All Things Mimi

It's raining here right now, and instead of looking out the window, I decided to post a little something to my blog.

We have had MAJOR computer issues around here (a laptop that fell off a table and won't operate any longer) so we had to buy a new computer.

I'm happy to say the new desktop is up and running, and I'm still getting used to Vista.

School is keeping me crazy busy, so posts have been few and far between.

I've been cooking up a storm, but have been in such a rush, I haven't taken any pics. I will get back to normal, though- I promise.

Dev cooked tonight. He made a pork loin in the crock pot with some yummie mustard-cranberry gravy stuff. We also had wild rice and steamed snow peas.

Tomorrow night I will make smothered chicken burritos. I will try to slow down enough to take a pic and blog the recipe. I am using some leftover chicken/pinto bean filling I made a while back and put in the freezer.

I'm not sure what our plans are for our day off tom…

School has started around here for Dev and me, which means things have been really really busy.

Dev is taking all night classes this semester, which means I get off work at 4pm and he has to be in class at 5:30. This makes dinner somewhat challenging.

Because of recent health issues, eating out is not a realistic option for me, so I have had to become much more organized and deliberate about planning meals. I had no idea how much of my time would be taken up by the planning and then the prepping of meals.

Prices at the grocery store are still climbing higher and higher, so in addition to the time/diet crunch, there's also budget to consider. I am trying to become a much better pantry cook. When planning this week's meals, instead of leafing through hundreds of magazines and blogs like I normally would, I went instead to the pantry. What could I make from what I had, adding a few fresh items from the grocery store? It turned out I could make quite a few things. We have eate…

This is a croissant spread with the strawberry rhubarb jam Dev made last night. I can't tell you how yummie it was. If he will tell me how he made it, I'll post about it later.

Dev just took that picture out our office window. It looks a lot closer than it is, but it's still pretty frightening.

I wasn't sure who to call about it, because I'm sure someone wants to know. It's gone now, but I'm sure the conditions are still right to spawn another one.

I ended up calling the non-emergency police line (got a machine wanting me to leave a message- not helpful), then I called our local public radio station. Their suggestion was to call the State Patrol and report it to them. So that's what I did. The person on the phone said they would report it to the national weather people, but there wasn't really anything to be done unless it touched down and damaged property. I guess that makes sense, but it makes me feel pretty helpless.

Now I'm glued to the window, looking for another funnel cloud. What a fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon, huh?

IMG_2347, originally uploaded by All Things Mimi. Here's what we brought back from the Alamosa Farmers' Market today.

The cantaloupe is already diced and in the ice box.

Dev is hard at work brandying the peaches.

The beat will be roasted tomorrow for salads this week.

The peppers will be stuffed for dinner.

The calabacitas will be diced and sauted with some corn, the red onion and maybe some tomatoes.

The garlic will go in just about everything!!! :)

I'll do posts on the stuff as it happens.

IMG_2341, originally uploaded by All Things Mimi. So this is where I will hang my hat this year at Polston.

It looks really plain right now, but Dev and I are hard at work, trying to make it much more kid friendly.

So far we've added some plants, some hanging art work (Devin Allen originals) and a few posters.

I'm still looking for more things to hang from the ceiling and jazz the place up a bit.

I'll be sure to post pics of the finished product!

One of my new favorite foods is quinoa. I have found I can substitute it in any dish that calls for rice or couscous.

And completely out of character for me, I like this AND it's actually better for me.

So anyhoo- I found this recipe somewhere (don't remember where) and wrote it down on a scrap of paper. I finally got around to making it for dinner day before yesterday. It contains 2 of Dev's least favorite things- pinto beans and cottage cheese. However, he went back for seconds, so it can't be that bad....

Quinoa Bake

1 1/3 c. chicken stock
2/3 c. quinoa, rinsed
1 c. shredded carrots
1/2 c. sliced green onions
1/2 t. coriander
1/4 t. salt
dash hot sauce
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 c. cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container plain yogurt
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a large saucepan combine stock, quinoa, carrots, green onions, coriander, salt and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Cover and simmer 15 minutes or until all liquid i…

Today has been a good day.

We had a nice long, leisurely breakfast of eggs and homemade bread/toast and canteloupe, then Dev set about making a batch of yogurt for me.

I set my sights on the spare bedroom, which has become a pile of little messes I've created steadily over the last several months. I spent my morning going through old files and gathering bank statements and updating my resume and "I Love Me" book so I can apply for a teaching license in Colorado.

I managed to whip up a batch of curry chicken salad to take to the park for supper. On Sunday evenings the city of Alamosa presents free concerts in Cole Park. We took the chicken salad, some cheese, cashews and some chocolate covered raisins. I'd say it was a pretty decent picnicky kinda dinner.

I will write a separate post on the chicken salad. I loosely based it on a recipe I found in Emeril's "Potluck" cookbook.

Now I am baking a batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and getting ready to…

I can not believe how long it's been since I wrote a blog post.

Things have been a blur since I got back from Georgia. We have been camping twice, and now it's almost time to go back to school...

Devin and I just got back from a short camping trip to Leadville, CO. When we chose this last weekend to go, we did not realize there was a HUGE mountain bike race going on there, and all the campsites within about 20 miles were filled. We ended up camping in a little roadside campground a little over 20 miles north of Leadville. Oh, and it rained on us the whole time. Just my luck- EVERYTIME I go tent camping, it rains.

The week before that, we went camping for a week with Dev's parents on Grand Mesa near Cedaredge, CO. It was a beautiful week- no rain at all (of course we were camping in an RV, so my tent/rain record still stands). We did quite a bit of fishing and ATV riding.

I have pics of all these adventures up on my flickr page. You can find it using the name of my blog…