PinkSunfireDragon's Xanga

Moving Day

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:13:14 GMT

So, I'm getting the itch to blog again. However, Xanga has lost its appeal for me. So I will be over here now:

Insolent Sunshine

I have no ill-will towards Xanga, I just have my reasons for heading on to greener pastures. I hope you'll all join me over there for more fun from my little corner of the world. :)

365 Days

Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:10:00 GMT

Well, it's been a while since I've posted. Not because I have nothing to post, because I've actually been really busy/popular lately. Things are still going well here. The basement is coming along fairly well, although we may have hit a little snag today.

One of the things on my 101/1001 list was to complete the 365 day challenge on Flickr. So far, I've been failing miserably. So I started over today, and I think I'm going to try to make a point of posting my best pictures on here, in an attempt to get my blogging groove back. Plus, with that new camera that Peyton got me for Mother's Day, I should really be working on using it more.

This isn't one of my best pictures, but I like it anyway. I realized after I took it that I had my focus set up all wrong, so it's a bit blurry, but who really cares, right? :)

#42 - Get one new piercing - COMPLETED!!

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 03:37:12 GMT

#42 on my 101/1001 list was to get one new piercing. I managed to get away with TWO new piercings, with only one piece of jewelry! (And for those of you that are wondering, I DID discuss this with Brian before I went, and I had his complete permission.) This is a piercing that I've wanted for a long time, and I'm SO glad that I got it, even though it HURT like you wouldn't believe!

Anyways, this piercing is called an industrial piercing. That's the general term for any two piercings that are connected with one single barbell. The most common form of this piercing is two piercings across the top of the ear, which is what I got. It was quick, easy, and definitely NOT painless, although I had myself so psyched up for much more pain. The lady that did it was super nice and talked me through the whole process. She gave me lots of information as to how to take care of it (which, I find it quite funny, is pretty much the opposite of the information you get when you get regular ear piercings done at a place like Claire's or Walmart) and made sure I wasn't going to pass out before I left.

Now that you've heard all about it, here it is!

Obviously, I'm no stranger to ear piercings (I've got 6 more on the other side), but I will say that this one was very much a new experience! It hurt a lot more than I remember my tragus hurting. (The tragus is the one in this picture toward the inside of my ear, right next to my face.) I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it will heal quickly, but I have a feeling I'm in for a rough road! :)

Cutest. Dog. Ever.

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 17:29:37 GMT

Just wanted to share some Peyton pictures with all of you. He's being extra adorable today.

All together now.... AAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Chicken Pot Pie

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:07:49 GMT

The first recipe request for this week is chicken pot pie! This is a super easy and really yummy recipe. If you want to cheat and ignore the step-by-step instructions, you can just scroll to the bottom and see the recipe. But really, who doesn't want the play-by-play of me cooking?

So here we go. First you want to gather up your ingredients: frozen mixed veggies of your choice, chicken, cream of chicken soup, dried thyme, Bisquick, milk, and an egg.

Now, you can obtain your chicken any way you choose. This would be a great way to use up leftover chicken. However, as I don't usually make chicken that has leftovers, I use frozen chicken breast tenderloins. So I've gotta stick mine in the microwave to thaw them a bit.

Ta-da! Ding, chicken's done! Well, not exactly. I cut it all up and throw it in the frying pan with some oil and get it good and cooked up and yummy.

While the chicken is cooking, we'll make our crust. First you want to take a cup of Bisquick or other baking mix of your choice and dump it in a bowl.

And add your milk

And your egg....

And mix it all together.

Now go ahead and set that aside and get your filling ready. Throw your mixed veggies in a bowl, and feel good knowing that I use frozen veggies that have obviously been in the freezer for quite some time.

Add your cream of chicken soup. Yum!

And your thyme.

And when your chicken is cooked through, add that too!

And mix that all together.

Pour the filling into a 9-inch pie pan.

And pour the crust mix over the top of that.

Now, at this point, I probably should have spread the crust mix out a little better, but really, it cooks just fine like this.

Now pop that bad boy into a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, and BAM, you've got yourself a pie! Mmmm....chickeny goodness.

I love this stuff. The cream of chicken soup makes it amazing, and the thyme gives it a really good flavor. The recipe gives specific measurements for the veggies and chicken, but I always kind of wing it, and I've never had a problem with it.

Chicken Pot Pie
1 2/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 1/2 cups chicken or turkey, cooked and cubed
1 10.75 ounce can of cream of chicken soup
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup Bisquick
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

In a bowl, combine vegetables, chicken, soup, and thyme. Pour into an ungreased 9 inch pie plate. Combine Bisquick, milk and egg. Pour over chicken mixture. Bake at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Serves 4-6.

Menu Plan Somethingday

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:47:24 GMT

Well, I only got 3 requests for recipes, so I only planned through Thursday. If anyone else has requests for recipes, let me know, and I'll see what I can do about getting your recipe posted some time this weekend! As I mentioned in the previous entry, you can click here to see all the menu plan posts.

So far, for this week, we have the following menu:
Tuesday - Chicken Pot Pie
Wednesday - Pizza Breadstick Casserole
Thursday - Chicken and Dumplings

I made my Costco run today too, and that was pretty spendy. I'll be including the beef and chicken from Costco in the grand total. And I picked up a couple things at SuperTarget to make another batch of chicken broth later this week. So here goes!

Produce
Baby carrots (Green Giant) - $1.35
Fresh Thyme (North Shore) - $2.99
White onion - $.90
Fresh parsley - $.99

Meat
Ground beef (Costco) - $25.21
Chicken breasts (Costco) - $19.97
Pepperoni (Hormel) - $1.84

Refrigerated foods
Pillsbury breadsticks - $2.44 x 2 = 4.88 - .40 coupon = $4.48

Shelf stable foods
Cream of chicken soup (Campbell's) - $1.42
Bisquick - $2.94
Italian seasoning (Market Pantry) - $1.72

Grand total: $63.81 ($18.63 - if you don't count the meat from Costco!)

I don't really have any notes on this for this week. Recipes will follow the rest of the week, and remember, if there's something you want to see a recipe for, just ask! :)

Request a recipe!

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:12:35 GMT

Hey everyone! :)
I'm making this week's menu right now and will go grocery shopping for it tomorrow morning. (Tonight, we're having the pizza we didn't have last week.) I have 4 dinners to cook this week, so I'm giving you guys the option to decide what we eat this week! I want to know if there are any recipes that I've previously mentioned/posted about that you'd like to see with pictures this week! Since I'm off of work this week, I figured it would be a great time to share a few new recipes with you all.

To help you out, click here to see previous Menu Plan Saturday posts. And if any of you end up requesting recipes that I'd tried and didn't turn out well, I'll let you know, to spare both us and you the agony of me posting it. If you have any other questions about these requests, just let me know, and I'll get back to you quickly. Thanks!!

***Edit: If I get more than 4 requests, I will get the rest of the requests up at a later time. And I swear, one of these days, I'll get a post up that has nothing to do with food....maybe. Anyways, go ahead and request away! :)

Menu Plan Saturday

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:01:14 GMT

It's that time again! I didn't have a post last week because we had the in-laws here and I didn't go grocery shopping. Today, when I went to make this week's menu, I realized we seriously have no food in our house. So I had to buy pretty much everything that I need this week. It got kind of expensive, even though we're not eating at home two nights this week. I'm trying a few new recipes this week too. (Just an advance note, I'm expecting next week to be "Menu Plan Monday", because we're out of town next weekend, and I'll be on vacation that whole week again.)

Saturday - Pad Thai (Vegetarian, page 150)
Sunday - Chinese Hamburger (Fix It and Forget It, page 269)
Monday - Southwestern Corn and Potato Chowder
Tuesday - Eat out - I'm working until 9.
Wednesday - Eat at Ruby Tuesday - Brian's birthday
Thursday - Chicken and Pasta (Dining on a Dime, page 198)
Friday - Homemade pizza

Fruits and veggies
Spinach (Dole) - $2.99
Green Onions - $1.19
Celery - $1.49
Potato - $.59
White onion - $.81
Red bell pepper - $1.84
Green bell pepper - $.99
Fresh pineapple - $3.99

Meat
Pepperoni (Hormel) - $1.84
Chicken breast tenderloins (Market Pantry) - $7.99
Pork sausage (Jimmy Dean) - $3.29

Dairy
Coffeemate - $3.04
Mozzarella cheese (Market Pantry) - $6.79

Frozen
Corn (Market Pantry) - $1.09
Breakfast sandwiches (Jimmy Dean) - $8.44

Shelf stable foods
Peanuts (Market Pantry) - $2.49
Pizza kit (Chef Boyardee) - $3.29
Diced chiles (Market Pantry) - $.74
Chinese veggies (La Choy) - $1.89
Lime juice (Pompeii) - $1.19
Sambal Oelek (Huy Fong) - $1.79
Flat rice stick noodles (Taste of Thai) - $4.59
Small pasta shells (Market Pantry) - $1.24
Mrs. Dash Southwest flavor seasoning - $2.44

Extra unnecessary crap
Doritos - $3.50
Diet Coke with Lime - $1.39

Grand total: $71.01 ..... whoops.

This week's notes:
1) I don't like to eat the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches, and I especially don't like to spend $8 on them. They're good and all, but I always feel a bit sluggish after eating them, and I believe that to be thanks to all the processed crap in them. Brian loves them, however, so I keep buying them for him. I might have one or two out of the box if I'm really hungry.
2) Brian wanted Doritos. Who pays the credit card bill for the groceries? Brian. So if Brian wants Doritos, Brian usually gets Doritos. I won't eat these.
3) The chicken breast tenderloins are rather expensive ($8), but they will last us quite a while and are great when we only need bite-size pieces of chicken, I cut these up and cook them instead of using chicken breasts or buying precut diced chicken. In the long run, these are actually a really good deal for us. Same with the mozzarella cheese.
4) For the most part, it's mostly unprocessed or nearly unprocessed ingredients this week, until you get to Friday. Yeah, I know, pepperoni AND sausage on the pizza?! Plus, we both love to put extra cheese on our pizzas. But really, who doesn't deserve a treat now and then? And plus, I'm sure that it will still be much more nutritious than a frozen pizza.

Menu Plan Saturday!

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 17:15:16 GMT

Aaahhhh, the triumphant return of Menu Plan Saturday!! I'm actually pretty excited about this week's menu. Minimal meat (only chicken, actually), and very little as far as processed food. Lots of new recipes to try this week, including a recipe to help me get rid of more of those chicken wings! I relied pretty heavily on Betty Crocker this week. I always forget how great that cookbook is!

Saturday - Hawaiian chicken wings with rice (Dining on a Dime, page 201)
Sunday - Chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles (Betty Crocker cookbook, soup recipe, page 473 and noodle recipe on page 394)
Monday - Fettuccine with zucchini (Vegetarian, page 100)
Tuesday - Rice noodles with peanut sauce (Betty Crocker, page 375)
Wednesday - Mexican chicken (Dining on a Dime, page 205)
Thursday - Barley and asparagus (Betty Crocker, page 355)
Friday - Leftovers

Fresh produce
Bean sprouts - $1.49
White onion - $.93
Zucchini - $2.37
Asparagus - $4.47
Gingerroot - $1.10

Dairy
Eggs - $1.39

Shelf-stable foods
Salsa (Market Pantry) - $2.99
Rice Stick Noodles (Dynasty) - $2.09
Soy sauce (Market Pantry) - $1.64
Fettuccine (Creamette) - $1.19

Shit I didn't actually need to buy
Cherry 7up (12 pack) - $4.29
Diet Coke with lime (20 oz. bottle) - $1.39

Grand Total: $25.71

Notes for this week:
1) Got most of my shopping done in the fresh produce deparment this week, which is awesome! I bought a few things I've never bought before, like gingerroot, asparagus, and zucchini. Yum!
2) Almost everything I got was single ingredient and fresh. Exceptions: salsa, rice noodles, soy sauce, and the fettucine. But those items are all minimally processed (with the exception of the soy sauce) and don't have many ingredients.
3) Yeah, I know. I bought soda pop. The cherry 7up was a special request from Brian, and the Diet Coke is a special treat I get myself on grocery shopping day. Besides, what we should really be critiquing here is my new-found Red Bull addiction that I have during the work week. Oh, never mind, we'll just forget I mentioned that.

#52 - Make my own chicken broth - COMPLETED!!

Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:47:57 GMT

***WARNING*** Photo-heavy post. My apologies to my readers with dial-up.

We have yet another success story on the 101/1001 front! Today, I made my own chicken broth! And let me just say, I went ahead and tasted it, and it is super good. It also got the Peyton "Seal of Paw-proval", because I was nice and put a little spoonful of it on his dog food. He nommed that right up. I used this recipe, because I had a 10 pound bag of frozen chicken wings. Remember how I've mentioned before that just because it's at Costco doesn't necessarily mean it's a good deal? That's one of those times that it's not worth it. Unless you eat chicken wings 5 times a week, which we don't. So, if you're going to make chicken broth, you can either use that recipe, or you can follow along with my Shana-fied play-by-play here.

First off, we have our cast of characters:

I used some julienne carrots that I had gotten for salads, so that I could use them up, and I used some red onion and some pre-chopped white onion, for the sake of using that up. Amazingly enough, I actually already had fresh thyme and parsley in my fridge. I literally had to buy no food products to make this. I did, however, have to buy a bigass pot and a mesh strainer.

So first, I plopped a little olive oil in the pan:

I always eyeball my oil. I don't think I've measured out oil in years.

Then go ahead and hack up whatever veggies you need to hack up.

Don't they look so beautiful? All the pretty colors. At this point, you don't really need to chop anything fancy, because all the veggies are going to get discarded at the end anyways. You just need the veggies for their flavor.

OK, people, now we're gonna throw it all in the pot. Here go the onions:

And the carrots:

And I missed a couple pictures, but don't they look so purdy all together in there?

Now, go ahead and stir it all together with the oil.

Yummy veggies! But this is chicken broth, so we need to throw some CHICKEN in there. Now people, I need to show you why I chose this particular recipe. I needed, NEEDED, to use up at least some of this 10 pound bag of frozen chicken wings that I got. I had no idea what to do with it. It was a very stupid purchase. Ok, after making at least 3, maybe 4 meals with this bag, I still had this much chicken left:

That's a lot of chicken. At this point, if you're following along, you can go ahead and throw about 3-4 pounds of chicken wings into the pot with your veggies. (Oh, and if you're wondering, I do still have plenty of chicken wings left in my freezer.)

Now, turn around and look at the hopeful look on your helper's face. "Please, mommy, drop some chicken. Please? Please? See how cute I am? You can't resist this face. I need chicken, mommy."

So, since you're cold-hearted like me, you manage to turn away from the adorable puppy and back to your bigass pot of chicken and veggies.

Go ahead and stir it around and let it cook for about 10 minutes.

Now, the veggies should be soft and your chicken should be getting close to thawed out. So let's go ahead and add enough water to cover up the chicken, plus about 2 inches. I probably could have added more water.

Notice the iPod earphone cord on the right.

Let's go ahead and give that a good stir and bring the whole shebang to a boil.

Ok, as you're boiling this, you're going to notice this icky foam rising to the top. You're going to go ahead and skim that off with your spoon. Stick it in a bowl or something. Don't save it for later.

Oooo, look at the pretty herbs!

I was going to show off my half-teaspoon of peppercorns with the herbs, but I couldn't get the lid off. I figured I was doomed to not have peppercorns in my broth. Sad. Stupid pepper grinder.

Once you get your broth to a nice boil, go ahead and throw your herbs in.

Pretty! Now, at the very last second, you're going to suddenly be able to get the lid off the peppercorn grinder, so go ahead and add your half-teaspoon of that too.

Stir it all together. Feel the chickeny, herby love.

Ooo, steamy.

You're going to go ahead and reduce the heat on this to low and simmer it for a really long time. Mine simmered for almost 4 hours.

You can stir it from time to time.

At the end of the whole simmering process, your house will smell A.MAZ.ING. You're going to put a mesh strainer over a really big bowl (bigger than the one I had, because I filled mine up and needed another one) and dump everything through that. I didn't take a picture of that. I forgot. But I remembered after I picked out all the chicken wings.

Tomorrow or Sunday, I'm going to pick all the meat off the wings (won't be hard, because it's falling off anyway), and make chicken noodle soup WITH HOMEMADE NOODLES OMGITSGONNABEAMAZING. *Ahem* Sorry.

Anyways, go ahead and let your broth sit for a while. Then you can take a spoon and skim off the icky fat from the top of the bowl. My smaller bowl actually didn't get any fat on top, but the big bowl had a lot.

Then go ahead and portion yours out however you choose. I put mine into approximate slightly less than 2-cup portions in freezer bags. I got 7 bags total. Peyton got a spoonful on his food. If you even sort of love your dog, do this for them from time to time. Just a little spoonful of chicken broth over the dry dog food and they'll go nuts.

I'm really looking forward to doing this again! Oh, and yes, I tasted it, and it's AWESOME. Peyton agrees.