Recipes

Below you will find some of the recipes that we had this week, including the yummy crab cakes and spinach artichoke dip some people wanted:

Sausage Cheesy Frittata
2 teaspoons butter
½ cup sliced onion
½ cup sliced red bell pepper
2 small plum tomatoes, diced
3 slices turkey bacon, crumbled
1/3 cup sausage, browned and crumbled
1 tablespoon basil
Black Pepper
½ cup eggs
½ cup 1% cottage cheese
¼ cup fat-free evaporated milk
¾ ounce shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Coat an ovenproof 10” skillet with cooking spray and place over medium-low heat until hot. Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the onion, bell pepper, and meat and sauté over medium-low heat until the vegetables are lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, basil, and black pepper to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook until the flavors are blended, 2-3 minutes, and remove from the heat.

Preheat the broiler. In a blender, combine the eggs, cottage cheese, and milk and process until smooth. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables. Cover and cook on medium-low heat until the bottom is set and the top is slightly wet. Transfer the skillet to the broiler and broil until the top is set, 2-3 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and broil until the cheese melts.


We also had Taco Salad (Andrew had his with WW wraps and I just had mine on a bed of romaine), chicken stir-fry with no rice or carrotts/corn, and our usual baked Mustard Salmon.


Asian Broccoli
1/2 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon canola oil 1/2 (11/2-pound) head broccoli, cut into florets (3 cups) 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
InstructionsHeat oil in a large wok or high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add broccoli and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, garlic, and lemon juice; continue to stir-fry until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Serve hot

Savory Chicken Saute

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
½ cup fat-free chicken broth
Pinch salt
Black pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute the chicken breasts in the oil for 4 minutes, then turn them over and add the onio. Cover and cook for 3 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, rosemary, and broth. Cover and cook until the onion is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip –
1 (10oz) package of frozen chopped spinach
2 (13 ¾ oz) cans artichoke hearts
½ cup of mayonnaise
½ cup sour cream
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup grated pepper jack cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Greese a casserole dish with nonstick spray.

Heat the spinach in a microwave oven on high for 5 minutes and squeeze dry. Drain the artichoke hearts and coarsely chop in a food processor. Combine all the incredients except the jack cheese in a large bowl. Stir well. Scrape into the prepared casserole dish and sprinkle the jack cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Transfer to a chafing dish and keep warm over a low flame. Serve with bagel chips.

Avacado Crab Cakes
1 avacado
1 lemon
1 tsp chives
1/2 tsp dill
1 egg
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 Tbsp mustard
3/4 cup italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 pound crabmeat
salt and pepper
olive oil

Chop avacado and crab meat. Cut lemon in 1/2 and squeeze 1/2 over avocado. Beat egg, add mayonnaise, mustard, chives, dill and 1/4 cup bread crumbs. Add crab and avocado. Season with salt and pepper. Shape into patties. Dip in bread crumbs. Fry patties and turn once until brown. Use lemon to garnish.

If you live close by and are going to make this, I can lend you the bread crumbs. I doubt I will have much use for them, unless I make this recipe again.

When I get a chance I will take and post more pictures.

A Lot of Nothing

Sorry for the lack of posting. I seem to have been very busy unpacking and keeping my house clean, which is fun, but haven't had a lot to blog about, which is also good. We decided to have an open house tonight to have friends and family over to look at our house, even though it's not finished. I'm not sure I'll ever consider it "finished" so we figured that two weeks after we moved in would be a good date to have a party. It also motivated us to get stuff moved in and unpacked. We have had several improvements to the house because Andrew's mom is helping us by making curtains, bed skirts, a padded headboard, etc. I'll try to take pictures this weekend and post more on here. I am also hosting all of the Sunday School helpers for our age group (3's and 4's) at my house on Sunday, so that will be fun.

I guess that's all for now!

I cheated!

No, I did not cheat on my diet, but I did cheat on weighing myself. This program recommends only once a week but I broke down and weighed myself today, even though it's only day 5. I have lost 3 lbs! I couldn't believe it. I know most of it is water but I don't really care. Ok, I'm not trying to turn this into a weightloss blog (as I've got another one for that, that is a bit more private) but wanted to share. I hope to remember my login info to the other blog soon!

I hope to have more pictures on here this weekend, especially of the beautiful new curtain in the bathroom that my MIL sewed for us!!

Recipes!

Below you will find a few of the things we are eating this week. Sorry, I don't have my mom's tomato soup one with me. I'll have to put it on, since it is so yummy!

Mustard Baked Salmon - (just like it says, salmon baked with a coat of mustard. Yum!)
Jaime's Salad
Greens (I usually use a spring mix or romaine)
Chopped Onion and Tomato
Sunflower Nuts
Feta Cheese
Dressing: 2 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp red wine vinegar, 2 tsp lemon juice

Oven-Roasted Vegetables (So Good)
· 1 med zucchini, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 med red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 med yellow bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 lb fresh asparagus, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 red onion, chopped
· 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
· 1 tsp salt
· ½ tsp black pepper
Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the zucchini, squash, bell peppers, asparagus, and onion in a large roasting pan, and toss with the oil, salt, and black pepper. Spread in a single layer.2. Roast for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are lightly browned and tender.

- We had this with a steak and celery with either cheese or natural peanut butter (has no sugar, only roasted peanuts)


This is what we are having tonight, so I can't say how good it is . . . yet:

CHICKEN WITH TOMATOES AND BALSAMIC VINEGAR
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons basalmic vinegar
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 teaspoon finely minced garlic
dried rosemary
crumbled plum tomatoes
drained 3 whole chicken breasts
1/4 teaspoon salt cut in half Freshly ground black pepper

1. Combine chicken broth, vinegar and rosemary; pour over chicken, cover, and refrigerate overnight. 2. Remove chicken and pat dry, reserving marinade. Heat oil in a heavy frying pan and brown chicken in two batches. 3. Remove checken from the pan; add onions and garlic. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes, until onions are softened. 4. Add marinade to pan and bring to a simmer. Add chicken, baste with some of marinade, cover and simmer 25 minutes. 5. Remove chicken and keep warm. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper; simmer about 5 minutes, or until thickened. 6. Pour sauce over chicken.

Thursday night's meal:
Chicken Chili Stew
3 whole cubed skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 chopped onion
1 chopped green bell pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoons oil
2 15 oz. can canned stewed tomatoes
1 15 oz. can canned pinto beans
3/4 cup picante sauce
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt

Saute chicken, onion, green pepper, and garlic in biggest pot til chicken iswhite. Add everything else; simmer 20 minutes.

Fresh Mozzarella Salad
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 large Roma tomato, sliced
1 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
3 leaves fresh basil, chopped
Instructions:Mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil and garlic in a small bowl. On a salad plate, layer slices of the cucumber, tomato and cheese. Drizzle with the dressing. Sprinkle with the chopped fresh basil.

More recipes next week!

We're moved in!

We are officially living in our new house. I also started the South Beach diet (again) today, and so far it is going great. I had a few cravings at lunch, but they were easily quelled by some delicious soup. It really helps me to have the meals planned out for the whole week, so I don't panic and eat something I shouldn't. I'm going to try and post a few pictures on here now.

Our young marrieds small group from our church. The boys surprized us with a fun and fancy "night out" last Friday. We even had a stretch SUV limo!

Our new bedroom. Don't worry, it's much messier now!

Our messy kitchen. I'm still sorting and unpacking, although we can pull one car into the garage now.

Andrew's office. I'll try to get another picture later with the computer and chair.

Do Good Work

A few weeks ago, this world lost a very comic and caring man. I just felt like I should write a few things about a person who made an impact in my life as well as many others. Andrew and I had lived with them for the past 16 months, so I got to know his grandparents better than most granddaughter-in-law's may. I appreciated Grandpa mainly for his humor and his enjoyment of life but also for his protection of me. I will never forget the day I was scheduled to have my wisdom teeth removed. He was laying in bed, in pain that had lasted years and years, yet he was very concerned about me and how I felt that day. He also prayed with me on my first day of work. I'm cerainly not the best person to write about Grandpa, as I haven't known him long, but his life had an impact on mine. As the family has been saying, I know he is singing and praising God and now free from all traech's, peg tubes, and pain. He is greatly missed.

We've Moved

When I got home from work last night, Andrew said, let's move our bed tonight. I still wasn't quite sure we could do it, but Andrew, Nick, and Wayne loaded up the bed, nightstands, and dresser and we slept at our new house last night. After envisioning this experience for the past year or so, I never thought that I would describe the experience as emotional or sad, but that's what I felt. I felt so sad to leave Andrew's grandma by herself. I knew we couldn't stay there, but I just didn't know how hard it would be! :(

We both slept fairly well except for me being a little disoriented when I went to the bathroom at 1:00 am and Dewey still slept at W/S house until we get his stuff moved. I'm not sure how we're going to manage him during the day. He may have to be an outside dog.

Hopefully pictures and another post to follow. Right now I'm trying to sort out who we should get our permanent mortgage from. Any advice?

Easy Fix!

The septic guy found the problem, and it was an easy fix. It's hard to explain but a pipe leading into the septic tank was pushed against a piece of concrete, so it couldn't drain. Easy fix and we can move in anytime. All we have to do is move our bed!

Plumbing Problem

Well, our small plumbing problem has turned into a bigger plumbing problem. The plumbers at our house yesterday discovered that the drainage problem was not a blocked pipe inside or a capped vent, but a problem with the drainage pipe running out to the septic tank or the pipe from the septic tank to the leech field. The septic guy is supposed to stop by and diagnose the problem today, but we've probably got a crushed pipe or one that came loose during the grading of our yard.

So, we can legally move in, but we can't use any plumbing right now, which is a major issue! I'll update as soon as I know anything! I'm mainly anxious to get started on my diet. I need to find my cookbooks!

Certificate

I just called the county and found out that our certificate is going to be issued today at 1:00 pm! Yeah! Now, we are just figuring out who is going to go get it. I have been talking with the permanent mortgage guy and so hopefully we'll get stuff worked out tomorrow. We need to settle while the interest rates are low!

We're still having a few plumbing drainage problems. I called the plumbers and they won't be out until tomorrow, so the earliest we will live there would be Thursday night. I still need to find my pots and pans, so we can actually cook and eat.

Yeah!

P.S. I'm sort of ashamed to admit that my QVC diamonique ring came yesterday, and I LOVE it. Susan, I forgot to show you when you were at our house! Oh, and that dish soap smells so good, it's like being at a spa!! It was good that the kitchen sink water backed up into the bathtub, because then at least it was lavendar scented waste water! :)

We've failed!!!!

Well, we did fail our driveway inspection today, because the inspector couldn't see through our culvert pipe, but he is allowing us to pass anyway on one condition. We have to write him a letter saying we'll fix it within two months (I already faxed the letter). Even though that pipe has worked for twenty years now, I am appreciative that the inspector is letting us get our Certificate anyway. He could have made us fix it before getting it! Yikes!

It now looks like I can probably pick it up tomorrow afternoon or sometime Thursday. The certificate will mainly allow us to roll over our construction loan into a permanent mortgage with a much lower interest rate. We're still plugging away at moving in, with mainly kitchen stuff at this point. We'll try to take pictures and post. Our computer is now at our new house without internet access, so it may be a week or so before new pictures arrive. We are getting the internet hooked up on Saturday.

We've Passed!!!!!

We passed our final final inspection today! Yeah!

We still cannot get our certificate of occupancy, until the driveway has been cleared. The guy is supposed to do that today, so I should be able to pick it up next Monday or Tuesday, but . . . . no more inspectors in our house! :)

Liar

I am such a liar. I have not posted like I said I would! I kind of forgot that I was going to a musical last night. Three of my voice students performed and it was fantastic. Very professional for a high school musical. I was proud! :)

We are having another final inspection today. I will be quite floored if we don't pass, as we did everything the inspector told us to last time. We are also supposed to have a driveway inspection to look at our culvert. I hope we pass that, because it would be the only thing stopping us from getting a Certificate of Occupancy. I will post on here again, once I know the results of our final.

Yes, a post will follow this weekend, but it won't be today! We have snacks at small group tonight, so I have to make something between when I get home at 5:30 and when we leave at 6:45 tonight.

Final Inspection

Well, we had our final inspection this morning. We have a few things that we need to fix but they are very minor. We'll have another inspection on Friday and we should pass that.

We need to have a 3x3 landing out the mudroom door and off the front porch. We have to fix how some insulation is laying upstairs in the FROG (future room over garage), and we have to have our sump drain permanently installed.

Hopefully there will be another post tonight.

Posting

Keep your eyes peeled for a post tonight or tomorrow. My husband's grandfather died last weekend, so I haven't felt much like posting here lately, but I do want to write something. So check back.