La' Fhe'ile Pa'draig Sona Daoibh!

I decided not to wait until tomorrow to enjoy the wondrous foods of the Isle.  Tomorrow night will be delicious Corned Beef and Cabbage - yes I do really like it!!  I cook it in the crock-pot on low for 12 hours, so I will be getting up extra early for Sunday to get it started - but it will be so worth it.  But more about that tomorrow.  Tonight is another fabulous meal and one  my daughter thinks sounds weird.  It's Toad-in-the-Hole.  A classic English meal that I am giving an Mick twist to by using Irish bangers. I served it with roasted carrots and potatoes.

Roasted vegetables Barefoot Contessa style!  Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper on a sheet pan.  Trust me there is nothing better than roasted veggies!

Now onto the Toad-in-the-Hole.  Basically T.I.T.H. is bangers in Yorkshire pudding.  A batter of milk, eggs, and butter; just like Popovers.

While the batter rests, brown the bangers in just a wee bit of olive oil.

Warm the casserole pan in the oven while it is heating up.  Place the hot bangers in the pan and then pour over the pudding mix.

Cook for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and puffy!

Add a side of pub mustard........And then eat and enjoy!

• • 1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
  • 1 scant teaspoon Kosher salt
  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1 1/2 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 lb of bangers (an English sausage made with pork and breadcrumbs), or good quality pork or beef sausage links (in casings) 
   
• 1 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour with the salt and a pinch of pepper. Make a well in the center of the flour. Pour in the eggs, milk, and melted butter into the well and whisk into the flour until smooth. Cover and let stand 30 minutes.
• 2 Coat the bottom and sides of an 8x12 or 9x9 casserole dish with vegetable oil (we use high smoke point grapeseed or canola oil). Place a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Put the empty dish on the rack. Preheat the oven with the dish in it to 425°F.
• 3 While the oven is coming to temperature, heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a skillet on medium high. Add the sausages and brown them on at least a couple sides.
• 4 When the sausages have browned, and the dish in the oven hot, pull the oven rack out a bit, put the sausages in the casserole dish, and pour the batter over the sausages. Cook for about 20-30 minutes or until the batter is risen and golden.
• Serve at once.
   
  

Homemade Laundry Detergent

In my quest to be more healthy, I have also decided to do it externally as well.  A lot of this comes from my having migraines from strong scents.  It used to be just bleach, but sadly now it has expanded to all sorts and detergents and perfumes. 

I found this great recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent on Pinterest (have I ever told you how much I love Pinterest?)  Anyway I made the detergent and it works great.  I spent about a little more this go around as I got the 2 gallon glass jar ($10 at Wal-Mart) and then another $3 on the 2 Tbs. scoop from Sur La Table.  Now the recipe says that you can use between 1-2 Tbs per load.  I have done a small load using the 1 Tbs and a larger load with the 2 Tbs.  Both seem  to work fine.

Now does it really work you ask?  Here is a picture of my daughter's white leggings.  Yes they are suppose to be white, however the school's blacktop is not so friendly towards her clothing as you can see.

I washed them in a normal load and it helped a little, but then I decided to try and soak them in the detergent.  Here is how they came out.  Not perfect by any means, but about 85% better than they were before!!

The recipe is super easy, the only challenge I had was finding the ingredients.  I had to get most of them at Wal-mart (and I hate shopping there), but they carried all the items.  I did go to 3 other stores and finally gave in and went there.

Check out the author's blog.  She has some real great stuff on there - and I do recommend the detergent.  She made it and said it lasted her about 9 months.
 http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html#comments

Give it a try and let me know if it works for you too!

One of those great books I was telling you about...

Here is one of the book I was telling you about yesterday.  I found my copy at Costco for $16.99, but Amazon has it as well.  Here is the link http://www.amazon.com/The-Americas-Test-Kitchen-Cookbook/dp/193649308X

The reason I got this book and love it, is that it is all about making stuff yourself such as:

• Greek Yogurt
• Almond Butter
• Feta Cheese
• Mexican Chorizo
• Marinated Artichokes
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Graham Crackers

and for you Nutella fans......Chocolate Hazelnut Spread!

The quest for eating healthy isn't just about weight loss, it is about eating better food and knowing what is going into my body.  That is why I like a book like this one.  I can make these staples myself and know exactly what is in them.  I can cut out the unnecessary preservatives, chemicals and fillers.  Let's take Pickle Relish for example:  In d.i.y. cookbook there is nothing in the recipe other than vegetables and seasonings.  However in the bottle from the store the 2nd ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup followed by 6 chemical junk and food colorings.  Now I know that the argument is that the preservatives are necessary for shelf life, blah blah blah.  But I can use the simple canning method and the relish will store in sealed jars for 1 year.  Funny note: the expiration date on the store bottle is also 1 year away!  And even better the d.i.y. cookbook's recipe make 4 - 1 cup jars.  Even better - I will save money by making it myself as opposed to purchasing it in the store.  Canning jars and tools are a small investment and I can use them over and over again.

I never understood why people are so scared to try canning.  I always have people say "isn't that hard" or "that's so much work".  Both are myths.  This is my method for water bath canning.  I have the water at a full boil and here I can dip the jars and lids in to sterilize them (another easy way is to run them through the dishwasher - and take them out when they are hot).  This is the same water they get put back into to seal the jars.  Most water bath processing time is about 15-20 minutes.  Then the jars come out, sit on a towel or rack on the counter until cooled to room temperature, and then I put a label on them.  Done Son!  Canning jars and tools are a small investment and I can use them over and over again.  I have learned to put small labels on the lids, so I don't have to deal with scraping labels off jars.  The lid cannot be reused - but don't toss the ring (unless you used a butter knife handle to pound it open like my mom always did - then it isn't' any good any more).

I encourage you to give canning a try.  Start small.  A nice berry jam perhaps.  Take a beautiful afternoon trip to your local Farmer's Market, get yourself some lovely organic berries and come home and can them into a wonderful jam.  Trust me, once you try fresh homemade jam, you won't be able to stand the super sweetened version from the grocery store.  And get the kids in on it.  They will love making jams with you - just like I did with my grandmother as a young girl and as my daughter does today!

And if you have a great recipe you want to share - go for it!  And check out d.i.y. cookbook, it is really cool!

Happy Cooking!

Well I am embarrassed to see that it has been 2 years since I have been on my blog!  How lame is that?!!

A lot has changed in those two years, we have moved to OC (yeah my home town area), with that came new jobs, a new school for our daughter, and much more!  I will say that we do miss San Diego - I mean who wouldn't right?  However, being back in my native land is just wonderful too!  And I can't even tell you how close I live to Disneyland again!!

The bad part is that I got WAY off track on my weight loss and eating healthy plan.  It isn't an easy job let me tell you!  It is so much easier to give into the fast food and the quick fix dinners with busy schedules to juggle!  But I do have to be honest with myself and say THOSE ARE JUST EXCUSES!!  Sadly I have put the weight back on and am at 139 pounds!  So sad and so lame! 

Now I am back and serious about turning this all back around.  I have my menu planned and heading to the grocery store.  I will tell you that I have added some great tools to my repertoire.... a Vitamix, a great app called Pepperplate (http://www.pepperplate.com/), a couple handy books:  d.i.y.cookbook by America's Test Kitchen and The Doctor's Book of Food Remedies by Selene Yeager and the Editors of Prevention.

Pepperplate is a great tool.  You start it up on your PC, but then you can link it to your tablet's and phone.  I have it on my iPhone and my NOOK.  With it you can import recipes from all kinds of food site (ie Food Network, Martha Stewart, and so on), you can input your own recipes, and you can create menu's and grocery lists.  I used it for Christmas dinner for my first trial run.  I put the whole day in starting with my Grandmother's famous pancakes all the way to the turkey dinner.  I changed the portions on the recipes to fit my small family and then added it all onto the grocery list.  Now it doesn't just list it for you, it breaks it down into departments within the store!!  Finally an app that is freaky anal as I am!!  Seriously, I highly recommend it! 

Well I am glad to be back, and hope you come back too and get some enjoyment out of my ramblings!  See you soon!

KC

Success has been made

Okay, so I am terrible and haven't blogged for months.  My job takes a great deal of time now and when I get home all my devotion is to my family.  That aside I am happy to tell you that the "Cook Yourself Thin" theory really works.  I have dropped a dress size in the 6 weeks time and although I have not stayed on the diet in the past couple of months, I haven't gained anything back either. 

I haven't reached my 120 pounds yet, right now I am at 125 - but I did got down from a 6 to 8 to a size 4!  So that is really awesome.  I have also been able to buy size small again too.  So even though I still have my 5 pounds to go, I am really happy what I have accomplished.  Oh and I did buy a swimsuit!  LOL

I will start the diet back up again to tackle those other 5 pounds, and who knows maybe I will drop more than that!   

Getting ready for week 4

So I am down to 126 pounds.  My scale tried to taunt me with 125, but then changed it to 126.  Well that is fine!

I got a new cookbook this weekend on the recommendation of my friend Val.  It is Rocco DiSpirito's Now Eat This.  He takes recipes that are really popular and re-invents them into reasonable calories.  It is amazing how much he can take them down too.  Plus there are recipes that I wouldn't think I could ever have when calorie counting; like Creme Brulee!  He took it from the original 562 calories to just 116!  The one that really got me was the Shrimp Pad Thai (one of my most favorite dishes) from the original of 2,090 calories down to 291 calories!!  Yes you read that right!  This Friday night we are making his Burgers.  He took the idea of a Big Mac and changed it around (which is fine by me), but what I find most intriguing is that he puts Baba Ghanoush on it!  How fabulous does that sound!  I can't wait!

I will let you know how they turn out!

Trying to get life back on track

Man being sick and being the main chef in the house - just doesn't go well.  I didn't deviate from the calorie count and diet, but I didn't hold real true to my menu for the week either.  Thank goodness the Sloppy Joes made some good leftovers!

Last night we made the White Roasted Mushroom Pizza from Cook Yourself Thin Faster  and it was okay.  The flavor was really rather bland and we sat there thinking up ways to enhance it!  LOL  Tonight will be the Spring Rolls and Noodle Salad again.  I love those Spring Rolls!  And the sauce is killer!

I have most of the menu ready for next week, but haven't shopped for it yet, so that messes up tomorrow a little bit.  I better get in the kitchen and start working on dinner.