Maybe it's the lingering after-effects of the numerous church potluck dinners I attended as a child, but I love casseroles.
And really, what's not to love? It's warm and comforting. You can put the leftovers in refrigerator and then scoop it out and heat it up until its gone. And a casserole dish can go in the dishwasher--no dirty dishes!
Most of them are a complete meal in one dish: protein, starch, veggies. Lots of them include cheese, which is such a hot commodity in this household of three that I buy the huge 8 cup bags of shredded cheese. The two cup bags are for wimps. One notable exception is my favorite casserole, chicken and rice. My husband doesn't like it so I make it just for me. I would eat it for every meal. It reminds me of my childhood and my grandparents. Home is where the chicken and rice casserole is.
I also love how people from the Upper Midwest call them hotdishes. How great is that?
I like to make casseroles on Sunday because then I have lots of good leftovers to start off the week.
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
The Best Things in Life: Michael Ian Black
Michael Ian Black is one of my favorite people-I-will-never-meet right now. Why? Let me tell you...
First, Wet Hot American Summer, of course. The poster for First Day of Camp has a totem pole-like stack of Paul Rudd on a motorcycle, Michael Ian Black's head and Amy Poehler's head right in the middle. It's so awesome that my husband texted me while I was at work to look it up.
But more importantly, Black hosts this podcast called "How to Be Amazing" and it's amazing. There is a new episode every other Wednesday and he interviews the most interesting people. The guest on today's episode is Nate Silver. Other guests have included Frank Rich, Carl Tanner, Amy Schumer, Tavi Gevinson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Elizabeth Gilbert; fascinating people who have really interesting ways and have taken an out-of-the-ordinary path. Black asks great questions and ends each episode with a query of the "amazing five" (an amazing book, movie, food, music, and catch-all), which is a lot of fun.
First, Wet Hot American Summer, of course. The poster for First Day of Camp has a totem pole-like stack of Paul Rudd on a motorcycle, Michael Ian Black's head and Amy Poehler's head right in the middle. It's so awesome that my husband texted me while I was at work to look it up.
But more importantly, Black hosts this podcast called "How to Be Amazing" and it's amazing. There is a new episode every other Wednesday and he interviews the most interesting people. The guest on today's episode is Nate Silver. Other guests have included Frank Rich, Carl Tanner, Amy Schumer, Tavi Gevinson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Elizabeth Gilbert; fascinating people who have really interesting ways and have taken an out-of-the-ordinary path. Black asks great questions and ends each episode with a query of the "amazing five" (an amazing book, movie, food, music, and catch-all), which is a lot of fun.
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
The Best Things in Life: Harry Potter Book Club of Two
Today, J. K. Rowling announced that it is James S. Potter's first day of Hogwarts. To celebrate, I made a lazy person's version of pumpkin pasties. I also used this fact to convince my husband that we should start our Harry Potter Book Club of Two. We bought the set of Harry Potter paperbacks earlier this year so we could read the same book at the same time. He wanted to wait until it gets cooler, while I argued for starting at the start of the school year. I'm sure we would have waited until the holiday season if it hadn't been for this announcement.
I'm stoked to climb into our new bed with my hubby and start reading Harry Potter from the beginning. After a cup of tea and a pumpkin pasty, of course.
As we move through our book club selections, my plan is to make as many of these Harry Potter foods as is feasible. I am absolutely not going to make my own jelly beans or buy frog molds, but licorice wands, treacle tarts, and rock cakes I can do.
I'm stoked to climb into our new bed with my hubby and start reading Harry Potter from the beginning. After a cup of tea and a pumpkin pasty, of course.
As we move through our book club selections, my plan is to make as many of these Harry Potter foods as is feasible. I am absolutely not going to make my own jelly beans or buy frog molds, but licorice wands, treacle tarts, and rock cakes I can do.
Thursday, July 30, 2015
Savor or Spree
This morning my little compartmentalized worlds collided for a brief moment. Typically, I have one of three reactions when this happens. All of them could be summed up with a phrase my dad uses often, "Well, I'll be darned."
One reaction, is "huh," as in, "Huh, my third cousin knows someone I went to high school with." It's when "Well, I'll be darned" means, "That stands to reason, but I never would have considered the possibility." The second reaction is "eeew," as in "Eeew, my third cousin is dating someone I had a crush on in high school." It's when "Well, I'll be darned" weird means, "I didn't really want to consider that possibility." The third reaction is my favorite. It's when "Well, I'll be darned" is punctuated with an exclamation point. "Well, I'll be darned!" It's a rare moment of kismet.This morning I had that "Well, I'll be darned" exclamation point - kind of moment.
Last night, I noticed a book Tim had been reading about Nikola Tesla sitting on top on the bookshelf. He hadn't read it for a long time because he didn't want to finish it. He didn't want it to end. I have always been the opposite. I race through the end, no matter what it is. As a preteen, I hid a flashlight under my pillow so I could finish the book I was reading. I clean my plate to the point that I don't even need to rinse it before I put it in the dishwasher. I binge-watch television. I was thinking about that difference between us last night and also how--even though I like to get to the end of the story, season and sleeve of Thin Mints--I have been more apt to savor things as I get older. Or maybe it isn't that I'm older, it's just that I'm choosing things that are worth savoring more often. For instance, as much as I was loving reading One More Thing by B.J. Novak, I couldn't rush through it. It is just too good. Lately the only books I've read in less than 48 hours are ones that I didn't enjoy very much.
This morning, after I was in my car, but before I pulled out of the driveway, out of reach of our wifi, I made sure that the latest "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" podcast had downloaded. I got about 15 minutes into my 50 minute commute when Gretchen and her sister Elizabeth Craft started into a segment they refer to as "Know Yourself Better." The topic they were discussing? "Do you prefer to savor or spree?" I thought, "Well, I'll be darned! I was thinking about this last night."
It was one of those unimportant, inconsequential things that brightened my day.
One reaction, is "huh," as in, "Huh, my third cousin knows someone I went to high school with." It's when "Well, I'll be darned" means, "That stands to reason, but I never would have considered the possibility." The second reaction is "eeew," as in "Eeew, my third cousin is dating someone I had a crush on in high school." It's when "Well, I'll be darned" weird means, "I didn't really want to consider that possibility." The third reaction is my favorite. It's when "Well, I'll be darned" is punctuated with an exclamation point. "Well, I'll be darned!" It's a rare moment of kismet.This morning I had that "Well, I'll be darned" exclamation point - kind of moment.
Last night, I noticed a book Tim had been reading about Nikola Tesla sitting on top on the bookshelf. He hadn't read it for a long time because he didn't want to finish it. He didn't want it to end. I have always been the opposite. I race through the end, no matter what it is. As a preteen, I hid a flashlight under my pillow so I could finish the book I was reading. I clean my plate to the point that I don't even need to rinse it before I put it in the dishwasher. I binge-watch television. I was thinking about that difference between us last night and also how--even though I like to get to the end of the story, season and sleeve of Thin Mints--I have been more apt to savor things as I get older. Or maybe it isn't that I'm older, it's just that I'm choosing things that are worth savoring more often. For instance, as much as I was loving reading One More Thing by B.J. Novak, I couldn't rush through it. It is just too good. Lately the only books I've read in less than 48 hours are ones that I didn't enjoy very much.
This morning, after I was in my car, but before I pulled out of the driveway, out of reach of our wifi, I made sure that the latest "Happier with Gretchen Rubin" podcast had downloaded. I got about 15 minutes into my 50 minute commute when Gretchen and her sister Elizabeth Craft started into a segment they refer to as "Know Yourself Better." The topic they were discussing? "Do you prefer to savor or spree?" I thought, "Well, I'll be darned! I was thinking about this last night."
It was one of those unimportant, inconsequential things that brightened my day.
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Thirty-Seven
I turned 37 this month and right around the big day, I made a list of 37 things that made 36 great and that I hope for more of in the coming year. In no particular order...
1. Reading: Whether it's an entire book in a day or a lazy chapter in a comfy spot or finding a surprisingly charming essay where you least expected it, like Christopher Kimball's editorials in Cook's Illustrated magazine.
2. Scenic overlooks and rearview mirror sunsets on my commute home.
3. My step-daughter's verbalized internal monologues, most of the time.
4. The former hamburger drive-thru joint turned locally-owned tiny coffee shop opened by a couple who cashed out their 401k to make their dream come true. It's one of the only charming things on our otherwise charmless main drag of crumbling mid-century strip malls of the suburbs.
5. Lazy mornings and the quiet of my neighborhood on weekend mornings when no buses, trash trucks, or sirens disturb the peace.
6. Brits and Au Marche in downtown Lawrence and every Ten Thousand Villages store everywhere (and other places like these).
7. Hobbits with their meal plans and hobbit holes.
8. A couple of cottages in our neighborhood, also bungalows with deep front porches, dormer windows and porch swings.
9. Summer thunderstorms and winter snows.
10. Crocuses and "ditch lilies" (and the wonderful people who I first heard say ditch lilies when referring to day lilies).
11. Just the right amount of caffeine and just the right amount of alcohol.
12. David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.
13. Herbal tea, sun tea and sweet tea.
14. Soup and hot dishes in all their wondrous variety.
15. Breakfasts: whether it's scones and earl gray or biscuits and gravy with chow chow.
16. Stuff my mom makes: rows of canned tomato juice, salsa, marinara sauce and green beans, a grapevine wreath with silk flowers, my Christmas and Easter dresses as a little girl, knitted dishcloths and crochet scrubbies.
17. My dad's stories of childhood hijinx.
18. My husband's stories about things like not knowing that pickles were cucumbers and tasting soy candles because they smelled good and you can eat soy.
19. The way one of my childhood friend's eyes have always shined when she's stretching the truth for the sake of a good story.
20. The family farm, which is more sinkholes than farmland.
21. Outside chores: stacking wood, pulling weeds, mowing the grass, burying half-decomposed compost, raking leaves, picking up sticks, etc.
22. Caves
23. Town squares.
24. Nature.
25. Using a spoon or whisk instead of the mixes, using a rake instead of the leaf blower, walking.
26. Small things in jars: beads, marbles, dried beans.
27. Memories and stories of my grandparents: a tidbit that my grandmother referred to the WPA as "we piddle along," my grandpa's cane and the story about the time he spit his false teeth out of the window of his car.
28. Convertible sofas folded out just because you want a space to dogpile while watching tv in your pajamas.
29. Christmas and making cozy during cold weather.
30. Cocoon-like spaces: hammocks, tiny houses, closets, tents, appliance boxes, blanket forts.
31. NPR radio shows.
32. Anything arranged by color to make a rainbow: a closet full of clothes, shelves of books, skittles, skeins of yarn, paint chip displays.
33. Fixing things and recycling what is unfixable and wearing my super awesome patchy pants to run errands.
34. Old jeans that are one size too big, layered t-shirts, grandpa cardigans.
35. Big bowls full of fruit and pillar candles and flowers and candy dishes.
36. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
37. Public transportation.
1. Reading: Whether it's an entire book in a day or a lazy chapter in a comfy spot or finding a surprisingly charming essay where you least expected it, like Christopher Kimball's editorials in Cook's Illustrated magazine.
2. Scenic overlooks and rearview mirror sunsets on my commute home.
3. My step-daughter's verbalized internal monologues, most of the time.
4. The former hamburger drive-thru joint turned locally-owned tiny coffee shop opened by a couple who cashed out their 401k to make their dream come true. It's one of the only charming things on our otherwise charmless main drag of crumbling mid-century strip malls of the suburbs.
5. Lazy mornings and the quiet of my neighborhood on weekend mornings when no buses, trash trucks, or sirens disturb the peace.
6. Brits and Au Marche in downtown Lawrence and every Ten Thousand Villages store everywhere (and other places like these).
7. Hobbits with their meal plans and hobbit holes.
8. A couple of cottages in our neighborhood, also bungalows with deep front porches, dormer windows and porch swings.
9. Summer thunderstorms and winter snows.
10. Crocuses and "ditch lilies" (and the wonderful people who I first heard say ditch lilies when referring to day lilies).
11. Just the right amount of caffeine and just the right amount of alcohol.
12. David Suchet as Hercule Poirot.
13. Herbal tea, sun tea and sweet tea.
14. Soup and hot dishes in all their wondrous variety.
15. Breakfasts: whether it's scones and earl gray or biscuits and gravy with chow chow.
16. Stuff my mom makes: rows of canned tomato juice, salsa, marinara sauce and green beans, a grapevine wreath with silk flowers, my Christmas and Easter dresses as a little girl, knitted dishcloths and crochet scrubbies.
17. My dad's stories of childhood hijinx.
18. My husband's stories about things like not knowing that pickles were cucumbers and tasting soy candles because they smelled good and you can eat soy.
19. The way one of my childhood friend's eyes have always shined when she's stretching the truth for the sake of a good story.
20. The family farm, which is more sinkholes than farmland.
21. Outside chores: stacking wood, pulling weeds, mowing the grass, burying half-decomposed compost, raking leaves, picking up sticks, etc.
22. Caves
23. Town squares.
24. Nature.
25. Using a spoon or whisk instead of the mixes, using a rake instead of the leaf blower, walking.
26. Small things in jars: beads, marbles, dried beans.
27. Memories and stories of my grandparents: a tidbit that my grandmother referred to the WPA as "we piddle along," my grandpa's cane and the story about the time he spit his false teeth out of the window of his car.
28. Convertible sofas folded out just because you want a space to dogpile while watching tv in your pajamas.
29. Christmas and making cozy during cold weather.
30. Cocoon-like spaces: hammocks, tiny houses, closets, tents, appliance boxes, blanket forts.
31. NPR radio shows.
32. Anything arranged by color to make a rainbow: a closet full of clothes, shelves of books, skittles, skeins of yarn, paint chip displays.
33. Fixing things and recycling what is unfixable and wearing my super awesome patchy pants to run errands.
34. Old jeans that are one size too big, layered t-shirts, grandpa cardigans.
35. Big bowls full of fruit and pillar candles and flowers and candy dishes.
36. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
37. Public transportation.
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