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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Macaroni & Shrimp Salad

3 Jul

This macaroni and shrimp salad is something we look forward to all year long!

ORIGINALLY POSTED JULY 11, 2012: 

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for the perfect side dish to go with the cook-on-the-grill type of meals that happen all summer long. Today’s recipe is one of those perfect side dishes.

As always, it’s super-easy and super-delicious. And as is typical, it’s originally from my mom. She’s been making it ever since I can remember and we’ve been making it on our own for years as well.

You can tell that this photo is of my dish because I actually do put my tomato/cucumber/olive salad in a separate bowl so that nothing runs together, and also because I eat absolutely nothing on my hot dogs. I barely eat the bread. But, I eat every speck of that macaroni salad!

Try this recipe out for your next cookout, I know you’ll love it as much as we do!

MACARONI & SHRIMP SALAD

INGREDIENTS

2 cups elbow macaroni (in general we use a one pound box of pasta and adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly as well.)

2 stalks celery, thin sliced

1 can tiny shrimp, rinsed

3/4 cup Miracle Whip

celery salt to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

This is a great side dish to bring to those summer dinner parties and cookouts!

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to directions.

Add in shrimp, Miracle Whip and spices.

Cover and cool in refrigerator completely before serving.

Enjoy!

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Fun Friday: Elizabeth’s Lunches

28 Jun
Elizabeth's cookbook of choice

Elizabeth’s cookbook of choice

We’ve often described Elizabeth’s taste as being very mature for her age. She often likes things that surprise us, things that we think other kids her age may not like. It’s exciting to see her try new things, but it’s often challenging to pack her lunch because she’s not a fan of your typical, quick and easy pb&j sandwich.

Last year at some point, she spent one of her Barnes & Noble gift cards on a new cookbook, “The Lunch Box,” filled with unique lunchtime meals. I think she figured if she bought it, we’d make all the things in it for her lunch box.

It was a good thought, but she still ended up with a lot of the more typical lunches we put out each morning- turkey, pb&j, nutella, salad.

Poor Liz.

"The Lunch Box" was not the only cookbook Elizabeth had tabbed for me to start trying some new recipes this summer.

“The Lunch Box” was not the only cookbook Elizabeth had tabbed for me to start trying some new recipes this summer.

But, as the school year came to a close and summer began, Elizabeth came to me with the lunch box cookbook and showed me “a few” of the pages she’d tabbed that sounded good to her. She asked me if we could spend the summer trying out some of these lunches, and I agreed we could. She then showed me a few other cookbooks she’d tabbed a few other pages in.

Just a few.

This might take me more than one summer. Like five.

But, keeping my word, we tried the first recipe Elizabeth picked out, a Tuna & White Bean Salad. She even added in her own ingredient: sliced black olives.

She loved it. I made some for Don, he loved it. I even tried it myself, I loved it. I served some as one of the lunchtime options at a playdate and even they loved it. That’s recipe success in my book.

And so today, for my first real summertime Fun Friday post, here is the first fun lunchtime recipe we tried out of Liz’s cookbook. We’ve tried three or four more, and since I always find lunchtime meals to be particularly challenging, I’ll be sharing more of the recipes with you in the future as well.

In trying this recipe we have found that both cut-up triangles of pita pocket bread or crunchy tortilla chips make a good side with this. You can either put it in the bread, or use the bread or chips to scoop it up. You can eat it with a fork or in a sandwich or wrap. It’s a very versatile tuna salad!

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The very first recipe we tried from Elizabeth’s cookbook: Tuna & White Bean Salad

Tuna & White Bean Salad

from “The Lunch Box”

“In a small container with a tight-fitting lid, combine 2 teaspoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard. Add equal parts canned white beans, rinsed and drained, and canned tuna, drained and flaked. Sprinkle with minced celery and onion. Cover and shake to combine. Season with salt and pepper.”

Enjoy!!

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My new addiction: Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake

26 Apr
Nutella is not new, but there's this great little treat that I make with it, which I'm addicted to!

Nutella is not new, but there’s this great little treat that I make with it, which I’m addicted to!

For the longest time, I knew that Nutella existed, but I never bought it.

Yes, seriously. It was not on my all-the-time shopping list.

That was in my old life. My pre-Nutella addicted life.

Recently, Elizabeth came home and said how her good friend had a Nutella sandwich for lunch at school. It got me thinking. There’s so many things you can make with Nutella, and it might be a great treat for the kids’ lunches and mine, on occasion.

Let me just say, it’s a slippery slope, that Nutella. One lunchtime treat has led to many jars of Nutella in my shopping cart.

I love it for breakfast, for lunch, with strawberries, with bananas, with peanut butter and for a late night snack.

I think about it all the time.

And I keep finding bigger jars of it. I first started out with a small jar. I’d buy two at a time. Then I found an even BIGGER jar at Target. I’m on my second one of those. But I hear there’s an EVEN BIGGER jar available at BJ’s. I’m afraid to go see. I’d join just to buy it.

So one day, my friend Paula sends me a link she’d found to a Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake. She found it on a blog called Kirbie’s Cravings.

Four ingredients. One of them being Nutella.

Check.

Check. Check. Check.

I had all four ingredients.

I’ve made a mug cake before from a different recipe for a coffeecake, and didn’t love it. Never posted it.

This, I love.

I think I’ve made it four times in two weeks or so.

It takes all of five minutes to mix up, if that.

It takes all of one minute and 30 seconds to cook in my microwave.

I kid you not.

So today, for my Friday post I share with you my newest addiction: the Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake from Kirbie’s Cravings.  Now pay attention when you read her blog post about this cake. She has taken a lot of ingredients out of her original recipe, which used to be over 1000 calories. Now it’s just over 500 calories. That’s still a lot. But knowing it *used* to be more, doesn’t that make it sound like a bargain?

Yes!! It does!

And she recommends sharing it.

I don’t choose to go that route.

She also recommends waiting to eat it until it cools.

I don’t do that either. I can barely get it out of the microwave and I’m getting my spoon.

I recommend topping it with whipped cream or something like that. My whipped cream is fat free. In fact, most of what we eat is low fat or fat free, so I don’t really feel terrible eating this on occasion.

Multiple occasions.

Here’s the recipe. Try it out!

Four Ingredient Nutella Mug Cake

from Kirbie’s Cravings

Ingredients:

4 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup Nutella
3 tbsp fat free milk

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into an oversized mug. Mix with a small whisk until batter is smooth. Cook in microwave for about 1 minute. Sharp knife inserted should come out clean and top of cake should look done rather than gooey. If cake is not cooked in one minute, add an additional 20 seconds. Let cake cool in mug completely before eating.

Totally Addicting.

Totally Addicting.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Cauliflower Soup

3 Apr
You can either use fresh or frozen cauliflower for this recipe.

You can either use fresh or frozen cauliflower for this recipe.

Recently, my friend Karen sent me the link to a soup she really loved. It’s so fast and has very easy ingredients, and it’s one that I can drink in a mug, so it’s good for the days where I can’t stop for lunch. The link was to the blog Skinnytaste, and this soup has been a huge hit at our house.

The recipe originally calls for a head of cauliflower, and I have to say, it’s absolutely the best when made with fresh cauliflower. It’s thicker and tastier. But, I like keeping bags of frozen veggies on hand in my freezer for when I’m out of fresh veggies and I like that this recipe can also be made using the frozen ones.

Since trying this recipe out over February vacation, I’ve made it at least four or five times. You literally throw everything into the pot and let it simmer. When it’s done you blend and eat. It’s that simple. It’s completely healthy and it makes a great meal or even a great in-between-meals snack. Sometimes Caroline will have this as her after school snack. I’ll take that any day for a healthy choice!

The big, big deal though is the fact that prior to receiving this recipe, I did not have an immersion blender, otherwise known as a hand blender. I tried making it without one, and I could not. It was kind of a mess, to say the least.

A new immersion blender=a whole new world for me and my kitchen!

A new immersion blender=a whole new world for me and my kitchen!

I now have this immersion blender, and I SOOOO love it. I wanted one but I did not want to spend a lot of money so my friend Debra recommended this one from Walmart and it’s been great. I’ve used it for this soup and my cream of broccoli soup. I’ve also used the other attachment piece for making instant pudding and the batter for french toast.

The immersion blender is essential for this recipe, and I highly recommend both the recipe and the blender to make it happen! Below is Gina’s recipe from Skinnytaste, and I hope you’ll visit her blog and check it out!

Using a large head of fresh cauliflower made this batch of soup so thick and smooth and creamy.

Using a large head of fresh cauliflower made this batch of soup so thick and smooth and creamy.

CAULIFLOWER SOUP
INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 large head cauliflower – chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 4-6 cups water
  • 2 chicken bouillon cubes
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • **we use chicken broth instead of water and bouillon cubes.

DIRECTIONS:
In a 5 quart saucepan, add all ingredients. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes.) Puree with an immersion blender until smooth.

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What’s for Dinner Wednesday: Tracey’s Muffin Tin Mini Lasagnas

27 Mar
A new favorite meal for us!

A new favorite healthy meal for us!

My mom found me a new blog and I really like it. It’s called Tracey’s Culinary Adventures and the very first link she forwarded to me was today’s recipe. She sent it to me last Thursday, saying she thought we’d like these,  and I wrote back and said, “I am going to make them tonight, they sound so good!”

Then I realized I’d eaten all the ricotta cheese as my chocolate fix the night before, so I had to go out and get that. And the wonton wrappers. But other than that, I had everything on hand and this sounded really good to me!

The recipe is a simple, easy one, and although it does have a few steps they are not hard steps and they are much easier than making a “real” lasagna. I liked that these were multi-layered, just as a lasagna would be, and I loved even more that they baked in ten minutes. They got four out of five thumbs up at our house, with only Alex not liking them. She liked the inside but not the wrappers. But overall, they were very well received and I’d most definitely make them again.

I am going to post Tracey’s recipe here, and any modifications I made, there weren’t many, but I encourage you to visit her blog because she really goes step by step in her description and it’s really well laid out. Additionally, she has some fabulous recipes on there, so check it out! My lasagnas were slightly more plain than hers as my family doesn’t love a lot of “stuff” in their meat layer, but you can really throw in anything that you like just as you would a regular lasagna.

TRACEY’S MUFFIN TIN MINI LASAGNAS

Dinner prep time often coincides with homework help time. On this night, I was listening to Alex read aloud, everything I always wanted to know about the state of Hawaii. Thank goodness for simple recipes!

Dinner prep time often coincides with homework help time. On this night, I was listening to Alex read aloud, everything I always wanted to know about the state of Hawaii. Thank goodness for simple recipes!

INGREDIENTS

12 oz ground turkey
1 medium onion, chopped (I skipped this.)
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms (I skipped this.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, divided
pinch red pepper flakes (I skipped this.)
1 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese (I used fat free.)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
24 wonton wrappers
1 1/2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (I used fat free.)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the ground turkey, onions, mushrooms, salt, and pepper to a large skillet set over medium to medium-high heat. Using a wooden spoon, break the turkey up into small crumbles and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the turkey has browned. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Add the tomato sauce, 1 teaspoon of the oregano, and the red pepper flakes, and stir to combine. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Bring the sauce to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, the basil, and a pinch each of salt and pepper.

To assemble: Press 1 wonton wrapper into each well of the muffin pan – be sure to press them into the bottom and sides of the pan. Working with half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the wells of the pan evenly, pressing the ricotta into an even layer. Working with half of the tomato sauce, divide it among the wells of the pan, spreading in an even layer rather than mounding. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the mozzarella over the top of each mini lasagna. Press a second wonton wrapper onto each mini lasagna then repeat the process of layering using the second half of the ricotta mixture, the remaining half of the tomato sauce and finally two more teaspoons of the mozzarella per cup.

Bake the mini lasagnas for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove the muffin pan to a wire rack and let the mini lasagnas cool for a few minutes before removing them. Garnish with fresh basil before serving, if desired.

Makes 12

Two apiece were plenty for us. I did find these softened up when they were left over, but they still tasted good.

Two apiece were plenty for us. I did find these softened up when they were left over, but they still tasted good.

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Light Vegetable Fried Rice

20 Mar
This Vegetable Fried Rice was a huge hit!

This Vegetable Fried Rice was a huge hit!

We all love Chinese food, but it’s not something we get very often. I was thrilled when I recently found a recipe on the Red Barn Blog for a homemade version that was healthy. I actually believe the post was a guest post on the Red Barn Blog by the Budget Gourmet Mom, a blog I also follow.

I decided to try it a couple of weeks ago, although not following the recipe exactly, but rather using it as a guide when making ours. It was such a huge hit, I’ve already made it again. Five thumbs up, both times.

I like this recipe because you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and throw them in. I can foresee using sugar snap peas or pea pods when I have them next, or throwing in zucchini when I make it again.

Here is the recipe as it’s written by the Budget Gourmet Mom on the Red Barn Blog. I’ve made a note of any changes I made. This was great served with Duck Sauce or with Sweet and Sour Sauce on the side, both of which are nonfat.

This Chinese Fried Rice is great as a side dish for any meal. We last used it when we had pork chops.

This Chinese Fried Rice is great as a side dish for any meal. We last used it when we had pork chops.

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 cups cooked cold white or brown rice
  • 1 tablespoon canola oil  (We used olive oil.)
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cups fresh vegetables, I used broccoli and carrots
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten (We used egg substitute.)
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • DIRECTIONS
  1. In a large skillet preheat oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Add in the rice and fry, tossing carefully with wooden spoon. Add the vegetables and continue to cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  3. Push the rice off to the side of the pan and place the beaten eggs next to the rice. Cook, stirring the eggs until firm. Fold into the rice.  (I cooked my eggs in a separate frying pan.)
  4. Add the soy sauce, toss, and serve.

Thanks to the Red Barn Blog and the Budget Gourmet Mom for sharing this delicious dish!

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Cream of Broccoli Soup

20 Feb
This soup is perfect for a cold winter day!

This soup is perfect for a cold winter day!

We have had some pretty chilly days this winter. Some days there’s nothing that hits the spot like a hot bowl of soup, and I’m a huge fan of creamy soups, which is why today’s post is a favorite of mine.

The other reason it’s a favorite is that it brings back memories, and I love recipes that remind me of the past.

This recipe is from my college roommate Karen, from the cookbook she made for me when we graduated.  The thing is, I can distinctly remember a time when we were roommates that I had a terrible sore throat and laryngitis.

Karen made me this soup. I can picture myself sitting at our kitchen table that day, eating her soup. Every time I eat broccoli soup actually, I think of that day.

And a few weeks ago when I made the soup, I thought once again, of that day.

This was the first time I actually made the soup. I’ve never been very brave with soups before, I’ve mostly left them to Don other than a basic chicken soup. But since my friend Paula’s My Soup For You blog has been in existence, I’ve gotten very brave and I’ve since made several soups. In fact, she and I each made a version of a cream of broccoli soup within a day of each other and we didn’t even know it.

As far as my family goes, Caroline and I loved this soup the most. Between the two of us, we enjoyed it over several days’ time, and she liked coming home and having a mug of it after school on cold afternoons.

Here is the recipe for Karen’s Cream of Broccoli Soup. I hope it warms you up on a cold winter’s day!

I used fresh broccoli for my soup.

I used fresh broccoli for my soup.

CREAM OF BROCCOLI SOUP
INGREDIENTS

6 cups chopped broccoli

3 and 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup flour

2 cups skim milk

1 tsp. butter

8 oz. cheddar cheese, cubed (I used fat free cheddar, shredded.)

Although I used a blender for this, it was definitely more of a food processor recipe, and I didn't use ours!

Although I used a blender for this, it was definitely more of a food processor recipe, and I didn’t use ours!

DIRECTIONS

Simmer broccoli in chicken broth until tender.

Remove bulk of broccoli and in blender or food processor, process the broccoli, onion and celery until smooth. Set aside.

Combine milk and flour in a separate container until dissolved.

Slowly add to broth, stirring until it begins to thicken.

Add puree, butter, salt and pepper to taste.

Stir until it begins to simmer.

Add cheese and stir until melted.

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Bonus Post: Continuing the Celebration for Chinese New Year: Alex’s Sunshine Salad

7 Feb
This salad was so delicious and Alexandra was so excited that it was her recipe!

This salad was so delicious and Alexandra was so excited that it was her recipe!

We have the tiniest kitchen, and there are five of us, and every single one of us likes to cook and be in the kitchen. Oftentimes I try to limit it to one daughter at a time helping out in there, just because of space limitations.

This week, Alexandra got her High Five magazine in the mail and immediately looked in the Table of Contents to see this month’s recipe.

“Oooohhh this looks good!!” she said.

Sure enough, the recipe did look good, a recipe for an oriental salad which they called Sunshine Salad. We actually had everything for it, even the Chinese Noodles, which we normally would not have on hand.

So that night, it was Alexandra’s turn in the kitchen. Everyone else, step away.

She wanted to be here today when I typed this, but I said she would be at school so she said to be sure to let everyone know that the salad included a homemade dressing.

That she made.

By herself.

This salad was great, and we’d definitely make it again. Everyone loved the addition of the noodles and the mandarin oranges, which they all love. It was quick and easy to make. I chopped the lettuce up for her, but she put everything else in the bowl and made the dressing.

Our nifty container for the dressing is from The Pampered Chef and we use it for all our homemade dressings. It has a pour spout and a whisk at the bottom, helpful for mixing up those oils and vinegars.

Here is the recipe for Alex’s Sunshine Salad from High Five.

Enjoy!

Ingredients were appropriately placed in Dora, Little People and Strawberry Shortcake bowls for easy management.

Ingredients were appropriately placed in Dora, Little People and Strawberry Shortcake bowls for easy management.

SUNSHINE SALAD
INGREDIENTS

4 cups mixed lettuce greens (we use Romaine)

11 ounce an of mandarin oranges (we opened and drained three little cups of them)

1/4 cup crispy rice noodles

2 tablespoons slivered almonds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (I skipped this. All we had were the ones in the shells and I was not going to sit and open up a quarter cup of them one seed at a time, but they would be a great addition to the salad.)

DRESSING

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar

1/4 cup vegetable oil (we used olive oil)

A very easy salad to prepare, and very quick too!

A very easy salad to prepare, and very quick too!

DIRECTIONS

Wash and dry lettuce greens.

Tear the lettuce into bite sized pieces.

Put the greens, rice noodles, almonds, oranges and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.

Put the brown sugar, rice vinegar and oil into a jar.

Shake or stir to mix the dressing.

Pour the dressing over the salad. Use tongs to gently toss the salad.

So proud! Enjoy your salad and Happy Chinese New Year!

So proud! Enjoy your salad and Happy Chinese New Year!

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What’s For Dinner Wednesday: Fish Chowder

30 Jan
I absolutely loved this fish chowder last week!

I absolutely loved this fish chowder last week!

I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this or not, but a few years back I developed an allergy to shellfish. Not all shellfish, but a lot of my faves are no longer on my menu.

To live in New England, a summer oasis of ocean and seafood, it’s terribly sad for me to have this allergy. I have always loved all seafood. Luckily there’s only a handful I can’t eat, and there are still some things I can eat.

Clam cakes and chowder after the beach were one thing that I’d been missing in particular, so my heart did a little leap this summer when I was walking through Washington DC on my way to the Smithsonian Museum of American History, with the winner of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge from Virginia, Madeleine Steppel and her mom, Debra, while Caroline and I were there as the Rhode Island winners.

Madeleine's recipe was so easy to follow. Caroline made most of it by herself!

Madeleine’s recipe was so easy to follow. Caroline made most of it by herself!

The most common question we all asked each other on that first day of our trip was, “Where are you from and what was your recipe?”

When I asked that question to Madeleine and Deb, I was thrilled by their answer: Fish Chowder. Madeleine had chosen to make a chowder that I could actually eat! When I asked Debra what was in their chowder, she said that any white fish would do. I was so excited!

Unfortunately, it took me five months before I had a chance to try out this recipe, just last week. It was one that Caroline had been asking for also, and she was so excited when I said I had everything for it.

The recipe was super-easy and didn’t take long at all to make. We substituted a couple of items to suit our tastes and our diet, but overall we followed her recipe almost to a T.

And let me tell you….I was in chowder heaven. It has been several years since I’ve been able to have chowder. I savored every.single.bite.

I went to school to work the school book fair after dinner. Then I came back and had a second bowl. That second bowl was all I could think about when I was at the book fair.

I already have plans to bring this chowder with me this summer to our annual Labor Day Weekend cookout, the one that’s almost entirely seafood, so that I too, can partake in the summer yumminess that I’ve been missing terribly.

One of the best things about this recipe was that it was easy enough that Caroline could handle almost the entire thing by herself. I chopped the onions (we both cried), and she did just about all the rest.

Below are the ingredients and directions, along with any notes stating the changes I made for us. I would definitely make this again.

Soon.

And all summer long.

And on Labor Day weekend for our cookout.

And any time in between.

Fish Chowder

By Madeleine Steppel, age 9

Virginia

Madeleine’s page in the recipe book states, “‘Senator Mark Warner’s recipe for ‘creamless’ Asparagus Soup, which I found in the Celebrate Virginia Cookbook, inspired me to create a chowder recipe,” said Madeleine, who used milk in this recipe because it is the State Beverage of Virginia. She would serve this with a fruity salad of spring greens, cherry tomatoes, strawberries, dried cranberries, and a citrus vinaigrette, with whole-grain bread.”

Makes 4-6 servings

Caroline loved being able to make the majority of this herself.

Caroline loved being able to make the majority of this herself.

INGREDIENTS

3 white potatoes (about 12 ounces total) peeled and cut into 1/2″ cubes.

1 pound bag of frozen peas and carrots, thawed (We skip these.)

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion finely chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour (we use gluten free Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour as of 2015)

4 cups low fat milk (we used skim)

1 1/2 to 2 pounds skinless white fish fillet, such as bass, tilapia, or flounder cut into 2″ pieces (I used 2 one pound bags of frozen flounder from Aldi’s.)

Salt and white pepper

(I also sometimes add in 1/2 tsp dried dill weed for color and flavor, which is what my dad always does when he makes his chowder every summer.)

There's nothing like a pot of hot chowder on the stove!

There’s nothing like a pot of hot chowder on the stove!

DIRECTIONS

1. Place potatoes in large glass microwave safe bowl. Add enough cool water to just cover the potatoes, and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Add the peas and carrots and microwave on high until the vegetables are tender, about 3 minutes. Drain the vegetables and set aside (or boil the vegetables until soft, about 8 minutes).

2. In a large saucepan over moderate heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and the garlic, and saute, stirring occasionally, until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Lower the heat to moderately low, add the flour, and whisk for 2 minutes to make a roux. Gradually whisk in one cup of milk and stir until hot and creamy, making sure to whisk out any lumps. Gradually whisk in the remaining three cups of milk and cook, whisking, until steaming hot, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the fish and the cooked vegetables, and cook over moderate heat, stirring often, until the fish is cooked through and flaky. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.

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And last but not least, my gift: Smart Mug for my lunch

28 Jan
One mug has my morning coffee and one mug has my soup for lunch!

One mug has my morning coffee and one mug has my soup for lunch!

I got the coolest gift this year for Christmas!

I wanted a mug that I could plug into my car AC adapter in order to reheat my coffee during the day. Oftentimes, I’ll leave the house for work with a mug of hot coffee, get to my destination in just a couple of minutes, and then when I come out an hour or so later, my coffee is now ice cold. Then I drive around all day, wishing I had that hot coffee.

This year, this was one gift I really wanted, a mug that would warm up my coffee. There are lots of them out there, but this one says “Tech Tools” on it and its official name is the Princess International PI-4121 Red Retro Smart Mug. You can get it here on Amazon.com.

I totally love my mug. This weekend I used it after church. Similar to a work day, I often leave the house to go to church, bringing my coffee in the car with me. Ten minutes later we get there and I sadly say goodbye to my coffee because I know that later when I come out, it’s going to be cold while we run our errands during the hour the kids are at CCD.

Not anymore. This Sunday, my coffee was still semi-warm when I got out to my car, but all I had to do was plug in my mug, flip the little switch on the cup and wait for it to hit about 100 degrees. I was golden. I enjoyed every sip of my coffee during our hour.

With every sip, I thought, “This is the coolest thing.”

But actually, it’s not even the coolest thing of all.

My friend Paula, of the blog My Soup For You, enlightened me to the fact that rather than keeping cookies in my purse and in my car for when I’ve missed lunch and am totally starving after being on the road all day, I could plan ahead just a little bit and make a soup that I could drink, such as her Creamy Lentil Soup, which I’ve linked over to just above. (If you remember, I don’t really love traditional lunches, such as sandwiches, so I never pack one. Plus, I’d rather eat cookies anyway.)

Paula said that now that I had this nifty mug, I could then put my soup into my mug, and flip the switch when I’m ready to eat.

Amazing!

And guess what: She was right!

A couple of weeks ago I did not have enough time to go home in between stories for lunch, so I packed our chicken and veggie chowder for the road. I had time to sit in my car and eat it though, so I took a spoon with me when I left the house.

I left one story and turned on my mug to heat up my soup, so that before I had to go into the next story I had time to eat my soup.  It made my day so much more enjoyable because I was not starving. I don’t like to go and buy food for lunch when I’m working unless I absolutely have to, so I was happy to have avoided that. I went from my second story to my third one with a full belly.

And then, I had my cookies for dessert.

This mug has gotten great reviews from others, and I hope that my experience continues to be as great as it already has been so far, because I really love being able to take soup on the road.

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