Me man, me like sports

The concept of men's basketball is an interesting social experiment. It's amazing how quickly any man can join another to engage in a surprisingly organized game of basketball. I watched in amazement as this all took place right in front of me and how quickly strangers became teammates.

I sat watching my husband and so e coworkers play on one court - and two men of such a odd assortment on the court across them. The two men engaged in pleasantries and barely so much as dribbles the ball. "Shooting" around finally made sense to me. The two men eyed my husband and his group of friends perhaps sizing up the competition. As Steve's game winded down, it was time for the approach. I was giddy with the oncoming social experiment that was about to take place in front of me. Would the two odd balls of men approach the foursome and have a game of "pick up"?

From across the court the two men "courted" Steve's group - "would you guys be interested in three on three?" Ask the older man who's stomach was so much larger than his thin legs he had a bird like appearance. A quick pause and ignored pursued. The man inched closer. Before one could bat an eye they had moved in for the kill. The two men slowly made their way onto Steve's side of the court, ready for their time to shine. As they approached, they casually began warming up and then it happened - a game of picked up formed with no more than five words exchanged between all six men.

As if planned, the men slowly all formed a line and uniformly started warming up - like they were playing in tonight's playoff game. And then, the most amazing thing - another man appeared out of nowhere as if Paul Revere notified the town that basketball season was upon us. The best part about this new addition? He came to be the model - decked out in chuck Taylor's, linenesq basketball pants and a right Armani tshirt. Was this guy serious?

After game two the unbeknownst social experiment had concluded with no more than 10 words exchanged between the two groups. They left knowing nothing more than which building one another came from and who sucked at basketball. Bonds were formed that day - right down to who knew how to ball versus who just dressed like they could.

Now - put a group of women in the same exact situation and tell me what would happen. I can tell you - they'd gossip and judge the other group - exchange some fake niceties and then probably never even make it so far as to introduce themselves. Instead they'd try and establish which group was better by being loud and obnoxious trying to draw attention to who was having more fun. In the slight chance that a game did ensue - most likely nothing but shit would be talked for at least a day after the exchange.

Really, who am I?

I must say that sometimes I feel like I'm the manic part of a manic depressive. I get these crazy ideas and plans and they consume me until I have completed them. Last year it was the centerpieces for my wedding. Day in and day out for weeks I was at stores, buying flowers, making arrangements, looking at picture after picture. I even went so far as to set up pair kitchen table using a white sheet as my table cloth and my black yoga pants to be the runner that would appear on our really tables. After weeks of obsessing, I ended up forgiving my responsibility to it at all and just having my florist do it. Will this be the same?

I had it share my Home Depot experience today. Oh what a site I must've been. Here I am walking around Home Depot like nobody's business. I went straight from work and perused the store in my 4" booties, skinny jeans with my hair perfectly curled and a Louis Vuitton in the nook of my elbow. There I walked aisle after aisle trying to figure out how in the world I was going to mosaic my patio table. I picked up tiles, threw out terms like I knew all the stops...and then realized that there is not a handy bone in my body to pull this off. Manic. I had portrayed the exact kind of girl that I know I would laugh at at a home improvement store, and I failed myself. Note to readers, leave the heels at home when you hit up the Home Depot, you will be judged.

Better than Betty's (Crocker) Scalloped Potatoes

Yumm  yumm, scalloped potatoes.  I love me some cheesy, carby goodness whenever and wherever I can get it, but as you all know by now, I try to avoid it.  There are some things that are just better, almost always, when they're homemade than from a box, and scalloped potatoes are one of those things. Sure, Betty Crocker makes a mean scalloped potato, but I don't like the gritty "fake" cheese taste of it.  Steve loves him some scalloped potatoes - so I had to buckle down and make them. Cheesy cream sauces are my forte, I mastered them (I think) when I started with mac and cheese, perfected them further with cream soups and now, pro status.  I wish I had more of a story for this than I do, but unfortunately, I've fallen so far behind on my blogging that any great story is far forgotten, sorry dudes, your loss this time.  

The best part about these? The creaminess of the cheese sauce, the bite of the dijon mustard, the crisp, crunch of the potatoes browned around the edge..the panko. You can use this basic cream sauce recipe for just about any vegetables you want, in fact, I will be adding a winter harvest vegetable recipe soon with a very similar cream sauce recipe.  I somehow missed the amount of cheese that I added, so I'm going to take a guess and just note that you will probably start with less and then add more if it seems to need more cheese (I can always use more cheese). 

Scalloped Potatoes

5 large potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 TBSP Flour

1 TBSP Butter

1 1/2 C Milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1 1/2 Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 TBSP Sour Cream

1/2 tsp Chives

1/4 C Panko Breading

1 TBSP Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Microwave potatoes for 5 minutes until slightly softened. Rinse all starch off, drain and set aside.  Prepare a 2 quart baking dish with PAM spray or equivalent.

 In saucepan, melt butter on medium low heat, whisk in flour until thickened.  Add milk and continue to whisk until thick sauce forms.  Add salt, garlic, dijon mustard and chives. Once sauce has thickened, lower heat and add in cheese. 

 Continue to stir until thick sauce has formed, add in sour cream. Arrange half of the potatoes in the prepared dish, pour half of the sauce over, then layer with remaining potatoes and remaining sauce.  Sprinkle with panko and parmesan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese sauce starts to bubble.

Curing the Carb Craving - Sauteed Spaghetti Squash

When I was working so hard to avoid carbs the year before my wedding, I needed an alternative when I'd make Steve something that needed to be accompanied by pasta.  After lots of research, I stumbled upon spaghetti squash and could not be more satisfied with finding it.  I've turned quite a few people on to it and have gotten better and better at cooking it and prepping it.  It's kind of an amazing little vegetable. It looks just like your normal, run of the mill squash. You can get it relatively inexpensive at local fruit markets, especially during the winter months as it is considered a "winter squash" (whatever that means).  The caveat is this - how do you make it a full meal? I cooked for a friend who was gluten free and married to someone who is diabetic and think that this version really was satisfying not only for a pasta, but as a full dish.

It combines italian sausage, various peppers, onions and fresh spinach.  I love mushrooms and would recommend sauteing these up as well if you also enjoy them - I did not add them for this recipe however, because mushrooms are one fungus Steve is definitely afraid of.  

Sauteed Vegetable and Italian Sausage Spaghetti Squash

1 medium spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded

1 lb hot italian sausge (I also like to use the four cheese by Johnsonville)

3/4 c various peppers, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large onion, diced

1/2 c broccoli florets

1 TBSP olive oil

1/2 tsp Greek Seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

1 TBSP Butter

1/4 C Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut off bottom and top of spaghetti squash, then slice down the middle lengthwise.  

Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper. Place flesh down in baking dish and cook for 25-30 minutes or until flesh easily scrapes into "noodles" with a fork. 

 Meanwhile, cut italian sausage into 1/2 inch slices.  Heat the 1 tbsp of olive oil, saute peppers, onion and garlic. Once cooked down, add sausage and continue to cook. 

 Once spaghetti squash is done being cooked and is in noodle form, add to pan.

Season with greek seasoning, salt and pepper.  Add butter and parmesan and cook for 1-2 more minutes or until melted. Serve immediately.

The End is Near

I've been working with a trainer and boxing for several months now - I finally decided to up my boxing to three times a week and couldn't be happier with the results.  It's been my fear that a year after I got married that I'd be one of those people who everyone looks back at my wedding pics, looks at me and is SHOCKED that I'm the same person.  I didn't want to be that girl that worked so hard the year leading up to my wedding to stay fit...and then let it all go.  That being said, a few months post wedding, I had packed on a few extra #s. I mean, can you be surprised? I had practically cut out bread, pasta, fast food, beer (oh beer, the things you do to my waistline) that whole year leading up to my wedding.  I had set a goal for myself and wasn't going to stop until I was there...and once there, I had to make sure that those hundreds of dollars I spent on alterations were just fine.  So that being said, I came back from Hawaii a few lbs heavier, big deal right? It was a big deal when that number because five extra #s and then seven...no matter how many salads I ate or how many miles I ran, I couldn't get that number down much.  

I'm back ladies and gentlemen and I have to credit it yes, to hard work, eating right and working out, but most importantly - the change in my workouts.  I'm still a few lbs within my goal, but thanks to Trainer Mike and the sargents at boxing - I'm in the best shape of my life.  I'm literally a lean, mean, fighting machine.  You can thank these guys for all the yummy recipes I add on here.  If I weren't working hard to stay fit...I certainly wouldn't be cooking anything but grilled chicken and veggies :).

Remember - switch up your workouts.  Just because it always worked before, doesn't mean it always will work.  Your body changes as does your body's needs and it quickly becomes accustomed to what you do and eat.  The closer you get to your goal, especially if you're already relatively fit, the harder it will be and the stricter you need to be with what you eat and your workouts.  Keep plugging - save indulgence for one cheat meal a week - avoid full cheat days. 

Ultimate Ice Cream Cake with Homemade Hot Fudge

My mom always makes it a point to make something amazing for each of us for our birthday cakes. I've had everything from homemade chocolate molten cake to fresh strawberries and homemade buttercream sandwiched in between the moistest white cake. I know her dream is to one day open a bakery and share her amazing talents with the world. This woman can BAKE.

I hope to one day be nearly as amazing as my mom, whether that means in her giving and charitable nature, her patience, her humor - her cooking and baking.  I'll be honest, I started this post a few weeks ago when I was traveling and totally had a point with all of this...but now its moot because I can't for the life of me remember what that point was. Oh well - needless to say, my mom invited me and Steve over for St. Patrick's day dinner (yes, it's been that long since I've updated, shame.on.me.). I wanted to make a dessert that was green and delicious and I think I accomplished just that with this one.  I'd venture to think that almost everyone here has had Dairy Queen's ice cream cake, yeah? Well its fair to say that this is even better  than that because you can choose everything you want to go into it. 

I kept it relatively classic with the ice cream, the hot fudge, the cookie crumble bottom - the deliciousness.  The reviews were rave - anytime my younger brothers give approval, I know I'm good to go. 

Grasshopper Ice Cream Cake

2 1/2 c moderately crushed double chocolate oreos

1/2 c melted butter

1/2 c sugar

1/2 carton of softened ice cream (I used mint chocolate chip to keep the green theme)

2 C powdered sugar

2/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips

12 oz evaporated milk

1 stick margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 oz cool whip

Line 9 x 13 inch pan with aluminum foil to assist in cutting. Combined crushed Oreos with melted butter and sugar.  Press into prepared 9 x 13 inch pan, freeze for 15 minutes or until firm. Spread ice cream on top and freeze until hardened (approximately 2-3 hours). Make hot fudge by combining the powdered sugar, chocolate chips, evaporated milk and margarine.  Bring to boil while stirring frequently, remove from heat and add vanilla. Cool to room temperature (you can also place it in the fridge or freezer to cool if you need to speed up the process a bit). Spoon sauce onto ice cream and freeze until solid.  Once frozen, add cool whip and remaining crushed oreos and freeze until ready to serve. 

To serve, pull the aluminum foil out from the pan and use sharp knife to serve. This should cut well while still frozen solid. Keeps up to two weeks in freezer.