More Quinoa

I was craving a vegetarian inspired meal and pulled the quinoa out of the cabinet again. I also had some beans in there.  With a few extra purchases, and a wonderful pinterest recipe, I created these quinoa stuffed bell peppers (I halved the recipe since I'm only feeding one):

Snow

As we think about spring...
I did not expect all the snow we got this year, but it sure has been beautiful!

2/13/14:

3/3/14:

Easy and delicious pasta

I was scrounging around my pantry for food and settled upon making this dish. I ate it for 3 nights it was so good! I had breakfast sausage left over from egg cups I had made for my Life Group. I cooked penne pasta, then used the same pot to heat up some garlic and herb flavored canned tomatoes, baby spinach, and the leftover sausage. I mixed it in with the pasta and shredded parmesan cheese on top. It was absolutely delicious!

Giant messenger bag

I bought fabric for this project in January and I finally got around to trying to put it together. I used a pattern from pinterest (of course). I unfortunately made the handle too long, so it hangs at an awkward place on my body and I don't love the corners, but I do love that it will hold EVERYTHING and that I was fairly successful in completing this project. :)

Quinoa

I have recently discovered quinoa. I tried to eat it for breakfast and it was okay...  The best use so far was when I added it to a corn salad I had frozen from the summer. Delicious!

Lentil Soup

I neglected to take a picture, but I made a delicious soup last week from the PICU cookbook.  Here's the recipe:

1/4 c olive oil, divided
4 large links of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced/diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

pinch of salt
pinch of red pepper flakes

1 c lentils
2 bay leaves
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
6 c water
black pepper
3-4 c shredded kale
shredded parmesan

Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium heat.
When hot, add the sausage, breaking it up until it starts to brown. 
Add the onion, carrots, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes.
Cook until vegetables soften a bit.
Add the lentils, bay leaves, tomatoes, water, salt and black pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer and allow to cook until lentils are tender (about 40 minutes).
Discard the bay leaves.
Add kale and cook until leaves are tender.
Serve topped with shredded parmesan.

Blogs I follow

I have started following some interesting blogs. Here are some of the ones where I've gained money saving tips:

Living Well Spending Less
Once a week she posts links to other money saving blog posts.

Money Saving Mom
She posts WAY too frequently (many times a day) about too many topics, but some of the posts I've found to be most helpful are ones on super coupon offers.  She also does a weekend giveaway which is fun to try to win.

Live Like You Are Rich
She had a really good article on compound interest and one on couponing at Kroger among other miscellaneous posts.

And Then We Saved
She had a really good post on how to make extra money on the weekends.

Skillet Popcorn

 A few of my colleagues were talking about making homemade popcorn a few weeks ago so I had to give it a try. They had counseled that I be sure to get good quality kernels and hunt for brewers yeast for a cheesy flavor. I am always budgeting, so I opted for the cheap Food Lion kernels and I was unable to find any brewers yeast at the same store. 

The recipe on the back of the bag said to:
 Put 1/4 cup of oil in the skillet along with a kernel of popcorn. 
Cover the skillet with a lid.
When the first kernel pops, add enough kernels to cover the bottom of the skillet and cover again.
Shake the skillet as the kernels pop. 
When the popping slows, remove the skillet from the heat. 

These directions yielded the most wonderful popcorn I think I have ever had!  I sprinkled on a very small amount of garlic salt and I nearly ate the whole batch (a large one) in one sitting. I have since made several more batches, always saving some in an air tight container for a later snack. My coworkers had warned that it is addictive and they were so right!