Moderation and good choices

I am trying my hardest to make better choices in life.  In all aspects, whether it be food (a biggie for me!), how I spend my time, how I spend my money, etc.  Along with those better choices comes moderation.  So I spend WAY too much on a new bag, my spending is curtailed for awhile, I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  Or I am really craving some 5 Guys burgers and their bucket of fries... when's the last time I had that... 6 months ago??? Ok, go for it and then get on that elliptical!  Meeting a friend for dinner?  Choose a place close to me and walk.  Which is exactly what I'm going to do tonight!  Life does not need to be as hard as we make it.  All the stresses and the money issues and commuting and long work hours, yeah, it sucks.  But when I look back to the issues that women had 40 or 50 years ago compared to now... we women totally rock right now!

So going with my biggest battle... FOOD!  This recipe is the perfect example of choices and moderation.  I don't know about you, but mac and cheese is one of my all time favorites.  Rachel Ray had a great recipe for mac and cheese on her show today.  And it's all about better choices and moderation.  So I love mac and cheese, so what?!  I can eat it and not want to put a gun to my head when I'm finished and feel totally guilty. Check it out...

Mac 'n' Cheese with Parsnips and Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic, halved
• About 1/3 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 2 large parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour

• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 3/4 cups whole milk
• Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Fontina or Gruyère cheese
• 1 pound ziti or Italian-style, straight-cut macaroni

Yields: 4-6

Preparation

Heat oven to 400°F.

In a small pot, combine garlic and oil, heat over low flame and gently cook until garlic is light golden in color and very fragrant, about 10-15 minutes. Remove garlic cloves and reserve.

Pile cauliflower on baking sheet and dress with lemon juice, about 3-4 tablespoons of the garlic-infused oil, thyme, salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread florets out in a single layer. Roast to brown at edges and tender, 20-25 minutes. Cover with Parmigiano-Reggiano and roast 5 minutes more. Turn oven off.

Meanwhile, boil parsnips in salted water to tender, 10-15 minutes. Purée in a food processor with the garlic cloves.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta.

In a saucepot, combine remaining garlic oil and butter over medium heat. When butter foams, whisk in flour, cook 1 minute; add stock and milk, and thicken. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg; combine sauce with parsnip purée and melt in cheese.

Cook pasta to al dente, drain pasta and toss with sauce. Arrange in a serving dish topped with crispy cauliflower florets on top.


Looks pretty good, right?!  I'm on the fence about the parsnips though!  And to cut back even more, I'd use 2% milk and whole grain pasta.  I think it might be what's for dinner one night this week or next!

You're such a dip!

I am SO looking forward to this Memorial Day Weekend!  Not only because it's a long weekend and who doesn't live for those?  But because we have PA family coming in this weekend.  That always means lots of food and lots of fun! 

I saw this recipe on Nate last week and am going to make this dip for the weekend.  I don't know about you, but me and Nate Burkus go back like babies and pacifiers! I have loved him waaay back in the day on the Big O's show and I still heart him.  He had Katie Lee (Billy Joel's ex) on last week and I love her too, so I was excited.  She made this onion dip that looked really good and Nate looked like he was having  a really good time eating.  And I think I heart chips and dip just about as much as I do Nate and all things pink.  Here's the recipe and the link to it on Nate's page.  Let me know if you give it a try at your weekend gathering too. 

Oh, and PS, she made homemade potato chips to go with it, but since I don't have little cooking fairies like Katie Lee and Nate do, a family size bag of Wavy Lays will do just fine!

http://www.thenateshow.com/howto/detail/katie-lees-garden-party

Caramelized Vidalia Onion Dip With Homemade Potato Chips
8 servings (about 2 ½ cups)
Prep time: 25 minutes
Inactive prep time: at least 30 minutes to chill in refrigerator
Cook time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1-tablespoon olive oil
1 large Vidalia onion, very thinly sliced (if you can’t find Vidalia, use another sweet variety like walla walla, maui, or Texas spring)
¼ cup water
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced
Homemade potato chips (recipe follows)
Directions
Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium – high heat. Add the onions and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, until beginning to brown. Stir in the water and scrape up brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to low and cook 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are golden brown. If the pan ever looks too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Let cool completely.
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Worcestershire, garlic salt, onion powder, and pepper. Using a electric mixer beat until smooth. Stir in the reserved onions and the scallions.
Chill until serving time.
Serve with chips.
Homemade Potato Chips
8 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Inactive prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 small baking potatoes
About 2 quarts peanut oil
Kosher salt
Directions
Use a mandoline to slice the potatoes 1/8-inch thick. Place the potato slices in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Refrigerate 1 hour. Drain and pat very dry with paper towels.
Heat a few inches of peanut oil to 350°F in a Dutch oven. Fry the potatoes in batches of 10 to 12 depending on the size of your pan, until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

A small update for my small kitchen

Another weekend, another project... Thanks to the Lowe's commerical for the inspiration, I painted my bottom kitchen cabinets and drawers a nice "kitcheny" ( yep, it's a word) green.  I think it turned out great.

Matches pretty well with my backsplash and rug, right?  I love it.  There's only so many updates I can do to that tiny little kitchen, I think this one was a winner.

Quick, easy, cute!

Happy Friday!  It's a beautiful day here, I'm heading to 2 tent sales at my favorite antique spots this weekend and I'm feeling good!

Have a work baby shower today and I must admit that the thought of heading to Target to pick up a gift while I was laying on the couch catching up on this week's episode of Revenge at 7:30 last night... a gift card was looming around in my thoughts!  But I mustered up the energy and headed to Target.  After all I have only been once this week, and the red shirts miss me if I don't come in at least twice a week!

So as I rolled in, my creative juices started bubbling and that little jolt I get when I know something cute is about to happen was in full force.  I of course hit up the dollar section first, as I always do when I stroll into that red heaven.  Looking for cute containers to hold a baby gift... a cute polka dotted box with a pink ribbon handle?  A good possibility.  A too cute straw bag that screams summer and little girl and brings me back to my childhood?  Also a very good contender. Of course I take both and make my way to the baby section.  Let me just say, the thrill I get while strolling through the baby girl section far surpasses the thrill I get when I stroll through the boys section for my little men.  I love them, but one less body part and I'd have them covered in every shade of pink, swimming in ruffles and flowers and cuteness!  But I digress... Remember those little cotton jumpers that you had as a little girl?  All one piece, oozing with cuteness.  Add a pink bow barrette to hold my bangs back and you have my summer wardrobe for ages 4 - 8!  Target had SO many cute ones.  I walked back and forth and all around that baby girl section with 2 - 3 different rompers and dresses hanging from my finger every lap around.  I finally decided on 2.  Now I have the polka dotted box, the straw bag and 2 dresses as I stroll to the baby section for what else... accessories.  You can never accessorize too early.  A lesson in life if you ask me! Sunglasses?  The straw bag, the cute romper and a pink (duh!) pair of sunglasses?  Ding, ding, ding, I think we have a winner.  Add the sunglasses to my stash, but more strolling, there could be more.  Hold up... a pink floppy hat that matches the cute little pink sailboats on the dress?! SOLD!  I put the sunglasses back because a good hat just can't be matched when it matches your cute little dress.  Walked by the gift wrap aisle and picked up some tissue paper.  (Stashed the polka dot container and #2 dress in a random shelf because the dollar section was like 50 more steps and it's now like 8:15, I gotta get home for Greys (additional side note... WTF Greys?  Are you trying to make me get no sleep because I'm a basket case?!) anyways... Here's the finished product...

Seriously?  Does it get much cuter or more simple?  So next time you walk into Target for a last minute gift, let your creative juices flow, channel me and think WWJD?  (yes, it works for both me and Jesus!) Don't just grab a baby bag with Noah's ark on it, go through the kitchen aisles and look for a cute jar or the accessories section and look for a cute bag, the toys section, the home section.  The possibilities are endless!  And now I really want to bail on work and spend the morning at Target...

Happy Friday!!!

What does your desk say about you?

I just can't function in a mess.  Whether it be at home or at work, I always need some order.  So my desk pretty much looks like my house.  Pictures of the little man (men now), some pink here and there, and some thrown in girly touches...

I didn't pick the red and black theme, my boss and the designer did, but I luckily I like it.  The lamp being my favorite of course.  A Home Goods find.  I'd love to find a turquoise one for my house.  The vase and flower was my Mother's Day gift from my little men.  You've all seen the Hallmark commercial where the flower opens up...  Very cute, right?

 



My tape dispenser is awesome.  And I know my boss will never steal it.  He refuses to even use it if he's out of tape. He knows how I roll by now...

Onto the other side...

My computer is on the fritz right now, well just the keyboard and mouse.  The polka dotted mouse pad... love it.  It has a big ol' J on it too of course.  Assorted pics from surprise b-days to cruises to Jamaica to weddings.  I can't be anywhere without photos.  The days calendar on the cork board and a pic from a Christmas party photo booth at last years work party.

Pretty predictable right? ;)

Back on track

It's been a long, long time since my last post.  But I've still been hard at work on new projects and ideas around the house.

I did some moving around a few weeks ago and moved the buffet in my dining room to my living room under the tv and I must admit, I love it.  It's one of my favorite things in the world to re-purpose furniture from one room to another.  A dining room buffet or hutch to a living room, a bedroom dresser to the living room or dining room.  It all works and I love it.

Now of course, it didn't look JUST like this in the dining room.  I had to mix it up even more.  I covered the fronts of the drawers with contact paper.  I've used that contact paper in so many projects and I love it! I think it turned out awesome on the drawer fronts.  And even when it was in my dining room, it wasn't meant for a dining room.  It's a bedroom chest of drawers that I got from Ikea about a year ago for my dining room.  See what I mean, I LOVE re-purposing furniture.  And of course I am equally in love with Ikea.

Here's a close up of just what's on top of the buffet...

The stand with green apples resided there in the dining room and I had to bring into the living room as well.I have some green mixes in my living room as well, so the apples fit right in.  The pic is me and my sister at her wedding of course.  The little bag next to the frame, that's what we carried down the aisle during the wedding instead of flowers. Um yeah, that was of course my idea! So now the pic and purse are a pair wherever they get staged in my home.  Art books, I love.  That top Orsay book my friends mom brought me back from Paris, so it's a special one.  The roses are from my front yard and yes I know they have about hit their shelf life!

On the other side is of course a pic of my favorite little man.  That's his 4 year old school pic.  I know, I need one of his new 1 month old brother, what a terrible aunt! More art books of course by my favorite Monet. The bowl is a favorite.  It's from my grandparents (who are no longer with us) china set from when they got married.  My mom gave me the set and I love using them around the house rather than food.  It holds my keys, sunglasses, mail and any other odd or end I have when I come in the door so I can grab it when I go out. And the other small container hold old pics from when I was a baby and old family pics.  I like that they're there for me or anyone to pick up and look through memories. 

And here's the whole look.  I love the empty frames so much, I think it's a look that I will keep for awhile.  The painted blue squares on the other hand have seen their better days and I'm itching to paint the whole LR/DR combo a new color.  I'm thinking grey, just need to actually do it.  I HATE to paint, but love new colors.  The chair I got at an antique store and love it to death. 

Happy hump day!