Quick, Easy, and Delicious Recipe

This time of year everyone is looking to eat healthy and shed all of the holiday pounds. We can often find it very daunting to have three healthy meals a day. I know that I am rarely in the mood to cook a big meal when getting home at six. I like to have something in the fridge ready to heat up. I am also always looking for easy lunches to take to work. So, over the next month I want to share with you some of my favorite healthy recipes. They are all quick, easy, and delicious recipes to make our busy lives easier. I found a recipe for Salmon Salad Sandwiches yesterday and I made one for lunch today. It was fantastic! If you normally like salmon and also enjoy tuna sandwiches, you are sure to like this sandwich. The pumpernickel bread and low fat cream cheese make it a little more grown up and takes this sandwich up a notch! Of course, if you don't care for pumpernickel or are looking to pinch a few pennies, a whole grain bread would taste just as good. With very few ingredients and only a five minute prep time, it is the perfect make ahead lunch! Add your favorite fruit or veggies to round out a healthy meal. Click here for this quick recipe from Eating Well.

What I Will and Will Not Miss About Summer

I will miss.......

Having my coffee in bed every morning while catching up on internet news.

Staying up late and watching Seinfeld reruns.

Waking up with no alarm.

Not taking a shower until 2, or 3, or 4, or 5........

The never ending creative energy.

Naps.

Having time to cook everyday.

Going shopping while everyone else is at work.

Staying up late. Have I already said that? Oh. I'm a night owl and I HATE early mornings. Think I'm lying......ask the guys I work with.

The protective bubble where band does not exist. Ahhhhhh, sweet suspended reality, if only I could find a rich man to marry then you and I could spend everyday together!

I will NOT miss.......

August. I hate you, August. You with your oppressive 100+ degree heat and no holidays. Go play in traffic.

How to Use the Internet: An Interactive Blog

If you are reading this blog then you have already unlocked the secrets of this thing called "the internet". You can access this internet almost anywhere. There is a place called the library where you can access the internet for FREE!!!! Did you know that most people can even access the internet from their phones??? Just today I frequented a coffee shop and used their free Wi-Fi while enjoying a cup of tea. One time the internet at my home was down so I had to access the internet at work to get some needed information. With the internet you can communicate instantaneously with people all over the world. You can order food and have it delivered to your house. You can pay all of your bills online eliminating the need for stamps. You can even, say, find out what time your child needs to be at the school for band camp next week. All you have to do is open a web browser, type in www.fillintheblank.com, .net, .org, and you arrive at a world of endless information! Almost everything you need to know about anything is RIGHT THERE! It's AMAZING!!! I would go as far as to say LIFE CHANGING! Now, let's say you don't find what you are looking for immediately on the home page. What you might try next is something called "scrolling down". You can accomplish this by clicking the arrow at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. WARNING: YOU MIGHT HAVE TO READ IN ORDER TO FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. Still can't find what you are looking for? You can find more information by clicking on a related topic. For instance, you would like to read through the Trinity Springs Titan Band Handbook. It's not on the home page, but after trying your new skill of "scrolling down" you notice a link titled HANDBOOK. You use your common sense to click on that and then find all the information you need! With this kind of communication tool and access to mass amounts of information all of our lives should be easier, right? If you can find helpful information on a website then you don't have to call someone for information, leave a message, and then get annoyed when they don't call you back because they are on vacation! You don't have to worry about calling during business hours because the internet is open 24/7!!!! Imagine all of the time that is NOT wasted by answering the same question 300 times! I'm telling you, this internet is a phenomenon! Tell everyone about it!

Want to try some guided practice? Ok. Be sure to time yourself so you can revel in the efficiency of the technology. Click on this link to find the answer to the following question:

You have a student attending Trinity Springs MS and they will be in the band. They would like to attend band camp next week. What time should you have little Suzy at the school so she can participate? What time should you pick her up?

I've Been a Bad Blogger......

Has it really been a month since my last blog? I guess so. I was not doing much last month of school except working like a dog and that is not very fun to read about, so I was really sparing you my boring life. Since school has been out I have been in the kitchen a lot. It has been so nice to actually be home and eat a home cooked meal three times a day. Well, I haven't eaten at home every meal - this is the time of year that Cristian and I get to eat out at fun restaurants while Jennifer is at band camp. This is our third year to do it and I think it's been the most fun. We went to City Hall Restaurant at the Keller Arthouse and paid WAY too much for a bottle of wine, but the food was good. We went to Mellow Mushroom and had the BEST pizza! I've had pizza in Chicago that was the best, but this is a different kind of best. If you have never been, go, and then you will understand. We had brunch at Blue Mesa on Sunday and last night we went to Yucatan Taco Stand. Yucatan is GOOD eatin'. There is a new one in Southlake that I will be frequenting often. We have one more night before Mrs. Alcocer gets back to town, so I don't know what we have in store.......

Back to my cooking. It has been unseasonably warm here in Texas for early June. I knew we were in trouble when it was over 100 degrees on June 2nd. I wanted to find some recipes that I could make and eat cold. My new favorite recipe is this recipe for gazpacho from Ina Garten. I'm not sure she has a recipe that I don't like. This stuff was INSANELY good!!!!! I will definitely be eating this all summer. My favorite was when I topped it with some spicy shrimp or spicy fish fillet.

This is a pizza crust from Central Market topped with fig jam, caramelized onions, goat cheese, and prosciutto. I love goat cheese and fig jam. LOVE.

Szechuan Noodles from Ina Garten. Delicious warm or cold.

I made this tonight. It is Nutella-Cherry Oatmeal Squares. I found this recipe on a blog several months ago and I finally got around to trying it tonight. This is deliciousness wrapped with awesomeness stuffed with delight.

And this is some of the fun we had at the end of school. We were very tired of brown bag lunches at this point. Well, in Dean's case he was tired of bags of cheap lunch meat, so we decided to grill out in the office. I am quite sure this broke many fire codes and administrative regulations, but it sure was fun. But when Officer Savage is the only person that comes into the band hall (mainly to mooch whatever food we have), you can pretty much get away with stuff like this. This was mexican day. We had the griddle out earlier in the week making pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Of course, the kids were all confused when they came in for class and it smelled like IHOP.

What is Dean thinking while he eats my homemade salsa? Mmmmmm this is way better than fake corned beef.

It's Time For Another Installment of "What's For Lunch?"

It's time for more pictures of Dean's crazy lunches. I haven't been doing much over the last few weeks except working, and his lunches are quite entertaining to me. The first one is my favorite.

On this day we have some sort of left over Asian noodle dish which required him to bring an entire bottle of Tiger sauce, whatever that is. Apparently a bag of pastrami is a nice compliment to leftover noodles. An apple, a piece of cheese, a sweet and salty bar, and a DanActiv drink round out this culinary masterpiece.

I think this is a bucket of barbeque and some chips and salsa we picked up in the teacher's lounge.

Here we have corn on the cob and a tub full of broccoli. Notice that he also has two computers on his desk. The third one just wouldn't fit with all the broccoli he has going on here.

This is usually what he eats everyday, but I found the side of tostadas strangely amusing. I enjoy a tostada with chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and some guacamole. He prefers a bag of pastrami and a pepperoni stick.

Again, the usual meat bag and side items, only today with a huge side of broccoli.

The Kitchen: My Favorite Place on Sunday Afternoon

Ahhhhh what a wonderful afternoon in the kitchen. I simply cannot wait for summer so I can do this everyday. Today I made chewy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies with a recipe that I found here. Dean seemed like he was having a pretty rough day on Friday, so I asked him what he wanted me to make to bring to work next week and he requested these cookies. I think they are his favorite. These cookies are phenomenal! I hope they are able to take the edge off of a busy week for him and Kai. I've had a hard time keeping my hands off of them today. I like oatmeal cookies, but don't like it when they are crunchy. These are very chewy and light. They also have walnuts in them. I'm not good a describing how things taste, but trust me when I say that these rock. They were very easy to make and I highly recommend this recipe. All of my TSMS friends please stop by and try one - I imagine they won't last long!

Have you ever had spaghetti squash? It is delicious. I have not had any in several years so I decided to revisit this quirky vegetable. One thing that is cool about spaghetti squash is that you can substitute it for noodles in a pasta dish. I cut this one in half, scooped out seeds, put a little pat of butter on each side, and popped it in to a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes. When they come out of the oven you just take a fork and scrape the "spaghetti" off the sides. It comes off so easily and then you have a bowl of "noodles". I made some turkey meatballs and my own marinara sauce today to go along with it.

This is the finished product. It was so delicious and a very healthy alternative to pasta. I didn't miss the pasta at all! They squash is sweet and a little crunchy and, in my opinion, had way more flavor than plain spaghetti noodles. Try it for yourself!. You can use pre-made meatballs and sauce and only have to cook the squash. It's a very easy meal, makes plenty of servings, and you don't have to feel guilty about having so many carbs!

Pistachio Crusted Chicken Recipe

A lot of you have asked me for this recipe, so here ya go! The recipe is for one serving, but can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled. As a single person I can only stand left overs so many times and I often waste a lot of food. That's one reason I like this dish so much. It is easy to make, it's delicious, and no leftovers! I have tried making two servings at a time then reheating one of them the next day, but it was not a good dish to reheat. This is the first time I've ever written down a recipe that I've adapted myself, so this is going to be very not-exact. Just roll with it.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

What you need for the chicken:

olive oil

1 chicken breat

a handful of pistachios - throw in food processor or food chopper and grind up in to small pieces.

salt

What you need for the guacamole:

1/2 a small avocado

a little bit of chopped fresh cilantro

a few cherry tomatoes, diced

a little bit of shallot, diced very fine (I use this instead of a regular onion because it's sweeter, but you still get the onion flavor)

salt

a pinch of garlic powder

anything else you like if guacamole (jalapeno for a little spice, for instance)

First, preheat your oven to 365. Turn on your favorite music. I was listening to a playlist called New Year's Jamz. Dancing while you cook makes it way more fun. Next, heat a little bit of olive oil in a pan.

Dump your pistachios on a plate. Sprinkle the chicken breast with a little salt on both sides then mash it in to the nuts. Try to coat the entire thing.

Next, place your chicken in your hot pan. Let the chicken brown on each side for just a few minutes. You just want the nuts to get brown, crispy, and flavorful - it will finish cooking in the oven. After browning, place the chicken on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, chop up what you need for your guacamole, throw it in a bowl and mash it all together.

Add a small salad with your favorite dressing and dinner is served! Very quick. Very easy. Just the way I like it! Let me know if you try this recipe and if you liked it as much as I did!