cronies and foodies unite

i had some visitors this weekend.
rob, my brother
and maddi, my sister.

it is her birthday next week so we wanted to make it uber fun.
[please, not like it wouldn't be anyway. look at these peeps!]

saturday night,
[whilst we fancied ourselves to the 55 inches of my cousin's QB face
in the first UCLA game of the season,]

we made some seriously yummy food

chicken tikka masala
and naan

(recipes from allrecipes.com - i love that site!)

my cousin made this for us a few weeks ago
and i admit that this is the second time i have made it already

so so good. if you are not the spicy type (i am totally the spicy type)
go easy on the seeds of the jalapeno cause the first time it was a bit spicy for my guests...

this time was perfect.
it usually makes just enough saucy stuff to live in the rice the way you want it,
but i think i will just add more to it to have more on the rice.

and please, if you have the option, use basmati rice when making indian.
it begs for it.

we make our naan on a panini maker so don't shy away if you can't get to the grill.
in fact, we like it thin and then we paint it with lots of butter, garlic, and parsley to give it a little hint of yum.

cause i have been cravin it and it is just too much work for two,
we also made

gyoza

* 1lb ground meat (traditionally it's just pork, but i have used a mix with beef, and pork sausage is my favorite to use cause it cooks up nice and has a kick to it.)
* 1/2 head of cabbage (the green kind)
* about 3/4 cup green onion finely chopped
* about 1tbs fresh minced ginger
* about 1tbs fresh minced garlic (or the minced stuff - no powder though...)
* 2-3 tsp sesame oil
* 2-3 tsp chile oil
(both of those you get in the "international section")
* 1 lbs soy sauce
* (optional) a beaten egg
* salt and pepper
* white vinegar
* won ton wrappers
(usually these are near the produce section -
you will use at lease 1 pck,
sometimes you will need more though, so get two)


my asian friend taught me how to make this years ago and it is always fun to make with rob cause he lived in japan for a while and he's kind of a purest

between the two of us, they were pretty naughty.

put the ground meat in a bowl
rinse the cabbage, pull apart, and then boil it until it is soft.
finely chop the wet cabbage, and squeeze all the water out before adding to the bowl.
give it a few minutes before making fun of the man you gave that job to, but then give it a go.

add green onion, garlic, and ginger, soy sauce, and the egg if you want to.
(the egg is to help keep it all together - i never use it, but rob does.)

add the freshly ground pepper until the surface is covered.
mix it up with your hands.
yes, your hands.

drop about 1 tsp of the mixture in the center of the wrapper,
close them by putting water on two sides (or half if they are rounds)
and pinching them together. drop em on a floured cookie sheet.

throw about 15 or so (lots can fit) in a frying pan with only about 1 tbs of oil
after the gyoza brown up a hint, drop a small amount of water in the pan and immediately cover to steam. (i like em more on the fried side so i only steam em for a minute.)
one of the reasons you boil the cabbage is so that it will cook as fast as the meat. it should only take a few minutes per batch.

the dipping sauce is about equal parts soy sauce and white vinegar.
just taste it until you like it. i like mine more vinegary than soy saucy...

hope you enjoy!

Mindy's Roasted Veggie Naughtiness

mom, you'd be so proud.
we had the sisters over for dinner and i got to actually use my dishes and serve a meal!!
first time!

we decided to make the roasted veggie naughtiness that we stole from aunt mindy:
it looked like this:

yumtown!

we just used the veggies we had- carrots, onions, red/green bell peppers, zucchini, and squash
they go in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes... then add the cherry tomatoes and they go another 15... or until the cherry tomatoes start to bust out all over

add to freshly cooked bowtie pasta
add salt and pepper to taste
add light balsalmic vinegirette to taste
crumble in some blue cheese and mix it up

so yummy.
so healthy.

ar

domesticatia

making dinner these days has been difficult, seeing as i get
mysteriously ill around dinner-making time.
but i did it.
stuck to the schedule with only 1 trip to the store.


for our first pasta nite:
bowtie lasagna

(foto and recipe originally posted by pioneer woman)
it was way yummy.

i used ground turkey instead of ground chuck,
and i sauteed up some onion with butter and garlic before i did it,
otherwise, the simple recipe stands alone.

for rice night, we did hawaiian haystacks

after talking to my pioneer cousin,
i think i will try this one using chicken stock
and beef it up some instead of using the can of cream of chicken soup...
we needed a little crunch, so we crumbled up some chex mix on top.
yumtown.

of course we had a pizza nite too...

we use my brother's fine tuned dough - makes 8 dough balls so we froze them before
we recreated the CPK BBQ chicken goodness.

Pizza Dough

3 package active dry or fresh yeast (4 ½ tsp)

3 cups warm water (110 degrees)

3 Tbs sugar

6 cups Bread flour or other high-gluten flour

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3 tsp salt

Add all ingredients except salt and 3 cups of the flour to mixer. Mix for 1 minute or until all ingredients incorporate. The dough should appear wet like a pancake batter. Let stand for 20 minutes in the mixer. The dough will almost double in size. Run the mixer for another 10 minutes. This will effectively kneed the dough. Run the mixer for an additional 3 minutes, adding the remaining flour until the mix forms a ball around the hook. Let stand in mixer for another 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 4 or 5 times. Roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top of the dough is smooth and firm. Flour the finished ball and place on sheet pan (18 maximum per pan). Cover with plastic (bread) bag and store in Walk-in. (4 day shelf life)

pi

Yield: 8 (10-inch) pizzas

now that i know how to use my own wok,
i been wokin things all over the place.
we threw some fresh pineapple in with the chicken to get happy
cause that's how we do it here in farmtown.

we have kind of a method to pizza now:
-build on a hot stone,
-at halftime in the oven move to the rack.
and it takes two, so we like to do it on saturday-
then you have toaster over pizza for after...

we just dropped some sauce on the top to fill in the gaps.
looks like this on the way out
though really it should be called "on the way down"

for "somethin new" nite last night,
i wanted to try a tomato soup - always lookin for a good one.

we tried cusinenie's simple tomato basil recipe
cept i ended up adding sour cream, cheese, and more chicken broth
cause it was kind of just tomato-y for me...

the good news:

husband has been smiling at my new case of domesticatia
(pretending-to-be-domestic)

"something new" (day one)

so maybe i should change the "something new" to

"only if i am feeling adventurous" day...

but on the bright side,

i arranged my ginormous lilies and they make me smile.

which was necessary after watching 2 full episodes of extreme home makeover.
hormones are fun.

good thing cc still squealed at how great i was for cutting potatoes for him.
gotta love that.

operation domestication - part two

now that i am home,
and i have my very own kitchen,

i have had time to bond with little red

who looks pretty cute in my little kitchen

but something was missing...

so with my drawer full of measuring cups,
(i thought we took back most of the extra ones!!)

the first batch of cookies were made.

and now i have canisters with food pregos eat.

then it was time to face some of the new appliances we haven't used.

peg taught me how to use my wok,

and then we tried out the pizza stone...

and after i spent some time with cousin emily-
who is crazy domestic
and sent me on my way with homemade jam
...right before she started her fresh bread,

i decided it was time to get organized her way.

this is going to be my food plan calendar:

every day is a new theme of food product
and they are kind of self-explanatory:
(but i will for you, cause i don't know how to shut up)

pasta = italian
something new = one of those things i have always wanted to try...
rice = asian
beans = mexican
date nite = not makin dinner-nu uh.
pizza = homemade naughtiness of many kinds
healthy/easy = some home-cooked sunday-style goodness

and i hope to fit in as many of my new/unused appliances as i can
and get as many new-ish recipes too...

of course i will share them with you if they are good ones.

i feel just like julie...

honey, i baked!

peg decided like 3 days ago
that i should enter this bake-off.
(and by that i mean, she called to tell me i was already signed up for it...)

the first annual bake-off of put on by my nutrition-by-calli friend.

needless to say,
i didn't think just a fab recipe of rolls would do the trick...

$100 dollar first prize
for some yumtown rolls....
that i made even healthier.
(next time i am going to try the "can't believe it's not butter" option..)

this is me and candice - she won in her category too.

i won't even lie, i am kind of a one-hit wonder.
there is not much that i bake...


but, because I like you:

Meg's Naughty Buttery Crescent Rolls

(award winning)

2 c. Skim milk

1/2 c. butter (1 stick)

1/2 c. sugar

2 t. salt

7 c. flour (3 cups whole wheat)

4 eggs (beaten) or 1 cup egg substitute

2 T. yeast

[Preheat oven to 350 degrees]

1. Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water and sprinkle with sugar

2. Put first 4 ingredients in large bowl and microwave for 4 minutes

3. Add 3 cups flour to melted ingredients, stir.

4. Add yeast and beaten eggs to mixture, stir

5. Add another 4 cups flour to mixture, stir

6. Let dough rise uncovered in bowl 1 hour

7. After rising, divide dough in half and roll into circles about 1/4 in. thick

8. Brush melted butter onto dough

9. Cut into 16 slices and roll toward the center

10. Place rolls on greased cookie sheet and brush butter on the rolls.

bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden. Brush again

with butter while still hot. (You may even want to dip them in melted

butter to serve)

"Step it up" conference/my mother-in-law is awesome dot com

perhaps you remember last year,
as i was getting to know my future mom-in-law...

she put on this mini-conference.

we giggled and talked about possible decor
because we weren't yet engaged, but getting there.

this year,
she outdid herself.

the decor was essentially my wedding
(plus the "foot fotos)

the program and classes and food were great too...

this food right here,
may or may not have been the demise of my diet endeavors last week...

good news: men will help with anything when food is involved...

kelly's classroom.
she taught about motivating children to learn.
that is a creative passionate teacher.

darlene + posse

what a day.
i felt inspired.

we could also talk about how that day jayme's car was broken into
and bombed/torched,
or how aunt linda got a lung (after waiting 2 years)...

the Big Guy who is ever watching,
yet again,
reminds me I am so blessed.

Geared up (our BL updates)

so, we have been going strong on the diet thing now since
a few weeks before thanksgiving.

i won't lie and say it has been easy.

i will say that a few weeks ago i hit a wall,
i wasn't losing,
and i was a bit depressed about it.

i did another cleanse,
which includes fruits, veggies, and grains (which I had long missed)
and i felt a lot better.

mom and i also realized that the support system makes all the difference

husbands and daughters are great for that.
nay, vital to that.

in fact, this weekend, after my weigh-in,
husband took me to purchase this:

it actually holds up to 12 individualized settings to read your BMI
and tells you the number of calories
you need to comsume to lose fat at your current weight.
rad.

and i really needed one of these:
(both scales are the Biggest Loser brand of course)
this little thing is handy, and keeps me honest and much better
at portion controlling.
good new: 6 oz of chicken is a lot more than you might think...

and the long-awaited:

i love them.
them make me want to run all day.
in fact, i think i will take them to my mom's to go walking
before we watch biggest loser tomorrow...

so,
i finally feel like we can post the results of the meg/peg get skinny fest:

drum roll....

peg: 30 lbs down
meg: 14 lbs down

both over 10% body weight!


i will let you in on a secret...

these are my friends:

also love the ranch, asian silk, honey mustard... pretty much all of them...
they go on everything: chicken, salads...

mrs. dash is the best- and look:
two new kinds!!

[gotta ditch the sodium to lose.
it retains water.
that means us soda drinkers really take a hit,
but it's worth it.]

do i eliminate soda?
hail no.

but i am much better at drinking all 64 water o-z's before i do.
and by that time,
i have been to the other side of the building to pee
like 22 times... not worth it.

favorite veggie currently:
jicama
just go find it, and love on it.
you will be glad you did.

oh and this place:

though you can't see much muscle on me,
i love that i feel stronger....

it is odd how i am so confident walking at night now...
bring it, bad guys...