I had a fairly typical winter weekend.
Friday: Went to work, read in the library with some chai tea, came home and had a late lunch while reading The Sun magazine, watched Fringe (!!!), and had drinks with co-workers. As my outfit was nothing fancy (purple zip-up hoodie and skinny jeans) I decided to photograph lunch instead.
I am a bit obsessed with broccoli slaw. I made a big batch last week and finished it up for lunch on Friday. Here is my recipe:
Broccoli Slaw:
Dressing:
1/2 cup of canola oil
1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Splash of soy sauce
Splash of sesame oil
Dashs of salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder
Salad part:
1 package of broccoli slaw
Small handful of chopped scallions
Handful of chopped red pepper
1/2 cup of toasted slivered almonds and 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1. Mix together dressing ingredients and whisk together.
2. Start toasting almonds and sesame seeds together.
3. Cut scallions and red pepper. Toss broccoli slaw mix with dressing and add scallions and red pepper.
4. Add toasted almonds and sesame seeds and eat!
Saturday: Mostly a lazy day where I hid underneath my quilt and read non school books. Then I made myself a to-do list and realized I had over 250 pages of reading due this week for class. Panicked. Started reading for school.
Sunday: Worked at the Circulation desk (learned how to transfer phone calls. Yeah!) while delicious stuffed peppers cooked in the slow cooker. Procrastinated after work by watching episodes of Scrubs. Now, reading about descriptive cataloging rules before bed.
Slow cooker stuffed peppers:
(This is something I threw together from several recipes on the internet. They turned out well but were a bit too juicy from the chicken stock so I still have to experiment a bit to get the taste right. They also needed more tomato flavor, I thought, so next time I might pour in some tomato soup over the top for more flavor.)
Ingredients (makes six):
6 green bell peppers
1.5 pounds of ground beef
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
About 1 cup of cooked brown rice
1 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
1 can of diced tomatoes
A few good dashes of Worcestershire sauce
A few good shakes of various seasonings: salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder
2 cups of chicken or beef stock or broth
1. Brown the beef with the onion and garlic, breaking it apart as you go. Drain the excess liquid before proceeding.
2. Combine beef mixture, rice, cheese, 3/4 of the can of tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, and seasoning. Mix together and let sit. Cut the tops of the green peppers.
3. Place green peppers in the crock pot. Stuff them with the beef mixture. Spoon the rest of the tomatoes over the top (or add a bit of water to some tomato soup for a gravy consistency and spoon that over the top).
4. Add chicken broth and any remaining tomato liquid to the crock pot, surrounding the peppers. Cook on low for about 5-6 hours (since the meat is cooked already) or on high for 3 hours.
You get this:
I am feeling especially full right now (especially since I downed a mug of mint hot cocoa) and content. Besides the food, my contentment springs from a current obsessions: typing videos on youtube. One of the perks of being in a library (seriously, for me) is listening to the sound of typing. It makes my brain tingle with happiness because it is so relaxing. Kind of weird but it really helps me study. I just pop on a typing video on youtube repeat (Do you know about this? When you find a video you like you type the word repeat after the youtube part of the URL. Try it!) and, with my mug of tea or hot cocoa, am able to power through my reading. Whatever works.
P.S. Red polka dot plates!!! Currently at Target and rocking my world. On Friday, the only thing that got me out of bed was the thought of honey toast on that plate (and freshly ground coffee, of course).
