Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Loaded Baked Potatoes

    Tonight's dinner will feature my favorite ingredients of all time; butter, garlic, and bacon, the chosen delivery vessel will be an equal favorite, the potato. I have never done what I am doing as we speak however, I am fully confident that it will not go wrong.

    Firstly, I washed some russet baking potatoes and then got out my bacon strips and wrapped them like tatters in a pig blanket. I added some pepper that I had stolen from the breakfast buffet at the hotel and some crushed garlic cloves, thats it.


    Next I wrapped those babies up in some aluminum (British pronunciation) foil nice and tight.

Side note: this looks good enough to tattoo on my body. NOM
   Then I stuck them in the crock pot on high for the next six hours I guess. I super enjoy crock pot cooking because it seems that you just can't mess it up.


     I am going to top these off with crispy bacon, green onions, cheese, butter and yogurt (have to be healthy somewhere).  Also, one more side note, I made a pumpkin cheesecake in the crock pot for Thanksgiving, it turned out great! I cooked it on high for six hours but I think five would have been better. Try it out with any cheesecake recipe you have.

End result after six hours was some tasty caramelized garlic cloves and the entire hotel hallway smelling like garlic. 


OH NOM NOM NOM NOM!

Friday, November 18, 2011

A Holiday Tradition

     This year, like most every year, people will be lining up outside department stores in the early hours of Black Friday. We shoppers will welcome the often cold, horrible weather that comes along with this somewhat unhealthy tradition, choke fatigue with coffee and step on the weak, in hopes to score on AMAZING deals!
    Last year, Ryan and I got everything we wanted and it was all because we had a plan. Carefully coordinating the time the store opened with value of savings and multiplying that by pie, yes I mean pumpkin.
We mapped out the area where the goal was most likely to be and ran straight to it, not stopping for anything, except Pam, we didn't leave her behind.
    This year I hope to do the same thing, we are going to be in Boise so I know the layout pretty well however, I haven't really found what I am looking for in the ads online. It's kind of upsetting because without a target item, I don't know if I will still get the same adrenaline pumping through my veins. Hopefully when the ads come out on Sunday I will find what I am looking for.
    And just what am I looking forward to fighting for if need be? I thought you would never ask...

Harry Potter bluray complete box set 1-8. Problem is, its only out in the UK from what I can make of it. 


Surely you saw this coming, Harry Potter hard back book set 1-7


A cuisinart hand mixer in a funky color or stainless.


And a Les Creuset dutch oven.



     I just have not seen these items in any ads what-so-ever. I guess that I will just be coming along for the ride this year and possibly seeing what amazon.com is doing on Black Friday, they promise movies will be on sale so I am keeping my fingers crossed for the blurays.
     Is anyone else going shopping this year? What's on your list, I would love to know.
 
   Oh and as a side note, all of these gifts are things that both Ryan and I want. I know you might be thinking why would Ryan want a mixer? Well I have a very simple answer to that, cookie dough, cake batter, whipped cream, whipped potatoes, and so much more. It's Ryan's birthday today, I didn't get him anything, not even a home cooked meal, he didn't want to do anything but it looks like we are going to have to go to dinner and someone is going to have to give him a birthday cake anyway...

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Talent

    I had to share this. This video is appropriate for all ages and should be be downloadable on iTunes if it isn't already. Seriously, this lady should get a contract with KFC or maybe Chick-fil-a because I really feel like she has discovered something that should be shared with the world.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Thrift Store Score!!!!

    Today I took a quick trip to the neighborhood community thrift store to look for ugly Christmas sweaters for some family photos I plan on making. I didn't find any sweaters but I did find the books that I have been searching for for a very long time, finally!


I don't even care if its not Mastering the Art, its Julia Child!!!!!!!

Rival cookbook next to my Rival crock pot, this was right next to Julia Child, luck, fait, a miracle? No thrift stores!

This book is perfect for Ryan and me. All the recipes are four servings and sound delicious! 

I want to eat a rainbow!

Past Week

    I am sorry for not keeping this updated for a while. However, I am confident that you will forgive me when I tell you just exactly what I have been up to. About a week ago, Ryan landed in Birmingham and his work told him that he would likely be there for a few weeks, which usually turn into a few months when we are talking about his work so we decided that it was time for me to drive home. I said my short good-byes and started the three day journey to Alabama.

Wyoming


    On the way there I entertained myself with new recipes and dinners I planned on making for our friends when I got there. BUT as soon as I got there we had to leave because one thing you can totally count on Ryan's work to do is exactly what you don't want and what you never expected. It felt like getting a puppy only to find out that your landlord doesn't allow them so you have to give it back to a meany poo face that is totally going to give your puppy a different stupid head name. So we drove the 2,000 miles back to Idaho.



     On the last day there was a snow storm the night before we got to Cheyenne, WY. The mini got a black eye from a road block and just twenty minutes later got stuck in a snow bank on an onramp which ended with a really fun tow cable ride from Big Al's. No one was hurt except I think Ryan was a little heart broken and mad at the snow.
     We spent our first weekend in Idaho up in Boise with Kat. She and Ryan finally got to meet each other for the first time after hearing about one another for over a year, I don't think we ever stopped laughing. First we played with poodles, then we went to Sockeye brewery and took the tour. We proceeded to get tipsy from le tour of 12 or more delicious brews. Next we went to the Piehole for a slice of potato bacon and pesto alfredo pizza. We walked to Urban for some cheap laughs and I drew a picture.

Only public bathrooms downtown.

    We filled a part of our day with grocery shopping in the bulk section at Winco for spices and Kat teasing Ryan about the bees in the honey. Later on we all embarrassed ourselves at a dive of a karaoke bar and then ate away the pain at West Side Drive Through. Nothing heals the pain of embarrassment better than hot mash potatoes. It was a great day.
    At the hotel I have been making dinner in the crock pot every night, basing a lot of my recipes off the what supplies I can take from the morning breakfast downstairs. Surprisingly they really do have a lot of things that come in handy.  The only spices though are tiny salt and pepper packages.




    Since we have been here I have made meatballs and cooked the pasta in the microwave, lemon basel chicken with wild rice and pumpkin soup, it tasted like butternut squash soup.


   I also made a pumpkin pie in the crock pot, well just the filling and then put that in a graham cracker crust but it turned out really good. Today I am making pot roast with red potatoes and carrots. I hope it turns out alright, I don't know anything about cuts of meat except what my grandma told me which is she just buys the cheapest roast and cooks low and slow, works for me, hopefully.





     Since crock pot cooking tends to not need your help, I fill the remainder of my day with projects. I have been down in the hotel office trying to hook up their printer to my computer so I can print off coupons because in order to print off the coupons you have to install a program to your computer which is a little weird but I think its because they keep track of what you print so you don't print a bunch of them. Ryan thinks its because they want to install spy wear on your computer which I am beginning to believe because my computer is slower than it was in Abu Dhabi but that could just be a combination of being on the far end of the hotels modem and cold weather.

     

    Taking matters into my own hands I have decided that it is high time I clean out my computer. I own a macbook and it does some extremely weird things when it comes to saving and organizing. I started in my iTunes yesterday and got through the A's only and had already cleaned off 15Gs of free space. When really all I deleted were songs that didn't play and duplicates of songs. While doing so I rediscovered Against Me!
    Apart from my battles with my computer and printers I also battle with dishes and a small sink that you would expect to find in a bar. I decided to make a reversible apron with all of my scraps to help with the splashing of soapy hot water on my clothes.
I used only really ugly fabrics, as a direct result of this decision this apron will end up being my favorite one. 

     The plan to run everyday has been going really well, we did it once and then Ryan hurt himself on his run and we haven't gone since. We do take the stairs though, three flights of stairs, go us! haha.