Wish I had taken a picture!

On a whim, I decided to make up a new recipe tonight. A spinach stuffed chicken breast… oh sooooooo yummy! Why did I not take a picture of my new creation? I was probably too hungry, as was my husband

So here it is: (and I didn’t measure a thing….sorry)

Pound some chicken breast thin

In a bowl I added about half a 15 oz container or part-skim ricotta cheese, a very generous amount of thawed and squeezed  frozen spinach, minced garlic, a little crushed red pepper flakes, a little chopped roasted red pepper, just a little feta cheese, and some grated Parmesan cheese, just a little grated sharp cheddar cheese, and just a little bit of Italian dressing

Mix it all together really well. I also added a bunch of salt and pepper. Next time I’ll add less salt – the cheeses added a bit more than I expected when baked

 I brushed a little bit of Italian dressing over chicken and spread mixture over pounded chicken breast and rolled them up. After rolling it up, I drizzled just a little more dressing over the chicken. (We like flavor)

I had left over spinach mixture, so my husband suggested spreading it over the top of the chicken

Baked the chicken in a 13 x 9 pan covered for about 35 minutes, then uncovered the  pan and placed under the broiler for a handful of minutes while I watched. This made the spinach mixture on top a little crispy and delicious

 I have to say, I’m proud of my creation. It was very yummy and it is going on my menu for next week! Add a salad or rice as a side dish and you’ll have an easy and tasty dinner!

Let me know if you try it and what you think

Oh by the way, if you use part-skim ricotta, it can be a South Beach friendly meal!

 

Blue Man Group

So! We went to see these guys at the War Memorial in Syracuse NY last night as my husbands birthday present. It was very cool! My husband and I don’t really attend concerts or things along those lines, no particular reason, we just don’t really tend to go down that road much. So last night was something different for us, and we kinda needed to do something fun after a busy couple of weeks.

It was funny as we were sitting there last night. There was a sweet family in front of us who’s daughter and possibly a boy-friend were so VERY excited to be there! These early 20 year olds – or so – were so engrossed in the atmosphere of the show. Exactly what the producers of the Blue Man Group would want! What was funny is that I noticed Josh and I were removed from the show in some ways. Don’t get me wrong, it was awesome!!!!!! Entertaining, engaging, great! But we were removed for different reasons I think.

Josh and I both have musical backgrounds so it enticed us to sit there in awe listening to their awesome drum beats and rhythmic timing, watching 3 and at times 5! drummers all coincide on the same stage! Since Josh is now starting to think about the Generation Conference, he was totally engrossed in the staging, the lighting, the graphics, the technology, the colors, etc! And our seats were perfect for us. We were totally dead center, but all the way in the back of the auditorium. We were able to still get the whole effect of the show, but we had even a “view” of the sound guys – which to some might have been annoying – but to us was another cool thing. The sound board was extensive, no surprise, but the guys barely seemed to touch anything! It’s hard to explain, but with all the different lighting, sounds, technology with live feed too, etc – it was unreal that the sound guys werent running around like crazy! I know, they do this all the time, but it still was impressive!

Enough…. even though we weren’t as totally outwardly engrossed as the cute couple next to us, it still had our attention and our minds going a million miles an hour! Good birthday present, if I do say so myself!

 

Tonight….

Tonight my husband and I are going to see the BlueMan Group! Yeah! They seem so cool anytime I’ve seen them on tv. When I was in Vegas a few years ago, we looked into seeing them, but it was a bit pricey. A few weeks ago I saw an advertisement on tv and thought it would be a great birthday present for my hubby Update later!

 

Sewing…

At the beginning of the year, I used some Christmas money and bought a sewing machine. The last time I did any sewing projects was back in middle school. I loved it, but over the years I just never did anything else. Not sure why, but towards the end of last year I decided I wanted to pick it back up… random I know.

So yesterday I went out and picked up this fabric and pattern, and went to work on this apron. Not bad huh?? Its an easy thing to do, I know, but considering its been at least 10  years since I last did any sewing, I’m proud of myself Sewing is really relaxing for me, it kept me busy for quite a while, and I very much enjoyed it. At the beginning of the year I was praying for greater creativity and in so many ways I have already seen God answer my prayers. It may sound funny that I would count sewing as an answer to prayer, but to see something new that I did with my own two hands counts as greater creativity to me.

So, on my agenda for today? To use this apron, and possibly make some more South-Beach friendly foods, and probably a few goodies that aren’t South-Beach approved too. Last week I made Greens for the first time, (not collard greens, but up here they call them Utica Greens.) and they turned out pretty good. Look for a blog about that soon! And those are South-Beach approved if you use whole-wheat bread crumbs or just eliminate them all together.

Till another day, what does God have for you this day? What would He want you to do, say, be like, repent of?  Spend even just a moment with Him, expect to walk away with something, and you will. We serve a great God who loves us, no matter what our circumstances might try to tell us.

 

Menu Planning

I recently was viewing another blog and an older post asked the readers to share their menu planning habits or tips. I learned mine from my mother and it works decently well most weeks. Of course, there has to be flexibility for unseen events or circumstances, but this plan does help with our busy schedule. I’ve had a few friends ask me what I do, so I decided to share it.

1. Look at the calendar

Generally I shop for two weeks at a time. Yes, it can be a lot of groceries and a bit of time spent at the store, however I personally enjoy not having to go to the store multiple time a week. When I first got married (8 months ago) it was the first time I had lived outside of my parents home. I hadn’t used my moms system yet and found myself at the store loads of times in one week, and buying WAY more than I needed. A stocked pantry is very helpful, but who wants to waste money on items you know won’t ever get used in a timely fashion.

So, I sit down and look at my two weeks. I have a lovely little menu planner and write in the plans we might have already for the upcoming weeks. We have set commitments each week on certain days, so I write that in. If I know on a certain night we won’t be home for dinner, than I write that in, say for a wedding or other event.

2. Look through recipes

I do like to try new dishes so I spend time pouring over my many cookbooks or looking online for new recipes. I try to find a handful of new ones, and sometimes plan on adapting new recipes to fit our South Beach lifestyle (we are still works in progress, which is why its a lifestyle, and not just a diet). Sometimes I find better versions of something I already made or something I would never have thought of making.

3. Fill in the days on my calendar

Usually I start with the days that we are busiest, although sometimes I just start with the first day on my calendar then just work through each consecutive day. Depends on my mood I guess ha ha. Anyway, on the days where I know I need to prepare dinner and I know I will have limited time, I usually try to plan something fast, like making sandwiches into pannini’s or making a mexican inspired salad with corn, black beans, peppers, cheese, and grilled chicken on top. Fast and easy. Or I do a recipe in my crockpot, so it can cook all day, and when I get home, its done! On the days where I might be home longer or on the weekends, I usually try to plan my more involved meals. But during the week, you can come up with surprisingly nice dinners that don’t take up much time. My husband loves a lot of flavor in his food and lots of variety in the types of food. So I can’t/don’t want to plan just boring meals all week. But it does take some creativity.

Obviously I fill in the rest of the days with favorites and new recipes. Generally I try not to plan on having the same type of dish two nights in a row, like chicken, pasta, rice, etc. When I cook I usually don’t make enough to have leftovers, so I generally try to plan something for every night we would be home.

4. Look at the sales

Most of the time I sit down to do this before the adds in the paper come out. That’s where flexibility comes in. If something is on a great sale, I might change one of the days before I go shopping. Or I might on stocking up on something I wasn’t planning on originally.

5. Shop

We all have the little things we always need to buy, but as far as meal ingredients go, I generally try to stick to my list. I do this because I’m the type of person that loves to shop, and I will end up with a total I wasn’t planning on if I’m not careful, which is why I make a menu in the first place.

All that said, there are weeks where trial and error takes place. For instance, we happen to consume a lot of organic yogurt. Some weeks we will eat all of what I bought (usually 3 or 4 of the big containers ) and I have to get more, and some weeks we won’t go through it all. So I try to factor that in the next time I go.

Also, we all know two weeks is a long time to plan ahead. So of course date nights, and other plans come along that were not originally scheduled. What I do is the night I didn’t make what I planned,I skip the meal and tack that on to the end of my two weeks. It gives me an extra day before I go shopping again, and then what I bought doesn’t usually go to waste. I don’t like to shift everything over a day, bc of the days I might need fast meals might get mixed up. This works for me.

This year I am going to try to make greater portions of some meals so we can have leftovers. But what I have found with us is that we don’t usually eat leftovers unless I strategically plan them into another meal. So I am planning on giving that a try this year too.

I like this plan, given to me by my mom (thanks MOM!!) so I don’t have to be at the store every few days. It’s less stress for me, and as I may not be super organized in other areas, having my meals planned helps me to focus on other things!

Just my little grocery planning…. what is yours? Was this informative??

 

Breakfast!

After having a successful cooking night with the girls I mentor last night(I’ll blog about that another time), I was in a culinary mood today.

Since my husband and I have been eating according to the South Beach Diet since October, I wanted to try and make something for breakfast tomorrow that I’ve seen some other places. I also didn’t want to make a trip to the store, so I found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for.

I like this recipe, and next time I have a few ideas to make it even better. I have already put a bunch of these little “muffins” in the freezer for another day’s breakfast. These aren’t actually muffins at all, they don’t contain any flour at all, so they can be for any phase of South Beach.

Breakfast Bites

In my Kitchen Aid went a cup of ricotta cheese

Combine that with 2 generous tbsp of sour cream ( I used fat free), 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

I added a package of frozen chopped broccoli, thawed (spinach could also be used if desired)

In a separate bowl, I combined 4 eggs (I used large, brown, cage-free eggs), 1/4 cup milk (I used fat-free), 1/4 tsp hot sauce, 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper, 1/2 tsp lemon pepper seasoning, 2 tbsp parsley

I then added it to the mixture already in my Kitchen Aid

 Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

This time I used a mini-muffin pan, sprayed with cooking spray, filled about 3/4 of the way full. I think next time I will use the regular size muffin pan, and fill it just about all way. These bites rise a little, but not too much.

I put these in the oven for 15 minutes, sprinkled more cheddar cheese on them, then baked them for another 5 minutes or so

They are really good, and next time I think I would only do minor changes. I think I might add just a touch of garlic and onion powder, use a regular sized pan, and make them just a little crispier

In the morning I think I will heat them up in the toaster oven so they will crisp up nice. With the mini’s, they made roughly 35 bites.  They turned out to be a great little breakfast, and South Beach friendly!

Happy Baking!

 

Welcome New Year!

So I know it is  now a few weeks into 2008 but after a two week perspective re-alignment, (aka our church’s two week fast) I hope to be back into the blogging action.

A couple things:

Im trying my hand at selling some baked goods. My Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip cookies are item number 270205136332 on ebay

They are awesome!This recipe makes soft and fluffy cookies! I made them with Agave Nectar instead of sugar, so they are better for us, and low on the glycemic index, and of course made with whole wheat flour. So awesome!

Also, this year I want to journal more. About what’s going on in my life, the things that are on my heart, etc. I used to be really consistent with journaling, but then with 18 credits my last semester at school, planning a wedding, and a handful of other things going on, last year was not very fruitful in that area. So that’s another goal I have.

I have a few other business ideas rolling around in my head. I think in so many ways I take after my awesome mother, but in this way, I most certainly see my father in this part of me. This year I have a few options of ways to go in my life, and I feel a sort of leading in one particular area, but am waiting for the important confirmations. But I also am a big component of creativity, and multiple sources of income. (Totally my dad if you know him, right?) And a prayer I’ve been praying over us but over so many others too is that we would work smarter, not harder this year. Those business idea, what are they? Cant tell you yet…. I have to explore them more before I say anything Sorry

What else…. Ive been praying for more creativity this year too. And I’ll tell you what, its already begun. Im not bragging, I give all the credit to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. One morning, as I was still in bed waking up that day, I had a God thought/idea for a skit. Skits are hard to write, without them being, um, cheesy. I only have a rough outline – but it was totally God. I was not even thinking about a skit or Go Missions (our church’s missions organization) or anything. Chances are I was thinking about how much I missed my morning cup of coffee during the fast… as sad as it was that was the hardest part for me lol. Oh well…. but anyway….

2008 is really going to be an awesome year! I can already tell! Im very excited, and so looking forward to all the great things happening. As we put our perspective on the One who made us, it is really amazing how everything else changes and our lives have so much more meaning.

Are you allowing Jesus to have free reign in your life? Is He first – over everything? I mean Everything?

 

Merry Christmas!

Jesus is the reason for this season! Please let’s all try to remember that the next few days and thank God that He sent His one and only Son so that we might be free from the grip of sin. My Lord and Savior is the reason I have breath this very minute…. Merry Christmas and thank you Lord!

 

My lifes purpose…

The past few days have been quite thought provoking for me. A few months ago I posed the thought to my husband that I wasn’t sure the direction I was intending to go with more schooling was what I wanted to do. Since then, Ive been working and trying to sort through all the options that I have in front of me.

With 4 years of schooling behind me, I have just a fraction of the debt that I could have had at this point, thank the Lord. I have a B.A., and frankly don’t know what to do with it. It makes me laugh, because honestly when I chose my major because I enjoyed the classes and found them easy to me. Then down the road, I decided I could use it as a spring board into another career. Now…. I’m not sure what I want to do. But as I look back at those 4 years of schooling, I look back and realize whether or not I use this degree I can see God’s hand on me where I was at each point in life.

Yes, all my needs were provided for, more than I deserved. But more meaningful to me were the people that God put in my path those years. I met tons of people, some of which I still am in contact with every once in a while. The pattern that I see with all of those people is a weaving of God moments, that were completely divinely appointed. The conversations that would come up, the influences that I had, the moments of opportunity that presented themselves were totally and utterly because of my God. I am so thankful that despite my many flaws and distractions of the years, God has used me in so many ways. So many of those people I pray that I was an instrument for God in their lives, but they also taught me lessons. Of God’s power, His timing, His grace, His Hand. So so so many times over and over again.

As I am trying to figure out my next steps, I am desperate to do what He wants me to do. I want my life’s purpose to be in His Hands and to walk that out. But I am reminded that every day, even in this time of tenderly stepping, that He can and wants to use me. I won’t just “arrive” someday, but everyday there are opportunities ahead of me to use for God’s glory. Even as I write this, a women at my work is brought to mind. Even though this place of work is probably not my “calling” for life, God has brought her in my life for a reason. She already knows I am a born-again Christian. She asks me questions. She knows how I live my life. But we also just chat about regular things. But in this “meaningless” chatting, I can already see God using those little conversations for good.

My life’s purpose? Now? Later? I don’t know yet. But I do know He wants to use me now, and whatever I do end up doing He wants to use me. Sometimes I believe that God gives us clear direction for seasons in life, He has done it for me. But in others I believe if we make it a matter of prayer, He won’t let us go down a wrong road, but we might not have a clear direction. This is where faith comes into play, but also looking for God to use us where we are.

What does He have for me even today? For you?……

 

Our new coffee pot

 

Our new vacuum coffee pot

(my husband wanted me to write about it… well… here it is)