Productivity

Happy President's Day!

Let's wrap up since last post:

Thursday: was still a snow day. For dinner, we had giant salads (yum! green things!), the husband's topped with leftover chicken with a side of cornbread. Mine was just veggies, with chicken and melted cheese toasts on the side. Or was that Wednesday? We also had toasted chicken & cheese sandwiches sometime last week.

Friday: back to work for me. Dinner was mild Italian chicken sausage sandwiches with slaw.

Saturday: I had some sort of stomach bug, so I had plain white rice. Husband ordered a pizza from the Italian Pizza Kitchen with sausage and kalamata olives. I snuck a bite (or ten). It was delicious.

Sunday: pan-fried potatoes with onions, garlic, mild Italian chicken sausage, and chard.

Today, I took a trip (via Metro, since the car is entombed in snow) to Whole Foods and Giant to pick up a few things. Then, I bade a big pot of black beans in the oven and a veggie florentine lasagna to get ready for Lent. We've decided to go vegetarian for Lent, which starts on Wednesday.

Black Beans:

1/2 small onion, finely diced

3-4 garlic cloves, smashed

1lb dry black beans

saute 1/2 a small onion and a few smashed garlic cloves in a large pot

pick over the beans, removing any stones or broken beans

add beans to the pot and add water to about 1 inch over the level of the beans

cover the pot and place in a 325 degree oven for about an hour and a half. check after an hour or so and see if you need to add more water.

Tonight, I'm making seared scallops with creamy spinach risotto. Pictures to come!

Vegetarian Lasagna recipe coming on Wednesday!

Barbecue Chicken Nachos

There's this concession stand in the Verizon Center that serves barbecue chicken nachos.  They are messy and delicious.  Since we had leftover pulled chicken and queso from the Super Bowl, we decided to recreate them.  They were messy and delicious.  And probably something that should NOT become part of the regular rotation around here, despite how tasty they are.

Tortilla chips, black beans, barbecue chicken, onion, queso (Velveeta and Rotel), salsa, sour cream.

Snowmageddon and Snoverkill (or Snowfecta, if you prefer)

Well, after 25" of snow Friday-Saturday we are set to get another 10-16" tonight. Federal Government (and thus, the entire city of DC) closed early Friday and has been closed Monday and Tuesday. Here's how we've been spending our time:

-knitting

-reading

-playing Wii fit

-watching bad tv and movies.

We've been eating well, though! We might be a little too well-stocked for the storm. There's no way I'm getting through this storm without gaining a good 5 pounds.

Saturday: freshly baked pumpkin bread with pecans, chicken sandwiches for dinner, leftover cornbread and pinto beans.

Sunday: our Super Bowl party of 7 turned into 2 so we've had lots of food! Pulled chicken sandwiches, potato chips, veggies and dip, chips and queso (Rotel dip), chocolate chip bars, and chocolate brownies, and of course, beer.

Monday: Our Super Bowl guests spent the night because Metro was so slow, so we started the day with pumpkin bread, cheesy ranch scrambled eggs, and bacon, with a game of Blockus on the side. Monday night we made arepas and stuffed them with some of the leftover pulled chicken. Chocolate chip ice cream on brownies for dessert.

Today, Tuesday, I think we'll be eating lots of leftovers. I made a big salad for lunch - the anti-brownie.

Week ending with: Snowmageddon!

Monday: turkey and swiss sandwiches with Utz sour cream and onion chips.

Tuesday: fried brown rice with onion, carrots, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, and frozen broccoli, tossed with sauce of chili paste, tamari, and fish sauce. Topped with a fried egg. Condiments of gomasio, kimchi, and sesame oil.

Wednesday: nachos! Tortilla chips topped with canned black beans, shredded Mexican blend cheese, onion, and cherry tomatoes.

Thursday: gluten free pizza from Lilit Cafe! Chicken, red peppers, onions, and green olives.

Friday: pinto beans (cooked earlier, from the freezer), prepared with onions, garlic, and bacon, served with Bob's Red Mill cornbread mix, to which we added shredded cheese, green onions, and jalapeno.

On tap for the weekend: cooking chicken for pulled chicken sandwiches, caramel-pretzel-peanut brownies, chocolate chip cookie bars, and pumpkin quick bread. I may make another batch of black beans too. And 20-30" of snow. Hooray for snowy, productive weekends!

For Future Reference

gluten-free chocolate-chip bars made without xanthan gum will be crumbly. Delicious, but crumbly. Still good in a bowl with vanilla ice cream.

Snow Day!!

I love waking up to snow! In celebration of the snow, we started the day with chocolate chip pancakes.

Some of us had peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes:

Yum!

After a long, busy day of chores, we had a quick and delicious supper of "Wisconsin Mac & Cheese" from the Bon Appetit recipe-a-day calendar. Trader Joe's frozen green beans on the side. Delicious! And probably dangerous to have a 10-minute stovetop mac & cheese recipe in the arsenal.

Made with Sam Mills corn pasta (elbow macaroni), gluten free all-purpose flour (no xanthan gum), and 2% milk.

Tomato Soup and Grilled Turkey & Cheese Sandwiches

This is a great dinner that we make quite often, especially in the winter. It's warm, comforting, and we can each make our sandwich to our own tastes. And it helps that the husband doesn't have to eat gluten free bread.

V-8 Herbed Tomato Soup. Purchased with a coupon, this tasted a bit like minestrone. You could definitely taste all the other vegetables in it. Decent, but not something I would probably buy again.

Sandwiches of deli turkey and swiss cheese with onion, mayo, and mustard.

Eaten while watching District 9.