Sunday, December 28, 2008

Spaghetti and Squash Don't Mix

So, in light of the holiday feasts that we have attended, and the cookies we have consumed, hubby and I decided that we should try to lighten things up a bit this week, just to make sure we don't gain back any of the weight we have already lost. (For those of you just tuning in, don't be confused this is definitely a food blog, and not a dieting blog).

Anyway, we decided to give spaghetti squash a try as a substitute for real spaghetti, because it is a major calorie savings. So, I read that you could cook the squash whole in the crock pot, and I did just that. It did give us a little freight when the squash blew up because no one said anything about puncturing it before hand. No mess though. It just made the lid jump on the crock pot, and I immediately envisioned squash all over the counter and ceiling.

Fast forward to the part where we actually eat the stuff, and let's just say that it was a little runny, because water kept seeping out of the "noodles". I would not say that the taste was bad, it just was not good. I think you come to expect a certain texture when it comes to pasta, and let just say that squash does not have that same texture.

This is among the many reasons why I will not be living the low carb lifestyle. There really is just no substitute for bread or pasta. I can do whole wheat pasta just fine, so that is what I will be sticking to.

All I can save about tonight's meal is that if it weren't for the garlic bread, we would have been really hungry. What can I say, you have to sprinkle a little bit of naughty in with your nice!

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Chicken Soup and Great Friends

Lately, I have taken on a little endeavor of helping some of my friends learn more about cooking. It has truly been so much fun. I have some great friends, and during our "cooking lessons" I have been learning so much about them. KLM, thanks for being the awesome women that you are.

In the past one friend came over and learned to make chicken parm, and roasted vegetables. We had a good time. It was nice cooking without a husband watching TV in the living room, or a child running under foot.

Our next cooking lesson consisted of myself, and two of my friends. We sent our children to Mom's Day out, or left them home with Daddy. We made pizza rolls, Shepherd's Pie, and Chicken Enchiladas. We also learned that colanders need to sit in bowls that are larger than they are, but that is another story for another time. The hostess's husband came home at lunch and critiqued the pizza rolls (he wanted a ham and cheese version). We really had a great time.

Today, we learned to make chicken noodle soup from scratch. We had our four children there. My little boy was a very lucky fella, because he was surrounded by three beautiful little girls. We were also later joined by a husband who is apparently a pretty good cook himself. Our hostess has a lovely kitchen, and of course I did a fine job of dirtying it up. For those who don't know, I am a very messy cook.

Though it is nearly 80 degrees here in Charleston today, something about chicken noodle soup is so comforting. Just the smell of it bubbling away on the stove was enough to make you yearn for the days that you would pull on Grandma's apron strings. Of course the conversation was great too. I so enjoy teaching people new things about cooking.

So LMK, I really just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the fun times this morning. I can't wait til our January lesson.