Easter cookery

Oh Easter! I have to admit, it was chaos. I agreed to host my sis, then got asked to sing at Mass, then all of a sudden, it was a both sides of the family coming, and I was still singing at Mass. And then I got a skin rash and my sis bails and here I am, left with cooking for this big batch of people I hadn't intended to have over in the first place. Ugh! What a mess. I would have to leave cooking instructions with the moms because I'd be at Mass, leading song. Crike!

Regardless, things turned out well. Let's walk through the menu.

Awhile ago, I saw Paula Dean make these brunch peppers, and ran across the recipe. I though it sounded like breakfast in a pepper, so I decided to make it. :)


HERE is the recipe for Paula's brunch peppers.

Let me say, they're pretty darn tasty! They even refrigerate and re-heat fairly well.


French Toast Casserole, how I love thee!!!! Oh goodness, where to even start???!!?!! This stuff is heavenly. I want to have it all to myself and not share a bite with anyone else, which doesn't work when you have guests over to your house. But it means you get the hoard the leftovers and not share (or "share" but throw dirty looks at your husband when he eats some after you've gone to bed).

Ok, so HERE is the magical recipe. I made a few little changes.

1) I didn't use French bread. Instead, I used Irish Soda Bread, which does not use yeast. And I don't put sugar in mine.

2) I used 2 loaves of the soda bread, and 1 of them was a raisin loaf. I alternated the "plain" bread with the "raisin" bread to make it a little more fancy. I love that it added a little pop to the recipe. It was sort of like having sweet rolls, but without all of the sugar IN the recipe. There was about 1 c. of brown sugar on top, but divided over 8-10 servings, it's a very small amount per person. :)

3) I would suggest cutting the bread into smaller pieces than 1-inch slices. Maybe 1/2 inch slices? WIth 1-inch slices, it was difficult to get them submerged in the batter. I had to make more batter to cover it completely.

ALSO, this recipe must be put in the fridge overnight, so it's not something you can whip up in an hour. Just FYI, it takes a day's worth of lead time.

As I said at the beginning of the post, we were having "brunch" at 1 p.m., but I was singing at Mass at 11:30. Um....I had to leave directions with the moms, who came over early. They did a superb job of getting everything into the oven and cooking so we could eat. It was a bit chaotic (read: I would have gone to an earlier Mass if I wasn't obliged to sing at the late one), but my team really pulled through!

Meal planning?

Let me walk you through an afternoon around here.

2 p.m. Erik has just left for work. I head downstairs to do some editing/computer work.
3 p.m. Hmm... I wonder what I should make for dinner. Oh well, I have plenty of time to figure it out.
4:15 p. Crike, we eat in about an hour. I wonder what I'm making for dinner. I'll think about it in a half an hour.
5 p.m. HOLY SCHNIKES!!!! Panic, looking through freezer, gotta throw something together for dinner.
5:30 p.m. Present dinner.

I tend to cook/eat based on things I like. This might lead to eating spaghetti and mashed potatoes together at the same meal (although that exact combo hasn't happened yet).

For example, last night, Erik ate a leftover stuffed pepper from Easter, I had meatballs, we both had cooked sweet corn and mashed potatoes. Odds and ends.

I couldn't help but wonder if I made sort of a "meal plan" list for a week or two if it'd help this chaos. Not planning EVERY meal, but maybe 3 dinners a week. I also wonder if it'd help at the grocery store. With shopping. For instance, I got the sweet corn last week and just used part of it. Also, I have broccoli sitting forlornly in the fridge, waiting for some love. Maybe if I knew what I was going to make, I'd get all of the proper ingredients and not rush? And maybe I'd have a plan for the sad broccoli?

Honestly, does anyone out there "plan" weekly meals? Some sort of a game plan? Does it work? Is it more trouble than it's worth? Let's hear some feedback, folks! (I especially am asking now because I'm heading into busy/chaotic season and I might have even less mental energy than normal to extend to cooking!).

Theodore + Bailey

My sis, bro-in-law and nephew came to see us over the weekend. Robin was excited for Theodore to play with Bailey. Theo's a bit bigger and can better fend for himself against the beast that is our "puppy."


"We're plaaaayin' ... leave us alone."


Bailey did a good job of not running off with Theodore's toys.


Sometimes, I'm not sure if Theodore knew what to think of Bailey. Not that I can blame him!


Bailey got a bit frisky. She doesn't quite realize Theodore is a fraction of her size.


Fortunately, Theodore sits up well, and didn't do any toppling over.

Doggone adventure

Ahem.

We had a little adventure last week on our walk. We were north of town on the levy (but not in a Chevy), and Bailey decided to make friends. Big friends.


See her butt to the right of the horse?


Bailey thought she was the bee's knees w/ the horses. Perhaps she was. But Erik wasn't particularly amused. I, on the other hand, was at the top of the levy laughing so hard I cried. Bailey, well, she was the queen of the show!

After the adventure:
Erik: "She drug her leash through some water in the pen."
Me: "I don't think that was water, honey."

Niiiiiice.

#112 — Have a garage sale in 2010

SHA-ZAM!!!!!

Everyone survived this weekend's garage sale. The dog didn't go bazerk. Erik didn't have any "I'm up too early" meltdowns. I didn't tear anyone's face off due to early hours. All in all, a success!


Our garage was pretty full.


I helped my friend, Jenn, put her baby/kid clothes on tables.


Aaaand, after all of our hard work Thursday night, this is what Friday morning brought.

We had about an hour before we hauled it all back into the garage. Humph.


Saturday was more sunny, but still cold in the morning.


We won't become rich from our garage sale, but it did its purpose: get schtuff out of my house! We have a few items we held on to to put on Craigslist. The rest that didn't sell was either put at the end of the driveway with a "free" sign (only one item) or hauled to the Goodwill.

Bottom line: We have an empty garage and an empty storage room.

PRAISE HEAVEN!!!!!!! (If it weren't Lent, and Holy Week at that, I'd say the A-word, but it'll have to wait until Sunday). ;)

Another bucket list item complete. :)

Some people asked if there would be an encore sale next year. The answer is NO. We don't have enough stuff to do that. Besides, we don't have kids/kid clothes/toys, which was a huge draw for people. So we don't anticipate doing one of these for quite some time. Thankyouforasking.

Lentil Soup

I was chatting w/ a woman in exercise class last week and she gave me this recipe. I just sort of threw it together from memory. And of course we all know I don't exactly measure when I cook .... :) This isn't exactly a "meatless" recipe, but it's very close.

Ingredients:
3 strips bacon
3 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, chopped
1 c. carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
2 c. chicken broth, plus extra water
1 c. lentils

I think I was supposed to add a bay leaf, but forgot. So you can add one if you like.


Steps:
1) Cut bacon into small pieces w/ kitchen shears. Put in large pot, cook.
2) Once the bacon is cooked, you will add the garlic cloves (chop them up or dice them). You will keep the bacon juices in there. :)
3) Add carrots + onions, let them soften.
4) dump in the chicken broth
5) add lentils + bay leaf + tomatoes (I rinsed them off/drained them)
6) let simmer for 45 min to an hour

In all, I allowed an hour and a half to make this, which was plenty of time. I only made a "single" recipe, but you could easily double this. And my friend tells me this freezes very well! (Freezing tip: pour soup into BIG freezer bag; close it up; lay on cookie sheet; place in freezer; let freeze; take off cookie sheet; store upright/in the door - space saver!)

Crossover — Emily + Joe

Was in KC over the weekend for some engagement photos. Loving the result! A few previews are HERE. This was in front of an Indian restaurant in Westport. I was ready to abandon the shoot and go eat, but alas, duty called.

Pet pix

Bailey is learning to not lunge at and harass the cat too much. In fact, they have learned to "share" the storm door. Sort of.


As it's warming up, even after a short (25 min walk), Bailey will collapse on the kitchen floor. News flash, dog: it's gonna get hotter.


As I am working more, Bailey gives me a lot of the "mournful dog look" ... sorry I'm so boring, pupster! (Although I think Erik actually took THIS photo!).


Esse has found a new favorite place to hang out. She loves to "hide" ... even though we can plainly see her. I guess in her mind, there is something over her so she's "undercover." Whatever.


From time to time we'll give Bailey peanut butter as a treat. We've also found that once we scrape the jar clean for people consumption, Bailey gives it the once over dog cleaning. She loves the treat and we don't have to soak the jar. It's win-win.

But she is always a bit unsure about what to do with the actual jar.


Of course, she eventually figures it out. She likes peanut butter too much!

Basement: Before & After!!!!

Garage sale is in ONE WEEK!!!! :) I am SO ready!

When we started moving my stuff into the house, there were a LOT of boxes. Because I moved around quite a bit in Hays, most of my kitchen/other stuff was still in boxes.

Once we got everything here, I was tasked with sifting through boxes I'd been lugging around since college. Some of them hit the recycling bin. Others were just trashed. Some of the stuff found a place in our house. And some of the stuff ... was demoted to the "to garage sale" pile, which looked like this:


Scary, right?

Over the last week or so, we've been slowly moving stuff out to the garage to prepare for the sale. Erik joked that he better sleep with one eye open or I'd put him in the garage to get rid of! ;)

Well, it's all out!


If we stay in this house long enough (who knows how long that will be?), I envision finishing this space into an office space with a door for me. There will still be some unfinished storage space in my vision, but my visions don't always translate into reality. ;)

Wider view:


This is terribly exciting all around. I "think* that because I've got all of the boxes sifted through that it means the things that are useful are in the house, the stuff that is junk has been tossed, the paper has been recycled and the "other " is in the garage sale. I have a few boxes I'm keeping, but it was nothing compared to the PILES of boxes we started off with. (you can see a few HERE
and HERE, although I promise, there were MORE boxes in there before I started on these projects).

I also have an idea of how I can make myself a makeshift work bench, but more on that when it actually happens. :)

#104 — Find a new and loving home for Erik's original couch/love seat/recliner

Oh sweet bliss!!!!!!! I actually forgot this was on my bucket list, but am glad it was.

When we got married, I brought a sofa into the household. Erik already had a sofa/love seat/recliner. The living room was a bit crowded.


In all honesty, the recliner and love seat were in other locations. I just dragged them all into the living room for the person who purchased them.

I listed them on Craigslist and within an hour I had 1 inquiry. In another hour I had another.

First person came the next day, looked at them and paid full asking price. Honestly, I expected haggling, so I was pleasantly surprised that there wasn't any.


*siiiiigh* Look at HOW MUCH ROOM we have in our living room!!!! Very exciting.

At some point "my" couch will find a new and loving home. A few years ago, I would never have guessed it, but I am loving sleek, more streamlined couches. The one we've got now is a bit "oversized/overstuffed" and I'm just not loving it.

I'm in lust after any/all of these:


Of course, a sofa is absolutely an investment piece and several years off. And of course, NOT in white or off white. ;)

Shoes, shoes, shoes!

{stepping on soap box} When I am world ruler supreme, I will mandate that shoes be sold in individuals, rather than pairs.

I know, this sounds nuts. But bear with me.

My right foot is about 1/2 a size bigger than my left foot, which isn't *normally* a problem. For tennis shoes or sneakers, they tie on so it's not a big deal. The struggle comes when I want to wear heels (with no straps) or "ballet slipper" shoes. No strap. No ties. Not easy.

Once, I found a lonely shoe at Target, it was the right size for my right foot, so they let me buy the lonely shoe and a pair that fit my left foot. But wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to buy TWO pair of shoes just to get the right size? Seriously.

Anyone out there have a bigger left foot than right foot? And wear a size 10-ish? (10 or so in running shoes, bigger or smaller in other shoes, just depends). My right foot is bigger, so if I could find a friend w/ a bigger left foot, we could mix and match shoes! ;)

Those of you who know me know I don't like browsing or shopping as a general rule. I was out the other day and poked my nose into the shoe store. Wedding season is almost here and I need to find a comfy pair of shoes that I can wear all day. To my surprise, I found that Dr. Scholl's has its own line of shoes! This sounds like a photographer's dream come true. Except that I wear a 9 1/2 on my right foot and a 9 on my left foot (on slip ons, I seem to wear a smaller size than 10, which is fine with me!).

UUUUUGH. Seriously, if I could buy one shoe that fit my right foot and one that fit my left, life would be so grand. After all, you can buy your swimsuit in separate pieces ... one that fits your top right and one that fits your bottom .... why should you not be able to do the same with shoes?

For the time being, it looks like I'll have to buy 2 pairs of shoes for this wedding season, one pair for my smaller left foot and one pair for my bigger right foot. But if you or someone you know has a bigger left foot and is in the size 10 range, DO let me know .... because I'd love to talk with her!

(I can't be the only person on the planet with 2 different sized feet, am I? Seriously, wouldn't you love to have TWO shoes that fit instead of one that does and one that doesn't really? Am I all alone in this???)

Red Sauce

Alrighty, per my friend, Mary's, request, here's the "recipe" for the red sauce I made this week.

Let me start by saying I wanted to make lasagna. OK, but most of the jarred sauce has added sugar. So I decided to make my own (honestly, the noodles are "probably" a no-no, but I need some variety on my plate, so I can deal with this).

I'm a "toss it all into the pot" kind of cook, so here goes.

3 cans tomato paste
6-8 cans water (more if you like it watery, less if you like it thick/chunky)
2 tsp. parsley
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp onion powder
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 to 1 c. cheap red wine
(if you have a can or two of crushed tomatoes, you could add those, too. I didn't have any, so I didn't add them)

Toss into a pot and stir. Honestly, I was throwing flavors in ... so the "2 Tbsp onion powder" is just a guess. I couldn't taste the flavor too much, but Erik said he really liked it. I'd start with a little, taste and keep adding to suit your taste buds. :)

Of course, then made "traditional" lasagna. Add meat or not.

This recipe makes A LOT of sauce .... so I have a jar in the fridge for spaghetti in the near future and another jar in the freezer for the distant future when I don't feel like/have time to cook. Now, if I could find the time to make some meatballs, we'd be golden.