New Year

Ravings: Happy New Year everyone. And by everyone, I mean the five people who read this blog! (Hi Mom) I hope everyone’s holiday season was as fun and filled with love as mine was. Now comes the task of getting back to normal life. I didn’t officially take any time off over the holidays, but because of where I work, we tend to have very light work hours over the holiday seaspm. We worked ½ days or just beyond ½ days for the entire 2 weeks. It is amazing and I’m certainly not complaining, but it leads very quickly to complete lack of motivation to accomplish anything work related when you return to your normally scheduled life. So here I am, sitting at work, averting my eyes from the long To Do list, most of which was due sometime last year, thinking longingly about red wine, spiced nuts, and molasses sugar cookies. Yes, my amazing friends and family were there too, but I see them all the time. Oh, and my whole life revolves around red wine, so I’m almost always thinking about red wine. So really, it’s just the spiced nuts and the molasses sugar cookies. As I type this I can’t help but think how simple that seems. I am that easy to please? Why wasn’t I snatched up a long time ago??? Oh well. I think I just knew somewhere deep down inside that Jason would come along someday if I could have enough patience. The best part, he doesn’t really like the spiced nuts or the molasses sugar cookies, so I get them all for myself. I really do love him! Cravings: Besides the molasses sugar cookies (found here), which I may secretly make another batch of, there are just too many delectable things to report on, so I will try to work them into the rotation of normal meals. Last night was my first night back to regular cooking and eating at home, and after all of the holiday indulgence I was craving something healthy. Quinoa is one of my favorite grains. It’s so easy and yummy and packed with goodness. Pair that with some broccoli and throw in some cheese for gooeyness and you have a easy and good for you meal. Quinoa Broccoli Cheddar Bake ¾ cup quinoa 1 ½ cup water 1/3 Cream of Whatever soup mix (recipe found here) 1 ¼ cups water 1/3 cup mayo 2 bunches broccoli, chopped ½ mushrooms, chopped 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese 1/2cup parmesan cheese Cook the quinoa in 1 1/2 cups water. While that's cooking prepare the rest by combining the cream of whatever soup mix, water, and mayo. When the quinoa is finished, stir it in with the broccoli, mushrooms and the cheeses. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the cheddar and 1/4 cup of parmesan. Put broccoli mixture in a casserole dish. Pour the cream of soup and mayo mixture all over it and top with the remaining cheeses. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. I served it with some really good crusty bread, topped with butter, garlic salt and some more of the shredded cheddar cheese, that I baked for the last 10 minutes of the quinoa casserole.