Who Do Ya Love?

"Have you seen Luke Today?" Samantha asked when she passed me in the hall. "Yeah - he came and talked to Susie while I was on a conference call this morning."

She followed it up with, "Did you see his name tag?"

Nope. So we walked over to his desk, where Luke informed Samantha that she ruined it because now I wouldn't notice it on my own.

Yesterday Luke was passing Samantha's desk while she was making new tags to go on all the cubes. Mine was going to get thrown away [which is quite disturbing to me - why is mine trash? Am I getting fired?] and Luke said he wanted it. So Samantha gave it to him.

Really, the new tags were made because everyone is getting rearranged. As new people have been hired there isn't any more room for them to sit next to their groups, so the whole building is getting switched around. At the last minute, my group was left alone. Maybe they couldn't find anyone willing to sit in Steve's old cube. So I don't need a new cube tag - and I am not staying up late worried about getting fired [although maybe I should].

Banana Bread

We had a miserable time making banana bread when were first married. We tried fancy recipes but it is hard to get excited about a recipe with 37 ingredients, so finally Kevin broke down and called his mom. She gave him a very simple recipe: tons of butter, two tons of sugar, 4 tons of flour, 2 eggs, and 3 bananas. Now I know why Monica was always so adamant about NOT buttering banana bread.

A month ago I saw a recipe on one of my favorite blogs: A Greener Tea. (Click on the name to go to the site.) You have to check out the recipe on her blog just to see the note her darling kids left for her. What sweet angels. This whole blog is about embracing your age. It is for women 35 and older, but I figure, what the heck, I can't wait until I'm 40 so I qualify in spirit if not yet in age.

This recipe has a bunch of strange ingredients: flax seed, wheat germ, and wheat bran. Hali says that we can't digest flax seed, so don't bother putting it in stuff. Too bad, Hali. Sadly, I only had to improvise on one ingredient. I had no wheat bran, but, on an even more sad note, I did have bran flakes, so I ground those up and used them instead.

It is a sign of a defeated woman to have bran flakes in her food storage. Especially when it is in the section that actually gets used.

Kevin saw some flax in the bottom of the bread loaf pan, and asked if flax was in the banana bread. That is a deal breaker for him. I told him there was some ground flax but the muffins didn't have any whole pieces on the bottom, and you couldn't even taste them. It wasn't good enough - now he won't even try them. Good! Now there's more for me. I'll let you tomorrow if there is too much fiber.....

Isn't this weird? The muffin on the left was the first batch, and I mixed the dry ingredients, then the wet, then folded them together. The one on the right came together by throwing everything into a bowl and mixing it up. The one on the right has noticeably less texture. And I didn't use a blur effect in PhotoShop. I did use some of The Pioneer Woman's PhotoShop actions, but only "Boost" to brighten the image a bit. Both mixing methods taste the same.

** Special Note ** If you are new to the Pioneer Woman, do not look at her Chicken, Bacon and Cheese Sandwich while at work, or you will be accused of looking at food porn. This is especially true if you are salivating over her food right before lunch.

Banana Bread with goofy ingredients
3 bananas, mashed
½ C yogurt
1 t baking soda
1 egg
1 t vanilla
2 T oil
1/2 C dark brown sugar
1 ½ C whole wheat flour
1 t baking powder
¼ C ground flax seed
¼ C wheat germ
¼ C wheat bran

Mix everything together and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes, or until golden brown.

Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

What's a girl to do with a husband out fishing and a sweet tooth the size of a Chipotle burrito? Make some cookies, of course. I've been eyeing a recipe from 101cookbooks for a while now, so I broke out the cookie sheets and got to work. There were a few scattered dishes in the sink, but I ignored them until the end, when they creeped up on me and multiplied until there were enough to fill two whole dishwasher loads. Good heavens. These pesky dishes. How did they all get into the sink?

I was worried that the molasses would be too strong, but it is barely noticeable. They are about an inch each, so they are extra fun.

A Gazillion Tiny Little Cookies

5 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon black strap molasses
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, oats, and chocolate.

In another bowl, beat the butter until fluffy then beat in the sugar and mix until it is also light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, then the egg, mixing until both are well incorporated, scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and stir by hand until the ingredients barely come together into a uniform dough.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out a level cookie scoop and tear it in half. Then roll each of those pieces into a ball and roll it in sugar. Put it on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and flatten with your fingers.

Bake for 7 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool on a wire rack.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup and a Monsterous Grilled Cheese Sandwich

What is the best use of last Friday, which I had off? I thought and thought, and then invited 5 women over for lunch. Two accepted, one rejected, and two ignored the email completely. Then I got stood up by ALL FIVE! So I suppose I will have to do the eating of five women all by myself. Such is my life.... OK, OK. So little kids staying up all night crying might have played a part. The end result is that I ate with my hubilicious hubby instead of some girlfriends. My girlfriends, not his (just in case your eyebrow went up.)

First, chop up 1 cup of celery and shred 1 cup of carrots. Then lightly chop a can of mushrooms.
There. Most of the work is done. Put this in 2 quarts of chicken broth and simmer until the veges are tender. Meanwhile, cook a couple of chicken breasts in boiling water and steam 2 cups of wild rice. When the veges are tender, mix 1/4 C of butter with 1/4 C of flour and whisk it into the veges. Then whisk in a can of cream of mushroom soup. Then add 2 C of wild rice and the chopped chicken. That's it! We have a special place in our hearts for this soup because we had it at our wedding reception. And because it is yummy. And because it is easy. And because it is healthy if you pretend it doesn't have cream of mushroom soup, which I will.

Then it's time to make a sandwich. Anybody up for grilled cheese?

I couldn't leave well enough alone, so I decided to add some turkey. The book "Why We Eat More Than We Think" says that if we want to eat less, make a sandwich with less meat and cheese, but really load up on the veges, and you won't even miss the extra meat and/or cheese.

So I am using 2 deli slices of turkey and sauteing some green peppers and jalapenos. It took too long on the stove, so I had to finish the job in the microwave. I mean....five minutes!? Who has time like that...

And here is the sandwich as it is finishing grilling. Hurry up and finish already! I am hungry!

Oh, yeah. Come to big mama. Big mama reminds me of the song in Chicago "When You're Good to Mama" which will be my theme song when I have kids at home.

This sandwich is so big. Look at it! It is a tall as the soup bowl! I only ate 5 bites of soup and half the sandwich before I had to stop. Kevin says that next time, 1 jalapeno will be enough, and that 2 made it too hot. (He ate 1/4 of the sandwich when I just couldn't finish it.)

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

2 quarts (8 cups) chicken broth

1 c celery, diced

1 c carrots, shredded

1/2 c. onions, chopped (or a small handful food storage onions)

1 t parsley flakes

1 t thyme

1/4 t garlic powder

1/4 c butter

1/4 c flour

1 can cream of mushroom soup

3 c cooked wild rice

2 c cooked chicken, cubed

Combine the ingredients through the garlic powder in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover for 30 minutes. In a small bowl, melt the butter and stir in the flour to make a paste. Gradually add to the soup. Whisk in the cream of mushroom soup. Turn up the heat for a few minutes, until thickened. Add the rice and cubed chicken and serve.

The Welfare Debate

Every year Todd files his taxes early so he can get his rebate as soon as possible. Every year he complains that his brother, who makes very little money, gets back all the taxes that were withheld from his check, plus a nice bundle on top of that. He hates that people are able to survive on welfare. He hates that he has to pay extra taxes so his brother can get extra money.

This year when he started talking about his brother and taxes I was prepared. "So, Todd, you take all the welfare that you are offered, right?"

"Yeah, right. Like I am offered ANY welfare."

"What about your deduction for all 3 of your kids? What about the interest you write off of your mortgage? Isn't that the government deciding that you deserve a little more than everyone else because you have kids and a house?"

Steve and Todd both went silent. Todd was so angry that I would imply that he accepts a handout that his face turned bright red and he turned to face his computer and started typing.

An hour later, he turned around and weakly asked, "Don't you write off your kids and mortgage interest?"

Of course I do. But I can accept that those programs are part of the welfare system. In private, Kurt told me that I should keep teasing Todd and Steve about welfare because it makes them both very angry.

The debate got out of control today. Steve was complaining that his sister lived in low income housing and got paid to live because she had a baby and no job. Me and my big mouth blurted, "OH, So it is OK for you to accept your legitimate welfare, and because you make twice the national average you deserve it, but THOSE poor people getting THAT type of welfare are beneath government help." Much eye rolling ensued.

This afternoon, Steve sent an email with the following subject: Perhaps I don't feel so bad about receiving "welfare."

wel⋅fare –noun 1. the good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization; well-being:

May we all have plentiful welfare for the rest of our lives.

Dueling Cords

Ed wore brown corduroy pants with a blue shirt today. So did I. When I bought my corduroy pants, Kevin told me that he didn't like them because corduroys are too loud when you walk. His mom made him wear them as a kid and he never got over the trauma of having everyone notice him when he was the last one to get in line. They make a swish...swish...swish with every step, so there is no sneaking up on anybody.

Today when we noticed that we were dressed identically, we took turns making noise on our trip from the water fountain back to our desks.

Your turn....swish, swish, swish.

Now my turn....swish, swish, swish.

Now together....swish, swish, swish.

Luckily, nobody overheard us in the midst of our strange game.

Butterscotch Bread Pudding

Joe, the chef at the cafeteria, makes caramel bread pudding that everyone raves about. I have studiously avoided it because....well.....I had a bad experience with bread pudding when I was a teenager.

I was at a friends house, and his mom served bread pudding that took 'pudding' literally. It was mushy and bland and I barely choked it down, smiling with every bite. Somehow I was able to be polite at other people's houses even though I was a complete punk at home. My mom must be a saint to have put up with me.

So I have been completely flabbergasted when people at work would go buy some bread pudding and then thoroughly enjoy every bite. Surely they weren't being polite - they never make an effort to be polite any other time. What was this fascination with bread pudding?

Finally, I gave in and tried a piece. It wasn't the slimy glob I remembered, but firm and sweet and deliciously caramel. Since I think it costs too much to buy food from the cafeteria every day, Kevin and I decided to try a bread pudding recipe for our Valentine's Day dessert.

Here's the cast of characters. OK. So bread pudding isn't the most healthy dessert ever. It's even worse when it serves as breakfast, like it did this morning. This version has less calories than some by substituting applesauce for half the butter and skim milk for the cream. We tried to find butterscotch chips with no hydrogenated oils, but our searching was fruitless so we just gave in and bought the ones that were available.

Here's the slimy mess before it goes into the oven. It looks strange but smells pretty darn good.


Oooohhh...and here they are right out of the oven.

How sweet. Kevin shared his heart with me.

Butterscotch Bread Pudding
1 loaf cinnamon raisin bread, torn into small pieces
4 cups skim milk
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup applesauce
3 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips

Melt the butter and butterscotch chips in a large bowl. Stir in all the other ingredients except the bread. When the sauce has an even consistency, stir in the torn bread pieces. Bake in a 9X13 greased pan at 350 degrees for between 1 hour and 1 hour 20 minutes, depending on how solid you like it. I like a less gooey, more french toast like texture so I baked it towards the end of the time spectrum. Enjoy it warm or cold. Or, have a piece warm and another piece cold.

Breakfast Casserole / Burritoes

You know how I said that for everything I bought, I was going to get rid of something else? Well......that is easier to say than to do. For months I have been looking for a cheap heart shaped ramekin, and I finally found some in Marshalls. Two red ones jumped into my grabby little hands, and then Kevin said I should get the pink ones to have a full set. (They only had 2 of each color left.)

Therefore, we have found room for 4 more things. Being Valentine's Day, I just had to find some things to make in these cute heart dishes.

Amanda makes a hick-hiney breakfast casserole, so it seemed like the perfect yummy breakfast. It was supposed to be justified by my spinning/yoga class this morning, but the class was full when I arrived 10 minutes early. It was only half over by the time I finished my solo workout, and I was tired enough. Who needs an incredibly sexy 50 year old woman teaching me how to work out? Seriously, I am the youngest in the classes I have taken, and by far the most out of shape. These people are incredible!

Start out with cooked hash browns and crumbled bacon.


These hash browns might look like french fries to you. Because they are. That's what we had in the freezer. Once they are cut into serving sized portions, nobody can tell the difference.


Then sprinkle some bacon on top of the fries. Oh, mercy.... What a sight for sore eyes. Since everything so far is cooked, I had to grab handful and chow down.

Then the green peppers get added to the top. Every time I see green peppers I think about Evonne. She told me a story about going on a trip with a friend, and she ate something with green peppers right before the long car ride. She had these horrendous burps, and even though she directed them towards the window, her friend kept commenting on how bad they smelled. So much for a romantic Valentine's meal....

Then add the eggs and cheese. We put it in the fridge overnight and the cheese dried out a bit. Next time I will put the cheese on it right before baking. Amanda's recipe calls for cream of mushroom soup, and I replaced that with a little bit of water. Leave a little bit of room at the top for the eggs to puff up.

When it comes out of the oven and has cooled, cut the pan into burrito sized rectangles and freeze individually. When you are ready to eat a burrito, microwave one rectangle and then put it on a tortilla with some salsa. Don't let anyone watch you eat this; it makes them jealous, especially when they learn that they can't go buy it.

Breakfast Casserole

12 eggs

1 lb bacon, crumbled

1 can cream of mushroom soup (or 1/2 C water)

1 can mushrooms

1 small onion, chopped (or a small handful of dried onions)

1 green pepper, chopped

1 bag hash browns, cooked

2 C grated cheese.

Cook the potatoes and bacon, and crumble the bacon. Put the potatoes in the bottom of a greased pan with the bacon sprinkled on top. Sprinkle with the chopped green peppers. Mix the eggs, onions, and soup or water together and pour over the green peppers. Sprinkle on the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Celebrate! (Nerd Style)

An email titled "A Very Significant Event" found its way into my inbox two days ago. It certainly sounded important! But wait.....

"We are approaching a significant time that will never happen again this Unix epoch, the time 1234567890 seconds since Jan 1 1970 UTC. In honor of the event, I think we need to celebrate.

The magic time in a more human form is Fri Feb 13 17:31:30 CST 2009 but I think we should show up a bit before that.

For those who want to monitor the current time in seconds since the epoch, "date +%s" will work in most UNIX (and cygwin) environments.

--Chris "

No. I am not kidding. This is the type of thing that engineers celebrate. If you have a unix machine, feel free to follow along with the 'perfect' time. If you don't have a unix machine, chances are that you don't really care about the perfect number of seconds since a perfectly arbitrary starting date and you can thank you lucky stars that you aren't a nerd.

Is anyone up for celebrating with Chris?

Only the Best

The Systems team members think they aren't getting the recognition they deserve, so they printed themselves an award. It said "Certificate of Award for Best IPT - IPT 2 - Systems" and they put it in the hall where everyone walked by it multiple times every day.

An IPT is an Independent Program Team, and our project has 10 of them. I work in the Integration and Test IPT.

Obviously, this situation could not last. One night while working late, Steve snuck the award to the scanner and then created an identical award with our IPT's name on it. Then he put "our" award up where the other one used to be.

When the systems engineers finally saw the altered award, they tried to get us to tell them how long it had been up. It had only been 2 weeks, but they firmly believe that they proudly flaunted this tribute to the Integration and Test for months on end.

Ahhh...the sweet feeling of turning their need for recognition against them.

Fish Faces

Why do the fish hate us? Surely it can't be because we kill them. They should enjoy that. Isn't their purpose in life to fill us with happiness [and Omega 3 oils]? Do lake fish even have Omega 3 oils?

Seriously, I had no idea that it was so much work to ice fish. We drove a total of 2 1/2 hours, drilled 30 holes in the ice on two different lakes, and finally, at the last hole, started catching fish. It was so much work finding the fish that we didn't have it in us to break out the chili we had brought along. I did manage to eat 1/2 the bag of granola bars that I had made, and about 4 corn muffins, and a cup of hot chocolate, but that totally doesn't count.

This pesky contraption singed off 3 inches of my hair and my right eyelashes. It did keep the ice house warm, so I'll give it one more chance.

Granola

I'm starting to accumulate quite a collection of various nuts and dried fruits that never get eaten. This weekend my goal is to get rid of as much of it as possible, and hopefully some of the oats that didn't fit into our last 5 gallon bucket will also get used.

Mom used to make granola when I was growing up. She was really good at getting big clumps to stick together. Mine seems to abhor group interaction; that is how I know it came from me. I have used the same recipe as her, but every oat of mine is a hermit, doing its best to not cling to any other oat or nut in the bunch. Oh, well. Maybe she will come and make a bunch of it for me. This isn't her recipe, it is one that I came across online.

For the fruit I used dates and cherries. Chop them up a bit before adding them to the granola. I know what you are thinking: "I don't want any dates." Relax, this isn't the kind of date that will get you served with divorce papers. It is sweet and surprisingly good. Todd eats them at work regularly, and I finally asked to taste one and was shocked when it tasted good. Plus, they are usually coated with sugar, which makes them extra yummy.


The sheet of granola is done when it is golden brown. As the granola cooked it smelled so good that our naughty little dog kept creeping into the kitchen, trying to find a morsel that fell onto the floor. He literally follows me around; it didn't take him long to figure out that I am a messy girl who likes to eat.

The smell is a combination of coconut, cinnamon, and nuts toasting. Heavenly. Seriously, if heaven is half as good as this granola I am going to wish I had changed my rascally ways.

Granola
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut
6 tablespoons flax seeds, sesame seeds, or a combination on both
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup toasted mixed nuts, chopped (I used hazelnuts but almonds would be better)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon maple syrup - or more honey
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups mixed dried fruit (I used dates and cherries)

Preheat the oven to 375. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except the dried fruit. Mix the salt, cinnamon, oil, honey, syrup, and vanilla in a small bowl. Stir the honey mixture into the oat mixture and stir well to incorporate.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. If some of the granola get a little burned, gently spoon the burned pieces into the trash before stirring the whole sheet together. Let it cool completely, then mix it with an equal amount of bran flakes [or other flaked cereal], the dried fruit, and anything else that suits your fancy.

Mini Cornbread Muffins

The Farmers Wife cookbook claims that the only unforgivable sin is to put sugar in cornbread. But I've known some wives of farmers, and quite frankly, they didn't seem so picky about cornbread. Plus, I like sugar.

Kevin is taking me ice fishing (yay!) tomorrow, so he made another pot of chili to bring onto the lake with us. I decided to make some mini cornbread muffins to go with it. My roommate Catherine gave the recipe to me, and she was an exceptionally good cook. One thing that I haven't experimented with is using honey instead of sugar, but that will be a good next step to get it closer to a food storage recipe.

Using whole wheat flour makes it a slightly brown color instead of bright yellow. That is unfortunate, but they still taste good. Once I tried them with freshly ground corn flour and whole wheat flour. That was a mistake. I pretended to like them, but they were so heavy that it was no longer hedonistic to eat them. And with a cup of butter, don't bother eatin' 'em unless you genuinely like 'em. Nobody else ate more than a bite.

Usually I half the recipe.

Cornbread
1 cup melted butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups cornmeal
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 can creamed corn

Mix the baking soda and buttermilk. Dump everything else into a big bowl, mix it up, and pour into muffin cups or a 9 X 13 pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes (if using the big pan.) At the end of the baking time, check to see if the bread is set. If it still jiggles, cut it into squares and continue baking for 10 minutes or so. That will help it bake in the center.

The 10 Left Behind

There I was, working late, when I suddenly had a profound thought; if I left that very moment I would be able to get to the library before it closed. I ran out the door and arrived at the library at 8:50 PM, so I only had 10 minutes to find a parking place, get my books, and get outta there.

The Hennepin County library is amazing. You go online and pick out your books, and they send them to any library in the metro area. If they don't have a book (which is rare) you can search to see if any library in the state owns the title you want. I generally have between 25 and 50 books on my waiting list at any given time. Occasionally, a bunch of books come in at the same time.

When I found my pile on the reserve shelf, I was shocked at how big some of the books were. I wasn't sure if I would be able to carry all of them at once.

It took two trips to get them to the self checkout. As I checked them out, I stacked them with the biggest on the bottom of the pile. Halfway through checking out, I looked up to see a man staring at me with his jaw on the floor. I smiled sheepishly, and he said, "I guess I'm not the only one with a stack of books."

The hard part was getting them to the door. The librarian was NOT impressed with my stack of last minute books, and they had already announced that the library was closed. I slid the stack of books into my fingertips with my arms stretched as far down as they could go, and my eyes barely peeked over the top. It was HEAVY! Every step was a mystery; would I make it to the car without dropping the entire stack? Would I make it even one more step without creating a bibliophile's nightmare?

After making it successfully into the car [and getting inside], I burst into hysterical laughter, which petered out only when I got home 10 minutes later.

When Kevin got home from class and saw the stack of books on the dining room table he commented that there were a bunch of them. Then I told him my secret: I had to leave the 10 books that were reserved from other libraries behind because I didn't have time to get them from the librarian.

His voice went up an octave, "TEN?! Why in the world do you need so many books at the same time?" It just worked out that they all came in together. And now I only have 47 requests waiting to be filled. Let's hope they don't all come in at the same time.

The ironic thing is that this was one of the books in my stack. Kevin definitely agreed that is was all too much.

Sour Cream Fish

This is supposed to be halibut, but we had sun fish. You are supposed to marinade it in wine, but we had apple juice. You are supposed to use paprika, but we are fresh out, so we used "Mural of Flavors" from Penzeys instead. Sheesh....it isn't even the original recipe at all anymore. It would probably be lots different with all the original ingredients, but it is a nice change from the steamed fish with lemon pepper we usually have.

One benefit of having a husband who fishes is that we get to eat a lot of fish. A lot is about once a month. The rest gets put in the freezer for 'later.' Last week at church a guy was talking about self reliance, and he quoted the old standby, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime....and in Minnesota if you teach a man to fish you'll never see him on the weekends."

Sour Cream Halibut
1 pound fish
1 cup white wine (I used apple juice)
1 t salt
4 T bread crumbs
2 T mayonnaise
2 T sour cream
1 T chopped onions
paprika

Wash fish and pat dry. Marinade in the salt and apple juice for 1 hour. Drain fish and lightly blot with a paper towel. Dip both sides in bread crumbs and place in a greased baking dish. Mix together the mayo, sour cream, and onions. Spread over the fish and top with remaining bread crumbs and paprika. Bake at 500 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until browned and the juices run clear. Serve on a bed of rice.

Speaker Phone Mishaps

As a final note on our daily tag up meeting, Alan (who works in Iowa at a company we are partnering with) mentioned that he was headed to a meeting to discuss the layoffs that were announced at his company today. We were using my desk phone for the conference call, and it was on speaker phone.

As soon as the words were broadcast, Susie reached over and turned down the volume, but it was too late. Eric was already at my desk, asking us to clarify what he had just heard. Today all those who are usually annoyed by our poor office manners were happy to be the first ones to hear the news. Doh! The news hit the newspapers 2 hours later, so at least it wasn't too big of a leak.

Through Bleary Eyes

After stumbling to the bathroom this morning, I was halfway into the shower when I saw something new on the mirror. What was that? It took a good rubbing of the eyes to focus clearly on the note.

What a wonderful surprise from a wonderful husband.

Steak Fries

What is the best way to celebrate the Super Bowl? With steak fries, of course!

As Kevin cut up the potatoes, I looked high and low for the paprika. It had gone missing, and did not want to be found. Finally I found the empty bottle next to the grocery list. Uggg... What to do on a Sunday afternoon with no paprika in the house?

We decided that it would be fine to use another spice in its place, and steak seasoning was the one we chose. They turned out fabulous. If you try other spices, let me know so I can try them, too.

Steak Fries
3T olive oil
1 t paprika
1/2 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 large baking potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine everything except the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into quarters, then quarter them again. Coat the potato wedges with the oil and spices, and place on an ungreased pan without crowding. Bake until brown and fork tender, about 40 minutes. Broil for a few more minutes to make them extra crispy; we usually stop when they are light brown.

Shrimp Salsa Bisque

Last week I worked overtime three days and had a yoga class on another night, which meant I had to bring lunch, dinner, and two snacks with me every night except once.

On Monday I went home early to spend some time with Kevin, and got home just in time to remember that Kevin was fishing. So I felt sorry for myself and caught up on my library books instead of making some food to bring to work. Uggg....we had no food in the house so I had to resort to toasted peanut butter and banana sandwiches more than once. It would be an incredible hardship to have to eat the same fare again all this week, so I tried this shrimp bisque recipe.

Cut up the shrimp into bite sized pieces. Doesn't it look so bright and colorful?

The shrimp is ready to go into the soup.

Take it from a girl who knows: don't put your plastic cutting board on a hot burner.

Shrimp Salsa Bisque

1 18 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

4 cups water

1 lb cooked shrimp, shelled and cut into bite sized chunks

1 red bell pepper (or green)

2 jalapeno peppers

1/2 onion

1/4 C fresh cilantro

1 t oregano

1/2 t cumin

1 C sour cream

1 T sugar

2 C cooked rice (or barley)

Pour the tomatoes, and their juice, in a soup pot. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Remove the seeds from the peppers and chop them and the onion. Place in a blender with the cilantro, oregano, and cumin. Pulse until finely pureed. Add to the soup, stir to blend, and add the shrimp. Warm 5-10 minutes. Whisk in sour cream and sugar. Put a spoonful of rice in a bowl and ladle the soup over the top.

Rolled Cake / Cream Cheese Frosting

I had to drizzle frosting on the top of these so you couldn't tell just how ugly it turned out.

Yes. It is ugly. Yes, I need serious help. If you can help me properly roll a cake, I will be eternally grateful and grovel at your feet. In public.

I started out with great hopes of a gorgeous, yummy cake. Kevin didn't want orange and so I made the frosting half strawberry and half orange. Then I got ready to frost the cooled cake and that is when everything hit the fan.


The cake broke as I was unrolling it. FOUR TIMES!

Looking online, it seems that my problem may have been that I rolled it up as soon as it came out of the oven instead of letting it cool for 5 minutes first. At any rate, it was really yummy and even more ugly.

Nobody cared how the cake looked. This is a dinner sized plate, not those wimpy dessert sized ones. I reserved that little plate for dinner.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese (it can be cold from the fridge)
5 T softened butter
2 t vanilla
2 C powdered sugar
any flavorings you want

Beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar a little at a time. At this point I split it in half and added 2 T orange juice and 1/2 t orange zest to one half, and 1/2 cup diced strawberries to the other half. Chill slightly and frost your cake. Or dip a strawberry in it. Or eat it with a spoon. Or......I'll stop now.