Or could be better said as "I'll be off next week."
Since it's a holiday weekend and I already had monday off, I'm taking the rest of the week to help clean out the parents house. Along the way, I fully intend to visit a couple of cookouts, make some homemade strawberry ice cream, and slow roast a chicken on the grill with some Jamaican Jerk Seasoning and a beer. Great flavor, trust me on that.
Yesterday, one of our co-workers provided the stuff for a cook-out for lunch. Steak, baked potato, salad, and two different desserts. One was the low fat, low calorie gunk that some of them go nuts over. The other was a chocolate eclair dessert. None was left. This sounded like an appropriate dessert to leave you with. When I come back- I'll be overloaded with school, crying because Carolina bombed the best of seven, and wishing for another holiday. Maybe I'll just make this dessert to cheer me up! :)
Chocolate Eclair Dessert
1 Box of honeymaid graham crackers
1 lrg pkg of vanilla instant pudding
1 8 oz container of Cool Whip
1 container milk chocolate icing
Single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x11 dish. Prepare pudding according to package directions. Mix with Cool Whip and spread on top of crackers in dish. Place another single layer of graham crackers. Cover with chocolate icing. Refrigerate 2 hours. Yum!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Bored meeting
Regional Library Board Meetings are the bomb. I'll let you in on a little secret why: I get fed for free. Last night, the regional board met in my county, so Terese was our caterer. God knows that woman can cook. We started off with a great mixed greens salad (with Raspberry Vinagarette). Moved onto to a chicken breast with a honey mustard glaze, rice pilaf, and mixed veggies. Dessert was a turtle brownie with chocolate sauce. Followed by a cup of coffee (of course). I keep telling her that she needs to open a resturaunt, but she refuses to listen. Yes, she does great work at the local library, but I feel her food talents are being wasted behind the desk.
The only problem with eating all that wonderful food (well, not all, but as much as I could hold) is the fact that the actual meeting is held after we eat. Good thing it was over the budget and last years audit, or my head would've been laying on the blue damask tablecloth...
The only problem with eating all that wonderful food (well, not all, but as much as I could hold) is the fact that the actual meeting is held after we eat. Good thing it was over the budget and last years audit, or my head would've been laying on the blue damask tablecloth...
Monday, May 18, 2009
Found a keeper!
Saturday night, the hubs and I took our 15 year old nephew out to dinner and the movies. Anticipating not having to cook supper, I ate peanuts and grapes for lunch. By four o'clock (which is when we hit the beach) I was starving.
You'd think I'd learn eventually, but alas, the iron club has not struck my head yet. Since I was driving and we had pretty much decided where we were going, the Mariner pulled into the parking lot of Mulligan's.
Man was that an awesome choice!
I ordered the Taco Burger, which came with fries. The burger was seasoned with Taco flavor and had a mix of shredded cheeses and salsa. It also came with the lettuce, tomato, and red onions. I ate most of it, but it was huge! So I passed the remaining third to hubs. I barely touched the fries, but what I did eat of them was very salty! I washed this all down with a pint of Yeungling and a glass of water.
Our waitress was awesome and checked on us frequently. She got a very good tip. The staff were excellent. I highly recommend Mulligan's and give them a five out of five!
By the way, we saw Star Trek.
You'd think I'd learn eventually, but alas, the iron club has not struck my head yet. Since I was driving and we had pretty much decided where we were going, the Mariner pulled into the parking lot of Mulligan's.
Man was that an awesome choice!
I ordered the Taco Burger, which came with fries. The burger was seasoned with Taco flavor and had a mix of shredded cheeses and salsa. It also came with the lettuce, tomato, and red onions. I ate most of it, but it was huge! So I passed the remaining third to hubs. I barely touched the fries, but what I did eat of them was very salty! I washed this all down with a pint of Yeungling and a glass of water.
Our waitress was awesome and checked on us frequently. She got a very good tip. The staff were excellent. I highly recommend Mulligan's and give them a five out of five!
By the way, we saw Star Trek.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
What gives?!
There's no other way to express what's going on with me this week...I'm in a food funk. Yes, you heard me right- a Food Funk! Nothing has worked out as I planned this week. Absolutely nothing!
Monday I had a meeting after work, so I took frozen pizza home for dinner... expressed to the hubs to save a piece for me to have when I got back home. Not my favorite food, but you gotta eat, right? Came home late to none. Went to bed hungry because I didn't feel like cooking anything else.
Tuesday night I was in the garden until late and forgot to take anything out of the freezer- so I cooked scrambled cheese eggs and served it with bacon, grits, and strawberries. The kids were ecstatic! They love breakfast for supper. I, on the other hand, drank a gallon of water because everything was too salty for me.
Last night was supposed to be pork chops on the grill. Unfortunately, they had gone bad. Again, everything in the freezer except a half a package of pork sausage. Decided to fry that and serve it with the lima beans and buttered potatoes I was cooking anyway. Overcooked the sausage, burnt the potatoes, and undercooked the beans. Man, that meal sucked!
I hate to even see what tonight has in store for me, because- guess what? I have another meeting! Guess I better eat a good lunch....
Monday I had a meeting after work, so I took frozen pizza home for dinner... expressed to the hubs to save a piece for me to have when I got back home. Not my favorite food, but you gotta eat, right? Came home late to none. Went to bed hungry because I didn't feel like cooking anything else.
Tuesday night I was in the garden until late and forgot to take anything out of the freezer- so I cooked scrambled cheese eggs and served it with bacon, grits, and strawberries. The kids were ecstatic! They love breakfast for supper. I, on the other hand, drank a gallon of water because everything was too salty for me.
Last night was supposed to be pork chops on the grill. Unfortunately, they had gone bad. Again, everything in the freezer except a half a package of pork sausage. Decided to fry that and serve it with the lima beans and buttered potatoes I was cooking anyway. Overcooked the sausage, burnt the potatoes, and undercooked the beans. Man, that meal sucked!
I hate to even see what tonight has in store for me, because- guess what? I have another meeting! Guess I better eat a good lunch....
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Gardening...
...it's kind of related to food, right? With prices going up on fresh produce, hubby and I (mostly I) decided to join the parental units in gardening this year. My father has gardened for as long as I can remember, but pop never really invited me into the garden to help him that much. I was relegated to shelling peas, snapping beans, and canning everything!
Anyway, purchased seeds back in early March and sowed them at the end of that month after we had put down the fertilizer and tilled it in. Watered and weeded but something crazy happened....nothing. The only thing that struggled up was a few tufts of lettuce. Okay, that made me mad, because I've grown lettuce in pots before. So in the past month I have gone out and purchased plants. Tomatoes, Onions, Bell Peppers, Jalapenos, Squash, Cucumbers, and Broccoli (I have no more room). And my prize plant- Rosemary! Gnats are a pain but we're keeping it clear.
Along the way, dad told me some tricks...things I wish he had told me before because, guess what?! His seeds are coming up...the same packages that I had! But I digress. The important thing is, we're going to have fresh vegetables that previously would have most likely been out of out price range for any extended time. Hubby's already telling me what he would like: chicken fajitas, stuffed peppers, homemade salsa...you get the idea. But I already have an idea of what will be happening with a lot of this stuff...I'll be back to my former duties as a canner!
Anyway, purchased seeds back in early March and sowed them at the end of that month after we had put down the fertilizer and tilled it in. Watered and weeded but something crazy happened....nothing. The only thing that struggled up was a few tufts of lettuce. Okay, that made me mad, because I've grown lettuce in pots before. So in the past month I have gone out and purchased plants. Tomatoes, Onions, Bell Peppers, Jalapenos, Squash, Cucumbers, and Broccoli (I have no more room). And my prize plant- Rosemary! Gnats are a pain but we're keeping it clear.
Along the way, dad told me some tricks...things I wish he had told me before because, guess what?! His seeds are coming up...the same packages that I had! But I digress. The important thing is, we're going to have fresh vegetables that previously would have most likely been out of out price range for any extended time. Hubby's already telling me what he would like: chicken fajitas, stuffed peppers, homemade salsa...you get the idea. But I already have an idea of what will be happening with a lot of this stuff...I'll be back to my former duties as a canner!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Two postings in one day- Woah!
On Saturday night, hubby and I went out to a late dinner (after the movie). Since it was nine o'clock and most of the eating establishments on the northern NC beaches close at ten, we were a little limited. Combine that with the fact that I was starving, since the last thing I had eaten was a salad at twelve. The only thing consumed since then was water and beer.
We decided to stop at Outback. Chain resturaunt not native to the OBX. Same menu you could find anywhere else in the U.S. At the moment, I didn't care. Settled on the Alice Springs Chicken with Aussie Fries. It still took them 35 minutes to get our food to us- which was warm, not hot- and the waitress only stopped by three times throughout the meal. It was not the best chicken I've ever had- not even close. But I ate it all anyway. If I'm paying $14.50 for something, I'm going to eat it. So I would give this visit a 2.5 out of 5. I've been there before and the food and service have been better. Hope it gets better before the summer season kicks in. Tourists aren't as nice as I am.
We decided to stop at Outback. Chain resturaunt not native to the OBX. Same menu you could find anywhere else in the U.S. At the moment, I didn't care. Settled on the Alice Springs Chicken with Aussie Fries. It still took them 35 minutes to get our food to us- which was warm, not hot- and the waitress only stopped by three times throughout the meal. It was not the best chicken I've ever had- not even close. But I ate it all anyway. If I'm paying $14.50 for something, I'm going to eat it. So I would give this visit a 2.5 out of 5. I've been there before and the food and service have been better. Hope it gets better before the summer season kicks in. Tourists aren't as nice as I am.
The Best Baked Beans
Back when I was in my food network phase (yeah, no tv now, so what ya gonna do?) I found this awesome recipe on an episode of Paula Deen. I can't take credit for the recipe, but I tell ya- my fam is no fan of baked beans- but these things go away! Tyr it, but warning- it makes a lot!
Recipe courtesy Sue Mittelman and Gloria Zucker
4 (16-ounce) cans baked beans
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup molasses
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 (6-ounce) can french-fried onions, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, mix together beans, pineapple, molasses, BBQ sauce, mustard, bacon, and a third of the onions. Add some salt and pepper, to taste. Pour beans in 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and sprinkle remaining crushed onions and bacon on top. Cook in oven for 1 hour or until beans brown and bubble. Serve warm.
Recipe courtesy Sue Mittelman and Gloria Zucker
4 (16-ounce) cans baked beans
1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup molasses
1 cup BBQ sauce
2 tablespoon yellow or brown mustard
5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
1 (6-ounce) can french-fried onions, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, mix together beans, pineapple, molasses, BBQ sauce, mustard, bacon, and a third of the onions. Add some salt and pepper, to taste. Pour beans in 9 by 13-inch casserole dish and sprinkle remaining crushed onions and bacon on top. Cook in oven for 1 hour or until beans brown and bubble. Serve warm.
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