Recipe Tuesday :: Strawberry Cream Cheese Crossovers

I think I've declared my love for the strawberry cream cheese pies that McDonald's sells around this time of year and they've come back!  Whenever we go I pick up four so Mom and I can have one immediately and then another later.  I often have to wait for the second set so they can cook more and the last time the girl asked if I'd wait a few minutes for them to cook.  I said that I wait all year, I will definitely wait a few more minutes.  With all that why wouldn't I try to cook something like them at home?  We recently had all the necessary ingredients in the fridge, so I gave these Strawberry Crossovers a try.

There were of course some tweaks because when I'm hungry in the morning I want something that goes together a bit quicker than the pastry cream called for in the original recipe.  I used half a brick of cream cheese warmed to room temperature added 1/2 a cup of sugar and a teaspoon of vanilla and beat it with a hand mixer until it was creamy.  I think I might have added a bit more sugar to taste and then used that in place of the pastry cream.

Mom liked the idea of slicing the edges and braiding them so we kept that and then brushed the tops with some milk and sprinkled with coarse sugar.

They were excellent!  Not too sweet but flavorful and kept well between eating the first and the last one (which honestly wasn't all that long!)

Do you have a favorite treat you want to try making at home?

Three Things Thursday :: Outlander, Soy Candles and Interstellar

I'm getting back into the swing of blogging again and on the way home today I remembered it was Thursday and I am currently obsessing over a few things....okay just one thing really, but it is THREE  Things Thursday so I had to come up with another two.

So my big obsession right now...Outlander.  I may be a bit late to the game but I fell HARD.  It had been recommended a couple of times to me and I'd read what it was about and found it intriguing.  At Mom's retirement party a good source said that she has read the books multiple times.  Her husband admitted that she reads them from the first to the last when a new book comes out.  That is Harry-Potter-level devotion and I respect that and it tells me these must be pretty good.  So this weekend Mom and I bought just one episode of the show on our Apple TV...and then we bought the whole season...and binged watched it in a couple of days.  I had bought mom the first book and she graciously put it in the bathroom where I could read it too.  I'd read ahead and then reread what we just watched and she told me I could take it and read it but I refuse to.  As long as it stays in the bathroom I'm not really "reading" it and I really need to finish up one or two of these books that my Goodreads says I'm reading.  I bought it on my Kindle so that when I do finish one of these books we can be reading at the same time.  And did I tell you that there are EIGHT books already.  Omigosh it's like getting the entire Harry Potter series at once.  I'm pretty sure I would have had some serious eye strain if I'd had all of those at once.  I've also downloaded the soundtrack (because it's AHmazing) on Spotify and have been listening to it constantly when I'm driving this whole week.  But wait there's more!  What we saw was only the first HALF of the season and more episodes will be coming out in April!!  **Squeals and screaming and jumping up and down**  I love getting fully obsessed with things every now and then.  :)

Now to flesh this out with something other than Outlander...soy candles!  I really enjoy going down the candle aisle in Target and finding something new that smells good.  I found these candles there and the scents work together so well and are light and not too fake smelling.  They really fill up the living room with lovely spring-y scents and are pretty too.  Do it.  Go to Target and let your nose lead the way.

And now for something that isn't available on Blu-Ray YET but will be in 19 short days...Interstellar!  I've already pre-ordered mine.  Tell me you don't want to sit and watch this about 50 times in a row until your brain is so full of mind bending physics that you feel like you've been working on a PhD!  I might even have to put Outlander on hold to obsess over this for a while.  ;)

Life Lately...

Sorry about the radio silence for the past few weeks, but life got hectic.  Mom retired at the end of February and those last two weeks were KNUTZ.  With a K.  Her birthday was on the 19th and I had planned to go out to eat but the weekend before that I started having terrible pains in the hamstring of my left leg.  It felt like the muscle was cramping, like a charlie horse, whenever I tried to stand up or sit down.  Once I was in a position it would relax but moving from one to another was excruciating.  At it's worst it would spasm once I sat down sending me into tears and I could never get into a fully straight standing position making life completely frustrating.  I was working that weekend and went down to the ER on Saturday, spending Sunday and Monday working while taking muscle relaxers (I didn't drive of course) and then tried to rest on Tuesday.  On Wednesday when I went in I was in tears again because of the pain and my supervisor sent me back to the ER.  This time the doctor could see that my hips were out of alignment, gave me a different muscle relaxer and pain pills and 3 days off.  Mom called my chiropractor and I saw him that day and have gone back 4 more times to get it back into alignment.  That whole week off I spent on the couch in a semi-conscious coma of pills and sleep and it didn't get better until right before I went back to work.  The muscle was still a bit tight but has loosened up since then.  It still feels weak somehow.  Like when I get up to walk I think I can walk at a certain speed and then that muscle tells me "Nope".  I still sort of gimp around and I'm going to do some physical therapy to try and get that muscle back into shape.  This derailed everything.  Mom's birthday dinner was moved to the next week (though I did have donuts delivered to work with a message telling her Happy Birthday and they put a candle in one) and the blog was neglected because it's actually really hard to type while laying on your back.  I was still convalescing the week after her birthday and we tried to catch up on what we could before our schedule became really intense.

Last week was so busy Mom and I had to keep a daily running list of things to do and reminding each other where we were going and what we were doing (and through it all Mom went to daily radiation appointments).  Monday I went to work and then we went to Costco and scouted out the food we were going to get for her retirement party which was on Friday and picked up the non-perishables.  Tuesday we went over to Seattle in the afternoon, stayed the night and then went to an ultrasound appointment at UW for me since I am starting my last embryo transfer.  We drove back on Wednesday and I went to work late.  Thursday we got up, dropped the dogs off at the groomer's since it was Doggy Spa Day, went to Safeway and Costco and bought the perishables for the party and then I went to work and Mom went home and balled melons, stuffed cream cheese in strawberries and made pasta salad.  Friday I went to work early and Mom baked the hot food (the venue only has a warming oven) and made crockpot meatballs and then we met at Costco again to pick up the sandwiches and cakes and headed for Cascade Gardens.  We rented the lodge there which is SO beautiful and hired two of their workers to help us with the food and wine.  After setting up the centerpieces and figuring out the food, we got ready and had an amazing party!  Lots of people came, great stories were told and good friends were seen, lots of food was eaten and wine poured and it all went off without a hitch.  So after it was all over we hauled the leftover food up to the lab and threw our very tired selves into our beds.  And for those who couldn't be there here is a little photo journey...

Three Things Thursday :: The Girl on The Train, British Magazines and Americanos

It's been a while since I've posted about what I'm loving right now so here they are!

The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins

I start this book on February 6th and I'm already halfway through it.  Dang those free Kindle samples from Amazon!  I saw a review about it in my Entertainment Weekly and it sounded like a good read, especially since it was about a girl who rides the train into London and watches the goings on of people in the houses that have gardens against the tracks.  I could immediately see those houses in my mind because I enjoyed looking into those same gardens on our rides on the train when we were there.  I admit that I have crytoscopophilia (cry-toe-sco-po-feel-e-ah), as do many people.  Crytoscopophilia is a word brought to me by the Yarn Harlot from her book All Wound Up and it is the urge to look into people's windows as you pass.  As she says, this doesn't make you a stalker because the "as you pass" part is what separates you.  Ultimately it is the enjoyment of getting a snapshot of someone's life, as you would from a picture.  People making dinner, watching TV, playing with their kids or even knitting, drinking coffee on a patio or hanging laundry out to dry.  When we were in England I loved seeing the little garden room additions or the laundry strung from one side of the garden to the other.  I liked seeing the uniquely British part of their lives and the other things that were common to us all.  So this book intrigued me deeply and in the first few chapters I was sucked in and bought it.  It is also a thriller as one day she see's a woman that she watches kissing a man who isn't her husband.  A woman who ultimately goes missing.  Where is she?  If she's dead who killed her?  Who knows what's going on and who doesn't?  I like that the author displays life with all it's intricacies; where we look at someone else's life from the outside and see it as perfect but then we get to see the inside and real goings on.  The main character is a very fractured person and rather than identifying with her I feel almost protective of her.  While everyone's life in the novel isn't perfect why has she been dealt the worst hand?  I want her to find victory and happiness, to overcome her drinking and bad choices and be able to pull her life together.  But I don't know yet if she's involved somehow...

Country Living UK and Country Homes and Interiors

Oh my British magazines how I love thee!  Luckily enough I have found that our local bookstore, Inklings, carries these and I frequent it monthly for my editions.  I tried to have it delivered to our house, but it was only available in a tablet edition and there is just something about having a real magazine that makes it better.  I'm sure you've seen these in my pictures recently as I've been obsessed for a while.  I love reading them bit by bit and seeing what sorts of British style I can incorporate into my house.  You are all aware of my love of tea and the Anglophile that I've become, so none of this should be a surprise.  But really you should grab one!  They are so quaint!

Americano

At Christmas time I was drinking Cinnamon Lattes but then I found a drink that was the best tasting low calorie espresso around...the Americano!  Now I will admit that I am not fluent in the language of espresso drinks and I didn't know what exactly the difference was between them.  An Americano is shots of coffee in hot water rather than milk.  How is this different from brewed coffee you ask?  Well it is much more smooth and can be stronger than brewed coffee based on the number of shots you get in it.  I like to add one more shot than they usually put in whatever size I order and I add Splenda and a splash of cream.  And I'll admit the best Americanos I get are at work.  I typically only get a tall but with two shots.  They use Lincoln Ave Espresso coffee and it is soooooo gooooooood.  My current weakness for sure.  So much so that I've been researching small home espresso makers but I keep chickening out.  I think I'll let the experts handle this and just keep forking over the $2.50.  ;)

Recipe Tuesday :: Cheesy Broccoli and Hot Dog Skillet

Looking at the title of this post you wouldn't think it was a balanced meal but it is!  The original recipe I found used chicken and you could easily substitute a chicken breast instead of the hot dogs if you like.  But I think with the cheesy noodles your inner child really calls out for some hot dogs in it!  This is a 30 minute meal including all the cutting and measuring of the ingredients and will only dirty a pot and a skillet.  Win-win if you ask me.  ;)

Cheesy Broccoli Hot Dog Skillet

4 Hebrew National 97% fat free hot dogs
2 cups of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
6 ounces Barilla Pasta Plus penne or rotini
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1/4 to 1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 cup 2% milk
4 ounces 2% cheddar or cheddar blend cheese, shredded
1 ounce parmesan cheese, shredded

Boil water for the pasta.  While the water is boiling, cook the hot dogs how you like (microwave or grill) and chop into bite size pieces.  When the water boils toss in the pasta and cook 5 minutes.  Add in the broccoli to the pasta and cook both 2 minutes more.  Drain and set aside.  In a skillet melt the butter.  Add in the onion and sauté about a minute or until the onions are translucent.  Add in the flour and stir until dissolved.  Stir in the milk and season with salt and pepper.  Bring sauce to a boil and simmer 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the cheeses, stirring until melted and smooth.  Add the pasta and broccoli to the cheese sauce and stir to combine.  Add in the hot dogs and stir again and it's ready to serve!  Serves about 3 to 4 people.

(1,624 calories, 165 gram carbs, 109 grams protein, 59 grams fat, balanced 41-27-33)