Hot Tamale!

I admit I have been lax in posting recently for various reasons. 
First, my18 month old daughter ripped the space bar, O, and 0 off my laptop so using those keys is very inconvenient. 
Second, with the holidays coming, I've been too busy to blog things
Third, I keep forgetting to take pics of food I make and food blog posts without pics are lame.
Furthermore, I have begun posting on another blog that a couple friends of mine have.  Most of my regular posts will  probably go there now.  However, I will continue Family Fave Fridays, and introduce Wordless Wednesdays and Drink Review Mondays.  I will most likely not be consistent, but will make a concerted effort to update.

Well, I do find myself a bit lacking in material, so here's something to make you dumber for having watched it...

Good day to you all...

THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE OF HORRORS!!!!

   So, this past Saturday, Amy, the girls and I constructed a gingerbread house kit that my aunt send us for Christmas.  This is what came in the kit:

   So we started things off by kneading the frosting for a couple minutes to warm it up a bit and then cutting a 1/4 inch off the edge of the bag.  The first parts to be frosted were the walls and the trench  in the  plastic stand it would sit in.

We had to use some of the frosting as glue to mend one of the roof pieces that had broken in half.

The Tropical Elvis-wich

It is well-known or, at the least, often purported that a favorite snack of The King was deep-fried, peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  I decided, this past Saturday, that I would upstage the Lord of Graceland and make my own version.  I kept the basic elements and decided to add my own special flair.  What we have pictured above is a grilled  peanut butter-Nutella-banana-coconut sandwich or as I like to call it, The Tropical Elvis-wich.  Yes!  No healthy vegan alternative in THIS post (although, there are no animal products involved other than the milk in the Nutella spread)!  I pretty much took my daughter's request for a sandwich and ran with it.

Family Faves Fridays: Tofu Mac and Cheese

This recipe is a family staple.  You can ask either of my two oldest girls what's for dinner on Monday nights and they will tell you "MAC AND CHEESE!"  This started with Kraft brand, then Amy started making her mom's recipe, then her own variation, before discovering yet another tasty recipe by Nava Atlas for Mac and Cheese with Secret Silken Tofu sauce.  The recipe is very simple and with the substituting tofu for milk, soy cheese, and margarine for butter, it's also vegan.  However, we stick to god ol' Kraft cheddar cheese and Horizon organic butter.

    Cook the pasta of your choice (I prefer cavatappi or shells) as you normally would.  Puree one 13.5 oz package of silken tofu in a blender or food processor.  Transfer to a saucepan and add 2 Tbls butter or marg along with 2 cups of cheese.  We like to use either mild or extra sharp cheddar, shredded.  It also pays to buy the Kraft or Sargento brand rather than trying to save 50 cents with the Always Save, Kroger, or Food Lion brands.  You're using tofu, people, pamper yourself a bit!  You could even go all out and get the "fancy shredded" cheddar.

   Anyway, bring the sauce to a simmer, then heat on low until cheese is thoroughly melted.  Finally, combine the cooked pasta and sauce in a serving container and stir together, adding salt to taste.  The tofu makes the sauce extra rich and combined with the pasta, it creates a complete starch and protein for the meal.  So tasty, they'll never know it's good for them.

And don't you dare tell them...

By the way, the beverage in the pic is a Sam Adams Imperial Stout and is so strong, it makes Guinness taste like spring water.

Penne with Enlightened Shrimp Alfredo (sort of)

     This is a great way to make alfredo that is moderately low-fat, potentially vegan, and quite tasty.  I adapted Nava Atlas' vegan recipe to suit my omnivorous tastes, but as I will present to you how I make it, I'll add the vegan alternatives in parentheses.

Meatless Shepherd's Pie

That's right. Meatless Shepherd's Pie. And it's damn good, too. I'm by no means a vegetarian and really desire and almost require some dead animal served to me on a daily basis, but Amy has been trying to break me of this. I resisted at first, but over the past seven months since returning from deployment, my dear wife has convinced me to tolerate meals containing little to no meat or meat substitutes.
Audrey is another story...and yes that IS a Misfits shirt she's wearing.

Homemade Sushi

This past weekend, my mother came to visit us and one of her requests was that we make sushi for her. Now, Amy and myself are by no means experts nor an authority on sushi, nor even skilled enough to do anything fancy such as maki rolls, but we feel fairly competent with the basic California Roll or some fun experiments using imitation crab or softened sweet potatoes. We haven't tried using raw fish yet, though we have extremely fresh fish readily available in Norfolk. Maybe we'll get some from the farmer's market next time we feel like making it.

But I digress...