2014 - Breakfast for Dinner Resolution

Because I want to remember the one time I succeeded with a NY resolution, here's a list of the 2014 Sunday night Breakfast for Dinner meals we had:

1) January 5 - Waffles, Bacon, Scrambled Eggs
2) January 12 - Breakfast Burritos with Chorizo and Egg, refried beans
3) January 19 - Sausage, Gravy, Biscuits and Eggs
4) January 26 - Waffle House Waffles (recipe: http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/bread/other-bread/waffle-house-waffles.html ), Eggs, Cheese Grits, Hash Browns, Bacon

5) February 2 -
6) February 9 -
7) February 16 -
8) February 23 -

9) March 2 -
10) March 9 -
11) March 16 -
12) March 23 -
13) March 30 -

2014 - "Resolutions"

We didn't really do resolutions this year… but I do have a few things I'm "working on" and used the 1st to kinda reset.

First, we've declared every Sunday in 2014 to be Breakfast-for-Dinner nights. We started it off last night with waffles, sausage and eggs. Next Sunday will be Breakfast Burritos.


Second, I've quit smoking. Well, I've quit smoking tobacco cigarettes. I got Mike and I both those Blu e-cigs, and I can say that I've not had an analog cig since just after New Year's Eve. I don't know the medical consensus on e-cigs and being better for you, but there has to be some benefit, and hopefully after a little while doing only e-cig, I can quit nicotine altogether. I was thinking last night, though, and since it's the 6th, I totally have 6 things that I like better about not smoking analog cigs:
     1) I like the way my laundry smells, and I like that all day, my clothes smell like laundry, and not smoke.
     2) I like how my hair doesn't smell like smoke.
     3) Windows-up "smoking" (e-cigs) = no cold air/mussed hair, and no ashes inside the car, or on my clothes.
     4) I can re-wear my clothes from day to day, as they don't smell like smoke. Not a typical habit, but Saturday night, I wore an outfit for literally 4 hours, and I was able to wear it again all day Sunday because it didn't stink (just jeans/t-shirt, but still, it was impressive).
     5) Smoking at hockey games/restaurants/inside my parents' house. Nuff said.
     6) My mouth doesn't taste like stale cig smoke when I wake up in the morning.

I'm going to try to think of a new reason each day to stay off analog cigs, but for now, these things are good enough.

Chicken and Dumplings in the Crockpot

This is by far one of my favorite things to eat when it's cold out . And the leftovers are delish! I use my 5 qt crock pot.

Ingredients:

- 3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (frozen is fine. I use breasts because it's always what we have.)

- 1 onion, chopped

- 8 oz mushrooms, sliced or chopped (I get presliced)

- 16 oz frozen veggies (get the ones you'd get for veggie soup)

Cream Soup:

Combine these ingredients in a saucepan, and heat until thickened:

- 4 tbsp butter

- 6 tbsp flour

- 1 cup milk

- 1 cup chicken broth

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp black pepper

-1  tsp poultry seasoning

 Drop biscuits:

- 2 cups flour

- 1 tbsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp melted butter

- 3/4 cup milk

* mix with fork and drop into soup one hour before serving

Directions:

Spray crock with cooking spray. Put the chicken and veggies in the bottom of the crockpot. Cover with the cream soup.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.

An hour before serving, shred the chicken with two forks, and drop in biscuit dough. Cook on high one more hour. They Will be a bit spongy and will be a tad brown if they're sticking out of the soup. You'll be able to insert a knife and it'll come out clean.

Pasta Sauce - AKA What to do With All These Fuggen Tomatoes

We planted a container garden out by our pool, in lieu of building a fence and putting one in the ground in the backyard. It's been quite fruitful, but I've found myself each weekend wondering WTF to do with all these tomatoes before they spoil! So, I made pasta sauce. It doesn't just have to go on pasta. We used it on garlic bread pizza. It is super tasty with chicken and pasta, though. And not too complicated. I bet even an Italian would be satisfied.


Garden Tomato Pasta Sauce
makes 3-5 cups of sauce
Cooking time: 2-4 hours

Ingredients:
Tomatoes - However many you have! I just use all the ones in our bowl that are going to spoil if I don't use them... which is typically all the ones in the bowl. For the most recent batch, I used around 35 cherry tomatoes, 3 Parks Whoppers and 4-5 Lemon Boys

2 TBSP Olive Oil

3-4 TBSP minced garlic

1 onion, diced

1-2 TBSP Oregano

1-2 TBSP Sage

1 TBSP Thyme

1-2 TBSP Paprika

(Optional: 2 tsp crushed red pepper)

Salt and Pepper to taste

About 3-4 TBSP Fresh Basil, chopped - what you can find. Supplement with dried if it's not a lot.

1 TBSP white sugar

1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar



For all tomatoes except Cherry, cut, quarter and remove any bad spots and the stem of your tomatoes. Food process them until there are no chunks left, and set aside.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Once heated, add in the garlic and onion and sauté until the onion starts to turn translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Lower heat to medium, and add in your spices (except fresh basil), stirring constantly, until they become fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Pour in processed tomatoes, fresh basil, sugar, and vinegar, and heat until simmering. Simmer on medium or medium-high until most of the juices have evaporated out. Let cool and transfer into container to freeze or refrigerate. Use refrigerated sauce within 2 weeks. Frozen sauce will last 6 months.




Tomatoey Chicken Pasta

12 oz pasta, cooked and set aside

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thawed and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 TBSP Olive Oil, separated

1 TBSP minced garlic

1 TBSP Oregano

1 TBSP Sage

1 TBSP Thyme

3-5 cups Pasta Sauce

Salt and Pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese


Put the pieces of chicken in a bowl, and toss with Olive Oil, garlic and spices.

Heat remaining oil in large skillet. When hot, add in chicken. Cook over medium-high until chicken is done, and most of the moisture has evaporated from the pan. Add in the sauce and heat until everything is hot. Pour sauce and chicken mixture over cooked pasta, and toss to coat evenly. Stir in some parmesan cheese, or portion on plates, and allow each person to add their own cheese.

Great with garlic bread or yeast rolls.





Enjoy!

2012 - The Summer of the Pool Cocktail

I've found these delicious cocktail recipes for by the pool this summer. Screw you, Mike's Hard Lemonade - we're going DIY!





Vanilla Pear Vodka Cocktail: http://www.two-tarts.com/2011/09/vanilla-pear-and-vodka-cocktail.html

Blueberry Lavender Mojito: http://www.drinkeattravel.com/cocktail-recipes-memorial-day-weekend/

Lavender Lemonade (But add Vodka): http://www.munchinwithmunchkin.com/2012/03/19/lavender-lemonade/

Blueberry Infused Vodka Lemonade: http://www.keepitsimplefoods.com/summer/blueberry-infused-vodka-lemonade/

Raspberry Beer Cocktail: http://www.acupofmai.com/2012/02/raspberry-beer-cocktail.html


Mainly just made this blog to save the recipe links. Enjoy! Cuz we sure as heck will!

Did you ever have a friend...?

Did you ever have a friend that you felt like didn't really give a shit about being friends with you, but more they care about you being around so they can talk about themselves?

I have a friend like this. I guess more of an acquaintance... I only know him from work. But I've known him for years, since I first started with the company. Lately, I've been questioning WHY we're friends, and why we've been friends for so long. Although we lack a lot in common, and he's about 15 years older than me, I've always seen him as kind of a work mentor, even though we don't work in even similar fields. Lately, I feel like when I turn to him for professional advice, he's super quick to turn the conversation to himself. I know two main parts of being friends with someone, as with any relationship, is give and take. As much as you expect your friend to be there for you, you have to be there for them. I can say with confidence that it makes me feel bitchy to think that he's not providing the friendship for me that I'm asking of him, which I mean, nothing I'm asking for is live-saving. It'd be nice to just once though, have my though/question answered, rather than have it turned into, "Your thought made me think of this thing about ME. ME. ME."

Then it occurred to me - am I this kind of friends to others? Do I take everything that is brought to me and turn it around to be about myself?  I have been accused before of being selfish and self-absorbed. But I hate to think that I'm so selfish and self-absorbed that I don't recognize what it is my friends are needing, or are asking for, from me. I think often times, in conversations, I refer back to personal experiences to enter the dialogue about a friend's issues or problem. Is that seen as focusing on myself? To me, it's a way of saying, "I understand you. See, I had this experience once that was like the one you're in now, and this is how I handled it." Is that interpreted as, "I'm not hearing or don't care about what you're saying, but am instead using this as an opportunity to talk about myself"?

While I don't care enough about it to confront my friend about his conversations with me, I do care enough about it to not be this kind of friends to others. I will focus more on LISTENING, rather than CONTRIBUTING, unless of course I'm being asked to contribute. Maybe if I can be a little bit less selfish as a friend, it will translate into being less selfish as a person.

Just a thought about your pregnancy...

So, when your little bundle of joy is finally here, are you going to let him or her know that all you did the whole time you were pregnant with them was BITCH about how miserable you were?

Jeeeeez. You're not the first woman to do this, and you won't be the last. I promise your pregnancy isn't the worst one on the books, and women STILL somehow managed to go 9 months to have a kid, WITHOUT modern medicine.

Seriously, QUIT YOUR BITCHIN'!


#end rant