Hot Dogs and Beans...But Different!

Yes. Last night Jane called for Hot Dogs and Beans...But Different.

How is it different? Who could say? I didn't grow up with hot dogs and beans, thankfully. In fact, I could probably go the rest of my life without eating them again and be a completely happy camper. Unless I'm camping, in which case hot dogs and beans might be just the ticket.

This meal was really a gold star for Josh, however, as the man has a mild obsession with hot dogs.

The finished product = not aesthetic. Seriously though, how can you make hot dogs and beans look good? Trying hard to not stray too far from the integrity of Jane's recipe, I managed to make this meal a bit healthier by using Hebrew National All Beef Hot Doggies, and Vegetarian Baked Beans. I also cooked a side-dish of red potato's and brussel sprouts, to additionally health things up a smidge.

It tasted pretty good. Not sure if it beats the Hamburger Bean Ring, but you be the judge.

If you click on the picture, it gets huge. You may note the additional recipe of the Meat Shortcake. This one we decided to nix on account of concerns for our arteries.

There you have it. Hot Dogs and Beans - But Different.

Real Housewife of Denver, CO

Doesn't pot roast just sound like the most domestic meal to make...ever? Well, being the wife that I am, I decided to make a Roast for dinner last night. Of course, it was also a perfect opportunity to try out my new cast iron slow cooker, complements of jailbird Martha Stewart, and her ingenious team of ever creative folks.

The Roast was smooth sailing. I decided to cook it in the oven rather than on the stove, thus shortening the six hours of cooking to a mere three. I did some chopping, slicing, dicing, (throwing in some potato's for good measure), stuck that Roast in the oven for a few hours and went on with my life.

Martha Stewart Cast Iron Slow Cooker

The Roast, pre-cooked

When I got back from running the mile high loop in City Park (it's so awesome that we live two blocks away from this!!), the Roast was beginning to smell delish. Tim treated me to a delightful appetizer of bruschetta, green grapes and vino; which brought us right up to exiting time for the Roasty Roast.

The Roast, directly after oven removal

After removing the Pot Roast from the oven, I was quite pleased that I had pulled this recipe off without a hitch! My typical M.O. usually necessitates one or two mistakes, potentially disastrous. Enter next image.

The Roast after meat removal.

Woops. Looks like I forgot to remove that wierd thingy that goes under raw meat before cooking. So whatever the deuce that is got slow cooked right along with everything else. Ergo I could only assume that any potential bacteria was nixed in the slow cook process taking place in 350 degree temperatures. No big deal. Tim and I simply disposed of the unknown, and carried on.

The Roast, sans meat.

The plated Roast.

Regardless of the slight mishap, the meal was great! I think next time I'll use beef broth, rather than water to give the gravy a bit more umph. Other than that, a winner!!

Congratulations to Snipnopsis Despachio Sheets!

I'm not sure if all of you know I am privy to be the sister of a celebrity on the rise. This week, my little brother Spencer Jeffrey Snipsy Despachio Ochocinco Sheets was an all star.

Exhibit A: Spencer was nominated for homecoming king. Um....awesome. Especially when you consider that both his sisters were losers in high school. Okay, I guess it was just me. But still!! I was extremely pleased and proud.

exhibit A

Exhibit B: Spencer not only qualified, but DOMINATED the Colorado State Boys Golf Tournament. The tourney was held in psuedo Colorado Springs at a beautiful--and extremely long, treacherous, and ridiculous hilly--course called Flying Horse. Not only did Valor High School take the overall victory; but Spencer came roaring in at 4th place (IN THE WHOLE STATE!), with another teammate taking 2nd. So awesome guys!! :)

Exhibit B: Go Valor

Exhibit B: Spence putting yet another putt in. He was en fuego!

Exhibit B: Yeah, I'm pretty sure this was inches from the pin.

Exhibit B: Some last minute advice from Coach Jason Preeo.

I'm pretty darn proud of Spencer. Not only can he keep his composure, stay classy on the course, hit some awesome shots, sink unsinkable putts be a gracious winner and competitor....BUT CAN WE ALSO JUST MENTION THAT GOLF IS PROBABLY THE HARDEST SPORT EVER! If any of you have even TRIED to hit a golf ball...you know what I'm talking about. Boo yah Spence.

Oh, and the course wasn't all treachery. It had some pretty parts scattered here and there, as noted in exhibit C.

Exhibit C

Exhibit C

P.S. If it was up to me, I would have nominated Valor for being BEST DRESSED in this tournament as well. And according to me, they would have won.

Vail!

Abbey, Josh, Tim and myself took a wee trip to Vail, Colorado yesterday. We had the chance to spend the day sauntering through Vail Village; stopping for lunch and some Denver Bronco domination viewing. It was beautiful, and the company couldn't have been better!

Sarah/Jane Project

Some time ago I stumbled on an estate sale where everything was extremely overpriced. Estate sales are such an enigma to me. They are either amazingly cheap or ridiculously expensive. This particular sale was definitely the latter. However, my thriftiness and thorough searching skills lent me to a fabulous find!! In the kitchen, under piles of old pots and pans, I discovered "The Jane Christopher Recipe File - A Collection of Tested Favorites from Families, Friends, and Neighbors, and Famous Chefs."

A quick glance through the contents told me that is was definitely worth the price-tag. Fifty cents cheaper, I walked out of that estate sale feeling pretty saucy (and that's NOT on account of about 50 sauce recipes included in the box).

I knew this was quite the find, but I wasn't quite sure how I should go about harnessing the power that I now possessed in the Jane Christopher Recipe File. As Tim and I were perusing the contents over our first meal in our new apartment, I was struck with an idea I can only attribute to my creative genius (And probably a smidgeon of credit goes to my predecessor Julie Powell, creator of the Julie/Julia Project. I can only hope they make a movie about meeeee!!)

Tim and I are embarking on the Sarah/Jane Project. The project is as follows. Each week, we will blindly and randomly choose a recipe from the file box, with a promise to make whatever treasure the card holds for us. When that specific meal is served, we will then choose another meal for the next week.

The Julie/Julia style was to cook through the entire Julia Child Cookbook in a year. I make no such promise to get through this file in a year, or even ten years. First of all, consider the finances necessary to make a new recipe daily; especially considering some of the meats Jane and I will be dealing with. Example: Braunschweiger. Yes, I had to look it up too. (Did I mention this file box was copywritten in 1955? Because that's pretty vital information for you to understand what the heck kind of meals we'll be cooking. ) Also, the leftover situation would be pure insanity! And finally, Tim and I want to freedom to take off at a moments notice to do something spontaneous, without having Jane Christopher hold us back!

Our first recipe was picked by Tim. Hamburger Bean Ring! Are you excited yet? Because WE WERE!! In my opinion, there's nothing more appetizing than a ring of meat!! Actually, I was really just excited to put my new casserole pan to use.

My recipe card: note 1955 copyright in lower left corner.

Alas. I failed to take a picture of the initial meat ring, but you can just see it peaking out at the top right corner of the picture.

The Bean Ring...Complete!

Happy and brave diners.

All in all, I would consider the initial installment of the Sarah/Jane project to be a roaring success. The food was genuinely enjoyed...and without cutting too many of Jane's corners, I tried to make the meal as healthy as a 50's dinner can be.

Next week..... "Hot Dogs and Beans...But Different!" (complements of one, Josh Davis).

So much for my promises...

I know I said I wanted to be much more consistent in my postings on this bloggy blog; and I succeeded for about three days. I count this as a small success...and I think I have a slightly good excuse for my lack of commitment. Maybe.

On September 18th, my Timmy and I got married!!!!! More to come on this later. There are so many details I want to include; the wedding post is going to be a doozy. In the meantime, some celebration and recognition are in order for the best of all seasons, that has snuck up on me!!

FALL!!

Colorado has beautiful fall colors. However, we Coloradan's are still waiting for them to pop out this season. (At least in the City) The weather has been so sneaksy lately, and we've been topping out in the high 70's, low 80's, with nothing cooler to speak of in the upcoming 10 day weather forecast. (Curses to the weather.com for not allowing me to see further than 10 days! I thought meteorologists were supposed to be magicians who could tell the future... It seems like their skills fail after ten days. Lame.) I am, however, exceedingly excited for an upcoming trip to Vail, CO this Sunday with Abbey, Josh, Tim and myself. By golly, we WILL see some fall colors!!

Day trips...that's one of the great things about Colorado. I can wake up in the morning in my little apartment in Denver, and in only a couple of hours, be surrounded by incredible mountains, fall colors, and local mountain folk (always fun!). And how fun is it that I get to take this little trip with my sister, her husband, and MY HUSBAND!?!? :) :)

Speaking of my husband, I've been pretty excited to spend my favorite season with him by my side, faithfully conceding to my ever present desires to explore. One of these explorations MUST INVOLVE a pumpkin patch! It's just such a wonderful fall experience to head out to the patch, and spend hours overanalyzing the different pumpkins before finally deciding on one that most likely looks like all the others. (Except for mine. They always look different. It's all about the stems!) The last time I got to go to a pumpkin patch I was in Massachusetts with my good friend Nikki. Talk about quintessential aweseomeness! We got to go for a hayride, pick out pumpkins, visit a petting zoo, and end it all in apple cider and apple cider doughnuts (which are AMAZING!)

And shall we just devote a little praise to the pumpkin itself? Seriously, I can't think of any other flavor that reminds me so much of fall. They're fun shapes, pretty colors, you can carve them into scary faces, smash them, play catch with the little ones, put candles in them, cook them, bake them, make them into soups, bread, and other foodstuffs. And besides all that, pumpkins are JUST DELICIOUS!!

One of my favorite pumpkin variations would have to be pumpkin muffin. I could probably die from eating too many of these little babies, because I just have no self control when it comes these. I cannot combat their deliciousness. One of my all time favorite pumpkin muffins came from Great Harvest. Again, my fall season partner in crime Nikki and I discovered these in the fall of 2006. We used to go early in the morning before classes started, to start off our day right with a muffin and some ridiculously strong, yet equally delicious Peets Coffee. Thankfully, there are two Great Harvest's I know of in a relatively close proximity to where I live. However, I am saddened for Nikki, and the fact that our favorite Massachusetts bakery closed soon after I left. (Probably because Nikki and I most likely covered all their operating expenses with the amount of time and money we spent there.)

Lastly, homage must be paid to the....

Abbey and I patiently wait for the day, every year, that Starbucks once again brings back the PSL to the everyday menu. This year we had an insider in the company, and consequently, insider information. All that to say, we were ecstatic for August 28th to come. Regrettably, the weather was in the high 80s, but NO MATTER!! Nothing can undermine the liquid taste of fall, or our excitement to consume said beverage.