Catering

Apparently I've had food on the brain, because this is the second consecutive post dealing with food.

Yesterday, I received an email inviting me to lunch at the office in celebration of one of the boss's birthdays.  The invitation promised catered food.  Catered?  What could that possibly be?  I'm sure everyone has their own idea of what catered means to them, so just picture your definition in your head.

I admit I was looking forward to it.  I usually have leftovers or a sandwich or something else really quick for lunch.  It's not because I don't have time to make something, it's just that sometimes I can be really lazy.  So a catered lunch sounded nice.

I walked into the office at lunch time to find our catered lunch.  It was sandwiches.  They were a step above Subway, but by no means what I had in mind.  We also had a fruit tray, family size bags of chips, a bowl of M&Ms, and a bowl of mini Reese's peanut butter cups.  The peanut butter cups were the best part.  Did I mention everyone was sitting on the floor?  Oh well, at least there was good conversation and it filled me up.

Good Food

My favorite food is Italian.  I try not to eat it too often, mainly because I could eat my weight in pasta.  And in case you didn't know, eating your weight in something means you just doubled your weight.  And I don't want to have to buy new jeans.

Friday night I was craving Italian, and I gave in.  There's a chain Italian place that I liked when I lived in Houston, and since it's a chain, they have it here too.  I haven't had it in years, and was really looking forward to a nice meal.  I ordered my favorite dish and was soon presented with a plate full of mouth-watering pasta.  Until I tasted it.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either.  It was just ....... ok.  I'm not sure if it was a changed palate, different cooks, incorrect memory, or that it was just ok.  For whatever reason, it just wasn't what I remembered.  And it left me still craving Italian.

So what do you do when you wanted Italian and were severely disappointed?  Obviously you order Italian again the following night.  But this time, I ordered from a local Italian place that I've eaten at numerous times since moving here 3 years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed my food each time.  I ordered the fattiest, most unhealthy, artery-clogging dish on the menu, and ate every bite of it.  Ok, almost every bite of it; I still had leftovers for dinner today. 

I'll chop this one up to learning -- stick to the local places; they taste better!

Brownies!!

I've been on a bit of baking kick lately.  Actually, I've been on a wanting-to-bake kick lately.  Even though I've been craving cookies and cake and brownies and everything, I haven't actually made anything....until tonight.

My sister-in-law has a recipe for Cinnamon Salt Brownies.  I'd never heard of them before, but they're brownies so they have to be good, right?  Um, yes.  :)  So tonight, I made my first batch of these brownies.  They're easy, delicious, chocolate-y heaven.  And what's the best part about these brownies?  That you don't have to soften any butter!!  So that means if you're like me and don't get that craving until 10 pm, you can still having some yummy deliciousness in your tummy in half an hour. 

If you'd like to try them, check out the full recipe here.

DTPA Claim?

I just realized how long it has been since I've written anything.  Oops! 

Anyways, I've always wondered how Nabisco could possibly know that Oreos were milk's favorite cookie.  Yes, I know it's just a slogan, but couldn't that be a DTPA claim?  I'm sure some creative lawyer out there could make a claim for false or misleading advertising or something similar. 

A couple of days ago, I went to the grocery store and bought, among other things, milk and Oreos.  When I got home, I put all the bags on the counter.  When I grabbed the bag that held the milk, it was wet.  Great -- a leaky milk carton.  I threw away the bag and cleaned the counter.  I was putting away the remaining groceries when I grabbed another wet bag.  You guessed it, the one with the Oreos.  It was the only other bag that got wet with the spilled milk. 

I guess Nabisco was right after all....

eCoupons

Like most people, I'm always looking for easy ways to save a buck or two.  For groceries and other essentials, this used to mean clipping coupons.  This eventually turned into printing out online coupons.  Now, I've discovered eCoupons.  Or better put, I've recently discovered a new way to use eCoupons.

I've used eCoupons for online purchases for a while now, but until recently, I didn't know that you could actually load coupons onto your store loyalty cards.  This is great for two reason.  First, I don't have to spend time clipping and sorting coupons, only to end up leaving them at home or forgetting about them and having them expire.  Second, I don't have to limit myself to purchasing items online.

So how exactly does this work?  It's super easy.  First, you need to have a loyalty card.  If you don't already have one, stop by customer service the next time you do your grocery shopping and get one.  Next, go to your local store's website and register.  I tend to do most of my grocery shopping at Tom Thumb (aka Randall's, Safeway, etc), so I made a quick trip to TomThumb.com and registered.  Finally, select the coupons you want loaded onto your card.  On TomThumb.com, simply click on Coupon Center and select the coupons you want to load onto your card.  When you use your card at the checkout counter, the coupon is automatically applied.  No clipping required!  (On a side note, this also works great for those of you with significant others who are "too manly" to be seen with coupons!) 

The other nice thing about this is you can add coupons from other sites, not just the store's website.  For example, Tom Thumb allows you to add coupons from Shortcuts.com, Cellfire.com, and P&GeSaver.com.  They even have a link to those sites on their website.  You'll need to register on those sites and link it to your account using your card number.

And in case you're like I used to be and think that coupons don't make much of a difference, I saved $10 on $40 worth of groceries on my last trip.  That's 25% off without having to clip, sort, or remember coupons; I just spent 15 minutes online, did my regular grocery shopping, and handed my card over at the register!

Jelly Beans!

My all-time favorite candies are jelly beans.  Back when I was in high school, I used to eat jelly beans for good luck before my tennis matches.  It all started when I was really low on energy and doing horrible in a match.  A teammate was watching and offered me some jelly beans during a changeover.  Whether it was the sugar or the much-needed laugh she also supplied, it spurred a comeback and a tradition was born.  From then on, I ate jelly beans before every match.  Needless to say, we were a bit superstitious.

I'm not sure if they continue to be my favorite candy because of random memories like this, or because I have convinced myself that they're actually healthy for you.  I should also mention that I really like Jelly Bellies and Starburst Jelly Beans.  Both of these come in fruit flavors.  The way I see it, if you eat a cherry jelly bean, that's like eating a cherry.  Same thing if you eat strawberry, grape, and orange jelly beans.  There are hundreds (or at least dozens) of more flavors.  If you eat an entire bag, just think of all the healthy fruits you're eating! 

So why am I even thinking about jelly beans today?  Because it's Easter time, and as I mentioned above, I love Starburst Jelly Beans.  Unfortunately, you can only get them during Easter time.  I'm trying to decide if I should stock my pantry with enough to last until next Easter, or if maybe this is just a sign I should cut back...?

Tortilla Disaster

I've been craving flour tortillas lately.  If anyone has ever had my mom's flour tortillas, you know that store-bought just won't do.  And since my mom doesn't live anywhere near me, that meant I was going to have to make them myself.  Years ago, my mom gave me a recipe that worked perfectly. Somewhere along the way, I lost that perfect recipe.  I could easily call my mom and ask her for it again.  She's been making these tortillas forever, but since she never measures anything, making it into a recipe isn't the easiest thing for her.  But I called her anyway and she gave me the general proportions.

Like most daughters, I've inherited quite a bit from my mom.  One of these inherited traits is the inability to measure anything before throwing it into a pan or bowl.  Ok, so maybe it's not an inability; it's more like an aversion.  Either way, I didn't measure anything.

I knew almost immediately that something was wrong.  Although the dough looked and felt right, the tortillas didn't seem to be cooking up right.  I assumed it was the stove -- I've always cooked on a gas stove and my place has an electric stove.  I assumed I just had the temperature wrong.  But that wasn't it.  My house just didn't smell like my mom's does when she's making tortillas.  That "home" smell was just missing.  I made a few before tasting one, and it definitely disappointed.  I didn't bother making the rest of the dough.

On the up side, sprinkle a bit of cinnamon and sugar on them and they're not half bad.  They have a pie crust quality to them so I'm sure I can find a few other things to sprinkle on them and enjoy.  Tomorrow I'll try measuring.

Health Eating -- Pizza

In case you've ever wondered, one of the greatest healthy eating discoveries is pizza.  I can already hear the snickering, but it's true!  Think about it for a minute.  What are the basic food groups we're supposed to include with every meal?  Grain, dairy, protein, fruits, and vegetables.

• Grain means bread.  Pizza crust is bread.  Check.
• Dairy means milk.  Cheese is milk/dairy.  Check.
• Protein means meat.  Pepperoni (or sausage or beef) is meat.  Check.
• Fruit means fruit.  Tomato is fruit, and tomato sauce is tomato.  Check.
• Vegetable means vegetable.  Onions, bell peppers, mushrooms are all vegetables.  Check.

So pizza is a well-rounded meal.