Winter in Wisconsin – cold, damp, cold, snowy, windy, cold — have I said cold? We are now naming weather systems and not just storms – Polar Vortex is being thrown around for this system that we are stuck in that keeps us below zero so many days. So what does that mean in this foodie’s world???? SOUP! I had a chunk of Swiss cheese that I wanted to make something with instead of just devouring with crackers (which I did with the previous chunk!). I found this recipe doing a quick search on Pinterest. I didn’t have all the ingredients it called for but I’m great at improvising.  I…

First let’s start with this beautiful sunset I captured a week ago! I had to take the picture from my car as it was 2 degrees outside (seriously) but it was worth the extra drive to get this shot. I’m definitely printing this to hang up in my place.    And now the real reason you wanted to read this blog post 🙂 Freshman year of high school I met Kathy in Mr. Staude’s math class at Mukwonago High School (class of 2000 baby!). It was a super boring class but I’m glad that I had it with her because we became really great friends. We dated best friends in…

I call this soup my “Everything but the Kitchen Sink” dish. I follow a very basic recipe from Food Network to get the base going (probably could have figured it out on my own but I was lazy) and then jazz it up with lots of healthy veggies. This recipe yield just a few servings, so I doubled it (and maybe a little more). Get the onion sauteing in the butter and it’s smooth sailing from there. I should have fine-tuned knife skills by now, but I’m still sloppy. No cut fingers (knock on wood) but I am just not coordinated to go fast with a knife for dicing. I…

I fell in love with peanut sauce about six years ago and haven’t regretted it yet. have found the best “kit” to use for easy peanut sauce flavor is Auntie Chun’s and you can now find it at almost any store. It comes with wheat noodles, peanut sauce and sesame seed oil. I boiled some chicken breasts and chopped up the meat. I bought some veggies for another meal I’m making this week and used what would be leftover for this meal. I sauteed some peppers, celery, and onion in oil for a few minutes.  Then it’s as simple as combine, add the sauce and oil and stir it up. I did add some…

About a year ago, I found out P!nk was coming to Milwaukee and my friend Kacey asked right away to go. I have loved her since her punk days of the early 2000s and she has just gotten better since then. I bought tickets within the first 10 minutes they went on sale because I knew it was going to be a big hit. So from March to November, we patiently waited for the concert to get here. Then P!nk came down with voice issues and rescheduled until January. I’m glad she didn’t cancel, but it was sad to think we have been in waiting almost a year to see…

Downtown Waukesha aficionado, Tom Hekkers, made me aware of a brunch at Generations at 5 Points on the weekend between Christmas and New Years. I asked my friend Tiffany to join me and we made 11 am reservations. It was a cold day, but we still decided to walk downtown from her place and check out anything else going on. Sunday mornings are pretty mellow in downtown, but Generations was hopping. A large group was seated in their front lounge full or downtown business owners (love seeing them support others!) and a few other bar tops and tables in the back were seated as well. I had never done a…

Plaza Garibaldi is technically in Pewaukee, but I consider it still Waukesha as it’s so close to my new home. After a night of painting and trimming and electrical rewiring, I treated my parents to dinner and we chose this place. It’s at the end of a strip mall on Silvernail and rumor has it, it’s in a former Culver’s. But you wouldn’t know that from the dining room too much. The decor is warm colors and large wooden pillars. Only a glance into the kitchen revealed the signature blue and white tile of a Culver’s (and maybe the chairs).  It was all decked out for the holidays too! We…

2014 will be the year that I make homemade pasta, however last night wasn’t the night. I’m still getting settled in and I didn’t want to destroy the place just yet 🙂 And I had to work with what I had in the house due to the ridiculous weather (-50 windchill, no joke!) I stumbled across this recipe a few weeks ago on Pinterest and used it as the model for my dinner tonight. I have to say – this recipe is so easy to prepare and can feed a lot of people. I had a container of white mushrooms and about 3/4 of a container of baby bellas so…

Resolutions – a firm decision to do or not to do something. I have never held my resolutions firm and I have even tried to candy-coat it by calling them goals or aspirations but when it comes down to it, I am not good at keeping resolutions. But coming off a recent breakup (I’ll keep that drama off the blog), I feel like a refreshed and renewed person. Sure it stings to realize I’m back in the single boat again and I’m the 3rd or 5th wheel for most anything that I do with my friends, but I’m ok with that (for now). I don’t plan to be single forever,…