monday

thinking of switching things up a bit....

there is nothing wrong with that! I like to write, but I can't commit to writing about just one thing. I'm craving freedom!

or direction. whatevs.

time to think about getting back on the bike!


wordz

Wha?

I JUST NOW found the STATS button on this blog (yea, i know) and naturally, the numbers are respectably low - I haven't much mind blowing stuff to say - Do you see this? 3 views from Russia?! COOL!

Russia 3
Canada 2
China 1
Germany 1
Denmark 1
United Kingdom 1


*giggling at my desk and everyone is staring*

Oh goodness!

crock pot, pot crock & college pays off

My chicken cordon bleu a la Crock Pot didn't pan out EXACTLY as I planned, but It still turned out very tasty as a "stoup" with some buttered bread on the side.

The crock was a marvelous stroke of planning, as after I paid our bills, I was in no mood to either cook OR spend money!

Tonight I had planned salmon burgers, but they may get bumped (its in the plan!) for an impromptu dinner with mi madre.

Unrelated, I was tickled pink today when I was tagged to pen a press release at work. Why? Well, I'm just so pleased I actually got to do something that I *GASP* LEARNED IN COLLEGE! Pulitzer Prize winning press release? Hardly. But i just can't help reading it over and over to myself and smiling :)

Also, is it odd that I am mostly so excited for this weekend - not for the 3-days-longyness of it, rather for the fact I will finally select the perfect shade of pale celery green in which to paint my home office walls.

domesticality suits me, thank god. i made that word up, sorry dictionary, you snooze you loose.

cook to love

Day 2 went fantastically well! The recipe was Delicious and it easily made enough for 3 more meals, so I froze half to replace the standard "heat-a-bag" dinner's I cook when I have a case of the Mondays.

Speaking of, There are usually one or two nights when i come home a little deflated and feel the urge to eat out or just stuff my face with goldfish and cheese slices in lieu of a real meal. But this plan seems to be helping to curve that urge to slack. I found myself excited to cook all day, and was really enjoying just breezing around my kitchen while spencer was at band practice, sipping red wine and talking to my dog.

When I had finished, I had a real sense of accomplishment. I felt darn proud to have so effortlessly whipped up a healthy meal for me and my betrothed. Not to mention I still found time to prepare the crock pot dinner that has been brewing for us while at work today. Crock Pot meals are seriously the best. I can relax a little when I get home, address the stack of bills growing on my desk top and still have a home cooked and fuss-free dinner for my little family!

So, make yourself some turkey & artichoke stuffed shells and bask in the glow of your happy tummy!

Cooking/Saving Challenge Day 1

Hmmm, this project could sure use a snappier name...I'll work on that.

I noticed some minimal saving at the grocery store yesterday. Nothing to write home about - maybe $30 or so. It did seem I had less items then usual...it is yet to be decided if this is a good thing. get yourself one of these:

Not only is this list incredibly darling-it has become a neccesary tool in my shopping procedures. I buy them by the box.

As planned I made some easy grilled sausage, super sautted onions and banana peppers and a new rosemary potato recipe I found on Cook, Eat, Share (which is sort of my new obsession)Everything turned out swell, but I was leftover with a new roadbump in my little experiment.

Leftovers. See how I did that? I already had a leftover casserole from saturday and some meatloaf my dad had brought over. Now, I have a caboodle's worth of sauteed veggies, and am anticipating a hefty run over of stuffed shells tonight. I mean, spencer is an impressive machine when it comes to eating. His plates are stacked tall, REAL TALL. My dad has always said he loves to watch my husband eat in utter disbelief and amazement. But he won't bring anything he needs to reheat to work with him the next day. Is that crazy or what? He says he doesn't like to use the work microwave. ??? no given reason, he just doesn't. So his loss is my (weight) gain.

Don't get me wrong, I would much prefer to make my co-workers jealous over a nuked do-over meal then a marie calanders steamer any day. i just don't know if I can keep up! I'm hoping this doesn't effect my bottom line - whatever it may be.

I better start inviting people over for dinner. what are your feelings on leftovers? Delicious Redux or Tired tastebuds?

Cut a littlle off the top

Oh boy, I wish I was a savvy coupon shopper! I save them, even cut them out sometimes but ultimetly ALWAYS forget to bring them along with me...

I just read a blog post where this woman spends on average $40 a week on groceries for her and her husband. GAH! I do my best, but that puts me to absolute shame! Is she serving canned soup and grilled cheese sammies (which actually sounds positively delish right now)?!

Spencer and I were invited over for dinner last week and I noticed a "dinner list" on Anika's fridge. She had every meal planned out. Can I do that? I am so ruled by my minute-to-minute emotions, I'm unsure if I can stick to a plan, but by golly I'm gonna give it a shot. And even if no one reads this bloggie blog, posting decrees such as this out in public often solidify my determination to complete the assignment. So here goes:

Monday: grilled sausage & corn. creamy red bliss potatoes
Tuesday: Turkey & artichoke stuff'd shells & salads
Wednesday: Slow cooker chicken cordon bleu & zucchini pie (yes, again)
Thursday: salmon burgers & garden cous cous
Friday: asian lettuce wraps & corn chowda

Will I save money? If we are invited over somewhere, we'll bump a meal to the weekend, I suppose.

On a succesful note - I did manage to pick up about 80% of my produce from the truck guy I just found. Farmers markets are swell - if you can take off a thursday afternoon just to go shopping...

wish me luck! any grocery saving tips out there?

cook, eat, repeat

I'm eventually posting a recipe today. Spencer mocked my dreams of a zucchini pie - and then literally ate his words as he gobbled bite after bite. I'll preface this by stating: I am NOT a cook. but i love cooking. and praise.

I didn't grow up "surrounded by great cooks". My cooks were good, but lacked that passion and joy for cooking that warrants "greatness". So I grew up making mac n' cheese, microwaved butter balls and pb & j sammies. When I first moved into my own apartment i was poor and busy spending what money I did have on drinking and dancing. So my go-to-recipes included jim beam and ginger ales and cheese steak subs to-go (oh metabolism, i miss you so much!)

The time came when Spencer and I moved in together and the domestic bug started biting. We also lived with his sister, who was a very good cook. Rachael Ray was my first real teacher. Her recipes weren't complicated and didn't require foreign techniques or ingredients. And she "eyeballed" it, which is the 2nd reason I don't measure things while cooking. (the first being - why dirty up something else to clean?) As i grew as a home cook, my appreciation for delicious food developed as well. Now, I'll eat anything and I find a simple joy in whipping up something awesome for my friends and family.

This recipe is a combination of 3 recipes I found here, there and everywhere.

savory summer squash pie

1 frozen pie crust (or make your own if you are insane and haven't ever seen an episode of "semi homemade")
2-3 good sized zucchini
1 cup(ish) ricotta cheese
1 cup(ish) shredded cheese (I used mozz, but i imagine a combo of cheeses would be cool - parm, Gruyere - get crazy - just keep it at a cup)
Half of a sweet onion all chopped up (or maybe a shallot? oh! or some scallion?!)
1 egg
some Olive oil
some garlic
parsley

Get your oven ready at 400 F. toss some garlic into that olive oil and let it sit and get all gorgeous. Slice that zucchini, toss some salt on it and let it soak up all that sodiYum while you mix the cheese.

mix the ricotta, egg, onion, most of the cheese and some parsley together. Take the remainder of the shredded cheese and press it into the bottom of the pie crust. YUM.

toss the garlic oil with the zucchini slices.

then layer! ricotta mix first, then zucchini slices, then ricotta, then zucchini. i sprinkled some salt & pepper over each zucchini layer and topped the whole kitten kaboodle with some more cheese. Cover that bad boy with some foil and get to cookin'

30 minutes later take the foil off until it browns.

Now wait for it. Let her sit for a few minutes to set or you'll have a delicious, but messy pie slice on your hands!

i wish i had made 2 so i could have some leftovers for lunch today!