Sweet potatoes, broccoli, pudding.

I have sweet potatoes waiting to be turned to fries =) (not my pic)

Somehow the sweet potato in this recipe made in unique enough that it didn't bother me that I was eating chicken again! Twas a tasty little recipe. I didn't bother peeling the pot's - a little extra fiber and vitamins? - and I sliced them to save time instead of making cubes. I used cooked, shredded chicken that I pulled out of the freezer; it's handy to pre-make some ingredients.



This Linguini with Broccoli and Red Peppers was a nice break from eating dozens of leftover burgers. Actually...I only ate 1 1/2 (just for a lil protein), plus a little bit in a pasta meal that I made with leftovers. Mostaccioli-mosta totally works when you have a lot of burgers and pasta with sauce to use up! I used mushrooms, because as much as I love olive oil: I don't like olives. Added a little uncalled-for pasta sauce, left out the salt (parm is enough!), and probably used olive oil instead of butter. It was good, but I ate very little of it because I don't want all the cow (from who knows where, filled with who knows what), and I prefer to have some whole wheat or multigrain pasta mixed with white pasta.

not mine

Back to the linguini recipe! I think it really needs more moisture (olive oil or chicken stock/broth) and more broccoli! The broc and ling are the same weights, but the pasta volume far outweighs the veggies.
I could totally become a vegetarian.







 I've been thinking about pudding, because I have 2 aerosol whip cream to use up. I really don't want to make a jibillion desserts to just dollop every serving with it, and it can't be a visible decorative ingredient because it deflates. So maybe I could make the filling of Chocolate Cream Cheese Satin Pie; it was pretty heavy =/ But the crust won't be there; the heavy cream might be half & half, evap milk, or skim milk (lol); and.......actually that's where my whipped cream is supposed to come in! So, pudding made of whipped cream, chocolate, and cream cheese sounds workable!
I was thinking about healthy pudding too, like with yogurt or blended cottage cheese; but I was thinking only partially healthy. This looks pretty good! But I want something healthier than instant pudding....

not mine

Well, I'm not finding any good recipes at the moment, maybe I'll just mess with adding healthy ingred's to that chocolate pie filling. =)

What's it worth to you?

So many things are worth much more emotionally and sentimentally than monetarily; like the pictures I accidentally deleted off my camera, almost paid $25 to recover, but finally recovered for free.
A letter is worth more than the paper and ink used for it; the memory of a picture worth more than the 9 cent print; the heart behind a journal worth more than its cost; a highlighted, or marked, Bible or book worth more to some than a clean new copy.
Could you picture yourself asking a thief for the picture of your loved one in your wallet as their robbing you?
Files can be worth more than a computer, and pictures more than a camera.

not my pic

not my pic

not my pic

not my pic

There are a bunch of other examples I've run across recently, I just don't remember them.
What's worth more to you?



One picture is worth 1,000 denials. -Ronald Reagan

Basil

Someone pulled out my basil plant!!
I was like a disappointed little kid (minus the tantrum) who.....lost their favorite toy!! That lasted about a minute because they apologized, pulled it out of the bag of weeds, and replanted it.  I still took the biggest and best leaves off to freeze in case it decides to shrivel up.

Last year's plant

It died about a week after I transplanted it in October

Some of my favorite basil recipes:

New York-Style Pizza Sauce

Kay's Spaghetti and Lasagna Sauce

Exquisite Pizza Sauce

Well I added basil to this! I adore bolognese! Linguine Bolognese

I used basil instead of parsley in this! Spaghetti with Spicy Turkey Meat Sauce

This tastes better than it looks: Baked Spaghetti Squash with Beef and Veggies

Turkey Goulash

Teena's Spicy Pesto Chicken and Pasta

Cavatappi with Grilled Chicken and Asparagus

Pasta Primavera

Fettuccine Alfredo with Broccoli

Portobello Penne Pasta Casserole

Orzo with Parmesan and Basil

Angel's Pasta

(I certainly made alterations to some/most of those recipes.)

I created a delicious snack from this recipe when I decided that I wanted Garlic, Parmesan Basil Crackers: Alabama Fire Crackers
First, scale the recipe to 23 servings.
I used: 1/3 + (1/2 x 1/3) cups olive oil
            1 tsp garlic powder
            1/2 tsp onion powder
             same black pepper
             1/4 cup parm cheese (instead of ranch)
             1 1/2 tablespoons crushed basil (instead of red pepper flakes.)

(My friends really liked them.)

I realized my little plant is organic! .....Unless my dirt is bad, right?   =)

Whipped cream, soft clothes, and an unchanging God

I am loving the things I've been learning this week!  Exciting healthier food & living options, scary truths about foods, and little awesome details about the Bible! 

Me and the best friend =)

I adore whipped cream, okay?
Creamy, fluffy, whipped amazing-ness.
But we haven't bought it much because my mom has hated the idea of it for years; I was probably in 6th grade when she read the ingredients on a container of it and went, "Blehhh, glucose!!"
So throughout the years I've infrequently used Cool Whip, aerosol whipped cream, and whipped heavy cream.  Cool whip being the cheapest and lowest fat has been my preference, but I also tried the whipped cream recipe on the powdered milk box last month....big mistake!  Tasted a spoonful of it.... = O "OHH that's hideous!!!" The cold water in it wasn't cold after the 10 minutes that it takes to whip!! And it was salty cause I guess that's how powdered milk is! Imitation vanilla was what I had opened at the moment, so I'm sure that made it even worse! Plus, oh my gosh, what is whipped cream with NO fat?! Nonfat powdered milk, water, vanilla, and sugar...ew!  It didn't taste any better a couple hours later when it was cold, and I refused to try it on the Pear Crumb Pie I had just made.  My last thoughts for it possibly working are: 2% or whole milk (instead of the water) and pure vanilla.

But I found a new option today!  Vegan Whipped Cream!   Even if coconut fat isn't healthier than heavy cream fat (which I don't feel like researching right not, but I would think coconut is better), then at least you don't have to deal with added hormones, pasteurization, and any other milk problems.  I SO want to try this recipe!  Why not Cool Whip? Well, here's why.

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Here is something bad I learned about fabric softener today.  Baking soda is a perfect alternative (though I haven't tried it as softener, and I really don't have any reason to because I don't use it.)  Just add ½ cup baking soda to the rinse cycle to help get linens extra clean and fluffy.


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Have you ever thought, "I know God doesn't change, and His Word says He doesn't change, but doesn't (such and such verse) show change in Him"??  I had that question with the woman caught in adultery in John 8:1-11, because of Levitcus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22  Turns out that the Jews couldn't carry out capital punishment because they were under Rome's control at that time!!  (That's also why Yeshua/Jesus had to be handed over to the Roman's to be crucified.)  I've probably heard that story 18+ times in my 18 years, but never heard that explanation! (I was SO excited!)  So the Pharisee's are waltzing up to Him with a sneer and going, "Hey, Jesus, this woman was caught in adultery, whatcha gonna do? You're gonna have her stoned, right?" Mmm, nope, He wasn't going to let their crafty plan work for getting Him out of their hair.  So I see Yeshua's response in two ways, the one that is always preached is, "You Pharisee's can't accuse her because you're sinners too," but now there's also, "Ok, you want her killed? Throw the first stone. You can be the one's to get in punished/imprisoned/killed by the Roman's."


I feel so blessed by all the information available for me to learn! (And there's so much more than what I wrote here.)

What's the true story?

You know what's getting to bug me?  Hearing two completely different stories about the same issue both being told as fact.  Like sunscreen being good/bad, necessary/unnecessary; milk & fluoride being good/bad.  Those are just the first ones that come to mind; and right now, without having yet done decent research on them, I'm leaning towards believing the side that doesn't have an obvious agenda or something to sell.  Dairy industry telling me I need their milk's calcium?  They obviously have something to sell, a buck to make.  Dentists and dermatologists also have products to sell.  I dunno, man....

I'm intermittently writing this as I watch the movie Food Inc.  I wonder if I'll be willing to eat meat after watching it.  I already basically only eat chicken and ground turkey, and love vegetables, so......who knows if watching these secrets of the horrible food industries will cause me to never want to touch non-organic meat again.  And organic meat gets expensive! So....expensive meat would probably mean not buying it very often.

I just watched little chicks going down a conveyer belt and falling off at the end of it; then they went down another conveyer belt, got grabbed by a person, and apparently zapped on the neck?

Honestly, if the food industry is messing with our food so much, especially meat, how can people in charge, running these places, stand to eat it?  (Who knows if they do, I would just assume they do.) But if they don't....then they're not even supporting their own business. That's like government leaders promoting things like suicide bombings, communism, and socialism yet personally staying uninvolved.  Like Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, etc not becoming a suicide bombers themselves, and leaders of China (ya, I know, they're moving towards capitalism), North Korea, etc not letting their wealth be distributed all over their countries cause they know what a power hungry fail it is.

One guy who grows chickens for Tyson said he has 300,000 chickens and that they pretty much never see sunlight, they're in the dark all the time!  Turns out that Tyson convinced the owner not to let the movie makers into the chicken "houses" and they declined to be interviewed for the movie.  I think that says something. Bad.

There's corn in my cheese, peanut butter, and jelly?!?!?  I don't care if it's in batteries, I don't eat those! Oh, well I totally understand for the jelly & unnatural peanut butter - corn syrup is probably a very popular ingredient in those (but I usually see the word sugar on the PB label.)  I eat natural peanut butter......so maybe I'm safe there? But cheese?! Are we talking Velveeta?! Cause that stuff looks like rubber, I could understand if they put plastic in it. But what about a good chunk of Cabot cheese?
Wow, ok, it's the obscure ingredients on the labels that are the corn culprits.

The average American is eating over 200 lb of meat per year?! Oh. my. gosh. (Hey, if you by a 1.5 quart container of ice cream each week - you're buying about 19 gallons a year. Just a random thing I figured out the other day when I heard or read that the average American eats 5 gallons of ice cream per year.)

CAFO's?! Just the name makes me think of a concentration camp! Not an idea you want to associate your food with. I should prob read that link, lol.

Oh my gosh, this guy just stuck his hand in a living cow's stomach! I don't get how that works! There was like this plastic funnel sticking out of the cow!
The cows are fed corn (despite that it's not good for them and they can't digest it correctly) because it's so cheap. That diet plus their crowded living conditions of standing ankle deep in manure allows a strain of E Coli to grow. Healthy cows get the sickness from the unhealthy ones, and supposedly their manure gets in the meat (that we then EAT) in the slaughterhouses because they're killing 400 per hour and it's unavoidable. So how do they kill the e. coli? Clean it with ammonia. The meat of one factory/company that does this is in 70% of the countries hamburgers; in 5 years, they hope for it to be in 100%.

I guess there are always two sides to a story, like illegal immigration.  Has the news told us anything about beef packing industries recruiting workers from Mexico, and the workers getting arrested for the illegality of it instead of the company managers?  What the movie shows about this is so unjust =(

not my picture

Honestly....I totally have food issues to talk to God about now.  Politics are so involved in it all =/
I just want to treat my body well =(

Mixin' it up olive style

not my pic

Don't be averse to this just because you haven't tried it, okay?  There are a lot more ways to use extra-virgin olive oil than just sauteing and frying!  It's practically the only oil I use now because it's so healthy.  (Well I still use sesame oil when it's called for because of its unique flavor.)  But....I substitute it for butter, other oils, and possibly margarine when I know it won't make a chemical/consistency difference.  Some of the "stranger" things I've put it in are.....yeast breads, mac and cheese, granola, granola bars, pancakes, my great grandma's oil pie crust, mashed potatoes, chex-like snack mixes, and probably a few other types.  Okay, be a little open minded: you've probably been eating mac n cheese and mashed potatoes (made with butter) your whole life! So branch out a little! Start with half butter - half olive oil!

Important note: I don't experiment with food for groups of people!
Best friends? Ya! What are they for?! ; ) My best friends mostly haven't been around for a lot of those recipes, but they have for sure liked a granola bar recipe and pies I've made with an olive oil crust!

So, some of my favorite recipes in the past few months that I've substituted olive oil in:
(And don't assume that I didn't make a few other random changes. Feel free to ask!)


Vanilla Granola
European Muesli  (Here I used less honey and add a lil baking soda to counteract the honey's acidity.)
German Pancake with Buttermilk Sauce  (I didn't make the sauce, but I will eventually.)
Almond Maple Granola (Amazzzing, the coconut is amazingggg.)
Granola Energy Bars
Honey Peanut Granola  (Ya....I used almonds)
Cornbread Pancakes

And the pie crust? After tweaking it for 3 years....I like it with half the flour being white whole wheat (because I'm constantly trying to get more whole wheat, protein, and fiber in my diet) and with all olive oil.  I also changed it from a 9" to a 10" just because it was coming out to thin I think.

10” single pie crust

1 ¼ cup + 2 ½ TBS flour

½ + 1/8 tsp salt

¼ cup + 2 ½ TBS oil

2 ½ TBS water

And even I have my limits; David Zinczenko's Olive Oil Ice Cream sounds pretty icky.....
But who knows, maybe I'll be open to that sometime soon =P
(It's 4 large scoops of vanilla ice cream, 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil, and flaky sea salt.)
I'm interested by the way he talks about the salty, sweet, spicy components being elegant and strangely addictive....

$2 dress

I got some awesome deals at Salvation Army on Thursday! Two dresses, 2 pairs of pants, 1 pair of sweatpants, 1 pair of shorts, 1 shirt, and a purse for $28!! And I went "garage sale-ing" today and got 2 books and 2 pairs of gloves for $1! The books are by two great authors I love - Max Lucado & Beth Moore. I told myself I wouldn't get any more library books until I had read my college summer reading book......whoopsy.....(buying isn't any better.) But they were only 25 cents each!
Random inexpensive blessings! God is so good =)

$2

Blades

Going out at 7:30 this morning to warm up & stretch reminded me soccer practice in junior high & high school.  It's still a little nippy for shorts and a tee, and your feet and shoes will get wet.  It's not the early morning exertion that I miss from those days; it's the feeling of accomplishment that I had pushed through limits for others whereas I would've just rested after a little while of discomfort if it had just been for myself, and it's the next day's aches that told me I did something good yesterday.
So I woke up at 7, rolled out to the back yard by 7:30, and warmed up with a little jump roping, jumping jacks, and hulahooping.  Stretched my calves and hamstrings the most, but also quads, inner thigh (so, adductor, gracilis, & more)

stretching hamstrings, calf, foot, & oblique/back

obliques, triceps, feet, ankles, back, neck, and a dozens of other spots that probably get stretched by the way I bend myself.....mmm love stretching!
I guess I spent almost an hour with those things plus some foot strengthening exercises, cause it was 8:20 by the time I hit the road with blades in my arms  (because there's a hill I have to get by because I refuse to kill myself my blading down it!)  and sneaks on my feet.  =)
I would bet that blading is better for ones joints than walking even.  It's been hard for me to believe over the past 2 years that walking has a pounding effect  (I mean.... jogging, ya! But....walking?!)  on the body, but....that's what I've learned from PT's, podiatrists, exercise science books, athletic training books, etc.  Blading just feels graceful...maybe the closest thing I've ever felt to personally flying  ; )

 Gotta love early morning exercise . =)

How will I bake without him?!

There has been a sad passing. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Captain Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours.

(Obviously not my pic.)

Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy and lovingly described Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he still was a crusty old man and was considered a positive roll model for millions.

Doughboy is survived by his wife Play Dough, two children, John Dough and Jane Dough, plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.The funeral was held at 350 for about 20 minutes.

If this made you smile for even a brief second, please rise to the occasion and take time to pass it on and share that smile with someone else who may be having a crumby day and kneads it.

Just kidding, my baking will continue!  I've only summoned his help for making "dishes-to-pass" during a time crunch or lapse of confidence.       ; )

Strength for all He asks

(Not my pic.)

I read a great book called Change Your Heart, Change Your Life a couple months ago.  Basically it's about Gary Smalley learning (and then teaching the reader) how digging into God's word really changes one's heart.  He mentions several times that memorizing God's Word has changed his heart so that he finds himself sinning less, and he references Psalm 119:11 (I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you) numerous times.  So while reading that book I decided to take memorizing Scripture more seriously; I wrote out about 43 verses/passages (some were my favorites, some were his suggestions) on 4x6 cards with colorful Sharpies . =)  I picked them up a few days ago for the first time in a few weeks (I haven't been reading/studying/memorizing them as faithfully as I would like to, but maybe I'll try harder) and I was amazed when I got to the last verse.  I had just read through 42ish parts of Scripture that talked about:

not being obscene, foolish, coarse, greedy, sexually immoral, impure, lustful, idolatrous, angry, rage-filled, malicious, slanderous, bitter, judgmental, murderous, dishonest, anxious, fretful, selfish, & prideful.

Not listening to unwise counsel or being part of godless chatter or foolish arguments.

Being thankful, compassionate, forgiving, loving, giving, pure, humble, joyful, peaceable, content, quick to listen - slow to speak - and slow to become angry, transformed, a hard worker.  Doing to others what I would want done to me; blessing those who curse me & loving those who hate me; guarding my heart; serving & honoring others; delighting myself in the Lord, trusting Him, committing my way to Him, worshiping & serving Him, having faith in Him; praying continually; seeking Him first; and reaping what I sow.

(That is a heck of a list!!!)

The last verse?

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. ~ Philippians 4:13

Amen!
It was like a little note from God saying, "That's a lot to try to do, but you can accomplish those things because I give you the strength."
He definitely gives us strength to obey Him!

Cross-Country Blessings

"Do you know anyone who uses hairspray?" a friend (who's moving across the country) asked me, a couple days ago .
"Uh, ya, I use it ." =)
"Well, we can't take it on the plane, so I'll gather it up and bring it over ."
"Okay, thanks!"  =)

She gave me 13 products!  Six are Kenra, which would have totaled about $100 brand new!  One is Nexus, 1 is Herbal Essence, and the other 6 are Suave/White Rain/Rave.
What a random sweet blessing!  I wish I didn't even want/need to use styling products because of what's in them, but making those myself sounds a little harder....
I had been pondering what I style my hair with because I wasn't liking a gel/conditioner mixture that I'd read about and decided to try .  *shrug*

(Not my picture.)

On top of that, I had been to her yard sale the week before where I got some great deals and a couple of free things!  I'd been looking for months for a good/cute soap dispenser for the kitchen (something besides what the soap actually comes in), and I found a clear one with some yellow flowers on it.  They look like they're actually real, dried flowers glued on!  I dunno .  I had also been thinking about bed desks for a couple months; just about how I do so much homework and journaling on my bed and I don't like my arms, wrists, back, or neck to be in bad positions.  So she had a bed desk that her dad made in the 80's and she sold it to me for $1!!  She had a box of 15 wrapping papers, 4 spools of ribbon, and a couple gift bags for $1!  (That stuff's always needed!)  I got some cute plates/platters for free, those are always good for potlucks/receptions!  I also bought a box of full of some containers and other odds & ends we could definitely use, for $1!  (.....Or maybe it was $2.)
I just totally feel blessed and thankful for needs and wants that were/are met freely or inexpensively.  The hair products, soap dispenser, and bed desk were just random items that I had pondered, I wasn't urgently trying to find and purchase them.

Psalm 34:7, Matthew 6:33, & Malachi 3:10 come to mind  =)  He's so loving and generous.

Protein & vitamins in my sugar

(not my picture)

These peanut-chocolate protein bars?  Are so good!!  Now I've only ever had one bite, but it is good stuff!  Butterfingers do cost about 55% less... but these bars have 10 fewer calories, 4g less fat, 3 g less sugar, and 14 more grams of protein!  Protein is awesome!  And I might be correct in saying that protein with sugar prevents or slows your blood sugar from spiking as much; I know fat slows that down.
And these little soft chews?!  Greater than or equal to Starbursts!  ....I thought there had vitamins in them..... =(  Oh well, they're still yummy!

(Not my picture.)

I wantttt vitamins/protein/fiber/whatever-goodness-you-can-put-in in my sweets!  That would be awesome!!  I mentioned that to someone once (maybe they agreed with me, I don't remember), but they also mentioned that maybe that would be bad for people who have to be on....say.....low-fiber diets (or 'allergic' to certain vitamins/proteins/fibers/whatever's!).  Bummer =(  I want healthy junk food.

I ain't no farmer!

I decided a couple months ago (when I was cutting up a butternut squash) that I wanted to try growing squash just by planting the seeds from my squash .  But it was winter time and I couldn't leave them in the cupboard or the fridge cause they'd mold!  So I stuck them in the freezer, pulled them out a couple months later, dug a little hole next to my "wil basil pwant," covered it, and forgot about it for a few weeks .  Then I couldn't remember where I had planted it for sure; no sprouts had popped up yet, but I realized I knew where it was cause that was the only place for it .  Then a couple weeks ago, I was eating cherries and decided I wanted to plant those seeds so I'd get a cherry tree . =)  So I threw those in the freezer too, just because I didn't know when I'd get around to planting them .  (They're still in there .)

(Not my picture.)

Last week....I realized that freezing seeds would do to them exactly what planting them in the winter.....kill them .  Thus I will be starved of any homegrown squashi (plural of squash) or cherries that possibly could have grown . ; )

"What happens in Heaven when we pray?"

(Not my picture.)

Just a good, convicting, cute little story I was sent.  I hope to become better at remembering to acknowledge God's hand in all the provisions in my life because:  "You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today." Deuteronomy 8:17-18


  
"I dreamt I went to Heaven and an angel showed me around. We walked side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. 
My angel guide stopped in front of the first section and said, ' This is the Receiving Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.
I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps, from people all over the world.
Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.
The angel then said to me, "This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here, the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to the living persons who asked for  them." I noticed again how very busy it was there. There were many angels working hard at that station, since so many blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.
Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there, idly doing nothing. "This is the Acknowledgment Section, my angel friend quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed." How is it that there is no work going on here? ' I asked.
"So sad," the angel sighed. "After people receive the blessings that they asked for, very few send back any acknowledgment."
"How does one acknowledge God's blessings? " I asked.
Just say, "Thank you, Lord." the angel answered.
"What blessings should they acknowledge?"  I asked.
"If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. "
"And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity."
"If you woke up this morning with more health than illness.. You are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day. "
"If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... You are  ahead of 700 million people in the  world."
"If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world."
"If your parents are still alive and still married  ...you are very rare."
"If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and  despair......."

Dining Plan

My food options at college?

(Not my picture)

• Unlimited Plan plus $250 Dining Dollars $1980
  Whether you want a full meal or just a cup of coffee, this meal plan is an outstanding value. It provides unlimited trips to the dining halls each week and $250 in Dining Dollars to use at any dining location during the semester.

• Two-A-Day Plan plus $200 Dining Dollars $1770
  This meal plan provides any two dining hall meals per day and $200 in Dining Dollars to use at any dining location during the semester.
  This is the default plan for freshmen. If you do not make a selection, you will be billed for the Two-A-Day Plan.

They're only going to charge me $210 less to go from unlimited to 2-per-day?!        Two-per-day is $16.86 per day!!  (Another reason to love cooking and avoid eating out...)  So I'll probably go for unlimited now, that way I won't feel pressured to make those 2 meals "count."  I'd prefer not to eat college food at all, but I guess smaller portions at unlimited times are 2nd best.

Saving face

Just to save face (from the last post)....not all my food turns into soup!!


Clone of a Cinnabon Recipe. Made these with my best friend back in '09 - wish they were healthy.

Chocolate-Cream Cheese Satin Soup

So I start this blog on a day that I had a totally delicious cooking fail of making "Chocolate-Cream Cheese Satin Pie."  First off, oreo crusts haven't worked for me the two times I made them!  They end up with a tar-like appearance and a lot of oiliness!  (Yikes! But it still tastes fine.)  So after the crust slid mostly off the sides of the pie pan down to the bottom - the heavy cream that I let thaw from being in the freezer wouldn't whip correctly.  So I mixed all of the partially whipped heavy cream into the chocolate-cream cheese filling because I wasn't going to put unwhipped cream on top; I figured aerosol whip cream would be prettier!  Turns out - aerosol whip cream is more like instant whip cream. It looks good for an instant and then loses it's shape and any bit of solidness.  So I basically have Chocolate-Cream Cheese Satin Soup, mmm!

The recipe