Szarek's Den

2nd Westmoreland Food Swap

2012-01-22T17:31:00.001-08:00

Last night was the 2nd Westmoreland food swap held at the firehouse. This time I actually went, I dragged Brenda with me because I really wanted to swap her for some French Onion Soup! She is a foodie so I knew she would get into it!

First of all it was so great that so many people took part. There were 4 full size tables full of food to swap. Each table had about 4 people with tons of goodies. My Swap items:

Vacation Never Ends Jams
Fresh Eggs from the Chickens
Garlic Bread Seasoning
Spicy Ketchup
Homemade Vanilla Extract
Vanilla Sugar

This is how my part of table looked:

Here are just some of the things I could of swapped for:

Fresh Egg, Syrups, homemade breads

Bacon Popcorn, BBQ sauces, apple butters, seeds, Tomato pie

and so much more!

The first hour we went around sampling things and talked to the other people about their food items. I signed up for a lot of different things! Then we all sat down and enjoyed a multi course dinner put on by Bernie, Denise and Tony as part of the wandering fork dinner for Slow foods. Normally a full on dinner is not served with a swap. Westmoreland just likes to change things up a bit! Here’s some of the photos of the food:

I only took photos of the first course. Sorry I am easily distracted! So after eating we swapped. I have very little time to take photos here. This was the go time! I took a quick look at my swap sheets, a few swaps were easy. Denise signed up for something of mine and I signed up for her salty seeds, The pizza lady wanted my vanilla and so did the maple syrup girl.

I had no one signed up for my Vanilla sugar, so I went looking, I found some cookies and offered the vanilla in trade! then I took my jam to another lady with cookie pops and she was willing to trade for them. The swap sheets are great to figure out some of your swaps. but the rest are up to negotiations! If there is something you really want, when the swap opens you go after that product. I walked up to a lady and said would would you like for that mustard? She wanted spicy ketchup! it was great lots of fun. I came home with tons of new things:

That would be 2 jars of Carmel bacon popcorn, cookie pops, Maple syrup, onion soup and 2 other kinds of soup, 3 jars of BBQ sauce, English muffin bread, tomato pie, honey mustard, salty seeds, and more!

I look forward to future swap, in the summer it will be great to swap veggies! the last 2 years I have had so many cuke’s and no beans! If you have a chance to go to swap, jump on it! it’s a lot of fun!

More information about the Westmoreland food swap can be found here on the FB page

Garlic Bread Seasoning

2012-01-15T05:13:00.001-08:00

this was fun to do. I just mixed everything and poured it into a salt and pepper shaker. If you want garlic bread you butter your bread and shake this on top. This is great even sprinkled on chicken and pasta!

I like to always add a little fresh parmesan cheese to my dishes when I used this. It helps bring out the flavor. This does contain powdered cheese that I buy at Tom’s Food in Clinton. I am not a fan of using a food like this, but I think they have the best quality and its only 1/2 cup.

I found the recipe here, it’s a great website with other great recipes I want to try!

what you need:

1/2 c. powdered Parmesan cheese
2 tsp. Kosher salt
2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. oregano
2 tsp. basil
2 tsp. marjoram
2 tsp. parsley

Mix all together and pour into shaker bottle!

To make mine look cute for the food swap last week I covered the top with a cupcake liner and tied it with a ribbon. Using my scrapbook circle punch I made the label for the top.

Enjoy!

Cherry, White Chocolate, and Almond Biscotti

2012-01-12T17:04:00.001-08:00

During Sundays Swap, I never took a photo of my Biscotti. This is the best photo I have {photo credit to the cookie lady!}

See it right here in the bottom left corner. Yeah to make it pretty I wrapped the ziplock bags in scrapbook paper and tied them with yarn!

Guess what else I actually followed a recipe! Okay no not really! I based it of this Pistachio Biscotti recipe by Tyler Florence.

Here is what the basic Biscotti calls for:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract { I used almond to complement the almonds I was adding to the biscotti}
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Then I really did follow his instructions which read:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In an electric mixer, beat the butter until light and fluffy. With the mixer running, gradually add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla; mix until creamed. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the dough until smooth. Using a wooden spoon, mix in the {Here’s where I made the change= see “filling” below} until evenly distributed.

FILLING : So he called for 1 1/2 cups of Pistachios. I used about (yes I just dumped these in so now I am guessing on measurements):

1/2 cup of dried cherries
1/2 cup of White Chocolate chips
1 cup of Raw Almonds

Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and cut in half. Roll each half into a log, each 12 inches long by 1-inch high. Place the logs on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes or until the bottoms are lightly brown. Let the logs cool for 5 minutes and then place on a cutting board. Slice each log on a diagonal into 12 1-inch thick pieces. Put the cookies back on the cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes. Turn the cookies over and bake the other side for another 5 minutes. Store cookies in an airtight container.

These are so fabulous with Coffee or hot cocoa! At Christmas time I did make some with Pistachios but that to I altered! {wink!}

Vacation Never Ends Freezer Jam

2012-01-11T18:36:00.001-08:00

So I really love this Jam. Its Fab! It reminds me of a great vacation, it will make you think about being on a beach or Oceanside with a great drink!

But that’s not the best part! It can be used for more then toast and a sandwich!

I came across this recipe in Ball’s complete book of Home Preserving. It was call Tropical Breeze Freezer Jam. (You can see the original recipe here). I made some minor changes (I know you are not surprised that I didn’t follow the directions!).

Here is what you need:

1 cup sugar
1 package of freezer Jam pectin
2 cups finely chopped pineapple –Fresh or canned but drained
1-2 Medium sized banana (about 3 medium)
3/4 cup mandarin orange segments

Here’s how simple it is!

Step 1) in a food processor blend the Oranges, bananas and Pineapple till finely chopped

Step 2) add sugar and pectin to food processor and blend

Step 3) Remove blade from your food processor and stir for 3 minutes.

Step 4) Poor in to freezer safe jars leaving 1/2 inch for headspace.

Step 5) Let jar stand until thickened, about 30 minutes. Label.
REFRIGERATE up to 3 weeks. FREEZE up to 1 year.

My double batch filled about 7 containers. So here is where it gets good.

TURN BASIC FREEZER JAM INTO AN APPETIZER!

Slice French bread 1/4” thick, Lightly toast them on a cookie sheet in a 350 oven for 3-5 minutes. Once cooled, spread jam on the slices and top with sliced strawberries and toasted coconut!

If you don’t like French bread you can use mini bagel slices, or toasted Pita bread.

Food Swapping

2012-01-08T20:14:00.001-08:00

Have not heard about food swapping yet…That must be a big rock you have been hiding under! just kidding but it is the big trend in food land right now!
Here are some references for you:

The From Scratch Club describes a food swap as:

How it works: You can trade an item you made for another item that someone else made: items are swapped 1-for-1. You bring as many items as you’d like to swap; for example you could bring 6 of one item (6 loaves of bread) or 6 different items (1 jar of blueberry jam, 1 loaf of bread, 1 jar of vanilla extract, 1 tomato transplant, 1 jar of granola, 2 pints of pickled beets). Participants have time allotted to grab a spot on one of the many swap tables, set up their items & samples. Once everyone has their swap items on the table, and “swap cards” filled out, it will be time to sample and place your name on the card of the item you would like to swap. The last hour of the event will be the “live action swap” where the action takes place!

My Mother in law hosted the first Westmoreland Food Swap in the Fall. I made some cupcakes that I sent down to swap but I couldn’t attend the swap because I had 2 other appointments that day. So today I went with Denise to a swap hosted by someone else.
Here is what my swap table looked like:

Fresh eggs from our Chickens
Homemade Cherry, white chocolate Almond Biscotti
Garlic Bread Seasoning
Vacation never ends freezer Jam

I will try to post the recipes this week for these. I had samples of my biscotti and my jam. There were so many things to trade for: Fudge, cheese, meats, homemade pasta, muffins, body scrubs, oils, jams infused vodka, pottery, salsa, cookies and so much more.
This is what I came home with:

2 pieces of pottery, 2 bags of fudge, cream cheese, Hamburg, homemade Twix, salty seeds, lilac jam, muffins, salsa, zucchini marmalade, body scrubs

This swap was different where you got what you signed up for. Most are done where you write you name on the list of what you want trade and the item you want to trade for. So I could trade my eggs for someone's salsa. Then during the trading hour I go find the salsa person to find out if they accepted my trade offer.

It was pretty cool experience and I look forward to the 2nd Westmoreland Swap on January 21. Its going to be a pretty cool event! Denise is teaming up with Slow Food Mohawk Valley for a Wandering Fork Dinner. Here's the details:

Tapas style Dinner made with local food from our farmer friends. But there's audience participation, as well! You get to bring with you food to swap, and don't skimp on the eye candy!! Pretty wrapping is always a hit! Your swap item(s...) must be made, baked, grown or foraged by you!! Check out the Westmoreland Food Swap NY FB page for swap ideas and inspiration

Where can you go for $20.00 and eat a meal like this in CNY in the middle of winter, help out Slow Food Mohawk Valley ( half of your fee $10 - goes to Slow Food Mohawk Valley) , swap great food made by friends to take home, that you could never find in any store? Enjoy a wonderful evening with friends who share your commitment to local foods.

The menu and more information can be found on the FB page located here. Now I just have to figure out what I am making for that swap in a few weeks! What would you like to swap?

In progress

2012-01-05T17:42:00.001-08:00

Dont mind the blog appearance but I am in the middle of changing the layout

2012 here we come

2012-01-02T04:18:00.001-08:00

Last night I recapped 2011, here is my too do list for 2012

Finish losing weight (Hit the 100 pounds lost mark )
Run the boilermaker 15K and maybe a half marathon
Overcome my fear of heights at Adirondack Extreme
Climb Mt. Marcy and one other mountain we have never climbed before
Vacation in White Mountains
Go to the Museum of Play in Rochester
See a Live NHL game
Camp at least 8 times
Make homemade raviolis
Have regular date nights with hubby
Go out one night all dressed up
Run the warrior dash
Have an adult only dinner with the Szahulski adults
Spend the night in Lake Placid
take the kids to see NYC during Christmas time
Remember to plan my garlic in the fall
Take one item off the bucket list
Try to read more
Drink less coffee
Hike the entire trail around Nicks Lake
Try to live off our garden more, and less off the supermarkets
Go Kayaking for a day with no kids
See a Bear not at a zoo
Learn photoshop
be better about folding laundry
Challenge myself monthly: do one unexpected nice thing, try a new receipt and spend one night with no internet, no TV, no interrupts – just play as a family together
Get more organized
Go Snowshoeing
Get more sleep each night (yeah with this to do list on my mind!)
Master big girl push ups
teach the kids to ice skate
go to lake george in the summer
Keep my blog up to date in December!

Looking back

2012-01-01T19:38:00.001-08:00

I know I should of posted this yesterday but its never really late to look back on a wonderful year. We were busy during 2011, these are just a few of the events in our life.

Went Camping, a lot

Had fun with Friends

Enjoyed the Adirondack

Enjoyed our garden

Made Homemade nutella and marshmallows! and baked/Cooked a lot!

Added CHICKENS to the family
Rode a bike and Tackled the lawn

Graduated Preschool and Started Kindergarten

Kicked it will boo boo

Climbed new mountains

Said goodbye to old friends

and hello to new ones

Went to her first hockey game and had her first Pedi

Cruised to The Bahamas
Played Tee ball! and scored goals

Ran races and Finally received a metal

Turned 2 and turned 6

Was Naughty and Nice

And now onto 2012………

Happy New Year!

Christmas Rewind

2011-12-31T13:40:00.001-08:00

I was looking back and last December the same thing happened, I got too busy to update my blog. Christmas is so overwhelming, so much to do. Each year, after its over I say the same thing “next year I am going to get all done early.” Each year its like we rewind to the last and repeat the performance. February maybe the shortest month, but December is the fastest!

So here is our quick review of Christmas this year!

It started off at the town green for the tree lighting and Santa visit. Emma wanted nothing to do with Santa that night but was very happy with the cookies.

The next day we had Christmas at the farm. Emma wasn’t afraid of Santa that day..go figure!

What is Christmas without cookies? We did our normal cookie exchange at Aunt Laurie's plus made some sugar cookies at home. Tyler did great, he is very artistic! Emma she was a mess!

The tradition continued again this year, as we went with the Hull’s to get our tree!

And then a few weeks later, Santa came!

It was a great Christmas! Even if we had been Naughty and Nice this year!

The Szarek’s Run on Dunkin

2011-12-30T19:42:00.001-08:00

Well I can not say it was an easy decision. After Wyatt passed it was hard to decide what to do next. I knew we needed another dog, but the thought of a puppy was, well, to be honest overwhelming. If I had it my way we would of adopted 2 adult labs, however the kids and David won. We went down the puppy road…{deep breath}

Puppy Power

A lady at work’s dog had puppies, so we decided that we were going to look at them without the kids. In other words, we were going to pick one out. Lets be real, do you really think I could play with puppies and not get one?? – If you said yes you really don’t know the real me!

It was a hard decision, they had a female black lab, and the rest were male. The males were not dark as the female but not light chocolate like the one chocolate female (that was spoken for or she would have been mine!). So how did we pick when I had 3 super cute puppies on my lap? We picked the one that was the biggest, and I mean big, big head, big paws, big love! Want to see what he looked like that night:

So cute isnt he? Well we had to wait a few weeks till we could bring him home. We didn’t tell the kids a thing but they almost found out. We ran a facebook pole asking for name suggestions but not everyone read the part that it was a surprise for the kids!!

The Name Game

Speaking of his name! We wanted a name that would match him, since he was going to be a big ole lab we didn’t want anything cute sounding. It need to be a strong name, the same way that Wyatt was. We had several name suggestions. We tried to find names that were tied to the Adirondacks but nothing fit. David really liked Bruin and so did I. He means bear and he did look like I bear cub but I didn’t want people to think he was named after the Boston bruins hockey team. Then Carla suggested Dunkin. I think she said it jokingly but it stuck and that was his name!

One Saturday Morning

Then one Saturday morning I told the kids I was going to get milk and a surprise. I think they expected either donuts or chocolate milk! David had the kids standing by the island when I walked in.

It didn’t take long for everyone to fall for this little guy!

How can you not love him:

Big brother and sister

He adapted really well. He would cry for his mom and bothers/sisters the first few days but the kids would run right over to him. They would pet or play with him and he would be fine. He loved Tyler right away. Here is Dunkin chasing Ty outside:

He didn’t know what to do with Emma (surprise surprise!). She was loud and bounces everywhere. Eventually he got use to Emma. He realized that she would throw his toys! but she had to put a twist on it! listen to her telling him what to do:

480oz Dunkin to go!

He is growing fast. That first week we brought him home (Nov 6th) he was about 10 pounds, he was over 30 pounds by Christmas. Here’s a quick timeline of photos

Nov. 20th

Nov 27th

Dec 10th

Dec 24th

A Lab is a Lab, is a duck dog

You can tell Dunkin is a lab, Rain and Snow do not stand in his way from being outside. He loves to be outside, he loves to go with the kids to get eggs, he loves to attack my burning bush. He is a nut job! Any given morning from 5am to 7am I bet you he goes outside 6 times, 2 of them are for potty and 4 of them are to “fart around”! David and Tyler want him to be a duck dog. I have to admit this is pretty cute…..

However, I really want a mamas boy! I hate the idea of wet mucky dog smell of a duck dog. I want a house dog that lays on my feet and keeps them warm! that follows me around! I guess I still miss my old chocolate love, Wyatt. Dunkin is good, he loves attention! He isn't that much of a jumper so far! I hope that doesn’t change! He does get jealous of the kids on my lap!! And he thinks its funny to be walking by my foot and attack it. The boys may take him rabbit hunting this weekend. We will see how he does, maybe I will bribe him with treats to stay home with me and Emma!

Foot print on our heart

So there you have our new addition Dunkin. He has left a big footprint on our heart, mainly because his feet are bigger than Emma's! No because he is cute, loving and 100% lab. He is not Wyatt (and we didn’t expect him to be) but he a definite keeper

Camo Brownie Bombs

2011-12-30T18:16:00.001-08:00

You can find more details about Tyler's Army Party here. I wanted to break down the desserts in another post.
Brownie Bombs
You need:

Brownie mix and ingredients listed on package (yes I took a major short cut)
1 container of Vanilla or cream cheese frosting
Melting Chocolates in white, green and dark chocolate

So simple.
1) You prepare the brownies as instructed on the packaging (or from scratch).- I usually follow the cake like instructions (and I use store brand)
2) Bake and let cool
3) In a food processor, chop up the brownies into brownie crumbs!
4) Add the Frosting to the food processor and pulsate till everything is blended
5) Roll into bite size balls and place on wax paper covered baking sheet
6) Let the Brownie balls (yes I said BALLS) cool and set in a fridge or freezer
5) Melt white chocolate in double boiler and dip each ball into the chocolate
6) after the white chocolate is set, melt the dark chocolate, using a spoon or fork drizzle each ball with dark chocolate
7) repeat step 6 with Green chocolate
8) let the chocolate set and then enjoy!
*For the dark chocolate and green chocolate you will only need about 1/4 of the bag melted
**I said balls several times in this posting!

General’s Star for Army Party

2011-12-30T06:44:00.001-08:00

You can find more details about Tyler's Army Party here. I wanted to break down the desserts in another post.

General’s Star

You need:

Sugar cookie Mix and ingredients listed on package (yes I took a major short cut)
Star cookie cut
Melting Chocolates in white, green and dark chocolate

So simple.

1) You prepare the cookies as instructed on the packaging (or from scratch).

2) Cut them into stars and bake!

3) After they are cooled, melt the white chocolate. Dip the front of each cookie in the white chocolate and let set up.

4) Melt 1/4-1/2 of a bag of the dark chocolate. Dip a fork into the chocolate and drizzle it over the cookies

5) repeat step 4 with Green chocolate

5) let the chocolate set and then enjoy!

“6th infantry” Army Birthday Party

2011-12-29T19:34:00.001-08:00

I really expected Tyler to have a pirate birthday party this year. He was really into Jake and the Neverland pirate this spring. In the middle of October he told me he wanted an Army Party. We had already booked Rough N tumble for the kids party. I waited a few weeks before buying anything to make sure it wasn’t just a random thing. Well sure enough it stuck.

I quickly searched on Pinterest for ideas, when I found this blog. I loved it. I really wanted to make the cake but I didn’t have time and I knew I would have enough food with the other ideas I came up with. But you have to admit it’s a genius cake!!

Since we were having kids with allergies attending the party I had to rule out anything with egg, peanuts and red die. So what do you serve? I decided on Tyler's dirty battlefield cakes:

Super Simple! pudding, Cool whip, Crushed Oreos! I topped each one with Army guys, Tyler wanted gummy worms in them. He’s the bday guy!

To go along around the dirt cakes, we made Brownie Bombs (left in the photo below) and the General’s Star (right in the photo below)

The favor bags were super simple. Just brown lunch bags, sealed with an Army sticker. I wrote on each one “Tyler’s Army; MRE.”

Each guest’s bag labeled with there name as Sgt. Emma or Sgt Tyler.

The favor bags had just basic favors from Hobby lobby (who is stocking Army theme party supplies!)

Since the party was at Rough n Tumble, We didn’t do any real decorating. I did get camo bowls for the tables and used camo napkins

Everyone seemed to have a good time and were super tired from running around!

Happy Birthday Tyler

2011-11-22T03:02:00.001-08:00

6 Years ago today I was sent to the hospital for an unscheduled C-section. I remember telling the doctor your cry sounded like a duck! Now 6 years later you are a little duck commander!

You have grown so much this year. From a preschooler to a preschool graduate to a kindergartener. You are super smart and even out smart mommy! Your classmates look up to you as a leader, keep learning little man you will go places!

We love you Tyler! Have a great Birthday and another amazing year!!

Wyatt Szarek 2002-2011

2011-10-18T17:06:00.001-07:00

This big pile of chocolate love is Wyatt. He was a textbook lab and more! Loyal, loving, great with kids, and protective. Wyatt was born on January 2, 2002 in a little of 9 chocolate labs. We picked him because he winked at David!! We brought him on Valentines day of that year – in a snow storm! He was so tiny only 12 pounds – but he quickly grew to 100 pounds!

When David and I were engaged we knew we wanted a lab – we just didn’t know what color. Okay – really I wanted one of each color!! David was watching a hunting show and they were training some labs owned by Kevin Costner. The big one was named Wyatt. We loved the movie Wyatt Earp staring Costner! right then and there we knew we would name our lab Wyatt. We new our lab need to be a big strong Lab with a noticable presence. Wyatt was all that..Big feet, stocky built and a big block head.

Like normal young labs he was full of energy, after dinner each night we would walk him to the back hill to get some of the energy out. He loved going in the truck especially when it took us camping. He climbed Bald Mountain more times then I can count and Rocky Mtn twice.

While camping – Wyatt earned the name “Brown Dog” that was really what we wanted…a brown dog. Do you remember the Chevy Chase movie – I think it was called funny farm – where they were trying to sell the house and the wife purchased him a big old yellow dog that just slept? In the end that was how he was but early on he was nuts. Chasing ducks, digging out stumps and coming out of the woods with a log instead of a stick like another dog would do.

Wyatt was great with the kids! Tyler practically rode him like a horse. From the time Tyler was little till just this week, it was nothing to see Tyler laying on Wyatt like a pillow. They were best buds! Both kids used Wyatt to climb up onto the couch and to eat their food of their plate that they didn't like. Emma made a game of it! In recent months the game at our house each night was the kids each getting milk bones and running down the hall to hide them. Then Wyatt would sniff them out.

Wyatt passed on Friday Night – it was so painful for us. He ate a rock, something he has always done. But this one became stuck in my intestines, he ended up tearing 15 feet of intestines that were not repairable because the found cancer in him. David and I took it the hardest. Emma is just to little to really understand, and tyler had a lot of questions. For David and I , its heartache. Wyatt was our first born!! We babied him, spoiled him, loved him and took his role in our life for granted.

Wyatt has slept on our bed since he was a few months old. He was the best foot and bed warmer I know. I loved coming home to the sound of his tail almost breaking the molding on my door frames!! Wyatt could not stand it if I was out of his reach. He would be find if David was in the Garden but if I walked down there he would bark and bark till I returned. When I would run at night on the treadmill he would lay there till I was done. He loved that even though I was running and not really paying any attention him it was his “Me time with mommy!”

One time David was putting up a tree stand in the woods behind our house and I needed him to come home. He didn’t take his cell phone. So I hooked a walkie talkie to his collar and told Wyatt to find daddy. He sniffed him right out!! Wyatt was better then Lassie. In September 2007 it was unseasonably hot, I had worked sick hours at work and passed out in my kitchen late at night (11pm). David was sleeping and didn’t hear me crash into the counter, cabinets and floor. Wyatt nudged me, whined and stood with me till I woke up. I can not account for over 20 minutes of my life that night. Thankfully my loyal buddy was right there with me. He was like my shadow when I was pregnant with the kids.

The house is not the same without Wyatt. Sometimes I forget he is gone. I told Emma to pick something up before Wyatt ate it today, When I walked in, I waited for him to greet me at the door. Its like part of my life is missing.

We will always miss Wyatt, and we will never be able to replace him.

We love you brown dog, we miss you…..thank you for being part of our lives!

Running can be the Pits!

2011-10-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

Sunday I ran in my 2nd 10K. This event was held to raise scholarship money in the name of a fallen NY State trooper. The official website for the race is http://www.pitrun.org/ it tells how the trooper was killed off duty stopping an armed robbery. Very Touching.

When we left our house at 730am it was pooring cats and dogs, cold and plain right nasty but we had hope that accuweather would be correct.

We arrived about 5 minutes before the kids race, the sun was shinning and the bbq were smoking! did I mention the free BBQ afterwards – by the best in the state. Seriously, brooks BBQ has been on the food network more than once.

I ran over to registration while david signed the kids up for the kids race. Emma was happy chilling in her stroller with her snack but tyler ran!

Tyler is in the white long sleeve shirt! It was really cute, each kid had a bib #1! they were given these nice draw string bags with coloring books, magnets, pencils and more.

The 10K and 5K started off together. We had to walk to the main road outside the park that the event was held in for the start.

We had a quick family photo before I started

Every one was lined up and ready to go.

So I saw 2 people run the race without any shoes. That just freaks me out thinking about it. I mean I walk around my house in the summer or at camp without shoes all the time but to run a 10K? that is crazy.

Back to the race. At the 5K/10K split I really wanted to just go to 5K course! my leg was cramping and this was before the hill from hell. But I didnt . The hill was so deceiving. You would go up a hill and it would look like around the corner it would level off, then you got to the top of that corner and realized there was more and more and more and more. it was about 1.5 miles of steep hills. I had to walk twice. My leg was so crapped and it was only one leg.

Finally down hill for about .75 miles, it was a steep down hill run glad we didn’t go up that side!
Before I talk about the rest, Mile 1, 3, 4 they had people calling out your mile splits. At mile 3, I thought they said 41minutes. I was like WTF – that is way off my normal pace and this was just at the start of the hill. Mile 4 was just as we started descending from the hill and they said 42 minutes so I felt much better that I was on track. Well I was hope full that I had misheard the mile 3 person and not the mile 4.

At mile 5 I wanted to walk but I could smell the FREE AMAZING BBQ!! so I kept going around a turn where there was another small hill. Then we went back down to main street. I thought that I just had to cross the bridge and run towards the center of the park where the finish line was. I need to read better. I sprinted down main street and 1/2 thru the park before I realized we had to pass the finish line to the other side of the park and come back. RUN FOREST RUN!

OMG were my legs burning. I had no idea what time it was. I could hear the names of the people crossing the finish line but not the times. I wanted to push but I had already sprinted. Finally I made that far turn and headed back towards the finish line. I thought I could read it as 60minutes so I started digging deep for anything I could find. I sprinted as hard as I could.

I wasn’t sure of my official time but knew I hit it out of the park!! my old time was 68minutes. My new time was :

This photo is so funny, I look like I was in pain but everyone just stopped in the road just over the finish line. so here I am like a steamroller sprinting to the finish ready to take out the hundreds of people standing there. it was like a scene from running of the bulls. I really wasn’t in pain I was just trying to back it down a bit!

Sorry I don’t have a photo of the BBQ. Tyler ate my roll, Emma at half my chicken, baked potato, and cookie and David ate my cole slaw.

I am very happy I finished with a better time! So I guess on the next one I hope/plan to break the one hour mark! I am so tired today I went to bootcamp to work of the bbq and cider donut I had! we went to a cute and fun apple mill on the way home!

FOOD SUCKS: Part 3 - Coupons (take 1???)

2011-10-04T15:38:00.000-07:00

My adventures in couponing.

So there I was with my laptop Friday night and the price chopper ad, doing my menu planning. Erin hooked me up with a website for a local lady that was coupon snazzy. I linked over to her website to find more PC deals. That’s when I discovered a few problems.

Problem #1) I never purchased the Sunday paper to get more coupons I was going to rely solely on the internet coupons.

Problem #2) I had no ink for my printer

Saturday morning tyler and I ran to walmart to get ink and watercolor paints (that a long story). My 2 ink cartridges now cost $31.00 bucks before tax – it use to be $22. Ugh. Back home we went to install the cartridges. Now to log onto one of the coupon websites.

Problem #3) my old desktop is too outdated to run the coupon java scripts or some stupid error.

So I decided to install the printer on my laptop. The printer was purchased in 2006ish – so the software didn’t support Windows 7! Thankfully I downloaded it successfully from the internet with no assistance from my techno-savvy friends. Then I climbed around the desktop hutch to find the cord, unplug it and attached it to my laptop that was balancing on a TV tray with 3 chairs guarding it from children!!

I printed of the FB PC coupons, and a FB Silk coupon. Price choppers website had an oreo coupon . Then I found 3 dreamfields coupons because I really wanted to try their product. I looked up the facebook pages and the websites of all name brand products I buy. I am use to buying only the Hannaford’s brand. I went to coupon.com and a few others recommended by http://www.iamthatlady.com/ I didn’t see anything for what I had on my list.

So here it is walked out the door with $6.25 in coupons after spending $31 on printer ink and over 2 hours.

Once at the store I was greeted by more coupons - $1.00 off the seafood department; .75 off PC Apple juice (on my list) and $1.00 off something else that I was buying.

I only purchased one box of Dreamfields pasta that was on sale for $2.00. So I could only use one of my $1.00 coupons. I don’t get how people get it for free - I am still reading that part of couponing. With the doubling of coupons I brought with me to the store and ones I ended up with at the front of the store; my Coupon savings were….wait for it, wait for it…

$10.75

Sighhhhhhhhhhh. 2 hours of work, new ink, new printer driver…$10.75 savings (with the ink I feel like I lost $23.04). But I am not defeated. I am going to try again. This week I picked up the Sunday paper ($2.00 cost)….I am watching the websites, and I plan to give it another go this week. Any suggestions and recommendations would be great.

Here is what I purchased:

· Grapes on sale for 1.99# advantage card

· Kale

· Pears

· Baby carrots

· Baby spinach

· Feta cheese

· Cod (bc the haddock was sold out)

· Shrimp ($4.00)

· Silk (FB Coupon)

· Cottage cheese

· Ground Turkey 2/$7

· Secret

· Juice for the house

· Juice for lunchbox 2/$5 or 3.49each .. wtf

· Mac N Cheese .89

· Black beans

· Dreamsfield pasta $2.00 plus my $1 off coupon

· PC Shredded cheese $1 off/2

· Lunchables ($1 )

· TP $5 for 24

· Pudding .89

· Spray oil

· Hamburg rolls, Arnolds flatbread and bagel thins

· BBQ sauce - sweet baby rays

· Tuna packs

· Fishy crackers - 2

· Uncle Ben Rice Pack – 1

· Pepperoni- Hormel

· Oatmeal (PC 2/$5 – although this week the Quaker brand is on sale 2/$4 grr)

· Egg whites PC Brand

· OJ

· Napkins – PC Brand

· Chobani greek yogurt

· PC brand ice Cream

· butter

So i will try again next trip.

Menu planning

2011-10-04T12:42:00.000-07:00

From the time I went shopping to the time I am typing this we have had major changes to our menu!

Menu planning:

Saturday – Cheese steak sandwich – Drover hill meat, wheat rolls, fresh peppers and onions

Sunday – BBQ at the run, lunch for dinner

Monday – ~~Tacos~~ Chicken Marsala via the crockpot

Tuesday – ~~Haddock with Broccoli and rice.~~ Wild Marsala Soup

Wednesday – ~~Grilled Chicken with Grilled potatoes~~ Haddock with Broccoli and rice.

Thursday – Quesadillas – Mommy and Daddy night out for anniversary.

Friday – Hamburg’s

Saturday – Spaghetti and/or meatball subs

Sunday – Leftovers or Burgers!

Monday – Drover hill Roast with Acorn Squash

Tuesday – Roast leftovers.

Chicken Marsala + crockpot + 2 night's dinners

2011-10-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

Day 1 – Crockpot Chicken Marsala

My mother in law and I have been playing pass the crock pot. Last week I made her and Bernie a beef and bean stoup. She returned it with Chicken Marsala! She used the Crockpot guys recipe from here http://crockpotguys.com/2011/09/chicken-marsala-carrabbas-style/

It was great to walk into the house and smell it cooking. I am a big fan of the crock pot and think that we should have a national holiday for the inventor!

For me it was the perfect cheat meal a day after running a 10K! It had protein, but the gluttony of fat from cream and butter. And then you could add the carb of your choice! As I just reread the instructions I realized I added way too much of the heavy cream in my rush to get out the door to swim lessons. Oops.

Mine didn’t thicken up that much – but that was my fault I had it on high for the 1^st 2 hours. And then it sat on warm for 2 extra hours while we were ate swim lessons with the extra liquid volume from the cream (I really need to learn to read).

I would defiantly make this again and recommend it. However, to save some inches on my hips I would add the right amount of cream, and cup the butter by a lot. Here is a good one I may try too http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/03/chicken-and-mushrooms-in-garlic-white.html

Day 2 – Wild Marsala Soup

We had alot left over and I certainly cannot afford to eat this 2 days in a row. I could allow the calories but I have been a bad girl and enjoying the seasonal cider donuts a bit too much; one on Sunday and one this morning. (BAD KRISTEN!)

I decided to make it into a soup! I added another can of broth to the Crockpot, to cut the cream sauce. Then I added 2 cups of steamed carrots, 1 cup of celery, and two cups of wild rice. For seasoning I added: ½ tsp of sea salt, 1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper, ½ tablespoon of oregano, 1 tsp of nutmeg and pinch of paprika. I shredded the remaining chicken and returned it to the Crockpot. It smelled so yummy! Now my crockpot is full again!

We will probably eat it tonight for dinner – we will be getting home late. David has a tree job till dark (although its dark by 7pm lately) and I will not be home from the gym till after 5 – pick up the kids it will be after 530 or 6pm. Any leftovers I am planning to freeze in either lunch size servings or as a batch. I have those frozen zucchini calzones that would be good with this on a rainy night.

I will try to add photos later!

Awesome Turkey Meatballs

2011-10-03T07:45:00.001-07:00

I was planning to have tacos today and meatballs later this week. My mother in law dropped off my crock pot full of food! Now I have a pound of Hamburg unthawed and the turkey from my recent shopping trip to price chopper. So I made some awesome turkey meatballs this morning. I will save them for later this week when we are camping!

I mixed:

both packages of ground turkey
Hamburg
one egg
1/2 cup of bread crumbs
1/2 of a med onion chopped
1/2 of a bell pepper chopped
1/4 cup of finely chopped spinach
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp of adobo seasoning
1/2 cup of salsa ( if your salsa is watery you may need to increase your bread crumbs)

Once it was all mixed I rolled into 36 large meatballs and baked at 375. I am going to place them in the freezer and I will take out what I need for each meal. Personally I looking forward to sitting by the campfire with a good old meatball sub!!

Food Suck Part 2b. Price Chopper

2011-10-02T18:39:00.000-07:00

I think the last time I shopped at Price Chopper I was about 6 weeks pregnant with tyler. I was standing by the shredded cheese when a old guy walked by the smell like pipe smoke – omg I turn 3 shades of green. With that began several long awful weeks of morning sickness. Its not price choppers fault but that scar has really kept me away!

I have always said that price chopper has some good deals but they also have some higher prices. I did like the coupons I was able to get at the front door and use. Some of the deals in the flyer were pretty good and others were so-so. so many items were priced as 2/$5 or 3.49 each. I don’t want 2, I want 1. I am not going to use 2. I should be able to get the same price for 1. At Hannaford's, if it says 2/$3 and you buy one its $1.50. I like that because I only want to buy what I Need.

They were sold out of the really awesome Haddock at $4.99 a pound and I didn’t mind getting 2/$7 on the good ground turkey. But $6-9 per pound for ground beef is Crap prices. They were higher on everyday prices of things like my greek yogurt, cottage cheese and bbq sauce. Basically you need an advantage card, and you need to stick with the sale items. I also noticed that they didn’t have as large of an inventory as Hannaford's, they didn’t have my favorite kind of cottage cheese.

It also took me forever to find things. I am so use to Hannafords that I write my list in order of the aisles. Because I was new to Price chopper I was all over and I had to go back to some of the aisles to find something on the list.

I ended up spending $170 for 75 items. My advantedge savings were about $16.45 and I had coupon savings that I will talk about in another post. Now I am going to tell you I refuse to buy thing just because they are on sale. I only purchased what I would use. For example – cereal was onsale but I don’t need it because I have plenty at home so I didn’t buy it. I did plan on getting the sold out haddock because it was on sale but I need to purchase main course foods this week.

$170 wasn’t too bad for one week of shopping – actually its for 9 days because I will not be shopping again until columbus day. But I still feel there is room for improvement.

Up tomorrow – my adventures in couponing.

Food Suck Part 2 new stores -aldi's

2011-10-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

People have told me that shopping at Hannafords is my problem with my higher than life food bill. So as part of my experiment I am trying other stores!
First up was Aldi’s

Emma and I decided to test the waters at Aldi’s last weekend while the boys were goose hunting. It didn’t start off well. I walked up to get a cart and saw that I needed a quarter; so back to the car I went with Emma on one hip and my recyclable bags under my arm. I could see a quarter on my floor mat so I leaned over the center console and picked up the metal object. I walked back to the carts to realize I picked up the damn penny next to the quarter. So back to the car we went – I would of went home right then if I hadn't promised Emma that we were going to buy her cookies.

Once inside I was shocked how small it was and that everything was only the Aldi brand for about 95% of the product. They had a lot of processed foods that we don’t eat. But I will say the items that I do buy were pretty cheap – I just hoped they tasted okay. Emma who is an Oreo snob – ate the Aldi brand Oreos with no problem at all. The mini muffins the kids love were only 2.29 vs 3.99 at Hannafords. The pork tenderloin at 3.99 a pound was a great deal. I ended up spending about 25 bucks for, Oreos, frosted sugar cookies (tyler), 4 cans of tomatoes soup, a gallon of milk, some almonds, pork tenderloin, and gum.

It was a bit annoying and challenging to keep a 2year old entertained and in her seat while I cashed out, then the cashier who was sitting (odd to me) put the food back in my cart, for me to then move to another counter and bag them. Part of my pet peeve with grocery shopping is that you handle the food too much, so for him to set the items back in the cart, and then for me to lift back out and into bag was a pain.

Tomorrow will be my Price Chopper blog entry!

FOOD SUCKS!!!

2011-10-01T17:40:00.001-07:00

This is going to be a multi-post series about my efforts to change my food bill!

Have you noticed how the prices for everything keeps going up? We thought we would be saving money right now but some unexpected changes ( no federal raises for 2 years, David new labor agreement, higher health care, higher daycare) have caused us to not be sitting the way we would like financially. I was noticing that I was always shopping for food and always coming home with less and less.

I reviewed my bank statement from July 29th – September 16th, and found that I spent about $1,577 on food. HOLY COW! That’s 262.00 a week and that’s without the cash that I spent at the farmers market each week.

$1,147 was spent at Hannaford's alone for about $191 a week
$53 was spent at Nice N Easy for Bread, milk and “Emergency” stuff (8.83/week)
$89 was spent on Dunkin Donuts (I think that a bit much) that’s $14 a week
Another 209 at BJ wholesale
the remaining balance was at Rite Aid and other random stores

Until 16 September I would shop for a 2 week period. I would plan those meals and buy what I needed. The “off” shopping week I would run into get things that needed to be purchased fresh or that I forgot about. Some produce I would get thrown out before I could use it . But I did feel like I we didn’t buy too much unnecessary stuff.

I feel as if my best saving is my garden – the above timeframe really doesn’t have that much produce cost in it. My garden was pumping out major product then. But now its fall and my garden is mostly over other then some fall root veggies. So now I am looking at the potential for even more cost to feed my family of 4.

So the obviously thing I need to do is one cut out Dunkin donuts. Then start hacking away at my Hannaford's bill and the corresponding Nice N Easy bill. My new plan is to shop weekly there for I can buy break and milk at a more reasonably priced grocery store.

My plan for this multi-series post include:

Trying new stores (Aldi’s and Price chopper)
Using coupons
cost saving tips
Wrap up and review – hopefully I will see a savings to report.

So where are you trying to save money? Do you have any good tips?

Goal: To decrease my $262.00 per week grocery bill.

Apple and Pear Harvest salad.

2011-09-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

Quick, easy and soooo yummy!

What you need:

Chopped baby Spinach
Chopped and cored Apples and Pears (I kept the skins on)
Chopped Walnuts (toasted or not!)
Crumbled Feta cheese
Lemon juice

So the amounts for the above is up to you. For a large salad I used about 3 cups of the spinach, 2 apples, one pair, 1/2 cup of walnuts and like a 1/3 cup of the feta.

I first cut the spinach and added the feta and walnuts earlier in the day so it was ready to go. Then right before dinner I chopped the apples and pears. I sprinkled the lemon juice on them right on the cutting board. I gave them a little toss to make sure they were covered. Then I threw them in the salad..

My dressing for this salad was http://szareksden.blogspot.com/2011/09/honey-poppy-seed-dressing.html
It was so good!. We had it with grilled pork tenderloin. I cut up my tenderloin and added it into the salad. it was amazing. the dressing went so well with the pork. In fact it was so good we ate all the pork. The photo above is what is left of my amazing salad..I am taking it to work with some grilled chicken.

Later this week I hope to blog about my grocery shopping experiment. What I will tell you now is that the pork tenderloin was from Aldis – it was priced $3.99 a pound. It only took about 15-20 minutes to grill on medium heat. Pork tenderloin is so good for you and really not that badly priced. 15-20 minutes is not too much time for a good amazing healthy meal.

I didn’t figure the calories yet for this dinner but I am not too worked…what was bad? I added EVOO to my dressing but that was my daily fat intake. Walnuts are good for you and I only used 1/3 of a cup.

Try it you will ~~like it~~…love it

Honey poppy seed dressing

2011-09-25T17:18:00.001-07:00

I love quick and easy dressing. You all know me by now, I don’t measure; I just whisk, stir and pour! Back in June I posted the worlds greatest and easiest dressing. The poppy seed dressing is the distant every happy cousin of the worlds greatest dressing!

So this is what I think I used to make it! lol sorry

1 tablespoon of honey
1 tsp of trivia
1 tablespoon of mustard (I love that Irish stout mustard by Hannaford's)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup of Rice vinegar
1/4 cup of Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 1/2 tsp of poppy seeds

In a glass measuring cup whisk the first 4 items together. Then add in the rice vinegar to the mix. Once everything is happy I start drizzling in the EVOO while whisking. Once blended add the poppy seeds.

I serve mine right out of the measuring cup because it makes it easy to pour onto your salads. You could also add a tsp of lemon juice or lemon zest if you wanted. hmm actually I think Orange juice or orange zest would rock. See this is why I love dressing just typing this I came up with 2 more!

Well for now Paul Newman dressing doesn’t need worry because I have work tomorrow and the kids start swim lessons. However, if I get a minute I could start Kristens dressing! You heard it first

yummy chicken

2011-09-19T19:32:00.001-07:00

My addition to pinterest is growing. Its mostly foods that I pin…Here is my newest!. Its so easy I evened tried it Sunday night after I came home from shopping.

The line for the website and the photo borrowing is: here

It was really yummy and easy. David liked it and so did Emma. The only alteration I made to the recipe was that when it calls for added the lemons, I also added sliced zucchini, and button mushrooms. While the dish was cooking I added a pinch of thyme and Lake George seasoning from old goat.

Less than a half n hour – so fresh tasting and yummy

Our day in Old Forge

2011-09-18T04:43:00.001-07:00

I love fall camping in the ADK. However its getting harder and harder to do so. Tyler is now in school and has soccer. David and I always busy. We wanted to go up and do some things in old forge on a fall day so we opted to just get a hotel room. The kids have only stayed in a hotel like 2 or 3 times so it was exciting to them.

We arrived around 7pm and there were 2 deer waiting for us! the kids were so excited they were jumping around the room. We took them to the indoor pool to get some energy out. Finally they crashed. David and I didn’t sleep two well – we were waiting for one of them to fall of the bed, around 2am Tyler did. The kid slept right thru it – David picked him up sleeping off the floor and put him back into bed. They wanted to know if we could sleep in hotels more often!

We took the kids to the muffin patch for ~~a very expensive~~ breakfast! Who knew that old forge had its own inflation rate. lol None the less, the kids loved their ginormous strawberry waffles! The food was great!!

It was still rather brisk about 45degrees, so we decided to do the train in the morning. we would be inside the car and its heated. We were hoping to go south to otter lake but the 10am train goes to carter station. As we were waiting the conductor came over and said he couldn’t get the heat working so dress warm! lol

The kids had fun, they saw deer and turkeys, even some kayakers! The views were nice as the leaves are starting to turn!

After the train we headed over to McCauley Mountain for the scenic chair lift. I wasn’t sure how this was going to go. I have a fear of heights, Tyler gets nervous up high; David and Emma have no fear. On the way up David took Tyler first, I was stuck with Emma.

She had no fear. She was moving all around trying to look behind us, and then under us. I could feel the chair swinging – I was freaking out inside. This is why I don’t ski, okay its only 1 reason why I don’t ski! How do you keep a 2 year old still when your body is paralyzed by fear? after a few minutes I started to relax (till the way down!lol)
It was so worth the ride to see the views.

Tyler was so funny on the way down (yeah I made David take Emma) he says look mom – look at that lake. if we didn’t go up this mountain we would of never known it was there! He was looking at 1st lake!!
After that we had lunch and walked around the village. We sat at the coffee shop and watched the firemen’s parade. The kids received fire hats and tons of candy. After that we headed south but we took a fast detour to the Buffalohead for dinner!!
It was a great trip that like all others, went too fast.

Kindergarten Flooding

2011-09-11T19:18:00.001-07:00

Its funny how time just flies buy. It seems like just yesterday Tyler was born, then he was walking, then he was in Preschool and now Kindergarten.

Being a mother that fights change like the Democrats fight the republicans, the last few weeks have been challenging. It would be so much easier if Tyler was going to Mrs. Murphy's class again. She was an amazing teacher – and I hope it works out that Miss. Emma gets to go to her too.

Before taking Ty to school we snapped two photos at home:

The way our district starts school for the kindergarteners is unique. On Wednesday we took Tyler to school at 9am. We all met in the cafeteria until the teachers came and took the students and parents to the room. There we stepped over each other to sort out supplies and find cubbies with our children’s names. Most of the students were excited to be starting school and all the new things around them. The moms were fighting the tears while taking in all the new things around them! In the middle of this David asked me what is wrong…really why would you ask that?!!!

After things settled down the parents left to sit in the cafeteria to have their first meeting with the principal. No matter what I do I always end up in trouble! The kids got to read a book, play a game and go on a bus ride. After the bus ride they were given ice cream at 10am – yes that’s right the district wanted to show them how cool school is ice cream before lunch! We finished up the day with a game before going home by 11.

It was nice to go to school with them and see everything and be involved. However, it was emotional all day. It feel more like the band aid was slowly being ripped of me. In some ways I was just looking forward to putting him on the bus and waving good bye.

Thursday was to be the first full (non parent at the school, riding the bus) day of school. The bus was going to arrive at 825 at daycare….However, at 630am we were put into a 2 hour delay for the flooding of 2011. Half of the town was underwater thanks to topical storm dumping about 5” of rain in less than 24hours. By 7am that delay had turned into a cancellation as Route 233 was closed from the thruway to 12b. The town was a mess.

Friday became the new First full day. David was home so I ran to work and was going to meet them at daycare to see Ty get on the bus. These are the photos David took:

Think he is excited?!! lol

Dad really no more photos!! I just want to get on the bus!

And with that the bus pulled away with one happy kid aboard. And pulling in behind the bus was mommy – who missed the entire damn thing. I didn’t get to wave goodbye. I didn’t get to see him climb those stairs that are half his size! Ugh. I drove to the school and watched him get off the bus. I tried for him to not see me (but he did) because I wasn’t suppose to be there. This was suppose to be his moment. He wouldn’t look at me. I felt awful..what kind of mother misses that? Everyone keeps telling me its no big deal the teachers don’t get to see their kids get on the bus. But they have 5 yrs to mentally prepair for that – I had to accept that as I pulled into daycare after a 10 minute road rage behind a stupid tractor trailer. No family photo, no sunshine, no mommy.

He seemed to love his first day. He was happy and hyper all night. The funny part – he had a sign around his neck that said eating lunch at school and buying lunch was his favorite part! Lunch had been my biggest fear! lol. So the day went down in history not matching up with my supermom visions that I had been dreaming of but it was a good day.

Our busy day..

2011-08-28T15:08:00.001-07:00

I don’t know why we couldn’t be like other people and veg on a rainy day but it just didn’t roll that way today!

Between 8-11:30 we made (click the food names for link to recipes):

White chocolate, zucchini and almond scones
Zucchini-Applesauce Muffins
2 loaves of Nanas Zucchini bread
Rosemary and Oil focaccia bread that we snacked on all day.. my butt is bigger!
Zucchini Freezer Jam

Then David and Tyler went for haircuts while Emma and I went for Emma’s First Pedi!

After lunch and Emma went down for a nap the boys fixed a problem on the roof – yes rain and wind and David was on the roof.

I started cooking again! I baked a loaf of regular bread for the family to have with the pasta dinner, then I made: .

6 Zucchini and roasted red pepper calzones
12 zucchini-corn-bread muffins

The sad part is that I still have zucchini. I froze 4 bags of shredded zucchini (2 cups each) to make more of the above this fall and winter. But I still have zucchini in my garden. ugh I can not keep up! I really need to start making sauce too we picked a lot of tomatoes yesterday. Its 6pm I think I should quit cooking and fold some laundry!

Not a bad day! Now if only Dunkin would deliver me some Pumpkin coffee!

Emma’s First Pedi!

2011-08-28T14:50:00.001-07:00

What do you do in a hurricane? You take your 2year old for her first pedi of course!! I wanted to go yesterday, but the weather was so nice we went to Clinton for the art festival.

I didn’t know how she would do, it was close to lunch and she was ready for a nap. We walked in and up to the color wall. She is not like her mother, she made a decision right away. I bright fuchsia with sparkles! I told her mommy needed to find a color too. She pointed to hers! I said do you want mommy to get the same? “yes;” She is messing with my fall colors!

She wouldn’t sit in the cute little butterfly kids chair. So I put her on my lap to watch me get mine. She was asking lots of questions and warming up to the girl doing my pedi!

As “Lisa” washed my legs off before painting my nails, Emma stuck her feet into the spray! She was getting into it! Lisa then painted my nails, and we asked Emma if she wanted hers done. “Yes I pretty too”

Lisa painted her toes and even gave her a design like mommy!

Emma was so excited about her toes! She made me wait an extra minute before putting her shoes on because her toes were wet. She was blowing on them and waving her hand to dry them – it was really cute.

As soon as we got home she had to show daddy, who was excited for her! Then she showed Tyler, who really thought Emma was off her rocker, but a few hours later he asked more about what happened at the toe paint place!!

I know, I know this is the start of my Diva, I have myself to blame. Last week I got her dressed, she went over to the mirror to check her outfit out. Then turned to me and said “I CUTE"!”

Poor daddy! he is in for a ride!

Zucchini and roasted red pepper calzone

2011-08-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

These are great to make now for those emergency dinner nights later!

You need:

1 pizza dough ready to use
1 cup of ricotta cheese
2 roasted red peppers
1.5 cups of shredded zucchini
1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese
1 egg and 1 tablespoon water beaten

I cut the dough in half so that I can make two calzones. I roll each one out on a floured surface.

Spread 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese on 1/2 of each rolled out dough's. Lay the roasted red pepper over the cheese. I was able to cut up one whole pepper for each one. Then I spread the shredded zucchini over the pepper and topped with mozzarella cheese.

Pull the dough over the filling and pinch closed with a fork. Brush each calzone with with beaten egg mixture.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 450.

If you are going to freeze them let them cool, wrap in plastic wrap and then foil. When ready to eat move wrapping and heat in microwave or oven!

More information can be found here!

you can change this up so easily – add spinach, use goat cheese, add mushroom. So many ideas!

Zucchini corn bread

2011-08-28T14:25:00.001-07:00

the last few years I have been making this. I cook it now and freeze it. I could make it in the winter but I freeze my zucchini in 2 cup bags so it hard to make this bc it only needs 1 cup.

All you need is:

2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread
2 eggs
2/3 cup of milk
1 cup of zucchini shredded
1/4 cup of sharp cheddar cheese (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Spray non stick spray into 12-muffin pan and divide batter equally. Back as instructed on the box for corn bread muffins.

These are great to break out when you are having chili!

Zucchini Freezer Jam

2011-08-28T13:42:00.001-07:00

This is so unhealthy – 5 cups of sugar.

I saw this last night while searching the web. Strawberry Zucchini Jam using 5 cups of shredded zucchini! I made Cherry zucchini jam!

5 cups peeled and shredded zucchini
5 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 (3 ounce) packages cherry flavored gelatin
1/2 package of Freezer Jam Pelican

Directions

Stir the zucchini and sugar together in a large pot over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture begins to boil, about 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and gelatin, and continue simmering 5 minutes more, stirring constantly. It said this was a soft serve jam, so I tried to add 1/2 package of freezer jam pelican to try to thicken it up. I think it helped but I will let you know.
Ladle the hot jam into hot, sterilized freezer jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
It said it made 6 jars but I only ended up with 4. And it was kinda sweet I may try it with 1 cup less sugar next time. But think of all the flavors you can come up with.

Zucchini-Applesauce Muffins

2011-08-28T13:35:00.001-07:00

I wanted to make a low fat muffin that I could put in the freezer and pull out as needed. These were perfect!

¾ cup sugar
1 extra-large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
Heavy pinch salt
2 cups zucchini and/or summer squash, grated and squeezed of excess liquid
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

Heat oven to 350°F and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the squash, and applesauce. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the zucchini mixture and stir until just incorporated.

Using a spoon, distribute the batter equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for about 5 minutes, then remove them from the tin and allow to cool completely.

I may add raisins or nuts next time around.

White chocolate, zucchini and almond scones

2011-08-28T13:29:00.001-07:00

Its that time of year again where you have tons of summer squash and have to start coming up with ideas for it! This morning I started off with white chocolate, zucchini and almond scones.

I found this idea (here) for chocolate chip zucchini scones and used it as the base for mine!

Kristen’s Scones

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cane sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, chilled and diced in 1 inch pieces
1 egg
2 cups shredded zucchini
3/4 cup plain greek yogurt (or you could use buttermilk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp orange zest

1 cup chopped almonds
1 cup white- chocolate chips

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

In large bowl mix dry ingredients together then cut in the butter and set aside

Whisk egg and sugar together in small bowl and then add zucchini, yogurt, vanilla and orange zest. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and gradually pour in wet ingredients. Mix all together, but do not over stir.

Spread mixture out on floured surface. Carefully knead while adding white chocolate chips and almonds, in handfuls at a time. You will only need to "press" mixture together for about 3 or 4 times. If you do this too much it will result in tough scones.

Challenging yourself

2011-08-21T17:11:00.001-07:00

I have a new motivational blog at http://kristenshealthjourney.blogspot.com/ check it out. I am cheating a reposting todays post from there to here! Enjoy!

Its so much easier to say “I can’t do it” then to put in the effort to try. My accounting degree tells me:

doing nothing (effort) + thinking about doing something (intentions) = Start tomorrow (lack of results)

0+0=0

The problem with “can’t” is it feels like shit. The great thing about “doing” is how satisfying it feels. When you do something you didn’t know you could do, its very rewarding. You are proud of yourself and it increases your confidence to do more.

Challenging by definition: requiring full use of your abilities or resources; "performed the most challenging task”

Challenging myself along the way has been a key to my success. Moving up on KB weight, or trying a heavier one are great ways to challenge yourself. Worse case you are unable to do it, so did you fail? NOPE! Failing is defined as “unsuccessful in achieving one's goal.” Because you couldn't press the red KB over your head today doesn’t mean you will not be able to do it tomorrow or next week or a month from today.

I have also challenged myself with food, to eat less, to eat better, to get over my Peanut butter addiction. There are days (like today) where by noon I was at 80% of my daily calorie intake but did I fail today? No, while my calories suck for the day, I didn’t eat peanut butter (score!). I making a great dinner and I will do good for the rest of today. Tomorrow I start fresh and will stay in my calories!

One little saving grace I have today is that I ran a 10K at the casino. It was my challenge to myself on June 1. June 1st was my 1 year anniversary of the start of MVBW at Next level and being fully committed. On that day I signed up for the 10K to push myself, to prove how far I had come. I was running about 4.5 miles at that point and figured 2.5 months would allow me the time to get up to 6.2 miles for the race.

Prior to today, the longest I had run was 5.9 miles. I didn’t know how today would go. I just didn’t have the time to get more runs in – I would rather go to bootcamp then run! In the middle of the week I had major stress going on and considered not running. But I remembered my challenge to myself, and off I went to the starting line at 8am.

The first mile took me 10:10; 3 miles took me 31:13; 5 Miles took 52minutes. It wasn’t easy, running up hill from mile marker 2 – 4 on route 31. By the down hill portion of Stoney Brook my legs were so sore – like they feel after 4 rounds of 20:10 squat jumps and burpee finisher – you know what I am talking about! Around the 5th mile you could see the casino and it motivated me to keep moving, don’t give up. I had to walk a few times over the 6.2 miles but I kept the breaks short. .. “you get out what you put in”

Finally the finish line! One hour and eight minutes later (and two blisters!). I did it! Not only did I finish, I blasted my time expectation. Right in front of me was a 18 year old kid that sprinted past me at the 6 mile mark. As he crossed the finish line – he puked! I was in better condition than he was! I walked past him to receive my water, my power-aid and MY METAL!

The first metal I have ever received! I am so excited and proud! So what are you going to do this week to challenge yourself. Think about it, write it down and post it some where as a visual reminder thru the week. Good luck!!

Yogi Bear Park aka Jellystone park Java NY

2011-08-08T20:03:00.001-07:00

We spent several days this year at yogi bear park, but not the same one as last year. Instead we went to the one in Java NY. We arrived on Sunday and left on Thursday.

The number one reason for picking this park with that it had a pool, a beach, 2 playgrounds, mini golf, peddle bikes and a waterzone!

Yeah how cool is that? Well according to my kids not very. Emma wanted nothing to do with it. And Tyler only went down one slide 3 times, after that he was over it.

I think the reason my kids didn’t enjoy it was due to all the water canons and guns. They were so loud and people were rude with them. They would spray anyone, in the face, in your back they didn’t care that they didn’t know you. The adults were worse than the kids.

So we went to the beach! which was right next to the waterpark.

The kids loved it. they ran in the water, made sandcastles in the soft white sand, and just had a great time. I guess my kids don’t need fancy things they just need sand and water!

Another great feature was the boats, you could take out a canoe, or kayak and paddle around the “lake” which is what Emma and I did while the boys fished.

The kids also loved the mini golf. Since it was an all inclusive park we didn’t need to pay extra for the golfing, boats, water zone, or peddle carts.

I didn’t think the Ranger station or activity center were as cute as the one at paradise pines. But Tyler told me that this was the real Yogi bear park because they “rangers” at the office all wore green shirts! lol

I loved all the songs we sang on the hayride! We rode with both Yogi and Cindy bear! My favorite songs were boom chick-a-boom and Herman the worman. Each morning before he hayride they had a great little flag ceremony followed by a game with the bears.

After the Hayride, we had our photo opt with the bears! I wondered if they were out more on the weekends when the park is full?

Tyler was not into the hayrides this year, and wanted nothing to do with getting his photo take with yogi. So I don’t have a family shot this year. I am so deviated. I also wish we had taken a photo of our group since Steve, Brenda, Log and Buggy went with us.

How cute is this of the babies?

The kids also had a blast on the playground!

I am so looking into getting these for the house! they rock! Videos to come! lol

Boo Boo is Emma and my favorite bear. We passed Boo Boo in a golf cart going to a birthday party. But he was never on a hayride with us So We found a way to have our boo boo time!

The worst part of vacation is that it always comes to an end.

http://www.wnyjellystone.com/

Zucchini Lasagna

2011-08-08T19:00:00.001-07:00

As I said in Last nights post I was very busy with my Zucchini usage yesterday!

I made three 8x8 lasagna that were so simple and easy! Basically you just make your regular lasagna but instead of noodles I slice my zucchini length wise and use them.

You can Google for zucchini lasagna for hundreds of receipts..but here's mine for 3 pans..(remember you can freeze it!)

1.5 pounds of meat (I use lean ground chuck and sweet sausage =.75 pounds of each)
4 cups of low fat mozzarella cheese
1 cup of chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 Jar of you choice of tomatoes sauce
1 Large Zucchini sliced lengthwise 1/4inch long – lay the slices on paper towels to dry
Low fat ricotta cheese
Italian seasoning
Parmesan cheese
1 can of Diced tomatoes

Start by browning your meat in a pan with the slights amount of EVOO. Midway thru add in the onions and peppers. Lightly cover each lasagna pan with some of the tomatoes sauce. Drain any oil from the meat once fully cooked and add remaining sauce. Remove from the heat.

Now in the lasagna pans layer zucchini slices across the pan. Top with ricotta cheese and 1/3 of the meat mix. Sprinkle each with 1 cup of mozz cheese before sprinkling with Italian seasoning.

Top with another layer of zucchini, 1/3 of diced tomatoes and remaining mozz. cheese. Top each with Italian seasoning and parmesan cheese.

Bake till the zucchini is tender it took about 40 minutes at 325 for ours. But it was refrigerated overnight so it was chilled!

Zucchini Tomato Feta Tart

2011-08-07T19:09:00.001-07:00

My garden has started producing zucchini. But then it stalled out because of the lack of rain. However I am sure it will start pumping more out this week with all the rain I took the chance today to do some cooking. 3 Zucchini lasagnas, 2 of Zucchini tomato Feta tarts and shortly a few calzones.

I took my inspiration from a few fellow bloggers. This one, which I may make sometime, you know as it is instructed. and then there is this one, which I really did follow most of the filling but I do want to try their dough!!

To start, my time was limited and so I just used pie crust from the store. Then onto the filling:

Filling:

2 Medium Plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 large or 2 small zucchinis, sliced into 1/4 inch thick rounds
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil

2 Tablespoons of Feta cheese
1 medium garlic clove, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (about 1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded mozzarella
1 tablespoon slivered basil leaves

Make filling: Spread the zucchini and tomatoes out over several layers of paper towels. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil and the garlic together; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon of the garlicky olive oil together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Prepare tart: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the bottom of the crust.

Shingle the zucchini attractively on top of the ricotta in concentric circles, starting at the outside edge. Then top with tomatoes layers and sprinkle with Feta cheese and basil. Drizzle the remaining tablespoon of the garlic and olive oil mixture evenly over the zucchini. Fold the border over the filling, pleating the edge to make it fit. The center will be open.

Bake the tart until the cheese is puffed, the zucchini is slightly wilted and the crush is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let stand for 5 minutes, serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

It was good but room for improvement – stay tuned for an update! I am thinking I need to increase the Feta.

Roasted red pepper chicken wrap

2011-08-05T10:14:00.001-07:00

Today for lunch we made some yummy chicken wraps!

I started by grilling some chicken breasts. Then on a low carb 100 calorie wheat wrap I spread a hint of horseradish and layered on a roasted red pepper and fresh baby spinach.

I topped it with the sliced chicken and a slice of monster cheese.

It was so yummy and great lunch option right before getting on the road. Try it.. So quick and easy!

Stuffed Zucchini

2011-08-05T07:27:00.001-07:00

Its that time of year where the garden starts pumping out Zucchini and Squash. this is a great way to use some of it! its easily altered to your taste.
Here’s what you need:

2 good size squashes for stuffing
1 turkey pattie
4 slices of turkey bacon
Feta cheese from westmoreland farmers market!!
Steamfresh rice with tomatoes, spinach and onions
2 tablespoons of EVOO
1 Tablespoon of minced garlic
Italian seasoning

Start by slicing about 1/4 off the squash lengthwise, then add it to a pan of boiling water till its fork tender
Cook the turkey pattie and bacon in a pan while the rice steams in the microwave
Remove the Turkey from the pan and set aside while it cools down. in the pan add the evoo, garlic and rice. Chop of the turkey and bacon and add to the pan along with Salt, pepper and seasoning.

Mix well and let everything get warm and blended. remove from heat and add about 1/2 cup of the feta cheese.

scoop the middle of your squash out. I take the seeds out first and trash them. Then some of the squash. I like about 1/4 inch wall. I add the removed squash to the rice mixture

Scoop the rice mixture into the squash boats.

Looks yummy right?! So one squash feeds my family. its great with a salad. I just put the other one in a freezer bag and save it for later this fall/winter

you can add more veggies like cukes, tomatoes ect. you could even add bread crumbs.
Now that the garden is producing watch for more. I have been tagging lots of yummy ideas!
My pinterest boards

Confessions of a 31 year old Soccer mom

2011-08-04T20:08:00.001-07:00

David Letterman style!

#10 – my coolest (lamest) celebrity moment was unknowingly riding a roller coaster with Hootie and the blowfish (July 1996)

#9- I love spicy food the hotter the better!

#8 – I had a thing for the drummer from hootie because of this video

http://www.mtv.com/videos/hootie-the-blowfish/46739/hold-my-hand.jhtml#id=1590666

#7- I am afraid of monkeys

#6- I think Hockey players are hot! Listen they score with with hard sticks!!

#5 -I can say the alphabet backwards easier then forward

#4 - I saw (paid) Hootie in concert at the casino in like 2003 or 2004

#3 – l like going to bootcamp and hanging with my BC Crew and Scrapbooking is my yoga

#2 – My favorite movie of all times is Legends of the Fall and anything with Vin diesel

#1 I watch jersey shore. I know I know. its wrong. I mean they were in like second grade when I graduated High school but I can not help it. Its funny and the drama is so entertaining.

Confession #1A - I wish my boobs looked like Jwows!

Confession #1B – the guys are not at all attractive except for Ronnie and I think its because he reminds me of Mirasty

I don’t know what wrong with me. But now that I have confessed I should be forgiven right! I think this is how it works ha ha Well I guess it doesn’t matter – there is no changing me! lol

Menu Planning 8/5–8/18

2011-08-04T16:31:00.001-07:00

Friday –> Hamburgers
Saturday –>Make your own Pizza
Sunday –> healthy dinner: chicken, potatoes, lemons
Monday-> Taco Casserole
Tuesday-> BLTs
Wednesday – Grilled Haddock
Thursday –> Burgers
Friday –> Buffalo Chicken Bites
Saturday –> Party
Sunday –> beer can chicken
Monday->Stuffed Zucchini
Tuesday-> Shrimp Kabobs and Orzo stuffed Pepper
Wednesday –> Chicken wrapped in Filo Dough
Thursday-> Steak

Menu 7/31-8/4

2011-07-31T06:21:00.001-07:00

Here’s this week’s plan (for now!)

Sunday Grilled Haddock with zucchini and corn
Monday Shrimp and zucchini
Tuesday Steak
Wednesday Chicken and bowties
Thursday Quesada's

Yogi’s Egg!

2011-07-28T19:08:00.001-07:00

I know, I know you are all waiting for vacation photos. Sorry they will come soon!

I have to tell you about our egg! When we got the chickens back at the end of march Tyler thought we would have eggs the next day! Even though they were this big!

So we read up on chickens and how long till they started to produce eggs. We figured out that they would be of age around the week we came home from vacation (aka Yogi Bear park). So since then, Tyler has been telling everyone that we would have eggs when we go back. We keep telling him “Maybe we will start having eggs then”

Well since then we noticed we had too many rosters. In fact, David and the kids returned 12 rosters to the guy and brought home 6 hens a few weeks back. We kept 3 rosters, Shorty, “Gloria” and big red. A photo of Shorty can be found here. “Gloria” we thought was a hen, she was so bossy we called her big bertha. Then one day she started saying “cock'-a-doodle=do” so tyler changed her name to “gloria” why I don’t know?!!! lol Big Red is for sale! He was suppose to go to a farm but they backed out this week. Now we need to find him a home! He is so beautiful!

Here our photos from tonight! Gloria is right here in front. Shorty is the little guy in the middle alone. Big Red (with his deep voice) is just coming into the photo on the left!

Here is a photo of Big Red and you can see Whitey in the back. (More about whitey later!)

Two of the Hens that David and the kids brought home were these below!

They are so pretty! the rosters did not like them. They would peck at them so badly. They stay up in the coop, I don’t even know if they have ever come outside…we have not seen them out. They are starting to stand with the other girls without being scared to death!

The night the new Hens arrived we noticed that the rosters were trying to, umm how do I put this on a family site? They were trying to “Brown Chicken Brown Cow” get it!??! Anyway we were thinking maybe our math would be right!!

This week Tyler was still saying when he gets home we are going to have eggs! We considered calling my in laws and have them stage an egg! Once we got home we checked the chickens. And wouldn’t you know…

in one of the hen boxes was…

an egg!! So Tyler has been right all along, after Yogi Bear Park we would have eggs!! Boy did we luck out! He is sure it was whitey that laid the egg! Hopefully we start getting more eggs!

So to answer the age old question, what came first the chicken or the egg?? To the szarek’s it was:

A chicken, Yogi bear and then an EGG!!!

Saying goodbye to an old friend.

2011-07-23T09:50:00.001-07:00

This friend has been by my side for it all; dating, engagement, marriage, pregnancies, unemployment, deaths, sadness, and all the everyday events. My friend never judged me, he was always there when I needed him. Always ready to open up and help with the emotions that were going on.

I will miss my friend. Its hard to just walk away, its not like he did anything wrong. It was me, I just couldn’t control myself around him. So I have decided to say goodbye and walk away…

Peanut butter you have always been there for me. But I have taken advantage of you . so for now I am saying goodbye, I hope one day I will be in control of my life where I can allow you back into my home. Until then…Goodbye!

80 pounds and 4 inches lighter

2011-07-22T19:54:00.001-07:00

My before from Feb 2010:

My before Today hair!…Notice its it’s the same color cut and style. In fact other then minor changes in color and or highlights not much has changed since Hootie and the blowfish ruled the world……..that is…..

until today!

I love it!!

yogurt chipotle sauce (southwest seasoning)

2011-07-19T19:38:00.001-07:00

I love spicy food..hot sauce of ketchup or BBQ sauce any day! I also have a love affair with pretzels and dip. I have found the perfect thing!

All you need is:

6oz plain greek yogurt
1 Tablespoon low fat mayo
1/2 tsp horseradish sauce
1/4 tsp of minced garlic or you could use garlic powder (for a milder taste)
salt and pepper
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon of chopped onion
Hot sauce and chipotle seasoning – add a tsp at a time till you get the heat you like

basically you mix it all together, and put it in the fridge a few hours ahead of time. Its great on burgers and chicken. I also dipped pretzel in it! Now I just mixed this while standing in my kitchen. I am going to try to do it again and pay close attention to what I added. I have a few ideas to kick this up a bit so stand by!!

Hello kitty Cake Balls (Oreo balls)

2011-07-16T09:14:00.001-07:00

When I started planning Emma’s 2nd birthday I originally planned a Strawberry shortcake and ice cream party. I totally could pull I off with some great summer cupcakes. But in May I realized she had no clue who strawberry shortcake was and she loved “kitty-kats”. Enter the hello kitty theme!

The plan was a typical picnic lunch with a full on ice cream social. All of the kids in attendance love ice cream, and most of the adults! I knew cupcakes would be a waste, the kids would only eat the frosting and I would have more left over then eaten. Enter the idea of cake balls…they were little bites and so easy to eat and walk around with. That’s when I found these:

The website is here with full instructions. I decided to make just the hello kitty but I love the ice cream cone ones!

Because Emma is a huge Oreo fan instead of using cake I made them with Oreos and cream cheese. this could have been mistake #1! I chopped the Oreos in my food processor and then added the cream cheese. I rolled them into the shape as stated in the instructions. I melted some choc and dipped the sticks in before inserting into the hello kitty heads. I then place them in the freeze to set.

The instructions said to use white choc. chips to make the ears but I had dark choc and figured they would be fine (mistake #2). after attaching the ears I started dipping them in the hot melted chocolate. The chocolate started melting the ears and I had brown streaks in my hello kitty! This was not as noticeable when I switched to the pink chocolate.

It was hot and humid here, so I had to work in batches rotating them in and out of the freeze other wise the Oreo ball would split in half when I dipped it in the chocolate. I should of melted my chocolate in batches too. The last few it was starting to set (mistake #3).

I tried to draw the face with the edible pens they sell at the craft stores but they do not write on melt chocolate (mistake #4). So I ran out and picked up some gel writers to make the face!

You could see the Oreo thru some of the faces but if I had used the cake instead I think it wouldn’t of showed up (the pink looked better). But they were a hit and tasted good (I ate a few too many ) I would certainly make them again especially for a kids party.

I still have some summer cupcake ideas..so if you are having a party let me know!!

Hello Kitty Ice Cream Social Birthday Party

2011-07-15T12:15:00.001-07:00

There is nothing more fun then to throw a party. A party out side on a beautiful summer day with ice cream is even better! On Sunday we held Emma’s 2nd birthday party – this years theme was Hello kitty ice cream social!

I spend my free time surfing the internet and find inspiration for things I would like to do or cook. Thank god for my newest addiction pinterest that lets me keep it all organized. Basically I want to throw a party that looks like the ones you can find here.

Now last year when I blogged about Emma’s 1st b-day party I told you that Tori Spelling had given her daughter a lady bug party too. Well wouldn’t you know Stella’s b-day party this year was Hello Kitty too? I was excited and frustrated its not like I can throw a better party then Tori!! But I did get inspired and stole and idea or two!

We started the party off with hello kitty tattoos for everyone! The bubble machine and ice cream bubbles on the table gave the kids some fun before we served our picnic lunch of Hamburg's, hot dogs, chicks, salads, fruit, veggies cups and chips. We had a topping bar for the burgers that included Pickles made from our garden harvest last year, this years banana pickles, lettuce from pappys garden, and more. I even made a southwest sauce that I will post later this week.

Here is and idea I stole from Tori:

I didn’t take a photo of mine so now I have also borrowed this photo! but what a great idea these are!

Emma of course was very fashionable! She had her Hello kitty shirt from aunt Stephanie, here matching hair bow and skirt and of course her Purple farm boots (see bottom left photo below). Later in the party she sported and animal print bathing suit with pink ruffle. During her presents she accessorized it with a purple tutu from grandma and grandpa! Everyone's favorite accessory was the dirty face from the ice cream (see the top left photo below)

While we cleaned up the picnic and were getting ready for the Ice cream social the kids had a blast with the kiddy pool and slip and slide!

Then it was the Ice Cream time!!! ohhh yeah! Full ice cream toppings bar: Hot fudge, Carmel, strawberry, marshmallows, bananas, sprinkles, nuts, mini peanut butter cups, cherries, brownies and more! We even had a tray of cookies (custom made to look like hello kitty) from J cookies. You can find her at the Westmoreland Farmers market. We also had root beer for anyone that wanted a root beer float! Instead of cupcakes I made Oreo balls decorated to look like hello kitty! (photo bottom row 2nd one in from the right below). I was going to make cake balls ( and probably should of – more to come on that later this week), but Oreos are Emma's favorite so I had to do Oreos!

The kids loved every moment of it! Check out the photo of carter (middle top) below, I love that his mouth is open as wide as possible! Emma smiled as we sang happy birthday to her! Then she blew out her candle on her sundae!

As you can see the adults too were all about the ice cream! we had just under 30 people (counting kids) and we went threw almost 2 gallons of ice cream. Aunt Brenda was kind enough to dish out all the ice cream! Thanks B!! She is one bad ass kitty sporting her hello kitty tattoo (Photo bottom middle) don’t you think?

After their ice cream the kids all had a sugar spike! They were running around having a great time!

That was the perfect time to breakout the silly string! It was a way better idea then the apple war the kids wanted! Silly string was a mess but so worth it! The kids loved it and So did the adults – seriously next year we need to budget for more cans!

Here a recap of someone of my favorite things from the party! I love my favors! I found the idea here! Inside was a token for an ice cream at the local ice cream shop, a small snack bag of M&M, another hello kitty tattoo and a balloon! How cute are they? it’s a wash cloth, felt and shredded paper!

On Emma's real birthday (the 8th), I took the kids to build a Bear. Emma made a pink Hello Kitty and tyler found a new outfit for Toby (the bear he made last mothers day). It was a good thing Tyler was along for the ride because Emma was afraid. Tyler had to help stuff her and bath her. Emma named her new kitty “My Kitty”

Later that night when David was home, we let Emma open her gift from us. It was a mud pie table. It was a big hit…check out the bottom left photo.

What do you think was it Tori Spelling worthy?

So now to plan Tyler's 6th birthday (he wants a pirate theme), and to start thinking about Emma’s 3rd bday….What? its only 360 days away! I have already pin items! Can you guess what the theme will be? hint hint

Happy birthday Emma

2011-07-08T05:00:00.001-07:00

Two years ago today our family was complete with the addition of a 7pound 9 ounce baby girl!

here is what I blogged back then

She was sugar and Spice and everything nice! tyler was so excited to have a baby sister!

Two years later we have learned about

sassy fresh little girls
little girls that want to be 1 going on 13
how to put the finest hair in a pony tail
learned the meaning of fearless
watched the makings of a daddy’s little girl
Seen someone grow into the “I do it” personality
how dirty a little girl can get

At this point in her life I know Emma will be a leader, she is afraid of nothing and stands out in crowd!! Some days I think it will be the captain of a roller derby team or the broad street bullies!!

While at times she makes me pull my hair out and drive her father to the point of insanity we love her silly ways! That belly giggle she does because she is so ticklish!! the fact that she will eat almost everything and call it all chicken! She loves to give kiss and pats your back when she hugs you!

She is our lady bug, she is our love bug, she is our little July firework!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA! ENJOY BEING 2!!

Meal planner week: June 25th–July 7

2011-06-29T03:39:00.001-07:00

I am just a bit late again with this.

Sat: Roasted Chicken with Pasta veggies**See Below
Sun: Chicken Panzanella
Mon: Chicken Quesadilla**See Below
Tues: Chicken Lettuce cups**See Below
Wed: Pork Steaks
Thurs: Gilled haddock
Friday: Hamburgers/Hot dogs
Sat: Make your own Pizza
Sun: Chicken Pockets
Mon: Steak
Tues:Talapia Tacos
Wed: Burgers
Thursday: Shrimp Kabobs

**My plan for this week was to follow this as a guide. It was 5 days worth of cooking that was suppose to cost just $28 worth of groceries. Problem 1) a few we didn’t think we would like 2) I can not follow a recipes I always deviate.

None the less I did my best. Saturday I roasted a 7 pound chicken. we were suppose to have Roast Chicken with Creamy Polenta And Mushroom Ragout but I have never had or cooked polenta. I didn’t even know where in the grocery store it was. So we ended up having (just this package not the recipe the link below shows)

Lightly Sauced Penne & Vegetables with Alfredo Sauce (12 oz) >

After dinner we cut up the chicken and had a quart size bag full for the next few nights!

Sunday I made the Chicken Panzanella salad and 21 calorie garlic bread. The leftovers were my lunch on Monday!

Monday we did try to make Chicken Goat-Cheese Quesadillas. But I again deviated. In a grill pan on one tortilla I added thinly sliced red peppers, scallions and chopped chicken. I sprinkled Monterey Jack cheese before topping with another tortilla. For mine I used the Arnold's flat sandwich bread only 100 cal. For the kids and mine I did it in the sandwich maker they came out cute:

Then it was Tuesday the final day to use our 7 pound chicken. we made Chicken Lettuce Cups..well kind of. I knew David wouldn’t be into eating a lettuce wrap!

I thinly sliced a sweet onion and added it to a heated pan with 2 tablespoons of EVOO. sauté for 3 minutes ( I added a little thyme and pepper to the onions). Reduce heat to low. Then I added 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, my remaining chicken chopped up, a dash of celery salt and garlic powder. I stirred everything and then mixed in 1 cup of cooked brown rice. Once everything was heated I topped with sliced scallions.

Then we just put it on a roll with crisp lettuce. its was really yummy! I will certainly make it again

21 Calorie Garlic bread

2011-06-28T15:34:00.001-07:00

On Sunday I was making this, chicken Panzanella Salad. You are suppose to put wedges of bread in a panzanella salad. I really didn’t need the carbs that come with giant wedges of bread. So I had to come up with an idea to swap it out with. Then I found these in my bread drawer:

And the light bulb came on! (info on these can be found here)

I took one and opened it up so it split into 2 pieces. I brushed some EVOO on it and sprinkled garlic powder and basil on it. Then I put it in the oven under the broiler. it only takes a minute or two to toast up.

Then I cut each 1/2 into 2 rectangles and each rectangle into 8 triangles! So doing the math quickly I said they were 13 calorie garlic bread (100cal bread / 8) but I forgot to added in the EVOO. That raises it up to 21 calories.

Per Serving:
21 calories; 3 carbs; 1 Fat; 1 Protein

You can see them here in this photo:

enjoy!

shhh for a few extra calories sprinkle with parm. cheese.

Chicken Panzanella Salad

2011-06-26T18:23:00.001-07:00

Well I was suppose to be making this but you all know I can not follow receipts I end up off on my own after about 5 minutes. So here is what I came up with:

So I am trying to cook one night a big dinner and then turn it into multiple nights worth of food. I will tell you more about that when I get around to posting my menu for the 2 weeks. Basically yesterday I roasted a big ass chicken. Tonight we had a great salad dinner with it.

The salad consisted of:

a mix of hearts of Romaine and baby spinach
Thinly sliced red peppers, and cukes
1/5 cups of left over chicken from yesterday
The worlds greatest and easiest dressing
12.5 calorie garlic bread triangles ***
1 sliced Avocado
and watermelon

It was really yummy and so easy with todays busy events! the best part, I get to take the leftovers for lunch! If I made it again I think I would add sliced onion or scallions, and maybe some mushrooms or hard boiled eggs?!!

Enjoy!

***Garlic bread posts will come tomorrow I need to go to bed!

The worlds greatest and easiest dressing

2011-06-26T18:20:00.001-07:00

Here is all you need (sorry about the cell phone photos):

In a measuring cup add:

2 tablespoons of mustard ( I like a spice brown mustard and typically use a Irish stout mustard by Hannaford's
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder or crushed garlic
Basil
onion salt
2 tablespoons of Lemon juice
1/4 cup of rice vinegar

Mix everything together with a whisk (or spoon) and then I drizzle in my EVOO. I don’t use a lot in mine maybe about 2-3 tablespoons.

I serve mine right out of the measuring cup because it makes it easy to pour onto your salads. This is also great with pork tenderloin salad. FYI Some people like to add sugar to their dressing I wouldn’t add anymore then 1 tsp. It really doesn’t need it.

Enjoy it and play around with flavors. try different mustards and seasoning combinations.

Grilled Shrimp Kabobs

2011-06-26T18:00:00.001-07:00

Looks yummy right?!! So simple and Easy!

If you use wooden sticks remember to soak them in water first! I made mine in the morning so they could marinated while I was at work.

Slice 2 medium zucchini into 1/2” slices
Using Large raw shrimp, peal the shell off just leaving the tail

Then assemble!. My pattern was 1 zucchini, 2 shrimp, 1 zucchini 2 shrimp, 1 zucchini

The marinade was:

1/4 cup (my best guess estimate – I don’t measure) of EVOO
salt and pepper
the juice of one Lime or lemon
Garlic powder or crushed garlic
1 tsp of Lake George Blend seasoning (found here) or I may try this sometime

Brush the marinade onto the kabobs and let them get happy in the fridge! Then grill at dinner time! Start the grill and put on a medium heat. You will only need to grill them for 2-3 minutes on each side.

I served mine with Wild Brown rice! It quick and easy – great for summer!

Just wondering….

2011-06-24T06:59:00.001-07:00

Do you think 13 years from now when he is 18 and going off to college I will still see this little boy standing outside the high school?

I can not believe he is going into Kindergarten. He calls it “kindiegarten”

Growing up! and Moving on

2011-06-20T19:52:00.001-07:00

This was September 2009. Tyler’s First day of preschool! (Flash Back to my blog entry from that day here)

This was the last thing we saw ..tyler and Jenna just standing there!

Here is today, our little graduates!

Where did the time go? Emma wasn’t even 2 months old that September day and now she is almost 2 years old. Tyler has come so far. He knows how to count, rhyme, add and subtract. He is just so smart! He wants to be a UPS drive, a police man or a racecar drive!

It wasn’t always easy. What do you do with a boy born in November to parents that both suffered from a learning disability? We both struggled in school, we didn’t want that to happen to our children. I swore the day he was born that he would wait an extra year, be the oldest in his class not the youngest. But then came the time to take that step. was I doing the right thing? would he be bored? Should I send him to kindergarten, will he even remember that he went to preschool 2 years? Thankfully I went with my gut and waited. This year in preschool was awesome!

He did so great! He had such a great time and made some great friendships!! (including a Girlfriend!!). His favorite things..gym, crafts, and play time!!

This is his awesome teacher Mrs Murphy! I told her to rest up, she has a year before its Emma's turn!! Each kid was voted class something as they were given their diplomas. Tyler was voted Most likely to succeed!

It was great day! Now to prepaid Mommy for kindergarten. My biggest fear for kindergarten is the lunch issue! tyler is so picky with food! But I am so glad I am not worried about how tyler will do in school!

Here is our great Family photo! I wish everyday could be like today!

Menu planning

2011-06-14T18:37:00.001-07:00

So I don’t know why this didn’t post but lets try again. Like it wasn’t bad enough I was a few days late!

Saturday: Steak and Grilled Red Potatoes
Sunday: Party! NO COOKING!
Monday: Chicken and Broccoli Pasta (See below*)
Tuesday: Grilled Haddock or leftovers
Wednesday: BLTZ (teeball and soccer photos)
Thursday: Minute steak Fajitas
Friday: Hamburg and hot dogs
Saturday: Chicken Cheese Steak (See Below**)
Sunday: Fathers day..tbd
Monday: Sandwich's
Tuesday: Shrimp Kabobs
Wednesday: Tilapia Tacos
Thursday: Portabella Burgers

I found a great 5 day menu plan that I am so looking forward to try in 2 weeks so stay tuned it will get interesting.

Here’s the 411 on some of the items above:

Chicken & Broccoli Pasta:

2 oz wholewheat
penne with 2 oz cubed baked
chicken or firm tofu, 1 cup steamed broccoli
florets, 1 oz part-skim mozzarella, ½
cup low-fat tomato sauce

Chicken Cheese Steak

I want to try this!

Italian Artichoke & Leek Salad

INGREDIENTS:

1 bunch leeks (about 3 stalks), leaves discarded and chopped
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 can/jar artichokes, quartered, drained and rinsed
1 oz toasted pine nuts
2 tbsp Oregano & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp ground black pepper

OREGANO & GARLIC-INFUSED OLIVE OIL

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tsp oregano

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a nonstick skillet, sauté leeks in extra-virgin olive oil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. In a bowl, combine artichokes, leeks and pine nuts. In a separate small bowl, stir together Oregano & Garlic-Infused Olive Oil, vinegar, lemon zest and pepper. Pour oil-vinegar mixture onto vegetables and stir until evenly distributed. Leftovers can be stored in fridge for 4 to 5 days; don’t freeze.

OREGANO & GARLIC-INFUSED OLIVE OIL

Pour oil, garlic and oregano in a bottle. Cover and store for 1 day in your pantry before using to allow flavors to meld and become more pungent. Oil can be kept for up to 2 weeks.
Tip: This oil is great as a dip for whole-wheat bread, a marinade for meats and fish or a dressing on any salad.

Nutrients per 1-cup serving: Calories: 140, Total Fat: 9 g, Sat. Fat: 1.5 g, Omega-3s: 130 mg, Omega-6s: 1,690 mg, Carbs: 12 g, Fiber: 1 g, Sugars: 2 g, Protein: 3 g, Sodium: 180 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg

menu planning coming soon!

2011-06-14T04:18:00.000-07:00

I dont know why my menu plan didn't post. I will try to repost tonight.

Weigh In Day!!

2011-06-13T20:08:00.001-07:00

I rocked the scale today. I came in at 3.4 pounds lost!!

I don’t know how it happened last week I was having little binges at night. Not that I was blowing my calories but I was over 1500 once, mostly in the 1400. But I was active all week and drank my water!

I will take it! I have lost 15.2 pounds in 6 weeks that amazing results.

This puts me at

76.2 pounds lost
3.8 pounds from weighing in less than hubby!

I feel so good. I am pushing myself harder in my workouts. tonight I even did the Black KB on the G-squat to press. I wanted to die at the end but I did it. I am just driven right now and I don’t want to lose this drive!

This afternoon I realized a few things about when I started my journey:

The target weigh I wanted to get under is now that is 7.6 pounds away
I hoped to hit 100 pounds lost that is just 23.8 Pounds away
I dreamed to get to a normal BMI weight that is 32.8 pounds away.

For the first time the end kind of feels like its near. Its as if I am on the last mile of my race but I know I have never run this course before. Each turn can be a surprise and I never know when I will have an uphill battle. These next 7.6 could be my hardest, the next 23.8 could take a year, the 32.8 may never come.

But I know my work ethic, I know my drive, I know my desire and motivation. I know how I FEEL! I know I am in the drivers seat and I have the gas to the floor! Only I can push myself..My results depend on me.I will get there…..I know it!!!

Tilapia Tacos and some food reviews

2011-06-12T19:47:00.001-07:00

Sorry this photo was taken by my cell phone quickly because I was so hungry I wanted to dig right in!

This is a great meal! You only need:

Taco Shells**
1 tilapia fillet per taco
Romaine lettuce
Grilled veggies of choice (I used left over asparagus and zucchini)
Tabouli Salad or (Salsa)
Southwest Seasoning or Old Goat Lake George Spices

Simply start by seasoning your fish with the seasoning, while your grill heats up. It’s a thin fish so its best to grill it in a grill pan or George Foramen type grill. Follow the instructions for heating the taco shell (I put mine in the microwave).

The fish will only take a minute or two on each side. Then I break up the fish into the taco shell and layer in the lettuce, veggies and top with tabouli.

This has such a light summer taste. its great you have to try it!!

It comes in at about 205 calories, 16g carbs, 7g Fat and 23g Protein

**The taco shells: you could use any thing here! Wraps, soft taco shells. whatever! I follow a 90-10 rule with my food 90% of the time I eat great 10% I eat to satisfy the fat kristen! lol. I have been using the El Paso stand n Stuff taco shells. They taste great and they don’t have too much crap like some other options I saw at the store. Plus it makes hubby happy!!

Speaking of 90-10 here are some Food reviews I would like to share with you:

Being and Upstate NY I love Buffalo Style anything! So I had to try these. They came in at 130 calories per link. The ingredients were great, nothing I couldn’t pronounce. They had good taste with a bit of a bite to them. I liked them they could satisfy a craving for Buffalo sandwich or wings. you can find more info on them here

Then I found these. They are only 70 calories per link. I don’t think they had as strong of flavor but I did like them. They also had less fat at 2.5g vs 6g for the one’s above. This too had good ingredients which can be found here.

I will purchase both again. I think the Thin n trim is a great for dinner or lunch – and to be added to a dish. If I really wanted a sausage and peppers sandwich I would use the al fresco.

I rec’d several questions about the make your own pizza night.

I used these pizza crusts/shells for our pizza night. Information can be found here. It has enriched flour and whole wheat flour – remember that 90-10 rule!!

You get 2 shells per package. but the serving size is jacked up. One service is 2oz. but one shell is 4.5oz. so you have to do a bit of math to figure out how much you are eating! Stupid they should do it per shell or per 1/2 shell not 44% of one.

Well off to bed! enjoy the food!

Little Chicken, Big Chicken

2011-06-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

Our chickens are doing so great! the kids really love them! So here are some photo updates for you!

This is Whitey. We don’t know what he is. He puffs his neck up!! Ty loves him.

This is my favorite. We call him shorty. Notice how close to the ground he is…he is standing. Its like he’s missing part of his legs. Nothing above the knee! But don’t feel bad for him…He was the first one to learn to say Cock-a-doodle-do. And he says it all the time. He reminds me of a few little mouthy Italians I know!

One of our bar rocks

This is Oscar, he is another mystery. He really looks like a crow to me. We actually have 2 but tyler only named one of them – which ever one he sees first gets the name for the day!

Here is ty feeding them some weeds

They love watermelon, weeds, peppers, corn and squash. they didn’t eat the asparagus I gave them.

They seem bigger then I expected them to be! ha ha. We don’t expect to start getting eggs till the end of July. We thin we have 5 roosters. We have someone taking 2 of them, I want to keep shorty! we will see what happens!!

It's the great push (up)!!

2011-06-09T04:43:00.000-07:00

Most people who know me, know i hate my arms. Always have but hopefully someday I will say I have accepted them. My goal for the month is to work on my arm strength and hopefully the side effect will be appearance.

My trainer gave me some pointer on building strength at home. Basically i do real push ups really slow going down and then i drop to my knees - get into the pillar position and start over. I have a problem where i drop my hips while doing this. The best way to overcome this to build my core strenght.

On Monday (I think -crazy week not sure what today is) Karen at waisting time posted about a plank challenge on fitblog. So i have decided to do it.

Bootcamp last night gave me the jump start: 2 rounds: Plank, Side Plank (left), Side Plank (right) 45 second hold on each. Killer

So by the time July rolls around i hope to have great results to speak of!!

The Lawn Mower story

2011-06-07T19:15:00.001-07:00

This is a great story that I am going to tell in order it happened!

After returning from camping last Monday, we realized that the lawn needed to be mowed…..again! Well everything that could of gone wrong did on Monday. I told David I would mow the law on Tuesday when I was off.

He looked at me like I was nuts, not believing that I really was going to do it. He simply told me..the mower needs gas.

I took the gas tank to the gas station and filled it up. Damn thing spilled in the back of my car. After getting some of my things done I started mowing a little before 3pm. This day was crazy hot in the 90’s with humidity. But I figured it was a great way to tan! So I put on a strapless top and my bathing suit bottom and headed for the shed!

My mom was here to witness it.

In the dark shed I sat on the mow reading the directions. I like a good little student first read thru all the directions before taking action. In the 3 years we have had the mow I have never been allowed to mow or even drive it. Tyler probably knows how!

I got the mower started and out of the shed without breaking anything! I turned on the PTO/Blades and away I went! See below (warning scary photo below)

Grass clippings were coming out and it wasn’t too bad after I got use to it! I had a little less then 1/2 the lawn done when I went to back up to get a spot I missed. And then the mower turned off – Obviously I was out of gas because I hadn’t added it before starting to mow.

As I carried the gas down to the mower David called because Mom had texted the above photo to him. I had to search for where to even add the gas but rest assured it only took me a moment to figure it out. That’s when I noticed the tank still had gas? hmm well to be sure I added more gas! Ugh I spilled gas everywhere. wtf.

David was in shock that I was mowing! I double checked where the throttle should be when he asked “How low is the blades?”

Me:What?

David: you didn’t lower the blades to the yellow arrow???

Me Um no its not listed on the directions – WTF???

David: thanks for trying to help but you didn’t mow a thing.

Me: Seriously Double WTF

What was John Deere thinking leaving that off the directions- obviously they know their customers are males and they don’t read!! so it must of saved them some costs on printing!

So I started over –determined to mow! Thank god I was doing the backyard so nobody would notice lol!

Every time I tried to back up the damn thing would stall it was annoying so I just stopped going backwards and did a little u turn when needed. My u turns became donuts! As I finished the last 500 sq feet my mom tells me that David called to say: if I need to backup there is a button on the dashboard I have to press. GRRRRRRR Seriously.

So I only mowed the back lawn – parts twice! BUT I did get a great tan!

Asian Chicken Slaw

2011-06-04T19:21:00.001-07:00

This is the photo that inspired my Asian Chicken Slaw

The recipe can be found here! I was a bit annoyed that I couldn’t find the nutrition facts. Most of your calories are going to come from the serving of peanut butter, the 1/2cup of oil and the optional cashews.
I did a quick search and found this giving you a 2 cup serving for 290calories…it uses a lot less oil, no peanut butter and no nuts.
So here is my version that I made for a graduation party but I have not figured the calories.

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
2 cups broccoli florets, I did mine raw
1/2 red, orange and yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 bunch thinly sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped cashews and sliced almonds

Dressing:

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of Rice vinegar

2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon sugar – I used splenda
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 - 1/2 cup canola oil or EVOO (depends on how you like your dressing)
1 tsp of celery salt
black pepper

Instructions

In a large bowl, toss together the coleslaw mix, chicken, broccoli, peppers, nuts and scallions.
In a medium bowl, wisk the soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, sugar, minced garlic, and seasoning until well blended. Slowly whisk in the canola oil and sesame oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the salad with the dressing.

It’s like riding a bike……

2011-06-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

Sorry its been so long for an update! I am not off the wagon honest! I was camping! One thing I noticed that old habits can come back fast.

As a tradition we stopped at the best restaurant in the world on the way up but instead of ordering the traditional hot roast beef sandwich with mashed potatoes and extra gravy I had a grilled chicken sandwich with cottage cheese. Okay this weekend will not be a problem:

Then came the m&M cookies, smores, pulled pork, amazing summer salads, ice cream, pistachios and I don’t know what else. Saturday I hit over 2K in calories, sunday I think I was at 1700. I was just plain bad with larger then normal portions and a sneak treat here and there

But like riding a bike it was easy to get on track. Once home upped my water, stopped eating anything processed again and just gained control of myself. Boy at tuesdays bootcamp did I sweat that shit out of me! ugh.

While camping I was active with going for walks, and both Saturday and Sunday morning I ran 4.79miles in about 52minutes. Tuesday when we got home I ran 2 miles then worked in the garden for 90 minutes and then that night went to bootcamp for a hell of a workout!

This was the recap of my 4.79 run:

As you can see in the photo above I did get a bike ride in too! I have not rode my bike in close to maybe 6 or 7 years??? the tire always looked flat when my big ass was on the bike. and really that seat didn’t feel good no matter how much fat I had. But with all the camping we have planned this summer and my new active lifestyle I asked for a baby carrier for xmas.

She has that excited but nervous look on her face!! I know she was thinking..mommy you really should go for a ride without me first!

But we took the bull by the horns and off we went on a family ride!

it took some getting use to.. if she moved around it would throw the balance off. but in the end she didn’t want to get off the bike!

We are totally going for more!!!

No weigh this week, I am off from work till tomorrow but I am going to weight till next Monday to get back on track!

Kids!!!

2011-05-22T19:28:00.001-07:00

This morning Emma took every opportunity to write on herself with a marker. Orange on her legs, red on her hands and blue on her face. I asked her what she was thinking? Then tyler says: “Emma if you keep this up you are going to turn into a rainbow” it was so cute!

Tyler stole my camera today when we started the garden:

the worms he found in the garden!

The garden is started!!!! We hope to finish it up during the week or monday!

Westmoreland Summer Farmer’s Market

2011-05-16T19:17:00.001-07:00

Starting the first weekend in May, the Westmoreland Fire Department started to hosting a farmer’s market. The market allowed our local volunteer department to raise funds while providing local farmers an opportunity to sell their product. As a third benefit the market allows local residents access to quality foods and products!

Located behind the firehouse on Station Road, the Market runs each Sunday from 10-2.

Some of the great products you can find at the market are: Goat cheese, Pasta, Cookies, Meats, Plants, Salsa, gift baskets and more! Here are some great photos from the Market!

Local Honey!	JCookies –My kids loved the choc. chip!
Heamour Farms!! Organic maple syrup, eggs and wonderful Farmstead goat and cows milk cheese and the feta is the best!!	Flour City Pasta Guy - Fred, brought lots of great pasta and recipes to go with each one!!

William Lipsey of Drover Hill Farm!! The best pasture raised restaurant quality beef, port and lamb you will ever taste!!	Old Goat SALSA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Emma taking a moment to smell the flowers	Szarek Farms with lots of spring plants
C& F Drafts has a great eclectic selection of hand made items and gift baskets for every occasion	Emma Looking for more cookies!!

More information on the market can be found on their Facebook page at:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Westmoreland-Summer-Farmers-Market/206262639388193

Stop in and try some fresh food! Remember the Firemen will be in the pole barn selling food and refreshments! Come hungry and leave full with dinner all planned out!

Menu planning

2011-05-16T18:49:00.001-07:00

I know I am a few days late:

Saturday: make your own pizza night
Sunday: shrimp pasta
Monday TODAY: Steak and brown rice with steamed veggies
Tuesday: BLT (Tball night) but I will be having a BLTZ Save bacon slices from tomorrows burgers!
Wednesday: Hamburgers/Turkey burgers
Thursday: Haddock
Friday: Minute steak Fajitas
Saturday: 2 parties no cooking for me!
Sunday: Grilled chicken and zucchini
Monday: Tilapia tacos
Tuesday: Sausage Subs – I found a new chicken sausage for me that was low cal and low fat – I am going to test it out!
Wednesday: BLT (Tball night) but I will be having a BLTZ
Thursday: Stuffed Chicken Rolls (Kinda like this )

So much time…

2011-05-15T10:53:00.001-07:00

has passed. Oh my! I am so sorry that I have not updated this sooner! I promise to do better. Ugh I wish I had a good excuse I mean I have been crazy busy and I end each night watching a few minutes of TV with my laptop. I guess I just have not had the brain power to type sentences! Facebook is easier I just need to click Like! haha!

Okay let me get you up to date on a few things. then this week I will go into detail on some fun events and happenings!

wow I need to go back to Easter! Ugh! I have slacked!

This is Emma’s Mess! I mean Emma coloring eggs. She damaged all her eggs coloring them! She is a tornado! They did get colored but you can see the big mess in both photos. She was done coloring them in less then 2 minutes.

Tyler was more serious and focused like his mother!!! He even made a camo egg!!

Want to see my egg!

Easter Morning!

May 1st was a big day! David woke tyler up bright and early so they could go turkey hunting. I heard them leave the house and then at 625 I heard them back in the house! Because they got this:

That was also the first day of Soccer! Tyler is still doing great with it! He really loves soccer because you “get to run all the time!”

We also have Tball going on! Yeah I know I did it to myself!

Its really cute the kids are doing great!

Miss Emma gets a lot of time on the playground!

Okay that’s enough for now! I will publish this one! and draft a few others so you have more updated during the week!!!

But scroll down I posted 2 quick ones last night!

Make your Own Pizza Night!

2011-05-14T19:04:00.001-07:00

Tonight was make your own pizza night. When I planned it I figured it would be easy if we were busy trying to get things done. well I turned out just as well with today being very overcast and drizzly. The kids had fun with it:

Once they were done we put them in the oven, they were easy to tell the difference. Tyler put one lone pepperoni on top of his. Emma put 2 pepperonis that had a bite missing from them!

Mine was very Garden Friendly!!

I used a premade pizza shell and spread some basil herbed goat cheese on it. Then i added a cut up green onion, zucchini, red pepper and chicken. I topped it with a bit of mozz. cheese!! It was so good! I ate 3/4 of it for under 400 calories! David even at the other 1/4 that was left!

I know I Know I used a premade shell but what's a girl to do I was expecting to have the time to make pizza dough from scratch – not that I ever have before!! I would love to try it some time so hit me with a good dough recipe!

What would you put on your dream pizza?

Current photos

2011-05-14T18:47:00.001-07:00

Its nuts here, 6 directions and not enough time in the day. Seriously it took longer to fill the bath tub then it took to wash the kids I just didn’t have time for them to play. we didn’t get home from tee ball till 750. How I need to work on my appraisal input for work.

Here are some recent photos of my progress:

This was mothers day at the zoo

This was before my Tylers preschool prom! That dress is a size medium

My thermometer pants that I now fit into!

Check out these arms:

I have some muscles in there they are under a layer of fat to keep them safe!

I am at 68 pounds lost …wait to see what the next few months bring!!

2 Sweet New Apps

2011-05-08T18:22:00.001-07:00

I recently upgraded my phone. Yeah I thought I could handle so much information and technology in the palm of my hand. It’s a smart phone – meaning you have to be smart to use it! lol I am having issues updating my contacts – seriously. Anyway it opened the world to Apps for me!

The first app I downloaded was myfitnesspal.com app. My friends at work have been telling me all about it. Previously, I was texting what I at to my home email account and then adding it up in an excel spreadsheet. The database is amazing and I love that I can access it via my cell and computer! The quick glimpse summary is great:

The one thing I do not like is as I log my activity it gives me more calories. I have never given myself extra calories for working out. Do any of you? I have been sticking to the 1200 calorie guideline. They suggest that I only eat 45g of protein a day. that is significantly lower then what I have been doing via my trainer.

The second App was Runkeeper.com. it uses GPS to track you as you run, walk, hike, bike….! Once you are done it gives you a total time, mileage, cal burned. avg mins per mile, your elevation, your mile times and more. If you go on the website it has an interactive map that shows your speed with the corresponding elevation!

This is a recap of the run I did both Sat and Sunday!

Does anyone know if there is an app for Phones for Dummies? Weight day tomorrow!

One will not hurt you

2011-04-24T08:33:00.001-07:00

If I hear that one more time this weekend. I am going to lay a smack down on someone! Here the quick math of all the times I have heard that this weekend:

Muffin at bake sale	500
Fish Fry w/ FF and cole slaw	1500
Sugar cookies	200 (bc I know I would have had at least 2!)
Chicken wing Dip and chips	500
the other 1/2 of the cake from the shower	350
Brownie ice cream sundae	375
Baked Potatoes with cheese	275
TOTAL	3700

So yes one will hurt me. I have made the decision not to eat it please accept that decision and support it!