Picture this. I'm in the kitchen, browning chicken for dinner tonight. It's smelling good, I start to flip the first batch, as a drop of oil spits out of the pan and lands right on my eyelid.
Talk about a close call.
Anyone else have a scary kitchen mishap?
My legs are finally on the mend. Yowzers that was rough. Must make sure I don't go that long again before doing lunges. Not a good feeling.
I did manage to go for a couple walk/runs with Stryker and Fuzz last weekend. Definitely loosened the legs up. And can I just tell you how much more fun it is to run with your family than it is to run by yourself on a treadmill or elliptical? The last time I went to the gym I seriously considered visiting a Dr. to see if I had ADD. I'm going on the elliptical, this is my thought process. "Only 2 minutes? This is boring. La dee dah... What? Only 4:25 minutes? I wonder what that paper on the bulletin board says, maybe I should go check it out." You get the picture. It wasn't pretty.
I will admit it. I'm not a runner. I have asthma, and pounding on the pavement doesn't agree with it. But I want to be a runner. Going out for a run, even if it's half run, half walk, with Stryker and Fuzz is fun. It's great family time, and it's great for Fuzz to see us being active. So I'm starting slow, seeing if I can build up some endurance. We'll see.
In other, completely unrelated news, we grilled pizzas on Friday. If you've never done it, you need to try it. Easy, fast, and so yummy!
Another great thing about having Stryker home is that I am cooking for more than myself and an occasional guest. It's great. I've been able to try several new recipes, and most of them have been wonderful.
I've been really into making homemade bread lately. I'm not sure why, but I love it! I've tried a couple different recipes for french bread. I've found a really great recipe for pizza dough (seriously, it's d.e.l.e.c.t.a.b.l.e). Homemade cinnamon rolls anyone? Best I've ever made. Even better than the ones out of the can.
My mom gave me an awesome recipe for banana bread with an orange glaze on top. It sounds like a weird combo but it's the best banana bread I've ever had, and I already had a great banana bread recipe. I've also tried an applesauce bread with a cream cheese filling that I found on this website. It was good but very spice-y. Very Thanksgiving/Christmas. I'd cut back on the nutmeg next time. This is what it looked like: 
We've tried great seafood recipes like ginger-glazed mahi-mahi, and awesome grilled recipes like a southwest turkey breast with avocado salsa. Italian, Mexican, American....you name it. The best part is that we have so many more to try!
Alright, I'm hungry...gotta go.
Loquita wants to know more about my family and my wedding (she's planning her own, go check out her ideas and help her with her dilemmas!)
Well Loqi, I don't have nearly as big of a family as you do! I have one sister (who is amazing) and that's it! She is two years younger than me and isn't married yet, and doesn't have any babies. Stryker has a brother, sister, and a half sister. His half sister has twin boys, so I have two nephews through our marriage.
My parents divorced when I was 17. My mom has seven brothers and sisters, so I have a lot of cousins. Christmas is crazy! My dad only has one sister, who has one son, who was born just one day before me. We've never been very close though, because they have always lived far away.
My wedding was amazing. Even if I could, I don't think I would change a thing. Traditional ceremony in the church I grew up in, pictures along the river, reception with mediocre food, fabulous friends and family, and lots of dancing.
The girls in the wedding party wore a dark pewter, even in the summer, I loved it. They each carried three long stem calla lillies. My bouquet was white calla lillies surrounded by pink roses. Our friend played the piano and sang two songs, "I Will be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman, and "More than Anyone" by Sarah Kelly.
In a break from the limo tradition, we had old cars transport us from the ceremony to the reception:
Our first dance was to Stevie Wonder's, "For Once in My Life". It's a little jazzy, we rocked it.
And after it was over, we went to the hotel and ordered pizza. After pizza we took a bath and Stryker took every single bobby pin out of my hair. It was a wonderful day despite the rain.
KDwants to know more about Fuzz, what I wanted to be when I grew up, and my favorite meal to cook.
Yes, Fuzz was a planned baby. I think we practically talked it to death before we finally decided to do away with the birth control. I always thought it would be nice to have a boy first and then a girl because she could have a big brother, but when it came down to it, I didn't really care. From very early on in the pregnancy though, I thought she was a girl. In all of the dreams I had where I had a baby, she was a girl. And let me tell you, I had some WEIRD dreams while I was pregnant.
I was in labor with her for almost 24 hours, and she came into the world at 7 lbs, 8.5 oz, 19 inches long, with her daddy's mouth, and a ton of hair:
It is fun to dress her up all girly, but to be honest, she doesn't seem like a girly girl. She's a wild daredevil, she's tough, and she likes to get dirty.
She's starting to get sassy, and starting to throw tantrums, and I question my parenting many times a day.
When I was younger, I always wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I still think I might. I made my sister play "school" in the basement with me where we had chalkboards, easels, and old school desks. I even gave her tests and homework. Haha, I am was a nerd.
My favorite meal to cook is a tough one. I love to try new things, but I love to make Shrimp Scampi because it is Stryker's favorite thing (so far) that I make, and it's so nice to make something that is appreciated and loved (and raved about).
Well, that was fun. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Only 4 days to take-off!
After slacking off for awhile, I've made two more things from my list. I made the Bacon Appetizer Crescents for Christmas and Asparagus Beef Stir-fry last night.
Both were hits! I cut the Bacon Appetizers into three triangles (four would probably work better) per rectangle though. Twelve seemed too tiny.
Both recipes were fast and easy!
Wow, I am really surprised by how many of you also have missing jewelry! Mine did have a pretty stellar ending, I hope yours do as well.
One of my friends from college is coming to visit next week. I'm so excited to have her. The last time she was here I had just moved in and had to go digging through unpacked boxes in the garage to find the wine opener. I'm happy to report we will not have that problem this time!
She's a vegetarian, so if any of you have good dinner recipes, send them my way! I love to cook, and I'm not bad at it, I'm just not very fluent in vegetarian dishes, I like meat! So if any of you ladies (I don't think I have a single male reader) could help out, I would appreciate it.
It's about time I updated on my latest recipe trials. Since I last wrote, I tried:
Pecan Crusted Shrimp
Chicken Piccata
Turtle Pumpkin Pie
Busy-day Pork Chops
Zucchini Fritters
Coconut Crunch Cookies
I found the recipe for Pecan Crusted Shrimp in a magazine I was reading while I was waiting for my car to get serviced. They were good, but the recipe called for way too much of the egg wash. It called for 8 egg whites, one cup of honey, and one teaspoon each of salt and white pepper for 24 jumbo (butterflied) shrimp. You could easily get away with half of that for all the shrimp. You dip them in that mixture and then roll them in ground pecans and bake them in a 350ยบ oven for 8-10 minutes. I'd give the recipe a 3.5 out of 5.
Next I tried a Chicken Piccata. Yum! It was very lemony, and it was actually better the second day when I ate it as left overs. This one came from a free preview issue I received from Cuisine at Home. 4 out of 5. Next to this recipe there was a different option for cooking the chicken, a Chicken Pomodoro. Stryker and I actually made this a long time ago and it was delicious, even better than the Picatta.
Kraft Foods to the rescue again when I made the Turtle Pumpkin Pie. I made this for our Thanksgiving dinner at my aunt's house. It was a big hit! It was so easy, and you don't even have to bake it, so it's fast. I will definitely make this again, 5 out of 5.
For dinner a couple nights ago I made Busy Day Pork Chops and Zucchini fritters. The pork chops were not much more than pork chops dipped in milk and then a bread crumb mixture and baked. They were alright, but the breading didn't get crunchy enough for my taste. 3 out of 5. The zucchini fritters were also baked and the breading had a little bit of taco seasoning in it which gave them a unique flavor. I thought they were good and Fuzz loved them! Although there isn't a whole lot anything she won't eat. 4 out of 5.
In the last package I sent to Stryker, I included the Coconut Crunch Cookies. They have "finely chopped almonds" in them, and my mini chopper wasn't doing the job, so I had to chop them by hand and it was a pain. They ended up being pretty flat, but they were definitely good. Again, they were a hit with Fuzz. 4 out of 5.
Sorry I went against the poll this time. When I went to make the pumpkin seeds, they looked a little funky, and I thought better safe than sorry and threw them away, and I figured with all the peanut butter stuff I had sent Stryker lately (although he probably wouldn't have complained), I would change it up and go with the coconut.
I plan on making the rest of the goodies on his list for his Christmas package. My mom and I are getting together early next week to have a bake-athon for Stryker and the guys. I already warned him to stop eating so he has room for all the goodies. I imagine shortly after that package I won't be able to send anymore...YAY! I love sending him packages, but that "last day to mail things downrange", makes it so real that they are almost home.
Tomorrow I'm going with my mom and sister to meet my aunt and cousins for a Christmas shopping trip. Fuzz is staying at the in-laws. Bring on the wine!
Well, if all goes according to plan, (haha, what's that???), we're into double digits before Stryker is home. At this point before R&R, I wasn't nearly as excited as I am now. I guess because I knew that R&R was just a pit stop on the journey.
In other news, I made the Seafood Potpies last night. They were good. Not out of this world, but good...think 3.5 out of 5. I think they would be better with a crust over the top as well, maybe next time. The Basil-Garlic Salmon was much better. Has anyone tried it yet?
Since puppy chow won the latest Stryker poll, I plan on making him that some time this week yet. I will probably make the pumpkin seeds as well while I'm at it.
I've been feeling kind of blah this last week. Almost like I'm about to get sick, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm not sure what the deal is. The cold weather making us housebound might have something to do with it.
Anyway, obviously, I don't have much to talk about, I just had the urge to write. Have a nice night everyone!
3 for 3!
This was good. Tender, juicy, not overly spiced, and EASY! My dad came over to help me eat it and he raved about it. Granted a typical meal for him is a TV dinner or a can of soup, so take it for what it's worth...
You can find the recipe here.
This morning I made the Banana Blueberry Pancakes for Fuzz and I, and tonight I invited my mom over for supper. We tried the Salmon in basil garlic sauce. The pancakes were good, and the salmon was absolutely delectable. Will definitely be making that again!
I got the recipe for the salmon in the May 2008 issue of Glamour magazine. It says the sauce can go on anything: chicken, beef, fish, or veggies. I can't really imagine it on beef, but anything else I think would be a hit. Without further ado, the recipe so you can try it (it's that good).
Basil Garlic Sauce
1/2 c. packed fresh basil leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed
zest from one orange
1-1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, roughly chopped
3 T. olive oil
1/2 t. Asian fish sauce
1/2 t. red pepper flakes*
1/2 t. salt
fresh pepper to taste
1/3 c. orange juice (I just squeezed the juice out of the orange I zested and had plenty)
1. In a food processor, combine all ingredients (except orange juice)
2. Chop into a fine paste, adding juice little by little to achieve desired consistency.
*the red pepper flakes really spice it up so if you're not a big fan of spicy, just don't use as much, or any at all.
Salmon in basil garlic sauce
Salmon fillets (the recipe is for 1 inch thick, so adjust cooking time as necessary)
basil garlic sauce
1 T. olive oil
1. Rinse salmon and pat dry.
2. Coat salmon with sauce.
3. Cover and refrigerate 20-30 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Sear salmon for about 1 minute on each side.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low.
7. Cover pan and cook 6-7 minutes, turning at the midway point.
8. Spoon additional sauce over salmon.
So far: 2 for 2 in the new recipe department.
I compiled my final list of things I want to cook or bake for myself before the deployment ends. I even made a list on here to make myself accountable.
I decided I wanted to try at least one new meal a week until I leave to go back to our post. As you can see from my list on the right, I don't have that much longer to go! I'm also invited to my aunt's for Thanksgiving, and am in charge of the desserts, so I'm going to try a couple new ones for that. I am also helping host a baby shower before I leave, so I'm hoping to try some of the appetizers I listed for that.
I also made a list of things I want to send to Stryker before I can't send him packages anymore. I even started a poll so you can participate in what he gets next! Join in the fun. :)
Thanks for the comments, questions, and concerns. Questions are fun, feel free to ask them at any time!
Where's the next trip?
The next little trip is to Michigan again to visit family for Thanksgiving. The next big one is back to paradise (aka Hawaii) to welcome Stryker home. I bought our ticket this week, which makes it feel so real and exciting!
How are things with you and stryker? Is communication better?
Communication is much better after we talked about the things he's been going through lately. However, we haven't had a chance to have one of those really good conversations lately. Between my trip and his being completely exhausted by the time he gets to call, it's usually just catching up on the day to day things. Lots of yes and no answers to questions. I'm dying for one of those heart-filled, intellectual, move from one interesting topic to the next, conversations.
It seems like we always go through these kind of patterns though. For about a week we'll have amazing conversations every time we talk, and then we'll go through a rut where we have nothing to talk about and there's a lot of dead air on the phone. It happens, I've learned not to freak out about it. That doesn't mean I'm not ready for the rut to be over.
It happens with those romantic lovey dovey feelings for me too. Peaks and valleys. I really believe that it happens because then when we hit the really great peak again, I can appreciate it and it feels that much better.
So we're doing good, and my kitchen is clean, so now I can bake and send more goodies for him and the guys.
Today, I made this. I put half in a foil pan and took it to my new neighbors, and invited my sister and her boyfriend over and we ate the other half. Yum. I suggest you try it. It's easy and good.
I was just sorting through some recipes last night and picked out a bunch I want to try before Stryker gets back. It will force me to cook for myself, and I love trying new things. I'll be sure to keep you up to date on my progress!
