C is for....

Cookies and CTRG.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been thinking about doing it but I didn't have any pictures to post and frankly, reading posts without pictures can be quite boring....especially my posts. :D

Let's start, shall we? On Monday I was told that I am now an official league member!!! Hooray for me! I'm not currently skating right now, though, do to a grocery accident involving a steep step and no lights. I sprained my ankle--this was a couple weeks ago now, and I'm going to try skating on it tomorrow during endurance practice. I will, of course, be taking it slow while wearing an ankle brace/support something-or-other. I have also chosen my derby name, with a little help from my friends. teehee....you'll get why I'm giggling in a second. I chose Rink O' Starr. Get it? Ringo Starr, With a Little Help From My Friends? My number will be 64. I was hoping for Fab4 but we have a C4 so technically, 4 is already taken. I'm excited.

In other CTRG news, a bunch of us participated in WPLR's Shamrock & Roll 5k road race. We walked it and our goal was to come in last. Because if you don't win it, you lose it, so why not lose in style? We flyered while walking and talked to people who were cheering loved ones on. A couple of the girls even danced with one of the bands. We did come in last though the trophy for last place was given to some dude who did NOT finish after us according to the electronic walker thingamajig. We did win best group costume, beating out the women's Rugby team that was there. We were also on the news! NBC 30 did a quick interview with Miz but didn't really show anything good from what we heard. But check this out:

Marla posted that pic on me (#76) via Twitter just as another girl got a text from a friend telling her that she was seen on TV. And yeah, we are wearing green tulle tutus. It was awesome. Outlaw made em for us and I will be sporting mine again on Sunday for the New Haven St. Patty's Day Parade. Will you be there? Come out and support us. Buy one of the girls (or refs) a drink!


Now on to the cookies! I moved (almost a month ago now, did I post about that?) and I baked my first batch of cookies a couple weeks ago. I baked from a package! *gasp* I never do that but it was my team lead's birthday and I promised to bring something in and I was lazy. I bought a bag of peanut butter cookie mix and some caramel-filled kisses. Here's what resulted:


The kisses melted! They looked so silly but were sooooo good. I think that if I had a cooling rack, they wouldn't have melted as badly because the cookies would've cooled quicker. I also blame the fact that these kisses are not solid chocolate on their quick-melt capabilities. Makes sense, right? Let me tell you, though...Best combination of flavors EVER! I think I'll make peanut butter cookies from scratch next time I want these. Matt loved em and wants me to bake every day. haha

Monday I tried my hand at sugar cookies off the back of the flour bag. They turned out great, except that they grew to extreme proportions. I tried to make hamentashen with the recipe and without chilling the dough and that didn't work. Here's what happened:


They flattened out and didn't keep their triangle shape. I only took the time to make a couple hamentashen in case it didn't work. Good thing. The cookies were spectabular, though. Maybe I'll make thumbprint type cookies with this dough...hmm...I need to add that to my "to-bake" list.

Sorry for all the iPhone pictures, BTW. I don't know where I left my camera at the moment (or any of my hooks, save my trusty H) so the phone is all I have. Any really, it's quicker.

Toninght I made Honey-Sweetened Thumb(pinky)print Cookies. The site I got it off of has so many great recipes and I think I'm ready to continue my cooking classes and try some of her healthy, tasty looking, dishes. If you choose to make these, understand this: These are not sweet cookies. They are a little bland, but I like em. But really, there is no sugar in it. Honey is the sweetner. I might make them again and if I do, I might sprinkle a little brown sugar on top of the cookie. Matt does not like them and he said, "Cookies are supposed to be sweet." I argued that the Italian wedding cookies are not sweet. Mister Italian had nothing to say about that. hehe I showed him. So here are the pictures of the cookies during the process. Here's the batter:


You can clearly see the rolled oats and come to think of it, I could use less oats and I think the recipe will still work...Maybe then they wouldn't be as dry. The recipe lady did mention they dry out quickly so be careful not to overcook them. Here is a snapshot of them right before I put them in the oven:


And here is the final product...I think next time I will use a raspberry preserve so that the entire cookie isn't in the gold family. I think a deep red would be a nice contract and make the cookie more pleasing to look at. hehe Oh, and the recipe yeilded roughly 4 dozen bite-sized cookies. I ate a bunch (Matt only ate 1) so I lost count at 40.


Enjoy!

Cooking and experimenting!

For those who celebrate: Happy New Year! 2009 should be a good year. I'm going to do everything in my power to make it such. What did you do to celebrate? I was in good company and fell asleep (nodded off multiple times) probably around 10:30 or so. :)

Let's get started:

I've come to the realization that Greg does not eat any of the food I make. He will be polite and eat it when I first make it but will not have any of the leftovers...and seeing as I'm cooking in the crockpot, leftovers are in abundance. With this realization also came the revelation that I can make lunch/dinner for myself for a week straight and spend less that 10 bucks. This means that I need to hope the food comes out good and I will need to remember to pack my lunch. I'm really watching my spending. It's getting out of hand. With that being said, last week (Christmas Eve, actually) I decided I wanted to make a whole chicken in the crockpot. I decided to use The Crockpot Lady's Rotisserie-Style Chicken recipe and got to work. I recall not having a couple of the spices but I didn't really care at the time. Use whatever spices you want. I wouldn't say it came out like the rotisserie chicken you get at the supermarket (I've never had them, actually...) but I liked it. The chicken was SUPER moist that it was a little difficult at first to cut it into pieces. I got the legs, thighs and wings cut but when it came to getting the rest of it cut..........uhh, good god, I need to learn basic kitchen skills. I mangled that poor chicken. I highly recommend that recipe but would advice you throw in some veggies or something. Or at least be smarter than I and cook some for your side, maybe some rice too. Yum. I wasn't really thinking when I went to the supermarket (when am I ever?) and didn't get any veggies. And then by the time the chicken was done (I cooked mine on high), I had already decided I couldn't wait for it to be done and made myself some Mac & Cheese instead. :D

Today I wanted something warm and filling for dinner. Beef and barley soup it is! I found a million recipes online and they were all the same.


1 lb stew meat
2 pieces celery--chopped
2 carrots--diced
1 med onion
3/4 cup barley
1 bay leaf
6 cups beef broth
salt and pepper to taste

Throw everything into the crockpot and cook on high for 4-5 hours. I have 2 and half hours to go. I'm starving. I hope this comes out good.


I was thinking of making cholent (I love this recipe and usually add a little more honey and ketchup to my own bowl of it) but I'll probably do that next week since I now have a bag of barley to use up. Mmm...food.

And speaking of food, I was given a "cookbook" of sorts last week. There's 300+ Raw recipes plus tips and things about eating raw and the benefits of doing so. No, I'm not a raw foodist. I think that's clear from the soup I'm making tonight alone. BUT! I keep getting yelled at about the baked goods I make and how they are made with ingredients that are terrible for you--white sugar and flour, mainly. I'm open to trying new things and seeing what all the hype is about. In doing so, I've been to Catch a Health Habit Cafe in West Haven a couple of times and Glen hasn't disappointed me yet. I mean, I've only had some tea, a raw cacao smoothie thing and some raw chocolate shaped like a tree. Oh! And honey still on the comb. That was weird, but oddly good. What did Glen say? "It's nature's chewing gum." I also decided to buy a Larabar today to see how they were. YUM! Wanna know what's in the Chocolate coconut something or other bar I bought? Dates, walnuts, almonds, cocoa powder and coconut. That's it. Nothing else. It was really good. I wanna make my own seeing as I spent a buck 25 on one small ass bar! I need a food processor, though. So if you love me, buy me one. I'm broke. ;) I might give this raw eating thing a try, if only slightly. I barely started today but I'm gonna try and make it through an enormously crazy day of work tomorrow (I hate year end--don't work in accounting, people) eating fruits, veggies and some cashews I bought today. I wish I liked almonds without chocolate engulfing it. I did get some crackers and granola bars for my snack drawer in case I can't handle just fruits and stuff. I hope tomorrow goes well....Wish me luck!

In other "good for you" news, I was talking to Andrew today and remembered that he wanted to take his honey business (which is raw, BTW) to the next level, as they say. He mentioned to me months and months ago that he wanted to try out making some beauty products. Apparently honey is really good for your skin, is an antiseptic and a cleanser and who knows what else! So we got to talking a little and I brought it up. He said that he doesn't have the time or man power to jump into such a project with his business right now with all the other things going on in his life. I mentioned making a simple sugar or salt scrub would be a good, small way to start. This got me thinking. I actually just finished up the Dead Sea Salt scrub that I've been using and need something else to exfoliate. Why am I gonna go out and buy another jar that'll cost me an arm and a leg? I decided to look for recipes online and make my own. There are so many recipes online and I noticed a couple people used mineral/baby oil. Do not do this, people. It's not good for your skin! In the end it'll just dry it out more, not to mention clog your pores. Ugh.

So here's my recipe: (Umm, I used an actual teaspoon while making this, not a measuring spoon so the measurements are iffy...also, do the conversions yourself. ;)


1/2 cup sugar (I've read brown sugar is really good but that you basically need to double it...)
4 teaspoons local honey
8 teaspoons jojoba oil
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up. I started out with 6 teaspoons of jojoba oil but it wasn't the right consistency so I added two more and then decided on some olive oil for good measure. I might try using a little less sugar next time but we'll see after I really try it out. When cleaning up, I made sure to leave a little in the mixing bowl and washed my hands with it. Let's just get it out there that I have terribly dry skin in the winter. I've tried drinking more water but in addition to making my bladder hate me for it, I don't really see a different in the moisture levels in my skin because of it. This makes me sad. Maybe it's a myth? Maybe I'm just a freak of nature...Either way, I used some of the scrub for my hands and LOVED it so far. I might just add a little more jojoba oil in my next batch. Jojoba oil has been helping my skin out in all sorts of ways. I use it to take my makeup off at night and since I started doing that, my skin has really started to clear up. NICE! I also use it as a general moisturizer. Sometimes I don't feel like using my $20 Kiss My Face face cream so I just warm a little oil in my hands and use that instead. A little goes a long way, folks.

But back to the scrub: You can use salt instead but be forewarned, do not use it on your face as it (the granules) might be too harsh for it. I dunno about the sugar one on your face...try it and let me know. I'm not brave enough. Also, don't use a salt scrub if you've just shaved or if you have any sorts of cuts on your person. It'll sting and it won't be fun. You can also substitute the vanilla extract for an essential oil or another type of fragrance; experiment a little. Just remember that if you have sensitive skin, you might wanna skip the fragrance all together. I like the scent of vanilla and it's what we had in the house. You can barely smell it. I might up it to 2 teaspoons so it lingers a little. If you do use an essential oil, keep in mind that they are extremely concentrated so be careful when adding it--don't overdo it.

That's all, folks. I hope you all had as productive of a day as I did so far. I'm also doing laundry as I type. Wahoo!

Crazy Cooking Classes II

Two posts in one day. Woot! Don't expect this all the time.

I cooked dinner again! I actually cooked dinner one day last week too. I'm slightly on a role with cooking once a week. I think I missed a week or two after I decided I wanted to try my hand at this cooking thing. Okay, recipe time.

Again, I asked people for suggestions on what to cook for dinner. And by people, I mean Galen since no one else was online while I was at work and we were already conversing. His suggestion this time: Sloppy Joe's! Amazing idea. I couldn't tell you the last time I had Sloppy Joe's. I was probably 10 or something. Just so happens that Galen also had a special recipe for his Sloppy Joe's. He cannot take credit for it, nor did he. It's his Gramma's recipe and it's genius! Here is what you need:

1 lb beef (I used a 12oz package of MorningStar Farm's Crumbles)
1 can Campbell's Alphabet Soup (now under the name Vegetarian Vegetable)
ketchup
mustard

Yup. That's it. Nothing else!

Now make sure you take copious notes here. Here's what you do.

Cook the meat. In my case, I just needed to throw the crumbles into a pan and wait until they got hot. This was a lot quicker than I realized it would have been and I did not take cooking time into account when I got started. I didn't bother to have my cooking coincide with the arrival of Greg. Not that it matters, it's 8:26 and he still isn't home. Doesn't he realize that tonight is House night?! Thank god we DVR it. Back to the recipe.

Cook the meat, drain any fat...obligatory blurry picture to follow:


Once you have cooked your crumbles or meat, add the soup. No water, no nothing. JUST THE SOUP. Mix it up. Oh yeah, I added some salt and pepper to the crumbles. You can do the same if you want. I would suggest other spices but trust me, you won't need them. Did you add the soup yet?

Lookin' good! Here comes the hardest part in preparing these Sloppy Joe's which I will now call Sloppy Galen's: Add some ketchup and mustard. I, of course, forgot to take a picture of this. I have to forget a picture of at least one step every time I cook...whatever. Sue me. How much ketchup and mustard? I don't really now. I made a swirly design with both like I was a Starbucks barrista topping a macchiato off with caramel. I then mixed it, and tested. HEAVEN. You're dinner is done. Side dishes? What are side dishes? Oh, and I had some left over burrito wraps from dinner last week so I used those instead of hamburger buns.

Check out that nice manicure I got!

You can use either...or neither. The Sloppy Galen's were just as good being eaten straight from the pan. Do what you want. I didn't even sit to eat. I was gonna wait for Greg to come home but I was starving and I'm just not that considerate, I guess. Again, good thing I didn't wait...I'm about to watch House without him. Yeah, I said it.

See how clean my plate is? I was ALMOST able to keep it that clean. Then disaster struck:

No crumbles were wasted in the eating of the Sloppy Galen's.

Seriously, amazingly simple and tasty. What ridiculously simple recipes do you guys have? I need more like this one. The lasagna was a lot to tackle last time, the burritos I made were simpler and this meal just takes the cake. Give me simple people!

I'll write about my burritos another night. I also made soup a day or two after I made the lasagna. I did chronicle that and need to write up my review. I did NOT chronicle the burritos but the pictures would be just as boring as the ones in this post. Nothing fancy, just colorful. House time!

Crazy Cooking Classes

Ok, I'm not taking a class. I guess you could say I'm teaching myself to cook. And by teaching myself, I mean getting ideas on what to cook from friends and then bugging Justin to help me out and give me encouragement. Greg is my guinea pig...and sometimes my own worse critic. :) He feels the need to tell me all the time that recipes are just suggestions without taking into account that I don't cook so recipes are law to me at this point...and I don't break the law. Either way, he tells me whether what I make is good or not and frankly, that's all I care about right now.

On Monday afternoon I decided that I wanted to cook dinner. Galen suggested lasagna and I ran with it. Since I do not mix dairy with meat, I decided on a simple veggie lasagna. At first I asked Ani for the recipe her chef friend had given her but being a chef, Amy doesn't use measurements. So Ani and Amy weren't much help this time around. Damn you people who know how to cook! I looked to epicurious.com to help me out, instead. They did not fail me! I found an awesome sounding and simple recipe that I decided I could probably pull off. I went to the supermarket to get my needed items and got to work.


While I was at the store, Greg was nice enough to grate some parmesan cheese for me since he has a huge block of it and I can't really stand the smell of the stinky cheese until it's all melty and yummy. The recipe told me to mix the goat cheese (I used feta instead--what the heck is goat cheese?!?) with some herbs and olives. I did so and thought that I would not have nearly enough cheese for an entire lasagna...


The recipe calls for 7 oz of cheesy goodness. Umm, yeah. Go for more. A lot more! I would double it and then some next time. Seriously, I should have read the reviews/suggestions on the site before I went to the store but being new to this whole cooking thing, I didn't really think to look at them...and truth be told, I didn't even realize there were reviews until after I finished cooking. I'm an idiot.

After the cheese fiasco, I had to dice up some squash. Here is where I tell you that I do not cut vegetables. I'm not very handy with knives and I'm scared that I will cut my finger off one day. I tried to buy frozen squash so all I would have to do it defrost and go but my local, ghetto supermarket does not carry frozen squash. What's that about?!? I ended up getting fresh ones (as you can see in the picture above) and used the mandolin to first slice and then I cut the slices into little cube type shapes. It was quicker that I thought it would be and I still have all my fingers. Awesome!


So far so good! I then started to assemble said lasagna. Make sure you have two jars of sauce, if you don't make your own. I only had 1 and it wasn't quiet enough. Also, if you are going to add the roasted red peppers like I did, get the BIG jar. I only used peppers in 1 layer which is actually ok by me since cooked peppers give me heartburn. BUT, I know Greg likes a little spice and flavor in his food so I threw them into the mix. You're welcome.

I, of course, forgot to take pictures during the layering process but I assure you it looked messy and like there wasn't enough sauce or cheese. Again, 2 jars of sauce and double the cheese. Oh yeah, we didn't have any salvageable garlic in the house (that has NEVER happened before, I swear) and I didn't get Greg's text to pick some up until it was too late so I used garlic powder instead of minced garlic. I put a lot. I didn't even measure. We love garlic. You should do the same....just keep adding more.

After all the layering was done, and I sprinkled the parm cheese on top (I would double that as well...maybe don't even measure. Just keep sprinkling until you think you have enough on top), I covered my food with foil. Be careful not to have the foil touch the food. I wasn't so careful and everything was almost ruined when I took the foil off after baking for 40 minutes. Disaster was averted but I think I had a mini heart attack when the foil lifted some of the pasta up.


Sorry for the blurry picture. I always have to have at least 1... So yeah, after the 45 minutes or so of baking, I took the lasagna out of the oven and I was starving from the smell. It smelling good was definitely a good sign to me. How bad could it be? I let it cool while picking at it a little to try it. I loved it! The feta gave a salty taste to it that was amazing! And as a side note, I only like melted feta. Really the only thing I would change is the amount of the ingredients. I might even throw in some additional veggies next time. Who knows?!? The finished product wasn't pretty, though...I was actually a little sad about that but if I had enough sauce, I think it would have looked better and frankly, I was so hungry I didn't care too much.


You can't even tell that there was parmesan cheese on top! And yeah, there was some pasta that was still a little hard and uncooked...I think I should have smooshed everything down a little to ensure it all stayed together. It fell apart when I cut it but maybe more cheese would remedy that?


Yay! It was really yummy in my opinion and I think I did a good job. Greg did say I could make it again and agreed with me that more cheese is needed. So I would give this recipe a B as is. Once I fix it up a bit, I hope it'll be an A dish that I would be willing to share with someone other than Greg. haha