(French) Toast of the Town!

Hey hey hey! It’s Tasty Tuesday, and I have a winter style breakfast treat to share with you tonight! Since it’s made with pantry staples, you could even make it TOMORROW for breakfast if you wanted!

As we pile on layers of fat for winter (intentionally or otherwise), it’s nice to have a hearty recipe on the back burner for those cold winter Saturday or Sunday mornings (or breakfast for dinner-times). I in no way invented this recipe, but I recall making it for man-go-round and I way back in the early years (I might have even been in… gasp… college…) and its a crowd pleaser.

Meri’s Cheeky Monkey French Toast

  • 4 slices bread (any kind you want)
  • eggs (about 2)
  • splash of milk (or almond milk, or soy milk, or coconut milk…ANY KIND OF MILK)
  • 1 banana (mine was extra large so I had extra for toppings. Insert extra large banana jokes here)
  • Peanut butter (or almond butter, or cashew butter, or designer homemade nut butter blends, or even Nutella… you get the point)
  • oil/ butter for pan
All prepped

Instructions:

  1. Cut slices of bread in half
  2. Whisk eggs with a splash of milk, sprinkle in a bit of cinnamon, salt, pepper, etc.
  3. Spread peanut butter on ALL bread halves. (Try to make it so they will match up…)
  4. Slice banana and layer on top of one side of each sandwich half.
  5. Stack other bread slice on top, making a bread-PB-banana-PB-bread sandwich
  6. Saturate each sandwich half in egg mixture, both sides
  7. Heat oil/ butter in saute or frying pan
  8. Cook each sandwich for 5-7 minutes on medium
  9. Flip sandwich, finish cooking other side
  10. Layer bananas, syrup, walnuts, etc on top. When you have PB, banana, and bread filling your mouth, YOU are the CHEEKY MONKEY!

Finito! Enjoy!

Do you ever make “stuffed” french toast? What is your favorite “weekend” or “dinnertime” breakfast to make?

Meri

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Makin’ my list, checkin’ it twice…

That’s right! It’s another Make My List Monday!

As the holidays approach at FRIGHTENING WARP SPEED this year, I’m making more lists than EVER! Without further ado, here’s my preliminary holiday planning list:

Meri’s Make it a Merry ChrismaChannuKwankikah List

  • Make list of people to buy /make gifts for
  • Order holiday cards
  • Plan holiday/birthday shindig and make evite
  • Research tasty Thanksgiving foods (started this off today)
  • Holiday Traditions: Nutcracker (date set), Cookie Bake (date set), Parade (date set)
  • Top Secret Holiday Craft Project
  • Get tree, poinsettias, mistletoe…
  • Perform scary rendition of “Mr Grinch” in my bathrobe and fuzzy socks… with or without full audience…
  • Make this year’s version of holiday toonz for rockin’ around said tree…
  • Yes, at some point there will be shopping… but I’m going to prioritize local/ handcrafted/ charitable goods and services for gifts.
  • Find new bubbling beverage to try on NYE! Who’s excited to start calling it “twenty twelve” instead of “two thousand eleven????”

What is on your holiday “to do” list? Do you like the challenge and hustle bustle, or would you just as soon take a long winter’s nap until its over?

“Merry” Meri

Posted in crafts, drinks, family, holidays, lists, Make my list Monday, parties | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

Don’t be a “spoiled” brat!

Happy Weekend Everyone! (or more like “Happy extra hour of sleep last night…”) I hope you all are enjoying some DST and doing something special with that extra hour! (Except for my parents, who in Arizona I don’t think get to fall back or fall forward, I think they just stay the same…)

I digress. Today we FINALLY went to see Harry Potter 8, at the remarkable Riverview Theater. Best $2 I spent in a long time! On the way home, we stopped for a couple of groceries, mostly produce. It made me think of a discussion I had with some coworkers on Friday-

here today...
...gone tomorrow!

For a veggie lover/ produce fiend like me, what is the solution to always having a variety of fresh produce around without it going bad or being at the store almost every day?

I eat a lot of veggies. I haven’t always, but since experiencing the physical benefits of getting my vitamins and nutrients primarily from food rather than supplements, I live almost in fear of running out. Thus, I like to keep our smallish fridge stocked. I don’t have the answer to the above question, but here’s a few of my tips:

  1. Prepare a bunch of veggies/ fruits at once. I keep them as far as a day and a half in advance in the fridge, so that I have them when I want them.
  2. Have frozen stuff (bought or vaccuum sealed by yourself) on hand- Blueberries, okra, green beans, and Trader Joe’s tri-colored peppers are my favorites.
  3. Buy some things prepackaged (for example, broccoli slaw changed my life). It isn’t a ton of packaging, and its a lot easier to throw into a meal than chopping up a head of broc.
  4. Only buy what you love, not just what’s on sale- otherwise you won’t be motivated to eat it before it goes bad!
  5. Plan fruit/ veggie snacks for each day, like what time you’ll eat them. Similarly, have a few “go-to” recipes that include your regular veggies (Man-go-round likes banana in his cereal, I like blueberries in my pancakes…and onions on pretty  much everything…)
  6. Eat the most perishable stuff (raspberries, spinach) first, the longer lasting stuff (apples, squash, onions, potatoes) later. Obvious, but helpful.

What are your tips for keeping ahead of rotting produce? Any ideas to add to my list? Are there any produce or other grocery staples that you HAVE to have on hand?

Meri 
Posted in food, Harry Potter, lists, produce, twin cities, vegetables | Tagged , , , , | 24 Comments

What’s in store…

It’s Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday…

Okay, sorry. Anyway, its Feature Friday! I haven’t done too many of these yet, so I’m excited. I was loitering by a coworker’s desk today when she asked me about my dress. “Is that from H&M too?” she asked… which begs the question.

HOW many of my clothes/ accessories are from H&M if people are just starting to assume? It’s no secret, I love the place, have since the very first time I set foot in a store years ago, to the time they randomly credited me with $44.97 or so when I hadn’t returned anything or even been there in months. I like how they fit, I like the low prices, and I like the ever changing fashions that roll through. These you may have seen before…

Both the coat and middle dress are H&M grown...

The dress I wore today was a simple black dress I got on sale last week when I popped into one of the locations in Chicago. On that trip, I also picked up these shirts, which I’m already obsessed with:

I "love" these shirts. Hehe.

and finally, for the encore, I present you with a few of the looks from the much anticipated Versace for H&M collection, showing up in stores in a few weeks:

awesome leather jacket I can't afford
A pretty fabulous dress, for the right occasion

Do you stick to a few tried and true stores like me for the most part (ahem, Target, H&M, and Nordstrom pretty much covers it…) or do you like to shop all over the place? What do you think of Versace’s crazy H&M line? (Visit their website for the full experience…)

And what are you all up to this weekend?

Meri

Posted in Uncategorized | 22 Comments

All that Jazz

Well hellooooooo there! Welcome to another Travelin’ Thursday! Tonight inspiration came pretty easily, since just one week ago today I was storming around on vacation with a few of my best gals.

In fact, last Thursday evening I was just finishing up some chocolate chip and white chocolate macadamia nut cookies “heavy hors d’oeuvres and crudites” at our hotel club lounge and getting ready to head out for some dinner and some entertainment. Since we were in Chicago, our first thought for music was some Blues or Jazz.

After stumbling through a sort of tacky dueling pianos bar, and an even tackier college-y bar, we found this place: Andy’s Jazz…

And I have to say, I was quite impressed! I had forgotten how relaxing and enjoyable it is to sit and listen to some talented musicians do their thing, spontaneous and full of life. While we ate and listened, I also enjoyed a Chicago brew:

I’m not exceedingly discerning about beer (I’ll drink most any lager, pilsner, pale ale without complaining) but I was pleasantly surprised by this humble wheat beer. I say, when in Chicago, why not try a Chicago beer?

So, I guess my moral of the story is- Don’t go out for sushi in Germany. Don’t drink vodka in Italy. And don’t see flamenco music in Seattle or go to an Italian restaurant in North Dakota (I guess I’m just assuming here). The moral is; “when in Rome…” (insert Rod Burgundy joke here).

Theater in London, grunge music in Seattle, sushi in Japan, and pizza in Naples…

When you travel, how strictly do you adhere to the local culture when choosing food, drink, or entertainment? Do you try the local customs or stick to what you know?

Meri

Posted in beer, booze, Chicago, music, travel, Travelin' Thursday | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Meri-lyn Monroe

Last week in Chicago we came across A CELEBRITY…

(the only picture without me and the gals doing unseemly poses with her)

Then today, I cracked open the Vogue I picked up at the library yesterday, and lo and behold, Michelle Williams is on the cover and featured, dressed as Ms. Monroe for the film she completed where she plays the icon.

source

In honor of today’s holiday, Dia de los Muertos, I thought I’d pay a little photo homage to the sultry, feminine, comedic, charming, and tragic icon that is Marilyn Monroe. She means more to some people than others, but its hard to deny her effect on the American people, both in her time and her legend that lives on. Here’s a few of my favorite “Marilyn Moments.”

Warhol’s rendition:

source

Comedic gold in “Some Like it Hot”

source

Ultra glam Marilyn…

source

A tomboy Marilyn/ Norma Jean

source

What is your favorite version of Marilyn? The super glammed up sex-kitten? The old school Norma Jean? The comedic actress? The celebrity,  flirting with JFK or the songstress in movies like “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend?” What does Marilyn’s legacy mean to you?

And finally, my personal favorite version- beach bum Marilyn! I think she really looks happy here, but who knows for sure…

source

Meri

Posted in celebrities, Chicago, Wordy Wednesday | Tagged , , , , | 31 Comments

Acting “flight”y

Hi all! Happy Tasty Tuesday to each and every one of you reading this…

Today’s post is not so much about tasting food, but more about tasting drink. Well, okay, maybe both. But mostly drink.

Last week My mom, sister and I took on Chicago. Prior to our trip, I did a bit of research about food and drink so that we’d be able to maximize our short stay with as much good sustenance as possible. One place I kept reading about over and over was Bin 36, a restaurant and wine bar where they help you pair a glass, bottle, or wine flight with your appetizer or meal. And although the three of us were decidedly less boozy since the notorious trip to NYC (pub crawl in the village and all…), we decided to grab a flight of white to accompany our food. As always, some antics ensued.

Perfect poached egg

Along with our salads, shrimp cocktail, brussels sprouts, and more, we ordered this:

Two Chardonnays, two Sauv Blancs

and as we tasted, of course we couldn’t be innocent bystanders and passively sip, we had to JUDGE! What follows is our ranking of the four wines, named by the most interesting word in their description.

As you can see, the Chard nicknamed “Negligee” won hands down. Granted, we are biased chardonnay fans, but grr baby!

All things considered, Bin 36 was a nice place to grab a drink and some food before our show at Second City, it was only a block and a half from our hotel (near the river) and had great atmosphere. I’d go back in a heartbeat for another round!

Do you bother with wine/ beer/ liquor pairings with your meals? Do you prefer to get one entree or split a bunch of things between people? Do you ever score your tastings of wine or other flights like us nerds?

Meri

Posted in drinks, food, Tasty Tuesday, travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

I’ve grown a’costume’d to halloween!

Happy Halloween Friends!

I already showed you our Harry Potter-o-Lantern…and I’ll tell you that my costume this year was the Pink Panther (the cartoon, not the huge diamond…), but I really ought to make a list. It is Make My List Monday, after all!

This week, I’m going to share both my list for the week AND a bonus list of my favorite costumes I’ve had for Halloween up until now.

First up? The Business List: To do this week

  • Library to pick up a book waiting for me and some magazines
  • Order Snapfish pictures (100 for $1 again)
  • Church Bazaar to get into the holiday spirit!
  • Eating lots of Halloween candy
  • Organizing my craft zone now that I’m back at work during the days
  • Try out a few new beers I picked up over the weekend (both Victorys)
  • Have “the talk” with man-go-round about holiday plans (yes, already…)
and now, the PARTY LIST: Top 5 Halloween Costumes
  • Lucy from I love Lucy (and man-go-round was a stellar Ricky)- 2009
  • The Angel costume I threw up on (freshman year of college)
  • Dopey (the dwarf) age 2 or so
  • A bat (homemade) 2008
  • A man (with low ponytail and vest, greasy bartender style, named Theo or something)- Eighth grade
honorable mentions: Last year’s homemade “flower,” My flapper costume with Louise Brooks wig in college, a hula dancer in grade school, a poodle skirted fifties girl, Pippi Longstocking, and of course a WITCH!

What are you doing this week? What was your favorite Halloween costume? 

Meri

Posted in Harry Potter, Make my list Monday | Tagged , , , , , | 14 Comments

pump”king,” “jack”-o-lantern, half blood “prince,” and a “joker” from the halloween “queen”

The weekend is here, and I’m back in the trusty twin cities. All is back to normal, and just in time for some last minute Halloween preparations! I’m still costume-less (that’s what tomorrow is for…) but I DID team up with man-go-round today to repurpose some of my craft supplies and part of his costume from the magical birthday party. Here’s what we came up with…

before...
...and after!

Meet Harry Potter Pumpkin! Well, Harry Potter age 88 or so. I decided with the roundness of the pumpkin face, the short “receding” hair, and the glasses, we’re really relying on the lightning bolt scar and the glasses to help tell our story. I hacked up the face pretty good before man-go-round came in and did the more minute details. I must brag that I did the lightning bolt scar on my own though, and I haven’t carved a jack-o-lantern up in years!

Aside from all things pumpkin (picking, carving, eating, decorating…) there are so many things I love about Halloween. Here’s my top five!

  1. Costumes, especially homemade
  2. Candy corn. It’s one of my favorite candies, ever.
  3. Theme parties: the costumes, the decorations, the specialty food…
  4. Trick or treating. As a kid, you get tons of free candy. As an adult, you get to buy a ton of bulk candy and then have individualized candy around for months.
  5. The Monster Mash. Best song ever.

What is your favorite part about Halloween? Did you carve a pumpkin this year? What are you dressing up as?

Meri

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(Protein) Shaking Things Up…

It’s just another Tasty Tuesday here on Meri-Goes-Round… and likely my last post for a couple of days due to a much needed vay-cay-shun!

The other day I alluded to some new protein sources I had been trying out recently, all as part of my post-surgery “operation re-beastify.” I was reading a future client’s evaluation today, and under medical history it included the term “hypotonia.” After a quick google search, I confirmed that it was indeed a fancy name for “low muscle tone.”

Lately, I feel like people don’t KNOW from low muscle tone, as I sort of feel like I’m slowly weakening and filling with atrophy with each passing day. Old people pass me on the sidewalks. Girls in stilettos pass me at the speed of light. I am officially in need of re-beast-ification (which implies that I used to be a bulky she-woman. A girl can dream, okay? shut up).

Thus, on a recent trip to Whole Foods, I picked up a couple of protein powder samplers. My history with protein powders/ shakes has been decidedly, “GROSS! People ingest this crap? On purpose????”

But I gave two types another shot. What follows is my “HONEST ABE OPINION.” And in the order of being mildly scientific, here is my experimental procedures:

  1. Use Vanilla flavoring in both Rice/ Whey varieties
  2. Round 1: Oatmeal
  3. Round 2: Pancake

Corner 1: Rice Protein Powder (15 grams protein per packet)

Results: I almost gagged at the smell when I opened it. The taste was not much better. My opinion is that if I mix something in a pancake with chocolate and then put vanilla yogurt on top and STILL can’t stomach it? Never again. One star (out of five), but only out of pity.

Corner 2: Whey Protein Powder (20 grams protein per packet)

Results: Not only did I not gag when I tasted this, but dare I say the vanilla flavor almost… improved my oats and pancake? Dare I admit this? And dare I admit that… I might buy it again?? Well, at least as long as operation re-beastify endures… Four stars (out of five) because at the end of the day, its still just a scary protein powder.

Decision Proteinwatch 2011? WHEY PROTEIN!

Now I’m just a sit back and watch dem muscles grow! Do you guys eat/ drink protein powders or supplements? Which kinds do you buy? And how do you consume them other than in shakes/ smoothies? (I can’t stomach drinking thick liquids.)

See you all this weekend!

Meri

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