Braised Beef Short Ribs - It's What's for Dinner. :)

Beef short ribs. I have SUCH a weakness for beef short ribs! We went to Disneyworld a couple of years ago and ate at a pub in Downtown Disney. There I had the most tender, succulent, delicious short ribs I'd ever eaten and I've been on a mission ever since to re-create the yummy goodness I had that night. Well, my dinner tonight wasn't even close but it was good! LOL

Short ribs tend to go on sale a lot at our local Harris Teeter grocery store so I can get 4 ribs for around $3.50. The only bad thing that I've noticed about the ribs our store offers (and this could be typical of the cut) is that they are very fatty. So while they look substantial in the package, really, two packages is what would be needed to feed 2-3 people. Anyway, I found a recipe online which you may download here:

http://www.foodchannel.com/recipes/recipe/braised-beef-short-ribs/

It was a very simple and straight-forward recipe and the only thing I changed was the red wine. We have every other kind of alcohol here in the house EXCEPT red wine and I was feeling lazy and didn't want to run out and get any. So instead, at that step in the recipe, I substituted beef broth and it seemed to work out ok. Oh, I also added 2 bay leaves and a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste before popping it into the oven. :)

Let me tell you, the fragrance that was wafting through the house was unbelievable. The kind of thing that I knew was going to make my husband happy when he walked in the door from work. Oh man, it smelled amazing!! To serve along with the short ribs, I made some mashed potatoes using this recipe, which never disappoints.

3 medium yukon gold potatoes
1-2 pinches of salt
1-2 tbs butter
a healthy splash of milk (i used 2%)

I chopped the potatoes into uniform cubes and then put them in a pot and covered them with water. Added a bit of salt to that. Brought the water to a boil and simmered it over medium heat for 15 minutes. Then I poured it all into a strainer and returned the potatoes to the pan, set over to the side with the lid on, and let the potatoes steam for 10-15 mins. Then, using a potato masher, I added the butter and the milk and just mashed it all up until it was the consistency I wanted. Always add the salt last and taste it as you go.

Here is the final result. Have mercy! Stick to your ribs delicious!!

Scratch-Made Pizza!!!

Have you ever done something and failed miserably? Has that experience made you think you just weren't destined to be successful at that task? I have. ANything to do with creating something with yeast has been the bane of my existence for a very long time. Either my yeast was too old or I would kill it with water that was too hot. Well, today I wanted to make pizza for my boys from scratch. While their eating habits certainly need some major improvements, I realize that those changes aren't going to take place overnight and that baby steps are what are called for here. Pizza for dinner? Ok, fine. But we're not ordering Pizza Hut or Domino's nor are we getting Totino's Party Pizzas (oh I do love those) or Red Baron. If pizza is what's for dinner, then I get to control the ingredients and it's going to be really homemade.

My sister told me about a pizza dough recipe that she uses by Tyler Florence so, once I located one I gathered my ingredients and got to work. You can see the recipe on the Food Network's website here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/fresh-pizza-dough-recipe/index.html

The first thing that thrilled me to no end was, I managed to get the yeast part right. I didn't kill it!!!! It was beautiful and foamy in the bowl. Next, I followed the directions for mixing it in my stand mixer then allowed it to rise for one hour. After an hour, I had two beautiful dough balls that I was able to top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. Here is what it looked like from beginning to end.



The boys loved it and I got to feel good about giving them a more reasonable version of one of their favorite foods!!! Also, if I can make this, YOU can make this. Believe me on that, ok?

When Life Hands You Lemons....

You know what? Sometimes, things happen and there is no rhyme or reason to it. They just happen and you've got to learn to roll with it. Otherwise, you'll get rolled over and what fun is that going to be?? After I met with the dermatologist the other day, she told me that I have a form of eczema as well as a mild case of rosacea. Man, can I just tell you that was NOT what I wanted to hear. It makes dealing with my skin a bit more challenging and, for the time being, I'm on some very pricey medicated creams and face wash. Oh well. What can one do? Deal with it. That's what. So, now that I now why my face has been looking like a chemical peel gone wrong, now I can focus on getting myself in shape.

This year, I turn 40. Yep, the big 4-0. Oh lordy look who's forty. I don't feel like I'm older than 25 and my husband would swear that at heart, I'm still a teenybopper. I do love me some pop music. :) But since this year is such a big deal birthday, I promised myself this was going to be the year that I got into shape. This year is supposed to be one where I am kinder to myself. So far, that is a goal that has gone unaccomplished. Now, it's time to get serious. My birthday is in October and, I'm not being unrealistic and expecting to be 120lbs by then. Or ever. But I do want to be eating better, eating more home-cooked meals and less fast food. I want to be MOVING a lot more than I do now. And those are all things that can be done, I just have to get off my tookus and do them!!

Today, my sister and I got together and she is helping me get back into the swing of cooking at home. The last few years have been pretty crazy here and I didn't deal with it well at all. My husband was hardly ever home for dinner and my kids hate to eat anything that isn't a nugget or cheese pizza. So it seemed like a lot of work to cook a full-on dinner just for me. Now I know though that the kids and I all need to eat better than we do and all it takes is a little planning. My sister also has a food blog called, For the Love of Food. She is a great cook and makes many things from scratch as well as on a budget. She does a great job of tentatively planning the weekly menu and sticking to it. Click on the link above and check out her blog when you get a chance. You'll be glad you did. And tell her I sent you!!

Anyway, I hope you will continue to stick with me as I pick up the pace and get this party started. This is the year of living better and treating myself with kindness. Won't you do it, too? You will thank yourself for it later. :)

Heading to the dermatologist today

My skin has been an absolute MESS lately so, out of desperation because nothing else I have tried is working, I'm going to the dermatologist today. I suspect that I will be making some dietary changes after this visit so look for an update on that. Of course, with access to the internet and WebMD I have already self-diagnosed. LOL And the information I've read thus far leads me to believe that I will see some positive changes by eliminating yeast and sugar from my diet. So, we'll see. My appointment is late this afternoon. Wish me luck!!

My Crazy Journey

When I started this blog I hoped I would be a lot thinner and would have enjoyed many delectable, home-prepared gourmet meals. What I have learned about myself is, I find that kind of lifestyle very difficult to maintain. For a long time, I was allowing other things to get in the way and, for the last several months, we have not been eating much prepared at home. Thankfully though, that has really turned around. I have found myself enjoying being in the kitchen again after hating it for a while. And I'm also on a journey to feed my soul along with my body and I am going to use this blog as a platform to share what happens along the way. Already, my body feels at peace knowing that it is going to get the sustenance it needs, not only with nutrients but with intangible things that only the spirit can feel.

So I hope you will join me as I continue on my path with all the twists and turns. I am not as concerned about being thin anymore. Now I just want to be happy. :)

Where Do I Begin?

So, forgive my long absence. I have been so uninspired and, even though my last post had me thinking I had my kitchen mojo back, I found out that was not the case at all. And even now, I have no idea how many times dinner will be homemade during the week but let me tell you this, my goal is to cook 100% of the time. Or if I don't want to cook then we will go out somewhere that uses local ingredients. Why? Because last night we watched "Food, Inc.", that's why.

If you haven't seen that movie, don't wait. It's a watch instant on Netflix right now or you can purchase it somewhere I'm sure. This movie totally rocked our world. Even my chicken nugget, french fry, coke drinking, happy meal eating children have sworn that they don't want to eat "like that" anymore. We have had really involved conversations about shopping at our local farmers market and supporting people close to home. The boys are totally on board with that, and they're even excited at the thought of meeting the people that grow our food. The farmers have become their new rock stars, people to be admired, and I'm cool with that.

In keeping with our new philosophy, the boys and I headed to Earthfare, an organic market in town, and we picked up some supplies for tonight's dinner. My oldest and I decided to share a grass-fed ribeye and with that I served a tomato-mozzarella salad prepared with basil from my mom's own garden. Well, maybe I should say my dad's garden because he's really the one that plants and takes care of everything. Anyway, the basil was SO fragrant! Never have I purchased any basil from the grocery store and had it smell so amazingly potent. Here is a photo of the finished product:




I used organic grape tomatoes as well as organic fresh mozz. Man, oh man! It was divine!! The ribeye was surprising to me. Having never eaten grass-fed beef before I didn't know what to expect so, upon popping the first bite in my mouth I was surprised by the gamey taste that greeted me. I like lamb so I really liked this beef! It's not as strong tasting as lamb but it certainly had echoes of that flavor.

Eating this way is going to be a lot more expensive and is going to require a lot more planning. After watching that movie though it became evident to me that we are not eating *right* much of the time and something's got to give. Hopefully, eating this way will teach my children about where our food comes from and how to feed yourself as healthfully as possible!

It has been a long, long, time

Wow, when I clicked on the blog this morning to look up a recipe for a friend, I was stunned when I saw that I haven't been on here since July. Then, when I thought about what all has been going on for the last several months, I wasn't THAT surprised.

In my last post, I was talking about how my meds for heartburn hadn't been working so I decided to try just Zantac on my own. Well, that ended up not working out at all. So there I was, off to see a specialist and, one barium x-ray later, I was on a new prescription...this time for Protonix...and on my way to feeling much, much, better. I'm still holding steady at 192 after losing several pounds because I couldn't eat anything. A couple pounds came back on but that's ok. At least I can eat now.

The one really depressing thing that has happened to me is, I really can't seem to get my cooking groove back. Now that I can eat, I just don't feel inspired to actually prepare anything wonderful for myself. Perfect example. Last night, instead of doing something with the fresh chicken breasts and veggies in my refrigerator, I opted to cook a grilled cheese sandwich, accompanied by a pickle. Now, that's thrilling isn't it? I do want to cook more and prepare fun, easy dishes but just haven't hit that point where I'm really motivated to do it. I do have to prepare Christmas Day dinner for my whole family this year and am looking forward to that. I want to WANT to cook every day though!!

Of course, it would seem I'm falling into the same old patterns that I always follow with my way of eating. There are always a million reasons that I can come up with that it's not convenient to cook for myself. What I need to do is just suck it up and eat right and exercise. Have you ever seen the move "The Color Purple"? There is a scene in it that keeps repeating in my mind and I would swear it's my body talking to me. The scene I'm talking about is when Celie confronts Danny Glover's character about how badly he has treated her. She says, "Until you do right by me, everything you even think about is gonna fail". And I think that is where I am right now. My body has had it and something has got to give. I'm not going to truly feel good until I do right by it.

I'm sorry it has been so long since I last posted and my plan is to get back on the wagon and start cooking beautiful, delicious meals again. I hope that, where ever you are, your holiday season is blessed, full of love and happiness. Come back and check for a new post this week. :)