Archive for January, 2009

Food 4 Thought Friday ~ This week’s questions

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Breakfast
What is the longest you have gone without sleep?
30 hours, but that was in college. I am a nightmare without sleep.

Lunch
If you don’t live alone, do you think you would be able to, and if you do live alone, do you enjoy it? Why?
I have done both. I enjoy me time. I know who made the mess and therefore who has to clean it up.
I know where things are.

But i do like having my hubby with me! Keeps the bed warm!

Dinner
Would you rather give a public speech or bungee jump?

Public speech. Not a fan of the free fall feeling… ugh.
And i used to teach aerobics, so i’m not too afraid of talking in front of groups!

Midnight Snack

Have you ever rode on a train?

Like cross country on Amtrak, no. But i grew up north of boston so i took the train into Boston on a regular basis.
I’ve taken it from Long Island into NYC. From Connecticut into  NYC (college years) And i commuted into Denver on the light trail (little trains on big tracks) most recently.

Recipe for the Week (instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for this week?)

Beware what you attract. Negative thoughts beget negative thought. Instead of being mad or sad at what your current situation, think about what positive points can you find? What are you grateful for today?

Doing my part (kinda)

I got this email yesterday and thought it was pretty cool. I had forgotten i have signed up for paperless, since i really only interface with them once a year (besides the time the guy turned left from the right lane…)

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Thanks for helping us plant ONE MILLION trees!

Dear NICOLE,
[]

[tree]Thanks to Paperless customers like you, we’re on track to plant one million new trees in state and national forests across the country!

In 2008 alone, just by enrolling in our Paperless program, Progressive’s customers sponsored the following replanting projects:

  • Modoc National Forest (California/Oregon)
    []133,905 Ponderosa Pine, Jeffery Pine, and Native Washoe trees were planted to replace those lost to recent wildfires. These trees will provide critical habitats for northern goshawk, osprey, great grey owls, and bald eagles.

  • John M. Bethea State Forest (Florida)
    [][]113,724 Longleaf Pine and Slash Pine trees were planted
    to replace those lost to fire. These trees will provide wildlife habitats for not only Florida Black Bears, but Red-Cockaded Woodpeckers and Bachman’s Sparrows too.

And there’s more planned for 2009…
We’re already hard at work with the Arbor Day Foundation on replanting projects in Georgia and South Carolina and, with more states to come, we won’t rest until we’ve planted at least one million trees! Stay tuned, and thanks for choosing (and being) Progressive.

Not so wordless wednesday

So this is really for mom.

When she was here for christmas we made a joke about the homelss meters, and mom was intrigued. Of course after that mention, we never saw another to show her.

Here is what it looks like.

It is located on the inside of the sidewalks, as to not confuse those people parking on the side of the street!

Sunday night already??

Damn – is the weekend over already?
Ugh!

Friday night we went on a pub crawl looking for a good location to hold a party for one of hubby’s friends – and for our own benefit as well!

We found some great options – and had some yummy drinks!!

Saturday we had game night at a friend’s house. We played apples to apples and cranium.
Cranium has waaaaay too complicated instructions. The whole rolling the dice after your turn is over is pretty weird.

Sunday was a whole bunch of nuttin! Laundry, organizing, cooking and yoga!!

Curried Shrimp in Peanut Sauce

Made this for Sunday night dinner and we really liked it!!

Curried Shrimp in Peanut Sauce

 

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 cup shrimp in peanut sauce, 1 cup pasta, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro)

Ingredients

  • 2/3  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2  cup  creamy peanut butter
  • 2  tablespoons  balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper
  • 1  (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
  • 1  tablespoon  olive oil
  • 1 1/2  cups  sliced green onions
  • 2  teaspoons  curry powder
  • 1 1/2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
  • 1 1/2  pounds  large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

While pasta cooks, place broth and next 5 ingredients (broth through ginger) in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onions, curry, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 6 minutes or until shrimp are done. Stir in some of the peanut sauce; cook for 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over rice, and sprinkle with cilantro.

Food 4 Thought Friday ~ This week’s questions

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Breakfast
How would you describe your life right now…a Three Ring Circus, the Indy 500, the Boston Marathon, or a day at the beach?
3 ring circus – i’m pondering a lot of changes and can’t figure out which direction i need to head!

Lunch
If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
Cherry Red
Lavender

Dinner
What is the strangest food you ever ate?
Do brussel sprouts count?
mom always made us eat liver once a year…
sweet shrimp sushi – which is uncooked shrimp – blech
any sushi might be considered strange…
nothing like a bug or anything – although i’m sure i did as a child!

Midnight Snack
Have you ever seen a broadway musical? If so, which ones?
On broadway? no
But i’ve seen lots
Chorus Line (i love that one)
Wicked
Les Mis
Phantom (and again with hubby come feb)
Lion King
Chicago
Mamma Mia (does that count?)
many many more!


Recipe for the Week (instead of your recipe for life, what is it just for this week?)
What do you desire? What do you stand for? Keep that in mind every day!

Lists!

I found this over on a blog i read – (she has great pictures) and decided to take it, and i might even buy the book!

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I’m a

Money Managing Creative Lifelong Learner

Wordless Wednesday

Naked boy – fresh from a hair cut!

 

and

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STINA!

Turkey Vatapa

I made this with the left over turkey breast after christmas and was so excited with the results! I’ll be using any poultry products i can get my hands on to make this yummy soup!!

Turkey Vatapa

Yield

6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

Ingredients

  • 1  teaspoon  peanut oil
  • 1/2  cup  finely chopped onion
  • 3  garlic cloves, minced
  • 1  tablespoon  minced peeled fresh ginger
  • 1  jalapeño pepper, minced
  • 1  cup  water
  • 1  (28-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1  (12-ounce) can light beer
  • 1/4  cup  unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
  • 3  cups  chopped skinned cooked turkey
  • 1/2  cup  light coconut milk
  • 1/2  cup  finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/2  cup  finely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
  • 1/2  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
  • Cilantro sprigs (optional)

Preparation

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add ginger and jalapeño; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in water, tomatoes, and beer; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Place peanuts in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Add ground peanuts, turkey, and coconut milk to pan, stirring to combine. Increase heat to medium. Bring mixture to a simmer; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley, cilantro, juice, salt, and black pepper. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:195 (30% from fat)
Fat:6.4g (sat 1.8g,mono 2.3g,poly 1.7g)
Protein:19.9g
Carbohydrate:11.8g
Fiber:3.3g
Cholesterol:56mg
Iron:2.3mg
Sodium:301mg
Calcium:55mg

Basic Beer-Cheese Bread

I made this tonight to go with some chili (women’s bean project mix).
I updated the basic recipe with the jalapeno additions and wow was it yummy! I finally found something to do with all the Coors light we bought at Christmas for our visitors! :)

Basic Beer-Cheese Bread

Yield

16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Ingredients

  • 1  tablespoon  olive oil
  • 1/2  cup  finely chopped yellow onion
  • 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
  • 1  garlic clove, minced
  • 13.5  ounces  all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
  • 3  tablespoons  sugar
  • 2  teaspoons  baking powder
  • 1  teaspoon  salt
  • 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1  (12-ounce) bottle lager-style beer (such as Budweiser)
  • Cooking spray
  • 2  tablespoons  melted butter, divided

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Stir in pepper and garlic; cook 1 minute.

3. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk; make a well in center of mixture. Add onion mixture, cheese, and beer to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.

4. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake at 375° for 35 minutes. Drizzle remaining 1 tablespoon butter over batter. Bake an additional 25 minutes or until deep golden brown and a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Apple-Cheddar Beer Bread: Substitute 1/2 cup minced shallots for onion. Place 1/2 cup shredded peeled Gala apple in paper towels; squeeze until barely moist. Cook shallots and apple in oil over medium heat for 7 minutes. Substitute 1 cup shredded extrasharp white cheddar cheese for Monterey Jack. Substitute 1 (12-ounce) bottle hard cider for lager. Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 151 (27% from fat); FAT 4.6g (sat 2.5g, mono 1.6g, poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 4.4g; CARB 21.9g; FIBER 0.8g; CHOL 11mg; IRON 1.3mg; SODIUM 265mg; CALC 87mg