Spinach Artichoke Dip

This was possibly the least healthy thing I have had in...years.  Rightly so since it was basically annihilating my no dairy rule.  I was feeling brave, what can I say?

So, I got the recipe here: http://www.food.com/recipe/spinach-artichoke-dip-1209

It was part of my grand freezer-purge so, I defrosted the package of spinach in the microwave...

 Chopped up my can of artichoke hearts...

 Stirred in all the goopy ingredients in a casserole large enough to fit (2 quarts)...

 Put it in the oven (this picture is just to show off how clean it is)...

 And of course, something had to fall on the floor...

 When it was all done it looked like this...

 But I had to cook it longer because I'm at a high altitude and then it was done.  The End.

Don't try this if you have any dairy sensitivity at all, unless you like drinking Pepto Bismol 3 times a day, like I do. Ha ha.  Plus, it was bland but then again I've never really been a dip kind of girl.

My Big-Girl Crock Pot :)

7 Quarts...this baby holds 7 quarts!! I was so thrilled when I got my new Crock Pot for Christmas and it is RED!!!  Shiny, sassy, red.

It took me quite a while to bring myself to get it dirty but I finally did when I decided to make a big batch of soup.

You know me - simplicity is best.  I decided it was time to start cleaning out the freezer and one of the best ways to do it is by loading stuff into the crock pot, which can do wonders for freezer burned things like butter beans.

My recipe was simple but absolutely the most satisfying meal I've had all winter.

I started with a couple onions and basically quartered them and separated the slices, added a couple smashed garlic cloves, some freezer burned peas, a dash of rosemary, 2 dashes of thyme, 3 shakes of salt, a pinch of pepper and meat.  Yes, that's how I measure. That's the beauty of a crock pot soup - you don't have to use a lot of spices to get a lot of flavor since it's slow cooked, and I figure, you can always add more later if you need to (and I did have to add some salt upon serving).

The meat was London broil, you can see them peeking through the 8 cups of water I dumped in there too. I see it in big long pieces pretty often but these happened to be cut into thirds, so it helped decipher serving sizes. I love that! Plus, it tends to be cheap - I got this for about $5/pound.

Most recipes I read say to brown the meat before you put it in - but I don't. I never noticed a difference in taste or texture once it cooks for 6-8 hours anyway, so I figure - why dirty another pan?

Do you ever notice the difference?

I put leftovers in small lunch-sized containers, in the freezer. I love knowing they are waiting there for me for later and I don't have to eat the same thing all week (if I don't want to - which I did with this though).

Plus, I'm so proud to be a big girl now, with a big girl  rock pot.  ;0)

Review: Thai Kitchen Thai Peanut, Rice Noodle Cart

I've had this in my drawer at work for quite a while, in case of emergency.  Well, today we have snow tumbling down by the foot so I'm resigned to eating lunch at my desk and trying to get home at the "hottest" time of day, which also coincides with when the snow is supposed to taper off.
So, I have the opportunity to try out this sweet little box of goodness!
The first thing you probably want to know is if it tastes good, right?  Well, yes it does. Surprisingly so!
The sauce actually has this tangy flavor that nicely offsets the spicy bits and the peanut topping was nice and fresh - nothing ickier than stale peanuts, am I right?  I definitely liked it.
Also, it looked very much like the picture on the front, minus the fresh garnish, of course.  That was also a super surprise! Instant meals usually look like a ball of mush and you wonder how they can live with themselves putting a delicious picture on the outside of a box when what is inside looks like a partially digested version.
You know what I mean!
Pros of this meal:
1. You just dump all the packets in a dish and 2 Tablespoons of water, nuke for 2 mins and it's yummy lunch!
2. The ingredients are pretty good.  Here's what was on my box:

Cons:
1. My little dish was broken, and I couldn't tell until I opened up the entire package. That would have been a bummer if I wouldn't have had an extra bowl at work.
2. Unlike other bowls, you really need the microwave because the noodles will be rubbery if they don't get a touch of heat. I've been able to just add hot water to other noodle bowls from the coffee maker - not this one!

OUT OF BUSINESS Bloom restaurant, Broomfield, CO

I went to Bloom last week with my coworkers for lunch and the waiter knew immediately, when I told him I needed gluten free, which 2 options and desserts, on the menu(!) were ok for me. I had the Salmon with polenta and arugula. First let me say, my meal was delicious, piping hot and safe. Then let me say, it came a full 10 minutes after everyone else at the table was served...and they waited to eat until I got mine despite me telling them to go ahead without me. The waiter explained that they had overcooked my salmon and made me a new dish, that was the delay.
So, I had no problem with the wait because I'd rather sit for 10 minutes to eat something divine than get something crappy fast. I also had a martini - which was fantastic! They have Hendrick's gin.

And made it just how I like it - neat, 3 olives :)

For dessert I ordered the flourless chocolate cake without the little cookie cup that comes with it, of course! And they delivered my sorbet that accompanies it, in a martini glass on the side. I've had the flourless cake in the past and it's been a little eggy tasting but this time it was perfect.
In the past I've gone, also with work groups - they require a pre-set menu on large groups, we are usually 20 - 30 ppl and get their private dining area. One time, I arranged for a pork option and everyone who chose it complained that it was undercooked, which is unacceptable, especially for pork! So we hadn't been back since.
Every other group meal we've had there though, I had to arrange for something "special" for me and it was always inedible. I usually opt for a plain steak and vegetable for business dinners because restaurants can accommodate that easily and usually safely but Bloom has always delivered mine cold, over cooked and covered in mystery sauce so that I couldn't eat it. I've always felt that was unacceptable because restaurants are set up to cook for individual meals so just because I was with a group shouldn't mean that they make mine and set it under a heat lamp until they've made the other 29 meals.
I'm glad to be able to add them back to my possible dining list though.  I still don't enjoy eating out - but it's good to know I can!
Where do you guys eat out? Do you have any sneaky tips to getting a safe meal, especially if you have other food allergies and/or intolerances?

What's your New Year's Day craving?

Good Morning and Happy 2012 to you!
I'll tell you right now, I'm not making resolutions this year.  Well, unless it's a resolution to just fix my problems in the moment instead of planning to do them in the future!
Yeah, I may not get anything accomplished with that attitude but how much gets done when we plan to do it in the future anyway?
So, this morning I was thinking about all the people with hangovers. I've never had a hang over, thankfully. It's either genetics or the fact that I tend to wake up 2 hours after I fall asleep, and drink enough water to give my liver a fighting chance over night. Maybe both.

I have friends who wake up after a night, such as many had last night, and crave the greasiest, saltiest, sugariest mess of a breakfast lunch dinner, ever. You know who you are.  Well, I'm here to admit that this morning all I wanted for breakfast (can you call it that at 1:30 PM?) was meat and cheese with a side of giant cokes and cookies. ahem. But, you know it's a rule in my house to start with something green and build from there - it's how I survive.

So I made the salad pictured above.  Yes, it's got hard salami (Hormel brand...let me sing their praises, gf and nitrite/nitrate free!!!) and sharp cheddar cheese. I even drizzled a little evoo on it in addition to the usual balsamic vinegar. Heavenly. 
I'm not braggin here...as soon as I was done with that I had a coke and a handful of salty cashews.
I also popped a couple Viactiv caramel vitamins... 

Thank you Dr. for prescribing 1000 mg of D per day!
I feel better. Honestly I'd love another Coke but I only keep 1 emergency soda in the house at any time and due to nasty neighbor issues I'm refusing to go out. Long story short the wind has blown the trash they pile up outside their garage - not bagged!- in front of my garage and I'm refusing to pick it up again today, for the 22nd day in a row. Happy New Year to me.

So, how's your year starting out? What do you crave on the first day of a new year?

There's a shot glass in my salad

I have a super thrifty lunch packing idea for you today!

So, we all know how if you put your dressing on your salad and pack it for lunch later how soggy your greens will get, right?  They make wonderful little containers with special compartments for salad dressing, but I have to admit - it's a little more than I want to spend and often they don't fit well in the dishwasher.

So the other day, I thought - why not use a shot glass to hold the dressing?  It was easy peasy and I knew exactly how many ounces of dressing I had.  As you can see, I basically just put it in my container then put the salad in around it, slapped on the top and it kept until lunch time.  So good!  The shot glass is also dishwasher safe so easy clean up to boot!

I also have to share about my darling friend at work who brings in goodies every holiday.  Her thing is really baking - she is a mad cake decorator.  But, being gluten free of course I can't have cakes.

  

But, the sweetheart she is, she started bringing me peanut brittle! And it is magical!  She also made me fudge a couple years ago, which was even better.  I'm hoping for more of that one day :)

She did share something with me though - a friend of hers has kids who are gluten, nut and dairy free yet she feeds them Oreo cookies.  Now,I'm not here to judge but I had to say that I hate it when people do that! Dawn thought Oreos are gluten/nut/dairy free - assuming that this woman who grills everyone on what is being fed to her kids wouldn't stray from those restrictions. Obviously, I told her that if she ever brought me Oreos as a treat, I'd promptly freak out and she should be sure to slap some sense into her friend who was either lying to the world or unwittingly poisoning her kids on a regular basis.

*jumping off the soap box* 

Back to the point - what kind of lunch box tips do you have?

Don't forget to take a vitamin with your pie for breakfast

The best thing about Thanksgiving leftovers is having pie for breakfast, just be sure to take a vitamin to alleviate any guilt.  Plus, it's sweet potato pie, which is really good for a person.

I got my recipe here and made a couple changes for my tastes, of course: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/old-fashioned-sweet-potato-pie-recipe/index.html

I figured Paula Deen wouldn't steer a girl wrong when it came to pie, would she? No she didn't!

I skipped meringue, obvs and whipped some coconut cream up instead. Also, instead of regular milk, I used coconut milk so that it would be gluten free and dairy free for me :)  Turned out perfect and delicious!

I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free biscuit and baking mix for the crust. 

Tastes just like every pie crust I ever remember.  I never did like pie crust.

Here's my leftover sampler. Mashed potatoes (made with vegetable broth instead of water for some extra kick, yes, they were instant.), the curried cornbread stuffing I always make, Kentucky Legend brand pre-cooked turkey breast and green beans with shallots and toasted almonds. Of course there were 5 kinds of wine and Irish whiskey for the Irish Coffee.

I'm already planning for next year. I think I'll do a different stuffing and no pie. Any suggestions for desserts other than pie?

BTW, the pre-made turkey isn't out of lazy (although it is super convenient) it's because I don't really care for turkey and suspect I'm allergic to it like chicken so I opt out of the stress trying to cook one.  I ask my dad to make one like he used to every year, and he always declines, so the Kentucky Legend must be good enough.

I guess when Celiac took over my life and now everything has to be gluten free, he has passed the torch of cooking holiday dinners to me.  Or maybe I ripped it out of his hand and ran with it.  We'll never tell ;)

Rather than try to re-create what we loved before with gluten free substitutions, we've just decided to do things differently.  Mom loves the change, dad is just happy as long as there is plenty of wine and I've never been one to hold on to tradition.

So there's your little nap time story about a Bean Thanksgiving.  I hope you all had nice ones!

This was the official turkey time wine, in addition to the chillable red always on tap at Chez Cocoa, an organic Riesling, a Kosher dessert wine and a bottle of bubbly...I always need a bottle of cheer :)

New floors, Part 4 - the bedroom

 The floor is finally done! I kept the bedroom for last because it was the smallest and what I thought would be easiest area.  But it wasn't.  Not only was there a long triangular corner in the closet but there were the same angles coming in the door as everywhere else.

 Barfycat wanted to give you the tour...

tah daaaah!!
It was a lot of work and I have exactly 1 piece leftover, in case something needs replaced later.  I ordered enough so that I had an entire spare box but one of them was so damaged that I purposefully saved it for last and thankfully, I didn't need to try and salvage any of those broken pieces and was able to return it for a refund.
Now, I have a bunch of scraps and I'm trying to decide which to keep, just in case.
Why, you ask? Because something in my head makes me think that I'm going to get up one morning and look down and see a spot I missed.  Impossible, I know.  
I also think it wouldn't hurt to have a couple scraps around in case something needs replaced.

Phase 4, Bedroom Complete!!

New floors, Part 3 - the master suite

 It took 2 days for me to pull up all the carpet, staples, nails and scrape up the lumpy mess of putty that lived under the carpet.  You can see the stain spilled all over too from when this room was first finished!

That little red machine is the "Floor Boar".  It is basically a saw designed to use with Pergo flooring that works with a rachet mechanism to both feed and cut the boards by hand.  I loved it!  I wasn't afraid of the saw getting away without me - it used no power but my (now toned) arms and it did a really nice cut, even on angled pieces.

For $50, I'd definitely recommend it!  It didn't create a big mess of saw dust either - you end up with nice little chunks of board that clean up super easy.

Since I was connecting from the already finished hallway, I started this room in a fairly unconventional way. The instructions are to start in a corner and lay the boards out but I had to come in the door and go in 2 directions - one way into the bathroom and the other way into the bedroom!  

So, I basically laid a foundation row inside the door and out both directions to build off of horizontally.  This required nailing some boards to one side for stability while I connected the other rows out horizontally but once I had a wall on one side it was easy sailing from there!

 Did a little mopping to clean up any foot prints and dust... 

 See what I mean about the angles in my house? Cute but a DIY nightmare!

 And my room is done!

Phase 3, Master Suite Complete!

New floors, Part 2 - the hall

When my pergo arrived, I answered the door and the driver told me he had 900 pounds of flooring on 2 pallets, I have to admit, I panicked.  Where was I going to put it?

He couldn't get it up on the sidewalk and to my front porch, nor was he allowed to break it down and help me carry it into my house. So, I pulled a car out of the garage so he could bring the pallets in.  They were low and I managed to bring all 25 boxes @ 35 pounds a piece in my house and up the stairs...You're always stronger than you think you can be.

 Working in the hall I learned several things about my house.  Although the dramatic angles, lines and vaulted ceilings are impressive looking, they can be a pain for a DIY project.  I decided to use Pergo flooring to match the downstairs floors (that came with the house) but sadly, the same color is no longer sold so I decided to go with Whitehall Pine since it goes nicely with the cream and white color scheme I already have in the main areas, not to mention looking pretty snazzy on the stair landings where I couldn't just paint white!

 Since pergo is a floating floor you have to cut it to accommodate the tongue and groove space needed to interlock the boards and slide them together.  In a nice rectangular area, this is no problem at all.  If you have any funky angles, like I do - then you have to get creative.

 This is how I'm learning to use a jigsaw like a professional!

once the hall was finally finished I also discovered that the walls are slightly wavy, needless to say this made trimming that last row tricky.

Phase 2, Hall Complete!