My Asian Soup

I forgot to take a picture, but I want to record what I did to make this soup so I don't forget.

1 qt of chicken broth
onions
celery
mushrooms
snow pea pods
fresh ginger, grated, to taste preference 
rice noodles


Put all the vegetables and ginger into the broth and cook until soft.
Can add cooked chicken, pork, etc at the end to warm up - great way to use leftovers.
Add some soy sauce if desired.



Soak rice noodles in water for 20 minutes and then drain.


Put noodles in bowl, add soup and serve.

Healthy Eating

Before dinner we had a healthy snack.  Carrots, mushrooms, and pea pods with Marzetti's Fat Free Southwestern Dip

Crab Cake Mac and Cheese

Larry wants me to try this recipe but I think we'll make some changes.  More to come . . .

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/rachael-ray/crab-cake-mac-n-cheese-recipe

Electric Snow Shovel

While Larry was in Orlando, we had a small snowstorm, probably the most snow we have had at one time this year, while everyone else is having massive storms. However the snow was pretty heavy. I did a pretty good job of keeping the driveway clean in his absence.

For my first attempt, I used the new electric snow shovel that I got him for Christmas. I knew it would come in handy.

That night, we went to Janes's for a "golf widows" get together.  All the wives and some other women from the neighborhood were there.  We each brought something and Jane got pizza.  It was nice to have such a fun night and not have to worry about driving anywhere.

New Coat

I dropped Larry off at the airport for his trip to Orlando and spent a few hours at Marketplace Mall where I finally found a down coat that came down to my knees.  I only had short jackets or long wool coats and wanted one like Greta's that I wore at Christmas that was so warm.
My timing couldn't have been better since it's been so cold this winter and it has been so warm.

From there I went to Bisque & Brush which is the "paint your own pottery store that I started back in the 90s.  They moved from Park Ave to Henrietta and I had bought a Groupon for it so that I would go out there and check it out.  While I was there it started to snow so I didn't stay to paint.  I was glad I left when I did because the driving home was pretty slow and visibility was poor because of the low light and blowing snow.

Girls Night and Chicken Cacciatore

Sunday I had some of the girls over for dinner.

I made Laura's Chicken Cacciatore recipe

6 chicken breasts
1 28 oz can garlic, basil and oregano diced tomatoes
1 large onion, chopped
1 or 2 lg peppers, chopped (green, red, yellow, orange - any or all)
Mushrooms
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup wine


Saute the chicken until browned
Remove and cut into pieces
Saute onion, garlic and peppers until softened
Combine all ingredients and simmer

Eggplant Parmesan Casserole

This recipe is another adaptation from Wegmans. It is even easier than the one I always used to use from the Moosewood cookbook where I had to pre-bake the eggplant. This one cooks everything together and it tastes delicious. I made it a few months ago and I'm going to make it for dinner tomorrow night for the girls.

Eggplant Parmesan Casserole Serves: 8 Active Time:  15 mins Total Time:  1:10

Ingredients

1 jar (24 oz) spaghetti sauce, divided
2 medium (about 3/4 lb each) eggplants, trimmed, sliced in 1/2-inch rounds
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1/2 cup Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided
Lawry's Seasoned Salt to taste
Cracked black pepper to taste
1 pkg (8 oz) Fat Free Mozzarella Cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

1. Spray bottom and sides of 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray; spread bottom of pan with 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Top with overlapping layer of eggplant slices; drizzle with olive oil. Add even layer of bread crumbs; sprinkle with half the grated cheese. Season to taste with seasoned salt and cracked black pepper. Top with remaining sauce and remaining grated cheese.
     
2. Bake, covered, 40 min or until eggplant is tender. Remove from oven; top with mozzarella cheese. Return to oven, uncovered, 2-3 min, until cheese melts. Let rest 15 min before serving.

RPO

When we went to the RPO tonight we were surprised to find that the construction was completed and that we could enter the building through the new entrance which is really close to the garage. Great for the cold weather. And we were even more surprised by the beautiful Chihuly chandelier hanging from the high ceiling.

Six Dollar Meals

The night before Larry left we each got a $6 meal from Wegmans.
I got another one while he was gone.

Knitting

I've been making a bunch of hats lately.
It started with making a hat for Myles for Christmas which he requested.  In the process I've made about 4 others trying to get the one that I like best.  Myles liked his hat, at least he said he did.  Here it is.  He even kept it on for his piano performance Christmas morning.

I made this one for myself and I love it. It is so nice and warm.

 

I want to try this one next:  http://hollyeknits.blogspot.com/2009/01/bellas-hat.html
It looks really cute. 
And here are mittens to match: http://subliminalrabbit.blogspot.com/2008/12/bellas-mittens-updated-pattern.html

Possible blanket
http://duckabroad.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-first-pattern.html

For something really interesting to try 
http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/afghans/sampler.htm