Death comes to us all....

This week we had a tradgedy....our Blend Tec cup had to go to a better place! :( I learned the hard way that you really shouldn't put the cup in the dishwasher, not matter how infrequent.  Here is the devastating photo:

  Fortunately, my wonderful MIL is giving me her 2-cup to use for the time being.

On a more happy note, I have some great photos of some wonderful meals we have experienced over the last few weeks of march.  April brings the task of a garden.  I have researched a pizza garden through Lowe's Home 101 and am also looking to create a salad garden as well as herbs.  I am also planning on planting some marigolds and lavender around the edge of our porch.

Let's bring on those food photos!!

 My own Cajun rub! (well put together myself!)

 I brushed the Salmon with EVOO; check out that redness!!

 It sizzled quite nicely!

We had a simple meal of bell peppers and salmon.  Ada has really taken a liking to peppers.  I have also noticed that Ada really loves any food with color! (the true sign of a healthy child; most unhealthy foods are all tan/brown)

 The ingredients for Craisin Salad dressing!

 Yummy salad...dressed and ready for eating!

 Pan-seared salmon!

 A great combo!

 Ada LOVES salmon!! She can't get enough!!

Trying some craisins!

Hopefully with the starting of a garden, I will be posting more.  The end of March is always busy for us teachers.  With state testing looming overhead, you almost have not mental energy for anything else!  But after April 15th I will have lots of free mental time!! :) 

Thanks for those of you who have supported me through this!  My husband and I recently visited Sedona and painted the inside of our house! As soon as I get my photos off my phone I will be posting about that trip.  We had some WONDERFUL eating experiences!!

Here's to Health! Cheers!

PS- I think I have FINALLY, successfully, added an email follow action! Let me know if not! ;)

salmon soup!

Tonight I wanted a repeat of some good salmon eating!! I found a great recipe on realsimple.com. It was called: Salmon, Sweet Potato, Broccoli Chowder!  It may sound weird, but it was quite delicious.  We followed up our meal with some processed garlic bread! (oh well....it's a fav from when we were first married!)  The chowder had thyme and a bay leaf as the main seasonings.  I am completely a fan of thyme, however, Lowell says that anything that has thyme tastes like a Christmas candle!! LOL  I took a risk (again!) and made it anyway.  Still resulted in the Christmas candle comment! Lowell couldn't finish it, but I loved it!!

I am taking it to a friend at work who I sometimes trade food/recipes with! (she is also doing a green smoothie everyday!)

The next thing I am looking to try is the "Chocolate Banana Mylk Shake."  It has TONS of spinach, a banana and cacao powder! My MIL made it for me and I loved it!! She got the recipe from my SIL and her husband (who's a processed eater like me!) really loved it!! I tasted it for the first time a week ago, was a little (okay a lot) suspicious! It seriously was amazing!  It looked green, but tasted exactly like a chocolate-banana milk shake!! :)

Also, I have been reading a lot of Living Raw by Grace! Love her stuff!! (she also has a cook book...hint...hint)  I just saw some pics of a raw lasagna and I TOTALLY want to try it! It looked really good in the pics...we shall see!

Speaking of pics...here are mine from tonight! :)

 

onions...chopped quite nicely with my alligator (sorry Gordon)...sauteing in butter!

 add flour...

 another angle...

 whole milk (not organic...oops) and broccoli (frozen)...

 frozen salmon filets...

 sweet potato...also chopped with my alligator...(okay, okay, it's Kaysie's!)

 milk, onions, and chicken broth simmering...

 added the rest + thyme, 2 bay leaves, salt and pepper....simmer for 8 minutes....add salmon and broccoli...simmer for another 5 minutes! ( I was amazed at how fast the salmon cooked from the heat of the soup!)

 Finished product!! Delicious!! I froze the rest to enjoy later!! :)

***Because I know you can't resist, here are some pics of the little girl!! She is definitely a fan of salmon, although she didn't have any tonight!! Here's to health! Cheers!

 "Ooh, those onions burn my eyes!"

 "Sweet potatoes?! YUMMY!!"

 "Aww...broccoli..."

"Can I please have some!?" (signing please btw)

long time no post...

Well it's almost March!! This means a third step...it looks like salads, salads and more salads!  I have attempted a few salads, but then an evil cold took over and I have been quite unmotivated! However, I feel myself coming back!!  Just in time for my sis-in-law too! :)  I have also started following "livingrawbygrace.com"  I recieved this from a friend a work and it has some GREAT info!!  I am not sure if I am going to take the "raw" plunge, but it is on the horizon!  I have been doing a little better recently with photos of my cooking adventures.  I have still stuck to my smoothie habit ( a few days without) and I am feeling great about that! My weight has been consistently under 130 lbs which is quite exciting...but enough about me...here are some food fotos! (i like the F-F)

 Made some chicken with adobo seasoning...apparently they don't just sell this stuff anywhere!

 sliced and diced some chicken and jalapenos!

 cooked up some tortillas...

 put it all together...add some cheese...

 a great Saturday meal...Lowell loved it!!  (even the sour cream + cholula sauce)

 who can resist a smoothie picture...one happy family!

 pasta...

 butter + italian bread cumbs + parmesan cheese...

 add tuna...

 milk and sour cream....

 ready to bake!

 I added peas after cooking...because that's when I found them!

 oranges from a local tree....(tammy's)

 an hour or so of work...

 the tools...

 the finished product! (bring on the vitamin C!)

 a fun treat...just because! (snickerdoodles...btw)

I think Chino's would be jealous! :p

Now that I feel I have my energy back, my goal is to really get into the salads daily and blogging as well.  It's just that all the teaching, tutoring, Ada, Lowell, our house, our pets, and many other things just take up so much energy....but I am bound and determine to enhance my time management!! Just the life of a working mom/wife...I am sure many of you can relate! Kudos to you who have more than one child!! :)  Here's to health! Cheers!

2/3/11

Cabbage Salad: Take 1!! Okay...today I finally prepped and stored the greens I bought last weekend.  I still need to go buy some frozen fruit...not ready for a "pure" green smoothie yet! :p  This week's greens consisted of romaine lettuce, red-leaf lettuce, fresh spinach and swiss chard.  The spinach must have been fresh because there was a pound of dirt on it!! I had to wash it twice which got me thinking about the fact that I don't have a salad spinner!! However, my birthday will be here before I know it! ;)

Here are some lovely photos of my greens prep:

 All the greens ready to go!!

 Swiss chard!

 Romaine lettuce

 Red-leaf lettuce...notice the dark tips...otherwise looks like romaine to me..

 Fresh spinach....I swear they left the roots on!! (should have tried to sprout this!)

Bagged and ready for the freezer! (my recycled bags!!)

Tonight for dinner we had the cabbage salad and some seasoned chicken fingers.  Let me tell you it was A-MA-ZING!!  The salad dressing had a little bit of a kick, but I enjoyed it.  The sesame sticks add a bit of a smokey flavor which tied everything together perfectly! The chicken was tasty, a little on the dry side. (probably cooked it too long...duh!)  Otherwise, enjoy the photos of the process!

 Ingredients for the salad: green cabbage, mandarin oranges, grapes, and sesame sticks!

 Starting line-up for the dressing: apple cider vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard, onion and sea salt.

 The coveted Blend Tec!

 Chicken fingers seasoned with seasoning salt, old bay and cajun seasoning. (odd combo, but I love it!)

Green cabbage....

 + mandarin oranges...

 + sesame sticks...(i prefer these over the chinese noodles the recipe calls for)

 + grapes! (the recipe says to cut them in half...but I didn't feel like it!)

 blending the dressing...

 a beautifully dressed salad!

 yummy chicken...

 One satisfied customer! :D

 Ada also enjoyed some chicken and sesame sticks! (even though they have gluten...)

And sometimes, one cup isn't enough...

Even though I think I could eat cabbage salad for the rest of the week, I think I'll just do one more day and then try a new one!  Hope you enjoyed today's post!  This new step has given me some new motivation to photograph and blog! Here's to health! Cheers!