I am pre-writing my recipe for today because I already know it's awesome. We are having homemade chili. This is the recipe that my friend Crystal gave me and there is no secret. One pound beef (we use turkey of course), 2 cans tomatoes, one can red beans, one can black beans and one packet chili seasoning. Brown the meat, put everything in the crock pot and cook it on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Delish!
Now, let me talk about a few other things of note. Today, I took Anakin to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Stop laughing at me. Ok seriously. Stop laughing. Anyway, the movie was not good. It was interminably long but I have to be honest, the story was... ok. Not that bad. But not good either. For a kids movie, it was ok but had way too much dialogue and not enough action in it. It was a lot like Milo and Otis from when I was a kid and I hated that movie.
But, on a positive note, I took Anakin in big boy pants, and he did great! He told me he had to potty when he needed to, and he totally went on the big potty! I'm so happy! Also, yesterday, he went twice with big boy pants on by himself! He pulled, them down, went potty and then pulled them back up before he ever even told me he had to go. This is awesome! This is huge progress! The trick was, I bought him some Thomas and Spider Man underwear. Now, on my mom's behalf, she told me to do this all along. My issue was that they are too big. Sesame Street was the only brand I could find in 18 months (even though my kid is 2 and a half!) but I figured, pants that are too big that make him go are better than me cleaning pee off my carpet! So, it worked!
Anyway, thats whats going on in this journey somewhat familiar! See you guys tomorrow!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
day four
Three posts in one day?? What is this world coming to?? IT'S INSANITY!!!
Today's Menu
Polynesian Pork
with Blackeye Peas
and Green Beans
* * * *
Polynesian Pork
with Blackeye Peas
and Green Beans
* * * *
Ingredients:
1 lb Pork chops
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can pineapple chunks
1 medium sized onion minced
1 T honey
3 T soy sauce
garlic powder
EVOO
1. Heat oil in medium-high skillet and season pork chops with garlic
2. Cook porkchops in skillet until golden brown on both sides.
3. Add onions and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes or until onions are soft. (you could add minced garlic cloves here too if you like garlic that much)
4. Add soup, pineapple(with juice), honey and soy sauce. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
We honestly would have given this 5 stars if it had been chicken. It was soooo good but we never eat porkchops. I made it with pork because I thought we would need a break from chicken, but to be honest, we ended up just wanting it to be chicken. We did, however, have bush's blackeyed peas and let me just say they were DELICIOUS. Seriously, I don't even like blackeyed pease but those were sooooo good. Anyway, if you like pork, this could be a new favorite in your home. If you are like us, throw a few hearty chicken breasts on the skillet instead.
1 lb Pork chops
1 can golden mushroom soup
1 can pineapple chunks
1 medium sized onion minced
1 T honey
3 T soy sauce
garlic powder
EVOO
1. Heat oil in medium-high skillet and season pork chops with garlic
2. Cook porkchops in skillet until golden brown on both sides.
3. Add onions and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes or until onions are soft. (you could add minced garlic cloves here too if you like garlic that much)
4. Add soup, pineapple(with juice), honey and soy sauce. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
We honestly would have given this 5 stars if it had been chicken. It was soooo good but we never eat porkchops. I made it with pork because I thought we would need a break from chicken, but to be honest, we ended up just wanting it to be chicken. We did, however, have bush's blackeyed peas and let me just say they were DELICIOUS. Seriously, I don't even like blackeyed pease but those were sooooo good. Anyway, if you like pork, this could be a new favorite in your home. If you are like us, throw a few hearty chicken breasts on the skillet instead.
day three.
Let me first apologize that this is late. I have been running a fever for a few days and have not been up for blogging.
Today's Menu
Kielbasa and Veggies
* * * * *
Ingredients:
1 pk Kielbasa
1 zuchinni
1 squash
1/2-1 bundle asparagus
minced onion
ground pepper
ground oregano
EVOO
Slice Kielbasa and veggies and mix in shallow baking dish. Drizzle or brush with EVOO and sprinkle with onion, oregano, and black pepper. Back at 400 for 45 minutes or until veggies are brown around the edges.
This is one of our favorites, and super easy to make.
Kielbasa and Veggies
* * * * *
Ingredients:
1 pk Kielbasa
1 zuchinni
1 squash
1/2-1 bundle asparagus
minced onion
ground pepper
ground oregano
EVOO
Slice Kielbasa and veggies and mix in shallow baking dish. Drizzle or brush with EVOO and sprinkle with onion, oregano, and black pepper. Back at 400 for 45 minutes or until veggies are brown around the edges.
This is one of our favorites, and super easy to make.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
carbless chapter day 2
Everyone be proud of me for drinking lots of water and giving up my sweet tea. *waits patiently for applause* thank you.
Today's Menu
Now that that's out of the way...
Today's MenuSkewer Chicken Spirals
and Corn on the Cob
* * * * (out of 5)
Ingredients:
Skinless, boneless chicken breast (one per person)
Bacon (we use turkey bacon)
1 small can tomato paste
Basil leaves (I used minced)
Garlic Powder
EVOO for brushing
Lay chicken breasts out on saran wrap and cover. Beat lightly with rolling pin to flatten. (I use wax paper bec
ause it's less messy)
Once all chicken is flatten, lay out and form a layer over rough side of chicken with tomato paste. I use a spoon to spread it on like cream cheese. Sprinkle with garlic then lay bacon on top of chicken. I use 1-2 slices per piece of chicken. You want the bacon to totally cover the chicken with no overlapping and no excess, so you may need to cut some.
Sprinkle basil leaves on top of bacon.
<--This is what it should look like right before you start to roll it.
Rolling is not easy. You want it to be firm so you get as much chicken "in" the spiral as possible but the tomato paste doesn't squish out form the sides.
Use a sharp knife (as sharp as you can find) to slice each breast into 4 slices. Again, try not to saw the chicken or the paste will come out of the sides. A sharp knife should cut right into the flesh of the chicken. Don't be afraid to make a mess... you will.
Place each spiral on a kabob skewer, one skewer per breast, so 4 pieces per skewer. Brush with olive oil and place under high heat of a broiler or grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, brushing with olive oil again at each turn.
As a side note, I like mine a little blackened. The picture here (which is not mine) also shows the edges of the bacon burnt which just adds a really good flavor. If you can grill these, that is the best way to do it because the smokey flavor is great. We serve them with corn on the cob because the sweetness of the corn offsets the sour in the tomato paste.
All in all we gave this a 4 out of 5 because it is just delicious but it is a pain in the butt! You make an absolute mess when slicing them. I used a sheet of wax paper for each skewer because the tomato gets everywhere and I didn't want to have to clean it every time.
and Corn on the Cob
* * * * (out of 5)
Ingredients:
Skinless, boneless chicken breast (one per person)
Bacon (we use turkey bacon)
1 small can tomato paste
Basil leaves (I used minced)
Garlic Powder
EVOO for brushing
Lay chicken breasts out on saran wrap and cover. Beat lightly with rolling pin to flatten. (I use wax paper bec
ause it's less messy)Once all chicken is flatten, lay out and form a layer over rough side of chicken with tomato paste. I use a spoon to spread it on like cream cheese. Sprinkle with garlic then lay bacon on top of chicken. I use 1-2 slices per piece of chicken. You want the bacon to totally cover the chicken with no overlapping and no excess, so you may need to cut some.
Sprinkle basil leaves on top of bacon.
<--This is what it should look like right before you start to roll it.
Rolling is not easy. You want it to be firm so you get as much chicken "in" the spiral as possible but the tomato paste doesn't squish out form the sides.Use a sharp knife (as sharp as you can find) to slice each breast into 4 slices. Again, try not to saw the chicken or the paste will come out of the sides. A sharp knife should cut right into the flesh of the chicken. Don't be afraid to make a mess... you will.
Place each spiral on a kabob skewer, one skewer per breast, so 4 pieces per skewer. Brush with olive oil and place under high heat of a broiler or grill for 5-7 minutes on each side, brushing with olive oil again at each turn.
As a side note, I like mine a little blackened. The picture here (which is not mine) also shows the edges of the bacon burnt which just adds a really good flavor. If you can grill these, that is the best way to do it because the smokey flavor is great. We serve them with corn on the cob because the sweetness of the corn offsets the sour in the tomato paste.
All in all we gave this a 4 out of 5 because it is just delicious but it is a pain in the butt! You make an absolute mess when slicing them. I used a sheet of wax paper for each skewer because the tomato gets everywhere and I didn't want to have to clean it every time.
Monday, October 6, 2008
a carbless chapter in my life
Dennis has been doing great with his dieting. He's lost 13 pounds in 5 weeks (awesome!) by working out and watching what he eats. For the record, in those same 5 weeks, I've lost 2. So lame. So to kind of kick-start us back into losing weight, we are doing two weeks of no carbs and no sugars. We did this a year ago for 21 days and I lost 8 pounds! Certainly I gained it back because I stopped caring about what I was eating, but the idea this time is to continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle with less carbs but not none at all. Anyway, to prepare for this I made a 2 week menu and my budget was $200. I made the menu including sides and all and I only spent $176 at walmart and that included lunch items for the boys. So, everyday, for the next two weeks, I would like to post what I made, how I made it and how we liked it.
Today's Menu
Healthy Request Chicken Parmesian
Healthy Request Chicken Parmesian
"Grilled" veggies
**** (out of 5)
Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (one per person)
One can of Tomato Soup
Oregano to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Shredded Mozarella cheese
1 zuchinni
1 squash
minced onion
ground black pepper
EVOO
1. Mix soup, oregano (I used about 3 shakes), garlic powder (maybe 1 T) and spoon over chicken in shallow bakind dish.
2. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
3. Top with mozzarella cheese
For Veggies:
Slice zuchinni and squash and place in shallow baking dish. Spread pieces evenly and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle with minced onion and black pepper. Bake same time as chicken or until veggies are light brown on edges.
Seriously, that's it. It took me about 5 minutes to prepare and about 30 minutes to bake. We gave this 4 out of 5 stars. The chicken was super moist, had plenty of flavor and the veggies were oh so delicious. For extra kick, you can add oregano to the veggies or use asparagus as well. You can also use potatoes, but if you do, they have to be cooked longer.
**** (out of 5)
Ingredients:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (one per person)
One can of Tomato Soup
Oregano to taste
Garlic Powder to taste
Shredded Mozarella cheese
1 zuchinni
1 squash
minced onion
ground black pepper
EVOO
1. Mix soup, oregano (I used about 3 shakes), garlic powder (maybe 1 T) and spoon over chicken in shallow bakind dish.
2. Bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.
3. Top with mozzarella cheese
For Veggies:
Slice zuchinni and squash and place in shallow baking dish. Spread pieces evenly and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle with minced onion and black pepper. Bake same time as chicken or until veggies are light brown on edges.
Seriously, that's it. It took me about 5 minutes to prepare and about 30 minutes to bake. We gave this 4 out of 5 stars. The chicken was super moist, had plenty of flavor and the veggies were oh so delicious. For extra kick, you can add oregano to the veggies or use asparagus as well. You can also use potatoes, but if you do, they have to be cooked longer.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
I'm sure you missed me
Sorry I have not been up for blogging lately. To be perfectly honest, I find blogging a little difficult but incredibly necessary for my personal sanity. It's difficult because although most of those who read this know I am outgoing, I keep most of my personal feelings and thoughts to myself. I'm one of those people that is hard to break past the shell. So when I've had a week (or two) that have effected me personally, I tend to close myself in and retreat to my own musings. Although I'm not really ready to come out of my current emotional hibernation, I don't want my seven loyal readers to lose interest in my stories, so I will grace you with a few updates from the past two weeks.
potty training - my mom says it's going well and considering her level of experience, I have to take her word for it. But I'm honestly ready to quit. Don't worry, no need to lecture. I will remain steadfast and my efforts will surely prevail but I feel like if I clean pee off the carpet 30 seconds after I took Anakin to go potty one more time, I might surely perish. I will sop the waste from my berber and just cease to exist. Dramatic? Maybe. You come do it for awhile and then we can talk drama.
quilting - My 9 square quilt is almost done. This is good considering I need to deliver it to the recipient in less than two weeks and I haven't even started on the hand stitching yet! Did I mention I have no idea what I am doing?! I did make my way up to the fabric/craft extravaganza that is Hobby Lobby and get myself one of those big hoop thingies (I'm sure they have a real name) for $5 so I can begin the tedious part. I will embroider the 'R' in the middle square tomorrow and then work on the first part of sewing the top to bottom (which I'm doing with a machine stitch first before beginning my hand-work). I will post pictures as soon as Dennis manages to get the battery charger for our camera back from the friend's house where he left it.
"work" - oh the leisurely life of a stay at home mom. I miss it so. I started keeping another little boy this week. It was last minute. Be assured, all my faithful friends, that I have not kept this oh so pertinent information from you. A friend of mine approached me the week before she had to start school full time because the day care on campus had run out of spots for her age group. It's honestly going really well. Dean is 20 months old, so he is honestly pretty far behind Anakin developmentally but he is getting there and he is certainly at an age now where I can at least do lesson plans with them. The hardest part is that he has not been raised as strictly as Anakin, so I am having to establish boundaries all over again. It has nothing to do with his parents not being great at what they do, it's just a different parenting style. Since I have both boys together, I have to be consistent. Since I have to be consistent, I'm obviously going to use the more strict method for both of them. He will learn his boundaries soon. All in all, it's been great to have them together because 90% of the time, they just entertain each other with little need for me. They make a mess of Anakin's room, playing with this foldable basketball hoop my mom got him and a pop-up tent he got for Christmas last year, and when we go downstairs, cars are scattered throughout endless boundaries of the house, but it can all be cleaned up while they are napping and so it's no big deal.
other happenings in my life - I took Anakin to the zoo on Friday with Courtney, my room mate from college. It was nice to see her again. Afterward, we went to this hole in the wall restaurant that served random food, ie tacos, burgers, salads and whatnot and I had a scrumptious veggie burrito with mozerella cheese. It was a little spicy but had super fresh spinach in it and I enjoyed it immensely. My mom also came to see us this weekend. We went to the Kani House for dinner on Friday and then went to the mall and she bought me a few super cute outfits on clearance at Old Navy. On Saturday we went and had our nails done, got massages, and ate at My Friend's Place (thats the name of it, I swear) and then took a fun trip to Sam's Club. Saturday night, we did a Mary Kay party for my friend Crystal and I won a watch and $50 worth of product (rock on!)
So I leave you with the four movies I've seen recently and how I rated them (out of 4 stars).
potty training - my mom says it's going well and considering her level of experience, I have to take her word for it. But I'm honestly ready to quit. Don't worry, no need to lecture. I will remain steadfast and my efforts will surely prevail but I feel like if I clean pee off the carpet 30 seconds after I took Anakin to go potty one more time, I might surely perish. I will sop the waste from my berber and just cease to exist. Dramatic? Maybe. You come do it for awhile and then we can talk drama.
quilting - My 9 square quilt is almost done. This is good considering I need to deliver it to the recipient in less than two weeks and I haven't even started on the hand stitching yet! Did I mention I have no idea what I am doing?! I did make my way up to the fabric/craft extravaganza that is Hobby Lobby and get myself one of those big hoop thingies (I'm sure they have a real name) for $5 so I can begin the tedious part. I will embroider the 'R' in the middle square tomorrow and then work on the first part of sewing the top to bottom (which I'm doing with a machine stitch first before beginning my hand-work). I will post pictures as soon as Dennis manages to get the battery charger for our camera back from the friend's house where he left it.
"work" - oh the leisurely life of a stay at home mom. I miss it so. I started keeping another little boy this week. It was last minute. Be assured, all my faithful friends, that I have not kept this oh so pertinent information from you. A friend of mine approached me the week before she had to start school full time because the day care on campus had run out of spots for her age group. It's honestly going really well. Dean is 20 months old, so he is honestly pretty far behind Anakin developmentally but he is getting there and he is certainly at an age now where I can at least do lesson plans with them. The hardest part is that he has not been raised as strictly as Anakin, so I am having to establish boundaries all over again. It has nothing to do with his parents not being great at what they do, it's just a different parenting style. Since I have both boys together, I have to be consistent. Since I have to be consistent, I'm obviously going to use the more strict method for both of them. He will learn his boundaries soon. All in all, it's been great to have them together because 90% of the time, they just entertain each other with little need for me. They make a mess of Anakin's room, playing with this foldable basketball hoop my mom got him and a pop-up tent he got for Christmas last year, and when we go downstairs, cars are scattered throughout endless boundaries of the house, but it can all be cleaned up while they are napping and so it's no big deal.
other happenings in my life - I took Anakin to the zoo on Friday with Courtney, my room mate from college. It was nice to see her again. Afterward, we went to this hole in the wall restaurant that served random food, ie tacos, burgers, salads and whatnot and I had a scrumptious veggie burrito with mozerella cheese. It was a little spicy but had super fresh spinach in it and I enjoyed it immensely. My mom also came to see us this weekend. We went to the Kani House for dinner on Friday and then went to the mall and she bought me a few super cute outfits on clearance at Old Navy. On Saturday we went and had our nails done, got massages, and ate at My Friend's Place (thats the name of it, I swear) and then took a fun trip to Sam's Club. Saturday night, we did a Mary Kay party for my friend Crystal and I won a watch and $50 worth of product (rock on!)
So I leave you with the four movies I've seen recently and how I rated them (out of 4 stars).
- The Women - * - Starring Meg Ryan (playing Meg Ryan), Annette Benning, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Debra Messing. Also featuring other famous women that are in it only for the sake of saying they were part of something that could have been a lot better than it was. The storyline was interesting enough but the character development was lacking and the direction SUCKED. Honestly, I appreciate that there were no men in the movie, even extras, but given that fact, maybe a 15 second scene of walking down a crowded new york street shouldn't be included. Can you really expect people to believe at any given time there are no men walking on this strip of road? We were hoping for something like First Wives Club--you know something that made you feel good about being a woman and getting revenge on the men that hurt us. But really, it just sucked.
- Burn After Reading - *** - Starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand and John Malkovich. This movie was HILARIOUS! It only receives 3 stars out of 4 given the fact that the storyline was incredibly unbelievable and the characters were unrealistic--but that was absolutely the point. It was pretty graphic ( I didn't know there was violence in it before hand) but it's not bad. Just be warned, it's rated R for graphic violence and language and it certainly had both. If you are not one for abstract dark comedies, wait for video but it's definitely worth seeing.
- Blindness - - Starring Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. I didn't leave the section where I put the stars blank on accident. Seriously. Don't see this. Don't think about seeing this. If friends of yours reccomend this, think about it like that time you were in middle school and a friend offered you drugs or cigaretts for the first time. What would your mother tell you to do? To walk away. That if anyone of your friends offered you drugs, they weren't really your friend in the first place. Yeah. This is just like that. We left and got our money back. It was that bad.
- Eagle Eye - *** - Starring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan, Rosario Dawson. What? Don't recognize any of those names except Shia LaBeouf? Me neither. But this movie was super sweet. The only reason it gets 3 out of 4 stars instead of 4 is because the end-secret plot twist has been done before. Have no fear, the action, character development and overall awesomeness totally made up for the lack of inginuity in story line "twist." Seriously. I loved this. If you just want to see a feel-good shoot em up, this is it. It was a lot of fun and totally worth my $10 and once in a bluemoon child free night.
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