Who would have thought?

My mom, while undoubtedly good at it, is a utilitarian cook. As in, she cooked because she had to. Six kids and all. I really don't remember her complaining much about it. I think it was fulfilling for her (maybe?). She makes some killer lasagna roll ups. And I will always love her chocolate chip cookie recipe best.

But it most definitely wasn't her thing. (Sewing, on the other hand, most definitely was. Is.)

So while I spent my entire growing up helping her make dinner (browning the hamburger was always my favorite job), I never gave much thought to cooking. It never really caught my interest or attention. I had to look at the directions on the box the first time I made macaroni and cheese as an adult, I was that oblivious to the art of cooking.

In college I never had time to cook (hello way too many credit hours and time consuming part-time job. With only my two legs to get me around town).

Single and working (the Blanding year) I had no motivation to cook (oh the sweet nothings I could write about microwaved low fat kettle corn. I bought boxes at a time).

It wasn't until I was married that the need to cook really arose. And to put it frankly, I was more than nervous about the whole proposition. I entered the kitchen with trepidation, uncertainty, and full out intimidation.

But almost three years later, guess what? I actually, whole-heartedly like to cook.

I'll say it again. I like to cook. (!!)

Now don't get me wrong. There are definitely days when I look at Jeremy and say: you are in charge of finding some sort of nourishment for yourself. Days when boxed mac and cheese is about all I can muster up.And days when I am overjoyed to learn that Jeremy has a work meeting at some local restaurant and I am off the hook when it comes to dinner.

But in between those days, I honestly and truly get pleasure out of fixing dinner. Shocking, I know! It is calming (even when one or more of my children are screaming. Ok, not always). But there is some sort of calm creativity involved in the creation of food. It is satisfying to make something wholly from scratch. To adapt and fanegle a recipe to meet our budget, our healthy living goals, our taste preferences. I even, surprisingly, enjoy kneading bread dough by hand (something I've take up since my kitchenaide sputtered and died).

I am so used to the idea of cooking being a chore, that I sometimes have to remind myself that it's ok to enjoy it. And by and large, enjoy it I do!

Who would have thought?

To any who have never cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot...

the time has come, my friends, for you to taste the tenderest piece of poultry ever. Ever.

I'm not joking.  Its juicy, succulent, flavorful meat will have you asking for seconds... until that sweet little chickee is all gobbled up (as just happened at our kitchen table. With Jeremy being the primary gobbler despite the fact that normally he simply endures chicken for my benefit. No forced eating tonight).

Unsure what to do? Where to start?

1. Your local grocer will have whole chickens in probably the frozen and/or refrigerated meat section. Don't be fooled in paying much more (if any) that about five bucks.
2. If indicated on the package, remove the "innards"
3. Place in crock pot on low for a good 6-8 hours.

 That's all folks. She will produce plenty of her own juices, but if you're worried (or you want more) add a half cup or so of water or chicken broth. You can add some s&p or favorite herbs too. Stuff a few lemon slices if you want to go the lemon chicken route. I'm telling you, you won't regret it. We usually have enough meat left overs for a chicken pot pie later in the week, but even if we ate the whole thing... it was only $2.50 a serving, so it didn't break the bank.

Go on, give it a whirl. I'm telling you, it's life changing.

(It's very satisfying to write with many too many italics sometimes. Please excuse the exuberance.)

food food food

Anyone else out there struggle with coming up with a weekly menu? I know it makes grocery shopping so much easier (and cheaper!)... but it just doesn't always happen.  Suddenly I'm cooking the same meager meals week after week just because they're easy (or all I can think of).

In an effort to revamp my menu making this week I compiled a Master Menu list of all the meals I make (the ones I actually liked) and am keeping it in my pantry where I can update it with new menu ideas. That way when I'm making my menu and grocery list for the week, I can constantly mix things up a bit.

It looks like my sister-in-law, Jeanine, is on the same page. In an effort to revamp her menu making, she made a new blog where she (and any of us sister-in-laws) can post her two week menu. She's also attached links and recipes for us to try along with her if we want. I'm determined to follow along. In fact, I posted my current menu (and a few recipes) last night.

It's not a fancy shmancy cooking blog with pictures etc. It's just us, making new stuff and writing down what we're going to be trying. Sisters, swapping recipies and stuff.  But you're welcome to follow along.

Who knows, maybe it'll help you with your weekly menus too!

Happy cooking!

The world of food

There are so (SO) many opinions out there on just when and how to start your baby on "solid" foods. It can be a bit overwhelming, to be honest. For quite a few reasons I've been dragging my feet and trying to hold off on anything that isn't mother's milk. Jeremy, on the other hand, has been anxious to jump in as soon as the Dr. gave the go-ahead (at the four month check up). I would probably still be dragging my feet if Raymond wasn't chomping at the bit to get anything and everything in his mouth.

He fits all the "ready" requirements on most lists (supported sitter, over 13 lbs, mouthing things, teething, anxious, etc.). That and he still nurses every 1.5-2 hours. So far that's seemed to be enough, but in just the last few days it suddenly hasn't. I was adamant, however, that we would wait until he was at least five months. Which happened yesterday. So my excuses were up. Today was the lucky day.

He did much better than I thought. He actually swallowed some, I think. He was hungry for it--reaching and shoving that spoon in his mouth with gusto. The adventure has begun...

Practical Question: Food Storage

cSo I've been seriously thinking about our progress on having a three month supply of food storage. I have no doubt that we need to have at least a three month's supply... the question is more how to go about it. When we got married, we were given as gifts a few starter kit boxes number 10 cans of beans and rice, oats and wheat. We have a growing number of such cans. As well as a shelf of canned foods courtesy Jeremy's mom (thank you! We love your canned food!). All this is mostly considered to be part of our longer term storage (although we do eat regularly from home canned goodness... we just can't help it).

Anyhow, long story short, we started (oh, 8 months ago or so) to designate a certain (small) amount of our monthly food budget towards a three months supply. I tend to buy things at random, and so we have a growing shelf of random "everyday" foods. You know, bisquick, peanut butter, cans of corn, etc. Nothing organized or systematic. Just food.

On Monday for Family Home Evening we decided to inventory said shelf of foods. I was disheartened to discover that although we have started relatively recently, food was already going bad. It about broke my heart to throw some things away. (Confession, a few things I just have not been willing to get rid of despite the expired date... do think that's dangerous? I put them on the "eat now" shelf.) I also was reminded that the food we have there is random. And so far away from being a three month supply. So. Far. Away.

I've been following a blog with all kinds of food storage motivation and direction giving. I've been following it long enough that I've decided it's time to really act. I've particularly been pondering on how to get started on the three month supply. And yet it's all so overwhelming. You know?

But we've got to start somewhere, right? I'm trying their method of outlining rotatable menus of all nonperishable and then creating a master shopping list of what I would need. You know, just how many boxes of spaghetti do I need to buy? I've been working on my menus since Monday. They still are a bit sparse (fact: we eat a decent amount of perishable foods around here). And every time I think about working on it... somehow something else seems more important (aka I'm putting it off).

So, I know this is a HUGE topic (whole blogs, books, and websites are devoted to it)... I'm just wondering if you have any ideas for where to start. You know, to make this a little more systematic. Should I keep on with what I'm attempting? Or have you found an easier way? I'm ok if there isn't an easier way. Not all commandments are easy. But I'd like to simplify things if I can. Any words of advice?

Shmorgisbord

I have been trying to start a new post all week. I have so many different things floating around in my head, I haven't been able to pin one down into a full post. So here's a smattering of things from the Christiansen household...

• Tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary. I'm a happy, happy girl. I can't believe it's been a year... and I can't believe it's only been a year. You know what I mean?
• I made whole wheat bread this week. As in, I ground the wheat myself. My inlaws gave us a wheat grinder for Christmas last year and I've been wanting to bust it out for, oh, almost 9 months. Such fun we had! The bread turned out tasty and filling.
  
• Speaking of food, I've officially taken on the oh-so-wifely duty of packing Mr. Christiansen's lunch every day. I'm determined to help him gain back all the weight he's lost since we got married (almost 15 lbs, folks. Too much.). I'm not going to lie, it's been fun.
• Oh yeah, and more on food: my new favorite recipe is for homemade wheat thins. I sure do LOVE crackers. But they've gotten so dang expensive of late... that I can just about never justify buying them. But making them? Well, I can eat the whole batch pretty quick, so I shouldn't make them too often either. But it sure is fun!
• I've decided to get more organized in my house cleaning duties. I love a clean house. Oh how I love it! But get so tired and frustrated with all the picking up that I've had a hard time doing any actual cleaning (beyond the dishes). So, I've made myself a schedule. I have a few "daily" chores and then have divided my weekly chores up. It makes it so much more doable when it's just one or two little things a day (rather than the whole stinkin' apartment in one sweaty, dusty morning). I'll report back in a few weeks to tell you how it's come along.
• Just so you know: I've flossed every single day for two weeks now. It's quite the accomplishment.
• I've been rereading my mission journals (for those who don't know, I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Honduras). I had such spunk! Such pizazz! Such enthusiasm and commitment and excitement for life! I'm determined to rekindle some of that beautiful, cheerful optimism that exuded from my letters and emails home. It makes me oh so happy to remember the wonderful people and places of that time in my life.
  
• I would just like to report that I have woken up in my own bed now for a week and a half. We are slowly but surely moving forward in our attempts at scedulted sleep in this house. Oh so happy.
• It's almost fall! I can feel it in the air. A slight something in the breeze (despite the 80 and 90 degree weather). It's cooler in the morning when we go for our walks. Little RayJ has to be bundled up of he gets too cold. I can't wait to bundle myself up! I love sweaters and fall colors and crisp breezes.

ps. Don't be surprised of one if these here bullet points gets turned into a full-blown post sometime soon. Otherwise I've just used up everything I've planned on blogging about in one fowl swoop!

The best chocolate cookies EVER

I really mean that. These are so good. I snagged the recipe from a cooking magazine (probably Simple and Delicious... but I don't remember). Anyhow, I've made these twice for Jeremy and I (and company to dinner). We can eat the whole batch in a sitting. They're that good. They are soft and creamy and chocolatey. And easy.

Today I made them extra mini (most are about 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter) for our ward BBQ tonight. When the RS president had called for the recipe, I offered to make the for her. She requested a double batch and that they be bite size. Little did I know I would get SO DANG many (235). Seriously.

I recommend you only make a single batch at a time. And make them a little bigger than pictured. That way (if you don't eat too much dough...) you'll get about 3 dozen.

Ingredients/directions:

mix until fluffy:
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
1 stick butter (softened)

Add:
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix in:
1 chocolate cake mix of choice

Let chill for 2 hours in the fridge (let's be honest, usually I just put it in the freezer for 30-40 minutes. Who has patience for two hours?)

Roll into balls. (I recommend spraying your hands with cooking spray as they are pretty gooey)

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes (until the tops are cracked)

Let cool 2 minutes on the pan before placing on a wire rack.


But the big accomplishment? I am on a no sugar kick right now (to get myself back into control. Good grief.), and I didn't even lick my fingers making these. Thank you. It's all about the self control.

Popcorn

Once upon a time Carly and Jeremy went to the dentist.

It was a painful experience that included strict instructions to floss. Daily. (Who does that?)

Carly came promptly home and had popcorn for lunch.

And plans on cooking that sweet corn on the cob she has in the fridge for dinner.

Oops.

Looks like a lot of flossing will be in order.

True confessions of a granola addict.

It has been a long-standing joke between Mr. Christiansen and myself that I am (a-hem) a little bit "granola." Now I know this term has multiple connotations--depending on who you are talking too--so I definitely don't mean to offend anyone. In fact, that's the joke. Mr. C sometimes calls me "granola" a wee bit accusatory (all in good fun) and I take it as a compliment. Here's a handful of reasons why, perhaps, he's right:

• I don't wear much (any?) make up. I don't even own much. When I do put some on (the occasional Sunday event) Mr. C compares it to adding salt to food. A little goes a long way in flavor... and too much can do the opposite. "Oh," he says, "you've sprinkled on some salt today!"
• I don't watch TV. We don't own a TV, in fact. Now I want you to know I have no problem with you owning and watching TV. Really, I don't. I don't think TVs are morally wrong (although for sure some of their shows are), I just don't want one. I'd much rather read a book, find out about the world on the internet, or watch a DVD on my laptop.
• I like to wear skirts. Mid week, in fact. Flowy, comfortable ones that look equally good with slip-on mary janes or flip flops (And I wish I currently had a few more that fit since my capris still aren't making the postpartum cut. Sigh.)
• I believe in whole foods. You know, lots of fruits and veggies. I think there is something morally wrong about Kraft singles cheese slices. Gross.
• I was super adamant about having a separate engagement ring and wedding band. Truth be told, that vast majority of the time I am a wedding-band-only kind of girl. I love the simplicity of it. How can I wash the dishes and change dirty diapers and (someday) weed the garden with a diamond getting dirty on my finger? (It definitely makes the diamond oh so special when I do where it)
  
• I have a hard time remembering to shave my legs ("AH!" you scream, "that is going too far!" The truth is, however, I am just not a hairy person. The fuzz I get after, oh, three weeks is often comparable to someone going three days. It's light and soft and hardly noticeable. I try to remember once a week. Really, if I didn't, you wouldn't know the difference. If I were hairy, I would shave.)
• Yes I did have a backyard wedding reception with daisies and vintage table clothes and handmade doilies on the tables. And I LOVED it. How did I walk away from that reception without a single vintage tablecloth, however? Someone tell mom I want one for my birthday this year too.
• I love the transcendentalists. Emerson. Thoreau. Annie Dillard (ok, so she wasn't an original transcendentalist, but Tinker Creek was practically Walden Pond. Oh how I love woods-romping ways!)
  
• I am a bit old fashioned sometimes. I like to dress Raymond in "day gowns." Or what Jeremy refers to as Man Dresses. They are just so smart. I love the homemade day gown Aunt Chris made. If I knew where my camera was I would take a picture for you. It's so beautiful I hardly want to put it on him.
• You've already learned that I've joined the cloth diaper revolution (although my main reason is much more for the economics than the environment... it does do my heart good to know of the environment saving benefits as well)
• Someday I really really want to live somewhere where there are multiple trees in my backyard, perhaps a small stream, some chickens, a trail or two. And wide open air to see the stars. Pretty pretty please. I pick Virginia, but there are other such nice places, I'm sure.
• I'm not afraid to take public transportation or to get where I need to go on my own two feet. I rode the bus in Provo for years. I loved the rickety old buses in Honduras. And I have actually walked to work the past 4 years more than driven (in Provo, Blanding, and Cedar City).
  
• For some reason that I have hard time articulating (even to myself), I felt very very strongly about wanting to have Raymond naturally. Not that I have any problem at all with epidurals (power to you)... I just could never imagine myself doing it. I really really needed to experience and be 100% a part of Raymond's birth. And holy smokes was it intense. But so very worth it. Even the nurse in the hospital refered to me as "100% whole wheat"!! Haha, Mr. C got a kick out of that one!
  
• I own chacos. They are by far the most comfortable sandle I've ever owned. What can beat high arch support while getting total breatheability?
  
• And yes, I actually eat granola. On a daily basis, in fact. And here's my favorite recipe for it:
  

toss:
6 cups oats
3/4 cups wheat germ (or some other hot cereal. I use Red Mill 10 grain)
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup coconut (optional)
1 cup nuts of choice (I rarely have any on hand, so this is optional too, I guess)
1 1/2 cups dried fruit (usually craisins and raisins for me... although when I can afford it I add dried blueberries, mangoes, and/or pineapples)

heat separately:
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2 T water
1 1/2 t. vanilla

Mix it all together thoroughly. Bake on a large cookie sheet @300 degrees. Stir every 10 minutes for 30 minutes (although lately I have been stiring every 12-15 minutes for 40-45 to get a slightly crunchier granola. Mmmm)

ps. Did I really just share all these brutally honest things about myself? Can we still be friends?