Snow Follows Me

I promised some pictures of our snow storm here in Dallas, and here they are.  Enjoy?   

  I was recently reading a book where the main character was having the internal crisis of should I quit; or should I forge ahead?  I can't count how often I ask myself this question, and how many different circumstances the question arises.  Weather it be in my job, in my relationships, eating habits, going to the gym.... the list goes on. 

"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit."  It's difficult for me to admit, but I'm kind of a quitter.  I tend to start and join many things and don't end up following through.  Hey, first step is admitting, right?  I've pondered why, and what I come up with is that I get scared. Maybe I won't succeed, or the new people I meet won't like me, or it'll be a waste of time.  It's not easy to break these habits, although as I continue to pursue blogging, I think I'm showing some progress.

The thing that makes me a little mad at myself is that I've met so many great people, and had very fun times doing things I initially wanted to quit.  For whatever reason I kept going, and was a better person because of it.  It's so hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you're having that internal struggle with yourself. 

As I was growing up my Dad "kindly forced" me to join and do many things.  At the time I was completely against it, but many of them helped me develop as a person.  For example, I had to ride my bike up this HUGE hill everyday (or every other, don't remember) in the summer.  He wanted me to get in shape for basketball season.  I hated it, every minute of it.  I would sometimes skip it and go to my friends house for an hour and jump on her trampoline and talk about how much I loathed that hill.  For the most part though, I did what he told me to do, and I tell ya, I was the only girl who didn't puke the first week of basketball practice in the fall.  Another time he signed me up for a month long language camp in the summer, I didn't want to go.  I think I begged and cried to my Mom the whole car ride there, but I ended up meeting some great people!  It made me more outgoing, and lead me to think that studying abroad would be something I would enjoy (which I did!)  Don't smile too big while reading this Dad!

I believe part of being a grown up is learning that you aren't always going to be completely satisfied with everything going on in your life.  My friend Gi and I seem to always be telling each other "it's always something."  It's true, unfortunately.  I have learned that quitting doesn't solve most things, sometimes you have to wait out the storm, with hope and effort that things will change and improve. 

I hope that as I get older I get better at accepting that even though you might be going through some sh*t.. that's exactly what you have to do, keep going through it.  Something will change, it always does.  Sometimes you might not learn anything, but I think most times you will, and will be surprised and what you find out about yourself.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out"  Decca Recording rejecting the Beatles in 1962.

Keep on keepin' on :)

Hamburger (or turkey) Buddy

I hope everyone had a great Super Bowl Sunday!  Mine was a extra special because C's parents were in town for a few days.  They were driving down from Michigan to Port Aransas, and stopped in Dallas to see us for the weekend.  We were able to watch the game in the comfort of C's apartment, and it was perfect.  C's Mom made a bunch of yummy appetizers, we placed some bets on the game (I won a whopping zip, zero, zilch,) and enjoyed the commercials. My favorite was obviously the Chrysler commercial about Detroit.  Gotta show my love for Michigan!

Now onto Hamburger Buddy.  I think it's a sort of play on words from "Hamburger Helper," because it is very similar.  Except, of course, it's homemade, and low fat!  I made it even healthier by using 75% turkey, since I didn't have enough hamburger in the house to satisfy the recipe. 

Main veggies you'll use are mushrooms, two carrots, and crushed garlic.  Pretty simple, yet the end result is anything but.

I will admit, when I decided to make this recipe, I didn't read far enough to find out that I needed a food processor.  Unfortunately, I didn't have one.  Closest thing I had was a blender...yeah, that wasn't fun.  Don't worry though,  I have since bought one, and I'm sure I will rejoice at how much easier it will be to "finely chop" things - carrots, in this case.  Turn on the food processor's motor and drop garlic in until minced.  Then add carrots and mushrooms until everything is finely chopped.  Add onion, pulse until roughly chopped.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook beef (or turkey) until no longer pink.  Stir in the chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables begin to soften; about six minutes.

Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups of broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce.  Bring to a boil.  Then cover, reduce heat to medium.  Cook until the pasta is tender, 8-10 minutes.

Whisk flour with remaining 1/4 cup of broth in a small bowl until it's smooth, then stir into hamburger mixture.  Stir in the sour cream.  Simmer until the sauce has thickened. 

I sprinkled some parsley on top. This dish was a great pasta dinner, and very creamy.  It was hard to believe that it was low fat, and that the meat was mainly turkey.  The recipe makes six servings, and there is only 292 calories per serving - and that's with hamburger.  Pretty awesome if you ask me.  I made half the serving size, and we had one serving leftover, which C ate the next day for lunch.  I can't wait to make this again.  It was easy, and good for you while still tasting delightful!

Hamburger Buddy

3 cloves of garlic, crush and peeled

2 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces

10oz mushrooms, cut in half

1 large onion, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 pound 90% lean ground beef (or turkey!)

2 teaspoons dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cups water

1 14oz can reduced-sodium beef broth

8oz whole wheat elbow noodles (2 cups)

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

1 tablespoon parsley for garnish *optional

Fit a food processor with a steel blade attachment.

With motor running, add garlic and process until minced.

Add carrots and mushrooms and process until finely chopped.

Add onion and pulse until roughly chopped.

Cook beef in a large skillet, or Dutch oven, over medium high heat, until no longer pink.

Stir in chopped vegetables, thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook until veggies are softened.

Stir in water, 1 1/2 cups of broth, noodles and Worcestershire sauce, bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat to medium and cook until the pasta is tender.  8-10 minutes.

Whisk flour and remaining broth in a small bowl until smooth, then add into hamburger mixture.

Stir in sour cream.

Simmer until the sauce begins to thicken, around two minutes. 

Serve sprinkled with parsley, if desired.



Spinach Dip with Mascarpone

Another snow day here in Dallas.  I thought I was moving down here to avoid some of the winter weather!  My parents who live in the upper peninsula of Michigan told me Dallas got more snow than them...seems backwards if you ask me.  Due to not bringing any of my real "winter clothes" down here, going outside is an adventure.  I did go out to take some photos, I'll share those with you next week.   

The Super Bowl is this weekend, and in Dallas.  I hope everyone that had plans to get here was able to do so, despite the weather.  I thought I'd post my spinach dip, because it would be a great appetizer to make if you're having a Super Bowl party, or attending one.  

The recipe calls for frozen chopped spinach, I had some fresh spinach I needed to use, and it worked just fine.  Make sure you squeeze any water out from the spinach! 

Heat a saute pan over medium heat.  When the pan's hot, add the olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and add the onions.  Saute until they're soft. 

I did make a mistake while making this, I cut everything in half... except the onions.  Oops!  Make sure you pay close attention to the amount of onions you use.  They sweat when you cook them, and it can make the dip a little watered down.  Hopefully, I'll do a little better job of this next time.  

Mascarpone is usually used to make tiramisu, but I must say, it was a nice addition to the spinach dip.  I hope to experiment and use it in some new recipes; more to come on that! 

I recently bought my first cheese grater...I know, I know, don't judge!  I don't know how many times I've read, or heard, people say freshly grated parmesan will make you never want to eat parmesan any other way.  I completely agree!  I don't know how else to explain it, other than it's just so much better.  

After the onions are translucent, add the spinach and saute until warm, but still bright green.  Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne.  Turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone cheese and grated parmesan. 

I didn't have a ramekin big enough to bake in, so I just used a bread loaf pan.  You can use any oven safe dish that the dip will fit in though.  I grated a little extra parmesan on top, just because I can't get enough of it. Bake for around 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, until the cheese is bubbling around the edges.  Serve with pita chips, bread or veggies.  I cut up whole wheat bread, toasted it, and served the dip on that.  

It was very tasty!  It wasn't as cheesy as the other spinach dips I've had, it's a good mix of spinach and cheese. Plus the nutmeg gives it a nutty, cinnamon flavor, it makes a great appetizer! 

Warm Spinach Mascarpone Dip

1 small onion, minced

16oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted *I used fresh

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt or sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

8oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Take a handful of spinach squeeze, and discard the water from the spinach.  *Squeeze as much water out as you can!

Heat a saute pan over medium heat.  When hot, add olive oil and coat bottom of pan.

Add onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes.

Add spinach and saute until the spinach is warm, but still bright green, about 30 seconds.

Season and toss with salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne.  

Turn off heat and stir in mascarpone cheese, and grated parmesan.

Pour into oven safe dish, and bake for around 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbling around edges. 

Serve warm. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!