This weekend was perfection. It was jam packed with so much laziness it was ridiculous. B and I stayed in Friday night because of the nasty winter storm, watched a rental and went to bed early. Saturday afternoon we wanted to veture out and we went to the Creamery in Fountain City. Its a delicious diner atmosphere with the yummiest sandwiches and milkshakes ever! B and I had a great lunch and some good quality time as the snow fell all day! Saturday night was Star Trek (I know I know...but it was B's turn for a movie pick from netflix), dinner and some yummy wine (like we needed to relax anymore!)



Sunday our sunday school and church service was cancelled so we slept in and then got up and went to a TN vs. bball game! Thankfully they won, so it was a great afternoon. Then I did a P90X workout with B. Not looking forward to how sore I am going to be, but glad I did it!



So with that being said I'm stepping up my blogging game and going to write out some of the eats I'm making this week for "Menu Monday":



Monday - Turkey Meatballs with Quick And Spicy Tomato Sauce and Whole-Wheat Spaghetti

Tuesday - Red Beans and Rice (IF I can get a ham bone from honey baked ham by then!)

Wednesday - Spicy Shredded Beef

Thursday - Grilled Chicken on Salad

Friday - Corn Flake Chicken Nuggets + Baked Fries



On the deck for this week:

Potential trip to Atlanta for work meeting

Working out with more P90X!

500 Days of Summer movie on Friday night in

My Christmas massage, mani + pedi on Saturday morning!!

UT Alumni tailgate and bball game Saturday afternoon

Superbowl Party @ B's coworkers house...and I STILL have not officially decided who I am rooting for.



The back story is this: I was born in New Orleans, as was my dad. So I was born and raised a Saints fan. I remember wearing a black Saints sweatshirt to middle school a lot and thinking I was so cool....someone should have told me the 'Aints we'ren't all that back then. I never really had any other team I cared about until I went to college. I always, always, always liked Peyton Manning and b/c of that the Colts have grown into my team. I know them all and have always rooted for them. Peyton and his boys even helped me to my Fantasy Football victory this year. So there is my dilemma. Root for the team I've always known or the team I'll always love....hmmm, it might be a game time decision.

(BTW - my bff is going to the game with her cajun husband and friends...I won't even tell you how much her tix cost...Whatever you think it is, double it! ha!)



Have a great week!

-e.n.h.

Ok, so maybe I should scrap the whole "Menu Monday" thing. it hasn't really worked out for me so far and I've been so busy with work, house and trips so far that I haven't really been a good blogger either...please forgive me! But today is another day! So lets start over and let me redeem myself!

Anyways yesterday B tricked me into saying yes to train for a half marathon. The back story - this weekend we went to Nashville for the Country Music Marathon to watch some of our good friends run. B didn't run because he didn't train so it was B and the girls watching...and walking! I swear we walked at least a half half marathon. But back to the story. So B was sad when it was over because he is a runner. He is a guy that can pick up and run 5+ miles on any day without any training or prep. (Me not so much). And he was a really good runner in high school. So he kind of felt left out a bit! He decided that he's going to run the half next year. And before the Nashville one there is a Knoxville one. So I was all "yea, that sounds like fun, I'll run the 5k while you do the half" and somehow he got me into saying that I'd not only run the half in Knoxville but that I would do it in Nashville next year too. Hmmm...we'll see about this. I think I could do it, I just have to get into the routine for running everyday! So, guess where we're off to this afternoon! First training day. Pretty sure it will be B running past me a lot while I struggle with a run/walk. Wish me luck!

PS. here's the two of us watching all the runners from a bridge:

-e.n.h

Hope you had a great weekend! B and I did. The Mexican restaurant on Friday was awesome! So happy we finally found a place to go for some good dip and margaritas! Saturday we got up early and had a yummy breakfast downtown. Then we took a drive around the city and went to a couple Dogwood Trails. The Dogwood Festival is going on here in Knoxville and around the city, where the dogwoods are blooming the most, they have marked off trails through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods to drive through. So we did just that! And I found my dream home...Wish I had taken a pic, but its on the lake and its perfect! Maybe one day!
Anyways Sunday was a wonderful celebration at Church followed by some Cleaning at home!

now to the task at hand,

So I've been living a lie! Over the past 4 years , I have gotten the finest cookware (well not really, but I do have an awesome collection of Williams Sonoma Stainless Steel measuring cups) and have been collecting cookbooks and recipes from near and far. But I have not really done anything with them. Let's be honest. I do not cook. I maily reheat things and make sandwiches very well. But alas that is changing my friends. I am as of today devoting one day a week to test out my cooking books, recipes and especially those measuring cups! I give you Menu Mondays. It is my way to organize my week of dinners and to highlight the "meal of the week". This week let's see whats on deck:


Monday:
Red Beans and Rice - A New Orleans stable (home of my ancestors...and my dad and me)

Tuesday:
Erin Chicken Pockets O' Love - I'd give you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you. No really, I'm just too lazy to divulge that original recipe now.

Wednesday:
Turkey Meatballs with Whole Wheat Pasta and Paul Neman's Sockarooni Sauce.

Thursday:
Yea!!! Sundown in the City in Knox. Meaning we're off to downtown to see Cowboy Mouth and some other bands play at 6. So looks like we'll be dining at a downtown establishment.

Friday:
Grilled Bar-b-Q Chicken with grilled Corn on the Cob and Baked Potato

Saturday:
Going out with B's parents who are in town for the weekend.

Sunday:
Turkey Burgers and Baked French Fries.

Ok so here's the recipe for the week, it pretty much takes a half of a day to make, but you can usually save the rest for the next 4 Mondays!:

Classic Nawlins style Red Beans and Rice by Diane Trest (aka my mom)

My mom tells me the story that Red Beans and Rice were cooked on all day on Mondays while the laundry was drying on the line or something like that, back in the day in New Orleans. So its tradition to eat Red Beans on Mondays.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. kidney beans (Mom swears by Camellia, but sometimes they are hard to find)

1 ham bone (We get ours at Honey Baked Ham for like $7)

1 medium onion (chopped)

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped red pepper (or 1 teaspoon-ish of dried)

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons of Tony's Chachere's Creole Seasoning (you can find this in the spice aisle. I pretty much add this to everything I have ever cooked)

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of thyme

2 Tablespoons of Parsley

1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper

2 turns of the knob of McCormick Garlic Pepper Seasoning

dash of Tabasco

1 lb. of smoked sausage (I've been using Turkey Kelbasa)

Directions:

Day 1 -The night before take the beans and soak overnight in cold water. Make sure the bowl is a lot larger so the beans can expand during the night. When I was little I thought (and might have been told) that this was to "get the farts out."

Day 2 - Drain the soaked beans in a colander. Take a handful at a time and pick out the gravel and dirt particles. Rinse the beans and put them along with ALL (except the sausage) other ingredients into a heavy 8-10 quart pot. Add enough water to cover the beans and spices. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then lower and let simmer on low heat for 2.5-3.5 hours (or until the beans are tender and a thick natural gravy has formed). During cooking, stir frequently (3-4 times each hour) and scape the sides and across the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching.

As the beans soften, mash some against the side of the pot or between two spoons. The result will be a thick creamy sauce. If the mixture appears to dry or be too thick, add 1 cup of water.

*Approximately 2 hours into cooking time remove the ham bone. If you leave it too long it will break apart and ham bits will be floating in your red beans. Its mainly there just to add flavor.

* About half an hour before the beans are finished add the sliced sausage (we usually cut our into little half moons to get more sausage) and reseason with 1 Tablespoon of Tony's and 1/2 Tablespoon of Garlic Powder.

Remove the Bay Leaves (good luck finding them!) and Serve over rice and enjoy!!

I usually serve mine with brown rice, but my mom and dad didn't like that too much, so white rice is good too. And I know its strange but we usually eat our with cornbread too!