Another New Recipe

Last night, I tried a new recipe and I have to say it was a hit. You can find the recipe here at www.tastesbetterfromscratch.com She adapted her recipe from Paula Deen. Nothing says Southern like Paula!
The recipe calls for peeled, sliced tomatoes (recipe said Roma were best, so that's what I used). I blanched mine to make it easier. I cut a small, shallow "x" in the bottom and boiled them for 30 seconds. That's about how long it takes for the skin to start to come off. I then took a slotted spoon to get them out and put them in an ice bath for 5 minutes. The skin just slides off in your fingers. Then I sliced them and let them drain and sopped up any excess juice with a paper towel.

Not as pretty as the original recipe's picture, but they're peeled!

You can use red or green onion. I chose red, since I already had it on hand.

Mayo and cheese mixture with some salt and pepper sprinkled on top.

Voila! Finished product.

Delish!

New Recipes

Seriously, what did we ever do before Pinterest? It makes it so easy to try new recipes. I love my cookbooks and try to use them frequently but Pinterest has made me lazy. This week I've made 2 new recipes thanks to Pinterest.
First up, Salsa Verde Chicken Bake found here. It was super easy and delicious! I served it over white rice. They do tell you that you can buy tomatillos and make your own salsa verde ( translation: green salsa), but I used jarred. I used the Herdez brand.

This recipe turned out so good. I was a little surprised, I thought it was too easy to end up being that good. But I see this ending up in our usual rotation of favorites. 

Of course, we ate on our yellow and blue plates to bring good luck to the Grizz but sadly it didn't work this time. Hopefully it will tonight!

The second recipe was what I made tonight and I'll admit I'm cheating a but because I have made this one once before but it was a looooooong time ago. Creamy and tomato spinach pasta and it's so good! Reminds me of penne rosa from Noodles and Co (are we ever going to get one in Memphis?). Pretty simple to put together, paired with a salad it would make a great "company" dinner. 

My friend Angela introduced me to the Egg White Delight McMuffin. Pregnancy has made me crave them every single morning. That and my daily Starbucks, can add up quickly. I decided to make my own, and it turned out almost the exact same. I think I like them so much because I'm not big on egg yolks and there is something about that white cheddar that is so darn yummy! 

I just use Thomas' English muffins, one slice Kroger Canadian bacon, 2 egg whites (I spray a little Pam in a little flat dish I have, whisk the egg with a bit of water and nuke for about 45 seconds) and a slice of Cracker. Barrel sharp white cheddar. I plan on having one every morning until I get sick of it. 

My Happy Place

Spring has sprung! Springtime in Memphis is my favorite. All the flowers are in bloom, and for about one to two weeks we have perfect, gorgeous, you-only-read-about-in-books weather. Someone actually wrote about this perfect week here. My favorite thing about spring is getting to clean out my dead from winter flower beds. I love having beautiful flowers and plants in the beds on my patio. We have a townhome, so no big yard to speak of. I love the the manual labor it takes to get the patio looking this way. Weird, I know. For some reason I love it! I think it's because I love sitting back and knowing I accomplished it. It's such a great feeling of satisfaction. It's the same satisfaction I get sitting in my house after I've cleaned it on Thursday. (Thursday is cleaning day, I think its because I like to wake up on Friday knowing I'm starting the weekend with a clean house. Funnily enough, my parents do the same thing.) This all started when I bought the place and my mom came to town and helped me plant everything. She dug up all the monkey grass (hate the stuff!) and we even laid the brick for the glider to sit on. The patio is my happy place. I love starting my morning sitting out there, sipping my venti vanilla no water chair from Starbucks while reading my daily Bible devotional to start my day. I love coming home from work and sitting on the patio while sipping a glass of wine water and chatting with my husband about the day. It's the little things in life, right? So here is the patio transformation as it happens every year.

This is after I cleaned out all the beds, got out all the dead leaves, old mulch and dead flowers. I think I had already taken a few bags to the dumpster.

It's hard to tell, but there are a few hostas and caladiums sitting there.

Got this fire pit as a gift, and since we aren't allowed to have open flames I started using it as a planter a few years ago.

I love geraniums and I love this wall hanger. I always put geraniums in it because it reminds me of the window boxes we saw in Venice:

The hosta in the turquoise pot as done better than any of them. And don't you just love hanging fuchsia plants?

My mom got me this glider when I first bought the place. I love it because it looks like those retro lawn chairs from the 60's.

My patio as I post this. Had to enjoy the view from inside today. Thanks to God for watering my flowers!

Here's some pics of the patio this past fall. I did more than I usually do and loved it. I have a feeling this fall I might be too busy/exhausted to get it to look like this again.

A Few Things

Over the past few weeks I have had 2 posts about what to say/not to say to pregnant women. (You can read them here and here.) All of them having stemmed from things I have actually heard. I have gotten lots of feed back from people and I feel like this feedback deserves a follow-up. I have had many people say to me "I'm so sorry you've had to hear that," and "I can't believe people are so rude." A few of my friends who are also pregnant have said things like, "That's so terrible. No one ever says stuff like that to me." Let me clear up a few things. First off, I am not offended by the things I've heard from people. Maybe a little irritated (chalk it up to pregnant hormones), but not offended. It would take more than stupidity to offend me. I find the things people have said amusing and just down right funny that they have the nerve to say what they do. Secondly, I would like to say I probably get 3 times as many compliments for one rude/amusing/funny comment. The other day a man asked if I were 5 months and when I told him 7 he couldn't believe it. But would you really want to read a blog where I go on and on about how everyone is telling me how great I look? Please, that would make me vomit. So please know that when I share these things it's because I find them funny and I'm not so narcissistic to post a blog all about how great I am. Although, I guess I'm somewhat narcissistic since I have a blog? I just assume people want to hear what I have to say. But then again, we all have a little bit of Narcissa in us.

And speaking of being funny, when did everyone become so dang sensitive?!

Last weekend I shared an article on Facebook (you can read it here) about runners. Basically the author was saying how he was tired of hearing all about people's runs, seeing statuses on Facebook about it, people bragging about their marathons, etc, etc. I took it to be read as satire, meant to be taken lightly. I thought it as funny because Lord knows I am not a runner. I'm the girl who would rather write a check than run for a charity. I'm the girl who in college would've said dancing in 4 inch stilettos was a better work-out than running. But, apparently I offended some people.

I usually do not explain myself. My mom used to have this sign that her mother (and if you ever met her mother, you'd know she did not explain herself) that read: "I don't explain myself. My friends know me, and the rest wouldn't understand anyway." This is a mantra I try to live by. The person who seemed most offended by my post was someone I hadn't seen since high school and clearly doesn't know me or my sense of humor that well. Even though I'd like to think I don't have to explain myself, apparently I do. My real friends may understand but not all my Facebook friends do. Please know that anything coming across as negative, I'm just being my usual cynical self. Deep down I'm a pretty positive person but I'm not one to blow sunshine up you all day long either. Also, please know whatever I post on my blog, or social media is for the most part meant to be funny. I'm not purposely trying to offend anyone. If you do get offended, than build a bridge and get over it. If anyone ever told you that everyone was going to like you, agree with you, think you're the best person ever, they lied. One of my friends posted this on Facebook the other day and I think it sums up everything perfectly:

I try to keep most of my posts light because I don't want the world knowing my business and because I choose to not be "attacked" by relative strangers on a media forum that would say stuff to a computer screen that most people wouldn't dare say to your face. However, I feel like with recent events and events to come (election year) that I ought to say something. Did you know that it is in fact possible to post/read/listen to something that you don't necessarily agree entirel...y with but get humor and enjoyment out of it anyway and not be offended? In fact, it's probably healthy because that means that you don't take yourself (and others) too seriously. And, if for whatever reason a person that you "follow" on Facebook keeps posting/saying stuff that you don't "like" or "find offensive" you can actually "unfriend" or if that's "too harsh" for you, that you can "unfollow" them?! Novel idea. If you keep disliking something someone says/posts, why in the world would you keep that negativity in your life. And! If you dislike what they have to say, why would you continue to spew hate and fuel the flame by commenting on how much you hate it?! Ugh. Sorry, it's a bit of a pet peeve of mine, and after a recent exchange I saw on Facebook, I thought I ought to say something about it (Yes, I understand the irony in posting something like this however, this is just something I've noticed a lot recently and I just have to wonder what happened to people's sense of humor). Thanks for reading.

AMEN! Exactly. What has happened to people's sense of humor? I think it's funny when we can give each other a hard time about not agreeing. I have one friend who is a die-hard Bama fan and HATES Ole Miss and Tennessee (which, of course my husband and I are die-hard fans). I think it's fun when we can banter back and forth. When he makes a comment about Hugh Freeze getting an undeserved raise, I don't take offense to it. Or, when one of my liberal friends makes a comment about me being conservative I don't get offended. I may think, "Bless your heart you are so stupid," but I don't get offended. (By the way, if you are liberal and just got offended you missed the whole point of this post.) Let's conclude with this: lighten up people! Life is too short to be offended by everything.

By the way, LET'S GO GRIZZ!!!! Beat those Warriors!

Recipes: Old Standbys

 A few weeks ago, I posted this recipe for a new salad I made us for dinner. So, today I decided to post some recipes that are in our regular dinner rotation. WARNING: None of these are healthy. Maybe I'll post healthy recipes on another day, you know when this kid comes out of me and I'll be focused on losing the baby weight.


Lettuce Wraps:
I think I started making this when Christopher and I were dating. It originated from a recipe from the "Body for Life Cookbook," and then sort of evolved from there to this recipe:


Lettuce Wrap Mix (found in Kroger with the Asian foods)
1 lb ground beef (could use ground turkey)
Sesame Seed Oil
Soy Sauce
Head of Iceberg Lettuce
Green Onions (chopped)

I cook the ground beef in a slotted Tupperware bowl in the microwave so I can drain as much fat as possible. I cook all my ground beef this way. I also buy 85/15 lean so, by the time I'm done it's super lean. My mom taught me this way, and I like it because I don't care for ground turkey.
I then put the meat in a skillet with a bit of sesame seed oil and the green onions. I let the green onions cook a bit and then I mix the lettuce wrap mix and soy sauce in with the meat (I just basically follow the directions on the packet).  Scoop into iceberg lettuce and voila! Lettuce Wraps!

I usually make egg drop soup with it. Also made from a packet, also found on the Asian aisle. 

Goulash:
My friend Shannon made this for me once when she and her daughters were down from Michigan visiting. It's so simple, yet so yummy. I've passed it on to a few people. My friend Angela makes it all the time, her family calls it "Jen's Chili Mac."


1 lb ground beef
1 can Campbell's tomato soup
2 cans diced tomatoes with celery, onion and bell pepper (I prefer Del Monte)
Macaroni Shells


Brown the ground beef (I prefer my microwave method, but a skillet is fine). Mix tomatoes and soup with ground beef. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles.
*Note: sometimes I'm really lazy and I just mix the tomatoes and soup with the meat in a microwaveable bowl and heat it up that way. Either way works!


King Ranch Chicken Casserole:
This is what I made the first time I ever made dinner for Christopher. He loves it. The original recipe (what I made the first time) has sautéed onions and bell pepper. I skip that part now.


Boiled, cut up chicken (I eyeball this, but I'd say 2 cups is about right)
2 cans Campbell's cream of Chicken Soup (original recipe calls for 1 chicken, 1 can of cream of mushroom. I love mushrooms, but not in my Mexican food)
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
Shredded Mexican Cheese (I use Kraft)
Tortilla Chips


Mix the chicken with the soups, Rotel tomatoes and spices. Put a handful of crushed chips in the bottom of a baking dish (I use the deep, oval Corningware casserole dish), then spoon half the chicken mixture, then a handful of cheese on top of that. I repeat, and end with a little more chips and cheese on top to create a "crust." Bake in the oven at 350* for about 25 minutes, or until casserole is hot and cheese is melted.


Stroganoff:
This is a recipe from my friend Casey. She used to make it for me in college when we were roommates. It's one of our favorites!


1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 Tsp salt
1 clove garlic minced (I cheat and use the minced stuff out of the jar)
1/4 Tsp pepper
1 4oz can of mushrooms
1 10oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup sour cream


In a large skillet, cook and stir meat and onion in butter until meat is brown and onion is tender. (Again, I do my meat microwave method and then add to skillet after I've browned the onion in butter.) Stir in flour and salt, garlic, pepper and mushrooms; cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in soup; heat to boiling. Stir constantly. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream and cook until it is heated through. Serve over poppy seed noodles.


Poppy Seed Noodles:
Bag of egg noodles
Butter
Poppy Seeds


I boil the noodles and when they're done mix a little butter with them until it melts and sprinkle poppy seeds over them.


Chicken Pot Pie:
This is Christopher's grandparents' recipe. He loves it. His grandparents would make 2 when he came over for dinner so he could take one back with him to college. His sweet Grandmom, "Betty," shared it with me a few years ago.


2 cups white chicken cut up (you can use canned, I opt to boil chicken breasts)
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp flour
1 can Swanson's chicken broth
1 can Vegall veggies (drained)
Pillsbury Ready Made Pie Crust


Melt the butter in a pot and add 4 Tbsp of flour. I stir in between adding the Tbsp of flour as to avoid clumps. Pour in the chicken broth. Cook on high heat and stir constantly until it's thick.
Put chicken in the bottom of a pie dish. Add Vegall on top, then pour butter mixture. Lay pie crust on top and cut slits in it. (If you want, you can get fancy and cut the pie crust into strips and make a lattice top.) Bake in the oven at 425* for 25-30 minutes.

This is when I actually took the time one fall to cut the crust out with little leaf shaped cookie cutters.
Usually I'm not this creative.

Short Ribs:
This is another infamous recipe from Christopher's grandparents. They made it for me the first time I went over there for dinner.


1 packet of short ribs (there's usually 1/2 lb - 1 lb in the pack at Kroger, found in the meat department)
1/2 onion chopped in big pieces
2 cans stewed tomatoes (I use my Cutco kitchen shears and cut them up into smaller chunks)
Butter
Cooked spaghetti noodles


Brown the short ribs in a deep skillet (or electric, that's what Betty uses) on butter on each side.
Add onions and tomatoes (I cut them when I pour them in the skillet, super easy when using the shears). Cover the skillet and let simmer for about an hour and a half - 2 hours. Serve over spaghetti noodles.  

Sorry for the bad quality, this is from a pic I took on C's birthday and I had to zoom it in.

Please know that I do cook healthy meals for us as well. We love to eat tilapia and salmon, and chicken breasts with veggies. But, I figure no one really needs a recipe for that. :)

Princess Charlotte



Isn't she a gorgeous baby?!



Kate and William welcomed their beautiful princess into the world the other day. Unless you have been living under a rock, you know this. I'll admit I love keeping up with the royal family. I think it's because we haven't had anyone in the family to love since Diana. Kate is my generation's Diana and it's just fun to keep up with them. And let's face it, she's a lot more classy of a celeb to follow than those dang Kardashians. (I could dedicate a whole other blog on how much I can't stand them.) I love to check out what Kate's wearing and would give my eye teeth to have her maternity wardrobe!


What I don't understand is all the backlash Kate's getting from people on social media. Before I go any further let me preface the rest of this post with this: Yes, I know I am going to sound like a hypocrite for posting anything about not judging celebrities. There's nothing I enjoy more than talking about how certain celebs are ruining the world, or how stupid I think they are. Hence my comment above about the Kardashians. So, no need to call me out on it. I've already recognized this. With that being said, I don't understand why people are saying so many negative things about Kate.



I love how happy they look in this picture. And, you'll notice that's a loose dress. I'm guessing because she didn't want anything close to her crotch! 


First off, people are going on and on about how did she make herself look so great. Then they make comments like "must be nice to have a hair and makeup team to fix you up," and so on and so on. Come on people, did you expect her to come out in a ponytail, yoga pants and no makeup? If she did, then you'd all be saying "I can't believe the wife and mother of the future King(s) of England couldn't put a little effort into her appearance." Kate is not a "regular" celebrity. She's royalty. There are certain expectations of her she has to meet. I mean for crying out loud, the Queen has a list of things you can and can't do in her presence. For instance, did you know you never say "loo" or "bathroom" in front of her? You have to ask for a "comfort break." So did you ever think that maybe Kate doesn't get a choice in how she appears after the princess was born. Also, Kate is not a big person. She has a body we'd all calorie count and work out for hours for and probably never achieve. (God gave her great genes.) So, that makes it a lot easier to look good post-baby. She never looked fat even 9 months pregnant! She did have natural childbirth, so she's also not going to have that groggy look and can walk a lot easier since the lower half of her body was never numbed.


Everyone's talking about how bad they felt after they gave birth. Um, nowhere that I've seen said that Kate felt amazing. Y'all know she's got on a major maxi pad on under that dress and is probably thinking  "as soon as this is over I can get home and put on my royal Lulu Lemon yoga pants and lie down." Again, she has certain expectations to meet. Someone expected to take a "comfort break" isn't going to come out and say, "Natural childbirth is a bitch! My vagina feels like it was ripped open!" Just saying...


Everyone is in shock about how she went home the same day. Hello!!! If you could have the same round-the-clock care you get in the hospital from the comfort of your own home, wouldn't you take it? I would! My own bed? Yes, please!


That's just my take on things. I also don't remember anything like this being said when she had George. 

You can see that bump! Good for her!

I'd just like to end on this: What is wrong with caring about your appearance? In a few months, I will be giving birth. I won't have the luxuries that Kate had. However, I plan on fixing my hair and makeup before I have visitors and before going home. Borrowing that there are no major complications and I don't feel like utter crap. Now, I don't want to hear anyone say "just you wait, once you've done it you'll think differently." Blah, blah, blah. Like I said, borrowing no major complications. I KNOW myself better than anyone. I'm the girl who likes to be fixed up. It's just who I am. You might be the girl who doesn't. Or maybe it's not always a major priority. That's ok. That's the girl you are. I don't judge you for it. So don't judge me, or Kate.

Woah, baby! Part II

A little while ago, I posted this about being pregnant. Let me follow up with a few other thoughts.


1) Men are WAY more complimentary and positive than women when it comes to pregnant women.

My friend had a baby a few weeks ago, and I took her family dinner. Her husband says "How are you feeling?" Followed by "Well, you look great." This is clearly a man who has been through this three times. He gets it. He knows what to say. A salesman at the furniture store the other day told me I didn't even look pregnant (and yes, this normally bothers me but I had a baggy tunic on and he doesn't know what I look like normally). I told him I was 6 months and he said, "Wow, you must've been tiny before." To which I responded, "You must work on commission." Turns out he doesn't. And maybe it's just flattery and these compliments aren't sincere, but they're nice to hear. Take a cue from these gentlemen the next time you speak to a pregnant lady.

2) People (unfortunately, especially women) love to be negative.

It amazes me what people's responses are when I say we're having a boy. They LOVE to tell you how hard boys are to potty train. I've also been told umpteen times how I will be on the go 24/7 because boys don't sit still, are rowdy, are into everything, etc. One person even went so far as to text me at 6:45 IN. THE.  MORNING. to tell me that boys love mud. If this had been followed by a picture of her son covered in mud, I might find this funny and/or cute. But, she didn't. I took some time to respond, to make sure I wasn't a total you-know-what (I mean, really 6:45 in the morning? I think on a weekday any text before 7 is not acceptable. Weekend? 9. Unless we are super close friends, there's an emergency or you're texting me to tell me that I just won the lottery. But I digress...) I finally responded with "Really? I had no idea." Her response, "Well, you had a brother I didn't." So, you know I had a brother so why are you telling me this in the first place? Ugh. Speaking of, yes, I have a brother. I am also almost 7 years older than him so I remember quite a bit from when he was little. But even if I didn't, I live in the world don't I? I've been around boys and men and I think I have a pretty good grasp of what they're like. By the way, my husband is not a fan of getting muddy or dirty. When he painted our nursery, not one drop of paint on him. Me on the other hand? Don't mind it. So, that just shows that stereotypes are not always true.

The negativity doesn't just apply to pregnant women either. A dear friend of mine is getting married in September. She is thinking about getting a wedding dress that's a different color other than your traditional white. Cool, huh? As y'all know I love weddings and I have planned them and can tell you in this day in age anything goes. You DO NOT have to abide by all the traditions if you do not want to. One of her bridesmaids made it very clear she hates this idea. Who cares? It's not your wedding. No one will make you wear it. So, shut up and move on.
3) Anyone who has ever had a baby is an expert and they will tell you exactly what you need to do while pregnant and/or after the baby arrives.
A few weeks ago, my friend Lisa and I met for coffee. We met at 11, which is close to when I eat lunch so I decided I'd have a snack as well. I brought a bag of kettle chips to the register. The barista told me to put them back.
Me: "Why? Is there something wrong with them?
Barista: Put those back, you don't need those."
Me: "Well, I want them."
Barista: "Put those back and get popcorn. It's better for you. You don't need chips."
WHAT??? I'm sorry, but did you leave your OB/GYN practice to work at Starbucks? Does it say MD on your nametag and I somehow missed it? I know it sounds like she was joking, but trust me (or as Lisa) she wasn't. This went on for a few minutes. I finally told her I was getting the chips with my peach green tea lemonade. Then the 2nd barista (who I know has a 9 month old, so she's of course and expert) asks me what I got to drink. Now, I know she's asking me this because I had already been in there earlier that morning for my chai. So I told her don't worry, I track my caffeine I know what I'm allowed to have. She tells me that's not it, it's my sugar I should worry about because I probably have too much with my chai. SERIOUSLY. ARE  YOU MY DOCTOR?!
But it gets better...
After I order, I tell Lisa I will carry her adorable, little red-headed baby over to a table in her carrier. I joked about how I needed to prepare my arms for carrying a baby in a car seat. The  minute I picked it up both baristas get on to me about how I'm not supposed to lift heavy things. I told them that the max to lift was 40 lbs and I was fine. But, good grief! Mind your own business people! By the way, I have several friends who have been pregnant with babies they have to carry so what do they do?
Lisa and I are outside chatting and I am happily eating my chips, when the chip Nazi comes outside to leave and starts talking (like she's the baby) and says "Mommy, I need sunglasses. It's too bright out here for me." Lisa just tells me that she just loves how people give advice like they're her daughter and I will find people doing this to me, too.
I'm sure those who know me well enough are wondering why I didn't go off on the barista. I'm not exactly sure. I think it's because it's the first time Lisa and I hung out outside of our Sunday school class and I didn't want her to see how ugly I can get from the get-go. And yes, I still go to that Starbucks because it's my Starbucks. They know me there, and always get my drink right. I just ignore those 2 particular women.
4) People think they know better than you (or your doctor, ultrasound tech, etc)
At one of my hospitals the other day, this conversation happened between a nurse and me:
Nurse: "I think you're having a girl."
Me: No, it's definitely a boy.
Nurse: "Are you sure?"
Me: "Yes, we've had 2 ultrasounds. I've seen his penis."
Nurse: "Maybe it was just a finger."
Please! First off, what are you basing this on that you think I'm having a girl? Second, are you trying to freak me out! I've bought blue stuff, monogrammed his name on things, painted a nursery. Don't make me think that everything we did is wrong and it's now a girl! Sheesh! As if pregnancy doesn't make you anxious enough.
Sorry for the long post rant. I just find these things so amusing. Don't worry, even my hormonal, cranky self knows to take it with a grain of salt. But I have to say, I will never say anything to a pregnant women except "How are you feeling? You look great!" And if I don't know them at all, I won't say a word.
I'll leave you with a sneak peek of the nursery. It's coming along great!