Hungry Hungry Hippo

I have always been an eater.  And now I have an excuse.

I wasn't always fond of cooking, but sometime during my senior year in college I picked up the habit and now it is one of my favorite ways to relax.  Or it was before it hurt my back to stand for more than an hour.  Thanks baby.

B and I always try and eat at home during the week.  We tell people it is because we are cheap, but really we are lazy and like to be at home.  Eating dinner in our pajamas watching TV. 
Because of this, any given Sunday I can be found at the grocery store trying hard to make the trip the only one I make during the week.  Most weeks, I am lucky if I only hit the grocery store an additional time. 

A few weekends ago, while at home alone as a hunting widow, I happened to flip to Rachael Ray's new show, Week in a Day.  I know she is a polarizing personality, and I really haven't made many of her recipes, but I thought the idea was pretty neat.  So last week I gave it a shot.  But kind of cheated too.

Last week, we had B's family goulash (I have not idea how that is spelled) which is completely different than my family's version, but really quite good.  We also had crock pot gumbo, another favorite of our house.  How did I cheat?  I made enough goulash for 3 dinners and gumbo took over another 2 nights, which gave us a bonus night.  I was pretty proud of myself because it is virtually impossible to have leftovers in this house as I married the original bottomless pit.  B will sit back in defeat claiming fullness, and I will find him an hour later with his head in the fridge. 

Anyway, I was very happy that I was able to make the goulash on Sunday afternoon and prep the gumbo recipe so all I had to do on Wednesday morning was dump and heat.  This week I am trying again, but this week involves more cooking.  As I type, I am 1.5 meals down of 3.  This week will be Swedish meatballs, crab cakes, and turkey burger casserole.  Also this week, I am basically cooking everything all the way, except the crab cakes which are mixed and refrigerated, and the stored for use this week.  

If this week works out as last week did, then I will have no excuse for not working out, even on nights when I don't leave the office until 7 or later. This makes me very happy. 

So, I wanted to ask the 3 of you out there that read this, do you have any good casserole or crock pot recipes I should rotate in?  I am desperate to come up with some sort of menu rotation that expands out choices of food past 2 weeks. 

Also, later this week, there will be a shoe post, and as of now, none are being shilled by a shoe cult.  I am very excited about it.

Happy new week!

The Man Pleaser

Get your mind out of the gutter.
The man pleaser is food.

In honor of Labor Day, three day weekends, and the start of football season I thought I would pass along a life saver.
Starting Saturday, I am assured random boy-men will be stopping by my house at any given time to plant their, hopefully showered, asses on my couch to watch football.  I too like football, and because I would rather watch the game than become their short order cook, I keep the ingredients for The Man Pleaser available at all times.

Cream Cheese
No Bean Chili.

Shredded Cheddar.

Done.

Seriously.  Try this one the next time you need a dip:

Smear softened cream cheese (2 8oz pkgs) on the bottom of a 9x13 pan.  Pour the can (or 2 if you like chili a lot) over the top of the cream cheese.  Cover the chili with shredded cheddar.  I use the whole bag, but you can portion out a cup or so if you want.

Bake at 350 uncovered for 20 minutes.  The cheese should be melted and bubbly.

Dip with your fav chips.

Men happy.  Me/You happy. 

You are welcome.