Always learning

At my most recent place of employment, my co-workers and I had to take the Strengths Finder quiz to measure our top five strengths. Why? I'm still not sure, but I love these kind of personality tests. I've taken lots, and they always reveal something new or interesting.

I can't find the book right now (imagine that!) to confirm the four below, but my top strength was/is LEARNER.

What can I say, I just love to learn. Whether it's learning about new ingredients (like the sambal oelek I'm going to use in a recipe this week), reading the daily news, or finding some DIY goodness online, I enjoy soaking it all up.

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.  

-Henry Ford

This weekend, I went to two different church services, where I heard more about two totally different books of the Bible. I learned something new about Mark's gospel, including speculation there could have been a thirteenth apostle. See! That kind of stuff is super interesting and worth writing down.

Right now, while on my sabbatical (I think I should start referring to it as that, huh?), I'm learning about what I can tackle in a day without work. I have yet to be bored or have a day without a list of things to do. I apply to jobs, visit companies, make lots and lots of calls and send plenty of emails. Oh, and you know I have been cooking and baking! I try to workout as much as possible (and especially with girl Schady) because that's just what I love to do when I have loads of time. I've been spending great quality time with my mom on her days off, with Taylor in the evenings, with my friends, and with my old co-workers. Oh, and I've been working as hard as I can to downsize and reorganize the condo. 

You'll never know everything about anything, especially something you love. 

-Julia Child

All that said, I've just realized there's one huge thing I've been neglecting: wedding planning. It's been brought to my attention that I haven't done much since securing the church and venue for our reception. Oopsies. It's kind of true. So, that's on my to-do list for the week. Get back in wedding planning shape! 

I'm still learning regardless of whether or not I'm working...no matter how hard I try, I can't be on top of it all!  

As always, more to come...    

Food festival

I live a full life. Lately, though, I know it seems like I've just got a full belly. This is not a food blog, but it's certainly moonlighting under that disguise.

The Story of My Life will return to the story of my life relatively soon. Just let me wrap up the week of scheduled meals first, OK? 

Always planning ahead to the next meal, I made two casseroles Thursday evening. With Taylor out of town for the weekend, I've been enjoying the leftovers.  

I found this recipe on the Southern Living website while searching for casseroles. I didn't even have to click on the link to know it would be a little on the rich (or as Paula Deen says, "reeech") side, so I decided to challenge myself to cut the fat while keeping the flavor. Notes in line with the recipe. If I do say so myself, it's pretty delish. 

Chicken Casserole D'Iberville 

• Ingredients
  
  
• 2 (3-pound) whole chickens  (*I used 2 cans of chicken in water, drained and shredded)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup dry sherry
• 2 celery stalks 
• 1 onion, quartered 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 (6-ounce) packages long-grain and wild rice mix (*I bought the rice mix in bulk, so I just eye-balled 12 ounces and used chicken broth from TJ's to cook it)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine 
• 2 (8-ounce) packages sliced mushrooms 
• 1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (*TJ's carries cream of mushroom soup seasonally, but it's not in just yet...I like to buy organic cream of mushroom soup, and I think I purchased the Pacific brand at Whole Foods for this recipe)
• 1 sleeve round buttery crackers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups) (*I used whole wheat crackers)
• 1 (6-ounce) can French-fried onions, crushed (*Not going to lie...I had a can of the TJ's French-fried onions tucked away from last Christmas...so delish!)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Preparation

1. Bring first 9 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven; reduce heat, cover, and simmer 1 hour or until chicken is done. Remove chicken, reserving broth in Dutch oven. Let chicken cool. Pour broth through a fine wire mesh strainer into an 8-cup liquid measuring cup; discard solids.
2. Cook rice according to package directions, substituting 4 1/4 cups reserved chicken broth for water and omitting butter. (Add water to broth to equal 4 1/4 cups, if necessary.)
3. Skin, bone, and coarsely chop or shred chicken.
4. Melt 1/2 cup butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add mushrooms and green onions, and sauté 10 minutes or until tender. Stir in rice, chicken, sour cream, and soup. Spoon mixture into 8 (2-cup) casserole dishes, 8 (5 1/2- x 3 1/2- x 2-inch) mini-loaf pans, 3 (8-inch or 9-inch) square baking dishes, or 1 (4-quart or 15- x 10-inch) casserole dish.
5. Stir together crushed crackers and fried onions. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter, paprika, and garlic powder. Sprinkle casserole evenly with cracker mixture.
6. Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 to 10 more minutes or until bubbly.

Friday morning, I had a bit of a baking extravaganza, whipping up some blondies and these pumpkin cookies with maple penuche frosting. Oh good Lord. These are outrageous. My friend Monika shared the recipe with me. She hunted it down after wanting to recreate these pumpkin cookies from a bakery in Eugene. She gave me one of those cookies after my last marathon, so I knew they were a WOW kind of cookie. Here's a link to the recipe. I followed it to a T. I did, however, get sugar free true maple syrup (if that's such a thing?) from Whole Foods.

Oh, and on Friday night, Allison came over, and I made breakfast for dinner. Mimosas, pumpkin waffles, hashbrowns, and the egg casserole below. (Like how I started with the mimosas?!) I guess you could say I'm on a casserole kick. Jenny made this breakfast casserole for the brunch she planned in Austin last weekend. It's SO stinkin' simple. Just press one tube of crescent rolls (yes, I bought this at TJ's, too!) into a casserole dish. Sprinkle whatever kind of meat tickles your fancy across the dough. Jenny used diced ham. I did a combo of diced turkey and turkey bacon. Next, sprinkle about a 1.5-ish cups of cheese (whatever's handy...I had a pinch of the Mexican blend left and lots of mozzarella, so I used both). [Then, thanks to a Southwestern tip from Jenny, I sprinkled a can of diced green chiles on top of the meat and cheese.] Finally, whisk together 5 eggs and about 1/2 cup milk, and pour over the entire casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until set. Mmm. I still have leftovers! It's just as good reheated the next morning! 

I'll write more about non-food-related happenings in the days to come. The condo is really coming together. Finally. It's such a work-in-progress...this whole merging lives business. But! I really recommend downsizing. It feels good to get rid of "stuff" you just don't need! 

'Add this to the list'

That's what Taylor tells me when I cook something he's fond of. So fond of that he gobbles up several servings and then returns for even more.

I didn't know this chili was going to be such a hit, but I guess it went toward the fence (if not out of the park?) or something as I heard three cheers out of him.

Maybe you should try it, too? I served it with a salad and cornbread. Additional rave reviews for the cornbread. Gotta give my credit to my main man TJ. Why mess with perfection?

Black Bean-Salsa Chili 

• Ingredients
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed, drained, and divided (*I did not divide)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 pound ground turkey (*Because I'm lazy, I used the whole pound)
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion 
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper (*I used one whole pepper...never measure these things)
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (*Same as above)
• 3 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices, chopped (*I used about six slices of TJ's turkey bacon) 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 1/2 cups mild salsa (*Dumped in the whole jar)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth (*Used the salsa jar as my measuring stick on this)
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Preparation

1. 1. Combine 1 1/2 cups beans, 2/3 cup water, and sugar in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine bean puree and remaining beans in a bowl.
2. 2. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove turkey from pan.
3. 3. Add onion, bell peppers, and bacon to pan; cook 5 minutes or until bacon and onion are lightly browned. Return turkey to pan. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and crushed red pepper to pan; stir well to coat. Stir in bean mixture, salsa, tomato paste, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. 4. Combine sour cream, cilantro, and juice in a small bowl. Serve chili with sour cream mixture.

Freeze frame on fall

Autumn bliss...

Meal planning is back, Jack!

Love summer. Love. It. But! There's something about fall that cools our jets, and that's a good thing. I'm back in the routine of making a meal plan on the weekend and grabbing all of the ingredients Sunday. It just makes dinnertime so mindless and easy.

I take recipes from any- and everywhere, and probably my favorite source is Cooking Light. Thanks to some grand instruction from my mom, however, I can lighten up just about any recipe. I make a serious effort to use the healthiest ingredients, too, and I am so thankful stores like TJ's and Whole Foods exist because they make it so simple for shoppers.  

Here's our Monday and Tuesday...please excuse the poor recipe formatting. It's just so much quicker to cut and paste. :)

Monday: Chicken Cordon Bleu 

Here's the recipe from the Hungry Girl, along with my "let's make this quicker" tweaks:

Ingredients:

One 5-oz. raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast cutlet 

1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Creamy Swiss cheese, room temperature

1 oz. (about 3 slices) 97 - 98% fat-free ham slices (*I use Trader Joe's rosemary harm slices)

salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Put chicken in a large sealable plastic bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and seal. Using a meat tenderizer or a can, carefully pound chicken through the bag until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Remove chicken from the bag, and season to taste with salt and pepper on both sides. (*I just cut the chicken in half. I don't bother pounding it down.)

Lay the chicken flat and spread the cheese wedge over it. Evenly layer the ham slices on top of the cheese. Starting with one of the longer sides (or any side, if it's square), tightly roll up the chicken breast cutlet, and secure with toothpicks. (*The first time I made this, I pounded the chicken and rolled it up, but since then, I've just sealed the chicken breast closed with toothpicks without worrying about rolling it up. If I were making this for a crowd, however, I might roll it up for that WOW! factor.)

Place chicken roll in a baking dish lined with foil and/or sprayed with nonstick spray, and then cover the baking dish with foil. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil covering the dish. Continue to bake (uncovered) for an additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Enjoy! 

Tuesday: Lighter Chicken Pot Pie 

And, the recipe from Martha Stewart. For some reason, every time I make this one, I have way more filling than just one pie plate, so I typically make two--one for dinner and the other for leftovers. Mmm.

Ingredients

• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each) (*I use two cans of chicken packed in water)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 phyllo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches), thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. Shred meat, and set aside.
2. While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens. (*I usually forget to thaw the peas, so I throw them in during this stage, too.)
3. Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
4. Stack phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil. Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.

Happy cooking, y'all!

Texas is a state of mind

I went on another blogging hiatus for very good reason.

Taylor and I took a trip down south where everything is bigger. It's not just a saying. It's truth. 

We planned this trip back in the days before unemployment and engagement, and even though it may have been fiscally more responsible to stay home, we got on that red eye flight as scheduled and certainly did not regret it. 

Our mission: See Ryan Bingham live at Stubbs and make it to the UT-WV football game. Check and check...plus plenty of other "oh man, we just gotta see/do/eat this."

Per usual (funny that I'm using this phrase even though I'm not writing an email to a co-worker or client), we were on a sled, rushing from one thing to another, but I felt like we had a bit more quality time with the friends we got to see this trip. 

Coincidentally, a group of our friends recently purchased homes in the same general area of Austin, which I think is pretty neat. We stayed with Jenny and Mike this trip, in their newly remodeled house. Y'all, this home is straight out of HGTV! 

Here's a little rundown of our itinerary: 

• Breakfast tacos at Tacodeli (it's so hard deciding where to eat in Austin) with Karina.
• A spin through Mellow Johnny's for Taylor's traditional T-shirt purchase and Lance Armstrong memorabilia fix. 
• Happy hour celebrating Kevyn's new job (how cool to be there for her News 8 send-off!), cackling with some of my favorite news biz ladies (ahem, Cyndie!).
• Dinner with Fer, John, and Karina at Botticelli's. And, seriously...I can't stress the "what a small world"-ness of Austin enough, but here's a classic example: While leaving the restaurant, we ran into my dear friend Dotts, who couldn't come to dinner with us because she had a group of best friends in town. It's not like Botticelli's is a super popular restaurant, either (although it holds some great memories for me, so I love it!). So glad we got to see her and meet her man! 
• Friday morning TMG (The Morning Group), an absolute must for us. Popping into my old run group and getting our post-run flagship Whole Foods fix is a standard when I come to town, and now Taylor's a vacationing regular, too.
• Lunch at Galaxy with Ricky and Cortnee...possibly the cutest/nicest/easiest to get along with couple we know.
• Dinner with the Bingham groupies at Stiles Switch, a NEW! barbecue joint up north (yum!)...and I must mention we finally got to meet Andrea's hunky beau, Blake! Cute couple alert!!! 
• Oh yeah, and Bingham...who do you think you are? This is not L.A. This is Austin, Texas. I think he may have forgotten as his band and sound were a little off...
• Coffee and gossip on the porch at Jenny's (Taylor went for a run while I soaked up every moment of this).
• The best Austin brunch ever. No, not at a restaurant, but at Chez Davidson, where Jenny, Kara, and Andrea provided such a delicious spread, my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
• Tailgating in true Texas style (photos will provide a better description of this).
• Joining the biggest crowd in University of Texas football history for an outrageous game. 
• Post-game tacos and one last Shiner Bock with Karina and her fella. 

As always, we ran out of time. We never get to see everyone we want to see or do everything we want to do, but that's the magic of Austin. There's always good reason to keep coming back. I tell people I have an agreement with Taylor that I must go back at least twice a year to get my fix. This trip marked two tally marks for 2012, so I'd say we're still on target. :)

Cyndie, me, and Kevyn...tossing the web producer baton to yet another newsie.

This graffiti on the wall of Jo's has become quite popular. Having our tourist moment.  

Bingham and his new band.

Traditional tall girl pic. Don't you LOVE Jenny's new 'do? I'm obsessed!

The ladies: Kara, Chelsea, Sarah (front); Jenny, me, Andrea (back).

Speaking of obsessions...Jenny's sausage balls will be making an appearance at my next brunch.

The guys figured out a competition in the backyard. 

Casey hitting up the bloody Mary bar. 

Girls gossiping around the brunch spread. 

Andrea's picturesque blueberry muffins and Kara's corn and tomato tart in the background. 

The spread... 

Bloody Mary bar. Mimosas for me.

Can't get enough of the food photos. 

Copa cuties!

To steal Jenny's line..."tall girls tailgating!"

Such a sweet setup here at the double-decker school bus. 

View from the top.

Taylor, Jenny, Blake, and Andrea.

Chelsea's brother with the longhorn helmet. 

Our hosts for the weekend, Mrs. and Mr. Davidson.

I didn't mention this, but Andrea just bought a house! So happy for you, Andrea!

Not a bad view, eh? Soaking it all in from on top of the bus. 

And, we're in!

My favorite part is when they roll out the giant Texas flag...that and the Wabash Cannonball in the third quarter.

Truth.

Record crowd at DKR...just shy of 102,000. Crazy! 

We stayed till lots of the fans cleared out so we could really soak it all in. 

Then we had Taco Cabana (ha!) and met up with Karina and Jason for beers before heading back. These trips never are long enough. Until we see each other again, thanks for everything, Texas!