by Kimberly | Dec 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
Very warm comfort food that has a deep rich flavor. One of my favorite things. Wish it was healthier – but at least it is yummy and comforting.
4 cups medium shells (almost a whole box)
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cups flour
2-½ cups skim Milk
2 teaspoons dry Mustard
1 egg
1 pound cheese, I used sharp cheddar and an italian blend
½ teaspoons Salt (and don’t forget to salt the water when boiling the pasta)
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
½ teaspoons ground pepper
Optional Spices: Paprika, hot sauce (which I put some in)
Cook pasta till firm and drain. Melt butter and add flour and stir for 5 minutes. Don’t let it burn. Add spices and milk, stir until combined. Add cheese and everything else. Dump in the pasta and stir. Put into an oven-proof pan at 350 for about 25 minutes. I topped mine with homemade croutons and parm cheese.
Delicious!
by Kimberly | Dec 17, 2010 | chocolate
Deep chocolate with york peppermint candies and a mint buttercream filling. Yum.
I took a hint for the cookie from The Novice Chef and then made it my own. Thank you!
Here you go: great for kids of all ages…
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
5 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup York mini candies (the ones that look like m&ms)
Cream wet, add dry. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Let cool completely.
1 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 t milk
2 t peppermint extract
Cream butter for about 5 minutes. Add in sugar and keep beating for about 5 total minutes. Add in milk and extract. Beat a little more till light and fluffy.
Then put buttercream in between 2 cookies and enjoy!
by Kimberly | Dec 17, 2010 | Uncategorized
On this ice-y morning, I woke up early and immediately thought of pancakes. I had been thinking about them for days but thought today is the day. I didn’t really want to brave the roads due to the slush and ice, but proceeded. I saw a jug of Trader Joe’s Spiced Cider on my counter and that was my inspiration, so I headed to my little netbook and plugged away into the world wide web.
Here we go:
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 cup apple cider
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
Combine wet. Mix dry. Gentle stir the two together. Keeping griddle pan on medium low heat, make pancakes using a 1/4 cup scoop and cook until done.
Before you start making the pancakes, get the apples cooking:
2 cripp lady apples
4 tsp unsalted butter
2 heaping T brown sugar
Slice apple thin and stir into butter and sugar. Keep on low and let cook until all the pancakes are done.
Top with cool whip, apples, maple syrup, whatever you fancy.
by Kimberly | Dec 15, 2010 | weight loss, workout dvds, yoga
Working out: especially this time of year (or should I say in 2 weeks) this is what is on everyone’s mind. You find magazines, gym specials, tv shows, use-at-home products, new videos, etc – all geared toward one things…helping you work out harder and better. Whether your reason is to be healthy, shed pounds, have engagement with other people, or whatever…working out is fun and beneficial. As I was spinning this morning at a local gym, I thought of these things.
Yoga (for me, little y yoga) has gotten a bad rap lately for certain leading conservative personalities. My thoughts have been posted on this blog and you can read them for yourself. Have you made up your mind about it?
Then as I was in two classes: body pump and spin, I thought about another avenue…
Why do I need to listen to a crass instructor who makes sexual jokes during class? Why do I need to listen to rock music that talks about killing someone and uses profanity that the instructor blares at the right volume (the volume is not the problem). I got a great workout in both classes. Loved it. But…there are negatives.
Is there a difference?
If I attend a Hot Yoga class for 90 minutes and shed serious body fluid and kill my muscles or if I sit in my home and do a 50 minute yoga video…or if I let my ears here sex jokes and poor taste rock music…what is the difference?
How do I engage the culture (be outside my Christian bubble) and do one or the other? I would rather attend yoga classes than be yelled at or have rock music filling my ears at 6am.
Is one necessarily worse than the other? I don’t think so. So…in matters like this…christian liberty?
Philippians 4:8 and Colossians 3 come to mind. What are your thoughts?
by Kimberly | Dec 15, 2010 | food, Uncategorized
What wonderful delicious-tasting, fresh-made Italian food in downtown Apex. I was there taking some photos of my friends at Moon & Lola and we went to Anna’s (downstairs from their jewelry studio) for lunch. And what a warming lunch it was. I found out today that they make their own mozzarella. Now that’s what makes a good pizza – even better…
Oh, if you are in NYC – there are three locations in the big City. Big City pizza in little city Apex…
The salad at Anna’s was non-descript (lettuce, tomatoes, olives) but the balsamic vinaigrette was pretty good, little thicker than most balsamic dressings.
I ordered the lunch special for around 6$ and got salad and a slice of pizza. Ok, this wasn’t just any slice of pizza. This was an inch thick (thin crust, all toppings mind you) and massive slice of stringy cheese, moist chicken goodness. I decided on the Chicken Marsala pizza and it was perfect: sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, chicken, Marsala wine, and that wonderful fresh homemade mozz cheese!
Thanks downtown Apex!
