Funky, Punky, and Plump

Every year for the Super Bowl when I was growing up, my Dad made something called "Quarterback Scramble" from a Chex recipe in the newspaper. This is my version of that. I swear, this is like crunchy crack.  I cannot get enough of it, even though I know it's not exactly the healthiest snack in the world.  But, it's not uncommon for me to eat it in lieu of a meal so that balances it out, right?  Right?? :) Click here for the recipe This is one of those recipes that calls for butter and you need to use real, actual butter and not some sort of butter substitute as it will end up with a weird soggy texture.  *IF* you are able to do portion-control-thing, a 1/2-cup serving has about 200 delicious, totally-worth-it calories. :) Quarterback Scramble has Wheat Chex, Corn Chex, butter, packaged taco seasoning, beer nuts, beef jerky, and American cheese. Mine uses Rice Chex, Corn Chex, butter, homemade taco seasoning , peanuts, bacon and Cheddar. Not complet...

There has really been nothing remarkable going on the past few weeks.  I've made a bunch of yummy food but by the time I am done cooking it, I am so excited to eat it that I forget to take pictures until I am putting away leftovers. :P  This is the only meal that made it and it's probably the most boring visually.  LOL  It was absolutely delicious, though!  I present to you roasted tomato soup and grilled ham & cheese on homemade bread!  I am not a huge fan of soup and never have been.  Tomato soup is one of the few I enjoy because it is creamy and smooth and doesn't look predigested to me.  Now that I have had this, I will never, ever be able to eat canned tomato soup again.  Ever. You can find the recipe for the soup here.   I will also be adding the Pumpkin and Mushroom Lasagna, Shepherd's Pie, and Cherry Bread recipes soon.  Even though the temps are still in the 80's (upper 20's celsius) here in Atlanta, I ...

Hubbyman and I decided to do another road trip yesterday and discovered that Monticello, GA has the cure for constipation! It's amazing what you find when you make a wrong turn. :)  This was painted on the side of a building in a parking lot where we had to turn around after someone... ahem... I... headed in the wrong direction. Our goal for this road trip was Vidalia, GA , the home of the sweetest onions you could hope for.  Since I've been on such a food obsession kick lately, a food-related destination just made sense. For a change of pace, we decided to take my mini-van so I drove the first half of the trip.  His car is a manual which I am not able to drive so he usually does most of the driving.  It was a nice change for him, too, to be a passenger for a change. :) The drive was pretty but there was really very little photo-worthy.  Plus, you know, I was driving. :) We did stop at a pretty little place for a late picnic lunch, though, calle...

Yeah, I know that sounds dirty, but I am going to disappoint you with this post if you are expecting something naughty.  :) This has been a sort of busy week for me and, for some reason, I am just "over it" with my daytime job.  There is no particular reason, but little things that normally just roll off my back are getting to me.  I even got so frustrated earlier this week that I took about 75% of the things off my wall and packed them up.  It made me feel better.  There were a number of points where I literally had to bite my tongue to not say something uncharacteristic for me.  So I doodled it... which also made me feel better. :) Most of my friends will tell you that I don't swear or curse often unless it's to make a humorous point or if I am really upset.  I rarely get really upset.  I did this day, though. :P  Inside my head, it sounded like something sailors would have been embarassed to hear. Other than trying duck...

Yeah, I'm a dork.  :)  But I'm cute. ;) This was a pretty quiet weekend since Hubbyman was gone last weekend and just wanted to relax around the house.  I was all for that!  I didn't do too much but spent some time in the kitchen.  I made a new batch of BBQ sauce , tried a blueberry muffin recipe which did not taste good at all, tried a granola bar recipe for Hubbyman that ended up being granola cereal (but he still likes it), and rearranged a few things to try to organize the kitchen a bit better. Between tasks, I watched Season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race on Netflix. :)  I so want to be a drag queen and yes, I know that does not make any sense considering I am, in fact, a biological female. LOL  I am just drawn to the artistry and creativity and flair these women have.  It just amazes me. We are having friends over an afternoon of gaming next Saturday and I am providing the main dish for dinner.  Since my food processor will be here Tue...

Okay, that post title makes me giggle.  Titling posts is even harder for me than writing them but you'll see how I came to that one in just a bit. :) First, the baby part.  I was asked to design the invitations for a Halloween baby shower!  (Okay, I offered when I heard about it but they took me up on the offer so that's almost the same! *grin*)  The theme of the shower is Boo Crew so I took inspiration from the invite that they found where they loved the wording of but not the design... Image source ...and designed something that fits with the Boo Crew theme without outright copying it. :) They also found this idea (which I am totally stealing if a miracle baby ever happens): Image source So, of course, I made theirs to match the invite: :) Now for the balls.  LOL With my tummy issue, any time I eat anything with chocolate in it, my tummy hurts.  A lot.  Thankfully, I am not one of those girls that HAS to have chocolate eve...

I have been feeling incredibly guilty for the past few months because, in my mind, I haven't made any sewing products or painting or drawing or crafts or anything.  But then I popped by the beloved Stacey's blog and saw this image which she found on Etsy : Etsy shop  Then I realized I *AM* making stuff and being creative.  It's just in the kitchen. :)  I rarely follow a recipe exactly as is because I've been cooking long enough and know my taste buds well enough to know what I might need to change.  Or, in those few times I do follow something exactly as is, I make notes as to how I will change it the next time I make it. And, let me tell you, I am obsessed with (or is it addicted to?) making new recipes right now.  I'm still horrible about taking pics but I did manage to get a couple over the weekend. :) On Friday, after we went grocery shopping, I made a warm spinach salad with bacon dressing and homemade "Shake-n-Bake" chicken.  The coat...

Well, my food obsession certainly lives on and I feel so much better for it!  Even though this new way of eating hasn't been by choice (I mean, who *choses* to feel sick?), it's been a fun food adventure and cooking rediscovery.  I'm even down 25 pounds which is still a surprising but nice side effect. :) Grocery shopping has gotten easier and goes more quickly again now that I am not reading every blasted label and know what I can get that is chemical-free.  Our grocery budget has gone up, of course, since I am cooking 5-6 nights a week now instead of 2-3 but we are saving more because we are not eating out as often.  But I am also cooking smarter as well, making meals that are large enough for leftovers for lunch as well as another meal later in the week. I have made so many wonderful things but I always forget to stop and take a picture when it's done because I am just so excited to eat it.  I remembered today, though! :) I am downright addicted to ma...

Last night, I made homemade pizza from scratch... from the crust on up. The only thing I used that was purchased and used as-is was the turkey pepperoni.  Okay, I didn't make the cheese (yet) but I did grate it!  LOL  Freshly grated mozzarella is so much nicer than the preshredded stuff...I had no idea what a difference it would actually make!  (I do have more to say about preshredded cheese but I will keep that to myself. :)  If you are really curious, just do a search on Google about preshredded cheese.) Here are my 'zas: For both, I made yeast-free pizza crust.  It was a little bitter but I've since figured out that it was because my flour is old.  The one on the left has my homemade pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni and cheese.  The one on the right has homemade BBQ sauce, leftover roasted chicken from Sunday, onions, and cheese. Here are the recipes I used for the sauces and crust: Sashi's Pizza Sauce Ingredients 12 garli...

Hubbyman and I decided to take one of our random roadtrip this weekend.  As I was searching for a name within a decent driving distance, Farragut, TN jumped out at me and made me giggle.  I kept saying "Farragoot ees verra guud" (is very good).  It amused me, at least. :) I have been having issues with food over the past month and a half or so* so I knew our usual tradition of fast food and snack food was just not going to be an option.  So I made us breakfast for the road as well as a picnic lunch and a few snacks.  A bit more work but definitely worth it in the long run!  We ended up just short of our destination because it took a lot longer than we expected to get there taking the back roads.  But we were still gone for almost 12 hours and had a really nice time spending the day together, driving around, talking, and looking at scenery.  Here are a few pics from our day: Breakfast on the road: toasted English muffin, Canadian ...