Do YOU Like Indian Food?

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Red Mung Beans

My husband LOVES Indian food.  I do think he would eat it every day.  His next wife will most likely be Indian--just kidding:) I am not fond of Indian food so he usually does the cooking when he wants Indian food--I hadn't ventured there till Tuesday. He wanted Indian food and was busy so wanted ME to cook it.  We settled on something easy...Mung Daal Khichadi.  Doesn't sound easy does it?!!!
The recipe said to cook the Mung beans in a pressure cooker and I don't use a pressure cooker but hubby said it wasn't necessary.  Guess what?  It was! So when making this recipe, either soak your Mung beans overnight or use a pressure cooker:) This recipe is very mild and actually soothing. What I usually don't like about Indian food is that it is sooo spicy! After the first couple of bites you can't feel your mouth anymore--not fun dining for me.


If you decide to be adventurous or if you have a family member with digestive problems, try this recipe!


Mung Daal Khichadi 
The ultimate Indian comfort food, Khichadi is an easy, healthy and satisfying dish. Because you are combining rice and beans you are creating a complete protein dish.


1 1/4 cups Basmati rice
1 1/4 cups Mung beans
5 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Haldi (tumeric)
1 pinch Hing (asofoetida)--can substitute granulated garlic

1. Wash Rice and Mung beans with water until water runs clear.
2. In a pressure cooker, add Rice, Mung beans, Water, Salt, tumeric and garlic--mix well.
3. Pressure cook until one whistle sounds and immediately turn off heat.
4. Wait until pressure from cooker is gone before opening cooker lid.

If not using pressure cooker, be sure to soak beans overnight. Wash rice and Mung beans with water until water runs clear. Place all ingredients in kettle and bring to boil.  Turn heat to simmer and cook about 1 hour until rice and beans are done.


Happy Adventures in Cooking!  Kat

Blog Candy!!!

I have been wanting to do this ever since I started my blog.  Blog Candy--give something away:))) As most of you know, I am addicted to making scarves (really need to move onto something else) so my Blog Candy is scarves.  Five lucky people will each win a scarf.  All you have to do is post a comment at the bottom of this post telling which scarf you would like to win and why.  Also post your email address so I can contact you for a mailing address should you be a WINNER!!!  I will have this Blog Candy contest open until Tuesday, March 1.  You may enter more than once--every comment will be entered into the contest. If you have trouble posting a comment, email me at stampinandgrinnin@gmail.com and that will count as an entry as well.

There are five scarves shown at right (sorry I am not better with the pictures):

1. Brown and black boucle scarf about 64" long. Machine wash & dry.
2. Sage green super soft Lotus Leaf scarf. Hand wash; lay flat to dry.
3. Super soft light pink yarn, 20% angora. This is also a Lotus Leaf scarf. Machine wash, cold; lay flat to dry.
4. Light pink with gray specks in Zigzag pattern about 60" long. Machine wash & dry.
5. Pink camo yarn in Zigzag pattern about 64" long. Machine wash & dry.

I was telling a friend that I wanted to do a Blog Candy giveaway on my blog.  She said, "What do you think you are, a radio station?!!! I thought that was sooo funny! I laugh every time I think of it. If this Blog Candy is successful, who knows what will be next!

Thanks for stopping by and don't forget to post a comment.  Kat

Stamping Club Projects

Today I will be sharing the cards we made at the Happy Stampers Club meeting in February 16 in Heppner.  They were sooo much fun.  We have a group of nine ladies that meet once a month to try our hand at making cards that are fun to make and give.


The image above is a birthday card and gift enclosure we made using the Create a Cupcake stamp set #121915 (wood) or #121982 (clear) and the Build a Cupcake Punch # 121807 from Stampin' Up!  Aren't they adorable?!!!

The second card we made, image at left, is a pinwheel design with a little woven detail in the corner. For this design we used the Springtime Vintage Designer Series Paper # 121782 from Stampin' Up!  This card particularly appealed to the quilters and quilt lovers in my stamping group. Choosing a different designer paper completely changes the look of the card. This design was borrowed from Dawn Griffith at www.dawnsstampingthoughts.net.

Busy Knitting...

I have been busy knitting--like that's anything new!  I made two scarves (on left side of picture) for a young friend of mine plus a poncho and hat for my granddaughter's 18" doll (picture, right front). I also sewed a pillow case for my granddaughter's 18" doll (picture, right back).  I have two pair of pajamas cut out and ready to sew for my granddaughter's doll as well.  Recently I made an adorable zig-zag scarf and may have to make a few more of these. I just purchased a Flower Scarf pattern designed by Nicky Epstein from Vogue Knitting. This scarf is especially pretty because of the bling added by attaching Swarovski crystals to the flowers. Very elegant! I will definitely post a picture when I finish this scarf. I may just have to keep the new Flower Scarf for myself...hmmm, that would be something new!


Do something fun today, something to feed your soul!  Kat

Garbanzo Pot Pie

Image by Kristin Brenemen via Flickr

This recipe is a family favorite and worth the time it takes to put it together.


GARBANZO POT PIE


1 medium onion chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 Tbsp diced green pepper
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, peeled and cubed
1 can garbanzo beans
2 cans mushroom soup
1 cup frozen peas
2 tsp chicken-like seasoning
Salt to taste
Pie Crust
Cook chopped vegetables. Add garbanzo beans, mushroom soup, frozen peas, salt and seasonings.  Pour into a 13"X9"X2" baking dish. Cover with crust or biscuit dough cut in rounds.  Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.


NOTE:  I layer crust on the bottom and top of our pot pie.  I make my own pie crust and would be happy to share that recipe with you--just ask! We are vegetarians so this recipe is written for vegetarians however, you could substitute cooked, cubed chicken for garbanzo beans and use regular chicken seasoning.


Have a great day and cook something fun for your family today!  Kat

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentine flowers from my son

I was sooo sick last week with a bad cold!  My precious granddaughter also had a cold so when my daughter told her that gramma had a cold too, she thought she gave it to me.  Those are pretty strong germs to travel nearly seven hours!!!  For a whole week I took 4000 mg of Vitamin C, echinacea and elderberry extract four times a day!  It always helped me to breathe a little easier for a couple of hours.  I am still a little stuffy but have lots more energy than I had last week:)


Next week I will get back on my blogging schedule but for this week I am going to be a bit eclectic.  That's how I am in real life but I try to be a little more organized with my blogging.

Closeup of Valentine flowers

For Valentines Day my son gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  Sooo thoughtful!  Someday a lucky woman is going to be getting flowers from him instead of me but I will enjoy until then. Besides, I would much rather have grandchildren than flowers any day:)))


Thank you for sharing my Valentine flowers with me.  Tomorrow I will share my recipe for Garbanzo Pot Pie--very yummy.  In fact, I think I will make it for lunch today:)

Real Age Website

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One of my resolutions for 2011 is to lose 30 pounds.  So I am anxious to read information that will make losing weight easier or more fun.  I get a weekly email  from RealAge.com which is the website done by Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Michael Roizen.  This week I read several bits of information that I found interesting and thought you might as well.

• Everyday walking speed should be at least 2.25 miles per hour. Of course it is important to get your heart rate up and sweat but if you have an everyday walking speed of 2.25 miles per hour you will live longer than your pokey friends.
• Eating a 600 calorie breakfast will keep you full longer and you will eat less during rest of the day.
• 11 Foods for Faster, Easier Weight Loss

1. Yogurt--"Calcium may curtain weight gain by hindering the absorption of fat in the small intestine."
2. Eggs-- Helps you to feel full longer than a stack of pancakes or a bowl of cereal.  Also when eaten with carbs, eggs will help to balance your blood sugar levels.
3. Pistachios--"Nuts may be high in fat, but it's the healthful unsaturated kind of fat found in pistachios. And like all nuts, pistachios offer lots of hunger-curbing protein and fiber."  
4. Grapefruit--"One study in particular revealed that eating half a grapefruit before each meal helped dieters shed more pounds than people who skipped the tart appetizer." 
5. Avocado--"Researchers suspect that the unsaturated fat in avocadoes may ratchet up body levels of the hunger-halting hormone called leptin--a hormone that lets your brain know that you're full, so you stop eating." 
6. Mushrooms--replace meat with mushrooms and save 420 calories for a meal.
7. Olive oil--"triggers a complicated process in the gut that ultimately tells your brain you're full and makes you want to stop eating."
8. Whole grains--wheat, brown rice, quinoa, steelcut oats, whole grain cereal, whole grain bread and pasta
9. Red pepper--a little heat will curb your appetite later in the day.
10. Fava beans--a lean protein source bursting with flavonoids.
11. Rice with veggies--adding veggies to rice at lunchtime appears to slow the stomach emptying which makes you feel full longer.

As you can see, Real Age is full of helpful information.  Check them out and see what changes might be helpful to you.  I could easily eat more grapefruit and avocado:)  Kat

Resolutions Still Alive and Well!

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I have been so busy organizing according to the book Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morganstern. Wow!  It really works--who knew?!!!  I can actually see some floor space in my craft room. I am so anxious to get it done and be able to enjoy my spaces:) When I split the room up into zones and started sorting according to the zones, it was easy! I even have a box outside the room called "It doesn't go in here!"  It is easier to get rid of things this time around because I am much more settled on what I want to do in that space. Before, I wanted to do EVERYTHING which is not realistic and it's exhausting. I can't do it all and thankfully, I no longer WANT to do it all:) Is that part of growing up?

As for my other resolutions, I am not doing so good at getting up at 5:00. I have a whole list of excuses but that is not getting me any closer to my goal. I have the whole month of February to practice:) 


I have been exercising 3+ days a week so am doing better than I was but still have a ways to go. I love the Wii Fit Plus and almost laugh as I am using it. Some of the exercises are sooo funny and fun!


I read Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morganstern as my nonfiction book for January.  I also read a book called Shadow about China.  My nonfiction book for February is 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.  This too is a re-read and might take me two months but well worth it.  I am also reading Spirit Warrior by David George; a true story about "a Navajo boy (who) finds himself suspended between ancient terrors and the insanities of the White man's world, searching for truth--and yearning to belong".  I always have two or three books going at once.  I am also reading 1984 by George Orwell but that is fiction so doesn't really count.  That title should bring back some memories for some of you and my younger readers are scratching their heads and saying, "1984? George Orwell?"  Without getting into politics, I decided a re-read of 1984 might be enlightening considering the state of our country and our world.  Hmmm...looks like 2011 might be the year of the re-reads for me!!! In my opinion, if the book was good the first time, it's even better the second and third times.


Fly Lady and I are getting a slow start.  I read the emails to find out what I should be doing.  Now I just need to act on what I'm reading!  Again, a new month--a clean slate--to improve.  I guess it would be unreasonable to expect that I could do well on ALL my resolutions at the same time, don't you think?!!


Well, I will give another Resolution update next month.  How are you doing with your resolutions?  It's not too late to make even one change that would make your life better.  Kat