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Cherry Tomato Salad

Posted on February 8, 2014 by LFFL

Made with romaine lettuce, red grape tomatoes, red onion, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh parsley, jarred pesto, sugar, minced garlic clove, salt & pepper, and Parmesan cheese.

So I decided to make myself a salad. I liked this salad a lot—and it was actually the homemade tomato dressing that won me over.

I loved how I was able to throw all the ingredients into a plastic zipper bag, let everything marinate, and then throw it all on top of lettuce leaves as the dressing. Too simple. And how delicious it was.

Cherry tomato dressing on romaine lettuce.

Cherry tomatoes marinated in dressing.

Let the tomatoes and dressing marinate.

The recipe called for a mix of red and yellow grape tomatoes, but I could only find red—so I doubled up on the red ones. Needless to say, it would have been a little more colorful if I had found the yellow tomatoes, too.

I added twice as much pesto because I just loved the flavor of the pesto. Then, of course, I topped my salad with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese of which the recipe does not call for at all.

I will definitely be making this scrumptious salad again soon.

Recipe for—Cherry Tomato Salad

So, if you have nothing else to do today, make yourself a fabulously healthy tomato salad with the goodness of a homemade marinated dressing.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Homemade salad dressings are hands-down so much better than the store-bought stuff.

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I Finally Had My Tea

Posted on February 6, 2014 by LFFL

I just love this green tea. It tasted marvelous—especially after I sweetened it up a bit with a smidgen of agave nectar.

Look at how beautiful the tea leaves are.

Made with green tea leaves and agave nectar.

I just loved how simple it was to pull the filter out and set it off to the side. I was able to get at least three good cups of tea from this one tablespoon of leaves. Oh, my health is improving already.

Brewing My Cup Of Tea
Always use filtered or purified water
Bring water to a boil; then reduce boiling water temperature
Let water sit for 30 seconds to 2 minutes off the heat
Add 1 tbsp tea leaves to cup filter
Slowly pour 8-10 oz of water over the tea leaves inside the filter
Steep anywhere from 1-5 minutes depending on preferred strength
Remove filter
Add agave nectar to tea, stir, and enjoy

So, if you have nothing else to do today, have yourself a cup or three of tea. It relaxes the soul.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Make sure to drink the maximum number of cups with each tablespoon of tea leaves before tossing the leaves out. Always get your money’s worth.

Funnel Cakes, I Think

Posted on February 5, 2014 by LFFL

Made with funnel cake mix, egg, water, and canola oil.

Jumpin’ Jehosaphat! What in heaven’s name is this supposed to be?! It’s supposed to be some concoction of a funnel cake—that’s what.

I was thoroughly disappointed. It was just so hard for me to make the swirly things in the oil and have it look nice. None of my attempts looked anything remotely like the funnel cakes you’d get at a carnival.

As I’m attempting to make the third one of these waiting for it to get a nice medium brown, I was standing there thinking to myself—“Hmmm, I wonder where the name funnel cake came from?” HOT DOG! Talk about a light bulb moment.

My 2nd attempt looks just as pathetic.

My tiny sieve for sifting the powdered sugar onto the cake.

Well, it TASTED like a funnel cake.

There at that moment, while yet another attempt is frying in the oil, it dawned on me—ohhhhhh, that’s why they use a funnel. So this whole time I was reading the directions on the box I didn’t think it was that big of a deal to pour it from the mixing bowl into the oil instead of through a funnel. I mean, there was a little indent on the edge of the bowl for pouring so I thought let’s make life easy. No such luck. Plus I didn’t own a funnel anyway.

I was so frustrated at my attempts at this, that I didn’t even try at all with this last one and made it in pancake form by just dumping the last of the batter straight into the oil—no swirly movements, nothing. At least it did taste like a funnel cake. And that’s that, folks!

Needless to say, I’ll never get a job as a funnel cake maker with a traveling carnival.

Recipe for—Funnel Cake

So, if you have nothing else to do today, attempt to make your own homemade funnel cakes—but make sure you have a funnel first and give it as good a go as you possibly can.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Actually read the title of a boxed recipe you want to make and wait for the meaning to sink into your head before attempting to cook or bake anything.

A Deluxe Breakfast Bake

Posted on February 2, 2014 by LFFL

Made with garlic & cheese croutons, cheddar cheese, ham, eggs, milk, ground mustard, cream of mushroom soup, frozen hash browns, paprika, and pepper.

So I tried a breakfast bake that actually looked and sounded better in the food magazine than it actually did in real life. Well, I guess it looked just fine but the taste was just so-so. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as fabulous as I would have liked.

Needless to say, this won’t be staying around for my recipe binder. It was good enough that I was happy I had something to eat all week. It was just fine, but it didn’t have that “wow” factor. You know?

The croutons

Ham & cheese

Add the egg mixture

Spread the cream of mushroom

Top with shredded hashbrowns

And don’t get me started on frozen hash browns vs. freshly shredded potatoes. Talk about a taste difference! There is clearly a difference, people.

Recipe for—Deluxe Breakfast Bake

So, if you have nothing else to do today, try making your own breakfast bake putting your own little spin on it and concocting it your way.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Try using fresh potatoes where a recipe calls for frozen hash browns. I bet it’ll make loads of difference just with the potato taste alone.

Caramel Crispy Treats

Posted on February 1, 2014 by LFFL

Made with crispy rice cereal, butter, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, light corn syrup, flaky sea salt, and marshmallows.

Talk about having some sweetness in your life! I’m not really big on rice crispy treat dillymajoogle thingies. I’ve just never been a big fan—even though they’re ok. But I made these anyway one fine day since I’ve never before made them personally myself.

A swirl of butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, & corn syrup.

With marshmallows stirred in.

I loved swirling and watching all the marshmallows melt into the butter and brown sugar mixture. It was just a lot of gooey goodness.

These actually make a pretty good snack if you need to get your sweet fix for the day.

Recipe for—Salted Caramel Crispy Treats

So, if you have nothing else to do today, sink your teeth into some gooey, chewy caramel crispy treats.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Apparently the marshmallow sauce mixture can be used as a substitute for glue should you find yourself in a pinch.

The Leftovers Are Just As Amazing

Posted on January 15, 2014 by LFFL

This mac & cheese was SO good even several days later. I decided this would be my lunch for work every day this week. I just love when I can make a big dish of something and have it last all week.

Oh, I wish you could have just smelled the wonderful smells permeating from this bowl when I pulled it from the microwave, walked back to my desk, and slowly lifted that lid for all the steam to swoop out and travel around the office. Who am I to deny my fellow co-workers the lovely smells of life?

Of course, all those around me were wondering where that glorious smell was coming from. That smoked cheddar really does wonders in the smell and the taste department. Someone even thought there was bacon in it even though there’s not. No—it was probably the smoked cheddar they were smelling. Just keep your distance from my desk and stay away from my food!

I oooo’ed and ahhhh’ed my way through lunch and couldn’t wait for a second helping at home for dinner.

So, if you have nothing else to do today, enjoy your leftovers at home, at work, or wherever. Let others get a chance to whiff those glorious smells coming from your lovely leftovers.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Guard your food with your life as others are walking past trying to discover where those delicious food smells are coming from. You never know when you’ll have to fight to the death.

I Can't Get Enough Of Macaroni & Cheese

Posted on January 12, 2014 by LFFL

Made with Cavatappi pasta, sharp cheddar cheese, pepper jack cheese, smoked white cheddar cheese, Gouda cheese, milk, salt & pepper, red pepper flakes, Cheez-Its, and Parmesan cheese.

Well, Miss Nancy of “Feasting With Friends” had to go showing off macaroni and cheese in my face as if I haven’t had enough of it already. And it looked marvelously good. It’s all I could think about since she posted it to her blog.

So I had no other choice but to hop my way to the grocery store to get said ingredients.

Because Nancy suggests NOT using pre-packaged cheeses, my right arm is now 10 times the size of my left arm with all the grating I had to do. Yeah, there were lashings of cheeses all over the place once the shredding was done—but I’m not complaining.

Cheesy sauce

Cheesy sauce over the pasta

Once all the cheeses melted into the milk, it was drenched all over the pasta.

Now it’s ready for baking in the oven. I didn’t make mines quite as soupy as Nancy did and I had much bigger hunks of Cheez-Its for the topping. It turned out OH SO DELICIOUS!

Thank you, Miss Nancy for shoving mac & cheese in my face! It made my day.

Recipe for—Nancy’s Macaroni & Cheese

So, if you have nothing else to do today, try either making or eating some homemade macaroni and cheese—or both. If for no other reason than the love of cheese.

Take-Away Life Lesson: Apparently grating lots of cheese for a long period of time can give your one arm that Incredible Hulk look—which basically puts weights/dumbbells out of business. Don’t forget to switch off arms lest you walk around with one skinny arm and one bulky arm.

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