Yeah, I barely do, either.
No Friday photos today because I'm not at my home computer. Instead, I offer a collection of random thoughts for the weekend.
1. I made these bar cookies for a party this week. I don't usually like bar cookies but when Abe took the leftovers in to work I had to call him halfway through the day to request that he go snag a few to bring back home for me tonight. My one Christmas wish is that you try making them yourself before the end of the month.
2. While making said bar cookies and other party goodies on Wednesday night, I think I worked myself into pre-term labor. Not because I was working particularly hard in the kitchen but because I had just stuffed myself with delicious Chinese seafood and couldn't stop eating the cookie dough. I had to give up before everything was done and go to bed. The cramping had stopped by morning. Kublai seems just fine now.
3. I love the rain but have mixed feelings about it in December. It's too early to be complaining about weather, though, so I'll just leave it at that.
4. For a while Genghis had the habit of walking around the house saying "money, money, money, money". We weren't sure what he was really talking about but it was an endless source of amusement for us. About a week ago, he became an almost overnight expert in identifying "Dada" and "Mama". This has been very heartwarming for us. Then a few days ago, he started referring to me as "money mama". Abe encourages this. I don't know what to think.
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipe. Show all posts
Friday, December 16, 2011
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
win your next chili contest by following this 1 crazy tip
and get a flat belly too*!
Really, though, white chili is always a high ranking dish at chili contests. This was a winner last week. We could eat this every week - easy, quick (well, it sits in a crock pot for 8 hours but otherwise quick), delicious.
Also, a shout out to the People's Choice winner of said chili contest - a great chili recipe with no meat or beans. No, really.
White Chicken Chili
1 c butter
1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c chicken broth
4 c milk
2 tsp Tabasco
2 onions, chopped
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
8 oz canned green chilies, chopped
2 lbs chicken breast
3 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 cans white beans (I use Great Northern and white kidney beans)
Melt butter and whisk in flour followed by chicken broth and milk. Add Tabasco, onion, seasonings, chilis, and chicken and cook in crock pot all day. 1 hour before serving, pull out chicken breasts and shred (should come apart easily). Put back in crock pot and add cheese and beans. Cook 30-60 minutes more.
*Okay, am I the only one who constantly gets this ad about getting a flat belly by following a super weird rule. I don't know what the rule is because I've never clicked on it. But I'm secretly dying to know.
Really, though, white chili is always a high ranking dish at chili contests. This was a winner last week. We could eat this every week - easy, quick (well, it sits in a crock pot for 8 hours but otherwise quick), delicious.
Also, a shout out to the People's Choice winner of said chili contest - a great chili recipe with no meat or beans. No, really.
White Chicken Chili
1 c butter
1/2 c flour
1 1/2 c chicken broth
4 c milk
2 tsp Tabasco
2 onions, chopped
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne (red) pepper
8 oz canned green chilies, chopped
2 lbs chicken breast
3 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 cans white beans (I use Great Northern and white kidney beans)
Melt butter and whisk in flour followed by chicken broth and milk. Add Tabasco, onion, seasonings, chilis, and chicken and cook in crock pot all day. 1 hour before serving, pull out chicken breasts and shred (should come apart easily). Put back in crock pot and add cheese and beans. Cook 30-60 minutes more.
*Okay, am I the only one who constantly gets this ad about getting a flat belly by following a super weird rule. I don't know what the rule is because I've never clicked on it. But I'm secretly dying to know.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
recipe database files
Based on the number of people who didn't think I was crazy and wanted their very own copy of the Access file lauded in the previous post, I have made the file available for download here, along with a video tutorial of how to use it.
Okay, so there are 2 versions.
First, the Simple Grocery List Maker.
This is an Excel file that will create grocery lists for you. You enter in meals/ingredients, select which you want to make, and the file creates a grocery list ready to print and take to the store.
Download the file here: https://sites.google.com/site/erinsandbox/documents/GroceryListMaker.xls?attredirects=0&d=1
Watch the video tutorial (recommended):
(Link to YouTube video)
Second, the Ultimate Meal Planner.
This is an Access database that will create printable recipe cards and a grocery list. If you're really serious about this, choose this option because once you're already entering in meals and ingredients, you may as well get a formatted recipe card out of it. In this database, you fill out recipe forms to create your cards (ready to print on 4x6 cards). Use the grocery form to select meals and generate a list ready to print and take to the store.
Download the file here
https://sites.google.com/site/erinsandbox/documents/Recipes.accdb?attredirects=0&d=1
Watch the video tutorials (strongly, highly, very recommended):
(Link to YouTube video)
(Link to YouTube video)
Okay, so there are 2 versions.
First, the Simple Grocery List Maker.
This is an Excel file that will create grocery lists for you. You enter in meals/ingredients, select which you want to make, and the file creates a grocery list ready to print and take to the store.
Download the file here: https://sites.google.com/site/erinsandbox/documents/GroceryListMaker.xls?attredirects=0&d=1
Watch the video tutorial (recommended):
(Link to YouTube video)
Second, the Ultimate Meal Planner.
This is an Access database that will create printable recipe cards and a grocery list. If you're really serious about this, choose this option because once you're already entering in meals and ingredients, you may as well get a formatted recipe card out of it. In this database, you fill out recipe forms to create your cards (ready to print on 4x6 cards). Use the grocery form to select meals and generate a list ready to print and take to the store.
Download the file here
https://sites.google.com/site/erinsandbox/documents/Recipes.accdb?attredirects=0&d=1
Watch the video tutorials (strongly, highly, very recommended):
(Link to YouTube video)
(Link to YouTube video)
Monday, November 1, 2010
what do you get when you cross a stay-at-home mom with a spreadsheet freak?
Me!
With the end result of an Access database that generates 4x6 recipe cards and my weekly grocery lists with just a few clicks.
The inefficiencies of my meal planning system have been gnawing at me for a while now. Searching for recipes stuffed into recipe boxes, saved on my delicious.com account, scribbled on a napkin at the bottom of my purse. Or, spending 20 minutes writing my grocery list and getting home to discover I've forgotten the noodles for spaghetti. Or, eating the same foods week after week because it's too hard to look in various places mentioned above for recipes I haven't made in a while.
Over the last 2 weeks I have streamlined a solution. In my Access database, I can fill out a form to enter in a new recipe. The recipe automatically uploads into a report that prints onto a 4x6 card so I can add it to my "recipe ring". The recipe ring frees cards from the constraints of a box. Instead cards are clipped together with 2 rings that allows for faster flip-through. Plus the card won't ever leave the box and mysteriously disappear - the whole bunch stays together on the ring.
That's pretty handy. But the best part is that all of those recipes feed into a grocery list creator. Okay, it's really just a pivot table. The coolest pivot table ever.* It gives me a drop-down list of my recipes. I select which meals I want to make that week and it gives me a list of ingredients I need to buy. And quantities - summed across recipes. And it sorts it by store section (produce, bakery, meat, etc). One Ctrl+P later and I've got a complete, sorted grocery list to take with me to the store.
The only flaw in the system (which I've encountered twice now) is when I leave the grocery list sitting on the kitchen table. Operator error.
I know this all sounds a little crazy. But meal planning has always been a thing with me. Have I ever written about the time I was gearing up for a very busy school semester, so I planned out 16 weeks of dinners? I printed out 16 pages of grocery lists, one for each week, that had the week's dinners and necessary ingredients. I set the stack on my nightstand and didn't think about what to make for dinner for the next 4 months. Talk about efficient.
At this point, you may be feeling one of two ways. 1) Wow! Maybe Erin will send me a copy of her Access database so I can use it too (I'd be happy to). 2) Wow! This is the scariest Halloween post I've ever read.
*Credit for the pivot table goes to my friend Melissa, who first came up with this concept using the pivot tables in Excel.
With the end result of an Access database that generates 4x6 recipe cards and my weekly grocery lists with just a few clicks.
The inefficiencies of my meal planning system have been gnawing at me for a while now. Searching for recipes stuffed into recipe boxes, saved on my delicious.com account, scribbled on a napkin at the bottom of my purse. Or, spending 20 minutes writing my grocery list and getting home to discover I've forgotten the noodles for spaghetti. Or, eating the same foods week after week because it's too hard to look in various places mentioned above for recipes I haven't made in a while.
Over the last 2 weeks I have streamlined a solution. In my Access database, I can fill out a form to enter in a new recipe. The recipe automatically uploads into a report that prints onto a 4x6 card so I can add it to my "recipe ring". The recipe ring frees cards from the constraints of a box. Instead cards are clipped together with 2 rings that allows for faster flip-through. Plus the card won't ever leave the box and mysteriously disappear - the whole bunch stays together on the ring.
That's pretty handy. But the best part is that all of those recipes feed into a grocery list creator. Okay, it's really just a pivot table. The coolest pivot table ever.* It gives me a drop-down list of my recipes. I select which meals I want to make that week and it gives me a list of ingredients I need to buy. And quantities - summed across recipes. And it sorts it by store section (produce, bakery, meat, etc). One Ctrl+P later and I've got a complete, sorted grocery list to take with me to the store.
The only flaw in the system (which I've encountered twice now) is when I leave the grocery list sitting on the kitchen table. Operator error.
I know this all sounds a little crazy. But meal planning has always been a thing with me. Have I ever written about the time I was gearing up for a very busy school semester, so I planned out 16 weeks of dinners? I printed out 16 pages of grocery lists, one for each week, that had the week's dinners and necessary ingredients. I set the stack on my nightstand and didn't think about what to make for dinner for the next 4 months. Talk about efficient.
At this point, you may be feeling one of two ways. 1) Wow! Maybe Erin will send me a copy of her Access database so I can use it too (I'd be happy to). 2) Wow! This is the scariest Halloween post I've ever read.
*Credit for the pivot table goes to my friend Melissa, who first came up with this concept using the pivot tables in Excel.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Need a touch of fall?
I could always do with more autumnal festivities. This morning I made these pumpkin spice muffins, and they were just the thing.
The pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg really stand out against the subtle molasses flavor. Also, they are incredibly moist, but not dense. Delicious.
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
2/3 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 c molasses
1 egg
1 c canned pumpkin (plain, not the pumpkin pie mix - I used a very generous 1 c)
1 3/4 c flour
1/4 t salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
crumbled walnuts and extra brown sugar (opt)
Preheat oven to 400. Cream butter and sugar. Add molasses and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and pumpkin and stir until well blended. Fold in flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with crumbled walnut pieces and extra brown sugar (opt). Bake 15-20 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched lightly.
The pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg really stand out against the subtle molasses flavor. Also, they are incredibly moist, but not dense. Delicious.
Pumpkin Spice Muffins
2/3 c butter
3/4 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 c molasses
1 egg
1 c canned pumpkin (plain, not the pumpkin pie mix - I used a very generous 1 c)
1 3/4 c flour
1/4 t salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
crumbled walnuts and extra brown sugar (opt)
Preheat oven to 400. Cream butter and sugar. Add molasses and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and pumpkin and stir until well blended. Fold in flour, salt, soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spoon into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle with crumbled walnut pieces and extra brown sugar (opt). Bake 15-20 minutes, until the tops spring back when touched lightly.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Garden Variety
Last night we had a delicious Spinach Basil Pesto, made with basil from our garden. It turned out much better than some other basil dishes we had earlier in the year. That's because earlier this year I was actually cutting Impatiens from our garden, not basil.
Story:
This summer was my first attempt at a garden. We planted several pots of herbs, and, because we had leftover soil and pots, also planted a few flowers. Everything was from seed, so I was excited to see what the plants would look like as they grew. The basil was doing well, and so were my flowers.
After a few weeks, the basil looked old enough to cut, as a garnish for our pizza or spaghetti. It didn't add very much flavor, though. I was disappointed.
Time passed.
I noticed that my flowers were looking more and more like my basil. In fact, basil seemed to be springing up in all of my pots. Then I noticed that there were 2 subtly different looking plants growing in my basil pot.
And that's when I knew: some of these plants were not basil. And I was pretty sure whatever wasn't basil was Impatiens. Finally, turning on my Cub Scout Commissioner/Forestry Merit Badge Counselor skills, I noted that one of the plants had "opposite" growing leaves and the other had "alternate" growing leaves - one of the basic traits to look for in plant identification. A few Google searches confirmed that we had been eating our Impatiens as garnish.
So last night, I was confident that it was basil I snipped and put into this lovely recipe.
Spinach Pesto
Ingredients:
10 ounces torn spinach leaves
2 garlic cloves, halved
3 tablespoons pine nuts (I didn't used these)
3 bunches fresh basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. salt
hot, cooked linguini
Preparation:
Place a few spinach leaves, garlic, pine nuts, basil and a little oil in blender or food processor container. Cover and puree until leaves begin to look crushed. Continue adding spinach leaves a few at a time with small amounts of oil to blender, using a rubber spatula to help to combine pureed mixture. Add Parmesan cheese and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cover and process until spinach pesto mixture is smooth.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain in colander. Serve with the spinach pesto sauce.
I also added sauteed mushrooms.
Story:
This summer was my first attempt at a garden. We planted several pots of herbs, and, because we had leftover soil and pots, also planted a few flowers. Everything was from seed, so I was excited to see what the plants would look like as they grew. The basil was doing well, and so were my flowers.
After a few weeks, the basil looked old enough to cut, as a garnish for our pizza or spaghetti. It didn't add very much flavor, though. I was disappointed.
Time passed.
I noticed that my flowers were looking more and more like my basil. In fact, basil seemed to be springing up in all of my pots. Then I noticed that there were 2 subtly different looking plants growing in my basil pot.
And that's when I knew: some of these plants were not basil. And I was pretty sure whatever wasn't basil was Impatiens. Finally, turning on my Cub Scout Commissioner/Forestry Merit Badge Counselor skills, I noted that one of the plants had "opposite" growing leaves and the other had "alternate" growing leaves - one of the basic traits to look for in plant identification. A few Google searches confirmed that we had been eating our Impatiens as garnish.
So last night, I was confident that it was basil I snipped and put into this lovely recipe.
Spinach Pesto
Ingredients:
10 ounces torn spinach leaves
2 garlic cloves, halved
3 tablespoons pine nuts (I didn't used these)
3 bunches fresh basil
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/8 tsp. salt
hot, cooked linguini
Preparation:
Place a few spinach leaves, garlic, pine nuts, basil and a little oil in blender or food processor container. Cover and puree until leaves begin to look crushed. Continue adding spinach leaves a few at a time with small amounts of oil to blender, using a rubber spatula to help to combine pureed mixture. Add Parmesan cheese and 1/8 tsp. salt. Cover and process until spinach pesto mixture is smooth.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain in colander. Serve with the spinach pesto sauce.
I also added sauteed mushrooms.
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