food – Page 15

I love…

Published on April 22, 2013April 22, 2013 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay2 Comments

Like anyone else, I love a lot of things. Especially, today, I love the Earth. I love the air and the sounds and the miracles that happen in and around the earth. Specifically, I love how the earth gives us water and crops and grows luxuriously green grass for me to pad my summer feet through. Of course there is more, but that’s what I’ve got first thing in the morning.

However, since we are on the topic of things I love, I thought I would share a little bit more…

Like, how much I love how sweet smelling and worn out my dogs are after they come home from an afternoon at the groomers.

I love a productive afternoon of working hard on stuff in the garage so we can be DONE with this move already, and then taking my girl to donate a car load of stuff at the Salvation Army and grab a milk shake for the ride home.

I love free birthday gifts from Sephora, just for being a member.

I love that my fourteen year old thinks it’s amazing to watch The Hunger Games (for the 4,000th time) on her iPod nano. All 2.5 inches of it.

I love washing my face first thing in the morning. It sets the tone for a day.

I love new books, and new book release Tuesdays. I love how the ones I’m most excited about are delivered magically to my Kindle at some time in the night.

I love the Monday morning sounds of the washing machine running and bird songs as their artists bask in rays of crisp sunshine.

I love making brown butter French toast a’lorange with Gen. We chat about things, and realize our moods are both up several levels, likely due to the bright blue sky and ginormously glowing orb it holds.

I also really, really, really love Macaroni & Cheese. One of my girlfriends and I pride ourselves on being adventurers on a quest for the world’s best ever Macaroni and Cheese. In the beginning, my husband thought that was just not a cool enough adventure for him, but as the years have progressed he too has grown a bit Mac ‘n’ Cheese obsessed. Every new restaurant, or every stumble upon a new Macaroni & Cheese recipe is like a taunting challenge, SO it only made sense to share those voyages with you. Welcome to Mac & Cheese Mondays, ya’ll…

To start, I thought I’d share Chw’s current favorite Mac’n’cheese recipe. It’s pretty great, just not my favorite, but I am an equal opportunity Mac & Cheese maker so it works out fine and everybody wins. (though, for the record, Gen’s favorite is also my favorite, so we kind of win just a little more!)

What you need…

2 c. of your favorite small, dried pasta.

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 c. shredded ANY OTHER CHEESE YOU LOVE

1, 8oz package cream cheese

1 c. undiluted evaporated milk

1/2 c. grated (NOT DRIED) parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cook your pasta in boiling, generously salted water, according to your package directions. Drain, but don’t rinse.

Combine, back in pot (BUT NOT ON HEAT) the pasta with the cheddar and other cheese (Not Parm.) and cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is melted.

Poor into casserole dish.

Slowly stir in the milk, making sure to scrape the sides of the dish.

Evenly sprinkle Parmesan on top

Bake between 25 and 30 minutes- or until desired golden browning on top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chw’s Favorite Mac & Cheese

(Adapted from Beatrice Ojakangas Mac And Cheese To Beat The Box recipe)

2 c. of your favorite small, dried pasta.

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 c. shredded ANY OTHER CHEESE YOU LOVE

1, 8oz package cream cheese

1 c. undiluted evaporated milk

1/2 c. grated (NOT DRIED) parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cook your pasta in boiling, generously salted water, according to your package directions. Drain, but don’t rinse.

Combine, back in pot (BUT NOT ON HEAT) the pasta with the cheddar and other cheese (Not Parm.) and cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is melted.

Poor into casserole dish.

Slowly stir in the milk, making sure to scrape the sides of the dish.

Evenly sprinkle Parmesan on top

Bake between 25 and 30 minutes- or until desired golden browning on top.

EAT!

On food… {You can’t act like you didn’t know it was coming.}

Published on April 11, 2013 by Mae @ RainydayinmayLeave a comment

Those who read my blog (or follow my twitter/facebook) are well versed on the fact that I love Trader Joe’s I love that store! I became familiar with it, when we lived near one- though I stuck to only shopping there occasionally and buying only things I already knew were great. Then, suddenly we lived back in Idaho where that was NO Trader Joe’s. I missed it instantly and began researching products they carried that people loved.

We would travel to a TJ’s within a 6-8 hours drive, and buy a few new things to try while stocking up on the beloved things that no other brand compared to. We would tow along a small cooler to fill with my FAVORITE salad dressing and handful of frozen things we loved, the majority of our loot was of the least bulky and non-cold-needing grocery and face care variety.

Then, in March, we moved.

On our fourth day in our new home, we ventured to one of two local TJ’s markets. It was insanely crazy, small, cramped, a little seedy and quite disheartening.

But we did not give up.

(To those of you who aren’t Joe fans, and are thinking Good grief, this is quite possible the WORST post in the history of blogs everywhere, it’s not- I promise.)

Two days later we braved the other location. We’ve been back every week since.

It’s about 40 minutes from our house, and sadly a flowers don’t travel home well… Which is pretty sad since they have AWESOME flowers. It’s a small thing though. We’ve been able to try a lot of the fresh and cold-needing things we hadn’t before. We’ve been pretty impressed all around. We’ve found some new favorites. Favorites that other supermarkets may carry- but I’ve never seen them…

The top of this list is this. It’s amazing! We’ve had it in sautes, poured it raw into our salads, added it to stir fry and most recently used it in a sweet potato hash that was to die for.

Their Greek yogurt is amazing and affordable.

Their Kefir is delicious, especially the pomegranate flavored.

The sell shave brussel sprouts. Have used them in all of the things I used the super 8 in, and they are AMAZING!

Their instant Steele Cut Oats are fantastic. My oatmeal adoring 14 year old has declared them her FAVORITE.

Their Dixie Peach juice. (YUM!)

Sweet Potato chips. Only potato chips I like.

Their blocked cheeses are a Great price and so delicious.

Joe Joe ice cream was a huge hit with my Joe Joe cookie loving hubby.

Salted Peanut Butter Caramel truffles are to die for. (and fair trade, so no one DID risk dying for them, even better!)

Blueberry scones (in a can like Pillsbury muffins) are AWESOME.

Their frozen Veggie fried rice is amazing, as is the Mandarin chicken. (also frozen.)

There is more- but these things stand out. It has honestly been every single meal, that we’ve raved about how fresh, delicious and amazing something was. It has inspired me to cook more, to cook more creatively…

So there you go… If you live near a TJ’s and don’t use these items- I encourage you to try them…

And if you live in Boise: Hold on!!!! It’s coming. :)

Heeeere’s Johnny!

Published on April 8, 2013April 8, 2013 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay4 Comments

It’s raining today, in our little midwestern town. I am not complaining, I love a good rain. We are nearing having been in this house a month, (I can’t believe it) and though we aren’t quite as settled in as I’d hoped- this weeks call for rain and thunderstorms motivates me a bit. I am one who likes to jump in and get things done, so I am more than a little irritated that there are still an array of boxes in our garage. Of course, it hasn’t helped that I am on week three of a pretty severe cold/infection. All things considered, we’ve got quite a lot going accomplished. I’m waiting to post photos, until everything is done. The grand tour will come then.

Our 19th anniversary was last Tuesday and so on Saturday a friend hung out with Gen and we went on a little date. We went to dinner at a local Hibachi Japanese Steakhouse, only to realize very early on that this made us a bit homesick because we had one back home that we frequented often with dear friends. It’s bound to happen I guess. At any rate, we ended up at this enormous grill table with one other couple. They were older than us, and informed us early on that they loved to chat. It was actually really cool to spend the whole of dinner talking with complete strangers, over juggled knives and the most amazing salmon and steak ever. Our waitress (who was a brunette, but truly a blond at heart.) must have agreed that we had great social chemistry because she brought all four of our meals on one check. Could not have asked for a better evening, honestly.

My husband spent the weekend painting and I couldn’t be more thrilled. My kitchen is now the color of sunshine, and though its really brighter than our norm- considering the grey days this state has- it’s an effective choice for sure.

I am ready to feel better and get out there and meet people. An almost-month is a long time to just see a few old friends and thats it. I am not stir crazy yet, but my thoughts are referencing The Shining a bit more often than I’d like. (I Kid…) I am rejoining my old book club and am very excited about that! It ranks up there just behind the excitement I’ll have to park in my garage and never see another cardboard box again. I’m going to grow old and die in this house- I swear it. Never. Moving. Again. As my beloved Mama would say, “I’m too old for this crap.” Only she wouldn’t say crap, but whatever. It’s all poop in the end.

Kind of like this random post about nothing. It’s simply my attempt to connect with civility by any means possible.

Dirty Little Secrets…

Published on February 6, 2013February 6, 2013 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay7 Comments

Last night, for dinner, I made Hungarian goulash because I’d had a really rough/bad day and needed something easy. I also knew that Chw had a fiercely bad day at work (the increasing normal, sadly) and knew he’d need something heartier than a Morning Star Farms burger and salad.

It all sounds wonderful, except that I added peas, as I believe one should when it’s goulash. Chw hates peas. Poor guy. But, he couldn’t taste them so it was a victory for all.

anyway, we also ate dinner in front of the tv watching Sunday’s episode of Downton Abbey. Don’t judge. Yes, my husband suffered through the 12 peas in his goulash to unwind with the Crowleys. There is nothing wrong with that, he’s not too ashamed.

Dinner in front of the tv however, is another story. I just can’t stand it. I feel tremendous guilt as a wife and mother when the incredibly rare event happens. In fact, usually it’s take out or pizza for family movie night, and even then- it’s only 2-3 times a year.

But really, why? Why am I so ridiculous about it? sometimes it’s fun. Sometimes, (like last night) it’s just emotionally necessary to veg through an evening.

My guess is childhood stigmas, on both our parts. Really, 1980’s, was the tv so exciting that we couldn’t escape to break a meal? Actually my family has a balance of both table/family dinners and tv dining. My husband’s family though… TV all the time. You’re home=TV on and you in front of it. It’s nauseating. TV’s will likely be the epidemic that lead to us turning into Zombies.

Great, there she goes. Mentioning Zombies two days in a row. What is wrong with this blog?

Since we’re on the subject though, i may as well mention that we are pretty excited about the return of the Walking Dead this Sunday. Our kids love it too, which makes me sound like an awful parent. In case you didn’t know, two of our kids are adults. As for our third, she’s almost fourteen (as previously shouted hallelujah about yesterday!) and only 4 episodes into the series. There was the one awkward intimate scene in the woods, which she skipped- and then lots of gore. She’s ok with the gore though- and loves the show.

This has been a pretty informative post. You’ve learned:

– I hate eating in front of the tv due to possible trauma by in-laws at some point in time. {most likely}

– appreciate a good, lazy dinner of a veggie burger.

– The three of us, who live in this house, love Downton. My older daughter would too, though she hasn’t seen it. My son would hate it, which is fair.

– Our other family favorite is the Walking Dead, to which you must have thought “wow, these Wagner’s are really versatile.” It’s true. But more than that- we just really appreciate entertainment with really strong writing…

There, i told you secrets, now it’s your turn… What are some of your guilty little pleasures?

She who goes on a lot of dates…

Published on January 28, 2013 by Mae @ Rainydayinmay7 Comments

If one were to decide to randomly label this past weekend with a theme, said theme would be dating…

Why is that, you might ask?

Because dating is all that I did.

On Friday afternoon I took my youngest to an eye appointment {will pretend that nothing stressfully evil happened there, with dreadfully smelly eye tech.} and then out to lunch and dress shopping for an annual dance she has, coming up. We had a grand and lovely afternoon, complete with kicking our feet up at the local fro-yo place and watching some bizarre TLC show about brides- that she apparently loves.

As if that was not all lucky enough, Friday evening I got to go out with a few girlfriends and despite the intense fog and super slick conditions- it was exactly what the past couple of weeks have needed. We saw a movie and then went for drinks and chatted until a time that Cinderella never could have stood for. Thanks to my pomegranate margaritas, and sheer exhaustion- i was asleep withing minutes of getting home.

Waking up to fresh waffles, from my dear husband the breakfast king, was wonderful- but forging through the even peanut butter thick fog to get a spa pedicure and have my grey touched up was EVEN better. Dating myself was a little fantastic and certainly something that doesn’t happen with enough frequency.

As if all of that wasn’t enough to make a girl feel absolutely head over heels about the weekend- my husband whisked me away on a lovely little date complete with a movie, {Zero Dark Thirty} incredible Thai food, hours of brilliant conversation and dreaming following by drinks and cheesecake. The latter part of the evening was an after thought inspired by his craving, and something we never do. We make it a point to go to the Cheesecake Factory around my birthday, every year, when patio seating opens. They have a salad I love, but for the most part their cheesecake is fairly overrated and over priced. That being said- it was a date so whatever… I also never go out for drinks twice in a row, (or twice in a week for that matter) but again- date, blah blah blah. Imagine my complete and utter shock though when our ticket revealed that my drink was $9 and my husbands (which was much smaller than mine) was $11. Do what? Our drinks, (not to mention the slice of cheesecake) cost more than our dinner.

Let me repeat- MORE THAN OUR DINNER.