3.14

A Cow Pi.  Would that be mince meat?

Today is Pi Day.  A day to think about Pi = 3.14.

I would rather think about PIE.  It's round, golden, crispy, flakey and filled with a mixture of your hearts desire.  Homer would say "Mmmmmmmmm pppppiiiiiiieeeeeee."  My favourite flavours include cherry, pecan, peach, rhubarb, huckleberry, chicken pot, shepherds and pizza. 

Pizza pie.  *giggles*

That's amore.

When I was a little girl, my Mom and I would bake.  I'd watch from my perch on a stool on the other side of the counter while my Mom rolled out pie dough into perfect rounds.  I remember lot's of apple pie in my childhood even though Dad's favourite is banana cream pie.  There was always scraps of pie dough left over.  Mom would moosh them together and roll them into rounds for me.  My pie.  Then we'd spoon jam.....usually strawberry jam.....over the dough.  It would get folded over and pinched and would get baked in the oven as well.  That was great childhood pie.

I don't care for ice cream with my pie.  It melts.  The pie gets soggy.  You can never get all the ice cream out of the dish.  Who wants soggy watery pie?  Not me.  However, if Cool Whip is on hand then pile it on!  I prefer my Cool Whip straight out of container.....not stirred.  Never stirred.  Just straight up.

My preferred method of eating dessert such as pie is with a spoon.  This has become controversial at family gatherings.  Oh, Sandra wants a spoon.  Ugh!  Everyone gets a fork and then I have to pipe up and inquire, "May I please have a spoon."  The nerve!  I think it runs in the family though because my brother likes to eat with plastic forks.  Anyhow, my point is also that if you have no choice how the pie is served and does indeed have ice cream on the top.....how the heck to you eat it with a fork?

Spoon. 

A spoon is indeed the correct eating utensil.

One time I took my nephew out for a treat.  We went to Tim Hortons.  Nephew was maybe 11 at the time.  Those were the days when Tim Hortons had pies and cakes.  Nephew ordered pie.  He told me about an uncle from the other side of the family who had visited.  The uncle was a great cook and by the sounds of it a pie connoisseur.  Nephew rattled off all sorts of concoctions and flavour combinations that his uncle had made.  He ended the story by saying, "Yup, he makes good pie."

I never noticed if Nephew used a spoon or a fork.

Grandma Johnson's Casserole

This recipe is from the Covenant Women cookbook.  The Covenant is the church in Hubby's hometown.  The recipe in the book isn't by Grandma Johnson.  It's actually by Jean Johnson.  That's Larry Johnson's mother.  Larry Johnson was an usher at our wedding.  It was easy for him because he worked as a funeral director.  I doubt it was very much like Six Feet Under.  I know our wedding wasn't.

But I digress.

Grandma Johnson made this recipe a few times when we visited.  I'm pretty sure she added a few things too.  I've made notes and tried to replicate it the best I can.

Ingredients
1 pound hamburger
1/2 pound low sodium bacon
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup rice
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 can mushroom soup
2 tbsp soya sauce
3 cups boiling water
Salt and pepper to taste
Chinese noodles, crushed

Fry the hamburger, bacon and onion in a pan.  Add the mushrooms, soup, soya sauce, water, salt, pepper & rice.  Put in casserole and bake for 1 hour at 375*F.  Stir a couple of times while cooking.  Top with Chinese noodles.  Bake for 15 to 30 minutes longer.

Valentine's Day Cookies

Since I found out I can pretty much make any kind of cookie using a box of cake mix.....I've gone a bit crazy.  I have buyers remorse for the huge bag of flour in the pantry which was supposed to be used up by making sugar cookies.  Alas, there it sits abandoned amid an array of cake mixes galore.

These are Red Velvet Cream Cheese cookies.  Red Velvet is just a new type of thing in these parts.  Strange I know, because it seems to be plenty popular in every other part of the universe.  So far there is only one brand of cake mix that makes a red velvet version and that is Duncan Hines.

These are the Cherry Chip but give you the idea of the size.

Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1 tub Cream Cheese type frosting

In a bowl, combine cake mix, eggs and canola oil.  Mix well.  Using a melon baller.....yes, strange I know, but it makes the perfect size!....scoop out portions of mixture, roll into a ball shape and put onto greased cookie sheet.  Bake at 350*F for 8 minutes.  Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes then remove to plate to cool the rest of the way.

Once completely cooled, sandwich together using cream cheese frosting.

OHMYGAWD, THEY ARE DELISH!

*Variation*
Cherry Chip cake mix and add 1 cup chocolate chips.  Do not sandwich together.  They taste like chocolate covered cherries!

I've heard Cherry Chip isn't available everywhere :(

Grandma Larson's Casserole

I never had the pleasure of meeting Grandma Larson.  From what I know of her, she was a loving type of Grandma who liked to impart snippets of Scandinavian wisdom on her family.....and she did love her family deeply.  

I first tasted this casserole back in the early days of dating Hubby.  He'd made it with some left over curry rice,  I believe, and it tasted wonderful.  What's even better is that it is super easy to make and has ingredients that most of us have in our pantry.  Especially if you've stocked up at the 10 for $10 sale at the Co-Op like I have!

Ingredients
Ground beef 1 pound or a bit more
2 onions chopped
1 can of Chicken Noodle soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can water
1/2 cup rice

The brand of soup doesn't really matter but I've come to believe Campbell's is best and brings the most flavour.  Also, you can try with different flavours of cream soup if mushroom isn't your favourite.

In a large frying pan, brown the beef and cook the onions.  When cooked, add the soups, water, and rice.  Mix it well.  Pour into a large casserole dish or loaf pan.  Cook in the oven uncovered at 350*F for 1 1/2 hours.

My Go To Meatloaf Recipe

I got this recipe off the back of a box of Uncle Ben's stuffing mix about 15 years ago.  I never looked at another meatloaf recipe again.

Ingredients
1 container ground beef approx 1lb (it's okay if it's more but not less)
1 box stuffing mix - the brand doesn't matter but I've found the varieties with separate spice packets are more flavourful.
Milk to soften the stuffing mix
1 egg
2 tsp (approx) Worcestershire Sauce
1 cup ketchup (anything tomato-y works...I've used salsa and BBQ sauce too)
Enough mustard to turn the ketchup orange.  Type of mustard doesn't matter...I've used regular, Dijon etc.
1/4 to 1/2 cup brown sugar

In a bowl combine the stuffing mix with enough milk to soften them.  Add the egg and Worcestershire Sauce.  Mix.  Either by hand or with a potato masher [sounds crazy I know, but it works] mix in the ground beef.

Press the mixture into a glass pie plate.

In a separate bowl, mix the ketchup, mustard and brown sugar.  Hubby likes it when I leave brown sugar lumps because it makes the sauce caramel-y.  Spread over the meatloaf.

Cook in a 350*F oven for 35 - 40 minutes. 

I'd post a picture, but there's never enough of it left to snap a picture of!!

In the Still of the Night

During the day there is noise from the tv, noise from Renter Person's tv, and Brandy's collar jingling along with outside sounds and all sorts of other things.  Around midnight a certain stillness comes over the house.

It's quiet.

Electronics are turned off.  People and pets are sleeping while some are snoring.  

Not me.

I sit in bed with a mug of hot chocolate, usually candy cane hot chocolate from the nearest Bulk Barn, and I read.  

Sometimes I just listen.

When it's really really cold like it was last night.....the wind chill was -45 degrees Celsius.....you can hear the crunch of the snow under the tires of an approaching vehicle so clearly you could swear they're coming right into the room.  The furnace pulses on and off.  The house gently creaks.  In the distance of the kitchen, the fridge hums.  It's a midnight symphony.

It's peaceful.

There are no worries after midnight.  The days stresses melt away like a marshmallow in the hot cocoa.  I sink into the story of the book I'm reading.  It isn't Claire and Jamie anymore, but Barnaby and Hooker.  It might be an adventure or romance or mystery and tomorrow it might be a different book entirely.

Brandy stirs on the bed and looks up to see if I'm still there.

I check the clock and yawn.  Time to sleep.  I set the book on the nightstand and turn off the light. 

I sink into the blankets and fall asleep to the still of the night.

Resolve to Evolve in the New Year

I set my alarm on my iPod to scroll "New Year New You....Get Up & Get After It."  I don't make resolutions anymore.  They just aren't realistic.  Over that past few years I've tried to evolve instead.  My list of improvements have included anything from live a more active life to read more books.  These are things that enrich my life and don't make me dread the changes in my life.

Since I gained this enormous amount of weight from the hypothyroidism discovery and all the other issues that seemingly went along with it I've battled food.  I don't smoke and I rarely drink so food is my only vice.  Food is not something you can quit.  I've continually tried to make changes to evolve the way I think about food and the choices I make.  Last fall, I downloaded the app MyFitnessPal which is also a webpage MyFitnessPal.com.  After a short time of logging my meals I was enlightened to some of the choices I was making.  I stopped using coffee creamer.  Oh how I miss the flavoured creamy coffee but at the same time I cut my coffee consumption dramatically.  I probably drank less than most people to start with but now I only have 1 cup of coffee in the morning and it includes Splenda instead of creamer.  Instead of drinking 2 cups of coffee at work....with the cream and sugar, I switched to a travel mug of hot cocoa.  I switched the bread I buy and started to create better dinner choices.

Then I got sick before Christmas and it all went out the window while the boxes of Christmas chocolates floated through the door.

Oh well.

A long time ago, back in July, I talked to my doctor about seeing a dietitian.  The appointment was supposed to be in November, I think.  The appointment was postponed because the dietitian had to stay home with a sick child.  That was all fine and good because all the time I was questioning my choice to do this in the first place.  Then my appointment was made for January 2nd 2013.  There is no better time!  Out with the Christmas me and in with the new me.

This lady was awesome!  We went meal by meal with me describing a typical breakfast/lunch/dinner etc.  I described my teaching lifestyle.  I told her the things I was already doing and the changes I was trying.  She praised me!  Dietitian told me to take small steps when it comes to exercise.  She gave me an "Action Plan" which suspitiously looks like the "Practice Commitment" I gave my piano students.  Dietitian said to make a commitment to do exercise for X number of days in 1 week for X number of time and see how it goes.  Then the next week make a new commitment.  Oh how I loved that!  We discussed how going to the community centre for classes didn't work because of my teaching schedule and how I'd much rather do things at home.  She said even a commitment to turn on the stereo and dance for 15 minutes was better than anything.  I'm pretty sure I can take that advice!

I felt like I could to talk to Dietitian for hours!  We discussed the pros and cons of processed things and simple little things like fat content in mayo.  She said that most people consume more calories from condiments than actual food because we think we're only using a tablespoon of something when it's actually a tablespoon or more!  Dietitian liked many of the choices I'm already making.  She liked my hot cocoa choice at work and suggested a light brand.  We talked about lentils.  Yes.  Lentils.  I came home with a Pulses cook book.

Unfortunately, we ran out of time.  Dietitian said I am on the right track.  She said to keep tracking my food and making the small changes I have been.  She gave me her card and told me that I could contact her in the future if I needed any additional help or advice.

I wish she was my best friend.

I am feeling very encouraged.  In 2013, I hope to continually evolve to, as someone said to me, so my outsides match my insides.