It's beginning to look a lot like SPRING!

 There are a few more things to do to it but my little kitchen garden is starting to take shape.  5

 Finally got the picnic table stained that the big guy got me for our anniversary in April  Looking forward to a lot of meals outside on this.

Salad mix in the hanging basket and chives, parsley and thyme in the 3 tiered planter.

Easy like a Sunday morning

6 large eggs

1 cup favorite cheese ( I used colby )

1 tablespoon ricotta cheese

salt

pepper

thyme

3-4 pieces of cooked bacon chopped

Wisk together all ingredients.

Grease with olive oil 3 of the holes in an extra large muffin tin.  Fill empty holes with 1/4 cup water.  Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.  

ENJOY!!!

Week 3

 This was an experiment that went well.
 When I lived in Florida a woman I worked with was from Peru and she gave me this recipe for a green sauce that is very tasty.  It has been years since I made it and out of the blue I was craving some.  In the past we had used it on chili, spaghetti and Mexican dishes.  I had chicken to cook and decided to see how it worked together.

The Green Sauce
1 green bell pepper
2-3 jalapenos
1 onion
4-5 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sea salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Combine all ingredients in processor and mix adding Olive Oil slowly.  (Sorry I didn't measure how much I used.) You don't want it too runny.  You want it all finely diced and combined but somewhat thick in consistency.

I took 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut into strips
Then marinated the chicken in soy sauce, a pinch of red pepper and ginger.  Let marinate while you cook up a pot of rice. (brown or white would work)
Saute the chicken in olive oil until cooked through.

Serve the chicken over rice and top with a spoon full or two of the green sauce.  I served it with toasted garlic bread.

I will be making this one again soon.  It was that good.

Week 2 Recipe Challenge

Ham and Bean Soup

First, I soaked 1 1 pound bag of northern beans over night.  You could also use canned but be sure and  drain and rinse.

In a large stock pot I filled 3/4 with water and I added a large ham bone, celery tops and a couple of bay leaves and some fresh cracked black pepper.  I let that simmer for a couple of hours on low.  Strain and set aside.

I then sauteed one diced onion, 3 diced celery stalks, 3 diced medium carrots.

I added about 2 cups of diced ham.

Next, add the ham stock and beans and simmer covered for about an hour on low or you could add all ingredients in your crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours.

I served with cornbread and it was delicious!

Week 1 of my personal recipe challenge

In 2011 one of my New Year's resolutions was to try one new recipe each week. For the most part I did very well with this resolution and even into 2012 I continued.   One thing I wish I would have done though is keep better track of those that I made.  So through 2013 I will again be making a new recipe each week only this time, record the ones I've tried, any thing I'd do differently and how we liked it.
This week the recipe was chosen by The Big Guy.  We were on a short road trip and I was reading the January issue of Food Network Magazine when he looked over and saw the picture of 'Nacho Chicken Drumsticks' and replied...OH we HAVE to try those.
Sundays seem to be the days that I have the most time to experiment so yesterday I tried the recipe and neither of us was disappointed, especially not him. :-)


Nacho Chicken Drumsticks from food network magazine
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 9 oz bag tortilla chips finely crushed ( I used about 5 cups)
4 large eggs
12 medium chicken drumsticks
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt
1 1/2 Cups grated cheddar, jack or muenster cheese ( I used cheddar)
Fresh salsa, guacamole and sliced jalapenos for topping

Put the flour in a large bowl.  Put the crushed chips in another large bowl and whisk the eggs in a third bowl. Coat each drumstick with flour. One at a time, dip each drumstick in the beaten egg and then dredge in the crushed chips turning to coat.  Place on a baking sheet until ready to fry.
Pre heat oven to 425 degrees.  Fill a large pan with 3 inches of vegetable oil and heat over medium high heat until a deep fry thermometer registers 350 degrees.  Working in batches, fry the drumsticks until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes.  Drain on paper towels.

Arrange the drumsticks on a large ovenproof pan and sprinkle with the cheese.  Bake until the cheese melts, about 4 or 5 minutes.  to with salsa, guacamole and jalapenos.

ENJOY!!

Week 1 was a success.  It isn't something we will eat often but I see it being requested during football season. 

Here is to 2013!!

When I first started this blog a few years ago my main focus at the time was simplifying my life, figuring out ways to live a more sustainable lifestyle and getting adjusted to moving back to the Midwest after living in SW Florida for 20 years.
Well I have adjusted to my community and I realize now that living in a sustainable and simple way is an ongoing lifestyle that I will continue to grow in and learn more about each day.

About a year or so later my interest in cooking flourished and I focused on recipes and food.  In fact, my New Years resolution in 2011 was to try one new recipe a week which I did.  We ate really well in 2011 and I had a lot of fun while learning new techniques.  I realize now that my interest in growing and cooking food really ties into my simple/sustainable lifestyle.

2012 I didn't blog once.  I was busy living and doing and didn't feel the urge to blog about it.  It was a great year though.  November of 2011 I finally found a job that I LOVE as an administrative assistant for a group of awesome doctors.  My husband and I found the perfect for us home in April and on my birthday it became ours. And our relationships and life has continued to flourish.

Now it is January 1st 2013 and I feel the urge to blog again.  What direction or genre this blog will take...I do not know.  I know I plan to continue cooking from scratch, growing some of our food, making our house our home and living as simply as possible. We have a lot of home projects planned for this year.  I am making plans for our garden.  I will be reading a lot of good books. I will be watching a few good movies.  I will be spending time with the ones I love and  I intend to live, laugh, learn and love a LOT this year. So if any of those things interest you, I'd love to have you follow along on the ride.

So here is to 2013...may all our dreams come true!!!

And the journey continues...

The New Year isn't a do-over; it's an opportunity to take your next big step. 

As I read that in Whole Living Magazine (http://www.wholeliving.com/) today it really made me stop and think.  I truly love New Years, I always have.  I've never been one to set 'resolutions' so to speak instead opting  to take stock in my life and set the groundwork for goals that I want to achieve in the coming year.

This year is no exception. I have the goals that I've decided on to help me continue on the path I'm taking all mapped out.  They are pretty much off springs of goals from this year, I'm just Amping things up a notch, taking 'that next big step'.

I eat pretty well but I could use a little boost, switch some things up a little and one thing I've wanted to do is a detox plan.  I've done mini ones here and there over the years but I never really gave 100% in following one until now.

This plan focuses on getting back to basics and giving your body a break by taking out the things that slow you down and make your body work harder like dairy, gluten, sugar, caffeine, alcohol and processed foods.  It says in the article that by week three clean eating will be more like a lifestyle and less like a challenge as some things are reintroduced. 

I found the New Year New You plan from again Whole Living Magazine and I'm going to do it and keep track of my progress here on my blog.  Now just in case someone is actually reading, I want to say as much as I love this magazine I have NO affiliation with the magazine, website, company whatsoever!!  I am not trying to promote anything.  I am not a professional in the food, nutrition or writing arena.  I am simply using my personal blog as a journal to document for myself and anyone that may be interested in reading. 

I will be officially starting this New Years day.

Now the plan advises before the challenge to  do a few things to aid in success.  The first thing is to write down five things that this detox means to you and what you hope to achieve so here we go.

1.  Up my intake of fresh fruit daily.
2.  Up my intake of fresh veggies daily.
3.  Increase my energy and stamina.
4.  Clear my head.
5.  Over all health.

Next it advises you to prepare the people in your life especially anyone that shares meals with you so that they know what you are doing and how important it is to you.  Check.

Invite a friend to join you.  Check.  When I told my husband that I was going to do this he said he wanted to do it with me.  I'm all for him joining me in this. We'll see how that all goes.

Drink plenty of water.  Check.  That is one good habit that I already have. 

Space out your meals by eating every three to five hours (including snacks) rather than non stop nibbling to keep your metabolism even.  Check. I already do this also.  YAY...maybe I'm a tiny bit ahead of the game.

Keep a food journal.  Track what, when, where you eat as well as your feelings before, during and after.  I have a new little notebook to do this in plus I will be keeping track here on my blog.

Stick to each week's menu. The different phases of the cleanse offer different foods for a reason so don't jump ahead.  OK, I will remind myself of that.  Probably often.  I know this won't be easy but I'm going to give it a shot.

This week I'm going to be going over the menu and recipes to get prepared for New Years Day.  I'm not usually very good at following a strict eating plan so sending some positive vibes in my direction would be helpful.

Hope anyone that made it through this is enjoying the holiday season and taking some time out to reflect.