Saturday Post

I am going to be super busy this weekend so I thought I would set this up early.  Have a great long weekend.
{ASIAN BEEF-NOODLE SALAD}

Dressing
½ cup chicken broth
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp grated ginger root
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp each salt, freshly ground black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes
Salad
8 oz uncooked whole wheat spaghetti
1 lb sirloin steak, grilled and cut into strips
2 cups small broccoli florets
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 cup peeled, seeded and diced cucumber
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
½ cup chopped green onions
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. Rinse well with cold water and drain again. Transfer spaghetti to a large salad bowl and toss with remaining ingredients. Add dressing just before serving and toss again.

Per serving (based on 6 servings): calories: 340; total fat: 7.6 g; saturated fat: 2.1g; protein: 25g; carbohydrate: 46g; fiber: 6.3g; cholesterol: 46mg; sodium 619 mg

From: Eat, Shrink & Be Merry

Cheesy Bean Casserole

I do have a new assignment from Paper Pals to work on and I plan on starting that today but for now I am going to post another recipe. 

{CHEESY BEAN CASSEROLE}

Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
2 cans (14 1/2oz) no-salt whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp pepper
1 cup (4 oz) shredded reduced fat sharp cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add onion to skillet and sauté until tender. Stir in beans and next 3 ingredients. Cook 3 min or until thoroughly heated. Spoon into an 8 inch square baking pan; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered for 5 min or until cheese melts, let stand 5 minutes.

From: Weight Watchers

My friend, Erin, brought this yummy dish over for us after we had our daughter.  What a wonderful gift.  She even made cornbread to go along with it.  So yummy.

After Thanksgiving Recipe

This recipe is meant for using up your leftover turkey.  I have made it often with chicken.  It is so yummy.

{TURKEY CURRY}
2 tbsp butter
3 cups finely chopped peeled Golden Delicious apple (about 2)
2 cups finely chopped onion (about 1 large)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground red pepper
½ cup fat-free milk
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
6 cups chopped cooked turkey breast (about 1 pound)
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add apples, onion, and garlic to pan. Cover and cook 12 min or until onion is tender. Add curry powder, salt, & red pepper to pan. Combine milk and cornstarch in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk; add to pan. Stir in broth. Reduce heat, and cook 4 min or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add turkey and juice to pan; cook 5 min or until turkey is thoroughly heated.
Makes 8- 1 cup servings
Calories 143; Fat 3.4g; Protein 18.3g; Carb 9.7g; Fiber 1.2g; Chol 55 mg; Iron 1.2 mg; Sodium 316 mg; Calcium 37 mg
From: Cooking Light Magazine

Lisa Congdon Kitchen Plate Wall

Well I don't have much to share today except for this inspiring wall of plates.  I want to do this along with the other millions of things I want to do.  I just love the look of all the different shapes, sizes and colors.  What has inspired you today?

Oh let's just do a recipe!

I have had a busy day of organizing and getting stuff ready for a yard sale my friend is having.  I love getting rid of stuff.  So tonight I made this super fast chili.  I have more than one chili recipe but this one is fast and good.  Enjoy.

{QUICK CHILI}

Sauté in a stock pot:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Add:
2 cups ground beef or chicken, cooked
1 can (19 oz/540ml) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (19 oz/540 ml) Romano beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (28 oz/796 ml) diced tomatoes with juice
1 can (5 ½ oz/156 ml) tomato paste
2 cups water
1 can (10 oz/284 ml) sliced mushrooms, drained
1 to 2 tbsp chili powder (as desired)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt

Bring to boil, then simmer 20 minutes uncovered, stirring often.

From: Low-Glycemic Meals in Minutes by Laura Kalina and Cheryl Christian

I have already failed!

My goal of daily post has failed.  I guess I can just say that I took the weekend off.  I took on the project of painting my daughter's closet this weekend.  We live in a house that was built in 1938.  I love our house.  While cleaning up and taking apart some shelves that someone had made in the upper portion of her closet I found tiny bits of newspaper.  I couldn't find the date on any of them but one of the headlines had Stalin in the title.  Old stuff.  I am almost done with the project but I need some help from the husband.  This project has been on my to do list for a long time.  When I painted her room after we moved in it took me a weekend and I had her sleeping in our room.  I didn't have enough time to do the inside of her closet so I just did the outside and called it good.  Since my husband was away this weekend I had her sleep with me so she didn't have to breath those paint fumes.  Now on to the next project...

 I don't know what kind of paint that pink paint was but it took 4 coats to cover up.

The before pictures.  The 2 boards were shelves in the upper portion of the closet.  I also painted inside the lower part but I didn't take a before picture.  Oops.

Almost done.  I just need to put the doors back on and get my husband to help me with the shelves in the upper portion of the closet.

Recipe Time

I have been doing a lot of blog surfing lately.  AKA procrastinating doing other things that need to be done.  I love it when blogs are updated daily.  Like Ali's blog.  The majority of the time she has daily updates on both projects and her life.  So I thought I would try that for a while and see what happens.  I have been working on my Project Life but I don't have anything done enough to take a picture of.  I am trying to make it simpler this year.  So as a post for today I am putting up a recipe.  That is going to be my last resort for getting something on here daily.  Let's see how long I can keep this up.

{SPICY PINEAPPLE CHICKEN}

*Saute 5 to 7 minutes in a large frying pan:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red bell pepper, cut in strips,
1 green bell pepper, cut in strips,
*Add:
1 can (14 oz/398 ml) pineapple chunks with juice
1 cup salsa
2 tbsp cilantro or parsley, chopped
2 tsp grated fresh ginger or ¾ tsp ground ginger
2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

Continue to cook stirring frequently, until chicken is heated through. For a thicker sauce, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch with 3 tbsp water and add to pan. Heat until thickened, stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings
From: Low-Glycemic Meals in Minutes

This one is super easy and fast.  I think it is because you use salsa.  I always use cilantro when I make it because I love love love cilantro.  Cilantro is high on the list as a healing herb.  Sounds good to me.

hello

Well I must confess I have not done a lot of scrapping lately.  I have sewed some curtains for my studio and now I am working on lining those curtains.  I did however start my 2011 Project Life yesterday.  So I have photos printed from Jan to March.  Let's see how long it takes me to catch up.  I also bought a bunch of super cute paper from Paper Pals about 2 weeks ago so I can make a shower album for my friend Alison.  So I will have some stuff to post shortly.  I am going to a friend's house tonight to do some scrapping.  I am hoping to post what I did tomorrow.  See you soon.

Square Bears

My Mom came for an Easter visit.  While she was here we made these little square bears for Abi for Easter.  My Mom did most of the work.  We made a little pocket  in the momma bear so the baby could ride along.  Because the baby was so tiny and the fabric was so thick we couldn't make arms and legs for the baby.