NYT: Simple Meals

Someone on the nest posted this link today, so I thought I'd share. It's from the summer, but hey, who doesn't love and easy meal anytime??

New York Trash (Oops, I mean Times) Article: 101 Simple Meals Ready in 10 Minutes or Less

Note: whoever wrote this must like prosciutto! This former veggie will be leaving those recipes out! :)

Oh weekend.. please come!

I do believe my apartment is feeling forgotten. I was looking forward to tackling some of those spare room projects this week.. but it's not happening for the following reasons:

• Monday- Had to clean.. and Z reminded me it was our date night (like I was going to say no!).
• Tuesday- Found out that we got invited to some friends' house for dinner at 6:30. I got home at 4:30 from work and sat on the couch for what was supposed to be 5 minutes, and turned into Z waking me up 5 minutes before we had to leave for dinner.
• Tonight- I have a couple of hours to tackle some dishes, laundry, and de-cluttering, and then people will start arriving for Bible study (we're hosting this week). We usually go late, so there won't be any time after.
• Thursday- We're having Z's sweet grandma and grandpa over for dinner. (What should I cook by the way.. I want to do something with chicken that I haven't tried before.. ideas??)
• Friday- I received our post card thank yous for wedding gifts in the mail today, so I plan on getting those done by this weekend.. eek!!

So.. not this week. Maybe Sunday?? Seriously, how do newlyweds master the housekeeping and entertaining thing?? I have some work to do..

A Zumba Romance

Zumba and I met about 6 months ago. It was love at first beat. She let me mess up, even miss a few big dates, but was always there with her energy and wonderfully latin music. I, however, was unfaithful. I left her for a few months... met back up at a different gym... then left her again for my wedding, honeymoon, and the holidays. But all that's over now.. and I've come back yet again. Oh, how I missed Zumba. We could totally have a future together.. if it weren't for that one ugly habit she has.... the shimmy. I simply cannot do it. I try.. and, well, my shoulders just aren't the part of me shimmying. :( I'll stick with you, Zumba, just ignore my shimmys and I'll ignore your 12-year-old-I'm-too-young-for-clubbing-so-I-sneak-into-Zumba followers. :)

Note:Author has no ties to the ZUMBA Fitness company, nor was paid for this plug. :)

Weekend Find!

So this weekend was the first since our wedding that we didn't have somewhere to go, or something big planned, and it was wonderful! Saturday was so relaxing.. for an early dinner Z suggested we go to a place he'd seen while driving for work- The Coldwater Cafe. It was great! It has a very warm, small town feel, yet a classy, almost tuscan style. I had their Chicken Tortilla Soup, and it was A-Maze-Ing!! Z had the Coldwater Burger and his reaction was, "This is how much meat should be in a sandwich!". I hadn't been to Tipp's old downtown before, so even though it was cold, we took a little walk around. When it's warmer, I might have to end up in the shop I saw for "Elegant Home Designs".. ah, to dream! (And of course go with Mom when they come out in March) :)

So.. if you're ever in the area- check it out!!

Bruchetta and Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

I made this for Z & his friend whom we had over for dinner while he was home on leave from the army. They loved it.. (& I got raves for being a good cook.. **beams**) I'm on my way people!!

Recipe from Kraftfoods.com w/ my pictures & comments

What you need:

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1-1/4 cups KRAFT Shredded Low-Moisture Part-Skim Mozzarella Cheese, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 pkg. (6 oz.) STOVE TOP Stuffing Mix for Chicken
8 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (2 lb.) (I used 10 & had the perfect amount)
1/3 cup KRAFT Roasted Red Pepper Italian with Parmesan Dressing

What to do:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Mix tomatoes, 1/2 cup cheese and basil in medium bowl. Add stuffing mix; stir just until moistened.

PLACE 2 chicken breasts in large freezer-weight resealable plastic bag. Pound with meat mallet or side of heavy can until chicken is 1/4 inch thick.

Remove from bag; place, top-sides down, on cutting board. Repeat with remaining chicken. Spread chicken with stuffing mixture.

Starting at 1 narrow end, tightly roll up each breast. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with dressing.

BAKE 40 min. or until chicken is done (165°F). Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 5 min. or until melted

For a South of the Border variation, and nutritional info., see Kraft's website!

If you make it, I want to know how it turns out!! :)

I'm LISTening..

Lately, I've become obsessed with lists. Probably because I'm bound determined to master this working housewife thing. Here are my lists for this week:

• Grocery list (trying to save trips for the weekend and do it all at once)
• Random Items needed (patch for Z's work jeans, shower drain stopper, etc.)
• Detailed lists of home improvements (must expound on that)

Items needed / Items already possessed in order to complete the look for each room
Projects to work on (refinishing/painting furniture)
Where organization efforts are needed
Etc.

• Fun ideas for my family's trip out here in March
• Dinners/Recipes I plan to cook and when

Of the many areas of my lists that I could expound further on.. I must talk about my ideas for our spare room/office.

See.. we're in an apartment. How do you go about making it look like "yours" without painting or any of the other things you're not allowed to alter? That's where I turned to my nestie girls for help! I posed a question about that room- how to coordinate my colors & make the room "flow" a little better, and they came through for me!

Since we received a lot of Aqua/Brown things for our wedding (those were our colors), we have no choice but to make use of those things in this room. Here's some ideas:

• White down comforter w/ aqua/brown quilt folded in half over end of bed (both gifts) See right.. maybe I'll get an aqua duvet..
  
• Lots of white/aqua/brown pillows:

I have to DIY this pillow with my leftover ribbon! Adorable or what?? [Will post instructions once attempted..]

• Brown bedskirt
• DIY curtain rods: wooden dowels painted brown w/ a metallic finish & fancy end 'things'
• Sheer swag curtains- don't need full curtains- our blinds are always closed
• DIY headboard.. possibly like this one found on the Trading Spaces site

Only maybe without that top row.. I don't know if I like it that high..

• Refinish or paint the dresser we already have in that room
• Purchase a new computer desk.. probably Craigslist it.. which means possibly refinishing that as well!

Whew! So that's the list so far! Whatcha think??

Sidenote... I cannot walk properly today.. more on that later. :)

No pain, No gain... right?

So, like a very large percentage of Americans, my husband and I decided it was time to get in shape this year! See... our wedding was Nov. 29 (mucho eating), then of course the honeymoon (mucho mucho eating.. come on- NYC??), and as soon as we were back from that- Christmas and New Years. My experiments with new yummy recipes did NOT help either. So we still fit in all our clothes, and weigh the same, but as far as being toned... ha! So we joined the Y last week.. yes, us and about 2 million other New Years hopefuls! The gym has been rediculously full! We've been going at it.. only took one night off so far- when his friend who's on leave from the army came over for dinner (I must share the bruchetta stuffed chicken breast recipe with you soon!).. and boy, am I sore.

Ever feel super good about the workout you just had and then that horriffic moment comes... you sneeze and your abs feel like they're being ripped mercilesly from your stomach?? That was me at work yesterday. And I sneezed like 7 times! Not fun! And today.. bent over to pick something up & my backside had the same sensation! Lord, help me!! I love it, but I hate it..

However, one benefit is that we'll get some use out of our awesome new scale! We got a gift album for the wedding and ordered this:

S43 Salter® Body Fat Scale

Is it right to offer a body fat scale as a wedding gift? Of course. You look great together, and this precision device can help you keep it that way! Plus, the modern design with beautiful glass platform and invisible electrodes trimmed in brushed silvertone adds sleek style to any bath. Advanced BIA technology measures body fat and body water to within 0.1%. Choose normal, athlete or even childe mode. Up to 400 lbs/180 kg capacity in 0.2 lb/0.1 kg increments. Stores data for up to ten people! Calorie feature displays calories needed to maintain present body composition. Measures muscle mass. Four "AAA" batteries included. Ten-year manufacturer's warranty. Shipped separately: allow extra time for delivery.


Pretty cool, eh? We had way too much fun trying it out!! I'm guessing they're around $50 to buy in-store. I'll let you know how we like it after tracking our body fat % decrease!! :)