Monday, February 20, 2012

Hearty, From the Heart, Heart-Shaped

#45: Send a care package to Philip (hereafter affectionately referred to as Phil).
My brother Phil (I love how much I sound like Dorothy Zbornak when I say that...) is a sophomore at Clemson this year, and his birthday was a few weeks ago. This year's present was a box filled with school supplies, homemade cookies, and a gift card. Actually, Tom and I got to give this to him in person because my family met up in Clemson this past weekend for a double celebration, since Phil has the same birthday as my dad!

#1: 100 new recipes.
The cookies for Phil's care package were a sweet-and-salty combo...chocolate chip cookies with pretzel pieces! Sorry, no pictures, though. I finished them kinda late the night before we left, and I didn't have my memory card with me. Oh well.

Winter came to Louisville a little late this year, but it is finally here. The below-freezing temperatures had me craving a recipe that I've wanted to try for years but never had the chance (or all of the ingredients at one time): a nice, hearty beef stew.


Have I ever mentioned how much I love my slow cookers? (Yes, you read that correctly. I have two...one from my mom, and one from my mother-in-law. And yes, I have been known to use both simultaneously from time to time.) And, honestly, is there any better way to cook beef stew...? I threw everything in first thing in the morning; and it was perfectly done by dinnertime, plus it really hit the spot on a cold night.

We also had homemade deep dish pizza last week!


Look closely at that salami. This was our Valentine's Day dinner this year, so I broke out the heart-shaped cookie cutter. Then when we were getting ready to eat the finished product, I realized that last year's V-Day dinner was a LOT more elaborate than this. Then again, I didn't really have a job this time last year, so I had all day to cook said meal. What a difference steady employment makes...!

In other news, I have been trying slowly to get back into an exercise routine this week, working back up to my running endurance level from a few months ago...with food like this, I don't have much of a choice, do I?

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