I am notorious (well, with myself anyway) for making a recipe that I really like...and then never making it again. Especially with the advent of Pinterest and the All Recipes app on my phone, it is so easy and fun to make a new recipe every night of the week. Of course I have my basic standbys that aren't really recipes at all, like boneless pork chops on the George Foreman grill and pan-fried chicken tenders, but otherwise I mix it up so much! But I think I need to figure out a way to keep track of the winners so I can revisit them. I'd love to have an arsenal of true recipes memorized. Plus, if it was good the first time, it would probably be great the second time, too!

Two Thanksgivings ago Andy and I decided to have a solo holiday, and I bought a ham because I a) don't like turkey that much and b) was scared of cooking a turkey. Somehow a ham just seemed much more manageable. It came out delicious, but we of course had a LOT left over. I got it into my head that I wanted to make a ham and bean soup and a quick Google search turned up this one from All Recipes.

I'm linked up to Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

I had the wonderful experience on Friday of going to hear Anne Lamott speak at First Baptist Decatur. Lamott is the author of several novels and non-fiction books. I haven't read any of her novels (yet), but I devoured her books Traveling Mercies, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, and Grace (Eventually). She has a son, Sam, who figures prominently in most of her books, as she raised him on her own. He recently had a son, and they wrote a book together called Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son. It was in response to her earlier book on the first year of Sam's first life called Operating Instructions.

Okay, enough introduction. Suffice it to say I love Anne Lamott and she was just as funny and hard-hitting in person as she is on the page. I honestly got a little giddy and star-struck when I saw her walking out onto the stage! She has these kooky dreadlocks and a dry, slightly raspy voice. She can joke and curse and pray all in the same breath, and she says things about God that make you go, "Wait a minute. Am I allowed to think that?" But you know her thoughts stem from a deep and personal relationship with Him (or Her, as she sometimes like to say).

Sam read with her on Friday, and he was not at all what I expected! He's a tall, dark, and handsome type, currently in art school to be an inventor. The rapport between them was incredible. While the readings from this current book aren't particularly applicable to my life, the writing was still incredible, and the live format allowed the session to be infused with more of Lamott's trademark general discussion of faith. I've of course forgotten most of the gems, but hearing them made me want to a) go back and re-read all the books of hers I have read, b) find them all at used bookstores so I can have my own copies to write in and lend out, and c) read everything else of Anne Lamott's that I haven't yet. My Kindle wishlist is ridiculously full at the moment.

I'll leave you with this bit of wisdom that she used to close the night. Someone asked what her advice was for someone who wanted to be a writer, and here's what she had to say (which is relevant to someone who wants to be anything, really):

It's not in anybody's best interest for you to pursue your dreams, so it's gotta be in yours, because that's what you're here for.

Simple, to the point, and utterly true.

Have you ever seen one of your favorite authors in person? What's your favorite piece of advice from them?

I’ve been feeling like I’m not quite on my A-game this week.

Sunday started out promising enough. I made our veggie packets for the week and lunches for Monday, I convinced myself to go for my run even though I didn’t particularly want to (always a small victory), and Andy and I had a fun time cooking and eating dinner together. Monday I actually got up with my alarm and did my Netflix pilates with Ellen Barrett (another small victory). That afternoon and evening I was a frenzy of productivity. I dusted, did a massive re-org of my coupon collection, and inventoried our bathroom and toiletries supplies. (I know that sounds crazy, but I can never find anything in the cabinet under our sink, and I figured in order to take full advantage of deals it would help to know what was in there.)

Tuesday was a wash as far as personal life went because we had a wonderful event at work! We’d been busily preparing for it for WEEKS, and it was great to be a part of the celebration. I’ll post more about it next week, but suffice it to say that I was out late and then didn’t sleep well.

Wednesday I woke up feeling like my throat and nasal passages were coated in pollen, along with everything else in Atlanta. I was groggy all day and couldn’t get myself pulled together for a run–what would have been my last! I did manage to wash our sheets and towels, though, and I finished a book. We went out to eat with a friend and I hoped I would crash…but I again slept fitfully.

I sort of feel like I’ve been drifting along playing catch-up. I haven’t been eating like I normally do because I haven’t had much chance to cook, and we’ve had so much good tempting food around my office from our event. And, as I said, I haven’t been sleeping well, and I’m feeling allergic and congested. Last night, I’ll admit, I was a total grouch, and I felt like a zombie when the alarm went off this morning.

But somehow a switch seems to have flipped this afternoon, and I’m feeling like I’ll make it through the funk! I had a great chat with someone about a guest blogging opportunity (more to come on that later!), and I went for my last 5K training run. To go against everything I’ve said thus far, it actually felt kind of good. For all I’ve decided I’m not a runner, I can definitely tell that I’ve gotten stronger throughout this training. I’ve closed the windows in our apartment after noticing a coating of pollen on things in here (oops) and turned on the air (blessed coolness!). I’m getting to cook dinner tonight and I have a lot of fun events to look forward to this weekend. And maybe, fingers crossed, I will sleep well tonight and truly be over the hump.

Do you ever have days or weeks where you just feel off? How do you power through?

I found a boneless baked quarter ham on sale at Kroger awhile back and decided to defrost it for St. Patrick’s Day. But Andy and I barely made a dent in it! So I started thinking, “What could I make with leftover ham?” And one of the first things that came to my mind was croque madames! I don’t know what made me think of them.

“Croque,” as far as I know, is like a French grilled ham and cheese sandwich. A “croque monsieur” has no egg, while a “croque madame” comes with the addition of a fried egg. They can be found on the menu of every little cafe in Paris and many French bistros here, too.

I used a recipe from All Recipes that I found on a quick search of their app. I probably could’ve looked for a more authentic on, but this one looked good to me. It called for thick slices of white bread, 2 tablespoons of butter, 2 cups of cheese (I used colby), thick slices of ham, and 2 eggs. Simple! I found 2 French “boules” on Manager’s Special at Kroger for $0.49, so I snatched those up and cut good-sized slices from them.

First, melt the butter in a pan and add the cheese. Let the cheese melt. In order to keep it from becoming a glob, I whisked steadily and added a splash of half and half to thin it out. Just for funsies, I also sprinkled in some dried mustard powder and garlic powder for flavor. Dip the bread in this mixture so that both sides are coated. I was nervous about this step, but it worked like a charm! Put the bread into a separate heated skillet and add the ham and the other slice of bread on top to form the sandwich. Someone in the All Recipe comments suggested cooking the eggs first (to your yolk preference–hard, runny, etc.), which I had done, so I added them to the sandwich at this point, too. Then just cook away liked a normal grilled cheese sandwich, flipping as desired, until the cheese is browned and slightly crusty.

This made a BIG sandwich, but I ate the whole thing! It was a really simple process that yielded a pretty impressive looking and yummy result. I would definitely make these again!

Sometimes I go through phases where I feel like I’m just buying things all the time! Yesterday I bought a Groupon deal to renew my Thursday/Sunday newspaper subscription (woohoo!), a Living Social voucher for a tea tasting for two, ordered a new swimsuit, and ordered a pair of nude patent leather flats. Whew! Of course, I got great deals on all of them, and shopped through Ebates, and they were all good things that I put thought into…but it’s still crazy to think about!

Then today I bought another Groupon deal (a walking tour for two of Historic Oakland Cemetery at 50% off) and found a great deal on some jeans for Andy! I had been keeping an eye out for that, so I was pleased.

It’s a beautiful day, so we walked to Publix together to pick up some of the BOGO and sale items.

Clorox Toilet Bowl Cleaner $1.67 used $0.50/1 coupon from Clorox Latino; doubled to $1.00 off $0.67 total

Palmolive Dish Detergent BOGO at $3.49 used 2 $0.50/1 coupons; doubled to $1.00 off each $0.75 each

French’s Worcestechire Sauce $0.99 used 1 $0.40/1 coupon; doubled to $0.80 off $0.19 total

Blue Diamond Almonds BOGO at $3.19 used 2 $1.00/1 coupons $0.60 each

I was planning to pick up a Cottonelle toilet paper 12-pack at $6.49 and use a $1.00 off coupon, but I stupidly forgot to bring that coupon! Lesson learned: always bring all your coupons! I grabbed a small pack of the Publix brand (which was only $2.19) to tide us over and I will pick up a better deal at another time.

The Lysol Dual Action Wipes have a “try me free” rebate going on, so that $2.99 will be reimbursed after I submit the form.

I also picked up a package of London Broil for $5.07. It was on sale for $4.49/lb, so this package is a little over a pound. I thought it would be a good size to feed Andy and me, and five bucks didn’t intimidate me. I can’t wait to try Jen’s recipe from Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

It’s hard to say exactly how much I spent/saved because we also picked up some, uh, “necessities” to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day tonight:

The gelato was a whopping $4.99!! But I went against all my frugal intuitions because I don’t really want to have ice cream around, so I felt like it was worth paying the premium for a smaller container. Plus, I wanted it to be green for the holiday, and some of the brands’ mint chocolate chip were not! So it was a splurge, for sure.

After a nice long walk to Grant Park this morning enjoying the beautiful weather, we’re staying in with our Guinness and gelato tonight and watching Michael Collins. I’m fixing ham, roasted cabbage, and Irish brown bread for dinner! Are you doing anything fun for St. Patrick’s Day?