Stay Classy, San Diego.

So, here's a funny story.  A month or so ago, I got this email from BlogHer saying that they were doing this promotion with Knorr and asking if I'd be interested in getting some chicken stock samples and making up a recipe using the stock.  Sure, why not?  Hell, we use chicken stock all the time, and worst case scenerio, I have some extra, right?

The recipe was supposed to be entered in this contest with like 200 recipes and then 8 finalists would win a trip to San Diego, where they'd then have some kind of cook-off competition thing and then maybe be selected to represent Knorr in other promotional stuff.  When I told Matt about the whole thing, he said, "Sounds like you're a little out of your league here."  I agreed, but decided that it would be fun to give it a shot.

And so I signed up, got the samples in the mail and was then kind of conflicted about what to make. I decided that it should be simple, basic, and accessible, you know, like a recipe that could go on the package or something.  This was not, I thought, a time to show off my culinary prowess (plus, who really wants to eat chicken stock ice cream, anyway?)  After some hemming and hawing, I decided to make spicy pork carnitas.  So I made them, and here's what they looked like.

But for some reason I wasn't over the moon for the recipe, and I was a little reluctant to submit it.  As the deadline was fast approaching and I was filling my days with other things like Fourth of July festivities and elliptical injuries and general slothfulness, I decided to just go ahead and submit it to fulfill my end of the bargain.

And then a couple of days ago I got an email saying that I am one of the eight finalists and that I'm going to San Diego for the BlogHer conference in a couple of weeks!  Shoot yeah!  I'm still a little bit in shock, and a lot excited, and totally looking forward to visiting the San Diego Zoo.  I'm nervous, too, because I can kind of clam up in situations where I'm expected to perform or to be charming or to meet new people.  But that's what wine's for, right?

And I've totally sized up my competition, and Matt was right--I'm totally out of my league.  But that's cool, because I have a free trip to California and I'm going to meet this guy.

[source]

Oh, and I guess I should share that recipe with you, too, huh?

Here goes it.

Spicy Pork Carnitas

1 ½-2 pounds pork tenderloin

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon crushed red pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 small onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced (with seeds for more spice, without for less)

1 lime, cut into quarter wedges

3 ½ cups Knorr chicken stock, made from concentrate

Directions

1. Rub pork tenderloin on all sides with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Heat olive oil in dutch oven on medium-high.  Brown meat on all sides in dutch oven, then remove.
2. Add onion and cook for three minutes.  Add jalapeno and garlic and cook for another two minutes, or until onion is translucent. 
3. Add Knorr chicken stock to pan, bring to a simmer.
4. Meanwhile, nestle lime wedges into the pork.  Return pork to pan and cover.  Cook on medium-low heat for 90 minutes.
5. When the pork is tender enough, shred with two forks. 

Serve on tortillas with sour cream, shredded lettuce, cheese, and avocado.

Three cheers for zoo fun!  And carnitas!  And all expense paid trips to San Diego!  

Rub a Dub Dub

But no three men in a tub.  Sorry.  This just isn't that kind of website.

Grilling season is in full swing here at M Cubed, and we couldn't be more excited.  Couple that with our new memberships to Sam's Club, and it's even more fun.  Last week we bought approximately 89 pounds of pork chops for like $2.  Matt had been jonesin' to grill some bone-in pork chops, and he wanted to find a marinade and a dry rub.  We started with the dry rub, since it was more Operation: Skinny Unicorn friendly, and we haven't even made it to the marinade yet because the dry rub was so tasty.

Also, next time I get all gripey and complainy about Savannah, remind me that grilling season goes from February to November and that should get me to shut up. 

Okay, okay, so I know you're dying to find out about this dry rub, so here it is.  You need some spices, but nothing too BANANAS!  (The paprika, as you might guess, is also from Sam's.  We're so far over on the dark side it's not even funny.)

Pork Chop Willy's Grilling Rub

Ingredients
3 tablespoons sweet paprika, preferably Spanish
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne

Six to eight 10- to 11-ounce bone-in pork rib chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
Vegetable oil spray


Preparation


At least 1 and up to 8 hours before you plan to grill the pork chops, prepare the dry rub, combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Coat the chops with the spice mixture, place them in a large plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate.
Fire up the grill, bringing the heat to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Remove the chops from the refrigerator and let them sit covered at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Spray the chops with oil and transfer them to the grill. Grill for 18 to 20 minutes total. Turn onto each side twice, rotating the chops a half turn each time to get criss-cross grill marks. The chops are done when just a hint of pink remains at the center. Serve hot.

I should note, too, that we also used this rub on some boneless skinless chicken breasts, and that was really good, too. 

What have you been grilling lately?

Grilled Chicken Wings

Look!  I just got another tool to ward off murderers!

And now I kind of want to be a butcher.

Or a landscaper?*

Anyway, I got this new meat cleaver because we wanted to make grilled chicken wings for dinner.  Truth be told, I wasn't all that jazzed about making grilled chicken wings, but they were going to be the healthier alternative to our fried wings, you know, since I'm on a quest to be less fat.  When we started, I was rather unenthusiastic about the wings (but not the chopping part where I got to use my meat cleaver and make crazy eyes), so much so that I didn't document the process at all.  Fortunately, there wasn't much to document.  Oh, and they're out of control delicious.

So here's what you do.

1.  Chop wings like a psychopath.  Be sure to cut off the tips.  I don't know why, but you're supposed to.
2.  Toss the wings in a large bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, some salt, pepper, and cajun seasoning.
3.  Grill the wings.
4.  Toss them again in a large bowl with sauce. (We used Frank's Buffalo Wing Sauce, but you could use whatever you want.)
5.  Eat.  You will get sauce all over your face and hands, so these are not to be eaten around polite company.

They're easier to make than they are to eat, and I think they taste better than the fried ones.


*I've always secretly wanted to be a landscaper, even though I don't know anything at all about plants.
**Oh, and for those of you who have joined Operation: Skinny Unicorn, it's 10 WW points for 8 wings.

Operation: Skinny Unicorn*

So, as I've mentioned here recently, I am currently so fat that I will soon be wearing tarps as clothing. Also, I'm about three bowls of Homemade Samoa Ice Cream away from exceeding the weight limit for my desk chair. My car is scraping the bottom of the road when I drive, and I'm kind of afraid that it's going to catch fire or something, and then I'll get into a fiery crash.**

And, by the way, I'm not at all confused about why I'm fat. I know that it's because I eat way too much and don't move around enough. Whaaaaaaaaaa? You mean that eating an entire loaf of French bread as a quick snack and then lying on the couch watching Teen Mom II isn't going to make me thin and beautiful? Well, shoot.

So, anyway, it's time to make a change, and I'm motivated to make this change (finally!). On Sunday, when Matt and I were heading to the beach, I was talking to him about how I wanted to join Weight Watchers. And then when I got home I talked to Shecky and she said that she wanted to join with me.

And, in our classic form, because we are ridiculously competitive maniacs, Shecky and I decided that we should make it a contest. So we are competing to see who can lose the most weight (in a healthy, non-crash diet kind of way). The sad thing about this contest is that Shecky and I, what with our tendency to cheat in contests such as these***, have had to lay down a few extra ground rules.

For example, if Shecky (who is prone to illness) gets so sick that she has to go to the hospital and she loses weight because of the sickness, that doesn't count.

Also, I am not allowed to mail her baked goods, or hundreds of Cadbury Cream Eggs.****

Our contest will end on August 1, and the person who has lost the most weight wins. The loser, then, must purchase for the winner a nice pair of shoes that the winner desires.

NOW, if both of us lose 40+ pounds (which would be hard, but is certainly do-able), then we get a much bigger prize which has yet to be determined. Any suggestions?

Don't worry, though. This blog isn't going to transform into some daily record of meals and tenths of pounds lost. And I'm not going to stop making delicious desserts, either. I'll just have to eat smaller bowls of ice cream and fewer cupcakes. You might see some more sorbets and yogurts, but I can assure you that none of them will be made with Splenda or Diet Coke.

So there you have it. My quest to be less fat. Wish me luck! (I really want these.)


*Unicorn because Shecky and I were/are both big fans of the Sweet Valley Twins and High books, and in college we considered ourselves honorary members of the Unicorns because we were basically bullies who loved to wear purple.

**Safety first, people.

***See, also: The Great American Girls v. Boys Keg Race of 2002.

****Foiled!

Lemongrass Chicken

Last year, Matt's aunt and uncle gave us the Williams-Sonoma Savoring Meat and Poultry cookbook.  It's one of those cookbooks that just makes you drool all over yourself while flipping through it, and when we got it we immediately started picking out recipes that we wanted to make.

And then we got lazy and couldn't find some of the ingredients and the cookbook ended up at the bottom of the stack. 

But in the last few weeks, we've rediscovered it, and since our Publix recently pimped out its ethnic food aisle, we decided to give it another whirl.

I'm so happy we did.  So far we've made three recipes from the cookbook, and they've all been really delicious.  And since we're in the middle of gluttonous fattastic month, sometimes it's nice to have a meal that's a little bit lighter.

So I give you Lemongrass Chicken.  It's spicy and it's flavorful and it tastes authentic.  And you'll fight over who gets to eat the leftovers.

Note: After handling jalapenos, refrain from touching your eyes or your face or from wiping your nose (which you should probably be doing anyway if you're making dinner).  I always forget to, and end up with a face afire.

Lemongrass Chicken (adapted from Savoring Meat & Poultry)

Marinade

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Everything Else

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (we used breasts) cut into 3/4 inch cubes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

3 lemongrass stalks, tender midsection only, finely chopped (we used lemongrass paste stuff from the produce section)

1 green jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1/4 cup julienned carrot (we used matchstick carrots from Publix)

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon caramel syrup (below)**

1/4 cup chicken stock or water

Directions

1.  To make the marinade, in a large bowl, stir together the garlic, fish sauce, sugar, cornstarch, pepper, and the 1 tablespoon of begetable oil.  Mix well.  Add the chicken, toss to coat evenly, and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

2.  Preheat a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.  When the pan is hot, add the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and swirl to coat the pan.  When the oil is hot, add the garlic, shallots, and lemongrass and stir-fry slowly until they turn a light gold and the shallots smell sweet, 3-5 minutes.

3.  Add the chicken with its marinade, the chile, bell pepper, and carrot and stir-fry until the chicken turns opaque and feels firm to the touch, 3-4 minutes.

4.  Add the fish sauce and caramel syrup and stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked, about 1 minute longer.  The sauce will be sticky, so add the chicken stock or water to dilute it, mixing well.  There should be only a little gravy left in the bottom of the pan.

5.  Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and serve immediately.

**Caramel Syrup.  To make the caramel syrup, in a small saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil over high heat; do not stir.  Swirl the pan to help dissolve the sugar clinging to the pan sides.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes.  When the syrup turns a deep brown, remove from the heat and slowly pour in 1/4 cup hot water.  Return the pan to medium-high heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the caramel dissolves and is thick and syrupy, 3-5 minutes.  Stir in 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  Let cool, then store in a jar in a cool, dark place.  Makes 3/4 cup.

Mandy's Famous Peach Sorbet

Now, I'm not sure if this is more of a sorbet or a granita, so we could be looking at Mandy's Famous Peach Granita here.  Does anyone know?

One of the best things about living in Georgia is the peaches.  (Oh, you thought I was going to say "boastful ignorance"?  No, that's actually one of the worst things about living in Georgia.)  Duh, right?  I know, I know.  But seriously, the peaches are out of control.  And there's this little florist/produce stand not far from our house that Ann told me about where they sell the best peaches for $1/pound.  Mmmmmmmmmmmm.  Last year we tried grilling peaches (um, delicious!), and this year I'm making frozen peach treats.

This is what I made yesterday.  I'm trying to cut down on the amount of sugar that I put in these desserts, while still making something tasty and refreshing.  Since these peaches were already so sweet and packed with flavor, I put in only a tiny bit of sugar.  Success!  It's a little sweet and a little tart, and it's light and refreshing--perfect for these hot, hot, hot summer days.

Mandy's Famous Peach Sorbet/Granita

6-8 peaches, peeled and sliced
1-2 teaspoons of sugar
juice from one lemon

1.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Allow to sit for 30-60 minutes to juicify.  (Isn't there a word for that?)
2. Puree ingredients in a food processor.
3.  Put in ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions. 
4.  Place sorbet/granita in freezer to solidify.

Mandy's Famous Blackberry Sorbet

I'm at it again.  I guess that without the internet, there's just not that much to do around the house other than to make sorbet.  That, and I'm addicted to frozen treats.

This one's good.  I personally like the raspberry a little better, but that's because I like raspberries more than I like blackberries. 

And what's even more fun is that the blackberries are such a deep red color that they look like blood, and I like to pretend that I'm eating humans a la Tara and Eggs in season two of True Blood.

So here it is.

 Mandy's Famous Blackberry Sorbet (famous because I invented the recipe, which I almost never do, because I lack originality.  I think it's because my parents sent me to Baptist school when I was a kid.)

 Ingredients

24 ounces of blackberries (I used fresh, but you could use frozen if you let them thaw first)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Juice from 3 lemons

1. In a small saucepan, boil the half cup of water. When the water is boiling, add the half cup of sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.



2. Meanwhile, puree blackberries and lemon juice in a food processor.


3. In a large bowl, combine the blackberry puree with the simple syrup. Chill in refrigerator for 2-4 hours.


4. Place mixture in ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.


5. You can enjoy the sorbet immediately, or freeze it to achieve a more solid texture.
 
Happy Friday eating to you!

Mandy's Famous Raspberry Sorbet

It's no secret that I've gone a little apeshit with my ice cream maker.  I've made a lot of really great stuff, and some not as great stuff.  After making three types of sorbet, I decided that it was high time that I invent my own recipe.  I mean, I'd been reading other peoples' recipes, and decided that I could do it better.

And I did.

Because this might just be the best recipe in the history of the world.  Like of all time.  Like, I've had to muster up all of my self-control to keep from eating all of it. 

The good news is that I could eat all of it, and it probably wouldn't be all that bad for me. 

Even Matt likes it, and he's not a fan of the fruity.

So here it is, a recipe for raspberry sorbet that I don't have to attribute to anyone but myself.  (Seriously, it's only like the second thing I've ever made without a recipe.  Guess I'm not all that original, huh?)

Raspberry Sorbet (from Mandy's brain)


12 oz fresh raspberries (could use frozen, too, but you'd need to let them thaw first)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
juice from one lemon


1. In a small saucepan, boil the half cup of water. When the water is boiling, add the half cup of sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, puree raspberries and lemon juice in a food processor.
3. In a large bowl, combine the raspberry puree with the simple syrup. Chill in refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
4. Place mixture in ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer's instructions.
5. You can enjoy the sorbet immediately, or freeze it to achieve a more solid texture.

I'm sure, too, that you could double this recipe with no problem.

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet

I'm a grapefruit fiend.  As a teenager, I remember hearing that grapefruit would speed up my metabolism and make me skinny, and wishing that to be true because I would eat grapefruit--like four at a time--for entire meals.  (Did I ever mention that my mom wasn't so much into "the cooking"?)  And when I lived in Florida, we had our own ruby red grapefruit tree.  Our friends, though, had an enormous, so-big-that-if-it-fell-your-house-would-be-a-goner pink grapefruit tree, and it had the best grapefruit--sweet and juicy and a little bit tart.  When the fruit would ripen, my dad would go over to their house with clothesbaskets to take some of the fruit off of their hands, and he and I would together eat them all.  This is probably a reason that we didn't have a problem with scurvy in our household.

And my obsession has continued.  One of my favorite lunches at school is just two grapefruit, and I peel them and eat them like oranges.  I always end up dripping juice down my face, and getting it all over my desk, and I usually close the door while I feed, because it's just not ladylike. 

The second I begin to feel even the slightest bit of sickness, I run to the store for a big jug of Simply Grapefruit, and I drink it all, in about an hour in a half, from a wine glass.  That, my friends, is ladylike.

[source]

Nothing's more fun than combining obsessions, so you can imagine my delight when Cassie told me about a recipe for Pink Grapefruit Sorbet in a recent issue of Cooking Light.  A marriage between my favorite citrus obsession and my ice cream maker?  Yes, please.

And it's really good, and really smooth, and really grapefruity, and really refreshing.

So, if you're a fan of the grapefruit as I am, or if you're trying to fight off a cold or scurvy, or if you find yourself sweating like a whore in church during this heat wave, I'd suggest whipping up a batch of this sorbet.

Pink Grapefruit Sorbet, from Cooking Light
Ingredients
3 cups fresh pink grapefruit juice (about 4 grapefruits), divided  (I just used the Simply Grapefruit juice)
3/4 cup sugar


Preparation
1. Combine 1/2 cup grapefruit juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently.


2. Combine the sugar mixture and the remaining 2 1/2 cups grapefruit juice in a medium bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled.


3. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice-cream freezer, and freeze the mixture according to manufacturer's instructions. Spoon the sorbet into a freezer-safe container; cover and freeze for 1 hour or until the sorbet is firm.

And did I mention that it's from Cooking Light?  So maybe grapefruit will make me skinny? 

Thai Chicken Pasta

Matt and I are on a quest to learn how to cook good, at least somewhat healthy Asian food. Hopefully, this way we won't have to drop $40 on lunch at Saigon every Sunday (And with the money we save, I'm getting myself an ice cream maker!).

So a couple of weeks back, we tackled this recipe for Thai Chicken Pasta on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen blog.  It was pretty good.  I think I liked the dish a little bit more than Matt did because I'm more a fan of vinegar than he is, but we were really enjoyed the food. 

What I really liked, though, was that Matt did most of the cooking after I did the chopping.  And I love the faces Matt makes while he's cooking. 

Thai Chicken Pasta


Ingredients
⅓ cups Creamy Peanut Butter
⅓ cups Honey
⅓ cups Low Sodium Soy Sauce
1-½ Tablespoon Chili-garlic Paste (We couldn't find this at the store, so we used a chili-garlic sauce)
15-½ Tablespoons Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
16 ounces, weight Linguine
5 Tablespoons Toasted Sesame Oil, Divided
2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
10 whole Green Onions. Chopped And Divided
5 whole Garlic Cloves, Minced
1 Tablespoon Fresh Ginger, Minced
1 cup Finely Grated Carrot
2 cups Mung Bean Sprouts

Preparation Instructions
In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, chili garlic paste and rice vinegar. Set aside.


Prepare pasta to al dente, drain and toss with 3 tablespoons sesame oil in a large bowl. Set aside.


Cut chicken into thin slices. In a hot pan, heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil and cook chicken completely. Remove chicken from the pan.


Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and cook 8 of the chopped green onions, garlic and ginger until softened. Pour in the sauce and simmer for about 1 minute on medium-low heat.


Toss sauce, pasta, chicken, carrots and mung beans together until well combined. Garnish with remaining green onions and serve.


You can also garnish this with a handful of peanuts.

Hey, who only has seven days left of school?  This girl!

Ba-Gock!

Onomatopoeias are the most fun.

Okay, so Matt, Mitch, and I are bigtime chicken eaters.  It's really kind of ridiculous, but since we're not so much fans of the seafood, and we try not to eat too much red meat, it works for us.  Usually we stick to the boneless skinless breast (because we're lame), and we go apeshit every time we find them on sale.  You should see our freezer right now.  There are like two hundred chickens in there.  Ba-gock!

Here are two awesome chicken recipes that we've made recently.  They're pretty low-cal, and they're f'ing delicious. 

1.  Lemon and Rosemary Chicken from The Bitten Word.  Delicious, delicious.  Juicy and bold and awesome all around.  Just make sure you're in good company, because you'll be picking this apart with your fingers to make sure you get every last piece.

2. Garlic-Marinated Chicken Cutlets with Grilled Potatoes by my best good friend Martha.  There's a reason we're friends (well, about two million), and this is one of them.  The marinade is so easy, and everything gets cooked on the grill, which means that Matt does most of the work.  Hells yeah!

We've been trying to eat better, and these chicken recipes are a good start.

So why is it that I can't stop thinking about this cereal and how I just want to shove handfuls of it into my face. 

And in other exciting news, it's birthday week.  Birthday week!  Birthday week!  (It's also birthday week for three of our readers that I know of, so happy birthday week to you ladies: Christina, Ann, and Carly!)

This is the last birthday of my youth, so I plan to celebrate and celebrate and then celebrate some more.

Go, Kentucky!  Mandy needs a new pair of shoes!

What do you eat for lunch?

As I've mentioned previously, I'm back to healthy eating. Around these parts, "healthy eating" does not mean that any particular food is forbidden per se, but that I try to be moderate and balanced, and to eat the number of calories I can to lose two pounds a week. The funny thing is that I actually really like to eat healthy food--I just eat about four times the amount that a human should. This girl's got an appetite!

Healthy eating is hardest for me at lunchtime (and on vacation, but I have just had to decide that vacation doesn't count). I have neither a refrigerator nor a microwave in my classroom, so I'm limited in what I can prepare at school. Plus, my school has a Papa John's pizza line, the bane of my existence (especially for someone who was a Ninja Turtle in a past life). That damned line tortures me. WHY MUST THE GREASY PIZZA TASTE SO GOOD??? (About 500 calories in one slice--and not even 500 calories of good for me stuff.)

So I try to resist. Sometimes I fail. I've failed twice this week.

Also, my planning period is from 11:30-1:30, which means that, if I want to, I can easily hop in my car and head to Wendy's, and then hog down some fast food. A delicious Spicy Chicken Sandwich (About 400 calories for the sandwich, or 900 calories if I opt for the combo meal)or two delicious Spicy Chicken Go Wraps (640 calories for two). I wish I didn't love them so.

Obviously these two choices are shitty because of the high calories and the high sodium and the fact that I just threw down $7 for a sandwich and some crappy fries. (I could make a whole pot of carbonara for $7!)

So I need to eat better when I'm at school. An ideal lunch needs to be: tasty, low sodium, high protein, high fiber, under 500 calories, and something I won't tire of too quickly. (And even if I had a freezer/refrigerator I wouldn't go near Lean Cuisine-type meals. Every time I've eaten one of those I've been disappointed, and remained hungry.) Here's what I've got.

1. Banana and granola bars. Yeah, it's good for me and all, but it's. . .LAME! I hate the days where this is what I eat, and when I come home from school I usually find myself diving face first into a box of cheddar jack Cheez-Its.

2. Peanut butter and jelly. Not too bad, pretty filling. But super high in sodium, and a lot of calories for a silly sandwich. Hell, for that many calories and that much sodium I might as well be eating a Spicy Chicken Sandwich.

3. Spinach Salad. Spinach, dried cranberries, almonds, sometimes feta. Pretty good, not too much time for preparation. I like it when I'm eating it, but I hate the thought of eating it. Plus, if I put in the feta the salad is like 520 calories, and it just doesn't seem worth that.

Here are my two newest ideas:

4. Cheese and crackers. High in calories, but f'ing delicious. Plus, if I'm taking it to school I will have already portioned it, so I won't inhale an entire block of cheddar in a matter of minutes. But this isn't the healthiest of meals, and I'll probably be starving when I get home.

4. Hummus and veggies. Since I have a great hummus recipe, I can make craploads of it for cheap. Hummus is a little high in calories, but also loaded with good stuff. I had this for lunch today and, even though I only consumed about 300 calories, was surprisingly full. I'm thinking this one could be a winner because it'd be easy to make hummus on Sundays and then portion it out for the week. And if I'm feeling particularly frisky I can even throw in some delicious crackers.



So, what do you eat for lunch? I'm looking for ideas here!

The Glass Is Half-full of Cashew Chicken.

I love my life. It needs to be said more often.

I love how I am getting better at my job, and how shitty days at work (like today) are much less shitty than the shitty days of yesteryear.

I love that I have a Target five minutes from my house.

I love that I have a cuddly, amazing dog. If you haven't figured it out, I am obsessed with the dog.

I love that I have a not-as-cuddly, yet just as amazing husband. I don't want to gush too much or become like someone that I would hate and judge, but you should know that I might be even more obsessed with Matt than I am with Mitch.

And I love that, after a shitty day at work, I can go to Target and then come home and take a family snuggle nap with said dog and said husband.

And then I can wake up and talk to an old friend on the phone, discuss our shitty days and how much we hate the public at large.

And then Matt and I can cook dinner while watching crappy television. Hello, American Idol! (Go Brad Pitt looking guy, Andrew Garcia, and Todrick!)

And I love that we have learned to cook.

And I loved our dinner tonight. And I loved that I ate an obscene amount of it and it was only 750 calories.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm, cashew chicken.

There's basmatti under there. Mmmmmmmmmm, carbohydrates. . .

Cashew Chicken
from Everyday Food (September 2009)

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons dry sherry (or cooking wine, or leave out)
2 tsp. minced, peeled, fresh ginger (we used 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger)
3 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
coarse salt
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2/3 cup unsalted cashews, toasted
2 green onions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced

Directions

In a medium bowl, toss chicken with sherry, ginger, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch; season with salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes. In another bowl, combine broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and 2 teaspoons cornstarch. Set sauce aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add half the chicken and cook until golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a covered plate. Add 1 teaspoon oil to skillet and cook remaining chicken (reduce heat if chicken is over-browning). Transfer to plate.

To same skillet, add 1 teaspoon oil, garlic, cashews, and green onion whites. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic begins to soften, about 30 seconds. Whisk sauce and add to skillet along with chicken. Cook until sauce thickens, about 30 seconds. Top with green onion greens and serve with rice or noodles.

Serves 4. (Serves three if you're fatties like us.)

To read more about it, check out The Bitten Word's (new favorite food blog) post on it. Their review of the recipe mirrored what Matt and I talked about, eerily so even. But after reading their post I feel like I would be plagiarizing if I went into more detail.

Reincarnation and Meatball Pizza

Part I

I've narrowed it down. In my past life I was either 1.) a cat, or 2.) a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

I say cat because my lifestyle is very similar to a cat's (a housecat, not any kind of jungle running creature, unless, of course, I've been drinking and there's tall grass around. But that's a story for another time.).


Think about it. I hate almost everybody, I sleep all day. I rarely bathe and I meow pretty frequently. Well, maybe that's where it ends. I can't jump high. And I can't get my nails that sharp, either. Hmph.


But, last summer when I attempted to make homemade bread for the first time (an epic failure!), and the recipe said that I needed to knead the dough, I did it exactly how I'd seen my cats do it in the past. I may have even purred. Later, when I was troubleshooting why my bread-baking endeavor had been such a failure, I asked Cassie how she kneads dough. Dummy me, though, first showed her how I did it--movements that mimicked how my old cat Elvis used to seduce my Alf doll. (Also a story for another time.) Apparently, I was way off with my kneading methods. Also, apparently you're not supposed to purr whilst kneading bread dough. Who knew?

If I wasn't a cat, I was likely a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle in my past life. I say this because 1.) I can kick really high, 2.) I'm dynamite with nunchakus, and 3.) I could eat pizza all day every day for the rest of my life.

Part II

Yesterday, after doing a brief inventory of the pantry and refrigerator (It's almost grocery shopping time, so we're running low on just about everything), I got a bug up my ass that I was going to make meatball pizza. (Matt scoffed, by the way, and the face he made when I told him said that he was "less than enthusiastic.") He wasn't a skeptic for long; let's just put it that way. With the help of Food Network Magazine, Cassie, and Paul Newman, we had ourselves a tasty, tasty dinner.

Whisk flour and salt in a big bowl.

I just don't understand yeast. The word itself grosses me out. But I had to put a well in my flour mixture and then add warm water and yeast, and then wait for the yeast to foam.

When, after a few minutes, it looked like this, I decided that it was GTG.

And then I added the oil and a bunch of pizza seasoning.

And I took to kneading. It was wet and sticky, and I couldn't get any pictures of the process because my hands were completely covered in dough. But I ended up with this, a ball of dough that then had to sit for an hour and a half to expand. It doubled in size! (Just like me when I stopped waiting tables and started teaching!)

While waiting for the dough to rise, I made up some turkey meatballs. Pretty simple, much more lean than ground beef, and you won't need to grab a handful of Tums after eating them.

While waiting (I mean, it's going to be another hour and a half or so before the pizza's ready), I recommend snacking on some Sour Patch Kids. Just try not to eat so many that the sour sugar eats away your tastebuds. (When I was 16--and let's be honest, several times after that--I ate a pound of Sour Patch Kids, so many that my tongue was bleeding. My tongue was completely raw for the better part of a week. What the hell is wrong with me?)

I can't even look at Sour Patch Kids without salivating. PS--Mitch likes them, too.

But back to meatballs, and pizza. Pioneer Woman suggested putting the tray of meatballs into the freezer before browning them so that they would stay together better, a I'll be damned if she wasn't right. Oh, Pioneer Woman. . .

I browned the meatballs in a dutch oven with Newman's Own Five Cheese tomato sauce. Mmmmmmmmmmmm, meatballs. . .

At this point it's a good idea to invite over your friend Cassie who's the best cook you know in real life, and who makes pizza once a week, to help you.

Roll out the dough. (Or have Cassie do it.)

And put it on giant pizza pan (15" diameter--$4 at Target!). Or have Cassie do it.

Brush with olive oil.

The meatballs will look something like this, by the way.

Cassie tip: put very thinly sliced onions UNDERNEATH the sauce. She says it makes them sweeter and more delicious. I concur.

Add freshly shredded mozzarella. (Cheese tastes better when you shred it yourself.)

Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the crust starts to brown, and then add sliced meatballs, and maybe a little parmesan if you're feeling frisky.

And then bake for another 5-10 minutes, until it's a beautiful golden brown and you just can't wait any longer.

And then bask in the glory of your success.

Meatball Pizza!

Dough:

3 3/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 packet yeast

1 1/3 cups warm water

3 tablespoons olive oil

Meatballs: (all estimates--I think they're different every time I make them)

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic

1 egg

parmesan cheese

cracker crumbs, bread crumbs, whatever

kosher salt

black pepper

crushed red pepper

thyme

basil

You'll also need some pizza sauce--homemade or store-bought or whatever you want--and some cheese. I used a block of mozzarella, but I imagine that you could use fresh mozzarella and it would be pretty awesome.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dough: (Adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Whisk flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well and add the water, sugar, and yeast. When that becomes foamy, mix in three tablespoons olive oil and some tasty seasonings, and knead until smooth, about five minutes. Brush with olive oil and cover in a bowl; let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.

Meatballs:

Mash everything together with your hands. Roll into balls. Put in freezer for 5-10 minutes. Heat up pan (I used a dutch oven) and add some oil, brown the meatballs. Add some sauce, cover, and cook on medium, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or so.

The culmination:

Roll out dough to fit pan. (You could actually make two pizzas with this amount of dough, but we went with one giant one.) Brush with olive oil. Add sauce and cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes. While that's baking, slice up meatballs. Remove pizza from oven, add meatballs. Bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Then take lots of pictures and email them to your friends just to make them jealous.