Homecooked

Mmm... dinner tonight was delicious.  We had rice, beans, eggs, fried plantains, and avocado.  

I can't wait for my leftovers tomorrow!

Thankful Thursday

 "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

I am thankful for many things today.  

{Thankful}

I am thankful for my rice cooker.  While I am kind of ashamed to admit that I have never made rice without a rice cooker before, I can make a pot of rice like no other - ha!  On nights when we are tired (tonight), running late with dinner (tonight, thanks to that twenty minute power nap turned two hour nap!), or are in need of a shopping trip, this little guy saves the day!

{Thankful}

I stopped by my new school this afternoon after work to pick up some curriculum so I can begin planning.   I hadn't yet been given a tour of the school, so I asked today if the secretary had a moment to show me my classroom.  She ended up showing me around the entire school.  First stop, Room 503.  That's me!  I am in love with my classroom.  It is so clean - I will have no other teacher's things to sort through when I start setting up.  One entire wall is windows, more than half the height of the wall (I would love to get some fabric and get valances made for them!).  I am connected via a bathroom to the other first grade teacher's classroom (we are both new to the school this year).  I have a whiteboard!  I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I was in there.  I cannot wait to get in and start making it my own.  Now that I have something to picture, my obsessive mental planning and setting up will begin.  I became even more excited as she showed me more and more of the school -  it felt so cozy, and I felt so at home there.  I am beginning to get excited about the school year starting.  I was hoping that feeling would come soon!

{Thankful}

A book was delivered from the library today.  It has come highly recommended by several friends, and I couldn't wait for it to come.

I am hoping to be challenged by this book.  One of my friends said that it changed her complete mindset - needless to say, I am excited to begin reading and learning!

What are you thankful for today?

Why I'm Loving Monday

I'm not a huge fan of Mondays.  I have to set my alarm again, I have to pack a lunch again, I have to go to work again... and so on.  I often wish we could skip Monday and go straight to Tuesday.  But, we can't, so instead I thought I would think about the good that each Monday brings.

Why I'm Loving Monday

I'm loving it because... I ate a mini-cucumber for the first time, and it was delicious.  I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since then.  Better than their larger counterpart, ya'll!  I can't wait to throw one in my lunchbox tomorrow.

I'm loving it because... I got to spend a few hours lying at the pool with Jon.  Even though I sweated my body weight in liquid out there, the sun relaxes me.  

I'm loving it because... Jon showed me how to watch a movie on my iPad while running on the treadmill today.  Three miles fly by when you can mindlessly watch stupid movies!

I'm loving it because... I shaved my legs without cutting myself for the first time in a month.  Let me back up... I have been using Venus razors for as long as I can remember.  I didn't know it at the time, but they are apparently amazing because I never cut myself and I apparently don't know how to shave.  Last month I was in need of some new razors, and, trying to save a little money, I bought some Bics.  I must have been spoiled, tearing those razors along my legs and never getting cut, because every time I shave now I cut my legs at least three times.  Even when I'm being careful.  Especially on my knees, right below my knees, and my ankles.  Want to see the scars?

I'm loving it because... We had tacos for dinner.  I love tacos!

I hope you were able to find some bright spots in your Monday!

"A merry heart does good, like medicine..." - Psalm 17:22

10 Awesome Things

I apparently decided to take a mini-blog vacation!  When the school year ended, my routine got all out of whack.  And if you know me well, you know that I thrive on routine.  When my routine changes, a lot of things change.  Thus, my absence.  But don't worry.  For your reading pleasure, a list of 

10  9 awesome things

from my life while I've been gone:

{One}

I said goodbye to my classroom.  It was a sad day because I am nostalgic and sentimental.  I wonder if my new classroom will have wood paneling as well?  That, I wouldn't miss!

{Two}

To celebrate the end of the school year, we took a weekend trip to Tampa.  Actually, it wasn't really a celebration for that.  It just so happened that a big soccer match coincided with the weekend after the last day of school.  We stayed in a cute hotel with a blue bathroom.  Oh, and USA lost.

{Three}

I started working as a assistant summer camp counselor at the preschool where I worked for two years before being hired by the county.  Although my dream would be to do whatever I want this summer, working here is definitely my second choice.  It's been great seeing everyone again, and it's about as un-stressful as a job can be.

{Four}

We have several parks with lakes around us, and we seem to navigate toward running around lakes.  On one of our training days, we found a lot of cute ducks.  This made my list of 10 9 awesome things because I have a picture of them.

{Five}

One day, I made a snack of toast, peanut butter, and a banana.  Jon made a snack of toast and jelly. 

As you can see, my summer has just been so exciting.

{Six}

My mom had taught me to knit several years ago.  I practiced by making a few scarves, and then kind of forgot how.  Lately I have been wanting to try my hand at it again, so mom re-taught me.  I am working on a dishcloth.  I have visions of sweaters, hats, dolls, etc.  But rectangles are all I can handle right now.  

{Seven}

Jon, my sister Sarah, Dad and I ran the Watermelon 5K on July 4th.  This is what we have been training for since May!  Jon and I stuck together, and we finished with a time of 36:25 - a little longer than our original goal, but we ran the whole 3.1 miles for the first time and are incredibly pleased with ourselves.    I loved the free shirt, and I already have another 5K picked out for the end of July.  I think I may become addicted - I had an absolute blast! 

{Eight}

We have watched all of the Harry Potter movies that are out up to this point, in anticipation of the "second half of the seventh book" movie coming out this coming week.  I have to confess, I'm still in the second book.  I obviously took a long break, but the other day I picked it back up again and am nearly finished.  To be honest, I never thought I would enjoy them as much as I am.  They suck you in.  And they have made me cry.

{Nine}

Sarah's birthday was at the end of June, but due to some of the kiddos being sick, we didn't celebrate as a family until just last Friday.  We went over to their house for a delicious ice cream cake and presents.  The girls really react strongly to sugar, and they put on a show for us for quite some time after they finished their cake.  Jon thinks that the person who invented the TV must not have children - with them to watch, there is just no need for further entertainment!  Jon (kind of) calmed them down by singing and reading to them.  

{The End}

I thought long and hard, but just couldn't come up with a ten.  

Thanks for catching up with me!  Next time, it won't be so long in between.  Pinky promise.

Taco Salad Tuesday

Taco Salad Tuesday... mmm, mmm, good!

Teacher Appreciation Week and Tlayudas - (Almost) Wordless Wednesday

I have the sweetest students. 

Tlayudas (like Mexican pizza) for dinner, with a side of roasted sweet potatoes.

May 1, 2011

Short blog tonight.  We have just recently heard the news that Osama bin Laden is dead, and are waiting to hear the President's speech.  May 1st ends with HUGE news!!!

We went to Tijuana Flats for a quick dinner tonight after church and before a fast grocery shopping trip.  I ordered the lite salad, which claims to be under 500 calories.  It is served without the taco salad shell and without the chips.  Apparently.

This was brought out to me.  I told the guy who brought it out that I had ordered the lite version, and he said "Yeah, this is it" and walked away.  Okay... but how?  That guy obviously doesn't understand this girls love for carbs.

Easter, Exercise and Eating

Well, Easter went as quickly as it came (I felt that it snuck up on me this year, even though it came late).  We had a wonderful day.  Church, both morning and evening services, were fantastic.  I am so thankful for my church family!

After church we had Easter "dinner" (technically at lunchtime, but it held me over till long after dinnertime) at Shula's 347 with Jon's parents.  They had an Easter menu, which came with an appetizer, salad, main course and dessert.  I decided to pass and just get ONE course, but Jon and his parents went with the Easter dinner.  I ordered Wild Mushroom Ravioli with short ribs and asparagus - delicious (sadly, I was more interested in eating it than in capturing it on film)!  When dessert time came, everyone gave me a little of theirs (an eclair, 1/3 of a cheesecake, several bits of lava cake) and I was more than satisfied.  However, our server took pity on me, the dessert-less girl, and brought me lava cake while I was using the restroom.  Here you can see the surprise on my face.

My look of shock when I saw a whole lava cake, waiting to be eaten by only me.

Because I certainly had to show our server how thankful I was for her thoughtfulness, I had to eat it.  And also, I mean, come on - it was just sitting right in front of me!

I almost finished it!

I ate too much, felt sick and oddly hyper and I had to quote Kathryn - "I'm being so crazy!"  I hadn't had that much sugar in... years? Ever?  And never will again, thank you very much!

When I got home from work today, I had the urge to exercise.  This has occurred maybe two times in my memory, so I took it and ran (ha!) with it.  I headed to our little "gym" and worked on the elliptical trainer for 35 minutes.  Felt great!

We tried something new for dinner.  The cookbook calls it Japanese Noodles with Tomatoes.  It is soba noodles, tomatoes, scallions, olive oil, soy sauce and sesame oil.  We also added tofu for a bit of protein.  I have tried tofu several times, and have never been able to really enjoy it.  I don't dislike it, it just does nothing for me.  Although it was tasty with this meal, it's still not my favorite. 

 Soba noodles in their packaging.

Dinner.  Yum!

Marshmallow Legs, and More

Because this blog has somehow turned into a place for me to say "Hey guys, look what I ate!", pictures of last night's dinner (which was also tonight's dinner).  It was our big fat "Greek" dinner.

Quinoa tabbouleh.  I have become a little obsessed with finding new uses for quinoa.  I got this recipe from the Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, and it was delicious!

Jon's roasted chicken.  He marinated it in mint, parsley, dill, rosemary, oregano, thyme, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and paper.  Mmmm.... 

The homemade zatziki sauce we put on the chicken.  And you can't have these kinds of things without some pita bread!

And although I would love to eat Ezra (he is getting so chunky, he's got marshmallow legs!) his sisters just won't let me.  He was quite fascinated with the Einstein's cup today.  He wouldn't look away!

After church and lunch, we spent the next several hours grocery shopping for the week ahead.  Because we try to buy items in the stores where they are the least expensive, we sometimes end up at four different stores.  Perfect example - today!  We got most of our produce and deli meat at Eat More Produce, our quinoa, apples (I have to have organic, or else my lips swell.  Allergy to the pesticides, I'm sure.  Apples are the only fruits that do that to me.) and  yogurt at Whole Foods, other random things at Publix, and then salad and bananas at Costco.  Even though planning our meals for the week and writing a list help me stay organized, we still can somehow spend hours wandering around a store, like it was the first time we'd been there.

Come quickly, Summer

Today was a great day for the pool, so that's what we did. Until about 5 fully clothed middle-school aged kids came as well and decided to sit and skateboard poolside and yell, scream, and shout. That's what it seemed like, at least, as I tried to drown them out and focus on the task at hand - finishing Harry Potter as quickly as possible in order to go to his wizarding world.

After the pool it seemed like the only logical dinner would be homemade burgers, so we ran to the store to grab buns and the necessary vegetable toppings. Although Jon followed the directions for our turkey burgers to the T, there was enough smoke during the cooking that my eyes were burning and we had to open the door to the porch. I'm a little worried that our smoke alarms didn't go off. They must need new batteries!

However, all ended well and we ended up stuffed after eating turkey burgers, watermelon, sweet potato fries and pickles.

Even though we are still a few months away, this kind of dinner has me itching for Summer. Come quickly, please!

Bacalao y verduras

Before I get down to business, I just have to share this photo. The student that helps me practice patience more than any other created this calm, peaceful working environment for herself today.

Is this what a desk at school should look like? I think not.

On a less frustrating note, Jon's parents had us over for dinner tonight. We had bacalao and verduras (codfish and root vegetables). Some of the root veggies included celery root, sweet potatoes, and beets. There were more, as well - all delicious! My favorite were the celery root and beets. I was stuffed afterwards. I think I sometimes forget that eating less has made my stomach shrink a bit.

A tour of dinner: In the front you'll find the beets - not from a can, mind you! Next to the beets is the bacalao, with cilantro and tomatoes. In the background we have our root vegetables, as well as some corn and plantains.

His parents have also started growing a few things in their backyard, like bananas, peppers, tomatoes and some herbs. They gave us some peppers and rosemary, which we can't wait to cook with!

Look at the color on those babies!

Any time spent with family is a good time, and even better when it starts off the weekend!

Quinoa and Black Beans

I found this delicious recipe for quinoa and black beans awhile back, and it's one of our favorite dishes to make. It's simple, filling, and requires things that we usually have hanging around. We hadn't had it in awhile, so on Sunday when we were making our menu for the week we decided to have it tonight.

First, I browned the onion and garlic, then measured out the quinoa and broth and added it to the pot along with the spices. I brought it to a boil, then happily covered it, turned the heat down and let it simmer away.

A few minutes into the simmer I stopped to stir the quinoa, and noticed that it had absorbed the liquid waaaaaay to quickly. Then, almost in slow motion, I thought back to when I had measured out the quinoa. I envisioned the measuring cup and how full it was, and then I realized what I had done.

I put in 1 and 3/4 cups, when the recipe only called for 3/4 cup of the stuff. I had more than doubled it. What is wrong with me?!?!

It ended up being okay... we more than doubled everything else (again, having flashbacks to our green goddess salad dressing) and it tasted fine.

But seriously. What is wrong with me?!?!

Our massive pot of quinoa.

Enough for lunch, and dinner for a family of 12.

Who Cooked Tonight?

KATIE!

Mangú and Fried Green Tomatoes

I am such a lucky girl!

Tonight, Jon made us mangú and fried green tomatoes. Mangú is boiled, mashed green plantain with caramelized onion on top. He also made fried eggs to top it off. This was one FILLING and delicious dinner! I haven't been this full in weeks.

Mangú, minus the eggs, and fried green tomatoes.

With the fried eggs on top.

Thankful Thursday

I have seen some friends post "Thankful Thursday" blogs. I like the idea (and who doesn't like an alliteration every once in awhile). Sometimes I get so busy, stressed, and distracted that I don't stop to consider all of the everyday things I have to be thankful for.

Tonight, I am thankful for all of the fresh, colorful, natural and delicious foods that are available for us to eat. Since we have been eating more healthy the last week and a half or so, I have had so much more energy, my tummy has been happy, and I have just felt better, in general. God knew what He was doing when He provided these foods for us to eat!

The juicy cantaloupe we found at Eat More Produce in Winter Park.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Cajun-style chicken and rice soup is what's for dinner! We had bought a whole chicken last week, so Jon used the leftovers to make his very own stock, and then soup tonight. Deeeelicious!

Roasted Chicken

After working about 11 hours today, I came home to a delicious, home-cooked meal. A whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and carrots with brown sugar. Comfort food, for sure!

My husband sure knows how to do it right!

Whole Foods

I love Whole Foods. I just get a happy feeling when I go in there. Last year at around this time, we started doing the majority of our grocery shopping there. We have really found that our grocery bill is no bigger there than it used to be at Publix - in fact, buying Whole Foods organics is usually cheaper than buying Publix organics.

We stopped at the Winter Park Whole Foods after church tonight for our weekly shopping trip.

We got some of our weekly staples: yogurt, creamer, cheese, cold cuts, eggs, meat, fruit, and bread, as well as some other tasty items.

Every time that we go grocery shopping, I am reminded of God's goodness and provision. How thankful I am to Him that we do not need to worry about where our next meal will come from!

Tasty Dinner!

Dinner tonight was delicious. We'd had some yellow squash lying around, as well as that red cabbage I got from work. Yesterday we ran to Whole Foods and got a few things for the week, including asparagus and potatoes. We haven't had a dinner like tonight's in awhile (we've been doing more one-pot type meals) and it good to have a lot of veggies.

Chicken breast, baked potato, a vegetable medley of yellow squash, red cabbage, shredded carrots, onions and roasted garlic, and asparagus (my favorite vegetable - I cook it in a glass dish with enough water to cover about half of the asparagus, then when it just barely soft enough, take it out, drain the water, and give it a sprinkling of salt, olive oil and lemon juice.) Other than the asparagus, this is all thanks to my handy husband, Jon, who cooked for us while I completed progress reports.

Dinners should always be this tasty!

Korean BBQ Taco Box

First of all, thank you to my darling husband for drugging me and updating my blog while I was sick. Today I woke up feeling much better than I had the last three days - still not much energy and somewhat snotty, but better. I was able to leave the house, which felt great!

My first excursion out of the house was to the Korean BBQ Taco Box, a little food truck on Colonial that Jon has been wanting to go to since Friday (when you really want something but can't have it, I think 3 days feels like a lot longer than it really is).

We both ordered the Korean BBQ taco box, which is a to-go box filled with all sorts of yummies - a little salad with ginger dressing, two rice balls, two fried potstickers, a chicken wing, two slices of what appeared to be fried California rolls, and then at the bottom of all that, our "taco" filled with BBQ short ribs, rice, and cabbage. Mmmmm, was that food tasty!!!

They don't sell drinks, so we got them from the Citgo, then sat on our tailgate and ate. Delicious!