Tag Archives: pasta

Cooking Beans and Baking Cookies

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It’s been a kitchen day here at the Bear-Mouse household.  We emptied the dish washer this morning and it’s pretty much full again with casseroles and mixing bowls.  Good times 🙂

We got up late late this morning, since I stayed up late late last night feeling sick.  Our first mission was a walk to Walgreens for Junior Caramels and cream of chicken soup (you’ll see in a minute).  $3.32, Challenge Balance – $98.86.

First up on the cooking agenda was green bean casserole.

I followed the recipe on the back of the onion can, but I subbed in cream of chicken for cream of mushroom and skim for whole because it’s all I could find.

Then came the baking of cookies.  I kept changing my recipe plan (Adam just might have eaten ALL of our oatmeal without my knowing) as I discovered ingredients we were out of.  In the end I made a half batch of the toll house recipe.

I used 1t skim milk instead of vanilla extract, and used half a cup of Jr Caramels with half a cup of chips.  Not my best substitutions, they might have been a little stuck.

Lunch was rather reminiscent of Turkey Day meals.

A small serving of Annie’s Shells.

A large serving of casserole.

Pretty tasty.

Once the cooking was tasted, I had to try the baking for dessert.  Adam and I split this crumbly plate.

My homework due date got pushed back so I doubt I will be motivated to do much today and dinner is going to be PF Chang’s leftovers so it’s looking like a lazy day.  I think there is a stack of magazines in my future!

Do you make substitutions in cooking/baking?  How do they usually turn out?

Worth It

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Hey guys!  I feel bad about breaking the challenge (not that it’s the first time we’ve cheated!) but it was so so so worth it!  I had such a great time catching up with my cousin.  She is pregnant with her second child and I’m glad I got to meet the first baby before she has the second one.  She and her husband are so nice and fun and we all had a good time.

They needed to meet somewhere close to the highway so we ended up at the Galleria Mall.  Adam and I showered and did our best to pretty up.

He was a bit more successful than I, it’s pretty obvious I’m sick!

PF Chang’s had a 5minute wait so that became our lunch spot.  I ordered the Vegetable Chow Fun.

It was only ok.  Way too much food and pretty bland.  I ate about 1/3 of it before I packaged it up for leftovers.

After lunch we walked around the mall and Dairy Queen just seemed right.  I got a small Strawberry Cheesequake Blizzard with chocolate froyo.

Mmmn.  This made me pretty happy.

From there Adam and I hit up the movie theatre.  Sharing pretzel bites seemed like less of a good idea, but still an irresistable one.

We saw “Old Dogs.”  It was pretty terrible, but movie dates are always fun 🙂

Not surprisingly, I was not hungry for dinner after all my mall food.  I got unpacked and did some cleaning this evening, but mostly Adam and I spent a looooooong time discussing my life choices stagnation.  Some tears later, I think after a meeting I have this week things will be a lot more clear.

Just as it is clearly time for bed!  Sweet dreams.

Seen any bad movies lately?  What would you NOT recommend?

The Blind Side

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It was a grand, grand Sunday!  No schoolwork ever made it into the picture, but that would have just mucked up the fun anyways 🙂

At 4:20 we finally made it in to see “The Blind Side.”  Love, love, love.  It was a true story about a Southern white family that took in a struggling, homeless black boy.  There were lots of y’alls, football, laughs, and touching moments.  Sandra Bulluck is one of my favorite actors, particularly for how well she does in roles like this.  I highly recommend seeing this movie.

I had a lick of Adam’s Maple Bacon Lollipop (brought back from Foodbuzz),

and we ate some of these Milkata candies.

When we got home at 7 I was so hungry!  I ate a delicious spoonful of Justin’s Maple Almond Butter.

Then we made the quickest-tastiest dinner of all time.

4 ingredients, 3 minutes of prep, 20minutes in the stove, 1 very very happy housewife!  I linked to the recipe here.

I was so so pleased with this idea.  Thanks for the pesto, Foodbuzz!  The crunchy bits of pasta were my favorite.

After dinner we walked over to Walgreens to pick up a few things.  And you know I made a big bowl of ‘corn when I got home!

I’m going to snuggle up with Adam and do some munching and tv watching, have a good night!

What 5 ingredient or less recipes have you had success with lately?

Bowled Over

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Hello, hello!  I’m up pretty late for a sick kid so I’ll try to keep this quick.  The movies didn’t really work out – we went to the mall and missed not one, but two! showings.  We ended up being at the mall for two fruitless hours, we walked around a bit and had a long chat on a bench.

I was actually glad we missed the second show because on the ride home I got a killer migraine that would have hit mid-movie.  After some Excedrin and a quick nap I was ready to make a fancy shmancy dinner.  I love brie, and was so excited to see some in my Foodbuzz swag.  And actually the inspiring recipe can from a magazine I read on my California trip!

We loosely followed this recipe from Real Simple, Pasta with Brie, Mushroom and Arugula.  Our changes –

  • we used ziti instead of penne
  • we used white mushrooms instead of button mushrooms
  • we used a cooking onion rather than a red onion
  • we subbed 1T butter substitute (Promise) for the evoo

It was pretty tasty!  But I guess it’s a good thing I’m sick or I’m not sure one meal for the whole day would have covered it 🙂

After dinner we headed out to meet some friends at a local bowling alley.  We called and found out games are $3 after 9 so it seemed like a good idea, even though I’m not a very good bowler.  We played (and drank) with three other couples and it was a lot of fun!

I managed to finagle it with the snack bar and the bartender to get a chocolate milkshake with a double shot of Jack Daniels.

Perfection.

And later on I had a diet coke with amaretto.

None of my games were great, but the second was the worst (I was playing under Benji’s name) –

Embarrassing!  I had a great time though, I definitely want to go back.

Now the goal is sleep before 1am.  My workload tomorrow is pretty light, I only have class one day before Thanksgiving some I’m hoping to get lots of pre-work done next week.  Sweet dreams folks!

Do you like ‘couples sports’ like bowling and mini golf?

TGI-Cuddle Time

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After my last post, I spent the day making all the calls from my to-do list.  Guys, what the heck am I going to do next year?!

I did some work online and had an apple based snack in the late afternoon.  Yogi tea,

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and a Yoplait Light Apple Turnover.

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I love the chunks of apple in that yogurt, so good!

For dinner I threw together a quick but stunning combination.

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I steamed the brocoli in the microwave and then put it on the stove over medium high heat with a little evoo, tamari, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Meanwhile, I cooked the Garlic and Scallion Annie Chun’s Noodle Bowl according to the package directions.  Finally I combined both on the stove, heating for another 5minutes.  Once the everything was nice and crunchy I broke in 2 eggs and scrambled.  Delish.

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Mine looks so dense because I squeezed it onto a small plate.

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The sauce was tasty, the brocolli is always a favorite, the noodles were crispy, and Bear was a fan.

For dessert (#1!) I had a mini So Delicious.

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After dinner we went to the mall to buy a (very late) birthday gift for my mother-in-law.  We shopped quickly but then spent about an hour walking around.  Next up on the young hot couple schedule was a weekly grocery trip.

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Challenge Balence – $58.16

That bill included a cookie to watch while we snuggle on the couch and watch the new Bones tonight.

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Be aware, there will definitly be popcorn and my last Zevia [:(] in this evening as well.

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Have a great night folks!

No Motivation

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My goal tonight is bed before 9, so this will be quick.  I don’t have much to say anyways.  I am so disgusted with myself that I haven’t been taking care of business.  I used to be someone who thrived on pressure, but now I feel like I completely shut down if I have more than one thing to do.  Plus, why the frick am I so tired?!?  Is it jet-lag?  An oncoming cold?  What??

I have some goal-setting to do in the morning, so I’ll do a quick food recap for now.  I tried a sample from Annie Chun’s for lunch.

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I bulked it up with some shredded carrots.

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And had a Zevia (x2),

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and finished with chocolate chips.

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And later in the afternoon Adam and I took a note from last night’s dinner and ate a humungous bowl of popcorn.

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Blegh.

I need advice What do you do to get motivated?

Dinner with Outstanding in the Field

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Tonight was amazing!  I am so sorry for another lame post, I truely truely am.  I get so excited about food but I have so much to say that it is too much and I’m exhausted.

Dinner was put on by Outstanding in the Field (a very locavore, farm to table, excited about sustainability organization) and was held at Greenleaf Warehouses.  The setting was legit a warehouse, I love industrial/fashionable settings.

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You can just go ahead and multiply this glass of vino by 3.

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And I had 1 shrimp crisp,

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and a whipped tuna cracker.

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Dinner was family style, so we got to serve ourselves.  First was a pickled veggie plate Ahi tonnato on pain de mie with gochukaura and parsley.

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I loved how spicy everything was.

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Next was soup Mushroom dashi, maitake, shimeji, enoki mushrooms.

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It was very similar to a miso but the mushrooms had an insanely lemon taste.  This was the only thing I didn’t love.

Then they brought out udon noodles with fresh calamari Udon, grilled Monterey calamari in a browned butter ponzu reduction, cucumber, kaiware, frisee & yellow pear tomato with chojang & sesame vinaigrette.

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I was very nervous about it but Jenna convinced me to try a taste.

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So glad I did!  I actually really liked the calamari but the soba noodles were the best, very doughy and raw.  Plus the dish had a good spice kick.

Then came salmon and mushroom risotto Salmon baked with dashikombu, fried garlic and Japanesse curry powder / Mushroom risotto with koshihikari rice, crispy maitake mushrooms.

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I don’t know why I took such a tiny serving, but it was delicious.  I love love loved the curry powder.

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There was oxtail, but I obviously ignored it, and then came out a platter of brussels sprouts Roasted brussels sprouts, ponzu fried garlic, guanciale, bonito flakes.  Jenna told me there was short rib in them, so I resisted.  But brussels sprouts are in my top five all time food favorites, so I finally said f’ it and ate one.  Delish.  Then the waitress came by, and said “vegetarian.”  So I loaded up a plate.

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So.Fricking.Fantastic.  They tasted like McDonald’s fries, which sounds awful but was just amazing.  However, apparently, so not vegetarian.  They definitly had pork in them.  Which makes me quite sad 😦 

Finally, dessert.  Ah dessert Koshihikari rice pudding, cookie crumble, and warren pear.

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I love rice pudding, but  the pear, oh the pear!  I had a bite of pear at the farmer’s market this morning and I’ve been telling people all day that it was seriously the best thing I’ve eaten out here.  The dessert was from the same farm!!!  I was in heaven.

Before we headed out they did Foodbuzz awards which was a lot of fun.  I definitly congratualate some very deserving winners!

A bus ride later, Camile and I walked the mile back to our hotel for the last time.  On the way home I just might have seen a 7-11 and shrieked at the top of my lungs.  Bosenberry and cola, oh yeah.

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Even more exciting?  Getting in bed now!  Tomorrow morning there is a goodbye breakfast and then I fly all day long and get back home at midnight!  I have a big test on Monday so I’m not sure what the posting situation will be.  I hope everyone else’s weekend ends well!!

Challenge Balance – $31.71

Happy 80th Nana!

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Hello, hello, hello!  Sorry to skip out for the weekend but I had a fabulous time.  I flew to Ohio (with a bunch of other family members) to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday.  We did party/family time all weekend, which meant TONS of cake!  I missed the husband a lot but I had a great time, my family is so funny!  This post won’t be as detailed, due to length, and if you get too bored skip to the bottom to find the winners of the Zevia contest.

Friday we had to get up nice and early to make it to the airport for my 6:35am flight.  I was hungry when I got to the airport but it seemed early and I knew I would sleep my first flight so I decided to wait.

On my layover I got egg and cheese on a cheddar jalopeno bagel.

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It was very tasty but I dropped half on the floor so I only ate half of it.

I was so excited when I finally got in to the Dayton airport!

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My mom and grandma picked me up and we drove over to Tipp City to do some shopping (also the location of my grandmother’s surprise party!).  We saw all sorts of fun things.

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Nana (grandma)  was impossible to get to her surprise party, she kept insisting the chosen restaurant was too nice, too slow, etc.  I finally had to pretend I was going to pee my pants if we didn’t at least go in to the restroom!  When she saw all of her friends she was so surprised she cried!

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My mom and my aunt (who flew up with my mom a few days earlier than me) did such a good job planning and decorating!

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We did a party lunch at Coldwater Cafe and it was very nice.  I got a bloody mary to drink.

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And for lunch I split – more halfs! – a turkey pannini (with artichoke spread and cheese) with my mom.

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I ignored the chips but the sandwich was great.

My grandmother cried when she opened her presents and again when they brought in the cake!

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I am not really a chocolate cake fan so I took a small bite and then packed up the rest to bring home to Paps (grandpa).  I also packed up all the bread from the table baskets.  My family teased me but they are either going to use it again, ewww, or throw it out, wasteful.

We got to go home long enough to pick up my grandpa and then we – me, my mom, my aunt, my grandparents, and the dog – squeezed into the car for a long drive to Toledo where my uncle lives.  I seriously can not handle how funny my family is, we had such a good time!!

We were running late when we got there so we had a quick dinner from Wendy’s.  I got a baked potato with broccoli and cheese.

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I also ate one of my pumpkin cheesecake cupcake/muffins, so good!

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My uncle is a high school football coach so we went to watch his team.  It was their last game of the season, against their biggest rival, and they whooped them, so it was a lot of fun.  My uncle had the marching band play happy birthday to Nana and she cried again!

After the game we went to a ‘end of season’ party my uncle was throwing for the other coaches.  I had a small vodka and coke,

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and a small slice of pizza.

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And then there was more cake and more tears!

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Quite a night was had by all 🙂

For Saturday breakfast I had an English muffin with homemade strawberry jam and scrambled eggs.

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We spent the morning having family time before we headed to another birthday party, this one for my cousin’s baby!  Lunch was buffet style at the party.

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Cheesy potatoes,

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fruit,

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and veggies.

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And of course more cake – I just ate the icing off this piece. 

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Over the course of the party I sipped a beer

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and had a good time hanging with my mommy and grandma.

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My mom, aunt, and I (all Virgin Islanders) walked to and from the party because it was so exciting to be cold!  It was sad saying goodbye to my cousins but then the six of us packed back into the car and headed back to my grandparents’ house.  More uproarious fun was had, including the hilarious/horrifying realization that my grandmother – who was driving – talks with her hands a lot!

It was Halloween, so I broke out some fancy chocolate I bought for the occasion.

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We all had a small piece.

When we got home we had to rush to get dressed before meeting my grandparents’ best friends for dinner.  It was  a great last meal.  I had a bloody mary again, to which I added a ton of Siracha and sizzled my mouth off!

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My grandmother shared her side salad with me,

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and she and Rose gave me their martini olives.

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They are both amazing and both happen to read the blog, hi guys!

I also had a small piece of bread.

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I was torn on ordering but when the waitress said unlimited toppings on the flat bread pizza I was sold!  I asked for roasted red pepper, green peppers, red onions, caramelized onions, tomato, spinach, and mushrooms.

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Mmmn.  I ate 3/5 pieces.

It was another late night and I think we left my grandparents thoroughly exhausted!

This morning my mom and I both had 6:50 flights so it was another early trip to the airport.  Goodbyes were easy; I see my grandparents for Turkey Day and my mommy and aunt for Christmas!

For reasons explained in the next post, I packed my own breakfast.  A banana from my grandmother’s house,

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and a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Cliff Bar from home.

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My flights were all blissfully uneventful.  I was very excited to see the husband at the airport.  Apparently he went to a Halloween party last night so I’ll have to track down some pictures of his costume.  He made himself spaghetti this weekend so I had a big bowl of that (doctored with mozarella and red pepper flakes) while I wrote this monster post.

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My fingers are exhausted, it is definitely time to say Goodbye!  I will “see” you all this evening, hope everyone else had a good weekend!

Zevia Winners

I used a random integer generator to choose the winners.

Runners Up who receive a mixed six pack

  1. (#18) Annalene – i actually have tried Zevia before & I have to say that while they may take some time to getting used to the flavor after the initial drink or 2 these are actually quite good! my favorite is the lemon lime
  2. (#5) Jenny – I would love to try the all-natural diet sodas. I work the night shift, and am obsessed with my diet Pepsi….but always feel guilty about the weird ingredients and colorings.
  3. (#17) Erin – I really want to try this stuff since I love the occasional diet coke.
  4. (#2) Holly – I’d love to win – this soda has been all over blogs and I’ve never tried it!
  5. (#14) Erin– Zevia sounds great!

Grand Prize Winner who receives a mixed case

  1. (#9) Molly – Sounds good!

Winners – shoot me an e-mail (emilyhwaxATgmail.com) by Tuesday morning to claim your prize!