New Year, Week 5

So the low-carb thing didn’t work. The only weight I lost was when I got sick and couldn’t eat at all. So that’s out. What’s in is a new moderate carb diet focusing on foods low in the glycemic index in conjunction with weight watchers online.

Have a competition of sorts going on with a friend. It starts tomorrow and will continue until April 1. The goal is to lose (at least) ten pounds in two months. Tomorrow we will each put aside $100 in an envelope. At the end of the two months, if we have met our goal, we can spent the $100 on something for ourselves. If we have not met our goal, we will be spending that money on more mundane things, like bills. To keep ourselves honest we will be taking pictures of the scale. I will NOT be posting those pictures here, but I will be keeping everyone updated on my progress.

Incidentally, this new diet means I can eat pumpkin mousse again. Oh, glory!

Let the games begin!

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Julia Child Dinner Results

First Julia Child dinner was, overall, a success. Let me remind you again of the menu

Cheese Wafers topped with a cheese filling (that was supposed to be Swiss or Gruyere, but I used cheddar)

Potato and Leek Soup

Chicken Supremes (Chicken Breasts) with a paprika and onion cream sauce

Asiago cheese bread (that I did not make myself but instead purchased)

Potato casserole with a cream and cheese sauce

Chocolate Mousse topped with homemade whipped cream

I ended up not making the asparagus with orange hollandaise sauce because I was frankly too lazy.

A few things I would do differently: Bake a test batch of the cheese wafers to see if they need flour. They sort of spread all over the pan and basically made this gigantic greasy cheese cracker. Which was good, but way too rich. With the judicious application of extra flour, I think they would have been more wafer-like and less…grease pile like.

Everything else was absolutely delicious. I can’t even say “particularly the…” because there is no particularly. Everything was yummy. Thanks, Julia! Your recipes are delicious.

In other news, it is hard to tell what progress I am making on the diet. On the one hand, my weight seems to be about the same. On the other, it appears that I have lost a few inches (altogether, not in one particular area.) We are going to give it another week and see where we are at that point.

I feel like we are doing quite well and sort of getting into the swing of things. A shopping trip involving the purchase of copious amounts of turkey lunchmeat helped. It’s easy to just grab a hunk and gnaw on it whenever I’m feeling hungry.

We also found and stocked up on a multitude of sugar free, low carb candies, which I think goes against the purpose of this diet, as it’s supposed to be more natural, etc…but sometimes a girl just wants some chocolate, you know?

Also out the window is the attempt to limit artificially sweetened beverages. If it’s a choice between me drinking enough liquids but having them artificially sweetened, and my drive to drink water cut short before noon because the flavor of water is…well… boring…then I choose to drink crystal lite, crystal lite, and more crystal lite. With some diet coke thrown in there for flavor.

We are trying to exercise more—because no matter what diet you’re on, exercise is important. At the moment, I am concentrating on doing light exercises every hour for five minutes while at work. This involves walking in place, lunges, squats, and stretches. I hope eventually to get some light weights and maybe a resistance band.

I could call them “Flash” exercises, make a workout dvd of my flabby self, and make millions! That… would probably not work as well as one would hope.

Next Week is Julia Child Dinner Number 2. At the moment I am planning the following (And this is clearly not a complete menu)

Roast Lamb (I am hoping rack of lamb, but it would depend upon what the store has)

Garlic mashed potatoes

Yum! Sounds good so far, Julia!

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Julia Child Dinner, Number one-- January 15, 2011

Next Weekend will be Julia Child dinner number one. We would have done it this weekend, but frankly we were broke.

On the menu:

Appetizers: Cheese Wafers with a Gruyere "fondue" on top

Soup: Leek and Potato

Main Course: Chicken Supremes (Chicken Breasts) in a cream and paprika sauce

Vegetable: Asparagus with Orange Hollandaise

Dessert: Chocolate Mousse

I'm super excited! Particularly about the Chocolate Mousse.

The diet is off to a slow start, partly because of a fundamental misunderstanding about what we are allowed to eat in endless quantities and what we are not. However, after having bought the book (Called The 4-Hour Body by Timothy Ferriss), and actually reading a bit of it, I think we're back on track. Cutting out most of the cheese, and reducing nuts to 1-2 servings a day. I think that should help.

First cheat day was yesterday, and at nearly noon today I am still in my night clothes nursing a monster headache and drinking large quantities of water. I think the headache may be a result of the total lack of caffeine yesterday (due mostly to not having any cokes in the house and not having enough money to go buy any), but I am going to blame it on the bad diet. Motivates me to not cheat the rest of the week.

I'll need that motivation. Tomorrow is "Birthday celebration" at work, which means everyone brings treats to eat to celebrate the month's worth of birthdays. This is my first really big test. We'll have to see how it goes.

We also finally got the last big of exercise equipment we ordered in-- two kettlebells. I'm excited about starting to use those in addition to the Wii fit.

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Rosemary Polenta, courtesy of Ina Garten

Please note: This is not my polenta recipe, but it makes very very good polenta, and I had a request to share it, so here it is!

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (*Note here: I've never used the rosemary, but go ahead if you want to.)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup good grated Parmesan
• Flour, olive oil, and butter, for frying

Directions

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, rosemary, salt, and pepper and saute for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, half-and-half, and milk and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and slowly sprinkle the cornmeal into the hot milk while stirring constantly with a whisk. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes, until thickened and bubbly. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan.

***(Note: Here, you can go ahead and serve it immediately. Or you can follow the rest of the recipe and serve it as skillet fried patties. In my experience, it's delicious after being skillet fried, but it also falls apart.)

Pour into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch pan, smooth the top, and refrigerate until firm and cold.

Cut the chilled polenta into 12 squares, as you would with brownies. Lift each one out with a spatula and cut diagonally into triangles. Dust each triangle lightly in flour. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large saute pan and cook the triangles in batches over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes, turning once, until browned on the outside and heated inside. Add more butter and oil, as needed. Serve immediately.

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Black Bean and Corn Salsa, Amplified

Another recipe for Black Bean and Corn Salsa. I've added avocado for protein and healthy fat. (Note: I'm not a big fan of avocado, but I find if it's chopped up small and mixed in with other things, I can stand it.)

Ingredients:

• Onions, raw, .5 medium (2-1/2" dia)
• Garlic, 2 clove
• Peppers, sweet, red, raw, sliced, .5 cup
• Green Peppers (bell peppers), 0.5 cup, chopped
• Jalapeno Peppers, 1 pepper
• Beans, black, 1.5 cup
• Yellow Sweet Corn, Canned, 1 can (12 oz)
• Canned Tomatoe - Alymer diced, 1.5 cup
• Lime Juice, 1 lime yields
• Avocados, California (Haas), 1 fruit without skin and seeds
• Kosher Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin, Chili Powder, to taste

Process:

Mix all ingredients together. Stir. Chill. Enjoy with tortillas or chips. or just eat it by itself.

Nutritional Breakdown:

The ENTIRE recipe yields about 950 calories and 30 grams of fat. This calorie count also includes 45 Grams of fiber and 35 grams of protein.

1/14 of the recipe (I'm estimating about 1/2 cup) would yield 68 calories, 2 grams of fat, 3 grams of fiber, and 3 grams of protein...

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Ranch Dressing, Stepford Style

As Husband said, store-bought ranch dressing is "Gooey and tasteless."

I can do better. Much better.

Here's the ingredient list.

Mayonnaise

Sour Cream

Olive Oil

One (or two) small lemons.

Kosher salt (regular is fine)

Black pepper--fresh ground will provide a much sharper flavor

Onion

Garlic

Bell Peppers (I used red, yellow, green)

Fresh herbs (I used dill, basil, cilantro, and flat leaf parsley)

jalepeno (if you want)

Basically, you chop up whatever proportion of the veggies that you like, and stuff it in your food processor. Add the lemon, and pulse until it's kind of pasty, drizzling in some olive oil as you go.

Open the food processor, and dollop in equal amounts of the mayo and sour cream. Spin again until it's a fine paste. Add more olive oil or lemon juice (depending on taste) until it's thin enough to be a dressing. Or keep it thick for a dip. Whatever.

Sorry this recipe isn't very precise, but honestly it's up to your taste. You can also add things as you like to change the flavor.

Example: Greek Olives, feta cheese, fresh dill to make a greek dressing (maybe substitute some yogurt for the mayo or sour cream)

Cilantro, jalepeno, cumin, and tomatoes to make a fiesta(!) dressing.

Go crazy. Have fun. Don't buy your dressing from a store ever again.

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Procrastination is probably a Sin...

Yes, yes, it has been a long time. Between finals, the holidays, a death in the family, and getting ready for the beginning of school, writing in the blog took pretty much last place.

A few notes today, to get back into the habit.

If you're a fan of British television, I'd like to recommend Father Ted and Fawlty Towers. They're both hilarious TV shows. The former revolves around a trio of Irish Catholic priests on a small island off the coast of Western Ireland. The latter is about a hotel owner constantly facing troubles from his guests, terrifying wife, and the rest of the staff.

On the video game front, the husband very much recommends Left 4 Dead 2, Silent Hill--Homecoming, and Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. I recommend Katamari Forever, which has a strange, acid-trippy quality that keeps you entertained (enthralled? addicted?), despite the fact that it's kind of a kid's game.

I got home this week and got back to work in the kitchen in an attempt to cook foods that weren't completely unhealthy and disgusting.

Among other things this week, we've eaten Chicken Tikka Masala (which, I'm sorry to say, I made from a jar. Next time I'll make it from scratch and post the recipe.), Hummus-- homemade, from a recipe I found on the Food Network website (Rachel Ray), and Pita-- another recipe I found on the Food Network website, although I don't remember who's recipe.

We also had artichokes-- Husband's first time to try them out-- and Waffles-- our first time to try out our new waffle maker.

I also made homemade Challah bread-- yeah, I braided the dough and everything-- and a bread mix called "European Cheese and Herb" or some such. It was all right, but next time I'm going to put some Asiago cheese into the mix before the bread maker gets to work.

As for classes, I've dropped Hazardous Waste owing to our school's changed graduation requirements, so I'm only taking 12 hours this semester. That means only 3 hours per day, so it's kind of nice to have a chance to get things done during the day. At the moment, however, it seems like there's way too much to be done and very little time in which to do it. We'll see how the rest of the semester progresses... Read More......

Barbecue Pulled Pork

Recipe posted at mom's request. I started off with a recipe on the food network, but I changed it somewhat.

BBQ Pulled Pork Shoulder

Ingredients:

One Pork Shoulder, 4-6 pounds

½ - one red onion

Cloves of garlic, 3-4, as desired

Ground cloves

BBQ or pork seasoning

Liquid Smoke

Barbecue sauce

Pickles

Sandwich Rolls

Process:

Rub pork shoulder with the seasoning liberally.

Place it in your crock pot and sprinkle the top with ground cloves

Quarter the onion, separate the slices, and throw them in there. Add the garlic cloves, whole or crushed.

Pour some liquid smoke into there. You can add more later if you want it to taste smokier.

Fill about ½ up with water.

Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until it starts to fall apart.

Remove from pot. Pour off most of the excess water, leaving only about a cup or so. Remove the onions and garlic (if you left the cloves whole).

Using two forks, pull the pork apart. Place back in pot

Add a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce . cook on low for another hour or so, until the liquid has reduced enough. You want the mixture to be wet, but not watery, and you want it to be hot all the way through.

Serve!

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How to Read a Nutrition Label

It occurs to me that many people don't understand what a calorie is, what it means to consume a calorie, and where the calories are coming from in the food we eat.

So, for anyone who is interested, please read on:

**A disclaimer: I didn't major in science in college, so if I make a mistake, please point it out. but nicely. Doing the best I can here.

First thing, grab a can of food out of your pantry, or anything with a nutrition label.

After the serving size and number of servings in the package, the first thing you'll see is "Calories."

In chemistry class, you probably heard that a calorie is the amount of energy that it takes to raise one cubic centimeter of water by one degree celsius. The calories in your food are Calories, with a capital C. They're 1,000 of the little guys. Essentially, calories are energy.

When you eat food, your body uses the calories to operate. if you eat more calories than your body needs to operate in a day, the calories get stored. as fat. that's what makes you gain weight. if you eat fewer calories than your body needs in a day, you'll lose weight (but only to a certain degree. I'm certainly not advocating starving yourself to lose weight. for a number of reasons, that won't work).

Different kinds of nutrients in food contain varying amounts of calories.

One gram of fat = 9 calories

One gram of alcohol= 7 calories

One gram of Protein = 4 calories

One gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories.

So, back to the nutrition label. you can look at the nutrients and know approximately how many calories out of the whole you're getting from protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

*Note: Sugar and fiber are a part of the total carbohydrates. they aren't calculated on their own. The same is true for the various fats listed under "total fat."

Obviously, fat contains a lot more energy per gram than protein and carbohydrates. that's why most diets suggest that you limit your fat-- you're getting a lot more calories in a lot less food than you would if you ate foods high in protein and complex carbohydrates, like whole grain bread.

A final note: keep in mind that alcohol is NOT a low calorie food... in fact, as you can see, one gram of alcohol contains seven calories.

Hope this helps anyone out there who is reading and may have questions on this subject.

Additional resource: http://www.fda.gov/Food/LabelingNutrition/ConsumerInformation/ucm078889.htm#twoparts

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Banana Pudding!

Ingredients:

1 package sugar free, fat free instant Jello pudding mix. Banana cream or vanilla, your choice.

2 cups cold skim milk

2 medium bananas

32 reduced fat vanilla wafers.

1 8 oz container cool whip free

Directions:

(1) Prepare pudding.

(2) layer in a pan (or a storage container if you are lazy like me) the wafers, pudding, bananas, and cool whip in whatever order pleases you. I'd recommend a layer of wafers on the bottom, and either wafers or cool whip on the top. Go to town. have fun. Let your kids get messy with the spatula if you feel like it.

(3) Eat. Eat, Eat, Eat.

The Breakdown:

Makes 16 servings. Or 8 servings. 1/16 of this dessert contains: 80 calories, .6 grams of fat, .6 mg of cholesterol, 165 mg of sodium, 16.9 carbohydrates, 5.8 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein. So, you could easily have two servings for 160 calories, 1.2 grams of fat, 34 g. of carbohydrates, etc....

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Easy and Quick Black Bean and Corn Salsa

Ingredients:

1 can of black beans

1.5 cups of frozen sweet corn

1 cup of chopped tomatoes

1 jalepeno, chopped

3 T cilantro

Juice of one Lime

1 t Salt

You can also add: Onions or Red Peppers. Not included in nutrition information, but it really doesn't add very many calories.

Directions:

Combine ingredients and enjoy.

I like to mix the salsa with a store-bought salsa like pace, but you can enjoy it on its own too.

The Breakdown: Makes 10 servings. One serving yields: 57.3 Calories, .4 g fat, .1 g saturated fat, 47.1 mg sodium, 178 mg potassium, 11.5 g carbohydrates, 2.9 g fiber, .2 g sugar, 3.1 g protein

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Yummy & Easy Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:

1.5 cups skim milk

1 large package (2.1 oz) Sugar Free, Fat Free Instant Jello, Chocolate Flavor

1 8-oz container Cool Whip Free

Directions

1) Combine Skim Milk with the Jello. Allow it to set up for a moment.

2) Fold in the Cool Whip

3) Enjoy!

The Breakdown: One 4-oz (By weight) serving:79.2 Calories, 0 g. fat 1.2 mg cholesterol, 344.4 mg sodium, 15.6 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 2.5 g protein.

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Easy Peasy Chicken

(that even my husband loves!)

Rachel Ray's Israeli Spice Chicken:

Step one: Get some chicken. Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast. Proper portion size is about 3-4 oz. per person, but it's high in protein and low in fat so if you want more, you'll probably be okay.

Step two: Mix up the following spices. I like to mix up a biiig batch and save it for the next time I make the recipe. 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) sweet paprika

1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 palmfuls) ground cumin

1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) dried oregano

1 teaspoon (1/3 palmful) ground coriander

1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium to hot in spice level)

1 1/2 teaspoons (1/2 palmful), coarse kosher salt

Step Three: get a pan. heat it up. use cooking spray to lubricate, or a little oil if you want (I don't need to add, this adds calories and fat)

Step four: Cook the chicken.

Step five: Eat the chicken.

See how easy this is? It's quite flavorful and very, very healthy. Also easy.

Serve it with whatever you like; I'm serving it with saffron rice and broccoli slaw, which is flavored with a dressing consisting of rice vinegar, mayonnaise, and spices.

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Apologies all Around

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. I'll forego the excuses since I don't really have any.

Here's my update-- it's a quick one, and just recipes. no pictures, sorry. Maybe I'll add some later! Publish Post

Sinless Pumpkin Mousse

**a warning: this tastes a little bit like raw pumpkin pie. that can be off-putting to people who, well, don't like raw things. I found it delicious, but my husband wasn't as big of a fan. just a heads-up.

1-2 packages (small) of jello instant fat free sugar free vanilla pudding mix. I used one, but two will make it thicker and impart a more vanilla-y flavor.

2 cups of skim milk

1 15-oz can of pumpkin. just pumpkin, not the pie filling

1 8-oz container of cool whip free. (You can use light, too-- it adds about 5 calories per 2 tbsp of cool whop.)

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (It doesn't sound like much, but it goes a long way. if you find it lacking in flavor, by all means, add more)

Steps:

1) mix the jello and milk as per packet instructions. put in in the fridge for 3-5 minutes.

2) Add everything else. You might want the cool whip to be thawed or you'll have frozen chunks of cool whip in there.

3) enjoy!

Here's the breakdown:

Per 4-oz (by weight) serving: 67.2 calories, .4 grams of fat, 65.6 grams sodium, 12.8 g carbohydrates, 0 grams sugar, 1.6 grams fiber, 2.4 grams protein.

**Note: This is using only one box of the vanilla pudding. although using two boxes won't be that much worse, since it is after all fat free sugar free.

Texas King Ranch Casserole, Improved

12 oz (pre-cooked weight) boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded or cubed.

1 can 98% fat free or healthy request cream of mushroom soup

1 cup Kraft 2% sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1 can Ro-Tel Tomatoes (I am going to re-try this dish using fresh tomatoes and jalepenos. I'll let you know)

6 Corn tortillas

1 small bell pepper (about .25 cups)

half of a small yellow onion, finely chopped (note: I didn't use it here because hubby doesn't like onion)

Steps:

1) Soften onion and green pepper in 1 t vegetable oil

2) Add to this chicken, soup, and Ro-Tel

3) Layer in small casserole dish tortillas, soup mixture, and cheese, ending with cheese.

4) Bake at 325 until hot and bubbly (Took me about 20 minutes)

The Breakdown: four servings, each of which has 323.5 calories, 10 grams of fat, 73.1 mg of cholesterol, 980 mg of sodium (yikes-- use healthy request if you're worried about this), 27.4 g of carbohydrates, 3.8 grams of fiber, and 29.6 grams of protein.

The content of the original King Ranch Casserole: 432 calories, 21.8 grams of fat, 11.2 grams saturated fat, 97.3 mg cholesterol, 1,110.5 mg sodium 27.9 g. carbohydrates, 3.5 grams fiber, 2.7 grams of sugar, 30.8 grams protein

What I have cut out is mostly fat and calories from fat. the original recipe called for a 1/4 cup of butter, and, of course, full fat ingredients. I find that the improved version tastes pretty good. I'm worried about the sodium, but making cream of mushroom soup on my own with less salt seems... well, honestly, way too much work! and the healthy request version... I just don't care for.

Hope you enjoy the recipes!

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Yet another long and rambling post

Have you ever had the project that just Would Not Die? The one you pour hours and hours and hours of work into, but it is Never Done? The project that makes you want to bang your head into the wall, scream, and gouge your eyes out so that you have a legitimate excuse to never work on it again? That project? Have you had one?


If not, you’re lucky, lucky, lucky. If so, you can empathize with my plight.

I currently have one of these projects. I have put in probably close to 30 hours of work already, and it is entirely possible that I could spend that many more hours working on it. I might not finish before I leave, but was told that it was ok if I didn’t complete it. It’s an interesting project, but after sinking so many hours into it, I am just tired of it! I want to be finished!
PLEASE LET ME BE FINISHED SOON.

In other, non-work related news, this weekend was a blast. It was K & C’s Bachelor/ette party. We ate at Japanese, went to the zoo, some of us ate at another Japanese restaurant, the name of which escapes me now, ate hamburgers and hot dogs, and played Sing Star and Rock Band. The boys played poker, which I missed out on, but since I “stole” (will pay him back for) the poker chips from D, then I guess I’ll have another chance to play.

I’m pretty sunburned at the moment, a product of wearing no sunscreen on a clear 90-plus degree day at the zoo. Rob and I really enjoyed the reptile house. They had a huge king cobra, and two green mambas who were pretty active.

On Sunday after breakfast Rob and I went to my grandma’s to pick up a bread machine and ice cream maker for my mom. My nieces are in town, so Sunday night (after a loooooong drive back home) was spent with them, playing the Wii and letting them look at my fish (and fishing out my dead pleco…what keeps happening??)

This is my last week of work, and I’m both sad about it and eager to be done. The remainder of this summer will be my last real summer—last chance to sleep until noon and do nothing the whole day, last chance to relax without having to work all the time. I want to make the most I can out of it.

In still other news, I have decided to forego the traditional birthday list and instead ask for one of two things: (1) a best buy gift card, or (2) cash. Husband and I have decided that our old, too-quiet, green, and a little wiggly TV has got to go. So I have made a wish list on Best Buy.com that includes a large TV for the living room, a blue ray player or playstation 3, a small tv/dvd combo for the bedroom, and a host of other things, most of which I know there is no way I can afford. Because, really, $3000 washer/dryer set? None of my friends or family are that rich.

I anticipate getting enough money to be able to pitch in a little money of our own to get the TV. The blue ray player can wait, seeing as how we have a DVD player that works.


In other other other news, I saw the apartment for the first time Friday since May 25—okay, that seems like a really long time to me, but I guess it isn’t—and I have to say, props to Husband for the rearranging. The Huuuuge leather sofa pretty much dominates the living room, so there isn’t room for much else. He’s re-arranged the bedroom, putting the bed on other wall and moving everything pretty much around.

There’s only one nightstand now, and since I know he needs an alarm clock I volunteered to take the side with just a floor lamp. I’m going to sew a pouch to put over the base board of the bed so I have a place to put my cell phone, a book, and a couple of pens. The small loveseat that was in the living room is now in the bedroom at the foot of the bed, directly in front of the a/c—a little chilly, but with a blanket I think it’ll be a nice place to sit and read or study.

Just ordered a swimsuit for the trip to Arkansas we’re taking in July—black and white gingham with red trim, and a cute little black skirt. I would have just gone with the one I have in my dresser, but it’s somewhere around 8 years old and I honestly just want a new one. I need to go by Old Navy and get some of their cheap-cheap flip-flops. I mean, really, $2.50 each? Only I can never find black ones…

Okay, today's challenge (as though this is a regular thing): I'm looking for new recipes to try out for dinner and such. So, leave a comment with a link or just type up your favorite.

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Hodgepodge

I haven't updated in a while. Sorry about that. I've been busy with...life, essentially. Finals begin in two weeks. Two weeks after that, I'll finish with finals and move back North for the summer to work with one (hopefully two) law firms.

I thought I'd bring attention to my dad's website where he posts his botanical photographs. They are simply gorgeous. I fully plan on framing some prints when we move into a house that isn't better described as a tenement.

There isn't a whole lot to say. I haven't been doing a great deal of new and inventive cooking. I did make a lemon meringue pie last weekend. The lemon filling was unfortunately canned-- I should have made my own, but I didn't. so anyone who has a problem with it can just get over it. The meringue, however, turned out pretty well considering it was my first attempt and I didn't really use a recipe.

I....don't really have much else to talk about today. I keep fighting the urge to post long, boring-to-everone-else posts about politics. So you should be grateful.

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I Lied!

Yes, obviously there are no pictures of cake, or cake pops, or anything of the sort.
I did make the cake, and I will make the cake balls (probably today), but when I'll get around to pulling the pictures off of my camera is anyone's guess.
Just.... to let you know.

Right now I am not wanting to be in bankruptcy but determined to survive it nonetheless. I made orange sweet rolls this morning (not from scratch), to bring to Abbey, but she's taking a sleep day, for which I cannot fault her. Read More......

Tom Yum

It embarrasses me to admit it, but I don't make Tom Yum soup from scratch (Actually, I'm not sure if anyone does? I didn't bother to look it up.) I use a paste, which is available in a jar in most oriental food markets (especially if they're Thai markets. Korean markets usually don't have it.)

The recipe, once you have acquired the paste, is very simple: add paste to water (usually like 2 T to 3 cups water, but I start small and adjust up.), add shrimp or chicken or mushrooms if you so choose, and garnish with green onions. Again, if you want to. Or just eat it as broth with nothing in it.

And now I have to get ready for Bankruptcy class, followed by driving my poor half-operational car to the shop, followed by a very nice (and well-deserved, thank you) nap. At some point, someone should probably clean the sink of dishes, too. Hmm.

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Absence makes the Heart grow Fonder...

It has been a while. I apologize-- this last week was absolutely hectic. Between having to find a ride to school every day (the car thing), two doctor's appointments, and working a lot on research for my professor, I haven't had a whole lot of free time.

The state of the apartment can attest to that. Menu for the week! (Take note: It isn't exactly the healthiest menu in the world. I'll have to compensate by eating more low-cal things for lunch.)

Baked Potato Soup in a bread bowl (made with 2% cheese, light sour cream, chicken broth, and 1% milk-- but still, not healthy)

Hamburgers and....something. I have potato chips, but I didn't buy those. They'd be those fat free things anyway, which is fine by me--they taste the same.

Chicken Broccoli and Rice Au gratin-- using one of those packaged rice mixes. I got it for $1 at albertsons-- on sale-- but of course, I noticed yesterday that Wal-mart had it on sale for $.98. Darn.

Lemon Chicken and Pesto Pasta with Feta cheese. New Recipe that I've modified a little bit.

Hamburger Helper--Beef Stroganoff. Really, I need some help every once in a while. I'm not perfect, despite the fact that I'd kind of like all of you to believe I am.

Thai curry and Tom Yum Soup with Steamed White Rice. I haven't decided what kind of Curry yet-- I bought masaman and Karee paste at the store, and I think I might have yellow sour floating around somewhere.

**Note on the Tom Yum Soup: BEST. SOUP. EVER. 3 cups of the stuff has like 90 calories-- half of which is fat, but oh well. You can add mushrooms, shrimp, chicken, green onions, whatever.

Also, I bought three lemons for the lemon chicken, but it only calls for the zest, so I'm trying to think of something to do with the lemon juice. I'm thinking Lemon drops? The kind with Vodka, not the kiddie candy...

Speaking of finding a use for leftovers, I made a Banana cake yesterday, which tastes pretty good. I think next time I might add nuts and not mix it quite so much (it was kind of chewy, since the extra stirring created gluten and made it a little bread-like.)...and I won't add quite so much vanilla to the cream cheese frosting. And maybe substitute coconut milk for the milk in the recipe. Basically change the recipe completely until I'm satisfied.

Not much to say on the school front, except that I'm frantically trying to get some assignments from my professor done with so I can send them to him in London before he gets fed up with waiting and fires me. And I should probably start outlining for final exams, NOT something I'm looking forward to.

..And my computer has started doing very weird things whenever I hit the volume button. I should probably investigate that. Yet something else that has broken! Hooray!! Does anyone have like $10k so we can fix everything that's breaking/broken in our apartment? Anyone? Read More......

Chili Cornbread Bake

.4 pounds extra lean (96/4) ground beef: at 3.99 a pound: $1.60
1 package of chili seasoning mix: $1.25 (Far too expensive, but I'm lazy. Next time I'll use my own spices)
Chili Beans: $.63
Corn muffin mix: $.48
1 can of tomato sauce that I bought in bulk from Sams a long time ago: $.50 ? Who knows.
4 oz shredded cheddar cheese (1/2 a package at 3/$5) $.83
1/3 cup of 1% milk: $.10
1 egg: $.12 (?)

Total: $6.01 after taxes.

Basically, prepare the chili according to package instructions, reserving some of the tomato sauce because it'll be too thin otherwise. Then put it in a corningware dish, put some cheese on top. Prepare the cornbread according to package instructions, and pour over the chili. Then sprinkle on some more cheese. Then bake at 375 until done. It's quite good. To make it healthier: (1) reduce or cut out the cheese entirely, (2) make it meatless, (3) use egg beaters, (4) and/or use skim milk. Read More......