Monthly Archives: July 2012

The Manliest Sandwich You’ll Come Across

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I have a secret. Well, I have more than one, but this particular secret is a good one.

I possess the secret to a man’s heart. Here it is:

Yup, that’s right: meat and cheese. This happens to be The Renaissance Man’s sandwich (notice the extra cheese).

If you are trying to catch a man, make this sandwich. And if you’ve already caught him, but want to make sure he still worships you after all  this time, make this sandwich. And if you’re single and want to experience the world’s best french dip sandwich…well, you get the point.

I still cannot tell you why this sandwich is so amazing. But I’m not about to question a good thing. So I accept its deliciousness, and share it with you.

French Dip

Ingredients:

  • 2-4 Lb. roast (any boneless roast will do)
  • 1 C. red wine
  • 1 C. beef broth
  • 1 packet onion soup mix (or onion gravy, since it was the only thing I could find)
  • provolone cheese, sliced
  • 6 rolls

Step 1: Pour wine and beef broth into a crock pot. Stir in the soup mix. Plop the roast in the middle.

Step 2: Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours. Have I mentioned how much I love my crock pot?

Step 3: Remove the roast from the juice. Slice it into thin slices. Return the meat to the juice.

Step 4: Cut rolls in half. Lay slices cut side up on a baking sheet. Top with cheese and place under a broiler until melted.

Step 5: Top melted cheese with slices of meat. Ladle extra juice into a small container for dipping.

Just thinking about this sandwich makes me sigh contentedly. Just accept the fact that once in a while, you have to have a sandwich like this; nothing green, nothing that even remotely resembles a vegetable.

Your man will thank you.

And if you are a man, feel free to thank me.

The Wife

I’m Back!

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Hello everyone! I hope you found me easily. I wasn’t trying to hide, I promise.

This is the new and improved Wife Meets Life. I hope you like it. Got comments? Questions? Wonder why I did all this crazy stuff to my site? Feel free to ask!

Everything from the old site is now here, and I will be continuing my daily posts from here. Enjoy!

Yup, this is what my kitchen looks like most of the time. See, it’s not just you!

The Wife

1 Thing I Eat for Dinner When I’m by Myself

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I’m sure every married couple will agree: there are some things one spouse enjoys eating that the other spouse won’t touch. In our case, The Renaissance Man loves seafood and I won’t touch it. He makes seafood when I’m not around and I pretend I can’t smell it when I get home.

One thing I make when TRM is gone is hummus. I adore hummus, but TRM thinks it’s gross.

So when I find myself needing a dinner for one, I whip up some homemade hummus. And trust me on this one: homemade hummus is way better than anything you’ll buy at the store.

Hummus

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cans of garbanzo beans (or chick peas, or ceci beans)
  • 2-4 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 lemon
  • 2 Tbsp. tahini

Tahini (if you’ve never heard of it) is like peanut butter, only made with sesame seeds. It is very bitter, but when mixed into hummus, gives it that signature flavor. You don’t have to have it, but you will miss it. I found mine in the organic foods section of the grocery store.

Step 1: Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Pour the drained beans into a food processor.

Step 2: add the juice of 1/2 a lemon, the tahini, and the garlic cloves. Blitz the living daylights out of it. You will most likely have to add some of the bean water to get a smooth consistency. When it’s done, it will look like this:

Serve it in a pita with romaine lettuce, or toast the pita and use it as chips for dipping. This was my dinner the other night:

The Wife

Special Announcement

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Hello, all!

In addition to my regular daily post (today is all about grits…for dinner!) I have to make an announcement.
At some point this weekend, Wife Meets Life will be undergoing a switchover to a new host, and the address will change.

I will be found at http://wifemeetslife.com, no wordpress in there. I am unsure how long this process will take, (chances are it won’t take a whole day) but hopefully by Sunday or Monday, I will be situated in my new home. I will let you know when it’s all over on my facebook page and @wifemeetslife on twitter. If I can, I’ll post an announcement on this old address, too.

Please follow me on facebook or twitter, just in case I can’t access this address after I move. I don’t want anyone missing out on the news!

I am SO excited about this changeover, and hope all my followers approve the change as well.

I’ll see you all on the other side, and leave you with a picture of an adventurous hedgehog:

The Wife

Grits for Dinner

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If you aren’t familiar with grits, I beg you from the bottom of my heart, buy some at the store. Take them home, get to know them. They’ll be your friend for life.

But seriously, grits are oatmeal’s grainy cousin. Stir in some butter or cheese, and you’ve got a nice bed to lay a few fried eggs on. Recently I have become aware of a new phenomenon: grits as a side for dinner. And what else screams “South” besides grits? Collard greens, of course.

This side brings both of these together for a rich, savory side that pairs well with fried chicken, or breaded pork chops.

Grits and Greens

Ingredients:

  • 4 slices bacon, chopped
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 C. chicken broth
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 large bunch collard greens (can substitute kale) chopped
  • 2 C. water
  • 1 1/2 C. grits (not instant)
  • 3/4 C. shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten

Step 1: Chop the bacon. It’s easier to cut it when it’s raw. In a large, hot skillet, cook the bacon until brown and crisp. Remove to a paper-towel lined plate to drain.

Step 2: Pour off the bacon fat in the pan and turn the heat to medium-low. Add the olive oil, onions, and garlic. Cook them until just beginning to brown.

Step 3: Add 1 C. of the chicken broth and salt. Bring it to a boil, then add the chopped collard greens. Stir everything until the collards are slightly wilted. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat. cook covered for about 20 minutes.

Step 4:While the greens are cooking, add the last cup of chicken broth and 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Pour in the grits, whisking the whole time.

Step 5: Cook the grits on medium-low, whisking often, until they are thick (about 5 minutes). Combine 1/2 of the cheese and egg in a small bowl.

Step 6: Remove the grits from the heat and quickly whisk in the cheese mixture.

Step 7: Working quickly, spread 1/2 of  the grits into the bottom of a baking dish. Top with the greens, then add the rest of the grits on top. Top with the remaining cheese and the bacon.

Step 8: bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Let it stand for about 10 minutes before serving.

We served ours with oven roasted chicken. It was a great pairing.

Plus, you can have the leftovers for breakfast!

The Wife

 

 

Last Day for the SlimKicker Contest/Giveaway!

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Sorry, this contest is over 12 AM Friday, July 27, 2012

In case you missed it the first time around, SlimKicker is hosting a contest and giveaway here on Wife Meets Life. SlimKicker is a calorie counting program that turns health and fitness into a game. You “level up” through the game by logging healthy behaviors and meeting challenges (like “walk 1 mile every day” or “quit drinking soda for 1 week”).

They also have recipes for diets such as Medifast or LeanGains.

I am always on board for programs like this that give extrinsic motivation for doing something healthy. I personally have very little self-discipline, so something like SlimKicker goes a long way to keep me motivated.

Now, on to the contest:

One the comments section of the SlimKicker Post, write a comment including a health, food, or fitness challenge that you would be interested in trying. The good people at SlimKicker will pick the winner. What exactly are you winning? This awesome kitchen scale:

It’s way nicer than mine…

So go here and give me your food, health, or fitness challenge quick! This all ends at midnight!

The Wife and

http://www.slimkicker.com/img/logo.png

Random Pictures from around “The Homestead”

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It’s been raining here lately. A Lot. I really can’t complain; this time last year we were deep in a drought that we thought we’d never get out of. So even though the rain was a bit…excessive, I’ll take it over no rain for three months straight.

Since it has been raining so much, the plants have been going a little crazy. I had to trim the hedges. In July.

Before the haircut:

…and after:

I don’t know what kind of holly these stupid things are, but they drive me insane. I knock them back to about 2 feet high in February, and they try to swallow the porch by August. Trust me, it was not my idea to put them there, and if we owned this house, I would exact revenge on them.

This snail decided it liked my passion vine. Or it liked not drowning in the dirt. Either way, we have a lot of unusually colored snails around here, and this one was blue!

The backyard, slowly drowning. The grass grew about 6 inches in a few days.

 

At least everything in these pictures is green. It was a struggle last year to keep things alive. I hope everyone gets enough rain, and that your hedges don’t try to swallow your house.

The Wife

 

P.S. There’s only 1 day left for the SlimKicker Contest! Go to the contest post and enter your health or fitness challenge for a chance to win!

 

A Little Wild Game in your Diet

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The SlimKicker Contest is still going on! Go here to enter your health or fitness challenge and be entered to win!

Sorry, this contest ended 12 AM Friday, July 27, 2012

 

Remember these leeks? I completely forgot to post the recipe for what we ate with them. It slipped through the very large cracks in my organizational system. But, it’s a really good recipe, so I’ve rescued it and will share it with you.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned that The Renaissance Man hunts. We don’t have property (sigh) so it takes a little research to find places to hunt. But since the research usually yields around 80 pounds of meat (depending on the game), it is well worth it, and keeps our freezer stocked for quite a while.

When TRM got his first deer soon after we were married, I was at a loss as to what to do with it. But, I never shy from a challenge, and I now have quite the repertoire of delicious deer recipes to choose from. This one happens to be TRM’s favorite.

Breaded Deer Tenderloin

Ingredients:

  • 2-3 Lb. deer tenderloin (or other similar game) cut into medallions
  • 2 C. lemon juice (enough to cover meat in a shallow pan)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 C. bread crumbs
  • 1/2 C. flour
  • 2 tsp. sage
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 C. butter
  • 1/4 C. olive oil

Step 1: Place the deer medallions in a shallow pan. Pour the lemon juice over them and let them sit for at least 1/2 hour. The lemon juice removes any gaminess that might be present in the meat. Plus, it tastes great!

Step 2: In a shallow dish, beat the eggs. In another shallow dish, combine the breadcrumbs, flour, sage, salt, and pepper.

Step 3: Heat the oil and butter in a large pan. Remove the deer from the lemon juice and pat dry with paper towels.

Step 4: Dip each piece of meat in egg, then dredge in the flour mixture until well coated. Place on a plate and repeat with the rest of the deer.

 

Step 5: Place the meat in the hot skillet and brown about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the meat. Flip them over and brown on the other side, another 3-4 minutes.

Step 6: Remove to a paper-towel lined plate. Serve with the above mentioned leeks, or other root vegetable.

This dish has a very light flavor and goes best with a side that won’t overpower it. Despite all the time in front of the stove, this makes a great summer meal.

Now I have to learn how to prepare wild hog and elk! Yikes!

The Wife

“Shake it Up Monday”…Sorta

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Don’t forget about the SlimKicker contest! It ends July 26th, 2012 at 5 PM! Share a great fitness or health challenge on this post and be entered to win!

 

Sorry, this contest ended 12 AM Friday, July 27, 2012

I finally went through all the berries in my freezer, and instead of buying more, I decided to revise my mission. Now I’m searching for yummy, low-calorie breakfasts that fill me up until the afternoon. This, apparently is a tall order. After searching for days, I found this recipe for bran muffins that leaves a lot of wiggle room as far as ingredients go.

Now, I love a good bran muffin. Emphasis on the good. Too often they are dense, tough, and unappealing. So I was skeptical when baking this muffin. But it was so easy to substitute one ingredient for another, that I had to give it a try.

I replaced the oil with mashed banana (you could also use applesauce or pureed pumpkin), and replaced the raisins with blueberries. It turned out to be a sweet, light, moist muffin with plenty of flavor from the blueberries and banana. Plus, at 150 calories a muffin, I could eat two and stay full! Yay!

Blueberry Bran Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 C. wheat bran
  • 1 C. buttermilk (or plain yogurt)
  • 1/3 C. applesauce, pureed pumpkin, or 1 medium banana, mashed
  • 1 egg
  • 2/3 C. brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 C. whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 C. blueberries (or fruit of your choice)

Step 1: Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl. Add the bran and let it soak for 10 minutes.

Step 2: While the bran is soaking, mix together the egg, sugar, vanilla, and mashed banana (or other oil substitute) in a small bowl.

Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients with the soaked bran. Add all the dry ingredients and stir well.

Step 4: Carefully stir in the blueberries or other fruit. Pour into greased muffin pan or paper-lined muffin pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy these flavorful muffins with coffee for breakfast, or as a mid-day pick-me-up!

Update 7/31/12: I have since made these muffins with peaches, and cherries instead of blueberries. They were all delicious in different ways. I think I like the cherries best.

The Wife