We then went and hung out at the pool at my ex-husband's house. Yes, you heard that right. We have been divorced for about 20 years, but we are still good friends. Here I am relaxing and trying to make the best of the heat...
Monday, August 29, 2011
Like A Heat Wave ..
This past weekend was like a heat wave. My beautiful daughter and I went shopping @ the mall in the Valley and it was 108 degrees. Thank God for AC in the Mall !!
We then went and hung out at the pool at my ex-husband's house. Yes, you heard that right. We have been divorced for about 20 years, but we are still good friends. Here I am relaxing and trying to make the best of the heat...
We then went and hung out at the pool at my ex-husband's house. Yes, you heard that right. We have been divorced for about 20 years, but we are still good friends. Here I am relaxing and trying to make the best of the heat...
Monday, August 22, 2011
Learn Something New
Hello,
What did you learn today?
If you follow my blog posts, you will soon learn something unique about me. I have a passion for trying something new. I'm always seeking new adventures to learn new things. I'm on a mission to live this life thoroughly as our days on this planet are never guaranteed. I don't want to ever have regrets. You will soon learn I have a passion for life.
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| Photo Credit: Google images |
Here is a perfect video that shows how fun learning new things can be...
What did you learn today?
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Cook-in-Training
Ciao,
I've never been much of a cook. In fact, I was never really taught how to cook. My beautiful mother passed away when I was a very little girl. She was very ill for many years before her passing, so kitchen time with me was just not an option.
Of course I can make some basic things. My kids and husband have survived on my cooking for all these years. ;-) However, I just never enjoyed it. I didn't know the basic cooking techniques and every meal I prepared felt stressful and I put way too much pressure on myself.
Here I am today, trying to find my way in the kitchen and learn to love cooking. I also love photography, so I've decided to practice a little with food photography. Hopefully, my skills will improve in that arena too, as you will soon see by the photographs I post below...lol
Today, I decided to try a recipe that I "Pinned" on Pinterest. If you are not aware of what Pinterest is, then check back here for a future post all about my new Pinterest passion.
The recipe I have chosen to try today uses the crock-pot. In my opinion, the crock-pot is probably the greatest invention of all time, besides the microwave. :-)
The recipe is for "Chicken Enchilada Soup". I love soup and given I am trying to eat a little lighter, I figure this would work well with a nice salad for dinner. The particular recipe came from the Tasty Kitchen and here is the link to find this and other fabulous recipes for you and your family too.
The Tasty Kitchen
I made my ingredient list and off to the store I went. I wanted to know exactly what I spent to make the soup, so I didn't add anything else to the cart. This might be a good technique to use in the future, as you know how hard it is to make it in and out of a grocery store with exactly what you went for. Success !!
As you can see by my reciept below, the total cost of the soup was $18.35. Not bad in my book, as this breaks down to approx. $3.06 per serving. (tip: You can even cut the cost down more by using less expensive brands.)
I've never been much of a cook. In fact, I was never really taught how to cook. My beautiful mother passed away when I was a very little girl. She was very ill for many years before her passing, so kitchen time with me was just not an option.
Of course I can make some basic things. My kids and husband have survived on my cooking for all these years. ;-) However, I just never enjoyed it. I didn't know the basic cooking techniques and every meal I prepared felt stressful and I put way too much pressure on myself.
Here I am today, trying to find my way in the kitchen and learn to love cooking. I also love photography, so I've decided to practice a little with food photography. Hopefully, my skills will improve in that arena too, as you will soon see by the photographs I post below...lol
Today, I decided to try a recipe that I "Pinned" on Pinterest. If you are not aware of what Pinterest is, then check back here for a future post all about my new Pinterest passion.
The recipe I have chosen to try today uses the crock-pot. In my opinion, the crock-pot is probably the greatest invention of all time, besides the microwave. :-)
The recipe is for "Chicken Enchilada Soup". I love soup and given I am trying to eat a little lighter, I figure this would work well with a nice salad for dinner. The particular recipe came from the Tasty Kitchen and here is the link to find this and other fabulous recipes for you and your family too.
The Tasty Kitchen
I made my ingredient list and off to the store I went. I wanted to know exactly what I spent to make the soup, so I didn't add anything else to the cart. This might be a good technique to use in the future, as you know how hard it is to make it in and out of a grocery store with exactly what you went for. Success !!
 |
| Yummy stuff |
As you can see by my reciept below, the total cost of the soup was $18.35. Not bad in my book, as this breaks down to approx. $3.06 per serving. (tip: You can even cut the cost down more by using less expensive brands.)
 |
| The cost is awesome |
Let the fun begin ....
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| Rinse the black beans |
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| Place in the crock pot |
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| Add diced tomatoes to crock-pot |
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| Add Frozen Corn |
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| Add diced onions |
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| Mix all together |
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| Add boneless chicken breasts |
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| Mix Enchilada Sauce, Cream of Chicken Soup and Milk together |
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| Pour on top of everything in crock-pot |
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| Cover crock-pot and cook on high for 6 hours |
The house has smelled so good the entire day as this amazing creation cooks. I have also been stress free through this whole adventure today.. LOL, Now for the final unveiling (que the music) hahaha
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| I proudly present the finished product !! |
The soup not only looked good but tasted wonderful as well. This makes approximately 6 servings has about 200 calories per bowl with lots of fiber... Whoot Whoot ... I'm one happy camper now.
Livestrong
Good Day Mates,
I wanted to share a recent website / iPhone app that I downloaded/joined and have started to use. It is amazing for those of you who have any "life improving" goals you've set for yourself.
There is great recipes, exercise tips, motivation blogs, etc. It looks very informative and you can log your calories, exercise, and even graph the changes you have made (for those who are "Visual" people like myself).
My goals that I have set for myself are to get more toned and lose a few more pounds for health reasons. I'm not perfect and never plan to be. I always say, This is me... my imperfect best! However, given my recent health scare, I'm ready to make a few more healthy changes.
The website is called: Livestrong
I encourage you to check out this site and see if it might be something you could benefit from as well. It's also free for many of the features, so you can try it out and if it works for you, then upgrade the service to get even more options. (Pay it forward)
Have a beautiful, healthy, happy and blessed, Sunday !
Maria :-)
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| Photo Credit: Livestrong.com |
I wanted to share a recent website / iPhone app that I downloaded/joined and have started to use. It is amazing for those of you who have any "life improving" goals you've set for yourself.
There is great recipes, exercise tips, motivation blogs, etc. It looks very informative and you can log your calories, exercise, and even graph the changes you have made (for those who are "Visual" people like myself).
My goals that I have set for myself are to get more toned and lose a few more pounds for health reasons. I'm not perfect and never plan to be. I always say, This is me... my imperfect best! However, given my recent health scare, I'm ready to make a few more healthy changes.
The website is called: Livestrong
 |
| Photo Credit: Livestrong.com |
I encourage you to check out this site and see if it might be something you could benefit from as well. It's also free for many of the features, so you can try it out and if it works for you, then upgrade the service to get even more options. (Pay it forward)
Have a beautiful, healthy, happy and blessed, Sunday !
Maria :-)
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Date Night
I love Date Nights! When did you last have one? Don't you just love them too? Whether you are single or married for a bazillion years, like us, they can be a great way to stay close and connected. As we all know, life tends to get in the way sometimes so we have to make the time.
I try to learn something new about my husband every day. I love listening to him tell me about his gym workouts, as I can certainly see his gorgeous muscles getting more and more defined each day. In fact, I think he gets more handsome as he gets older. He still has the ability to make me laugh, which is truly a wonderful thing. More than anything, I love how I feel being with him.
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| My Handsome husband and I at the renewal of our wedding vows ! |
We decided to try out the new restaurant in town called "Market Broiler". I decided I wanted to add more fish to my diet so this sounded like the perfect place. When we arrived it looked like the place was crowded, but the wait for a table was only 10 minutes, which isn't bad for a Saturday night.
We read through the menu trying to figure out what would be a good fish to try. I haven't been much of a fish eater over the years, but this is something I want to change for my future. I was looking for something that was reasonably healthy, but not something that was plain or fishy tasting , as I know this would cause me to not want fish again. I had a health scare recently, so I have committed to making some healthy lifestyle changes.
We both decided to try the Macadamia Nut Mahi Mahi & Coconut Shrimp. Given that the Macadamia Nut topping and the coconut shrimp wasn't the healthiest of options, I knew I had to make some sacrifices to keep everything within a healthy balance.
My compromises: I asked for water with lemon instead of a usual soda. They brought a loaf of fresh baked San Franciscan Sourdough bread w/ butter to the table. I am proud to say I didn't even touch it. The smell of hot bread sitting in front of me was almost to much to handle. I would have asked for it to be taken away as not to waste, but before I knew it my husband was feasting his way through it. Must be the muscles needing the carbs, I figure ! lol I, however, kept myself busy looking at the menu until our waiter returned to take our order.
I ordered a dinner salad to help curb my appetite so I didn't start in on the bread. When our waiter asked what kind of dressing I wanted, I had to think for a moment. Hmmmm... In the past, I would have quickly ordered blue cheese or ranch. Not today! I decided to try the Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette. Oh My Goodness, that dressing certainly put a smile on my face. I then asked to switch out the white rice with fresh tomato slices and steamed veggies.
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| Macadamia Nut Mahi Mahi & Coconut Shrimp Photo Credit: MJ Nault Photography |
I've decided to be a "Foodie-in-Training" and really step out of my comfort zone and try new things. What a wonderful date night we had. The food was awesome, the service fantastic, spending alone time laughing with my husband was pure bliss, and most of all I am grateful we have the ability to afford a night out like this.
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