Katie.

52 in 2012: #8 Sweet Potato, Red Lentil, Apple & Carrot Soup

2012-02-29T15:32:00.001-05:00

Okay....I know this sounds weird. Especially if you think lentils are gross. It seems like a whole lot of things but this is really one of the best soups I have ever made. It is right up there with my red pepper - tomato soup. I honestly don't know why I put this on my list but I am glad I did. I've already made a second batch and doubled it.

Cook Onions, Apples, Sweet Potatoes and Carrots in Butter for 10 Minutes

Add all other ingredients
Bring to a boil
Reduce heat, cover & simmer for 30 minutes

Use a stick blender or Food Processor to blend all ingredients

Should be nice and thick

Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt

Ingredients

1/4 Cup Butter

2 Large Sweet Potatoes, Peeled & Chopped

3 Large Carrots, Peeled & Chopped

1 Apple, Peeled & Chopped

1 Onion, Chopped

1/2 Cup Red Lentils

1/2 Tsp Minced Fresh Ginger

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Ground Cumin

1/2 Tsp Chili Powder

1/2 Tsp Paprika

4 Cups Vegetable Broth

Plain Yogurt

6 WW Points Plus Per Serving

52 in 2012: #7 Greek Couscous

2012-02-17T07:52:00.000-05:00

I made some edits on this recipe but I took no pictures of me making it. I did not use sun-dried tomatoes or olives, I doubled the feta and I added regular tomatoes. My version was 6 Weight Watcher Plus Points. D hated it but I liked it. It was definitely more of a side dish I served it with grilled zucchini.

Find the recipe here: Greek Couscous

52 in 2012: #6 Chicken and Glass Noodle Salad

2012-02-16T19:34:00.000-05:00

This was really Tasty! I am not going to post the recipe since I didn't take any process pictures and I followed everything exactly as the original recipe stated. A surprisingly high 9 Weight Watcher Plus Points per serving. I always thought glass noodles were lower in carbs then regular pasta but I thought wrong. It was tasty though. Give it a try!

Find the recipe Here: Chicken and Glass Noodle Salad

Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

2012-02-15T16:57:00.001-05:00

Oh hell yeah. Two sticks of butter? An entire jar of Nutella? I did not see where this could go wrong and I was right. This is seriously one of the tastiest baked goods I have ever made. Horrifically high in calories and fat but good lord it was worth it. Again a Pinterest idea for my Brunch last Sunday.

The Delicious Players

Whisk Eggs and Vanilla together

Whisk Flour, Baking Powder & Salt

Cream Sugar & Butter
Add Vanilla & Eggs and Mix
Add Flour in three batches mixing until just combined

Pour 1/3 of Batter in a greased and floured pan

Spread 1/2 of the Nutella and repeat layers

Bake at 325 for 1 Hour and 15 minutes

Flip onto a cooling rack and let cool for 1 hour

Oh No my cake broke, I guess I'll just have to eat the chunk that fell off.
Damn.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Flour

4 Large Eggs, Room Temperature

2 Tsp Vanilla

3/4 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Salt

2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, Softened

1 1/4 Cups Sugar

1 13-Oz Jar of Nutella

Egg Boats

2012-02-14T16:45:00.000-05:00

I had Brunch for the Parent's and this was an idea I got off of Pinterest. I thought they were really cute and the sounded incredibly easy and delicious. I had to make some major last minute edits due to the size of my baguette's (That's what she said) so I will give you my recipe.

Ingredients:

3 - 9" Italian Baguettes

8 - Eggs

2/3 Cup Heavy Cream

4 oz Bacon - Cut into small pieces and cooked until crisp, Drained

2 Green onions sliced thin

3 Oz Edam Cheese, Grated

Salt & Pepper to taste

This is the begining of my emergency last minute changes.
The original recipe called for 4 Sourdough demi loaves
Stop & Shop doesn't get that fancy so I bought 4 9" Baguettes
Turns out they are way bigger.

Hollow out your bread.

Whisk Egg and Cream Together
Add the rest of the ingredients

The original recipe called for less eggs and cream and I had to add last minute
I only had enough to fill two loaves with the original recipe

Fill the Bread With Egg Mixture and Bake at 35 for 25 - 30 minutes until browned

and the Egg is set in the middle.

I Heart Bacon: Valentine Bacon Heart's

2012-02-13T16:31:00.003-05:00

I love Bacon so much. It makes everything better. How can I show my love for Bacon? Why to make hearts out of them! Really Tough recipe coming at you. Ready?

Preheat oven to 350
Cut Bacon slices in half
Form into hearts onto a baking Sheet
Bake for 25 Minutes

Eat Delicious Love Bacon

February Parent's Brunch

2012-02-12T16:27:00.000-05:00

In my attempt to invite our parents over more often this was the second in what I intended to be bi monthly Brunch's. This was timed well because we needed to plan our summer trip. We are all going to Ireland. Yup. Me, my boyfriend, My mom and dad and his mom and dad.

Brunch Menu

Salad - Provided by my mother

Fruit Salad - Provided by Maria

Bacon Hearts

Egg Boats

Sausage

Irish Coffee

Nutella Swirl Pound Cake with Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Recipe to Follow for Bacon Hearts, Nutella Swirl Pound Cake & Egg Boats.

The Great Greek Yogurt Adventure

2012-02-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

I love Greek yogurt. I didn't really at first but once I got used to the texture I couldn't go back to normal yogurt. However $5.99 for a big tub of it is kind of ridiculous. I decided to try straining my own yogurt and do some cost benefit analysis (GEEK) to see if it was cheaper.

Here is my Yogurt Math

1 Tub of Greek Yogurt - $5.99
1 Tub of Stop & Shop brand Low fat plain yogurt $1.99

Obviously that seems way cheaper but when you strain it you lose almost exactly 50% of the volume

Therefore you need two tubs of plain yogurt to equal one tub of Greek Yogurt. $1.99X2 = $3.98
5.99-3.98
You Save $2.01

I realize that doesn't seem like that much but it adds up if you eat yogurt every day.

Instructions:

Set up a strainer over a bowl
Make sure the bottom of the strainer doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl

Put a coffee filter in your strainer

Fill with yogurt

Refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight

Throw out the liquid

Enjoy super thick & Cheap Greek Yogurt

52 in 2012: #5 Basil Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta

2012-02-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

Here is number 5! This was very tasty and it didn't take very long to make. It was a little Insane in the WW Points department. Ok... It was only insane because I ate half of the recipe. Sigh. Pasta is sort of a dangerous food for me. I love it so much, it is one of the very few foods I do not get sick of no matter how often I eat it. I think when I make it again I would use whole grain pasta. It's less risky and less points. I would probably only eat one serving.

1. Cook onions & garlic in olive oil until translucent
2. Add all other Ingredients (except parmesan) to pan and cook until tomatoes are tender
3. Cook Pasta
4. Toss Pasta and chicken mixture together, top with Parmesan

Ingredients

8oz Angel Hair Pasta
2 Tsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Onion, Chopped
1 Clove Garlic, Chopped
2 1/2 Cups of Tomatoes, Chopped
2 Cups Boneless Chicken Breast, Cubed
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil, Chopped
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/8 Tsp Hot Pepper Sauce (I used Tabasco)
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese

4 Servings
8 WW Points Plus Per Serving

Ham & Cheese Egg Muffins

2012-02-01T20:00:00.001-05:00

New Batch of Egg Muffins and these ones were the best so far!

Ingredients:

6 Pieces of Deli Ham, Halved
8 Eggs
12 Tbsp Refrigerated Egg Whites
3 Pieces of Reduced Fat American Cheese, Quartered

Line muffin tins with halved ham slices
Place a piece of cheese in the bottom
Distribute egg evenly between 12 muffin tins.
Bake at 350 For 25 minutes

4 WW Plus Points for 2 Muffins

Enjoy!

White Bean Hummus

2012-01-30T16:13:00.000-05:00

My mother requested this for her birthday. She loves the white bean hummus at the California Pizza Kitchen so we attempted to recreate. I just used a basic hummus recipe and subbed in the white beans for chick peas. There was a definite textural difference however so the second time we made it we added much less of the bean juice to the hummus to make it a little thicker. It was delicious even though it was a little thin. My mom said it was way better then the CPK version but she would say that even if it sucked. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 16 oz Cans of White Beans, drained (save the liquid!)

1/4 Cup of Bean Juice

10 Tbsp of Lemon Juice

3 Tbsp Tahini

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

2-4 Cloves of Garlic depending on taste

1/2 tsp salt

Add everything to a food processor and mix until smooth! Best with pita bread.

Keema - Ground Beef Curry

2012-01-29T13:38:00.000-05:00

From Wikipedia - is a traditional South Asian meat dish. Originally this word meant minced meat. It is typically minced mutton curry with peas or potatoes. Keema can be made from almost any meat, can be cooked by stewing or frying, and can be formed into kababs. Keema is also sometimes used as a filling for samosas or naan.

I have no idea where this recipe came from. I found it on a recipe card in my recipe book. It was pretty simple sounding and a little diffrent so I went for it. It took WAAAAY longer then the recipe said to cook. I think I cut the Potatoes way to big.

Cook Onions & Beef until browned

Add All over ingredients

Reduce to simmer and cook for 25 minutes or until potatoes are tender
Serve with Couscous or brown rice

Ingredients:

1.5 lb Ground Beef

1 Cup Chopped Onions

2 Cups crushed Tomatoes

1 Cup Frozen Peas

1 Cup Diced Potatoes

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ginger

1 Tbsp Curry Powder

Salt & Pepper

6 Servings

Weight Watcher Plus Points: 5

Emily's 4th Annual Wine Dinner - The Morning After

2012-01-28T09:31:00.002-05:00

Oh Why? Why do you hate me so red wine. What a frigin headache. After many glasses of water and many Tylenol's I ventured out of the guest bedroom to find this...

So many dishes, but luckily about half were rented and didn't have to be totally washed. Then there was brunch. Hats of to Rachael. She helped Emily do ALL of the dishes. I was the asshole chilling in the living room. I helped dry some of them.... Yup definitely the asshole.

Emily's 4th Annual Wine Dinner

2012-01-27T21:18:00.000-05:00

Yet another fantastic wine dinner. I love these cause they start out all classy and everyone is dressed up and were all delicately sipping our wines tasting the great pairings Emily has made and by the end of the night we are all in sweat pants rolling around on the floor eating bread and chugging water.

This is seriously my favorite evening of the year. I wish I had the cajones to try to throw a bog dinner party like this but it would be way to stressful and I would not have fun doing it.

Goat cheese stuffed fig with prociotto

Herbed provolone

Portabello mushroom pizza

Mushroom & Chicken risotto with asparagus

.....And rolling on the ground in our sweatpants.

Baked Feta

2012-01-23T20:57:00.000-05:00

I cooked dinner for my mother for her birthday and this is one of the dishes I made. I found it on pinterest. It is super simple and is only three ingredients! I don't have weight watcher points because I did not measure out how may servings it was.

Ingredients:

6 oz Feta, Crumbled
3/4 Cup of Marinara Sauce
1/4 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
French Bread for Dipping

Mix Feta, Sauce & Pepper Flakes Bake at 350 for 25- 30 minutes until bubbling

52 in 2012: #4 Aloo Phujia - Curried Potatoes

2012-01-19T18:34:00.000-05:00

SO GOOD! I love Indian food, but I am always afraid to try new things at restaurants because I actually hate curry powder. However, if I make stuff at home I know what is or isn't in it and this recipe contains a whole lot of deliciousness. This is recipe #4 of my 52 new recipes in 2012. Enjoy!

Brown onion in oil

Add all the spices

Add Potatoes & cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally

Add tomatoes and cover pan and cook for 10 minutes

Yum, I had mine with two chicken thighs

Ingredients

1 Onion, Chopped

1/4 Cup Olive Oil

1 Lb Potatoes, Cubed

1 Tsp Salt

1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

1/2 Tsp Ground Turmeric

1/4 Tsp Cumin

2 Tomatoes, Chopped

WW + Points: 6 points for 1/4 of the potatoes

You could probably 1/2 the oil and it would still taste as good and knock a couple of points off

Egg Muffin's

2012-01-16T14:51:00.002-05:00

Got this idea off of Pinterest. Man I love pinterst. Anyways, I was really excited about these because I thought they would be great for week day breakfasts. I can freeze them grab them and they can thaw out on my way to work. They are pretty good but they need more cheese. Unfortunately more cheese = more weight watcher points. These are obviously pretty versatile but here is how I made them. both types are 2 WW+ points.

Half of the tins had 1 tbsp diced broccoli & 1 tsp cheddar
the other half had 1/4 piece of American cheese,
2 slices turkey pepperoni & baby spinach

1 Egg per muffin

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes until lightly browned

WW Points + - 2 per muffin

52 in 2012: #3 Eggs Blindfolded over Garlic Cheese Grits

2012-01-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

This is the third installment of 52 new recipes in 2012. This is my second recipe ever using grits and this recipe was so flipping easy. It must have taken tops 20 minutes to make this delightful treat. The longest process was the grits and even that doesn't take long.

Boil 1 Cup of grits in 4 Cups of water for aprx 5 minutes

Mix Cheese, Salt, Pepper & Garlic Powder

Cook Eggs 2 at a time.
Crack Eggs in a hot pan prepped with cooking spray.
Cook for about 1 minute until whites are set.

Throw a large ice cube down and cover.

After about two minutes remove cover.
Remove eggs from pan.
Enjoy!

Ingredients

Grits:
2 1/2 cups hot cooked grits
3 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Eggs:
Cooking spray
8 large eggs, divided
8 ice cubes, divided
Freshly ground black pepper

7 WW+ Points

52 in 2012: #2 Chicken Tagine

2012-01-12T16:06:00.003-05:00

The second completed recipe on my 52 New Recipes in 2012 mission. Found this on AllRecipes.com and decided to add it to my list of recipes specifically because I had leftover dried apricots from the Fruitcake I made at Christmas.

I halved the recipe so we wouldn't have a ton of it in case we hated it. I liked it but I felt like it wasn't balanced. it was a little too sweet. Maybe more spice next time? Anyways despite being a little sweet it was an awesome change of pace. It was very different from what we normally eat. Here it is....

Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken pieces and eggplant in the heated oil;
stir and cook until the chicken is browned on all sides but not cooked through.

Place the browned chicken and eggplant on the bottom of a slow cooker.
Layer the onion, carrots, dried cranberries, and apricots over the chicken.

Whisk together the chicken broth, tomato paste, lemon juice, flour, garlic salt, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, and ground black pepper in a bowl. Pour the broth mixture into the slow cooker with the chicken and vegetables.
Cook on low for 8 Hours
Cook Couscous according to package Direction

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 large carrots, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water
1 cup couscous

7 WW+ Points per serving

1/4 of Couscous, 1/4 of Chicken Tagine

Slow Cooker Creamy Spicy Chicken Stew

2012-01-11T18:53:00.001-05:00

Place chicken in crock pot

Dump the rest of the stuff up in there
Except for the cream cheese

Cook on low for 8 - 10 hours
Remove liquid to desired consistency (I like mine thicker so I took out about two cups of the liquid)
Take chicken out and shred it put it back in
Add cream cheese and stir and cook an additional 30 minutes

Ingredients

15 Chicken Tenders

1 16oz Jar of Salsa Verde

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Corn

1/2 Onion, Chopped

1 Green Pepper, Chopped

1 14.5oz Can Diced Tomatoes, w/ chili's

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tsp Cumin

4 Oz Cream Cheese

WW + Points 8 for 1 Cup

Makes about 10 servings

Apricot Pork Chops

2012-01-08T07:21:00.001-05:00

This is one of our standard go to pork chop recipes. The other is this one here: Spice Rubbed Pork Chops.

Cook Chops until done in a frying pan with cooking spray
Remove from pan and keep warm
I wrap mine in tin foil

Cook onions for 4 minutes and then add the rest of the ingredients and mix until combined

Add the cops back in and turn to coat in sauce

Ingredients

4 - 4 oz (Boneless is better in my opinion) Pork Chops

1 Onion, chopped

1/4 Cup No Sugar added Apricot Preserves

2 Tbsp Soy Sauce

2 Tsp bottled minced garlic

8 WW Points+ per chop

52 in 2012: #1 Asian Turkey Cabbage Cups

2012-01-07T07:22:00.001-05:00

For the full recipe see my recipes

This is the first off my list of 52 recipes in 2012 and it was a tasty start. If I make it again I would make two changes however. I would use lettuce instead of cabbage and I would use only 1 Tbsp fish sauce, it was a tad over powering. Maybe a little more lime juice in the next batch as well. The recipe calls for turkey but I used chicken because that is what I had.

This was a pretty quick meal.

Grate the ginger and cook it with the turkey until browned. Move to a bowl.

Add all of the other ingredients and toss well. Spoon 1/3 cup into 12 cabbage leaves.

3 Per Serving

Ultimate Cocktail Meatballs

2012-01-06T15:37:00.001-05:00

This recipe is so easy and people seemed to love them as there were only four meatballs left at the end of the evening on New Year's Eve. I think this recipe belongs to the Ocean Spray/Heinz family.

1 Can Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 Bottle of Chili Sauce
1 2 lb Bag of Meatballs

Mix everything in the crock pot and cook on low for 4 hours.

Sounds and smells kind of disgusting but for some reason it works.

Medieval Manor for Jen's Birthday

2012-01-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

Last month we went to the medieval Manor Restaurant for Jen's Birthday. It was a lot more fun then I was expecting. I was scared the audience participation would be forced and uncomfortable but It was really funny. It is not jousting knights at all. Less authentic medieval more inappropriate sexual jokes. For $40 dollars we got a really funny show, a mediocre meal, and a crap load of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Basically everyone at the table gets a token that counts for 1 pitcher of beer. The drunker you are the more you will appreciate the show.

Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

First Course
Really horrible pizza
Second course
Mussels that were not bad at all

Our wench ladles us out our cold tomato basil soup.
Not sure why it was cold but it was not bad.

No utensils!

The king ridicules the first people who tried to "travel the Canterbury Trail" without his permission.
During the first little break in the show you had to ask the king to pee.

Rib course? Followed by Salad Course.

They called all the birthday/Anniversary/Bachelor's up to perform the 12 days of Christmas.
Her is Jen doing 12 ladies dancing

Last but definitely not least the best part of the meal was the chicken at the end.

This is extremely kitschy and you probably don't want anyone under 16 or over 60 unless they like a good penis joke. Expect to go home and have second dinner.

The Great Rummy Bear Expirement Part 3

2012-01-04T15:45:00.002-05:00

Long overdue sorry!

We had the rummy bears for my birthday party in three distinct vintages....

The 6 Day Rummy Bear

The Two Day Rummy Bear

The Six Day Vodka Bear

The Six Day Rummy Bears were my favorite and most people at my parties favorite, followed by Six day vodka bears then the 2 days. The 2 day bears tasted even stronger then the six day which is strange since they had less time to absorb. Also the texture on the 2 day was much harder. It still had gummy bear texture inside with a jellowy outside. The six days were a consistent firm jello texture.

Christmas Present Crafting: Book Safe

2012-01-03T15:57:00.001-05:00

My friend Jen had been talking a few months back about how she wanted a book safe for awhile. When I pulled her name for our annual secret santa I decoded I would try making one. I got on the google and found some instructions. This is a pretty time consuming task. It takes a long time to cut out all those pages even 10 or 20 at a time. The result is pretty cool. When I told Dave I was making one for Jen he said he wanted one as well so he got one for christmas too.

P.S. This is my 200th Blog Entry!

Christmas Present Crafting: Button Letters

2012-01-02T07:51:00.001-05:00

Now that all the gifts have been exchanged I can blog about all my Christmas gift crafting. I made Bethany and Jen button letters as part of their gifts. I stole the idea off of Pinterest. It was actually one of the first things I saw on Pinterest that caught my eye. I made these at November's Crafternoon with Emily and her father had built plain wood 8x8 frames. We used a staple gun to affix the fabric on to the frame and then we sewed the buttons on willy nilly to form the Initial of the person getting the gift.

Corn & Black Bean Salad

2012-01-01T12:54:00.007-05:00

Mix all the below items together and add salt and pepper to taste.

1 Lime, zested and juiced

1 Can (1 3/4 Cup) Black Beans, Drained
1 Can (1 3/4 Cup) Corn, Drained
1 Pint of Cherry Tomatoes, Quartered
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small bunch of Scallions, Chopped

Divide into 8 servings for 3 WW points
This also works on the simply filling technique.

Goodbye for now running...

2011-12-29T20:43:00.001-05:00

So I haven't been able to run in a really long time so to declutter the blog I am removing the running page and putting it in a blog entry so that should my back ever get better I will still have a record of my times. Here's to hoping we can be friends again eventually running...

My 5k Quest

1. Run 1 5k per month for 12 straight months, starting March 2011.
2. Run a 5k without stopping COMPLETE!: August 20, 2011
3. Run a 5k in under 36 minutes

March
SB Boys & Girls Club 5k
39:42 (Chip Time)

April
Q Lion's Club 5k for Sight
38:35 (Gun Time)

May
A Police 5k
41:11 (Gun Time)

June
Spectacle Island 5k
41:40 (Gun Time)

July
Artesani Park 5k
39:15 (Gun Time)

August
CSF 5k
42:40 (Gun Time) (Worst time, yet this is the month I ran without stopping...)

September
Gym run
43:18 (why is it harder in the gym?)

Santa Hat Brownies

2011-12-28T10:09:00.001-05:00

I made these for X-Mas Eve and then ended up forgetting them at home. Oh well more for me. It was tasty and cute!

Bake mini brownies with a mix.
Frost lightly with vanilla frosting.
Top each with a strawberry that has had the top cut off.
Use a pipping bag to make a circle around the brownie and top with a dot of frosting.

30 Before 30 #4: Read 50 Books in 1 Year

2011-12-27T23:06:00.000-05:00

Check!

I am actually at 53 books now and the 50 goal was hit in early December I just hadn't posted about it yet. I am really glad I accomplished this and I fully intend to keep up my reading. I don't think I will set a goal for this coming year though because the number sort of forced me to read fast and to lean towards smaller quicker reads. I will keep up my list of books I have read on my reading page.

50 Books in 2011

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T13:18:00.001-05:00

Merry christmas faithful blog readers. My gift to you this year will be a recipe that I doubt any of you will ever make. I never in all my wildest dreams ever thought I would bake this. However last year D's Father introduced to me the wonder that is fruitcake. I know fright ew fruitcake. We've had it brainwashed into our heads that it's disgusting. I can definitly see why people think its gross. It doesnt look attractive and the neon red and green candied fruit is a little scary but I actually kind of dig it. I tried the standard store bought square log. I decided for christmas because he's a little hard to shop for that I would make him a fruit cake.

Wow. I did not know what I was getting myself in to at all. Holy bejeez. So.many.ingredients. It was a lot of hunting the grocery store and lots of prep work. Chopping all the sticky dried fruits was the most time consuming part. I have not officially tried it yet because I baked a little bit of the dough to try and it was pretty good but it had yet to get its twice daily brandy baths so hopefully it will be amazing.

It is a little scary to give someone something you haven't tried yet. Hopefully it doesn't suck.

Merry Christmas!

I used this recipe from Joyofbaking.com. Fruit Cake Recipe

I prepped the fruit first so the bag in the front is the apricots, prunes and figs all chopped up

I ground my own almonds because I don't even know where to begin looking for ground almonds.

Zest of an orange and a lemon and the juice of the lemon

Cream the butter and sugars

Line the spring from pan with buttered parchment paper

add eggs one at a time and beat then add in zest and juice

fold in ground almonds

fold in all nuts and fruits
I forgot to take a picture of the flour step.
Mix the flour salt and baking powder together and then carefully fold in to the fruit mixture.
Pour into pans and bake
FOREVER
seriously 2 1/2 hours they said to bake this thing.
I did just over 2 hours.

the little one was my tester

I was supposed to bake this thing 3 weeks ago and brush it with brandy twice a week but I made it on the 22nd and have been giving it twice daily brandy brushings and hoping for the best.

I'll have to let you know if he likes it but chances are he'd be too nice to say it sucked. It was a grand fruitcake adventure!

Day Tripping: F. Gilbert State Park

2011-12-13T20:16:00.000-05:00

Recently me and my pal Jen went for a hike in Wrentham at F. Gilbert State Park. This is another hike from my 50 day hikes near boston book and the trail we took was nice but short. It had a few small hills and we passed a christmas tree farm which was seasonally appropriate. People were picking out there trees!

Jen and Smokey

Me and the hand tree

30 before 30: Starting Project 365

2011-12-11T15:08:00.003-05:00

New Blog!

Katie. Project 365

As part of my 30 before 30 adventure I will be taking one photo a day for a year starting yesterday.

The Great Rummy Bear Expirement Part 2

2011-12-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

48 Hours into there boozy bath they taste like rubbing alcohol. They are pretty awful. They are also still really hard in the middle and evreywhere i've read said they should be softer all the way through so I will keep them going. They have soaked up about 75% of the alcohol I added. We may need to add more. The vodka ones are supringly more palatable then the rum ones. I used pretty tasty rum to begin with so I am suprised.

Vodka Bear, Rummy Bear, Designated Driver Bear

The Great Rummy Bear Experiment Part 1

2011-12-06T17:22:00.001-05:00

So my birthday party is coming up and I decided to see what all the rage was with these vodka soaked gummy bears. I have heard of their booze bear cousin the rummy bears before all the vodka bears became popular. I decided to try out both to see what happens.

Each bowl has 1 1/2 cups of gummy bears to 3/4 cup of Rum/Vodka

Stay tuned....

And another craft

2011-12-04T21:14:00.002-05:00

I made this out of the branches I trimmed off the bottom of our christmas tree.

Crafty crafternoon!

2011-12-02T21:37:00.003-05:00

Look what I did! Anti tangle ear buds.

Official technique lol

30 Before 30: #28. Get Contacts

2011-11-29T17:38:00.000-05:00

I got contacts!

I've had them for a week and I have worn them 5 out of 7 days. So far I really like them. They make my eyes a little dry sometimes and they are such a bitch to get out but I'm for them.

It takes me no time at all to get them in but it can take anywhere from 5 minutes - 30 minutes to get them out of my eyeballs.

Hopefully that will improve with time.

Ponkapoag Pond Trail

2011-11-25T15:40:00.000-05:00

Ponkapoag Pond is part of the Blue Hills reservation which I have hiked at my entire life. I never new this part of it existed! Probably because you have to walk thru a golf course to get to the trail. I really liked this place. The path leading up to the pond was lined with big old trees and once you get to the lake the trail turned into a wooded path. We didn't get to do the whole thing which was something like 4 miles because the path was really muddy and we were only wearing sneakers not hiking boots but we will be back! Parking is at the Ponkapoag golf course.

Great Blue Hill

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T10:00:00.002-05:00

I am thankful for all my family and friends, for my job, my apartment and my loving boyfriend. I hope evreyone has a great day with people they love.

Blue Hills Trailside Museum

2011-11-23T15:39:00.000-05:00

Yay! We went to visit the blue Hills animals this past weekend and we finally went into the Trail side museum. THERE WERE OWLS IN THERE!!! ALL THIS TIME!!!

Sorry it was exciting. They had a bee hive, a barn owl, a skunk, a opossum, a smaller owl and many different snacks and fishes. It was definitely more for kids but it was still cool. It was $3 to get in. I took some pictures but they didn't come out very good because of lighting and glass cages and all that.

Afterwards we lunched with the deer. The one on the right was real interested in my dill pickle.

Babaghanoush

2011-11-22T03:54:00.002-05:00

MMM Babaghanoush. I love love love this stuff. The first time I had it was from a restraunt and I have been obsessed ever since. You can not get a tasty version from the supermarket. They have mastered hummus but the babaghanoush is not as tasty as what i've had.

This recipe came from cooking light and you can find it here. Try it. Even if you do not like Eggplant. Even though it's a little time consuming. You will thank me. This recipe is still not as delicious as I got at that restraunt back in the day but it's pretty close and it's light.

Meatless Monday: Baked Greek Eggplant

2011-11-21T18:25:00.000-05:00

Greek style Baked Eggplant. I found the recipe online somewhere a couple of years ago.

Sprinkle Garlic salt on Eggplant slices and let sit for 30 minutes
wipe off moisture from eggplants

Layer Eggplant and tomatoes in baking dish

Add yogurt and feta

Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees

I had mine with a Greek salad

Ingredients:

1 Eggplant, thinly sliced
2 Large Tomatoes, thinly
3/4 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese
4 Tbsp Greek Yogurt
Garlic Salt
Paprika

Light Hummus with Spiced Pita Chips

2011-11-20T11:29:00.001-05:00

This Hummus Recipe can be found here. It is really easy no cook all you need is a food processor. To be honest it definitely tasted light. It wasn't as creamy as a full fat hummus but it was still tasty.

All of these things into a food processor

You end up with a ridiculous amount of hummus!

I also made Spiced Pita chips. I altered a recipe from a weight watcher cookbook. They called for Cajun seasoning but I didn't have that and would never use it again so I sprinkled half with cayenne for spicy chips and half with sea salt for the less brave. I made them using low fat low call whole wheat Pita bread which resulted in a sort of sad tasting chip if you ate them alone. But they made perfect vehicles for getting the hummus to my mouth and they were good when combined with all three of the dips I made for my party.

Split Each pita in half long wise and then cut into wedges. Sprinkle with seasonings of choice and bake at 375 for 5 - 12 minutes. Watch closely the burn quickly. Let cool and enjoy.

Spinach Poppers

2011-11-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

We recently had a game night Pot Luck Style and I contributed the Appetizer portion of the evening. One of the things I made were Weight Watcher Spinach Poppers. You can find this recipe in the Healthy & Happy Celebrations cookbook, but I wll include it since it was on the old Points system and is not available anymore.

Thaw and drain your spinach
Make sure you squeeze the crap out of it extra water will make the mix not mold into balls.

Cook onion & garlic in pan for 8 minutes or until browned
Remove from heat and let cool

Add all the ingredients (except 1/3 cup of bread crumbs) to the food processor and prepare to get messy

I used a TBSP to form the balls but the serving size in the book must use tsp.
I made a double batch and only got 36, the book says one batch makes that.

Roll the balls in the reserved bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 12 minutes.
Serve Warm

Ingredients:
1 Tsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1 (10-Oz) Frozen Spinach, thawed & drained
1/2 Cup of Shredded Smoked Cheese (calls for gouda but I used mozzerella because it was less expensive)
1/4 cup parmesan
1 Large Egg White
1/4 tsp Salt
2/3 Cup Dried Bread Crumbs

3 WW Points plus for 6 poppers if they actually make 36 poppers.

November Game Night

2011-11-18T04:49:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we had a few friends over for a game night. I did it pot luck style and still managed to spend 4 hours cooking... Pot Luck fail. Next time I'm buying frozen appetizers. No I won't but here's to hoping.

Babaghanoush (Recipe to Follow)
Muhamara (Recipe Here)
Hummus (Recipe to follow)

Home Made Pita Chips
Recipe to follow

Spinach Poppers
Recipe to follow

Lauren & Jay's Beef Chili

Meg & Matt's Sweet & Sour Meatballs
They tasted like chicken mcnuggets to me they were awesome.

Jen's Super Naughty Brownie cookie peanut butter cup Oreo concoctions.

Dave's Cake Batter Rice Crispy Treats

This game was way better when we played it with 7 people instead of 24
and actually followed the rules.

Matt, Dave, Jen & Lauren
Jay won the Game of things

Trivial Pursuit
Team Jen, Lauren & Jay won

Then D won Clue!

Spice Rubbed Pork Chops

2011-11-17T15:59:00.001-05:00

This is a favorite of both me and d and it is really versatile. If you don't like one of the spices take it out and try something else. This mix has a really good savory spicy sweet thing going and the chops always come out moist (gross word sorry).

Mix your spices on a plate

Coat your chops in the mixture
(I had three so I upped my mixture a little)

Yum

Ingredients:

2 - 4oz Pork Chops
3/4 Tsp Chili Powder
1 Tsp Brown Sugar
3/4 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tsp Thyme

Tommy the Orphan Tomato plant - The End

2011-11-16T17:11:00.001-05:00

So after many months together Tommy the tomato plant and I parted ways. It was great and tasty while it lasted. My first year of tomato growing went well and I will definitly attempt it again next year.

Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

2011-11-15T18:15:00.001-05:00

MEAT! BBQ MEAT!

So... I forgot to take an after picture but I assure you it was tasty looking

that is all!

Put evreything but the pork roast in the slow cooker and mix well.

Add the pork and cook on high 6-7 hours
shred pork using two forks and serve in buns!!

Ingredients:
1 Cup Celery, diced
1 Cup Onions, diced
1 Cup Ketchup
1 Cup BBQ Sauce
1 Cup Water
2 Tbsp Vinegar
3 Lb Boneless Pork Roast
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tsp Chili Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Pepper
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder

Meatless Monday: Yellow Split Pea Curry

2011-11-14T15:36:00.000-05:00

From an Indian Cookbook D gave me for christmas last year. Altered of course to my liking.

Chop tomato, onion and Grate the ginger

while boiling the peas in the water toast the cumin seeds

Add onion and cook for 8 minutes until onion is browned

Add tomato, ginger and chili paste

Cook until tender

Add the mixture to the cooked peas

Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 Cup Yeyellow split peas, rinsed
4 Cups of Water
1/2 Tsp tumeric powder
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Small red onion, minced
1 Tsp chili paaste )or on serran chili diced)
1 Tsp grated ginger
1 Small tomato, minced
Salt to tast

4 servings
5 Weight watcher points!

Basil Chicken Stir Fry

2011-11-13T08:27:00.000-05:00

Need Thai food? This recipe will definitely solve your Thai food craving and save you money and calories! I believe I got this off spark recipes.

Start rice and Slice & Prep all Ingredients because the cooking happens fast
Spray pan with pam add pepper cook for two minutes.
Add Onion cook 2 minutes and set aside.

Respray pan with pam
add garlic, hot peppers & chicken pieces stir until chicken is opaque,

Add fish sauce, soy sauce & water and cook for 1 minute.

Add pepper and onions back in with sugar and stir

Add Basil and stir until wilted

Serve over rice!

Ingredients

1 6oz Chicken Breast
1 Medium Onion
1 Green or Red pepper
2 Tsp Garlic
1-2 Jalapeno's sliced thin
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 Cup Basil
1 Tbsp Water
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

Look How Pretty

2011-11-12T15:24:00.000-05:00

A Celery Flower!

A picnic lunch At Stodders Neck with my love

2011-11-12T08:43:00.001-05:00

Last weekend me and D had a picnic lunch at Stodders Neck Park in Hingham. We were unaware until we got there that it was a dog park, but that made it even better because we got to see a whole pile of puppies. We went to Fresh Market at the Hingham Shipyard for supplies first.

Helpful tip. Whole using an entire loaf of sour dough garlic bread SEEMS like a good idea in paractice it doesnt work out so well. I had to eat my half as an open faced sandwich and keep the other piece of garlic bread for later. We also had petit fous which are one of my favorite things. Tiny little cakes dipped in chocolate. Yum.

Whitney & Thayer Woods

2011-11-11T17:38:00.001-05:00

Here is another of my 50 day hikes near Boston Book Hike. This one is Whitney & Thayer Woods in Cohassett, Ma. I really like this place. The trails were well labled and clean. The trees were in the prosess of turning and it was great to get outside after being cooped up with my sore back.

The Enchanted Village at Jordan's

2011-11-10T21:10:00.001-05:00

The Enchanted Village at Jordan's is officially open. If you grew up near Boston you were probably brought to the enchanted village. It used to be housed in Jordan marsh then Macy's I think then Boston city hall and then it sat in a basement until the People who owned Jordan's Furniture bought it. Now it is free to the public every holiday season. I went with my brother and Sister in law and my parents and of course this cutie!

Waiting in line for Santa

Only at Jordan;s doe s a Ray Charles robot play the piano and sing

Where's my beer at?

Another Blog...

2011-11-09T20:10:00.003-05:00

Started a new blog today about weight watchers as I am back on (again) starting tomorrow. If you have any interest let me know. No promises that I'll add you though as it will be private since I'll be talking about how gross and fat I am. Maybe I will make it public once I don't weigh a thousand pounds and I have something to be proud of.

Stuffed Acorn Squash

2011-11-05T09:40:00.001-04:00

This is my favorite autumn recipe, it tastes like fall to me. Last year we belonged to a CSA or a farm share if you will and they gave us a metric TON of squash. Acorn, Butternut, Buttercup. It was ridiculoous. This was one of the ways I prepared the acorn squash and its delish.

Cut squash in half and place in a pan with a 1/2" of water.
Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until the squash is tender.
Scoop out the Seeds.

Cook beef, Onion & garlic for 2-3 minutes w/ pam until turkey is browned.

Cook rice or use some leftover rice

Add tomatoes, water, rice, sage & thyme.
Cook until almost dry. Season w/ Salt & Pepper.

Divide stuffing between squash halves and enjoy!

Ingredients

3 Acorn Squash
1 Small Onion
1 Tsp Garlic
1/2 Lb Ground Beef
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/2 Cup Tomato
1/4 Cup Water
1/2 Cup cooked rice
1/2 Tsp Thyme
1/2 Tsp Sage

6 Servings

WW Points: 5 Points

Helpful tip

To cut the Acorn Squash I use a meat tenderizer hammer thing wrapped in a towel to get the knife thru the squash.

The Opposite of Gourmet: Salsa Chicken

2011-11-04T16:15:00.001-04:00

Few things are less gourmet then anything cooked with Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup. I think even a grilled cheese or a PB & J have more potential. However Salsa chicken is conveniant, relativly tasty, and versatile. I have been insanely busy lately with a bazillion doctor's appointments so nothing makes life easier then the crock pot.

Chicken in the Crock Pot
Sprinkle Taco Seasoning

Pour Soup and Salsa over chicken

Cook in crock pot on low for 8 hours and shred chicken
Mix in Sour Cream

I had mine over rice with Sauteed Squash and onions
Its also a good burrito filler

The next morning I had an omelette with the filling inside.
It was wierd.

Ingredients

16 oz chicken

1 Cup of Salsa

3 Tbsp Taco Seasoning

1 Can Low Fat Cream of Mushroom Soup

1/2 Cup of Sour Cream

6 servings of a little more then 1/2 cup

4 WW Points!

Crafternoon: Owl Mobile

2011-11-03T04:41:00.004-04:00

Me and Emily had our first and hopefully regular monthly crafternoon a couple of weekends ago. We made Owl Cupcakes and Owl Mobiles.

The Owl Mobiles were FREAKING ADORABLE. They took forever to make but they were so much fun.

Again please?

All the supplies

Almond Milk and my Carmel Apple oatmeal cookies for a snack

My four owls

Emily's Owl's

Emily made a twin of one of mine

Our mobiles

My mobile

Creamy Red Lentils

2011-11-02T18:16:00.001-04:00

D bought me an Indian Cookbook last Christmas and this is the first recipe I made out of it. I have made this recipe twice this week. I didn't think I was going to like it because I've never loved lentils before but this recipe was so good and really easy with only a few ingredients. It's not the most appealing looking or really sounding dish but I promise you it's tasty.

4 Cups of Water, 1 Tbsp Oil,

Rinse one cup of lentils. Don't get attached to the pretty color it sadly goes away.

Once the water is boiling pour in lentils and mix well, reduce heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes
Consistency should be of a thick creamy soup

In a sauce pan heat remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp oil and toast cumin seeds.
When cumin seeds sizzle add cayene and garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Pour lentil mixture

Yum. Great with Naan or Pita Bread.

Creamy Red Lentils

4 Cups of Water
1/2 Tsp Tumeric Powder
1 Tsp Salt
2 1/2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 Cup Red Lentils, Rinsed well
1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
2 Garlic Cloves Minced
1/2 Tsp Cayenne Pepper

5 Weight Watcher Points for 4 Servings

Happy Halloween?

2011-10-30T09:48:00.000-04:00

SNOWTOBER

There is something wrong with snow on the ground and leaves on all the trees.....

Blanket project update

2011-10-29T11:37:00.002-04:00

30 Before 30: #22 Make Cupcakes that look like Owl's

2011-10-28T17:40:00.001-04:00

Yay! Me and Emily had a girl date to make cupcakes that look like owls and to do some crafting. It was awesome. I rarely get Emily all to myself and I got her for 10 whole craft-tastic hours. These cupcakes were messy, fun and cute. I would never have done this on my own because what the hell would i do with 24 owl shaped cakes? I took home a 1/2 dozen and the rest went to a meeting at Emily's work.

AND HERE THEY ARE

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE (Noise I make when I see cute things!)

What we were working off of.
That what's up cupcake book (I think)

The Stuff

My favorite part of this whole process was sawing the Oreo halves.
It was oddly satisfying. It reminded me of winter camping log sawing competitions.

The delicious Oreo filling shavings

Oreo Halves for Ears

Oreo Halves for Eyes

M&M for the nose

M&M's for the pupils

Pipped frosting for the ears

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Emily makes Oreo dust lines...

FUN FUN FUN

Caramel Apple Oatmeal Cookies

2011-10-24T09:10:00.001-04:00

Another Cooking Light Recipe. These were amazing, but who knew cutting 16 Kraft carmael's into bit sized pieces would be such a bitch. Also Dried apples are hard to cut too. They were worth it though. Next time I would use kitchen shears. I don't know why I always forget about kitchen shears. I made these for my friend Emily because she was hosting me for a crafternoon which I will be blogging about soon.

Preheat Oven to 350
Cut up caramels & dried apples

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt in a large bowl

Cream Butter and Sugars together and then add vanilla and egg

Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture until combined
Fold in caramel & apples

Form cookies on parchment paper lined cookie sheet
2 tsp per cookie, flatten with palm slightly

Allow them to sit on cookie sheet for 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack

Find Recipe Here

Brunch Recipe: Herbed Ricotta Tart

2011-10-23T10:53:00.000-04:00

This is a recipe I found in a Cooking Light magazine. It is awesome. This is the second time I made it. My only complaint is the pizza crust that peaks out always gets to hard by the time the middle of the tart cooks. Not sure what the solution to that would be.

Preheat oven to 375
Stretch pizza dough over a pie plate.
Trim to size and if you have any holes like I did just patch them up with the trimmings.

Cook green onions in a skillet with some pam for 5 minutes

Combine cooked green onions, ricotta cheese, chives, dill, salt, pepper & eggs in a bowl

Pour mixture into crust and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese

Bake for 35 minutes or until center is set and let stand 5 minutes before cutting.

mmm mmm mmm

Ingredients

1 (11 oz can) of refrigerated pizza dough

2 cups thinly sliced green onions

1 1/3 cups part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup thinly sliced chives

2 tbsp minced dill

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 large eggs lightly beaten

1 large egg white lightly beaten

2 tbsp finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Pesto Recipe

2011-10-22T12:01:00.002-04:00

I wanted to have some form of Vegetable for my brunch last Sunday so I settled on caprese. I wanted to make Pesto for it. This is my second pesto recipe. For a lighter (and less delicious version) go here.

The recipe for this version came from all recipes and you can find it here. I halved the recipe.

Also Sock Bun Curl Update

2011-10-21T15:54:00.000-04:00

It's all lies. I have tried it three times now. Unless the girl in the you tube video has some kind of super sonic easy to curl hair then she edited that video.

It was way to good to be true.

The bun is still cute though....

Sock Bun Curls

Fall Brunch

2011-10-21T15:32:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday I had brunch for mine and D's Parents. It went well the food was good the company was great and my house was all cute and decorated for Halloween. I don't think I took enough pictures of the actual brunch but here are some pics. Recipes of the dishes to follow!

The Table

Sunday Brunch Casserole...
I know seriously the most generic recipe name ever.

Herbed Ricotta Pie

Caprese Salad

Pesto for the Caprese

My Parent's brought the Ham, D's brought the Fruit Salad

Maria and Bob also brought Mimosa fixin's

Ricotta Pie

Cute!

2011-10-20T20:21:00.000-04:00

Today Sucked. I had a two hour commute this morning. My work computer wouldn't start I had a really crappy meeting and i lost my grocery list and couldn't go grocery shopping. All little insignificant things. Still made for not a stellar day. Life could be much worse.

So in case any of you are having a rough day here is a picture of baby penguins in sweaters.

It was on my home page when I signed on. It made me feel better.

Meal plan

2011-10-19T19:40:00.001-04:00

Sad Story

2011-10-19T16:11:00.000-04:00

I can't run anymore....

At least for awhile. My car accident two months ago hurt my back. My Chiropractor ordered an MRI since its still awful. The results were not stellar. To say the least. So among other sucky consequences I will not be able to complete my run 12 5k's in 12 months goal. I will also definitely not be running one in 36 minutes.

I will need to come up with two new 30 before 30 items. along with learn to live with this stupid back pain cause it's probably not going away.

Stupid Spine.

Lunch

2011-10-19T12:03:00.002-04:00

Dinner at D's Parents

2011-10-18T16:08:00.000-04:00

We had Sunday dinner at D's family's house last week and I had to take pictures. D's Sister Bethany is an excellent baker/cook. She makes the most fun things ever. She made Pumpkin garlic knots and individual apple pies for dessert. Dinner was all of D's favorites. Meatballs and basically every vegetable on earth.

The salad dressing cap had a heart shape on it!
Simple things.

Bethany made D a pumpkin knot log with extra garlic

These were soooo good!

Starting a new project

2011-10-18T15:48:00.001-04:00

Making a blue blanket for my living room using the many projects I started and never finished. Dismantling the old projects was way more satisfying then the actual crocheting...

Meatless Monday: Summer Squash Casserole

2011-10-17T16:00:00.000-04:00

This recipe is sort of like lasagna without noodles... or marinara sauce. So I guess not that much like a lasagna at all.

Preheat oven to 350
(No Picture) Cook mushrooms, onions & garlic w/ pam until tender
Mix 2 Eggs w/ 2 Tbsp Sour Cream

Slice Summer squash in thin slices and microwave for 5 minutes

In a Square (I used a rectangle and it was too big) Baking dish layer Summer Squash

Top with half the mushroom mixture

top with half of ricotta

top with 1/2 the Sour cream mixture

Top with half of cheese.

Repeat all steps except the cheese.
Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes
Take out and top with remaining cheese cook for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 Summer Squash

2 Eggs

1 Onion

2 Tbsp Fat Free Sour Cream

1 Cup Fat Free Ricotta

1 Cup 2% Colby Jack, Shredded

2 Tsp Garlic

2 Cups Mushrooms

6 Servings

Spicy Crab & Corn Chowder

2011-10-16T07:57:00.001-04:00

MMM MMM MMM

This soup is Crazy Tasty. A little bit time consuming but not to bad.

Broil a pablano pepper for 8 min each side.
Peel the skin off and chop.

Melt butter over medium heat.
Add onion, salt, sugar & cayenne.
Saute 4 minutes.

Add Corn.
Saute 2 minutes.

Remove 3/4 cup of corn mixture
Combine in food processor with 3/4 cup 1/2 & 1/2.
Puree until smooth.

Add potato to pan.
Saute 1 minute.

Add 2 cups of water, bring to boil.
Cook 4 minutes until tender
Reduce heat medium.

Combine 1/2&1/2 and flour in a small bowl and mix.
Add to pan.
Cook 1 minute stirring constantly.

Add corn puree.
Stir in milk, pablano and crab.
Cook 3 minutes stirring constantly.

MMMMM Tasty.

Ingredients:
1 Medium Pablano Pepper
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Cup Onion, Chopped
1/2 Tsp Salt
1/2 Tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 (16oz) Frozen Corn, Thawed
1 Cup 1/2 & 1/2
1 (8oz) Potato, peeled & chopped
2 Cups of Water
2 Tbsp Flour
1 Cup 2% Milk
1 Can Lump Crab

6 Servings

Brunch prep

2011-10-15T11:20:00.001-04:00

Holding a brunch tommorrow for my parents and D's parents here is my grocery list. Wish me luck!

Menu

Herbed ricotta pie
Breakfast hash brown casserole
Caprese salad
Ham (Mom is bringing)
Fruit salad (Maria is bringing)

Mimosa's!

Volunteering: KABOOM Playground Build!

2011-10-13T20:29:00.000-04:00

Tuesday my company had a volunteer oppurtunity with KABOOM playgrounds. We built a play ground in Providence, RI at Dexter training grounds. I didn't know anyone going so I made Jen come. there were two spots open for Non employees.

It was co-sponsored by the New England Patriots.

This is me on top of the world's most ridiculous pile of mulch.
We were assigned to team so at no point did I actually build anything. I spent six hours shoveling mulch onto tarps.
Someone else would drag the tarp to the playground.

Jen shoveling mulch

Some of the playground equipment going up

The also built some exercise stations and did some planting and painting of fences

And here are some patriots. There were like 20 of them there.
It was wasted on me I didn't recognize any of them.
Wes walker and Vince Wilfork were there.
Vince was the most gigantic man I have ever seen.

The almost finished project!

It was a fun but very tiring day. I am still in pain my hands kill from gripping the shovel. This was 7 more hours added to my 30 Before 30 list item of 30 hours of volunteering. I already have 13 hours! I may have to up my goal.

Sock Bun Curl Update

2011-10-12T06:41:00.002-04:00

FAIL.

My hair was maybe too damp? Not even a hint of curl. I will try again tonight.

Sock bun curls!

2011-10-11T19:56:00.001-04:00

Go to you tube and search sock bun or sock bun curls.

I'm trying it tonight to see if it curls my hair but look how freaking awesome it looks alone!

This is just my hair one of D's socks and a hair elastic.

Day Trippin: Camp Titicut Reservation

2011-10-11T16:00:00.000-04:00

Saturday D and I went for a walk before having dinner with his family. We picked a hike out of my 50 day hikes near Boston book that was in Bridgewater. This wasn't my favorite by far. It was a very short walk and there wasn't too much to look at. D did take a killer picture of a butterfly with my camera though.

The Taunton River

Clearly a fire made by drunk people.

Meatless Monday: Ratatouilee!

2011-10-10T20:40:00.000-04:00

This is D's favorite meal that I make. It's insanely healthy but it does require a lot of prep work. Lot's of chopping. I have used the food processor before but it always makes the veggies too small.

Chop onions, eggplant, tomatoes, squash & pepper

Saute onions, garlic & bay leaf in oil for 5 minutes

Add eggplant, basil,, rosemary, salt & marjoram
cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes

Add squash, peppers & tomatoes
Simmer 10 minutes until tender

I usually serve over pasta but I ate it plain this time

Ingredients
2 Small Onions, Chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 Bay Leaves
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Summer Squash, chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
1 Green Pepper, chopped
2 Tsp Basil
1 Tsp Dried Rosemary
3/4 Tsp Salt
2 Cups Tomatoes, Chopped
1 Medium Eggplant, Chopped
1 Tsp Marjoram

6 Servings!
2 Points!

Saver's Math!

2011-10-08T19:02:00.000-04:00

I Love Savers!

Saver's is a chain of thrift stores and it is the best thing ever. Today Meg & I went down to Providence to visit Jess and Harry and we also hit two Savers while we were down there. Below is what I like to call Savers math. Total spent divided by number of items = AWESOMENESS

2 Pairs of Work Pants
3 Pins
2 Dresses
1 Skirt
1 tshirt
2 blouse
6 Sweaters
----------------------
$101

= $5.94 a Piece!

Photo Bonanza!

2011-10-04T20:12:00.000-04:00

Random Pics from the last 4 days!

Saturday we went to a new Shabu place. It was not as awesome as Little Q but would go again.
If you don't know what shabu is google it and try it out.

I am officially off the bland diet!

We followed it up with a baby cake.
I got the Snowball, my second favorite.
It's amazing.

Sunday I made a whole chicken!

And seriously the best mashed potatoes ever.
Butter, Half & Half and Horseradish.

Saturday night we babysat.
Two of my favorite boys!
D & Cullen

This was the assanine line I waited in at Roxy's Saturday while grocery shopping

The new road in Quincy Opened!
Now there is a new 4 lane road to cross when we walk home drunk from The Half Door.
I love a challenge.

Monday my committee at work held a red cross blood drive.
I volunteered for 3 hours and gave blood.

I got to write everyone's stickers.

Monday night Jen & I went to the fours because I was craving this.
A pumpkin head beer with a cinnamon sugar rim.
My first alcoholic beverage in three weeks.

It's National Taco Day!
Dave made us tacos.

I recently bought a king size bed.
Best purchase ever.
However we only have 10" on each side of the bed so our bedside tables didn't fit.
I bought floor lamps with shelves.
They required ALOT of assembly.

The finished products and my gigantic new bed!

Meatless Monday: Green Pepper & Tomato Barley Risotto

2011-10-03T16:01:00.001-04:00

Adapted from this Cooking Light Recipe. This is not a weeknight recipe. This took a solid hour to make. It was worth it but I don't recommend making it if your already hungry. This was supposed to be made with Eggplant but when I cut open my eggplant it was sad and brown inside so I used what I had which happened to be three large green peppers. I think it turned out fantastic. I will make it again with eggplant but the green peppers were good.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine eggplant (or green peppers) tomatoes, 2 Tbsp oil & 1/4 tsp of pepper in a bowl.
Toss to coat, arrange on single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Combine Broth & Water in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
Keep warm over stove.

Heat remaining Tbsp oil in a skillet.
Add onion, saute four min.

Stir in barley & garlic and cook 1 min

Add wine, cook 1 minute or until liquid is evaporated stirring constantly.

Add 1 cup of broth and stir until absorbed.
Repeat 1 cup at a time until all broth is incorporated.

Stir in veggies, pepper, salt & Cheese.
Top with Basil!

Ingredients:

6 Cups Eggplant, Diced

1 Pint Cherry Tomatoes

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

5 Cups Fat Free Chicken Broth

2 Cups Water

1 Cup Uncooked Barley

1 1/2 Cups Diced Onion

1/2 Cup Dry White Wine

2 Tsp Minced Garlic

1/4 Tsp Salt

1/4 Tsp Pepper

1/2 Cup Feta

1/4 Cup Sliced Basil

Calories: 453

Fat: 20.3g

Protein: 14.5g

Carbohydrate: 57.5g

Fiber: 15.5g

Meal Plan Sunday

2011-10-02T10:38:00.002-04:00

Blog Pages Update!

2011-10-01T11:04:00.001-04:00

I spent some time this morning updating the other pages of my blog.

Reading: Updated my list and made a plan for the next 8 books I will be reading!

Running: I tracked my September 5k. I never made it to an official race and the second half of my month sucked with a lot of back pain. I used a 5k I had recorded at the gym on September 13th. Luckily for me I never said it had to be an official race and I still consider myself on track to finish my 12 5k's in 12 months in February! The next 5k is on October 15th. Hopefully my back will feel a little better by then.

30 before 30: I have 4 things potentially coming up that I should complete. #4 I have only 8 more books to read by December. #18 I am hoping to have enough hair to donate by end of this year or beginning of next. #22 Me and Emily will be baking our hearts out Oct 22. #24 I found a Prowl on Oct. 22 as well. It will potentially be an owl filled day! I have a feeling all the easier things will be crossed off my list and I'll be left with all the really hard things. I should have spaced them out better.

Dropkick Murphy's Concert

2011-09-30T16:13:00.002-04:00

My brother, D, Lauren & I went to a Dropkick Murphy's concert at Fenway Recently. I have now been to Fenway twice and both times for concerts. I am a bad Bostonian. The concert was pretty cool and you couldn't beat the view. We were in the very last row of the front section of bleachers. Which came in handy when all the Irish people started getting hammered. No one to spill beer or punch me in the back of my head. Here are some pictures! Some are from my iPhone so they are a little grainy.

Race Point Beach

2011-09-29T16:04:00.003-04:00

Our last stop was Provincetown. We had driven so far we actually just accidentally ended up there. We wanted to find the "end" of the cape but we were a little short. It will have to be another time. We were pretty close. We made it to Race Point and there was technically nothing between us and a whole lot of ocean.

Meg walking down to the beach

Jen

Nauset Light House & Beach

2011-09-28T16:02:00.002-04:00

After Rock Harbor we stopped at Nauset Light & Nauset Light Beach. This was our best stop of the day. We saw SEALS!!! Two times in one summer. They were awesome. Unfortunately as you will see in the photographs something chased them all away....

He was so close and then this next asshole showed up and we saw no more seals....

nah nah.....nah nah. nah nah nah nah nah nah (jaws theme, clearly)