Sunday Comfort

Sundays always seem to be a bit of a letdown after busy Saturdays and before dreaded Mondays - the perfect day for comfort food.  I decided to make one of my children's favorite dinners - Chicken & Mushrooms.  My version is simple, mushrooms sauteed in butter, chicken breast strips sauteed in more butter and seasoned with sage and then a decidedly rich gravy made with even more butter and milk.  Then serve the whole thing over a bed of white rice.  It's never the most appealing looking dish as evidenced by the photo above but it is simple and tasty.  It could use a little fresh parsley on top but I never seem to have any when I decide to make it.
It's the one dish I make that never survives the night - my kids work weird hours and we don't often dine together so at the end of the evening, I usually go up to the kitchen and pack away a serving of whatever I've cooked to have for lunch the next day - but not my chicken and mushrooms.  To Monday's lunch will have memories of my savory chicken but probably consist of some type of salad.

The bums are in town and the G-men have the opportunity to be in first place in the NL West by Wednesday afternoon.  I hope and pray my boys don't squander that opportunity.

Working Hard or Hardly Working

Working from the comfort of my big-ass bed today, I got hungry.  Really hungry - the kind where it feels like you forgot to eat breakfast.  So I grab some jicima sticks and figure that will tide me over until I can run down the street and grab some pot stickers from the Chinese place.  With the TV in the background showing a cooking show - the jicima wasn't working and since I was pretty much too lazy to put on real clothes to acquire said pot stickers - I went foraging in the kitchen and this is what I came up with:

It's my over-the-top Green Taco Salad.  Using leftover romaine/carrot/cuke undressed salad, leftover turkey taco meat, half an avocado, some tomato, jalapeno, sharp cheddar and some fat free sour cream, I went to work. I put the taco meat in a skillet to warm up and added some garlic salt since it didn't have much flavor. I avoided grabbing some tortillas - we're trying to reduce carbs.  I mix  leftover green chili sauce  with the sour cream, adding some chopped tomato, a tiny bit of minced jalapeno, a teeny tiny bit of Splenda (like 1/3 a packet) and then used some milk to thin it out.  I put the taco meat on top of the lettuce, surrounded it by avocado, then shredded some cheese on top of the meat and topped it with the home-made dressing.  I threw a few green olives on top just cuz they're pretty. 
I've always been a huge fan of Mexican food - especially tacos - the crunch of fried tortilla - either a taco shell, tostada or a chip is nirvana when paired with the correct ingredients.  I've discovered in making this salad and the lettuce wrap tacos that lettuce is a fine substitute for a tortilla especially when watching carb intake. 

It's been a long time, a long lonely, lonely time.....

Dear Blog,
Please accept my apology for neglecting you for such a long time.  I didn't mean to stay away for so long but I've been a busy bee.   Between a full time job, helping the family biz, and baseball, there hasn't been time to be crafty, let along blog.  In return for your patience over my neglectful ways, I've given you a remodel - new colors, new title and new purpose.  The focus has expanded - it's not just knitting but cooking, cock-tailing and all things crafty with my own spin.
As my life has gotten more complicated, I find myself truly happy with the simplest of things - good friends, good food, and back-to-basics crafting.  As of late, I find myself in the kitchen more often coming up with new recipes and revisiting the old ones to make them healthier.  I haven't forgotten my non-edible crafts, just expanding my field of vision. 

In honor of the renaissance of my love all things edible, I leave you with this - my new favorite adult beverage and yes, that is a jalapeno.  Tequila, pineapple juice, lime juice, simple syrup and a hunk of burning love, aka jalapeno.  Enjoy :)

StarStruck

Continuing my obsession with nail stamps, I present Star Struck. Sephora OPI "What's A Tire Jack" for the base, Konad plate M84 with Konad White polish for the stars.

Shattered

Can't craft with fugly nails ------

23 days

Brian Wilson Gnome

till pitchers and catchers report!!!!  Now that football season is officially over (go Niners), I can't contain my excitement  for the upcoming baseball season.  For the first time in my 38 years of attending Giants games, I'm going to Spring Training.  Check that one off the bucket list!
In anticipation of the 2012 season, I'm going to knit some baseball themed hats - like the one on this cute little gnome. 
My boys of summer need me - Scottsdale here I come!

Been a long time, been a long, lonely lonely time.....

Things that have happened since the last time I posted:

1. Van Halen recorded an album of new music.
2. The 49ers are one game away from the Superbowl
3. Bin Laden's dead.
4. The Iraq war is over.
5. I broke down and finally bought a Dyson

Things that haven't changed since the last time I posted:

1. I knit a butt load of hats.
2. I learned how to make tamale.
3. I haven't finished any of the non-hat knitting projects I started.
4. I still miss my cousin Debbie and think about her every day - happy birthday cuz.
5. I finally booked a trip to Spring Training.