Real Men Eat Quiche

My nose is so stuffy. Whatever it is I have has settled squarely in the middle of my face.
I can't breathe. My mouth keeps drying out from having to breathe through it. Blech!  Cooking has been hard.  As I told you before I cook by taste and when you can't smell you really can't taste.  It has been a challenge.

Tonight for dinner I made a quick quiche. It is my own recipe. Matt and Keely both love it.  I use hash browns as the crust.

Ham and Cheese Potato Quiche

1 cup shredded potatoes
3 ounces chopped deli ham
3 ounces chopped prosciutto ham
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
6 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp onion powder
butter (for pie dish)


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter the sides and bottom of pie dish.  Press 1 cup of shredded potatoes into bottom and sides of pan to form a crust.  Bake for 20 minutes to set.

While crust is baking. Finely chop 3 ounces of deli ham and 3 ounces of prosciutto.  Beat together eggs, cream, garlic and onion powder.  Layer ham, prosciutto and cheese over potato crust.  Pour egg mixture over top and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Turn oven down to 350 and bake until set approximately 30 more minutes.  Quiche is set when middle is slightly soft and sides don't move when pan is jiggled.  

Fighting Off A Cold

How ironic that I posted about getting healthy yesterday and this morning I work up with that sick feeling in the back of my throat.  I am doing everything in my power to fight off this cold.  I don't want to be sick.  I don't like to be sick.  Since there is no climbing into bed and wallowing in my sickness I am a miserable sick person.

The first thing I did after I finished my morning 16oz of water was take a Zicam.  I then proceeded to drink my way through the morning alternating between hot tea with lemon and honey and cold water.  Mother Nature decided to add insult to injury and sent us snow.  It started around 10:30 this morning and still has not stopped.

After getting my niece Elise on the bus. I made myself some chicken soup.  Dinner was put in the crock pot at the same time.  Super easy. Four frozen chicken breasts and one bottle of honey barbecue sauce cooked on medium for 6 hours.

My day was spent doing my tiny tasks.  Writing out bills. Addressing 50 post cards for my Girl Scouts' postcard exchange.  Finishing my Valentine's garland. And of course there is the never ending ebb and flow of the laundry.

Keely came home from school and homework was done. She wrote the best paragraph based on a picture of a ground hog in sunglasses driving a car.  According to her, he was driving because he was cool.  He was going to Texas to bring back the hot weather because he was tired of winter!  I love this kid!!!!  She 100% came up with everything on her own.  I have no idea where the idea of Texas came from.

Once homework was finished she played with her iPad.  I did more laundry.  Then whipped up a hashbrown casserole to go with the chicken.  It was a mish mash of refrigerated hashbrown potatoes, numerous ends of bags of shredded cheeses, a jar of Ragu double cheese sauce and various spices.  It really came out great... too bad I will probably not be able to duplicate it.

I am exhausted. So if y'all will forgive me for not posting any pictures or recipes, I am going to carry myself up to bed. I hopefully will be asleep before 9:00pm.

Please feel free to share with me your home cold remedies.

Taking Healthy Steps

So, part of my resolution was to use Pinterest to help me become more healthy.   Since I have not been working in an office environment everyday, I have fallen into a nasty soda habit.  I have always been a big water drinker.  However,  having such easy access to my beloved Coca-Cola, I have gone from 2 cans a day to somedays drinking 6 cans. Bad, bad, bad.

I am not ready to completely give up my soda. I don't drink coffee. I am not a smoker.  I will enjoy an occasional "adult" blender treat.  Two Cokes a day I don't think is unreasonable.

Water is good for you.  Your body is 60% water.  Your brain is water. Your blood is water.  You get the picture.  I have been trying to drink at least 64oz a day.  I have my first 16oz as soon as I wake up.  Before even my "sparkling coffee", as a college friend once dubbed my AM soda.

I found this interesting graphic that speaks to the benefits of those first 16oz.

Another nasty side effect I am chalking up to my increased soda consumption is breakouts.  I never had bad skin as a teenager. In college still no problems.  Suddenly, at 41 zitopia has sprung up on my face. I do not like that at all.  Actually what I am blaming is the increase in sugar I have been consuming through soda.  In general I am not a big cookie, candy, dessert person. I LOVE savory foods. I would rather eat a cheese stick than a dish of ice cream.  With the exception of Coca-Cola I generally don't consume very sugary products. 

I have set a mini goal for myself in that I plan to drink this Detox "tea" 2x a day for the month of February.  Two cups of tea will be another 16oz of water. That puts me at half way towards my overall 64oz minimum goal. 

I pinned this from Food.com.  The note says to have one cup in the morning and one cup before you go to bed.  Results should be visible after one week and to continue the treatment one week a month.  

Glowing Skin Detox Tea

2 1/2 tsp honey

1 lemon slice - 1 inch thick

1 cup boiling water

Add honey to mug of boiling water and stir until completely dissolved. 

Add slice of lemon and allow to brew for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Drink 2x daily for 1 week. Once upon rising and again before bed.

Since I will be purchasing lemons for the tea, I also thought I was flavor the remaining 32oz of my daily water.  I originally pinned this detox water recipe from Toned and Fit.  They call it Skinny Water but I don't like that.  Sweet Simple Life calls it Sassy Water.  I like that much better! 

Sassy Water

2 lemons
1/2 cucumber
fresh mint

fresh ginger

Thinly slice lemons and 1/2 cucumber and place in the bottom of a 1 gallon pitcher.  Crush mint leaves and add to pitcher.  Finally ginger can be very strong so start with 1-2 paper thin slices from your fresh ginger root.  

Let sit overnight in the refrigerator and drink the next day.  I have seen on other sites not to keep a batch longer than 2 days as the mint will begin to mold. However, if you are drinking 64 ounces of water a day you should have no problem going through a gallon in 2 days. 

I found this article on FitSugar that discusses the benefits of the individual ingredients. 

• Lemon: Lemon juice helps to cleanse and alkalize the body. Add one thinly sliced lemon to a large pitcher, or squeeze fresh lemon juice into your glass.
• Mint: Mint adds a touch of sweetness without the sugar to your water, and it also helps settle your stomach and aids in digestion as well.
• Cucumber: Cucumber water isn't just for spas. Adding a few slices of cucumber to your water makes for excellent rehydration, and cucumber contains anti-inflammatory properties, as well.
• Ginger: The spicy root helps cleanse out your system, aids in digestion, and settles your stomach. A little goes a long way.

So February is water month for me. Sort of appropriate being that it is a Water Sign month. Here are a few more good reasons to drink water. 

Hopefully by March it will have warmed up enough for me to start walking again. I found some fun fitness pins I am super excited to try out. Until then I will be doing more Just Dance on the Kinect. 

Not to be Negative...

It was -11 when I woke up this morning. NEGATIVE ELEVEN!!!! That is just wrong. WRONG WRONG WRONG. Clearly I am living in the wrong half of the United States. Anyone want to send me somewhere warm and tropical? I will give you a nice write up.

What the what? 

Joy and I quickly ran one errand today and beyond that we stayed in the house.  I know I sound like a big baby but it is just too cold to be outside.

After homework was finished I showed the girls the Aristocats on Netflix this afternoon. Watching old Disney films is like watching Pixar films today in that they seem to recycle their actors.

As you can see it was a very low key day. My Beauty made another 100% on her spelling pre-test so she does not have to take the actual test tomorrow.  I think this makes 8 in a row for the pretests and her 12th 100%.  She has never made less than a 90%. It astounds me how quickly she learns her spelling words.  For someone who does not have the physical capability to "sound out" a word I am amazed. Although, I have no idea what she hears in her own head. Perhaps she is sounding the words out.

Dinner tonight was Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers. I pinned the recipe from Quick and Easy Recipes.  As I am still trying to cook mainly from my pantry I had a couple of tweaks.

Also, I am allergic to raw onions, so I very rarely use them in something like this. Onion powder is my go to substitute but today I tried something a little different. Cooked onions are OK but they have to be cooked completely clear (think French Onion Soup onions).  I did not feel like cooking an onion for 30 minutes, so I winged it a bit. I drained a can of French Onion Soup and used those onions. We liked they way they came out and it added a nice bit of flavor.  I am going to include the fresh onion here but know there is a tasty substitute if anyone has the same problem. (I did not waste the soup. I saved what I strained. Tomorrow I will have french onion soup with no onions for lunch which is how I like it anyway! (silver lining)

Cheese Steak Stuffed Pepper

2 whole green peppers
1 onion
1 small can sliced mushrooms
1 package thin and lean roast beef
8 slices provolone cheese
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Thinly cut onion. Saute over medium heat with olive oil, mushrooms and a little salt and pepper. Saute until onions are caramelized. About 25-30 minutes.

While onions are cooking cut peppers in half lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds. Line the inside of each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese and place in a walled pan. Next cut roast beef into thin strips and add to the onions and mushrooms once the onions have caramelized. Allow to cook 5-10 minutes. Remove mixture from heat.

Fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are nearly overflowing.

Cover your pan with foil and bake for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes top each pepper with another slice of provolone cheese. Bake uncovered another 8-10 minutes, until cheese is golden brown.

Note: I added a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce to mine once I added my roast beef to the onions and mushrooms.

Spaghetti Night

Another super cold day here in the frozen north. Days like today make me seriously consider moving back down south.  Much of my day was spent under my toasty new electric throw with Joy while she napped.  Don't get me wrong. I did get work done between warming sessions. Floors were swept and mopped. I almost gave my mommy an asthma attack. More in the never ending laundry cycle wash, dry, fold repeat.  I also started a cute Valentines garland for my archway.

So I really did not do too much thinking about dinner (need to menu plan for the rest of the week) and I ended up doing a quick spaghetti with turkey meatballs made by my mom.  Let me tell you, these girls love spaghetti.  Keely is a pasta fiend in general. Mix anything with pasta and down it goes. The announcement that we were having spaghetti for dinner was met with a very loud "Essss!" For all of you who do not speak Keely-ese that means "Yesssss!"

My niece Joy is seems shares her cousin's enthusiasm for spaghetti.  She was not satisfied with her dinner of string beans and sweet potato.  So, I stripped her down and gave her a dish of spaghetti. The following is a picture of what ensued.  (Keely was not going to be left out of the fun.)

Of course naked spaghetti always ends with a trip right to the tub. The dogs are thrilled to follow behind the naked spaghetti eater.  Snacks fall off the naked spaghetti eater every step of the way. 

OK, now a little bit more about me.  I am a very tactile person. Because of this, clothes need to be de-tagged.  Lakes with mud bottoms are not swum in and certain foods are never eaten.  Jello, kiwi and bananas to name a few.  I just do not like the way they feel in my mouth. (insert your own crude joke here.) 

Now remember my non banana consumption is because of the texture of the banana. I love the flavor of bananas. I love banana flavored things.  Enter the Yonanas.  My mother brought one with her on her last visits for my niece Elise.  It is rarely used because Elise did not like it.  I was thinking this could be a fun way to get more fruit in both myself and Keely.  SOOOOO....I absconded from my sister's house last night with the Yonanas under my arm.  

This morning I peeled 2 bananas on the verge of baking stage and put them in the freezer.  Tonight I can tell you... I LOVE THE YONANAS!  It is my new favorite appliance.  I made Keely and I chocolate banana ice cream.  It was as easy as running the frozen bananas through the machine and mixing 4 teaspoons of chocolate milk powder to the finished product.  It was smooth and creamy. The consistency of soft serve ice cream.  We were both sorry I only had 2 bananas. 

Since I don't have the manual I have been poking around the internet to get some Yonanas recipes!  Has anyone else ever used one of these? Please share.

It's All Greek to Me

I am writing tonight tucked up in my new Sunbeam Electric Throw! I will be wearing this everywhere until spring. Now I just need to find an extension cord long enough. It is cold here with a capital C and we are not expected to make it out of the teens all week. I am trying to figure out of I need to leave the house before Friday night for Keely's skiing at the Double H Ranch.

We had a wonderful day today. We celebrated the 2nd birthday of a very special little boy at the Children's Museum at Saratoga.  It is such a great space. So many different activities for the children to do. Keely spent quite a bit of time in the Cafe. She loved cooking, taking orders, handing out checks. She was a regular Flo and just need a "kiss my grits". (I bet that just aged me! Ok 41, I am 41.) She also really liked the fire truck.  My nieces Joy and Elise loved it too!

My Mommy is in town for two weeks. I am very excited to be spending time with her.  That is another one of those silver linings about losing my job last year.  I get to see my mom all day when she is in town.

Dinner tonight was Chicken Gyro Burgers with Tzatziki sauce. I love Gyros! They are my fair food of choice.  In fact, it is what I get everyday I am at the fair. No matter how many days I go. I think the cold has me craving summer.  To me nothing says summer like a day at the fair. This is sort of an amalgam of all the Gyro and Tzatziki recipes I have tried over the years and now it is my own.

Chicken Gyro Burgers with Tzatziki sauce

1 package of Perdue Ground Chicken Patties  (4 4oz patties)
4 pita pockets
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp plus 1 tbsp garlic powder (or one clove finely chopped garlic)
2 tsp Lawry's Seasoned Salt
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup finely diced cucumber
1 tomato
remaining cucumber sliced thin
olive oil

Spoon Greek yogurt into a bowl.  Add lemon juice, cucumber and 1 tbsp of garlic powder or fresh garlic if you prefer. Mix to combine and place in refrigerator to chill until ready to use.

In a small bowl combine cumin, paprika, oregano, Seasoned Salt and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder.  Generously apply seasoning mixture to both sides of chicken patties.  In a flat skillet heat olive oil (just enough to keep chicken patties from sticking. Cook patties over medium high heat 5 minutes per side (or until cooked through if you have chosen to make your own patties)

Remove chicken patties from heat.  Split pita to create pocket. Insert chicken patty, cucumber slices, diced tomato and tzatziki sauce.

Notes:

1. I cut my burger into thin strips and assembled my "burger" like a taco on top of the pita then folded the entire thing in half.  
2. You can also mix the spice blend with ground chicken and 1 egg to form your own patties.  If you make your own patties please note that cooking times will vary depending on the thickness of your burger.  As a rule poultry needs to be cooked to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.   
3. Finally, if you choose, brown ground chicken and spice blend as you would taco meat.  I like to do this and toast pita triangles to make Gyro Nachos. It is nice with a little feta cheese and black olives.  

Company Weekend

I love company!  Nothing makes me happier than having visitors, I don't care if it is fourteen people for Christmas dinner or one friend visiting for the weekend.  I am a nurturer. As an Italian/Cajun momma, I have an almost pathological need to feed you. Mangia! Sick? Let me bring you soup! Had a baby? Here is a couple of frozen casseroles! Someone dies? Pasta for your family. You get the picture.

Friday night I got my house ready for company: guest bed changed, room cleaned, floors swept and mopped, my house is smelling Fabuloso! It is now of course 9:00 PM and I still have not eaten.  Matt and Keely had Salmon Teriyaki packets from Schwans. Unfortunately, I really don't care for cooked salmon, sushi...yes, lox...yes, cooked salmon...no, so I did not eat with them. Off to Pinterest to find something quick and easy.  Here it is - Bacon Avocado Cups from Primally Inspired

Their picture looks so much prettier than mine.

This was probably one of the easiest things I have made in a while of course I took their recipe and adjusted it just a bit.

one avocado diced and removed from skin

2 slices of bacon, 

Monari Federzoni Balsamic Glaze drizzled over top

So yummy and perfect for that time of night. 

Saturday is company day!  My bestie and her wonderful husband arrive.  They meet with my Girl Scout troop. It was a wonderful presentation and my girls would have sat and listened for three hours instead of the one I scheduled.  My sister and her family then joined us for dinner.  I started with this recipe I pinned for Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole from Six Sister's Stuff.  I knew however I wanted to stretch the recipe so I Kimified it a bit... This was my final result:

Kim's Chicken Pasta Cordon Bleu

1 pound chicken diced cooked chicken breast

1 box tri-color rotini pasta

1 box Stove Top chicken stuffing mix (6oz) 

1.5 cups shredded swiss cheese

8 slices Sargento Ultra Thin swiss cheese

8 ounces deli ham diced

1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup prepared dijon mustard

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare stuffing and pasta according to package directions.  Mix pasta, chicken, shredded cheese, ham, soup, milk and mustard together in a 9x13 casserole dish.  Layer swiss slices on top and then spread stuffing over it all.  Bake casserole for 45 minutes. 

Note: I actually marinated the chicken in 1/4 cup dijon mustard and 1/8 cup lemon juice overnight then sauteed the diced chicken before adding it to my casserole it gives a nice depth of flavor. 

This morning my Beauty wanted chocolate oatmeal for breakfast.  I have not bought packets of oatmeal in 6 months. I have been making my own. It is super easy and super CHEAP! I pinned the idea from Amylovesherlife. 

I actually got a great deal on 42 oz of Quaker Oats (2@$5) this past week.  I have a metric ton of Nesquik chocolate powder that I got a super deal on (50 cents!) so I have not had to buy chocolate powder in over a year (it expires in 2014 in case your curious).  I got the zip bags at the Dollar Tree and I reuse until I can't close them anymore (heh, I call it being green). 

Chocolate Oatmeal Packet
1/4 cup quick oats
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon chocolate milk powder

Combine 3 ingredients in zip top baggie.  That's it.  Seal up the bags and be done.  I make 14 packs at a time we store them in a panda bear cookie jar with a hollow head. After I empty the packet in the bowl I put the empty bag in the panda head. 

To make the oatmeal, add 1/2 cup of milk or water and microwave for 1 minute. If it seems a little thick add more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time. 

Snips and Snails

I had a little company today.  A boy!  He is sweet and soft spoken, calls me Miss Kim and a tiny tornado in disguise.  Bouncing here, whirling there and finding things in my house I did not even realize little hands would find.  

I will be the first to admit that I am all girl.  I have only one sister. I had a daughter. My sister has two girls.  I really have no idea what it is like to be around boys.  As a jewelry designer I have very little jewelry for boys and men because I just can't wrap my mind around what they would want to wear. I am guessing for the average male, purple and sparkly is not what they are looking for.  My own daughter is a bit of an enigma to me. She loves pink, dresses, anything that sparkles and horses but at the same time she was Captain America for halloween, loves the Avengers and professional wrestling.

Spending the entire day with this little wonder was something completely new to me. A long long time ago in one of my other lives I was a nanny for a two separate little boys. One was a baby and the other clearly not typical in his behavior as I am now finding out.  What a day we had!  Playing cars, "mowing the lawn", letting the dogs in and out, in and out, in and out... you get the picture, my buddy was very concerned about making sure the dogs went out every chance they got. We played racing games on the iPad and danced to the music programmed in the keyboard.  

I was asked for something to eat 20 times before 10:30am, a snack of goldfish and a banana was presented, eaten and then I was promptly asked for lunch. I loved every minute of my day with my little boyfriend.  I can bet if he were here with me everyday I would drop 20 pounds in a month. Perpetual motion even while watching TV (jumping up and down in excitement) and eating lunch (legs swinging from the chair).  

Keely came home from school and he had someone new to dance and jump around with.  The giggling and laughing coming from the back room was like music. After he went home, Keely once again started campaigning for a little brother. I once again had to tell her that probably was not going to happen but anytime she wanted we could borrow our little friend. 

Tiny Tasks

Today was the day of many tiny tasks. Little short projects that needed to get done but have just been piling up.  It was also a day of laundry, as that never seems to end. It is amazing to me how many articles of clothing three people can go through.

Between loads of laundry, bills were organized, emails were answered, the dishwasher was emptied and restocked, clothes were mended (that sounds so 1889) paperwork was tackled, Girl Scout packets were stapled, chicken breasts were broken down into tenders, cubes and cutlets then bagged and frozen, coupon binder was cleaned out and on and on.

I love the feeling of accomplishment that getting lots of tiny tasks done gives me.  I am a list maker, my tasks have sub-catagories that give me extra things to check off when done. Nothing gives me greater satisfaction than checking something off my list.

I still have some more tiny tasks to be taken care of tomorrow as well as some larger ones to get ready for company on Saturday.  I am super excited for a visit from my Bestie and her husband.  They are coming to speak to my Girl Scouts about life in Russia!

Excessive Time in Waiting Room Fee

In my previous life I worked for a medical group, I understand that sometimes doctors get behind.

Today I showed up with Keely at 3:50 PM for her 4:00 PM  ENT (Ear Nose and Throat) appointment,  I know that this doctor consistently runs late. I have actually had to reschedule after sitting in the waiting room because I had to leave to make it to another appointment.  We have been patients there for 6 years, he is a wonderful doctor who I feel genuinely cares about my child and her well being.

We waited and waited and waited and waited. At 4:45 they finally called us from the waiting room to the exam room where you guessed it, we waited some more.  It took almost an hour to be seen.  Once we were with the doctor he took his time, asked all the right questions, reviewed our history and then (God bless this man for doing it) cleaned out Keely's ears.  

My poor Beauty has the waxiest ears on the planet.  They sort of remind me of how Shrek made a candle by sticking something in his ear. Unfortunately, this also makes her prone to ear infections. She hates to get her ears cleaned (she actually calls the ENT the "Scrapey" doctor). Since she really can't tell me what is going on, I am not sure if it hurts her or the noise bothers her, but whatever it is she screams like he is trying to suck her brain out of her ear.  She always tells me in advance that there will be crying. 

Today's results...double ear infection with a Z-pak and drops prescribed.  I am so happy for the Z-pak, meds are hard for us. She can't swallow a pill, most liquids taste terrible and the doses are pretty large.  I strongly feel that all medicines should come in strip or dissolving tablet form.  I can tell you that I literally cried they day I realized they stopped making Triaminic Thin Strips. The Z-pak is 5 days and we are done! 

So it was a good thing I put dinner in the crock pot this morning! I had a frozen teriyaki pork tenderloin, teriyaki sauce, orange juice and orange blossom honey..... 

Slow Cooker Orange Teriyaki Tenderloin 

1 Hormel Always Tender Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin

1 bottle La Choy Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup orange blossom honey 

1 Dole Mandarin Orange 4 oz. cup

In crock pot mix teriyaki sauce, orange juice and honey.  Add pork tenderloin, turning in sauce to coat, spoon sauce over tenderloin.  Cover crock pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours, if you like you can turn meat once during cooking. 

When done cooking remove tenderloin from crock pot and either shred or slice. Serve over rice and garnish with orange slices. 

Note: After shredding my tenderloin I made a slurry of 1/4 cup orange juice and 2 tablespoons cornstarch and added it to the liquid in the crock pot to thicken. I then put the shredded pork back in the  crock pot and served from there. 

This was a big hit! Matt and Keely both enjoyed it and the pork stayed so tender that I was able to eat some myself.  The picture is my plate... it is actually a saucer.  I am back with the little plate program of eating. 

Tell Me Why I Don't Like Mondays

"I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there's gum in my hair..."
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Did you ever have one of those days where nothing seems to go smoothly? I feel like that was my day today. First I forgot to pack Keely's library book to go back to school today. Then every task seemed to take twice as long as it should because somewhere in the middle there was some sort of glitch or I discovered something leading to another related task.  "I will just take a second and load the dishwasher...oh shoot, there are clean dishes in the dishwasher that need to be unloaded." That sort of thing.

It seems my Beauty had the same sort of day.  She was not quite feeling herself this morning after yesterday's gastrointestinal ordeal so she had a bad morning in school and had to "move a stick" there by causing her to miss 5 minutes of recess (a big deal to a 9 year old).  Then at lunch she dropped her sandwich.  Her aid got her a new one, she ate about half and then spilled her milk all over the rest.  Poor peanut. Her mother forgot to pack her library book so she did not get a new one from the library.

Her afternoon seemed to get better.  She had to write an "essay" about what she would do if she found a dinosaur in our backyard.  Apparently she would pet it, then ride it to school. *love it* I am thrilled that she is getting better at thinking of things to write. There was a time where she would not be able to come up with anything.  I wonder sometimes if she takes advantage of her silence as a way to hold back the world?  Easier to shrug her shoulders than put the work into writing something or using her device to answer a question.

We got all her homework done and actually made to it Aqua Therapy early today. She had a wonderful  therapy session and was beautifully behaved.  While she ate dinner and watched Horseland, I finished picking the rotisserie chickens I got this weekend for the Chicken and Gnocci soup.

I love grocery store rotisserie chicken! I can honestly say I would not be able to roast my own chicken for $4.99.  I only buy them when they are on sale and then I will get several at a time. If you work your chicken right you can get a good 3 meals out of it. If I have more than one I separate the meat into light and dark and freeze it.  Then I boil the carcass and make chicken stock.

I let it cook down quite a bit. When I started it the liquid was up to the top row of holes.  Now I have a wonderful stock that I can use later this week or freeze for use further down the line.

While that was boiling away I finally got Matt's breakfast burritos done. Like the freezer sandwiches I try to keep them under 200 calories.  You really have to watch the calorie count on the flour tortillas, they can get up there.  If I can get them on sale I will use the Flat Out flat bread for 100 calories. Here is this rounds ingredients.

Breakfast Burrito
16 servings
2 packages Old El Paso 8 inch flour tortillas
16 medium eggs
8 slices Sargento Ultra Thin colby jack cheese
16 slices Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh black forest ham
salt and pepper to taste

Scramble the eggs 8 at a time and allow to cool (hot fillings will leak through tortilla wrap).
To assemble lay one tortilla on a piece of plastic wrap. Place 1/4 cup of scrambled egg 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the tortilla, add a slice of ham and half a slice of cheese.  Fold the bottom of the tortilla over the filling and fold in both sides making a pocket. Roll away from you until you reach the farthest end of the tortilla keeping the sides tucked in as you roll. Wrap in plastic wrap and tuck in the sides.

Again simple and easy.  You can add whatever fillings you want shredded cheese, shredded potato, chopped bacon, salsa, veggies.  Just remember the more stuff you add the larger the tortilla you are going to need.

Tomorrow is going to be a crockpot day.  We have an appointment for the Beauty with the ENT.  I always make her appointments for the very end of the day, this way when they clean out her ears her screaming does not scare any of the other patients.

Lazy Sunday

After a long cold day outside watching Keely ski yesterday at the Double H Ranch, angels in the snow,  I was looking forward to a nice lazy Sunday.

The lazy day I got was not quite the one I bargained for.  Sure I spent the day snuggled up on the sofa watching movies and Netflix, however, the circumstances were less than ideal. My poor Beauty has a tummy bug.

She and I spent the day watching movie after movie. Return of the Jedi and Labyrinth followed by lots and lots of Horseland.

Thank goodness she seems to be much better. I guess Horseland and Popsicles go a long way towards recovery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I did get to some cooking this weekend.

Friday I made a pan of Baked Farfalle Florentine, Saturday morning was a pot of Creamed Chicken Gnocci soup and I did get all of Matt's freezer sandwiches done.

I promise to get you the pasta and soup recipes soon but really I can't put them up because they consist of instructions like add milk, mix grated romano cheese, throw in some chicken.  I need to focus on measurements the next time I make them so I can share them with you.

One of the ways we save money is that Matt brings his breakfast and lunch every day.  For breakfast he has a breakfast burrito that I make in bulk sessions and freeze.  In the morning he grabs one and heats it up while he makes his lunch and coffee.

Lunch is a freezer sandwich.

These are so simple and easy to make and for around $1 and less than 200 calories he has a sandwich he can just grab and go.

Freezer Sandwich

Arnold Bakery sandwich thins
Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh turkey
Oscar Mayer Deli Fresh ham
Sargento Ultra Thin colby jack cheese slices

Each sandwich consists of one sandwich thin, 3 slices turkey, 3 slices ham and 1 slice of cheese.

Wrap in foil and freeze.

It is that simple. Matt throws his in his lunch bag with a greek yogurt, baby carrots, banana, Emerald Breakfast on the Go pack and an apple or pear.  It keeps his yogurt cold and by lunch time it is thawed and ready to eat. He keeps a little bottle of mustard at his desk and puts that on the sandwich. Done. Better for you than fast food and much less expensive.
For a while I was making my own breakfast on the go packs for him but he prefers the pre-made ones so I get him those only when they are on sale and only when I have a coupon. :)

Shrimp, Scallops and Sleeping Babies

Day 2 of inventory continues... I confess I did not get as far as I could have because I am a sucker for a sleeping baby. I love love love it when Joy naps on me. Did I mention that I love it? She gets all warm and snuggly and gives off that sweet sleeping baby smell.  Her little hand will reach up and touch my cheek every once in a while *melt*, well, you get the idea.

So today I only got to my side-by-side in the kitchen.  This is also a great way to do some purging and get your cabinets and refrigerator clean (although, I am a maniac about keeping my refrigerator clean and organized).  Where was I? Freezer, right.

One of the many things I discovered in my freezer were some giant sea scallops left over from our Christmas La Vigilia. Score!  About 6 months ago I found the most amazing shrimp recipe on Pinterest.
We love shrimp and if I can get a good deal on the 16/21 count bags I will stock up. I can honestly say that I make this at least 3 times a month. I have searched and searched to give the original pinner credit but my pin only links to a photo.  Here is my write up of the recipe.

Amazing Shrimp

1 pound peeled, deveined 16/21 count shrimp
1 stick butter
2 - 3 lemons thinly sliced
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in oven in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Once butter has melted layer the lemons over the butter. (I like to have one round lemon slice per shrimp.) Add shrimp to baking dish and sprinkle with Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix.  Bake for 15-17 minutes.

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That is it! It is so simple and so yummy. 15 minutes seems to be perfect for 16 shrimp if there are more the time my take a little longer. You want to check frequently because you don't want rubbery shrimp! Before I serve it I give everything a nice stir and give the shrimp a nice coating of that melted lemon butter.  I have also been known to layer some really thin asparagus spears on the bottom between the butter and the lemon, as well as add a 1/2 cup of white wine.  That is the beauty of cooking, you get to play!

Well, along those lines I wondered how my amazing shrimp recipe would be if I turned it into Amazing Scallops!  If you guessed amazing... you are right! So here it is:

Amazing Scallops

1 pound sea scallops
1 stick butter
2-3 lemons thinly sliced
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in oven in the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Once butter has melted layer the lemons over the butter. Add scallops to baking dish and sprinkle with Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix.  Bake for 13-17 minutes depending on the thickness of your scallops.

Notes: I cut my scallops in half and gave them a quick sear on both sides so they would have a nice golden color. Taking into account the thickness and sear time I only baked my scallops for 8 minutes and they were perfect.

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Again, so simple, so easy and super delicious.  Unfortunately, my husband has contracted the bug that started at my sister's house and he really was not able to fully enjoy the yumminess, so I plan to make this again for him as soon as he is feeling better.

I served the scallops with a multi grain pilaf and creamed spinach. My Beauty ate hers right up and asked for seconds. I am very lucky that I have a child who will eat just about anything I put in front of her.  When people ask me my secret I tell them it is because I have always just fed her the same things we were eating.  Don't get me wrong the child has a love of noodles that is almost pathological but I can put anything in the noodles and she will eat it.

Tomorrow is a day in the kitchen for me.  I am making a soup to bring to the Double H Ranch with us on Saturday (the Beauty has another ski day), I am making a baked pasta dish for my girlfriend who had a death in her family, my husband is out of breakfast burritos and freezer sandwiches so those need to be made as well.  I guess tomorrow will be another recipe post.

Food Inventory Started

Woke up this morning feeling worse than yesterday, so after I put Keely on the bus I laid down on the sofa and slept another THREE hours.  After a shower and change of pajamas (I have been in my pajamas since Monday night, I get now why Hugh Hefner does it.) I was feeling a bit more more human so I decided to start my food inventory. I have four areas to inventory: basement pantry, chest freezer, kitchen pantry, kitchen refrigerator/freezer.  I knocked out the basement pantry today before Joy joined me for the afternoon and the girls got home from school. So I am a quarter of the way through this project. I found my inventory sheets at Organized Home.  There are so many wonderful holiday prep printables there, even decoration inventory sheets!

I have revamped my menu plan for the week and decided to cook right out of my basement pantry. I have been slowly moving us away from processed boxed foods now that I am home all day. So I would like to use up what I have. Are they convenient? Yes, but they are also full of sodium. (Another check in the Healthy Resolution Column) 

Tonights dinner was....

Quick and Easy Beef Stroganoff

1 pound ground beef

1 tablespooon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

2 Knorr Pasta Sides Stroganoff mixes

2 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Onion Onion blend

1/2 cup sour cream

2 cups water

1 cup milk

Brown ground beef with 1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Once brown add 2 Knorr Pasta Sides Stroganoff mixes, 2 cups water, 1 cup of milk and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Once a boil is reached turn heat down to medium, add 2 tablespoons Tastefully Simple Onion Onion blend and let simmer another 8-10 minutes until noodles are soft continuing to stir frequently.  Stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream, continue to cook on low 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and serve.  You may need it to sit to thicken for a few minutes before serving. 

I served this with green beans and a quick cucumber and tomato salad.  

It came out really tasty, however, it was really the first thing I have eaten in two days so that might factor in a little. 

Tomorrow is kitchen pantry inventory! I feel this is going to take me most of the morning because there at a lot of cupboards to go through. Then I need to stock up on some canned vegetable before Price Chopper's Can Crazy sale ends. Hopefully I will be able to get back in the basement while Joy is napping to inventory the chest freezer. I can't believe tomorrow is already Thursday, time flies when you are in a sickness induced stupor.

Under the Weather

I woke up this morning and thought I was a bit under the weather. Nauseous, sick tummy, a bit shaky... I figured I would feel better as I got moving and after a shower.  I was wrong, still I let my sister bring my niece Joy here because she herself was sick along with Elise my other niece.  

After a bit it was clear to me I was not getting better but getting worse.  I figured I would nap with Joy. 

Let me show you how that went...

No naps, Sissy!!!! 

So you see it was a rousing success. I thought maybe if I closed my eyes and modeled good sleeping she would follow suit. I took off my glasses, put some quiet music on my iPhone and closed my eyes.

This is what happens when a 12 month old gets ahold of your iPhone and figures out how to turn on the camera.

Joy says "I am a regular Steve Jobs!"

Tech savvy one year olds, who'd of thought?  The middle picture on the right is what it looks like just before your phone falls between the bed and the wall.

Finally I admitted defeat and called down to my sister's house.  My brother-in-law came to get her around 11:30 and I spent the rest of the day sleeping on the sofa until Keely got home from school at 2:30.

Silver lining: the good thing about being sick is that my husband refuses to let me touch anything he is planning to eat so I got out of cooking dinner.

The bad thing is that I hate being sick.

Crock and Roll

I love my crockpot, particularly on days like today.  Every Monday Keely has Aqua Therapy. It would be so easy to just order in or swing through Burger King on the way home.  I find it just as easy to toss something in the crock pot for a hot, healthy home cooked meal.  Today was a chicken day. I found a super yummy recipe on Pinterest (as I am typing that word I sing it in my head opera style).

It's Crock Pot Creamy Italian Chicken from a blog called Life as a Loft House. This is the second time I have made this recipe. My thought was to Kimify it by adding some canned or frozen mixed vegetables and serve it over a nice big hot biscuit. A sort of deconstructed chicken pot pie.  However, I had no such vegetables in my pantry or freezer. I would have known this if I had gotten to my inventory earlier in the day.

Regardless, it was still a nice hot meal waiting for us when we got home. We finished up Keely's homework while the biscuits were baking. I cut two into quarters and tossed them into the crock pot to see what would happen... dumplings(!) that is what happened.

On the menu plan for tomorrow are Tamales with pintos and cheese and green salad. Tomorrow morning I will be finishing my inventory and then running to Price Chopper to take advantage of their Can Crazy sale and pick up some canned veggies which I clearly need. Once that trip is done I will only need milk and fresh fruit from the market for the next couple of weeks.


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Update on last night's shopping trip. Let me tell you how much I love the Ad Match policy at Walmart! I super pink sparkly love it! The ad matching combined with the coupons I had saved me a ton and got me some super deals on several items and then savings overall were great!

Here is a little sampling. Purex detergent is $2.97 for a 33 load bottle at Walmart.  Price Chopper had it on sale this week for $1.99. Walmart matched that price. I had a $1.00 off coupon so I got the detergent for $.99! I bought 4 to add to my stockpile. That was a sensible purchase... My splurge purchase was Hershey's Simple Delights. Walmart had them for $2.98, they matched the Kmart price of $2.49 coupled with my $1.50 off coupon and I only paid $.99 for a bag of chocolate! Yippee.

Menu Planning and Ad Matching

I am going to try menu planning. To go along with that I have decided that this week in addition to my regular coupon clipping, I am going to test out Walmart's ad match policy.

There were five coupon inserts in the paper this week. I clipped what I know I will use and put those in my binder, then dated and filed the inserts for later use.  I have not found a site to do the ad matching for me so I did that while watching Keely bowl on the Wii. Click here to read what inspired my insanity.

I spent part of the morning downloading several menu planning printables to try out and decide which works best for me. 

This one leaves room for eating out, ordering in and leftover nights.

This one is a 7 day meal planner with room for a shopping list.

This is another 7 day meal planner with shopping list. 

I can't believe then volume of information and templates that are out there for this sort of project once you start looking.

I am getting ready to go on my shopping trip to pick up some basics I need for the week. My plan for the rest this week in this area is to take stock of my freezer and pantry so I don't keep buying items I have on hand but forget they are there. (Sort of how I wound up with 5 bottles of soy sauce and 4 things of table salt, which will last me the rest of this decade.) 

I have a cute envelope template, that I will be making this week, for my savings projects.  Please post if you have decided to join me and we can keep each other on track.  

Check in tomorrow for how the Ad Matching Expedition turned out. 

To Ski Or Not To Ski

We got a call last night from the Double H Ranch, "Would Keely like to ski tomorrow?" It only took me one second to say YES!

If you had told me 9 years ago my daughter would be skiing I would have told you you were crazy, but here we are all these years later and she is starting her second season zipping down the slopes.

My daughter, or "the Beauty" as I like to call her, has cerebral palsy. She also is non-verbal, microcephalic, and has Reynaud's Phenomenon. She also has periodic seizures. We had a birth event when she was born. The hardest thing I ever had to do was walk out of the hospital without my baby. It was seven days before we could bring her home.  I did not let anyone hold her or put her down that entire first day home.

In her nine and a half years here she has taught me firstly, I can not plan every moment of my life.  Our lives are one large game of wait and see. She has taught me the joy of small things.  Most importantly, she has taught me that miracles DO happen.  According to the professionals and specialists we have seen, the Beauty should have never opened her eyes. I myself have never seen her brain MRI but I know my girl is truly an angel here on earth. She brings light and laughter to everyone she encounters.

Today she swims, bowls, and plays soccer.  She loves Angry Birds and Bad Piggies, uses an iPad with a speech app to give herself a voice...and she SKIS! The look of pure joy as she comes down the mountain is one that I wish I could bottle and sell, I would be a millionaire! 

We are very fortunate to live near Lake Luzerne, NY.  It is the home to the Double H Ranch, part of the Serious Fun Camps network founded by Paul Newman.  They have a summer program that Keely attended for the first time in 2012 and an adaptive winter sports program of which this is our second year participating. All of these services are offered at no cost to the parents of the attendees.

So today my Beauty skied, she will have at least 5 more sessions this winter.  Tomorrow...who knows? I guess we will just have to wait and see. 

Money Makes the World Go Round

Another check in the wealthy column for my Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Resolution.

I stumbled upon this interesting savings plan last night and thought I would give it a go.

52 Week Money Challenge

I know it is easily achievable, in a nutshell for every week of the plan you are on that is the number of dollars you put in your savings account. This being week one, I have already put my $1 in my challenge envelope. Once I hit week 10 I will go ahead and deposit the total. (I feel sort of silly depositing $1) By the end of the year you will have saved a total of $1,378! So simple! Here is what the week by week looks like.

This is something completely independent of the $5 experiment. Hopefully by the end of the year I will be at least $2000 richer without even really trying.  Anyone want to join me? 

Along these same lines, my husband and I have discussed putting the 7 Bank Accounts Every Family Should Have plan into place. This should be a reality for us by February.  I absolutely love this idea. Once you read through the information the theory really does hold water.  The only account we would not need is an HSA (health savings account) because of the type of insurance we have and we have an MFSA (medical flexible spending account) through Matt's job.  

If your company offers MFSA take advantage of it.  It is pre-tax dollars that come out of your paycheck to be reimbursed later for health care expenses you incur throughout the year. It lessens your tax burden on the front end and pays you back for expenses you would normally have, dental co pays, vision expenses, prescriptions and medical co pays. However, be sure to not to take more than you will use because the funds do not roll over from year to year.  If you over estimate your expenses you will be out the surplus money. Use it or lose it. 

Baby It's Cold Outside

So, to say it is cold outside is an understatement... it is positively frigid up here in the great white north! The weather app on my phone tells me the temperature is 1. ONE!!!!! I don't even want to stick my hand out the door to get the mail out of the mail box.

My big project for today is to de-Christmas-fy my house. All things Christmas are to be put away with the exception of the lights on my archway. (I call them fairy lights and then I can keep them up all year.) So out with the Santas and in with the Snowmen in the Milligan household and since we will most likely have ground cover here until mid March the snowmen stick around a while. 

Once that is done I need to prepare for my Girl Scout meeting tonight. I know nothing like waiting until the last minute. We are going to start getting ready for World Thinking Day in February. Our country this year is Russia. So the girls will need to come up with some information for our display and decide on what food to make for everyone to try. Lucky for me the meetings take place at my house so I still can avoid going outside today. 

I thought I would share my Chili recipe with you for those who are interested. Sharing a recipe that is uniquely mine is tough because I am a cook by taste person and not really a measuring person (which is why I can't bake, all baking done at Chez Milligan is done by Mr. Milligan). 

Kim's Famously Delicious Chili

1 pound lean ground beef

2 packets taco seasoning

3 cans beans of your choosing (light pink kidney, cannelini, black, pinto, garbanzo, butter, etc) 

1 large jar mild salsa (I don't do spicy foods so if you do use hot salsa) 

1 large can crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

Brown ground beef in stock pot with taco seasoning. Once meat is browned, drain and add beans to pot, add salsa, crushed tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, garlic and onion powder. Stir and cook on low heat at least 3-4 hours uncovered. Should make 8-10 cups of chili. 

Thats it. You see why I make this at least 3 times a month in the winter. 

You can also brown the ground beef and put everything in a crock pot and cook on low. The longer it cooks the better. 

Resolution Number 1

Wealthy? How about comfortable?

So far today I have put a pot of chili on the stove - mostly beans, 1 pound of lean ground beef (so healthy resolution semi covered), gotten rid of miscellaneous holiday junk food left overs (another check in the healthy column) and worked on coupons and finances. 

Finance wise, I found and pinned this idea and love it.  All about the Lincolns baby!(this was originally posted on this blog www.thefairlyoddmother.com but the link now seems to get broken. She has lots of good information so feel free to poke around.) The basic premise is anytime you find yourself with a $5 bill you squirrel it away, I am going to do this for all of 2013. That being said, I happened to get $25 for Scarborough Research in the mail for completing their most recent survey sent to me (chi-ching) so I had a $5 bill handy to start the process. I now have my little envelope with my first $5. (Which I will of course find a way to make fancy.) I am really curious as to how many I can acquire through the year, particularly now since I am moving away from using my check card and focusing more on using cash for day to day expenses (another check in the finance column).

OK, lets now talk about how much I love to coupon. I don't feel like I am one of those crazy extreme couponers but when I get a good deal... WHAT A RUSH! I do have to admit I have a mini stock pile going in my basement.

I have a coupon binder (pictures to come). Today I cleaned out all my expired coupons and reviewed what I had left. Then I printed off this list "173 Manufacturers to Contact for High Dollar Coupons", prepared an email draft to copy and send out to as many as I can. Tomorrow I will start sending e-mail requests. I will keep you posted on how that goes as well. 

Well, I need to go stir my chili.  I can't think of a more perfect meal when the temperature refuses to break out of the teens.