Running Woman...or at least very fast walking...

I want to RUN...I want to be one of those women that jumps out of bed, throws on my cute running clothes, grabs my cell phone and runs out the door for my daily 5 mile run...

you know the ones that you see on tv or the movies...with theme music and a Rocky video montage... or the ones in your neighborhood...the skinny ones...

I have this vision, of the family all nestled in their beds and me out for my morning run, running past the newpaper kid while he's delivering papers...Running past the old couple taking their dog on a walk...Running past the local doughnut  shop while the cops change from night to morning shifts...Running past the bread delivery guys as they make their morning deliveries to the local grocery store...(not that I have a local grocery store close enough to run to...well, maybe if I was the woman in my vision I could run to the store that's up the street, and I guess it's less than 2 miles from my house, but it's up a hill and on a CRAZY busy road without sidewalks...)...Running in the rain, Running in the fog, Running in the early morning fresh start of the day, Running in the heat, Running with my iPod in my ears and all my cares being left behind me on the sidewalk...(don't have an iPod, but the woman in my vision does)

But I get up in the morning and just start to think...think about strapping myself into my support system that allows me to attempt running and then I just start to think too much...does that woman in my vision eat breakfast before or after her morning run, does she brush her teeth, does she pound a cup of coffee,  does she check her facebook before she runs out the door, do her kids get up and need breakfast before she leaves, did she do all her dishes the night before and not have them screaming from the kitchen sink at her during her run?  Does she not have an amazingly cuddly, dashingly handsome, warm and cozy husband that she would rather crawl back in bed with than run out that door...

And then I realize that if I'm going to attempt to become the woman in my vision I need to stop thinking...and start doing...and maybe have my internet turned off between the hours of too early and bright and early so I won't be tempted by facebook and blogs...oh, and need to buy an iPod!

and it would also help if my good friend Rayna bought the house 4 blocks down from me, so I could drive to her house, while she brews the coffee, we both pound a cup back and then start our brisk morning walk together....
well a girl can dream right?


blog update...
So the reality happened like this...
I woke up wrapped myself in my warm robe, came upstairs to blog about wanting to run, waited for my automatic coffee maker to brew me my cup, facebooked my friend Rayna and asked if she wanted to go, got dressed in my cute new running clothes, brushed my teeth, didn't eat breakfast, didn't pound a cup of coffee because I hadn't set my automatic coffee maker last night, read the boy child two books, and then drove across town to meet up with Rayna and briskly walk for 1.5 miles and then kick our butts running the last .25 up hill, coughed up a lung, drove home, still coughing up my lungs, ate the pancakes my dashingly handsome husband made for the family, pound the cup of coffee that he also made (love him), and updated my blog!

What's Poppin' for Dinner?

Okay so I might be weird but I like to read...

...read cook books that is 

(well, really almost all books I like to read)...

so anyways, I was reading my "Dinner Doctor" cook book that I got for Christmas (Thanks Julie) a few weeks ago and came across a Popcorn Soup recipe...

okay, must have read that wrong, can't make soup out of popcorn...

rewind...

yep, it said Popcorn Soup...

after reading the recipe I realized that the name was a little tricky because it's actually a corn soup/chowder that you top with popcorn right before serving...but had to give it a try...

AND...the meal ONLY took 10 minutes, that's right 10 minutes!

...the hardest part was opening cans and listening for the microwave popcorn so it didn't burn!

Popcorn Soup

2 cans cream-style corm

1 can corn kernels, drained

2 cups half & half

1 chicken-flavored bouillon cube

1 tea sugar

2 Tbl butter

Black pepper

2 cups popped popcorn

Hot Pepper Sauce (Optional)

1. Place the cream-style corn, corn kernels, half & half, and bouillon cube into 4 quart saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly for the first few minutes.  Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the soup thickens and is hot, but not boiling, 10-12 minutes total.

2.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sugar and butter.  Season with pepper to taste.  Ladle the soup into serving bowls.  Top with popcorn* right before eating. Pass the hot pepper sauce for the adults that want to spice up their soup...

*You may want to give it some time to cool down for the kiddos.  

The popcorn shrinks up pretty fast and then just gets soggy...

we ended up giving the kids a bowl of popcorn and having them add a few pieces, eat that, and then add a few more...it was a fun dinner..

oh...minus the fact that we learned that the girl child doesn't like corn (not so fun when the entire meal revolves around corn)

but she did good, she ate the popcorn and the broth and didn't make too many weird faces...

oh, and what do you serve with Popcorn Soup?  We had a plate of cheese and Beau was craving chips and salsa...the recipe book also suggests some sliced fruit and bread...maybe cornbread? (or is that overkill?)

Next time we may try a few things...
*one, I realized once I sat down to type up this recipe that it also called for 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth that I completely left out (didn't see it when I read over the recipe 3 times!), but not having the chicken broth gave it more of a chowder than a soup feel and it didn't seem like any liquid was missing.  If you want to add the broth you add it at the beginning with the corn and half & half.
*some crisp bacon would be nice tossed on top and maybe even some shredded cheese.
*pieces of left-over deli chicken mixed into the soup for some added protein
*steamed broccoli
*I thought some crab or shrimp would add to the chowder feel of it, but my family all said NO...bummer!

hmmm...old family recipe

okay...I'm going to break down and share my family's chili recipe...

My mother has always made the best chili...everyone LOVES my mom's chili...

I move out...get married...

and make some chili following the recipe in good ol' Betty Crocker

(my mom's favorite go-to cook book...and mine)...

FAIL...

try again...

this time going to my second go-to cookbook...

Better-Homes-and Garden's cookbook...

FAIL...

don't worry, I will figure this out...so I got online and found a few recipes

(not as many recipe sites 12 years ago as there are today)...

try a few more times...

Fail...Fail...FAIL!!!

okay, so I call up mom...

"Hey, Mom, can you tell me your secret chili recipe..."

...

and now here it goes...

I'm unleashing the famous chili recipe that's been passed down generation-to-generation...

(okay from my mom to me...but I'll pass it on to my children someday!)

ChambersMade Chili...(okay RobertsMade...or maybe ShelbyMade???)

1 lb ground beef (more or less depending on how beefy you like your chili

1 sm onion, chopped

1 sm call tomato sauce

2 cans water

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can diced tomatoes

1 package Carroll Shelby's Chili mix (can find at almost any grocery store)

1.  Brown ground beef in pan with onions.  drain fat and add remaining ingredients...I ONLY use the seasoning packet out of the Carroll Shelby's mix not the chili powder or the masa powder or the salt...follow the directions on the package...

...

depending on my day I either make this 30 minutes before dinner (it only takes 30 minutes, 25 of that with you just walking thru the kitchen every once in awhile and stirring the pot)...or I throw it in the crock pot mid morning some time...today was a crock pot morning...

top with cheese & sour cream

Serve with corn bread..

use leftovers for a baked potato bar...

...

do you have any favorite "family recipes" that you found out weren't so secret???

That's Some Garlic!

Tuesday nights we are currently hosting a Bible/Book study at our house and one of the couples that comes has been coming early and having dinner with us...we were having dinner with them about once a week before we started the Bible study so why not continue...

Anyways...yesterday I knew I was going to be running around all day with appointments and meetings and school drop off's and pick up's and piano lessons...etc...

so I turned to my trusty side-kick "Crocky"...

my crock pot...

and made a family favorite (given to me by my good friend Rayna)...

40 Garlic Chicken...

okay, that sounds like a little much right...

40 cloves of garlic?  Really...  The chicken does have a garlic taste, but it's not overwhelming AT all it's more the smell then the anything and your house might end up smelling like a vampire graveyard...but well worth it!

40 Garlic Chicken

1 (4-lb) whole chicken

2 stalks celery, cut into 3-inch pieces

1/2 tsp. black pepper

40 cloves of garlic, unpeeled

2 springs of fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, fresh sage & Italian parsley

Place 1 sprig thyme, rosemary, sage & parsley in chicken cavity. Place chicken in crock pot on top of celery and add the garlic around chicken. chop remaining herbs, sprinkle herbs and pepper over chicken. Cook on low 8 to 10 hours and on high 3 1/2 to 5 hours.

Squeeze the roasted garlic out of skin and use on French bread...ENJOY!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So this is how the recipe was given to me...but I have yet to have all the fresh herbs when I make it, so I use the ones that I have and then toss in some dried ones as well...

This chicken is so good and not overwhelmingly garlicky like you might think...I promise

and what to do with all that garlic when the chicken is done???

take a few (or 20) garlic cloves out, press with with a fork in a bowl and spread it on a loaf of french bread...and then sprinkle with cheese...yummy...

Serving options...

*Garlic Bread (of course!)

*Garlic Rice: sauted 1 cup of rice in 2 Tbs of butter until rice is white add 2 cups of the chicken broth from the crock pot and 1/2 tsp of salt, simmer for 20 minutes (if you don't get enough broth from the crock pot just add enough water to make 2 cups!)...

*Smashed Potatoes using some of the chicken broth to flavor them

*Tortillni Salad-recipe coming soon...(it's what our company brought as the side dish...thanks Rayna!)

*Steamed Veggies

Throw it Down

as moms we need a few of these "throw down meals" to make life doable.

Yesterday some friends came over to "do" hair...I have one good friend that loves to cut and color hair and another good friend and I needed our hair done...

so we made a day of it and spent it at my place getting our hair done...
in my kitchen...

and then I got a text from another friend reminding me that I had signed up to take a meal to a new mom 
(3 kids under 2!!!)...
so now I'm having a hair party...
(color chemicals and pieces of cut hair) 
...in my kitchen 
and... I need to not only at some point today make a meal for my family
...but I need to take one to another family...

...

Time for....Throw Down Meal....

Lemon Chicken with Pesto Tortellini’s 

2 chicken breasts

1 package of dried pesto tortellini’s

1 package of Knorr Creamy Pesto mix (and ingredients to make...olive oil and milk)

Lemon Basil rub

 1.  Grill chicken breast seasoned with lemon basil rub (we have a indoor grill...LOVE IT...but you can do it on an outdoor grill or broil it in the oven) for 10-15 minutes until done. 

2.  Boil Tortillini's, follow package directions, boil and drain...

3.  prepare Creamy Pesto sauce per package directions...

slice up chicken breast, toss into cooked tortellini’s and pour pesto sauce over the top...

Serve with steamed broccoli!

I didn't have enough tortellini’s for the other family so I boiled bow-tie pasta and threw together an Alfredo sauce

Alfredo Sauce

1 Tbl Butter

1 cup grated parmesan cheese (the cheap stuff)

1/2 cup half and half (or milk will do in a pinch)

boil noodles, drain and return to pan and heat, melt butter in the noodles, add cheese and half and half, stir until all is melted...

I try to always keep a package of Knorr Creamy Pesto mix in my pantry and other good items for when a mom's just got to throw it down!

Two dinners for two families done in 20 minutes!!!

and I now have pink hair (Thanks Becca!)...gotta love that throw down!!!

Menu for Jan 25-31st

okay so I'm posting this on the 26th, but the menu has been in my head since Sunday...need to get it out of there before it gets lost!!!

Monday
     Lunch-taco salad
     Dinner-Lemon Chicken with pesto tortillini's
Tuesday

     Lunch-Tuna Salad Pita's

     Dinner-40 garlic chicken

Wednesday

     Lunch-chicken salad

     Dinner-Chili and cornbread

Thursday

     Lunch-egg rolls and fried rice

     Dinner-Beef Stroganoff (didn't make last week)

Friday

     Lunch-leftovers

     Dinner-going to a friends house for dinner...

Saturday

     Lunch-grilled cheese

     Dinner-Popcorn soup (also didn't end up making last week)

Sunday

     Lunch-out to lunch?

     Dinner-baked potato bar (using leftover chili)

...

so I keep telling you that I'll post recipes when I make a meal...well I haven't been too good at making what's on my menu so...well that's why I haven't posted too many recipes...sorry...I'll try better this week..

a ChambersMade Mess...but tasty

True Confessions...okay so I have this cookie press that lives on the top shelf of one of my cupboards...my sister-in-law gave it to me 4 or 5 years ago and I used it once, the recipe I used was weird, so I packed it up and stuck it back up on that top shelf... (sorry Julie)...


So yesterday, I was thinking...
"I really want one of those tins of Buttery Christmas Cookies with the sugar crystals on top...I wonder if I can find some at the back of some store on super duper clearance?!?!?"

Then, I remembered that I have this cookie press that lives on the top shelf of my cupboard...
Okay...not sure what the problem was the last time I used it...
the recipe that came with the press, SUPER easy....SUPER yummy...
the recipe makes 8 dozen...wow, that's going to be WAY to many cookies...
WRONG...
had some friends over doing hair today
(FYI:  my pink is back!)
and we (or maybe just me) ate just a few, the kids at a TON, I took some to a family that I was taking a meal to tonight...
and now... maybe just 2 dozen are left...(yes, in less than 24 hours and we ate thru 5 dozen cookies...but they're small!)
tonight my husband suggests melting chocolate chips and dipping the rest of the cookies in...and since I have a pile of laundry to fold, I melted the chocolate, spread some wax paper on the counter, and left the kitchen and let the kids have fun by themselves...and yes they were messy at the end, but they had fun, the cookies ended up with more chocolate on them than the kids did...and I got all my laundry folded...

and I got to eat these after I sent the kids to bed...buttery chocolaty goodness...

some days are just like that...

Some days you just need to eat what you're not supposed to eat...you just need to make that dessert, a cup of coffee, and curl up on the couch and go into a vegetative state...


Well, that was my Wednesday, but I didn't have time in my "no plans" Wednesday to actually do what I NEEDED to do, so instead I made one of my most favorite desserts and have been slowly devouring it bit by bit everyday since!


What makes this dessert better than most is that it's just a measure and pour and bake dish, no mixing, no folding, no chopping (unless you want to)...
and neither one of my kids like the end product so it's all mine...
well, Beau and I share since it's sort of like crack for us both!


I've posted this recipe before, but it's so yummy that I wanted to share with you again...and just so you know, I only made a half batch so I wouldn't have to eat the entire 9x13, just a 9x9!  In the previous post I called these 7 layer bars, but I've renamed them ...and this is the recipe cut in half...


Heaven in a Bar Cookie...aka 7 Layer Cookies
1 stick butter-melted

1 1/2 cups graham crackers; crumbled
1 can  sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (next time I'm going to make with dark chocolate chips!)
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 cup chopped pecans (I didn't chop them, just sort of broke a few with my fingers...walnuts or almonds can be used)
1 cup butterscotch chips

Grease 9x9 pan (or line with foil and grease foil)
Melt butter in a cake pan. Sprinkle crumbs over butter and pour Eagle brand condensed milk over the crumbs. Top with remaining ingredients in the order given and press down firmly.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly brown at 350 degrees.
If pan was lined with foil, grab sides of foil and pull out of pan for easy cutting/serving of cookie.

...

Health advisory, you should probably have a normal regular workout routine in place before you introduce your taste buds to these crack cookies, because you're going to need it!

Hearts and Cupids

is it too early to start decorating for Valentines day?
My husband would say yes...
HECK YES...
in fact he'd say that Feb 14th was too early to break out the hearts and cupids...but I think he's wrong...

My friend Mrs. Smith over at the SmithHotel is giving away this cute little Valentines Day Tea Towel...

want to win...it's easy to enter...go visit her blog and leave a comment and you'll be entered into the contest to win this cute little ruffly delight!
http://thesmithhotel-thesmithhotel.blogspot.com/2010/01/smith-hotels-first-giveaway.html

"No Plan" Wednesdays

Wednesday is always one of those crazy days that I plan to, not plan anything ...
and then before I know it, I've planned way too much to do, on my day of no plans!

My "no plan" Wednesday is a very hazy "rule" that I have tried to follow for a few years...probably ever since my daughter started going to school, so I guess that'd be 4 years now...

Why, this "rule", well, being in the church business...
...and kid church business at that...
...(probably not supposed to call it "business")...
Wednesday night means some sort of church activity for the kids at church...
...I'm still wondering how this started...
circa 1952
we're having a Adult Bible Study at church this next Wednesday...but wait, what do we do with everyone's kids?  Well, we can get brother Joe to entertain them, but make sure they're learning God Stuff in there, and make sure it involves them earning badges and how to tie nautical knots...
decades pass and now churches offer a mid week Bible Study for the parents so they can have something to do when they drop their kids off....

okay, minor tangent...
anyways...
Being married to a children's pastor means
Wednesdays = Church night...
side note...we are a one car family....

so my "normal" Wednesdays look like this starting mid day...

12:30-boy child gets out of preschool across town
1:00-pick up the husband because neither him nor I have had lunch yet
1:45-pick up girl child on our side of town
2:00-take husband back to church to finish preparing for "God Stuff" to teach the children
5:30-take a prepared dinner to church so we can eat as a family
6:30-teach "God Stuff" to children
8:00 parents are supposed to be picking up their children
8:30 all kids have now been picked up and we can try to put rooms back together
8:45-leave church campus
9:00-get kids in bed...(another side note, my kids normal bed time is 7...)

so I try to add as little to my Wednesday, morning's included, so I can be prepared for the non stop going from 12:30-9...
okay...this is what my brains says when I need to schedule an appointment, "Hey, you have a free morning on Wednesday, schedule your appointment then!"
so this was my "no plan Wednesday" today

7:30-take girl child to school
8:00-back home still trying to get boy child and husband up and out the door
8:30-drop off husband and boy child at church/meet friend at church to pick up boy child to take to preschool because I scheduled an appointment at the same time as preschool drop off!
9:00-1st appointment of the day...Dr. appointment...

enter weird random dilemma...I have a friend that is a Dr....I met this friend outside of the world of doctors and we became friends outside of the world of doctors, before she was a 100% dr...said friend then becomes 100% doctor and works at the same office as my doctor...so, than once a year when I go to my doctor I always run into my friend...and then without thinking I say, "Hey friend," and we have a conversation and the whole time I am thinking should I call her Dr. Friend...or is that weird, but she's at work and these people all work for her and here I am calling her just Friend...not Dr....does that mean I don't respect her...AGRH...and the whole time she's thinking, "Gosh, Kiera always acts weird when we talk at the office"

...

anyways...

Dr. appointment takes WAY longer than expected...and bonus, I have asthma!

10:30-grocery shopping...in the BIGGEST rain storm of the century!

10:35-realize I left my grocery list in the car but there is NO way I'm going back out in the storm for the list...so goody, I get to wing it!  And I MUST grocery shop, can't go one more day without it!

11:15-husband has a lunch appointment, and I have our one car, so I shove the groceries into the car, drive across town, pick him up and drive him in the other direction to his lunch appointment...

11:45 rush home, take the 2 bags of groceries that need refrigeration into the house and shove them in the fridge...

12:00-2nd appointment of the day...Dentist... got two fillings filled...oh, happy day...but at least I got to sit down for an hour...

1:15-rush across town to pick up boy child from friend who picked him up from school

1:30-pick husband up from lunch appointment

1:45-pick up girl child...across town...from school
2:00-get home and unpack rest of groceries
2:15-run down to blood lab to give blood per request from 1st appointment of the day
2:45-get home and start to think about maybe blogging today
3:00-oh, husband's still home and needs to be at church to finish preparing for tonight's "God Stuff"
3:15-tell kids to get on their shoes
3:20-yelling at kids to get ready so we can take daddy back to work
3:30-I get of facebook and put my shoes on
3:45-take husband back to church
4:15-get home and start dinner...
5:00-take dinner out of oven, wrap in foil and towel to keep warm, pack up kids and ....
5:30-arrive at church in a happy mood to eat dinner as a family!
5:45-girl child is asking if she can eat something else, because she doesn't like the tomatoes in dinner..."Yes, honny, let mommy run right home and make you another dinner!!!"
6:00-happy careless adults stroll into classrooms and begin dropping their kids off so they can go to Bible study, or on a date night...
6:45-kids are watching a movie tonight because it's too stormy to teach them too much "God Stuff"
...just joking the lesson is about God adopting us into his family no matter what
...so..."Ice Age" was the perfect movie to show them...
7:00...I ditch my husband with the kids (he has plenty of other adults to help him) and go to my "office" at the church and blog!!!

okay, so what dinner did I throw together that the girl child didn't want to eat...but ended up eating two servings of???

Chicken Laredo
3 cups shredded chicken
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cans turkey chili (or use any leftover chili you have)
2 cans pinto beans-drained
2 cans tomatoes with green chilies, drained (made it a little spicy for the kids, next time might just go reg diced tomatoes)
8 oz Velvetta cheese (recipe called for Mexi Velvetta, but I used reg)

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Place shredded chicken in 9x13 pan.
2.  Saute onions and bell pepper in sauce pan in a small amount of oil.  Layer over chicken.  Layer, chili, beans and tomatoes onto of onions and peppers, top with sliced Velvetta.
3.  Bake for 25-35 minutes or until cheese is all nice an melted.
Serve warm with tortilla or corn chips and a nice green salad

This was a perfect dinner for my "no plan" Wednesday....I just had to throw stuff together in the pan...and everyone really liked it...well, minus the tomatoes, but the girl child has never liked tomatoes, and then she ended up having seconds...
I would like to try this recipe with a different "cheese"...
...is or should I say with actual cheese...but not sure it will melt as well, nothing melts like a "cheese product"...
but this will go onto my list of throw down meals...oh, and I actually cut the recipe in half and made it in a 9x9sq pan...and had leftovers...this would be good as a potluck dish or for a night of munching like New Years Eve....

Celebrate What?

Okay...so I finally got going today, took awhile...
but I actually got OUT of my jammies and even left my house, twice...

I promised the kids that if they napped I'd take them swimming at the Y...
yeah...swimming when it's raining?
turn's out...it's actually a fun thing to do...
if the pool's indoors and heated...
but it also has a retractable roof,
which was open, so swimming in a heated pool with rain falling...
supper cool for the kids...and mommy...

okay anyways...
we decided to go swimming on this "no school" Monday...
(and so did half of Redding...)
and then as we're swimming Madison asks,
"How are we going to celebrate?"
...
"Celebrate What?"...I respond
"Dr. King's birthday..."
....
oh, yeah...so this isn't just a no-school Monday...
this is a holiday to honor a very amazing man...
Then I thought it was kinda cool that we were swimming in a public pool with many different nationalities of people swimming around us...so maybe that's one way of celebrating Dr. King...go swimming in a public pool...
but that wasn't enough for my family...
we also must celebrate with dessert...
and Beau decided that the best way to honor Martin Luther King Jr. was to make a yellow cake with chocolate chips...
Two flavors coming together to make one amazing cake...

...So, from now on we will call this the...

Dr. King Cake
1 yellow cake mix
1 vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), melted
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole milk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips
frost with Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting recipe on previous post

1. Preheat oven to350 and grease two 9-inch round cakes.
2.  Place cake mix, pudding mix, milk, eggs, butter, & vanilla in a large mixing bowl and mix on low for 1 minute.  Scrape down sides, then mix on high for 2-3 minutes. Fold in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips.  Pour into cake pans.
3.  Bake for 33-37 minutes.  Remove from oven, cool in cake pans for 10 min.  Remove from cake pans and allow to cool completely.
4.  Frost with Chocolate Butter Cream Frosting and top with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

...sure hope Martin Luther King Jr. liked cake...if he did I'm sure he would have liked this cake...
Thanks for your dream Dr, King!

Sharing the Love

Well, I made it one of my new year goals...
notice I didn't say resolutions...
those seem so...so...final...
I either do it...or I don't
having a goal, is easier, I can either reach my goal...get close to my goal...or maybe change my goals...
but it's not like I can break my goal...like you can break your resolutions...

anyways...I did make a list of Goals for 2010

*yell less & enjoy my kids more
*get healthy
*step out of comfort zone more often
*finish sprint triathlon in June
*get 50 blog followers http://chambersmade.blogspot.com
*stay connected with old & new friends...

So this blog is focusing #5 ...getting blog followers...
so back to my blog...

Well, I made it one of my new year goals to get 50 blog followers this year.
I have just recently myself become a follower of other blogs and I decided that if I wanted others to tell their friends and family and people on the street about my blog that maybe, just maybe I should share the love and let you know about some of my favorite blogs...

A good friend, Mrs. Smith she makes me laugh when I hang out with her (which is not often enough) or when I read her facebook updates and now her recent bloggings (she is new to the world of blogging also)...
and she has some stuff for sale of etsy so check her out...

my 3rd favorite blog (after mine and Mrs. Smith's) is Lola B's One Girl Talks, I have really fallen in love with her conversational writing style, makes me feel like the two of us are just talking over a cup of coffee, hanging out while our kids run amuck...

Then a little birdie told me about another fun blog...three ladies from the Pacific Northwest (a place I'm fond of) that share their crafting secrets and stories...

A good friend that I went to with all my blog questions and encouraged me to enter the blogging world.  She shares snippets from her life, recipes, and inspirational insights...

these are just a few of the blogs that I now "follow"  I encourage you to check out their blogs...
and if you enjoy them share them with others...

Menu for Jan 18-24th

It's a lazy Monday....it just happens to be a "3-day weekend" but smack dab in the middle is a Sunday, so that's a "work day" for both my husband and me...and it ended up being a long Sunday for me...

I was tired, it was rainy...

More kids in class...I wasn't prepared like I should have been...

It was more emotional than I had expected, or prepared for, or wanted...

So this morning came sooner than I wanted...I laid around most of the morning...

okay...all morning...

in my jammies...got dressed at, oh, around 12:07....

and by "dressed" I put on work-out clothes (and some much needed "support")....

in the hopes that I would kick my dreariness and make it to the Y at some point today...

and to seal that fact I promised the kids we would go swimming....

and now...I'm trying to pull enough energy together to make a meal menu for the week...not sure how legit this menu is...I won't actually make it grocery shopping until Wed and by then who knows if anything on the menu will still look good to me...

Monday
     Lunch-Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas
     Dinner-Chicken Noodle Soup with Cornbread
Tuesday
     Lunch-Tuna Salad Stuffed Pitas
     Dinner-Ground Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday

     Lunch-Grilled Paninis

     Dinner-Chicken Laredo

Thursday

     Lunch-Chicken Nachos

     Dinner-Popcorn Soup

Friday

     Lunch-leftovers

     Dinner-Roast Chicken

Saturday

     Lunch-Grilled Chicken Salad

     Dinner-Sloppy Joe's

Sunday

     Lunch-out to eat?!

     Dinner-Sunday Night Potato Chowder

Okay...so off to make some Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas...

and like always...

If and When I make any items that I might want to post the recipes on here I will come back and link said recipe to said menu item...

Cake Mixes Can do That???

a really fast recipe...just made some tonight with the kids...

I think similar versions are in the Cake Mix Doctor and all over the internet...but this recipe was given to me by my friend Heather Jordan...

Have to LOVE a recipe that has 3 ingredients, one step, and uses one bowl and one spoon!

Cake Mix Cookies
1 box cake mix any flavor (we like Devils Food*, Funfetti, or Lemon**)
2 eggs
1/2 oil

1.  Mix together and place spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Preheat oven @ 350, bake for 6-9 minutes...

*If using any chocolate cake mix stir in chocolate chips, or m&m's, or 1/2 tsp mint extract, or peanut butter chips...or anything that's good with chocolate!

**Roll the Lemon cookies in sugar before baking for a very decadent treat!  or dust with powder sugar when they come out and are still warm.

Options...make the cookies a little larger than normal and place a popsicle stick into the bottom of dough before baking, then dip in melted chocolate when the "pop-cookies" have cooled...great treat for a kids party!

Now, feed each kid one cookie and send them off to bed so you can finish the rest by yourself because you have worked-out great all week long...
And No, eating all the cookies wouldn't make your trips to the Y pointless...
just the opposite in fact
...it would have made them VERY useful...
because without the trips to the Y there is no way you could justify eating 2 dozen chocolate cookies all by yourself...
and is it really all by myself if Agatha Christie is in bed with me and my cookies???

Put the Lime in the Rice...

We like rice in our family, but we like to change it up a lot...

I have lots of tricks to change the flavor you just need to always remember the 1x2 ratio of dry rice to liquid...and all will usually turn out great.

The recipe that I threw together last night had a hint of lime, I'll put more in next time...so I'll write my recipe to how I should have made it and not how I actually did...

Lime Infused Rice
1 Tbl butter
1 cup rice
2-3 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
zest of 1-2 limes
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs fresh parsley chopped

Melt butter in sauce pan, add rice & garlic and sauté until the rice turns white.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir once, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

The Other White Meat

Do you guys remember that ad campaign?
We always laughed because even in the commercials the pork looked grey not white.

Anyways, I've always enjoyed pork, didn't know why it had such a bad rap...
well, unless you're Jewish, and Kosher, and then well, sure I get that...
but other than following some laws from the OT, how could you not LOVE the pork?!

Oh, and our daughter, who's a self proclaimed vegetarian...
...not because she has some ethical problem with the way the animals are treated....
    ....and PLEASE, lets not share that information with her just yet...
...no she doesn't eat meat because...
*Beef has squishy parts
*Chicken has stringy parts
...and the most obvious...
*Pork taste like poison!

She does make exceptions to her strict vegetarian menu when it comes to some foods...
...she likes hamburgers, just not one's made at home
...she likes Chicken McNuggets...possibly because they're NOT REAL!
...she likes pork chops and applesauce, I guess the applesauce hides the poison I've laced the chops in!

...sorry, I guess I went on a major tangent there...
I made for the first time ever...drum roll please...
...a Roast Pork Tenderloin last night...
and it was delicious...and everyone ate it up (we had company and they all really enjoyed it)...
all except for the daughter who stood her ground on the "taste like poison" box that she likes...

Oh, and this is a recipe that was taken from my new favorite cook book,
a gift from my new favorite sister-in-law, The Dinner Doctor,
...another tangent please...my wonderful sister-in-law not only gave me a GREAT cookbook as a gift, she herself has the book, so she went thru and tagged the recipes that they liked...
AND...she wrote notes in the margins of what worked and didn't work and why they liked a certain recipes...isn't that the GREATEST idea...she's good like that!
from my favorite recipe book author The Cake Mix Doctor...

and how can you not love a recipe that has 4 ingredients; 5th ingredient optional...and only 3 steps?!?
Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Balsamic Sauce
1/2 cup Apricot preserves or jam
2 Tbl Balsamic vinegar (I was out and used apple cider vinegar, and it was still good)
1 pound pork tenderloin
salt and pepper to taste
Lime or Lemon wedges (optional)

1.  Preheat over to 450* (THIS is a MUST...do not wait to turn your oven on at the last minute!)  Mix the apricot preserves with the vinegar (the recipe says to "pulse the mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth"...I didn't want to wash out my food processor after this, so I just put the two in a bowl and whisked it with my small whisk!...worked beautifully!)...so mix the two however you feel you want!
2.  Place the port tenderloin in a 13x9 pan (I lined mine with foil to make clean up easier...only last time I bought foil it was for some sort of project and it was at the dollar store and it was apparently just a product calling itself foil, and was HORRIBLE...so of course it ripped during the baking process and then the apricot preserves, foil, and pan became joined as one and took WAY more work to clean than had I just left the foil out of the pan...but if you have REAL foil, (as in Reynold's Wrap Foil) I would recommend this to help your clean up!).  Season the pork with salt and pepper (or you can purchased a pork tenderloin already coated in black pepper).  Spoon 1/2 the jam mixture evenly over the top.
3.  Roast the pork until browned and the juices run clear when pierced with a knife (I recommend a meat thermometer when cooking with pork), and the meat is still barely pink, about 30-35 minutes.  About half way through, (about 15-20 minutes) the roasting remove pork and spoon remaining jam mixture over the pork and return to the oven.  When the roast is done, remove from oven and cover the roast with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes.  Serve with lime or lemon wedges.

*most of us might be aware that our oven "cooks hot" or "cooks cool"...it's really good to know how much especially when baking something at this temp...my oven is 75 hotter than it should be, had I set it for 450 it would have actually been cooking at 525, can you say burned pork-ka-bobs?!?

Served this is Lime Infused Rice, Salad, and Sourdough bread.

no dillusions

Okay...

starting off with a...

BLOG WARNING

material discussed below is for the eyes of mature adults...and for those interested in following my journey towards my Sprint Triathlon goal...and if in that journey I may at some point discuss my "running support"...or my entire blog might be about my "running support"...like today's...you may want to stop reading...

end of blog warning

So, I'm not a small girl.

I'm 5' 9 3/4" tall

     (although I'm the shortest in my "family"; dad, mom, sister)

I wear a size 12-14 when I'm in my best shape

     (currently at the higher side of 14)

my feet are big; size 9-10 depending on the shoe/style.

I weigh more than...170...but less than 200

     (vague enough for you?)

my shoulders and hips might not be BIG...

   but they are on the high side of average for a lady my height...

my eyes are even big...

growing up I always heard, "wow, look at those big brown eyes!"

...and yes, I would be classified as big busted...

With that being said...I oddly, have some parts of my body that are small...

maybe too small...

*although I have large feet they are skinny & my ankles are skinny, making it all that much harder to find cute shoes that fit.

*I have no BUTT,

     ...it's genetic, got the "no butt" from my father...

     my thighs run right into my lower back!

*and for the weirdest small part of my body, I have a freakishly small rib cage...

...now this is weird with the average hips and shoulders that I have...

...a positive to a small rib cage,

     my large bust actually hides in there, rather than standing out even farther into the world...

...negative...

although I am not delusional enough to think that I'm the only women out there with a large bust, trying to find a bra with a small band to fit my oddly small rib cage that supports the cup size I need (larger than the average big busted lady) in NEAR impossible.

I'm saying all this to just vent...

I am going this Sprint Triathlon in June, and my goal is to "run" the "run" portion of it, I don't want to walk it...to do the run leg of the triathlon I knew I needed to find me some extra special "running support"...so I went to my special website for my every day support and ordered what I thought would work...

this is the thing...when I put in my "special size" only 2...

...two...

(that's right, count them, ONLY 2)

sports/athletic "supporters" show up...

and then the most obivious thing, those 2 options were BOTH out of stock...

...yeah, CRAZY HUH!

so I did what every above average busty woman does, I fiddled with my size,...if I go up in the band size then I can go down in the cup size...

right?...

WRONG...

 ...

Forgetting my sizing woes, I blissfully placed my order and then was giddy like a child (or my husband) on Christmas morn, when my special package arrived in the mail...

could hardly wait to try them on...

...so mommy quietly escapes to the bathroom when the rest of the household is busy...

option 1...

it's okay, I'm thinking...

"well, this will work, it's not making a grossly weird shape out of me, it's tight, but isn't that the goal of a running supporter?"

but I'll see how option 2 works, I might send this one back....

option 2...

...option 2 should NEVER have been ordered...

option 2 might have been added to my "shopping cart" while I has experiencing a minor seizure ...

once I get option 2 fastened, turned around, the arm straps pulled up, and try to place all proper body parts inside the proper areas, I realize that I am shaking with laughter, this is nervous laughter, possibly laughing so I won't cry...and that's when the quiet house discovers that mommy has disapeared...and children are now at the bathroom door, "what's so funny mommy?" "let us in mommy." "we want to see."

what option 2 has physical done to my body is something that children should NEVER see...

...I must repeat that because it is VERY important...

children SHOULD NEVER SEE THAT...

I might actually be sending it in to the government as a new "treatment" to use on war prisoners... 

...and now this is the moment when I realize that option 2 will never come off my body without assistance from another human being...

Yes, my husband is also home, but this is NOTHING a husband should be exposed to...

but my options are

*children

*husband

*911...I was really liking this option

     ....and then I remembered I know some local paramedics and they might be the one's sent to help me....

...Okay, left with no other options

I called my husband in...

...I'm still hystically laughing...still trying not to cry...

giving his strict orders that children were NOT allowed in with him...

and he very kindly extracted me from OPTION 2....

and guess what...he still loves me, he might have chuckled a little, but only at the fact that I had managed such a feet, he wasn't laughing at the pathetic sight I made (or at least that's what I'm telling myself)...

all this to say...

option 2 is going back...

Lessons Learned...

1.  Order my size and ONLY my size and don't pretend I'm a different size...

2.  Lock bathroom doors when trying on internet orders possibly made during siezures...

3.  Don't befriend paramedics you may need them to help you out of very embarrassing moments and you NEVER want to have to interact with them after that...

4.  For better or for worse includes your husband helping you out of things you ordered during possible seizures.

You Can Do That in the Crock Pot?

Back in October I decided to challenge myself to see how many meals I could make in the crock pot and was interested in how it would effect our grocery budget and eating out.

I discovered a few things...

*I love my crock pot

*you can make lots of stuff that you would never think using the crock pot

*my grocery bill didn't really go down, but our eating out did, because I was making an effort to have a menu, shop off that menu and then if I made dinner at 9 am it was easier for our lifestyle then if I started dinner around 4...

*if a recipe is cooked on High for a certain length doesn't mean that you can turn the crock pot on low and double the cooking time...sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't...this recipe is one it DOES NOT work on!  Believe me I tried!

Cheese Shells and Kielbasa in the Crock Pot

2 (11 ounce) cans condensed Cheddar cheese soup

2 3/4 cups water

1 (16 ounce) package uncooked shell pasta

1/2 pound kielbasa, sliced into rounds

1 cup sour cream

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1.Stir the condensed soup and water together in a slow cooker until smooth. Add the shell pasta and kielbasa sausage. Set the slow cooker to High; cook 2 hours, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

2.Once the pasta is tender, stir in the sour cream, Cheddar, and mozzarella until the cheeses melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and allow to rest 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with steamed broccoli and applesauce...

Is there any recipes that you would like to try in the crock pot?  Let me know...

and what is the weirdest thing you've ever made in the crock pot?

Menu for Jan 11-17th

I just realized than I never menu plan for Sundays...and why don't I plan for Sunday's?
Sunday's are my day of rest...
well, day of rest AFTER 12:30,
I'm wrangling cats from 8-12:30 every Sunday morning
(or helping to guide young souls?)
So the not scheduling a menu item for Sunday lunch/dinner actually makes my day of rest, less restful
...how?...
well, 4:30 rolls around on Sunday and the kids start with the
"What's for Dinner?"
"I'm hungry!"
"Are we going to order pizza?"

and then when I start throwing out the options that my tired brain/body can muster up for dinner I get the...
"Not that!"
"We had that last week"
"I'm not hungry for that"
"Is there anything else we can have?"

So I've decided to start adding Sunday to my menu list, but I'll still start the menu on Monday...
Monday
     Lunch-grilled paninis
     Dinner-crock pot shells and cheese (mommy has a meeting tonight)
Tuesday

     Lunch-tuna melts

     Dinner-Roast Pork Tenderloin with Apricot Balsamic Sauce

Wednesday

     Lunch-tacos

     Dinner-baked potato bar

Thursday

     Lunch-soup and grilled cheese

     Dinner-calzones

Friday

     Lunch-leftovers

     Dinner-Lemon Grilled Chicken and Alfredo pasta (mommy  has a wedding rehearsal tonight)

Saturday

     Lunch-grilled chicken salad (I'll be @ the church for the majority of the day with a wedding...my last one)

     Dinner-pork chops

Sunday

     Lunch-after church potluck

     Dinner-scrambled eggs and country potatoes

If & when I post recipes I will link them back to the items on this page...

enjoy your week!

my hero

I was having MAJOR formatting issues on my blog today
...wasted hours getting more frustrated, and frustrated...
and then my sick...
...very sick...
husband came to my rescue
...my knight in shinning armor...
(he just gagged reading that!)
fixed it all for me
I LOVE my husband...

A Group of Mis-Fit Triathletes...or maybe just me

okay, so it's been what...

a week...
since I went "blog public" with the fact that I'm going to do a Sprint Triathlon in June...
and I went SHOPPING...look at my cute new shoes...

And guess what...I'm still so excited...actually crazy excited about this!
I even asked some friends to join me...

...didn't want to do this alone...

....well, I knew I was doing it with my sister-in-law...

but I wanted local friends (my sister-in-law is 4 hours away)

...I wanted someone to call me and say,
"lets go to the Y today"...
or, "want to go on a bike ride"....
...."lets try the pool today"...
so I asked some friends and lots said YES!

...then, my Dad called and told me he'd help me "train" too...
he was a runner and a swimmer back in the day
(sorry dad...but it's been awhile since I've seen those legs in a pool!)
...and I'm sure he could still kick my bu** at both...
well I might be able to out run him for awhile since he's currently sporting an ankle broke in two spots...
.....

I'm still in a little shock that not only am I doing this but...
...WE'RE doing this...

I love my new group of...
~ Triathletes in Training Buddies ~
we are supporting each other on facebook
my sister-in-law set us up with a fancy facebook group page so we can all support each other no matter where we live...
we are also calling each other, texting each other, and just cheering each other on...

And, if I don't say so myself...
we are a group of

mis-fit triathletes
some of the ladies have done crazy stuff like this before...
some have led very athletic lives...
some have never walked more than a mile or two...
...some led active lives say, in high school...(yep that's me)
most of the ladies have kids...or 5 of them (go Michelle)...
most of us are in our 30's (or turning 30 this year)...
but some are still in their 20's and some are in their 40's...

and one crazy friend is actually...
currently...
pregnant (due any day now)!!!
and she really wants to do this...
I didn't even ask her at first...
because she's
...PREGNANT...
but when she heard us talking about it she said she wanted in...
(she's amazing!)

we might be all over the board in experience and training...
but we are all excited...
we all want to get healthier
...can't speak for all of us, but I know my goal isn't about losing a certain amount of weight, or getting this post-baby body into a certain size pant...
...it is to have a healthy body, and in doing that I teach my kids that being healthy is fun and comes in all sizes...

so what's my plan...how am I training?
January
Walking/running 3 times a week
(my "running support" came in the mail yesterday and it wasn't the happy day that I had hoped, I need to return them and hope for something more doable...)
Biking 3 times a week
February 
walking/running 3 times a week
Biking 3 times a week
combining the 2 at least once a week
swimming once a week
March
Running/biking 4 times a week combing the two
swimming twice a week
April
running/biking 3 times a week-increasing the length
swimming 3 times a week
(goal to have my own bike my April so I can "train" outside of the Y's stationary bikes)
May
running/biking 3 times a week-increasing the length
swimming 3 times a week

at least twice maybe three times I will combine all three

JUNE 6th-"D" Day!!!

so I'm also trying to be practical, and know that my life might not always fit into a box...
okay...my life NEVER fits into a box...
so I also have the Wii Fit and will use that to help with my cardio on days that I can't make it to the Y,
we also affectionately refer to our house as
..."the stair master"...
and I will take advantage of them on other days...

Thanks for the support...I will also post pictures of new work-out clothes once I go shopping for those...
don't worry, no pictures of the "running support" will EVER show up on this blog...

It Just Might be a Snail

Made a really yummy soup last night...and then as Beau and I are trying to enjoying our dinner, we turn into "those parents"...
...sit up straight...can't you just sit still...what did you just drop...have you forgotten HOW to use a napkin...please just try the soup...take just one bite...will you please stop touching each other...STOP SLURPING the soup!...no there is not poison in the soup...you have to eat some soup before you get any more bread...no you can't have any more cheese on top of your soup...

and then...
Yes, it's probably a snail in your soup, mommy likes to cook with snails...

the Snail soup...

This is a VERY easy soup, the prep is the hardest part...my suggestion is to prep everything ahead of time, open all the cans, drain, chop, zest/grate, etc. and then you can just dump the ingredients as you go...I hadn't done any prep and felt like I was running the whole time, because the recipe went faster then I had expected...

Tortellini Soup
1/2 lb Italian sausage (mild) or ground beef browned (or omitted for a vegetarian soup)
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 Celery stalks chopped
2-3 cloves garlic finely grated (I like to use my zester; the fine side of the grater for my garlic, you get all the flavor without chunks of garlic, or you can use a garlic press, but I don't own one)
3 cups beef broth or vegetable broth
1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (or one fresh tomato chopped)
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1/2 Green Bell Pepper chopped up
2 carrots peeled and chopped
1/2 -1 cup sliced up zucchini
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1- 1 1/2 cups dried tortellini (I used pesto filled, from Trader Joe's a 16 oz bag was $1.99 and I used less than 1/2 the bag...any kind/flavor would work)
Parmesan cheese for topping

Brown the sausage or beef in large sauce pan, remove meat from pan and drain all of 1 Tbl of fat from pan.  Sauté onion, celery and garlic in pan, return sausage/beef to pan, add broth, tomatoes, tomato sauce, peppers, carrots, zucchini, basil, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer for about 25 minutes, add tortellini and cook to package directions, around 15-20 more minutes, don't over cook the tortellini...
top with Parmesan cheese when serving.
Serve with French Bread for dipping....

The Previously Alluded to Chicken Salad

In a previous post I made mention of a favorite Chicken Salad recipe...
...and then just left you guys hanging...

This is a recipe...
I use that word loosely because I'm not sure it was ever written down and I'm sure it's been modified a few times since...
that I got from my friend Michelle Anderson at a MOPS retreat
(MOPS=Mother's Of PreSchoolers)...at least I think it was Michelle that made/brought this the first time???
and has since become a MUST have at our annual Summer retreat...

(that I will not go to ever again because I am "graduating" from MOPS since Wilson will be in Kindergarten next year!  GASP...I've been in MOPS for 9 years!)

Okay...focus...this post is about a recipe not about my baby that's all grown up, almost...

BLOG WARNING...PHOTO MONTAGUE....

oh, yeah I was posting a recipe...focus Kiera, focus...

Now, the measurements for this recipe are all pretty vague...just mess with it until you get something that you like...Don't know if there's a name for this recipe so I'll call it

Apple Poppyseed Chicken Salad

Cooked Chopped Chicken, about 1 inch pieces (2-3 cooked chicken breast feeds about 6-8 people, or you can use a rotisserie chicken or left over chicken/turkey...see what I mean about vague)...just enough for however many people you're wanting to feed

apple or two, cored and cubed  (I use a Fuji...and the amount depends on how much you like apples and how many people)

chopped Celery

Chopped white onion (not too much or it will over power the salad maybe 1-2 Tbs)

about 1 cup of red seedless red grapes (cut in half)

a handful or two of dried cranberries (or raisins...I actually use the cherry flavored cranberries)

Cashews...or pecans...or pine nuts...about 1/4-1/2 cup (toasted)

1-2 Tbl of poppy seeds

2-3 Tbs mayo

Mix together and serve on croissants if you're feeling decadent...or on a toasted whole wheat English Muffin or in a pita pocket, or just on a plate with a fork and some crackers...You can also make a bed of lettuce and serve it on top of that...

When I'm making this for a group of people I might not be familiar with I mix JUST the chicken, apple, celery, grapes and mayo together and put everything else in bowls and make it more of a Chicken Salad Bar and then they can add or leave out whatever they want...

It's also a good recipe to make and have everyone bring a piece of the salad...have someone bring the nuts, someone bring the cranberries, the grapes, etc...

Serve with fresh fruit, this is so good with strawberries and pineapple on the side...and even had some people add the strawberries to the salad....

Oh, avocados are also really good on/with this salad...