Trader Joe's Tuesday -- The Best Wacky Quesadilla Ever!

OK I think I've mentioned this cheese before but man oh man I can't let go of it. I'm addicted. But, this is the best thing to do with the new Trader Joe's Goat Brie Cheese!

It comes in a small round, like a baby brie, but it's GOAT which brings a whole new flavor to it. Slice up about 1/4 of the round and lay it in an EZEKIEL SPROUTED WHEAT TORTILLA. And, ideally you will have a George Forman Grill.

So, let's take a moment for the George Forman Grill. If you don't have one, they are super cheap, come in a million sizes -- you can choose size depending on the size of your family, and how many portions you make when you cook -- and they are super duper easy to clean, i.e., LAZY! But, the most important thing is that you use literally NO FAT when you grill. But, you get the feel of a truly grilled item.

If you have a George Forman Grill, then put the cheese in, fold it over and put it in the grill, and just wait until the cheese is melted, and you've got a few grill marks, and you're done!

NOW...if you don't have a George Forman grill -- or if you do and you want to have another level of culinary fun --- then grill it outside on a real honest to god grill. And if you do that, please please please do us both a favor -- get a package of scallions at TJs. Rub them with a little olive oil and throw them on the grill for a couple of minutes until they are slightly charred and limp.

Then rub one side of two Ezekiel tortillas with a little olive oil and put the Goat Brie slices in it, add a grilled scallion or two, and throw it on the grill. Grill both sides until nice grill marks and cheese is melted. Cut into triangles, and it's pretty lovely...and most delicious and the most interesting quesadilla you'll ever have!

Goaty Lazy Yummaliciousness to you!

Can You Love Your Neck? aka Lazy Woman Neck Solution

My friend, Miss Salle (aka divine author and life coach, Salle Redfield) was very sweetly trying to calm me down a few weeks back when I was on a rant about my neck. She told me about a product that really worked for her. I thought, "Well it won't work with me, because her skin is far cooler than mine AND her neck is NOT aging!" But, she told me that after only one week she saw a difference and after a month she saw a substantial difference.

So, I went over to Sephora which was the most convenient place to get it -- Dr. Brandt's V-Zone Neck Cream. As Salle said "It's not cheap, but it works." It's $60 for a jar which I'm guessing will last a couple of months. I started using it and then I was out of town for four days after just using it a couple of day, but even still after about 7 days of applications I truly did see a visible difference.

Did you all read the book "I Feel Bad About My Neck" (which I always misremember as I HATE My Neck"!!! LOL!) by Nora Ephron? It's a hilarious fun read about aging. When I read it I was thinking "Oh thank god I don't have to worry about my neck yet!" Of course, the next week my neck visibly aged one dark and lonely night!

I'm working on becoming more Zen about my aging. In the meantime, I'm going to use all the little tricks and Lazy Woman tips -- like this cream -- and take comfort in the "time arrest" factor -- TIME ARREST is what is written just above V-Zone Neck Cream on the jar...yes, it's part of the name! Arresting time....an interesting concept. I strive to arrest the discomfort of aging, but again, in the meantime....

Sometimes being Lazy is taking action. It's like Aaron's car. His daughter backed into something accidentally and fixing it would have doubled his car insurance. But, every time he saw the dent it really bugged him so he found a guy who could fix it really cheap, and end of upset! If there's something nagging at you every time you see it, and you can't reach a peaceful place in the face of it, take action.

Lazily Loving My Neck on a Wednesday Morn...

Trader Joe's Tuesday - Best Spring Rice Recipe

Aaron and I made a Mexican feast the other night. He created the "star" of the night, an amazing Chicken Mole. I don't eat chicken but I benefited greatly from the sauce, because it was fantastic on top of this rice, and the beans I also made.

I'll admit it. Rice scares me. I've screwed it up several times in my life and in the past it's been stressful to serve at dinner parties because I don't trust myself. And there is nothing worse than lumpy rice. But, I really think this is one of those recipes that you can't screw up if you follow the directions. Frankly, at one point I did screw up. I had accidentally set the heat too high and was distracted by the other stuff I was doing, so it was boiling much longer than it should have been, so I just shut off the heat completely, and let it steam with the lid on. It was perfect!

This is a recipe (see the link included above) for which each and every ingredient can be found at Trader Joe's:

olive oil
basmati rice
chicken broth
garlic
limes
cilantro

It's unbelievably easy to make -- very fast for the amount of flavor and beauty (it's green speckled lily white -- so springy!) you get. To manage the timing of the dinner party, I did the first step of the recipe in the morning, which is to sautee the garlic and rice in olive oil. If you do this hours in advance, it really steeps the rice in the garlic flavor. Then, when you are re-heating everything, and doing the finishing touches for your dinner to get it to the table, you add the rest of the ingredients and it's done in 15 minutes!!!! How LAZY is that?

By the way, this rice does not only go with Mexican food. It would go with ANYTHING -- even roasted chicken and a side of asparagus, or a grilled piece of fish and a salad. It would go really well with Indian food too. But, hey Cinco de Mayo is around the corner and this is a very festive, lovely side dish for any celebration!

Feliz Feasting!

Lazy Gorgeous Dessert

This recipe is fabulously delicious and even more fabulously easy! Even better, it's super impressive!

You make the cake the night before. Easy recipe, short baking time -- easy, easy, Lazy! Then you mix up the "tres leches" i.e., the three milks (condensed, evaporated and half & half) and pour them over the cake so it soaks over night.

Next day you just whip up cream slather it on the cake and you are done.

Now, I did a variation because I like to add fruit to my Tres Leches Cake. I took a low glass vase actually -- about 6 inches deep and 8 or 9 inches in diameter. I turned it over onto the 9 x 12 cake and cut out a layer, which I saved for the top later. I took the remaining cake in the pan and lay it on the bottom of the "vase" ....then I put a layer of whipped cream and fruit (mandarine oranges, pineapple, blueberries and strawberries). Then I put the top layer on top of that and lathered with the final layer of whipped cream, and decorated the top with fruit.

I served with a dollop of whipped cream and another sprinkling of cut up fruit because when you scoop it out of the glass vase/bowl, it's not a nice neat slice, but you do see the nice layers. It just adds a little more beauty to dollop cream and more fruit on it.

Deliciosa! It was the perfect end to our Mexican Themed Dinner Party!

Yummmmmmmmexico!

Lazy Woman Loves a Lazy Ox aka Oh My God Genius Restaurant in LA

Aaron and I had each read about this restaurant a few times before we got to it. He went before I did (oh boy was I jealous!) but I finally got to go with him tonight and I have to say it was one of my favorite meals ever. I forgot to take pictures, which is a crying shame because the food was so gorgeous...from the dark purple tones of the Sangria with floating chunks of bright green apple ... to the salad with yellow beets, mandarine oranges marconi almonds, and just the tiniest bit of feta on a bright and crispy bed of greens ...to the green barley with peas and feta and pickled purple onions ...to the fresh popping muscles in a spicy bright red broth...to the best rice pudding you will ever find on this planet -- seriously, no kidding --- it comes in a small bowl and next to it is a bowl of a maple-ey caramel-y warm syrup which is next to a bowl of freshly whipped and barely sweetened whip cream.

Oh and when you sit down and order your drinks out comes a tiny bowl (plenty though) of enormously huge corn kernels toasted in lime and chili.

So, if you are in LA and you need a Lazy Night Off from Cooking at a Really Lazy Ass Great Price, head over to the Lazy Ox Canteen!

Lazy Woman Lemonade Love

I am on Day 5 of this Master Cleanse and just got back from the most delicious workout and then massage. Yes, believe it or not, you WANT to work out on this fast, and your body loves it. It was delicious. Although I will say I didn't push myself tonight because my body didn't want to be pushed. And, then I gave it a huge treat -- a 90 minute massage!

My body is not nearly as tense as it normally is when I'm on a fast for some reason. But, it feels really good to have the energy moved around, and to simply give it some love.

There's a way to do this fast and definitely treating your body to baths and massage. Also, fill the house with fresh flowers and beauty, so your home becomes like your retreat/spa center.

Beauty is important to me. Seeing beautiful things relaxes me. So, I put all the ingredients for my fast on one big tray. You only see one lemon in this pic because in the morning I'll be going out to pick more lemons ...but all else is there....including my beautiful Italian Fish plate that my friend, Salle gave me for my birthday! I love it so much and intend on using it every single day that I can, and if I can't fill it with food I will fill it with the makins' of a drink!

Lazy Easter Flower Arrangements -- Trader Joe's Kinda Lazy!!!!

Here are a couple fun and oh so amazingly inexpensive Easter arrangements. If I weren't fasting I would have made one with purple grapes...but I used kumquats because I wasn't tempted to EAT the arrangements! LOL!

One package of kumquats filled two small vases for $2.59. You can use baby apples, key limes, grapes, baby mandarines, etc.

The daffodils are obviously on sale at Trader Joe's these days so this first arrangement cost less than $4!

The next arrangement is mostly tulips which were on sale today for $3.49, lillies whose tones in real life looked great with the kumquats, and some dark irises to just make it pop and fill out the Easter egg color scheme.

You can get as creative as you want this time of year -- Trader Joe's is full of flowers and fruits and veggies that are spectacularly beautiful and very easy to mix and match. Have some Easter fun!