LET'S TALK FOOD AND COMMENTS

Well good morning everyone! How are you doing today? I'm good... I spent most of the day with my mother yesterday. I took her to the store, helped around her house, and just joked and laughed and kept her in a good mood. Well today is the final COMMENT DAY so make them count ok?! LOL... If you are new, check out the Jan. 4th post about the Crock Pot Giveaway for the rules!

Seeing as the last few days I have had the incurable munchies... I want to talk about food! I absolutely love food of all kinds... I love the tons of ways you can prepare the billions of kinds of foods, the sizes, colors, and shapes of it all, and even the chemistry of food. What do I mean by chemistry? Well for one... did you ever realize how chicken can have a hundred different tastes just by changing a couple of spices? Or how about how certain chemicals in some foods can literally alter your mood, energy levels, and even sleep patterns? Yes I am a food nerd! Some would say obsessed, but you know what? That "obsession" allows me to know how the food is best prepared (both taste and safety) and makes every meal a success! So its an addiction I happily admit to LOL! Take last night's dinner here. Remember I had all those whole chickens out, right? Well instead of the rosemary and lemon (which I know is an awesome combo in itself), I cut the chickens in half and put my usual S/P/G on them and added some Emeril's esscence. I seared them and then put them in a baking pan and coated them with a Mesquite flavored marinade (regular old Kroger brand currently on sale for 10 for $10!). I baked them and then about 30-40 minutes later I pulled them out and OMG YUM! I went to put some on plates for each person and they literally fell apart! Oh geez... it was awesome! I paired it with some Collard greens and cheese rolls and they were loving it! Look... It was a beautiful dinner!



Ok so if you are like me, then you need to shop on a budget right? We have discussed coupons and farmers market's briefly, but have you ever heard of Discount & Salvage Grocery Stores? These are places that take the over-orders, the scratch and dents, the discontinueds, etc. and offer them for like 30-50% off normal retail! Granted, your selection may be limited but you can alot of the times find some killer deals in there. My mom recently told me about a website called Anderson's and they list discount and salvage stores across the US. You can find the list HERE... check it out and you may have one closer than you think! I would love to hear about your trips and finds if you go! And the Kroger 10 for $10 sales is ending today, so I spent last night after dinner while we were watching a movie sorting and clipping coupons to go make an attack! Tons of things I can stock up on! Broccoli is 10lbs for $10 too... and the crowns are about as big as my steering wheel again! YAY! I got 2 crowns yesterday while I was with my mom, and those 2 weighed 4 pounds! Pears, carrots, and a ton of other stuff is 10/$10 too, so you better believe me and the store are gonna be bestest buds today LMAO! When you feed as many as I do, you can never EVER have too much food LMAO! My family even says I am addicted to shopping for food LOL!

And if you sit there and think about it... well food can be an adventure! By adventure, I mean... trying new foods is an adventure, searching a grocery store or farmers market is an adventure to see what you can find, the act of trying to prepare something new to you is an adventure too! Food is a source of pleasure AND pain... comfort foods vs. eating disorders. Food makes common people into celebrities. Did you ever really sit back and think about all this? Food is a powerful thing! Boggles the mind doesn't it? When I started this blog, my purpose was to educate and share... to celebrate food while teaching you about control. As long as you remember that there is a happy medium to everything...



Take this dinner... I made this for all the guys not long ago. You see lobster, steak, broccoli cheese rice, and peas right? Well I see protein (meats), vegetables (peas), starches and grains (rice), dairy (cheese in the rice), and fats (butter). I see a very well balanced dinner. Didn't the food pyramid teach us we havd to have all these things? That's what I'm talking about... balance LOL! I try to make sure each meal has a component from every section. Remember use... not ABuse food! And (in my opinion)... abuse includes waste! I try to waste nothing in this house!

And shall we not forget food crafts? OMG there are so many edible crafts, its unreal! But today I want to share a favorite with you...



Craft Idea of the Day: Candy Sundae

This Chocolate Sundae is an easy and fast candy craft project and it is as much fun to make as it is to eat! It would also make a fun party favor for guests to make and take home for sweet memories for a long time to come.

Supplies

Sundae glass
Hershey’s chocolate kisses of one flavor or several
Straight candy cane (stick candy)
Life Savers
Curling ribbons
Chenille wire or thin stem wire
Scissors
Wire cutters

Instructions

Prepare a Sundae glass. In this case a 3.5” diameter x 6.5” height sundae glass.

Fill the Sundae glass with the Hershey’s chocolate kisses.

Insert the stick candy of the corresponding color into the glass.

Put Life Savers candy on the top representing “whipped cream”. You may use mini glue dots to hold these candies in place.

Take curling ribbons of several colors that match the kisses wrappers. Or you can buy a ready curl swirls.

Take a piece of chenille wire and tightly wrap it around the middle of the curling ribbons. Instead of chenille wire you can use white stem wire. Curl the ribbons by pulling them over the edge of the scissors.

Insert the curling ribbons in your arrangement. Your Candy Sundae with chocolate kisses is ready!

As for dinner... well as of right now, I plan on making Rosemary-Scented Pork Loin Stuffed With Roasted Garlic, Dried Apricots and Cranberries and Port Wine Pan Sauce (I know a mouth full LOL!) with some asparagus, some kind of potatoes, and a homemade bread probably.



Rosemary-Scented Pork Loin Stuffed With Roasted Garlic, Dried Apricots and Cranberries and Port Wine Pan Sauce

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
16 whole peeled garlic cloves
2 tablespoons minced garlic cloves
1 (8 pound) whole boneless pork loin, patted dry, at room temperature
Salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary (snip with scissors), divided
16 dried apricots (or similar amount of your favorite dried fruit)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
Heavy kitchen string or twine
1/4 cup apple jelly
1/4 cup port
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons apple jelly
2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 250 degrees. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add whole garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; reserve oil.

Turn pork loin fat-side down. Slit lengthwise, almost but not quite all the way through, to form a long pocket, leaving a 1/2-inch border of unslit meat at each end. Brush cavity with some of the reserved garlic cooking oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and 1 Tb. of the rosemary. Line cavity with sauteed garlic and apricots; sprinkle in cranberries. Tie loin together with kitchen twine or heavy-duty string at 1 1/2-inch intervals.

Brush with remaining oil, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Set roast, fat-side up, diagonally or curved (so it fits) on a large, lipped cookie sheet or jellyroll pan. Warm 1/4 cup apple jelly along with the minced garlic and remaining rosemary. Brush mixture onto meat.

Roast until a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 125 to 130 degrees. (Start checking at about 1 1/2 hours.) Remove from oven; raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Brush loin with pan drippings, return to oven, and continue to roast until the loin is golden brown and a meat thermometer stuck into the center registers 155 to 160 degrees, about 20 minutes longer. For even more attractive coloring, broil until spotty brown, 3 to 5 minutes.

Let roast rest 15 to 20 minutes; transfer to a carving board. Stir juices around pan to loosen brown bits. Pour through a strainer into a small pan, and stir in port, chicken broth and remaining 2 Tbs. of jelly; bring to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with a couple of tablespoons of cold water; whisk into sauce. Simmer until lightly thickened. Slice pork and serve with a little sauce.

I guess this morning I was just feeling super intellectual and wanted to stimulate you as well. Hopefully I have stimulated your mind as well as your palate! As for me... well first I'm off to get my copy of the Michael Jackson movie "This is It" that was released at midnight (yes hush, I am and always have been & will be a fan :-P LMAO), then an attack on Kroger, and maybe get some cleaning time in too LOL! You have a wonderful day and I look forward to all the great comments! Until tomorrow... HUGS!