Speaking of…
- Entertainment Weekly told me (and me – personally – you know) that Matched by Ally Condie could be the next Hunger Games. It’s another dystopian YA series that has already been sold for film rights even though it doesn’t hit shelves until tomorrow. While I truly loved 80% of the Hunger Games series, the last 1/3rd of the last book kinda rubbed me wrong (another entry for another day) so I’m not jumping on this recommendation with rabid excitement, but I will be reading it as soon as I finish my current book club book. Just wanted to share the YA news with you guys since so many of you are also YA fans.
- Speaking of reading…between my book club and the Kindle my husband bought me for our anniversary, I have read more in the last month than I have in the last year. While I was hesitant to jump on the e-reader bandwagon due to my love of simply holding books, the Kindle has made reading much more convenient. No matter what I’m reading, how big the book is, how many books I’m reading, or anything…I’ve always got my books in my purse. Either on the Kindle itself or on the app for my iPhone. So, days like yesterday where I found myself with 20 minutes to kill just sitting around, I could read. And my book club holds me accountable, because I really want to be able to contribute to conversation since it’s always such a rich one. I forgot how much I just love reading and I’m thrilled to have finally found a way and a reason to fit it into my busy schedule.
- Speaking of my busy schedule…I start a mini boot camp session today. We’re squeezing in a 3-week session before Christmas. I’m determined to actually lose some weight this time around. I’ve been a bit itching to going back to being vegetarian lately. I did it for seven (is that right?) years (Vegan for 9 months just to see if I could do it) and lately when I eat meat I feel a little regret for my vegetarian life past. It’s just hard being a lone vegetarian in a meat-eating family. We’ll see, I guess. Just something that’s been on my mind. Any of you loners in your family’s diet spectrum? How do you plan meals?
- Speaking of recipes…I need some soup recipes. Some Sit-In-The-Crockpot-All-Day soup recipes. You got any? I’d love a black bean soup like Panera makes but I’d also like some good Non-Bean type soups because I already cook the hell out of some chili and my husband’s stomach can only handle so many bean meals. That’s all I’ll say about that.
- Speaking of Crockpots…I don’t do Black Friday or anything, but a week or two before Thanksgiving, Target had this 3-pot server on sale for 60 bucks and let me tell you…I already love it. It was great for the Harry Potter party and I can’t wait to use it for every other gathering in the future. I’m such a Crockpot Whore as it is (I need a t-shirt that says that) that I already have one full-size one that sits out on my counter at all times, 1 full-size that is packed up for emergencies, 2 smaller ones with carriers for Potluck type events and now a 3-fer/warmer. That brings my total to SEVEN CROCKPOTS. And I don’t even have any of the small dip-size versions! ALL HAIL THE CROCKPOT.
- Speaking of things I’m whorish about…I bought these Nikes recently. They’re an older style, my Fleet Feet only had an 8.5 and the shoe guy thought that’s what size I should be wearing (I’m normally an 8 ) (There are double spaces after that “8″ because WordPress wanted to make it an emoticon since it’s next to the parenthesis. What the Hell, WordPress? Don’t give me emoticons I don’t want!) but after an hour or so of wearing them I realized they were too big. They didn’t have the 8 so I ordered them on Zappos. I’m never sure why I don’t just get all my shoes from Zappos. Anyway – it’s the first exercise shoe I’ve actually liked the way it looks. I find most of them so ugly. I’m very proud of my Nikes and am so worried that they’ll be hard to get when this pair wears out that I really want to ask Santa for a backup pair. JUST IN CASE. I mean, I have signed up for an entire year of bootcamp, I’m fully planning on wearing these shoes out. DAMN YOU, Nike – for making the next version uglier.
- Speaking of ugly…What is your least favorite thing about Christmas? Mine is traveling costs. Is it just me or does it seem like the airline price-hike around the holidays should be illegal? I know airline tickets are hard to price shop for anyway, they change so much over the course of time, but come ON. Don’t make it harder by jacking the prices up around the holidays? Traveling that time of year is sucky enough without having to pay double for the privilege.
That’s all for me on this random Monday morning. This will be an awkward week as Monday already feels like it should be Thursday and it hasn’t even started yet. I think we’re going to need a bigger coffee cup.
i love reading too…although with my small apartment and bank account i usually go to the library! LOL but i have been thinking about saving up for the kindle…i would love to be able to take my book with me (i’m notriously 20 minutes early to EVERYTHING) and not have it get all bent and ripped in my purse….also the thing i hate about christmas???? hmmm… having to wait to give people their presents, i get that from my dad, it seriously kills me not to just hand them all out as soon as i have them so i do most of my shopping the day before
When I met my husband I was vegetarian and he was vegan. Since then I’ve learned that omnivore suits me better (YMMV). He is a dietary vegan, not a philisophical one so he doesn’t really care if I have/cook meat in the house.
In the end we eat vegan dinners 100% at home, and I generally have meat at lunch time. Our son is 2 and he eats meat at school but even when we have it at home, he chooses not-meats over meats.
The kindle: LOVE! I resisted it, swore that I would never read anything other than an actual book…and then I decided to try the kindle app on my iPhone and I read the entire Twilight series (for the first time) ON MY PHONE in a couple of days. We got an iPad, so I use iBooks now (a much better experience, more like the real book experience) primarily but for the titles they don’t have I use the kindle app. And, like you, I have read so. much. more. It’s just easy to have it with me all the time.
I was a vegetarian when I met my husband but he managed to get me started eating fish again and I realized how much I love fish. When I was pregnant/nursing, I needed more protein than I was getting, so I added in chicken and turkey. I haven’t managed to work them back out of my diet and probably won’t any time soon. I still get ill if I eat pork or beef though and can’t really even look at them. Unless it’s on the grill, hubs doesn’t cook them at home. (He has to cook all meats as it squicks me out if I have to do anymore than dump ground turkey into the crock pot) When he does grill them, he always grills a chicken breast or veggie burger for me and the little one. It works for us and doesn’t screw up the entire meal.
I love my crockpot! Especially when it gets colder!
Pioneer Woman has a chicken enchilada soup that’s yummy – it has beans in it but I bet you could leave them out and it would still be delish!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/soups/chicken-enchilada-soup/
My easy & yummy black bean stoup (stew/soup) recipe: http://mymsie.wordpress.com/2006/05/16/black-bean-stoup/
P.S. I went veg this summer for 4 months. Then I had emergency surgery to remove my gallbladder, which threw me off but I plan to hop on board the veg train again.
I am vegetarian and my husband is not. I can usually modify anything he makes for dinner to be vegetarian. If he wants to grill meat, I marinate a portobello mushroom and throw it on the grill, and we make potatoes for the both of us. We’ve also been using some soy subsititues in spaghetti, tacos, etc.
I have also heard of families doing “Meatless Monday” where there’s a day or two during the week where everyone goes veggie.
Tortellini soup is an easy favorite for soups. I just find the recipe on allrecipes.com
Do you ever do long-distance running or walking, like more than 10 miles? If so, those 8.5s will come in handy, as feed swell during long training runs or walks. Don’t forget to include an extra pair of socks or thick Thorlos (or something similar).
Most of the time I try to follow South Beach Phase II, so I’ll have a sweet potato when the rest of the family is eating white (no biggie… just scrub it along with the others), or have whole grain bread while the others have white — except that it’s gotten so that it’s only my husband who insists on the high-GI, enriched flour, white stuff. I also avoid dairy (to the extent possible… I’m not allergic, but believe it promotes inflammation, so the less of it the better for me). Most of the time that’s not a biggie; I just use almond milk, soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, etc.
Not the same as being vegetarian or vegan in a meat-eating family, but with a little thought, you can usually find a way to all eat mostly the same thing so you aren’t making two entirely different meals.
I am vegetarian, but my family is not. And since I do the cooking, we eat vegetarian more than half the time.
But when there is meat, I usually do a substantial side that becomes my entree. And I cook in batches, so there’s always a “supplement” (as my husband calls it) in the freezer for the nights he wants meat but I haven’t made it. Or, I make stuff that’s easy to prepare either way (tacos: I cook meat and beans and people use whichever they want; spaghetti: meatballs get served on the side). It’s doable!
Whoops! That’s FEET swell, not “feed” swell! :p
I have books from the library that I never get to and have to return and re-request (The Maze Runner and Never Let Me Go among them). I added Matched last night and hope I actually find the time to read it when it comes in. Did you ever read the Dairy Queen trilogy (Catherine Gilbert Murdock) or John Coy’s 2 YA novels (Crackback and Box Out)? I know I keep recommending them, but I really liked them a lot.
Here is a good link for 15 slow-cooker soups/stews: http://www.myrecipes.com/cooking-method/slow-cooker-recipes/slow-cooker-soup-recipes-10000001921024/
Chicken Tortilla Soup
1 rotisserie chicken from grocery shredded and mixed with 2 packets of taco seasoning
1 can black beans
2 cans chili beans
1 can Rotel tomatoes w/chilies
1 carton of chicken stock
1 can corn
Dump all of this undrained in crockpot and cook all day.
Serve with tortilla chips and sour cream to garnish.
My boys LOVE this soup!!
I love my Kindle, and it really allowed me to read more, because even when I have a few minutes sitting in the drive through line, instead of just getting mad, I pull out a book and read a few pages. Also… I wish I had a book club! I can’t find one, and I would LOVE to be involved in discussions and thoughts about reading.
Thanks for asking about crock pot soups. That’s really what I need this season. We’ve been snowed in (in Seattle, WTH!) and the warmth sounds divine. Mmmm.
1) I LOVE my kindle.
2) here’s one of my two all time favorite soups to make:
Indian Red Lentil Soup
1 1/2 cups red lentils
3 tbsp unsalted butter (or half butter, half oil)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
pinch of cayenne pepper
6 cups water, vegetable stock, or chicken stock (I use the water, with 6 tsp better than bullion)
15 oz can peeled, seeded, diced tomatoes (juice included)
2 tbsp lemon juice (3 is good too…)
salt and ground black pepper to taste
*addional wonderfulness: toast up some trader Joe’s naan in a 400 degree oven for a few minutes and brush with a bit of butter. Superb.
Pick over the red lentils and discard any misshapen lentils or stones. Rinse the lentils and drain.
In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute, stirring occasionally, until tender and translucent, 8-10 min.
Add the coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne and stir to mix well. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, to release the flavors of the spices, 2-3 minutes. Add the lentils and then gradually add the water or stock, stirring constantly. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and
simmer until the lentils are very soft, 30-45 min.
Stir in the tomatoes and lemon juice and cook until eated through.
Season with salt and pepper.
And here’s another. I realize neither of these are really crock pot soups, but they also each take less than an hour, so.
My riff on Olive Garden’s delicious Zuppa Toscana:
1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
2 med diced yellow onions (are delicious)
2 lg cloves garlic puree
6-8 cups chicken broth or a mix of chicken/veggie broth depending on how thick you like it
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced potatoes – white, red, a mix. About 1/8 inch thick.
2 cups chopped kale
Sauté to brown Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
In the same pan, sauté onions and garlic over medium-high heat until the onions are soft.
Add stock to the pot and heat until it starts to boil.
Add the sliced potatoes and cook at a low simmer until soft, about half an hour.
Add the heavy cream and sausage and kale and just cook until thoroughly heated.
Delicious!
LOVE the photo of NikkiZ!
I actually found some Nike Cortez (es?) at the shoe store in the mall the other day, and I wanted them so bad!
I’m not sure what the ugliest thing about Christmas is, other than my lack of time management skills making the time crunch even worse than it needs to be. My tree isn’t even up yet! And that’s all the decorating I do for the holidays!
Here’s my favorite crock-pot soup:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Wild-Rice-Soup-I/Detail.aspx
I just dump in everything except the cream (well, I use milk) in the crock pot and put it on low. You don’t need to pre-cook the wild rice, just rinse and add. Stir in the milk or cream right before serving. I also use less butter and often omit the meat. Still hearty and filling. Great with homemade bread.
Here’s a good one for an Irish Stout Stew: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Beef-and-Irish-Stout-Stew/Detail.aspx
I haven’t made this in the crock pot, but I’d imagine you can, and it’s sooooo goooooood. I sub in turkey pepperoni and veggie sausage crumbles — you can get them in the frozen section by the veggie burgers — to make it a little healthier, and I use crushed tomato instead of diced because my husband and I are both not tomato fans. It makes it a little thicker, which I like: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/italian-sub-stoup-and-garlic-toast-floaters-recipe/index.html
I make both of these all the time. The beef stew is great for a crock pot, and I keep meaning to try the sub one but I tend to make it when we’re having lots of people over so I have to use my big stock pot. My crock pot is barely big enough for 4 servings.
As for my least favorite thing about Christmas, it’s a tie between a) when I buy my husband what he’s been asking for and then the next day he either buys it himself or decides he wants a similar, but different enough to matter, item, and b) when my mother-in-law asks me what I want and then says, “Oh, those that’s no good, I need better ideas than that.”
I can’t find my crock pot! It’s a horrible mystery and a sort of great frustration. I do not WANT to have lost my good big removable bowl crock pot, Kim! I may cry. Also, I haven’t seen the new HP yet. WOE.
(On the plus side, it’s nearly noon and I am still in my pyjamas. Yes, that is a plus, yes it is.)
Taco Soup (from Southern Living)
2 lbs. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans pinto beans, rinsed
1 can Rotel with green chiles
1 can corn, drained
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing
2 cans water (from tomatoes)
2 t. chili powder
Saute the beef with the onion; drain (I have substituted ground turkey for my non-beef eating son).
Put all of the remaining ingredients in the pot; stir. Simmer for 45 minutes.
Serve with shredded cheese and tostito chips.
Makes tons. Freezes well.
I have never made this in my crock pot, but I don’t see any reason why not (after browning and draining the meat).
Here’s my family’s favorite crock pot recipe:
Sticky Chicken**
7-8 lb. roasting chicken
2 t. salt
2 t. paprika
1 t. cayenne pepper
1 t. onion powder
1 t. thyme
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. black pepper
1 t. white pepper (I just double the black pepper)
1 chopped onion
Combine spices. Rinse and dry chicken. Rub spices all over the chicken; put the chopped onion in the cavity.
Put the chicken in the crock pot (do not add any liquid). Cover. Cook on high 4-6 hours, or low 8-10 hours. The chicken will fall apart when you take it out of the crock pot.
After dinner, throw the carcass back in the crock pot; add a couple of carrots, celery, an onion, a bay leaf, some peppercorns and enough water to reach an inch from the top. Put the crock pot back on low and cook all night. In the morning, strain the broth and put it in the fridge to cool.
To make chicken soup, skim the hardened fat off the stock. Put the stock in a large pot with a chopped onion, sliced carrots and celery. You can also add some water to stretch it. Cook ’til the veggies are softened, then add leftover chicken and whatever starch you want (rice, noodles).
**alternative cooking method: prepare chicken; place in roasting pan in the oven. Roast at 250* for FIVE HOURS. After 3 1/2 hours or so, baste it a couple of times. Let rest for 10 minutes before carving.
-I would have to agree with you on the Hunger Games series. I was definitely not impressed with how she ended it. I felt like there was something missing. Look forward to seeing your take on it. My daughter on the other hand LOVED the series. Will have to keep an eye out for Matched….or maybe get it for her for Christmas.
-I was thinking about a Nook color instead of a Kindle. What made you decide on Kindle rather than Nook? I have heard that there are apps coming out for the Nook color after the first of the year and that has me intrigued as I don’t want to shell out $500 for an iPad.
-We’ve been utilizing the crock pot a bit here at the house lately….might have to check out some of these recipes.
-I need to get my butt in gear and start an exercise plan, but I know that as soon as we travel around Christmas, I’ll fall off the band wagon…so I think I am just going to wait until after the holidays and start something. The shred DVD is collecting dust on my shelf now.
-as for my least favorite thing about Christmas…..trying to hide the kids Christmas gifts….We are on the brink of losing 1 if not 2 of our kids for Santa this year and I really don’t want to lose either….trying to keep the gifts hidden from them and their younger brother is not going to be fun this year.
Love reading your blog!
Hey miss zoot, I am usually vegetarian ^^, but haven’t cut my addiction to seafood sushi though, vegetarian sushi is hard to find =P.
The family I am living with eats meat, I usu cook seperately. It’s no problem, except some of the times I gag when I smell something too heavily meaty..once I got a big shock seeing a big piece of raw meat next to some of my stuff. That was scary… xoxoxo
I guess eating meat is okay, if it’s already cooked, might as well revere and appreciate it. But the body does feel better, when eating vegan ^^ No down time feeling bloated after meals too..good luck with whichever option u choose!!xxx
I want a Kindle so bad. It’s all about being able to carry around more than one book at a time, not having to lug a hardback, and I’d LOVE to be able to mark passages and make notation on my book club books so easily. Oh well, maybe soon.