Love

Tonight after dinner we were sitting around chatting. Grace crawled into my lap, wrapped her arms around my neck, and said, "Daddy. Me and mom, we're in love with each other". Then she proceeded to hug and kiss me.

Gracie, I'm in love with you too.

Jillian 30 Day Shred Giveaway!

One of my BFF's & cousin (Melissa) is part of a blog titled Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. It is a wonderful place to get support for weight-loss, or just living a healthier lifestyle.

I highly recommend that you check it out & if you like what you see, enter to win their Shred giveaway! Then you can spend the next 30 days Shredding with Jillan and the Sisterhood. Perfect timing since summer is just around the corner.

FYI: If you don't know what Shred is, I will fill you in a little. It is an action-packed 20 minute DVD by Jillian of The Biggest Loser. There are three levels to advance through & if you do it for 30 days straight you should be looking fine for summer!

Can you guess what I'll be doing tonight?

In case you are wondering, half on the Blazer is actually off the driveway. It is resting on the rocks in the culvert.

Pork Medallions with Olive-Caper Sauce

This is, according to my husband, the best recipe that I make. Aside from steak and other manly things, of course. Honestly though, he makes better steak than I do that this is probably truly his favorite thing that I make for him. The great thing about this is all 3 of my kids like it to & so do I!! It is a miracle! The only complaint I get is that I should have made more. This recipe sounds fancy, but it is really a very simple & quick dish to make.

Pork Medallions with Olive-Caper Sauce

WW Points Per Serving: 6

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted kalamata olives

2 tablespoons capers

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Cut pork crosswise into 8 pieces. Place each pork piece between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of the pork with salt and pepper. Place the flour in a shallow bowl. Dredge pork in flour, turning to coat; shake off the excess flour. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of pork, and cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove pork mixture from pan, and keep warm. Repeat procedure with the remaining oil and pork. Return pork to pan. Add wine and broth; bring to a boil. Stir in olives and capers; cook 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 medallions and 2 tablespoons sauce)

CALORIES 212 (34% from fat); FAT 8.1g (sat 1.8g,mono 5.1g,poly 0.9g); IRON 2.7mg; CHOLESTEROL 74mg; CALCIUM 30mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.1g; SODIUM 894mg; PROTEIN 25.5g; FIBER 0.9g Cooking Light, JUNE 200

Champagne-Feta Risotto

Today I have a couple of recipes to share. I took them from the Cooking Light website, myrecipes.com which is free and FABULOUS. I highly recommend it. The two recipes I have to share are a favorite of my family. I pretty much always serve them together, maybe with a veggie to round it out.

Here is the first:

Champagne-Feta Risotto

WW Points Per Serving: 3

1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
2 (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
1/2 cup Champagne or white wine
2/3 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Bring the first 3 ingredients to a simmer in a medium saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté 3 minutes. Add rice; sauté 2 minutes. Stir in Champagne; cook 1 minute or until the liquid is absorbed. Stir in 1 cup broth mixture; cook for 5 minutes or until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 25 minutes total). Stir in feta. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 cup risotto and 1 tablespoon Parmesan)CALORIES 331 (27% from fat); FAT 10.1g (sat 4.9g,mono 4.1g,poly 0.6g); IRON 2.6mg; CHOLESTEROL 24mg; CALCIUM 204mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.8g; SODIUM 835mg; PROTEIN 12.4g; FIBER 1.5g Cooking Light, APRIL 2000

Safe on the hill

Right now I am really appreciating our high & at times, windy, location North of Bismarck. We have stayed safe & dry & for that I am thankful. Not everyone has been so fortunate though. Please send your thoughts & prayers their way. I honestly don't have words to describe the sadness I feel for all those affected.

Here is a slide show of pictures of the flooding throughout the region. http://bismarcktribune.com/shared-content/story_tools/slideshow/?type=slideshow&id=89

Menu Planning Monday

Well, since I missed Thursday, I will post my menu today. We had a fun & busy weekend which I hope to blog about later. Anyway...

Week One:

Monday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, & Side Salad

Tuesday: Crispy Chicken Fingers, Seasoned Potato Cubes, Side Salad

Wednesday: Pork Medallions with Olive Caper Sauce & Champagne-Feta Risotto

Thursday: Apple & Horseradish Glazed Salmon, Rice, & a veggie

Week 2:

Friday: Homemade Pizza

Saturday: Oven Baked Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Veggie

Sunday: Every Man For Himself

Monday: Beef Short Ribs w. JD Grilling Glaze &...Something else (I dislike ribs)

Tuesday: Creamy Italian Chicken, Rice, Veggie

Wednesday: Wasabi & Panko Crusted Pork & Gingered Soy Sauce, Rice, Veggie

Thursday: Parmesan Herb Tilapia

The World's Best Cosmo

I found this recipe here. I'm not sure if it is the world's best, but is divine. A friend of mine has given me her Cosmo recipe a couple of times, but it calls for flavored vodka & I never remember to grab it when I'm at the liquor store. If I wasn't sitting here lazily enjoying my cosmo so much I would get my camera & take a picture of it to show you just how pretty it is:-)

UPDATED WITH PICTURE! Wow! Please disregard the dust. Someone needs to spend less time making pretty drinks and more time cleaning;-)

The World's Best Cosmo

In a cocktail shaker, combine with ice:
2 oz vodka
1 oz Rose's lime juice
1 oz triple sec
anywhere from a splash to 2 oz cranberry juice, depending on your preference (I think 1 oz. is perfect)

Mix well and pour into a glass. Add a slice of lime for garnish and enjoy!

Weighing In

Well, I did it. I got on the scale today and tracked my weight on the Weight Watchers site for the first time since February 11th. I am up 1.6 pounds. It could be worse. My saving grace has been that I have been very good about getting my exercise in. I am recommitting to Weight Watchers starting today and recording every bite I put in my mouth. I would really like to be down another 10 pounds by summer. Or 20....

Living the hockey life

That is what it is feeling like anyway. This weekend consisted of hockey, hockey, & more hockey due to Kade being in the Bismarck Hockey Tournament over the weekend. For the next 2 weeks he will have practice on all but 2 days in preparation for the Grand Forks tournament March 20-22. I may complain a little, but I really love to watch him play. I think he is awesome:-)

His team, that had only been playing together for 1 week, took 3rd place in the tournament over the weekend. They played so well together. We also got to see my uncle Scotts son Casey play, which was fun. I sure wish I would have taken some pictures but I forgot my camera, of course. I better remember it for Grand Forks!

I also signed Gracie up for gymnastics today!! She is so excited! As we were walking out we ran into a mom of one of Kade's friends who commented on how she couldn't believe Gracie was in gymnastics already. She said, "She is so little!" When we got to the car Grace said, "She said I'm little!! I am not little! I am big!"

My 2 Week Meal Plan

I know a few of you do Meal Planning Monday, which I think is a great idea. For me, Mondays don't work & I prefer to plan & make my list on Wednesday and shop on Thursday. I have been trying out a 2 week meal plan for the last month or so. I is supposed to save time as well as money & so far, I think it has. It does, however, require careful planning & list making! So...here is my plan!

Week 1:

Friday: Taco Night

Saturday: Spaghetti, Texas Toast Garlic Bread, & Side Salad

Sunday: Leftovers or Fend for yourself!

Monday: Cheeseburger Roll-up, Fries, Side Salad

Tuesday: White Chicken Chili (a meal from the freezer cooking night I recently had with girlfriends) & Beer Bread- Tony should be a be able to handle this it is a busy hockey night so I won't have time to cook

Wednesday: Kung Pao Pork, Rice, Egg Rolls w. Sweet & Sour, & Egg Drop Soup

Thursday: Halibut Fillets with Teriyaki Sauce, Some type of veggie, & Baked Potatoes with choice of toppers

Week 2:

Friday: Taco Night

Saturday: Pizza Calzone (another meal from my freezer cooking night, we will again be busy with hockey games)

Sunday: Leftovers or fend for yourself!

Monday: Lasagna & Garlic Bread (again, busy with hockey meal out of freezer)

Tuesday: Crispy Chicken Fingers, Seasoned Potato Cubes, & Side Salad

Wednesday: Pork Chops with Apples & Stuffing & Some Type of Veggie

Thursday: Saucy Shrimp, Rice, Broccoli

Bon Appetit!

Yup, still alive!

Hmm...who looks more into this to you? I am sensing a HS yearbook picture here. Daddy being a good sport & dancing with the princess;-)

Okay, I know it has been forever but I decided I would bite the bullet and post something. I think the winter blues may have gotten to me a bit & I just didn't feel like writing anything. As you can see, Quinn has discovered how fun it is to engage in princess dress up. He does make a beautiful princess, doesn't he?

During my blogging hiatus, Quinn celebrated his 6th Birthday. I can hardly believe he is so old already! He chose to have a swimming party complete with pizza & cake. It was alot of fun! We discovered that Sundays are a fantastic time to have B-day parties at hotels as we pretty much had the pool to ourselves! Unfortunately, our camera ran out of batteries (Bad mommy) and we didn't really get any good pics of our b-day boy.

Quinn & a friend

Kade

Here is Kade with his edible community that he made for school. Nice job Kade!

So precious. Gracie fell asleep while cuddling with her big brother.

Gracie & Quinn are done with hockey and I never even got a chance to post the pictures of Gracie's first day of hockey. Bad mommy. Anyway, here they are & only 2 months late!

She had been on the ice for not 5 minutes when she ditched the skater-aid and went without. She is a natural!

Momma dressed her a little to warm. Her she is trying to cool off & relax a little.