I had quite a nice weekend at Nawakwa with a few other 90's staffers. Paul's first year on staff was '98 and mine '99, making us the oddballs of the group - no one else there was a regular staffer after '99, except Dream, but he also started earlier than we did. So we had a lot of fun hearing about some legendary stuff right from the mouths of those who lived it, and just had a great time reminiscing in general.
It really made me realize how much camp changes over the years, and also how much more I should have appreciated my time there. Paul and I are going to start planning now so that we can go to Family Camp next year.
It was really neat to hang out with people who were once our counselors and talk about things as adults, and it was also good for me to get to spend time with everyone else's babies and spend time with other healthy young families. Unfortunately since I had the luxury of playing with them while they smiled and laughed, and handing them back to be changed, fed, and comforted, it gives me a rather inaccurate picture of parenthood...so it didn't really cure my baby cravings...but it was still really nice.
So anyway, I have decided that:
- I will be in bed by 10:00 PM with the goal of being asleep by 11:00 most Sunday thru Thursday nights
- I will go to the YMCA 2 to 4 times per week, and exercise (mostly lap swimming but occasionally elliptical) for 60 minutes while I am there.
- On days I don't go to the YMCA, I will take an hour-long walk in the evening, unless I rode my bike to work that day.
- I will eat more veggies and fruits, even if I don't eat less overall.
- I will look into other career paths such as teaching or starting a small business, and begin research into what I need to do to switch to a different career.
- I will start researching what we need to do to buy a house in 2009.
I think this is mostly precipitated by all the reminiscing this weekend, and seeing where everyone else is with there lives. So I decided that it's pretty important to get back in shape and figure out a more satisfying career now so that I can be a happy, healthy, laid-back young parent in a few years like most of the former staffers were. Motivation = good.
Towards goal # 1, I am now headed to bed - after not having tried it since 2002, I didn't find sleeping in a cabin in a camp bed to be the most restful experience, so I'm pretty sleepy. Good night, all.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Whip It Up week 2: Leftover chicken macaroni & cheese casserole
Ingredients:
8 oz macaroni
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 C milk
12 oz cheese of choice (I used sharp cheddar), chopped into smallish bits (saves time over shredding IMHO)
2 T ground mustard and/or deli-style mustard
1 t garlic powder
tabasco
pepper
1 C cooked chicken, cut up
2 T breadcrumbs
Prepare half (8 oz) of a 16-oz (1 lb) package of macaroni, cooking it al dente to the lower end of the cooking estimate (so it doesn't get too soggy once you boil it later)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In the mean time:
- melt 2 T butter in a saucepan over low heat
- once butter is completely melted, add 2 T flour
- stir constantly until rue (butter/flour mix) is smooth & bubbly all over, then continue to stir for another minute to get flour completely cooked
- gradually add 1 C milk, stirring constantly
- once the 1 C milk is added successfully and sauce is smooth and thick-ish, you can add the remaining 1 C milk all at once because you're no longer at risk for lumps
- once all the milk is added and is hot and steamy (it doesn't have to be bubbly, just plenty hot enough to melt the cheese), add in the 12 oz of chopped cheese and stir until it's all melted
- immediately remove from heat to avoid scalding anything - the melted cheese should have made your sauce thick again
- add 2 T ground mustard and 2 T deli-style mustard
- add a dash of tabasco and a few grinds of pepper, to taste
- put your cooked pasta, leftover chicken, and sauce into a buttered (or Pam'd, or however you prefer to non-stick-ify your casseroles) casserole dish, stir it all together, smooth out the top, and sprinkle on 2 T bread crumbs
- cover with aluminum foil (unless your casserole dish has a lid) and pop it in your 350 degree oven
- cook for 30 minutes or so, and then cook uncovered an additional 15 minutes or until the top is browned. If you didn't cover with bread crumbs or anything, you shouldn't cook it uncovered for too long or your noodles might get crusty.
Since everything is cooked to begin with, all you really need to do is get everything nice and hot and bubbly. If you did the sauce right, it'll already be nice and thick, so to save time you could probably bake it less and barely notice a difference.
Using cheddar makes it a little grainy, but I love cheddar so that's OK with me...if you wanted smoother, you could use another cheese.
You could also easily add other veggies, especially some fresh garlic and onion at the beginning: just cook it with the butter until the veggies are soft, and then add the flour and proceed the exact same way. If you've never tried your own white sauce before, it's easy! Don't be nervous. You just need a pan with a bottom that's not too thin, low heat, and equal parts fat (butter in this case) and flour, and then add your milk (preferably not skim, but anything at least 1% works just fine) very gradually, stirring constantly, and be patient. White sauce is a basic recipe that I used as the base for the cheese sauce, plus additional ingredients which I adapted from a few online mac & cheese recipes to use up some leftover chicken. I was lazy and didn't feel like chopping onions or I would have added that at the beginning with some fresh garlic.
Was the recipe easy to follow?
I didn't think about it enough ahead of time, so no, but if I did it again it would be better.
Did it taste good?
Pretty basic and nothing special, but yes, it was yummy comfort food.
Would you make this again?
I'm sure I'll do something similar in the future, but probably not the exact same thing. But it was a good way to use up my leftovers, so it worked.
I've been too lazy to pick out a real recipe from one of my many wonderful cookbooks, plan ahead and go to the grocery store, and make something more impressive to post about. Hopefully next week, maybe Wednesday. I made a really delish potato salad with lots of veggies like green beans, red pepper, red onion, and corn, with oil & balsamic vinegar dressing, but I didn't take pictures. It was really delish, though, so maybe I'll get the real recipe from my sis and post that & my variation of it anyway as a bonus. It was seriously delish.
OK bed time...I have a doctor's appointment at 7:00 AM tomorrow, ugh.
8 oz macaroni
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 C milk
12 oz cheese of choice (I used sharp cheddar), chopped into smallish bits (saves time over shredding IMHO)
2 T ground mustard and/or deli-style mustard
1 t garlic powder
tabasco
pepper
1 C cooked chicken, cut up
2 T breadcrumbs
Prepare half (8 oz) of a 16-oz (1 lb) package of macaroni, cooking it al dente to the lower end of the cooking estimate (so it doesn't get too soggy once you boil it later)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In the mean time:
- melt 2 T butter in a saucepan over low heat
- once butter is completely melted, add 2 T flour
- stir constantly until rue (butter/flour mix) is smooth & bubbly all over, then continue to stir for another minute to get flour completely cooked
- gradually add 1 C milk, stirring constantly
- once the 1 C milk is added successfully and sauce is smooth and thick-ish, you can add the remaining 1 C milk all at once because you're no longer at risk for lumps
- once all the milk is added and is hot and steamy (it doesn't have to be bubbly, just plenty hot enough to melt the cheese), add in the 12 oz of chopped cheese and stir until it's all melted
- immediately remove from heat to avoid scalding anything - the melted cheese should have made your sauce thick again
- add 2 T ground mustard and 2 T deli-style mustard
- add a dash of tabasco and a few grinds of pepper, to taste
- put your cooked pasta, leftover chicken, and sauce into a buttered (or Pam'd, or however you prefer to non-stick-ify your casseroles) casserole dish, stir it all together, smooth out the top, and sprinkle on 2 T bread crumbs
- cover with aluminum foil (unless your casserole dish has a lid) and pop it in your 350 degree oven
- cook for 30 minutes or so, and then cook uncovered an additional 15 minutes or until the top is browned. If you didn't cover with bread crumbs or anything, you shouldn't cook it uncovered for too long or your noodles might get crusty.
Since everything is cooked to begin with, all you really need to do is get everything nice and hot and bubbly. If you did the sauce right, it'll already be nice and thick, so to save time you could probably bake it less and barely notice a difference.
Using cheddar makes it a little grainy, but I love cheddar so that's OK with me...if you wanted smoother, you could use another cheese.
You could also easily add other veggies, especially some fresh garlic and onion at the beginning: just cook it with the butter until the veggies are soft, and then add the flour and proceed the exact same way. If you've never tried your own white sauce before, it's easy! Don't be nervous. You just need a pan with a bottom that's not too thin, low heat, and equal parts fat (butter in this case) and flour, and then add your milk (preferably not skim, but anything at least 1% works just fine) very gradually, stirring constantly, and be patient. White sauce is a basic recipe that I used as the base for the cheese sauce, plus additional ingredients which I adapted from a few online mac & cheese recipes to use up some leftover chicken. I was lazy and didn't feel like chopping onions or I would have added that at the beginning with some fresh garlic.
Was the recipe easy to follow?
I didn't think about it enough ahead of time, so no, but if I did it again it would be better.
Did it taste good?
Pretty basic and nothing special, but yes, it was yummy comfort food.
Would you make this again?
I'm sure I'll do something similar in the future, but probably not the exact same thing. But it was a good way to use up my leftovers, so it worked.
I've been too lazy to pick out a real recipe from one of my many wonderful cookbooks, plan ahead and go to the grocery store, and make something more impressive to post about. Hopefully next week, maybe Wednesday. I made a really delish potato salad with lots of veggies like green beans, red pepper, red onion, and corn, with oil & balsamic vinegar dressing, but I didn't take pictures. It was really delish, though, so maybe I'll get the real recipe from my sis and post that & my variation of it anyway as a bonus. It was seriously delish.
OK bed time...I have a doctor's appointment at 7:00 AM tomorrow, ugh.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
Good Reads
I recently spotted a neat-looking widget on a few friends' blogs: it displayed books they've read, with links to their rating and reviews of each book. I followed the links to Good Reads and signed myself up! It's a pretty neat site, and I've added a lot of the books I've read over the last few years, plus all the books on my to-do list. I haven't added any reviews yet, but I will. As it turns out, it's also a facebook app, so I added that as well, and deleted my old bookshelf app because it wasn't at all user-friendly.
So I think all my librophile friends and family out there should join too. You can get these pretty widgets in your blog! So fun.
So I think all my librophile friends and family out there should join too. You can get these pretty widgets in your blog! So fun.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Whip It Up week 1: Tuna melt with sprouts & avocado
For 2 people:
Your favorite bread or roll (ciabatta, or in this case I used sourdough bread)
Your favorite cheese (I used white extra-sharp cheddar; provolone or swiss would also be delightful)
2 cans of solid white albacore tuna (the normal size - about 6 oz each)
2 spoonfuls of sour cream
1 spoonful of mayo
squirt of deli-style mustard (the grainy-looking kind, not boring plain yellow)
pepper to taste
sprouts (I used a mixed container of broccoli, clover, and mustard sprouts)
1 avocado
Make tuna salad:
- Drain tuna and empty into a bowl
- Add sour cream, mayo, and mustard, just enough to coat everything - you can always add more, so be frugal to start!
- Mix & mash until tuna is all shredded and coated (add more sour cream/mayo/mustard if you like)
- Add pepper to taste; stir it in
Make tuna melt:
- Turn on your toaster oven (or regular oven if you don't have a toaster oven) and set it to "broil"
- Lightly toast your bread (if using a toaster oven, do this by popping the bread in there while the toaster oven heats up; if this is the method you use, it will be more toasted on the top, so put that side down before adding the tuna)
- Spread tuna salad on bread, pressing it down so you have a flat-ish top
- Place a slice or three of cheese on top of the tuna
- Put the whole shebang into your oven (I used my toaster oven, much smaller, quicker, and easier)
- Keep it in there for a few minutes until the cheese is all melted
- Pop it out and let cool for a few minutes
- Pile sprouts and sliced avocado on top
- Take a huge bite and enjoy!
(Depending on your preference and how sturdy your bread is, you might need to use a knife & fork to eat. The ciabatta at the cafe let me pick it up to eat it, but the sourdough I used at home was too brittle so I had to use a fork!)
This recipe was easy for me to follow because I was making it up...I had roughly the same thing in a little cafe a couple weeks ago, and had been thinking to myself how I could duplicate it, so it was all well-formed inside my head. I wrote it down here after I made it, pretty much exactly as I did it!
Some tweaks to make to suit your own taste, style, and timeframe: You could use store-bought tuna salad, or a different ratio of sour cream to mayo to mustard (low-fat, anyone?), or add some onion or other veggies to the tuna; use a different type of cheese if you prefer, say, swiss or provolone to cheddar; and definitely just use your fav bread on the bottom. The restaurant used ciabatta, which was also great, but I happened to get some fresh sourdough from the farmer's market this week, so I used that.
When I make this again, I won't go overboard on the cheese - my slices of cheddar were rather thick, and you can see it melted all the way down over the sides so you can't even see the tuna and bread! Still delicious, but it would be nice to taste the tuna a bit more, plus less cheese would mean less fat.
The nice thing about this recipe was that it was very simple and quick - and it could have been even quicker if I had made the tuna salad the day before, or bought pre-made tuna salad, and if I had pre-sliced cheese and bread. Melting the cheese in the toaster oven took no more than 10 minutes, and all that's left after that is to pile the sprouts and avocado on top! Super fast and easy.
We discovered from making this that my hubby doesn't particularly care for sprouts, so while I would definitely make this meal again, I might do it for company when he wasn't around, or as part of a few options at a picnic, or else just put some lettuce and avocado on his and only use the sprouts on mine! I am newly in love with sprouts, so more sprouts for me would be peachy.
Please comment if you have questions, or if you try it out!! Now I'm all hungry from typing this up...
Whip It Up blog
My Whip It Up pictures
My Whip It Up goal: to publish a new recipe every Monday, starting with this one. Luckily blogger has an auto-publish feature, so I can type this all up ahead of time and set it to publish on Monday - how nice. Oops, now I've given away my secret.
Your favorite bread or roll (ciabatta, or in this case I used sourdough bread)
Your favorite cheese (I used white extra-sharp cheddar; provolone or swiss would also be delightful)
2 cans of solid white albacore tuna (the normal size - about 6 oz each)
2 spoonfuls of sour cream
1 spoonful of mayo
squirt of deli-style mustard (the grainy-looking kind, not boring plain yellow)
pepper to taste
sprouts (I used a mixed container of broccoli, clover, and mustard sprouts)
1 avocado
Make tuna salad:
- Drain tuna and empty into a bowl
- Add sour cream, mayo, and mustard, just enough to coat everything - you can always add more, so be frugal to start!
- Mix & mash until tuna is all shredded and coated (add more sour cream/mayo/mustard if you like)
- Add pepper to taste; stir it in
Make tuna melt:
- Turn on your toaster oven (or regular oven if you don't have a toaster oven) and set it to "broil"
- Lightly toast your bread (if using a toaster oven, do this by popping the bread in there while the toaster oven heats up; if this is the method you use, it will be more toasted on the top, so put that side down before adding the tuna)
- Spread tuna salad on bread, pressing it down so you have a flat-ish top
- Place a slice or three of cheese on top of the tuna
- Put the whole shebang into your oven (I used my toaster oven, much smaller, quicker, and easier)
- Keep it in there for a few minutes until the cheese is all melted
- Pop it out and let cool for a few minutes
- Pile sprouts and sliced avocado on top
- Take a huge bite and enjoy!
(Depending on your preference and how sturdy your bread is, you might need to use a knife & fork to eat. The ciabatta at the cafe let me pick it up to eat it, but the sourdough I used at home was too brittle so I had to use a fork!)
 |
| From Whip It Up! ... |
This recipe was easy for me to follow because I was making it up...I had roughly the same thing in a little cafe a couple weeks ago, and had been thinking to myself how I could duplicate it, so it was all well-formed inside my head. I wrote it down here after I made it, pretty much exactly as I did it!
Some tweaks to make to suit your own taste, style, and timeframe: You could use store-bought tuna salad, or a different ratio of sour cream to mayo to mustard (low-fat, anyone?), or add some onion or other veggies to the tuna; use a different type of cheese if you prefer, say, swiss or provolone to cheddar; and definitely just use your fav bread on the bottom. The restaurant used ciabatta, which was also great, but I happened to get some fresh sourdough from the farmer's market this week, so I used that.
When I make this again, I won't go overboard on the cheese - my slices of cheddar were rather thick, and you can see it melted all the way down over the sides so you can't even see the tuna and bread! Still delicious, but it would be nice to taste the tuna a bit more, plus less cheese would mean less fat.
The nice thing about this recipe was that it was very simple and quick - and it could have been even quicker if I had made the tuna salad the day before, or bought pre-made tuna salad, and if I had pre-sliced cheese and bread. Melting the cheese in the toaster oven took no more than 10 minutes, and all that's left after that is to pile the sprouts and avocado on top! Super fast and easy.
We discovered from making this that my hubby doesn't particularly care for sprouts, so while I would definitely make this meal again, I might do it for company when he wasn't around, or as part of a few options at a picnic, or else just put some lettuce and avocado on his and only use the sprouts on mine! I am newly in love with sprouts, so more sprouts for me would be peachy.
Please comment if you have questions, or if you try it out!! Now I'm all hungry from typing this up...
Whip It Up blog
My Whip It Up pictures
My Whip It Up goal: to publish a new recipe every Monday, starting with this one. Luckily blogger has an auto-publish feature, so I can type this all up ahead of time and set it to publish on Monday - how nice. Oops, now I've given away my secret.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Herbs are Growing!
Look at that basil grow! I hope I can eat it by the end of the summer...I also hope it doesn't attract the masses of japanese beetles that my mom's did a couple summers ago - that was so gross.
I'm not growing anything as exciting as my cousin Katy is, but we do also have a pepper plant out back that is getting flowers. We have TONS of bumblebees, so hopefully they'll visit the pepper plant so that I don't have to help the flowers have flower sex like Katy did.
Next post: Whip It Up Week 1! Coming Monday, 7 July (not June, thanks Mom!). Yes, I have discovered blogger's auto-publish feature.
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