Update on Tyler: he's still fighting some kind of infection, I'm guessing it's a sinus infection, since he's dripping green gunk from his nose. No more fever, so hopefully we're out of the woods. He just doesn't sleep too great and is pretty cranky from time to time. If it's not cleared up tomorrow I'm calling the doctor. We've got some travel plans coming up and I don't want him to be miserable.
So yesterday after blogging I went to get my hair did, by Lacy from Lacy's Looks. She's pretty awesome. Got some highlights and lowlights, and chopped a couple inches off. Feels good. Here's a blurry self-portait:
After the hair cut I took off for Dubuque to do a little shopping and meet up with my cousin Kayla for lunch. We chose the Olive Garden and got their unlimited soup, salad and breadsticks. It was wonderful. I always get an entree, and never bother with soup. Think I might have to change that up after tasting their chicken and gnocchi soup. It was so good. I had two bowls, two breadsticks and plenty of salad. Good fuel for power shopping.
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| Chicken, gnocchi and spinach soup |
I only had two hours before I had to be home, so I hit up Kohl's, Michael's and Walmart. I was so irritated by all the people. Especially at Walmart- I bet I stood in line for 20 minutes waiting to check out. Guess that's what I get for going out on a Saturday. Still didn't get everything done. Oh well.
We had a Christmas party to go to on Saturday night, so once I got home I went to go pick up the babysitter. I totally spaced and forgot to take pictures, but I made some Mint Oreo Truffles. So easy and so good. I saved two behind, and here is the sad little picture.
Recipe is super easy: crush one package of Cool Mint Oreos (I used a food processor) and then blend with one package of softened cream cheese. Form into one inch balls and dip in white almond bark. I added some Christmas sprinkles. Yum.
I also forgot to take a picture of the Jello shots I made. I had a little bit of Malibu rum left, so I made some pineapple and Malibu Jello shots. Again, a super easy recipe. I used two packages of pineapple Jello. Boil two cups of water and add the Jello. Cool a bit and add two cups of Malibu rum. You could pour them into little Dixie cups, but I just poured it into a 9x13 inch pan. I was going to make star-shaped jigglers, but they kind of fell apart, so I just scooped it all up and put it in individual little cups. It worked. They were a hit- I recommend them for your next party. Check the internet too, there are tons of creative recipes.
The party was a good time, it was an ugly sweater party. Of course I forgot to take pictures. We didn't really have sweaters, just holiday shirts, but there were some funny ones there. Such good food too, hence the sugar overload. I had a couple of my jello shots, a couple glasses of wine, two of my Oreo truffles, buffalo chicken dip, beef-wrapped pickles, a small piece of cake, AND a Klondike bar. Didn't need that last one, but Jill (our hostess) was walking around trying to get rid of them, and I'd never had one. So of course I tried one. It was a little mushy since they were sitting out, but still can't really go wrong with ice cream and chocolate. No wonder I felt tired and sluggish today.
This morning neither me nor my hubby wanted our usual pancakes. The thought of more sugary crap did not appeal to us. I cooked some scrambled eggs with green peppers and onions and a piece of whole wheat toast instead.
The whole "no sugar" thing lasted until about 1:00. One of my ideas for giving out along with Christmas gifts was to make my own peppermint bark. I love the stuff from Williams and Sonoma, and found an easy recipe. How hard could it be? Well I pulled a blond moment and messed it up. The first layer went ok, but then when I made the white chocolate layer I added the oil and extract before melting the chips. Stupid me. I should know that adding moisture before melting the chips makes it all clumpy and thick. I just added a little more oil and whipped it up and then spread it on the chocolate layer. Of course it was too hot so it melted the chocolate layer. It doesn't look perfect but it tastes the same. Guess that's all that matters, right??
from Peanut Butter Fingers
Molly’s Peppermint Bark
Ingredients:
- 1 pound dark or semi-sweet chocolate*
- 1 pound white chocolate*
- 1 to 2 teaspoons peppermint extract (I used 1 tsp.)
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 4 to 5 regular-size candy canes, crushed
*Note: I highly recommend using a block of good quality chocolate for this recipe (I used Baker’s brand baking blocks). Chocolate chips don’t work as well because they have stabilizers in them, and the layers in the bark tend to separate.
Directions:
Directions:
- Line a baking sheet (with raised edges) with foil, and spray with non-stick spray.
- Melt dark chocolate in microwave (30 second intervals on high, stirring in between).
- Add 1/2 tsp. of canola oil and spread evenly in pan. Refrigerate until solid.
- Melt white chocolate using the same method, and add 1/2 tsp. of oil, as well as the peppermint extract.
- Spread white chocolate mixture over dark chocolate layer (it is best to let the white chocolate cool a bit, so it doesn’t melt the dark chocolate and swirl layers together).
- Sprinkle crushed candy cane pieces on top, and refrigerate (or freeze) until solid.
- Remove from cookie sheet, peel off foil layer, and chop into pieces. Enjoy!
I had too many pieces of that. Better get my sweat on this week.
Since I didn't eat any lunch because breakfast was late, I made a more substantial supper. I made a lovely easy meatloaf. I don't really have a recipe, I just usually dump a bunch of stuff in. I used 1 pound of 93% lean beef, 1 egg, about 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats, Worcestershire sauce, onions, green peppers, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Mix it all up and pop in the oven at 350 for about an hour. Halfway through I spread on a sauce of 1/2 cup of ketchup, 2 T spicy mustard, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and a splash of apple cider vinegar.
It ended up being so juicy that it fell apart. I accompanied the meatloaf with some pretty fan potatoes. I just cut up some potatoes with deep cuts that didn't quite go all the way through and drizzled with olive oil and salt and pepper. They went in the oven for an hour as well, but they were kind of raw. Think next time I'll wrap them in foil or nuke them in the microwave for a couple minutes before putting in the oven.
That's all for the weekend... hope you had a good one. I will be attempting to majorly limit my sugar intake tomorrow after this disgusting weekend. =) 'Tis the season to indulge, right?
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