March 2011

1. Make these meatballs.

2. Then do this workout. It’s what I did today.

3. Cry tomorrow. Your legs will hurt.

4. Order this book. No? Okay, order it for me then. I like to read classics.

5. Wonder what we’re having for dinner tonight. It’s going to be amazing.

 

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Hello lover.

That’s some pretty good lookin’ bacon, don’t you think?

And those pecans up there? They are really special. Extra special, in fact. Want to know why?

They were toasted in bacon grease.

I’m a freak. A bacon loving freak. And this was amazing.

I didn’t even know what to call it. A salad? I guess it’s a form of a salad, but I don’t really like to associate the food I eat with the word “salad.” Because vegetables stink. Plain and simple. Sadly, salad won out in the end.

But I need to tell you about all the deliciousness going on here, especially since I couldn’t fit it in the title: crispy bacon, toasted pecans, sweet strawberries, sauteed spinach and garlic, whole wheat orzo, creamy goat cheese, caramelized onions and fresh basil. So much better than the boring, old salad you expected when you saw the title, right?

 

Yes, I just kept throwing things into the mix. Yes, the flavors were incredible together. Yes, everything was basically sauteed in bacon grease. And no, I didn’t share!

 

P.S. I could live off this.

Warm Strawberry Spinach Salad

serves 2

1/2 cup uncooked whole wheat orzo (or any other grain)

2 slices bacon, chopped

1/4 cup whole pecans

1/2 red onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 cups raw spinach

4 large strawberries, sliced

1 ounce goat cheese, crumbled

fresh basil for garnish

salt and pepper

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add bacon. Fry until golden brown and crispy, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Add pecans and toast for about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally so they do not burn. Remove and drain on a paper towel. In the meantime, boil water for orzo and cook according to directions.

Add sliced red onion to the skillet with a sprinkle of salt and stir to coat with bacon grease. Saute until onions are soft and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add in garlic and spinach and cook until spinach wilts. Add in strawberries and orzo and mix to coat. Season with salt and pepper, then add in pecans and bacon. Remove from heat and stir in crumbled goat cheese. Top with fresh basil to garnish if you’d like. Serve immediately. It tastes good cold too!

The world is a better place with bacon grease. True story.

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Today Was Fun. Not.

March 30, 2011 · 69 comments

Today we spent a million dollars on my (only 3-year old) car unexpectedly.

Well, okay not that much.

Yes, I’m unnecessarily dramatic.

 

But the best part was that I was stranded at my parents all day where I took a 2 hour nap and ate fun things that were laying around that we never have in our house. Then I started to have convulsions since I didn’t have my laptop and my phone died. It was wonderful.

No matter what day or time, the minute I walk into my parents house the first thing I do is look in the fridge. I can’t be the only one. Food tastes so much better at home.

 

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Blueberry Oat Crumble Bars.

Last week I bought blueberries. They were pretty. This week I found them dying in my fridge. Nothing new there. No harm was really done – just a few wrinkles. I wanted to make some sort of granola bar, but with fresh blueberries. I envisioned the berries “popping” like they so often do in pancakes and muffins. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? I thought so too.   So into the bowl went whole wheat flour and oats and cinnamon and brown sugar. All healthy. Especially the brown sugar… remember, since it’s brown? I was left with a delicious, cinnamon scented crumbly bar. A very healthy one too, if you just pretend to skim over that photo above pouring a bowl full of butter into the mix. Details. As you can see, the blueberries popped just like I hoped they would. I was sold on my first bite – it actually tasted like blueberry crumble and blueberry cobbler and blueberry muffins and everything sinfully blueberry flavored. They were so good! I almost ate the entire first row before I photographed them.   While they are delicious warm, they don’t want to stay together at that temperature. If you’d like to eat them [...]

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Dinner Last Night.

Last week, I was just craving a roasted chicken. After the last experience – which wasn’t traumatic, but still a bit freaky – I figured I could handle it. Mr. How Sweet was all in too. Obviously. So I bought it on Sunday and decided last night at 6:30 that I was going to roast it. Yes, that is VERY late to decide something like this. Especially coming from someone who grew up eating dinner at 8:30 pm every night. My family is nocturnal.   But sometimes I lay awake at night dreaming of food, and things like this need to happen immediately when I want them to. Plus, I think the fact that I didn’t have much time to flake out helped. Even though as soon as I opened the chicken, I threw it on the counter and just stared at it for a good 15 minutes. Time was not my friend last night. I shoved this lemon and some garlic where the sun don’t shine. Sorry, chicken. Then I realized that I really didn’t have a roasting pan, because the one I used last time was a little too big. After rummaging around in my house I found [...]

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Crispy Chicken Skewers with Homemade Honey BBQ Sauce.

No more boring chicken meals for you! These skewers are a spinoff of our favorite healthy chicken fingers, and taste quite similar. By skipping a few steps, the skewers can be completed within 45 minutes (or less) and I think we can all agree that eating something off a skewer is much fun than a boring old piece of dry chicken. Easy, quick, delicious… check! Although in case you were wondering, Mr. How Sweet would still eat a piece of boring, old dry chicken for the simple fact that it has the word “chicken” in it in. He’d probably even savor it. I, on the other hand, need a little somethin’ somethin’ with my chicken fingers. Or chicken strips. Or chicken skewers. I love dipping sauces from horseradish to honey mustard to BBQ sauce. The wackier the better. The fancier the better. I mix my sauces while Mr. How Sweet smothers everything in ketchup.   If you’ve never made homemade BBQ sauce, you are missing out. In my opinion, there is nothing like it. Good enough to drink. I’ve been making it long before I ever had a blog. It’s one of my favorite things. So can someone explain the [...]

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The Real Key To A Happy Marriage.

Breathe Right Strips: saving our marriage since 2008.

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Strawberry Mango Basil Salsa.

I have a slight basil obsession going on right now. As you can imagine, it is quite an expensive obsession considering basil is not in season at the moment. But would you expect anything less from me? Plus, the mangos have been on sale for two weeks. Cheap mangos make up for expensive basil. Initially, I was going to make a batch of kiwi mango salsa. But then I started thinking about the strawberries in my fridge and was reminded of how delicious the quick mango salsa that I chopped for the shrimp tacos was. We’ve only eaten those shrimp tacos six times in the last two weeks. No big deal.   The strawberries were calling my name. I couldn’t help it. They just smell so sweet! I’m a bit enamored with strawberries too… in case you didn’t notice. I love the strawberries and basil separately, but right now I can’t get over how delicious they are when combined. They were destined for salsa. The fun part? You can serve this as a layered salsa or mix it up. I chose to mix mine up because I wanted to get a taste of everything with each bite. Which wasn’t hard at [...]

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Smells Like Summer.

Dinner courtesy of Mr. How Sweet. Judging by the pictures, I bet you’d never guess that.

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Refresh.

I just turned this: Into this: I can definitely do my veggies this way. At least there aren’t any beets this time! And this was my first time using strawberries. I might be obsessed.   I feel so good I am going to go clean the bathrooms!   Or lay on the couch.

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