Burnt Nuts

I went shopping for some more groceries to make another batch of Gypsy Soup, and I found a 1kg bag of almonds in the baking section for $12.99... such a good deal, so I bought it! When I got them home I opened the bag, and realized they were raw almonds (soft in the middle) so I figured I could dry roast them myself, in the oven! I googled how to roast almonds and found this great site. I followed the instructions but thought that cooking them only 10 minutes left the almonds still soft in the middle. I decided to put them back in... but for WAY TOO LONG, and ended up burning them! (...Probably 3 quarters of the bag! DUMB ME!)

Oh well... live and learn!



Maybe I should just stick to buying the dry roasted ones... (despite the fact that they cost twice as much!)

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Creative cooker

I've been starting to get really creative with my cooking. I'm making a lot of things from scratch that I would normally never think I could make! I feel so good about it too, despite the fact that I probably eat more then my share at each meal :( I always have yummy left-overs to take in my lunches, which has been saving my bank account too :) Honestly, I owe it all to KraftCanada.com. Some of the recipes on this site are so simple, yet I would have never thought to put some of the things together!

I actually want to get my hands on a good vegetarian recipe book and try some of it's recipes. Normally, vegetarian dishes have much more flavor and variety to the flavor due to the different spices and herbs used to compliment the veggies. I just recently got a copy of a veggie recipe for "Gypsy Soup", and I had to go out and buy cumin and tumeric spices... I mean... who uses those spices on a regular basis???

I think the cooking bug has crawled up and bit me! ;)

PS. Fun song alert: Clumsy - Fergie

On another note, Collin and I were watching the Discovery channel yesterday and there was a segment on "Sleep Walking Murders"... and that there have been about 12 cases to date where people have used the "I was sleep walking" defence to plead their innocence. 5 of these cases were acquitted! Unreal!
I actually had a hard time falling asleep last night... wonder why!?!
Collin tells me he doesn't sleep walk.... Thank Gawd!
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I CAN cook!!! :)

The Chicken Tetrazzini was awesome! I did a little altering to the Kraft recipe... and it turned out perfect! (Collin wasn't as huge a fan of it as I was, I think he's crazy! lol)
I used rotini instead of spaghetti (easier to serve), I modified the sauce from one can of chicken broth to one can of mushroom soup (more flavor) and 1/2 packet of chicken boullion plus 1 can of water. As for the veggies, I swapped out the mushrooms for brocolli. (at Collin's request!)

MmmmMmmmMmmm!

What's even better, is that it makes more then enough for 2, so I have seperated some servings for lunches! :) (Not a good idea to eat pasta for every meal, but once in a while doesn't hurt!) I bet it will taste EVEN BETTER as leftovers!!! I'll let you know after lunch.
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Another showing

I showed my condo to another renter last night. He really liked the place, but said the rent might be a bit to much for him. He said he'd let me know today... He still hasn't phoned, so I expect he won't.
I saw my Fitness Coordinator today before my class, and we got to talking about my new place. I mentioned that I'm still seeking a renter for my condo, and she mentioned to me that there is a PT manager coming here from out of town that will be looking for a place to rent. Hmmmm... She suggested I talk to our PT manager about it. (I will definitely do that once the day is over, and if I've still recieved no call!) So, all in all I'm not too worried... the right renter will want to rent it soon!

I'm going to try my luck at cooking again tonight... (Scary, I know. Because on Monday night, Collin and I ate raw veggies because I just can't cook. It sucked h.a.r.d. c.o.r.e!)
Since it's going to be a rainy, cool kinda evening I've decided to make something outta pasta.... Thanks to KraftCanada.com... I'll be attempting Made-Over Chicken Tetrazzini.

Wish me luck, with my track record... I'll probably need it! ;)

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What's for dinner tonight?

Thai Chicken and Rice, that's what!
I made a trip to Safeway looking for some dinner inspiration and decided I wanted to make something Thai flavored! I managed to find a couple of packages that required minimal preparation and ingredients!
<---This is the final result!

It was really flavorful! The chicken sause was a bit spicy, and I had to use extra water to keep it from becoming too thick. I wouldn't recommend these two together (the chicken sause and the Ginger coconut rice) because they both had a very intense flavor that didn't mingle well. My suggestion would be to make the General Tso's saucy chicken with a plain Basmati or Jasmine rice. Keep it simple.
However the rice was really tasty, so it could be used as a side dish for a more bland chicken dish. Check my Flickr pictures for the packages of ingredients I used.)