What are you Eating?!?

For a few months now, I’ve been participating in a weekly tradition with some new friends that I hope we can continue for a very long time. After a long day of playing silly tabletop RPG games, we adjourn to the DM’s house for pot luck dinner and the watching of anime.

To be fair, we rotate food responsibilities between the members of the group (mostly the couples), so that everyone is in charge of bringing a certain element of the dinner. Since I’ve been attending it’s been a rotation of three: dinner, drinks, and dessert. The three Ds.

I wholeheartedly enjoy pot luck type dinners, because it gives me a chance to try different foods that I might not normally eat on a regular basis, as well as those comfortable foods that are safe and assured that everyone enjoys eating. There are a couple of picky eaters in our midst, so it’s not always easy to please everyone, but for the most part, we tend to take this into consideration when we prepare food. At least, I do. It’s not always easy, though. Oftentimes, one member will have to bring their own food if they feel what’s being provided doesn’t meet their dietary restrictions.

Thus far, I’ve been really impressed with the culinary expertise that many of our friends possess, and I have striven to pick dishes that I know would impress, as well as provide enough food for everyone. We usually have between 6 and 8 people to feed. It’s really gratifying to hear that a recipe has been enjoyed. I find myself leaving at the end of the evening trying to decide what to make the next time, which is generally 3 weeks later (unless interrupted by a holiday or other important event which impedes the Saturday festivities).

Sometimes, though, we burn out a little. A couple of weeks ago, we were sitting around talking after dinner about what we should bring the next week for dinner, as well as which anime we should watch next. For the anime, I whipped out my laptop and we browsed netflix, picking a few series that looked interesting and adding them to my queue. Since Tom doesn’t have much cooking experience other than pasta and sometimes stir fry (which I taught him how to make), he tends to lean toward something simple that doesn’t take much effort. I’ve been trying to teach him that good food can be simple and easy to prepare. Some of it might be a little bit more time consuming, but the end result is worth it. So far, we’ve prepared stir fry, lasagna, and  cookie truffles together. There were also a few other meals that I prepared, but he always hovers around the kitchen. He likes watching me cook. And of course, I make him help when I can.

I’ve been having crazy hankerings lately for different foods, and since I tend to try to want to give in to my hankerings, I suggested maybe doing hot dogs. There’s a simple meal that is quick, cheap, and easy. With the bonus that I don’t have to do much in the kitchen and Tom can do it all. Mostly. Everyone seemed really on-board with this idea, and we decided to get Hebrew Nationals (cause they’re really f’n good hot dogs) and some cheddar brats.

The next week, I brought three discs of the most horrid anime we later declared unwatchable (do NOT watch Virus Buster Serge) and we stopped at the wegmans for the wieners. We also picked up a couple bags of potato chips for those of us with the need to crunch.

We ended up boiling, and then pan grilling the dogs to give them that crispy finish which is so appealing. Tom did most of the cooking and I supervised, mostly just to spend time with him in the kitchen. He kept asking “do you think they’re done yet?”. Impatient Tom is impatient.

I have to mention again how much I really hate electric burners. They always have that weird smell when you turn them on, and they take longer to heat up (at least the ones that I’ve had experience with in these tiny ass apartment kitchens). I’m used to cooking with fire. So part of the reason he was so impatient was because it seemed to take forever for the water to boil. I had to keep reminding him of that cute little anecdote about the watched pot yadda yadda. He is a very focused young man. ^_^

Finally, the dogs boiled and we watched them plump before removing and pan grilling. We had to do this in three batches because we had gotten a LOT of weiners and they couldn’t all be done at once. Once we got going, though, the cooking went fairly swiftly.

Oh look, wiener scum. I suppose if I was trying to be all fancy, I would have strained off the scum, but meh. We just wanted to get these done.

Pretty soon we had a nice pile of boiled and seared meats to accompany our pile of buns and bags of chips. Very low-rent dinner, but we were all pleased. Sometimes you need something this basic to break the cycle of ever increasing impressiveness. It reminds us that we don’t need to break out the caviar and foie gras in order to have something tasty. Not that we have ever wanted to eat caviar and foie gras, but you know what I’m saying.

As everyone munched and crunched happily on their dogs, dressed in their own unique style thanks to the various condiments provided, I started to think about what to bring for the next time… I still have two weeks to decide, but I like to have somewhat of a plan. Perhaps I’ll do something out of one of my new cookbooks.

Eat well, folks. ^_^

I got a lot of really nice things this year for xmas, but there were two things that I got from the rents that really stood out for me as BEST. Of course, they were both cookbooks. XD

Ree! I got yer book! I want to totally slack off and just read it!

Of course, I troll her blog(s) on a daily basis, as well as her new recipe community, but this books is just gorgeous. It has a lot of her best recipes in it (including the mashed potatoes recipe that is love in a bowl!), and gorgeous pictures from around the ranch and stories about her life and such.

It’s a beautiful thing! You can get it on Amazon.

I have yet to be disappointed with ANY recipe I have made from The Pioneer Woman website, and I have done quite a few now. In fact, when I want to cook something, I find myself going THERE first! That should tell you something.

The book is hardcover and THICK! It’s about the size of my science textbook from middle school. LOL

I thumbed through it really quick when I first got it, but I’ve been starting to actually READ it. yes, I am insane and I read cookbooks.

I was quite pleased that the step by step (with pictures) recipes that she utilizes on her blog were also in the book! I was also pleased to find that her humor was included as well.

Probably what makes her blog so much fun to read is her little interjections about the ingredients and why she does things the way she does; as if she needed to explain for us. We understand you, girl! And we love you just the same!

She explains the recipes simply without dumbing it down. This makes them useful not only for newbie cooks, but doesn’t make those of us who know our way around a kitchen feel like complete morons.

And the pictures… the pictures are so beautiful! My crappy cell phone camera cannot do them justice.

Yes, folks, there ARE healthy recipes in the book. This technically ain’t one of them, but who cares? The recipe pages show a lovely finish product, as well as the ingredient list. I found myself literally drooling reading through the first few recipes. This is dangerous.

I found myself thinking of the sack of potatoes that are sitting in my kitchen just waiting to be cooked. I could totally go for some tater skins. Unfortunately, I am lacking bacon. Hopefully I can remedy that in the near future.

I want to plow through this book, trying every single recipe in it at least once. There are already a few recipes in it that I have made, like the mashed potatoes (p146 ), egg in the hole (p46), and Twice Baked Potatoes (p152).

So, yes, I am recommending this book. Especially if you like your food with FLAVOR!

I know. I’ve been gone too long. I’ve been really naughty. Haven’t been making bento. Haven’t been eating properly. Haven’t been exercising. Boy, does it show. I haven’t really gained weight (according to my scale), but I haven’t gotten any closer to my losing goals.  Having two big holidays back to back does not help either. Plus, now I have two families to nom with.

I have a real major new year’s resolution to really start exercising again. Especially on weekends. I’ve been really lazy on weekends, which is bad. For both of us. I really need to get Hun into moving around a bit more. I’m seriously considering us getting either a gym membership or a really nice treadmill for the house. I know I could do treadmill walking for awhile. Plus, I’m hoping we’ll have room enough to drag out the DDR mats as well. (I totes wooped his ass in DDR at the toy museum the other weekend - that was way too fun!)

I’m trying to get back into packing lunches better. It’s been difficult because I’ve been going through a major slump where I don’t want to put forth effort into anything. I’ve just been shoving leftovers into baggies  and throwing them in the freezer or fridge and just grabbing them as needed. Balanced lunches have gone out the window!

Ham was made for christmas and I have tons of leftover ham now. I need to use this ham up, so I’ll probably be making ham and potatoes and maybe some kind of pasta alfredo with ham chunks in, and then randomly chucking ham at the rents on the weekend when I go to spend time with Tom.

I also made GORGEOUS mashed potatoes, the recipe I got from Pioneer Woman. I am in love. More on that later.

So I figured I should pack up some of the leftover ham and potatoes and even a lovely vegetable medley and take it for lunch. Sounds great, right?

I don’t know if my tastebuds are off because of my cold or if I just wasn’t in the mood for this, but I ate exactly two bites of this before calling it quits and putting the rest of it in the fridge. I couldn’t even eat the mashed potatoes, and I love them! T.T

The worst part is that I hadn’t eaten anything all day and I was going through a major sugar crash. I ended up ODing on apple juice instead and then having a snack when I got home; something I never do. But I needed it.

I’ve started using these lovely locking boxes. They’re kind of like lock n lock, but a bit more widely available (made by rubbermaid and sterilite). They come in different shapes and sizes, and I’m rather fond of using the shallower ones for carrying food in. They’d be excellent bento boxes for those who can’t get the cute tiny boxes or for those who the tiny boxes don’t satisfy. And they don’t leak! I love this the most, since my lunch gets bounced around like crazy on the way to work.

So, yeah, I’m not dead. And I will be posting more. Not just bento, but probably other foodie experiences and such. :3

I’m in the market for a smaller camera. My other camera works just fine, but I really want a small one that I can shove in my pocket and take everywhere.

I was going through a bunch of intersting links on a forum when I came across This is Why You’re Fat. This is not for the faint hearted. It contains some genuine, artery clogging food nightmares. A lot of them are things that people have created in their homes, either with home cooking or with fast food. Some of them, however, appear to be actual products that you can buy as you see it. I think this scares me more.

Ok, I admit, a couple of things look kind of interesting, but I doubt I’d ever get the chance to eat them. I try to avoid things like this as much as possible. Irresponsible eating is really not something I enjoy indulging in anyway. Call me crazy, but I enjoy vegetables. A good cheeseburger is my one true love, yes, but… salads can be tasty. I might make an acception for the meat cake. I mean, technically it’s a meatloaf and mashed potatoes, but the presentation is just lovely! I’d probably have put peas around the edge instead of ketchup dots, though.

Bacon makes everything better, right? There are tons of baconny entries on the site. One of the more creative bacon-inclusive recipes is this lovely meat baby. That is one tasty nappy. And I would definitely eat these baconated waffles. Reminds me of a joke we used to tell about a guy we knew: “I’ll take some bacon on a bacon roll with bacon fries and some bacon to drink.” Dude loved bacon.  He got it with everything. Mmm baconhenge. Also, someone’s been watching too much Cosby show. Bacon Burger Dog. And don’t forget the bacon ice cream for dessert!

Now, this is interesting. I actually saw this thing made on tv as I was watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives at Hunter’s house (thankfully he’s into food-tv as well, so I can get away with watching crazy foodie shows, yatta!). Guy actually put this badboy together before our eyes. I was horrified and nauseated watching him make it, but it was hilarious. Hunter commented that he could feel his arteries clogging just watching it. *giggles* There’s a video of him making it on that site, I recommend checking it out if you’re brave.

Ok, here’s something I’ve actually eaten because they used to serve it at Naz. Fried Ravioli. I have to admit, it’s REALLY f’n good. You only really need to eat like three of them and you’re done, and more than that is too much. Yeah, I’d eat these again. With a nice salad.

Some of the entries link to actual sites that show exactly how to make the horrors. In great detail. With pictures.

Just because you CAN deep-fry anything, doesn’t mean you SHOULD. Come on, people. Deep fried Cadbury Cream Eggs? really? Guys, cheesecake, pizza, oreos are all fine on their own. You do not need to dip them in batter and toss em into the fry daddy.

There are a lot of things that just don’t look appetizing. A lot of hot messes and things that look like someone either barfed or shat onto a plate. Yum yum. It’s already gross to eat, but does it have to be disgusting to look at too? It’s bad enough that some of these would probably make you hurl upon eating.

Wow. A lot of links in this post. Sorry about that, guys. I don’t normally go this crazy on a single web site. But even horrible train-wrecky food porn is still food porn and this has been a major whack session! I promise I’ll update with actual lunches again soon. There’s been a lot going on and I haven’t been packing bento. Shame on me.

Yes, I am aware that all of the posts look funny, are oddly formatted and are missing pictures. For some reason the database thought it would be funny to insert them this way so that I would have to go back through and look at every post I put in. So I’ll be slowly going back and fixing these, while trying to figure out where I put all my bento pictures that I took while the site was down. Eventually there will be new stuff. I did take pictures, I swears!

I’m still trying to figure out what to do with my banner, picturewise. It’s been so plain for so long now. Since I’m working on a new portal for my main site, I will probably work on graphics for this banner at the same time. Hopefully. :3