August 2010 Update

Recipes I Tried:
Chicken and Basil Stir-Fry
Spicy Chicken & Orzo Skillet
Pecan Crusted Tilapia


Books I Read:
Mortal Prey by John Sandford
Violets Are Blue by James Patterson
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Back Spin by Harlan Coben


Items I Worked On:
#38. Get together with friends at least once a month
#40. Get together with “the girls” from M.A. at least 3 times per year
#42. Send birthday cards to friends/immediate family in 2010
#86. Read all books in the “Prey” series by John Sandford
#87. Read all books in the “Alex Cross” series by James Patterson


Items I Completed:
#35. Eat a well-balanced breakfast every morning for a week

It's been a sloooooow month in terms of the list.

Wicked

Wicked tells the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and her relationship with Galinda, later Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard's corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba's public fall from grace. The plot is set before and during Dorothy's arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz as a backstory.

For our date this month, we went and saw Wicked with a couple of Andrew's coworkers. Musicals aren't really Andrew's thing, but we both had a good time. We grabbed a quick dinner afterwards at Palomino Restaurant.

Friend Filled Few Days

I swear I've seen my friends more in the past 4 days than I have all summer. There were 6 event planned since Wednesday. I managed to hit 4 of them, only missing the yearly trip to Canterbury and S'mores with some high school friends.




Surprise Party
Wednesday there was a surprise graduation party for my friend Maggie. She and her fiance Aaron moved out to Connecticut last August so she could attend PA school at Yale. She was here in Mel's bachelorette party in June and wedding in July.


Birthday Party
Friday there was a birthday party for Mike & Maggie, which also doubled as an opportunity to see Mike & Jessica's new apartment. We ate pizza, drank adult beverages, had cake and ice cream, and somehow ended up watching a bunch of Old Spice response videos on YouTube.


Wedding Reception Open House
My friend Joan got married in Germany last month. Since it was pretty much only immediate family that was there, they decided to have parties in San Francisco and Minnesota. It was really great to see them - I probably haven't seen Joan since she moved to Germany last summer. Well, that's probably not entirely true, as I probably saw her when she was home for Christmas. But still, it's been a while - and now she's a married lady!


Art Show
After the wedding reception open house, Lindsay and I headed across the river to check out Liz's art show. Liz is a very talented artist. We were probably over there for a couple of hours - mostly goofing off because, well, that's what we do best. :)

Happy Birthday Maggie!

Pecan Crusted Tilapia (Recipe #42)

We've been trying to eat fish at least once a week and this recipe was a nice change of pace. As always, we served it with cous cous and it was the perfect meal.

Pecan Crusted Tilapia

(Source: MyRecipes)

1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp finely chopped pecans
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tap garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 tsp hot sauce
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4 (6-ounce) tilapia or snapper fillets
1 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
4 lemon wedges

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a shallow dish. Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a medium bowl; place flour in a shallow dish. Dredge 1 fillet in flour. Dip in buttermilk mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Repeat procedure with remaining fillets, flour, buttermilk mixture, and breadcrumb mixture.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 fillets; cook 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and fillets. Serve with lemon wedges.

Spicy Chicken & Orzo Skillet (Recipe #41)

I had high hopes for this dish (sounded and looked good), and it completely fell flat. We both agreed this dish was a tad on the bland side.

Spicy Chicken & Orzo Skillet

(Source: Betty Crocker)

1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin bite-size strips
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 cup ready-to-eat baby-cut carrots, quartered lengthwise
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
3/4 cup uncooked rosamarina or orzo pasta (5 1/2 oz)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup water
1 can (15 oz) chick peas or garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, cut into thin strips

1. In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add chicken and garlic; cook and stir 3 minutes. Add carrots and onion; cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring once.

2. Stir in all remaining ingredients except spinach. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed and orzo is tender.
3. Stir in spinach; cover and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer or until spinach is wilted.

One Year Update

In 365 days...



I have read 57 books.

I have tried 42 recipes.

I have started 34 tasks.

I have completed 22 tasks.


636 days and 79 tasks to go!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

...all i can think

about is you.

happy birthday

love you

A Week of Well-Balanced Breakfasts

You've heard it many times before. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Without the fuel it provides, your brain and metabolism can’t get going and you’ll feel sluggish all day. I would have to say I couldn't agree more.

My typical breakfast consists of a huge bowl of cereal and milk, occasionally switching it up with peanut butter toast or waffles. A good breakfast should tide you over until lunch, and I will admit that I usually found myself hungry around 10:30. So, for this little "experiment", I made several adjustments to my morning meal, in an attempt to keep me from feeling hungry a mere 2 hours after eating breakfast:

1) Pretty much cut out cereal completely, with the exception of a couple days where I nibbled on some high-fiber Quaker cereal.
2) Made sure the meal had a considerable amount of protein and fiber, both of which keep you feeling fuller for longer
3) Had a very generous serving (or two) of fruit.

The following is a breakdown of what I ate, as well as a breakdown of when I started feeling hungry in comparison to when I ate breakfast.

Sunday:
Honey Wheat English Muffin with Peanut Butter
Strawberries
Large glass of 2% milk

Time I ate: 8:30am
Time I started feeling hungry again: not until after 2pm (but I did try some of my husband's homemade chicken tenders around 11)

Monday:
Yoplait Strawberry Mango Pineapple Smoothie with extra Strawberries & 1/2 scoop of Whey Protein
1 cup dry Quaker Oatmeal Squares (Cinnamon flavor)

Time I ate: 7:00am
Time I started feeling hungry again: 12:15pm


Tuesday:
Slice of banana bread
Small glass of milk
Blackberries
Apple with 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter

Time I ate: 8am
Time I started feeling hungry again: 12:30pm


Wednesday:
Honey Wheat English Muffin with Peanut Butter
Strawberries
Blackberries
Banana
Large glass of 2% milk

Time I ate: 7am
Time I started feeling hungry again: 12:30pm


Thursday:
Yoplait Strawberry Mango Pineapple Smoothie with extra Strawberries & 1/2 scoop of Whey Protein
2 Breakfast "Blobs"

Time I ate: 7am
Time I started feeling hungry again: 12pm


Friday:
1 cup Quaker Oatmeal Squares (Cinnamon flavor) with 2% milk
Apple with 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter

Time I ate: 7am
Time I started feeling hungry again: 12pm


Saturday:
1 Breakfast Burrito (Jimmy Dean Reduced Fat Sausage, 1 scrambled egg, and 1/4 cup cheddar cheese on a Small Whole Wheat Carb Balance Tortilla)
Strawberries
Blackberries

Time I ate: 10am
Time I started feeling hungry again: 3pm

So, as you can see, this week saw me needing a mid morning snack, well, never. If you eat a well-balanced breakfast, you can easily go 5 hours without feeling hungry and needing a snack. And you know what's even better? It doesn't take a lot of time or energy to do it - there are a lot of quick and easy options even the busiest of people can utilize.

Needless to say, I will be giving my normal breakfast routine a complete overhaul.

Chicken and Basil Stir-Fry (Recipe #39)

I don't like trying out new recipes on people other than my husband and myself because, well, you have no way of knowing if it will be any good. We invited my in-laws over for dinner at the last minute, and this recipe was on the menu so, needless to say, I was a little nervous. However, we were all pleasantly surprised by this meal - it was both light and flavorful.

Chicken and Basil Stir-Fry
(Source: MyRecipes)

1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast halves
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp hot chili flakes
2/3 cup fat-skimmed chicken broth
1 Tbsp Asian fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla) or soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
3 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves (see notes), rinsed
Salt

1. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick strips 2 to 3 inches long.

2. Place a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat; when hot, add oil, garlic, ginger, chili flakes, and the chicken. Stir often until chicken is no longer pink in the center (cut to test), 3 to 4 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, mix broth, fish sauce, and cornstarch until smooth. Add to pan and stir until sauce is boiling, about 1 minute. Add basil leaves and stir just until barely wilted, about 30 seconds. Add salt to taste and pour into a serving bowl.

Notes: Thai basil adds an anise nuance, and cinnamon basil contributes notes of spice to this quick stir-fry; however, other basil varieties work well too. Serve with hot cooked rice. Asian fish sauce is available in most supermarkets and in Asian grocery stores.