It really annoys me when my Yahoo toolbar decides to randomly switch the order my icons appear. I’m used to them being in certain places and I cannot tell you how many times this morning I’ve opened the weather report when I meant to be getting into my bookmarks. D’OH!
Anyway, the reason I sat down to write a blog wasn’t to complain about Yahoo. I am finally feeling better, and back to 100%. I have been pretty much since Monday, so I’ve been enjoying not coughing. I’d almost forgotten what that’s like! I’m back to working out, though I still haven’t gotten back into the swing of P90X- though, the good news is that I’ve lost about three pounds in the last couple of weeks. I have been switching it up between walking and running on the treadmill, taking walks outside when the weather permits, and doing Kenpo X which is my favorite of all the P90X workouts. I intend to re-start P90X when I get back from New York in April.
Did you just see that?! NEW YORK. I am so excited I’m practically vibrating! I leave for New York City in twelve days. This will be my first trip there, and I am going to stay with my friend Denise for a week. So much to see, and do… and eat.
Since I’ll be gone for a week, I am currently in the process of making doubles of everything I cook and freezing the second one for my husband and kids to enjoy while I’m away. So far there is a pan and a half of lasagna in there. My lasagna- which is amazingly delicious- is this one by Emeril which is horribly fattening and full of many pounds of cheese but it’s lasagna, people. You don’t eat lasagna for the health benefits, right? I have tried a bajillion lasagna recipes and none of them even come close to this, both in flavor and in ease of preparation (I hate boiling the noodles!!!!!!!! Also, I seriously dislike cottage cheese in lasagna- blech!).
When I’m short on time as I was yesterday, I use Newman’s Own Sockarooni jarred sauce- two whole jars go into each pan of lasagna. It’s my favorite jarred sauce, and all-natural. Of course homemade is better still but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do sometimes. Oh- also, I used sweet Italian sausage in place of the ground pork. SO GOOD.
Today or tomorrow, I intend to make a couple of Reuben Loafs (think a Reuben sandwich baked inside a loaf of bread!) and put one in the freezer. That recipe will appear when I’ve got a picture to share. It’s one of my husband’s favorite things.
 Yeah, that's right. You can still have salad dressing! I know. I, too, thought it didn’t exist.
You know how low-fat dressings are always a weird texture and kind of sweet? Well, I’ve found a solution that works. AND it has protein. Yeah, I’m pretty stoked.
Here’s what you do, and I know the measurements are not exact but I’m pretty sure you can all figure it out because you’re smart. Just add amounts that make it taste good!
Puree some low-fat cottage cheese. (I don’t use fat-free because it tastes like plastic.) Add some ranch dressing mix. (My favorite is Penzey’s Buttermilk Ranch mix.) Add a little lowfat buttermilk (or some lowfat or fat free milk and a splash of vinegar) and blend until you reach the desired consistency.
That’s it. It comes out creamy, much like mayo-based dressing thanks to the cottage cheese and has a good tangy taste from the buttermilk or vinegar.
This is a recipe I adapted from a website with some p90x recipes. It was really, really good and I will be making some more of it soon.
One thing to consider: I followed the instructions of the recipe and found that the little bits of bell pepper skin in the soup were kind of unpleasant so I strained all of the soup through a sieve. That helped tremendously, the texture of the soup was way better. If you don’t want to have to do that, I think you could probably roast the peppers on the grill or in the oven first and then close them in a plastic bag for a while and then peel the peels off. That would probably taste pretty rad too. But that’s a lot of work, so I’m just gonna stick with the straining method, myself.
Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
5 red bell peppers, seeded & chopped
1.5 cups white wine
1.5 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
2 cans diced tomatoes
4 tbsp tomato paste
4 tsp sugar, if desired
thyme, garlic powder & onion powder to taste
salt & pepper to taste
Bring wine and peppers to a boil. Allow to boil for 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and seasonings. Bring to a boil & lower to a simmer. Simmer for about 25 minutes or until peppers are fork-tender. Blend til smooth. Strain, if desired.
See? That’s it. Super, super, souper (har har) easy. I love soup.
I thought it was really good with a wedge of Laughing Cow light Swiss chunked up into it.. also, it’d be terrific served with croutons or a piece of toast… or a grilled cheese, which my diet doesn’t allow right now. Mmmmm, grilled cheese….
 New Years Eve is coming and now that we’re old and boring with kids, we’re keeping it pretty low-key. Some friends of ours- a family with kids the same ages as ours, are coming over. We’re going to play board games and eat finger foods and attempt to stay up to ring in the New Year. And if we fail and the kids won’t sleep and melt down, we’ve all decided we’re ok with that. Pretty sure that qualifies us for old & boring status.
We all know the most important part of any party is the food anyway, right?
So here’s my menu line-up:
And my friend Leila is bringing, as per my vague request, “something with chicken”. There will be adult beverages and champagne (for the big people, of course). There will be a nice cozy nest of blankets and pillows and a tv with a dvd player in Hailey’s room to keep the little ones occupied. It’s gonna be a good – and delicious – time.
*Here’s the basic low-down on making hummus: drain one can of garbanzo beans (save the liquid though), dump it in the food processor. Put in 1 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste.. you can leave it out if you want but it really adds a nice flavor), the juice of one lemon, one garlic clove, a dash of salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil. Run the food processor til this is all blended well. You can flavor it however you want or leave it plain. I put in 1/4 of an onion, caramelized, 3 jarred roasted piquillo peppers, and a handful of parsley. Run the food processor til it’s well blended.
**To make the mini pies, I’m taking a short cut and using store bought pie dough. Whatever, shut up! See how many things I’m making?! Anyway, I’m going to roll it out slightly thinner than they package it, cut it with a small biscuit cutter, and put the crusts in a mini muffin tin. For the chocolate pudding pies, I’ll blind bake the crusts til they’re done and then fill with chocolate cook & serve pudding, then refrigerate. For the cherry pies, I’ll put the bottom crust in, spoon in a teaspoon or so of cherry pie filling (canned.. omg what’s happening to me?!), put on a top crust (with a slit in it!) and then bake.
Applesauce is one of those things that I’ve never made because it’s so convenient to buy it at a store. Yes, I’m that lazy, shut up. Finally, though, I decided that I needed to give it a try. I knew it would be super easy and I was right. Of course, peeling, coring & chopping the apples was a bit time-consuming but so worth it. (It did make me take a mental note to buy one of those apple peelers that clamps onto the edge of the counter though…) This is possibly the best applesauce I’ve ever had. Also, I didn’t process the applesauce for canning, I figured it wouldn’t last long around here anyway. One jar already went home with my best friend who stopped over at just the right time. I know this is super simple and easy to find a recipe for, but I thought I’d post it anyway. Sometimes the simplest things are the best, after all!
Applesauce
3 lbs apples (peeled, cored, and chopped)
3-ish cups of water
3/4-1 cup sugar (depending on taste)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
Put the apples in a large pot. Add water- the level of the water should be slightly below the apples. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over medium heat for 20-ish minutes (this really depends on how large you chopped them) til they are fork tender. Remove from heat and blend in batches in your blender or use a submersion blender. Stir in sugar, lemon juice, and spices to taste. Simmer for 3-4 more minutes to ensure the sugar dissolves.
There ya go. Simple, right? Give it a try!
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