Life in the country

This has nothing to do with cooking, or crafting.. so I'm breaking my own rule. But I think it's for an important reason. I discovered the blog of a completely hilarious and mesmerizing woman named Ree(Pioneer Woman, P-Dub) who was originally an LA party-goer who fell in love with a cowboy, moved out to his ranch, and had little mini cowboys and cowgirls. I wouldn't ever think that living in the country would be fun, but through the way she tells stories, and the amazing photos she posts, she has made me incredibly jealous.

She's also writing her love story between herself and her cowboy - who she calls Marlboro Man. It's an on-going story, and so once you read it all you basically go insane waiting for her to post the next chapter. Trust me. You will.

Please go and enjoy her writing as much as I do, you won't regret it.

And now to get back on track to cooking, please ALSO go and visit her cooking blog, which is also amazing and mouthwatering.

Updates

For the 2 or 3 people that actually read this:

Sorry I took a hiatus, I was really busy with work and school stuff. I will be posting a whole bunch of new recipes this weekend.

The end.


For now.

Not two weeks.

Just until later.

A week of gourmet

..or at least I like to pretend it's gourmet.

Anyways, every Sunday I sit down and look through all of my cookbooks, and online resources and I come up with a weekly menu. I like to make something different every day. I also plan out lunches & snacks.

This week:

Monday - My man isn't home until Tuesday, so I just make myself a sandwich for dinner when it's just me.. so I don't have to worry about this day.

Tuesday - Chicken Satay Noodle Salad

Wednesday - Hash Brown Turkey Cutlets (sounds interesting I know.. don't worry, I'll post it when I make it)

Thursday - Shrimp Pasta Salad

Friday - Pesto Chicken on Rice

Saturday - Appy night with friends! I'm going to make jalapeno poppers wrapped in bacon, mini hot-dogs wrapped in puff pastry, and delicious guacamole & chips

Lunches (in no particular order):

-Smoked ham/havarti sandwiches
-Chicken & green pepper wraps
-Chicken pecan salad (ripped this off from Boston Pizza - it has chicken, hard boiled egg sliced up, shredded carrots, mozza cheese, cheddar cheese, salad, and ranch dressing)
-Thai Noodle Salad
-And on Friday's we always go out for lunch

**I also usually make soup to add to the lunch otherwise we both end up a little bit hungry still after our lunch.

Snacks:
-Hummus w/ carrots sticks
-granola bars (store bought right now, but next week I plan on making my own)
-hard-boiled eggs
** I just bought Woman's Day Magazine and it's got like 50 snacks under 50 calories. I didn't get any this week, but next week I'll be trying some out.. there's a lot of things in it that I didn't know were only 50 calories.


And here's a shot of all of my groceries - minus chicken, shrimp, soup etc that is already in my freezer/cupboard:

Spinach Salad with Shrimp & Feta

I made this tonight for myself - I was only cooking for 1, so that's why it looks like a small amount. I changed the ingredient amounts so that it was just enough for 1 person. Also note - the ingredients seem kinda funky (red wine, mustard, and honey???? I know..) and that's what I thought at first too, but it is absolutely mouth-wateringly delicious.


1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lb of shrimp, uncooked
4 green onions
2 tbsp vinegar
a couple splashes of red wine
1 tbsp spicy mustard
1 tbsp honey
salt and pepper
spinach
1/2 cup feta


1. In a frying pan, heat 3 tbsp of the olive oil. Cook shrimp until it turns pink. Throw in the green onions and sauté for a few minutes.


2. In a bowl big enough to mix your shrimp in, whisk together the vinegar, red wine, mustard, and honey. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in the remaining olive oil, whisking constantly.



3. Transfer the cooked shrimp to the bowl and toss. You want all of the shrimp coated with dressing.


4. Arrange some spinach on a plate, or in a bowl. Place the shrimp on top. Pour any remaining dressing over salad. Crumble feta on top.

Lasagna

This lasagna is really simple and delicious. You can make it as a meal that night, or you can freeze it and re-heat it when you just don't feel like cooking.


1 lb ground beef
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 package of whole-wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 small container of cottage cheese
1 large zucchini
1 cup low-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded

Brown ground beef over medium heat - approx 5 minutes. Add half the can of tomato sauce, and mix together. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Chop up the zucchini into thin strips.

In a casserole dish layer:
-noodles
-cottage cheese
-noodles
-ground beef
-zucchini
-noodles

On the top, pour the remaining tomato sauce and then sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake in a 350˚ oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the cheese begins to brown.

Turkey Curry on Flatbread

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1 cup plain yogurt
1 lemon
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
4 pitas or other flatbread, warmed
salt and pepper




1. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tbps of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and curry powder and cook, until the onion is softened - about 5 minutes.


2. Add the turkey meat and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until browned.


3. Stir in the feta cheese until blended. It will get all melty and gooey and delicious.


4. Grate the outside of the lemon into a little bowl - until you have a little heap of lemon zest.


5. Remove from heat, and stir in the yogurt. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice in.


6. In a small bowl, mix the tomato, parsley and remaining olive oil; season with salt and pepper.


7. Place a warm pita on each plate, split apart, and fill with the turkey and tomato mix. Roll up the pita and you're done!



The pitas can be replaced with wraps, or even toast.

Valentines Day Cards

I'll be sending these out to a few of my friends. This is just a little peak at the front.

coming soon...

Tip of the day

Slice up a peach and place in a zip-loc bag. Store in the freezer. The delicious frozen peach slices can be used in place of ice cubes in lemonade, or blended into a margaritas.

Easy like.. Saturday morning?

I try to make something different and really yummy every Saturday for breakfast.

Today it's chocolate chip pancakes w/ maple syrup and whip cream - the latter 2 were "light" versions, so I don't feel TOO guilty.

Dinner

Beef Curry Stir-fry.

Favourite books

I love books. I love reading books, I love looking at books, I love the way a bunch of books look sitting on a bookshelf. So I thought I'd show you some of my favourites.


I bought this for myself 3 months ago. It has soo many cute projects in it - and a few really awesome tips when it comes to zippers, darts, and things like that.


I'm working on this. I've never been able to wake up in a dream, realize it's a dream, and change things around. No matter how ridiculous the dream is, I never seem to realize I'm dreaming. Other people I know can manipulate things in their dreams as soon as they realize it's not real. This book teaches you tricks - like as soon as you see a certain object you're supposed to realize you're dreaming. Not working yet..


I want to make an afghan. My grandma used to make everyone afghans, and I want to start by making myself one big mis-matched afghan with different colors and different designs.


I don't belong to any kind of religion right now. I honestly don't know what to believe. However, I am intrigued by Wicca and the idea that everything that exists in nature is interconnected. This is kind of an intro course into those ideas. I was going to start this last summer, but I ended up being way too busy. I have it set aside now until the weather gets warmer. It's hardly a good idea to sit outside and embrace nature for 30 minutes when it's -15 outside.


This. Book. Is. AWESOME.
It teaches you everything you could possibly need to know being a girl in her 20's. It teaches you cleaning tricks, cooking tips, even how to play poker with the guys. I recommend all you girls to invest in this.



My mom gave me this cookbook a few years ago & I could not cook without it. It's got pretty much every single way to cook any kind of food & really clear, detailed instructions with pictures. Even if you think something is small - like how to hard boil an egg - it's in there.. believe me.


I love Rachel Ray. MOST of what I cook comes from her recipes.


I'm not sure where I got this - I think passed down from my mom. It's awesome. 'Nuff said.


This book actually belongs to the man of the house, but I've used it a few times to make delicious marinades & rubs. Highly highly recommend it. He bought it when it was already cold outside so we haven't used many of the recipes out of it just yet.

A summary of events

Meals we've had in the last 2 or 3 months:

Thai Salad & Edmame Beans:


Lemon Pepper Salmon with Sweet Potato fries and salad:


Chicken stir-fry & Greek Salad:


Steak - marinated and rubbed with a medley of spices; Green pepper stuffed with rice, feta, garlic, and cheddar cheese; and delicious garlic baby potatoes:


Cajun Turkey Pita w/ salad:


Spaghetti w/ garlic tomato sauce & imitation crab:

Before the madness

I thought I'd throw in a picture of me tackling my FIRST christmas dinner! I've made a turkey dinner once before, but it was Thanksgiving and for some reason it just doesn't count. Don't argue.

This was when the kitchen was still clean, I was still sane, and the house wasn't full of rowdy teenagers, 3 dogs and tipsy adults playing cranium and causing a ruckus. That's right, I said ruckus!

Spring Rolls

I would never in a million years have thought I would ever try to make spring rolls. In fact, if this was 5 years ago, I would never have even thought I would EAT spring rolls.

This was actually pretty easy.. I'm happy & will make them lots.


1 package of round rice paper wrappers
1 red pepper
1 yellow or green pepper
1 onion
4 or 5 green onions
1 package of bean sprouts
brown rice
dipping sauce of your choice - I used sesame ginger


Get your rice cooking. My mom gave me this rice cooker 2 years ago, but I had never used it until about 2 weeks before I made this. I LOVE it.



Slice all of your veggies into thin strips (no picture because I was too busy chopping).


Stir-fry all your veggies.



Take 2 rice papers (1 is too flimsy) and place them together into any kind of pan with warm water. Soak for 30 seconds until they become soft.






Take both rice papers out of the pan carefully - don't tear them!
Place them on a kitchen towel. I used paper towel and it stuck, so I spent 10 minutes pulling bits of paper off of the rice paper wrappers. I don't recommend it. Pat the top try with another towel. Place filling in the middle - make sure to leave some space on the top and bottom.




Roll it up, making sure to fold the top and bottom in as you're rolling.



Serve with rice and a dipping sauce of your choice.



And last but not least, sit back and eat your home-made spring rolls while you delight in the fact that you made something that is both totally healthy and totally delicious.

Black Bean & Chicken Tacos

2 cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
Whole-wheat low carb tortillas (I ran out - so I used Pesto)
1 cup canned black beans, drained & rinsed
3 or 4 green onions, chopped
1 cup lettuce, shredded
1 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, grated
1 tomato, sliced

Cook the chicken breast, then shred it and sprinkle with chili powder and cumin. Place on tortillas with remaining ingredients. If you want, top with green chili sauce and low-fat sour cream (it's delicious without those as well). Roll up and serve!

Makes 4 wraps
Recipe from Nutrition Magazine

That's not real bamboo..

I'm not sure how I found this site, but I did.

It's really cute! You can print out scrapbook paper, or there's just tons of scrapbook ideas.
There's also a section of 3D paper animals, toys, buildings, and everything else under the sun that you can print out and build.
Basically you just download the PDF, print it out, cut out all the pieces, and then glue everything together. The instructions are very easy to follow - I was quite impressed. And it's totally easy to do - the only annoying thing is cutting out all of the pieces. I've never been a fan of that part.. even cutting out sewing patterns is absolutely tedious and always makes me want to just quit the project.
BUT don't let me sway you - when you've finally finished cutting the pieces out, it's a barrel of fun!

I made a panda. Soon I'm going to make the little wiener dog - but I'm out of paper and one of the inks in my printer, so I need to go shopping first.

(I also have to color over all the fold lines on him - so ignore those pls & thx)





He's about 5 inches tall and 3 inches wide.