Cooking Self-Reliantly

On Sunday night I made Rachael Ray's delicious "Stromboli Bread":

Rachael Ray's Official Website :: Pat's Stromboli Bread

I have made this before and usually end up with 2 problems: problem one is the insides of the bread.  What do I do with it once I scoop it out of the loaf?  I eat it, of course!  But that is kind of wasteful (although very tasty).  So this time I took a note from Martha Stewart's book and made some delicious croutons.  Simply toss cubed bread in a little EVOO, pop them in the oven while the Stromboli Bread is baking and voila!

Okay, problem two: I always have extra stuffing.  Maybe Rachael's bread is bigger or maybe she tastes more stuffing along the way, but I always have way too much and it usually goes to waste.  My solution here was actually another RR recipe: I mixed the leftovers together with some kidney beans, added a can of chicken broth and BAM! soup for lunches!  Guess what goes great on top of that?  Homemade croutons, that's what.

So as you can see, I'm fairly proud of myself and my cooking adventures this week.  Tonight I am home alone so I made a grilled cheese-- not exactly gourmet but better than take-out!

2010- The Year of Self Reliance!

Welcome 2010!  I must admit, 2009 will be very hard to beat but I am looking forward to a fun-filled year.  Patrick and I have made a joint resolution to be more self-reliant.  This is a more exciting way to say "cheap".  With our around-the-world trip a mere 2 years away (that's only 24 months!!) we really need to focus on building our savings and paying down our debts.  So we've got the large-scale financial part all planned out but it's the day-to-day expenses that we need to work on.

Last night we were both craving some delicious Chinese takeout from our favorite place (go Chef Won!) but decided to stick ot our plan and had veggie chili over baked potatos instead.  Pat lamented our lack of sour cream so I whipped up some cheese sauce:

CHEESE SAUCE
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheese
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Whisk in the flour until it is smooth.  Pour in the milk and whisk continuously; bring to a simmer until thickened.  Add the cheese and spices. Serve over potatos or veggies.

I used some fantastic garlic chedder cheese from Trader Joes.  Yummy yum!

I know it will be hard to break some of my spending habits-- I love stopping for a fancy coffee, eating dinner out and hitting up air conditioned bars in the summer-- but when I keep our long-term goals in mind it doesn't seem too bad.

Here's to the year ahead: may it be filled with laughter, creativity, love and (of course) self-reliance!