Saturday, May 12, 2012

Finals ALMOST completed!

Finals.  Ugh.  Every college student's evil nemesis.  Even those of us finishing school ten years later than originally planned (oops) dread this week.  So, because I'm so incredibly awesome at foresight, I re-start the blog at the beginning of the most hated week ever.  Brilliant, I tell you.

You can obviously read how well THAT endeavor turned out. I guess I should clarify.  Most of the week was actually pretty good.  I've got some serious work to do this weekend regarding breakfasts and lunches, but we have had some amazing dinners from home this week.  In fact, every night except for Tuesday (class night) we had dinner.  I call that a success. (My blog, my award system)

So here's how we fared:

I made Peruvian Chicken Monday night.  I freaking love this stuff.  For real.  I am pretty sure that I could eat it every day.  I still long for the real Pio Pio in NYC (which is not a negotiable on my NYC trip in 2.5 weeks.  We WILL eat there), but I am getting pretty dang close with my recipe.  It's a little Peru via NYC via KS. I also made Cilantro Lime Rice (I add extra lime) to go with it, and sauteed some asparagus.  DELISH.

I know that I've mentioned time and time again what troopers my kids are when it comes to trying new foods.  They really are, though.  When I make this now, even they love to get extra Aji Verde sauce.  You know how there are some things that sometimes you are secretly glad that only you enjoy?  Because maybe you are a tiny bit selfish about some things still?  Yeah, this used to be one of those things for me.  Now its a fight to see who gets the last drop of the sauce.  I even doubled it this time. 

Tuesday night was class.  That meant a crappy sandwich...but afterwards I enjoyed a lovely Tallgrass Oatmeal Cream Stout.  Its my current favorite stout. (mmmm...speaking of...)
Wednesday night I decided to try another brand new recipe. Before I post it, though, I have to admit something.  I am one of those individuals who is completely guilty of pinning TONS of recipes on Pinterest that I NEVER get around to making.  They look amazing, and I may even make a pretense of a list to get the ingredients to make some of the things...and no.  I'm resolving to change some of that, and this is one of the recipes that I've had on there the longest that I've been wanting to try.

I made these Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls, because I figured they were a.) pretty dang healthy, and b.) pretty dang easy.  When you can get healthy AND easy, and as an added bonus the stuff comes out tasty...you are pretty much supermom.  Cape optional.
They were actually good.  Were they as good as fried egg rolls?  Do you even need to ask that question?  But I was pleased with how they turned out.  I made some for the kids without the hot sauce, and was declared the best cook in the galaxy by my four-year old.  That's right son.  Don't you forget that mommy's the best.  :)

Moving on to Thursday.  I have to admit, this is the night we *ALMOST* blew it, but thankfully, in a moment of clarity, we persevered.  I hadn't set anything out the night before, so I really had no idea what I should make.  Then I remembered that I had some Pernil (which is an outstanding Puerto Rican style pork) that I had made up about a month ago, and had frozen.  I popped that package in the microwave, whipped up another batch of Cilantro Lime Rice, simmered a can of black beans on the stove with a little butter (1 T. per can of beans), and fired up the grill.  I took a zucchini out of the fridge and sliced it on the diagonal, and then gave it a toss in some EVOO and minced garlic.  When the grill was hot, I grilled the zuchinni, and then assembled everything  listed above into a tortilla,  plus some shredded cheddar cheese (of course.  A burrito is simply NOT a burrito without shredded cheese), and some of our favorite salsa (if you LOVE some heat to your food, I highly recommend you trying this salsa.  You're welcome in advance.)
Once everything was in the tortilla, I spritzed it with a little EVOO, and plopped it back on the grill to crisp up. 

I'm in love.  Like, leave-me-alone-while-I'm-eating-this-or-you-might-lose-a-limb love.  I love it when stuff I throw together COMES together.  And I kept it healthy (aside from the carb-loaded tortilla, but who's counting that?)

So, we move on to Friday.  Have you ever heard the term "Friday night letdown?"   Doobs always used to tell us that on Friday nights, and we didn't understand why she could possibly have no energy left ?  Friday nights are party nights, right?  Enter Kylie's thirties...exit party nights.  Friday nights=Friday night letdown. Talk about hitting walls.  (yes, plural)  This whole last week, I had wanted to try a pizza on the grill, though, and this seemed like a great night to try it.  (Especially because I had a paper due at midnight.  That's always a good time to experiment with all things culinary).  I decided to try a meatless option, and I'm sure glad I did.  I even made the crust (just the dough on that link, nothing else.  I also subbed 1 1/3 c. of white flour with whole wheat flour).

Prep work looks delish, huh???

After all was grilled, I set the squash/zucchini to the side, put the blackened peppers in a Ziploc baggie for about half an hour (this lets the skin steam, and it will peel right off).  I split the dough into two pizzas, and saved one of the crusts for tomorrow.  The other I placed on the grill, brushed with EVOO, and waited until it started to brown a little.  Then I flipped it to cook on the reverse.  I used Pesto for my sauce (of the Trader Joe's variety), and fresh mozzarella as my cheese (again, no cheese= not a real pizza).  I topped with all my grilled veggies, and when all was melted, I pulled it off the grill, and while still hot, added the Pièce de résistance....a sprinkling of goat cheese.  Who needs meat?  I would literally eat this every. single. day.
And my wonderful, glorious, fantastic piece...
So, that is our dinner menu for the last week.  I've got lots of plans for this weekend to help us get the whole package (you know, breakfast, lunch, AND dinner) thing down, so stay tuned!

Cheers!


Sunday, May 6, 2012

Round 2

Holy Cow.  It has been three months since I've blogged.  Three. Stinking. Months.  Where has the time gone?  I mean, I know people say that all the time, but really?

First things first.  Confession time.  I stink at holding myself accountable.  I get on a bandwagon for a good three, four weeks at a time...and then I fall off the face of the earth.  Maybe it's commitment issues?  I'm not sure. Once I stopped writing, we slowly fell back into our old habits. You know things have gotten out of control when your husband asks you if it would be possible for you to cook something. Oops.  Finals, homework, kids, etc...it's not an excuse.  Everyone has a busy schedule, and I am certainly no exception to that rule.

The thing is, I really LOVE to cook...and not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty damn good at it, too.  I've mentioned it time and time again on here.  It's my therapy.  Some people shop, others drink...and I while I do enjoy  both of those things immensely as well, cooking is MY time.  I don't like to have others in the kitchen while I'm cooking.  It's a freaking chaotic mess.  I'm here, I'm there...and please don't be in my way, or I'll get irritated...and that's exactly what I'm trying to get over while I'm in there.

So, here we go.  Back to the basics.   I can say that I am more confident starting this time around, since finals are nearly over. I also am going to cut myself some slack.  If I don't post every single night? I know that you won't stop being the loyal readers that you are.  I hope you are as excited as I am to tackle this project again. Also, before too long, my garden will start producing...and things will get REAL exciting then.  (see?  total foodie nerd.)

Ok, so here's the game plan.  I have exactly three weeks and 2 days before I leave for New York.  During that time, I would like to cook as many meals as possible from home because; 1.) I want to save money to actually GO to NYC and 2.) I want to lose another 8-10 lbs before I go.  Once in NYC, all bets are off, as I will be enjoying every single last morsel of food and drop of wine.  Upon return, the blog is back up and running, but this time, it's not just about a thirty day challenge. 

This time around is also going to include my progression towards my first 5k.  I started training about a month ago...and it's been about two weeks since I've done anything toward that, too.  Geesh.  Issues, I tell you.  I want to do the Koman Race for the Cure race in August in KC.  Obviously, it an important cause to me (Love you Doobs)...but finally losing the rest of my weight also helps decrease the chance that I, too, could develop breast cancer.

So here goes.  Round 2.  Less Pressure.  A built in fan base and cheering club.  Are you ready for this?

Dinner tonight:  Marinated sirloin steak with blue cheese sauce,  Grilled sweet potato medallions (if you have never had sweet potatoes on the grill, go fire that bad boy up RIGHT. NOW.  I promise you that you will call me and thank me.), and frozen SteamFresh peas.  I even grilled the steaks and potatoes myself (I'm high fiving myself.  Seriously. Score 1 Kylie.) This meal was delicious.  My kids ate every single bite on their plates, including some of the sauce.
I should have taken a before picture of my refrigerator before Chris cleaned it out today, but it was insane...and now it's ready to go for our new and improved challenge.  I went to the grocery store, and stocked up on everything healthy.  We've got healthy snacks, sides, main courses.  It's going to be fantastic.  While it doesn't seem like three months ago, I do know that I felt SO much better when I was in charge of what was going in my family's mouth.  Physically, I felt better myself.  Processed food just makes you feel so lethargic and tired, and you fall into this vicious cycle of eating out because you're tired, when really...it's probably what is making you tired.  So, again...
Ready...Set...Go.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Has it REALLY been a week?

First, a show of virtual hands for those that thought I had possibly fallen off the face of the earth, let alone given up the good fight of the thirty day challenge.  Yep, that's what I thought.  Most of you!!  That's okay, because not posting for a whole week is insane, but that's kind of how this week has been...between my job, an accounting final for me, a statistics test for Chris, a major room redecoration over the weekend, and just day to day endless freaking activities (not to mention also having a four year old and a five year old)...I fell behind on blogging.  I've missed it though, so I'm back to it.

So, upfront, I will admit that since my last post, we have ordered pizza twice.  In our defense, once was Friday night when we were really too exhausted to care anymore, and once was Sunday, when we had my parents over helping us finish my daughters room (which didn't get finished until 11pm on Sunday night.  We all had to work Monday.  I'm sure we were superstars that day.)  So, that puts our dinner count at 2.

Lunch?  Yeah, well, that's been a bit of struggle.  Last Friday, I broke down and bought lunch, since I had been SO good all week long...
  
That's right.  I bought two tacos from Tacos El Sol.  Worth every single penny of the $3 I spent on them.  I figure, if I bring my lunch every day, then rewarding myself at the end of the week with a couple of pan fried tacos is well deserved   :)  (again, my blog, my rules!  ha!)
Ok, so on to the stuff that I have cooked (because, believe it or not, throughout the past week, I still cooked quite a bit...or at least warmed the frozen stuff we had purchased.  Still counts.)

Breakfast:

I've had Trader Joe's Country Pumpkin Spice Granola (super delish)...

I've made up breakfast burritos...
And my newest invention.  Remember when I made the pancake sandwiches?  Well, I decided to get a little more creative, and this is what I came up with.  A regular pancake stuffed with turkey sausage, cheese, and scrambled eggs.  Brilliant, right?  It's really not that much different that actually making the pancake.  Put the batter down, and once it's set a little, add the sausage, cheese, and egg, and then pour a little batter on top to cover.  Flip like normal, and...viola!  The only thing I am not sure of with these bad boys is how well they would reheat after being frozen.  On the sandwiches you can take off the other pancakes if they start to get too hot, but these you obviously can't, so...if you aren't going to eat them within a couple of days, I may reconsider. 

Lunches have been mostly leftovers.  I know, I know.  Boring stuff.  But how else are you supposed to effectively use up the leftovers in your fridge?  Besides...this really is a huge step for me people.  I mean, bringing my lunch...whoa.  But bringing leftovers for my lunch?  Previously unheard of.

Dinner the last week...well, besides the two nights of pizza, we have had:
Garlic sauteed shrimp with pinto beans, Spanish orzo, homemade guac, and chips and cheese.  (this would be the night my daughter decided to go all manipulative on my husband....since all my readers are my facebook friends, you will recall this situation.)  It was SO good.  Actually, here is another picture:
I know that it seems odd, but seriously...this is one of the best burritos combinations that I have ever had, from any place.  I don't know that it would be good the next day, but this night?  Holy cow good.  It's a weird combo, but it you try it, you'll love it.  Promise.  That was Thursday.

Friday night was pizza delivery, mostly because we rock.

Saturday night was all about the frozen conveniences that Trader Joe's has to offer.  (yeah, I know I mention them a lot.  I can't help it.  I love their stuff.)  We had a full Chinese meal for four that cost us less than $10 total.  Score 1 for Team Ericson.
Pork Pot Stickers, Chicken fried rice, and mandarin chicken.  We saved ourselves at least $20 by not ordering this from the regular Chinese restaurant, and honestly?  It was just as good.  You really do owe it to yourself to get some good quality frozen food to have on hand, because when you want Chinese and you have all this in your freezer...you're good to go.

So Sunday night was another Pizza night...wow, awesomeness two nights in a weekend!

Monday night was tacos. I don't know why I didn't think to take a picture, but I didn't.  I had made a bunch of taco meat up about a month ago and had stuck it in the freezer, so it's a great go to meal.  And who doesn't love Tacos?  I'm pretty sure that I could eat them every single day of my life.  I definitely know they would be on my last meal menu should I ever find myself on death's row. (weird thing to think about, I know)

Tuesday night was class...which means Sandwiches.

Tonight was something a little different.  I made two different types of Stromboli.  A pizza one for the kids with homemade marina, fresh mozzarella, pepperoni, and fresh grated Romano and Parmesan cheese.  I also added some pesto as well.  It was fantastic!



For our Stromboli, though, I wanted a little spice.  I used three alarm cheese, habanero cheese, party time ham, a little olive oil, some Chili Lime seasoning, some Chipotle Rub, super sharp cheddar cheese, Havarti cheese, red onions, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted red bell peppers. (I know this seems like lots of cheese, but I cut my cheese really thin with a veggie peeler...so I can use lots of different kinds!) 


This. Was. Amazing.  I realize that sometimes it's frustrating to read my blog and see that I don't really use measurement of any kind...but that's just how I roll.  :)  Seriously, I hate measuring, so unless I'm forced to because I'm baking or making pancakes, I just don't do it!  We paired the Stromboli's with some nice leafy salads, and had a great, quick meal1

Lastly, I thought I would share that my kids are getting into the spirit of this, as well.  Tae decided she was going to make snacks for everyone this weekend, and this is what she brought:
I was actually really proud of her, because she did, for the most part, make some really healthy choices!

So that catches up our week.  Again, I apologize for my lack of posting, and will definitely work on not letting that happen again!

Until then, much love and good eats!

Cheers!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Celebration of Sorts

Today we are about two and a half weeks into this challenge...which means that we've made it over halfway!  I thought it only fair to give an updated tally of where we stand so far:

Chris- 3 lunches, no breakfasts bought

Kylie- 1 lunch, 1 breakfast bought

Dinner eaten out when we could have eaten in:  0!!!!!!

I'm actually REALLY proud of those stats!  Those are manageable levels...lunch or breakfast once a week is definitely not a deal-breaker.

Yesterday was class day for both of us. I thought and thought about what I wanted to have for breakfast, and the only thing that I could really think of that I wanted was...more no-bake cookie oatmeal.  I have literally had it for three days straight.  I'm going to try to go for something different tomorrow, but who knows.

Lunch yesterday was cottage cheese and nice leafy salad (spring mix and baby spinach).  I also added feta cheese, and used some  strawberry balsamic vinegar and tuscan herb olive oil for the dressing.  Remember when I talked about certain ingredients being worth it to spend a little more on?  Balsamic vinegar and olive oil definitely fall into that category for me.  When you have great ingredients, you don't need a lot of extra things on your salad to have a fantastic, tasteful meal.  Trust me.  I have both the generic kind and the good stuff in my cupboard...you're welcome to come over and taste the difference.


There's this wonderful little shop called The Tasteful Olive in Old Overland Park, KS.  The shop has all kinds of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars, and you can taste them before you buy them.  LOVE this place, and I highly recommend trying it out, especially if you are still getting a feel for the kinds of tastes that you like.  As an added bonus, Penzey's spice store (love, love, love) is two buildings down, so you can load up on all the good spices while you're there as well...and again, you can sample before you buy! (PS-if you do go to The Tasteful Olive, don't actually DRINK the olive oil, just taste it on your tongue.  Otherwise you may find yourself burping olive oil for the next six hours.  Right, Chris?)

For dinner last night...

Kidding, Kidding.  (well, kind of...)  I actually went out to dinner (this one was planned for, so I don't count it as impromptu dining out! ;)  My blog, my rules!  ha!) with my classmates to celebrate the fact that we made it through our accounting class!!  Whoohoo!!  This delicious beer was Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  It. Was. Delicious.  I ordered a chicken queso wrap as my meal, but it wasn't that great.  Good thing the beer was so it wasn't a total loss!

For lunch today, I had leftovers...I know, I'm proud of myself, too.  I actually took some of the jambalaya stew stuff that we had made the other night that I had frozen.  I'll admit...it wasn't too bad.

Dinner tonight was probably one of my favorite meals that we've had so far, and it was one of the simplest.  I made turkey burgers on whole wheat buns with chipotle mayo, some provolone and super-sharp cheddar cheese, grilled onions, and romaine lettuce.  We had some garlic fries that were pretty dang good, too.


Long story short?  We're still eating good.

Cheers!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Case of the Mondays

Peter: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you're not feelin' real well, does anyone ever say to you, 'Sounds like someone has a case of the Mondays'?

Lawrence: No. No, man. ... I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man.

Talk about a case of the Mondays for me.  Phew.  I am GLAD that this one is over.  I've been struggling with balance in my life lately, and today, I finally had an epiphany...it's time to let some things go.  I can't do everything.  I know, I know, sounds pretty cryptic, right?  I don't even know for sure what it is that I am going to let go of, but I do know that it's definitely time to re-prioritize.


One of the shocking things about this particular challenge for me though, is that while this would SEEM like it's adding one more thing to my life, in actuality it's forcing me to make time for myself, everyday, to do something that I love to do.  While I am cooking dinner, I can actually feel stress leaving my body. It's therapeutic, in that cooking forces me to NOT think about the rest of the day...and when I can look back on the day, after I've had that step away, the things that I thought were so pressing seem less important.  The little faces and hands that helped me make the dinner come back into the forefront, where they are supposed to be.

When my husband, kids, family, and friends enjoy eating what I've prepared, I feel proud, and accomplished.  I can't tell you how good it makes me feel to KNOW what my kids are eating, but to see them getting involved too.  Since I've started this, we've tried lots of different recipes, and they've tried every single one of them like little troopers.  Not only are we becoming more well-rounded and focused on what we are eating, they are as well.  We constantly talk about what food is healthy, and what kinds of foods are okay to eat only in little amounts. 

Then there are my friends that read this everyday, and post words of encouragement, or send me emails, or stop me in the halls at work or in the grocery store and tell me that I've inspired them.  Wow.  That's an incredible compliment, and it means so much to me that you are willing to give a small portion of your day to read about how mine went.  I now have people sending me recipes to try, as well!!  Believe me, I will be trying them, and taking pictures of them, and giving you props!   (PS- I totally have eight official followers of my blog.  You guys rock.)

Holy cow that was some serious stuff.  Heavy, man.  While I joke around and do my best to spread my narcissism and sarcasm as far as it will go (which is pretty damn far), this challenge really has changed a lot of things in my world, so I thought it only fair to share as much.

On to the main events...today's meals!!  I received an email last night from my friend Nicole with another suggestion for me on how to eat oatmeal, and I have to say, I was instantly intrigued.  I actually wanted to go to the kitchen right after I read her email and make this for myself, but I refrained so that I could have the tasty treat in the morning as breakfast.  Do you like No-Bake Cookies?  They are one of my faves...and if you like them, you will LOVE this:
That's right.  No-Bake Cookie Oatmeal.  Boom.  How, you ask?  SO EASY!!  I still used my Trader Joe's steel cut oats (still got the texture complex), but per Nicole's recipe, I added a packet of Sugar Free Hot Chocolate Mix, and a tablespoon of peanut butter (hooray for extra protein!).  AAAAAHHHHHHHHH! (This is my equivalent of the heavens opening up, God coming down and placing my breakfast plate in front of me, and telling me "Yes, Kylie, you may eat cookies every day for breakfast for the rest of your life and you will never gain weight from them again.")  Nicole, I owe you big time for this one.  I can't wait to let my kids try this!

I didn't actually eat lunch today, as some of the earlier musings from the blog weighed pretty heavily on my mind...but by three I was ready to start thinking about dinner!!  I wanted something a little lighter.  I remembered a recipe that I had seen on SkinnyTaste.com for a lighter Chicken Parmesan, so I used that as my inspiration as to what to have for dinner, even thought I didn't actually follow the recipe very well.  Here is my adaptation. (Instead of typing all my recipes on here for you to have to read through, I started a little side blog just to post my own recipes I make up, or recipes that I've used from others that I can't find an electronic link to post.)

This was REALLY good, and REALLY healthy as well.  Another score for a full day of healthy meals!  Tayler started to get excited as it was cooking, because she thought it smelled like pizza.  She told me tonight that anything that had red sauce on it like pizza was just "so delicious".  Totally agree, kid. 

So, that's the day.  Not a bad one by any means, but definitely one that got me thinking, and left me grateful.  Tomorrow night is class night, so I guess I had better go and see what I can whip up! Until tomorrow night...

Cheers!




 

Sunday, January 29, 2012

A New Week, A Better Plan

I said it last night, but I will say it again.  I seriously can't believe that the weekend goes by so incredibly fast.  Today was another busy day filled with family and friends.  Church this morning, followed by a baby shower this afternoon for Shelley, one of my friends from high school.  She's having twin girls, and she looks so adorable!!  I also got to see several other friends at the shower today, so it was a good afternoon. Chris's parents came up to see us today as well, and we spent the evening hanging out, cooking, and laughing.

Chris and I decided to approach this week with a better game plan, so that we're not (for lack of a better completely accurate sentiment) completely pissed every morning as we try to gather our lunches for the day or incredibly perturbed at having to figure out what we are making for dinner every night.  We've made a meal plan.  (yes, duh, I realize NOW that we should have been doing this all along.  Getting the ingredients for twelve recipes just seemed like enough.  I didn't realize scheduling when to actually make them would make that much difference.)

So, tonight we tried two new recipes that were outstanding.  Again, we pulled them from the Guy Fieri cookbook I mentioned a couple of posts again.  If there is one thing that Fieri does, it's infuse A LOT of flavor into his dishes. We made two different kinds of sandwiches for dinner with his folks, but we also doubled the recipes so we could freeze some and take some for lunches this week, too.

First up was a Jambalaya Sandwich.  CAUTION:  IF YOU ARE A VEGETARIAN DO NOT CLICK ON THE PRIOR LINK!!! (I'm sure by now I would have scared any of them off anyway with as much meat as this family eats.  That being said...) I don't know that I have EVER in my LIFE put this much meat into one meal.

This. Is. Amazing.   The recipe has some outstanding spiciness to it.  I did add some cornstarch when the cooking time was up to thicken the sauce a bit, which the recipe does not call for, but makes the sauce even better, if that's possible.  Not only was this DELICIOUS as a sandwich, but I think it will be amazing on top of rice too.  (also, a side note.  If you decide to double this recipe, please be prepared to spend at least an arm, if not a leg as well, buying the meat for this.  I will be watching sale ads even more closely now so that I can afford to make this again! ha!)

For our second sandwich option of the night, we made Saigon Pork Subs.  We were not disappointed with these, either.  Very nice spiciness, and the pork was SO tender.  This dish does take a little longer to cook though, so if you decide to make this one, make sure to plan ahead time-wise.  At least I didn't start it at 8pm as I have some other slow cooked pork recipes in the past. The cucumbers are marinated, so they lost some of their fresh cucumbery taste, which is good for me since normally I can't stand them.  They work well with this sandwich, though. 
Sheri, my mother-in-law, makes out of this world pie from scratch, and she brought us a coconut cream pie today that she had made.  SO GOOD.  This was our dessert for the night.  It was honestly a perfect end to a great meal.  Thanks Sheri!!

So, tomorrow we start with the new game plan.  Hopefully this week finds us less harried.  We may even sit around in a circle and sing Kumbaya since we will be so organized and harmonious with this new meal plan.  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Cheers!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Strong Start and Finish

It's the weekend!!  Whoohoo!!  Well, technically now it is over halfway through the weekend.  Funny how these two day go SO fast, but the rest of the week seems to take so long!

I've been remiss in posting the last several days, and I will try to get back on the blogging bandwagon every night.  Last night was not so much that I didn't want to post, but that I was disappointed in the days results.  Let me start from the beginning...

I started off incredibly strong yesterday morning.  I decided I would make a breakfast casserole to take to work, since I do have some pretty fantastic co-workers, and they have been pretty great about keeping me motivated.  Back before Christmas, I had found a recipe from one of my Pampered Chef cookbooks for a breakfast braid that I had made for my family (Doobs and Pops included) and they LOVED it.  I made it when my sister came back for Christmas too, and then again for our church men one Saturday morning for a Men in Mission meeting.  I've altered the recipe, since I'm not a huge fan of asparagus.  I add more eggs, browned sausage, green peppers, and mushrooms.  You can really add or delete any veggie/meat you want, which makes this nice.  So, this is what my braid looked like yesterday morning:
And a cross-section view:

Things went downhill rapidly from here, though.  In my focus on getting my breakfast to work, I left my lunch in the refrigerator at home.  As a result, I bought my lunch yesterday.  I didn't feel horrible about it, though. After all, it was Friday, I struggled through a whole week of crappy lunches, and I had just made an amazing breakfast. One lunch is not the end of the challenge.  It's not winning the challenge by any means, but it's not the end of the challenge...

Then I went home and made frozen pizzas for dinner.  Friday=1, Ericson=0.

Thank goodness for a new day.

Saturday morning was breakfast on the go for the kids in the form of the ultra nutritious Pop Tart.  (please reread last line with intended sarcasm.)  Of course we were running late for our hair appointments in Topeka, so of course I didn't have time to make breakfast.  That would require planning ahead, which I am obviously not doing well.

Saturday morning hair appointments have actually become a monthly outing for myself, Doobs (my mom), and my kids.  We go get our hair cut, have lunch, and do a little light shopping.  Its a day I look forward to every month.   Today Pops got to go with us, and they bought mine and my kids lunch at Red Lobster.  Thanks you guys!  Love you! :)

Tonight, Aaron and Brooke, some of our best friends, came over with their kids to spend the evening with us.
Aren't they adorable?  They are our dinner theater partners, too.  We're going to try to get together more often, and take turns hosting  "night ins".  Plus, they are board game nerds like us so that's an added bonus, as well.  Especially when we play really nerdy games from 1990 like we did tonight.

So, jumping back on the bandwagon and finishing the night out strong, I made a Broccoli/Cauliflower/Brussels Sprouts Au Gratin side dish (seriously, you want this recipe...obviously I added the broccoli to it as well), some fried red potatoes, and some pork chops marinated in a little olive oil and soy sauce.  Chris also de-glazed the pan with some red wine and made a FANTASTIC reduction to use as a sauce to the chops.

Since I was now back on my super fab cooking vibe, I decided I would try my first ever Bundt cake. (totally bought a new Bundt pan today that I found today on sale, so that's where the inspiration came from).  I searched and searched for a recipe that sounded both: a.) delicious and b.) only contained the ingredients I had in the house.  This recipe fit the bill.  I also used this super easy recipe for a chocolate ganache that I poured over the top.  The cake was SO rich...and SO tasty!  I will definitely make this again!


I claim today as a success. Ericson=1, Saturday=One fantastic day.  Let's hope tomorrow brings as much success, as well as some great planning for the week ahead!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Ahh, the pressure, the pressure!!

First off, my apologies for not posting last night.  After dinner, we tidied up the house a little, then sat down on the couch to unwind for a bit...and the next thing I knew it was one in the morning. We had both fallen asleep in pretty much the same positions we had sat down to relax in.

So, I have to admit, since starting this blog, I have kind of felt pressure to make something awesome for every single meal...because I think to myself a.) if I don't make something great, I'm not going to stick to this.  b.) I actually have gotten a lot of emails from people saying that they like my blog, my recipes look great, etc, and I don't want to disappoint them with sandwiches all the time.  c.) I've always made things WAY harder than they need to be.

Whew, okay.  Glad that's off my chest.  Let me point out why A is really my biggest concern:
That?  Right There?  Is my lunch from yesterday.  A bean and cheese burrito, and chicken fried rice.  No, it's not because I was wanting both Mexican and Chinese food.  It's because I didn't plan ahead, and so Wednesday morning, in an effort to just stick to the freaking plan already, I grabbed whatever I could find from the freezer.  This?  Is why I buy my lunch everyday.  However, I persevered.  (PS-I think my rice may have been freezer burnt, too.  Super added bonus.) Really, it's been lunch that's been my biggest struggle.  I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, so it's really hard for me to bring the same thing to lunch that I had the night before. 

My breakfasts this week have been pretty simple, which I am more than okay with, but I did get an added bonus yesterday.  Normally, when we buy yogurt in our house, it disappears within hours, it seems.  It's like a yogurt loving ghost comes and raids our refrigerator while we sleep, and even though I swear I bought like a dozen of them the day before, there are never any to be found in the fridge when I want one.  However, in my crazed wild woman scavenge through the contents of my fridge yesterday morning on the search for lunch and breakfast, I found two GLORIOUS containers of blueberry yogurt.  Granted, it wasn't the Greek yogurt that I had bought specifically for me that I ate none of, but still.  It was yogurt.  And it was mine.  I took them both to work with me, and yesterday and today, my breakfast looked like this:

A Fuji Apple, Blueberry Yogurt, and a little Kashi GoLean Crunch.  MMmmmm.  I could eat this everyday.  If I could get to the dang yogurt fast enough.
 
Last night, Chris made dinner again.  As I've mentioned numerous times in the past, we're both pretty passionate about making sure that our food has TONS of flavor.  One of our favorite cookbooks right now is Guy Fieri's Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It.  Chris decided to make the Penne with Cajun Hot Links and Chipotle Shrimp,  Instead of the Hot Links, though, we used andouille sausage.

The shrimp in this was AMAZING.  I would eat a whole meal out of just that.  I really liked the different taste of the sauce, too...it's not your typical pasta dish.  Our kids absolutely loved it, and completely cleaned their plate.  Apparently a little andouille sausage and Cajun shrimp aren't too much spice for them to handle.  Two cheers for the Ericson kids!  One disclaimer on this dish, though...it was not very good for lunch today.  If you're going to make it, I would make enough for just one night, because the next day, you will be disappointed with it.  The sauce kind of separates when you warm it up again, and the shrimp gets a little rubbery...this is definitely not a dish that gets better the second day (see???  I try to bring the previous nights dinner in for lunch, and this is what happens!).

On to dinner tonight.  I had planned on making some chicken sandwiches, but forgot to put the chicken in the marinade last night.  (oops).   So, today on my lunch break, I found an awesome app on my phone called BigOven.  There are thousand of recipes, but what I really liked about it was the ability to input any leftovers you have in your fridge, and it will show recipes that you can make from them.  I planned and mapped out what I had.  Chris called right as I was leaving work and said he was starving and so were the kids, so he pulled some of the Pork Chili Verde out of the freezer and made some Chimichangas tonight.  A little Spanish rice, a spinach salad, and we called it a good.
Long story short?  I have got to come up with some lunch ideas, and I need to plan ahead on them.  Horribly planned lunches like yesterdays frozen burrito/freezer burnt rice and today's dinner gone horribly wrong lunch leftovers leave me teetering on the edge.  Not planning ahead is why C above is a problem, because I am making this WAY harder than it needs to be (which is pretty much par for the course for me, anyway!).

As for B, though...it's actually really amazing to me that people want to read this, and I sincerely appreciate all the comments, emails, and "atta girl" support while starting this endeavor.  The object of this is to make us think more about what we are eating, and how we are spending our money on food.  While it's designed to be a thirty day challenge, I really do want to incorporate this into our lives.  I want dining out to be the exception, not the norm.  So, we will keep trying to make new and exciting dishes, mostly because we like new and exciting things, but also to inspire others to get in the kitchen and make something new, too (and if you do, please invite us over to eat, so I don't have to cook and then it's not technically dining out.  Okay?  Thanks!!) 

Talk to you tomorrow night!!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Tuesday's Gone

What a day.  G-man wasn't feeling well, so I stayed home a half a day this morning to give him some extra cuddle time and help him feel a little better...there's nothing a little snuggle with mom and a nebulizer won't fix, right?  He was feeling a little better when I went to work at noon, and Chris said that the kids were fighting by 4, which is a good sign that things are on the upswing.

Chris and I both had class tonight.  I'm in Accounting for Business right now.   Try to contain your jealousy, since it's just as much fun as it sounds.  As I said last week, Tuesday's are going to be pretty easy days, at least meal wise, since we aren't really here to cook anything.  

Breakfast started out with some oatmeal.  Normally, I am not a huge fan of cooked oatmeal.  Something about it's weird, gloppy, gelatinous texture squigs me out.  However, thanks to a recommendation from my friend CJ, I tried some quick cook steel cut oatmeal from Trader Joe's, and for the first time in my life, I can actually say that I would eat oatmeal for breakfast.  There's two great things about this oatmeal: 1.) it's actually good, and 2.)  it's available both in a dry quick cook form AND in a frozen pre-made package (my personal favorite).

Now is where we start to get a little technical with details, though.  There are some things that I absolutely believe that taste-wise, should not be skimped on.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm all for generic noodles, flour, and a lot of basic ingredients.  However, spices and herbs and sauces add SO much to dishes, and I've found that most of the generic forms of these don't do the flavors justice.  I will try to post links to the products I've found specifically that I like, and I think that if you try some of them, you will like them.  If not, well, damn the luck.  :)

Back to oatmeal.  I added a teaspoon of organic brown sugar from Trader Joe's (SO good!  Only 15 calories and 4 carbs, too!!), sprinkled my favorite cinnamon (you can literally eat this cinnamon out of the bag), and topped with some dried berries (again from Trader Joe's).  I usually go pretty light on the berries, since calorically, they are pretty dense.   ( I realize I just made huge plugs for Trader Joe's.  I seriously heart that place.  If you've been, you understand why.  If you haven't, it's like organic Aldi's.  It is truly a foodie's paradise.)  Without further ado, I give you my breakfast (and, let's see who else can write three full paragraphs about a bowl of instant oats.) 

For lunch, I've been craving a big green leafy salad, so that's what I made.  I used a Spring Mix lettuce and Baby Spinach. I added some Chili-Lime chicken that we had frozen, and some three alarm cheese (I get this at Sam's Club.  If you like spice, and you like cheese, you should get some too.) I made my own dressing, so that it had more of a southwest flavor.  I mixed a little sour cream, fiesta ranch seasoning, and taco sauce together.  Delish.  I added some cottage cheese for a little extra protein, and because I really just like cottage cheese.

Next came dinner for class.  Convenience is of the up most importance, since I have to take it to work with me first and then to class, so sandwiches are generally going to be the go to of choice.  This time, I went a little crazy and instead used a whole-wheat lavish wrap.  (whoa, I know.) A little chipotle mayo (mayo mixed with chipotles in adobe sauce), some more three alarm cheese, Party Time Ham (this is about the only kind of ham that I will eat, but more on that later), and more fresh baby spinach all rolled up in a neat little package.  Yum.

All in all, a healthy day.  Oh, I forgot to mention a little trick I've learned with blocks of cheese.  A vegetable peeler works GREAT in getting really thin slices to use for sandwiches, etc.  Plus, you end up using a lot less cheese since it is sliced so thin, but still get the flavor over the whole area.  All the flavor, less fat.  Sounds like a good deal to me!

I just want to say again that I really do appreciate all the emails and words of encouragement as we tackle this project.  I told my friend Kim today that this may very well be my personal Armageddon, but at least if it is, I will go out doing something I truly love doing.

Cheers, my friends!

Monday, January 23, 2012

It's good to be back!!

What a weekend!!  I am so glad to be back home, and getting back to making good food!!  Most of my meals for this weekend consisted of convention center venues (you know, chicken in some kind of mystery sauce, over-done potatoes, etc).   You know you're jealous.

Saturday night was a different story.  My niece turned five (Happy Birthday Kailyn!  I love you!), and my sister-in-law wanted us to all go ice skating as a family at Crown Center.  We went, we skated (read:  they skated).  Chris and I had decided to make a weekend of the outing, and booked a hotel room (which we paid for with the money we saved eating at home last week!!  Score one for homecooking!).  Before we headed out of Crown Center, though, we took the kids to Fritz Railroad Restaurant.  My kids, along with my nieces and nephews, love this place because it's not a person that delivers the food, but a train.  Its standard hamburgers and fries fare.  There's nothing really special about it, except that it amazes the kids.  Our order took over 40 minutes to get to us...in fact, everyone on our side of the room got their order, even those that came in after us.  Chris went up and asked how much longer it would be, and evidently, they had forgotten our order.  The manager came over, and instead of apologizing, just said "Give me your ticket", and took off for the back.  Finally, a nice waitress came back and said they were going to send it out, and that she was really sorry.  Another five minutes or so passed, and finally, the train delivered our food to our table, and we ate our crappy hamburgers and left an hour and a half after we first got there.  UGH.  Just another example of why we are refocusing again this week.  That $30 meal was definitely NOT worth it!

Last night after we got home, I decided I would make a Chile Verde recipe I had been wanting to try for awhile (well, and I had a whole bag full of tomatillos that would go bad if I didn't make it, so there's that, too) that we could have for dinner tonight.  I cut up a pork butt,  seasoned it, and browned the sides, and then made the verde sauce.  Once the pork is browned, you add the sauce to the pan, and then simmer it for several hours until it's tender.  It's really easy to make, but it takes a lot of time (PS-this means don't start it at 8pm.  Trust me on that one), which is why Pork Chile Verde doesn't get made that often in our house!

However, it was worth EVERY SINGLE MINUTE of time that it took on the stove.  Chris again made the pinto beans (because they are SO delicious), and then a little Spanish rice concoction in our microwave rice cooker.  Easy peasy. 

Tomorrow goes back to all meals being brought from home.  I can't wait!  :)

Thursday, January 19, 2012

And they ate happily ever after...

I was 14 when I started my first food blog.  I thought about this on my way home, and had to laugh.  Of course, at the time, I had no idea that I was actually writing a food blog.  I was supposed to be chronicling our family vacation to Washington, DC; the sights, the LONG drive, the attractions, etc.  While I may have mentioned in a line or two each day where we went or what we did, I gave very detailed explanations of every meal we ate.  Apparently, I've been a foodie my whole life.

Like any relationship, food and I have had our ups, and we've had our downs...but we've arrived at a very healthy place that I like to call moderation. It's taken me a long time to understand that nearly all things are okay as long as they are taken in moderation. Throughout the last couple of years, our family has undergone some major lifestyle changes, so while we may make the occasional heart-attack burger or fried mozzarella stick (ahem, Chris, ahem!  haha!) we try hard to modify the recipes we make so they are at least partially healthy for our family. 

Case in point is breakfast this morning.  I seriously love breakfast sandwiches.  I got inspired from a recipe I saw a while back, and I decided to make pancake sandwiches.  I used a third of whole wheat flour in place of white flour for the pancakes, turkey sausage, scrambled eggs, and half a slice of cheese.  They are SO good!!

For lunch, I took some frozen chili we had in the freezer.  I didn't know if I could survive another attack from the burger that was last nights dinner, so I decided to play it safe.
For dinner, I thought pizza sounded really good.  I had found a recipe on skinnytaste.com for a quick marinara sauce that I really wanted to try, so I made that to use on the pizzas, and it only took about twenty minutes.  The last time we went grocery shopping, I had bought some pre-made thin and crispy crusts.  I know, I know, homemade crust is probably better, but on a weeknight, I don't have time to let dough proof.  (Besides, making homemade dough means measuring ingredients.  I measured enough ingredients for pancakes.) For the kids, some pizza blend cheese, pepperoni, and this Parmesan sprinkle finished theirs off.  For Chris and I, fresh mushrooms, red onions, fresh baby spinach, a teaspoon of pesto, and fresh mozzarella gave us an amazing veggie pizza.  So. Good.
As you can see, the kids and Chris got to the pepperoni pizza before I had a chance to take a picture...grr.  

I will be gone tomorrow night and Saturday night, so there will probably not be any updates from the home front until Sunday.  Until then, take care, and thanks for taking the time to read and follow our little challenge!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Oh Holy Hamburgers

It's hump day!!  Hooray!!  Tomorrow is actually my Friday, since I will be gone all weekend at my regional rally (again, this blog was not timed incredibly well).  I'm going to try to talk Chris into posting what he makes for dinner the next couple of nights, but I don't hold out high hopes for that. 

Today I used my last free $2 snack card at my work's cafeteria, which means, starting tomorrow, I need to bring my own breakfast and make my own tea, too.  Geesh.  What in the world was I thinking?!?!  It's worth it....It's worth it....It's worth it....I'm going to keep repeating this like a mantra.

On to lunch today.  I had some frozen bean burritos that we made a couple of weeks ago, so I decided I would take one of them, when I suddenly had a brilliant idea.  I still had some of my leftover Peruvian chicken, cilantro and lime rice, and aji verde sauce.  Sounds like the makings for a great burrito, right?  It was fantastic!!  In fact, next time, I am going to make extra chicken and rice just so I can make some of these up and freeze them.


So, it was a nice, tasty, and very healthy lunch!!  Thank goodness it was healthy, because Chris decided he wanted hamburgers tonight, and that he was going to make dinner.  Oh my.  When we go out for burgers, Chris always like to get the ones that have everything but the kitchen sink on them, so since that's what he was craving, that's what he made...
Luckily (or unluckily?), he piled so much on this burger that we each only ate half.  There's a hamburger patty, three alarm cheese, ham, an egg, a slice of bacon, baby spinach (a veggie!!  saving grace, right??) chipotle mayo, and bun.  Yikes.  He also made some homemade sweet potato fries that he baked.  It was absolutely delicious...good thing tonight is workout video night!

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Tuesday Nights = Little Kitchen Time

In retrospect, I probably should have started my blog tomorrow night, since Chris and I both have class on Tuesday nights.  Tuesdays mean leftovers, or sandwiches, or whatever else we can scrounge up...but I did pack a pretty fantastic sandwich last night to take to class tonight.  It's roasted turkey breast, pepper jack cheese, whole grain wheat bread, fresh baby spinach, and a chipotle mayo that Chris and I make.  Yeah, yeah, I know.  It's a sandwich.  But it was a damn good one.  :)



One of Tayler's favorite things to eat when we do dine out is mozzarella sticks (I mean, who doesn't like fried cheese?)  No, they obviously aren't the healthiest thing ever, but it's also not like she eats them everyday (insert guilty parent complex here).  Today, Chris decided to have a little experiment of his own before dropping her off at my parents tonight and going to class.  Home-made mozzarella sticks?  Raging success. Ten sticks for about $1.50...not bad!  He's still not so into the whole "taking pictures of the food I make" thing, but at least he took one for me.



I promise that tomorrow night will have more entertaining food.  For all of our sakes.  :)