Feeling lusty in the kitchen

I have a little secret this Valentine's Day.

Ok, it's not really a secret if you know me.

I am in deep, DEEP satisfying love with two new kitchen appliances. Their presence in my life is really making this whole February No Eating Out Challenge a breeze.  Great love will do that, ya know - smooth the rough patches, and make life so much easier and happier.

What do I call these loves of mine?

Blendtec..........

Keurig........

Their cold, hard names quite the contrast to their sweet, nourishing nature.

I've wanted a heavy duty blender for quite some time, but always balked at the cost.   My husband is  embracing the "Vegan Before 6" philosophy, and was also interested in a powerful blender that could make smoothies, dips and soups to support his new way of eating.  With both of our birthdays in January, we decided to purchase a blender as a joint birthday present.

I researched the hell out of blenders during the month of January.  That must be a sure sign of getting old when you research blenders in your free time - but I'm not about to buy a $300-$400 ANYTHING without doing my homework. I won't bore you - like I did my husband - with all the details, youtube videos, reviews and frugal angst that went into the Great Blender Debate.  I'll just say for our needs the Blendtec came out the winner. 

I love, love, LOVE this blender.  As I write this, we've run 48 blend cycles - mostly smoothies - in two weeks.  Oh, ask me how I know how many blend cycles I've run?!  Because this adorable and powerful piece of equipment keeps track of that for me.   This is great because it means I can throw a party or have confetti drop from the ceiling when I make my 1000th smoothie.  The Blendtec makes positively perfect smoothies - Hit the "smoothie" button and 45 seconds later, you have a seed-free, ultra-smooth drink, exactly like the kind at a smoothie shop.

I haven't had a single second of buyer's remorse.  My 12 year old who is NOT a breakfast eater has had a banana strawberry smoothie or Sunny Side Up Smoothie every morning for the last two weeks   My husband's daily breakfast, the rather of sexily-named Green Flaxy  (no?  just me?) has really made a difference in his energy level at a very physical job. My oldest son - the pickiest about fruit - has been having a berry smoothie (raspberry/strawberry/pomegranate/cherry) with added hemp protein on most days.   I'm fond of the more tropical green smoothies - coconut milk, spinach, pineapple and mango is super tasty!  Oh, and Peaches and Cream Green is awesome.  We've also made batches of guacamole, carrot juice, fruit sorbet and even ice cream with this blender.  And we've only scratched the surface! Tonight we tackle margaritas - since it's Valentine's Day and all :)

Now, here's where my love of the human-to-human kind comes in.

When my birthday rolled around on January 31, I was already a day into Blendtec Bliss and did not expect anything else for my birthday.  We made an agreement that this expensive piece of equipment would be it.  But that husband of mine? He's a good one, and he pays attention and likes to surprise me.   And on my birthday morning, I was greeted with something I had been lusting after for years.

She's a beaut!  And she's all mine!

Did I mention my great affection for my husband? This is a another luxury item that I could never pull the trigger on - it seemed unnecessary and too expensive.  Since I like my coffee McDonald's-lawsuit-hot,  I was also worried that it couldn't possibly make coffee hot enough for me.    My eyes have been opened - it IS a luxury, unnecessary item but I guess that could be said of a lot of things.  It IS also incredibly convenient, not a bit messy, fun, and damn! it gets my coffee plenty hot (192 degrees).

So, this is why the February challenge has not been all that difficult for the family.  We've been sitting around the kitchen drinking good coffee and perfect smoothies.

And as the saying goes...
Who needs to go out for hamburger when you have steak at home?
Am I right, fellas?
wink, wink...nudge, nudge.

*****************************************************************
What's for Dinner?   The line up for Week #3 of  our February Challenge.

Saturday * Crockpot O' Chili

Sunday:    eating dinner @ sister's house (nephew is turning 16!)
Monday:   Hungarian Mushroom Soup, Cheddar Bacon Wedge Salad, Honey Wheat Bread
Tuesday:  ** Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Bolognese,  Shredded Brussel Sprouts w/Bacon

Wednesday: Skinny Greek Yogurt Chicken, Couscous, Green Beans
Thursday:  (Whole Wheat) Penne A La Betsy,  Roasted Broccoli
Friday - *** Pork Piccata w/ Steamed Spinach, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Sauteed Spaghetti Squash

Extras to make this week:  butternut squash soup (for some lunches and stocking up freezer),  whole wheat banana bread (late week snack for kids)

* Mother-In-Law's recipe.  The kids love it.  A very mild chili.  Makes a TON so will also help stock lunches in freezer

** Already in freezer so I don't need to make it this week, but you should really try this fantastic recipe.  Absolutely delicious and  makes a lot of sauce.   In the past, I had enough for one meal over pasta, and then would make a lasagna with leftovers.  Now that oldest son is lactose intolerant, I'm trying to find other ways to use. Another great use for leftover bolognese:  bolognese hash. Sounds strange, but was really good.

*** ok, I'm technically cheating with this dinner.  My friend runs a fabulous at-home cooking service.  She prepares healthy, real food dinners and sells them frozen.  I bought the Pork Piccata back in January.  Cheater, cheater - pork piccata eater!

Happy Valentine's Day !