hodge podge mix of stir-fry-like-ness

I just polished off my morning snack/breakfast.  With all my nibbling while I make Kai her breakfasts I don't always need a full, sit down breakfast everyday, but I do need something.  And the jar of nutbutter was just calling to me this morning.  As was an apple.  Oh, and after reading this post I HAD to add a little gingerbread flavor to it. :)

I mixed a Big spoonful of Cashew-Almond-Peanut Butter (yes, they sell that at the grocery store) with a drizzle of Molasses, some pumpkin pie spice and a lot of cinnamon.   It was AMAZING!!

Lunch/Dinner yesterday was another hodge podge mix of stir-fry-like-ness.  (How's that for a sentence!)

First I brought some brown rice to a boil and then let it simmer.

While that was happening I heated up a pan and started to saute:

1/2 a chopped Onion

1 chopped Sweet Potato (I nuked it a few minutes to make cutting easier)

1/2 can drained & rinsed Chickpeas

1/2 can drained Corn

Some Frozen Snap Peas

and some chopped Spinach

I just let that cook, stirring periodically, until the rice was done.

Then I topped the rice with the veggie mix and ate it all up! :)

Kai also enjoyed a bit of the mixture, with a jelly & nutritional yeast sandwich of course.  It wouldn't be a meal without a jelly sandwich!

Now I'm off to finish some laundry, get caught up on work and eventually I'll be making some peppermint brownies!!  I wanted to make them yesterday but Mockingjay finally came up at the library so instead of doing anything else, I read it. :)

I REALLY enjoyed the series (as shown by my need to finish it!).  The ending actually surprised me too.  Much more "real" than fairy tale.

Soup vs Stew

Yesterday was cold and wet...again!  Ugh, I'm so ready to see some snow.  All our Christmas decorations are up, the fire place is going and music's in the air.  And outside there's piles and piles of rain.  Come on!  I want a WHITE Christmas, not a wet one.  Now to be clear, I want a nice and pretty snow fall - NOT a 3', ice roads, scared to go out and sled kind of snow. Is that really too much to ask?  :)


So anyway, it's rainy days and I'm back to making soups all the time. They're just the perfect cool weather meal.  How can you beat that?


As lunch rolled around I got out my pot and sauteed:
1 onion - chopped
1 pealed zucchini - chopped into half moons
Handful of baby carrots - chopped
Handful of Mushrooms - chopped
2 Kale leaves - destemmed & torn into bite size pieces


Then I added
1 can chopped tomatoes with Chili
1 cup black beans
Veggie Broth to bring the liquid up to the top of the veggies


And then I let it simmer.

When the Hubs walked by he said "Oh, you're making your Soup" and even put the word soup in air quotes.  Surprised, I calmly asked what he meant by "Soup".  I mean seriously, does that not look like soup to you?

He told me that my soup has so much in it that it's more of a stew than a soup.  "Soups should be mostly broth with a little bit of veggies, meat or noodles".  I promptly told him that I'd be checking into his soup vs stew theory and be posting about it. :)

After a quick Google search I've decided I'm right. :)

soup

noun

1.

a liquid food made by boiling or simmering meat, fish, orvegetables with various added ingredients.

stew
noun

5.

a preparation of meat, fish, or other food cooked by stewing,especially a mixture of meat and vegetables.

Stewing: to cook (food) by simmering or slow boiling.

There you have it - In my opinion Soups are made quickly and stews simmer longer.  Nowhere is there any mention of a liquid-to-solid ratio requirement for one or the other.  I was definitely right, what I make are soups since mine are made in anywhere from 20-40 minutes. I win!  :)

So anyway, once my SOUP was done I topped it with some nutritional yeast and feta cheese.  Delish!!

As evening rolled around the Hubs also wanted some soup so I made some up for him - being sure to use LOTS of broth so there would be no confusion.

I sauteed an onion, carrots, and celery.

Added Veggie Broth & water so that there was plenty of liquid, and a frozen chicken Breast.

And I added some spices - Fennel and Basil.

I brought that to a boil and let it simmer until the chicken was cooked.

I pulled the chicken breast out of the pot and cut it up into bite size pieces,

then added it back in.

Then I boiled some store bought Amish noodles in a separate pot and when they were ready I added those to the soup.  (I learned the hard way that if you cook the noodles in the soup they'll absorb all the liquid and then you've stuck with what the hubs deems a "Stew", lol!)

All done!

The hubs also wanted some grilled cheese to go with the soup (I admit that soup and grilled cheese go together like PB & J) so on the side he had 2 (!) sandwiches.

I made myself a slice of roasted cabbage and later, a bowl of pumpkin & almond milk since I was still REALLY full from eating the entire pot of soup earlier!

Someone wanted in on my photo shoot!

And to share some more of the Christmas extravaganza that's going on here I thought I'd show you one of Kai's latest creations...

She tied her suitcase to her rocking horse and pulls it around the house saying "Ho, Ho, Ho".  She even has a little toy fishing pole that she "whips" and says lets go reindeer!  I love her creativity in creating her very own sleigh & reindeer. :)

Our Kitchen tree with my little Santa driving her sleigh

A Christmas Craft

My meals have been SO BORING lately.  Don't get me wrong, they're totally delicious but nothing new.

The same oatmeal - topped with pomegranate seeds, cinnamon, chia seeds, etc...

The same tomato soup & roasted cabbage I've been eating all week.

And then dinner last night was at Dave & Busters - so that was interesting but I didn't take any photos. :(

We were actually there for the Hub's company Christmas party.  The buffet included salad, Mini-pizzas that reminded me of re-heated collage food, a delicious veggie mix, a stuffing (I think), some SUPER tasty roasted potatoes (I may have had 3 servings of them) and then some assorted meats (I'm told they were very good).  Then there was dessert - a carrot cake, a brownie and a banana cake.  I originally got the banana cake thinking it was some sort of a tiramisu so the Hubs traded me his carrot cake which had walnuts in it.  We're such a good team! lol!

Oh, and of course there were drinks...I had a cranberry & vodka when we first got there.  I hadn't eaten yet and it was definitely strong enough that I was done for quite a while!  Then later I had a couple Kahlua & Creams which were my drink of choice in college.  Mmmm, they were tasty.  I had forgotten how much I liked them.  :)

Anyway, since I don't have any food adventures to share with you, I thought I'd share a craft adventure....

Ta-dah!

I made a felt Christmas tree and ornaments!  I saw the idea here and decided it was perfect four our hallway.  I bought 1/2 Yard of Green Felt and 6 flet "pages" in different colors.  It cost less than $5 and it actually made 2 trees and 2 sets of ornaments!  Some double sided tape holds the tree to the wall and the felt holds the ornaments to the tree (felt "sticks" to itself).

After cutting out the ornament shapes Kai and I colored them with some markers and then got to decorating our tree. (Coloring is SO much easier than sewing/iron-ons)

Finding the Perfect spot

I like this one!

We've already rearranged the ornaments on the tree several times - each time "surprising" the other with the final results.  I calling this craft a complete SUCCESS!

Guessing Game

Guess what we did yesterday...

no, we're not sorting toys

Need a closer look? 

A select few!

Yep, those are cookie cutters.  And yes I have a massive tub of cookie cutters. :)

You never know what shape you'll need so it's best to have them all! lol!

But back to what we did...we made cookies!

I used this recipe with Sucanant instead of white sugar, and Almond Extract instead of Vanilla, and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter instead of a vegan spread (gotta' use what you have).

And one of the best parts is that since there's no egg or anything you can feel good about "tasting" the dough repeatably (I bet this would be a perfect cookie recipe for Kai when she gets her Christmas present this year...An Easy Bake Oven!)

And then to finish them off we painted on some Ricemellow Cream and added some Christmas sprinkles.

nibble, nibble, nibble

Cutting shapes - all that play-doh practice has come in handy!  :)

Into the oven they go...

I may not have a fancy salt n' pepper shaker but I do have an
AWESOME oven mitt. :)

I'm sad to say that over the course of the day Kai and I ate ALL the cookies.  The Hubs had 1 measly cookie and we ate the rest!  Since it appears that neither of us (Kai and me) have ANY self control around these cookies they're going to have to be a special occasion treat. :)

But happily we ate more than just cookies yesterday.

Breakfast has looked the exact same all week!  Oatmeal made with Almond milk & water topped with cinnamon, chia seeds, chopped dates, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds.  You'd think I'd get tired of eating the exact same meal but when it's that good why change it?

Well, I'll tell you why, because you'll eventually run out of ingredients.  I'm now out of pepitas (pumpkin seeds).  I guess I need to go shopping soon.  I need my little bundles of zinc & iron.

Lunch was a rerun of the day before...left over tomato soup...with a side of cookies. :)

Dinner was supposed to be the Hubs making quesadillas but Kai wanted scrambled eggs.  It was all she could talk about so we switched things up and went with Breakfast-for-Dinner.

My "scrambled eggs" included sauteing an onion and chopped carrots, then adding chopped spinach and a scrambled egg and then topping that with some chopped sweet pepper.

Upon seeing MY scramble the Hubs decided he'd rather have an omelet and Kai jumped on board.  So he made a big one with bacon and cheese for them to split (Lord knows I cannot make an omelet - any time I've tried it's turned into scrambled eggs. lol!)

In addition to our egg dishes I made us some hash browns.  Sweet potato for Kai and myself and red potato for the Hubs.

My plate. :)

And how did I make the hash browns?  Well I used my George Forman Grill!!  I saw how Chelsey used her waffle iron to make hers and decided my GF Grill should work equally well.  And it did!  As my dad would say, Score one for the good guys! :)

Just about done and in no time at all!

Warming Up

The heat is back up and running!  Yeah!!

But it wasn't back on before lunch, which meant I wanted something that would really warm me up. :)

Kai on the other hand told me she liked it cold and all she wanted was some turkey and an apple.  Fine, if she likes it cold she can be cold.  I want to be wrapped in an over sized sweatshirt, snuggie, and a sleeping bag and to sit in front of a roaring fire with some hot soup and hot tea in hand.  I am not a fan of being cold.  I like it hot.

So soup for lunch was obvious. (Lord knows I'd been downing my fair share of hot tea all morning)  

A quick saute of onions + a large can of whole peeled tomatoes (including the juice) + white beans + spinach = a warming lunch.

Cooking and looking tasty

Smoothed out with my immersion blender.  Not as pretty but much easier to eat.

See all that steam?  Yep, I told you our house was cold.

And then for a side I decided to roast some cabbage.  This is a WONDERFUL alternative to slaw or a salad for the colder months.

Just slice into 1"-ish disks

Drizzle with Olive Oil & some salt

Roast at 415° until browned and crispy.

Before the Oven.

After the oven.

I'm seriously loving this roasted cabbage and will most likely be having it again today. :)

What a day!!

What a day it was!!

Seriously, what a day!

I finished reading The Night Circus.

This book was recommended on NPR (yes, I'm a total dork who listens to NPR whenever I'm in the car).  If you're looking for something to read I fully recommend this book.  It's basically a story about an elegant Night Circus (open from dusk until dawn), which is the venue for an on going challenge between two "magicians".  They're not fighting each other but rather continually trying to one-up the other and at the same time falling in love.  I don't describe it very well (probably why I don't write book sleeves).  My only problem is that it tells the main story line which is set in one time line at the same time that it tells a minor story line which is set in the future.  If you read the chapter titles it's very clear from the beginning what the year is but I don't tend to pay much attention to chapter titles so I was a little lot confused at first. lol!

Now I've started A Discovery of Witches, which was recommended by a friend.  And while 99% of the time I finish a book before starting the next one, you best believe that if Mockingjay (book 3 of Hunger Games) becomes available while I'm in the middle of it, I will stop to finish that series.  I don't know that I've been so impatient to finish a series since Harry Potter.  I'm completely sucked into it and MUST know how it all ends. :)

Of course I also ate lunch.  Not very interesting and I didn't get a photo of it.

All I did was heat up some frozen California Veggie Mix (Broccoli, Cauliflower, & Carrots) then topped it with Nutritional Yeast and the left over Tempeh from the night before.

I may not have gotten a picture of my lunch but I did get one of this cute little guy just waiting for me to drop something...

Pretending not to look at me while his eyes watch my every move.

Then the Furnace Man came to do a check up.  Last Spring we had the AC checked and I signed us up to get it, and the furnace, checked regularly.  So I finally called to make the appointment for the furnace check and they said they'd come out that afternoon!  I was all ready with our calendar open so I could write it down and they say they can come out the same day.  Oh well, maybe next time I'll be prepared and get to actually use my pre-planning-ness. 

So anyway, the man came out and says, "Well, I've got some bad news.  You need a new furnace."  He had a little camera on a scope and showed me where our furnace was cracked and told me that the gasses are actually going out through our house and could make us sick.  Legally he couldn't even turn the heater back on. :(

Now, I told you my car wouldn't start on Monday.  It turns out I just needed a new battery.  Not cheep but it definitely could have been a LOT worse.  You know what's a LOT worse then the cost of a new car battery?  The cost of a new furnace.  But we're homeowners so we just have to roll with it.

Our fancy new furnace will be installed at some point today and then I'll be basking in warmth again. :)

In the afternoon I also took Kai to the Children's Museum to go see Santa.  She was super excited to go see him.  She was going to ask him for a horse.  She was talking about it all day. Then when it was our turn she got a serious case of the "shy" and wanted me to go tell him what she wanted. lol!  Fortunately Santa was really patient with her and did a good job of drawing her out of her shell.  She still wasn't about to have an actual conversation with him but we did wish him a Merry Christmas when we left.  I'm hoping to go back with the Hubs so I can get an actual picture of her with him. :)

And while we were in the museum the rain that hasn't seemed to stop in days became big fluffy snow flakes!  Kai was super excited and deemed that "Christmas had started".  :)

Eventually the day lead to dinner.  Again it was super quick.  Some frozen veggie mix heated up with black beans and then stirred in with some 90 second rice.  Rounded out with an Apple-pear.  YUM. YUM. YUM.

Everything tastes better when eaten with chopsticks.

Fingers crossed now that today will result in no breaks, shut downs, injuries or other misfortunes.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

As of Sunday the Hubs was officially older than me. lol!

So let's all give a big shout out... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Yes, we sort of celebrated on Sunday.  I made him bacon & eggs for breakfast, he opened his present (which we'll be exchanging soon, lol!) then we had pizza for lunch and the Colts came so close to winning, there was buttered noodles & shrimp for dinner and all along we had Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes to celebrate with.

One of the Hub's Favorites!

Then last night we celebrated some more with my parents & BW3s, the Hub's favorite place to eat.  We actually wound up getting take-out and since they don't offer any meatless options I decided to make up my own food rather than spending $10 for a salad that's sub-par. :)

I started with some Tempeh.  This is actually the first time I've made anything with it but I've been wanting to for a LONG time.  It's basically like un-processed tofu. :)

All I did was cut it into bite size-ish pieces and marinate it in a bag with Rice Vinegar, Tamari Sauce (soy sauce), Liquid Smoke and some Maple Syrup until I was ready to cook it up.

Then it was pan fried so that the sides were nice and crispy.

And tossed on a spinach, carrot, sweet pepper and pumpkin seed salad.

When the food arrived we all sat down to eat.  I added a side of Buffalo Chips to my salad which I shared with my dad since he didn't get the fries we thought he would.  It worked out perfectly since I couldn't finish them anyway. :)

Then it was finally time for cake brownies...topped with white chocolate chips.  YUM!

And for those of you who were wondering, here's the design I made for my cousin & her uber tall fiance...

Read one way it says Felicia (her name) and read the other it says Cody.

This is the second time I've tried to create this style of name merging and I just love how it turned out.  People always think there's a formula to getting the letters to work together but it's really just about working with them until you get it to look the way you want.   Kind of like marriage, it takes some work but it's pretty awesome when you see the two parts come together.  :D