Day 93

Redemption.

After my bad eating day I want to share that I do, in fact, know how to properly prepare food and eat without devouring approximately 3,894 calories in one sitting.

 So readers, meet my new favorite.  It was in Rachel Ray's mag this month.  But I changed it a tad.  Basically, it is whole wheat pasta, with a homemade (parsley, pine nut, lemon, olive oil) pesto sauce and grape tomatoes (that were halved, and drizzled with olive oil, s and p and baked)  Everything was tossed together and I added some freshly grated romano cheese on top.

Y-U-M!!!

 We also made a trip to my mom's work, (Brody, Keira and I), which the kids love.  My mom takes them to the vending machine and lets them pick out a snack, they play at her desk, and they get super excited to see their pictures pop up as a screen saver.  It's the little things folks.

Brody in my mom's glasses

Keira in my mom's glasses

Who said child labor couldn't look cute?!?!

In other news, my body hates me for adding 15 minutes onto my normal running time (I am trying to build endurance) and I wish I could make you feel all the new muscles I have discovered in my body.  I didn't lift a weight, not one, and yet my body feels like it just went through a final workout with Bob or Jillian.  (Biggest Loser reference.  I don't even watch the show anymore, but I feel those contestant's pain.  Ouch.)

I had a thought today that maybe, just maybe, if I keep at this I will be able to work my stomach back to a desirable form eventually.  And by desirable form, I mean I won't have to constantly be aware of holding my stomach muscles together and tight so I don't walk around looking 6 months pregnant all the time.

I wish I was joking about that.

You're looking at me differently now, aren't you?

Shoot.  I blew my perfect, super mom cover. 

Day 87

2nd day of no school.

Today we went sledding.

Okay, today, we trekked through snow that was way past my knees to attempt to sled.  Brody went down once, and Keira never really did because the wind was so strong that it was stinging their poor little faces and they both just wanted to go home.  They last about 45 minutes before I hauled in Ty and Nate.

We came home and played out in our yard though, which the wind seemed to avoid.

Good thing I joined the gym again, because something about being snowed in as triggered an instinct to cook and cook and bake and cook and then bake some more.

Seriously.

Yesterday I whipped up a massive batch of blueberry pancakes, (with the biggest, juiciest blueberries I have ever had), then as soon as I cleaned up after breakfast I was on the making pig cake (I made it at 8am because it needs to chill several hours), for lunch it was gourmet ham and cheese for the kids, and for dinner a ridiculously good new recipe, Mushroom and Marsala Pappardelle.  It has portobello and porcini mushrooms with kale (which I had never made before, but the kids loved it and so did I) and this marsala and cream sauce, and man it was good... can you tell I liked it?
Today I woke up and made cinnamon rolls for the kids, which is usually only a Christmas morning thing in my house, and then the kids and I made a batch of M&M cookies and now I'm on to Grammy's Chicken.
Seriously.  Gym tomorrow morning.  I'm going to have to kill myself there to work all this snowstorm food off.  I will most likely look ridiculous because my arms already feel like they are going to fall off at any moment from the crazy amount of shoveling I've done.

I just thought I should confess all this.  Does being snowed in make anyone else cook and bake like this?
I have made so much food I gave my neighbors copious amounts of tupperware filled containers last night.

I am a strange one, huh?

Pray for me,

Your gluttonous friend Nicole.

Stick To Your Bones Good.

We are gearing up for a Nor'Easter here this weekend. I am thanking my lucky stars it is not yet snow storm season. I spent the day gathering up outside toys, and running errands so I won't be stuck doing them in the rain tomorrow.

The chilly autumn air has made me spark up my cooking (which seems to fade every summer, much the the dismay of my family, or maybe not, maybe they are all grateful for easy summer thrown together meals, who knows) and what better way to say thank you to you, my awesome readers than to share a secret-until-today family recipe.

Oh okay and a giveaway!

Just because I love you.

And because I want you to always love me.

If you are not yet ready to admit you love me, then this is my way of bribing you to take our relationship to that next level.

Fair? I am a briber.

Don't worry, even if you don't win, you will love me after you eat this stick to your bones good food. It is my great grandmother's recipe. We call it:

Grammy's Chicken

What you'll need:

• chicken breast, boneless (I use about 1.5 lbs for our family of 6. You can use more or less.)

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup

• 1.5 can fulls of milk (I use the cream of mush soup can)

• 1 pkg dry onion soup mix

• 1 pkg brown gravy, prepare as directed

• mushrooms. Use a can, use some fresh ones, just don't use the "special" ones those kids in high school dared you to eat. (I'm not much of a daredevil, so I never tried 'em, but I don't think they'd taste too good in this recipe.)
• minced garlic if you like it. Skip this if you don't

• Salt and Pepper to taste

• mashed potatoes (my choice) or rice to serve the chicken on.

What to do:

Prepare the gravy, and start your potatoes or rice, that way everything is ready together.
In a large pan, cook the chicken breast. Season with salt and pepper. When fully cooked, transfer to a plate. In the same pan mix all of the following ingredients together: cream of mush. soup, milk, onion soup mix, mushrooms, prepared gravy, garlic. Cook over medium heat. Watch it get bubbly. While the mix is cooking, you'll want to shred (my preferred method) or cut up the chicken into teeny tiny bites. Again, I urge you to shred it. It is better that way.
Once the chicken is done, dump it on it with the gravy, soup mix. Stir it all together and simmer for a few minutes.
Serve over your mashed potatoes or rice. Enjoy. Think of my Grammy B. She was a cool lady.

photo was taken with my phone. Sorry for the poor quality.

And now, for one lucky reader, I am happy to offer a $35 gift card from the kind folks at CSN Stores for an item of your choice. Browse. Search. Get excited. Start here, look at these console tables, because the selection is amazing. I was drooling.


Or go ahead to their main site here. You'll love the convenience of one stop shopping. Have fun. Here are a few of my favorite things.

Rachel Ray cookware sets. Pretty colors. Heaven.I died. Seriously. I have an obsession with cool Eiffel Tower pictures. 'Nuff said.


I bet you'll have some favorites too. Think of this as my early Christmas gift to you. $35 to pick out anything your heart desires!

How?

Well first and foremost, I must see you name over there under "Followers" (on the right side). It's simple. I won't send you spam or anything. It just lets me know you like me. Leave me a comment telling me you are an official follower.
If you want to post a link to this giveaway on your social network/blog of choice I will give you an extra chance to win, just leave me a comment with the link. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I will be happy you did it. Like a proud mama.

That's it. Pretty easy right? $35 all to yourself.

So go make Grammy's Chicken,
Browse the CSN store website,
and enter to win.

Giveaway closes October 21, 2010 at 5pm EST. One winner will be chosen by random.org.

Spooktacular Fun

In honor of Halloween, I thought I'd share some fun, spooky food ideas. I can not take credit for them all, because I have picked them up throughout the years.

We made this dish last night:
Pepperoni Pizza Pasta
1 bag of halloween shaped pasta (we found a whole wheat/vegetable pasta mix that were in the shapes of spiderwebs, ghosts and pumpkins at Home Goods)
26oz of your favorite red sauce
4oz pepperoni, quartered (we used turkey pepperoni)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 tsp italian seasoning

Directions:
*cook pasta about 6 minutes in boiling water, drain, put in larger sauce pan.
* mix in all of the other ingredients, cheese last though.
*once heated, serve! (C'mon, how easy is THIS?!?!)
The cheese gives a spiderweb appearance in the dish. My kids love it!

Another Fun Recipe:( we have already done this twice this year... they are a HUGE hit.)
Mummy Dogs

Scary Snack Ideas:
Apple BITES

BONE chilling

Asian Tuna Patties

I have never posted a recipe here, and maybe it's a tad influenced by pregnancy taste buds, but this is one of the best recipes I have stumbled across in a long time. It was so good I feel the need to share. I will put down the recipe I used, and then after, explain how I slightly modified it. Even the boys liked it!!!

Asian Tuna Patties
2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
1 egg beaten
3/4 c dry bread crumbs
3 green onions, minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 c cornmeal
2 tablespoons veg. oil

In a large bowl mix tuna, egg, bread crumbs, green onions and garlic.
In a separate bowl mix soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, ketchup, sesame oil and pepper, then pour into tuna mixture and blend well.
Form the mixture into 6 patties, about 1 inch thick
Heat veg oil in skillet over med heat. Fry each patty about 5 minutes each side or until golden brown.

Here are my modifications:
I eliminated the sesame oil, I used olive oil. I added a bit more teriyaki sauce, and a dash of sriracha sauce. I eliminated the cornmeal, my patties stayed firm. I also used a cast iron skillet, with a dash of olive oil, not veg oil. I made a bunch of mini-patties, not 6 large one. I figured this would be easier with the kids. I wrapped them in lettuce and served them with couscous.
I served them with little sides of soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. They were amazing!!! If you try them, let me know what you think!!!