Cheeeese!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post.  It's getting hard to find things to talk about on here that I think will interest people.  I'm planning on doing my big post tomorrow about my trip to Hilton Head, just don't have the patience to write all of that right now.  Daylight Savings Time is mean and inconsiderate.  And because of it, I feel more tired than usual.  Plus, I did day 4 of my running stuff today and cleaned out our garage when I got home.  So I'm just ready to chill tonight.  But I thought I'd leave you guys with a little picture.  This is a snack the husband and I had over the weekend:

When I was in Savannah a couple of weekends ago, I got some cheese honey from the Savannah Bee Company.  That's what is in the bowl with the glare.  :)  My dad has honey bees, and I usually use honey that him or husband's uncle gives us.  Their honey is wonderful so I'm kind of a honey snob now.  This honey was a blend of different types of honeys (is that the plural of honey?) and has a pretty strong flavor.  Perfect for eating with, say, cheese!  Soooo...above that is some sharp cheddar cheese that I got in Hilton Head at the Freshmarket.  There are very very few things in this world that I love more than cheese.  I recently told my mom and sister that if someone told me that I could only eat bread, cheese, and chocolate for the rest of my life...I would be a-okay.  To the right are some pears.  Side note on that: I don't think I've ever just eaten a pear.  It's always weirded me out when people just bite into the pear, skin and all.  So I've just never eaten one, save the few that surprise you in those yummy fruit cups.  It's like oh squishy peach, oh soft pineapple, oh ew gross what is that weird gritty textured thing?!  Can I get an amen?  Pears have just always thrown me off.  But I've heard (who knows from where?)  that you're supposed to eat pears with cheese? (Maybe I'm remembering it from the movie Princess Diaries.  Genovian pear and cheese dessert?)  So I gave it a shot.  I kept asking Timothy how I was supposed to cut this thing?  Do I peel it?  I just can't eat the skin, it looks like it has leprosy.  Does it have a core?  How do I slice it?  Is this ripe?  Is it supposed to be crunchy?  It was just...it was a fail.  But we ate it anyway, because that's what snooty cheese and honey and cracker eaters do, dangit!  I think?  Oh, and the crackers.  They were the fanciest I could find at our local Wally World.  The box said they were waiter crackers.  But husband kept calling them what-a-crackers.  Like What-A-Burger, the restaurant.  By the end of our snack he had said what-a-crackers so many times that we both wanted to go to What-A-Burger.  Luckily for our waist and wallet, the closest one is like 25 minutes away.  So anyways.  The honey and cheese and cracker combination was actually pretty delicious.  I had my doubts, but somehow the flavors just worked.  Alright people, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, and got a lot accomplished!  

Sniffin' polish

So husband coaches the tennis team at the high school where he works and yesterday his team had their first meet/match/game/whatever tennis competitions are called.  Every single player won!  That's one for the win column!  Hopefully they'll keep that up.  Their first home game is tomorrow, so I'll be going to that to cheer on my little wind pants wearing coach of a hubby. :) 
Since husband was not home for dinner last night, this is what I had:

Yes, those are Honey Smacks.  Yes, I am 5 years old.  I felt like I was in college again.  As I've mentioned before, my cooperation with cooking did not begin until I got married.  I can count on my hands the number of times I cooked something with more than 3 ingredients in college.  I had cereal for meals more than anything else, I think.  It's just so easy and so good! 
Since husband was home tonight, I figured I had to make something a little more involved than cereal.  I decided to try something new and be a little healthy.  I found this recipe for Weight Watchers baked crab rangoon on Pinterest.  I've never had imitation crab before (basically fish that tastes like crab), so I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it.  It actually wasn't bad, and was decently healthy.  They're small, so they would probably serve better as an appetizer or a finger food though.  I made some balsamic roasted green beans and mushrooms to go with it, which husband really liked.  I was kinda meh about the whole meal, probably because I was too busy gazing wistfully at my box of cereal.   Here's what it looked like: (again, I stink at taking food pictures...helloooooo shadow of Julie Anna's head)

In other news, it's college week on Jeopardy!  Yay!!!  Husband and I watch Jeopardy every night, and I love college week 'cause the questions are easier and I don't feel quite so stupid.  We shout out the answers and at the end decide which of us had the most correct answers.  A little bit of healthy marital competition! :) 
Now, we all know that Alex Trebek always engages in a little chatter with each player after the first commercial break.  Most contestants take this chance to humble brag about their extensive travel portfolio or how smart they are because they won a national science fair in like 3rd grade.  Well tonight, one of the players, Monica, chose during those 30 seconds of national attention to reveal that she owns over 40 bottles of nail polish.  When Alex asked her why, she said "the smell relaxes me."  Umm...that could be a problem Monica.  And wouldn't you know, ole polish sniffer Monica beat everybody by like $12,000 on the final jeopardy clue.  Maybe I should start sniffing fingernail polish so I could be on Jeopardy one day.  Hah!
Speaking of competitions, everybody go to yesterday's post and try your hand at my little movie competition!  Directions and rules are in that post! 
I think I'm going to go eat a little cereal for dessert.  Don't judge, I ate a "healthy" meal.  Happy hump day everyone!

Where is the flaxseed?!?!?

So today I went on my dreaded once a month shopping trip.  Everything was going smoothly, found the coconut, the Rotel tomatoes, the worchestire sauce (have no clue how to say that word), and then I got to the ground flaxseed.....looked on the baking aisle, the spice aisle, the "healthy food" aisle....no flaxseed.  So I do what any smart female would do.  I called my mom.  Now it needs to be mentioned that the only reason I ever call someone on the phone is A. Someone has died; B. I think I am dying/have cancer or some other serious illness/broken bone C. I'm at the end of my rope on trying to find something.  This instance just so happened to be C.  So ring, ring, ring...she doesn't answer.  Blast!  So, obviously, I call my sister next.  She tells me to look on the produce aisle.  Look there, no flaxseed.  I had already spent 1.25 hours at this crowded Wal-Mart, but I was determined to find this stupid fibrous seed. 
So finally I decide, well...I'll just find a Wal-Mart employee and ask them where it is.  In my mind, I round the next aisle, find that blue shirted enthusiastic and helpful employee who says "flaxseed you ask?  I'm not positive where that is, but I can certainly help you search!"  We then peruse an aisle, one of us finds this evasive little bugger, we meet with a high-five and a "good job!" and I go on my way.  Well if you're thinking I must be dreaming...you're absolutely right.  Apparently my idea of things and reality had a one person difference.  I looked down five aisles and did not see a single employee in sight.  At this point, my banana and Nutella snack that I ate before shopping (to keep me from being hungry and thus purchasing one of everything in the entire store) had worn off, I had a buggy full of items, and everyone else had apparently decided it was time to play bumper buggies.  I considered just abandoning my buggy and running up and down every aisle screaming "WHERE IS THE FLAXSEED?!?" but decided against it since I now live in a small town where everybody knows everybody and didn't feel like getting ushered out sans groceries.
I resigned myself to a flaxseedless shopping trip, and with slumped shoulders went to checkout.  This was my buggy.

There's just one thing missing...*sigh*

In more positive news, husband and I made some delicious french toast and omelets for dinner.  Recipe from Alton Brown of course.

Spring?

On my walk today I saw a sight that seemed a little odd for January...These pretty fellas!

There's a field next to my road, and there were little groups of these pretty daffodils all over the place.  This 70° weather we've been having is throwing everything off.  It's supposed to be snowing, not blooming!  Oh well, I think the flowers are prettier than snow anyways. :)
Right now I'm in the process of meal planning.  The first day of the month I make up a menu of meals for the entire month.  I write down all the needed ingredients, and then go to the grocery store and fill my buggy!  Things that can be frozen, I freeze until I need.  Fresh items that cannot be frozen, I use in the first week of meals.  (That normally means that the first week of meals are the best.)  This method has been working for me for about 4 months now, and has saved us money.  It keeps me from going by the store (which I hate doing) several times a week "just to grab what I need" which then results in me buying a bunch of other impulse buys.  Plus, I don't have to go home each night and try to figure out something to cook.  I just consult my list, and have the items all available.  A lot of the meals are crockpot meals too, which I can start while home for lunch.  Anybody else do meal planning?   

Taco "cupcakes"!

Dinner tonight:

Taco "cupcakes"!  These little beautes are made with wanton wrappers, taco beef, taco seasoning, black beans, and cheeeese (my fav)!  Recipe here.  (P.s.  This website has some awesome recipes.  Definitely check 'em out!)  I made the salsa as well.  Recipe here, and it does actually taste like Chile's salsa!  Just a little note: wanton wrappers are normally found in the produce section near all of the organic salsas and vegetables.  They normally come in a pack of like 50.  You only use about 25 for the taco cupcakes, so with the rest of the wrappers, I suggest you make these Pizza Rolls.  Delish!
Sorry I was MIA for a couple of days.  Had a nice and relaxing weekend, but am now battling a little cold.  :(  Bought some orange juice and hot tea, so hopefully that will change soon!  Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

I tried to kill my husband last night….with corn.

So last night for dinner, I made this:

 I know your reaction to that picture was probably “oh gross, that looks like throw up!  No way I would cook that!”  Trust me, it is actually delicious!  It is such a simple meal that the husband and I eat it quite often...You throw 2 frozen chicken breasts (I love this part, because I usually forget to thaw meat), and a jar of salsa in a crockpot, cook on low for about 4 hours.  Then add a package of cream cheese (use 1/3 less fat if you want it to be healthier) and let the cream cheese sit on top while on low for about 30 more minutes.  Stir all together, shred the chicken, and serve over rice.  If you want to mix things up, add some corn and black beans and use less salsa. 

Now, usually when I make this here meal I just use regular Picante Great Value salsa, but this week while grocery shopping I was feeling a little adventurous and got some delicious looking corn and black bean salsa.  It was even better than normal….until husband decides to have an allergic reaction.  See, husband here is allergic to corn that has been frozen.  Canned corn? Fine. Corn nuts?  Great.  Frozen corn?  Not so much.  I read articles about it (this has happened more than once) and apparently frozen corn has a larger amount of sulfite than fresh or canned corn.  Well, I didn’t think about the possibility of our harmless little corn fellas in the salsa I bought causing a problem. But, they did.  Don’t worry though, he didn’t really almost die and he didn't go all Will Smith in Hitch.  Just a little facial swelling, nasal congestion, and stomach pain.  I still kinda feel bad though. 

Moral of the story?  Make this meal. But only if you know it won’t kill you. 

Food!

Growing up, I absolutely hated the idea of cooking!  I always had a problem with raw meat, and actually didn't like eating meat as a kid. (Don't worry, I got over that eventually.  Me and fried chicken are best friends now.) One of the stories my mom loves to tell is of her coming home one day after asking me to cook some bacon for dinner.  Not only had I almost gagged all over the raw pig, I had on elbow high rubber gloves, tongs, and a knife, attempting to saw through the plastic wrapping to cut the bacon in half.  I wish I could say I was only about 12 when this happened....nope, 19.  Possibly older, can't really remember, which is crazy because it was a pretty traumatic moment in my life.  Fast forward a couple of years, and you see an engaged Julie Anna and her mom who kept offering cooking lessons.  But I would have none of it!  Fast forward just a few months, to when I became a wife.  A wife!  I can't really explain what happened, but something just clicked in my female brain and I began  actually tolerating wanting to cook and clean and iron and do all of that wifey stuff women are supposed to be offended by in this day and age.  In the past year and a half, I cannot count how many times I have called my mom for cooking advice.  Now I really wish I had taken her up on those cooking classes, she's a great cook with a lot of experience.  Also in the past year and a half I have asked for some type of kitchen appliance/utensils for every gift giving occasion.  For Christmas I got an awesome deep fryer, some beautiful vintage cookbooks, and a gorgeous professional grade KitchenAid stand mixer.  Needless to say, I have definitely broken out the deep fryer; can't wait to use the other things I got as well!  So anyways, I hope that food will be another aspect of this blog, to share recipes and food successes and failures.  To start this out on a high note, I'm going to post a picture of mine and the husband's dinner last night.  Phyllo wrapped chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese (I adore cheese!), honey baked tomatoes, and wild rice: all courtesy of my Southern Living cookbook (that my awesome sister gave me!) Enjoy the pictures!  And as Julia Child would say, Bon Appétit!

Sorry it's such a crappy picture, I am definitely not a food photographer!

Aaaand a crappy phone pic, but look!  Tots!

Cookbooks!  And a week old cookie!  Yay!

And my pretty mixer!  Here she is!