Screw you, Monday.

Today was one of those days where your car decides to not to start while being at a gas station, then having to walk home for 30 min. Then, making arrangements for it to be towed (covered 100% by insurance, YAY!) and....the tow truck man is able to start it, no problem at all.

Sigh.

Good and bad thing, right?  Well, we drove it right to the mechanic anyway.

I'm starting to believe that Maryland is a bad omen.  This whole getting our cars ready to be registered is becoming more and more of a mess!  It's pretty stressful, and I'm tired of it.

But today when I was up-to-my-eye-balls-stressed-out and feeling sorry for myself, I decided to think of ways "it could be worse" while listening to Christmas music, and it helped me to calm down and be a little more humbled.

The real reason I wanted to blog right now, was to share a recipe of what we had tonight for dinner: Vegetarian chili and (Trader Joe's) Corn Bread! It was sooo good.  You can find the chili recipe here. TJ's corn bread is a box mix. The chili didn't turn out as spicy as it did last time I made it, which I was happy/sad about.  It's so easy!  Do it.

Cheers to no mo' crappiness this week. Well, post-mechanic bill of course. (insert silent sob)

Sunday recipe

After buying some needed ingredients for this recipe a few days ago, I finally cooked up this butternut squash stew recipe tonight, inspired by Pinterest, of course.  You can find the recipe and a better picture here. It actually turned out surprisingly well, and husband approved.

To be honest though, the chances of me making it again are pretty slim, or at least not something I would do often, because it took FOR.E.VER.  At least for my standards, and maybe I'm just slow when it comes to cooking.

Today my neck is still a little messed up, but it has definitely approved in some ways.  It makes me grateful for medical insurance...that I currently don't have.  It kind of freaks me out to look at myself in the mirror, because I think my neck is a little crooked b/c of how I have to hold my head...or am I just imagining it? Who knows.  I'm sure I'll be 100% straight-neck-free within a few days. Today I wore a scarf to church b/c I'm self conscious about it, and because it's cold of course.

Have a fantastic week!

**added note: I'm sorry that the word "here" is an eye piercing color...I'll figure out how to change it...later.

A few recipes

A couple of posts ago I mentioned I was going to make the Lemon Brownies and I actually did! {AND shared them at work!}  be proud.  They turned out good, although they get very moist fast, a little too moist for my liking, but still good.

I also tried three other recipes in the las few days. Two of which ended up being recipes that were kinda a pain in the butt, but they turned out good as well.  They were Creamy Avocado Pasta {a pain to do with a blender and not a food processor} and Nutella & Sea Salt Stuffed Sugar Cookie which we are still eating.  The thing about the cookies, is that it took FOR.E.VER to prepare! Or at least more than I ever prepare to make/bake something.  Because nutella melts fast, I had to keep putting them in the freezer.  I also didn't use sea salt, cause I don't have it.

The third recipe was Weight Watchers Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken.  Super easy and delicious.  I just love crock pots.

Happy Sunday everyone.

Does "too sweet" exist?

...I didn't think it did, but making these Cookie Dough Truffles yesterday proved me wrong. They are good, but extremely sugary and rich. I'm going to have to get rid of most of them at work or something.

I guess I'll just go back to eating a few spoon fulls of raw cookie dough while making cookies.

On a healthy side note, today I've eaten healthy and enjoyed it. A part of that included tonight, I had some cut up baked yams with olive oil and some cinnamon. Mmmm.

Our DIY 'Cafe Rio' dinner

I mentioned a few posts ago that I was going to recreate our favorite food from Cafe Rio with the help of this recipe. I first used this sweet pork recipe over a year ago, and liked it, but I couldn't remember being blown away.

Well, I did it again, and this time, we were pretty dang close to being blown away; it turned out really really good. This time though, I chose to use Dr. Pepper instead of Coke. I don't know if that was the "secret" to the success or what, but it just turned out better this time. I didn't use the exact same type/cut (?) of pork that this person suggested, just because they didn't have it at my grocery store. I can't really remember what I used, sorry...but it was close enough.

Here are some low quality pictures of our high quality grub that night. I also made some homemade pico and guac. Just thinking about it makes me almost salivate.

tried and approved.

I've been meaning to share some recipes I've tried for the first time in the last couple of weeks, and now I'm just getting around to it.

I think I've mentioned before, that I love all things pumpkin (except pie!) and so I have been trying new recipes with pumpkin in it. I still have a few more to try that I'm pretty excited about.

(Please note that as usual, all of these photos come from the recipe website.Click on the word "recipe" to be taken to the website)

With that said, let's start things off with one of my all time FAVORITE cookies:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip!

Recipe

In this cookie recipe, I accidentally put in a whole can of pumpkin, when I was suppose to only use a cup. I then adjusted the dry ingredients accordingly, and they turned out perfect. I've already used this recipe twice. Husband and co-workers approve :)

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Recipe

I had been wanting to try a pumpkin soup but didn't know what recipe to choose, so I ended up using a recipe a friend had tried and approved.

I didn't used parsley and bacon bits, and it was still good. This makes a BIG thing of soup!

Parmesan Garlic Chicken

Recipe

This turned out really good, and it's SO easy. Next time I think I'll use a little less seasoning on each chicken, just because it was a little too strong in some places.

Golden Graham S'mores Bars

Recipe

I love s'mores. These were dang yummy!

Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Recipe

Fun and easy. I think it would be great for snacks for a party, etc. Next time I think I'll buy some kind of dipping sauce for it; I'm thinkin' some of that glorious Raspberry Chipolte sauce from Costco. I'm about to salivate just thinking about it.

I didn't use bacon, and they were just fine.

Iced Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

Recipe

Enjoyable and different than what I'd usually make! I didn't use the "100% pure maple syrup." It was so dang expensive for a little bottle! And I knew I wouldn't use it again. I just used regular syrup instead, and it worked out just fine.


Ok, so I have more recipes for snacks and treats than actual food. Wellll...you're right. But in my defense, I'll have you know that Wolfgang and I rarely are able to have dinner with each other lately b/c of our works schedules, so why would I make delicious dinner if I can't share it with him? And re-heating is not the same. Aaaaannnnd I like sweets.

I really hope you try one or two or all of these.

Happy Friday!

Gotta have it. now.

For those of you who know me, {or follow my blog, or most likely both} you know that I can become easily obsessed with things, to the point that it is kind of ridiculous. For the most part, it's just for a short length of time, then I am over it for either forever, a few months, etc.

Remember how I've blogged about the No bake energy bites? I'm obsessed with them every time I make them: I am not to be trusted with them alone in our apartment- maybe that's why I always now just double the batch when I make them?

Other past obsessions have included Italian sodas, smoothies (currently), berries, Sierra Mist, Pizza, Scotty McCreery...etc.

So tonight my friends, I have a new obsession. Skype! Once upon a time I had Skype when I first went to college, to keep in touch with a guy friend who I secretly "loved." Now, 6 years later, I'm all over that technology. And let me tell you, it's pretty cool.

Today we sorta video chatted (he could see us, but he didn't have his webcam on) with Wolfgang's best friend from back home. It was flawless. Technology is truly amazing! So now I'm trying to convince my family and friends to get Skype, so I can chat and keep in touch.

Are you convinced to get a Skype account yet and chat with me? Let me know if you want my username :)

Om Nom.

Remember when I was all domestic for about a week? Yeah, that was fun. I'm still trying to learn how to gain motivation to do anything after being outside and on my feet at work full time. This dang heat is exhausting! I'd rather be working in it than bitter cold, though.

Well, from that week, tonight I decided to make again those 'No Bake Energy Bites.'

They are sooo good.

This week

Wolfgang claims that, "Pinterest is the best thing that had happened to you." I kind of have to agree with this statement. The reason he agrees, is because I now try new recipes that he most of the time enjoys.

The reason I agree, is similar. I really wish I would have discovered it earlier on in my unemployed phase, because it has really given me fun things to do, and I have discovered that I enjoy cooking and baking {new things especially}- It's relaxing and somehow feels rewarding, although that doesn't make sense to me, because once your done, it doesn't last very long.

Anyway I know you've heard enough of me talking about Pinterest, so instead of me going on about it, how about I just share with you some things I found on it, and actually executed this week, shall we?

I did two simple crafts this week. I am not a crafty person, so I like to keep it as simple as possible. I haven't taken any decent final pictures of them, so you'll just have to check out the websites that I got them from. My first craft I combined this idea with this idea. I know, it's a little late in the year to be starting this, but there's still some time, right? And I'm going to add memories that we remember thus far.

For the other little project, I used this idea. My mom kindly let me take and use her cute button collection {thanks Mom!} and make one of my own. The difference between the one on the website and mine is that I didn't have all of the same type colors, so I used all different colors, so it turned out more interesting {funky or tacky?} than the one you see. Wolfgang claims he likes it, and I'm still getting use to it.

As for recipes, here's what I made this week:

Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Rolls

Picture and recipe taken from here.

These turned out really good, and easy- just my type. If you go exactly by the recipe/directions, you should know that A. it won't look like what it does in the picture and B. It will not make 8. It ends up making only 6, but that was ok we didn't need 8 anyway. so If you want the full 8, don't use the directed 1/2 cup mixture for each noodle.

Stuffed Green Peppers with Brown Rice, Italian Sausage, and Parmesan

Picture and recipe taken from here.

These turned out good as well, but the lasagna rolls are still the favorite of the two. I did a slight variation; Although I love brown rice, Wolfgang doesn't, so I decided to be nice and compromise and use white rice. I also just used plain ground turkey, and instead added some spices. I only made 3 {so I used less of everything} which was plenty, and one is filling to eat.


To satisfy our sweet tooth this week, I made these:

All Natural, No-bake Energy Bites

Picture and recipe taken from here.

I don't know if these are really all natural, but whatever.
These are SO good! We love them. I feel like I'm eating cookie dough, minus the raw eggs and I feel like they are a little more healthy, but that is to be debated.

The first batch it made only about 14, so maybe I made them too big? The next time I just doubled the batch, and made them a little smaller than before. There are all sorts of variations you can do with these, but this is what I used and they turned out great:

-Almond butter
-Oatmeal oats {same as "old fashioned rolled oats," right? ..}
-Honey
-Flakes from 'Special K w/strawberries' and 'Raisin Brand Crunch' {my favorite} cereal, and I just took out the raisins and strawberries and crunched n' smashed them flakes.
-Chocolate chips
-Craisins
-Vanilla
-A lil' bit of cinnamon

Dang, they're so good. I'm going to go have one right now.

What's for dinner?

About a week ago before we came up to stay at my parents' place, I talked to my dad on the phone. Kind of out of the blue in the middle of our conversation, my dad asked, "Are you a good cook?" I was confused as to why he was asking me, but I responded with something on the lines of, " I'm not an amazing cook, but I can cook." I thought maybe it was just him trying to make conversation as to how I am doing being a wife, or something.

Then it dawned on me. I thought, My mom isn't going to be in town for the duration of our stay, so he's wondering if I can cook for him! I see how it is. Sure enough, the next thing he said was something like, "Because I'm not (a good cook)."

I thought it was kind of funny, and decided to make it a little challenge for myself. As mentioned in a post or two ago, my mom had told me I had free reign on buying whatever I wanted/needed for cooking, etc. Also, I was very excited to use all the things I don't have, when it comes to any kitchen appliances.

Needless to say, I tried a few new recipes on my dad and husband. I do have to admit that I didn't cook/bake as many new things as I wanted to, but I did make a small dent. Here are some of those things that I had tried for the first time:

Roasted Red Pepper and Basil Pesto Penne

Picture and recipe found here.

This was easy and pretty good. I was expecting more of a bold flavor, but it wasn't bland by any means either. Wolfgang was a big fan.

Rachel Ray Chickpea Burgers

Picture and recipe found here.

For some reason, I was really excited about this one. The men on the other hand? Not so much. Considering I was the cook, I made them anyways. They turned out ok, but I did have too high of expectations. If I were to make them again, I would cook them on a grill or George Foreman, etc instead of a skillet like I did. I also would use original bread crumbs and not Italian flavored...I didn't take a good look at the label that my mom had, until it was the last minute.

And of course, a dessert:

Chocolate Coconut Bars

Picture and recipe found here.

This turned out really good. Not in any way healthy, but that's why they are so yummy, right? One person who had made these described them as tasting "Just like Samoas Girls Scout Cookies" which led me to them. I do have to say they definitely don't taste just like them, but they are still delightful.

I'm really enjoying trying new things. Once again, thanks Pinterest.

Tried and tested: Approved.

Remember how I was hatin' on Pinterest? Well, now I'm obsessed. I really like how I can get ideas about ways to decorate our apartment, how to make a lil garden in tight spaces, and most importantly...how to make delicious food.

With that said, here are some recipes I have tried this week that I wanted to share.

Mozzarella, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

Picture and recipe taken from here.

I couldn't find the mozzarella pearls anywhere, so I bought a small block of it and just cut it up in little cubes. I thought this recipe was good, but nothing amazing. I think it would have been better if I had bought a baguette to eat it with, but I didn't. I may or may not try it again, we'll see.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili

Picture and recipe taken from here.

I'm sure you've all had some form of this, one way or another. It reminds me of my mom's delicious taco soup, with some slight variations. This is really good and has a slight spice to it (I can't handle spice too well, so I thought it had a small kick to it, but others may not) Super easy to make, especially if you use "Slow Cooker Liners." Best thing that ever hit the earth. (thanks Amber!)

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Picture and recipe taken from here.

Isn't that love at first sight?

I made them yesterday, and they turned out really good. They were a big hit, especially with the husband; he's pretty obsessed with peanut butter and chocolate combined (more specifically, nutella and peanut butter). I'm not a super huge fan of peanut butter, but I still like these. You can't go wrong with sweet n salty. They are a little time consuming, but not hard at all.

A few specific tidbits: use mini pretzels, and when making the dough into little balls, you really do want to make sure that they are little, otherwise they squish out too much when you sandwich them between the two pretzels. Also, when melting the chocolate, I used about half the bag of a big bag of chocolate chips (so about 12oz worth) and the amount turned out great with just a little bit to spare, enough to dip a few strawberries into :)

Can't wait to try more recipes this weekend/next week. I'll be at my parents house, and I'll have free reign over all my mom's appliances and ingredients! Yesssss.