Musings – Page 4 – The Pajama Chef

What I’m Into (January 2015 edition)

February 1, 2015 Sarah

I always love other blogger’s What I’m Into posts, so I decided to start participating for 2015! WOOHOO!

One of the best parts of this month: an impromptu, somewhat late night date with Ben at The Cheesecake Factory after Bible study. Appetizers and cheesecake. Mmm, felt like college again!

https://www.instagram.com/p/yJFyOUsCE-/

What’s Been Happening

Lately things have been REALLY busy around here. I’m training for my fifth marathon–in Nashville this April, so running has taken up an extraordinary amount of time, especially on the weekends and before work. I’m so glad the days are getting longer… makes running before work much easier, plus I hate driving home everyday in the dark. Ben’s also coaching basketball for his school. Seeing him as a coach is so fun! Let me just say that fifth graders playing basketball is adorable.

https://www.instagram.com/p/xyGsLvsCD9/

I’ve loved crafting all my life, but haven’t done it very much as an adult. But during the Ohio State National Championship football game [that Ben was OH SO thrilled about!], I made those paper flowers for a decoration for my office. They make me smile everytime I walk in. 🙂

What I’m Reading

I’m a big reader, and have read some great books this month! My reading goal on Goodreads [follow me?] is 120 books this year. I’m interested in seeing if I can do it! 🙂 Last year I read 100+ so this is somewhat of a jump up, but not too bad. This month I finished 11 books and am reading several more.

The best books I read this month were the first two of Rebecca Cantrell’s Hannah Vogel series, A Trace of Smoke and A Night of Long Knives. If you like mystery/thrillers and WWII-era books, you will love this series set in 1930s Berlin. I have the third book waiting to start too!

I listen to audiobooks during my commute, and my favorite new series is a sweet Southern series set in Charleston, South Carolina by Karen White. The first installment is The House on Tradd Street and the narrator on the audiobook is great! Her accents are spot on and makes the somewhat ridiculous nature of this series [a realtor who lands herself an old house to restore and encounters ghosts in the process] easier to bear. A good, light read to counter my traffic woes!

I’m in the process of reading several other books. I like to read multiple books at once so I can pick up whatever suits my mood at the time. Though I have a numerical reading goal for the year, I also am going to join in with the reading challenge on Modern Mrs. Darcy to read books in various categories this year. Two of my current reads fit into this challenge–And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie [for a book that my mom loves!] and Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis [for a book I’ve been meaning to read foreverrr].

What I’m Watching

I haven’t had much time for tv this month, but I faithfully watched the last four episodes of Parenthood in January. So sad to see this show end, but I do love the closure. Have you seen this article from E! Online about elements of the finale? It’s always interesting knowing why writers/directors make the decisions they do. I have to say, I love Sarah/Lauren Graham’s wedding dress. Gorgeous. If I got married all over again I would totally love that dress.

We’ve also been watching 24 again! We’re on season 5, and got stuck there sometime last year when Netflix took it off. Sooo when Amazon Prime was on sale last weekend, we took advantage so we could watch it again. No spoilers please! 🙂 This has nothing to do with the show, but Netflix’s format on the Wii is miles better than Amazon Prime’s. Ugh. Amazon Prime seems to skip a lot more too. Boo!

I’ve also been catching up on my cooking shows: Cutthroat Kitchen, Guy’s Grocery Games, and Damaris Phillips’ Southern At Heart are my fave! On Netflix I’ve been slowly watching Bones and Gilmore Girls. This may be sacrilege to many of you but I couldn’t get into Friends. I really tried! Yesterday, the last day of the month, after my 12 mile run I camped out on the couch and watched two movies for the first time in forever… Safe Haven [a la Nicholas Sparks] and Mulan [yes. Aminated Mulan. I love this movie so much!]. That was fun!

What I’ve Been Cooking

This month I’ve been cooking a lot on Sundays so we have leftovers for the week. Evenings have been consumed with all sorts of things–I have to work one night a week [we rotate evening duty at the library], Bible study is another night, Ben has basketball practice another night… it seems like we’re hardly home which is just not my style. I love being home. So I’ve made all sorts of things on the weekends–Skinny Lasagna, Black Beans and Rice, Mediterranean Lentils and Rice [still owe you the recipe, it’s from a Food Network magazine!], and soups out the wazoo. My sister’s Creamy Zuppa Tuscana Soup was SO good, as were these Morning Glory Muffins. Since it takes me forever to blog recipes, I created a Tested Recipes board on Pinterest to save all my, umm, tested recipes. Haha!

https://www.instagram.com/p/yUVtO1sCJl/

Oh I can’t believe I almost forgot… we LOVED these Whole Wheat Pancakes for Two. I think about them everyday and wish I could make pancakes everyday!

What’s On The Blog

My most popular new recipe of the month was Southwest Veggie & Taco Rice Casserole. No doubt because that stuff is good!

My top three popular recipes from the archives were: Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake, Buffalo Pretzels, and Linda’s Ritz Bits Caramel Crackers.

What were you into in January?

Linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into lately.

Musings

50 Christmas Cookie Plate Ideas: Cookies, Candy, and More!

December 17, 2014December 16, 2014 Sarah

I love making plates of cookies to give out to friends and family, neighbors and coworkers, and all the other people in my life at Christmastime! It’s so fun baking up a storm and being able to give a bunch of treats away. Some people have the one bread, coffee cake, candy, or cookie that they are known for, but I like variety. Hope this list of 50 cookies, bar cookies, candy, muffins, and other treats helps you decide what to make this holiday season! Some of the recipes are my personal tried and true favorites, while others are on my to-bake list this season. I wish I could taste them all!

Cookies

Bar Cookies

Candy

Muffins and Other Sweet Breads

Other Treats

Musings

Fuel Yourself for Exercise

May 28, 2014May 10, 2014 Sarah

So, I used to post once a month on a blog called Today’s Housewife. During fall 2012, the group decided together to stop posting due the busyness of life and families and such. Though sad, I enjoyed being part of the group. As of early January, the blog was officially taken down. But I don’t want to lose my recipes, so periodically I will be reposting them on here. Enjoy!

from September 23, 2010… update: now I’ve been a runner for about 16 years [since spring 1998!] and have now run 4 marathons including one with Ben! These tips are still true today, four years later. Hope they help you!

So, I’ve been a runner for about 13 years, including 10 years of competitive team running. Currently, I am in the early stages of training for a marathon (my second) and trying to convince my husband, Ben, to run one with me! Though I have sat through countless lectures on nutrition as part of team education and read many articles about healthy eating, it has only been over the past few years that I have truly begun to understand the connection between nutrition and exercise. It may seem elementary, but what you eat contributes to how well you can exercise. Nutrition needs do vary based on your exercise goals (training for a marathon versus general fitness), but regardless of your aspirations, there are five basic tips I have learned and seek to practice in my life to fuel myself for exercise.

Stay hydrated. Water is the best way to do this. Find out what temperature your prefer water (I like it ice cold), and how many ounces your favorite water bottle/glass holds. Then drink and fill it up enough times each day to get in at least 8- 8 ounce glasses! Water doesn’t have to be boring either—try adding lemon, cucumber, or orange slices to your water to make it fancy. Staying hydrated fuels your muscles to help you move well and not feel weak during exercise.

Eat regularly. Life is busy, and regardless of your life status, it can be hard eat three meals a day. There are many ways to plan ahead so you can have healthy and tasty meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Making a meal plan, setting out breakfast the night before, and freezer cooking are just some of the ways I make sure that my husband and I will be well-fed and not tempted to get take-out.

Eat a variety of foods. All foods provide our bodies with different vitamins and minerals. We need carbs and fats and protein and more, which can be found in a variety of foods. Don’t worry about knowing specific about each vegetable or fruit or grain—no one food is perfect, and different colors equal different nutrients. So fill your plate with colors!

Be educated about your food choices. There is a lot of hype surrounding eating organic, vegetarian, local, etc. I personally am not a vegetarian and do not eat all organic or all local. However, I do believe in knowing where my food comes from and being educated about nutrition and issues with food production in this country. Some of the most helpful resources I’ve found in educating myself have been by reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, as well as In Defense of Food and Food Rules by Michael Pollan. These books have made me consider the nutritional benefits found in foods that have been packaged in different ways: frozen, canned, or fresh—local or sent from 2,000 miles away, and has also challenged me to consider the effects processed foods can have on my body, especially as an athlete. This applies also to everyone too—even if you don’t consider yourself to be an “athlete!”

Be flexible, and give yourself grace. No one is going to eat completely healthy all the time. Sometimes we crave sweets or salty foods, and it’s okay to indulge your cravings at times. Some people try to eat healthy and clean about 80% of the time, and indulge the other 20%. Others may follow stricter guidelines. Moderation is key. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the technicalities of eating and nutrition to the extent that it becomes the end all, be all of our self-perception and life. That is not healthy. What is healthy is enjoying food for what it is and what it does for us, without becoming obsessive. God gives us grace in all areas of life, including our food choices and nutrition. Let’s believe that!

Menu Plans, Musings

Menu Plan etc.

August 7, 2013 Sarah

Oh my goodness. Things have been super busy lately…so alas, a menu plan on WEDNESDAY. Better late than never, right? I came up with a few quick meals this morning and sent my dear husband a short grocery list so he can stop at the store after work. He is so great! And in other news, I chopped off all my hair yesterday!

Crazy. I still can’t believe it but I really like it…and running with short hair is fabulous! 🙂 If you’ve ever thought of getting a pixie or any short haircut, DO IT! And if you have one, any hair tips you wanna pass on to me? 🙂 Have a great Wednesday!

Week of August 5

Monday: Ben was on his own as I was visiting relatives with my sister for the day…so he enjoyed a frozen pizza
Tuesday: a really busy day so we had some super gourmet *sarcasm* Kraft mac & cheese with frozen veggies
Wednesday: waffles
Thursday: BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad
Friday: Chipotle for a food pantry benefit
Saturday: black bean soup
Sunday: roast chicken

Musings

Christmastime

December 14, 2012December 14, 2012 Sarah

This year, we decided to be a bit radical with our Christmas decorations. We didn’t get a tree. I know. So sad. See, my lil sister is getting married three days after Christmas. That, combined with all the work with my thesis, led to it just not making sense to get a tree, decorate it, and then have to take it down without enjoying it to the fullest. Oh, and our cats can be sort of naughty with the tree too, so there’s that. I like real trees and didn’t want to settle on even a smaller fake one.

So I decided to use the money + time we would have spent on a tree to make some decorations that would last for the future!

Of course, I used Pinterest for inspiration. I wasn’t organized enough–and this is not a craft blog–so I don’t have any tutorials. But I will link up my inspiration!

I made the wreath in the top left corner pretty much on my own. If you check out my wreath Pinterest board, you can probably see where I got my ideas from. I used the tutorials at Cut to Pieces to make the felt flowers. Let me say–they are so easy and fun to make! I am addicted! 🙂 What am I not addicted to? Wrapping yarn around a wreath base. Can we say… stressful? I adore the finished wreath though!

The Christmas tree in the middle left was made using this tutorial at Better Remade. I am so happy how it turned out! At first I was bummed because I couldn’t find a light green felt like the original, or a big box of pearl white straight pins, but I love my final product. You can’t really tell in the photo, but the white felt circles have glitter in them, and look so sparkly when they catch the light!

In the bottom left corner is my latest thrown together craft: a paper scrapbook Christmas tree. Usually in that stand I have a mosaic I made during my camp counselor years but decided I needed something more Christmasy. I got my idea from A Little Tipsy, but didn’t follow the tutorial exactly. I use scrapbook paper and leftover felt rolled up and hot glued to some foam board which was wrapped in ribbon to hide my uneven cheap x-acto knife cutting.

Last but not least, the yarn wrapped Christmas trees on the right [gray and sparkly white] were inspired by all the DIY Christmas trees I pinned on my Christmas board. And the yarn wrapped wreaths too. I made the garlands out of yarn and beads and think they make them a little more festive and retro, maybe. The tiniest candy cane tree is just ribbon.

Here are a few of our other Christmas decoartions: the mouse in the chimney circa 1970, my metal reindeer + star candle holder + Christmas tree plate, my second grade nativity set + pinecone angel, and a vase filled with some of our favorite ornaments. I couldn’t resist! Oh, and our stuffed friends, Elfkin and Ginger. They live on our couch during December.

So there you have it, Christmastime in our house this year. Would you believe that I’ve barely made any Christmas cookies or treats this year? That has got to change. I did share my Crock Pot Cran-Apple Sauce over on Thriving Home if you’d like to go check it out! I have some plans for cookies soon, so maybe there will be a post or two about that next week. Has anyone made anything awesome this year that you can recommend? Have a great weekend!

shared at it’s just Laine