We aren't having anything terribly exciting on this Superbowl Sunday. Although we're rooting for the Saints they aren't our first choice so we aren't going food crazy. Now, if the Cowboys were playing, we'd have a feast! Ha!
Our Super Sunday menu is thinly sliced roast beef and Colby Jack cheese, Almost Healthy 3 Ingredient Dip with chips and veggies, and brownies!
Since we've cut way back on sodium and the man person is limiting fat, too, rather than buy any kind of lunch meat I cooked a lovely beef roast a couple of days ago with some minced onion, garlic, freshly ground black pepper and the juice of 1/2 a lemon and today we used our new-to-us electric meat slicer to slice a good portion of it. The man person and the youngest of the young men persons, age 18, made roast beef and Colby Jack cheese sandwiches while I just put a few slices of the meat on a 1/2 slice of Colby Jack and topped the mini mound o' meat with another 1/2 slice and warmed it until the cheese was melted. Then I sprinkled it with freshly ground black pepper and gobbled it up! It was fantastic and there's enough for the man to enjoy roast beef for a few days. The makings for an almost healthy Cream Cheese Sausage Dip (recipe below) are in the small slow cooker right now and we'll have that with tortilla chips and/or fresh raw vegetables during the game.
By the way, the part of the roast that didn't get sliced earlier was cut into small chunks and will be used to make "beef tips and gravy" to eat over wild rice. See the forthcoming menu for this week for more on that.
Almost Healthy 3 Ingredient Dip
1 block American Neufchatel cheese
1 lb bulk sausage (I use either turkey or beef sausage or, like today, Gimme Lean sausage)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
Put the cheese in a slow cooker and turn it on low. Cook the sausage in a skillet until done. If you use buffalo or any other very lean sausage add a little olive oil to the skillet. Pour the cooked sausage and oil into the slow cooker and add red pepper. Cover and cook on LOW until the cheese melts, then stir a little and cook more until the dip is hot. Serve with chips, vegetables, or whatever you like. You can spice this dip with Rotel tomatoes and we like it that way but actually prefer it without the Rotel.
The brownies are from a mix we had languishing on a back room shelf and aren't even close to healthy but hey, it is a special day and we have to balance out the relative goodforus qualities of the other dishes. Umm, it sounds good anyway!
So, that's our Super Sunday menu - simple, short, and not too terribly unhealthy.
I hope your Sunday is wonderful and may your team win! As long as the Saints are your team. ;)
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Part 1 of my trip to Austin...finally!
Since I only had 4 days of vacation left when the man person got out of the hospital, I decided to drive to Austin and leave Amtrak for another time. I headed out Thursday morning at 3 AM and was at my son's house by 9 AM. Lydia, my daughter in love, had work responsibilities that kept her away most of the weekend but I did get to see her for just a few minutes when she came home to get ready for a banquet.
Jeremy had to work from home Thursday morning and Jon slept most of the morning so I played with Bob the Cat a little and enjoyed the occasional chatting with my oldest. When Jon got up and Jeremy was finished with work we went to Chuy's, an Austin tradition, for lunch. Jeremy had told me he wasn't a huge fan of the place, partially because it's always crowded and the wait is very long, but we got there at the right time of day, apparently. We were seated immediately and had our food within 20 minutes. The food, by the way, was excellent! I had the Stuffed Avocado, something I'd never even heard of, and though it was too rich to eat often, it sure was tasty! The appearance of it was a little odd - it looks kind of like a demented Easter egg. I got a picture of it with my Blackberry but can't find it now. Grrr! It looks like this, though. After lunch, we drove over to South Congress Street and walked around, looking at some funky little shops and enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the best shops was Uncommon Objects and it's chock full of just that, uncommon objects. Truly, it's part antique shop, part junk shop and part something out of "Needful Things".
Friday night we went to Sixth Street, the famous strip of bars, clubs, and music joints. When we got there, some of the street had barricades and my sons explained to me that the street is blocked off weekend nights. There were a few people milling in the street but it was pretty quiet and not at all what I expected. As we walked down the street we passed what I thought was a statue of The Grim Reaper. I slowed to look a little more closely and it moved! Ahhh, a street performer it was, not a statue! Whoever was inside the black shroud did a great job of portraying the ol' reaper and I couldn't help but giggle over the creepiness so Jon got a picture of me with the reaper.
We went to a bar called Nuno's on Sixth because Pinetop Perkins, who is 96 years old and one of the last great Mississippi bluesmen, hangs out there and my sons know I'm a rabid, errr avid, blues fan. We got there and Pinetop was sitting in with Travis Green and The Late Bloomers, one of Austin's newest and most promising bands, playing his keyboard and singing. Oh man, I haven't heard live blues like that before and I was enthralled! So were the rest of the folks in the bar, apparently, because there wasn't a seat to be found so we just stood by the bar and enjoyed the great music of Mr. Perkins, Mr. Green, and company. It was definitely worth much more than the $3 cover charge Nuno's charges! While we were there, the great Alan Haynes wandered in and it seemed like old home week there at Nuno's. Unfortunately, Alan didn't play and didn't stay long but I had hope!
After a couple of hours of that we headed back into the street. It was pretty late, about 1 AM, and the fairly quiet Sixth Street I'd seen earlier was gone! There were young people walking in the streets, some sober and a lot of them not so sober. The police were out and about, a few striding through the street, some riding their horses, watching carefully and "escorting" folks (usually handcuffed) to the paddy wagon as necessary. Apparently, a person can be slobbering drunk down there but as long as said drunk person has a sober person there to keep an eye on him/her an arrest isn't made. However, if you're drunk and alone, watch out! Austin Texas Police, bless you! I wouldn't want your job but I'm so glad you're there to do it.
We stopped for a treat at The Best Wurst, a street vendor, for the best all beef bratwurst I've ever had. I wanted to get a picture of the lovely dog, kraut, and bun with spicy mustard but I wolfed it down.
However, Jon did get a shot of me standing by one of the police horses, bratwurst in hand. Yeah, I'm terrified of horses so I had to make myself stand next to this beast! The policeman was very nice about the picture and the horse was pretty tolerant, too, though he did try to steal my snack! I lived in Germany for a few years in the 80s and have had my share of brats but none like this. Seriously, if you ever get to Austin and are a brat fan, go to The Best Wurst and try their fare.
That's enough for this entry...more to come later!
Jeremy had to work from home Thursday morning and Jon slept most of the morning so I played with Bob the Cat a little and enjoyed the occasional chatting with my oldest. When Jon got up and Jeremy was finished with work we went to Chuy's, an Austin tradition, for lunch. Jeremy had told me he wasn't a huge fan of the place, partially because it's always crowded and the wait is very long, but we got there at the right time of day, apparently. We were seated immediately and had our food within 20 minutes. The food, by the way, was excellent! I had the Stuffed Avocado, something I'd never even heard of, and though it was too rich to eat often, it sure was tasty! The appearance of it was a little odd - it looks kind of like a demented Easter egg. I got a picture of it with my Blackberry but can't find it now. Grrr! It looks like this, though. After lunch, we drove over to South Congress Street and walked around, looking at some funky little shops and enjoying the beautiful weather. One of the best shops was Uncommon Objects and it's chock full of just that, uncommon objects. Truly, it's part antique shop, part junk shop and part something out of "Needful Things".
Friday night we went to Sixth Street, the famous strip of bars, clubs, and music joints. When we got there, some of the street had barricades and my sons explained to me that the street is blocked off weekend nights. There were a few people milling in the street but it was pretty quiet and not at all what I expected. As we walked down the street we passed what I thought was a statue of The Grim Reaper. I slowed to look a little more closely and it moved! Ahhh, a street performer it was, not a statue! Whoever was inside the black shroud did a great job of portraying the ol' reaper and I couldn't help but giggle over the creepiness so Jon got a picture of me with the reaper.
We went to a bar called Nuno's on Sixth because Pinetop Perkins, who is 96 years old and one of the last great Mississippi bluesmen, hangs out there and my sons know I'm a rabid, errr avid, blues fan. We got there and Pinetop was sitting in with Travis Green and The Late Bloomers, one of Austin's newest and most promising bands, playing his keyboard and singing. Oh man, I haven't heard live blues like that before and I was enthralled! So were the rest of the folks in the bar, apparently, because there wasn't a seat to be found so we just stood by the bar and enjoyed the great music of Mr. Perkins, Mr. Green, and company. It was definitely worth much more than the $3 cover charge Nuno's charges! While we were there, the great Alan Haynes wandered in and it seemed like old home week there at Nuno's. Unfortunately, Alan didn't play and didn't stay long but I had hope!
After a couple of hours of that we headed back into the street. It was pretty late, about 1 AM, and the fairly quiet Sixth Street I'd seen earlier was gone! There were young people walking in the streets, some sober and a lot of them not so sober. The police were out and about, a few striding through the street, some riding their horses, watching carefully and "escorting" folks (usually handcuffed) to the paddy wagon as necessary. Apparently, a person can be slobbering drunk down there but as long as said drunk person has a sober person there to keep an eye on him/her an arrest isn't made. However, if you're drunk and alone, watch out! Austin Texas Police, bless you! I wouldn't want your job but I'm so glad you're there to do it.
We stopped for a treat at The Best Wurst, a street vendor, for the best all beef bratwurst I've ever had. I wanted to get a picture of the lovely dog, kraut, and bun with spicy mustard but I wolfed it down.
However, Jon did get a shot of me standing by one of the police horses, bratwurst in hand. Yeah, I'm terrified of horses so I had to make myself stand next to this beast! The policeman was very nice about the picture and the horse was pretty tolerant, too, though he did try to steal my snack! I lived in Germany for a few years in the 80s and have had my share of brats but none like this. Seriously, if you ever get to Austin and are a brat fan, go to The Best Wurst and try their fare.
That's enough for this entry...more to come later!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Ummm, I don't *do* cakes!
Since we're both diabetic I don't bake cakes anymore but I used to love to bake them. And cookies. And brownies. And, and, and... But even when I did bake cakes the most decorating I did was frost them and that wasn't always easy for me. You know, getting every little spot covered with icing and making it look attractive to boot was a tall order! It was easier to just leave the cake unfrosted.
I might be pretty brave in the kitchen but not brave enough to attempt cake decorating. I don't have steady hands or sharp eyesight and there are just too many things that can go wrong, as evidenced by Cake Wrecks, a site that keeps me laughing so hard my sides hurt! The pictures are enough to make me roll but the author's words are even better.
So, when you have a little time and want a laugh, go look at what the cake wreckerators have wrought!
I might be pretty brave in the kitchen but not brave enough to attempt cake decorating. I don't have steady hands or sharp eyesight and there are just too many things that can go wrong, as evidenced by Cake Wrecks, a site that keeps me laughing so hard my sides hurt! The pictures are enough to make me roll but the author's words are even better.
So, when you have a little time and want a laugh, go look at what the cake wreckerators have wrought!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Mary had a little lamb...with asparagus and red potato
Okay, I don't know if Mary did but Denise and the man person sure did! We had them with steamed asparagus and red potatoes with a dab of sour cream and boy, was it delicious!
I've only eaten lamb a few times and had never participated in the cooking of it before (unless you consider watching someone else grill it participating in cooking) so this was an experience for me. I was nervous even though everything I've read said to treat it pretty much like a beef steak. No matter how much I read about cooking lamb my mind screamed, "But it isn't a big ugly cow! It's a little, wooly lamb!" I finally managed to ignore that part of mind and decided to just do it!
So what did I do? I seasoned the two chops with garlic powder, a very small amount of Cook's Choice Gourmet Steak Seasoning and a little dried rosemary from my mother's herb garden. I baked it at 325 for about 25 minutes, checking and turning it often to make sure it didn't cook too much.
The result was a savory treat that was fork tender and fit for a king. We both enjoyed the lamb and there's enough left of tonight's dinner for the man person to have a repeat for tomorrow's lunch. It just doesn't get much better than that.
If you haven't tried lamb, go ahead and give it a shot. And if you have some experience with lamb, please let me know what cut you use and how you prepare it. We'll have it once a month or so probably and it would be great to have other ideas on how to prepare it.
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