Today I …
… shopped at a natural food co-op store.
… carried my groceries away in reusable grocery bags.
… bought very local goat cheese.
… ate sticks & twigs that had chia seeds in them and were free of gluten and wheat.
… gave thought to the argument for more calories from a natural product vs. a preservative-laden snack with fewer calories. Natural won.
… used an all natural lip balm – and liked it.
… made a salad with local, organic ingredients (And it only cost $7.29 a lb.! Relatively speaking, that’s not bad! My salad was only $5.09!).
… gave serious thought to whether it was more environmentally friendly to use a recycled paper towel or the hand dryer.
… realized my new, 2-month love for Icelandic skyr may be more like an addiction.
… made a grilled pizza. And if that wasn’t enough, I made it entirely from organic ingredients.
This alternative energy, tree-hugging, sustainability thing is rubbing off on me a bit, I guess. Sounds like a good thing to me!
Green with envy yet???
.:| crock pot mac & cheese |:.
(Note: This is my adaptation of a Food Network recipe by Paula Deen. Her original recipe can be found here.)
As promised here, below is the recipe for the mac & cheese I made in the crock pot during Snowmageddon/Snowpocalypse 2010! Thanks, Paula Deen!
What you’ll need …
2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (just over 8 oz)
4 Tbsp. butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I did half with four cheese blend shredded cheese.)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 c. sour cream (I ended up using more like 3/4 c.)
1 (10 3/4-oz) can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. whole milk (I never use whole milk, but I splurged on this recipe – worth it!)
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 tsp. black pepper
What you’ll do …
Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain. In the meantime, combine butter and cheese in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the cheese melts. In the crock pot, combine melted cheese/butter mixture, beaten eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, dry mustard, and pepper. Stir well; add in drained macaroni and stir again. Cover and cook on low for 3+ hours, stirring occasionally.
Note: I did this in a 1.5 qt. crock pot, which was filled to the top. Seemed to me to be the perfect size, but if you like a little breathing room in there, you might want to go with something bigger.
What do you do in 30″ of snow? Well, besides shovel … er, unless you’re lucky enough to not have to. Oh, and stay warm, of course.
Me? I love to cook. When I learned that we were in for more than 2′ of snow, I planned a full menu and shopped it up.
What did I make that I’d be delighted to share with you? How do macaroni & cheese and beef stew sound? I also managed to make homemade bread and cucumber salad, but the bread isn’t all that exciting and while making the cucumber salad, my daughter was into just about everything (Including discovery of the dog’s water bowl … argh!), making pictures a very bad idea.
But … if you want the recipe for the cucumber salad, it’s by Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa and can be found here. I could have used a bit less onion (for my taste) and I did add in some extra white wine vinegar, but otherwise, it’s perfect just as it is.
(Note: I’m a Food Network junkie. While the beef stew recipe didn’t come from Food Network, the mac & cheese did.)
I’d say that just about everything I made this weekend falls into the category of comfort food. Homemade bread, mac & cheese and beef stew are givens, but cucumbers happen to rock, in my mind, so that counts for me, too.
So … stay tuned – the recipes are coming! Until then, here’s a snapshot of our crazy weekend. We ended up with somewhere around 30″ of snow, and there’s another storm on the way this afternoon that’s expected to bring another 10 to 20″.
Oh. My. Gosh.
Posted in food, weather, yum
A dear work friend introduced me to this recipe late last week and I immediately knew it would work for my husband and I. After some minor adaptations, I’d say it’s just about perfect!
.:| taco soup |:.
What you’ll need …
2 lbs. ground beef (would also be great with ground turkey)
1 large onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can diced tomatoes – zesty chili style
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 package taco seasoning mix (I also added an additional 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp.)
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix (dry packet)
approximately 2 cups water (use whatever you like for the amount of broth you prefer)
What you’ll do …
Brown ground beef and onions in large pan; drain off fat. Add all ingredients to crock pot (Note: I have a 6.5 qt. crock pot and it was 3/4 full.) and cook on low for at least 2 hours (I let ours cook for 8 hours.). Serve garnished with sour cream and Fritos.
I have a confession to make. I’m addicted to …
I’m addicted to …
to …
okay, I’m addicted to these!!!
See them there! It’s January 27th, and I’ve had my first Cadbury Egg sighting!
Yippee!
Oh.
My.
Heavens.
Now, the tradition goes like this. The first time I see them each year, I buy 3. So guess what!? I have 3 Cadbury Eggs in my possession, and I can’t wait to taste the first one!
I don’t know what it is about these overly-sweet, calorie-laden eggs that gets me every year, but it’s my indulgence. It’s because of these eggs that I cannot give up chocolate for Lent. I’m serious.
Please tell me you’ve got a similar ridiculous indulgence?
Please!?
Mmm … who doesn’t love brownies? While they’re quite yummy, when made in the traditional manner, they just don’t present well. This is a quick and easy fix for ugly brownies!
.:| brownie bites |:.
What you’ll need …
a box of brownie mix and any associated ingredients (oil, eggs, water, etc.)
approx. 6 oz. white melting chocolate
approx. 6 oz. milk chocolate chips (you could also do semi-sweet, dark, etc.)
assortment of berries – I used blueberries, raspberries and blackberries
What you’ll do …
(I purchased this Wilton Brownie Squares Mold, but you could also use a mini-muffin pan.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray mold/pan with no-stick cooking spray or line muffin pan with mini paper cups. Prepare brownie mix per instructions; fill mold/pan cups 2/3 full. (Note: A typical box brownie mix will make approximately 48 minis, so plan for two batches or have two pans ready!)
Bake 15-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan for approximately 15 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely.
Melt chocolate (I melted in the microwave according to instructions on the package.) and spoon approximately 1 tsp. of chocolate over each brownie bite. Garnish immediately with fruit and allow to harden. Refrigerate if desired. (I needed the chocolate to harden quicker, so I put them in the fridge. I also prefer them cold – but that’s just me.)
If you try them, let me know what you think and what other changes you might have made. Next time, I’m going to stick with only white chocolate and mix some crazy colors in there!
