Couple of household tips:

Use a small amount of white vinegar in your rinse cycle to soften clothes.

When the weather is going to drop below freezing, spread a little bit of silicone on the rubber part of your car door to avoid having your door freeze shut.

Menu for the week

OK, I got into gear and here's my menu for the week:

Monday: Italian sausage meatball subs and green salad

Tuesday: Corn chowder soup with homemade foccacia

Wednesday: Pesto shrimp pasta

Thursday: Homemade macaroni and cheese & side of steamed broccoli

Friday: Store bought submarine sandwich & green salad (or leftovers)

Trying to dream of a dream job

I've been asked what my dream job would be. And honestly, I feel sad to say that I do not know.

I'm not sure if everyone knows what their dream job is because it's easy to figure out, or if everyone else somehow has had the opportunity to witness a friend with the dream job or what.

I like change, getting to try different things. I like art, color and creativity. I like doing things with my hands and dislike having to work on my computer too much. I love to eat, love to taste new flavors and even love to read about food. I have a soft spot in my heart for all things made by craftsmen. Handmade objects, made better than a machine ever could, made with care and passion...that is the stuff of the American dream.

But a dream job... alas, I come up empty.

I have considered trying to get a job with an interior design firm, thinking that perhaps I'd be inspired to major in design. I have considered working for a caterer, learning the ropes in case I'd ever one day take the leap into the unknown world of owning my own business.

If anyone has any suggestions that you think might fit, let me know! Until then, the quest continues...

Oh, and one other thing...I would like to earn a decent living!! (Oh dream jobs can be a let-down that way!)

Warm days and restless thoughts...

Must...get...motivated! (Imagine captain Kirk saying it.)

Ok, so I haven't been hitting my 2xweek workout resolution that well so far this year. But, I have been trying to add different things in, like yoga, bicycle riding and walking.

The warm weather we had today (we were in the fifties...it was so awesome, no jacket required) made me feel so antsy, I had to move. But, since I'm broke and not currently working, I settled on staying in and doing laundry.

I also working on piecing together some fabric that I cut out yesterday for a couple of quilt blocks. Quilting is one of my on-again-off-again hobbies that I enjoy obsessing over. I pieced together two blocks, and they are quite pretty. Now, I need more fabric!

I ran down tonight and picked up some free tickets for a hockey game from a liquor store that emails me specials. I was excited to get them because we haven't yet seen our local team, the Rocky Mountain Rage, play.

Hi Cyndi! Thanks for the welcome back! Hope all is well with you!

Menu for the week

Monday:
Slow cooker Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes and corn

Tuesday:
Slow cooker enchiladas with refried beans and Mexican rice

Wednesday:
Hmmm...we'll see. I'm thinking of a local Korean restaurant or I might just stick to the plan.
Italian sausage soup with salad

Thursday:
Pork chops with sauerkraut and kielbasa in the slow cooker (I think this is Polish) with mashed potatoes and apple sauce

Friday:
Ham and potato soup and salad

Creating a weekly food plan

As a wife and a mother, cooking a balanced, on-time meal everyday has been a challenge. So, I started to analyze what I could do to make my problem disappear. And in the process, I am eliminating wasteful over shopping and making tastier meals.

My secret? I create a weekly dinner plan. I start by thumbing through my recipes or searching for new ones online. Then, I go into the Excel spreadsheet I created (I know that sounds...well, anal, but you have to believe that it makes everything easier) and input information.

My spreadsheet has 3 basic sections.

There are columns for Monday - Friday and space in each to type in the planned main dish and side dishes. Under that there is a shopping list section. This only includes the items that I need to purchase, after I've gone through and checked my pantry for items that I might already have on hand. This stops me from buying another pack of ranch mix when I've already got one. And the last section has a place for notes for each day. I might type in food reminders or make notes about library books being due. It helps minimize my need to have additional planners.

I always try to be sure and include at least 2 days of dinners using my crock pot. No rushing on those days! After my son is off to school, I come home, get the meal assembled and forget about it.

I find that using a meal planner helps me make sure I'm including enough vegetables and getting enough variety in our diet. It has also helped me save money and time.

Once I've input the information into the spreadsheet, I print it off and go shopping. Then, I hang the plan on the refrigerator door. I put all of the recipe cards that I'll be using for the week on my counter and I'm set.

As Martha would say: Meal planners. They're a good thing.

Colorado's Blizzard 2006

Here is our photo after it had been snowing all day on Wednesday.

I think we're expecting more in a day or two. It will be a white Christmas this year!

Couple of pics from Denver's Museum of Nature and Science

The Alma King, the largest complete rhodochrosite in the world, measures 14 cm x 16.5 cm. You can get a sense of the size with my mom in the picture. Rhodochrosite is Colorado's state mineral.

Gray Wolves, my favorite diorama at the museum. They looked so real, I kept expecting one to turn their head and look at me. The museum does a really great job!

World's Best Macaroni and Cheese

Ok. So maybe I haven't tried all the macaroni and cheeses of the world, but this one is pretty dang good!

Ingredients:
3/4 lb. elbow macaroni (I like Barilla)
5 Tablespoons flour
5 Tablespoons butter, plus couple extra Tablespoons for the topping
2 1/2 or 3 cups (depending on your tastes) shredded Cabot Vintage Choice cheddar cheese*
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Emeril's essence (recipe follows)
2-3 slices sourdough bread, cut into smallish cubes

Instructions:
1. Boil pasta in large pot of water until al dente; drain and rinse in cold water. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, begin melting butter in a large skillet/saucepan. Once melted, add the flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring, making sure not to brown the flour.
3. Slowly add milk while whisking (ensures it will not clump).
4. Remove from heat. Add 2 - 2 1/2 cups of the cheese (reserve remaining 1/2 cup cheese for topping), stirring until melted.
5. Stir in heavy cream to adjust consistency.
6. Pour macaroni into skillet and coat with the sauce.
7. Pour into a buttered baking dish and top with cubes of bread, remaining 1/2 cup cheese, 2 Tbsp butter (broken into small pieces to help the bread get toasty) and 1 teaspoon of essence.
8. Bake in oven at 350 degrees until hot and bubbly and bread crumbs are toasted; approximately 30-40 minutes.

Emeril's essence:
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly and store in an airtight jar or container.
Yield: about 2/3 cup

*Cook's note: I found this aged cheddar at Costco.

Trip to the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs

Here is a lovely photo from one area in the Garden of the Gods. It is a place of stunning beauty and history.

And here is a photo of some mule deer that I caught while we were hiking. I think they are about as tall as me (around 5' 7")! (Click on the photo to enlarge, so you can really see the deer.)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

It's been snowing since last night. I believe that this is our fourth snow of the year.

The view from my balcony.

Green Bean Casserole Recipe

This was my favorite dish at Thanksgiving this year. It's leftovers disappeared the soonest, by my own hand! I think it's the yummy taste of the onions that really gets me.


Green Bean Casserole, from Paula Deen
1/3 stick butter
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups sliced green beans
3 cups chicken broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings
Pinch House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup grated Cheddar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and House Seasoning, to taste, to the onion mixture. Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the Cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and cheese is melted.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Delish!

Thanksgiving 2006

Thanksgiving went well this year.

Our Menu:

Appetizers:
Green olives
Cabot sharp aged cheddar cheese with Nonni's Panetoni crackers
Veggie crudites with ranch dip
Hot wings with dip

Main course:
Salad with cranberries, feta and nuts
Honeybaked ham
Mashed potatoes with poultry gravy
Sausage, apple and dried cranberry stuffing
Green bean casserole (my favorite thing, I think; it's a Paula Deen recipe)

Dessert:
Sweet Potato Pie (my favorite of the two pies)
Apple Crumble Pie
Vanilla Ice Cream

Beverages:
Lucien Albrecht Rose Champagne from Alsace
Two Rivers Riesling

I hope everyone had a lovely thanksgiving!

Sunset from my balcony

Apple Pie Experiment #1

This is the first apple pie that I've ever made. I made it entirely from scratch using a recipe that I found in a Cooking Light magazine.

We all thought it had a funny taste to it, and the only thing that I can guess it that it was the apple cider that made it funny. Oh well, next time I'm going to try a recipe from Allrecipes.com, since I'll know from the reviews whether or not it should be any good.

But it looks good, at least!

The Power of Two

Some people have all the motivation that they need built in.

They get up, exercise five days a week, organize their closet and garage on the weekend and still manage to learn that new hobby they are interested in.

I envy them. For myself, I don't have that built-in fire under my tush.

But like a snowball, I gather speed and mass under the right conditions. Namely, when I am around those who share my interests.

Thank goodness for me that I found someone who shares many of my own interests. My friend and I are tuning in to the same wavelength it seems.

We both want to learn American Sign Language. We both want to learn a foreign language as well. We agree that Spanish is the most practical, but that we'd like something more exotic, just for fun. We'll see if practicality wins out!

What new thing will you be learning during the next year because of the inspiration of friendship?

A Store Review: A Tea Utopia in Lafayette, CO

A friend and I visited A Tea Utopia on Tuesday, November 7, 2006.

We walked into the warm, sunlit shop in the middle of the day. The first thing you notice when you enter is the "wall of tea." One of the two main walls of the shop has nothing but shelves filled with jars of loose-leaf tea. Signs indicate that customers should feel welcome to open the jars and smell the teas.

We opened many jars, but left the vast majority unopened. I smelled tea from China that was so smoky it reminded me of roasted meat. I inhaled oolong that made me sigh. I saw a jar of genmai green tea, which normally has toasted brown rice in it, that had tiny, little popcorn mixed in.

The store proprietor came out and offered assistance. If you need advice on how teas will compare to others that seem similar, this is the lady to ask. She handmixes each tea on the wall, carefully selecting the aromatic pieces of the puzzle. She experiments with different blends, sometimes tossing a whole batch if it doesn't come out so well.

I enjoyed a freshly baked blueberry scone with a cup of iced jasmine tea, sweetened to my liking. My friend enjoyed a cup of an herbal tea, scented with vanilla, and a Nonni's biscotti. It was lovely to sit and talk, enjoying our treats. Customers pay for the items purchased at the conclusion of their visit, probably to allow them to add on extra food items as they give in to temptation (hey, we didn't originally start with that scone and biscotti!).

There were a couple of elderly women enjoying tea and conversation, so quiet that they were in their own world and we in ours.

I recommend this store for several reasons. The vast selection usually gives more room for experimentation, going outside of one's boundaries. The fresh pies and other treats would attract even a non-tea drinker. And lastly, the warm atmosphere and hands-on approach of the owner lend the store a very local flavor. It's comfortable there.

A Tea Utopia
1280 Centaur Village Drive Unit 7
Lafayette, CO 80026
303-665-8201

Casseroles, casseroles everywhere, and not a bite to eat!

I admit that I've been making too many casseroles lately. But, darn it, they are easy!

This week we've had

1. elbow macaroni and cheeses with chicken and vegetables

and

2. ziti casserole with three cheeses and italian sauasage meatballs

Both were delicious, but now I've decided that I need to get back to eating real meals; meals where the entree and side dishes exist separately in time and space.

The trick is finding easy, fast, healthy, and inexpensive meals of that variety. I'll post recipes as soon as I figure them out!

My Christmas Shopping has officially begun.

I finally faced the facts. Christmas is indeed coming and time is not slowing down. Rats.

Now that the facts have been faced, I now have to determine what gifts to buy everyone.

On a budget, no less. So, I am hoping that my favorite pasttime, that is, tinkering with crafts of all sorts, will pay off.

I found my inspiration this year in Martha Stewart's Holiday Handmade Gifts, on the stands now.

Homemade goodies of all sorts. I hope that there will be something for everyone. We'll see!

Here is what I want to make, so far:

Candles in unique vessels
Sweets - truffles and cookies
Possibly soap

I can't give away all my secrets, since a particular gift-recipient may be reading, but suffice it to say that I should be keeping myself busy on the weekends!

Does anyone else have plans to make some handmade gifts this Christmas?

No, really. No...REALLY!

Today I bought the most high-end pair of shoes I've ever heard of.

When I slid my feet into them and asked, "how do they look?" the answer I got was, "HOT! I'd wear just those and nothing else!"

I am not the biggest Sex and the City fan, but even I happened to catch an episode that featured these shoes.

Here they are. Manolo Blahnik's. And my husband tells me they retail for about $575-900 per pair. I bought mine for...wait for it...$1.99. And no, I won't tell you where!!! Hee, hee, hee! It's my secret!

I also bought a pair of Ann Taylor leather knee-high boots. How much? You guessed it. $1.99.


I was freaking out when I left the store! I tried to call my sister, but alas, she's on vacation. I can't wait to tell her. She's a big Sex and the City fan, so she should know what they are. Whoo hoo! Nothing like a good deal to make your day!