Happy Anniversary!

In just a few short days the hubby and I will be celebrating our six year wedding anniversary.  We decided to indulge a a week early by going out to dinner and attending some fun events at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We started off by enjoying dinner at the Chart House restaurant.  It was delicious!  I ordered the crab cakes, which were superb.  Not to mention the Molten Lava cake.  Really no anniversary meal is complete without a chocolate lava cake.  Fantastic!

We spent the remainder of our evening at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions - Party with Alton Brown.  With a little prodding, I convinced the hubby to come take a picture with me and Alton.

 

More like I said - I'll wait in the line and you get some drinks!  So very cool!  We spent the rest of the evening tasting different organic sustainable foods and drinks.  An even bigger plus was that there were only about 700 people there, so we could wander around the aquarium looking at the fish and not worrying about the 40 other people trying to look at the same tank as you.  Sadly, the new tentacles exhibit was closed off - I guess once they get those cephalopods on a schedule you don't want to mess them up.

The next day we wrangled the kiddos up for yet another trip to the aquarium.  This time for some cooking/drink classes.  I had an absolutely fabulous class with James Beard award winning chef John Ash.  There were just under 30 people in the class.  He showed us how to make a grilled pizza.  He told us that it is probably the best way at home to imitate those huge wood burning ovens because the surface of the grill does in fact reach the 700 degrees that is obtained in those ovens.  And yes, we did cook the dough right on the surface of the grill.  Yummy grill marks.  I am set to put this on my meal plan calendar for next month (then I'll share the recipe!).  

Chef Ash then mentioned that we had extra time - so why don't we make some crab cakes?!?!  I thought - major score.  I just had the great crab cake last night at dinner, now I'll know how to make them myself.  Holy macaroni, I was so surprised at how simple the process was and how few ingredients created a super tasty cake.  I actually think the crab cake I made was even tastier then the one I had the evening prior.  Yet another recipe I plan on trying next month.

Creepily, there was a photographer there for the aquarium - so I am a little weirded out there may be photos of me cooking/enjoying wine at the this class.  I might try to do some searches to see if I find them.  I can't imagine they look great.

We passed off the kiddos and the hubby attended a class on pairing beer (Sierra Nevada) with food.  He said it was pretty good.  They let you sample food and beer.

I didn't take many pictures of my experience but I did walk away with these:

 

Given this army lifestyle, I am now a believer in if you can take advantage of an experience - do it.  You may not get another chance too.

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

It has been a while since my last update.  I have been trying out a few new recipes and unfortunately, they have been a little lackluster -- until last night.  I have been scouring the web for ethnic slow cooker recipes - specifically, Chinese food.  If you have not been paying attention, I have been really disappointed about the lack of good Chinese takeout.  So I somewhat reluctantly threw together this recipe after having looked at several online.  It is a combination of a couple of recipes - so I have no idea to whom I should give credit.  But thanks to everyone for all the ideas - because this one pretty much nailed it on the head.

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

1 lb stew beef
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 pkg frozen steamer broccoli florets
rice

Steps

1.  I had big chunks of stew beef.  I took a minute to cut them into smaller strips.
2.  Mix together the broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, and garlic.
3.  Place beef pieces in slow cooker and cover with mixture.
4.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours.
5.  When done, create a slurry by mixing the cornstarch and some of the slow cooker liquid together.
6.  Stir the slurry back into the slow cooker and add the package of broccoli florets.  Cook on low for another 30 minutes.
7.  Serve over rice.

The Final Product
I wish I had taken a picture.  The flavors melded wonderfully.  It reminded me so much of good east coast Chinese takeout.  The only thing that I was disappointed with was that my sauce did not thicken up as much as I would have liked after having added the cornstarch.  I suspect it is because the slow cooker didn't bring the sauce up to a boil in the last half hour.  I think I will wait until the very end to make the slurry.  I will remove the beef and broccoli to another dish and pour the remaining sauce into a saucepan.  Add the slurry and bring the sauce up to a boil to get it to thicken.  Then pour the sauce back over the beef and broccoli once it is the right consistency.  Give this one a try!

Keep Running!

This week marks the start of training for the Disneyland Half Marathon.  I am very very excited about this.  What better way to start things off then by having this happen:

A good friend, who ran the Big Sur Marathon, which happened today, let me tag along to hear Jeff Galloway speak at marathon expo.  Jeff Galloway ran on the US Olympic team in 1972 - in the 10K event.  He is infectious to listen to.  He is almost 70 - just completed the Boston Marathon last Monday, flew cross country, and ran the Big Sur Marathon today.  Talk about energy.

He went on to explain his method of running these long races called the Run-Walk-Run method.  Since I started running in high school, I have only really ever known running all out.  What is this "walking breaks" nonsense?  But after listening to him speak, I am pretty convinced that this will help keep me running (bum knee and all) for a long time.  I also got a chance to ask him about running with two boys in a stroller.  He said wow! His wife was the one who got that lucky job.  He said to keep at it and if possible try to do the long runs with them if they stay happy in the stroller.  "It will make your half marathon seem really easy if you run it without them". ::wink::

So I have picked out my training schedule - "just finish" and not for time.  I think I can do pretty well time wise even if I don't try to go for speed.  I know it won't be anywhere near as fast a high school (not that I was exactly fast) but I would be happy with a 10 minute pace.  On the "off" days I hope to get in some sort of abs/arms routine, pilates, or a light walk with the dogs.  This way maybe I can improve my fitness level.

Hey, maybe this training will knock the last of the baby weight?!?!

Easter Eggs

I have read the past year or so about how easy it is to make hard boiled eggs in the oven.  I have kept off actually trying it because I did not believe that you could get the same results in the oven as on the stove top.  I don't know why I waited so long to try it - this made my easter egg making a lot easier.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients

eggs - however many you need to make
muffin pan

Steps

1.  Preheat oven to 325.
2.  In the mean time, place your eggs in the muffin pan.  This will help the eggs from rolling all over the place.
3.  Cook eggs for 30 minutes.
4.  Just a few minutes before you remove the pan from the oven.  Make an ice water bath.
5.  Remove eggs from oven.  Using tongs, place eggs in ice water bath for 10 minutes to stop the cooking process.

I used my first batch for our Easter eggs.  I thought it was so much easier than watching my pots for when they began boiling.

Crispy Cheddar-Ranch Chicken

I will be honest I was very hesitant to try this recipe.  It just seemed way to simple to come out well.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It is a quick and a great alternative to just have chicken for dinner.  I have reposted it below.  Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures so that you could see just how nice and crispy the chicken got.  My apologies!

Crispy Cheddar-Ranch Chicken

from Hyvee

Ingredients

4 (3 oz each) boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used a package of chicken tenderloins)
1/2 c. Hy-Vee light ranch dressing (I didn't have light - so we went with regular)
4 c. Hy-Vee cheddar harvest chips, crushed (I just used Sun Chips harvest cheddar)

Steps

1.  Place chicken and ranch dressing in a resealable plastic bag; shake to coat. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.
2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
3.  Remove chicken breasts from marinade and discard marinade. Coat chicken with crushed chips. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Employed!

I have been doing a bit of a happy jig for the past week or so.  All of my job searching has paid off!  I have a job that I am very happy for.  It fulfills my goals of being able to stay at home with my boys when necessary and it gives me some personal purpose.

I am very excited to get started.  I will be working through orientation/training materials for a while so I may not post as frequently (but I do have a few new recipes slated for the end of the month and next month).

Excitement abounds!

Job Search

I hit the breaking point.  I love my boys.  I love how Thomas is beginning his exploration of the world and how JT is becoming his own little man - having likes and dislikes (I do not however enjoy the fact that it comes with "end of the world" meltdowns - but that could be a post of another day).  

I have reached a point where mommy wants - needs - space and activities that engage and entertain my brain.  So I decided I would like to get back into the work force.  Below are a few of things that I did to help my searching:

1.  I signed up at the base Civilian Personnel Advisory Center for a military spouse preference.  It essentially bumps your name to the top of the hiring list if (and it is a big if) you can be termed "Best Qualified" for a government position.

2.  Dusted off the old resume and gave it a bit of a facelift.  I included all of my volunteering time while at Fort Riley to compensate for time gaps.

3.  I joined LinkedIn.  *I'll be honest - I don't really like having a bunch of social media outlets to have to deal with - but this one is worth it if you are job searching.*  I added my now rejuvenated resume to the site and it provides me with job openings that match some of the positions I have previously held.

4.  I joined flexjobs.com for one month.  Why one month you ask?  Because I had managed to get membership discounted to $5.  Why flexjobs.com?  Because I still have a desire to "be at home" with my boys.  I want to have the flexibility and freedom to deal with the little things or - in JT's case - catastrophes as they arise.  I do not want to have all of my earnings go straight to a daycare service.  So flexjobs.com provides a lot of positions that give you the freedom to work remotely.

I hope some of these tips can help you out if you are looking to re-enter the workforce.

Updating!

As you may have noticed, I did a little updating to the blog.  While I liked the background of the previous layout, I did not like how the dynamic template loaded.  So as you can see, I went with something a little simpler.

I also said goodbye to our family website, which I almost always forget to update.  Most of my favorite recipes are already up here and I post pictures in the posts, so there is no need to have photo albums up on the site.  The only thing I did save was the page that listed our favorite haunts at each of the places we have been assigned too.  This way I can keep it updated a little bit easier.

A little less hassle makes life easier, don't you think?

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

Aha - new Indian recipe.  This one is not too overpowering - also it is a short slow cooker recipe.

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

adapted from The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tbsp Penzey's Tandoori Seasoning
1/2 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tilapia fillets (any white or oily fish will do)
olive oil

Steps

1.  In a bowl mix together the first six ingredients.
2.  Rub the spice mix on both sides of each fish fillet.  Brush the fillet with a little oil.
3.  Wrap each fillet in aluminum foil.
4.  Line the fish packets inside the slow cooker. (If they all do not touch the surface, make sure to rotate the packets halfway through cooking time.)  Cover and cook on LOW from 1.5 - 2 hours. 

The Finished Product

Make sure your fillets are thawed - we had to let it go a bit longer because they were still very frozen.  The spice mix is fragrant but does not overwhelm your tastebuds.

Edible Playdough

Sometimes you just need a recipe that will entertain the kiddos.

 

  

 

Edible Playdough

adjusted from cooks.com

Ingredients

1/2 c. water 

1 tbsp. oil 

1 and a 1/2 c. flour 

1/2 c. sugar 

1 pkg Kool-aid, any flavor

Steps

1.  Mix together water and oil. Microwave on HIGH for about 2 minutes.
2.  Mix flour, sugar, and kool-aid in a bowl.  (I did not have any kool-aid packets so this was just dough colored.)
3.  Add water/oil to dry mixture in stages and mix well with wooden spoon.
4.  Add extra flour to get to desired stickiness.