The One Not About Food...

I've been putting off posting to just have the last week overr with. To tell you the truth, it was hell for me. Just when things were beginning to look up, it all came crashing down again. It was very trying and stressful for me. And it was everything too...
-My job started it all... First of all, I work M-F and should not recieve emails from my boss (who knows that I have a Blackberry) on Saturday afternoon regarding sales numbers. I won't go into details, but what was written was something that should have been discussed in person and some was completely off base. I think it's about to time to move on...
-School is just stressful. Enough said.
-Life with the boy was made even more complicated by the fact that both of us are stressed with work and stuff. We've been nitpicking at each other, to the point I honestly thought that we were done.
-Stress wreaks havoc on my body and especially my head, giving me killer migraines that I cannot do anything about. I had one everyday basically, and they just killed my plans to work out or do anything else productive. I cannot do anything that gets my heart pumping when I have a migraine because I feel like my head will explode.

Argghh... It's good to get it out and hopefully my week coming up will be better and have better food involved in it too...

Managing Life and a Pizza

Veggie PIzza, originally uploaded by scarlettvr.

I made this one last week and just never wrote about it, school and work keeps me busy! I'm only a week into school and I'm already bombarded by papers due and the stress of my books still not arriving on time. I love that it's WAY cheaper to buy your books online, but even when you pay for expedited shipping, it still takes over a week to get here. I hate being behind on my reading. Ah the joys of being a student.

Anyway, on to the pizza! 

I used a recipe (forgot where I found, sorry guys!) that was supposed to make a 12in crust and just made two smaller pizzas out of it. I made homemade pizza sauce and just cut up a bunch of veggies. I also browned up some turkey italian sausage for the boy and went at it. I think mine ended up with lots of sauce (coz I like it saucy) onions, zucchini, broccoli and some italian blend cheese. Threw it in a 500 degree oven for about 10 minutes and it was done... It turned out so good, and I even had half left over for lunch the next day. I will totally make this again, and I will find the dough recipe and post it!

Egg "Cupcakes"

Egg "Cupcake"
Originally uploaded by scarlettvr

So school has officially started, and it's a little bittersweet because I had my last "first" day as an undergrad. It's only taken me SIX years to get to this point. Oh well, I guess that's what I get for working full time and going to school. I'm excited about this year though, I actually have some interesting classes, well interesting to me at least. Most people I know think that I am weird for making History my major.

But on an unrelated note...
I came up with these "cupcakes" on Sunday when J was hungry but all I had was little bit of everything, not enough of anything to make a full meal out of it. So I used the last of my eggs and stuff to make these cupcakes. J LOVED them and requested that I make these again.

I used 4 eggs, a slice of bread, some leftover turkey lunchmeat and some shredded cheddar. Put the bread and turkey on the bottom, added scrambled eggs ( pour slowly because it takes a minute for the egg to settle in all the nooks and crannies) and topped it with cheese. Baked them at 350 for 18 minutes and they were done. This made about 4 because I way overfilled one and lost quite a bit of egg.

One thing I learned though is that I won't use paper liners again, they stick to the "cake" WAY too much for my liking. It was like losing half the cake and the meat and bread stuck really badly to them. So I'll just grease the pan well and do it that way. The bread will probably get crispier that way and that would make it even tastier.

Why...

Red Robin why must you taunt me with your commercials with tasty looking burgers and fries? More importantly, why are you doing it 10 minutes before I leave for the gym? It's so much more appealing to go to Red Robin than to sweat my ass off...

ETA...
So I'm on vacation this week, which means that I SHOULD be exempt from doing any work activities right? Ok, so out of the kindness of my own heart, I went to drop off an order form for one of my stores yesterday, despite feeling like poo and wanting to sleep. I knew it had to be done because the order would not ship in time. But now they want me to go back tomorrow and do more... I would like to mention that the job that I am doing isn't even mine... Not going to happen at all...

Overnight Rolls...

Cinnamon Rolls
Originally uploaded by scarlettvr

So, I've decided that I need to start blogging again, as I've been baking and cooking like crazy and taking pictures, but really have nowhere to put them except on my Flickr account. It's much more fun to post about them here.

J and I have a ritual of going to Barnes and Noble for date night and read magazines, food for me and cars for him. Unfortunately, that night we had to go through the food court which of course has the ever mesmerizing. I had to all but drag J away from there, as that was all he wanted and all he talked about all night. I made a deal with him, instead of buying one of those gut bombs that are oh so tasty but horrible for you, I'd make him some instead. He readily agreed, as he prefers my cooking to most resturaunts. But after all of our stops, including a stop at Starbucks to watch the cruisers, it was pretty late.
Luckily, I found a good recipe on allrecipes.com that allowed me to make them the night before (well, a couple hours before) and refrigerate them. They turned out so yummy, even better with cream cheese frosting. Plus they were super easy to make and I like that I can make them the night before and pull them out a half hour before baking them.

CLONE OF A CINNABON
from allrecipes.com

1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon ( I used more like 2 tablespoons)
1/3 cup butter, softened
(I also added a teaspoon of nutmeg)

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS
-Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select dough cycle; press Start.
After the dough has doubled in size turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. ( I do not have a bread machine, I just mixed them together like I would bread and they came out fine.) In a small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.
-Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Cover. ( At this point, I put them in the fridge)
-Pull your rolls out 30 minutes before baking. Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for 22-25 minutes.
-Make frosting and cover while still warm.

Spring Fever

DSC00340
Originally uploaded by scarlettvr

I don't know if it's the up and downs of the weather or what... But it seems as if people are just becoming meaner and inconsiderate. I know that I'm not too overly sensitive to it, it's one of those things that has to just roll off your back. Besides... The more people talk bad about you, the more pathetic and jealous they look, and hey, (as my friend Lauren says) it makes you famous. Ok, not really, but it's a good way to think. I just think people are sick of the crappy weather and are taking out on everyone else.

But food related... I made Shepard's Pie. It was yummy. And I had to listen to J constantly repeat "I've got shepard's pie in my knickers" for days before and after.

It was good, I just made a couple substitutions though. I don't eat red meat, so it was made with ground turkey breast, and I added some onion, carrots, celery, corn and mushrooms to it. It was topped with mashed garlic Yukon Gold potatoes. This was the first time I used Yukons and they were mighty delicious, so much so, I just bought a five pound bag of them.

Ahh To be Young Again

DSC00482
Originally uploaded by scarlettvr

I want to be one again... You get your own cake for your birthday and you get to smash it around and get dirty. It got much messier than this but I didn't get anymore pictures. Her cake was amazing... White cake with a strawberry filling and an almond flavored frosting. It was good.

Welcome Spring...

Err or not... It's such a wonderful thing to wake up to the second day of Spring to find out that you'll be recieving a foot or more of snow. What a shame, especially since it was almost 50 yesterday. I wish that this snow would just be over with, I'm getting tired of it...

But anyway, I've decided that Friday has become a night of Italian food. J is all excited because he's getting lasagna tonight (which I will post pics etc later). But last week Friday was definitely the feast of the month. It was a friend of ours birthday and he decided that we should go to dinner at Joey Buono's in downtown Milwaukee. Oh my goodness, was the food amazing and huge. We did the "Pizza Party" for a group of people, meaning 2 appetizers, 2 salads, 2 pizzas and 2 desserts. It doesnt sound like a ton, especially when there are 7 guys and me there, but we ended up taking a lot home. The appetizers were all right, fried ravoli and mozzeralla (I'm not super keen on fried foods) and the salads were amazing. Despite the fact that someone decided that we needed to get four plates of Ceasar salad, instead of exploring, they were very good, and I'm not a fan of Ceaser.
Pizza was typical toppings, but we got a deep dish and a thin crust....
This was oh so good, amazing sauce and a really flaky butter crust.

Dessert was really good too. Tiramisu (my favorite) was literally a loaf to be shared...


Seriously, if you are in Milwaukee and looking for a good Italian place, Joey Buono's is the way to go. They do more than just pizza, they have pasta etc. too, and everything is served family style so you get what you pay for...

(photos courtesy of the joeybuonos.com)

Wherefor Art Thou?

I know, I know, I haven't updated in a long time... I know, I negelected this for too long. School has been busy, lots of papers and tests... Ahhh, the joys of being a History Major. Work has been kinda busy. We really only do two big promotions in the year, Lent and Christmas. So it's been busy, but it has been a fight. The economy has certainly taken it's toll on the business, let's face it, cookies and candy aren't exactly neccessary buys. But that slowness has allowed me to explore more in my culinary exploits, which benefits me and J, which I know he appreciates.

A couple weeks ago, J and I took a road trip to about 2 hours away to Appleton to check out a car. J has a hobby of taking cars apart and using/selling parts for extra income. Well, needless to say this car was no going anywhere without his help. Yea, I know both of us are crazy but it's a good investment...

But we did go to lunch at the mall up there, and that's where I got the idea for this recipe. I love Chinese food, but wasn't feeling the crappy food court type that day, so I decided that was what were going to have for dinner that night, including us making our own dumplings. We happened to stop at a different grocery store than I normally shop at, and they just happened to have a pre-chopped chinese cabbage, with carrots, celery, pea pods and bok choy. I totally used this for the dumplings and dinner. 

For the dumplings, I browned up some ground turkey breast and let it cool. I chopped up about half of the bag of the vegetables, added some grated onion and garlic, about a 1/2 tsp of ginger and chinese five spice, a 1/4 tsp of cayenne, a splash of soy, juice of half a lime and some stir fry sauce and put it in the middle of the wonton wrappers. I only put a little more than a teaspoon of filling in, don't overfill or they won't stay together.


Used some egg wash to close them up. I didn't have a steamer, so I just used my colander and a pot with some simmering water and the lid and used that. It worked perfectly, but just remember to use something like Pam before you put the dumplings in to cook, or else they will not come out in one piece. I learned that one the hard way. But they turned out really well, J could not stop eating them...


Hmm... I have some more of those wrappers in my freezer, I should find another use for them soon...

What a Day...

Well today was the beginning of a new semester of school. It was an interesting beginning to say the least. Thanks to the 13+ inches of snow last night, today's commute was definitely not a fun one. It took me three times longer than normal to get to school, which made me 20 minutes late for my first class, but thankfully it wasn't a big deal since we didn't do anything. It's the beginning of the end for me, leaving hopefully only one more year left, thank god. It's not that I don't enjoy school, it's that it isn't what I really want to do, it's something that I have to do. I was going to go to Le Cordon Bleu for culinary arts about a year and half ago and was forbidden to do so. Yes, I could still have went, but I wouldn't have any funding or aid, which is no fun. What I want to do is either run my own grocery store or a small cafe. Since I was young, I've always been enchanted with grocery stores and the products on the shelves. Once I discovered specialty stores, it was it, I was head over heels. I guess that's why I've worked in these kinds of stores since I was 15. It doesn't matter how long I spend in the stores at work, I can always go back to one that night... Yes I have a problem... I think that I might belong in Grocery Stores Annonomyus. At least J understands, he loves them too. Our best dates often end in grocery stores, haha.
Well leaving you with that note, I'll leave with this recipe. It's an easy meal thats really good, and you don't have to go any farther than your local store.
Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli
1 lb. short cut pasta ( I really like whole wheat penne)
1/2 lb. italian sausage ( Turkey or pork works)
1 head of brocoli
1 clove garlic
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 c. chicken broth
Parmesean cheese for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions. In the last 3 or 4 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli. Meanwhile, brown the sausage in a large skillet until it is no longer pink. Drain. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add chicken broth, crushed red pepper, cooked pasta and brocooli. Toss to combine, top with the cheese.

This is so easy and tasty, and is good even as leftovers.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

So yesterday was the NFC championship game, and living in Wisconsin, not watching that game with your "home" team in it would be a sin. Of course, such a game calls for a party, meaning good food, and honestly that's all I really care about. So J and I made our way to his dad and stepmom's house, who always makes sure there is plenty of food.

It was the typical Sunday football spread: chips, salsa, veggies and dip, hot ham and rolls, potatoes etc. Perhaps the best things in my eyes on the table were two things that were complete opposites. Chocolate covered mini creampuffs ( yes I'm sure they were bought, but they were oh so good!) and this dip that J's brother in law makes. It's so simple, yet I have yet to ever make it (probably because I have been putting of buying a crock pot, wierd I know). It's good with crackers, bread, tortilla chips, pretty much anything...

Cheesy Sausage Dip
2 lbs. of Bob Evans Zesty Sausage (any kind of sausage will work here, just make sure it's the spicy kind)
2 packages of cream cheese
2 -16oz. Rotel tomatoes with chilies

Brown the sausage in a skillet. Drain. Combine the browned sausage, cream cheese and tomatoes with their juice in a crockpot on low until melted.

Mmmm...


Seriously, really easy and really good. Well, the Packers didn't win the game, but I did with all the good food.