Crock Pot Mac & Cheese

Today, I needed to find something to cook in order to use the milk that's about to expire.  We only buy it for cereal and Kraft mac and cheese, as I've sadly decided I'm becoming lactose intolerant so this last half-gallon has not been used as quickly as it normally has.  I checked out my collected recipes and found something perfect!  I got this recipe from www.budetsavydiva.com and have decided to share, since I'm trying it for the first time today, and I made a few tweaks, doubled the recipe, and as it's cooking away I'll have to let you know but considering everything that's going in it, I'm sure it's going to be amazing!  I also ran across a helpful hint on a different recipe, something to do with chicken and cream-of-whatever soup, etc. The author advised that it would be smart to spray down the insides of the crock pot with Pam before putting everything in, and I imagine that it would help avoid everything that bubbles up and sticks after 6-8 hours of cooking.  Of course, I forgot this time, but I thought I'd share it with all of you!

Super Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

4 tablespoons butter

2 ½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (since I double the recipe I used half sharp, half blended cheddar & mozzarella)

1 egg

½ cup sour cream

1 (10 ¾ ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 cup 2% milk

½ teaspoon yellow mustard

1 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 Teaspoon of Onion Powder (I used onion flakes, as that's what we had)

1/2 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

pinch of nutmeg (I omitted because we don't have any)

pinch of Cayenne

Directions:

Cook the pasta for 6 minutes, drain and rinse. The recipe says to melt the cheese and butter in a medium saucepan, but I had issues. I was stirring constantly but either I had the heat too high or because I doubled the recipe, I should have used a larger pan, or the microwave to melt it together, because it didn't quite come out the nice cream mixture I imagined. You may want to use whatever cheese-sauce cooking method you prefer. The recipe says to mix everything together in the crock pot and let it go for 2 and ½ hours on low. I simply dumped the macaroni in the pot and poured everything on top, having mixed all the other ingredients in a different bowl (minus the cheese sauce, that I dumped right in and tried to mix in) and mixed away, trying to combine as best as possible before I put on the lid. Stir well every hour and get ready to eat!

Happy Cooking!

Enjoy,

Allie H.

There, They're, Their...

A few days ago I found a grammatical error in an online article for a leading women's fashion and beauty magazine.  I emailed them to let them know and they contacted me back this morning, thanking me but saying that I didn't point out what the error was and if I would like to share, they'd take changing it under consideration.  So either they didn't bother to check the article to see what I was talking about, or they did and still did not catch the mistake.  I gave them a very helpful hint and wished them a great day.  We'll see if they get back to me.  But I cannot believe that a magazine with such influence and popularity among their target audience would let any article go to print without at least two pairs of eyes that didn't belong to the original writer taking a fresh look to make sure it at least was free of spelling and grammatical errors, if not checking the tone of the piece.  I won't give the name of the magazine, of course, but I will tell you that it was one of the most common mistakes that are made.  These days, people think that "there, they're, & their" and interchangeable.  I see so many mistakes like these online these days from professional companies that I feel like emailing them all and pointing them out, and then offering to proofread before they print and upload their articles for a tiny fee (of course).  If I can't get a novel done some time soon I might as well still be making money in the writing field, right?  Something to think about.
Happy Pre-Editing!
Enjoy,

Allie H.  

Surgery Updates, Goals and Recipes

I've been sliding on my goals for the year.  Re-settling to a new place may be part of it, but I know I'm not one of those make "a whole list of numerous resolutions" on New Years' Eve and make myself stick to it in it's entirety.  So I think I need to make a short list each month and break it up into writing goals, otherwise creative goals, cooking goals, and a smattering of other areas.  Thanks to Pinterest, of course, I have tons of new recipes I'd like to try and thanks to our acquisition of a crock pot, I can work on that list!  
Today, I made toss-it-all together and simmer spaghetti sauce, like I do often, but I started prepping for a chili recipe that is going to be made in the crock pot.  We bought a 5lb bag each of beans and rice awhile back so we could do a huge batch of Red Beans and Rice and we still had about half the bag of red beans left, so I measured out 1 cup less than the recipe that I'm using calls for (since it didn't call for beef, I'm adding some ground beef to the mix) and they're soaking overnight in the crock pot.  (I'd started them out in a smaller container and checked on the, realizing that about half the water had been already soaked up and the top inch of beans was above the liquid.  So I had to shift them into another container and add more water.  The rest of the recipe is made of up of canned tomatoes, broth, corn, celery, and various spices.  (It does call for cocoa powder to enhance the flavors but as I don't have any at the moment, I'm not doing it.)  So we'll see how that goes.  I can either wake up earlier than usual and it'll be ready by lunch or do something else for lunch and have it ready for dinner and leftovers.  As another one of my goals is getting up earlier and hitting the gym for half an hour on a more regular basis, we'll see how my appreciation of my alarm clock affects the situation.  

Crockpot Chili

Ingredients (6-8 bowls)

About 6 cans of beans, drained OR 6 cups of dried white and black beans, soaked, plus 1 can kidney beans [see note]

2 cans diced tomatoes

3.5 cups broth

1.5 cups frozen corn

6 celery stalks, diced

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp Liquid Smoke

1 tsp Worcestershire

1 tsp cumin

2 cloves minced garlic or garlic gold nuggets

1 tsp cocoa powder (optional but increases the depth!)

1 tsp salt (if your broth is relatively low sodium - otherwise to taste)

Instructions

Soak dried beans overnight, if using. Rinse.  Chop celery.  Add all ingredients to a crockpot and set to low for 6-8 hours.  

As you can see I’m not using a mixture of beans this time but we’ll try for next time.  If I kick it to medium heat I can go 4-5 hours and make waking up not such a chore. I'm also not using frozen corn but canned corn, so no extra time needed there.
I also want to make, by myself, a batch of Kris's recipe for salmon dip.  It's from his family and it's an approximate amount of each ingredient and then adjusted to taste.  Since we did a Costco run to prep for his surgery, we grabbed the Costco-size block of cream cheese, which has more then plenty for a batch.  Anyway, since we bought everything awhile back for the spread with extra cans of salmon, we have all the ingredients we need except for fresh lemon juice, which is easy.
Here's the recipe!

Salmon Spread
1 can salmon, bones removed
I (8 oz) package cream cheese
½-1 TBSP dried onion
4-5 dashes Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp liquid smoke
½-1 tsp, to taste of garlic powder
½-1 tsp salt
½-1 tsp pepper

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or a regular mixing bowl and using a hand-held blender, mix thoroughly. Use as a spread for bagels, toast or dip for crackers. Enjoy!

My next cooking goal for the month (either this or next) is to tackle and polenta and poached eggs, as I ran across a recipe that included both, and since Kris is such a fan of poached eggs I think it would benefit everyone for me to try.
By the way: Kris's surgery has been moved back to the 17th due to a couple things so we have just another whole week to go before he's in the hospital.  Please pre-cross your fingers that everything goes smoothly!  He quit smoking two weeks ago in prep and he's going strong.  He's quit before (for his two year mission for the church) but this time, his health and his total recovery depend on it wholly, and so I'm proud that he's sticking to it and staying strong.  He was chewing on cinnamon sticks for a few days at the start but now he's getting his head in the game and focusing on the overall goal.  What goals have you been neglecting that you promised to stick to at the beginning of the year?  Share with me!
Happy Cooking, Health, and Goal Setting (and Keeping)!
Enjoy,

Allie H.

Countdown to Friday and High School Reunions

It's an official countdown!  Last week or so we found out that Kris's blood work had finally come back and so we were able to book his leg surgery.  It's this Friday, and we prepared by doing a "quick" run to Costco (I know, there's no such thing but we did pretty well in not spending what we usually spend) and getting a newer used car.  We had been thinking of waiting for a little while longer but Kris was just approved for a car loan and he wanted me to be able to have a car to take car of anything that comes up while he's on bed-rest for the week after surgery and getting him home and to and from physical therapy.  It will be so much more efficient than hoping that the Metro is running on time and finding someone's car to borrow to pick him up and take him home when he's released.  And now, when company comes, we've got a nice car with tons of trunk space to Since this isn't Kris's first rodeo he knows when to eat to take his medications, etc, so I plan on abusing the hell out of the crock pot to make multiple meals in one swoop.  And we're in the perfect location-CVS right here for any prescriptions and Publix for any last minute grocery store needs.  We're going in tomorrow to do a final work-up and to figure out everything else he's going to have to do to prep for Friday.  AND they let him know that they want him to stay in the hospital for three days after his surgery.  We were thinking that it would only be an overnight stay but there you have it.  He's getting a week off work and so he'll barely be home for bed-rest before he's limping back to the office on crutches.  At least Chloe will have plenty of extra cuddle time.  She's so good about being with someone when they're sick or hurting, and all she wants to do is tuck herself right in the middle of it all and give kisses and be a cuddle-buddy.  (Unless I'm blowing my nose every five minutes...I think she kinda gets grossed out by that, which is fine.  It grosses me out, too!)  She'll be a little confused by the crutches for a while, I think, but I think that sooner than that she'll figure out that she needs to stay out of the way for the next six months.  But of course-one family member gets her splint off and her foot healed and back to her bouncy self before someone else has to endure some major poking and prodding and serious recovery time.  

What else is going on...Chloe! I've decided that Chloe the super-dog is going to get a super-cape and that it should be a World of Beer cape because she's been widely accepted by everyone there as their new mascot. Totally serious. Once all the servers inside find out we're there, they all come out and say hello and give pets and bring her water and dog biscuits and get licked for their adoration. She's got super powers!  Super powers need a super cape, right?  So, we were mentioning this to Eileen, one of the employees there, who'd pulled up a chair to chat for a few minutes and she got excited and went into the back to find an old promo t-shirt for me to use. I've since been informed by my dad that the sewing machine is shipping out and should be here soon to put to use. (So, so excited!) If you've never done a search on the internet for how to make a cape for your dog, you should. You'll be surprised by the amount of results. I think I've figured out how to make it for her in a way that won't require hitching it to her collar or wrapping it around her neck. as the only means of keeping it on her.  I want it to drape nicely down her little back and not just flop off either side.  Now, if I could just remember to do before-and-after pictures or step by step as I go...


I'm also debating going to my ten-year reunion.  It's coming up on August 18th (which is the more formal cocktail hour and dinner evening, followed by a family & kid friendly picnic) and while I think it would be fun to go, since we have the extra Delta miles for me to fly to Monterey & back, part of me wonders who all else is going that I would like to see and catch up with, and part of me wants to get through this first week with Kris on bed-rest and then how he does getting back to work and how well he's recovering so far to know that I could be able to take a few days away and go see some of my fellow class-mates.  There's a deadline to buy the ticket a few days before the event, of course, so I have a little time to decide.  Which leaves me posing a question to everyone out there: Did you go to your ten year reunion?  How did you like it?  Was it fun?
Thoughts, please!

Whew!  This is going to be quite the next two weeks.  We'll keep you posted!

Happy Healing (and Healthy Living!)

Enjoy,

Allie H.

Our Swanky Miami Apartment!

So a week or so ago I promised a few pics of our place...and here they are! Still mostly devoid of some key furniture, as you can see but still awesome. Guest room (the one full of boxes) is still just overflow but I''ve been so happy to sift through books and clothes needed to survive the Miami weather!  We definitely need at least one more tall bookcase and then we can rotate our library from there!
Enjoy your weekend!
Allie H.

Settling In and Writing...and Missing Hats.

It's hard to believe that we've been here in Miami for four months now but it's true! And it's awesome.  Chloe's foot is healing and she's way more happy, super playful and seems to only hold her foot up at the end of the night when she's been using it all day.  And we seem to be settled in, despite still needing living room furniture.  But I've been repacking boxes so all the cold weather clothing is separated is packed away, all of the books are all in boxes with only themselves, the kitchen supplies and (maybe) all of the glassware is taking up space in the cupboards and on the counter. I'm realizing writing this that I haven't gotten pictures up of the new place yet but I'll work on that!  But, my Dad was awesome enough to send my Kenmore mixer and a few other things that weren't worth taking with us because of the plug differences like Kris's raclette grill and my Pizelle iron so I cam make my own syrup waffles for Christmas.  I think I'm trading with my mom and getting one of her lighter-weight sewing machines, too, so I can start crafting more efficiently!  We reached our 100 mark at World of Beers and I got my 100 t-shirt and re-fitted it to work better (loped off the sleeves, the neckline, and cut it down the sides, snipped, tied and fringed it.)  You know promo shirts...awesome but usually boxy and built for unisex sizing?  It's way cuter now.  I only wish I'd gotten a "before" shot, but you can imagine.  It came out pretty good, considering I hadn't yet located my Generation T book to follow along the basic instructions.  No sewing required, but I have a few other tees that I'm looking to up-cycle and I suck at hand sewing in a straight line longer than three inches (and it's really not my favorite thing to do) so the machine would come in very handy.  When that's here, I'll be super-happy!  Now, for the kitchen, I just need cookie sheets and a set of Pyrex baking dishes.  The living room needs a couch and bookshelves and a desk. And maybe a nice bar cart for the corner?  I'd love a little bar cart!  If only to get all of the liquor glasses out of the cupboards and off of the counter. I've already broken a shot glass just trying to do the dishes.  : ( 

I have to admit I love being back in the states with all of the US Holidays.  Kris gets a random day off in the middle of the week and Chloe gets all confused by the schedule and life is good!  The 4th of July was awesome!   We got a ton of fireworks and had a BBQ in the park near our friend's house.  I need, again, a good floppy summer hat.  Remember the one I waited so long for and picked up in Cali when we visited the states?  Somehow, somewhere, I lost track of it in Switzerland.  I'd noticed that moving to the last apartment in SW, I hadn't seen it anywhere and figured it was tucked into a tote bag, and I've been through everything here and cannot find it.  Its gone and I don't think Target sells it anymore....so I need a replacement.  I did take advantage of the Old Navy flip flop sale and now I have seven pairs, plus three new pairs of linen shorts that were absolutely needed and keeping me cool.  I only had the one pair from Switzerland and that wasn't going to cut it.  Talking to my BF Kelsey this morning I decided I just need to include all my full length jeans in the cold-weather clothing box and just get used to buying shave gel in bulk at Costco!  She's already given up full-length pants in Boston for the summer where she's kicking ass and taking theatre managing gigs left and right.  So proud of her!  


I am working on stories, and feeling pretty good about it!  I was telling Kris the other day that being here, I've written and edited more in the last three months than I have all year and how awesome it feels to be making some progress!  We both got ourselves business cards with our emails and new Florida numbers and all and while I'm not exactly looking for a job right now  it would be good to hand out to other writers to network and spread the blog around a little more, maybe edit other people's work with a fresh eye, etc.  The cards are pretty purple and we got new Galaxy SIII phones yesterday, and I got a purple cover for it and realized after the fact that it matched my cards!  I can network in style!  I love it when I do things like that.  I even painted my nails purple yesterday to make it a matching trio.  Anyway, it's been a great writing streak and I'm hoping that I can keep it up.  Writing, crafting, all of it!
Have a great weekend, everyone! 
Enjoy,


Allie H. 
(Psst...check out my awesome shirt!)

The back of my WOB shirt, pre collar cut down. The fringing came out nicely!

http://www.generation-t.com/books/

Go check out the website for Megan Nicolay's fun tutorials and to buy her books!  I've got the 108 Ways to Transform a T-shirt.

Luck of the Partial Irish

My Irish blood is coming in handy this month!
This week thus far has been freebie, amazing week! Last week I found a GYN 5 minutes from the lobby of our building that took our insurance and had open appointments for this week.  So I made an appointment over their affiliated appointment setter for 10:30 Monday morning.  The service sent me a confirmation email.  Then the clinic sent me a confirmation email for 10:00 am.  Which I thought odd but I called them and they said I was confirmed for 10:00 am and, since the craigslist gods have yet to place me in line with the perfect admin job less than an hour away via the Metro, it was no big  deal.  So I went to my appointment, took the clinic survey that they sent via email after, and then the appointment setter service survey that THEY sent me via email.  I mentioned that there may be a technical issue because there was a difference in time between the clinic and their reservation but there was no real big worry on my part.  
Well, about an hour after, I got a phone call from a representative at the appointment service.  The gal on the other end of the line explained that she'd seen my survey results and she wanted to know more about what I'd mentioned and I explained it pretty much the same as I just detailed here above, and that since I'm married to a Sys Admin I just know that its good to mention something that may be a problem even if it's teeny tiny.  We chatted for a moment and she was glad that it wasn't a huge problem for me in particular but that they usually don't have an issue with the time selection and that she would make sure to follow up with the clinic and look into it just to make sure that other people aren't having the same issue who have to drive a long way or have a tighter schedule, so on and so forth, but that she'd like to send me a $10 amazon.com gift card to make up for the hassle.  Why, yes! Thank you.  We hung up and in about 5 minutes there was a new email in my inbox and along with the confirmation for the card, they offered to send me a free t-shirt as well if I sent my address and preferred size.  Well, free t-shirts rule so I sent along my info and was further assured that it would be in the mail shortly. 
The freebie luck did not stop there!  Tuesday night there was a promo at World of Beer for a particular brewery that had seven new beers on tap and since it was Dogfish Beer and doggie-beer Tuesday, why not?  If you ordered on one tab four out of the seven you got a free brewery brand shirt.  Well, the brewery rep only brought about 15 shirts and by the time my friends and us had gotten to four, our waitress informed us that they were out of shirts.  She sent the rep over and he assured us that while he didn't normally do this, he had extra swag in his car and wait there, he'd be right back.  He brought up a box of 12-ounce beer glasses branded with the brewery name.  We walked away that night with a pair of them.
Luck in general-we've been sleeping on an air mattress for two months and I finally found on craigslist, while just browsing the furniture section, a BRAND new mattress and box spring still in plastic, with delivery, for $250. We jumped on the deal and had a new, actual bed delivered to us by the end of lunchtime on Friday.  Air mattress? Tucked away in the guest room closet on top of our suitcases.
Find a penny, pick it up: Today, while on a downstairs run with the Chloe-monster, I spotted a shiny penny on the pavement.  I seem to be the lucky one in that regard.  Since we'v been living here I've picked up 8 cents off the ground that were all in a well foot-traversed area that other people just walked right by.  A week and a half ago Kris found a twenty-dollar bill.  If people are going to keep up the trend of dropping change here and there and everywhere in Miami, I'm going to keep in the habit of picking it up.  (Not to mention that today, having sent about 8 replies to job postings this week and having sent about 50 over the last three weeks, I finally may have an opportunity. Someone replied to me today on a work-from-home on your own time basis for a legitimate business.)  Keep it up, universe!  I'm enjoying it very much!  Hope you all are finding your own bits of luck out there as of late.
Happy Good Karma!
Enjoy,


Allie H.