Chopsticks
Posted: April 27, 2011 Filed under: dinner | Tags: brown rice, cabbage, chopsticks, stir fry 2 Comments »I got to use my new chopsticks last night! They are so fun!
I made a simple chicken stir fry and cabbage slaw. Yep, I said chicken. I just wanted lots of little things to pick up with the sticks!
Simple Chicken Stir Fry
- 1 small onion deiced
- 1 small organic happy chicken breasts chopped into bite size pieces
- 2-3 carrots chopped
- 1 head of broccoli – I used leftover roasted broccoli with this but you could just cook it off before adding to the stir fry
- 1 serving brown rice
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- shake/grate of ginger
- sesame seeds
- sriracha sauce
- Cook brown rice as directed
- cook onion down until soft
- Add chicken to onion and cook to 90%
- Add carrots and broccoli to heat through – I liked keeping the carrots crunchy!
- Mix soy sauce, ginger and sesame seeds and pour over stir fry mix
- Serve up the rice and top with stir fry
- Blob on a little or a lot of sriracha sauce!
The cabbage slaw was just about 1/4 head of cabbage shredded and coated in a dressing of olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and s&p.
Enjoy, but you must eat with chopsticks!
Wedding Update! Bridesmaids dresses are finally ordered and I am getting antsy I should be doing more than I am! What could I be forgetting? Ideas?
Oh Summer Summer
Posted: April 25, 2011 Filed under: dinner | Tags: black bean burgers, broccoli, dinner, garden, mushrooms 1 Comment »It feels like summer outside! It was 85 today and super humid. At least I got to go barefoot outside and my plants have finally made it out on the balcony!
The need a little love and I am hoping that with a little sun light and fresh air they will be happy in no time! I am also planning my garden and I think I will make things a little more simple this year – tomatoes, peppers, herbs and maybe some lettuce. Pots are just really hard to manage due to watering.
Summer weather also had me craving burgers!
I opted for Daily Garnish’s vegan black bean burgers in the oven – no grills allowed.
These suckers are so good! The cinnamon definitely makes them. Along with my burgers I roasted up some broccoli and sautéed some onions and mushrooms with salsa sauce.
Salsa sauce is just salsa thickened with tomato paste. I felt it would be good with the spices in the burger.
Time to hangout with Sissy and enjoy the cool breezes!
Happy Easter!
Posted: April 24, 2011 Filed under: Easter | Tags: Easter, registry, wedding 1 Comment »I got to go home for Easter and spend time with family! I haven’t been home since my mom’s birthday in October…way too long.
My mom even got some things off of our wedding registry for Easter!
Napkins, cheese knife, chopsticks and stackable blue glasses. I think Nick is most excited about the cheese knife. We love cheese!
It was nice to get home and not have Nick jump on a bus after work but it made Sunday even worse. Not only did I have to leave him, but I had to leave the rest of my family behind as well.
At least I got to come home to my Sissy Pants!
Meatless Monday Meal
Posted: April 18, 2011 Filed under: Meatless Monday | Tags: beans, dinner, Meatless Monday, rutabaga, salad Leave a comment »Happy Meatless Monday! I haven’t had a Meatless Monday post in while but I seem to have a ton of food in my fridge at the moment (probably why my grocery bill was $40 more than usual this week 
). This led me to make some beans and chickpeas from “scratch” and make hummus and a giant salad with bean toppings.
Sautéed onion with navy beans, spinach, mixed greens blue cheese and homemade mustard and vinegar dressing.
Rutabaga fries of the side with more dressing.
Delicious and finished off with an Adora disk aka my calcium supplement.
Off to watch a new House and work on wedding things! The wedding is really excited but weighing very heavy on my mind.
Happy end to Monday!
First Gifts!
Posted: April 17, 2011 Filed under: wedding | Tags: smoothie, wedding 1 Comment »Today Nick and I got our first wedding presents from a friend who will not be able to attend our wedding!
I love kitchen gadgets and now we finally have a kitchen timer that is not a knob on a stove from 1980. I was so excited about the spoon straws I had a smoothie for dinner.
- Amazing Grass Superfood
- mixed frozen berries
- banana
- yogurt
- milk
Today I also got to attend Nick’s sister (Katie) bridal shower. It make me anxious about being the center of attention. I don’t like being the center of attention at all. As a kid, yes. Now I really do not like it probably because with the attention comes expectations. People expect your wedding to have certain things and Nick and I are pretty far from the normal line. I just hope people will understand that times are changing and we will have worked really hard to make our wedding our own. I am really grateful for having Katie around because she has been where I am and has a lot of insight as far as planning goes. It is also nice to talk to other brides because I feel that when it is all I can think about I could start to annoy people.
160 days to go!!!!
Rant and Some Dinner
Posted: April 11, 2011 Filed under: dinner | Tags: dinner, Sicily, wedding 1 Comment »Hello and Happy Monday!
So this wedding planning business has been at least 2x harder than I thought it would be originally. I did not know that I was going to need to know the hourly breakout of my wedding 5 months before it actually happens or that if you want a bridesmaids dress that is not black, blue or brown it will be really hard to find the exact color you DO want. I have flighty caterers and have already put way more miles on my car than I wanted to when gas is $3.75/gal. I think I am my own worst enemy with all of this because I am a list maker and a planner. I do not just wing things, just ask Nick. I want to get as much done as possible as soon as possible so I am not scrambling near the end. It’s not that I don’t want to be all calm and make my wedding a really relaxed party, but I want it to be a perfect relaxed party. It is also really hard because Nick is still living in NYC during the week so I am making these plans alone and on weekends we have to rush around to get things done. My mom and future MIL have been great lending me a hand and visiting, but I am missing my other half.
I just cannot wait for 9/24/2011 to get here already! But not too quickly because I don’t have everything ready yet!
At least Sissy had a nice relaxing afternoon on the deck! It was 85 today!
Warmer weather had me craving salad! We now have local hoop house greens at Whole Foods, which are amazing! Hoop Houses allow you to grow things earlier in the growing season without using fossil fuel and use more of a plastic greenhouse effect that heat the insides. Their lettuce is so buttery!
- head of red leaf lettuce (they are smaller heads than the conventional)
- serving of cooked quinoa
- grilled portabello with rosemary
- mahon cheese amazing – calves stomach lining and all
- 1 slices of toasted Great Harvest Dakota Bread
- dressing – EVOO, red wine vinegar, brown mustard, s&p
When life is stressing me out I still want to make sure I am keeping balance! It is basically the only way I stay sane! Short jaunt and the gym and a delicious dinner. Keep chugging along and we will get there.
Curry and Coconut
Posted: April 7, 2011 Filed under: dinner, recipe | Tags: coconut milk, collard greens, curry, recipe, soup Leave a comment »When I read about KERF’s coconut shrimp and kale soup I knew exactly what I wanted to make for dinner! I switched up her recipe a little and made it vegetarian, but I think it would be equally delicious. I haven’t met anything that mixes coconut and curry that I didn’t like.
I had a can of coconut milk hanging around just begging to be used so she went into the pot!
Along with the coconut milk:
- 1 carton of veggie broth
- 1 bag of frozen mixed greens or one head of kale/mustard greens/collards
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 can coconut milk
- shake of nutmeg
- 1 clove of garlic pressed
- small dash of salt – already sodium in the broth!
- 1 can of chickpeas drained
Throw everything in a pot and let simmer for 30min. Serve with delicious bread aka Great Harvest Dakota bread!
Time to get back to cleaning!
Wedding Update!
Posted: April 3, 2011 Filed under: wedding | Tags: wedding, wedding dress 7 Comments »I have a dress!!!!!!
I went to J.Crew this weekend with my mom and maid of honor to try on dresses. Ever since J.Crew came out with a wedding line I have basically known that I would be getting my wedding dress there. They are not your typical wedding dresses with long trains and lots of glitz, but that is exactly what I wanted. To me the wedding is not about the dress. I have never seen an ugly bride, everyone looks amazing on their wedding day – so the dress doesn’t make you. I wanted a dress that I could feel comfortable in and be able to party with my friends. I really want my wedding to be a fun experience for everyone and a stuff stiff wedding dress does not fit that bill. I cannot wait to find the perfect earrings and hair pins to match!
This was the runner up:
My dress was just more me and this one had a small train and was heavy on my shoulders.
Other things that are D-O-N-E
- Venue
- DJ
- Photographer
- Dress
- Hotel
- B&B for wedding party
Need to DO:
- Figure out photo package
- playlist
- finalize caterer
- look into day of wedding planner
- visit Aveda salon in Lancaster
- settle on invite method
- purchase things for out of town bags
- figure out brides maids dresses
- N’s suit
- My jewelry….
- And on, and on, and on….
The most important thing for me to remember through this whole this is that I need to breath and remember that everything will work out the way it is supposed to!
