"but just as summer's hold was fleeting"

So getting back to the roots of this blog-- my failed attempts at being domestic... I don't think I have blogged about this yet, but starting over the summer I decided to make a concerted effort to cut the amount of meat I eat. I started reflecting on it and was sort of grossed out by the amount of meat I consume each day. Also, there are so many benefits (financially, environmentally, to your health) to not consuming meat. Starting in about July, I cut out red meat completely, which wasn't hard at all. Anyways, I'm on a quest to find more meat free meals that are easy to make. Here's a tasty one I ate tonight. It's from a cookbook my sister left at my parents house which I inherited. It's a really great cookbook because the recipes are all really easy to prepare and don't call for any crazy ingredients. Also, they only make 2-3 servings which is really all I need. Here's one I tried tonight:

Nacho Bean Soup

1 (14.5 oz) can ready-to-serve vegetable broth 1 cup of milk 2 tablespoons all purpose flour 1 (15.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained, rinsed 2 cups (8 oz) shredded taco flavored cheese blend 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (I didn't have any, so I just used dried) 1 cup broken tortilla or corn chips

1. In large saucepan, combine broth, milk and flour; blend well. Cooke and stire over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil.

2. Stir in beans, chiles, cheese and cilantro. Cook 5 mins or until thoroughly heated and cheese melted, stirring constantly. Sprinkle individual servings with tortilla chips.

Makes 3 (1.5 cup) servings.

While it doesn't exactly fall into the "healthy" category (590 calories!) it definitely was easy and delicious. Another good one from the same cookbook:

Fiesta Quesadillas

1 (11 oz) corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles

1 cup fat-free refried beans

8 (8 to 10 inch) fat-free tortillas

1 cup (4 oz) shredded colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend

1. Mix up corn, chiles and refried beans. Spread 1/4 of the mixture on a tortilla. Top with another tortillas

2. So the book tells you to put these on the grill, but I don't have one. It also suggests the broiler. I usually just put it in a frying pan with a little Pam on low heat for about 3-5 mins. I turn it over with a pancake turner and do the other side for about 3 minutes, making sure all the cheese is melted.

3. Cut into wedges and eat. I had mine with tomato soup. I'm a big soup person.

Makes 4 quesadillas (450 calories each).

It was a pretty great weekend. Isaac was with his dad. Friday I went over to one of my coworker's house with a few friends. She is really into stamping and cardmaking. I have always enjoyed scrapbooking but I have never gotten into stamping. She had everything you could ever want for Halloween cardmaking and I am totally hooked (although the last thing I need is another hobby that requires purchasing tons of materials).

Here's a few blurry cellphone shots of a few I made (if you are lucky, you might get one in the mail!):

She is going to have us over again in a few weeks to make more cards and I can't wait.

Saturday I cleaned my whole house from top to bottom which was extremely satisfying. Then my friends Becca and Jamie came over and went shopping at the outlets. I got a fabulous new pair of boots and a Columbia jacket (marked down to 75 bucks!). We had a dinner at Ruby Tuesdays (which, incidently, has almost no vegetarian options. They are both vegetarians). Then we decided to check out the haunted house at Pennhurst. a former state asylum which is literally about five minutes down the road from me. When got our tickets and got in line and waited and waited and waited... It turned out the line was THREE HOURS LONG, which is definitely the longest line I have ever waited in. The attraction was cool, but after that long almost anything would have felt like a let down.

And now here it is, Sunday night, sitting on verge of another 5 days of work.

How was your weekend?