I'm Back!

Well it has been over a month, but I am back!!

I've been spending my time playing with Baby Boy (BB), reading, watching HGTV, cooking, and doing countless loads of laundry!

I'm going back to work early (8 months early) and thus have been searching for quick and easy recipes for dinner time.  I've pulled out my slow cooker, dusted it off and plan to put it to use!  If any of you have some favourite slow cooker (crock pot) dishes please share!!

Armed with my list of ingredients for the recipes I'll be trying, I went to the grocery store and stocked up on meats, sauces, soups, and veggies.  While I was going down the last aisle something caught my eye that I haven't made in a while.... DONAIRS.  One of my favourite eats!  Although I'm not sure if donair meat comes from any animal I've ever heard of- it is delicious!  

In case any of you have not heard of or seen a donair here is a picture:


Pita Pocket drizzled with water, then quickly fried in a hot skillet, hot donair "meat", onions, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and donair sauce!!  YUM!!!

So I bought a kit- and am making them for dinner tonight!
Enjoy!

Recipes Continued

I made the Easy Sweet and Sour Chicken that I previously posted:

Perfectly Plated!

 Surprisingly Tasty!

Have you ever made any strange recipes that turned out to be delicious?!

Clean Spree!

Wow!!  What an afternoon!
Stefan and I majorly cleaned and organized the house.  We moved furniture, collect recycling, did laundry, all while little Juri slept!
Stefan carried my desk downstairs and I put in front of the dinning room window.  We took one leaf out of the dinning room table (since it's just the 2.5 of us), and carried a wing chair to the basement.  We rearranged the guest room and moved around some furniture in the baby's room.

I'm tired!!  Pictures to come:

Dinning Room 

"My" Space.

Happy 3 months and 1 week!!

Juri in his pink bumbo.  Hey, beggars can't be choosers!!

Recipes!!

I am failing in the domestic way of life.  I lowered myself to serving my husband chicken nuggets and chips for dinner one night last week.  His comment was "don't over do-it" (or something to that effect).  Hubby is an electrician and for the past several weeks he has been working outside underneath a building preparing it to do the electrical work inside.  It has been very cold lately, so he looks forward to coming home to a hot meal.
This is where I come in.... I am getting lazy in the kitchen.

I used to love to bake and cook.  Now it overwhelms me.  Although I did manage to whip up a delicious chicken stir fry with rice the night after the disaster "birthday party type" chicken nuggets and chips, I'm struggling.

I began searching the web last night and lo and behold I stumbled upon a life-saving website: momswhothink.com.

They have great recipes; fast, healthy, and made with ingredients one would normally have in stock.

I found a great Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe which I may try tomorrow night.  It actually uses chicken nuggets, let's see what Hubby has to say about that!!

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce package frozen breaded chicken nuggets
1½ cups quick cooking rice
1 8-ounce canned pineapple chunks
1 large green sweet pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup vinegar
3 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon instant chicken bouillon granules
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained

Directions:

1.  Bake chicken nuggets according to package directions.

2.  Prepare quick cooking rice according to package directions.

3.  Drain pineapple, reserving juice.  Add enough water to reserved juice to make 1 ½ cups liquid.

4.  Pour pineapple juice mixture into a medium saucepan.  Add sweet pepper.  Bring to boiling, reduce heat.

5.  Cover and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes or until pepper is crisp-tender.

6.  Stir together vinegar, sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and bouillon granules.

7.  Stir into mixture in saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, then cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

8.  Gently stir in chicken, pineapple chunks, and water chestnuts.  Heat through.

9.  Serve chicken mixture over hot cooked rice.  Makes 4 servings.

Recipes from: momswhothink.com

It Only Took 4 Years....

I began my University career in 2003.
I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 2007.
Christmas 2008 I asked to have my Degree framed... did not happen.
Christmas 2009 I asked to have my Degree framed... did not happen.
Christmas 2010 I asked to have my Degree framed... did not happen.
After 3 years of devastation I did not hold out much hope.  And then it happened-
Christmas 2011 my parents (Mr and Mrs LC) presented me with my Degree framed and matted in the Mount Allison's colours!

Stefan hung my degree in our living room today.  After looking at it for a few minutes, he declared- "Isn't that a bit showy?".  To which I replied, "As my father would say, More is More".
Presenting, in Latin (a class I did not take) my Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Political Science from Mount Allison University.  Ranked in the top 2 Canadian Under-Graduate Universities for the past 11 years.

New Year New Start

I have not made a New Year's resolution for the last number of years because I never keep them!
This year will be different.  I am making a resolution that I will try my hardest to keep:  Be Thankful For What I Have.

I find myself saying "I want.  I want.  I want."  I'm thinking of what other people have, and what I don't. Well- that shouldn't matter--- I should be happy for what I have... family, true friends, etc.  Material items should not matter!!

We are in control of how we feel... and these two people help me feel great:

Wake-Up Call

Hubby had said all through my pregnancy that he would like to take the last 4-6 months of my maternity leave for himself... thus me staying home for the first 6 months and he take the last 6 months of baby's first year.  I keep telling him I don't think he could handle it.  Of course, he disagrees.
So.... I am going to start keeping track of all the baby/household related things I do on a daily basis.

For example last week in one day: 4 loads of laundry, folded and put away.  Washed 8 bottles, made 8 bottles.  Did dishes. Loaded/ran/unloaded dishwasher. Vacuumed/returned the bottles and got some groceries.  Oh ya- changed diapers and feed the baby.  I love hubby- but I don't think he could accomplish all that.  He hasn't even taken baby out of the house by himself yet!

I love you Stefan... but you are no "Mommy"!!