Win Some, Lose Some

Today it felt like I was in the kitchen all day long.  Not a complaint! Look who joined me!!

Today Brent made an e-mealz Chicken Lasagna Florentine.  It went in the crockpot this morning and cooked all day.  He also started early this morning stringing + preparing the green beans we got at the farmer’s market yesterday.

Meanwhile, I got busy making the last of last week’s artisan bread.  This book has changed my life!  I absolutely love making my own bread & it is so easy.

Unfortunately, this loaf wasn’t that great.  I mixed in some dried lavender and although it smelled good, the final product was too sourdough-ish & the lavender didn’t exactly work.  Final verdict: LOSS.

For lunch I roasted squash & cremini mushrooms with salt + pepper & added them to 1/2 cup brown rice with Mmmm Sauce.  Mmmm Sauce is from the Peas & Thank You website (recipe link-I followed the recipe exactly but added a bit more water) and it is unbelievable.  Seriously, I could drink this stuff.

I put it on top of the veggies + rice and actually ended up going back for another serving.  It is that good.  It is wonderful. I was beside myself not only because of the Mmmm sauce, but because I realized that roasted cremini mushrooms taste almost exactly like oysters.  Which I love, by the way.  Why didn’t some one tell me this? I may just have eaten an entire package of cremini mushrooms today.  Final verdict:  Mmmm sauce + roasted veggies & rice =  WIN.

Later, of course, I began to crave something sweet.  So I made some cookie dough balls based on a recipe from Oh She Glows (I get all of my good recipes from the internet).

I combined 1/2 c cashews + 1/4 c rolled oats & processed in the food processor until crumbs.  Then I added 1/4 c whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 t Kosher salt, & 1.5 T brown sugar & processed until combined.  Then, I added 2 t vanilla extract (only called for 1 t but I love the taste) + 2 T + 1/2 t maple syrup and processed until combined.  After, I emptied the “dough” into a bowl & added 1/4 c milk chocolate chips.  I then formed ~ 25 little balls.

They are SO GOOD!  They taste like real cookie dough.  I ate ~3 and had to freeze the rest before I ate the whole batch.  I’ve been known to do things like that.  Final verdict: WIN.

And then it was finally time for Brent’s lasagna & green beans.  Get ready for this.

Final verdict (for both the lasagna & the green beans, but especially the lasagna): WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN!!!!  This was sooo good!  I’m so proud of Brent!

You see on the side a summer veggie soup that I made with chicken broth + a ton of summer veggies, based on the Weight Watchers zero-point veggie soup recipe.  I ate two servings at lunch & it was good (maybe it was the Mmmm sauce?), but by supper time I was over it.  Final verdict: LOSS.  I just really don’t like veggie soup.

And finally, getting ready for the week….

Per Brent’s request, artisan bread for sandwiches.  I didn’t taste it, but he gave the final verdict: WIN!