They Say...

They say...

"A picture is worth a thousand words"

But in this case...
















































...one will do.

Today I feel like...
THIS:
If only I could just get in a good one of...
THESE:And maybe even a frozen one of...
THESE:

Than maybe I'll feel a little more like...
THIS:

I Made it Monday: Spicy Tuna Linguine

Don't let the name with "spicy" and "tuna" fool you if you don't like these. With this recipe you can control the spiciness and you don't HAVE to use tuna. You could easily use some other type of meat or no meat if you so choose. Personally I thought the tuna was a unique flavor in this dish and it's nice to use tuna for something other than a sandwich.

DON'T be intimidated by the ingredient list. If you really look at it, a lot of the ingredients are things you may have on hand or in storage.

DO enjoy this amazing recipe. When Dan took a bite his eyes got big and said this was the best thing I had ever made - he is always so nice...but I do have to say I surprised myself. I would say this dish is restaurant worthy! ALSO, it is a one-skillet meal - meaning - you only dirty ONE cooking dish and everything just keeps getting added to the same dish.

On to the recipe...

Spicy Tuna and Linguine

2 Tbs olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/2 Cup chopped onion
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (this is the spicy - use less if desired)
2 1/2 cups chopped plum tomatoes (I used cut up regular Roma tomatoes and the kind of fell apart. So getting the right tomatoes may make a big difference - OR just add regular tomatoes at a later point so they don't get so mushy and fall apart.)
1 Can (14 1/2 oz) OR 2 Cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 pkg (9 oz) uncooked linguine
1 pouch (7 oz) OR 1 can (6 oz) Tuna
1/3 Cup chopped cilantro
1/3 Cup toasted pine nuts OR Almonds (Optional: but does add a lot) - (I happened to have a handful of whole almonds from a while ago so I took my hammer, did some crushing and used that - it really made the dish a little fancier and "gourmet-ish")

~ In 12 inch skillet: heat olive oil over med-high heat. Sate garlic, mushrooms, onion and red pepper until golden brown.
~ Add tomatoes, ckn broth, salt and pepper - bring to a boil
~ Separate uncooked linguine into strands; place in skillet and spoon sauce over.
~ Reduce heat to simmer: cook, covered, 4 more minutes or until linguine is cooked through.
~ Toss gently; add tuna and cilantro and toss again.
~ Optional: sprinkle with pine nuts or almonds

Military Appreciation Day

The city of San Angelo relies heavily upon the money the military base brings. As a result they try to find many ways to show appreciation and keep the military and families happy. Today, the city put on a major event. ALL military and their families were invited to a huge BBQ and fun! The food was plentiful and delicious. There were free pony rides, climbing wall, clowns, massages, face painting, lots of blow up gyms/toys/obstacles...whatever you call them, play ground, much more, and my personal favorite (We made two visits to this table)...snow cones!

A neat little thing called: PTO

Paid Time Off

Ever since I entered the working world I have never held a full-time position in which I qualified for the benefit of accruing and having paid time off. Today, work was unusually slow. Only 6 surgeries to come back and 2 GI procedures. I had already sent one GI home and I was getting the second one ready to go as well. EVERYONE was scheduled to work so my boss was trying to get people to go home. I waited, thinking all the long-timers would get first dibs, but very few volunteered. So I offered to go home (such a sacrifice - sit at work and do nothing - or do whatever I want at home). She was glad, then looked at a paper and said, "Your 3 months of observation are up - you can use your PTO that you've earned if you want." I have in the last 3 months accrued 36 hours of PTO and when we move I'm sure I will have plenty that I will not get to use (Most days we are way too busy at work to ever get PTO approved).

SO, here I sit, getting paid to check my email, blog, shop, and whatever I want.

I LOVE IT!

I Made it Monday: Tortilla Pizzas!

When we are tired and don’t want to work too hard for our dinner, but want something tasty we make these. It is just tortillas with some spaghetti sauce/pizza sauce spread around. Then we put whatever cheese we have or like over it. Next we put whatever toppings we have or like on such as pepperoni, mushrooms, ham, pineapple, avocado hearts, chicken…the list goes on. And I almost always add cilantro (did you know I love cilantro?). We then top it off with a little more cheese then broil it in the oven until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are just a little crispy. You can eat them like pizza slices, roll it up and enjoy, or fold in half, whatever your tortilla pizza heart desires…

Dan - My Little Man

Sometimes I call Dan, "Dan, my little man". When we first met - he suggested I call him that to remember his name and joking about height. But I don't call him "little" because he is short. I certainly don't call him "little" because he is petty or belittling in things he does or says; he is so positive and can make people feel so special and important. But, sometimes I call him my "little man" because once in a while I get a glimpse of the little boy in him.This is a horny toad that Dan found outside on his run the other day. He caught it and brought it home to show me. He was so excited to show me what he'd found and wanted me to see it. It made me smile.

I love Dan, my little man.

I Made it Monday: Baked Corn Casserole

This is a recipe I got from my Mom. I always loved it when she made it so I finally got the recipe from her before we moved. We love it; especially when we have chili or something like that. It makes me a little homesick sometimes, but it is nice to have a little reminder of home now and again. I have discovered that the sour cream makes all the difference. Most recently I tried fat free sour cream - and it was good, but not quite as good as the good stuff! I often double this recipe for bigger groups. It is also very easy! Just remember 1 and then the ingredients.

Baked Corn Casserole:
1 can whole kernel corn - drained
1 can creamed corn
1 box Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 egg
1 stick of margarine
1 - 8 oz. of sour cream
opt - 1 can of green chilies

Mix well and pour into an 8x8 greased pan/baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy!

Quiet morning, Kickball, and Cocktail party...

Saturday was a good day.

It started at the wee early hour of...9:30. I was SO tired after this week of working a few overtime days and several 4am wake ups that I didn't wake up once through the night (a rarity for me). One of my favorite things is to be able to wake up when my body wants to wake up and I can just laze in bed until I feel fully awake, refreshed, alert and ready to get up and do something. Well, today I didn't feel like getting up and doing anything for quite some time. Dan and I just laid there talking while waking up and I did a little reading and finally finished my current book Confessions of a Shopaholic (to save for another post)...all while still in bed. It wasn't until about 11:30 that I finally rolled out and went to help Dan make some Pancakes and Turkey bacon (It was an experiment and I think we like it. Definitely not the same as bacon, but a healthier and rather yummy alternative if you aren't craving the exact bacon taste/texture.) Then we "rushed" to our next activity of watching a show on the computer while eating breakfast in bed. Then we laid there a little longer enjoying full bellies, the quiet morning (well afternoon by this time) and a little more reading while Dan was on the computer. I finally finished my current book Confessions of a Shopaholic (to save for another post). It wasn't until 1 that I finally got dressed and ready for the day.

Dan's work was having a kickball tournament for all the classes in his program that had signed up (turned out only 3 teams showed up which was nice). After much fretting and stressing on my part, since I was invited to play with them, I finally decided I would go, but not play. I am no good at such activities (especially if a ball is included) and I didn't want to embarrass myself or an entire team which I had no idea how serious people would be taking AND I didn't know anyone from any of the other classes. So, I purposely wore weak shoes as a lame excuse that, "No really I can't play - I have bad shoes on." Instead of, "just trust me you DON'T WANT me on your team", because someone could have easily guilted or pressured me into playing against my will, but with bad shoes its just not an option. In the end, I don't know why I worried so much about it, because it was pretty fun and laid back and I probably wouldn't have done much worse than a few other players out there. Nevertheless, I enjoyed being a spectator. Dan was the star of the show. His kicks were home runners. During one kick the bases were loaded and he kicked that ball all the way across the field. It was a GRAND SLAM! I was so proud of him! I screamed, clapped and leaned over to the girl next to me and said, "That's my husband!" She probably could have cared less with her apathetic face, but that didn't bother me - I proudly cheered him on his way!

Afterward, we went home, showered and Dan went to dinner with some guys from his class while I headed over to a girls night cocktail party with the women I've met, and kind of made friends with, some girls from Dan's work. Obviously I wasn't there for the martini's, but it was still a lot of fun - it is a neat and fun group of women. I enjoy getting together with them and I'm glad they invite me along (The last girls night out was a night of appetizers, talking, and the twilight movie). Tonight, the host provided my own jug of lemonade (well, it was for everyone there, but I was the only one actually drinking it at first). None of them are really heavy drinkers when it is just the girls so it stayed fun the whole time (sometimes, with class get-togethers there is a little more drinking which takes them to a place that the sober mind can't quite see what is so funny.) . We had all kinds of foods and appetizers and just enjoyed talking and playing with the two babies that were there for a while. It is refreshing to get a girls night out now and again.

Saturday was a good day.

I Made it Monday: Coconut Curry Chicken

This has been one of our favorite recipes for a few years now. I have cooked this on the stove AND in the wok (which is much faster). It is basically very easy - what makes it a little more complicated is the time (which I rarely use the entire time they say - I just cook till the chicken and then veggies are done.) and also how many veggies (if any) you use. In other words how much do you have to cut up and how fast do you cut?

We serve this with plenty of rice. It is so good and the coconut gives it a very refreshing taste and cuts any sharp spiciness of the curry. For some reason it never really turns out the exact same color - I don't know if it is different brands of canned tomatoes or what kind of veggies I put in. NEVERTHELESS, this is a dish that we are always happy and satisfied with and usually cook when we are in the mood for something different but don't want to go out to eat.

Coconut Curry Chicken:
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch chunks or small bite sized pieces.
1 tsp salt and pepper, or to taste
1 1/2 Tbs oil
2 Tbs curry powder
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (14 oz) can of coconut milk
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3 Tbs sugar

- Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper (I usually forget this step and have to add it later)
- Heat oil and curry powder in a large skillet over med-high heat for two minutes (mixing the powder into the oil).
- Stir in onions and garlic, and cook 1 minute more
- Add chicken, tossing lightly to coat with curry oil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook for 7-10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink in center and juices run clear.
- Pour coconut milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and sugar into the pan (DON'T forget the sugar!) and stir to combine.

- Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, approximately 30-40 minutes. ( I usually let is simmer 15-20 minutes then I start adding veggies (the ones that need the longest cooking to the least.). Some of the veggies we like to use are green beans, mushrooms, spinach, brussel sprouts cut up, squash or zucchini, and anything else you want!)We put leftovers the next night in pitas! It was yummy all over again!