Friday, August 19, 2011

Dinner ideas...


Hi all! I'd like to ask my blog readers (because I have sooo many of them lol) to tell me their favorite recipes. I want to change up my dinner menu and I figured the best way to get tasty dinner ideas was to ask for your favorites. You can leave more than one if you would like, and feel free to include desserts as well. I'm on a diet so if any of you have some good low calorie recipes please leave them too. As a thank you I will leave you with a couple of my favorite recipes. Hope you are all having a fantastic day. Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 pound beef sirloin strips
Salt and Pepper
6 Tbs unsalted butter
12 oz sliced buttoned mushrooms
1 medium yellow onion, chopped or sliced
1 Tbs tomato paste
2 Tbs flour
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp lemon Juice
1 Tbs chopped Parsley (or you can use dried)
For noodles:
salt and pepper
One 12oz package wide egg noodle
2 Tbs unsalted butter
Directions
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Raise the heat to high and heat 1 tablespoon oil (I just use cooking spray to make it "healthier"). Season half the beef with salt and pepper, add to the skillet, arranging it in a single layer, and saute, without stirring, until well-browned and still pinkish inside, about 1 to 2 minutes. (it will finish cooking in the sauce) Transfer to a large plate and set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Discard any excess oil.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and, when the foaming begins to subside, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the plate with the beef.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter and, just as the foaming begins to subside, add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and, whisking constantly, bring to a full boil. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sour cream, mustard, and lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Set the sauce aside covered.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and cook the noodles until tender but not mushy. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the butter and season with pepper to taste.

Add the beef and any juices, mushrooms, and parsley to the sauce and reheat over medium heat until just hot.

STUFF YOUR FACE! :)



Brown Sugar Oat Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another small bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.
Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. (They taste great with honey butter)


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Back in Business!!!



Well, we finally made it Nebraska and are settling in quite nicely. I am excited to get back to blogging regularly and keeping you all up to date on our many adventures. We had a very long and exciting road trip (it took us three days!) from Mississippi to Nebraska, but we made it to our new home and have finally have our stuff unpacked and organized. Here are just a few pictures from out road trip to the Midwest:








We were able to move in to our house about two days after getting to Offutt AFB, which I'm told is very lucky. The bad part about it all was that the moving company wasn't going to get our stuff to us until a little over three weeks later. Not fun! Everyone here was so kind and lent us some dishes, towels, and other basic necessities so we could survive until the moving truck came.

Soon after moving in we spent the 4th of July with our good friends Brad and Erica (they live only two hours away!) and had fun just relaxing and grilling some delicious food. The next weekend I was able to take Zoey and go to Wisconsin to visit my parents, and as an added bonus I was able to see my cousin Brooke's family AND my best friend Gina.

About a week later mom and I drove back to Omaha and she helped me get the house unpacked and decorated...thanks mom! It was really fun having her here to help out with Zoey and all of the moving in chores that I absolutely hate. Because she is so amazing, we were able to get everything unpacked in 3 days! Crazy right?!

Before mom left I had the chance to audition for the show Children of Eden at the local theatre and I was fortunate enough to be cast. We have been rehearsing for a few weeks now and it has been a blast. We open on Sept. 16th and run for three weekends so if you are in the area you should come. I have been cast as part of the Snake, a storyteller, and Yonah. I can't tell you how much a have missed being on stage. I am so happy to be doing what I love and meeting wonderful new people. Billy has stepped in as super dad and watches Zoey while I am at rehearsal. Those two really have become the best of friends.

Coco has also had some fun here in Omaha. She has a little girls who comes by to walk her and play with her. That coupled with the trips to the dog park and the bunnies in the back yard makes for a very happy dog.

On a completely different note...I've lost about 20 lbs since my last post! I have been working really hard at keeping up with my diet and exercise regimen and I am seeing results. I still have a little ways to go until I hit my ultimate goal, but it is so fun to slowly watch the numbers on the scale go down and down. I am starting to be too skinny for my skinny jeans. Woot!

Well, Zoey is up from her nap so I should probably wrap it up. I'll post pictures of the house and the area as soon as I am feeling better (Zoey and I got sick). Until next time...