Welcome to 2011

So I haven't posted in a little while, not because I wasn't cooking and eating and such, but I think I was just getting a little mopey and tired of being alone in my place and didn't want my blog to turn into a massive whining session :-) But today I am back at work, I have meetings scheduled with professors this week to get ready for classes, and school starts again on Monday! I am actually super excited about this because I feel like the semester is just filled with creative stuff happening. First semester back was to kind of ease into the habit of being a full time student again, this semester is to blow the lid off!! *Insert Rocky or Karate Kid theme song here*

No pictures today, although I have been cooking. But my potato salmon chowder while delicious, is remarkably unphotogenic. I also made a smoked salmon and roasted broccoli quiche that I sliced up and froze, and a chicken enchilada casserole with beans, chicken, diced green chilies, corn tortillas, tomatos, cheese and frozen fajita veggies (sliced bell peppers and onions basically). My freezer is just about at bursting point! I am almost done using all the ingredients in the freezer, so now I am just making more room for additional stuff I need to freeze. I REALLY hope my new roommate isn't much of a freezer user for at least the first couple weeks until I start to clear stuff out (Sorry Ethan!). But on the bright side, I think I have counted somewhere between 30-40 servings of food packaged and frozen in 1-2 portion sizes and ready to keep me eating healthy and cheap for the next 5 weeks of rehearsals.

I also made a list of New Years goals - not resolutions because that term carries to much of a loaded ideal behind it that if you make a mistake you have failed and you might as well just quit. But I made a list of 11 goals I would like to strive for in 2011 to help me with my health, fitness and financial well being

11 in '11:

1. Eat out no more than 3 meals a week - Financially I can budget for this, and being realistic on my time issues this allows for some wiggle room
2. Exercise at least 3 days a week - I have made a fitness plan for the first 30 days and then can reevaluate after that
3. Write in my journal daily, even if it is just a sentence - I got this inspiration from the Own Your Beauty project, journaling makes me feel so much better throughout the day
4. Become more skilled at my tarot readings - I have been doing tarot off and on for 11 years and I find it a great meditation tool, but I want to learn more and get more intuitive
5. Attend at least 1 support group meeting a week (in person or online)
6. Create a realistic budget and stick to it - I signed up for Mint.com and created a budget and activated my savings account again. Learning to live within my means!
7. Put some money in savings every month - Even if it is $5, I want to get in the habit of saving money so I have a little cushion when unexpected things come up
8. Set up an Etsy shop for my knitting/crochet - This is one I am going to tackle later in the year. I love knitting and crocheting and I think I could find a niche with my felted bags that would make a little extra money and give me another creative outlet.
9. Wash my face every night - Form the habit for healthier skin while I am still relatively young
10. Do laundry every 2 weeks - I get busy and tend to put this off for a month since I have to take my clothes to a laundromat and then it takes me 4 hours to get EVERYTHING done.
11. Work a professional theatre summer job - My first chance to really break into my chosen profession and get a taste of what it it like. This was my plan anyway, but putting it down means I can't make excuses and work in an office instead.

I think these are realistic goals that combined will help continue to move me forward in my quest for a healthier, well rounded life. I don't like the idea of wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch every New Year. I feel like it should just be continuing to build on the foundation you have already laid. Cheers to a healthy 2011!

The Troll Under the Table

That would be my dog…this is prett much her standard position while I eat anything.  Primed in position for if (when?) I drop food so she can oh so kindly keep my floor clean…so selfless is this one

I continued on my bulk cooking journey today.  I had been letting my chicken stock simmer overnight in the crockpot with the bones, the juices and white wine I cooked the chicken in originally, and a bunch of frozen veggie trimmings I have had in my freezer.  I added water up to the top, some fresh cracked pepper and 4 bay leaves and just let it simmer on down.  I was rewarded with flat out, no joke, no lie, no foolin’, the best chicken stock I have ever made!  Didn’t even need extra salt.  Just got strained and went straight into a pot for soup.  Dark, rich, delicious, I was eating spoonfuls straight from the pan.  I added a bag of frozen gumbo veggies (I love okra…don’t judge me!) about 1/3 of the chicken I stripped from the carcass yesterday, and some cooked Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains Blend.

I decided to go with this instead of noodles because I knew it would be stored for later, and whenever I store chicken noodle soup the noodles suck up all the broth and end up sort of gooey and stew-like instead of soup.  Plus the broth drips off the end of the noodles and onto my boobs and stains my shirts…the curse of being well endowed!

Well, needless to say it turned into probably the tastiest chicken soup I have ever had let alone made.  I broke my unwritten rule of storing everything I am cooking and had a bowl for lunch along with a couple of pieces of my homemade bread and butter.

Best cold weather lunch ever…the end…no arguments! 

I am about 1/2 way through my list of cooking now and feeling good about getting everything done before school starts.  I can’t wait to crack open the smoked salmon my mom sent me for Christmas and use that for a couple of recipes.  I am thinking, smoked salmon quiche, smoked salmon chowder, and…….?  I could probably get 3 recipes out of this giant piece of salmon!! Or I might just grab a fork…I have been known to do that too

Something else I did last night, went through my old clothes that are too stained to wear or just don’t fit right and cut them up for rags and towels.  These towels used to be a sweater and a tank top.  My bathroom towel used to be a polo shirt in a color of red that just was never flattering on me.  I also made 2 headbands out of the waist band pieces I cut from each of these sweaters.  And they look pretty adorable if I do say so myself.  Glad to be reusing things and they are cuter than towels I would have bought at Wally World anyway!

And just to end…I got up to go to the bathroom and someone was SO KIND as to steal my spot keep my place warm for me.  Such a giver this one is.  Good thing she is cute and easily forgivable!

Lentil-rific

So I made my curried lentils today.  Such an easy recipe, crazy cheap, and so incredibly tasty! 

Let’s see, I used a little less than a bag of lentils so say $1 for that, a large can of crushed tomatoes so another $1 for that, 1/2 bag of brown rice so $0.50 for that, some negligible amount of spices but we will just say another $0.50 for all of the curry powder, cumin and red peppers, and a full bag of frozen spinach so another $1.25 for that.  so for around $4.25 I made 8 full servings of curried lentils with brown rice for my freezer making it just a little over $0.50 per serving.  Compare that to a $7 meal at Subway, or even a $5 meal at Panda Express…healthier, tastier, more filling, and 10% of the cost.  I would say this gets a big YES from me!

I will give as much of a recipe as I can considering I just kind of wing it as I go and you can too!

Curried Lentils and Brown Rice -

• 3 cups dried lentils
• 2 cups dry brown rice (yield approx. 8 cups cooked)
• 1 large (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 large bag frozen chopped spinach
• approx. 2 Tb. curry powder (to taste)
• approx. 1 Tb. cumin (to taste)
• approx. 1 tsp. crushed red pepper (to taste)
• approx. 1 tsp. salt (to taste)
• 1/8 cup lemon juice (to taste)

1. Cook the brown rice according to package directions and set aside
2. Rinse the lentils and place in a large saucepan with 6-8 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender.  When fully cooked, drain.
3. Add crushed tomatoes, spinach and seasonings into the cooked lentils.  Mix well and taste, adjusting seasonings as desired.
4. Serve 1 cup brown rice w/ 1 cup lentil mixture. 
5. That’s it!



All packed in individual containers for my lunching ease

Seriously, is anything easier?  And I love lentils because you don’t have to soak them like you do beans.  Tons of protein, super healthy, but you don’t have to think as far in advance.  If you like other veggies than the spinach go for it, you could probably sauté up some onions and garlic to add and it would be fabulous too, but this is what I made and it is really delicious and totally vegan.

Marked so I remember what it is tucked back in my freezer!

Made 8 servings, 8 meals I will not have to buy from school – I think I need more tupperware!

And just for fun, the loaf of bread I just pulled out of the oven.  I think it turned out as one of the nicest loaves I have made!

EXTREME bulk cooking!

I am a lady with a plan.  The first month of next semester is going to be straight up insanity.  I am stage managing the first show which begins rehearsals on January 9th and closing night is February 12th.  So we will be rehearsing 6 days a week, until 10:30pm every night with about 1 hour for dinner break between classes ending and rehearsal starting to come home, take care of doggie, get dinner, and get back to the theatre.  My goal is to cook, portion, and freeze enough food that I don’t have to cook for the entire month other than baking a fresh loaf of bread on the weekends for the upcoming week.

With that goal in mind, when I went to the store last week I stocked up on ingredients that could be used for a ton of different recipes and different types of foods.  If I do all Mexican flavors or all Italian or all soups I get bored fast.  Variety is key!  I also wanted to cover breakfast, lunch and dinners.  Breakfast 2 days I week I will be at home for and 3 days a week will be at work so I needed something that could be portable and easy to grab and again, wouldn’t mean eating the same thing every damn day.  With lunch away from a microwave 2 days a week I will probably make some things on my day off that don’t have to be reheated, like pasta salad or peanut butter sandwiches.  But I hope to get a small soup thermos too so that I can take soup and bread and don’t have to reheat it.  We shall see.

Anyway – here is my list of everything I am planning on cooking and storing in the next 1-2 weeks

• Breakfast:
• granola
• yogurt
• breakfast burritos
• cranberry pumpkin muffins
• instant oatmeal (my own mixture)
• Lunch/Dinner:
• Roast Chicken
• Smoked salmon quiche
• salmon patties
• baked pasta w/ chicken sausage
• curried lentils and rice
• salmon potato chowder
• chicken noodle and veggie soup
• chili
• chicken enchilada casserole
• brown rice
• multi grain pilaf
• split pea soup
• ???  If I have leftover ingredients I will turn them into something!!

Cooking at this moment is this roast chicken in the crockpot, which when done will be eaten some plain, some in the chicken enchilada casserole, and the carcass boiled down for broth to make the chicken noodle soup. 

I love roasting chickens in the crockpot, they get so ridiculously falling off the bones tender and when you are done stripping the carcass, just toss it back in the crockpot with the juices and a bunch of water and veggies and turn it back on overnight for extremely easy chicken stock!

Seasoned with a blend of sea salt, Italian herbs, and TJ’s Everyday Seasoning.  A quartered onion on the bottom, garlic rubbed under the skin, drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice and maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of white wine and that’s it! DELICIOUS!

Also cooking is a pot of veggie chili and a pot of brown rice.  I also plan on cooking up some curried lentils tonight so I can package it in single servings with the rice.  And if I am feeling particularly ambitious I might tackle the baked pasta this evening too.  If not I will pick it up again with a few projects tomorrow!

Wish me luck in my totally insane bulk cooking endeavor and if anyone has any great ideas for make ahead, no heat lunches let me know.

A Snowed in Christmas

Well – although I enjoyed reading about everyone’s wonderful, warm, family holidays.  I sadly spent Christmas alone with my baby girl of the canine persuasion.  I was supposed to go over to have dinner with a group of friends, but when I woke up this was all I saw outside my window! 

And 24 hours later it is STILL snowing!  Yay mountains.

So it meant that no one was coming in and no one was heading out and I was snowed in at home alone.  Well, with an extremely snuggly dog who we discovered is afraid of snowmen! 

Save me from the evil snow minions mommy!

I ended up continuing to watch my Christmas movie marathon, sorted laundry, did some mending, sewed buttons on some knit bags I had made awhile ago, and chatted with my mom about 4 times on the phone.  No big Christmas dinner for me.  I ended up reheating some split pea soup and playing World of Warcraft. 

My Elmer Fudd hat from my mom – dorky, yes…but it will keep my ears warm on the bike!

All I can say is, as much as I love having my personal time and as much as I love spending time with my dog, next year I am going to make a point to be with family or friends in some way.  Holidays alone just aren’t my favorite thing in the world. 

Nerys hopes everyone had a Merry Christmas

Christmas Eve Knitting

I just wanted to share the headband that I have been working on today.  I have made it about 1/2 way through my Christmas Movie list (with a pause to watch The Shining on a Netflix date with a friend in Delaware…hey, it takes place during the winter!)

While I have been watching I have also been knit knit knitting away.  I like to knit to keep my hands and brain active so I don’t just turn into total movie couch slug.  I will share pictures of what I knit for my family for Christmas gifts soon – I just don’t wnt to share TOO soon on the off chance that one of them reads my blog before they open their gifts!

So here it is, unveiled, my Christmas headband specially designed to be lovely and cabled and to also keep my ears nice and toasty warm when I take the poochie out on walks.  I’m not sure if the pictures do it justice, but it really is a gorgeous, rich shade of cranberry red!  And done just in time to be Merry Christmas to me  

I hope everyone else is having a wonderful, merry, and warm holidays no matter where you may be, what you are celebrating, or who you are sharing it with!

Peace ~Tina

Christmas Movie OVERLOAD!!

So since I am hanging out at home by myself this holiday (Well, with the cutest dog ever as company at least) I decided to go CRAZY on the Christmas spirit by getting as many Christmas movies as possible to watch over the next 2 days.  I made myself wait until today to start watching them too

Here is the list of movies that I shall be partaking in over the next 48 hours:

1. A Muppet Christmas Carol
2. Scrooged
3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (animated AND live action)
4. White Christmas
5. Nightmare Before Christmas
6. Holiday Inn
7. It’s A Wonderful Life
8. Love Actually
9. Bad Santa
10. A Christmas Story
11. Elf
12. Polar Express
13. Serendipity
14. The Shop Around the Corner

First up on the holiday movie marathon

So in other words…MOVIES!! Add some hot chocolate, knitting, homemade split pea soup from last night, and a nice walk with the doggie later this afternoon and I am set  

I may go over to some friend’s for Christmas Dinner tomorrow if I can get a ride (because the hunk of junk vehicle is broken again) so I will probably make a pan of cinnamon almond monkey bread tomorrow morning.  If it turns out I will share the recipe!  I also made a big pot of split pea soup with pork chops last night that turned out just delicious.  No picture because really, is anything less attractive to photograph than split pea soup??  But take my word for it, awesome.  The secret ingredient was a dash of cinnamon – added a wonderful depth and brought out the flavor of the pork.

Nerys says Merry Christmas

She is happy just to cuddle her bottle until she is ready to shred it into little plastic pieces