BBQ Beef Sandwiches

On Sunday we had BBQ Beef Sandwiches made in the crockpot. And let me tell you it was really easy. And I love a good meal that was easy. Just put a few ingredients (ketchup, white wine vinegar, brown sugar, paprika, onion, garlic and beef) in the pot and turned to low for two hours and voila...dinner.

I made some coleslaw put it on top and yummo.

A Rachael Ray recipe from her magazine.

See the pics below (taken by Dave).

Soup

I am always in a state of dissatisfaction over what to eat for lunch. I don’t want to eat out every day because it can be unhealthy and it is too expensive.

I also get bored very quickly. But I have found one food I like to eat and there are endless variations of it.

SOUP

I sometimes buy canned soup but lately I have made soup for the week and then eat it for a few days.

The soups I have made lately:

Roasted Red Pepper and Chick Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup

Creamy Asparagus Soup

Ginger Carrot Soup

They all were very good and filling for a lunch meal. I would make them all again except for Spilt Pea. It was good but after a day or two, it just wasn’t the same.

The Roasted Red Pepper was very very good and was my fave of the new soups. But it took a while to make and was messy. I roasted by my own red peppers, which was the easy part. The removal of the skin and the deseeding part took a long time and was very messy. But it was all worth it and I would recommend roasting your peppers and not buying the roasted red peppers from a jar. Try it and you will see why.

The Creamy Asparagus Soup was also very good and super super easy. With cutting and cleaning it only took me three commercial breaks. And yes I am using commercial breaks as a time measurement because I am so horribly behind in my tv watching and I made this soup during commercial breaks. If I don’t have much time and asparagus is on sale this is going to be my go to soup.

I have made Ginger Carrot Soup before and I like the sweetness of the carrots with a punch of spice from the ginger. And it is cheap too. A thumb of ginger is less than a dollar and carrots are always cheap.

Some of my homemade favorite soups are Roasted Tomato Soup and Butternut Squash Soup!

As you can probably tell by now, I mostly prefer veggie soups. This is just lunch thing. I love me some meaty soups for dinner but that is another post.

Let me know if anyone is interested in one of the recipes.

Unforgettable

How many cop procedurals are on tv right now?

A lot.

So why do the networks keep putting new ones on tv?

That is the question I thought this past fall, when I heard of the new show Unforgettable.

The premise: A NY City cop who can remember everything. Carrie Wells (Poppy Montgomery) has hyperthymesia. She has the ability to visually remember everything. She closes her eyes and can insert herself into her memories and see everything exactly how it was. “Which comes in handy when you're a cop” as she states herself.

Bottom line: Unforgettable started off strong but then started to wane a bit. Then during November sweeps it got better and is getting better every episode.

Some of the best parts of the show are Carrie and her ex-boyfriend and now boss Lt. Al Burns chemistry. (You now I love good chemistry on screen) They smile at each other and it reminds me of when you start dating the one. I want them to get together but you know they won’t. It is the “Rachel and Ross” and “Booth and Bones” saga all over again. But when two actors/characters have really good chemistry and they get together too soon it is the death of the show. And the writers and producers know this.

Every once in a while something unexpected happens. A side character’s plot line starts to become more interesting then the main character’s. (In Fast & Furious Vin Disel’s Dominic Toretto was much more exciting and interesting than Paul Walker’s Brian O’Conner, who was the movie’s main character.) And I see something amazing happening between Det. Roe Sanders and Tanya Sitkowsky (Britt Lower), a female tech-geek. They have great chemistry and neither of them are sure about each other but as the viewer we know they like each other. I can’t wait to see this story develop!

I guess the networks know what they are doing. Procedurals make for good tv.

Unforgettable airs on Tuesdays at 10 ET. Ed Redlich, John Bellucci, Sarah Timberman and Carl Beverly are executive producers for Sony Television Studios in association with CBS Television Studios.

Neglect

I have been neglecting this blog. As some of you know I have another blog about Bella, our new puppy. And I am afraid I have given Bella's blog more of my attention than this one.

This blog is my New Year's resolution, and I am not willing to get up on it.

I think I need to adjust some of my conditions on the blog. I enjoy writing about the tv shows more than the food.

So I will continue to write about tv every week. But I think I will change the food portion of the blog. Instead of making a special meal every week and writing about it, I will write about a meal I made during the week. Special or not. I may write about how I reheated a frozen pizza. Because realistically I don't make a lot of fancy food. But  then again I don't make a lot of frozen pizza either.

I am going to post tomorrow about a few dishes I made during the last couple weeks.  At the time didn't think were "special" enough but now I think I want to share my experiences about them.

New Year's resolutions are hard to keep up throughout the year and sometimes they just need to be adjusted. Hopefully this will work out better.

Plus since I am the judge and jury I reserve the right to make more changes for the good of the resolution and me, of course.

SMASH

You might have heard of the sweeping sensation of a “musicedy” aka musical comedy. Also commonly known as Glee. Who would have thought a musical TV show would be a hit. Well, not that is matters, but I did.

And now we have a new musical TV show. It is not a comedy but a drama. A “dramical” or a “musicrama”? Which new term sounds better?

But on to the main event….

SMASH!

This new dramical debuted on Monday at 10:00pm on NBC. It is about a Tony winning writer team (Debra Mesing and  Christian Borle). And they are writing a new musical about the one the only Marilyn Monroe. I personal think Deb does a great job, I didn’t even think about her as Grace from Will & Grace. Christian has some really great lines in the show. Together they have amazing chemistry on camera and a little banter thrown in. (You know how I love me some banter)

The musicrama also follows two up and coming Broadway stars trying out for the role of Marilyn. Katherine MePhee plays a very “light” singer from Iowa. Ivy Lynn plays a veteran singer who is currently in a smash hit on Broadway but wants a starring role.

Bottom Line: It was really really good. Nice story line. Dream like music sequences. Well written. Good chemistry.

Now it worries me sometimes when shows are really good right out of the gate. It means they have to get even better or they fall. A drama full of interesting characters with huge growth potential + fun and interesting storyline + music=a new successful TV show formula.

I think this new formula for a show might is a “smash”ing hit!

The Top Chef Burger

On Saturday I was thinking about what to make for Sunday’s Dish of the Week, and I thought of burgers. But then discarded burgers because it would be too cold for the grill. But then on Sunday when asked Dave said burgers too. So we decided on burgers.

During Dave and my staycation in September we ate at Good Stuff Eatery. It is a burger joint In DC on Pennsylvania Ave. in SE owned by Spike Mendelsohn, from Top Chef on Bravo. It was totally packed, we had to wait in line for 30 mins to order and then wait another 20 mins or so to get our burgers. And of course at the cashier is a stack of Spike’s burger cookbook (The Good Stuff Cookbook), so you know I had to get one. Dave thought the burger was…well a burger. And I thought it was good. It was tender, juicy and flavorful. So of course I was excited about his cookbook.

I am totally Top Chef junkie. I have been watching since Season 3 but I have seen season 1 and 2 on repeats. And hardly ever does my fave win. I think Stephanie and Richard are the only ones to win, whom I have liked since the start of the season. Top Chef is currently in its ninth season and up ‘til this season I didn’t think the formula needed changing. But this season is a little stale.

Quickfire, elimination challenges, judges table, take your knifes and go. Over and over again. But can I stop watching…no. So I guess they are doing something right.

Unfortunately for me all my faves this season have been eliminated. So I’m not emotionally invested anymore. But I will continue to watch until the Top Chef is announced.

Now back to Spike’s Redskins burger. I didn’t like it. In fact I didn’t finish it. Dave ate his but it gave him heartburn. So I won’t post the recipe, but I will post a pic below. What is the most disappointing is this is the second recipe I have tried and neither have worked out.

As a loyal Top Chef fave and a big Spike fan, I will try another recipe. Wish me luck.