Good Intentions

Ok, I had every intention of posting on Saturday, I really did! I even had a delicious sammie for ya'll and then things just got out of hand. With my work party, some church stuff and then D's family had their flight canceled so they ended up staying an extra day with us. Plus Dustin was finally NOT working on a weekend for the first time in a while, so we really needed some time to just chill the eff out. I guess I'm not really apologizing because I know everyone understands that sometimes real life is more important than its documentation, but I just hate feeling like a slacker!

Anyway, let's get to some eats shall we? As I mentioned, I did have an office shindig to attend Saturday morning. It was a brunch at a big fancy hotel downtown that is famous for their spread. It was also at 10:00 a.m., which kind of put a cramp in my eating style. Usually I wake up at 5:15, have a good sized breakfast, workout and then have a snack around that time. Being a creature of habit (a.k.a. rigidly enmeshed in routine), having an actual meal at snackie time was kind of throwing me into a quandary. So I tried a little switcheroo: lighter breakfast and pretty darn big brunch.

Because I was opting for something a little lighter, I strayed from my old faithful CCC and celebrated Sammie Saturday instead. Remember how I told you I am obsessed with this cinnamon raisin bread? Yep, still crazy for it!

Semi-inspired by a sweet/savory wafflewhich I spied on Tay's blog way back when, I manufactured a most excellent sammie out of toasted cinnamon raisin bread, egg whites, turkey sausage and ketchup (obviously).
So good, but wait! Something's missing!
Oh yeah. More ketchup! Added for dipping. Much better.

Oh, and a couple of you were interested to see what I ended up cooking for D's family during our Christmas celebration. And since I regretfully only had one delicious sammie to show you this week, I will show you my Friday night festivities instead! I had to take individual pics since it didn't look as tantalizing all glopped on my plate together, but you'll get the idea :)

Ginger glazed ham for the main course. This was actually my first attempt at glazing a ham, and this sucker was huge! I didn't catch any pictures when I first took it out of the oven all dark brown and bubbly--I was too worried about hefting it (and my Pyrex baking dish) onto the counter without damaging anything. It was beautiful though, and perfectly sweet, smoky and salty.

I also made my version of Cauliflower Mac n Cheese from Real Simple. I've linked to the recipe. The only modifications I make are using fat-free sour cream and reduced fat cheese blend, plus a little feta and paremsan thrown in for extra flavor. I sub in some Fiber One for part of the breadcrumb mix and usually use less than the recipe calls for (still plenty). I also usually use a couple of bags of frozen defrosted cauliflower instead of fresh. It cuts prep way down and makes this dish much easier to prepare. My bacon grease, meat and potatoes family actually loves this and so does D, so how bad can it be? Be aware though, that it does make a lot. A lot. The recipe says only six servings, but this fed 6 of us, plus leftover for me and D twice and a tupperware for the sis. Not that I mind--I always like things second day!

I added in some sauteed brussels sprouts for me, with a balsamic reduction a la Janetha. I think my reducing technique needs a little work though. Practice, practice! Still tasty.
Yum. Glad everyone was here and gave me an excuse to show off my mad cooking skillzzz, um, or at least do what I enjoy the most. My philosophy: "I love you, let me feed you!" I really feel like one of the greatest reflections of affection is to share a meal with the people that you care about.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Ready for the Christmas countdown? Only 4 days to go!!! xoxo

Mustard Mania

Hi friends! First of all, thank you so much to all of you who read and commented on my previous post (if you haven't read it yet, click to see Why I Run). It was kind of nerve-wracking to put myself out there like that, and I am so touched by your support and encouragement. So thank you, thank you!

Now, on to bizznass. In addition to running my 10k this weekend, I was also doing this: ripping up carpet and pulling up a bazillion little carpet staples, along with the horrific invention that is carpet tack. And the hubs, trying a little experiment of his own with some tile in the bathroom. Having a house is hard work. And we don't' even live there yet.

All this extra exertion certainly helped me work up an appetite for all kinds of adventurous eating, including this tasty little item (another find from my fave little corner market a.k.a. Target). As suggested on the label, I tried it on ham... carrots... and as not suggested by the bottle, but most definitely suggested by your truly....sweet potato bomb goodness. This is good, plain and simple. I can't even describe how yummy this is. I was slightly disappointed at first when I tried it on the sandwich and veg, but this stuff was MADE to be mashed with a sweet potato. Delectable. If you like mustard as much as I do, or even if you don't ,and you just enjoy the thought of some tangy maple-y goodness, please purchase this product promptly (wow, hello letter P).

Freaky Food Friday

Tina has Cookie Friday, Janetha B. has Flashback Friday, and here I am with my own little addition to all the Friday Fabuloussness: Freaky Food Friday. Hopefully this will become a regular feature, assuming I can find enough freaky food to sustain it. I went to the natural foods store yesterday and picked out the most bizarre thing I could find...

Y'all know I live for sour stuff, especially vinegar (yum!), so when I saw this, my heart leapt for real! I decided it would be perfect for the first installment of Freaky Food Friday, and snapped it up lickety split!

I will just say that if any you you ladies can handle kombucha, this would be easy-breezy for you to swill down. The vinegar taste is so light, it almost tastes like lemonade, oddly enough. I thought the honey was rather overwhelming, and personally would have added more vinegar, but that's just me :)

According to my sis, they used to drink shiz like this back in the prairie days to keep cool in the summer. Word. That's exactly what I did!