WIA(last Saturday)W

Well hi there!

Fall is in the air and that makes me a happy girl. I even broke out the boots and leggings – for work! Gasp!  Pregnancy makes me do funny funny things people.

How many of you love knowing just what you’ll post on Wednesdays thanks to Jenn at Peas and Crayons?  I know it’s one less thing for me to worry about!

Continuing on with my Dad’s visit, I wanted to highlight a few other fabulous eats we devoured ate over the weekend

Let’s start with pie, shall we?

Waaaay back in my highschool days, I made a sweet potato pie for some school assignment and ended up baking an extra one for my Dad.  Without fail he brings this up as one of his favorite pies of all time. 

Since I had trouble finding the original recipe, I found a very similar recipe for sweet potato pie here that I modified slightly:

• Instead of sweet potatoes, I used yams – about 2 large ones = 2 cups mashed
• In lieu of light cream, I used half and half (evaporated milk would work too)
• I upped the cinnamon to 1 heaping rounded teaspoon because cinn rocks

The result: deliciousness.  This may rival my absolute all time fave of pumpkin pie!

And while we’re on the Fall theme, how about we revisit the pumpkin salsa sop I’ve made in the past?

The recipe is from Hungry Girl though I always adapt things. This time I followed it pretty much the same way, but upped the garlic, added a green pepper and some onions.  And of topped with toasted pepitas and mexi cheese   The beer bread is also super easy – just 3 cups self-rising flour, 3 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 bottle o’beer, baked for 40 minutes at 360 deg.

And despite the filling meal, we still made room for froyo at Yoppi’s in Palo Alto.  My bowl is the bottom center one which was cheesecake froyo topped with cookie dough, brownie bits, heath pieces and Butterfinger pieces.  Across from mine is Naava’s vanilla froyo – yes we bought froyo for our dog to enjoy

Not be forgotten was Saturday’s lunch which was In’n’Out per my Dad’s request.  I was appalled at the calorie counts that they now put on their menu and opted out of the 590 calorie stawberry shake and stuck with light lemonade and a grilled cheese.  Tasty!  And now I’m not due for fast-food for another 1.5 years or so

Tell me, what was the best thing you’ve eaten?

Do you buy your pets human treats?

Favorite flavor of pie?  I looooove pumpkin pie, but the pie above certainly rivals it!

Beer Bread — round 2

Have you found a blogworld recipe that you are in luv with?  I am quickly having a love affair with Di’s easy-as-can-be beer bread recipe.  So much so that I feel comfortable jazzin’ it up

Cheesy Jalepeno Beer Bread

• 3 cups self rising flour
• 3 tbsps granulated sugar
• 1  heaping tbsp Mexi chili powder
• generous amount of coarse ground black pepper
• 1/3 small can of diced jalepenos (dabbed dry, and finely chopped)
• 1 bottle of beer

• 

  The fixin's

• Mix all of the above ingredients and divide into 4 small mini-loaf pans (lightly sprayed with Pam)
• Bake for ~33 minutes at 360 degrees
• Remove from oven, sprinkle each loaf with lite Mexi cheese
• Place back in oven for another 6-8 minutes

• 

  Fresh from the oven

• Pair with Hungry Girl Pumpkin Salsa soup and eat!

• 

  Hers and His

Hungry Girl is also quickly rising up on my list of fave go-to recipe resources.  Now if I could just find the time to cook and bake more….any ideas on that one?

Now that we’ve had our carb intake, let’s talk about a recent article I saw in Marie Claire.  First let me state, that I’m actually no longer a fan of Marie Claire based on their attack on many of my favorite bloggers.  And the fact that they published this article just increases my disdain.

Here are some snippets:

The Controversial Diet that Really Works

The science is sketchy, the FDA won’t approve it, and it costs a fortune. But it seems to be working.

…she’d tried the HCG diet, which entailed eating no more than 500 calories per day and giving herself shots of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone once a day.

HCG levels are highest in pregnant women and can be extracted from their urine or created synthetically. The central idea behind the diet seems to be that the hormone forces the body to mobilize fat and use it for energy, as it would during pregnancy in order to nourish the fetus. This “trick” makes you feel sustained, even if you’re not eating much. Even better, the HCG combined with caloric restriction apparently “resets” your metabolism.

She taught me to wipe down my skin with alcohol and coached me on inserting the needle into my thigh. It was scary and it hurt, but it wasn’t unbearable. I would also need to inject vitamin B12 into my waistline three times a week in order to boost my energy. We reviewed the diet plan, and I paid $750.

I was losing about a pound per day, with plateaus here and there. My B12 injections were starting to hurt a bit more as there was less fat to cushion the needle. The diet was working so well that by day 21, I signed up to run the whole 45-day course. I handed over another $500.

Am I the only person that thinks this is insane???  Would you give yourself (painful) shots to lose a few LBs? 

What are your thoughts?  Let’s discuss…

Sure, I may joke about a magic pill, but injecting myself to lose weight?  Never gonna happen!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to head to the airport and head to Boston to see my BESTIE!

Pumpkin Salsa Soup and Beer Bread

Yay for bloggers Amy and Liz for getting new shoes.  Woohoo!

We’re mid-way through the work week.  Can you handle it?

I’m one of those weird people who thrive on discipline, routine, and schedules so going back to work is a good thing.  Granted, I’d like to have the freedom to take a few Starbucks breaks during the day and perhaps a 2 hour shopping lunch, but I’m thinking that’s not going to be allowed anytime soon.

But I’ve been carried along for several days by this absolutely tremendously fabulous soup I made for NYE, thanks to this recipe book:

Hungry Girl? Yep, I'm one of those

I got this as a Christmas present for my Mom and I already have a good third of the book dog-eared.  The recipes are so easy and low-cal that I’m going to make this book my  new bible.  Thanks Momo

Below is the recipe for the soup per Hungry Girl.  I indicate the amount I increased each ingredient to feed the NYE crowd.

• 4 cups vegetable broth – 1x
• 1 15oz can pumpkin — 3x
• 1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained — 3x
• 1 cup canned sweet corn — 2.5x
• 3/4 cup salsa — 3+x’s (I used Pace Medium Spicy Salsa)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic — 2x’s
• 1/2 tsp cumin — 4x’s
• 1 tsp chili powder (mexi) — 4x

Get started with garlic and veggie broth

Place minced garlic in large deep pot (with about 1tbsp EVOO)  and heat on medium high until garlic lightly browns and becomes fragrant.  Add veggie broth and continue to simmer at low-medium heat.

Add all of your spices next.

Drink some vino so you get a thoroughly blurry pic of your Mexi Chili Powder

If you’re like me, you’ll use Mexi Chili Powder for an extra kick!

Next add your canned pumpkin.

Pumpkin added, next-up salsa!

Once your pumpkin is integrated, add your salsa and corn.  Continue heating on low.

About 20  minutes before I was ready to serve, I added the black beans and brought the soup to a low boil for about 5 minutes and then let simmer for an additional 10 minutes.

For your garnish, saute some pepitas!

sautéed pepitas fixin's (dash of Cayenne pepper not shown)

Mix approximately 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp paprika in a small dish.  Add a dash of sea salt and a dash of cayenne pepper (more if you dare )  Heat 1 tbsp of EVOO in a small skillet on low-medium.  Add your spice mixture to the oil and mix well.  Add 1 cup of pepitas to the skillet.  Cover with spicy oil mixture.  Let saute for about 5 minutes on low until you hear the pepitas start to pop (keep an eye on these so they don’t burn).  You could also roast the pepitas to!

I’m vowing to make this soup a staple in our house!

What best compliments soup?  Bread!  Let me share a recipe with you that I found from fellow blogger Di at The Treadmill Diaries.

Beer Bread: Mix 3 cups of self-activating flour, 3 tbsp granulated sugar, and 1 can/bottle of beer (I used a slightly chilled bottle of Dos Equis).  Spread over 4 bread tins that are lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Note, the dough is very sticky/tacky.  Bake for 40 minutes at 360 degrees.  For a full loaf pan, you’ll want to bake for 50-60 min.

Easiest recipe ever!

This bread was seriously so good!  It had a subtle taste of beer, which I didn’t mind even though I abhor it because it tastes like piss is gross.  Next go around, I’m going to throw some jalepenos and green chilis in the dough and also top it with shredded mexi cheese in the last ten minutes.  Yum, right?

And leftovers still look good!

1 last savory bowl, just for meeee

Any recipes knock your socks off lately?  Share a recipe!

Are there other Hungry Girl books I should go purchase (asap!)?