easter 2012!

To all those celebrating today, a very Happy Easter to you!

HIGH-lights:

- A lovely weekend at home with the family

- Dying Easter eggs in the beautiful, sunny weather

- My last minute centerpiece turning out really cute, actually! (And luckily)

- Catching up with my cousins at the "kid's table"

- AMAZING food, including the infamous hash brown casserole *drooool* and my very first attempt at a "honey baked" Quorn loaf (which I swear, will be GREAT next year)

- Getting to play on my dad's fancy work ipad- thus, the great photo collage, above

- And just enjoying a day full of beautiful weather, wonderful family, and delicious food

LOW-lights:

- Gaining, like, 10 pounds in one weekend.... but let's be honest. It was totally worth it.

Happy Easter everyone! I hope it was a good one for you too♥

chopped eating

Most times when I refuse to go to the grocery store, I feel like I'm eating all my meals on the Food Network show Chopped. Erin. You have 30 minutes to make yourself a dinner with mustard, rice noodles, tempeh bacon, and chickpeas. Go!

Well this has definitely been one of those weeks for me. Since I'm going home to my parents' house for Easter, why would I buy groceries, when I know there will be a truck-load of left-overs for me to devour next week? Considering I haven't done a real grocery shop in weeks, these past few days have yielded some "creative" meals, and I just wanted to share some of them with you.

Breakfasts

1. Bagels (which I found in the break room for free)

2. Kashi frozen waffles (that have been in the freezer forever)

- some toppings include jam, cream cheese, and cream cheese with honey and Granny Smith Apples. I know cream cheese with honey sounds random, but it was the best creative find I've had all week :)

Lunches

1. Leftovers from the weekend like some hangover chinese food and a veggie sandwich that sat in my boyfriend's car for way too long

2. Freezer food! When eating cheap, this is the time to rediscover those frozen burritos, frozen crock pot meals, and big batches of soup from winter

Dinners

1. Homemade enchiladas with homemade sauce (which I posted about here)

2. Stir fry is always a great option for using up all the odd parts of vegetables, and rice noodles pretty much last forever in the cupboard

3. Polenta with chickpeas, almonds, and tomatoes?

4. Penne pasta with corn, peas, boca crumbles, chickpeas, and marinera?

Moral of the story, is that even when you're short on food, you can still put together some great meals. Success of the week? Cream cheese and honey! Omg who knew it was such a great combination? Also, this week's failure? Chickpeas. Just because they're perfect in a large number of dishes, does not mean they belong in all of them. The last 2 dinners of mine were quite strange- good flavor, hearty and filling, but the chickpeas were the black sheep for sure.

I've had a lot of fun mixing, matching, and getting adventurous in the kitchen this week, but I must say, I am so ready to have a couple of very excellent meals with my mom and dad this weekend! What about you? Ever get crazy with your cooking and end up with EPIC successes and/or failures? That's what cooking's all about! That's why I love it ♥