Peanut butter day is a great holiday to celebrate....that is unless you are allergic.
I truly don't know the reasoning behind the latest surge in peanut allergies, but I know there are several current cases in my son's classes. When I was a kid, I don't remember a single case which meant that my mom could make any sort of treat for my birthday. It's not that I don't have sympathy for these kiddos---I do---but I would like to make my kid some cupcakes for his class without freaking out about where the nearest epi pen is. If only George Washington Carver could see this.
That being said, we enjoyed the simple pleasures found within a PB & J for lunch, without an epi pen.
Dinner was pretty simple (out of necessity)---just chicken with lemon pepper, squash and potatoes. Pretty tasty and cooked in less than 27 minutes.
And today is day 24. But who's counting?
W
Jan 23, 2011--- Potatoes Au Gratin
Pork day #1 (last night) turned out pretty good. I used the rotisserie and one of my Christmas presents (a mandolin). I don't know why I've always wanted one of these, but....I have. Just like I'm not-so-secretly in love with infomercials.
Anyway, I made potatoes au gratin with said mandolin. And....ta da:
Beautiful potato...chips!
Of course, you could always use a knife...or force your husband to use a knife, but this was a fun adventure in gadget-land for me;)
I used this recipe but I'm not completely sold on it. Of course I didn't follow the directions to a T, so maybe I'll try it again and use a deeper pyrex container.
W
Anyway, I made potatoes au gratin with said mandolin. And....ta da:
Beautiful potato...chips!
Of course, you could always use a knife...or force your husband to use a knife, but this was a fun adventure in gadget-land for me;)
I used this recipe but I'm not completely sold on it. Of course I didn't follow the directions to a T, so maybe I'll try it again and use a deeper pyrex container.
W
Jan 23, 2011--- Measure Your Feet Day (so you know whose not to step upon) and Rotisserie Pork
I messed up.
We are having pork again today. Not so ingenuous, however it is mostly because I messed up when freezing my pork 4 weeks ago. It is no secret that I love a good deal, but sometimes even I make mistakes. I bought a humongo pork loin for .99/lb and divvied it up to several pork roasts. Smarty me put two roasts in one freezer bag...and they froze together. My time would have been better spent banging my head against the wall.
So tip #1 for the day? Freeze things appropriately
Problema #2? Making things twice in a row makes my husband cranky. He can only stand leftovers so many times and he can only stand the same kind of protein so many days in a row. He gets burned out (understandably) like we all do (think Turkey day....and 24 days following when you make a 70 lb turkey).
So for day #1 (last night) I made Rotisserie Pork in the rotisserie (but you could use an oven). I painted on a bit o' olive oil (so my spices would stick a little better) and cheated for the spice part (used Cavender's Greek seasoning [salt-free]). Can I tell you that it makes a mama happy to see her babies eat the food she has labored on? (Ok, even though the labor was all of 4 minutes).
So for day #2 of pork pork (thank you Swedish Chef) I want to use the rotisserie again (as it's still on my counter) but I think I want to make this version and ramp it up with more garlic. I suppose I could chop the beast up and make pork chops, but I think this will be less effort.
That being said, time to go start!
Happy eating!
W
We are having pork again today. Not so ingenuous, however it is mostly because I messed up when freezing my pork 4 weeks ago. It is no secret that I love a good deal, but sometimes even I make mistakes. I bought a humongo pork loin for .99/lb and divvied it up to several pork roasts. Smarty me put two roasts in one freezer bag...and they froze together. My time would have been better spent banging my head against the wall.
So tip #1 for the day? Freeze things appropriately
Problema #2? Making things twice in a row makes my husband cranky. He can only stand leftovers so many times and he can only stand the same kind of protein so many days in a row. He gets burned out (understandably) like we all do (think Turkey day....and 24 days following when you make a 70 lb turkey).
So for day #1 (last night) I made Rotisserie Pork in the rotisserie (but you could use an oven). I painted on a bit o' olive oil (so my spices would stick a little better) and cheated for the spice part (used Cavender's Greek seasoning [salt-free]). Can I tell you that it makes a mama happy to see her babies eat the food she has labored on? (Ok, even though the labor was all of 4 minutes).
So for day #2 of pork pork (thank you Swedish Chef) I want to use the rotisserie again (as it's still on my counter) but I think I want to make this version and ramp it up with more garlic. I suppose I could chop the beast up and make pork chops, but I think this will be less effort.
That being said, time to go start!
Happy eating!
W
Jan 22,2011--- National Blonde Brownie Day (And Macaroons and how to gain 1000 lbs this winter)
How to gain 1000 lbs this winter, by me
When trying to put your body into hibernation, one should first love carbohydrates. Love your carbohydrates in any form you can get them...into your mouth. You should also love to bake, or know where you can acquire baked goods. If you know how to bake, bake a ton (under the premise that you'll share) and then just share with yourself...some more...and some more. And finally, if you are going to meet your 1/2 ton quota, please be sure to have reasons to indulge yourself everyday (it is great if you have some unresolved emotional issues that you need to address or it is also fabulous if you have raging hormones, even better if you have both).
All jesting aside (kinda), coconut macaroons are the bomb-diggity. I've always wanted to try my hand at making them, and last night was the night. Of course, they are only good for those people who actually like coconut, as they consist primarily of ...coconut.
I dug around the internet searching for a recipe (as I was too lazy to get off my couch to look through the 1700 recipe books I have) and found numerous recipes for coconut macaroons...with sweetened condensed milk. Alas, I didn't have nary a can of SCM, so....I hunted some more and found Alton Brown's recipe...and only slightly altered it (the tail-end). After you put the finished macaroons on a cooling rack, place the parchment paper underneath. Warm choco in the your-crowave, put it in a ziploc baggie, nip the tip, and drizzle over macaroons. All I could hear was Sinatra singing "Heaven, I'm in heaven.....blah de blah....cheek to cheek...."
They might not be beautiful, but my tongue thought they were a w e s o m e.
Just two few small tips:
W
When trying to put your body into hibernation, one should first love carbohydrates. Love your carbohydrates in any form you can get them...into your mouth. You should also love to bake, or know where you can acquire baked goods. If you know how to bake, bake a ton (under the premise that you'll share) and then just share with yourself...some more...and some more. And finally, if you are going to meet your 1/2 ton quota, please be sure to have reasons to indulge yourself everyday (it is great if you have some unresolved emotional issues that you need to address or it is also fabulous if you have raging hormones, even better if you have both).
All jesting aside (kinda), coconut macaroons are the bomb-diggity. I've always wanted to try my hand at making them, and last night was the night. Of course, they are only good for those people who actually like coconut, as they consist primarily of ...coconut.
I dug around the internet searching for a recipe (as I was too lazy to get off my couch to look through the 1700 recipe books I have) and found numerous recipes for coconut macaroons...with sweetened condensed milk. Alas, I didn't have nary a can of SCM, so....I hunted some more and found Alton Brown's recipe...and only slightly altered it (the tail-end). After you put the finished macaroons on a cooling rack, place the parchment paper underneath. Warm choco in the your-crowave, put it in a ziploc baggie, nip the tip, and drizzle over macaroons. All I could hear was Sinatra singing "Heaven, I'm in heaven.....blah de blah....cheek to cheek...."
They might not be beautiful, but my tongue thought they were a w e s o m e.
Just two few small tips:
- For the love of all that is holy, please don't scorch the chocolate. There is nothing worse in this life than wasted chocolate...and the smell that emanates from said scorched chocolate.
- Pay veddy careful attention to the coconut when toasting it. Very quickly it goes from a beautiful white to a not-so-pretty black (no joke, like 30 seconds). It will be in your oven, oh-so-innocent, and go to char in a blink of 70 eyes.
W
Jan 21, 2011---National Granola Bar Day (and other funny mental images of hippies drinking)
I wonder how many hippie bars exist. Ones where dread-locked hair and bare feet are dress codes.I suppose when they say Granola Bar day...they mean something more like this...instead of my distorted image.
And if you're interested in a Nature Valley Coupon, click here.
So, last night we celebrated Cheese Lover's Day with ....twice baked potatoes (with....ooooey gooey cheese). And tonight for dinner is a take on a take on Mark Bittman's mustard herb baked chicken. I did a lazy girl google (i.e. looked at the first thing I found) and came upon this article. And now noticing that it takes 60-90 minutes to bake, I should probably start dinner....now.
Toodles
Wondermom
Jan 20, 2011---National Cheese Lover's Day (or other things that stop up...traffic)
So it is yet another day off from school due to Mother Nature. A deluge of beautiful snow crystals not so innocently created used parking lots out of our major highways. But fortunately for his, time stands still briefly and we get to truly enjoy childhood pleasures like snow angels, board games and hot chocolate.
I did celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day by....enjoying some cheese. I had a cheapy (but oh-so-good) fat-free refried beans and cheese burrito.....with some extra cheesy cheese cheese.
Check out this coupon if you need a less expensive way to celebrate this holiday.
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/naturalcheese/
$1/1 mozzarella w/ creme cheese added?!? potentially yummy!!!
Wondermom
I did celebrate National Cheese Lovers Day by....enjoying some cheese. I had a cheapy (but oh-so-good) fat-free refried beans and cheese burrito.....with some extra cheesy cheese cheese.
Check out this coupon if you need a less expensive way to celebrate this holiday.
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/naturalcheese/
$1/1 mozzarella w/ creme cheese added?!? potentially yummy!!!
Wondermom
Jan 19, 2011---Happy Popcorn Day (and other things that smell bad when burnt)
Happy popcorn day. I was going to try to incorporate popcorn into my dinner, but I suppose I'm not that avant garde. I have a great imagination, and I suppose I could be inspired by a form Top Chef, however I think I'm just fine with keeping popcorn as a snack. I could be proved wrong, but it might take a bit. Instead, I'll just overcook the corn tonight so it smells like popcorn.
I've altered my menu for tonight because I want crock-pot chicken pot pie (that's a lot of pot---see notes below on "how to be ghetto-fabulous"). Only thing is I'll have to make biscuits right before dinner (HA!) which maybe I'll put my dear children to work. Ok, it will be fine.
On other news, our household has become ghetto-fabulous. Remember when the old console t.v. was broken, so you just put the new one on top of the old? Well, welcome to my kitchen, except we now have a microwave....3 feet from the broken one. Long story short, we had a microwave on our counter in our old home, lent it to someone, it was returned, so we still had it in our basement. I don't care at the moment, because I made oatmeal in one bowl this morning, so I'm happy.
Wondermom (with gold chains around her neck)
I've altered my menu for tonight because I want crock-pot chicken pot pie (that's a lot of pot---see notes below on "how to be ghetto-fabulous"). Only thing is I'll have to make biscuits right before dinner (HA!) which maybe I'll put my dear children to work. Ok, it will be fine.
On other news, our household has become ghetto-fabulous. Remember when the old console t.v. was broken, so you just put the new one on top of the old? Well, welcome to my kitchen, except we now have a microwave....3 feet from the broken one. Long story short, we had a microwave on our counter in our old home, lent it to someone, it was returned, so we still had it in our basement. I don't care at the moment, because I made oatmeal in one bowl this morning, so I'm happy.
Wondermom (with gold chains around her neck)
Jan 18, 2011---I wanna use my donut pan!!!
Ok, I have a funny dilemma (not should I tell my best-friend that her husband is cheating on her kind of dilemma, but rather a small-scale, suburbanite, Mrs. Cleaver-wannabe kind of dilemma).
This is what I got for Christmas:
This is what I got for Christmas:
I love apple cider donuts from the local cider mill. Does anybody know of a good apple cake recipe? I'm thinking I can use that and figure out a way to get my donut sugar-coated!
Please and thank you!!!
Wondermom
Jan 18, 2011---Winnie the Pooh Day (or now we are [on day] 18)
I've been avoiding fast-food rows.
We have a few roads in town (mostly the main streets) that are simply laden with restaurants. I read somewhere that our county has the third-highest amount of disposable income in the nation, so of course restauranteurs want to give you many, many choices. That being said, I've seen a ton of restaurants go under lately. And that being said, I still see many opportunities for me to blow it.
That and I feel like I've sent the women's movement back to 1895, to a day with no microwaves, and where food is on the table with a smile when the breadwinner comes home.
I've changed how I derive my menu this week. Have you ever looked for recipes from Kraft (please note that I'm not affiliated with Kraft at all)? I've found a few things (that I alter mostly to suit my/my fam's needs). This week I pulled recipes from their healthy living category.
Tonight, we shall be dining on Zesty Shrimp (slightly modified).
Maybe I'll put on some heels and pearls just to mess with my head some more.
Wondermom
We have a few roads in town (mostly the main streets) that are simply laden with restaurants. I read somewhere that our county has the third-highest amount of disposable income in the nation, so of course restauranteurs want to give you many, many choices. That being said, I've seen a ton of restaurants go under lately. And that being said, I still see many opportunities for me to blow it.
That and I feel like I've sent the women's movement back to 1895, to a day with no microwaves, and where food is on the table with a smile when the breadwinner comes home.
I've changed how I derive my menu this week. Have you ever looked for recipes from Kraft (please note that I'm not affiliated with Kraft at all)? I've found a few things (that I alter mostly to suit my/my fam's needs). This week I pulled recipes from their healthy living category.
Tonight, we shall be dining on Zesty Shrimp (slightly modified).
Maybe I'll put on some heels and pearls just to mess with my head some more.
Wondermom
Jan 16, 2011---National Fig Newton Day (and Mr. Microwave, why have you forsaken me?)
I think I got a dose of radiation today.
I was your-crowaving (as my son used to call microwaving) some broccoli, I opened the microwave....and it was still going!!!! So now, my machine I use every day for everything from morning oatmeal to aftter-dinner brownies is b r o k e n.
My dh says that it's only a $6 switch, but...we'll see how this turns out.
Wondermom
I was your-crowaving (as my son used to call microwaving) some broccoli, I opened the microwave....and it was still going!!!! So now, my machine I use every day for everything from morning oatmeal to aftter-dinner brownies is b r o k e n.
My dh says that it's only a $6 switch, but...we'll see how this turns out.
Wondermom
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