What to Eat, Sometimes...

I love when reading other blogs gives me ideas for new posts of my own. I was reading Kaila over at Shooting-A-Bird and her post about what a boy eats just made me laugh out loud. It reminded me exactly of the Penguin's picky eating. Her son, the Great White Lizard Hunter and the Penguin are both picky eaters with the added quality of randomness thrown in. I mean it is not necessarily the food that is the problem but rather the form of the food or the combinations.

I present to you some fine examples of just how random the Penguin's eating habits are.

Nacho Cheese: Yes
Jalapenos on Nachos: No
A bowl of Queso: Yes
Queso with Jalapenos in it: Sure, probably won't even notice them
A Cheeseburger: No Way!
Cheese on a Taco: Not even!
Cheese on a Sandwich or Wrap: Nope!
Cheese Steak sandwich from Waffle House: 1 Slice of Cheese
Cheesy Potato Skins: Yes
Cheese on a Baked Potato: Not really
Sour Cream on my Scalloped Potatoes: Has to have it!
Sour Cream on a Baked Potato: Not so much
Sour Cream on Potato Skins: Definitely
Sour Cream on a Taco: No Way
Stuffed Potato's with lots of Sour Cream and Cheese: Awesome!
Mac & Cheese: Not really
Pasta Alfredo: Loves It!
Raw Broccoli: Yes, Please!
Raw Cauliflower: With Ranch!
Cooked Broccoli or Cauliflower: No Way
Raw and Cooked Onions: Yes
Raw and Cooked Bell Peppers: Raw Please

Okay I am tired of thinking of these, but I am sure you get the point by now. My Penguin is a picky eater to say the least. I remember when I first met him how confused I was by the randomness that applied to consuming cheese. But eventually I figured it out, sort of. I have to say he is at least open to trying new things. Even if that means he will not order it for himself, but rather take a bite of mine. During our first few months together I kept trying to get him to go out and eat pasta with me but was never successful. Then one day at Chili's I tried the Pasta Alfredo. He took a bite and liked it so much he ended up eating more of my meal than I did. When I met him he also did not eat sour cream, but obviously that has grown on him too.

I think that I am now starting to understand why he is so picky about things. It is not necessarily the food, but the texture. He likes raw vegetables but not cooked ones because then they are mushy. He likes cheese and sour cream but not on a sandwich or anything like that. And honestly I get the texture thing. I don't mind eating chips and a sandwich together but do not even try to put lettuce on my sandwich that still has the crunchy part in it. I do not care what people say, the white/core part of lettuce is bitter and too crunchy for me. Texture is definitely something I understand. So I suppose we all have our preferences when it comes to food. Though some people are a little weirder than others...

Anyway, that was my randomness for the day. It may be a little difficult to find foods for picky eaters, but it is possible. If someone served you your favorite foods rather than something you refuse to eat, won't you be happy? I know I get frustrated when someone close to me, who I know I have told numerous times about my dislike for something, offers and/or serves it to me anyways. And conversely when someone remembers my dislike for a certain food or drink I am quite flattered. So while learning and remembering someone's food preferences can be difficult, it's worth it to make them feel comfortable. I think that we all try to remember the likes and dislikes of our loved ones.

So happy Love Thursday everyone, I hope someone out there loves you enough to remember the things you hate.

Green and Fuzzy

This year I decided to be all earthy and try to grow my own tomatoes and cucumbers. I think those are my two favorite veggies and it is so much cheaper to grow your own. Plus my dad eats more tomatoes than I do so I knew when they started ripening like 20 at a time they would not go to waste. That is how I came to have cucumber and tomato plants on my porch. I suppose if I had been smart about it I might have put them at the house where they would get more sun and rain, but I knew I would be at my apartment to water and care for them. So I chose plants that said they were good container plants. I planted them and was creative with the stakes and climbing devices I used. I gave them good soil and miracle grow snacks with plenty of water. And they started growing, and Growing, and GROWING. The plants got huge! There was a caterpillar who decided the young tomato plants were yummy but I caught and disposed of him before he did too much damage. The tomato plants continued to grow, well over the height of my current cage contraption and I had to lean them up against the wall. The cucumber plants were making so many darn yellow flowers I thought I was going to have a bazillion of them. And the tomato plant made a modest 6 flowers or so, but that was okay it was still early.

Then there never were any actual little cucumbers that grew from all those freaking flowers. Not a One! And of course no tomatoes either. So of course the next thing that happened was all the cucumber plants started dying, one by one. I had like 12 of them in there so I wasn't too worried until only 1 was left alive. But then it started to make flowers again, lots of flowers and I thought well this time I should get some cucumbers. Nope. Nada. Niet. So I let that one straggler die off too. By this time it was getting really late in the season for anything to happen and the veggies would have no chance to ripen before the first freeze. But the tomato plants were still so pretty, and so fragrant. So I kept watering them. And lo, they did make a few more flowers, but never any little green tomatoes. So when I realized it was definitely too late for them to get a chance to ripen if any tomatoes actually grew, I stopped watering them and just left them to die. See?

The dead cucumber plants are in the background and you can see how droopy the tomato plants are. And what do you think happened? Well they made more flowers of course! So I mumbled and cursed under my breath but I knew they wouldn't make any tomatoes.

Then this past weekend I walked outside to wash some clothes and noticed this

Do you see that! Do you know what time of the year it is? Don't they know its way too freaking late to even start thinking about growing! I wanted to scream. Instead I told the plant to just *&#% off. I mean come on! I couldn't get normal tomato plants like Barb from So The Thing Is, no I had to get some degenerate plants who are confused about what season it is. I mean notice that the date on this first tomato post of Barb's is July 29th and they are ripe already! Mine don't start growing till the beginning of December, never mind when they would ripen since we will never know. My plants decide to start growing during a time when the temperatures are somewhere near freezing. And I planted them early I swear! Green and fuzzy just does not work at a time when things need to be all warm and cozy because it is freezing outside. And they are fuzzy, which is quite amusing.

The Penguin just happened to be at my place when I told the tomato plant to *&#% off. I told him that next year I was putting the plants at his house so that they don't get all confused with their seasonal orientation. He told me I could do that if I wanted as long as I didn't blame him if he killed them. I guess I will have to wait until I have my own yard before I can have a decent veggie crop. Such is my life!

I guess you have to try and kill something before it fights back. But it is just too little, too late in the year...

P.S. Yes, I know I spell it tomato in singular form and tomatoes in plural form. I like the way it looks with the 'e' in it just not at the end of it. This is normal right?

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a happy Turkey Day.

I hope you had a good time with your families.

I hope everyone is going to bed tonight happy and full,
no matter what you ate for dinner.

I Made Cookies Today

Spaghetti & Cheese

I promised that if I was able to find a decent substitute for Velveeta that I would post my recipe for Spaghetti & Cheese. Well luckily I found just such a thing. I was very happy with the way my casserole turned out using this new cheese. I found this wonderful creation:

It is Kraft Deluxe American Cheese. I found it right next to the Velveeta. My only qualm about it is that it only comes in a 1lb loaf when Velveeta comes in 2lbs. I do not really mind the price difference so much since I like the way it tastes. The 1lb loaf means adjusting and having to buy some sliced cheese for the top of the casserole but I can handle that. So as promised here is the recipe.

I used these ingredients

I hope you can see all of that. But here is a list of ingredients you will need. This recipe will make a 9x13 pan and can easily be halved.

1lb Spaghetti

1/2 Onion, diced

1/2 Bell Pepper, diced

1 can Evaporated Milk

1 egg

2 tablespoons butter
1lb Kraft Deluxe Cheese

1 package Kraft Sliced Cheese

As you can see I don't have a Bell Pepper in my picture of ingredients. I used what I had on hand which happened to be 2 green onions and they worked just fine.

So here is how you put it all together.

Put a pot of water on the stove to boil. While you are waiting for the water to boil, dice 1/2 Onion and Bell Pepper. Once the water comes to a boil throw in the Spaghetti, Onions, and Bell Pepper. I like to break the noodles in half before I add them to the pot, but that is just me. You can add in a spoon of minced garlic as well, I always do. (But I always add garlic to everything, except dessert.) Boiling the noodles with the vegetables gives the noodles a really good flavor and I promise you will like it.

While the noodles are boiling you will need to dice the pound of Kraft cheese. Toss a few cubes in your mouth because you just can't wait. Pour the can of Evaporated Milk into a medium bowl and whisk in the egg. Toss in the cubed cheese and stir together to get the cubes to not stick together so much. Set this aside.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take your 9x13 baking dish and add the 2 tablespoons of Butter. It helps if you dice up the butter some. Once the noodles are done drain them and then add to your pan. You will more than likely have too many noodles but that is normal. You want to make sure to leave enough room for the cubed cheese mixture so you do not have to fill the pan to the top. Now toss the spaghetti around in the pan until the butter is melted. Once the spaghetti is coated level it out and pour in the cheese mixture. Use the pasta fork to kind of wiggle the noodles so that some of the cheese gets pushed down and isn't all just laying on top of the noodles. You want the level of the liquid to be right at the top of the noodles. If you think the level of liquid is too low you can add some more evaporated milk, or be like me and just add a splash of half and half or milk since you already have some in the fridge. You don't want the noodles to be swimming but you want an adequate amount of sauce, so adjust to your taste. Now take the sliced cheese and cover the top of the pan.

Place the dish uncovered in the oven for 30 minutes. Check on it after about 15 minutes to make sure the cheese on top is not getting too brown. You can always cover it if you don't want browned cheese. After 30 minutes take it out of the oven and be sure to let it cool for about 20 minutes or so. Allowing it to cool lets you cut and serve it easier.

Enjoy the cheesy goodness!

This is what mine looked like when it was done.

I kind of browned it a little too much but it was still yummy. You definitely do not need to brown it this much, I made it in two small pans and it cooked faster than I was expecting. If you do brown it this much don't fret I promise it still tastes great.

And this is what my serving looked like

I was very happy with my results.

So lets recap:

Boil the spaghetti with onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

Put the noodles in a pan with some butter to coat them.

Add in the diced cheese, evaporated milk, and egg mixture.

Cover with sliced cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

It is really pretty simple and you can adjust proportions for your needs. Please use this recipe as more of a guideline and add in whatever else you want. I sometimes add in frozen broccoli with my noodles. You could definitely add other ingredients and make it your own like diced chicken or maybe even spinach. What makes it unique is the use of spaghetti and the fact that it is a casserole. It is really easy and really versatile. Make it special!

P.S. If you do not think Velveeta tastes funny and/or you want to use it because it is cheaper and you only have to buy one cheese, go right ahead. Dice about 1/3 of the loaf for what goes inside the casserole. Use a cheese slicer and the rest of the loaf for the cheese which covers the top. One 2lb loaf of the Velveeta will be more than enough for one recipe.

P.P.S. The type of noodle you use will affect how dry or wet the casserole turns out. We normally use spaghetti and I remembered the first time we used angel hair it was soupier. If you use more of a fettuccine I can say it will be more solid.

P.P.P.S. You can make this ahead of time and keep in the fridge until you need it. Just make sure to have a little less milk in it if you want to do this so that it is not too runny.

The Cheesiest!

Remember rolling your eyes at your grandparents or your parents when they would tell you how different things used to be? I am not talking about the cliche where they say they walked 5 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways. I am talking about when people say they just don't make things like they used to. I have to say that I am able to say that about a few things nowadays. I mean crayons for one thing. Crayons were better when I was younger. Now they are too waxy and you cannot color smoothly. I laughed when I thought about how crotchety I sounded saying that when I was younger they made things better.

But honestly things change over time. Things change due to laws like McDonald's french fries being done in different oil now. Things change due to trying to cut costs. Things change to try and accommodate more people.

Has anyone else noticed a change in this?

You can ignore the Spiderman, I just chose a good picture from google images and wound up with him on my cheese box. But seriously, Velveeta has changed. In the past few years they did something to it so that it no longer needs to be refrigerated. I swear it is a darker yellow now, like almost orange. It used to be a bright yellow. But you knew it was fake processed cheese and you never cared that it was bright ass yellow. Now it is orangey, like you already left it out to harden, except you didn't. And it just doesn't taste the same. I am not sure what makes it taste funny now, it just does. I really noticed it last Thanksgiving when we made the traditional spaghetti and cheese. It tasted strange. I thought it might just have been because my Velveeta was pretty old so I brushed it off. But then the next time I bought Velveeta my casserole came out funny again. I thought it might have been the off brand frozen broccoli until I remembered the Thanksgiving snafu. I gave Velveeta another shot though because the processed cheese just melts better. And it still tastes funny. This makes me really sad. I love spaghetti and cheese and it just won't be the holidays without it. So I have a new mission to find alternative cheeses with which to make our traditional casserole. I will be going to the grocery and looking for other cheeses and/or other ways to make the cheese melt smoothly. I am determined to make a decent spaghetti and cheese without Velveeta. I would rather have it taste too cheesy because I used real cheddar than taste sort of metallic like the Velveeta. If I am successful I will post the recipe here. It is pretty simple, and yummy to boot!

Is there something that has changed in your lifetime that makes you want to scream at the manufacturer to start making it the old way again?

I love Fridays!

Today is Friday.
It is my day off.
I am going to be home.
I am going shopping with my mother.
We will buy all sorts of great things.
Hopefully a pretty new dress for my Christmas party next month.
Hopefully some trinkets from bargain stores.
Possibly some early Christmas presents.
We will eat lunch in a resturant where I used to work.
We will have great Lebanese food.
We will shop some more.
We will look at new cars.
We will look at new buildings.
We will get take-out for dinner.
The mall has the best Chinese food!
We will go home.
I will go home to the Penguin baring gifts of wonderful Chinese food.
I will make yummy yummy chocolate chip cookies for friends.
I will eat some for myself, warm out of the oven, with ice cold milk.
I will watch trash on TV.
I will go to bed happy.

Happy Cows or Laughing Cows?

Do you remember those commercials about how great cheese comes from Happy Cows? You know the Happy Cows from California? Well I always thought they were kind of silly, but fun to watch. So anyway the real reason I am asking is that I recently tried some cheese that made me think of this slogan. I mean this cheese is soooo good it has to come from Happy Cows, right? I think so. And I think you will too. Or maybe you already do...

Have you tried these?

They are absolutely yummy! AND they come in their own nifty little travel pouches! But the best thing about them other than portability is the taste. Some serious yum was infused into these little cheeses. And aren't they just the cutest! They fit right in the palm of your hand! But the taste! It is one of those things that makes your mouth water when you think about the taste. They are these little white cheese rounds with a slight tang. But they are really creamy too. So you take a bite and salivate due to the tanginess and then moan because of the melt-in-your-mouthness of them. And if you didn't eat the whole thing in one bite (which is entirely possible since they are tiny like that and some people just might pop in the whole thing all at once, not me, but some people, you know those other people) then you just want to take another bite! As yummy as I imagine a whole little cheese wheel would be I much prefer to take as many little nibbles as I can to be able to really enjoy the flavors. What? I do have some self control! Well, okay, the first bite may not be as tiny as the rest but jeez the expectation is just too much sometimes. And honestly up till this point I really have not popped the whole thing in my mouth at one time, but that's not to say that I won't do it in the future now that I have thought about it. But it would not be a tragedy, because they are tiny. So tiny that they have very few calories, something like 70 for one of the regular wheels and 50 for the light. So not a whole lot of guilt can come from the urge to eat more than one. And did I mention that they are baby cheese and really tiny? Well they are and they have this red wax protective shell on them so they are super portable. And the shell is really easy to peel off due to the pull strip which breaks the shell right in half. Well except for a little part where the halves are still connected and it then looks like a red Pacman. Think about how cool your kids would be if you packed Pacman cheese in their lunch! I wish this cheese had been around for my school lunches. This is my kind of cheese! And I am really not sure if it comes from the Happy Cows in California but I do know it comes from the Laughing Cow people. Oh, drat, I got curious and turns out that the Babybel people are actually a french company based out of Paris. But their main USA address is in Illinois. Maybe they import some Happy Cows from California though. Or maybe the Happy Cows and Laughing Cows are really twins. Who knows? All I really know is that I am glad I found these wonderful little cheese rounds. They make my mouth happy! Go, go, go, go, go to your store and get some to try today! I promise if you like cheese you will not regret this!