Menu Sunday...

This is what the Browns will be eating on this cold and snowy week:

Mon:  The Crock-Pot potato soup from last week
          I went to PF Changs for my birthday last week and didn't make it!

Tues: Cheddar Vegetable Quiche
         This recipe looks super easy.  I already had a pie crust in my fridge, so all I had to get was a carton of egg beaters and some frozen veggies.

Wed: Roast Vegetable Chowder
         It's supposed to snow a foot and be -2 all week long (ok maybe not all week) so I thought lots of soups would be delicious.  I may add in some bacon or ham for some protein for KB.  He gets weird about not eating meat.

Thurs: Stovetop Ziti
         I like this recipe because it is quick and will probably use up all of the ricotta in a container.  I never know what to do with leftover ricotta cheese and I end up using one little spoon in one recipe, then have to throw the rest of the container away later because I never know what to do with it.

Fri: Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
      Chili is the best.  This one has lots of beans and not a lot of meat, which I like, but some people (I'm looking at you KB) are a little weirded out by.  I'll probably add in some hot sauce just to give this more of a kick.

What goodies will you be eating this week?

Fabulous Friday....

It's a fabulous Friday becauuuuuse.......

from here

It was doing this at our CEOs house.  So he let us go home.  Yay him.....and his donkey!

Since I'm home early I actually have time to work out today.  This is quite possibly the cheesiest workout video I have ever seen, but it's on Instant Stream from Netflix...so it'll work.

I'm going to put some carrot chips in the dehydrator tonight.  I think they'll be delicious, but the people I work with think it's weird.  We'll see about this one.

My coworkers took me out for a birthday lunch to one of my favorite restaurants in town.  If you're ever in A-ville, you should stop by Tupelo Honey.  They have the best biscuits, jam and pickled okra.

Why is Friday fabulous for you?

Happy Birthday to Me

Because the holidays just won't stop.....it's not only mine but also my sister's birthday this week.

I'm hoping for lots of this:

New workout clothes....because all of mine are holey (and not in the good way) and the elastic is all stretched out.

A good manicure....because I need all the help I can get to not bite my nails.

A new phone.....because mine is on its last leg.  I'm still waiting on my Christmas/birthday iPhone.  C'mon Verizon!

A new restaurant......because I've never eaten here before and A-ville just got one!

Dehydrated...

 Fruity goodness!

We broke out our dehydrator this weekend and made some goodies.  Overall we ended up dehydrating 4 small apples, 2 bananas and 3 oranges (plus peels).  I was a little skeptical about the oranges, but KB assured me that he found "some crazy yankee lady" that said it was ok.  I think I found the crazy lady.  She's really not any crazier than I am...since I've now dried oranges.

The fruits took over 24 hours to completely dry and I was starting to get a little worried about them.  The apples and bananas are delicious!  The oranges aren't too bad either.  They remind me of the candied orange rinds that people make at Christmas.  So far I've only eaten the dried oranges, but I'm thinking of making some tea out of them.

I also dried the rinds.  I'm not really sure what to do with them, maybe use them in a recipe instead of zest?  Though....suggestions....ideas....anyone?

Something's Fishy...

Now that I'm a married woman, I eat a lot of fish.  Growing up we never ate fish.  We just didn't do it.  KB being the avid fisherman and hunter that he is, will catch fish and freeze them for me to lovingly prepare.  I'm always a little scare when making fish.  I never know when it's done, what it's supposed to taste like or how it should look.  I got this little gem for Christmas:

While most of the recipes call for weird things that we can't get here in podunkville (like prickly pear cactus juice....seriously who can get that)  I found one that I thought I could make.  I ended up making the Red Fish and Red Rice with Lemon Butter White Wine sauce.  I cheated and ended up using catfish from our freezer.

The results:

DELICIOUS!  KB loved it and ate seconds and thirds of the rice.  It's fairly easy to make (compared to the other recipes) and it seems like really any fish could work.  The lemon butter sauce is really really lemony, so if you're not a huge fan of sour you may not want to make as much.  Overall, this fish is a winner...winner winner fish dinner?

Menu Sunday...

Here's what the Browns will be eating this week:

Mon: Spiced Pork Chops with Red Cabbage and Raisins
         I'm off work tomorrow for New Year's (woo hoo), so I thought I'd make something a little special.  I love red cabbage, but KB isn't a big fan.  I'm hoping the raisins will sway him.  He eats copious amounts of raisins and it's just about the nastiest thing ever.

Tues: Chicken and Garden Vegetable Stir Fry
         I'm trying to get us back on the fit train and this recipe looks to be pretty healthy.  I cheated and bought frozen stir fry veggies instead of all the fresh veggies.

Wed: Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup
         I love soup, I love a slow cooker.  While this isn't the healthiest recipe on the block, it's easy and KB will love it.

Thurs: Slow Cooker Chicken Posole
          I really like Mexican food, but it's pretty bad for you (no bueno).  This soup has all the flavors of mexican food, but with lots of healthy fresh veggies and not a lot of refritos and cheese.  I picked up some super spicy green enchilada sauce, so hopefully that will give this some kick.

Fri: Carmelized Portobello and Onion Pannini
     Sandwiches are the best and this one looks delicious.  While our podunk grocery store does not sell an extensive amount of exotic cheese like Chaumes, I did score some Amish Havarti.  I'm hoping it will be a close match, but you can't exactly go wrong with caramelized onions and cheese.

Extras:

Noel Spritzer
We actually had this on New Year's Eve and even KB liked it.  He's not a huge fan of white wine, but the cranberry juice and seltzer made it taste more like fizzy alcoholic kool aid.

What goodies will you be eating this week?

Resolution Schmesolution....

I normally make New Year's Resolutions and I normally end up keeping them a total of maybe 2 months.  Go me!

This year I would like to:

Get healthier!  KB eats like an elementary school kid (probably the fat, smelly one at that), yet he magically maintains a -3% body fat.  In 2011 I'd like to get us on the fit train.  We need to take the puppies for more walks and not eat 2 boxes of Little Debbies a week.

Save Money!  The Browns are pretty tight when it comes to money.  Neither one of us are crazy spenders and most of the time we live pretty cheap.  These past few months though, we've kind of gotten lazy.  We eat out for lunch too much, buy things we don't need and just don't save as much money as we could.  In 2011 we'll be packing our lunch, re-evaluating whether we really need the $50 deer feeder and hopefully just like Lil Scrappy, we'll have money in tha bank.

Look better!  This one is mostly for me.  I've gotten pretty lazy when it comes to my appearance.  I stopped working out about September, I've started biting my nails again, ever since I got my hair cut I don't (and can't) really fix it, and I've gotten lazy about my makeup routine.  In 2011 I vow to take better care of myself in the beauty department; whether that means having to get up early to do my makeup or getting my nails done every few months so I won't bite them.

What are your New Year's resolutions, goals, whatevers?