JACKPOT!

Look! Look! Look! I won a contest! On Swistle's site! She asked her readers to guess why she had purchased a mini-deodorant and I automatically assumed she was going to visit her new niece, because she is so cute! Who wouldn't want to visit her?

Yesterday, my prize arrived and OH MY GOODNESS, I couldn't believe my eyes! Look at this loot!
















Do you see those bags of cookies? Those are SERIOUSLY the best chocolate chip cookies I think I have ever eaten! Yum yum yum yum yum. I am definitely not going to lose my last few pounds with cookies like those in this house. I cannot stop eating them, and last night I shared the other batch of cookies, I think they are butterscotch, but I wouldn't share the chocolate chip ones. Everyone has their limits, I say. I love my family, but not enough to share chocolate. Yum!








But seriously, Swistle is the QUEEN of care packages! I don't think you can adequately see the details in these pictures!
















There are adorable post-it notes, bookmarks, notebooks (especially that adorable cupcake notebook that I'd been coveting on her site and even went to multiple Targets to find, and now it's mine!), little pots with seeds, stationary, pencils, invitations, cloth napkins, cloth napkin rings, decorative paper napkins, earrings, an adorable strawberry mug with matching plate, a super funny wallet, a big bag to carry all of my loot, an initial paperweight for my desk, plus these cutie patootie chicks that have been a HUGE hit in my house.











Everyone in my family is fighting over these chicks. Gabe wants to sleep with them, Josh wants them to hang out in the kitchen and oversee the cooking of dinner, even Murray stole one and gave him, umm, let's call it a bath for Gabe's sake. The poor little chick is looking a little worse for the wear today. I may have to take them on a little outing to cheer them up later.











Besides the cookies, and the cupcake notebook, and the strawberry mug, I have to show you my favorite treat in the box. This wallet made me laugh out loud, and I need to find a couple more to send to my law school girlfriends because it is just too much.





I've always said that I just want one opportunity to prove that money won't make me happy.








Thank you Swistle! I am still enjoying all the little pieces of my package, and I hid the cookies deep in the freezer and I've been sneaking them out when no one is looking. Queen of care packages, I tell you! Wooohoooo!

where's the beef?

The other day I received coupons in one of those "value pack" envelopes. You know, the ones that give you all kinds of coupons for vendors in your area/state? One of the coupons was for Omaha Steaks, which I'd never even heard of, but it seemed like a good deal. I think it was for 4 filet mignons, 4 flank steaks, 4 hot dogs, 4 chicken breasts, 4 baked stuffed potatoes, 4 of some other cut of beef I'm forgetting, and 4 hamburgers, all for $49.99. Plus, if you took the deal, they'd also give you 6 more free hamburgers. I don't normally pay attention to any of those coupons, but this really did seem like a good deal so I loaded Josie into the car after dropping Gabe off at school and we headed over to Omaha Steaks.

As soon as we walked through the door, I realized they must not be doing well in this economy. The store was completely deserted, and the salesperson actually looked shocked to have a customer. He jumped up from where he was sitting on the floor behind the counter and then set about making a sale. By the time we walked out of there, he'd pretty much given me half of a cow. Literally.

He offered to double the deal and then knock $20 off the price of the order. Then he threw in 6 more free hamburgers. Then for $10 he gave us 2 boxes of salisbury steak over noodles plus 2 boxes of garlic roasted mashed potatoes. He gave us free cookbooks, free spice packets, extra coupons for us to come back, and then carried everything to the car for me.

It was only when I got home that I realized I'd never be able to fit everything into our freezer. I came home with 3 gigantic bags of food, all requiring immediate refrigeration. We pretty much don't need to go grocery shopping for the next month and a half, but I felt so badly for how excited the salesman looked when he saw us walk through the door that I couldn't say no to his offers. I've since learned that Omaha Steaks is more of a splurge/gift giving store, and these days, people aren't doing much splurging.

We don't even eat much beef these days, but we're going to have to start, if I ever want to be able to buy any other frozen foods. I will say, we made 4 of the chicken breasts and one of the salisbury steaks, and hot damn, they were pretty good! Only 79 pieces of beef to go! Anyone want to come over for dinner?

secrets to easy entertaining

You people really know a lot about cabbage! I printed out all your suggestions and I'll be experimenting with the many heads we received through our CSA share this week.

In the meantime, here is a yummy yummy EASY recipe for you if you have any entertaining to do in the near future. I got the recipe from Chatty Cricket, who will hopefully forgive me for revealing how easy this actually is!

Baked Brie

One package of refrigerated crescent rolls

Jar of your favorite jam or jelly (I like fig jelly, but I've also used champagne or raspberry or other gourmet jelly)

Wedge or round of brie (depending on how much you need)- I think plain is the best kind of brie for this recipe


Preheat the oven to whatever the package of refrigerated crescent rolls says. Open the package of refrigerated crescent rolls and start pulling them apart. Take your wedge or round of brie and start lining the flat crescent rolls up enough to cover the bottom of your brie, then place the brie on top of the crescent rolls.

Take your jelly, and spread it across the top of the brie (not too thick because as it bakes it'll start oozing all over the place). Then continue covering the brie and jelly with the crescent rolls until you've created a shell over the whole thing. Make sure to overlap the crescent rolls a little bit, just so you don't have any holes for the brie or jelly to escape.

Put your completed masterpiece into the oven for at least the time listed on the package of crescent rolls, and probably 10-15 minutes longer, because you need the bottoms and overlapped rolls to cook completely.

When it looks golden brown and bubbly and delicious, take it out of the oven and serve with crackers or additional rolls and watch it disappear! People will BEG you for the recipe and wonder how you made such a yummy appetizer. I get requests for this sucker all the time, and I hate telling people how easy it actually is! I've even made it with pie crusts and other types of refrigerated breads when I couldn't find rolls. Easy peasy! Enjoy!

cabbagy cabbage

Speaking of this post, does anyone have any decent recipes that include cabbage? I have both red and green cabbage, and no idea what to do with them. Tonight I followed a recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook, which I normally love, and I thought it was only mediocre. It was a noodles and cabbage recipe, and I followed it to the T and still thought it was meh.

Anyone? Cabbage? Help? I have a coleslaw recipe, and I do love reuben sandwiches, so maybe I should resort to that. But seriously, how many reubens can I eat?

nope, not risky at all

Scene: Kitchen. Halloweenlover is making banana bran muffins (d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s, by the way) while Gabe eats pre-dinner snacks in his high chair. Josh arrives home from work and walks in to survey the scene.
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Josh: What are you doing?

HL: Making banana bran muffins for breakfast tomorrow.

Josh: Why is the computer on the counter?

HL: I got the recipe off of the internet, so I'm reading it while I'm making the muffins.

(surveys mess surrounding the computer, including banana peels and egg shells beside it and two bowls of dry and wet liquids a couple of inches away)

Josh: Gabe, Mommy sure is being risky by having her computer on the counter!

HL: No I'm not, this is your computer.

in the eternal quest for more fiber

Since being pregnant, my quest for enough fiber has been a never-ending one, as I'm sure you all can relate.

I have to share my newest discovery... Fiber One's Granola Bars. Seriously, I cannot stop talking about these granola bars because they are sooo delicious, and the best part is that they have 35% of your daily fiber. 35%!!! Do you know how many vegetables I have to eat in order to get to 35% of my fiber?!

I have never had tastier granola bars than these, and I tried both flavors- Oats and Chocolate and Peanut Butter, and both were fantastic. I thought that maybe I was crazy because I loved these bars so much, but I ran them by both Josh and my parents, and all agreed that they are sweet and yummy. More like a candy bar, than a granola bar. I even made my mom take me straight to the grocery store in California to pick some up, because I love taking a short break in the afternoon with one of the granola bars and a cup of decaf coffee as a quick pick-me-up.

The funniest thing is that I googled the granola bars to see where I could find them here in California, and there were tons of blog posts about them, so I'm not the only convert.

I'd definitely give them a try if you are also in the hunt for fiber, and if you don't like them, send them my way!