Menu Sunday

This week's menu is tres boring. Last week was a really crazy work week for me, so I ended up not cooking for most of it.

Mon: Chicken and Rice from two weeks ago
          I'm a lamo.

Tues: Cauliflower stew stuff from last week
           Even bigger lamo.

Wed: My lovely little African friend K.Pool is coming home from the Peace Corps! KB will be fending for       himself this night because I will be with some lovely ladies I haven't seen in too long.

Bonus Recipes: We're chock full of bonus recipes this week...

Fruitcake Bars
My dad is a big fan of fruitcake.  I don't think anyone else in the world is.  These bars promise to be like a more refined version of the nasty candied, jellied fruitcakes.

French Chocolate Bark
Ina is my homegirl.  I made this last year and it was delicious.  I'm using dark chocolate, dried cranberries, dried apricots, and cashews.

Dark Chocolate Peppermint Bark
I'll also be doing a layer of white chocolate as well.  KB is a big peppermint bark fan and has been bugging me about it for a while.

Cocoa Blocks
These are for my coworkers and I'm a little nervous.  The recipe calls for heavy cream, but our podunk grocery store only carries whipping cream.  We'll see how they turn out.

I'm also on the lookout for a good adult bev for my parent's christmas.  We have a ton of random, half empty bottles of weird liquor and I'd like to use those up, but so far I haven't really found anything.  Can you make anything with coconut vodka, peppermint schnapps, dark rum or sweet tea vodka?

What's that Noise...

This is what the Browns (mostly me since KB has working all the time) have been listening to this week:



I love the cheesy James Bond feel of these guys.



Why do British rappers always seem so much classier than ours.



An oldie, but a goodie. Last week when I was sick KB kept singing this song to me. We've been listening to it ever since.

Cocoa Blocks

I never really know what to give my coworkers for Christmas.  I like them, I spend most of my time with them, but it always feels weird giving them legit gifts.  I've been looking for some "handmade" gifts that I can make them this year and I think I've found it.

Cocoa Blocks!

These look so neat.  It's basically just a big block of hot cocoa.  You just swirl the block in a mug of warm milk and voila...hot cocoa.  I've also found a Cappuccino version.  They look a little advanced, but I think I can handle it.  I've read a few reviews and also found some neat ideas for packaging them, like adding a big marshmallow to the top of the skewer or rolling them in crushed candy canes.

I may just make some for myself!

Guilty Pleasure

When I saw this on Netflix the other day I just couldn't stop myself.




This combines all things that I love.....cheesy 80s metal.....Mark Wahlberg.....guys with long and crazy hair....crazy 80s groupie clothes....leather pants.....Zakk Wylde (if you don't know him you should)...and KB.

Now even though KB isn't in this movie, if it was up to him and not our bank account, future mortgage, kids, job, etc, he would be a member of a rockin' 80s band like Steel Dragon instead of working as a 401k investor.  I often wake up to him doing his 80s frontman screech and catch him doing his Axl Rose dance while waiting in line for something.  I'm just waiting on the day he wears a pair of leather pants and a jacket with no shirt!

Puppy Goodies...

Yesterday was all snowy and nasty so Rosie, Panchy and I decided that we would make some goodies.  My good friend Betty Crocker didn't let me down with her recipe for Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Puppy Treats.

These were seriously really easy.  I made a few substitutions because my podunk grocery store doesn't carry brown rice flour and I am really bad at rolling out dough.  I used whole wheat flour and just patted them out into cookies.  They aren't as pretty as the cute dog shaped ones Betty made, but I don't think Rose and Panch cared.

Here are my precious little ones waiting patiently for their goodies.

They ate them so fast that I couldn't snap a pic of the actual eating, but Rosie came back for seconds...and thirds.

Menu Sunday...

This weeks menu is a little lamo.  I didn't really cook that much last week, so a lot of the recipes are repeats from last week.  Enjoy!

Mon: Mexican Chicken Stew from last week.
          I'm lame and lazy and didn't cook it last week.

Tues: Chicken and Rice
          Once again, I'm lame.

Wed: Chipotle Chicken Panini from the Hungry Girl
          The link for this recipe is not working, but basically it is a healthy redo of a Panera panini.  I'll be using regular cheese instead of lowfat string cheese.

Thurs: Cauliflower and Chick Pea Stew
           This is our meatless meal for the week.  I'm a big cauliflower fan and I think this looks delicious.  It sort of reminds me of a curry, so I may throw a little curry powder in there too.

Fri: Easy Crock Pot Spaghetti
      I have a feeling by the end of this week I'll need a crock pot recipe where I don't really have to do anything.  I heart spaghetti!

Bonus Recipe:

Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Doggie Treats
It's snowing today and I don't feel like doing anything so I'll be making these for Rosie and Panchy.  I'm sure they won't complain...I caught Pancho eating yellow snow this morning!

What goodies will you be eating this week?

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

We finally have our tree up after KB almost knocked it over, the dogs stealing the tree scraps and KB giving up and bringing an old timy rusty serial killer saw in our living room.  Each year my grandmother gives us an ornament to commemorate that year.  Here are some of my favorites:

 Our tree!  Please ignore the dog toy at the bottom.  It's Pancho's boa and he doesn't like for it to be moved from his area.

 My first ornament....woop wooop Christmas '87.

 I had a slight Beatles obsession at one point in my life.  The propellers on the back actually work.

 KB is a big dart fan.  His frat house inherited a dart board at one point and he became the dart champion.

 Santa fisherman.  True, KB is not a big fly fisher, but this Santa is pretty cool anyway.  My grandmother also likes to refer to this as the "homeless Santa".

 Our little snowmen.  KB put these on the tree and wanted to situate his where it looked like he was sitting in the tree instead of hanging to commemorate KB in a tree stand.  What a nerd.

 This is one of my favorite ornaments.  For much of my childhood I was obsessed with teddy bears.  It's a bear made out of smore parts...too cute.

Reppin' mine and KB's alma mater.  We actually have more UNC ornaments than any others, weird considering neither me or KB are really big sports fans and that's all that most people know UNC for.

What are some of your favorite ornaments?