Garden Update

My garden is growing!

oh the lovely shades of green

 the tomato plant is climbing

 peas, cucumbers and beans are getting taller as well

 spinach

 swiss chard

 the crazy strawberry plants

 lettuce

 basil

 cucumbers on the left and beans on the right

 carrots

 potatoes (who knew they grew their own trees?!)

 According to my Garden Planner I may be able to harvest some spinach and lettuce next weekend.  We'll see!

Dinner tonight had nothing to do with my garden but it sure was delish.  It tasted much better than the picture below turned out.

Panko Chicken Cones

Panko Chicken Cones (serves 4-6)

(adapted from the Crunchy Chicken Cones recipe from the May/June 2011 Weight Watchers Magazine)

Ingredients:

1/2 c. liquid egg substitute (i.e. egg beaters)

1 c. Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

1 lb chicken tenders or chicken breast

1/4c. mayonnaise

1 T. fresh lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 c. iceberg lettuce, shredded

6 6-inch tortillas

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray or use your Professional Baking Mat.

2,  Pour egg substitute into a shallow dish.  Pour panko onto a flat plate.  Dip chicken tenders, one at a time, into the egg substitute, then into panko, pressing to adhere.  Place chicken on baking sheet.  Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 25 minutes.  Cut them into 2 inch pieces.

3.  Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Mix mayonnaise, cilantro and lime juice in a small bowl. 

4.  Place 3-4 chicken tender pieces in each of the tortillas.  Top evenly with the iceberg lettuce.  Spoon 1 T. sauce onto each tortilla. 

5.  Fold the bottom portion of the tortilla over the filling and then roll the sides over into a cone shape.  Or fold the yummy mess up however you want!

tornado watch - moderate risk

The news tells me we are under a tornado watch until 2am tomorrow morning. The radar maps show me my county has a moderate risk of severe weather. We haven't been at a moderate risk since the tornadoes ripped through downtown Atlanta in 2009. Because of this, and also my Facebook poll where I asked if we should sleep in the basement or not, I have decided we will camp out in the basement. Of course, Matt is not home so it will just be the children and I.

Don't worry. I'm sure since I have gone through so much emergency preparation today (i.e. flashlights and radios are full of fresh batteries, storm shelter is on my garden) that nothing will happen. We may not even get a drop of rain. But if we do...we're ready for it.

We're ready for it AND our bellies are full. Dinner on the Fly #2: Pizzadillas (get it: pizza + quesadilla?!)

Simple, Easy to Make, Lauren loved them and Tyler gagged because of the "soggy olives" (his words.)

shredded mozzarella, chopped pepperoni, chopped olives, sprinkle of salt

top with a another tortilla and heat on the stove-top until cheese is melted

Pizzadilla + salad + strawberries = a very tasty dinner on the fly

I had a salad (the one pictured below) with a veggie burger crumbled on top.
(These dinners on the fly aren't so hard...I'll have to do this more often.)

Currently the kiddos are all snuggled up in the basement watching a movie. I'll let them fall asleep in this bed but come later this evening this will be my bed.

They will be moved to their sleeping bags on the floor.

I better finish this post before the power/internet/phone goes out. Stay safe tonight and sleep tight.

holy jalapeno!

I love anything and everything spicy and until I made this soup I thought nothing could be too spicy for me. Holy jalapeno was I wrong! Here's what I did based on this recipe.

Mexican-Inspired Vegetable Soup (the holy jalapeno version)

Ingredients:
2 c. frozen green beans, broken into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced (from a jar)
2 small zucchini, cubed
14 oz can diced tomatoes, with jalapeno peppers
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
5 tomatillos, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced (include each and every seed!)
1 medium poblano chile, finely chopped (again include every seed)
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground cumin
6 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. roasted red peppers, water-packed (about 2 peppers)
2 T. canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from 2 limes
light sour cream

Instructions:

Place green beans, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, tomatillos, jalapenos and poblano into a large pot. Add the oregano, cumin and broth. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a food processor (or blender;) Stir into soup. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Serve in bowl. Taste, choke and then add a 1/2 T. light sour cream to calm things down. holy jalapeno!

To go with the soup, I made Tomato-Herb Focaccia from my Taste of Home magazine. (Feb. Mar. 2011) I used the exact same ingredients so instead of repeating them (which can be found by clicking on the link) I'll just skim through the directions instead.

I used a food processor to mix the proofed yeast, olive oil and other dry ingredients. Instead of kneading for 6-8 minutes (I don't knead) I simply pulsed the food processor for 25 seconds. (much quicker and less muscle.) I turned the dough out to a floured surface, rolled it into a ball, placed it in a bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes (until it doubled in size.)

Then punch down dough and let rest 10 minutes or until you're done chasing the kids around the house trying to get them to quit fighting!

Shape into a rectangle and place on your newest favorite kitchen gadget. How have I lived without this thing all these years?!

If you haven't had a chance to get to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy the Professional Baking Mat than place your rectangle focaccia dough onto a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.With finger tips, make several dimples over top of dough. Brush dough with 1 T. olive oil, arrange tomatoes over top and sprinkle with the cheese. Go heavy on the cheese if you want your kids to LOVE it. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Gorgeous!

Serve with holy jalapeno soup IF YOU DARE. (I ate the H.J. soup but I made Progresso Chicken Noodle soup for the Hubs and Kids and their sensitive taste buds.)

I sweated so much after eating this serving of soup. Hopefully I burned a significant number of calories because I felt like I just worked out. I challange my sister-in-law Mili (after she has the baby, of course (aka my nephew Patrick) to try this. I think it compares in spiciness to her Aji Salsa recipe!

rain and tears make one soggy day

***I love comments***
I woke up with the intentions of working out...well, actually I went to bed with the intentions of working out today. Since it stays dark until close to 8 o'clock the kids and I all slept in until...close to 8 o'clock. Since my step class started at 9:30 I decided we just wouldn't make it. One of these days I'm going to get serious again. In my defense, however, I have been pretty good about getting 30 min. of exercise a day either on the treadmill at home or walking around the neighborhood.

So instead of working out we just puttered around the house playing silly games and watching way too much Disney channel. (we all have one of those days don't we?) I did make the important discovery/decision at breakfast today while Tyler was eating his yogurt that he definitely is cleaner and more accurate with his left hand. He grabs the spoon with whatever hand he wants but right-handed he flips it over and sends it into his mouth upside down and eats whatever didn't fall off in the process. His left hand sends the food directly into his mouth without the unnecessary flip over. Time will tell if he truly is in his right mind like I am.

This afternoon, during a torrential downpour, Lauren had her 4 yr old check-up with the Dr. I tell you, it's a major hassle to get 2 kids, a stroller, a heavy diaper bag, and 2 umbrellas out of an SUV and across the river of a parking lot and into the office. We were all soaked but at least it was almost 70 degrees.

The fun part of Lauren's appointment was getting her measurements and passing her hearing and vision tests. During her hearing test she wore headphones and was instructed to say "beep" whenever she heard a beep. She was a little nervous and displayed this with attitude. Whenever she heard a beep she said "beep, hmph" Every time!! Even the nurse made a mention of it. I'm going to have to work with her about this attitude because she said "hmph" with a total scowl. When we had her raise her hand to the beep she did better. As for the vision test she stood a ways from a kiddie eye chart. They had pictures of circles, stars, flags and moons and such. She did great...calling a plus sign a cross and a moon a crescent. I was proud.

And her measurements...drumroll...Weight: 35lbs Height: 39inches Blood Pressure!! 88/149 Dr. J said she's right on the middle of the growth chart. Based on her growth over her 4 years he predicts she will be about 5'4". He's very surprised at this since both Matt and I are so tall. I told him I have a short aunt near the 5 foot mark (am I off by too much, Aunt Karen?) And Grammy (I hate to say it) isn't that tall herself...5'5", 5'6"?? Oh well, so she'll be petite and cute...

(sorry this is dragging on...I'm watching Survivor while I'm typing this)

And last but not least Lauren got 4 shots today. Don't tell her but this was my choice. I could have spaced them out over 3 years but I opted to get them all over with today. Now she won't need anymore shots until she's 10. She cried and cried and Tyler cried too since this appointment was in the middle of their nap. At least the rain had stopped by the time we left.



Back at home I made a dish from my new Indian cookbook. It was called Pork Kheema but I used ground chicken instead because it was cheaper. It was delicious and very very spicy. I gave the kids a small serving and Tyler even tried it but I could tell it was a little too warm for him. He only had a couple bites. They loved the melted peanut butter dip for their flat bread though.

After dinner we went straight to bath and got ready for bed. Tyler actually fell asleep on my lap while I was reading our 3 bedtime stories. And after all of it both kids were in bed by 7:15. And now it's probably time for me to concentrate on Survivor and soon Big Brother. (I should go to meetings....My name is Christine and I'm a reality tv show addict.)