See Ya, Sandy!

Over prepared.  We were over prepared.  The only storm supplies we purchased that we actually used? The sweets.  Never lost power.  Well, let me clarify.  We lost power for an insignificant amount of time while we were sleeping, which I only knew about because I had to reset the clocks this morning.  All trees remained intact.  BearFace and I took a drive to Vineland (about 30 mins away) today to see a movie...not one power line down, and maybe two trees down.  HALLELUJAH!  The storm that seemed dead set on hitting Salem County, and pretty much all of New Jersey for a sustained time decided to turn elsewhere and spare us.  Must have been deflected by my clean house!  Unfortunately the coast of New Jersey was not that lucky, as well as NYC from what I hear from brother Joe.  I feel very fortunate that we made it through the storm with no damage, and I hope all my friends and family in other states were as lucky as we were.

Resuming normal activities tomorrow, thankfully!  Spending three days locked in a house with a stir-crazy boxer=rather trying.  Day 1 and 2 were ok, but today was definitely a challenge.  It went something like this (Family Guy, anyone?):

Murphy: Hey Mom.
Michelle: Hey Murphy.
Murphy: Mom.  I love you.
Michelle: Thanks, Murph.  Love you too.
Murphy: Mom.  Hey Mom.  Um, Mom?  Excuse me.  Mom.  Mommy.  Mommy.  Mom.  Ma.  Mom.  
                MOM. HELLO.
Michelle: WHAT?!?!?! 
Murphy: HIIII.  Heehehee!

Murphy took to playing dress-up in an attempt to entertain himself,

then realized he couldn't unzip himself, panicked, and tried

to eat his way out of it.  

You could say that I am looking forward to heading back to work and getting the crazy back on his regular exercise schedule.

I'm also looking forward to getting back on a normal eating schedule!  Apparently Hurricane Sandy gave me permission to eat junk for the past 3 days.  This included: PopTarts, Fudge Stripe cookies, more PopTarts, and a massive amount of soda and popcorn at the movies today, all of which I normally avoid.  I also consumed more pasta in the last three days than I've eaten in probably three months.  I guess I thought this might really be the apocalypse...

Anyway, back to a bit healthier eating with this Tuesday Night Post-Hurricane Dinner:

Lentil Soup with Chickpeas and Quinoa

I have been wanting to make this for a while, and finally got around to it tonight.  It seemed like the perfect meal for a cold and rainy day (I made a few alterations, of course).  First and foremost, I had to add some meat to it!

1/2 pound turkey sausage, sliced

For the sausage (cook sausage first, then continue with recipe):

1. Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add sausage slices and cook until just browned.
3. Remove sausage from pan and set aside (meat will finish cooking in soup later on.)
4. Add sausage to soup in Step 8 along with chickpeas.

This meal had great flavors and the sausage went well with it, but I do have some suggestions for improvement.  The quinoa kind of overtook the dish and absorbed a lot of the liquid, so I recommend A) using 1/2 cup quinoa instead of a full cup, and B) adding more chicken stock.  I would suggest 6 cups.  That is the amount I usually use in soups, and the 2-3 cups this recipe calls for just doesn't do it.  Also, serve with crusty dipping bread for extra deliciousness.  YUM. 

Not super soupy, but very tasty!