Weekends!

I have come to LOVE the weekends.
Last school year, weekends meant balancing real life with graduate school work. I'd read in the morning, do some housework in the afternoon and spend the early evenings writing.
This year, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want!

So what do I do?
Shop and cook.
Watch reality tv and blog.
Nothing exciting really.

Actually, I am currently blogging and watching the most recent America's Next Top Model. It's definitely a guilty pleasure. I have never watched this show in earnest before this season. Maybe it is something about having a guys versus girls competition. However,  I wish there was a little more behind the scenes as far as the fashion and creativity go. How do producers chose the theme of the runway or photo shoot etc? I've also been watching Project Runway, which just concluded, and I bet they could have an entire behind the scenes show, at least every once in a while. We don't need the model show like they attempted a few seasons ago. But to know a little more in depth as to what the make up artists and models go through would be pretty cool.

Back to cooking.
I have attempted "Inside Out Carmel Apples." (see above) Delicious, and I as so proud of making caramel by myself.
Apple Crumble Bars made with the extra caramel from the apples and traditional Banana Bread.
Today, I went back to an old stand by, Three Bean Medley.

I make this meal multiple times every fall and winter. It came from a crock pot cookbook I got a few years ago. Everything else seems totally unhealthy but we enjoy this one. In it:

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey (I like turkey better)
3-6 pieces of bacon
30 oz. pork and beans
15 oz. kidney beans
15 oz. butter beans (we can hardly find them, so we got cannelloni beans)
1 medium onion or 1 tbsp. onion powder (I think we like the powder better)
1/2 cup packed brown suger
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tbsp white vinegar

Brown the beef or turkey. Cook the bacon. Drain and rinse the kidney and butter beans. Mix everything together and cook in the crock pot for 3-4 hours on low.

For just the two of us, this meal lasts a full week between lunches and leftovers. Between a meal or a snack with tortilla chips, Three Bean Medley is one of our favorites.

It is so nice to have my weekends back.