I get a lot of questions about if Roxie and Lila are getting along ok. I'll just let this pic that Nathan just sent me speak for itself....
Monday, April 13, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Cute pic of the day!
Everytime I see this picture my heart melts a little. Don't you just want to curl up in a ball next to her?S'mores bars!
Sometimes I just get the urge to make something sweet. Not so much to eat it, but I love making the occasional sweet treat for Nathan. Yesterday I got that urge.Sitting at my desk I mentally went through what could be used up in the pantry at home. For some reason, I get a kick out of being able to make new dishes with what is already on hand at my house. I know, I am a nerd, but surely someone else gets the satisfaction of coming up with a dish using stuff that is just lying around? Anyone?
Anyway, I immediately thought of all the leftover s’mores fix-ins that we left over from a gathering. After a few minutes of getting ideas from allrecipes.com, I came up with a very simple dessert that took about 10 minutes to prep and 20 to bake.
S’mores bars
2 sticks margarine, melted
20 Graham crackers crushed
4-5 Hershey bars
Half a bag on Marshmallows, (the mini would work best but I only had the big ones)
1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Combine graham cracker crumbs and margarine. Press mixture into bottom of the pan until bottom is covered. You will have about 1/3-1/2 of the mixture left.
3. Break apart chocolate bar, place over graham cracker crust.
4. If using large marshmallows, tear apart and place on top of chocolate. Add remaining graham cracker crumbs.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until the marshmallows are golden brown or to desired. Cool completely in the refrigerator before cutting. They are delicious after microwaving for a few seconds but you can’t cut them warm or they will fall apart.
Enjoy!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Random Thursday
*The fence is up therefore life is good. I know you want to see pics, but we are still trying to clear out some brush and other stuff so I don’t really consider the backyard pic worthy.
*I thought I wasn’t sick anymore, but now I have a terrible dry cough.
*After an entire week off, I’ve had two good workouts at the gym this week. Because of my week off, getting back into C25K has been difficult, but not impossible.
*Nathan is back on night shift for a month. I am bummed I will only be seeing him 8 days for the next month, but trying to make the best of the situation.
I know I have more random stuff, but work has been so crazy stressful that my mind is mush. I hope everyone is having a great week!
*I thought I wasn’t sick anymore, but now I have a terrible dry cough.
*After an entire week off, I’ve had two good workouts at the gym this week. Because of my week off, getting back into C25K has been difficult, but not impossible.
*Nathan is back on night shift for a month. I am bummed I will only be seeing him 8 days for the next month, but trying to make the best of the situation.
I know I have more random stuff, but work has been so crazy stressful that my mind is mush. I hope everyone is having a great week!
Monday, March 30, 2009
April resolutions
Ah, April…I can’t believe you are almost here. I am very excited to be moving into Spring. I love the warm but not to warm weather, having the windows open, pretty blooms, and all the other lovely elements that come with the month.
Even with the crappy weather, the last few months have been great. Nathan and I have been so fortunate to spend a ton of time with friends and family and eat some great meals and discover new wines. As much as I have loved every moment of it, I am exhausted. Plus, our bank account is feeling the pressure.
Because of all this, Nathan and I are really making a conscious effort in April to focus a little less on going out and more on taking care of some much needed house projects. Some of them will cost a little money and others won’t, but most of them are long overdue. Besides that I have a lot that I need to do on my 29 in 09, I want to start dedicating more time to the cookbook, my veggie garden, and the gym.
Now to all of my local friends out there, this doesn’t mean we are crawling under a rock and won’t see you in the entire month of April. Nathan and I want to do at least one BBQ to unveil the new fence that is being installed as we speak!!!! YAY!
Although April isn’t looking to be overly exciting, I am looking forward to some time at home and possibly accomplishing some blog worthy projects!
Even with the crappy weather, the last few months have been great. Nathan and I have been so fortunate to spend a ton of time with friends and family and eat some great meals and discover new wines. As much as I have loved every moment of it, I am exhausted. Plus, our bank account is feeling the pressure.
Because of all this, Nathan and I are really making a conscious effort in April to focus a little less on going out and more on taking care of some much needed house projects. Some of them will cost a little money and others won’t, but most of them are long overdue. Besides that I have a lot that I need to do on my 29 in 09, I want to start dedicating more time to the cookbook, my veggie garden, and the gym.
Now to all of my local friends out there, this doesn’t mean we are crawling under a rock and won’t see you in the entire month of April. Nathan and I want to do at least one BBQ to unveil the new fence that is being installed as we speak!!!! YAY!
Although April isn’t looking to be overly exciting, I am looking forward to some time at home and possibly accomplishing some blog worthy projects!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sick day soup
I am officially going to say I am sick with something flu like. Saturday I woke up feeling bad, but figured it was more due to one too many drinks on Friday night, but on Saturday at 10 pm when I still felt crappy, it clued me in to may be something else was up.
I will be the first to admit that I am the biggest wimp about being sick. I still function, but I move slow and sleep more than one person should. Part of my functioning though, usually has to do with making a huge batch of soup to eat in the next few days. Yesterday I found myself looking through the cupboard trying to find enough ingredients to whip together an easy soup. I quickly remembered that my sister had emailed me a recipe for a vegetarian soup that I had been wanting to try forever. I knew I didn't have all the ingredients, but decided to give it a try anyway.
Here's the recipe, with my notes and what I omitted. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but I omitted a lot of them and it still turned out fabulous. This isn't an attractive looking soup by any means, but still very yummy (and healthy).
*Side note: I never kept fresh ginger in the house because I didn't use it that often, but you can freeze it and then just cut off what you need, so go out and buy some!!
Moroccan-style Lentil and Chickpea Soup
Cook time: 8 hours
Crockpot setting: low
Serves: 6
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped (I didn't have any, so I added in a zucchini instead)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (omitted)
½ cup dried lentils, picked over and rinsed (omitted)
One 14.5-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped (I just used canned diced tomatoes)
One 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed ( used a little more than one can)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons harissa sauce, to taste, plus more to serve (recipe follows)
salt and black pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic, cover, and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, and cardamom, stirring to coat the vegetables.
2. Transfer the onion mixture to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, add the lentils, tomatoes, chickpeas, and stock, cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours.
3. About 10 minutes before serving, add the lemon juice and harissa, and season with salt and pepper. A small bowl of harissa may be placed on the table for those who wish to add more.
Harissa Sauce
Makes about 1/2 cup
4 dried red chiles, stemmed and seeded (I used a couple tsps red pepper flakes and omitted step 1)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ teaspoon ground caraway seeds (omitted)
¾ teaspoon ground coriander (omitted)
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons water
1. Break the chiles into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover and let soak for 5 minutes.
2. Drain the chiles and place them in a food processor. (I didn't use my food processor, just chopped everything really fine) Add the garlic, oil, caraway, coriander, and salt, and process until pureed. Add the water and process until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a tightly covered contained and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Properly stored, it will keep for several weeks.
Enjoy!!!
I will be the first to admit that I am the biggest wimp about being sick. I still function, but I move slow and sleep more than one person should. Part of my functioning though, usually has to do with making a huge batch of soup to eat in the next few days. Yesterday I found myself looking through the cupboard trying to find enough ingredients to whip together an easy soup. I quickly remembered that my sister had emailed me a recipe for a vegetarian soup that I had been wanting to try forever. I knew I didn't have all the ingredients, but decided to give it a try anyway.
Here's the recipe, with my notes and what I omitted. I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but I omitted a lot of them and it still turned out fabulous. This isn't an attractive looking soup by any means, but still very yummy (and healthy).
*Side note: I never kept fresh ginger in the house because I didn't use it that often, but you can freeze it and then just cut off what you need, so go out and buy some!!
Moroccan-style Lentil and Chickpea Soup
Cook time: 8 hours
Crockpot setting: low
Serves: 6
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
1 small carrot, chopped (I didn't have any, so I added in a zucchini instead)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom (omitted)
½ cup dried lentils, picked over and rinsed (omitted)
One 14.5-ounce can plum tomatoes, drained and chopped (I just used canned diced tomatoes)
One 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed ( used a little more than one can)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons harissa sauce, to taste, plus more to serve (recipe follows)
salt and black pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and garlic, cover, and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, and cardamom, stirring to coat the vegetables.
2. Transfer the onion mixture to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, add the lentils, tomatoes, chickpeas, and stock, cover, and cook on Low for 8 hours.
3. About 10 minutes before serving, add the lemon juice and harissa, and season with salt and pepper. A small bowl of harissa may be placed on the table for those who wish to add more.
Harissa Sauce
Makes about 1/2 cup
4 dried red chiles, stemmed and seeded (I used a couple tsps red pepper flakes and omitted step 1)
2 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ teaspoon ground caraway seeds (omitted)
¾ teaspoon ground coriander (omitted)
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons water
1. Break the chiles into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl. Add enough boiling water to cover and let soak for 5 minutes.
2. Drain the chiles and place them in a food processor. (I didn't use my food processor, just chopped everything really fine) Add the garlic, oil, caraway, coriander, and salt, and process until pureed. Add the water and process until smooth. Transfer the sauce to a tightly covered contained and store in the refrigerator until ready to use. Properly stored, it will keep for several weeks.
Enjoy!!!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Random Thursday
Yet another addition of Random Thursday!!
*Thanks everyone that took the time to put some words of encouragement in the last post. Today I completed Week 3 day 1 of C25K and even though I went a little slower than I would have liked (ran 5.2 instead of 5.4) I made it through it.
*Nathan and I found out today that our fence is being installed on the 30th!! I am so happy because it is happening a lot sooner than we thought, but that means we have to spend almost the entire weekend and next week clearing out some of the brush and crap that still remains in the backyard. We already pulled out the fire pit and started burning what we have cleared but we still have a lot to go!
*My oldest sister is moving in less than two weeks!!!! I am so excited that we can start making plans with her for summer outings and holidays!!
*My mom and I got to talk a little this week about the food we are catering for my aunts wedding in May. I am soooo excited about it. She is wanting me to do some fruit and veggie displays as well as a display incorporating a her chocolate fountain. I am already sketching ideas and thinking of design elements. Oh, and did I mention we are also doing the mini heart cakes like I had for my wedding? It is going to be a lot of work, but so much fun! And don't worry I will probably take about 100 pics of all of it, because I am sure it is going to be really cool!
In case you can't tell, I'm having a better, less frustrating week. :)
*Thanks everyone that took the time to put some words of encouragement in the last post. Today I completed Week 3 day 1 of C25K and even though I went a little slower than I would have liked (ran 5.2 instead of 5.4) I made it through it.
*Nathan and I found out today that our fence is being installed on the 30th!! I am so happy because it is happening a lot sooner than we thought, but that means we have to spend almost the entire weekend and next week clearing out some of the brush and crap that still remains in the backyard. We already pulled out the fire pit and started burning what we have cleared but we still have a lot to go!
*My oldest sister is moving in less than two weeks!!!! I am so excited that we can start making plans with her for summer outings and holidays!!
*My mom and I got to talk a little this week about the food we are catering for my aunts wedding in May. I am soooo excited about it. She is wanting me to do some fruit and veggie displays as well as a display incorporating a her chocolate fountain. I am already sketching ideas and thinking of design elements. Oh, and did I mention we are also doing the mini heart cakes like I had for my wedding? It is going to be a lot of work, but so much fun! And don't worry I will probably take about 100 pics of all of it, because I am sure it is going to be really cool!
In case you can't tell, I'm having a better, less frustrating week. :)
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