Creative Concoction

This past week I have been researching recipes from all over.  Mostly just reading food blogs and finding other links they post, copying any recipes that look good. There are some great cooks with fabulous photography skills out there! 

So it came to be that time of day.  Lunchtime.  I ate a lot yesterday and didn't want to overeat today, so I needed something small.  I had some leftover noodles in the fridge, some salsa, and a cucumber.  I also had some other things, but they were to be saved for a big meal later.  So this was about all I had to work with.  I thought I could be creative with that, so I poured the salsa in a pan to heat it up (basically tomatoes and onions and stuff already chopped up).  And I decided I needed something else to add a little bit of difference from actually pouring salsa on my noodles.  So I added a sprinkle of mozarella cheese.  I thought a little dash of brown sugar would be good to somehow caramelize the onions in the salsa.  Well, I didn't have any so I opted for some brown sugar barbeque sauce in the fridge.  I little squirt of that in the pan, stir it around, let it heat up, pour it over the noodles and voila!  A delicious quick lunch. 

It was actually quite good, which is why I'm writing about it so I can remember it for the future.  Of course it would be great with some pork or chicken or something, but I don't eat much meat, so didn't have any of that on hand. 

And unlike all of the amazing food bloggers, I didn't take any divine pictures.  Sorry.  Maybe one day.  You'll have that to look forward to!  I don't even have photoshop for crying out loud.  How can I have yummy looking pictures of the hardest thing to photograph (next to moving children who hate having their pictures taken)??

Now to name that little concoction....


UPDATE!
Ok, so for snack time today, I was craving something sweet of course.  But I don't have anything sweet, except hot chocolate and I wanted to save that for later.  So I got out some of those rolls I made a while ago that were in the freezer.  I heated a couple up in the microwave and while they were defrosting I remembered I had a few graham crackers tucked away.  They are Kroger brand, and not the tastiest, but still a snack, right?  To sweeten them up I thought I'd dab a little frosting on them...frosting was in the fridge.  And they were yummy.  But eating frosting covered crackers and plain rolls aren't the best combination so I decided to sweeten up the rolls.  This frosting is like cinnamon roll frosting.  I already had the rolls, the frosting, and the cinnamon was in the cupboard.  So I got another roll, dabbed on the frosting, sprinkled on the cinnamon and in the microwave to be zapped a few quick seconds and badaboom!  A makeshift cinnamon roll!  It was really good too.

Snack time is over.  I wonder how creative I'll be for dinner...

Hearts for Haiti

So I made a blanket today for our Hearts for Haiti project.  It's the first time I've sat in front of a sewing maching in about 5 or 6 years.  This was my first attempt at this type of binding too.  It will hopefully keep some child in Haiti warm and amused at all of the stitching!

Classic Winter Food

Saturday I started a project to gather and organize all of the recipes I have on my computer and in old emails.  I created this little recipe book in OneNote.  It's so great.  And will be even better if you send any recipes you want to share!  I realized I had a lot of soup recipes and that those were some of my favorites, or at least what I was craving Saturday morning.  But soup was not on my weekly menu the last time I went grocery shopping, so the craving had to be passified until I run out of food again. 

Then we got a call from our home teacher reminding us we were to come to his house for lunch on Sunday.  It won't be anything fancy, he says, just soup and sandwiches.  Soup!!  Soup did you say!?  Oh, how excited was I as I watched my friends butter the bread for toasted cheese sandwiches loaded with creamy white mozzerella cheese.  And oh how delicious was my first, second, tenth bite of the delicious Fire Roasted Tomato soup-out-of-a-box-from-Costco.  Seconds please! 

The perfect combination for a chilly Sunday afternoon.  Oh wait.  Did I mention I wore a short sleeves to church with no coat?  No wonder I was chilly.

Breakfast with Tiffany

I want to live at a time when you could wear formal dresses and your hair all done up with diamonds.  I

 want to go to a time when everyone called each other 'dahling' regardless of gender. 

Oh how times have changed.  Smoking is no longer glamorous.  You can't even smoke in restaurants anymore.  When there were no computers and writers wrote novels on typewriters. 

I think I am like Holly.  Her cat is named Cat.  My kitty was named Kitty. 

No, it's Paul Baby. 

Audrey perfected the bump way before it was a Utah fad. 

Don't fall in love with wild things. 

The other one.  The one that looks like a pig!

Birthday List Item #1: Sterling Silver Telephone Dialer

Do they still really have prizes in Cracker Jacks?  It adds a feeling of continuity to things.  (said way back when and they still have prizes today in 2010!!!)

Isn't is marvelous?

Do they have the book itself?  live?

I think I want her pink dress that she wears when she comes home with Jose.

I love you.  You belong to me.

What a good movie! 

Favorite Olympic Quotes

These atheletes have been training for this.- women's snowboarding

The judges are being hyper-critical today.   - women's snowboarding

He's a great skater, he's just not fully baked yet.   - ice skating

They had the perfect knee.  - ice skating


Really, how many chicken mcnuggets and fries are these atheletes eating at the Olympics?  McDonalds get realistic.

What would the ski runs be classified as?  10x black diamond?

Isn't this what I asked for?

It's sunny and beautiful outside and I want to go running, but I also want to just curl up in a blanket and lay on the couch!!  Why am I torn about this?  It should be a no-brainer, jump off the couch and spend all day outside decision.  Perhaps it's the leftover DQ blizzard that's sitting in my poor little tummy, sucking all the energy I have.  I need an exercise buddy.  A personal coach.  A healthier diet.  Darn that coupon. 

A side note on the Olympics: Salt Lake is LOVING all of the free publicity from the winter Olympics.  Every announcer talks about how the skiiers or snowboarders trained in Park City, are from SL, etc., references to the SL Olympics in 2002.  It's great.  I love the Olympics, just wish there was more coverage during the day. 

Move Over Mayo

I've been eating veggie sandwiches the past couple days.  And in an effort to be healthy, I bought some whole wheat bread with flax added.  So as I went to make my sandwich - loaded with cucumbers, fresh spinach, tomatoes, and a little jack cheese, I thought about the addition of mayo or mustard.  And then I saw the little container of hummus in the fridge.  I have found my new condiment for veggie sandwiches.  It moistened the sandwich just so and provided good flavor and was healthy!  Try it on your next sandwich. 

On another note, trying to be financially frugal, I went to the library today to rent some free movies.  Got a few classics I haven't seen in a while and a few I have never seen.  You can borrow up to 7 movies for free at a time - for 2 weeks!  What a great deal. 

Then I was driving around exploring Farmington and found an 'upscale' consignment store.  I went it to see what they had to offer.  Great brands - Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Express, Bebe, etc.  And everything I saw was under $15 and was in really good condidition.  Looked pretty new to me.  I think I found a new way to shop for clothes!!

happy things

Went to the mailbox yesterday, shoveled snow the sidewalk!!  First time shoveling snow.  By the way where did the snow come from?  We were having GORGEOUS weather and snow was not in the forecast.  Sunny skies for the next 10 days.  And now snow and rain.  Of course it all melted by the afternoon, so not too much to complain about.  It is still really warm.  Happy I'm not in Logan anymore. 


My friend just started working at Dreyers.  Now we get fresh ice cream in our freezer every day!  Yesterday - Cookie dough.  I need to find a job soon.  Far away from here! 


Same friend bakes cakes for people.  Like for birthdays and weddings.  Two weeks in a row she has  baked cakes here and they smell so good and I can't eat any of it!  Good thing for cookie dough ice cream last night. 


Been waking up between 5 and 6:30 a.m. the past few days.  Wow!  You can get a lot done with an extra 3 hours.  Start your day off right.  Some personal meditation time.  I've had the days all planned out.  Soon I'll be a consistent member of the 5:00 club.  I've been listening to motivational podcasts from Robin Sharma on my runs: Life is Short, Get Up Early. 


Bedtime Stories!  Yay for Skype and reading bedtime stories with my niece in GA this week.  She gets excited to see me when I call.  Who knew she'd like me so much better on the computer screen than in real life?  Bedtime when I was her nanny was not so agreeable!   PS - she likes pictures of horses too.

Went swimming also.  Perfecting my stroke.  I'm getting pretty good at it.  Knowing the right technique really helps you swim better and longer.  It's all about how to breathe, look back, gently roll your head, elbows up, hand straight in, the S-shape push.  I even did a few flip turns for the first time since I was on swim team so many years ago!  Good thing my mentor is taking classes so she can pass on everything she learns.  =)   I'm ever so grateful. 

So many wonderful things in life to enjoy....

Sightseeing

The ZOO

Can you go sightseeing in your own state?  Well, I got stuck down in Salt Lake one afternoon in between meetings and heard that it was free day at the zoo.  I soon came to the conclusion that every day in the winter should be free day at the zoo because they had all of THREE animal exibits open.  Ok, maybe more than that...penguins, cougars, giraffes, monkeys, that was about it! 

And some wild turkeys that were just out roaming.  Their feathers were all ruffled from some nearby squaking geese (also not an actual 'exhibit')

The cougars were about the only animal exhibit that was outside.

And I should have taken a picture of all of the strollers.  Never mind the kids, there were TONS of strollers.  The kids were all running around.  I observed that strollers are really just purse holders.  They provide a sense of security for the mom - something to hold on to and hide behind when the energy buzzed screaming kids come running at them.  Yes, I was the odd man out.  Not only was I not toting a stroller, I didn't have a kid, or anyone with me for that matter. 

Sundance Film Festival

It was a little while ago that I realized the Sundance Film Festival was not actually at the Sundance Resort, at least not the main part of it.  And actually, there were film showings in SLC and in Ogden as well as Park City.  So to see enjoy part of the festivities since we didn't have tickets to the films, we went up to PC for dinner and a stroll down main street. 

 one of the theaters showing films

Running

I've had my phone with me on my runs and been able to take a few pictures of the nature sights...

can you see the mountains?

can you see the horses?

Some good runs here.  It's been fun.  Lots to see!

More TV Learnings

A Hamdogger.  Kitchen gadget to make a hamburger in the shape of a hotdog.  Rachel Ray just discovered the Scotsman Dog!!!  USU - Go Aggies!!!

Nuns

Did you know that the nun's habbit is their wedding dress and they believe they are married to Christ?  I learn so much from Oprah. 

Job Application Questionnaire

Today I applied for a job at a large global non-profit company.  I had to fill out a questionnaire that asked lots of questions like would you rather have friends or successes at work?  Do other people think you are dependable?  The I got this one:

What would you answer?  Is this a trick question?  Do I think it's ever justifiable to tell a lie?  Do I ever justify telling a lie?  They're different, right?

68 Degrees was Perfect

With the thermostat at 68 degrees, the rolls had no problem rising.

...bigger and bigger!

And they got even bigger in the oven!!

Don't they look divine?! 

Too bad you can only eat so many hot rolls before your tummy starts to hurt. 

I think I need to leave the house now.  Time to go to the gym.  I'm a sucker for warm fresh bread.

Warm and Cozy!

Typically, I leave the thermostat set at 63 degrees.  When everyone is gone during the day, I don't want to spike up the gas bill when I can just cuddle up under a blanket for free.  Today I got to turn the heat UP!  I'm making bread and I'm sure it will NOT rise at all at 63 degrees.  We're way up to 68 now and I'm a bit warm in my t-shirt just kickin' it around the house - no blanket needed! 

Maybe I need to experiment with new bread every day! 

New chair.
And since I'm not all cuddled up in my blanket, today is a great day to try out using the exercise ball as a chair - working out my abs and back while typing away! 

haha! It even looks like me!  Now if I can only get my head up so my back is perfectly aligned....

A Horrible Sister

I'm a horrible sister.  I was asked to be 'on stand-by' for my sister's maternity clothes shopping experience last night.  When she checked in with me.  I said - yep, I'm available, but only by text.  We're starting the Bachelor in 30 minutes.  Yep - that's me, a great sister.  I put the Bachelor before my sister's shopping needs.  I think she gave up on my texting support.  I only made it to one store with her.  Later I found out she called my mom to find out if the Bachelor was over yet so she could call me!  Awww!!!  Shopping is so traumatic to begin with, then to have a sister that lets you down!  I'm so sorry, please forgive me. 

PS - the Bachelor is SO good.  I even made brownies to celebrate it.  And I can't wait for next week's drama!!!