Caramelized Onions

Ok. I am cheating.  This is not really any sort of recipe.  I was just curious.  So I took an thinly-sliced onion, put it in a skillet with some salt, pepper, and olive oil and put the heat on low.  From there, I just took a picture when I started them, and then every ten minutes until I decided they were finished about thirty minutes later.  You start with your eyes watering and end up with DELICIOUS-NESS.

These onions went on a pizza with roasted broccoli (told you we were obsessed), spinach, and cherry tomatoes.  Veggie pizza means it's healthy.....

Ski Bunnies

Hey everyone! I'm kinda keeping up right?!?  Well, we have been a little busy lately.  Stud has finally emerged from the back hole that was his November / December schedule and we have been trying to do as much as we can in his few days off! He worked all the holidays, and I went home. He was working 12 hr shifts and told me he would be more miserable if I was in RI alone, so home I went.  My time home in December was great!! My office is CLOSED for the week between Christmas Day and New Years Day, so it makes it so easy for me to have a nice break home where I can relax.

When I made it back to Providence, the mild winter had ended, but so had Stud's miserable schedule!  We have been able to get out of Providence and go skiing twice this month, both times to Stowe, VT.  Stud has been skiing forever, and I am just getting started, so the more I am out there, the better I am!! I can aaaalmost keep up....on the bunny slopes.  We were able to go with a big group of friends one weekend and then just the two of us the second weekend.

We have recently discovered that there is some pretty good skiing only about an hour from Providence at Wachusett Mountain!  I have been able to get up there once and Stud is heading up soon.  I can't think of a better way to get out and actually be active this winter.  I am hoping we will see the end of the single digit temps soon as well so we will be able to go more often!

I am so glad Stud has been able to enjoy winter, even though I think we have about a million months left of it.  I am ready for the warmth!!!!!

Roasted Broccoli

I love broccoli. It was probably one of only a few veggies I would eat as a child, and then it became the veggie I made myself in college when I wasn't eating Easy Mac. But then....broccoli and I fell out of touch. All due to the fact that Stud HATES broccoli. I was so confused! But since we both need to eat our veggies, I said goodbye to broccoli and we started eating A LOT of salads.

But recently, I've had enough. Broccoli is delicious and Stud is a grown man. He can deal and learn to love it. Plus, I meal plan so he had very little choice! At first he would eat it only if he could smother it in sauce. But now!! I have discovered a way to make him LOVE broccoli just as much as I do and it is pretty much the easiest thing on earth.

He said, and I quote, "green nuggets of heaven."

There is no real recipe here, just chop however much broccoli you want and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and roast in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes until slightly charred. If you want to be super fancy, top with lemon juice or parmesan cheese when they come out of the oven.

I even toss mine with the olive oil etc on the cookie sheet to save a bowl. SO EASY!!

Daily Fluff

I have been a very busy Christmas elf over the past couple weeks, so instead of anything of substance, you get TWO overly adorable photos of Beau and his new bestie, Turner.  He babysits and I'm obsessed.

 

Happy holidays!



 

 

 

 

 

Holiday Season!

Welcome to the holidays!!  I love this time of year, and I feel like I am starting to get into the holiday spirit! It has been oddly warm in Rhode Island (almost 60 today...whattt???), but looks like maybe some winter is coming next week.  Stud and I got our tree up before Thanksgiving, hopefully it survives until Christmas!  He has a TERRIBLE schedule this year, no holidays off, so we started early so he can enjoy the season on his few days off. It was also the last day off we had together until January, so we were one of those weird couples embracing the holiday creep.  We listened to Christmas music for one day then went back to normal until after Thanksgiving...I promise!!

I was able to get home for Thanksgiving, but as I mentioned, poor Stud was stuck here working.  We made some big meals on Monday and Tuesday to last him through the week, Mushroom Lasagna and Bolognese (coming soon!).  So at least I know he was eating well and he had Beau to keep him company.  And I brought him back some gifts and prizes....

I had no idea you could FLY with airplane bottles!!  I crammed as many as I could into one quart size bag, and no questions were asked!  Good to know... I had a great break home, it had been about six months since I had seen my family.  So I did a lot of relaxing, eating, sitting, napping, and eating. As I said, it was nice.  Our Thanksgiving is always a late lunch, and just my family of four (five when Stud can make it), and of course, we need TWO pies for four people.  AND IT WAS ALL AMAZING. I also get to go and see Stud's family for dinner on Thanksgiving, so I get two meals - it's the best. I practice for weeks.  It always so nice to see everyone during the holidays!

EASY Pad Thai

So Stud and I are fans of ethnic food (he much more so than me...there is this Ethiopian place he really wants to try, and I keep switching it back to Pan-Asian), and for him, the spicier the better.  I am always on the lookout for meals we can easily make at home, where the level of spice can be adjusted for each one of us.  We have been making pad thai for a few years now, but it was always such a PROCESS that we hadn't made it in a while.  Then I stumbled upon this super fast recipe on Cup of Jo and decided we had to give it a try. There are some uniquely Asian ingredient on the list, but they are things we tend to have on hand since we make Asian food quite a bit.  I also made some adjustments, because well, we wanted a little more pizzaz and we are down with mega leftovers.

EASY Pad Thai

1 lb rice noodles

1 lb chicken breast, diced

4 eggs

1-2 shallots, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

3 green onions, chopped, white and greens separately

Cilantro (if wanted)

Peanuts (rough chop)

Canola Oil

Lime Juice

Sauce:

1/2 c. chicken stock

4 T brown sugar

6 T fish sauce

2 T soy sauce

1 T Sambal Oelek (can be omitted or increased)

Whisk all the sauce ingredients together and put 3-4 T over the chicken to marinate and set the rest aside.  Then, since this comes together so quickly, I like to get the rest of the ingredients ready, so time for some chopping.  Also, follow the directions on the package of rice noddles - usually involves letting them sit in the hot water for 10-20 minutes depending on the thickness.  Once everything is chopped, add some oil to a large skillet and heat up the oil, and add the chicken.  Cook until there are no obvious pink parts remaining and push to the side of the skillet where it can continue to cook.  Add some more oil if necessary, and add the shallots, garlic, and the whites from the green onions.  Saute for a couple minutes until the shallots begin to soften, then crack in the eggs, breaking the yolks. I like to let them sit and get some brown parts, but up to you, so I let them sit a while, then stir, then let them sit, then stir etc until the eggs are all cooked.  Add in the noodles, sauce, green parts of the green onions, cilantro, and peanuts and stir until the noodles have absorbed all the sauce.  Squeeze the juice from one lime over the pad thai, top with sriracha and enjoy!

Another Year...

Welp, another year has passed and here I am, blogging again.  I am going to try this time...really I am!  I have no more class (haven't for a while now), Stud and I are still eating delicious foods, and we still are learning about our new city - Providence.  So I thought why not.  Stud has actually been cooking ME dinner for the past month or so (maybe I can get him to write some up here again!), he had a relatively easy month, but we are heading into a long winter with his schedule, and I will be doing a lot more of the cooking.  Example - right now.  Stud is working, and I am experimenting with some Black Bean Burgers.  They are in the oven and they smell delicious, but I think I needed to mash the beans more.... Hopefully they don't completely fall apart!

In conclusion, I am back.  Again.  Woot!