...Jeni talk Thai real good....but not really...

Okay, so the title is silly of this blog...but I'll explain. The past two weeks I've made two Thai recipes that I'm going to share with you. They were really good!! However, the whole time I was making them I couldn't help but chuckle to myself because I kept thinking about that scene from Meet the Parents, where Greg (Ben Stiller) is confronting Jack (Robery De Niro) about the conversation Greg overheard in Thai (which is really Jack planning a surprise honeymoon for the bride and groom). And Dina (Blythe Danner--who I love by the way in Will and Grace!) remarks that Jack can't talk Thai, to which Greg replies "Oh no Dina, Jack can talk Thai...Jack talk Thai real well." I love that movie and that scene...so of course the whole time I was cooking I kept laughing to myself. I know I'm silly (read: nerdy!), but I don't care! :) I know I haven't blogged since my Veteran's Day post (which if you haven't read...do so! It's about my favorite Veteran in my life!), but I'm about to grace you with a great post (hopefully) and maybe that will make up for it! On to the recipes...

#1: THAI-STYLE STIR FRIED CHICKEN
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
 
1/4 cup rice vinegar 
2 tablespoons brown sugar 
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 
2 teaspoons red curry paste 
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper 
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces*
1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided 
1 cup chopped onion 
1 cup chopped carrot 
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms*
1/2 cup light coconut milk 
1 tablespoon fish sauce* 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 cup fresh bean sprouts  
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Added: Snow Peas!!!! Because they are yummy....
*Revisions: For the chicken, I actually bought about a pound or so of chicken tenders. I find that they are easier to cut into chunks. For the mushrooms, I bought an 8 oz package of whole mushrooms and sliced them myself. I find that the pre-sliced are often a bit more expensive than the whole. Just compare and go with what you feel comfortable with! Pre-sliced are fine especially if you don't have time to slice them. The fish sauce, I actually did not use because I forgot to get this at the store. I used Oyster sauce instead since I had it. I don't think it ruined the flavor at all, but of course would have used fish sauce had I not forgotten it! :)

The first thing you want to do is to combine the rice vinegar, brown sugar, lime juice, red curry paste, and crushed red pepper in a large zip-lock bag. Add your chicken; seal and marinate in refrigerator for about 15 minutes or so. You can always marinate overnight as well! 

While the chicken was marinating, I chopped up the onion, carrots, and mushrooms. Then washed the bean sprouts and snow peas! I also made extra marinade (as per the reviews and comments!) combining again the rice vinegar, brown sugar, lime juice, red curry paste, and crushed red pepper in a small bowl.

Set aside your veggies, and heat a tablespoon of oil in your pan (or wok if you have one). Add your chicken (reserving the marinade it was in) and cook for about 4 minutes or until done. 

Once the chicken is cooked, remove and cover to keep warm (and to develop the juices). 







Add the remaining oil to your pan, then add your carrots and onions. Stir-fry for about two minutes. 

Then add your mushrooms! Stir-fry for about 3 minutes. 

At this point, I also added the bean sprouts and snow peas. Even though the bean sprouts, according to the original recipe, aren't supposed to be added in until last, I like to cook them in. 

Using the extra marinade I made as well as the reserved marinade from the bag (which there wasn't a lot left over to be honest so I'm glad I made extra and I encouraged you to do the same), pour it over the veggies and scrape up those browned bits/flavor fairies. :) 

Add your coconut milk and fish sauce (or oyster in my case!) and bring everything to a boil. Reduce and simmer for about a minute. Then add your chicken (plus accumulated juices) back into the mix.  





I topped this with the cilantro and served over thin spaghetti (I couldn't decide on what Asian noodles would be best) and of course a salad. The calorie count for about a cup of the chicken mixture is around 271 and boy was it tasty!! It's not spicy at all and reheats pretty well. I enjoyed it because it was really easy to make and the sauce was really creamy and tasted comforting without the calories! Recipe is below! Onto the next...fist bump. Matthew may be the only one who gets that. At the end of Ghost Hunters on the SyFy channel they always say Onto the next at the end of the episode and then fist bump...haha...so we sometimes fist bump. You have to had the explosion at the end or else it isn't a proper fist bump! ;-)

Thai-Style Stir Fried Chicken



#2: THAI COCONUT CURRY SHRIMP 
Serves: 4 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp oil
4 scallions, whites and greens separated, chopped
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
6 oz light coconut milk
2 tsp fish sauce

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt to taste

Added: surprise! Snow peas. 

First before I go any further, this recipe is from a different website called Skinny Taste! I've been trying to make more recipes from this website. This week in fact everything I'm making comes from it. The recipes are very tasty and full of flavor. I encourage you to look around. Also before we go any further, I have a funny picture. So I'm making dinner which has shrimp...who do you think was excited about it??? Yep...the cats. I'm sitting there cleaning and taking the tails off the shrimp and look up to these two staring at me. They kept inching closer and closer....so I teased them. Silly kitties.

As I said, the first thing I did was clean the shrimp under cold water and remove their tails (gently pinch and twist! you don't want to lose any valuable shrimp yuminess!). I love shrimp.

Next I chopped up my green onions and garlic. I chopped up more than what was called for because I love the flavors of both. :) Remember to separate the whites and the greens of the scallions. I basically chopped all of them in half width wise and then set aside the ALL green scallions and then chopped up the whites/somewhat green parts.



Heat oil on medium high heat in your pan. Once hot, add your scallion whites/somewhat greens and the red curry paste. Saute for about one minute.







Add your garlic and shrimp! I also add the snow peas so they could get all garlicky and yummy too! They were jealous of the shrimp. ;-) Also, side note: notice the awesome gingerbread decor in the kitchen! I love the pot holder there. He makes me smile because he looks like he's saying "Hey! You should give me a hug!" I don't hug him though...so don't think I'm nuts y'all.



Once you've cooked everything for about 2-3 minutes (or until the shrimp are pink and pretty), add your coconut milk and fish sauce...which yes, if you were wondering, I did remember to pick it up at the store this time! :) Simmer everything for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and mix in the scallion greens and cilantro. Easy as that!!!



I served this with jasmine rice and a salad! The calorie count for this yumminess is about 135 calories per serving. Not too shabby in my book! And it was sooooo good! One of the great things about doing these two recipes back to back was the fact that they had similar ingredients. So...buy once...use twice! :)  Here's the link:

Thai Coconut Curry Shrimp

What's been going on over here you ask? Many things! It seems like these weeks are going by really fast lately! Matt's plane landed at around 11am on November 12th. Which was awesome! I was so happy to finally see him! And I know he was excited to be home. For Thanksgiving we stayed in Colorado Springs and were really blessed to have gotten an invite over to one of his co-workers homes to join their family for dinner. It was a lot of fun--full of food, football, and fun games with their three girls. I'm fully convinced everyone should play Hedbanz because it was too much fun! :) I know our family missed seeing us, but it was a really nice relaxing day and we really did appreciate the invitation. The day after Thanksgiving was Christmas decoration time. Our tree went up and decorated, the nativity scene went out, all of my gingerbread decor is up, along with other various decorations. I really enjoyed bringing everything out and especially while listening to Christmas music! :) The only thing that hasn't gone up yet are our lights on the house, this is because the whole city of Colorado Springs was sold out of Christmas light hooks. I'm not kidding. We went everywhere! I finally found some at the very last Walgreens I stopped at yesterday. I bought three boxes. I'm sure we will be taking some back, but I just wanted to make sure we had enough because I wasn't going to drive all over the city again! This week we are having a cookie exchange with the Brigade Coffee group I'm a part of. I'm really excited. I love to bake, so any excuse to do so is something that makes me giddy! :) I've narrowed down my cookie choices and hopefully will make a decision...they all sound so good! Perhaps I may just share the recipe with pictures! :) On Friday morning, Matt and I are also participating in the Brigade's "march" to the Marian House. I am really looking forward to it because in the spirit of Christmas it's very humbling to be able to help others!! I can't wait to experience it.

Well as this post is already pretty long, I'll leave y'all with that!! More later...especially after tonight's dish that I'm super excited about. Hope you all are having a wonderful week!

PS: did you notice the new background and falling snow?????? :) :) :) :) 

*~*MY FAVORITE VETERAN*~*

Kind of blurry...but Matt in Iraq!

I wanted to write a special post for Veteran's Day since I have a special veteran in my life!! I didn't know if y'all knew that! ;-)

Before I met Matt I was not really familiar with military life. I supported our military and always thought how amazing they are that they put their lives on the line for us; though sometimes an outsider may not truly know what that means exactly. What they have to go through on a day to day basis. And I'll admit, I was one of them. An outsider looking in with respect, but a lot of confusion and a naivety of our military. 

My paternal grandfather was in the Navy for a time and my maternal grandfather was in the Merchant Marines, but that's about it as far as my family goes and I never really heard them talk about their experiences--except for my Grandpa Lawrence (maternal) and how he lied about his age to get in and got a tattoo...which he hated until the day he passed away. So when I met Matt I was slightly oblivious to what he did and what it meant for him to be in the military. I knew he had gone to Iraq twice; once for the invasion for 6 months and then the second time for 15 months. I knew what he had done over there and knew what he had gone through each time and the danger he was in. It wasn't until I started getting to know him more that I began to develop a huge respect for the sacrifice he (and all military!) have made in their lives. I remember our first date when we sat and talked for close to five and a half hours and I remember asking him all these questions about the war and what he did and what it was like to hear and feel the bombs going off. It just amazed me at how much strength he had to go do that! Because personally I don't think I could. It takes a special person to go do that.

When we were in San Antonio he was in the Recruiting Battalion which wasn't exactly a cohesive environment. It was a different feeling, not being the "real Army" type Battalion. There wasn't a lot of events to go to that made you feel like you had support. Plus I was a girlfriend for most of that...wife for about 7 months...and I wasn't really included in anything (until he put a ring on it!) haha! Then when we moved to Kansas and he was in CGSC, again it was just kind of a laid back situation and not "real Army." It was fun! And I felt more of a solidarity there than San Antonio, but it was just different once again. It wasn't until we got here to Colorado that I started truly understanding and feeling more pride in my Soldier than I had before. It's not that I didn't in San Antonio or Kansas, but it just was different (I'm using that word a lot). He wasn't somewhere where he would be deployed or be gone for training, etc. I hadn't experienced that before. Until now. It just amazes me what the military goes through! Training, missing their family, missing mile stones in their relationships with their children and spouses and yet they still do their job selflessly and while they may complain in private how tired they are or how sore or upset or mad or whatever! They continue to go and do things for this country; even if people don't realize their sacrifice. They do it with pride. And that makes ME have an immense pride for my husband and for everyone who has served or is currently serving in the military. The time apart from Matt has made me realize that I am guilty of taking our time together for granted and it's definitely given me the drive to never take it for granted again. I'm sure we are all guilty of taking time with our friends and family for granted, but I guess I realized it more while we've been apart. In any case, he's coming home Monday and I couldn't be happier and having heard how well they did at NTC....I couldn't be a prouder wife of a (VERY HANDSOME!) Soldier.

So with that, I say Happy Veteran's Day, not only to everyone who I know who has served or is currently serving in our wonderful military, but especially to my favorite Veteran who has shown the true meaning of perseverance, strength, and a love for our great country by serving so we can have the amazing freedom we have today. Thank you Matthew. I love you so very much and can't wait to see you!!!!!



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I also am squeezing in this post, not to take away from Veteran's Day, but just to say a quick Happy Founder's Day to my wonderful sorority, Gamma Phi Beta! Joining the sorority was the best decision I made and I wish sometimes I could go back and re-live those wonderful moments of friendship--good and bad--such as the late night rush practices and voting! When you're dead tired and your feet hurt and your voice is gone and all you want to do is go to sleep and there's arguing! Because in the end it was worth it. Everything! I got to meet such lovely, strong, and CLASSY women and form life long bonds with them! :)

Our Four Founders

So...to all my beautiful Gamma Phi's (especially my Zeta Rho's!), Happy Founder's Day girls! Wear your badge with pride and think back to our great times together!!! In IIKE, Jeni!

In case you want to learn about my sorority:
 Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority

Or my chapter:
Gamma Phi Beta--Zeta Rho, Texas A&M University

An older recipe and an anniversary!

I did this recipe a while back, but it was just so good I couldn't NOT share it with you guys. I had been wanting to do a Southern dish with grits, however Matt doesn't like grits....he calls them GUTS. haha...but this recipe was good regardless! And it was unbelievably easy!

DEEP SOUTH SHRIMP AND SAUSAGE

Serves: 4 :)

Ingredients  
Cooking spray 
3/4 pound peeled and deveined medium shrimp 
1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning 
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
1 cup chopped tricolor bell pepper (red, green, and yellow)
1 (6.5-ounce) link smoked turkey sausage, cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices  
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup water

First thing I did was take the tails off the shrimpies and cut the sausage up.  

I then cut up the bellpepper and garlic. Prepping before cooking is always a good decision. Things go so much faster!! 

Then you heat a pan over medium heat and coat the pan with the cooking spray. Add your shrimp, Bay seasoning, and pepper. Toss to coat and cook about 3 minutes or until the shrimp is cooked. Once done, remove the shrimp and keep it warm. 

Next spray a bit more cooking spray in the pan if needed and add your bell pepper. Cook about two minutes and then add the sausage. Cook for about two minutes until the sausage is nicely browned.

Then add back your shrimp as well as the garlic. Cook about one minute. Add the 1/4 cup water, cooking 30 seconds and scraping the yummy bits at the bottom of the pan. Remember....they are flavor fairies!  

And that's it! Seriously!! It was that easy. I served this with rice and a salad...but as I'm writing, I'm seriously considering making this with grits the next time and rice for Matt. This recipe was so delicious and it's perfect for when you're wanting that down South yumminess! Matt and I both really enjoyed it. The best part? 142 calories per serving!!! Which is about 3/4 of a cup. Here is the recipe for it: Deep South Shrimp and Sausage

This week has so far dragged by for me. Matt is at NTC and I definitely miss him so very much. Today is our 2nd anniversary and he sent me flowers! They were so beautiful. I definitely was not expecting them so when he text to tell me not to be alarmed if someone rang the doorbell I was extremely excited. I had run to the commissary so by the time I had gotten back there they were! They remind me of my wedding bouquet. It had purple in it. I can't believe how fast two years has flown by. And so much has happened too. 

I didn't plan very well for this week of eating for one, so when I went to the store today this is what I came out with. Pretty much screams that I'm the only one who's eating in this house. Well real food and not animal food haha...I am trying desperately to find easy cooking for one recipes. But honestly, as I think about it, when Matt's not here, I don't feel like even cooking. I take so much joy in cooking for him and making him happy. Even when we eat leftovers during the weekend I dislike making the leftovers. I usually throw whatever protein over salad...and I've told Matt this many times, that I make it and then I'm not hungry anymore. It's just not exciting to not cook. So who knows what I'm going to do, since I'll get sick of these for the next however many weeks. But, I'll keep searching. 

I've been focusing on trying to get back up to 5 miles a day for running here. In Kansas I could go for 5+ miles and not even think about it. But here it's a little harder as far as my breathing goes. I really wish I had looked into getting an inhaler. Maybe I still should do it. BUT! I'm making progress, I am up to about 3 straight miles so that's at least a little better. Other than that nothing really has been going on. I'm excited it's fall because I just love the fall. I have some new decorations for Halloween and the fall in general and I just love everything. I am, however, on a continual obsessive treasure hunt for a witch my mom gave me last year. I seriously can not find it. And I just know I'll find it maybe during Christmas or something. I've searched in every box labeled basement. It's so annoying! I hate when I can't find something :) 

A couple of weeks ago I hosted our Brigade Coffee at D'Vine Wine. It went really well. I was nervous because I had never hosted one before at all, but it was just a lot of fun. Lots of laughs. Lots of yummy wine and funny "cheers" to accompany each tasting we had. I really am enjoying being apart of this brigade. The women are amazingly nice and easy to talk to. I know I can count on them for anything even if I have only known them for about 2-3 months. It's just been a great experience so far. D'Vine Wine is a really neat place too. It's in Manitou Springs. They are a very "green" winery and are small, but I haven't had a taste of anything that I didn't like! If you're ever in the area and want to go, I'll go with you! :) Manitou Springs is interesting in itself really. Great people watching. 

While Matt's been gone I've been watching random movies on Netflix. Last night I watched "Revenge of the Bridesmaids." Extremely CHEESY. But one of those movies that you can't stop watching. I have a list of "girly" movies that I am going to delve into while he's gone too. Stuff that he probably would gouge his eyes out if he were watching. :) I have been watching a lot of Frasier and re-watching The Tudors....a little Ghost Whisperer...Grey's. I have decided though that I want a dog like Niles has in Frasier. It cracks me up every time I see it. It's an Italian Greyhound. 

This episode had me rolling too. His bird clamped down on his head and wouldn't get off. So Niles has to entertain during a dinner party with the bird on his head. Ugh...that show is pretty funny to me. I have a lot of great laughs when watching it. :) 

Well I suppose I'll end here. I'll leave you with some pictures from our wedding day! We were married at one of the chapels on Fort Sam Houston. It was really pretty inside and as you'll see there were a lot of flags! Very military :)  My colors were chocolate brown and a light pink (not baby pink!) and cream. I had some great help with making the ceremony and reception flower arrangements. The only real flowers were the bouquets, the boutonnieres, and the cake topper. I had so much fun making a lot of things. The best accomplishment was the "trees" we made. I saw them at a wedding at our church that my dad was helping with the sound and I had to have them. I talked with the florist who did them and they were wanting an ungodly amount for them...so we made them ourselves! During the time it was a pain in the butt at some points...such as transporting them (I have a funny picture of Matt holding onto them in his truck) but they turned out so beautiful and I must say...I loved them! They had hydrangea bunches in pink and maroon, hanging crystals, and hanging candles that were lit during the ceremony. Very pretty!! :) My aunt married us too which was so cool! I know she enjoyed it and it was very special for all of us! :) :) :) 

I hope you enjoy the pictures! And you're welcome for not sharing the 1000s that I do have! :) haha!!!

Happy Anniversary Matthew :) I love you and look forward to many more years of FUN! with you!!!!! 

A non-food related post...

So I know I haven't posted anything for a few weeks now. It's not because I've forgotten, it's just been busy here. I thought a lot about not posting what I'm about to post, but I figured it's best to talk things out in any case. Plus I didn't want to talk about it and then go directly into talking about some recipe or something. So, for now it's just me typing...

Faint-- but there. 3 others were darker

About three or four weeks ago, I made a shocking discovery...I was pregnant. I say shocking because Matt and I were in no way trying. In fact we had a plan. And that plan consisted of trying after he got back from his month long trip to California for NTC. We were content with that plan. So for me to be staring down at a positive pregnancy test was a very surreal moment for me--not to mention it was only the second pregnancy test I had ever taken. The first one was the previous month and that was because I was joking around--it was negative in case you were wondering. Matt was at work of course, so I text him some cryptic message about needing to talk to him. He asked if everything was alright and I told him not really. In my mind, looking back, I know I was being really selfish. There are many women in the world who want so badly to have been in my position and yet I wasn't excited. I wasn't happy. At all. I just wasn't ready. I needed a few more months to mentally prepare myself for all of this and you know what, I think it was okay for me to be thinking that way.

I should have realized the "symptoms" ...except I was sick with a cold or allergies or something the week or so before. Matt was actually out in the field that week that I started not feeling good. I was stuffy, super tired, and couldn't really think about eating food without being sick to my stomach. I couldn't even take a sip of wine with dinner without feeling queasy (yea...I know...not cool!) I could swear to you that this was all because of whatever nastiness I had caught. It wasn't. Obviously. So there I was...stuffy, sick, and starting at a positive test. Hmm.

That weekend Matt and I went and bought the What to Expect book. Naturally. And I began furiously educating myself on this whole situation. I started thinking back to our trip to Breckenridge. Matt and I had drank champagne...we had sat in the hot tub which I'm pretty sure was really hot. I had been working out furiously to try to sweat out whatever sickness I had. I know my heart rate at the max had reached above the recommended 140 when you're pregnant...but I later read that there's the theory that every woman is different and that it's okay to go over as long as you aren't breathless and to listen to your body. Okay. So I guess I was good on that part. Plus I've been working out hardcore for a year and a half. My body is used to these strenuous workouts. Then I started obsessing with the foods I was eating and then oh no, I had cleaned the litter box (although I now know through research that I probably am already immune to that toxic stuff that kitties have...I'd be surprised if I wasn't honestly...if you truly know me, you know how many cats I've been around in my life...). All of these things were racing through my head. I'm pretty sure if you looked at my Google history on my computer those following days after the big positive you'd see a lot of pregnancy forums and hundreds of searches. In the end, I feel confident in saying that I am now the most researched out person on the planet. I know everything. I even surprised the Doctors with what I knew. Yea. I know. I'm pretty awesome. So, Matt and I went about our business through the weeks. I was continually tired, but I worked out as much as I could. I stopped going twice a day though. Something about taking 3-4 hour naps during the day because you are so exhausted from even getting out of bed. Definitely missed some classes. Oh well! Matt and I rented a bunch of different movies...I finally saw Austin Powers. haha...after how many years??? Anyway...where am I going with this you may be wondering??

Well on Saturday, September 22nd,  I miscarried. I won't go into any details (do you see why I didn't want to include a recipe after this!). But the very minimum details included some cramping starting on that Thursday. It wasn't bad. Although it was more painful than what I had been having which I knew THOSE type of cramps were normal with early pregnancy. Saturday, however, it was a little more involved and I knew I needed to go to the ER after having called the DR. on Thursday and I was told if it got worse to go in. But then it wasn't hurting anymore. I told Matt we weren't going. So naturally I took a shower (not really naturally but it was something to do); he mowed the yard (I think he was frustrated with my indecisiveness and so I left him alone!) . Then I took a nap with the thought in my mind that I needed to wake up at 3:30 so we could get ready to go watch the A&M game at Rudy's with the Alumni club. THEN I woke up to severe cramping. Worse than the dreaded cramping all women excitedly experience month to month (yea, right). And I knew. I knew I had miscarried at that moment. Again, not going to go into it. For your sake. You're welcome. I just knew. So, I told Matt we needed to go to the ER. For real. We got there at 4:00pm, I was taken back at 4:05pm and from there met with an ER doctor and a bunch of different nurses. Had an IV put in. Was examined. Blood drawn (6 viles!) and of course I hadn't eaten anything at all, soooo I started to feel sweaty and clammy and like I was going to pass out. On top of cramping. Such an exciting time. They did give me Tylenol. Which helped a little. I go for the Advil (but you can't HAVE Advil if you're pregnant), it works so much better for me though personally. Then I was wheeled (I'm 100% sure I could have walked just fine!) into the ultrasound room. And had one of those. I tried to peek, since it was my first ultrasound, but honestly I couldn't see anything. Matt really had a better view and said he saw several pockets which could have been the baby....or several babies?!?! lol yikes! You never really know what you're looking at anyways! But nevertheless the tech made no mention one way or the other. The pictures were then analyzed by the xray people and within five minutes they had the answer. BUT no one would tell me. Anything! I think that's the most frustrating thing about all this. I know the Doctors may not say what they are really thinking because of liability and the possibility of getting sued if let's say they told me I was having a miscarriage and then I went in for more blood work or something and in fact I was still pregnant. I get it. But when the Doctor brought back paperwork from my blood showing me that my hcg levels (the pregnancy hormone) were at 46 and they should have been around 100,000 at the most. I'm not stupid. He tried to tell me that maybe I was within the first week of pregnancy and would need more blood work to see if my levels were doubling like they should. I asked him what the ultrasound showed. His response: Nothing. Nothing? And you're trying to tell me that with ALLLLL of these symptoms I'm having: low hcg levels and NOTHING on the ultrasound...oh and I know for a fact when my LMP (sorry any boys who are reading this...LMP you ask? Google it.) was since I chart it religiously...which should put me at 6 weeks...you're telling me I may be within the first week of pregnancy???...oh okay. Right. So we were released around 9:00pm with information on a Doctor to go to for testing on that coming Tuesday. Tuesday came. Hcg levels: 17. That doctor was interesting. He was naturally impressed with my knowledge that I threw at him and you know what he at least told me the truth which was the numbers weren't pointing towards anything good. Thank you Mr. Doctor for being truthful!  My actual Doctor called that afternoon (she's an Aggie!) and they wanted me to come in to THEM on Friday for MORE blood to make sure my levels got down to 0. So Friday came...more needles, more bruises. Levels: 2. Over the weekend I'm 1000000000000% sure my levels reached 0. Again, not going to go into HOW I know...I just do. Remember? Because I'm awesome?? But I am going in again this Thursday for yet more blood (I'm starting to think vampires are living in the back areas of these places!??!). That's okay though, it'll give my arm time to heal. My right arm from the IV looked hideous! During biceps in body pump I kept looking at it in the mirror and hoping that nobody thought I was doing drugs or something--since I totally look like a druggie and all. But it's much better now!!

And so am I.

I know that I wasn't mentally prepared, but I was trying my best to get there. It was just a little different than what we had been planning, but that was okay. Saturday I was a complete mess. It's a scary situation to go through. Whether you were planning the pregnancy or not. I'm just truthfully happy it happened EARLY in the pregnancy rather than later on. And really, after it all happened I would be lying if I told you I wasn't sad. And that I felt guilty from not wanting it to even be there at first. I know I didn't WILL it out of me, but I still felt guilty like maybe it knew. Somehow. Silly thoughts! But in any case, I know some people will say oh well you were only 6 weeks along. This is true. But it's still a loss. Somewhat. A very small loss. But a loss.

So here we are. I definitely appreciated all the support from those who knew what was going on and especially to my Matt who held my hand through it all...he didn't leave my side once even though he gets wiggly with hospital/medical topics/stuff. I definitely am not writing this to receive pity or any extra attention. If you know me well enough you know I don't really like having attention called to myself. Just sharing an experience that I feel made me stronger and made Matt and I especially stronger as a couple. And I'm sharing it because it's good to share things and get them off your chest. And honestly, I feel much better now. So I appreciate you taking the time to read this and sorry if it was too personal or too much information...but I figured if you're reading this, you most likely care about me enough to read it. :) So thanks!

Anyway, I'll do a foodie type post this week as well..I just wanted to get this out. And after such a serious post, I will leave you with a couple of funny pictures for the heck of it (even though some of you may have already seen these on Facebook....they amuse me)! Enjoy.

MuMu in a blizzard

Me...because I know you love me

Shorts and sandals...jacket and beanie. Classic combo!!

My Matt Matt <3

Two Traveling Tuesdays! :) From the Midwest to the Pacific coast!

I'm sure you have been waiting with baited breath for my next post...haha...yea right! ;-) Well I've definitely been busy with just spending time with Matt (and I've been sick). Since he's had to go into the field so often and then working long hours along with prepping for NTC we've decided to make the most out of our weekends together. So we've been exploring Colorado Springs a lot. Which has been really fun!! One weekend we decided to go to the zoo. And let me tell you...it was THE BEST zoo I've been to so far. Not only was the weather beautiful, but it was a smaller zoo with beautiful landscaping and up close and personal time with the animals. It was fantastic!

When you first walked in you were giving a token to "vote" on an endangered animal that they were going to donate money to and stuff. It was fun reading about all the different animals. I voted for the one with the least tokens because I felt bad. I believe it might have been the vultures? Or maybe it was something else. But nevertheless it was fun. So Matt and I started walking and the first thing we came upon were the giraffes! And you could pet them! I was so excited because I have never experienced that before. You could also buy some lettuce for them, but we just wanted to pet them. They came up to you regardless.


It was really neat. And there even was a baby!! See how small it was?? I felt bad because it just stood there looking dejected. But it was really sweet looking. I couldn't believe how small it was.

Maggies

From the giraffes we moved on through the zoo and saw many animals that reminded us of our own animals. Warthogs=Maggie, Meerkats= Tigger...and I can't remember what we spotted as Millie. :) Maybe a skunk...I don't know! hehe...

Tiggies

The interesting thing was the animals were so close that you could literally touch them if you wanted...of course not the tigers and dangerous animals. But these meerkats you could...although there was a sign that said they'd bite. So...we definitely did not touch them. :)

The most fascinating animals by far were the monkeys and apes. There were two sets of families. One family had a baby! They were so human like. But the funniest thing was one of the males would put his face flat up against the window and the kids would come along and do the same to him. He was so intrigued by this that he would get kind of confused when they walked away. I thought this was so funny!! We were there around feeding time so they were busy at some point eating sweet potatoes and carrots and different veggies.

The baby was really funny too. It would climb up the ropes and when it's daddy came along it would swing and try to touch him as it swung by. This angered the daddy at one point and it made this huge stink and went away, but he came back and the baby was again at it's antics. All of the monkeys were funny really. There were some that were eating and lounging at funny angles. I think Matt and I stayed in there for quite some time--even though it was smelly. :)

Here are some other pictures from our visit:

  

It was a great visit and I can't wait to take my parents there when they visit in October. And as you can see the view is beautiful!!! 

So that week I decided to go with a Midwest themed dinner. It's a recipe that I found which is a classic Chicago dish! It's called Chicken Vesuvio and although I know my father would HATE it (but secretly like it) because of how much garlic there is; I know that my aunt and mom would love it! It was really good and the only thing I'd change about it would have been that Matt would have been home to fully enjoy it. :-/ 

CHICKEN VESUVIO 

Serves 4 (for us 2) 

Ingredients 

4 chicken thighs (about 1 1/4 pounds), skinned*

4 chicken drumsticks (about 1 pound), skinned*

3/4 teaspoon salt, divided 

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

12 garlic cloves (YEA...it says 12)

2 large peeled baking potatoes, each cut into 8 wedges 

1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth 

1/2 cup dry white wine 

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano 

2 garlic cloves, minced 

1 cup frozen green peas

*Note: I used chicken breasts because I had them. 

First preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Sprinkle your chicken with 1/4 teaspoon (out of the 3/4 teaspoon) of salt and pepper and pour the oil into a dutch oven (or in my case a big pot...because I don't have a dutch oven). Heat the oil over medium high heat and add your chicken.  

Brown your chicken on each side. Getting a good crust on the chicken is important to seal in those juices later! Once brown, remove it from the pan/pot/whatever you're using.





Add your whole garlic cloves to the pot, saute them for about a minute or so. Until they are slightly browned.  And remove them.







Then add your wedged potatoes to the pot. Saute them for about 6 minutes or until browned. And once this has happened, add your chicken and garlic cloves back into the pot. Add the rest of the salt, your broth, white wine, fresh oregano, and the two minced garlic cloves (MORE GARLIC for my auntie!!). Bring all of this to a simmer.




Once at a simmer, cover and bake if you are using a Dutch oven. In my case I put everything into some Corningware. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is done and the potatoes are tender. At this point, add your frozen peas and bake for another 8 minutes or until the peas are tender.



I don't have a picture of the 100% finished product, but let me tell you. The chicken was so juicy and moist and the smell that went throughout the house was lovely! You can't beat the smell of garlic! :) It was extremely tasty and although the original recipe with the thighs and drumsticks was 448 calories per serving; I think this is worth it and I believe my version is probably less calories anyways. I only ate half of a chicken breast and about a half cup of the potato mixture. I can't say enough about it. I think this recipe with the chicken breasts would be great for company! It tastes fancy, but as you can see it's super easy! I really hope you try it! I served it only with a salad since the potatoes were the starch of the meal.

Here's the recipe: Chicken Vesuvio

So the week of Labor Day weekend was exciting. Mainly because I was looking forward to spending
four uninterrupted days with Matt!! Thursday night we decided to go "downtown" which turned out to be a bust because the place we went was doing some sort of samba night. Or something. And there was about 4 people there. Probably more, but you get my drift. So we walked around a bit then went home.

Friday we ended up randomly going hiking! It was College Colors day so of course we had to wear Aggie shirts. Needless to say, Jeni was wearing a cute Aggie Gamma Phi shirt, khaki shorts, hair down....and there we were hiking. :) It was so much fun though. The views were beautiful! We could see the Garden of the Gods from where we were; which is always pretty to look at.

There were a lot of fun trails and we saw a lot of dogs being walked, which we joked about bringing Maggie...who can't walk more than 1/2 mile without getting tired. She's in shape! But she's a bulldog. :)

Baby Cactus!

I believe we walked for almost two hours. We saw people climbing the rock walls, people biking. All sorts of activity, yet surprisingly we were alone walking most of the time and it was really peaceful!






After that we headed over to this castle over near Garden of the Gods. It's modeled Tudor style...which as we all know, I LOVE! It was a gorgeous place! They do afternoon teas and I want to check that out for a girls day with my mom!!




Saturday we wanted to go up Pike's Peak on the Cog Railway. We called. All booked. Of course. Oh well. So we sat there wondering what we could do that day and little to my knowledge my sneaky Matt was planning something! He booked a room in BRECKENRIDGE! I was really uneasy at first because we'd have to leave the animals for the night, but we've done that before and it was fine. So I got excited and we packed up!

The drive there was beautiful! Especially through the winding Manitou Springs area and through some small towns. We hit a sort of plains/valley area and then all of a sudden BOOM gorgeous mountains and hillsides. Beautiful trees and then....glorious TEMPERATURES!! Yes...that says 48!! Brrrr!!!! :) I loved it!!

The place where we were originally going to stay UPGRADED us to their other property. Snazzy. I felt like I was a millionaire or something. It was a gorgeous property. Even without the snow! There was turn down service and lots of fancy directions for the property. The room though was delicious! And we took every advantage of everything! We used the fireplace, drank champagne, viewed the outdoor area on the patio. We went to the outdoor hot tub and gazed at the moon and the stars. It was great!! Later on we went around the town. There weren't a lot of people around so it was kind of like our own town! I would LOVE to go back. We may have to wait until after snow season though. Bummer.  Here are some pictures from the scenery and the room:

It was a lot of fun and we kind of wrote it off as our 2 year anniversary trip since Matt won't be here for that. :( Sad day.

Sunday we drove back a different way. This was unfortunate for my ears. I have very sensitive ears and now know that if we go back, I need to get my trusty Ear Planes :) It wasn't bad going there because we were going slower and not up into the mountains fast. On the way down it was 70 and we were descending pretty quick. Matt was really sweet and was going slower than he should so I would be okay. It was a pretty drive despite the ear problems. But now I know. :) We didn't do much Sunday, just relaxed and well Monday we did the same because I was NOT feeling well at all. I'm not really sure what I have, but all last week I felt really bad. And I still haven't gotten over it really. Monday we lounged though and that was nice to just relax.

For our Tuesday night dinner this week I went with the Pacific/Pacific Northwest type dish and did an Asian inspired Salmon! First of all, it's super easy and quick and the taste is amazing!

SALMON WITH HOISIN GLAZE

Ingredients

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce 
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce 
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil 
4 (6-ounce) skinless wild salmon fillets *
Cooking spray 
1 teaspoon sesame seeds 
Lemon rind strips (optional)

*Note: I used two salmon fillets and doubled the sauce for extra sauce and the marinating. 

Combine the first three ingredients into a shallow bowl, whisk together. I added some minced garlic for added flavor as well. Add your fish into the bowl and turn each fillet several times to coat well. Marinate the salmon for at least 8 minutes. I marinated mine for 4 hours! Definitely worth it! 

Once you're ready to cook the fish, preheat the oven to 400, take the fish out of the marinade, and place it on a baking sheet or like me into a shallow Pyrex dish. 


Bake for 8 minutes or until the fish is flaky and reads an internal temperature of 145 to 155. I garnished the fish with the sesame seeds. This is something you don't have to really do. It's a nice touch, but I just happened to have them so I did it. I did not do the lemon rind though. I think lime might be a good touch as well! 




To go with the salmon I made some rice and added sauteed green onions and mushrooms. It was really good!! 







The whole meal was absolutely delicious! I loved the salmon. I had half of one of the fillets and on Thursday I had the other half over a salad. The salmon was 255 calories per serving which included 1 fillet. I really recommend this salmon and I feel myself wanting more salmon with different types of marinades and such. I think it's good to get some fish in your diet every once in a while! I definitely think I'll try it more often now. 

Here's the recipe: Salmon with Hoisin Glaze 

I apologize it's taken me a while to get these two recipes up here, but this weekend was the perfect time for me to do so since Matt is in the field again. I haven't really done anything different than during the week. Except I've been trying my hardest to take it easy since I haven't been feeling well. I went to the usual Saturday tri-fecta  of Les Mills (Body Attack, Pump and CXWORX) and because me not being able to breathe properly and then having something possibly in my chest...well I felt like I was going to die. :) Of course, this also was the day I decided to walk to the gym since it was such a beautiful day...so I crawled home. Not literally. But it was a longer walk home than to the gym! :) Anyway, I hope you have had a great couple of weeks and after tomorrow hopefully things will be a little more calm around here. Until next time!! Take care!! :)