I live in the Carolinas for a reason—it’s WARM! I love summer, flip flops, and sundresses. Usually winters are cold but it is rare to it will will snow more than a few hours during the entire winter. Well I have been stuck in my apartment for the last 3 days due to winter storm, Pax. It snowed and snowed and snowed some more and in Charlotte when it snows it becomes a ghost town. Lucky for me Harris Teeter has been open and is just a couple of blocks away from my home. I never thought going to the grocery store would be my form of entertainment but it has been not only my life saver but also a way for me to safely get out of the house. Although I am stir crazy as heck and can’t wait to get back to work, I have creatively found ways to keep myself occupied.
SNOW DAY IDEAS
1. GO OUTSIDE: Because it rarely does snow here in the south, people go nuts when it does. My dad lives in Colorado, I think the snow is beautiful if I am skiing but other than that, I’m content looking at the snowfall from the warmth of my home. If however you are one of the people who enjoys being outside in the snow–build a snowman, take a walk, grab an inter tube and find some hills to go down, or make a snow angel! Please just remember to dress appropriately–layer up, grab your boots, scarves, hats, and gloves.
2. CLEAN: Yeah I know– not the most “fun” snow day idea but I used the last 3 days to deep clean my entire home. I did laundry, organized my closet, mopped, dusted, scrubbed the bathroom, did dishes, and more!
3. COOK: I have cooked much more than usual. To be frank it’s because everything is closed but none the less I have eaten some simply delicious warm meals the past couple of days.
BUNLESS BURGER
These are extremely simple to make and taste AMAZING! I purchased the pre-pattied sweet onion cheddar burgers from Harris Teeter (you can use whatever type of hamburger meat you prefer). I placed them on my George Foreman grill for about 20 mins flipping after 10 minutes (you can also cook in your oven or skillet–the choice is yours, I just prefer the grill). Then you can top with your favorite toppings! The one I made was topped with sautéed sweet onions, bacon, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, avocado, and pickles. I mixed hot sauce and A1 as a sauce to dip it in! Don’t knock it til you try it!
CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
All I did for this was get a prepackaged dry soup mix (Bear Creek Tortilla to be exact). I then added sautéed chicken, lime, hot sauce, sour cream and Fritos. It was a good winter meal and took less than 20 minutes to make.
4. RELAX: Watch a movie, have a glass of wine, have a spa night, take a nap. Do whatever you want to do that you may not have time to because of your busy schedule. I work nonstop so I made it a point to rest as much as possible.
Well, the sunshine has finally come out so the white stuff is finally melting but if you are stuck, I hope this gives you some sort of idea of what could make it a little less painful!
Avyn Karen 