Snowed In Again!

What do you do when the weather witches and warlocks, oops I mean meteorologists, predict massive amounts of snow and ice?  Do you head out to the store and buy up all of the milk, eggs, bread and toilet paper that will fit in your Hummer?  I'll admit that I am not one of those.  I think about it then realize that I have enough rations in the house that will sustain MJ, TY and myself. About the only thing that I think that I should probably pick up is some bottled water.  Of course, I have enough pitchers in the house that water really isn't a problem either.

I don't know where the whole idea of rushing to the grocery store came from. Where I grew up, that really wasn't an option. Mom could make homemade bread. My aunt had chickens so eggs weren't a problem. And these women were country folk so there was always some evaporated milk in the cupboard when fresh wasn't available.  You just made do with what you had.  I miss those ladies.

I actually miss being snowed in with them.  My mom used to make us something called snow cream.  She's collect fresh snow (never the first falling though).  Then, she'd make a custard and let it cool. She's mix the snow into that then freeze the mixture.  It was so good.  Of course, I loved anything sweet, but I'd like to think that the snow cream was better than ice cream.  It was special because you couldn't have it all of the time.

What did you do as a kid when you got snowed in?  What do you do now?

OMG!!! IT'S 2011!!!

That means I really have been slacking.  It's been about 49 weeks since I last blogged. Well, I won't bore you with the mundane details of my life. Let's talk about the exciting things on the horizon.  I realized that my passion lies in the kitchen w/a certain hot appliance. That's right. I'm mad about my stove.  It helps me produce some absolutely D-VINE gems.  In the words of Kanye West and friends, I'm a monster.  Don't worry. I'm a good monster.  I'm a cookie monster.  Thankfully, I am not covered in blue fur. Can you imagine being in a hot kitchen covered in fur?  HOT!!!  :)  I'll be bringing you some of my favorite recipes, the good, the bad, and the unrepeatable in the coming months.  Stay tuned.

Snowed In

I don't know what to tell you, but I love winter. It's my favorite time of year.  And snow!  Well, I am crazy about the fluffy white stuff.  It's not convenient when you live in a major metro area esp. the DMV.  I loved it when I lived in  rural southern VA.  Lots of pristine fields of white.  My mom would pop corn and make hot chocolate for us.  She'd use real milk and we'd have butter for the popcorn.  It was lots of cozy evenings.  So, what do I do when it snows?  Well, I cook and bake.  I've made roast beef, baked potatoes and corn. We used some of the leftover potatoes for home fries w/onions and bacon this morning.  I've made the first batch of cookie dough.  It's a chocolate dough that will get two different fillings. I've got coconut and peanut fillings chilling in the fridge. Our next door neighbors will test them out later. 

You see, I want to have my own cookie business one day.  What better time to start working on such a thing as when you're snowed in?  So, that's what I'm gonna do.  What do you do when you're snowed in?

Wow!!! Look at the Cobwebs!

I can't believe that it's been over six months since I've been in here. Let's dust the cobwebs off everything. It's never too early for spring cleaning. To bring you up to speed, I've eaten some good food. I have experienced some not so good food. And I am still experimenting in the kitchen.
You know I have a love affair with the Evil Clown. I just can't help it. There's just something about two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese and a sesame seed bun. Ooo, just saying that makes my mouth water. Unfortunately, MJ hate that place. So, what's a girl to do? That's right! Make her own. Well, I've been enjoying those commercials for those tasty looking snack wraps. I felt inspired. MJ didn't like the 3rd bun or the spec. sauce of the signature sandwich. We had ground beef, tortillas, lettuce, vidalia onion salad dressing and the other accoutrement that accompanies my fave sandwich. They were simply delicious. MJ had his with salsa instead of the onion dressing.

Tonight, we're having chicken quesadillas. I'm into quick tasty, mostly healthy meals. If you're wondering, I'm still seeing Jenny.

Day 1

Well, so far so good. I've had breakfast, a morning snack and lunch. I'm feeling pretty good so far. Haven't had a huge case of the hungries yet, but I know it can strike at anytime. I'll give you a rundown of the day so far.

3/4 c. whole grain cereal
1 c. fat free milk

Lean Cuisine tortilla crusted fish w/rice
1 wieght watchers cupcake

2 bottles of water
1 pkg. Crystal Light on the Go Fruit Punch

I have some cucumbers and a Cherry Coke Zero for later in the day. Dinner will be roasted chicken, brown rice and green beans. I see lots of chicken in my future. Of course, there will be lots of veggies in my future. I don't mind them so much. I just need to get a little creative.

On My Own

I talked to my JC consultant today about my current economic situation. MJ and I need to cut some costs. While JC isn't exactly a luxury, it does add to our grocery bill. C and I talked about creating a menu that will meet my JC requirements. I will be able to prepare meals that I can share w/MJ and that he'll enjoy. I've done an inventory of what we have in the freezer. I've researched some recipes on Cooking Light. Now, I have to make my menu for the week. The real challenge will come in figuring how many calories I'm taking in. I'll be chronicling my adventures here. I am going to need all the help that I can get. So, please check on my progress. I cannot do this alone. If you have any lowfat ideas, I ask that you share them.

I am going to list some of the basic things that I should have every day.

8 oz. fat free milk or low fat yogurt
2 pcs. fruit
3 or more servings of vegetables
150 cal. snack like popcorn or 100 cal. pack.
8-8 oz. glasses of water

I am going to need to step up my exercising. I gave up my gym membership a while back. So any creative ideas on working out would be good as well. I enjoy walking so I will be doing that as often as I can.

Wish me luck!

Just Breathe

I didn't gain the weight in a day. And I didn't gain it by eating food that always tasted great. Let's face it twinkies, ho-hos, and ding dongs have very little nutritional value no matter how hard you try to justify that flour comes from grain. And corn syrup has corn which is a vegetable/grain. I know that I complain about the meals from JC, but some of them are quite tasty. Take last night's dinner. I had the mac and cheese. It is really tasty. There's a bite to it from sharp cheddar and a hit of spice from red pepper. And it's a bit better than those snack cakes that I used to love.

I've got to get a better attitude about this. You see I sabotage myself and that's so not good. I have to be more responsible about what I eat. Will having a slice of pepperoni pizza kill me? No, but it will add to the time it takes me to reach my goal. What's your weakness? What do you do to curb it? Do you substitute or give in? Hey, I'm open to any and all suggestions.