food and recipes

here are a few things i've made this past week...

corn chowder-  i actually probably added equal parts corn, carrot, celery, and let's be honest, onion.  so i don't know if i'd call this corn chowder so much as veggie chowder but goodness knows i love anything with a roux so it was a winner.  the trick is to make sure your veggies are super tiny and super soft.  and that second stick of butter?  unnecessary.  i think paula deen must have stock in butter.

i made this coconut tres leches hot chocolate last week and quite frankly was extremely disappointed.  i was especially sad because after my sick weekend, absolutely nothing sounded good... except this!  but it seemed too thick* and too sweet and too coconutty.  i couldn't figure out how all of my favorite things (it's just milk, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and cocoa powder) couldn't make something i'd love.  and since when can anything be too coconutty?  well, it can't.  i figured it out... it was just too soon for my stomach and tastebuds.  i tired it again when my appetite had come back and let me tell you... THIS IS A WINNER.

the best though was this copycat costa vida/ cafe rio sweet pork recipe.  you can make all the parts but basically i just made the pork and then used short cuts for everything else.  ranch dressing out a bottle works fine for me!  but seriously, it was amazing.  this is going to be a staple now.  and it's cheap (like $1.75/lb) so you can get a 2 lb pork shoulder (the recommended cut for this according to my google research) for just a few dollars and it will feed several people for one meal or me for lots of meals!  the cheese and beans and tomatoes and rice and tortillas and everything else are cheap so this would make a good meal for if you have guests over.

ohhh and i made these deep south gooey butter bars.  when i first tried them i wasn't completely blown over.  and maybe that was because it was at the beginning of last week and again, my stomach just wasn't liking food yet again.  or maybe it was because these things are like crack and the more you eat them, the more you want them.  and the more you have, the more you want, and the more your body can handle them.  so at first i would eat a small bite and be done.  and by a few days later.  i could eat five times that much and still be going back for more.  i brought them to the soccer game on saturday and then yw loved them.  and ate the entire tupperware container i brought.

on the menu for tonight (if i can get my act together... i haven't even made the bed yet today) is this betty crocker beef stroganoff recipe.  i've never made beef stroganoff that didn't involve cream of mushroom soup or a box of hamburger helper... so this is kinda a big deal.

give me a link to best thing you've made lately!!!

*that coconut hot chocolate is not going to help you slim down for swimsuit season so much as it will help add some curves to get you that beach body you've always wanted.  i used whole milk and full fat coconut milk but you could use skim milk and light coconut milk if you want be more healthy.  i may even do that next time just so it's not so thick.