Packrat Puddin'

I'm a terrible packrat. I hate to throw away anything that can be used again, especially food. So, when I made apple strudels this weekend and only 2 of the 8 survived the soggy bottom monster my mind started turning. I turned to both Cupcake Project and 365(ish) Days of Pinterest for inspiration and troubleshooting. They suggested a trifle, apple crisp, baked french toast and bread pudding. I'd wanted to make bread pudding for some time now so I jumped at that suggestion. I think this would turn out really good if you had some leftover slices of pie or strudel or turnovers. Like such a thing exists. Just be sure to crisp up whatever you use.

I cobbled this recipe together from Paula Deen and Alton Brown.

Ingredients:

3 cups toasted cubed apple pie/strudel/danishes/turnovers
1.5 cups granulated sugar
2 cups milk
5 eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons vanilla
****If your original recipe did not include cinnamon, add 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup granola (I used Lisa Leake's with pecans for the nuts)
1/2 stick of butter, softened

Sauce:
1/4 cup cognac, rum or brandy
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 stick butter butter
1 cup sugar sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine granulated sugar, milk, eggs, spices and vanilla. Pour over cubed "bread". Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In another bowl, combine  softened butter, brown sugar and granola.
4. Pour egg and bread mixture into a 13x9x2 pan. Top with granola brown sugar topping.
5. Bake for 35-40 minutes until set and golden brown.

Sauce:

1. Combine sugar, butter and vanilla in a pot over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
2. Pour in alcohol of choice. Stir well. Reduce heat to low and keep warm until pudding is ready. Pour over top.

What do you like to do with leftover or sabotaged dessert? I usually go the trifle route. Do you even have leftover dessert?

Building a Healthy Lifestyle

Embarking on any new thing requires knowledge. I want to know more about healthy eating, cooking and preparing healthy and delicious meals so I spent my birthday money on a few cookbooks that focus on those things.

I received the first of them yesterday afternoon. I purchased the cookbook published by Lisa Leake, at 100 Days of Real Food. The books is divided into two main sections, information and recipes. I've learned a lot by pouring through this real food textbook and I can't wait to try out the recipes.

I've also ordered Kitchen Ecosystem by Eugenia Bone, Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze by Jessica Fisher and Milk by Anne Mendelson, to help me sort out what I want to focus on making and create my own healthy eating plan which I hope to have in place more or less by February. And, I'm still utilizing The Homemade Kitchen.  My original goal was to start January 1st but with moving and everything that didn't give me the time I needed to learn how to shop and stock real food. Also, I'm adjusting to cooking for mainly one person as my husband gets to eat and is intending to eat the majority of his meals on campus. This will give me more flexibility with cooking  the "yucky things"  that I love like tomatoes and mushrooms and cut down on my time in the kitchen cooking as I will only need to make 2-3 dinners a week. This should give me more time to create and freeze staples like chicken stock, soups, granola bars, muffins and snacks for my hubby like pizza bites.

I'd really like to focus on eating 80% real food because when I want a treat, I want the real thing. Also, when I do eat dinner in the cafeteria or in a restaurant I just want to be able to order something and enjoy the night out.

As for exercise, I plan on doing harder workouts (3+ mile run and a combo of weights/squats/booty/ab workout) three days a week, paired with two lighter days of  walking and abs and two days off.

What are your health and fitness goals for this year? What keeps you motivated?

Homemade Chicken Stock

I made my own chicken stock for the first time. I made the stock on Monday night, froze it and used it Friday at lunchtime to make Duck Gumbo (link to follow!). The chicken I boiled to make the stock was used for tacos in Tuesday's lunch.

Makes 3 cups of stock. I made so little because we are very limited on storage containers and storage space. This recipe adjusts easily. You need to make sure you have enough water to keep the chicken covered throughout the cooking process.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb chicken
Water
1 onion, cut in half
2 stalks celery (including leaves), cut in half
1 Carrot cut in half
sprinkle of s&p (optional)
bay leaf (optional)

I had just over half a pound of skin on drumsticks so that is what I used. If you aren't using a whole chicken, I recommend using dark meat as it tends to be more flavorful. If you use more chicken adjust the veggies accordingly.

Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, for 3 hours. If you use more chicken and it isn't cooked at this point, simmer until the chicken is done.

Be sure to discard the veggies and the bay leaf if you used on. I didn't actually use the bay leaf when I made the stock but used it when I made the gumbo. However, I saw several recipes called for the bay leaf in the stock.

Real Food

Do you eat a lot of processed food?

We do.

Do you notice sometimes it makes you feel ick?

I've been a follower of a food blog, 100 Days of Real Food, for sometime now but I am only now trying to change our eating habits.

We eat a lot of convenience foods: frozen pizza, frozen perogis, boxed potatoes and mac n cheese from a bag.

It just so easy.

But when I read about all of the crap thats in the food (some ingredients shouldn't even be considered edible) it scares me, makes me question to long term effects and makes me want to change.

But I'm starting slow as to not overwhelm ourselves.

I've switched from flavored yogurt with artifical color, flavor and high fructose corn syrup to plain greek yogurt and fruit and honey that I add.

We've gone back to butter. And butter without any added ingredients.

I've tried switching to peanut butter that contain just nuts and salt, but the texture and taste is just so overwelming.

Are there any brands of nonprocessed PB that you prefer?

What healthy eating changes have you made?

What should be next on our "things to cut out list"?

How do you make eating and cooking real foods, easier for your family?

I'd love any suggestions you'd like to offer!