I Hate Winter Cabin Fever Indoor Beach Party: The Food

There isn’t much I can say that hasn’t already been said about The Winter That Will Not End. Cold, snow, more cold, and more snow have kept Husband and I from doing or going to many of our normal activities.

Even Lacey is feeling it. Poor thing hasn’t had a proper walk in weeks due to the snow and dangerously low temperatures.

We. Are. Going. Stir. Crazy!

Husband decided to spice things up by sharing his cold with me. Now I’m fighting Cabin Fever AND a cold – blah!

Simple Spiced Hot Toddy Recipe

Last weekend after the day’s snow shoveling adventures, Husband quipped that a hot toddy would be just the thing we needed to defrost on a Saturday night.

That wasn’t such a bad idea but hot toddies can be a bit plain. I didn’t feel like rooting around the kitchen for cloves and such when the sofa, a movie, and world’s snuggliest and warmest dog were calling my name.

10 of the Best Brownies Recipes on Earth!

Snow days, cold days, and a scary car accident (you can read the details on my DIY blog Condo Blues) I am extremely lucky to walk away from unharmed call for one thing to make it all better – brownies.

Eat from the Pantry Challenge - Update

 We are halfway through our Eat From the Pantry Month Challenge, or as I like to call it, Eat This and Give Me Back Some Kitchen Space month.

We high fived ourselves for doing this challenge during the Polar Vortex. No one wanted to venture outside when it was  – 9  degrees (F,) including Lacey. As it was she was less than thrilled we made her wear a  Thundershirt and dog booties to protect her from frostbite when she had to take care of business outside.

At least I know I’m not the only dog in town wearing silly dog snow boots. Lisa made fleece dog boots (learn how she did it here) for me because all the pet stores sold out of dog boots before the storm hit.

The Polar Vortex helped us in another way (besides the incentive to toss random leftovers in the slow cooker and call it dinner) because I’m trying to make the best out of a cold situation. I passed the time decanting the last of the kitchen and pantry items from their boxes and bags and into jars we emptied over the holidays.

Which lead to three new projects:

Ham and Chickpea Soup Recipe

We eat a lot of soup and stew during the winter. It warms you from the skin out, is a great way to use leftovers as ingredients for a meal, and it is easy to make. I like easy. Easy is lazy good.

Especially on days like today when it is -9 degrees (F) and no one wants to take Lacey outside to do her business - including Lacey.

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Paired with homemade bread (breadmaker, 'cuz I'm lazy yo) Husband's ham and chickpea soup doesn't feel like a hey we need to use up leftovers in the fridge kind of meal. It feels like comfort food.

Hearty Ham and Chickpea Soup Recipe

How to Save Money on Groceries with a Pantry Challenge

It is a brand spanking new year and time to get the household budget back on track after our planned (and a bit of unplanned) holiday spending.

Both Husband and I were slammed with work projects, instead of our normal one person busy the other person not so much during the holidays. It meant meant a few more take out dinners and unplanned impulse grocery shopping than usual.




It is time to take advantage of the window of calm January brings and get back on track. New Year. Resolutions. Blah, blah. All that.

Of course, the first thought in my mind was,”oh no!  We have to cut out everything! No spending at all. How depressing. Poor us!” Even though all of the bills are paid. We have a refrigerator bulging with holiday leftovers, and a new batch of ingredients and treats we got as Christmas gifts. Quite frankly, we’d be eating the leftovers and from the pantry and freezer no matter what because we need to clear the clutter.