epicurious: fresh eating?

Ok friends, I realize, I have not posted pictures in a while. And I think posts are 100% better with visual aid so I am happy to say I got over my "but then I have to upload them and everything" phase for the sake of displaying my thoughts this evening.

I have found myself involved in more than one conversation as of late about the film Food Inc, eating locally by participating in a community share garden and food in general. The last one is nothing new, I have always loved the topic. However, I am starting to become more curious about what pursuing more local eating would look like. Even on the level of making a more concerted effort to get to the farmer's market to get these weekly:

I'm trying to be reasonable here, after all, it was only a short 3 or 4 months ago that I first publicly confessed a new love for McDonalds. But something in me says that eating fresh ingredients and supporting local producers is a bit more sustainable love. So as I explore this interest, here is the outpouring of it that took place in my quiet little kitchen tonight.

Chopping lots and lots of veggies:

Tossed with lots of this:

And a generous amount of seasonings because I tend to underseason; I used salt, pepper, basil and a few generous dashes of the cute little seasoning below that I received back in February as part of Jodi's cooking demo party:

From there I shook it up, potatoes, broccoli, tomatoes, onion, carrots and all and baked for 45 minutes at 425, stirring a couple of times along the way.


I also took my shaking bowl, added a few more pinches of seasoning and tossed some chicken in there (my own shake & bake) and baked that side-by-side with the veggies for good measure. As much as I could live on carbs alone, I think part of this whole eating healthy things means balance so I thought that might even things out a bit. I baked the chicken for 30 minutes, covered with foil because of the blazing heat of the oven and it turned out great.

In other pursuits of health, the countdown is on to our weekend getaway to the cottage, one of our favorite places in life. 3 days until there is only a quiet lake, sleeping in, taking naps and hoping it rains so we have nowhere to go and nothing to do.

spring is in the air

Since it feels like spring is in the air, I thought I would spruce things up a little bit around here. The quote in the picture is the same one that is on the picture in our bedroom that I love. yes, I continue to love birds.

I spent some good time in the kitchen in the past 24 hours and thought I would share a little baking trick that I used again last night as well as a crock pot recipe that came together earlier this week.

First the tip:
If you over bake your cookies, which for some reason I tend to do, I think because they don't brown as quickly on my Pampered Chef stoneware, you can store them in a air-tight container with a piece of fresh bread and the moisture from the bread will transfer to the cookies. I didn't have any bread and used a flour tortilla with the same success. MAGIC.

And for the EASY meal...
1 lb chicken, preferably tenders
1 onion chopped
1 packet taco seasoning
1/3 cup water

Set it and forget it! Put it in your crockpot all day and come home to chicken so tender you can pull it apart. You can use it in soft taco shells, on a bed of lettuce, alone served over rice/black beans...and since there are only 2 of us, I am guessing we will use more than one of those options before it is gone.

Suggested bonus items: fresh avocado, refried beans, salsa, tomato-- the sky is the limit on this one!

channeling Julia Child

The 2 dishes to be conquered were as follows:
Ratatouille and Poulet Sauté aux Herbes de Provence
recipes found here and here

Saturday night my dear and brave friend Jamie & I faced our biggest kitchen challenge yet. 2 recipes by the world renouned Julia Child. We tied our aprons (more like I spilled on my scarf that I just got dry cleaned) and sharpened our knives.

A few observations from the evening:
- there is nothing quite like cooking with a glass of wine in hand with a good friend
- the complexity of the recipes may or may have not taken us over 2 hours to complete
- when it says "a whole chicken" you don't put the insides in. I have a gracious friend and a long way to go in the cooking world. That sure freed up some space in my pan
- "If you’re afraid of butter, just use cream"- a direct quote from Julia which seems fitting as inspiration seeing as there was over a stick of butter & 7 tbs of olive oil combined between the dishes

a week in pictures

this week has literally flown by and now that we are back at a weekend...here is the week in review. I have been trying to get better at taking pictures, even if I never do print any of them. Speaking of, I found out you can now have your blog printed in book form here. So, if anyone wants to do some early Christmas shopping for me...hint hint. On to the week:

Sunday night was our first small group night with the youth group girls and Leah and I are off to a great start. We kind of out number the seniors but are praying for them to bring lots of friends! Birthday Beads and a Tiara were present as we celebrated Courtney's big 1-8.



last night as part of small group we had a surprise shower for Randy & Dana who are expecting their first little one next month. Kate, whose house it was at was so cute, she got Baby Ruth, Sugar Babies, and Runts to go along with delicious lemon chiffon cake ala Costco.



Me, Kate, Dana, Jamie and Kelsey

Then came the adventure of the week...Suzy Homemaker attempt number 57. I have had this scone mix for about 6 weeks now, since Christina moved and gave me a present. Yes, you read that right, she gave me a set of tea and some scone mix in honor of all of the great time we have spent in coffee shops over the past year. Here is a pic before...and since I love fall so much I upgraded them to Pumpkin. An experiment all in itself. I also made peach crisp for when Emily & Dennis roll in tonight to spend a weekend here! Notice how small the scones are before baking and then the explosion they took on when they got huge! Maybe it was the pumpkin? Either way, I cannot wait to enjoy them with a cup of coffee tomorrow for the quintessential fall breakfast.

comings and goings

Finishing up a good weekend including grilling out Friday night with some friends on their deck, a much overdue walk with my sweet friend Allison, a 50th anniversary party for our great Aunt & Uncle and tonight, ooh tonight is definitely the icing on the cake as I am going to go out with some of the senior girls from youth group & my co-leader Leah. McLeah as we used to refer to each other when Grey's first came out because even though neither of us watched it, everything was McBekah and McYouth Group...you get the point. I don't think I have really written about yet that I am back in the youth group scene and I am so totally thrilled to be back.

Taking a step back last year was the right thing for the time being but man, I can't wait to dive back in with these girls. more to come on this as fall unfolds I am sure.

Other than that, I am trying to get back into my habit of cooking dinner...remember when I was planning meals monthly? Well I can't say that I am back at that point post summer meals of campfire food and ice cream and burgers. But I will say that I am attempting to use what I have creatively and here is the latest inspiration:

Rachel Ray's Quesadilla Casserole:

You need:
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 29 oz. can black beans, drained but save 1/2 cup liquid
1 1/2 cup frozen corn thawed
3-5 flour tortillas (depending on how many layers you want to do)
8 oz Monterrey jack cheese


Preheat the oven to 400
Heat Oil in a skillet at medium heat & add onion and cook for 5 min. Add half of your black beans and mash into a paste and add extra bean juice :)
Grease heavy ovenproof skillet, I used my pie pan!
In a bowl combine corn, any seasonings to add flavor, and remaining beans
Place tortilla in the bottom of your pan, add a layer of your onion/bean mix and a layer of your corn mix, a handful of cheese and repeat
Your top layer will be filling & bake for 30 min.

* Next time I am totally going to add in some shredded chicken or beef because we just love meat. personal preference. I also served it with some salsa and sour cream... would be great at a tailgate party or fall bash with tortilla chips too. mmm..

Lake Geneva Wisconsin, part 1...the retreat

A big part of what made vacation so relaxing was just that, relaxing. We completely took on the life of vacationers from the moment we arrived and started the first day out by breaking in the porch and exploring the place. this picture totally captures the week:


I was surprised to find out that the Grand Geneva Resort that we were staying at was not actually on the lake itself but 2 miles away, in its own little haven with a golf course and rolling hills and pools with umbrella drinks and an awesome fitness center in which I partook daily in spin, yoga, or pilates to my hearts delight.

The week quickly found a rhythm of days of waking up, choosing a pool, going into town for a few hours or just reading on the deck. It was so new yet natural at the same time to have my hubby be able to completely relax without the responsibilities of a company waiting in his inbox. He amazes me with his ability to disconnect and I tried to emulate that as often as possible. This was his perch for many of the afternoons of the week:


My favorite part of each day was the nightly dinners that we all enjoyed together. We were allowed to do whatever we wanted during the day but each night, a different couple was in charge of dinner. It was really good to have that time, to get to know Evon's kids better since we haven't spent any time with some of them since meeting them 2 years ago and get to know the ones we do know better. The menus for our dinners were awesome including grilled pizzas, stuffed shells, enchiladas, grilled roast & potatoes. And there was no shortage of Leinenkugel's sunset wheat and 2 buck chuck to accompany the feasts.
the girls in the kitchen

open air cafe ala family cafe

awww...

Stacey, Kara & baby Iris (8 weeks old)


part 2 of our adventures tomorrow...I have to go deliver the thank you that Toby made for the neighbors for taking such good care of him while we were gone:

a taste of things to come

even if summer isn't quite here yet, this recipe made me think it was. For 4 days straight. You can't really make a small batch and because Ryan wasn't up for a taste bud adventure, it was all me. I enjoyed it by itself, on wheat pita bread, over some greens, with some shredded chicken mixed in...possibilities are endless. enjoy!

black bean salad:
1 can black beans, drained
1 can sweet corn, drained
1 can chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans), drained
1/3 cup chopped onion
handful of cilantro chopped

dressing: warning...not exact measurements...
equal parts of olive oil & balsamic vinegar
a squeeze of honey
salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, or chili powder depending on what you have

we're 10 days in...

Remember my plan to cook meals? Well we are 10 days in and loving it! It has ranged from everything between enchiladas and spaghetti to broccoli quiche. The next step for me will be learning to make small dishes so we are not stuck eating the same thing for the next 3 days. Which negates the need to make a meal every night but Ry isn't too big on leftovers. If it were just me, I could potentially eat something I like for 5 days straight, which I do when I make chili.
Yesterday it was the quiche and I made it up in the morning while I was hanging around the house, getting ready for the big Easter Sunday dinner at our house. My family is finally releasing the matriarchal reign of control to me for one small afternoon...however they insisted on each bringing a dish still. baby steps. baby steps. Anyways, back to the quiche:

Forgive the wooden spoons hanging out in my crust; there were things that I wanted in one half of the dish that I didn't want in the others and this was the best rigged solution I could come up with. I am sure that Pampered Chef has something specifically for this but it seemed to work just fine and I pulled them out in the last 10 minutes so the top would seal.

I decided to invite my friend Stacie over to enjoy it for lunch with me and realized another side benefit of this meal thing is that it creates community. Maybe that is why there are so many places in the Bible where people fellowshiped with feasts. Makes sense to me! However, I still love the community that somehow takes place over Panera Bread, Starbucks or Olive Garden so I am hoping for a date night tonight!

Recession-Proof Resteraunte

As many of you know, I have moved to part-time employee status in recent months. This has brought me many WONDERFUL freedoms which cannot be measured financially but also means that I have to be reminded on a regular basis that even though I feel so happy, my portion of the pocketbook is half as thick as it was before (and I can't say I was ever in it for the dollas in the first place).

Good things going on in the Wallace household as we feel united right now about where we are & the fact that Ryan is and should be taking classes online through Moody. But these things all add up right? Didn't think tuition would be a line item in 2008, or 2009, or 2010.

In order to factor in new expenses, I have started, for the 3rd time, to use a FREE online budgeting tool called "MINT" to manage daily transactions, like $2 at the Peanut Store on Swedish Fish & those little extras that just sneak their way into my heart...I mean cart! The thing that I quickly noticed using Mint is that we spend WAY too much on a regular basis on eating out. Way too much.

So, in my efforts to get creative, this is what I have come up with. I will commit to making meals at home on a more regular basis, give it a real trial for a one month and see what difference it makes in our spending habits and overall lifestyle. And because arts & crafts make everything seem more fun and maybe a tiny bit less grown up, here is what I did:

Step 1:
Grocery shop with a list in hand & meals in mind.

Step 2:
Consult monthly planner to identify dinners at home & plan for fun date nights and dinner out with friends.

Step 3:
Create crafty calendar to disguise the regimented meal plan using groceries as purchased in Step 1.

I will keep you posted on how it goes! Ryan isn't so much as convinced yet, but I figure one month can't kill anybody...As long as I don't try to make a low-fat version of his mom's hamburg pie again. Yikes.

Anybody else have any little helpful savings tips they use on a regular basis?