Fresh flowers for a sunny day
After weeks of snow, gray & winter’s mess, it’s finally sunny!! I was originally planning a day of cooking that included a nice hearty Irish beef stew and breadsticks. Yet, the weather outside is oh-so-nice and not a bit frightful, so a thick & warming stew seemed inappropriate. I switched gears at the last minute (at the grocery store, standing in the produce section Googling on my iPhone for a recipe) and settled upon Ree’s Chicken Tortilla soup. All my favorite things, in a soup. It seemed like a nice change of pace from the regular tacos or black bean soup. I stuck to part of my original plan and baked up muffins for breakfast for this week.
I’ve been craving a chocolate chip muffin like nobody’s business lately. But, instead of grabbing a 400 calorie bomb on my way to work, (trust me, I’ve done enough damage this week, if we were friends on Lose It! you’d be judging) I decided that I would attempt my own. I Googled until I found a recipe sufficient enough, and then remembering this Joy the Baker post, thought “That sounds like a phenomenal combination.” However, I wasn’t feeling the scone aspect, so I asked Google again. And I found this. (Aren’t you so happy I’m sharing my innermost musings and thought process? Fascinating, right?) I mean, it’s this stuff or I can discuss the mechanics of the subprime mortgage bond market, if you’d like that instead? (I just read Liar’s Poker and am half-way through The Big Short, both by Michael Lewis).
That’s what I thought, I’ll stick to cooking. :)
Chicken Tortilla Soup w/homemade tortilla chips
And from the top (with salsa on the side too!)
I also wanted to take advantage of Sunday’s Festivities: The Super Bowl. Now, I love football, but I didn’t really get into it this season, and the Patriots didn’t make it to the end, so I was ambivalent about the game as a whole. I was still excited for the commercials, it’s the best part. Well, besides the snacks. Football games, especially the Super Bowl, are an excuse to pig out. Nachos, wings, sliders, other fun party snacks, or, as Clare said this morning, “I’m gonna melt some cheese and dip stuff in it.” Nachos are my ultimate football snack. With the various flavors and toppings of the Tortilla soup I got my tex-mex nacho fix. Though I still could have gone for some queso. Wait, what? Cheese isn’t really that orange? No, stop it. Don’t tease a girl.
Only oranges should be this color. Not cheese. Boo.
*I stuck close to both the original recipes so I won’t re-post them here, but definitely check them out with the links above!!
