Recipes April 1-7

First off, happy birthday to my nephew born around 1:00 this morning!  Second, happy birthday to my brother in law--not born around 1:00 this morning.  And third, happy April Fool's Day!

Here are the recipes I'll be undertaking this week.  And actually, I've already made the punch, the cupcakes are cooling right now, the carnitas have 20 more minutes to go, & I made the eggs benedict this morning.  Man I love not having to work on a thesis. Think I might finish my book today too.

1.  "Best" Punch Ever

Source: nobiggie.net via Nicole on Pinterest

2.  Coconut & Lime Cupcakes

Source: laurafriendly.com via Nicole on Pinterest

3.  David Lebovitz's Tomato-Basil Pizza

Source: davidlebovitz.com via Nicole on Pinterest

4.  Dirty rice with andouille sausage

Source: abigmouthful.com via Nicole on Pinterest

5.  Crockpot Carnitas

Source: amberdawnlo.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

6.  Eggs Benedict

Source: marthastewart.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Recipe Results

Hello there!  I realized this week how similar, yet different my tastes are from my husband's.  I always ask him what he thinks of whatever recipe I've made at the time and 9 times out of 10 it's not what I'm thinking.  Case in point:

1.  Stuffed shells.  4 out of 5  It was good and fairly simple to make, but I didn't enjoy it as much as my husband did.  In fact, I actually preferred the cooked shells just by themselves...without sauce.  Oh well.

Another case in point:

2.  Creamy avocado pasta.  5 out of 5  I thoroughly enjoyed this one and it was super easy as well.  My husband, however, wasn't as impressed as I was.  Nothing wrong with that, I just think it's funny.

3.  Oatmeal smoothies.  2 out of 5  I felt good about what I was putting in my body but the oatmeal left a strange grainy feeling in my mouth that I really didn't care for.  And just fyi: I didn't use yogurt, I used strawberries instead of raspberries, and I used some random juice I had in the fridge instead of coconut water.

Recipes March 25-31

It's almost April!!  And I have good news!  I've cut out lactose foods from my diet and BOY DO I FEEL GOOD!  I've discussed my stomach issues here before and thought I might have some sort of fructose issue.  I came to that conclusion after my stomach did flips from eating apples.  I continued to have the issues, however, so I tried the gluten-free thing.  Still had issues.  And then...I drank a milkshake.  My stomach immediately cramped up but it didn't occur to me what was going on until the next day when I had another milkshake with the exact same results.  That's when I decided to cut out dairy and see how I did.  For the first time in a long time I was able to go through the workday without being uncomfortable.  Nice.  I was telling my sister that I really don't know if I'm lactose intolerant or what, but honestly...I don't care.  As long as what I'm doing (or not doing as is the case) is helping, that's all I care about.  Here are this week's recipes:

1.  Stuffed Shells

Source: 101cookbooks.com via Nicole on Pinterest

2.  Creamy avocado pasta

Source: twopeasandtheirpod.com via Nicole on Pinterest

3.  Oatmeal smoothie

Source: marthastewart.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Recipe Results

Well, this go-round was a bust.  Unfortunately, the recipes were not impressive.

1.  Breakfast pockets - 4 out of 5  This is a rather time consuming recipe (dough rises for 1 hour).  So if you choose to make these, make them with the intent to freeze for later use.

2.  Shrimp and sausage pot pies - 3 out of 5  Super rich.  Only once did I eat the entire serving in one sitting.

3.  Sweet potato & black bean casserole - 2 out of 5  Bland and time consuming.

4.  Black bean sliders - 4 out of 5  Burgers didn't stay together...smooshed out all over when I went to take a bite.

5.  Fig newtons - ? out of 5  Ended up making fig muffins.  Dough sat in my fridge for more than a week because I couldn't bring myself to do the work!

6.  Flourless fudge chocolate chip cookies - 2 out of 5  I can't stand cookies that stick to parchment paper.  I lost my patience and tossed the whole thing in the trash.  Here's the link since I don't think I included it before:

Source: chocolateandcarrots.com via Nicole on Pinterest

7.  I made this spinach tofu soup last night.  3.5 out of 5  The recipe doesn't specify how much tofu so I just cut 1 block into 12 cubes.  WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much.  I recommend using half a block or cutting into 24 cubes.  Besides that mishap, very yummy & quick to make.

Source: soundspicy.blogspot.com via Nicole on Pinterest

The Little Engine That Could

I DID IT! 

I defended my thesis last Friday & passed.  I'll be honest, I was a nervous wreck & thought for a second that they might actually fail me (forgot to refresh my memory on the DNA analyses I did!). 

But let me tell you...last weekend was the best I've had in a while.  Such a burden off my shoulders.

I shall have to leave you now...I have more edits to do before I turn it in.  :)

Recipes March 11-17

This time change stuff gets me every time.  It's almost 1pm and I feel like it's 10am.  Better get to moving or I won't have my oral presentation complete by the end of today (my goal)!  Nevermind I'm blogging right now.

1.  Breakfast pockets with hashbrowns, cheese, sausage, & eggs - I planned on making these this morning but I don't have enough yeast.  And I went to the grocery store yesterday!  Poor planning on my part.

Source: budgetgourmetmom.com via Nicole on Pinterest

2.  Shrimp & andouille sausage pot pies - I've never worked with puff pastry before, so we'll see how it goes.  Took me forever to find it in the grocery store - and even then it was after I asked someone where it was.

Source: michelle-s.com via Nicole on Pinterest

3.  Sweet potato & black bean casserole with tomatillo cream sauce - yum!

Source: themeaningofpie.com via Nicole on Pinterest

4.  Black bean sliders with avocado mayonnaise
 

Source: motherthyme.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Should be a great week!  Until next time...