Why is it that when I actually sit down to do my homework, I can't actually do it? I'll be thinking about it all day (for instance, I have an article analysis due tomorrow, so I thought about what type of article to analyze and how to go about analyzing it - also, note that I am a procrastinator when it comes to homework) but when I start to do my work, my brain just shuts off and I can't think of anything. So why don't I get to work when I am thinking about what I need to do? Well, usually because I am doing something else. Today was loads of laundry plus cleaning and a bit of cooking. I guess it's safe to assume that by the time everything else is done, I am just way too tired to study. Which is pretty much the case now. It's 6.15 and I am zonked!
So to get my mind working, I will think about all of the yummy cooking and baking and eating I have done over the past week. I am still quite serious about cutting down on high fructose corn syrup - this isn't just a "thing" that will fizzle out soon. I haven't been perfect this week (my husband and I had yet another funeral to attend this week so there were times when corners needed to be cut) but I am trying to be very conscious of what I eat and I have been doing a pretty good job.
I bought some snacks (trail mix, walnuts) that don't have HFCS in them to munch on while I am at work. I made a loaf of bread and actually used it for peanut butter sandwiches (mmm mmm good) and toast. **Note - I have a tendency to make things and then not eat all of it; I guess that is what happens with just two people in the house **. On the days that I didn't bring my lunch to work, I stuck to sandwiches and soup. I'm glad that the cafeteria at my new job is small. It means there are fewer tempting items to eat.
Now, as for what I actually cooked. On Friday I was planning to make lasagna. There was a snowstorm so I was stuck shopping at the little stores in my neighborhood rather than going all the way to the big grocery store (actually, my husband was stuck with this. Just giving credit where credit is due). Not a single place had cottage cheese or ricotta. Cottage cheese in a lasagna, you ask? I am skeptical too, but I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks and the reviews are fantastic, so I decided to give it a shot. Well, too bad, I'll have to wait until next time, since I was SOL on the cheese. Instead I whipped up a meat sauce (following the directions for the meat part of the lasagna on the aforementioned website) and mixed spaghetti in to it. The meat sauce came out quite well. The last time I made a meat sauce (I don't even remember when that was, in all honesty) came out not-so-good, but this was a million times better. It could have used an additional spice, which I can't quite put my finger on. Something to give it more oomph. I totally forgot to add veggies to our plate. Oops. I really need to work harder on eating more vegetables!
After dinner I had an urge to bake, so I followed the Pioneer Woman's recipe for the best chocolate sheet cake ever. Holy moley. It is so freaking good. I made it in to a round cake and it was awesome. By far though, the frosting is the best part. I am thinking about it now and how yummy it is. I already had two pieces today though! It's that good.
Saturday night was also a spur of the moment dinner. I took some chicken breasts and threw them in a baking dish with rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves, and shallots. Olive oil too. Popped it in the oven at 350 for about 35 mins and we were good to go. I also made a basic parmesan risotto which was decent. It's such an easy dish, and I had just a bit or arborio left, so I decided, what the hell. I followed the basic Joy of Cooking recipe and sauteed some onions in olive oil, added the rice and sauteed for about 3 mins, added about 1/3 cup of white cooking wine and let the liquid burn off. Then I started in on the chicken broth. I added probably 2 and 1/2 cups total (I was winging the whole time, so I really have no idea how much chicken broth I added) and once the rice was tender enough, I grated some parmesan cheese in. Frozen peas were heated up for the veggie part of the meal. At least frozen peas are better than no veggies!
This morning I decided to make Baked Brown Sugar Pancakes using the recipe I found on the Serious Eats website. It was a little buttery but it tasted pretty good. I have a feeling I did something wrong (maybe putting it in many small dishes to bake instead of a large dutch oven would have been better) but all in all, it wasn't bad. It rose nicely like a Dutch baby. The side was definitely the best part. I heated up some maple syrup to drizzle on top and that was awesome. I definitely want to improve upon this recipe, so I will make it again.
So what is the moral of the story here? By making more of my own food I am cutting down on the HFCS food that I eat. I already feel better (less tired and I have lost some weight) which might or might not be because of eating less HFCS. That being said, so far I don't miss anything with HFCS in it. And that's a wonderful thing.
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