ARCHIVES: JANUARY 2010

Monday, January 25

There's an article in the Jan/Feb issue of Food Network Magazine called "Fast Food Fixes." You're going to thank me.

"You don't have to give up your drive-through faves. Dietician Ellie Krieger turned four fast-food meals into healthy dinners."

1. McDonald's Big Mac turns into .... Sloppy Joes!
Chop up the filling (burger and toppings.) Discard the middle bun. Add a bunch of stuff to it, sautee it and put it back into the bun to feed 4.

2. KFC 2-piece meal turns into .... Asian Chicken Salad!
Step 1: Discard the chicken skin (WHAT?!?!?!?!) From there, you have to add a bunch of stuff that you bought at the grocery store (fresh ginger, cabbage, cilantro). Don't forget to chop the biscuits into cubes, toss with sesame oil and toast into croutons!

3. Burger King Big Fish sandwich turns into .... Hawaiian Fish Lettuce Wraps!
Chop toppings - add tartar sauce packet (hope they didn't forget it at the drive-thru), plain yogurt. Saute canadian bacon - toss with slices of fish, etc. You get the idea. Pineapple.

4. Taco Bell 1/2 Pound Combo Burrito turns into .... Tortilla Soup!
Sautee onion, garlic, jalapeno, spices - dump in the inside of the burrito with some broth. Toast tortilla and cut into strips.

There's so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to start.

I think the take-away here is biscuits turned into croutons for an Asian salad. (pun intended)

Thursday, January 21

There's a lot to discuss, let's get started.

First off, we made some new recipes for the Chargers playoff game this past weekend. Potato skins! We made the recipe from Simpy Recipes and they were fantastic. You should really make them sometime. We went with the classic toppings - bacon, cheddar cheese, green onions and sour cream.

Secondly, we made a traditional Hungarian Beef Stew (recipe from Cooks Illustrated) which is comprised mostly of beef, onions and a lot of paprika. It cooked in the oven for 3 hours and was delicious. Unfortunately, something about the stew unsettled my stomach - it was rich, I guess. Don't make it!

Note: I served mine over the insides of the potato skins and Adam and his mom had theirs over egg noodles.

Thirdly, this is the newest craze in our house - tricked out salads. Buy a baked chicken and put everything on it! The main component are:
Chicken
Fruit (oranges, strawberries or apples)
Nuts
Dried Cranberries
Greens
Dressing (I do a homemade vinaigrette -- dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil)
Last time, we did some boiled eggs too

That's it! Five hundred billion percent yes!

Sunday, January 17

I was looking at cross-stitch samplers last night on flickr. There's actually not as many cool ones as you would hope to find. I bring you a few of my favorites here.

The first one was done in 1811 by 12 year old, Harriet Humphrey. I tried to find more vintage/historical ones but came up short.

The second one and the last one were created recently.

I'm certain I have a sampler to stitch up, in my future. I would love to create my own design. It's on my to-do list.

Friday, January 15

As soon as I get my hands on a glue stick, I am going to be cutting and folding. I keep seeing this papercraft stuff everywhere. The Chewbacca is from Toy a day. This T-rex is fun. Endless more where those came from.

Sunday, January 10

Some random links:
1. I know that I told you once about Yellena. Now, she is featured over at SchoolHouse Electric on their Artist Series - great idea - well done.
2. I want to make these felt pillows - seems doable enough.
3. Ginko Papers - Japanese calendars, stickers!, etc.
4. BlueQ - Some of this stuff you are no doubt tired of seeing, but some it it is fun and new.
5. I like the idea of textured bedding - why mess with colors and junk? This is much more interesting - Cirrus Bedding at Anthropologie.

Friday, JANUARY 1 2010

I like this receipt from dinner with my brother over Christmas break. BEER FOOD BEER FOOD FOOD FOOOD.

December was a nice month.