It never ceases to amaze me how the pirahna called "Life" is more than happy to jump out of its brackish river water and bite you square on the ass.
OK. It's not as bad as all that. In fact, the recent new developments around this Queen's household are a good thing. An expected thing, one might say. The chance to embark on another journey with a bag full of experience and the hope that this time things can be easier, a little more relaxed.
Sadly, it's possibly imprudent to be explicit about the changes at hand (and I made my husband promise not to share anything with anyone until I said it was OK to.)
But the problem right now is that I'm a big mouth. A horrible, terrible big mouth! I love to tell secrets. I have a merit badge in "Bean Spilling." I just can't keep anything to myself. In fact, I've been known to warn friends that if they wish to leave me with a secret they must ensure that I do not tell anyone the news for 24 hours straight. Once they 24th hour mark has past, I will take that secret to the grave (and that's only because I've forgotten the secret.)
I can't forget this one, though! So... I will not deny anything guessed and in a few weeks, I'll spill the beans publicly (regardless of the outcome.) I can't imagine anyone reading this blog hasn't figured out where I was going with this, but if you guess, then I can safely say I never said a word.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Just Don't Call Chuck Norris "Sugar"
I know this is a cop out post and some day I'll get back to posting. I've been going through my annual Diabetes-Sucks-and-People-Who-Can-Eat-Ice-Cream-Without-the-Sugar-Coma-Can-Bite-Me funk. This list just about made me pee my pants! Funk over. (Thanks, Six Until Me!)
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
What's for Dinner? Chicken Noodle Casserole
I'm not a food blogger, but I love food blogs. I really love to read about recipes and cooking. I'm especially impressed by food photography (Side note: Several weeks ago, I was working the shop and I brought along the "100" issue of Saveur magazine. The photography was was beautiful and so scrumptious looking that I felt like I could lick the pages and taste the dishes. Obviously, no such luck, but I did end up at Central Market right after my shift to buy ingredients to make Tomato Bread Salad with herbed roule. Yum!)
I'm a big fan of casseroles, a much maligned food category, in my opinion. When you're in a rush and you're trying to think of something delicious and satisfying to feed your family, a casserole always seems to hit the spot. I sometimes imagine that if the Midwest had an official regional food, it would be The Casserole. Being a lover of chicken noodle soup, but wanting something more substantial, I decided to improvise and create the Chicken Noodle Casserole. (Recipe below.)
Ingredients:
1 Rotisserie chicken, meat pulled from bone and cubed (or if you prefer, about a pound of chicken breast, cooked and cubed)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced white or yellow (non-sweet) onion
1 pound linguini, broken in half, cooked just shy of al dente (any short pasta will suffice, really)
1.5 cups of milk (I used 2%. If you want a saucier casserole, you may need as much as 2 cups)
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup, though Cream of Celery or Cream of Mushroom would be just as delicious
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a casserole dish (in this case, a 5-qt Le Creuset French oven) with non-stick spray and add noddles. Set aside.
2. In a skillet or non-stick pan, over medium-low heat, sweat the vegetables until soft. You don't want them to brown, but rather slowly release their flavor. This takes about 10-12 minutes.
3. In a medium sized sauce pan, combine milk, soup, and 2 T of Parmesan. Allow to thicken slightly.
4. Combined chicken, skillet vegetables, peas, and sauce. Pour over noodles in the casserole dish and carefully stir to incorporate. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until bubbly. For a brown top, pop under the broiler for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
I'm a big fan of casseroles, a much maligned food category, in my opinion. When you're in a rush and you're trying to think of something delicious and satisfying to feed your family, a casserole always seems to hit the spot. I sometimes imagine that if the Midwest had an official regional food, it would be The Casserole. Being a lover of chicken noodle soup, but wanting something more substantial, I decided to improvise and create the Chicken Noodle Casserole. (Recipe below.)
Queen Sassy Pant's More Than Delicious Chicken Noodle Casserole
Ingredients:
1 Rotisserie chicken, meat pulled from bone and cubed (or if you prefer, about a pound of chicken breast, cooked and cubed)
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced white or yellow (non-sweet) onion
1 pound linguini, broken in half, cooked just shy of al dente (any short pasta will suffice, really)
1.5 cups of milk (I used 2%. If you want a saucier casserole, you may need as much as 2 cups)
1 can of Cream of Chicken soup, though Cream of Celery or Cream of Mushroom would be just as delicious
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray a casserole dish (in this case, a 5-qt Le Creuset French oven) with non-stick spray and add noddles. Set aside.
2. In a skillet or non-stick pan, over medium-low heat, sweat the vegetables until soft. You don't want them to brown, but rather slowly release their flavor. This takes about 10-12 minutes.
3. In a medium sized sauce pan, combine milk, soup, and 2 T of Parmesan. Allow to thicken slightly.
4. Combined chicken, skillet vegetables, peas, and sauce. Pour over noodles in the casserole dish and carefully stir to incorporate. Top with remaining Parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 375 for about 40 minutes or until bubbly. For a brown top, pop under the broiler for about 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Insomnia and Recovery
On Friday, I got to ditch that nasty ol' gallbladder and since then have been having a bugger of a time sleeping. I think the real trouble is that I sleep so much during the day that I'm awake at night and can't quite get back on track.
There are some considerable holes in my blog right now. Between my trip to the ER last week and then the eviction of my icky gallbladder...well, there isn't much to tell. I'm hoping to start a short series soon on living simply. It's a recession; people are downsizing. I thought I'd put my two cents out there on how I'm going to do my part in being the family-finance manager. Stay tuned.
Now if only I could get some shut-eye...
There are some considerable holes in my blog right now. Between my trip to the ER last week and then the eviction of my icky gallbladder...well, there isn't much to tell. I'm hoping to start a short series soon on living simply. It's a recession; people are downsizing. I thought I'd put my two cents out there on how I'm going to do my part in being the family-finance manager. Stay tuned.
Now if only I could get some shut-eye...
Friday, February 5, 2010
What a week!
Well, the last couple of weeks have been pretty nutty around here. Mostly in a good way (at least until Thursday, when a certain bodily organ who shall remain nameless decided to be a total butthole! But more on that in a minute.)
So quick re-cap:
1. I finished up Cake Decorating 101 and totally loved it! My final cake was just delightful and so pretty. I didn't quite master the Wilton Rose technique, but I think with practice and the right icing, I should be cranking out a thousand in now time! (Oh who am I kidding?! They make bakeries for those kinds of things, don't they?)
2. Though I finished up Cake Decorating class with flying colors, I missed Week 3 so I could attend an informational session of a very well know and somewhat misunderstood woman's volunteer organization. I found out they are much more than just white glove tea parties and cotillions! Being someone who can't say no, of course I signed on the dotted line. So that's now two highly involved organizations that demand oodles of time that I'm adding to the activities list. I'm really excited!
3. I had a job interview, was offered the position, and then turned it down all in one day. I know, I know... in this economy with so many people out of work, what kind of idiot turns down a job? The kind that would have been miserable doing the work. It was totally up my skill set alley, but I'm discovering there is a lot more to working than just getting a pay check. I want to enjoy my work and feel like I'm doing something worthwhile, and for me, this job just wasn't it.
4. And finally, my gall bladder is a total butt hole. Okay, not literary (ehhh...now I've got a mental image going on here. Give me a sec...) On Thursday, after a very delicious but small bowl of mac 'n cheese, I ended up doubled over in the most horrible pain of my life. And I've had a baby! Gone through 5 IV starts, 2 epidurals, 1 c-section (and a partridge in a pear tree!) This pain was more horrible than that times 1000. I was lucky that King Sassy Pants was working from home that day and was able to cart me to the ER (with Prince Sassy in tow). One dose of Zofran, a shot of morphine, and an ultrasound later --- well, let's just say in my gall bladder are what look like Cadbury chocolate mini eggs (Ha! Bet you're not going to eat any of those this Easter!) So, the gall bladder is taking a hike next Friday. Ahhh, yes, outpatient surgery. It's exactly how I love spending Valentine's weekend.
So that's the wrap up so far. I'm just hunkering down for the next week, on my low/no-fat diet so as not to anger the evil Gall. Why is everything that is so delicious also about the most fattening thing on earth!?
So quick re-cap:
1. I finished up Cake Decorating 101 and totally loved it! My final cake was just delightful and so pretty. I didn't quite master the Wilton Rose technique, but I think with practice and the right icing, I should be cranking out a thousand in now time! (Oh who am I kidding?! They make bakeries for those kinds of things, don't they?)
2. Though I finished up Cake Decorating class with flying colors, I missed Week 3 so I could attend an informational session of a very well know and somewhat misunderstood woman's volunteer organization. I found out they are much more than just white glove tea parties and cotillions! Being someone who can't say no, of course I signed on the dotted line. So that's now two highly involved organizations that demand oodles of time that I'm adding to the activities list. I'm really excited!
3. I had a job interview, was offered the position, and then turned it down all in one day. I know, I know... in this economy with so many people out of work, what kind of idiot turns down a job? The kind that would have been miserable doing the work. It was totally up my skill set alley, but I'm discovering there is a lot more to working than just getting a pay check. I want to enjoy my work and feel like I'm doing something worthwhile, and for me, this job just wasn't it.
4. And finally, my gall bladder is a total butt hole. Okay, not literary (ehhh...now I've got a mental image going on here. Give me a sec...) On Thursday, after a very delicious but small bowl of mac 'n cheese, I ended up doubled over in the most horrible pain of my life. And I've had a baby! Gone through 5 IV starts, 2 epidurals, 1 c-section (and a partridge in a pear tree!) This pain was more horrible than that times 1000. I was lucky that King Sassy Pants was working from home that day and was able to cart me to the ER (with Prince Sassy in tow). One dose of Zofran, a shot of morphine, and an ultrasound later --- well, let's just say in my gall bladder are what look like Cadbury chocolate mini eggs (Ha! Bet you're not going to eat any of those this Easter!) So, the gall bladder is taking a hike next Friday. Ahhh, yes, outpatient surgery. It's exactly how I love spending Valentine's weekend.
So that's the wrap up so far. I'm just hunkering down for the next week, on my low/no-fat diet so as not to anger the evil Gall. Why is everything that is so delicious also about the most fattening thing on earth!?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Craftacular: Ribbon Tag Blankies
Seems like I'm a roll with finding household appliances that have been safely forgotten about and then digging them out and going on a home ec bender. Not long ago, I dug out my old sewing machine. My mom, a very talented seamstress, gave me the machine when I moved into my first apartment (oh, about a million years ago!) I managed to make one set of hideous curtains and then my sewing machine found its way into a craft-esque oubliette.
After staring at the machine and reading the 17 page manual for the zillionth time (I was really hung up about winding a bobbin. Traumatic bobbin incident back in '02), I thought it was about time to get this party started.
I have a almost 4-month old niece (Claire) and a 6-month old nephew (Henry). For Hanukkah, I gave each of them one of these Taggie brand Take-a-Long toys. They were such a hit, I told my sister-in-law, that I'd be happy to make a blankie version for Claire Bear. Well, I can't just make one for her and not for Henry, so last night I whipped out these cuties in no time. Easy, inexpensive (material for 4 of these blankies costs about $13. ONE store bought Taggie is $20.00. Yikes!)
They're folded just for easy of photo taking, but the blue one (for Henry) is about 15" x 17" and the green one (for Claire) is 18" x 18".
After staring at the machine and reading the 17 page manual for the zillionth time (I was really hung up about winding a bobbin. Traumatic bobbin incident back in '02), I thought it was about time to get this party started.
I have a almost 4-month old niece (Claire) and a 6-month old nephew (Henry). For Hanukkah, I gave each of them one of these Taggie brand Take-a-Long toys. They were such a hit, I told my sister-in-law, that I'd be happy to make a blankie version for Claire Bear. Well, I can't just make one for her and not for Henry, so last night I whipped out these cuties in no time. Easy, inexpensive (material for 4 of these blankies costs about $13. ONE store bought Taggie is $20.00. Yikes!)
They're folded just for easy of photo taking, but the blue one (for Henry) is about 15" x 17" and the green one (for Claire) is 18" x 18".
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Fancy Mac 'n Cheese
Oops! It's been a whole week without a post. I guess that's what happens when you rocket off into a huge start. It's easy to come up short some weeks.
No worries, I'm back and tonight I'm cooking up Pioneer Woman's Fancy Macaroni. There is zero anything diet about it. I figure pairing it with a nice spinach and strawberry salad would help cancel out some of the zillion calories caused be the THREE cheeses...and bacon...and butter. Eek!
Last week was kind of busy for me with some really neat opportunities ahead. I'll be sure to post about them later this week as developments evolve.
No worries, I'm back and tonight I'm cooking up Pioneer Woman's Fancy Macaroni. There is zero anything diet about it. I figure pairing it with a nice spinach and strawberry salad would help cancel out some of the zillion calories caused be the THREE cheeses...and bacon...and butter. Eek!
Last week was kind of busy for me with some really neat opportunities ahead. I'll be sure to post about them later this week as developments evolve.
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