Tacos!

Tacos are on the menu for tonight.  Eating tacos now is a bittersweet experience.  It's sweet, of course, because they are yummy!  The bitter comes from the fact that tacos were my dad's absolute favorite meal.  I actually made them for my dad as his birthday dinner a few days before we lost him.  These days, when I make tacos, I can still see my dad pacing right by the kitchen entrance, beer in hand, impatiently looking over at me to see how close I am to being finished.  I can still feel his heavy hand on my shoulder as he walks behind me to either throw something away or to grab another beer (can't have tacos without beer!) from the fridge.  That's actually one of the things that I miss the most.  I would be standing by my counter as I prepped veggies and guacamole for the tacos and my dad would walk past me, briefly put his hand of my shoulder without saying a word, then continue on to whatever task had brought him into the kitchen.  Like his parents (and me), he didn't easily express his love with words.  Actions showed me his love.  That simple touch on the shoulder spoke volumes to me.  I miss it.

Tonight, I'll take pictures of my taco making so that I can post them here.  Don't expect authenticity.  After all, I'm half Euro-American mix and half Japanese.  =)  Do expect yumminess though!

What a Year

Well,  I was so ready to blog away at the start of 2012.  I just read my last post from January 16th, and wish that I could go back to that enthusiasm.  Unfortunately, it's become a heavy task to create my menus each week, go shopping, and cook great meals.  I lost my steam.  You see, the day after my last posting, I lost my hero, my dad.  His health has been pretty poor for years, but we had no idea that we would lose him so soon.  My relationship with my dad is more unique than most father-daughter relationships.  Not only was he my dad and my hero, he was also my best friend.  I could talk to him about anything from our own family issues, to my career, to my marriage, to raising children, and everything in between.  Adding another dimension to our relationship was that we worked together.  We were both teachers at the same high school.  In fact, since he only taught one period a day (he went part-time after his bypass in 2003), he and I were able to share a classroom.  I literally saw him almost every day.

To say that I miss my dad would be a gross understatement.  There are no words to describe the pain.  Any of you who have lost a parent can sympathize, I know.  I'm okay, I'm functioning, I'm even enjoying my life still, but I'll never be the same.  I almost feel as though I have to create a new identity.  If I'm not Mike's daughter, then who am I?

I am slowly getting back into my old habits.  I'm trying to menu plan again.  It doesn't get done every week, but at least I'm trying.  I'd like to get back to this blog, too.  Perhaps this blog will help inspire me to really focus again.  We'll see, I guess.  Wish me luck!

Back in the Saddle

Whew! What a busy couple of weeks we've had. The hubby and I both had finals this past week which means minimum days for the students, and maximum grading for the teachers. It can be an exhausting time for teachers! Since it was such an insane week, my cooking took a hit. We had a few fast food nights. =p

Now that finals are over (thank goodness!), I am ready to get back to cooking! It really is one of my self-soothers. Plus, not cooking meant that going to the grocery store also got put on the back burner. Trying to put together lunches for my four-year-old was difficult to say the least. So, this morning was menu time!

Do you make menus? I didn't when I first got married 7 1/2 years ago. I would go to the grocery store and blindly buy whatever appealed to me. A potato here, a chicken breast there, maybe a steak, some fruit, more produce...the list goes on and on. Sure, I had an actual list in hand, but the list was based on nothing. I'd get home with my groceries and then try to come up with meals for the rest of the week. Half the time, I'd come home from work, dig through the cupboards and fridge, get frustrated because I didn't know what to make, then end up asking the hubby to grab something on his way home. This lead to some lovely weight gain during our first year of marriage. It also lead to a lot of wasted food and wasted money. Something had to change.

Enter my good friend, Lia. She is my organizational guru and she introduced me to the utterly simple, yet effective weekly menu. Before I even think about a list, I plan out my menu. I plan three meals a day for my entire family. Let me tell you, this has not only made the grocery store trips a LOT faster, it's saved me a ton of money. I no longer grab whatever looks good. If it's not on my menu, it's not on my list, and it doesn't go in my cart. The only reason I grab anything that isn't on the list is if it's a killer deal or it inspires me to cook a different meal. Ahhh!! One part of my life is slightly simpler.

So, when I woke up this morning, I decided to make my menu as soon as I'd eaten my breakfast. The grocery list followed, and then we were out to door to Trader Joe's. (By the way, if you are still shopping at major grocery stores, you are probably spending too much money! That's a topic for another post, though). Once I walked through the door of the store, I ticked off each item of my list as it hit my basket, stopped to pick up a quick sample (which lead to an off-list purchase), checked out, and loaded the groceries in the car. Time spent? --> 1 hour from walking out of my house to walking back into my house. That's not bad considering TJ's is about a 15 minute car ride from my house!

Now that I've gone on and on about the beauty of the weekly menu and how easy it makes things, would you like to know what we are eating this week? Fine, I'll tell you. For the sake of saving space on the blog, I'll just tell you that our breakfasts are fairly simple. Toast, english muffins, fried eggs, and scrambled egg sandwiches are our staples. I'll share lunches and dinners below. Here's the menu:

Monday - lunch: Goat Cheese, Roasted Tomato, and Arugula Tartine dinner: Crockpot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, homemade oven fries, and fruit salad

Tuesday - lunch: leftover BBQ Chicken dinner: Spaghetti with Homemade Meat Sauce

Wednesday - lunch: leftover Spaghetti dinner: Crockpot French Dips, Oven Fries (yes, we like them), Fruit Salad...again

Thursday - lunch: more leftovers dinner: Pork Roast, Roasted Baby Yukon Golds, Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

Friday - lunch: Pad See Ew (delicious Thai dish) dinner: Roasted Chicken, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Broccoli, 7-Up Biscuits

Saturday - lunch: leftovers (I'm going for a no-waste week!) dinner: Chicken Tacos, Vegetarian Refried Beans, Green Chili Rice

There you have it! Now, my challenge is to actually cook all of it! Monday is nearly over, so I'm proud to say that it was a success. =) Lunch has been eaten and the chicken is bubbling away in the crockpot. Yay me! Check back later in the week to see if I'm sticking to my menu! I'll leave you with a gorgeous picture of today's lunch.

Are you drooling?

Back to Work

My hubby and I are both educators, so we've had two glorious weeks off. Glorious, I say! Unfortunately, today was back-to-work day. I actually love my career and think it's the best job in the world. That doesn't fully take away the pain of going back, though. Let's face it, no matter how much a person loves their job, waking up in the morning can still be difficult. Making it even more tough is the fact that I have to leave my kids. I'm blessed because their grandmother takes care of them however, it still hurts to leave them after a break. I acclimate quickly, but that initial walking out the door makes me sad. Sigh.

Naturally, after two weeks off, the first day back is TIRING!! I went to Costco after work which was an accomplishment since I was basically sleep-walking at that point. I figured I could pick up some ground beef and use it in my yummy meat sauce this evening. Spaghetti is my go-to healthy meal for nights when I'm exhausted. It's easy, tasty, and nutritious. Too bad I'm picky and Costco didn't have any ground beef that was lean enough. I'm partial to 96/4 beef. I find it to be far less greasy (though I drain it anyway) and less gristly.

That left me with the battle that I've faced far too many times. Do I figure out some other dinner or have the hubby get drive-thru. Ugh. I love a good bacon cheeseburger, but after the holiday season I need to detox! The exhausted mother in me battled not to give in to the greasy but easy temptation. I waited all the way until my hubby got home asking about dinner. Still, I had no clue. Part of the problem was my fatigue. I literally could hardly put together a coherent sentence, let alone plan out an impromptu dinner. Spontaneity in the kitchen is not a strength of mine. So, did I cook or not? I...cooked! The only healthy alternative to drive-thru that my hubby could come up with was Subway. Ugh. I'm not a fan. Nothing against Subway, I just don't love sandwiches, in general. I know, strange. Oh well. Subway pushed my mind into my pantry where I came up with a yummy, cozy, and fast meal - Penne with Butter and Parmesan! Woooooo!!! I am so proud of myself. Normally, I would have been eating McDonald's right about now. Although butter is not a diet food, it's certainly better than McNuggets and fries. Right?

Recipe:

13.5 oz box of Penne Rigate

3/4 stick of butter

1/2 cup (or more, if you like) Parmesan

Salt and peper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and throw in a palmful of salt.

Carefully drop the penne into the water and give it a quick stir. Stir every few minutes to ensure that it doesn't stick together and that it cooks evenly.

Grate the parmesan.

Cut butter into 1 inch cubes if it isn't room temperature. If it's room temp, you can leave it whole.

Drain the pasta, reserving a ladle-full of pasta water.

Put the pasta in a big ol' bowl and dump the butter in with it. Mix the pasta with the butter until the butter disappears into a beautiful sheen over all of the noodles.

Sprinkle the cheese over the pasta and mix to coat all of the noodles. If the pasta gets too clumpy (that's a technical term) mix in a bit of the pasta water to loosen it. The pasta water has all of the good starch in it still, so it helps loosen the pasta without creating a watery mess.

Portion it out, add some salt and pepper if you want (but not before you taste it. Parmesan can be salty), and enjoy! Quick yummy goodness!

New Year's Eve

My hubby and I love a good date night! Usually, we try to do at least one date night a month. Unfortunately, this hasn't really happened since our son was born earlier this year. We've had about three mini-dates in the last six months. Ugh. It hurts to see that in writing! We are motivated though, so we know that once things settle a bit more, we'll get back to our once-a-month-dates!

Now, many of you may think that New Year's Eve provides the perfect reason to have a date. We, however, do not think that way. You see, I was traumatized in the late nineties when I went into Hollywood for a New Year's Eve concert. My group and I hit the 10 freeway at around 5 PM and there were already cars swerving all over the place! Since then, I'd rather stay in and be safe, thank you very much! Thus, 13 years later, the hubby and I chose to have a date night in our own home. We hit Trader Joe's (where I do nearly all of my grocery shopping) and the Cheese Cave in Claremont. Once we left both of those locales, we had the makings for a stellar wine and cheese night! Yummy! I also picked up the ingredients needed to make Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes. Mmmmmm...

Since this was going to be a date night, we had to wait to eat until the kids were in bed. In order to keep Gracie from feeling left out, I had her help me make the cupcakes. They involved a few more steps than most cupcakes because they called for a red wine reduction, but they were well worth the efforts!

Once the kids were in bed, we put our dinner together. Our wine and cheese night consisted of a bottle of Coppola Claret red wine, 5 soft cheeses (we llllooooooovvvveee brie, so we asked for several cheeses in that range), a french baguette, bruschetta, crackers, peppered salami, Caprese salad, baby greens with balsamic vinaigrette, and olive tapenade. It was SO good and SO worth the calories. We actually used to do a wine and cheese night about once or twice a month. Last December put a stop to that when it was discovered that I had gall stones. I love cheese, but didn't want to risk a gall bladder attack. Luckily, I had my gall bladder removed a few weeks ago. The wine and cheese night was a long-awaited reward! =)

As we noshed on our feast, we watched Mad Men and discussed how the characters are ridiculously messed up. We also reflected a bit on our 2011. By 11:30 PM, we were full, content and in bed. Party animals, right? Yup, we know how to ring in the new year! I was the only one in the house who was still awake once 2011 rolled into 2012. I'm usually awake because paranoia over the loud noises that ensue at midnight keeps my adrenaline levels up. I can almost set my clock by the noise ending and my brain finally giving in to sleep. 12:15. Every year!

Happy new year, everyone!

Me and my girl in our aprons...and our pjs. Yeah, I know. We are seriously fancy around my house!

Gracie likes to crack eggs. This time, we only ended up with one tiny shell that I had to fish out. =)

The red wine is reducing and the cupcakes are fresh out of the oven. Mmmm...

My Wilton cake decorating set. This was a fun Christmas present!

Pretty lilac colored red wine buttercream.

A blurry shot of the Caprese salad and our cheeses off in the distance. *Drool*

The cheeses. They deserve to take a bow.

Here she is in all her glory - a Chocolate Red Wine Cupcake with Red Wine Buttercream...in a Winnie the Pooh wrapper. Hey, I usually bake for my four-year-old!

I added a piece of red grape to the top as a garnish. I thought it looked purdy.

Life

I had good intentions last night, I really did. I planned on sticking a Trader Joe's pork loin in the oven and making roasted potatoes and parmesan roasted asparagus. The key words in that sentence are, "I planned on..." My best friend and I met for lunch and a little shopping yesterday, so when I got home I was just a little tired. Then the hubby was working on his computer. Long story short - we ordered a pizza. Hmph. Oh well. Pizza has its place in the world! So, guess what's on the menu for tonight? That's right! Trader Joe's pork loin, roasted potatoes, and parmesan roasted asparagus. Yum!

Brownies!

Brownies...mmmm...brownies. I'm in love with this yummy sweet treat. In fact, I love them so much that, as a child, I often requested birthday brownies over a birthday cake. Why do I love them so much, you ask? I think it's the combination of the dense (Yes, I like brownies and cakes dense. None of this "light as a feather" business!) texture, rich chocolatey goodness, and crispy, crackly top. Since I got married, I've tried a few variations. I've used my mom's applesauce recipe (always yummy), I've tried doctored up boxed versions, and (drumroll, please) the recipe from Baked in New York. Of course, I can never leave well enough alone. I added my own touches to the recipe to suit my tastes. In other words, I added more chocolately goodness! Ready? Here we go!

This is my assistant, Grace. Cute, isn't she? She helps Mama in the kitchen...until she loses interest, that is.

Step one: break or chop the super dark chocolate into a glass bowl.

Step two: cut the butter into one inch by one inch cubes and add to the chocolate. Try your hardest not to steal any of the chocolate!

Step 3: Add the espresso powder. You won't really taste it, it just adds depth to the chocolate flavor. However, if you're a coffee lover like I am, you could always add more.

Step four: Create a double boiler. This just means that you put a bit of water into a saucepan and get it up to a boil. Then, set the glass bowl with the chocolate, butter, and espresso into the pan. The water should NOT touch the bottom of the glass bowl. This creates a gentle heat that melts the butter and chocolate without scorching it. Nice, huh?

Step 5: As the chocolate and butter mixture melts (keep an eye on it!), mix together all of the dry ingredients - dark cocoa powder, flour, and salt. Good job, Gracie!

Step six: Either butter or spray your 13x9 baking pan. I prefer to save a few calories (ha!) and use canola oil spray.

Step seven: Crack five room-temperature eggs into a bowl. Set aside.

Step eight: Gently stir the chocolate and butter mixture as it melts. Resist the urge to stick a straw in the bowl and drink it!

Step ten: Once everything is melted, add the sugars and gently mix them in. Try not to over mix!

The mixture will look kind of grainy. Go ahead and remove the pan from the heat and set it aside.

Step eleven: Mix into the dry mixture a bag of your choice of chocolate chips. I go for a high quality dark chocolate chip. I've heard that by mixing the chips into the dry ingredients you'll keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pan once they are mixed into the wet ingredients. Does it work? Sure!

Step twelve: Now that the melted chocolate mixture is a little cooler, mix in the eggs one at a time. Be sure they are room temperature otherwise you'll have yourselves some chocolate scrambled eggs! That doesn't sound too good.

Step thirteen: Combine the dry into the wet. I didn't get a picture of this step until I'd already combined everything. Oops! This is another step where you want to be sure not to overmix. The mixture should be just combined.

Step fourteen: Pour the mixture into the baking pan and put it into a pre-heated 350 degree oven. They'll bake for a minimum of 25 minutes to a maximum of 35 minutes. Don't open the oven to peek at the brownies before the 25 minute mark. You'll just let heat out of the oven and prolong the baking process. You wouldn't want to do that, would you?

Step fifteen: To check the doneness of your brownies, simply stick and knife or toothpick into the center of the brownie. If it comes out clean, they're finished! Mine actually came out with a little goo on it, but I determined it to be melted chocolate chip and not raw batter. I'll admit, I licked it off the butter knife before I put it in the sink. Go ahead and judge me. =)

Here is the finished product! You can see that they didn't go untouched for long. I didn't even get to take a picture of the first brownie before and entire row was already eaten!

Enjoy these brownies. They are oh-so yummy. If you'd like the recipe, feel free to comment here or message me with your email address. I'll send you the recipe!