my mama’s meatloaf
OK, so maybe it isn’t exactly my mom’s secret recipe or anything, but she made me this delicious meatloaf over Christmas and proceeded to give me the recipe so she should get some credit for being associated with such a delicious creation, right? It actually hails from the folks at America’s Test Kitchen so you know it’s got to be good. (I like watching public television largely to see Christopher Kimball and his ladies in the test kitchen, and for the occasional Bob Ross sighting.) This was a great meal to have leftover in the fridge this past week: hearty, filling, delicious. We have gotten so much snow in the Bridgers in an epic four day storm which deposited a total of 52 inches. I’d never skied anything like the 23 inches of ultra low-density blower snow that showed up as a nice surprise Tuesday morning. As some girls that I knew once said, “SO FUN!”
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“mexican” brownies
I am a fiend for sweets. In the mornings that we have together, I’m known tell Andy, “I want a treat!” Sometimes we’ll go get doughnuts at the delicious local place on campus. Or I stop before work for cookies or ice cream. And I drink a lot of beer, which is full of sugar (if you’re drinking the worth-wile kind) and gives me my fix. I need to keep something sweet to eat around the house for times like these. Disappointed with my recent Chips Ahoy! purchase, I decided to make something deliciously worth all of the not-so-good-for-you calories these inevitably have. This is the first time that I have made brownies! I had some brownie fudge cookies that I had gotten from the grocery store bakery the other day that inspired me to try to make my own, but I decided to just go with the regular version and I’m glad I did. Cayenne pepper and cinnamon and chocolate chunks, topped with a little powdered sugar? Goooood.
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banana oat bread
I don’t have much of a story for you today. I’ve been confined to the house (for the most part) with a cold for the past two days. I know it doesn’t seem like long, but I am getting stir crazy! To keep myself busy, this afternoon I made this take on a family banana bread recipe. I had some ripe bananas in the freezer so was able to just thaw them out and make this bread without any planning ahead.
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millet muffins
Brrrrrr-hrrrrrrr. It has been cold here this past weekend. Like when-I-went-skiing-last-Friday-it-was-negative-13-degrees-so-watch-out-for-frostbite cold. Like I-just-got-beautiful-new-ski-boots-and-love-them-so-much-but-I-opted-for-my-old-crappy-boots-when-I-went-skiing-last-Saturday-because-it-was-too-cold-to-wear-them cold. Now that’s cold. See, my wonderful husband (whom I love very much) got me the best Christmas present ever — shiny, new AT boots! I’ve been skiing in boots that are too big, sacrificing coveted control for comfort and when my buckle broke last season, it meant the perfect reason to upgrade. Of course, I wanted to try my new boots right away, but that meant heading out in sub zero temperatures, which is cold in any circumstance, but with super tight new ski boots, it’s unbearable. I thought my feet were going to fall off (thankfully, they did not). In the few turns I did make, it was so much easier to ski. Yay! So I wore them shoveling snow, walking the dog, and ice climbing in Hyalite in an effort to break them in so I can wear them skiing. They are wonderful. I love my boots.
During this deep freeze, you just want to eat comfort food to stay warm and happy. What’s more comforting that breakfast? I love breakfast. It has the best food of all the meals. So we had breakfast dinner the other night consisting of these delicious millet muffins, a frittata — probably the prettiest thing I have ever made — that I unfortunately did not take any pictures of, and (of course) Irish DECAF coffee. Nom nom nom. Continue Reading →
orecchiette salad
I hate when I decide to take some pictures of something delicious that I’m making and as soon as I am ready to go, I find no battery life left in my camera. What?! It’s a mystery where all that energy goes. (I guess not really a mystery but how does it happen so fast?) My life is so hard… HA. So I made some cookies yesterday that I wanted to share, but that recipe will have to wait for another day. Instead, this gave me a good opportunity to post about a meal I made a few weeks ago. I made this a couple days before we left town on vacation to use up some perishables, and so that there was something quick to eat while we were busy getting ready to go.
I used whole wheat orecchiette. The recipe that I followed called for orzo, but I couldn’t find a whole wheat version so orecchiette it was! Orecchiette (I promise this will be the last time I use this word for a while) is Italian for “little ear” because, well, look at the picture and you’ll see why.
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