Happy Valentine’s Day!

I totally meant to post about this earlier. I mean…I made this recipe up over a week ago. Unfortunately work and exhaustion got in the way. But, better late than never, right?

I made a new dessert recipe for Valentine’s Day – Heart-Shaped Mini Pies with strawberry and strawberry/nutella filling.

The recipe features lots of fresh strawberries.

Said strawberries are then stuffed into heart-shaped pieces of pie crust.

The tough part is adding enough of the strawberry filling. I found the overall ratio of pie crust to strawberries to be a bit off, but they were definitely festive. Still, do try to stack your strawberries as high as possible to give a better strawberry flavor.

I cut little arrows into the hearts as my vents and sprinkled sugar on top.

And since the mini hearts are a bit labor-intensive (and I didn’t want to waste any of the dough), I decided to make a large hand-pie of sorts using the remaining pie dough and filling. I made the heart minis with just the strawberries and I added nutella to the hand pie. I wish I had added nutella to all of the pies!

The results were pretty. I love the look of golden-baked dough.

And if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can turn your mini pies into Pie Pops!

Just add a popsicle stick (and maybe some ribbon). I found some at Michael’s in the candy section. I think these would be really cute wrapped in plastic bags with pretty ribbon.

Heart-Shaped Mini Pies {Pie Pops} & a Hand Pie with Strawberry & Nutella Filling

While they aren’t the quickest or easiest project, making these heart-shaped mini pies is a fun activity that you could do with your whole family. Switch up your favorite filling for a different take.

Prep Time: 35 minutes (to make 60-second pie crust and chill the pie crust)
Bake Time: 22-26 minutes
Total Time: 53 – 57 minutes
Serves: 10 Mini Pies and 1 Hand Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pie crust (use store-bought or your favorite recipe – I enjoyed this 60-second pie crust recipe)
• 2 cups strawberries, diced very small
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons tapoica starch (or corn starch)
• flour (for rolling out pie crust)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• nutella, optional
• sanding sugar (for sprinkling on top of the pies)
• 1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar, optional
• 1-2 teaspoons orange juice, optional

Directions:

1. While your pie crust chills (the recipe I used suggested chilling 30 minutes), combine strawberries, sugar, and tapoica starch in a medium bowl. Stir to combine.
2. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper (or aluminum foil with a light coat of non-stick spray)
3. When pie crust is ready, lightly dust a large flat surface for rolling out your dough with flour. Add your pie crust. Rub flour on rolling pin. Roll pie crust out to a pretty thin level (between 1/4 – 1/8 inch thick), turning dough as you go so it doesn’t stick. Use a 2 1/2″ heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out 20 heart-shaped pieces of dough. Set aside remaining dough. Note: You may have noticed I cut some to a smaller size in some photos in this post, but I found the 2 1/2″ version worked better – feel free to use whichever size you prefer.
4. Move half of the pieces of pie dough to the prepared baking sheet. For each mini pie: Brush dough with egg wash, top with strawberry mixture (try to avoid adding liquid as you go), add about 1/2-1 teaspoon of nutella if using, top with another piece of dough, matching edges and pressing to seal. Press on the edges with the ends of a fork to help seal. Repeat for the rest of the mini pies.
5. Cut small slits into the tops of each mini pie (I cut little arrows for the Valentine’s Day theme), brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 22-24 minutes or until tops are golden brown.
6. While mini pies bake, prepare the hand pie. Gather the rest of the dough, bring pieces together to one ball, and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick, turning dough and adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Note: I left my pie pretty free-form – I didn’t worry about making a perfect circle.
7. Prepare another baking sheet with parchment paper (or aluminum foil with a light coat of non-stick spray). Carefully transfer the hand pie dough to the baking sheet, centering half of the dough (since you’ll be folding it in half soon). Spoon the rest of the strawberry mixture (trying to avoid adding the liquid) to half of the dough, leaving a roughly 1/2 inch border and the other half of the dough. Add about 1/4 cup of nutella, spreading around strawberries, if using. Brush the edge with the egg wash, fold the dough in half pressing the edges to seal. Press on the edges with the ends of a fork to help seal.
8. Cut small slits into the top of the hand pie (I cut “LOVE” for the Valentine’s Day theme), brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake for 24-26 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
9. Allow each batch (the mini pies and the hand pie) to cool before eating.
10. Optional icing step: If you don’t use nutella, you’ll probably want to add a bit of icing. I made a quick icing using a mixture of confectioner’s sugar and orange juice, which I just whisked quickly (starting with about 1 teaspoon of the orange juice and adding more as needed) in a bowl and drizzled over the cooled mini pies.

Mini pies sans icing and without popsicle sticks. These guys didn’t last long in our house.

{LOVE-vents in the top of my hand pie}

I’m not gonna lie…these guys were a lot of work, but I did enjoy making them. This project is better if you’re looking to get your hands dirty and enjoy the experience. Personally, I had fun zoning out and focusing on the creation of something delicious. If you want more instant (or at least faster) gratification, consider just making two hand pies.

Are you guys making anything fun for Valentine’s Day?

The steak, the steak, the steak is on fire. We don’t need no water let the…

Have I dated myself now? Please raise your hands if you get the above reference. #holla

And for those who don’t, feel free to google “the roof is on fire” (or click the link and let me google that for you)

Anywho, not sure if you follow me on Instagram, but I did post a photo of this meal yesterday after setting off the first alarm in my house cooking this steak. I think it really did almost catch on fire. Ok, so I didn’t see flames or anything, but cooking this bad boy in my cast iron skillet caused enough smoke that the alarm definitely went off. Oops.

But, the good news is that the steak was delicious. At least something positive came of it, right?

What does this have to do with TCL? I guess my dinner was about as hot a mess as I feel like my life is right now. Work is stressing me out and though my current project is almost over, there’s a lot of uncertainty in the near future. I think I’ve mentioned before that I’m an IT consultant. My company basically sends me on various projects, so when my current project ends, they will send me somewhere new. The trouble is…I have no idea where I’m going – not the customer’s company name…heck, not even the location. I could be in Alaska in a couple months for all I know. But anyways, I guess we can cross that bridge when we get there.

In the meantime, my last major project goes live in less than two weeks, and I’m counting down the days. And as I count down the days, I am guaranteed some long days and late nights. Unfortunately, with all the stress from work, TCL is getting a bit of the cold shoulder. Sorry, blog. I actually have a few cool recipes queued up to share with you guys. I had photos for a leftover-pot-roast-morphed-into-shepherd’s-pie recipe picked out, but I can’t find the darn piece of paper with my recipe notes. And then I have some fun dessert recipes (heart-shaped mini pies, a yellow cake with chocolate frosting Cake Mini, and emergency chocolate chip cookies for 2) in the pipeline, but lately sleep > blogging.

So, I have the recipes, I’m just short on time… *sigh* I’m hoping to post at least one of them soon. In the meantime, may I direct you to my Pinterest profile or my TCL Facebook page? Or maybe you should just check out the Pinterest popular page – I usually make some fun finds there.

Reader question: Have you ever (almost) caught anything on fire in the kitchen? What happened?

Get some cocoa powder, coconut milk, and other milk of choice on your way home from work/school/etc. because you’re going to want to celebrate…

National Hot Chocolate Day!

I heard about the holiday on twitter earlier and decided to whip up something for the special event. I actually tried googling to learn more about the holiday, but as it turns out (like it does with many of these food or at least lesser-known holidays) there are multiple National Hot Chocolate Days. But who needs a legit holiday to celebrate something as simple as hot chocolate, right?

That’s what I’m going with…

WIth my newly-found excuse to make hot chocolate, I decided to work up a recipe for something else inspired by twitter – coconut milk hot chocolate. I tried this once a year or so ago when I heard a twitter friend mention it on a particularly cold and dreary day, except I used 100% coconut milk for the recipe. As it turns out, too much of a good thing really can be…well, not so good. The full-coconut milk hot chocolate was just so-so. I found it to be too thick and rich (perhaps because I was using the canned version instead of the carton type?).

Lesson learned. This time, I followed my trick for making oatmeal with coconut milk – I went 50% coconut milk and 50% something else. When I make oatmeal, the other 50% is usually water. Today, for the hot cocoa, I decided to use some rice milk.

And since I was feeling really festive, I also whipped up (literally) some whipped cream for the top. Mmm…

Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate

It doesn’t have to be National Hot Chocolate Day for you to enjoy this cozy drink. Coconut Milk Hot Chocolate yields a tasty twist on this classic dessert beverage. As for making the drink from scratch…For most of my life I used packaged hot chocolate mixes to make hot chocolate, but from-scratch really takes very little additional effort. I made mine stovetop, but you could easily adjust the recipe to make it quicker in the microwave. Oh, and if you’re feeling particularly lazy, you can try skipping the step of mixing the cocoa powder in a separate bowl by putting it straight in the pot…however, I find that usually creates lumps making the extra step useful. And I only used 2 teaspoons of cocoa powder, which I thought tasted plenty rich, true chocoholics may want to add 1-2 additional teaspoons.

Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 1 (but you can easily multiply for fellow chocoholics)

*Vegetarian, Vegan if you use vegan milks and whipped cream*

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk (canned), or sub carton version for a lighter flavor or sub other milk of choice if you really want
• 1/2 cup rice milk, plus 1-2 tablespoons (or sub other milk of choice, but please read above story before using coconut here, too)
• 2 rounded teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• sweetener of choice, to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon of agave syrup)
• whipped cream, optional, for serving

Directions:

1. Place coconut milk and 1/2 cup rice milk in a small pot over medium low heat.
2. Meanwhile, place cocoa powder and extra tablespoon of rice milk in a small bowl. Whisk until a paste/thick mixture forms and powder is absorbed. Add additional tablespoon of rice milk, if needed.
3. Whisk cocoa mixture into milk mixture. Heat till hot but not boiling.
4. Pour into a mug and top with whipped cream, if using.
5. Serve and enjoy once the drink is cool enough to safely drink.

Enjoy!

***

PS: It’s the last day of Eat in Month! Gotta admit…I can’t wait to eat out again! lol

***

Reader question: Are you celebrating National Hot Chocolate Day today? Do you prefer “regular” hot chocolate or a particular flavor?

Hope everyone had a great weekend. Hubby and I had a pretty low key weekend, which was great for me. I’m in serious need of more down time. We pretty much just relaxed, took care of a few things around the house, and enjoyed some good eats. We did get the chance to make it out to a neat exhibition in town – Mummies of the World. I’ve watched a couple historical shows on mummies recently, so it was interesting to see in person.

Anywho, I made something fun this weekend and wanted to share with you guys…

A Pumpkin Pie Smoothie. Mmm…

I realize it’s a bit late in the season (or completely past the season…whatevs), but timing hasn’t always been one of my strong points. I had a can of pumpkin I didn’t want taking up space in my pantry till next fall, so I decided to go ahead and open it for some everyday eats.

I based the smoothie on my Blueberry Pie Smoothie with a couple simple ingredient swaps. Pumpkin was obviously the star ingredient, but I also added one of my favorite, staple smoothie ingredients – banana. I think bananas give smoothies a nice texture and add natural sweetness, so I like to include them in most smoothies I make.

Hello beta-carotene!

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

Here’s a great way to use leftover (and healthful) canned pumpkin. I did a play on my Blueberry Pie Smoothie with a new flavor profile. You could add canned pumpkin to any ole smoothie, but paired with oats, cinnamon, and vanilla, you get a more pie-like flavor, which is way more fun.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy or dairy milk), sweetened (or use unsweetened milk, dairy or non-dairy – just also add a drop of vanilla and your sweetener of choice, to taste) – see notes above
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon pumpkin (this will yield a light pumpkin flavor – add more to taste)
• 2 ice cubes
• dash-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, to taste (or sub pumpkin pie spice)

Directions:

1. Combine milk and oats in a medium bowl/pyrex and let rest in refrigerator for 5 minutes.
2. Combine milk/oat mixture, banana, pumpkin, ice cubes, and cinnamon in a blender. Blend till ingredients are combined and smooth, about 1-2 minutes, or until smoothie reaches your desired consistency.
3. Enjoy!

You may also enjoy:

• Blueberry Pie Smoothie
• Figgy Green Monster Smoothie (tastes like cake batter!)
• Healthy Cookies ‘N Cream Smoothie

Reader question: Do you only eat pumpkin in one season or all year long?

Lately, I’ve been uninspired to get out of bed in the morning. Why? I’m going to be honest with you. Work is kicking my a$$ and stressing me out big time. And if you’re in the same boat, I have a breakfast idea that may help make you ready to take on the day.

I normally don’t like talking about work on my blog, but you know what? If any of my co-workers were actually reading this, I think they’d be nodding their head and saying, “I hear ya, girl! Me too!” Our current work environment is very stressful and picking up stream. But there’s a light at the end of the tunnel when our current project gets released in just a few short weeks. And then, we can all be normal again.

So, what do you do when you aren’t quite ready to face the day? Find something to help get you going. May I present…

Nutella Swirl Oatmeal!

This is really so simple to make.

Here’s my Non-Recipe:

Just make your choice of oatmeal (I like stove top, and the bowl pictured is made with pumpkin). Take however much Nutella you feel like eating (I used 1 tablespoon), and put it in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave the Nutella until it becomes soft and easy to pour (15-30 seconds should do it). Use two spoons to scoop and pour the Nutella into a swirl design (or carefully pour the Nutella straight from the bowl). Top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy.

I’m really loving this idea of finding a reason to get out of bed when you’re otherwise uninspired. I think I’ll have to brainstorm some more ideas like this one!

Reader question: What tricks do you use to start the day when you’re not feeling so ready for it? What’s your get-out-of-bed inspiration?

I made one of the easiest and tastiest things recently – garlic knots. I’ve been enjoying these things for years, but I never really thought to try to make them at home before. I don’t even have a good excuse, I just never tried it for some reason. Good thing I have Eat in Month to inspire me to try new things at home.

And it turns out…if you use store-bought pizza dough, garlic knots are so easy a caveman? no, a husband? anyone can do it.

But first, I’d like to share a couple random Bailey photos. Here’s Bailey modeling the new Duke shirt his grandmother bought him.

And here he is just after carrying the newspaper in. Yup, he fetches our paper and the mail!

But, enough about Bailey, back to the garlic knots. Hubby and I had another pizza night at the Chic house recently, and the ball of dough hubby got from the store was gigantic. I decided it was too large to fit on the pizza stone, so I tore off a couple pieces of dough to experiment with these garlic knots. Plus, I figured we could snack on these while the pizza baked.

These things were so simplistic, there’s really no need for a full-on recipe, especially since I used store-bought pizza dough, so I’ll just share some of the basics. I’m betting a lot of you already know how to make these, so for those who do, feel free to chime in (with a comment) with your tips.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• store-bought pizza dough
• butter, I used about 1 teaspoon for 4 garlic knots – try to sit it out for a bit so it softens
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley (or use 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• a sprinkle of salt, to taste
• feel free to add other toppings of choice – maybe oregano, red pepper flakes, or rosemary

To make the garlic knots, I basically tore off four small pieces of the dough, roughly 1/4-1/3 cup each. I took each piece, rolled it into a long log and tied it into a knot. I baked them in a pre-heated 350 oven (on a cornmeal dusted pizza stone) for about 20-25 minutes, until nice and golden brown on top. Bake time will probably vary from dough to dough, and you may want to check your dough for suggested baking temperature, too.

I placed the butter, parsley, garlic, and salt in a bowl and topped it with the hot garlic knots. I used the heat of the freshly-baked knots to help melt the butter. I tossed the garlic knots in the bowl until they were evenly coated.

And that’s it.

I think I actually liked the garlic knots better than the pizza we made with the rest of the dough. Anywho, I think these would be fun to make the next time we’re entertaining. I bet kids would like helping the adults form the knots, too.

Ooh…just had another good idea – cinnamon-sugar knots! Maybe I’ll try those next time.

Reader question: What are your favorite garlic knot toppings?

There’s a little under a week left of Eat in Month, and I’m pretty excited about February getting here. But, I’m not letting EIM keep me from any fun.

I hadn’t seen my friend, Dana, in awhile, so when she IMed me the other day about getting dinner, I was initially really excited. Then, I remembered I was still in EIM. But my sweet friend offered to just have me over for dinner instead.

She made this delicious chicken-creole dish. It was comforting and had just the right amount of spice to it. I’ll have to ask her for the recipe.

Has anyone else been doing entertaining “in” for EIM?

***

With one week left in Eat in Month, or if you are trying to slow down on your take-out splurging, I thought I’d share some TCL recipes/non-recipes you could whip up to re-create take-out in the comfort of your home.

5 Take-Out-Like Meals to Make at Home

(Most are recipes, one is a non-recipe…which is more like a tip/idea post)

1. Easy Pizza Night – the most commonly ordered take-out in our house

2. Tangy Tamari Tempeh Noodles – a favorite for lunch or dinner

3. Easy No-Marinade Chicken Fajitas – simple and made without pre-packaged seasoning

4. Whole Health Noodle Soup – reminds me of the noodle bowls I used to order during lunch all the time

5. Chana Masala – this should keep me away from the Indian buffet a bit longer

I was hoping to re-create some common take-out dishes to share the recipes with you guys, but work has been swamping me. But, even if I can’t do it for EIM, I’d like to try to re-create some take-out meals anyways. So, hopefully, I’ll be able to post them one day soon. Any requests?

Hope you’re all having a great week!

My mom has cooked many things over the years, but her beef stroganoff is a true classic in our family. I’ve been enjoying this dish for as long as I can remember. And now, hubby is a fan, too.

I’d say the recipe has remained the same over the years, but I did try to change it one time when I was about middle school age. Mom always put mushrooms in the dish, and since I wasn’t a fan of them, I often voiced my displeasure. After growing tired of my begging to remove the them, she finally told me one day (somehow very patiently) that she’d make her beef stroganoff sans mushrooms next time. I eagerly awaited the next appearance of beef stroganoff on the dinner table.

The next time it was beef stroganoff night, mom tried one last time to talk me into keeping the mushrooms as she began preparing dinner. “It really tastes better with the mushrooms in, honey.” I didn’t believe her. I couldn’t wait to taste the meal without those yucky mushrooms. I just knew it was going to be so much better. She’d see.

Once dinner was served, I eagerly dug in. I remember it a bit more animated than I’m sure it actually was. Me smiling like an overly-enthusiastic cartoon with big googley eyes. Fork raised and ready to dig in and then moving in slow motion. Fork to plate…fork to mouth…chew…chew…cheeeeeewwwww? Eyes shrinking…smile slowly disappearing. The slow realization that it tasted like crap. Ok, it didn’t taste like crap, but mom was right…it really did taste better with mushrooms.

C’est la via…lesson learned. And to this day, I always include mushrooms. Sometimes, I cut them so large they’re easy to pick out. Sometimes, I mince them so they are practically undetectable. Large or small, obvious or not, the mushrooms are always there.

Mom’s Beef Stroganoff

This is probably one of those recipes that was passed around in the 80s by all the cool moms. I’m sure there are similar ones out there, but this is our take. Oh, and if you didn’t read my story earlier in this blog post, be sure to include mushrooms (unless you’re allergic) to get the full taste. I’m not a fan, but I always add them. I like to use cremini, mostly because I enjoy the flavor and you can get them individually at the grocery store, but feel free to substitute your favorite. Anywho, this meal makes an affordable an easy meal that I gravitate towards on my busy weeknights.

Cook time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• 1 small-medium onion, chopped
• 3 cremini mushrooms (I use just enough to get the flavor I want, but feel free to add more), sliced or minced (whichever you prefer)
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup sherry
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 small square (like Wyler’s) or 1 large rectangle (like Knorr) beef bouillon cube
• salt & pepper, to season
• 1 small container sour cream
• cooked pasta (I like egg noodles with this) or rice for serving
• parsley, dried or fresh, optional
• paprika, optional

Directions:

1. Pre-heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add beef and cook till browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Skim fat and then add butter, onion, mushrooms, and garlic. Cook till beef is well browned and onions are translucent, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add water, sherry, lemon juice, bouillon cube(s). Cook till all the liquid is gone, stirring frequently. Mom’s tip: be sure to wait till all the liquid is gone before moving to the next step or the sauce will be too liquidy.
4. Turn off heat, add sour cream, and stir till well combined.
5. Serve over pasta or rice. Top with parsley and paprika, if using. Serve with a vegetable, too – I like steamed broccoli with a drizzle of butter.

Hope you enjoy this as much as my family has. Happy cooking!

Reader question: What classic recipes did you grow up eating?

Spiders and menu plan success? Yes, they are both in this post…

Today started off with a creepy scare. The coffee was brewing as I headed out my front door to take Bailey out to do his morning business. As I was walking out the door, I suddenly noticed a spider right in front of my face. I backed up just in time, which was lucky because I literally would have walked right into it had I kept going. I brought Bailey back inside, got a large envelope and swept (ok, threw the envelope at) the spider to the right of me and quickly withdrew. I was standing there trying to figure out where the spider went when I felt something fall on my head. It was rainy out, so I assumed it was a drop of water because that’s what it felt like.

I got a second envelope and swept around at the open air in front of me to ensure I had removed all traces of spider web…and hopefully, all traces of the spider, too. For some reason, I decided to look up at the bottom of my front porch to see if there was a lot of water accumulated and if I may get hit with another droplet. To my dismay, I realized that there, in fact, no water above me. So what the heck just fell on my head anyways?! I shrieked and ran to the bathroom in a panic. I pictured a large, hairy spider crawling around on my head and frantically checked myself in the mirror. I didn’t see any spiders, but I was still flipping out. I bent over, took my hair out of the clip that was holding it up, and shook out my hair. No spiders.

To make a long story short, it’s now the end of the day, and I haven’t seen any spiders. Let’s hope that it was water that fell on me earlier…that’s what I’m telling myself at least since I haven’t seen any indication it was something else.

But, enough about today, let’s backtrack…I wanted to tell you how I did with my meal plan from Monday. I know a lot of you guys are good with meal plans, but I am not. I was pretty worried I wouldn’t be able to stick to the plan hubby and I came up with.

Here’s how we actually did…

We did have those burgers like we planned on Tuesday. I decided to not take a picture of it, but it was good.

On Wednesday, I made my mom’s beef stroganoff. Someone requested this recipe once, so I think I’ll post it. *Update – the recipe has been posted – click here to view* I’ve been eating this dish since I can remember, so it’s definitely a winner. We had steamed broccoli for our veg.

On Thursday, I cheated on Eat in Month. My company invited me to small lunch get-together. I forgot to mention in my original list of rules, but I decided to make exceptions for work-related events. It’s one thing to challenge yourself…it’s another to be unprofessional or miss out on an opportunity with your team. We ended up going to a restaurant that specializes in Southern cooking, so I got the fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and beets. Since that was pretty much what we were planning to do for dinner, we decided to change plans. Hubby grilled chicken breasts, and I made a rice pilaf (from the box) with some steamed cabbage. It was simple, affordable, and it tasted great. I was pretty happy with Thursday.

On Friday, I fell off the wagon again. This time I don’t have a good excuse. I actually just decided to cheat (on Eat in Month and the meal plan). I left home in the morning in a rush and got to work a little later than I wanted. I ended up leaving work in a rush, too, thanks to a phone conference that ran over by 20 minutes. I drove through rainy, rush-hour traffic to get to an important event – Zumba instructor auditions. Two years ago, it was my turn on stage. Tonight, it was my friend Shamecia’s. She did fantastic, but she hasn’t found out yet if she made it. Whether she makes it or not, we headed out after auditions to celebrate her hard work. We each got beer flights and shared 3 different things: chicken fingers & fries, a Philly cheesesteak and sweet potato fries, and Margherita pizza (no picture again).

And as for tonight…dinner was inspired by Chinese New Year’s. My friend and I were hoping to find something fun to do for the holiday. I considered going to get dim sum, but I think I’ve cheated on EIM enough so far. I had heard about some events going on this weekend to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year’s, but when I searched for them, I didn’t find anything. So, I just invited her over for a simple stir fry. It’s not authentic, but it tasted good.

Anywho, I hope everyone else doing Eat in Month is doing better than I am!

I have quite a few recipes queued up now, so I just need to figure out which one to post first. Any requests?

Reader question: Did/will you celebrate Chinese New Year’s? What did/will you do?

I’m sure you’re all waiting with bated breath to see how I’m doing with my menu plan, or Eat in Month…or what recipe I’m posting next. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to disappoint you. It seems working from 8am to 8pm is simply not conducive to blogging (or having a life…or sleeping).

As I try to shake away the work-induced zombie-like state I’m feeling at the moment so I can go to bed, let me share a teaser photo with you. I had a reader request a slow cooker beef stew, so I played around with one on Tuesday. I think I browned the beef a bit too much (stupid multi-tasking!), but overall, the stew came out pretty good.

Hope you’re all having a great week!

By the way, does anyone have any easy, weeknight recipes you’d like to share with the Eat-in-Monthers? Please leave a link to the recipe (or the recipe itself if it’s yours and you don’t have a blog), even if it’s to your blog or someone else’s blog/site.