 |
| Up to my armpits in snow ... |
Busier than an I-don't-know-what at work these days! New projects, two practicum students to supervise, and half-way through a 50 hour training course for more senior peer counselors. This is the first training I've done since I certified as a provincial trainer last year, and it is doing two things: (a) reminding me how much I enjoy and miss being in front of a classroom, and (b) reminding me how physically demanding it is to work all day and then all evening too! Consequently, I'm dragging my tail feathers and looking rather worn out.
Speaking of looking worn out, I got myself a "new do" ...
 |
| New haircut - Feb 2011 |
We won an award! Well, not ME personally ... the organization that I work for won an award for "outstanding service in the field of local history" for a book of local pioneers' stories that we compiled and published last year. That book project had a few challenges, and it was very gratifying to receive some community recognition for our efforts.
So what's for dinner at YOUR house tonight? I'm having a major "Mac & Cheese" craving ... but my digestive system is not pleased when I eat cheese these days. It seems that damned lactose intolerance thing has decided to become a major issue these days. I need to find a cheeseless Mac & Cheese recipe ... although that just sounds WRONG! Suggestions???
As for the rest of the weekend ahead, I'm going to follow The Boots' wise example ...
... outside, so I stayed in to work on this ... 
... my Colourful Coffee Cups quilt blocks. Once I get busy creating, I tend to forget to make meals, and consequently when I finally realize I'm hungry, I'm more than just a little hungry. With no time to waste, I whipped up another one of my favourite in a hurry meals ... Tuna Noodle Casserole.
There are probably a gazillion versions of this casserole, but here's the version I've grown accustomed to. First, Mix together a can of Cream of Celery soup and a can of tuna. I used to use Cream of Mushroom, but over the years, I've discovered I like Cream of Celery better. Of course, you're welcome to use whatever kind of soup the floats your boat.
Second, throw in a tablespoon of soy sauce for flavour. If you happen to have some chopped onion, celery, or sweet pepper handy, you can throw that in too. I didn't, and I didn't feel like taking the time to chop some, so my casserole got a spoon of soy sauce only. 
Third, mix in a bunch of cheese. I USED to be a purist and ONLY used good cheddar. These days, I'm more of a "whatever" kind of cook ... it's just me eating it most days, and I don't complain to the cook too much! Today the "whatever" assortment of cheese consisted of some grated Asiago and a generous cup of Cheez Whiz. Again, you are welcome to use the kind of cheese you either have in YOUR fridge or YOU prefer.
Then mix in some kind of partially cooked noodles. Pretty much any kind of pasta will work just fine, from Ichiban to spaghetti and anything between ... although I'm not so sure about lasagna noodles. When I opened my pantry door today, a box of rigatoni fell out, so that's what I used. NOTE: it's important to only partially cook your noodles before adding to this casserole. If you cook your noodles completely, your casserole will turn into mushy slodge, which is not pleasant.
Finally, create a topping for the casserole. When I'm feeling particularly domestic, or I'm seriously craving home and comfort food, I make a batch of baking powder biscuits ... or cheese biscuits, YUMMY! ... and lay them on top of the noodle mixture. Neither feeling was happening for me today, so I crushed up a few crackers and drizzled a bit of melted butter over them. 
This is not an elegant dish, but it tastes darned fine and fills the empty tum. It's easy to adapt to what you have on hand, and simple to multiply to feed more than one or two people. I have enough left to reheat tomorrow, which is a good thing because I want to continue working on my quilt blocks.
If you are remotely interested in chocolate and you haven't checked out this book yet, you haven't truly experienced chocolate! The book itself is a joy ... expensive-looking chocolate bar cover, gilded page edges, built in book mark ... rather like a nice bible. It's just beautiful! And the recipes inside ... oh baby! So let's dive right in and make Banana Brownies. Here's the "cast of characters" (as Pioneer Woman would say) ... 
Begin by generously buttering a pan. This is one of those little 9 inch square baking pans. Don't ask me to translate that into metric. Some things I just can't translate!
Then melt your chocolate squares, butter, and brown sugar over very low heat, or in a double boiler. Yes, I did say BUTTER. I refuse to use margarine. I have a "thing" about consuming whipped plastic with artificial colour and flavour. But I will not judge you if you choose not to use real butter. Okay? Okay. I think I've said that a couple of times in the last month, so I'll try not to go on about butter versus margarine again.
While your chocolate is melting, mix together your flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.
Then mix in your eggs, pecans, and banana. The recipe calls for coarsely chopped pecans and mashed banana. I like chunks of things. Tasty surprises for my tongue, teeth, and taste buds. Please feel free to chop up your pecans and mash up your bananas as much as you want.
Then add the melted chocolate-butter-brown sugar mixture to the rest of your ingredients, and mix it all together. Don't get too excited about making this batter super smooth. Brownies are better if you leave the batter a bit lumpy and bumpy.
Spread this batter into your buttered pan, and ...
... bake at 325 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes. If you try to test for doneness with a toothpick or dinner knife blade, your tester object will likely come out with a bit of batter stuck to it. This does NOT mean your brownies are uncooked after 35 minutes (unless you forgot to turn your oven on). This means your brownies are nice and moist THE WAY GOOD BROWNIES ARE MEANT TO BE.
Let cool. The recipe says this will cut into 24 brownies. HAH! Only if you're planning to feed 24 Lilliputians! I'm going to frost these babies with cream cheese frosting, cut them into 12 pieces, and take them to work in the morning for our Friday morning staff meeting.