Never Quite Perfect

This pre-made Gingerbread house may
look normal, but the fail sauce is in
the massive amounts of icing that
is pooled in the inside because of my
ineptitude. 

I knew when I was about 12 years old that I would not be the type that could craft beautiful things and make it look effortless or make beautiful food that tasted delicious. I've never been the type of girl or woman that could just conjure up special. It's just not in me.

At least when it comes to those areas. I knew it at 13 when I was determined to make some chocolate cookies that I found the recipe to. We had nearly all the items and it seemed easy enough to just cover for the items I was missing. I was missing baking powder but decided to use baking soda instead and ended up with a puffy, sour tasting chocolate thing that my brother and mother both laughed at me for. And rightly so.

That one event has seems to have set the tone for the majority of my crafting/cooking life. I always end up missing something that is small, but has a certain role to play. I try to adjust or make do and it just ends up a disappointment. Mostly to me.

Could I possibly be the worst crafter in the world? Can I live my life in satisfaction if I cannot make one damn thing out of a Mason jar except a jar to hold things? Is my life empty if I do not own a set of rainbow-colored Sharpies, stencils or sponges used specifically for paint? I don't even own anything that has chalkboard paint on it.

I think I'll be able to live with it, but if you ever receive a handmade gift from me that isn't the written word, you just received a piece of my failure. Enjoy!

The Lazy Must End Someday, Might As Well Be Today

This pretty much sums up my attitude lately.

I realized this morning that I've been very lazy lately. I probably realized it a while back, but was completely unmotivated to do anything about it. Which really perpetuated my laziness.

Luckily, I'm not work lazy. When I'm there, I get shit done. But because I am productive at work, I use that as an excuse to be unproductive everywhere else. So I get home, run a few flights of stairs to meet my fitbit goal and then try to figure out what is the absolute least I can do to eat dinner. Oddly enough that has not meant fast food (that would require getting my car and leaving my apartment, both of which I'm too lazy to do) or cereal. Typically it means leftovers. Which is kind of a contradiction because leftovers imply that I was at one time in the not so distant past NOT too lazy to cook.

Another sign of my laziness, is my hitting of the snooze button. I never really do it. I don't typically believe that an extra 30 minutes or so of fitful sleep will make me any better off, but again, I've been too lazy to get up on the first try.

But today I decided to get off my lazy ass and start being productive outside of my day job. I did not, however, decide that until after I had hit the snooze button this morning. But nonetheless, the thought counts. I got home and did not watch a minute of TV until 8:30 when I sat down to dinner. Instead I not only ran my allotted stairs, but also did a toning routine. Then I made dinner, prepped lunch tomorrow, and roasted kale. As a side note on the kale, whoever says it tastes like chips clearly has never eaten chips.  I mean, it will do in a pinch for a quick hit of veggie vitamins, but roasted kale is not giving Lay's a run for its money.

In between all the kitchen maneuvers, I also did three loads of laundry, wrote on my book and am typing out this blog post. I plan on not hitting the snooze button ONCE tomorrow. And hopefully propelling this momentum for another day.

Except tomorrow instead of laundry, it's gonna be writing time. Today clean clothes, tomorrow clean soul.

I Like the Spice

Golden Chicken with spicy refried beans

Last night Chef opted to forgo my dinner. I don't blame him. Not my most stellar dinner. Mostly because I overcooked the chicken (it was a little dry) and he's not a jalapeno fan, so that knocked the spicy refried beans from his plate too. But we have a pact. he supports my efforts and if he doesn't want what I'm making, he can take care of himself. This helps take some of the pressure off of me. If I royally fuck up dinner, at least he won't starve.

Last night I had "Golden chicken with spicy refried beans". I added the salad greens because it needed some more green.  I would probably make this again, if only to work on how I cook chicken. To be honest, up until a few years ago, I couldn't even cut raw chicken. I used to gag and nearly vomit doing it in college. I always pictured myself cutting up human flesh. I realize this is irrational, but I kind of take pride in the fact that I can literally say that I don't have the stomach to become a serial killer. And can you really say that LITERALLY?

Anyway, I am proud that getting back in the kitchen has gotten me to eat things that I normally would've bypassed. For example, last night was my first time trying Cannellini beans. They were delicious. I also had Kale for the first time last week. Also delicious when roasted. I intend to keep trying more things and am open to sharing. Unless you start leaving "You never had Kale before?!?!" comments. I was not a very adventurous or healthy eater, people. This shouldn't shock you.

Can't wait to try tonight's black bean nacho pizza. Hope your dinner is delicious too!

Getting Back in the Kitchen: The Healthy Project

Sirloin with reduced balsamic
vinegar and roasted brussels
sprouts

During my visit to Indiana, I got to view Anne and Amanda's healthy habits. And it inspired me. Again. I feel like I need constant inspiration to do the healthy thing, but I also don't feel like I'm that unusual. Or maybe my mom ruined me. She gave me constant feedback--good and bad (but mostly good)-- and I got used to it. I love being acknowledged for even small things--if only in my head giving myself a gold star. I love gold stars. Even ones I give myself. It's that lethal combination of need for approval and competitiveness.

So after seeing and tasting delicious homemade food, I realized that I've been lazy and scared. I have been scared to get in the kitchen and attempt to cook and learn because Chef is clearly an expert (it's a little intimidating). And lazy because cooking takes time and effort and planning. All things that I've been neglecting for the last several weeks.

I hit some websites and used Pinterest to house a bunch of healthy recipes. I planned out the week, prepped my breakfasts and lunches, and visited the farmer's market, Whole Foods and the grocery store. After day one, I feel pretty good.

If I were to make the meal again, I'd:

• cook the sprouts lower and slower (our oven is gas and therefore weird).
• would use a little more olive oil on the sprouts (and a little less salt).
• reduce the balsamic more.
• Use the four cloves of garlic the recipe calls for instead of just two because I was chicken. However, the rosemary taste outweighed the garlic because of it.

Overall, I'd make the lemon raspberry muffins and the sirloin again.

The lemon raspberry muffins that I made for breakfast this week and  froze for the weeks to come. Be warned: they are delicious, but not sweet at all.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/lemon_raspberry_muffins.html

Chef cooked the steak because I didn't want to mess up something that expensive, but  that's all he did hands on. He was patiently helping me and giving me advice from the sidelines though.
http://www.1001recipe.com/recipes/food/sirloin_steak_with_rosemary_and_balsamic_reduction_sauce/

Holiday Spirit Quest Complete

16. Attend a Holiday Party
(Me at work party)

27 days ago, I wrote 25 things I wanted to do before Christmas to help get into the spirit. To be honest, I didn't think that I'd actually do all of them. The list seemed a little hokey and a little daunting (I couldn't possibly have time to celebrate the holidays. I was way too busy). But in the end, it was really fun and yesterday morning when Chef woke me up at 7 a.m. and said he was ready to open presents, it actually felt like Christmas. I know some of his enthusiasm (okay, most) was for my benefit, but that didn't matter. I had a blast getting into the spirit and while it wasn't like the old days (to be honest, I know it probably will never be and that's cool), it was great fun. I'll do another holiday spirit quest next year (perhaps with a few holiday cocktails on it).

Here's my spirit quest in pictures:

6. Resurrect one holiday tradition from my past. 
(We used to have Cinnamon Rolls every Christmas morning)

4. Go ice skating.

10. Bake Christmas cookies.

20. Go looking at Christmas lights and decorations

22. Make chocolate covered pretzels (and give most of them away too)

5. Make a Gingerbread house.

11. Send holiday cards.

8. Buy something tacky just because its seasonal.

21. Make puppy chow (and give most of it away).

23. Buy something that smells like Christmas. 

7. Put out at least one holiday decoration.

14. Stuff a stocking (or two).

I gave a gift to someone I didn't know (toy drive) and to someone without expecting one in return (you're gonna have to trust me on this one as I'm not doing a call out on the blog). I listened to Christmas music and appreciated the "12 days of Christmas" as well as the stamina of those who can sing this holiday version of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall."

I hope your holidays were just as spirited and fun as mine were.

Working on my Holiday Spirit Quest

I didn't do a ton this weekend to get into the spirit. After my trip to the edge with the Christmas music on Friday, I just worked on the sweet treats end. I've worked on my cards, but they're not quite ready. So officially off the list now are the making of the puppy chow and the putting up of one Christmas decoration. Here's how that went in pictures:

My Christmas Decoration: IU Santa and Mini Stocking

Puppy Chow before its sugar bath

After the sugar hits it. Or is that crack? Felt like it as I couldn't stop eating it all day!

Monday Meal

Meals are always better when Chef makes them. Not just because it's someone else doing the dirty work, but also because, as his name implies, he's better trained at these sorts of things.

In my one week effort (we're in week two now- yay!) to actually cook some meals, Chef got into the spirit by not only making the pot roast pictured, but suggesting it during our pre-shopping menu planning. And I have to say, that it was delicious. One might say excellent (and by "one" I mean me--the one who ate the thing like there was no tomorrow).

We also had a lovely side dish that I've requested for tonight. Because I'm now so bossy that I can request he make something again. Or maybe that's just a bonus of marriage, I'm not sure. But we had a side of Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon. Granted anything with bacon in it is awesome by association, but these had a flair of double awesomeness to them. I'd have taken a picture, but they weren't the prettiest. Brussels sprouts aren't super pretty when they're roasted. Just the tastiest.

One week down and it's been pumpkin ravioli, maple glazed chicken with Brussels sprout slaw, chicken tamale casserole and pot roast with Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon. Not too shabby of a week. I wish I could make more, but I'm off to Washington DC tomorrow for work. Although I'm sure to have some tasty meals there, too.

In the mean time, if you've got any more recipes or web sites to send my way, keep 'em coming! (And thank you).

A Success and South Park

Made a new recipe again tonight that actually was pretty good. Chicken tamale casserole from Cooking Light. Chef even liked it. It could use some additional veggies, but probably as a side dish. Chef was also great because he did the prep work on the chicken, which made life easier.

The enchilada sauce, seasoning and chiles gave it some kick. The cheese made it seem more decadent than it was. And isn't that the job of dairy in any good recipe? Decadence.



The other photo is a screenshot from an exceptionally funny episode of South Park that's actually happening to someone in real life. Well, to a certain extent. Read more here.

On another note, if you  happen to run past "Six Days to Air: The Making of South Park"  you should watch it. Whether or not you like the show, there are two things that this documentary does: 1) It really shows how hard working and brilliant Matt Stone and Trey Parker are, and 2) it shows just how much they still don't give two shits about anything that Hollywood thinks or thinks is funny. It's kind of nice to see people so much more concerned about making people laugh than being afraid to offend people. I wish I could be more like that.

Last Night's Dinner Theme: I tried!

Maple glazed chicken
with Brussels sprouts slaw

Last night I cooked dinner again. I'm back to at least attempting to cook 3 times a week instead of being my usual lazy self. So, if you have any good places you go to for healthy recipes, let me know (And thanks, Misty, for reminding me about Cooking Light). So I've attempted two dishes this week, both with low levels of success. 


I made pumpkin ravioli with a light cheese sauce and hazelnuts on Sunday. It was actually not too bad, but just didn't have a lot of POP. I think the flavors were supposed to be subtle but ended up as bland. And it's a fine line between subtle and bland. Too fine a line for a cook like me. 


Last night was the meal pictured: Maple glazed chicken with Brussels sprout slaw. I found out a few things: 1) I love roasted Brussels Sprouts but I do NOT like raw ones. Even with a nice vinaigrette and dried cranberries. 2) That maple and red wine vinegar might smell like crap when reducing but don't taste too badly together. and 3) I still overcook chicken like nobody's business. I wish I wasn't afraid to give someone food poisoning, but I am.  And that makes me cook the shit out of things. The chicken was terribly overdone, but did need the steak knife for adequate slicing. 


Anyway, here's where I'm at:

• Pages of fiction read: 55% of a 400 page book (Mockingjay). So, that's technically 220 pages.
• Fiction read: Mockingjay. I'm going to be sad when it's over. 
• Fiction listened to via audiobook: None, but I just got the two final Stieg Larsson books because I can't seem to read them and the Confederacy of Dunces, because I've always wanted to read that, but never seem to remember.
• Five pages written: Yes!!! Still reworking a new beginning to the book. started a brand new section. I'm now up to 45 pages of NEW material in four weeks.
• Calorie tracking: Check. a whopping 281 calories OVER than my daily goal. Last week was not a good one. hence the new recipes, etc. 
• Exercise: 265 minutes of exercise in the last week. 
• Friends and family: Yup. A friend AND a family member got phone calls this week.  
• Weight Loss:0 lb (did you SEE the calorie overage? Of course I didn't lose weight!)
• One revised section of novel per week:  Check! Got about 8 pages of a transition to the main story.

Trader Nos (and Some Yes Stuff too)

Chef and I have become fans of Trader Joe's since we moved to LA. They had opened a few Trader Joe's in Nashville but honestly, laziness got the better of me when we lived there. Mostly because although the Trader Joe's was only about 5 miles away, those 5 miles were going into Green Hills. And anyone whose tried to get anywhere in Green Hills knows those are the WORST 5 miles in the town.

The Trader Joe's in LA is across the street from our Ralph's (aka Kroger West) so it makes it much easier. We've been trying out some new items as I've been lowering my calorie count and Chef has been lowering his eating. Here are some winners and losers.

Losers:

• Chile Lime Chicken Burgers: I was looking for a lower cal alternative to a beef burger. This one had some weird spice and peppers and-GASP-cilantro. I had to use a lot of ketchup to drown out the taste.
• BBQ Teriyaki Chicken: It just seemed weird that you make this in the microwave and it's supposed to taste good. And that was the big difference. It didn't taste good.
• Falafel patties: Crumbled too easily when you stick a fork in them and the spice is off. Not horrible, but I got them a few months ago and haven't got them again.

Winners:

• Mandarin Orange Chicken: Gets crispy in the oven. Need I say more? Okay, the sauce is pretty damn good too.
• Soft & Juicy Mango Slices: This is one of Chef's favorites. They only carry it every so often so when he sees it, we stock up. Nice, sweet dried fruit.
• Peanut butter-filled pretzels: Haven't gotten these lately not because I don't like them, but because I can't control myself when I eat them. They're crazy good. Shout out to Michelle for introducing me to these bad boys. And curses too because there's a dimple of fat that I blame you for.
• Chicken Tikka Masala: Haven't gotten it in a while because I always get the Naan too and that makes the meal a little calorie crazy and carb heavy, but this is DELICIOUS for a quickie.

That's it for now. What are your favorite Trader Joe's finds? Always looking for a new culinary adventure. Or ready made meal. Depends on the night.

Chicken Parm Night Treated Us Alright

I used a Cooking Light recipe tonight for some Chicken Parmesan. It might have been "light" but it was also delicious. I have to admit that I fudged mine up. The pan wasn't hot enough and I was impatient, so the first round of tenders stuck to the pan. Chef intervened for his round. Even thought they weren't perfect looking, my tenders were delicious.

So three nights down and two to go. Tomorrow features one of my new favorite vegetables: brussel sprouts. Damn, those things are delicious. Just roasted with some salt, pepper and olive oil.

Cooking is nice but thankfully doesn't take up all night. What is there to watch on TV this summer? It seems like nothing. Everything on Showtime and HBO is ending, except for TrueBlood and FINALLY Entourage. Nothing good on network TV. No good sports. I guess I'll have to spend more time reading!

Well, I liked it

Tonight we had artichoke chicken pasta, a recipe from an American Heart Association cookbook, by the way. I love artichokes. I love olives, feta, olive oil, Mediterranean spices, all that stuff. And I love them all together.

Apparently my love to artichokes blocked out the fact that Chef isn't a fan. I swear that I asked him, but clearly I didn't listen too closely to the answer because I had two dishes this week featuring artichokes. One was put on hold and was a pizza, so luckily, I can adjust that accordingly.

Nevertheless, tonight's dish featured artichokes heavily (as evident by the title) as well as lemon, garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and a bit of olive oil. It seemed to be a good, lighter flavored summer kind of recipe. And I loved it. It was flavorful, delicious and filled me up. Three things I look for in any meal. Add some salad on the side and BAM, I'm good to go. Needless to say, Chef wasn't the biggest fan as it tasted strongly of artichokes.

It was an easy recipe that only took about 30 minutes start to finish (Chef awesomely cut and cooked the chicken for me) and came in at 298 calories per serving. I probably could've used whole wheat pasta to lower some of the sugars, but I didn't.

So night two of cooking is under the belt. Tomorrow is a baked chicken parm (non-breaded). I'm kind of excited that we're eating some different stuff. I'm a little nervous because we've had leftovers both nights and I'm thinking that we might have to have a "clean out the fridge" dinner. Although I can't really complain about having too much food that's ready to eat after having no prepared food options, can I? Of course I can. The grass is always greener. . .

Just a food question that's a little off topic, but when did IHOP start thinking that diabetic-coma inducing carnival food was a good marketing strategy? Funnel cakes are not main dishes. Putting syrupy fruit and whipped cream on everything does not translate into a fruit serving and a dairy serving. Stuffing pancakes or French toast or crepes with cream cheese is not the best start to the day. Am I the only one whose noticed this?

Putting the "Um" in Hump Day

As in "um, why did I wait so long to send out that email?" Or "um, why is my list of things to do suddenly twice as long as it was yesterday?". I know the reason. One part procrastination, two parts internal meetings to get things rolling and a healthy pinch of summer. Is it just me or does it seem like it takes longer for things to happen on a business front in the summer? People are randomly on vacation, out for Fridays, taking an afternoon off to go watch their children's baseball/softball/soccer games. Except for the last one, that would describe me, as well.

But today is Wednesday which means that tomorrow is Thursday and then we're in the home stretch for two days of player's choice. I'm choosing sometime soon to get a mani/pedi and do some organizing. Plus my friends up north were all excited about going organic, shopping at the farmer's market and eating in season. It inspired me to do a few things--or rather resume some things I'd been doing: 1) making a log of the next week's meals and deriving the list from that and 2) eating more vegetables. I forget how much I love things until I start talking about them to others. The passion with which I described roasted brussel sprouts made me realize that they aren't in my life enough.

So here's where I need your help. I'm stuck in a cooking rut. Send me your best recipes or favorite web sites for recipes, please!!

Doing As Little As Possible For As Long As Possible

For the last couple of days, I've managed to do very little. Cat maintenance, basic personal hygiene and a lot of cooking. However, I have not once opened my computer up and since last Wednesday, have had very little thoughts about work.

I'm suddenly conflicted. Am I just not thinking about work because we're closed or am I so willing to let it go because I'm driven to be driven? Without a constant challenge and stroking of the fires, do I easily give up and go back to my normal slovenly ways?

Whatever it is, I know that things will only get rougher as we approach heart month (February for all you normal people out there), so I'm going to be as slovenly as possible with the majority of my exertion spent on preparing food. Because I love food and eating. . . taquitos are up for lunch!

But until the alarm beckons me to wake for a purpose other than cooking or hitting the stores before they get too crowded, I will be lazy.

Taquitos are a good time

Lately we've been having taquitos at least once a week--sometimes more if we run out of dinner options. Tonight is taquito night this week and it left me thinking a few things.

• Is there really such a thing as a taquito or was it made up by the frozen food companies because frozen tacos suck? I got my answer.
• Isn't a taquito just a smaller version of an chimichanga? Isn't a chimichanga a fried version of an enchilada? Isn't an enchilada an open ended version of a burrito? Is there any Mexican food that isn't a derivative of another dish?
• Avocado is a god-like food that can be smeared on nearly anything edible to make it delicious. It's becoming my slightly healthier version of cheese in that sense.

Anyway, because I've been asked before, I'll post my "recipe" for taquitos, which really isn't a recipe, but just a tested method of making these things healthier and still very crispy. Here goes:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place one to two cookie sheets in to warm up (I hate you Sandra Lee, but I love this tip).
2. Brown some ground turkey (yes, turkey) then add water, taco seasoning, garlic, paprika, red pepper flakes, minced onion, cayene pepper and whatever else you like until it tastes how you'd like it. Honestly the taco seasoning does a lot of the work, but I like making it a little spicier.
3. Next take about 5 taco size corn tortillas and place them between two moist paper towels. Nuke them for one minute. Okay, here's my corn tortilla sidebar: I have a preference for Kroger brand corn tortillas (and I rarely have a preference for anything related to Kroger) for three reasons: 1) They are only 35 calories per tortilla as opposed to other grocery stores (Harris Teeter I'm talk to you) that have about 50+ calories per tortilla 2) They're cheap--like 70 cents for a pack of 10 and 3) they seem to roll better than other brands-no idea why.
4. After the tortillas are warm, take one and slice it in half. Have both pieces with the long side facing you on a cutting board and put in the ground turkey and , if you like, a small pinch of cheese. Warning--make sure the ground turkey is in small bits because a chunk might make the roll impossible.
5. Roll up and push down to get to stick. Roll as many as desired--10-15 per person should be plenty for a meal.
6. Take cookie sheet out of the oven and spray with Olive Oil flavored Pam. Place taquitos on pan in rows and spritz tops with Olive Oil Pam. Bake for about 5-10 minutes--until slightly brown. Then flip and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes. Taquitos are now crispy and delicious.

Ten taquitos are about 375 calories without guacamole or salsa. Not too bad a way to be bad. Mmm, now I'm hungry. Okay, spread the love of taquitos, people.