Food Obsession (5-12)

I think it's pretty safe to say that Henry loves himself a good taco. Let's face it - a reaction like this makes me think that I am probably the best cook in the history of the world. The universe even.

Recipe found HERE.

Friday Favorites (5-11)

For this Friday's Favorites - a special edition where I get to keep the alliteration going . . .
"Friday FOOD Favorites."

Here goes:

 Holy cannoli - Crio Bru - I love you. If you want to try some - just tell me and I'll invite you over for a sophisticated time where we use the French Press and talk to each other about high brow things such as art and opera. You'll have to wear all black and probably put your hair up in a french chignon to play the part - but trust me - it's worth it. Brewed cocoa beans - delicious.

I do not eat these but the men in my life (Greg and Henry) cannot get enough of Trader Joe's Gorgonzola crackers. The other day when we were looking for them at Trader Joe's - Henry spotted them a mile away and he did his excited kick and grunt to let me know that we needed to buy these - asap. Apparently, they are delicious.

While on a Trader Joe's kick - here are a couple of other things we like to pick up:

 (Gnocchi - it's not as good as Gloria's restaurant - but it's pretty dang good).

My new favorite snack:

You can tell that I like these by the fact that the bag is pretty much empty. Wasabi Flavored Almonds - because even almonds need a little kick sometimes.

I can't say that these things are the healthiest eats on the block - but hey - they are sold at Trader Joe's - so I'm sure they are good for you. Right? Right?

recipe suggestions (2-3)

I love pinterest. There. I said it. I have found so many great recipes thanks to people "pinning" things and then re-pinning them and then finally - me remembering that I pinned them - and actually having the ingredients to try them out.

As part of this year (and since we need to do at least 13 posts a month) - I figured I would try and post some recipe suggestions. You know - not just ones that look good - but ones that I have actually tried and that have actually turned out delicious. We're getting adventurous at the Carlklef household - what with all our quinoa eating and stuff.

I made THIS - and literally - it was to die for good. I substituted raisins for black currants, lessened the amount of oil the recipe calls for and of course, made far too much of it. But I loved it. And I felt healthy with every bite. Sure, all that chopping took me forever and Henry was getting impatient watching me with all the knives -but it was worth it. It turned out fantastic.

Another win this week? I made quinoa enchiladas. With a bunch of substitutions - it turned out awesome. I used greek yogurt instead of sour cream, quinoa as a layer instead of tortillas - and voila - enchilada's. Greg and Henry both LOVED it (and so did I - but I don't want to sound like a pig). Click HERE for the recipe inspiration.

Pair both of these recipes with some delicious diet dr. pepper, diet coke, or water - and you've got yourself a meal for champions.

green smoothie deliciousness

We are in the midst of another round of "Game On" and I hate to say it - but I really think that this might be my round. My turn to win. My team is strong and we are all pretty dedicated to making some changes.  I thought I would document my breakfast of champions . . .

I start out stuffing my vita-mix with spinach from Costco:

(notice the milk in the background of this picture  - nothing but cream for my boyfriend - nothing but)

I then put some fruit in - anything handy - I like these things cold so frozen fruit is good - but I always try and add some fresh stuff. Lately, Bountiful Baskets has been giving us TONS of apples and oranges - so usually I make sure to put those in.
(I LOVE to put in some frozen grapes . . . but alack and alas - I'm out of them right now).

(the fruit weighs down the Spinach but just know there is probably about 3 cups of spinach in this sucker)

I then add some cold water and a splash of almond milk (it looks like more than a splash of almond milk because of the water - really just like a 1/4 cup or less of the almond milk and then as much or as little water as you want)

Mix:

And then pour into mason jars and take to work - and drink with a straw. 

Smoothies with a straw always taste better:

Yes, this is all mine - I don't share it. And for the record - the Mason Jar is really not the most convenient container or anything - but it cleans up so easily that I just can't help myself. 

So maybe we are knee deep in a few *small* fixer-upper projects right now.

I would take a picture of where and how we managed to put all the furniture and other junkety-junk in the garage and other rooms but I'm sure this gives you the idea. Does this make you feel bad when I tell you that this has nothing to do with Constantine's room? But get excited - we even painted that big white wall (don't worry Constantine doesn't mind the lead based paint fumes - he really doesn't).

I must admit - I think I had a slight panic attack when I realized that Constantine could arrive and be pretty much considered full-term in a little more than six weeks. Not that he will - but the fact that he could makes me feel a wee bit terrified. I comforted myself early early early Sunday morning by knitting and watching the award-winning production of "Smokey and the Bandit". Greg was so jealous of my movie choice that last night he had to watch the movie to understand the awesomeness of it all. I am confused at why it was so popular and yet at the same time - I think we are going to fire up Smokey and the Bandit part II later on this week. And the "Eastbound and Down" song is currently at the top of my playlist.

Also - this is Greg's new way to chop onions:

swim goggles - and yes - the house is messy - in prep for the small fixer up project - don't worry about it.

Finally - I tried out a recipe for cornbread squash stuffing - it was delicious. I would be happy to bring a squash WITH the recipe by (I'm full service)  so that you can try out how great it is too. Heaven knows, we are swimming in them. But we did make ourselves a caprese pizza last night using our home grown tomatoes/basil/and mozzarella (alright we bought the mozzarella). It was delicious.

P.S. Anyone want to give me a zucchini? I didn't plant any and I'm jonesing for some zucchini bread.

my new love

I'm just going to admit it. I am in the middle of a love affair with the sensuous sandwich restaurant/deli/fast food joint.

Knowing how much Greg loves sandwiches, when he recommended the place I couldn't help but think, "Oh please just another sandwich place" - but seriously two weeks ago - my life changed - delicious.

That's all.

crime scene

While I would like to believe that I am the best wife ever - I fail miserably in one area. Dinner. It mystifies me. Every night. Invariably, Greg and I just end up fixing our own thing and then eating together. Don't judge - it works for us (or at least it works for me). Anyway. Last night we were dinner desperate. Greg had to hustle on off to scouts (he has on his costume in the below picture) and he needed something to eat.

It was then that I committed a mortal sin . . . I suggested he eat some of the missionaries' leftovers that were innocuously sitting in our fridge (and had been for three days!) The missionaries weren't home to ask so I just heated it up in the microwave and said, "here you go!"

Sure, when a couple of weeks ago an Elder asked to eat some of our food I thought it was rude and weird. But in my defense - our food wasn't just sitting in the common fridge - it was in our private food cupboard that the Elder had (apparently) been rummaging through. I digress. I made Ross steal food from the missionaries. I am going to have to confess. And not just on the blog-o-sphere. 

*the missionaries had some homemade cordon bleu leftover in the fridge courtesy of some people that dropped food off for them since the missionaries were too busy to go to their house to eat . . . I mean - it was just sitting there. And I didn't eat any. So really - Ross is the criminal.

Stuff I love . . . Day 26

Last night I spotted this beauty at the local grocery store:














I was so excited to see this "Heritage" Dr. Pepper. You might not be able to read the label, but the best part is that is says "Made with Real Sugar." That, my friends is a treat. I hope they keep this throwback going for a long time. I quickly purchased the liquid magic so that I could enjoy it with one of my favorite meals:














That's right - you are beholding the Gregwich and Real Sugar Dr. Pepper. Does it get any better? No, it does not. What is a Gregwich? you may ask. Let me drop some GJ knowledge on you. Second only to the Cuban sandwich, the Gregwich is one of my favorite meals in the sandwich genus. The best part is that they are easy to make. Just get a loaf of Garlic bread at the local grocers' and heat as per recommendation. Once it is warm and the butter/garlic is melty, cut a 4-6 inch section of the loaf. Then add ham and chedder cheese (mild is best) before placing your sandwich directly on the oven rack. When it is a little crispy and the cheese is melty - you are ready to enjoy. One cautionary note: not all garlic bread loaves are the same. Fresh Market and Smith's are good. Macey's = nasty. Just so you know.

Now you know . . . and that's half the battle.

i love . . . day 25

Here is some more bathroom/chalkboard wall scribblings. The Medusa makes me um - a little uncomfortable.

These love posts are getting old. I'm going to spice it up. Yesterday I realized that we accidentally bought two bags of red peppers from Costco. Whoops. In an effort to not let anything go to waste - I sliced up and roasted 4 red peppers. I ate 3.5 of them. How's that for spice? (They were delicious).

don't judge

So we still haven't made it to the grocery store. Our fridge and cupboards are barren. However, thanks to a deal where we got Kellogg's cereal for $.67 a box - we are flush with rice krispies, raisin bran, crispix, apple jacks, and corn flakes. Yesterday - breakfast and dinner consisted of this deliciousness. And not having any fresh milk doesn't stop us - we decided to "rotate" our food storage and we opened up some of our powdered milk. That's right - powdered milk - that's how much neither one of us, apparently, wants to go to the grocery store. Is it bad to say that, actually, the powdered milk tastes just fine? (better than Shur Saving milk from "Fresh Market" for sure)

bears beat battlestar gallactica

Check out what we had for dinner last night.

That's right - we boiled some delicious beets. While Dwight Schrute has not served as an example in fashion wear (short sleeved dress shirts - absolutely not) - he has encouraged us to develop a taste for beets. Sure they don't look that delicious - but they were (and don't worry - we peeled them before we ate them).

*bowl courtesy of Tracy

not to gross you out or anything

So I've been pretty proud of myself lately. I planned meals for the week, bought the right groceries (well, of course, Ross did the grocery shopping) and we have been eating some delicious new recipes.

I was reminded, however, of the importance of wearing a hairnet. Greg found this in his leftover lunch this afternoon. There's no denying it - it's my kitty hair. Gross. Good thing I had the lean cuisine instead of the leftovers.

And duh - of course this didn't stop Greg from eating it all.

there's always room for bacon

We're planning our Superbowl feast and thought maybe we'd try this out - the bacon explosion. I mean sure, it is a heart attack on a plate and sure, Ross and I are no longer eating red meat - so the likelihood of us doing this is negative 100. However, you have to admit it looks kind of interesting. Although the Everett's, I'm sure, will find it disgusting.

Breakfast of Champions

Lately, a lot of my friends have been posting some of their favorite recipes. I decided to get on the bandwagon and share one of our favorite recipes which we have been fixing a ton lately.

Breakfast Cereal

3/4 cup (of if you are Greg 2 cups) cereal (lately our favorite has been Life cereal)

1 cup milk (we prefer skim but if my parents buy 1% we'll use it - we aren't snobs)

Pour cereal into a bowl (I prefer a glass one - not plastic or paper), follow by pouring milk into the bowl.

Use one spoon and voila! (I prefer a small spoon - Greg prefers a soup spoon).

*ktc* tip - shove your face and then run out the door to catch the bus.

I wish I could say that we are joking - but this is about the extent of our cooking right now. . . except last night we did heat up some leftovers (previously made by the workhorse) so I guess you could say we are microwave connoisseurs.

Have your cupcake and eat it too

This weekend we went on a cupcake run to Molly's. Holy cow. Decadent. Rich. Delicious.

That's right - so delicious that we even used our precious gas to get these babies. Totally worth it.

Chili's - go ahead and sing it "baby back ribs"

I know that Chili's is supposedly the place where the small business man gets business done. But really-what is the deal with this restaurant? A certain someone's husband (not Ross) who shan't be named but go ahead and try to guess who it is, LOVES Chili's. LOVES IT! He would eat there everyday. I mean Chili's is fine in a pinch when you are in the middle of a road trip and just want some normal, sit-down restaurant that isn't too expensive where you know you can get some good chips. But often (in Provo-the mecca of weird-o dating) people would wait for 1.5 hours to eat at this place. Seriously? 1.5 hours? Chili's is not worth it. Which reminds me--honestly (and this will likely not be a popular thing to say) but you could lump in Applebee's and Olive Garden right in there with Chili's. Fine in a pinch but definitely not worth the wait. You know what chain place is worth a bit of a wait? Sweet Tomatoes.

Kashi Kashi the musical cereal?

I just wanted to perform a public service announcement.

Last week we ate Kashi almost everyday for breakfast. This diet change produced some um strange feelings. Let's put it this way--we did an experiment (one of us ate Kashi the other one didn't) and we discovered that Kashi must have a lot of the same stuff in it that beans do. You know the fun saying, "beans beans the musical fruit, the more you eat---well you get the idea. Needless to say--we have thrown away the rest of the Kashi.

Problem solved.

Check it. Ross is much happier. Much.

Procrastination

We have got to go to the grocery store.

Tomorrow.

Ode to Diet Dr. Pepper

I am trying to blog more. It makes life more exciting . . . the only problem is. . . I don't have much to say. So I will instead create an ode to my favorite "soda" (or "coke" if you are from Texas)---Diet Dr. Pepper. I love this stuff. I also love fruit punch crystal lite (but you can't find it at every dominick's so when you do find it you have to stock up).