I thawed some chicken thighs today and just coated them with a mix of maple syrup + honey + whole grain mustard + dijon mustard + salt + pepper + garlic.
I spread the mustard mix on the chicken and baked them at 375 for about 45 minutes.
This couscous dish was awesome! One of the best couscous recipes I’ve ever made, hands down.
We love Israeli couscous – it’s like little doughy pillows and is even better mixed with diced apple, cranberries, almonds, and a maple + apple cider vinegar dressing.
No snack this afternoon – I had a crazy day with work, and not a “good crazy”. I just didn’t even think about a snack until the workday was over, and then I didn’t want to ruin my appetite.
I’m thinking that some of the last of my Mammaw’s fudge + some hot tea will be my snack tonight :)
Thankfully, Maggie slept through most of the morning so I was able to get a lot of work done.
The afternoon may be more of a challenge since that’s when she wants to play. Hopefully, a few bathroom breaks outside will be enough to keep her busy!
My choices for lunch consisted of a few random bits of leftovers or boxed soup.
I chose the leftovers, mostly because I would have to throw them away if I didn’t use them.
It turned out great!
Kind of like huevos rancheros, but with rice instead of tortillas. Eggs + rice = one of my new favorite combos.
I heated up about 1/2 cup of brown rice and 1/4 cup or so of refried beans, topped those with some salsa and 2 over easy eggs that were cooked with salt, pepper, and way too much ancho chile powder! I was shaking it on, and this big pile of it jumped out of the jar. At least it’s spicy!
I also heated up some broccoli + green beans to have along side for more veggies and another color.
I’ve got to take a puppy out for a bathroom break and then it’s back to work for me.
*Holly made her goal!!! I’m so, so happy for her and thank you to all of you that donated to help build the well. I know it will be an amazing thing.
*I’m reading Proverbs this month with Polly – don’t you just love her? Her posts are like little rays of sunshine in my day.
and hey, hey – football tonight! A really good game, actually.
8:00 PM ET No. 6 Boise State vs. No. 4 TCU* TOSTITOS FIESTA BOWL
I don’t know who to pick in that one – I’m guessing it will be a close game.
I don’t know about you, but I’m not ready to be working again today. After having some days off to spend with family and just do fun stuff, I really don’t want to check my work email or sit here for 8 hours today working on my computer.
Plus, today is my first day to try working from home with this:
Oh, she looks innocent but she’s not :) In fact, the last 10 minutes she’s been running back and forth from the den to the dining room with some toy in her mouth, growling, jumping around, and shaking the toy.
I’d say the first Monday back from the holidays and my first working Monday of 2010 definitely needs coffee.
I had a banana that was ready to be used (leftover from last week) and I knew exactly what I wanted on my oatmeal today.
1/2 cup oats, 1 cup water, pinch salt
1/2 banana, sliced
cinnamon
3 Tbsp TJ’s Perk Up Your Trail Mix (choc. espresso beans on top)
I also used my new mug this morning! I got this from Nick’s sister and her husband for Christmas, and I love it.
I bought a new Jamaican Blue Mountain blend to try, and it’s pretty good. They didn’t have our basic coffee in whole bean yesterday but this blend is nice. I’ve never had just Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee – I know it’s pretty pricy, just like real Kona, but I may have to find it after trying the blend.
Off to work!
At least Maggie usually sleeps most of the morning so I may be able to get a little work done ;)
What did you do for New Year’s?
We watched the VT / Tennessee game (Go Hokies!) and then watched Travis Pastrana jump the car over the water before going to bed. I actually stayed up until midnight!
Hi everyone! and Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s now 2010. It doesn’t seem like all the hype over Y2K was 10 years ago.
I guess I should have thought about my last post and what people might have assumed – I’m so sorry!!!
I’m fine – feeling fine, doing fine.
Thursday morning was just crazy with us trying to get out of the house and on the road to Nick’s parents’ house for the weekend, and then I never ended up even turning on my computer this weekend.
I had 5 days of family, friends, food, laughter, Sherlock Holmes, cooking, biscuits, puppies, shopping, and football, and it was great.
I didn’t check my email, read blogs, or do anything else on the computer for 5 days – and I missed blogging so much!
But it was nice to give my eyes and hands and brain a break from staring at the computer screen.
But I’m back :) I am having trouble figuring out a good schedule with our new puppy as she has pretty much taken over our lives. I’m sure it will work itself out, so just bare with me!
I guess she’s worth all the work, lost sleep, and puppy bite marks on my hands, right? ;)
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Nick and I came back home from his parents’ house yesterday since Nick had to do sound at church today. Since we got home at 6 pm and it was about 18 degrees and windy, I did not go back out for groceries last night.
I dug through the cabinets and found one of my TJ’s Indian meal packets and made that with some added kidney beans with some brown rice + green beans.
For not really having a dinner plan, this was great! And really filling with the beans and chickpeas.
I also mixed up my sponge with my sourdough starter last night so I could make us some sourdough pancakes this morning.
These sourdough pancakes turned out really good – I used all whole wheat flour, too. They’re so fluffy! Of course, I broke the cardinal rule of sourdough and mixed mine this morning with a metal spoon, so I’ve started another batch.
I went to church with Nick this morning and helped set up + make coffee and almost had my own “I Love Lucy” moment.
I was filling up the pitcher with water to make the next pot of coffee, and they had these big water bottles from Kroger that sit on the table and have a pour spout. Well, I put the pitcher under the spout and went to open it, and the entire cap came off! I had water just pouring out of the bottle onto the floor, my pants, my hands, everywhere! I started screaming Nick’s name and one of my friends came over with him to help me….I’m such a mess + klutz!
Thankfully, I got it cleaned up and the coffee made and everything else went fine :)
Nick and I went out to a new Mexican restaurant after church and then ran some errands and got groceries before coming home today to clean house.
Along with a new year, Winter is officially in full force here. It never hit over 25 degrees, and was only 14 degrees on the way to church this morning. The 30 mph winds don’t help either – my hands and lips are so chapped! It has just been freezing cold the past few days.
Once we got home today and put the groceries away, I started working on laundry and we cleaned and played with Maggie, and then I got started on dinner.
I made my first ever strata!
I had half a loaf of a whole grain french bread that needed to be used tonight or tossed.
1/2 loaf whole grain bread, diced
1 cup diced ham
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 scallions
4 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded cheese
salt
pepper
garlic
parsley
I just cubed the bread and set that aside while the veggies cooked. I sauteed the onion, peppers, and scallions with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.
Once those were softened, I added in the diced ham and took it off the heat. Then mixed the veggie/ham mixture with the diced bread in my baking dish.
I beat the eggs with the milk and some salt and pepper, and poured it over the bread mixture, mixing the eggs into the bread + veggies. Once the egg mix kind of coated all the bread mix, I sprinkled the cheese on top and baked at 375 for about 30 minutes.
Nick and I both loved this! He had seconds + is taking the last piece with him for lunch tomorrow :) I’m definitely going to be making stratas more often, for sure. It was so easy.
I’m so, so sorry for just disappearing for a few days! It was a totally unplanned break from blogging, but once 2 days passed…it was just really hard to turn my computer on.
I enjoyed a little vacation from technology, but missed everyone so much! Thank for everyone who emailed me, texted me, or called to make sure I was okay :) I appreciate it so much!
Regular blogging is resuming – and the next few weeks should be extra fun ;) I have a couple of things up my sleeve.
