A Dinner For One of Those Days

So after I got home from work at 8:00 p.m. (yes, if you are wondering it was one of those days),  I reached into the cupboard and starting eating cheddar and sour cream chips, then I got a craving for sugar, so then I started eating salted caramel ice cream.  It was half way through the quart of ice cream, when I was picking out all the little candy bites, that I realized I should really make something good for me to eat.  After all tomorrow is going to be a busy day too.

But, 8:30 p.m., is really a weird time to start making dinner?  Nonetheless, I must do it.  Now, what am I going to have?  The dinner I had planned for tonight - a little too complicated.  It is also dinner for one, M was in bed sick when I got home, so that narrows down my choices.  Ah ha! Pizza!  Okay, pizza isn't exactly healthy, but it is better than chips and ice cream.  

And I may as well take pictures of the process for the blog, right?  Someone needs to see my creation since M is bed with a cold.

Okay so when you are making food fast, you have to be strategic.

First, heat the oven to 400 degrees.

SAUCE!

Very simple, but so much better than store bought pizza sauce.  Put a small sauce pan over medium heat.

Add 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil, and one minced clove of garlic.

Allow the garlic to turn a light golden brown then add about 7 oz of crushed tomatoes (about half of a small can of crushed tomatoes).

3 Cracks of Sea Salt

3 Cracks of Pepper

1/2 Tablespoon of sugar (white or brown)

And allow all the ingredients to simmer for 5 minutes.

CRUST (This is my Mom's recipe)

Coat the bottom of a pan you can put in the oven with olive oil, and heat over medium heat

When the pan is hot, shut off the heat and put two whole wheat tortillas in the pan, one on top of the other.  Then flip the two crusts over like a pancake about 20 seconds on each side).

Add the sauce

Add some Motz

Add your toppings (Today, I used breakfast sausage because that is all I had.  I like to cook my sausage a little before putting it on the pizza to get rid of the extra fat.)

Put the pizza in the oven until golden brown (about 10 minutes) and then garnish with fresh parsley

And there you have it.  Dinner in under 20 minutes

Got to love it. :)

Keeping Herbs Fresh

I buy a lot of fresh herbs, and even though they are relatively inexpensive, I cannot stand the fact that fresh herbs seem to go bad after only a week in the refrigerator.  I tried growing my own for awhile, but lets just say - I don't have a green thumb (surprising, I know, since I come from a long line of gardeners i.e. - mother, grandmother).

This is what is left of my herb garden from last summer:

One sprig of mint.  I was so excited when it came back, but then I was quickly informed by a friend that mint is like a weed very hard to kill.    Ah well . . . I'm still excited about it anyway.  I am happy there is one thing I can't kill.

Well back to the problem.  Each week I usually buy fresh parsley and fresh cilantro, they are usually about a 89 cents to a dollar a bunch.  Not that much, but over a year I guess I am spending about $100 on fresh herbs.  That is too much.

Although the bunches are really big, enough for a whole month,  they usually go bad after only one week.  I tried storing them many different ways: storing them like you would flowers, storing them in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel . . . but to no avail, the longest I have gotten parsley and cilantro to last is two weeks.

Today, I did some internet research and found this cite.  http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_store_parsley_cilantro_and_other_fresh_herbs/

This person says that what I did before, storing my herbs in a glass jar like you would a bouquet of flowers, is only partly right: you have to make sure the leaves are dry, trim the stems, put the ends in a jar of water, AND cover the top with a plastic bag then place the herbs in the refrigerator.

This person claims that my herbs will stay fresh twice as long, so I am looking for these herbs to stay for about 2 weeks.  We are at Day 1 and counting, I will keep you posted. :)

Happy Golden Birthday Honey - 27 on January 27

Well this year my honey turned 27.  Believe it or not M and I spent his 16th Birthday together, 11 years ago!  I remember we went with his parents and sister to a little steakhouse in Iowa.  I remember how cute he looked in his letter jacket, and how nervous I was just to be in the same room with him. 

Well this year we had a great time too, but I will always remember that first Birthday together. This year M and I went to Arnie Morton's.  I guess there are a few in the Los Angeles area, and the first was opened in Chicago.  Luckily, there is one just a few blocks from our apartment. 

M and I arrived for our 7:30 p.m. reservation, and we were immediately seated at a delightful table for two.  The table was already set with special menus with Happy Birthday typed on them.  Before our meal began the hostess came over and took a complimentary photo of us.

Our meal started with cocktails.  Both M and I love a good dirty martini, and this place has great martinis-smooth without the bite that some martinis have.  For appetizers we decided on the Shrimp Alexander: colossal shrimp, lightly dusted with Parmesan cheese, flash fried and drizzled with a white wine cream sauce. 

For our main course, M and I ordered the double cut Filet Mignon, a side of spinach and mushrooms, and lyonnaise potatoes (made traditionally with bacon grease).  So good.  With dinner we had a Cabernet sauvignon (Decoy).  In my book, a Cabernet is the best with steak, it really brings out the flavor.

For desert M had the carrot cake which he loved (and always has), and I had the creme brulee.   All in all we had an awesome night, and it was a great way to usher in 27. And I can safely say it was the best meal I have had for awhile.

Happy Golden Birthday Honey!!!

Wine Charms - to Break the Ice?

A few weeks ago, I had a girls' night at my apartment. I was actually really surprised, I didn't realize I had so many girlfriends. As I was putting my guest list together, I noticed that only two of my girlfriends actually knew each other. I was a little concerned that the party would be awkward since no one knew each other, but I later figured it would work out since they all had one thing in common - they all know me :).

The night of the party, I remembered that a few weeks back I made wine charms (wine glass tags) out of old jewelry/items that were in my jewelry box. I got out the wine charms, and decided to let the guests decide which charm they wanted for their glasses.  (I like wine charms because they are an easy way to make sure drinks don't get confused).

When my friend L put one charm on her glass, she said, "Wow" this is a really good ice breaker. I didn't realize, but she was right. Each wine charm told a different story from my past: I had an old pin from the National Honor Society (I was a member in high school), 1/2 of a friendship necklace (I got from a friend in junior high), one earring (from a pair that I bought when I was visiting San Diego with my in-laws when M and I were engaged). So you get the picture, these little charms got us all talking about high school stories, first trips with the in-laws, trips to San Diego, first best friend, fashion trends from childhood, etc.

So here is how I did it. After I put away my Christmas decorations on January 1, I discovered a bunch of extra Christmas bulb holders.

I bent those in a circle, and then bent the ends in so they could be latched together. I then sorted through my jewelry box and found all the pieces that didn't have monetary value, but personal value, things I knew I would never throw away.

I then figured out a way to thread each piece on the wire.  Here are some examples.

Friendship necklace:

 

Key's to an old suitcase padlock:

 

An old racetrack pin:

Casi-Cielo Coffee

I love coffee.  And as my friend Lizz would say - I like my coffee the way I like my men - extra bold, dark, and rich.  Well, M and I have been trying different coffees since we've been married these last 4 years, and well . . . I have finally found my favorite type of affordable coffee: Starbucks Casi Cielo.  This coffee has deep cocoa and lemon notes, and it really makes you want to get out of bed in the morning. 

http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/whole-bean-coffee/latin-america/guatemala-casi-cielo

My Favorite Things

Okay, so my friend, Lizz, tagged me in this chain letter so I guess I have to do it.

FAVORITE FLOWER: 

 Daisies for sure!  Because lets face it, they are the friendliest flowers out there.

FAVORITE COLOR COMBO:

 I like combos that don't technically match, like: Black/Brown.  When I wear my brown boots and my black leggings I feel wild and crazy, and a little rebellious.  If you want to break the rules, see how to do it right - http://www.ehow.com/how_4611398_wear-black-brown.html

FAVORITE CELEBRITY COUPLE: 

Michael and Catherine for sure.  Yeah I know he is way older, but there is just something in the way he says her name that is well, sexy. 



YOUR THEME SONG:

"Only In Dreams" by Weezer

FAVORITE "I HAD A TERRIBLE DAY" FOOD:

My grandmother's beef dumpling stew.  This is really an emotionally uplifting food for me.  It reminds me of lazy childhood Saturdays at Grandma's house watching movies without a care in the world.

LIPSTICK OR LIPGLOSS: 

Why either or?  I say lipgloss, lipstick, and by the way throw in some liner.  I know my generation does not wear all three, but they should.  I have been wearing all three when I go out on the weekends lately, and boy does it make a difference in pictures.  Just do it! 

FAVORITE MAGAZINE: 

My favorite magazine has long been Real Simple. But, now that I live on the west side of the U.S., I love Sunset Magazine. I can't get enough.

FAVORITE THING ABOUT WINTER:

Makes me really thankful I live in California, where it rarely dips below 50 degrees.

Oh by the way, Leslie and Noel you are it!!!

2010 Movie Picks

127 Hours
Black Swan (*note: sexually explicit and pretty violent)
Exit Through the Gift Shop
The Fighter (*note: adult language)
The Ghost Writer
Inception
The King's Speech
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit

The Thoughtful Hostess - Not the Perfect Hostess

You may be asking what is the difference between the perfect hostess and the thoughtful hostess.  Well, so many magazines I read this year talked about hosting guests as if it was some show you are putting on to show how great you are.  These articles, I think, totally missed the point, it is not about the hostess showing off her home or being perfect.  Having a place where people want to visit, time and time again is not about being perfect - having the perfect home, perfect food, perfect relationship with your spouse, expensive artwork . . . etc.  No one wants to visit someone who is just concerned about the way they look to their guests, it is totally obvious and totally uncomfortable to the guest.  They leave feeling down about themselves, not refreshed and happy to go back to their lives.  Or, they usually leave feeling full of envy, and thinking they aren't good enough to be your friend.  Why would anyone want to do this to their guests?

The thoughtful hostess - is guest centered. It's not about the hostess looking good, it is about everyone having a good, relaxed time, and feeling a little special.  As the hostess - you set the tone! If you are relaxed, your guests will be too.

Now that I live quite a distance from my roots in Iowa, every time M and I go home we are guests of either my sister and brother-in-law, his sister and brother-in-law, my in-laws, or my parents.  Here are some things I have noticed about these wonderful hostesses which have given me some ideas for when I will be a hostess this week as two of my best gal pals will be in town! (I am just going to focus on the woman for this one - although I think being a good host is just as important).

My Mom:

Okay, well as a daughter I should start with my parents, since they taught me most of the things I know.  My mom, really has a gift of making everything special.  She always decorates for the holidays, but the thing I have noticed about my mom, is that while she may spend some time decorating before her guests come over, she doesn't do it to put on a show, she does it to set an atmosphere for her guests.  This is something that everyone notices, and probably why she has hosted Christmas at her home for her family for the last 27 something years. 

Also, we were overnight guests of my parents for three-to-four days.  My parents are remodeling their home - a 1920s farm house - so it is a little drafty.  The home has mostly wood floors, so in an Iowa winter the floors are a little cold. So being the thoughtful hostess, my mom left out thick slipper like socks for M and I.  They weren't expensive, nor were they beautiful, but they were needed, and M and I both felt like we were included as both my parents had the little slippers on as well in different colors.

My Mother-in-law:

My mother-in-law really goes out of her way to make everyone feel special at her home as well.  For instance, she knows I like butter rather than margarine, and so when I got into the fridge there was butter instead of just margarine.    This took some thought and planning on her part.

Also, with the help of my sisters-in-law, my mother-in-law had our quarters ready when we got there.  This is key!  If you know you will have guests having their bed ready when they get there makes all the difference.  They have their own space.  You have made a little nest for them.

My Sister-in-law and my Sister:

Whenever I am at my sisters or my sister-in-laws, they are so relaxed.  Maybe it is because they have kids now, but the nice thing about being at their house is that they don't care where you look, what you touch, or what you eat.  This automatically makes you feel relaxed and loved.

Another Hostess:

Lastly, in college, I spent quite a bit of time one summer at a friend's home.  While I was there, I noticed that his mother's home seemed to be the social place on the street.  There were always friends and family over.  I wondered, why does everyone like coming to this house, out of all of the houses they could go?  After a couple months of visiting, it was clear why.

His mother was totally relaxed, she always had food available, the house was always clean, but not immaculate, and you always felt you were the center of attention when you arrived.  Even if you didn't know her very well, his mother greeted you with a hug and smile. 

In the end, this is what makes a thoughtful hostess.

That being said, I tried to take all of these things that I learned to prepare for my guests this weekend. 

Bathroom:

When I travel, I always forget something, so I made what I call the guest box for the guest bathroom for my two female guests.  I picked up some extra toiletries, and some travel size bottles to put shampoo, conditioner, hairspray, bath wash, and mouthwash in ($2-this was much cheaper than buying an extra set of everything). 

I picked up some travel size deodorant ($1.50), floss ($1), disposable razors ($1.69), two toothbrushes ($2), toothpaste ($.99) and cotton balls ($2.00).  I had an extra set of fingernail clippers and tweezers so I put those in the guest bath as well. 

I tucked all of these guest items (which I will use if they don't need -so they won't go to waste) in a little green box - in the open so they won't feel like they are snooping to find them.

I cleaned under the sink and made sure there was space for their toiletries, curling irons, or blow dryer. 

I scrubbed the bathroom! (every nook and cranny)  While your home, like I said doesn't have to be immaculate, the bathrooms should be really clean.  This is where your cleaning time goes the farthest, no one wants to feel like they are standing in someone else's grime in the shower or see someone else's hair in the corners of the bathroom.  Yuck!

I also put out a basket with wash cloths I picked up from Target ($3.99 for six-I've been needing these for awhile, mine have make-up stains), and two bath towels (one brown and one white, so they won't get confused re whose towel is whose). 

Last week, I picked up these two bathmats which I love to add a little light to my guest bath.  They are so cheery.  I found them at TJ Max for $16.99 each, a purchase I needed to make since I stupidly dripped bleach on mine a month ago.  I love these flower shaped mats.  I spotted similar ones at Anthropology for $38, a few months prior, but wasn't going to spend $80 on two mats. 

Stay tuned for more guest centered tips later in the week.

Progress Regarding My New Year Resolution - Egg Casserole

So as I shared with all of you last week, my new year resolution is to eat good home cooked meals, spend less on groceries, and not waste the groceries I do spend money on.

The menu I posted last week, is for this week, so this week my plan was to get rid of as much food in my refrigerator as possible.  Of course, I replenished some of the staples, such as: milk and eggs.  I bought some granola bars for my desk at work, for my 4:00 p.m. snack (see reason for the snack in a later post), but other than that, I didn't spend money on food at the grocery store this week.  I am very proud of myself! :)

So yesterday, I ventured into the refrigerator and freezer to go through everything I had on hand, and yes, throw out everything from last year that was rotten or well past its expiration date.  What I found seriously surprised and sickened me. 

For instance, I had condiments that expired in 2008 in my refrigerator.  (I think they came out from Iowa with us in a cooler when we moved to Los Angeles about 3 years ago, unbelievable). 

There was also fruit left over from when my mother-in-law came to stay with us 4 months ago, but believe it or not the following fruit did not rot even though it was in the fridge for 4 months: 1 orange, 1 grapefruit (which my husband won't touch), and one apple (the apple was mushy).  The fruit that had rotted in the fridge included: grape tomatoes and limes.  The limes shrunk in size and were moldy, and the tomatoes were also moldy even though I had only purchased them about a week and a half ago (Hint: if you don't eat tomatoes in the first week, cut and freeze for tomato sauce or a stir fry). 

When I went through the freezer I discovered, frozen strawberries and frozen peas that had been in there more than a year, and over a dozen frozen bananas.  I threw the bananas in the freezer with good intentions: frozen bananas are great in smoothies or banana bread, but nonetheless I continued to buy new bananas instead of getting rid of the frozen ones I already had - not good.

At the end of my purge, I ended up with literally a garbage bag of food to throw away.  It made me sick. 

But my beautiful, clean refrigerator (pictured below) made me feel much, much better:

   
Okay, so that left me with a challenge, what to make for us to eat on Sunday without buying anything else.  As you can see there wasn't much in my fridge.  I went through all of my cupboards and found two hamburger buns that I had for a week, so they needed to be used.  (Usually I would make french toast out of them, but that really has little nutritional value). In the veggie drawer there was cabbage and celery, the celery needed to be used because it was wilting.

There was about a fourth of a cup of cheddar cheese left, I had some butter, eggs and milk as well, and also some pepperoni, that had been the fridge for about 3 weeks.

 hmm . . . egg casserole. 

A's Egg Casserole Recipe: (hands on time - 6 minutes)

Tear two hamburger buns and line a casserole dish with them;
Scramble two eggs with a 1/4 a cup of milk and pour over the hamburger buns;
Sate two sliced celery stocks in a 1/2 tablespoon of butter, add salt and cracked pepper.  Allow the celery to cool and then pour into the casserole dish;
Add a 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese to the casserole dish (or any cheese you have on hand);
and mix!

At this point you can bake the dish or cover and place in the fridge and put in the oven for breakfast.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, and viola!

It was surprisingly -- really good!! 

Okay, so now I had that mushy apple to get rid of, no one wants to eat a mushy apple, right?  So I baked it in a Apple crisp.  One apple was enough for two servings of apple crisp (just enough for M and I to have piece). This is how I made the apple crisp:

Apple Crisp

1 Apple peeled, cored and sliced into slivers and placed in small baking dish;
1 Tablespoon water - drizzle over apples

In a small dish combine 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, dash of salt, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/4 cup flour, and 1/4 cup oatmeal.  Crumble the mixture over the apples and bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes. 

I served mine with a little cream that was also going to go bad in the next two days! Yummy.