Tony and I have looked at the weather forecast for the next 10 days and it doesn’t seem like we’ll see temps near 30 degrees anytime soon. Luckily I had my warm hat from Shelley to keep me warm!
It actually matches my coat! I’ve had that coat for over 15 years. It’s an Eddie Bauer down coat and I bought it at a thrift store in Chicago one March when they were getting rid of their winter clothes and stocking for spring and summer. Every winter item, no matter what it was, was .50! It’s the warmest jacket I’ve ever owned.
Guess what I had for breakfast? More breakfast tacos! This time with the last piece of citrus from my PIL. I try to ration out the oranges and grapefruit they give me, and that was the last one. Still delish!
So yesterday with my blood sugar being normal at lunch, I decided to take ONLY TWO units of insulin with breakfast. When I woke up my blood sugar was 120, I took 2 units of insulin and when I checked it at 11:30 – it was only 124 – what the hell??!! I contemplated what I could eat in order to work out, but then all of a sudden I got slammed with work and I didn’t even leave the building for lunch. Around 1:30 I finally made my lunch – another flat out pizza – this time with pickled jalapenos! I forgot I had those in the office fridge.
Tony and I each have strong food memories from our childhood. One meal my Mom made that was delicious was so simple. She cooked up bacon, and laid it criss cross on a piece of white toast, then topped it with mozzarella cheese and put it under the broiler. I have no recollection of a fruit or veggie side dish, but the outside of the bread would be crispy, the center was soft and the saltiness from the bacon and cheese was heaven to me. She also made fried tacos that were always a hit. And when we had steak and baked potatoes, our Dad would patiently “make” each one of our potatoes. He would cut it in half, put butter and salt and pepper and would mash it around until the butter melted. I also remember asking for the fat side of the steak and I could literally remember putting a piece of steak with the fat on it and leaving it on the side of my mouth to savor the deliciousness.
There are some dishes my MIL make that I will never make as good as her, and I am okay with it. Banana bread for instance. The first time I made banana bread for Tony I put chocolate chips in it and he thought I was crazy! I still love the banana/chocolate chip combo, but quickly learned Tony is not a fan. I have learned how to make her risotto – so I am happy about that one.
Split pea soup is one of Tony’s favorite soups. His Mom made it with smoked ham hocks. I couldn’t find smoked ham hocks, so I just found the meatiest ones I could find. There is no true recipe for this one. I talked to my MIL on the phone on Sunday, and she basically added broth to split pea, smoked ham hocks and covered it with enough broth to cover the hocks. I added chopped carrots and potato. I am not sure Tony was a fan of the addition of potatoes, but I loved it. And after all was said and done, there wasn’t a whole lot of meat of the hocks. I seasoned it simply with salt and pepper. I of course chose to top mine with a bit of cheddar cheese and sriracha. You know because everything is better with sriracha.
I made Tony a salad on the side, while I made half a grilled roast beef and Swiss cheese grilled cheese on the side for me.
I realized after dinner I’d only had just shy of 1050 calories, so I had a couple cups of cheese popcorn that Tony bought – that stuff is like crack!
Stats for the Day:
- 1275 calories, 46 fat, 136 carbs, 58 protein, 13 fiber
- 45% of calories from carbs, 34% from fat, 19% from protein
- no exercise
- average blood sugar 102
Today I work a double day, but it won’t be too bad because I am taking a half day today. My Mom has such a busy social calendar that Thursday and Friday’s are her only days that she has open. We are going to be eating the most delicious burgers at The Assembly and then thrifting in the afternoon. Then I will go straight to the restaurant to work tonight from there. Right now it’s –4 degrees, so I am hoping it warms up a bit so we get some customers tonight!
I actually have time to make some pancakes this morning – whole wheat banana pecan pancakes as a matter of fact. I have never used whole wheat pastry flour to make pancakes before – wish me luck! Make it a great day!
Question of the Day: What is your favorite meal from childhood?
I have MANY favorite dishes from childhood. I was never a picky eater and enjoyed all kinds of food. A few favorites that come to the top of my head:
Tator tot casserole (or tater tot hotdish as we called it in MN!)
Cabbage Dish – this one doesn’t have a recipe either. My momwould brown up some ground beef in a pot, then she’d toss in some carrots, potatoes and enough sliced cabbage to fill the pot. Then pour enough water in to cover the meat, season liberally with salt and pepper, put a lid on it, and cook until the veggies are done.
My mom was born and raised in Germany, and only move to the US shortly before she got pregnant with me. So we also ate a lot of cheap and easy German meals. So okay, get ready for this one that was my all time fav, lebskaus. The original recipe calls for beets but my mom never used them. Basically you make a bunch of mashed potatoes. Then you toss in a can of corned beef and mix it together really well. Add in a generous splash of pickle juice. Serve topped with a fried egg and of course a pickle on the side. Sounds gross. Looks gross. But it is absolute heaven. In fact, I might need to make this tonight…
My mom wasn’t much of a cook, but I did enjoy her lasagna.
I’m still catching up on your posts, but I hope your meal at the Assembly was tasty – love those burgers, just don’t get over there very often.
Awesome memories 🙂 I remember eating chicken in a crock pot. It was a mushy mess of chicken and cream of chicken soup and all that bad for you stuff – served over white rice. I GOBBLED it up.
Great memories! My mom and Grandmother made the best fried chicken served with potatoes and gravy. It was reserved for Sunday dinner and a family favorite.
I can’t believe how your hat matches your coat! Win!!
My mother makes the best German Hot potato salad. So good! Bacony and vinegary. We have a joke for my mom that her epitaph will say “She won’t be remembered in poem or ballad. She will be remembered for her hot potato salad!”
I’m Jewish and those are the comfort foods I crave. Matza Ball soup, blintzes, potato pancakes and what my mom called Noodles and cheese. Its egg noodles that you rinse so they are kinda room temp. Then, mix that with cottage cheese and a Tbls of sour cream and lots of cracked pepper. Julie just gags when I make that. Stay warm and hope you make lots of $$ tonight.
Split pea soup is such comfort food.
Hope you are having a great time with your mom this afternoon!
Going along with Helen’s comment, my mom used to make this gross casserole she called Zalivera – I’m sure it had some ground beef in it, but it had corn, black olives and god knows what…it was not a good night when Zalivera was in the oven. Now, she can make Coq au Vin that is incredible, and her lasagne is outstanding, too. Those are the two things that I wish she’d cook every time I visit.
The had matches your coat perfectly – that is so cool! And warm, I hope. 🙂
*hat* – proofread much, Shelley? 😉
My mom made a lot of ground beef dishes because you could stretch a pound of ground beef a long way. She was and still is a good cook, but as a child I HATED ground beef. Shepherd’s Pie was one of her specialties and I don’t like mashed potatoes, peas, corn (unless it’s on the cob) or ground beef like that. Actually pretty much the only way I like ground beef is as a hamburger or a meatball. I do however get the warm fuzzies whenever I eat a bowl of oatmeal that has butter, sugar and a splash of milk, which is the other thing she made a lot. Funny how one food makes you feel overloaded and another makes you feel comfort!
I imagine you walking around with a baggie full of jalapenos since you seem to put them on everything! hahaha
My mom used to make white rice. Plain white rice. All the time. My sister and I would put ketchup on it and eat it like that! Ewww………….
Um, that’s not a bad idea Heather! 😀
mmmmmmmm. Split pea soup is so so good! One of my favorite dishes (though I rarely make it). Sorry your day was so packed. I hope you get a little more you time this weekend. My favorite childhood meal? My Mom’s spaghetti sauce or her beef stew
One meal I always remember from growing up is the only one my dad cooked (he viewed that as women’s work). He made a spaghetti casserole in the cast iron skillet and finished it off in the oven to melt the cheese – I always loved it!!
I just asked David at dinner last night if he thought he would try split pea soup if I found a recipe to use up the ham bone from thanksgiving in the freezer. He said “sure”…so you just saved me an hour on pinterest trying to figure out a recipe…thanks Biz !
My mother used to make these delicious skillet fried pork chops with cream gravy. In fact, I asked her to make them for my birthday in February, so I’ll let you know if they are as good as I remember!
Biz, your Tacos always look delicious. My parents were both great cooks. I loved my mom’s deep dish pizza, lasagna and something that I ask for every time I visit is Swiss Steak in a tomato sauce with green peppers and mushrooms.
I love that the hat Shelley made for you matches your coat. I think the Pacific Northwest would be a good fit for Tony. Our weather is very mild.
My favorite meal, but only when I was sick-pb and j’s. Only time I liked peanut butter. Just a little spread on toast with lots of strawberry jam. Then a glass of Nestle’s Quik and a few Perfect potato chips on the side. My mom fed me this when I was sick! And I ate it! Stay warm and have fun with your mom!
Childhood meals are surely comfort food, especially in this cold weather!
My mom wasn’t much of a cook but there were three things she’d make that I still crave from time to time: ham and scalloped potato casserole, rotel cheese dip and chili cheese dip…which we get on Super Bowl Sunday! =)
I wanted too comment yesterday but couldn’t for some reason. Place to retire: I live in Niagara Falls, NY and am hating the cold and snow as well. Biz, don’t you have family in Virginia? They have mild winters although I have been there in June and found it to be a bit swampy but I am thinking you would get used to that. My Aunt and Uncle moved from Rochester, NY to Portland Oregon and love it. It is very pretty there and very green. THey don’t really get snow, just occasionaly, their winter is mostly rain.
Your food pics pretty much always make me drool, even if it’s not food I like. LOL
I have fond memories of things my family makes too – my grandmother’s meat loaf, cole slaw and potato salads (she will still make cole slaw just for me every time we have a family gathering), kahlua cake and party potatoes at Christmas time and my dad’s burgers off the grill in the summer.