Flaxseed Crackers

The husband  took me plant shopping!

Weekends are for watching basketball, sleeping for 10 hours straight, buying hanging baskets, getting dirt under your fingernails while you plant lettuce seeds and eating dinner out because you're too lazy to cook.


Mondays are for wearing dress clothes, listening to the radio while you drive to work, hoping the dogs were good while they were in the garage all day and for sticking to a menu plan.


Mondays are also for looking for after-work snacks and wishing the husband hadn't eaten all of the flaxseed crackers you had Saturday and Sunday.

Tahini-Free Healthy Hummus

Mr. Chance Pants had to go get shots this morning. So at 8 am, we put Miss Stella Bean in her cage so she wouldn't eat recyclables, magazines, shoes, insert whatever she felt like eating here, and headed off to the vet.

I felt awful listening to her cry as we shut the garage door, but I knew it was for the best. This trip would be easiest just the three of us. 

It's a process when Chance has to go to the vet. We muzzle him because he likes to act tough. Then the husband puts Chance on the exam table, backs him up all the way to the wall and holds him around his rib cage so he can't go anywhere. 

Once they're in position it's my turn to step in. My job is to hold the dog man's head, rub my thumb between his eyes to calm him, look him in the eye to keep him focused on me and tell him "NO" whenever he thinks about making a break for it - and hopping off the three-foot exam table.

It's not easy. In fact, it's hard work. 

Getting your husband to eat things that are good for him and contain fiber can be hard work, too. But I guess not everything can be as easy as making hummus and putting out a box of crackers next to the hummus so your husband will eat it.

Caramelized Onion Dip

Caramelized onion dip and baked chips = good stuff!

I'm a planner. OK, maybe I often forget the grocery list when we go to the store, but I almost always make a list. I like to plan ahead - especially for special occasions, like when we have company coming. I get super excited about what we'll do when our guests are visiting, and I really look forward to the food I'll be able to serve.

This dip is perfect for those occasions, as it's best made a day ahead. I made this the day before New Year's Eve as our visitors were readying for the day and served it the following afternoon when everyone was ready for a snack. All I had to do was grab a serving dish, lay out some chips and veggies, and scoop the dip into a bowl. How simple is that? So simple. 

The most beginner of beginner cooks can make this, and I have a feeling even the most forgetful shopper will be able to remember these ingredients at the store.

Caramelized Onion Dip
Adapted, I think, From Cooking Light

4 tablespoons light butter
2 large onions, chopped finely
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
4 ounces neufchatel, softened
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add in the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are light brown and have caramelized. This process may take 20-30 minutes. Just keep stirring. Just keep stirring.

Remove the onions from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once the onions have cooled, add in the yogurt, sour cream and neufchatel. Season with salt and pepper. 

Refrigerate until ready to serve; serve with chips, carrots, celery or whatever you'd like.


Enjoy!

Good Ol' Garlic Knots ... Again



Garlic Knots



I've made garlic knots before, I know. But I'd never made them with the thin-crust pizza dough we're loving these days. So when I had planned to use our frozen pizza dough for pizza and the husband suggested garlic knots instead, I was a little skeptical. But it was anniversary weekend, after all, and we agreed that whatever we wanted went on anniversary weekend. And the garlic knots were a success.

Sweet, Sweet Salad

"Are you putting grapes on my salad?!"

Those were the first words out of the husband's mouth as he saw me putting dinner together tonight. I thought he might not be that open to the idea, so I must admit I was trying to slip the grapes by him when he caught me.

As we started eating dinner tonight, I asked the husband if he kind of didn't like me at the moment. He shook his head. "No," he said. "I still like you. But I kind of don't like my salad."

So, the husband wasn't a huge fan of this starter, but I liked it. It was a nice change from our usual dressing and light Italian dressing. The husband thought it was too sweet; it was sweet and probably could have used a little more lettuce to cut the dressing. But I still liked it. And I'll definitely make this again when the husband isn't around. I like the guy too much to serve him stuff I know he won't enjoy. When I'm just wondering whether he'll like it, well, that's another story.

Greens With Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette

From Fresh Food Fast

Serves 2

2 cups lettuce

1/4 cup sliced grapes

2 tablespoons (or so) sliced cucumber

Vinaigrette:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/8-1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard

a dash of freshly ground black pepper (or more, to taste)

Whisk together all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a large bowl. Add in the lettuce and toss. 

Plate the greens and sprinkle with cucumbers and grapes.

Amount per serving, sans cucumbers: 66 calories, 3.7 g fat, 8.2 g carbs, 1.4 g fiber, 1.1 g protein

Mushroom-Stuffed Mushrooms

Homemade Stuffed Mushrooms

I really wanted stuffed mushrooms at our wedding. But I'm always really scared to order them because I hate sausage and fear they'll be stuffed with sausage. So when it came to planning the wedding menu, I asked our caterer what he put in his stuffed mushrooms. He looked at me like that was the silliest question he'd ever heard. "Mushrooms," he said. (He also told me this wasn't his first rodeo and I had nothing to worry about, but that's another story.)  

I was sold on the mushrooms. And I was happy to find out the morning after the wedding that I'm not the only one who contemplates the stuffing in stuffed mushrooms.