plan for dinner 5 nights a week and then wing it on the weekends - leftovers will suffice too), and the rest will be fruit-veg-meat. It will require actually learning how to cook beef that is not ground. But you know, if I can make my own taco salad, I'm pretty sure I'll be awesome at the rest. ::puts on charlie sheen winning button::
I will not stop baking though, don't you worry your pretty little heads about that. I use whole wheat flour now and I will continue that but also will start adding in some Paleo-inspired goods also - almond flour, coconut oil, etc. So, here begins my push to start eating whole...er... yeah.
Look, I made stuff!
I made taco salad! I feel so accomplished. Dinner, 0. Cat, 1.
I mean, really, all I did was throw shit together.
But it was semi-healthy and cheap-ish. And I made it. Did I mention that?...
Taco Salad
Ingredients:
3/4 lb ground beef (I used organic 90% lean)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano (these measurements are probably off, I just shake stuff in the pan)
1/2 beefsteak tomato, chopped
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 can niblet corn
1/2 c black beans, rinsed
salsa
Directions: I browned and chopped the beef (hellooooo pampered chef most useful tool evah), then added the spices and a couple spoonfuls of water. I added the black beans and corn while the stove was still on to warm them up, then mixed in the tomato and avocado after I took the pan off of the heat.
Served on top of lettuce with ranch dressing and Newman's Own Mild salsa. So. Freaking. Awesome.
You're going to have to deal with the picture, because I ate it before I could photograph it. So you get leftovers, enjoy internets!
Verdict:
But it was semi-healthy and cheap-ish. And I made it. Did I mention that?...
Taco Salad
Ingredients:
3/4 lb ground beef (I used organic 90% lean)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp oregano (these measurements are probably off, I just shake stuff in the pan)
1/2 beefsteak tomato, chopped
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 can niblet corn
1/2 c black beans, rinsed
salsa
Directions: I browned and chopped the beef (hellooooo pampered chef most useful tool evah), then added the spices and a couple spoonfuls of water. I added the black beans and corn while the stove was still on to warm them up, then mixed in the tomato and avocado after I took the pan off of the heat.
Served on top of lettuce with ranch dressing and Newman's Own Mild salsa. So. Freaking. Awesome.
Verdict:
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Woot woot, dinner party
So I was pinning stuff (if you haven't heard of pinterest, search for it...and don't blame me), and I came across a fall menu for a dinner party. I was immediately intrigued and FB-messaged these girls I know and was all "hey, we haven't gotten together lately...whatcha doin this weekend?" sly, right?
And of course one of them is on pinterest so she was enjoying my dinner party pins, which included this little gem here. I was perusing the menu as well, which included:
Fig and Goat Cheese Bruschetta
Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle
Chardonnay
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake
Coffee, tea
Oh God...it was like a fallgasm. And only after I pinned and read and re-read the recipe for the chicken and pesto farfalle did I realize...I made it already. In 2008.
See?
Hmm. Well at least I know it's good! So I volunteered to do the pasta and dessert, and the ladies volunteered to fill in the rest. Mags baked bread (we had the leftover bread tonight, it made our hamburger helper blush), and Lars came packing heat with some fan-freaking-tastic cheese with roasted vegetables in the cheese - yeah, I know, I thought cheese was only for hiding pills you want the dog to take too - and scallops with an apple-cider reduction. I think. She basically just waved her hands in the kitchen and things danced and sang like in Beauty and the Beast. I heart my friends.
Anyway, I digress - to the cheesecake:
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 cookie sheets)
1 tablespoon egg white
1 tablespoon water
Cooking spray
{I did not measure the egg white, and added too much, and ended up coating a spoon with butter and pressing my crust down that way because it stuck to my fingers}
Cheesecake:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1 3/4 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)
Dash of nutmeg
{and I totally forgot the half-and-half too...so I substituted my coffee creamer}
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. To prepare crust, combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Press mixture lightly into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 6 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Wrap outside of pan with a double layer of foil. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
3. To prepare cheesecake, place 1 3/4 cups sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fat-free cream cheese) in food processor; process until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time; process until blended. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place springform pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to larger pan to a depth of 1 inch.
4. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove from oven; let stand in water bath 10 minutes. Run a knife around outside edge of cheesecake. Remove pan from water bath; cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.
5. To prepare topping, combine 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons water, and lemon juice in a small, heavy saucepan; cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Cook 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat. Add butter to pan; gently stir until butter melts. Stir in half-and-half. Cool slightly.
6. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add apple to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in sugar mixture and nutmeg. Serve topping with cheesecake.
I used my mom's trick instead of the water bath - bake as usual, after one hour, turn the oven off, put a stick in the oven door, and let sit for one hour. And of course, there was a crack down the middle...but I covered it with not-quite-caramelized apples so it was all good.
Verdict:
And of course one of them is on pinterest so she was enjoying my dinner party pins, which included this little gem here. I was perusing the menu as well, which included:
Grilled Chicken and Pesto Farfalle
Chardonnay
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake
Coffee, tea
Oh God...it was like a fallgasm. And only after I pinned and read and re-read the recipe for the chicken and pesto farfalle did I realize...I made it already. In 2008.
See?
Hmm. Well at least I know it's good! So I volunteered to do the pasta and dessert, and the ladies volunteered to fill in the rest. Mags baked bread (we had the leftover bread tonight, it made our hamburger helper blush), and Lars came packing heat with some fan-freaking-tastic cheese with roasted vegetables in the cheese - yeah, I know, I thought cheese was only for hiding pills you want the dog to take too - and scallops with an apple-cider reduction. I think. She basically just waved her hands in the kitchen and things danced and sang like in Beauty and the Beast. I heart my friends.
Anyway, I digress - to the cheesecake:
Caramel-Apple Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 cookie sheets)
1 tablespoon egg white
1 tablespoon water
Cooking spray
{I did not measure the egg white, and added too much, and ended up coating a spoon with butter and pressing my crust down that way because it stuck to my fingers}
Cheesecake:
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup light sour cream
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons half-and-half
1 3/4 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)
Dash of nutmeg
{and I totally forgot the half-and-half too...so I substituted my coffee creamer}
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. To prepare crust, combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Press mixture lightly into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 6 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Wrap outside of pan with a double layer of foil. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.
3. To prepare cheesecake, place 1 3/4 cups sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fat-free cream cheese) in food processor; process until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time; process until blended. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place springform pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to larger pan to a depth of 1 inch.
4. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove from oven; let stand in water bath 10 minutes. Run a knife around outside edge of cheesecake. Remove pan from water bath; cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.
5. To prepare topping, combine 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons water, and lemon juice in a small, heavy saucepan; cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Cook 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat. Add butter to pan; gently stir until butter melts. Stir in half-and-half. Cool slightly.
6. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add apple to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in sugar mixture and nutmeg. Serve topping with cheesecake.
I used my mom's trick instead of the water bath - bake as usual, after one hour, turn the oven off, put a stick in the oven door, and let sit for one hour. And of course, there was a crack down the middle...but I covered it with not-quite-caramelized apples so it was all good.
Verdict:
Monday, October 24, 2011
Pumpkin cookies!
yay for baking again!
now, let's see...for what did I make this glorious recipe...??? I think it may have been just for fun.
oh wait - bake sale!
I bought a Taste of Home fall baking catalog/book/wasteofmoney last month at the store and bookmarked recipes that looked good. I failed to realize that the pumpkin cookies I marked were full of *gasp* raisins. And as you all know, they are just humiliated grapes.
So, I looked for a new one. And I found...these babies! They did the trick. Next time, however, I may look for something that features the pumpkin flavor more prominently. And I totally did not make them as cute as the spirally frosting picture.
but they still get...
now, let's see...for what did I make this glorious recipe...??? I think it may have been just for fun.
oh wait - bake sale!
I bought a Taste of Home fall baking catalog/book/wasteofmoney last month at the store and bookmarked recipes that looked good. I failed to realize that the pumpkin cookies I marked were full of *gasp* raisins. And as you all know, they are just humiliated grapes.
So, I looked for a new one. And I found...these babies! They did the trick. Next time, however, I may look for something that features the pumpkin flavor more prominently. And I totally did not make them as cute as the spirally frosting picture.
but they still get...
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