New Year New Resolutions (Part 6)

Since I completely biffed on coming up with any new ideas for dinner in March, I thought I would try to come up with something for April before the end of the month. I stepped way outside the box for this one and went with pork loin.

I know that pork is not something that unusual and my family eats things like ham and bacon but we don't have things like pork loin worked into our rotation. Well I went to Fry's last week and they it for less than half price so I thought "why not"? Since it's not something we usually have, I prepared it in a way similar to what I had done before and crockpotted (yes I just turned that into a verb) it. I left it on low in the pot for about 7.5 hrs until it fell apart. Then I drained off the excess liquid, added bbq sauce to it and let it simmer for another hour (cranked up to high for the last 10 minutes or so).

The verdict: pretty good. Of course C didn't eat it - he rarely tries anything new (according to the pediatrician this will supposedly get better in the next year or so; I'll believe it when I see it). J examined it but didn't eat it. E liked it although would have liked more bbq sauce. I liked it too but I think I prefer the bbq beef. I'd also like to find different marinades for cooking - this time I didn't season it until the end with the bbq sauce. My guess is this will make it into the rotation once or twice a year when there is a killer deal on pork.

New Year New Resolutions (Part 5)

As I mentioned in a previous post, I taught myself to knit in the round so I could complete a secret project. Well now I can discuss it - it was a project for E's birthday. I'm 99% positive he doesn't read this blog but I didn't want to risk it. E is a huge tech geek, who loves to listen to podcasts, read tech blogs and analyze why certain products are better than others. A while back on one of this blogs someone posted a picture of a crocheted Android. Hubby sent it to me and asked me to make him one - unfortunately I don't crochet. So I covertly went on Ravelry and did a pattern search for a knitted version. There was a very cute little droid but he was knit in the round. So I taught myself how to do it. Here's the finished project - E loved it!

It seemed really intimidating at first but once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. It also has opened up a whole new set of patterns that I previously glossed over soley because they were constructed in the round.

Mmmmm cheesecake

What's in the box? Why that would be cheesecake bites (which I'm sure is quite obvious based on the title of the post. My mom's birthday was this week and I didn't know what to get her besides a gift card. She and dad like to go to Cheesecake Factory on date night so that seemed like a good choice. But I wanted it to be more than just a gift card so I decided to bake something to go with it. Cheesecake seemed like a natural choice.

I had to go on a recipe search - I have a recipe for marble cheesecake but it's kind of complicated and I was short on time. I considered cheesecake balls since they are more portable and easier to package but as I mentioned I was in a hurry. I ended up finding a recipe on Bakerella's website - a recipe for cheesecake bites.

These involve using vanilla wafers as the crust and a very simple recipe. Her recipe calls for 1 tbsp of lemon juice- I cut that in half. Otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. My wafers were too small for the baking cups but it still worked okay. I also got only 32 out my recipe instead of the 48 she got. I ended up leaving the cherries off to make them more portable.

Not too bad. Some day when I have more time I want to try some variations on this like chocolate ganache or a rasberry topping. Maybe mable cheescake with oreo cookies for the base! The possibilities are endless!

Mmmmmm cookies

Today I finally got around to making some cookies I had wanted to try. Someone had posted a recipe for chocolate cookies on one of the forums I belong to. I had wanted to make them for a while but never could find the time. But I had an opportunity today! I decided to spruce up the original recipe by adding chocolate chips. I figured if chocolate is good more chocolate is better!

Chocolate cookies
1 and 1/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt (the original recipe calls for 1/2 but I like a slightly salty taste)
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 bag chocolate chips

I softened the butter and then creamed it with the sugar. After that I added the eggs and vanilla and mixed again. All of the dry ingrediens came next and After everything was blended I added the chocolate chips. I baked on 350 for 12 minutes.

Yummy!

The hat (again)

The hat is off the needles! Just need to weave in the thread from the end. It's bigger than I expected. I had J try it on and it fit him well but I think I will still send it to my friend. Her kid will grow into it, right?

Spring training

This is one of those days I love being in Arizona. E and I were able to go to a spring training game today. I didn't have an interest in either team but with spring training it doesn't matter. It's more about enjoying some perfect 80 degree weather and soaking up some sun!

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday- the start of the Lenten season. Jars of Clay's Love Song for a Savior was on the radio this morning and it got me thinking. There's a lyric in there "seems to easy to call you Savior, not close enough to call you God". We are so lucky that we get to call Jesus our Savior and Lord. He's all powerful yet he cares and wants us to know him. In our culture of celebrity worship it seems like everyone wants to be famous or associate with them. Yet there's someone better for us to be worshipping-  the Savior who laid down his life for me, you and everyone. I hope to use this season to better absorb that powerful message and carry it with me the rest of my life.