Yesterday's and Today's Favorite iPod Workout Songs

Bee Gees, "You Should be Dancing" 4:15
J. Geils Band, "Come Back" 3:36

Left behind

We saw some bedraggled monarchs flitting about last week...and today surprised to find this --->

November in Texas!

PR4 Ep3

What a challenge! It was almost painful to watch the meltdowns. No wonder Jack took the easy way out with only 2 pieces - a shirt and pants. Blah. Shoot, I could do that and at least put belt loops on the pants! Carmen, Sweet P and Ricky were all train wrecks. Our auf vote was for Carmen because at least Sweet P attempted a shirt. But why was she so flummoxed about a shirt? If you can fit boobies, you should be able to fit pecs, right? I thought Kit should have won but at least she got more camera time this episode. Kevin's outfit was a close second here at the House of Kent.

Everyday Food #48 - Lighter Sesame Chicken

Last night we tried the Lighter Sesame Chicken on Page 37 in the current issue of Everyday Food (#48, December 2007). I loved it and the leftovers tasted great today, too. One package of Costco's new sealed boneless chicken breasts (2 large per) was just the right amount. I skipped the scallions, only used 1 tablespoon of soy sauce (low sodium) instead of 2, subbed green beans for the broccoli and used Minute Brand Brown Rice.

The verdict:

Me-Yum! Loved it.

T-Would consider it OK for rotation, maybe every 4-6 weeks

L-Had to bribe her with a Costco cheese danish (which FYI freeze nicely for a few weeks when wrapped with Saran Wrap Press and Seal...in the freezer, out of temptation sight)

Here's the recipe!


Lighter Sesame Chicken from Everyday Food #48, December 2007

Saute’ed in a little oil instead of deep fried, the sauce is less-sweet and brown rice is more nutritious than white!

I changed it up for us by reducing the soy sauce to one tablespoon and substituting carrots or green beans for the broccoli.  I also use Trader Joe’s Organic Microwavable Brown Rice - easy! I skip the scallions and use a few shakes of garlic powder instead of garlic cloves.  The original recipe follows.

3/4 cup brown rice
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed with a garlic press
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into large florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced

STEP 1
Place a steamer basket in a large saucepan, and fill with 1 inch water; set aside for broccoli. Cook rice according to package instructions.

STEP 2
Meanwhile, make sauce: In a small bowl, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and garlic; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and cornstarch. Add chicken; season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.

STEP 3
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Add half the chicken; cook, turning occasionally, until golden and opaque throughout, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate; repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and chicken. Return all the chicken to skillet; add reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat.

STEP 4 Meanwhile, place saucepan with steamer basket over high heat; bring water to a boil. Add broccoli, and cook until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Serve sesame chicken with broccoli and rice.

Today's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Alicia Bridges, "I Love the Nightlife" 3:06
Today's stats: 49 minutes, 2.78 miles, 309 calories

Christmas Song I Can't Stand!

The Carol of the Bells! I don't know if it is because we had to sing various variations in choir, folk group or just overplaying. Merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas....merry, merry, merry, merry Christmas just makes me want to cover my ears and throw myself against the walls - make.it.stop! (Perhaps if I try to visualize these chocolate bells, it may help)

Now anything by Mannheim Steamroller, especially his first two CD's, and "Pat a Pan" from Christmas Live. LOVE. And all-time favorite religious carol - "Oh Holy Night" Just put these on repeat/shuffle along with Sarah McLachlan's "Song for a Winter's Night" and I'm all set. No bruises from wall-impacting and sanity still intact.

Yesterday's Favorite iPod Workout Song

Molly Hatchet, "Flirtin' With Disaster" 4:59
Greatest Hits of the 80's, Vol. 1

Yesterday's stats: 40 minutes, 285 calories

Fa, la, la, la, la - Finale!

"All these Hello Kitties are starting to creep me out, Mom!" So here's the last one -- the snowflakes were Target clearanced table confetti from a few years ago (there were also tiny red and green pom poms in the package. Original price $2.99, I paid 29 cents), the wreath is an earring from the current Target Dollar Spot and the chiffon petticoat is a sheer pink ribbon gathered and tacked underneath her dress.

Marbled Chocolate Treats

From the Kraft Food & Family Holiday 2007 freebie magazine, page 22

They looked good...but kind of went over so-so with the family. First, a little pricey to make with the Baker's chocolate squares, especially when I scorched the vanilla ones (note they heat and melt faster than the chocolate squares) and ended up using that entire box. Ka-ching, there goes $2.19. And I think you can cut back 1 square of the semi-sweet chocolate, there was a lot of chocolate, almost too thick. The peanut butter combined with the chocolate wasn't that great either, it all just tasted "off".

But here's the recipe in case you'd like to fiddle with it or have better luck than we did.

8 1/2 Honey Maid graham crackers, broken in half (17 squares)

6 squares Baker's Chocolate - Semi-Sweet

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

3 squares Baker's Chocolate - Premium White

Line 13"x9" pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Arrange grahams on bottom of pan, cutting as needed to completely cover bottom of pan, set aside. Microwave semi-sweet chocolate and peanut butter in medium microwaveable bowl on high 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is completely melted when stirred, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until well-blended. Pour over grahams; spread with spatula to cover completely. Repeat microwave melting steps with the white chocolate. Drop spoonfuls of the white chocolate over chocolate-covered grahams. Immediately cut through the chocolate mixtures with knife several times for tiger-strip effect. Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. Use foil handles to remove from pan. Peel off foil, cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen or 18 servings.

Netflix movies

First, "Georgia Rule" - STINKO! I had no idea from the trailer what the subject matter would be, otherwise I'd have never put it in my queue or DVD player. I couldn't believe Garry Marshall directed it, and the stars - were they just fulfilling a contract? Jane Fonda, Felicity Huffman, Dermot Mulroney?!

After that train wreck, we popped in "Hairspray". Much better compared to Georgia Rule, though John Travolta creeped us out. But oh so fun to watch Christopher Walken!

Mustard Chicken

The mustard chicken with wild rice (minus the brussels sprouts-yuck) on page 18 of the current Everyday Food #48 December 2007 was a hit. I never thought of using Dijon mustard on chicken before. So simple, so tasty! And it really was dinner 1-2-3 all done in 30 minutes. Take that, Rachael Ray!

"Jingle Belle"

Yes, those are itty-bitty jingle bells along the hem, alternating with gold sequins...click the photo for a larger view.

Sandra Betzina is back

...online! Visit her new, spiffy website --- http://www.sandrabetzina.com/
Some parts are still under construction, but her past columns are accessible (and free!), along with her on-target fashion forecast.
(Thank you, Peggy L for the head's up!)

"Pearl"

Chocolate Cream Cheese Bars

This is why I was buying the sweetened condensed milk! From the April/May 2007 Light and Tasty magazine, they call them "Makeover Cream Cheese Streusel Bars" but I call them yummy! Click to go to the recipe.

Thanksgiving is cheaper than Christmas

--grocery-wise! Someone told me that years ago and it's proven true. So while shopping for Thanksgiving dinner fixins, stock up on canned goods, baking items, etc. Today I found sweetened condensed milk for $1; it's usually $2.39!

Tat the Cat

Hello Kitty gets tatoo'd! My first Christmas 2007 HK found a new home yesterday, so I went to Target to get another. I lucked out and found the bracelets in purple, only one. And then on the other side of the display

I found twinklies - a sparkly 16" crystal necklace, which may turn into ornaments, embellishment or even purse handles....and tatoos - the press-on rhinestone kind. In shades of purple and pink (they also have green). Why sew when you can press?

Here's the purple version -- I used one of the bracelets again as the hanging loop, cut apart the flower to embellish her bow and put the snowflake design on her dress.

I used the two bottom tatoos for the pink version, the flower on the dress center, and split the second floral design into a bow decoration and created her own arm (paw?) tatoo. I threaded the charm from the earlier pink bracelet onto pink and red ribbons, keeping with the pink/red tatoo combination. (I like pink and red together, though some think it's just so wrong. But then, this is a Hello Kitty with a tatoo, and an attitude!)

Make it Mine

Thank you to Sharon for the news of this new magazine! I found it yesterday at Barnes & Noble. This is the premier Winter issue; with another in the works for the end of February. What sold me on this? Well, Sharon is pretty cool and I like what she does. Then when I was flipping through I saw an article about the ArtGirlz, who I met at Quilt Festival last and this year. I like them, too. And aesthetic-wise, I like wide magazines, a la Threads. Looks like fun, lots to do. Their website is http://www.makeitminemag.com/

Simplicity Project Runway Patterns

Simplicity has 6 new patterns, "inspired by Project Runway". While they don't look straight off the PR runway, one of them caught my eye - 3538. (It can't be any worse than the Sandra Betzina Today's Fit 2991 jacket flop. And I like that ruffled sleeve variation.) The others, including one girl's pattern, seemed like repackaged regular kind of MOR (middle-of-road) Simplicities -- with the exception of introducing "Sketch and Stitch - From concepts to design to reality" fashion croquis kit. Basically a pattern instruction sheet with the elements of the pattern pieces, a figure model illustration and ideas to make your own design. If this is what it takes to get people to sew, inspired by Project Runway - kudos to Simplicity. Of course, I'm sure I'll have to "make it work" with fit tweaking, but if Simplicity sees good sales from these patterns, they'll make more and better ones.

I got this $15.95 pattern for $1.99 at Hancock's Holiday Open House sale yesterday, and you know the other stores will be having deeply discounted (99c-$1.99 ish) pattern sales for the holidays. Just open the first Simplicity file drawer and look for the blue envelopes. They are all at the beginning of their numbering system.

Dill Feta Scramble

"Who wants to try a Dill Feta Scramble this morning? "Uh, no thanks" "Can I have cinnamon rolls instead?" Which left me, not exactly following the directions, but keeping the spirit of the combination. 1 egg, 1 egg white, salt and pepper, a couple of tableware teaspoons of low fat feta cheese and enough sprinkles of dried dill to make it look pretty...scrambled in a teaspoon of olive oil and pushed into a whole wheat half pita. A tasty alternative to the Tex-Mex breakfast taco.
(Inspired by Everyday Food #45, September 2007, page 50)