An Update

Wow, it's been over two weeks since I updated the blog! My how time flies. My friend Miss Priss called the other day just to check and make sure I was OK because I hadn't updated in so long. Sorry if anyone was worried.

Life has been plugging along here in TX. I can't believe it's the last day of June!

Last week, Alec and I volunteered at a junior golf tournament here in town. The golfers were ages 6 - 18. The little kids were so cute, all decked out in their golf clothes. Saturday and Sunday I helped with check-ins while Alec helped out around the course. Everything was based at our municipal course, which is actually technically still under construction. It's been closed about a year and was supposed to be open it time for the tournament, but it wasn't quite yet. They had to go out and just paint the tee lines on the grass! Monday-Wednesday Alec went out after work and marshaled on the course. Monday I came out for dinner and didn't really do anything useful! But, Tuesday & Wednesday I set up a table to sell merchandise with the tournament logo. Most of it was just left over from prior years. The guys in charge of the tournament didn't think it was even worth doing, but some of the other people said it couldn't hurt. I ended up selling $775 worth of stuff the first day and about $800 the second day! The people in charge were really impressed! I had a lot of fun and it was nice to have a volunteer opportunity. They've already said we must come back next year!

They actually gave me a $100 bonus for doing such a good job on the sales at the tournament. I didn't want to take it, but they insisted and if they were going to insist who was I to say no. So, on Sunday we went to Sears and I bought us a new camera! It's a super cool Canon Elph SD1000. I actually had the original APS film Elph years ago and I loved that camera! I am excited to have the digital version. It has a lot of really cool features, like you can select a single color and then it will shoot the rest of the picture in black & white and continuous shooting. We had seen it on clearance at Sears a few weeks ago, so I did some research on it and it got good reviews, so we went back to get it. I am excited to try it out. We did get the protection plan for 2 years in case we mess up the shutter on this one!

If you are looking for a camera, I highly recommend Imaging Resource for research. They have a great "Find the Best Camera for You" feature where they ask you all kinds of questions about what you want in a camera and then recommend a bunch that meet those criteria. One of the things I really wanted was a "regular" viewfinder. I was always frustrated with our old camera when trying to frame pictures in bright light and couldn't see the LCD screen.

I'd better go get dinner together. I'll try not to go so long without updating again!

Recipe of the Week - Orange and Chipotle Rubbed Chicken Breasts

This recipe is from an e-mail newsletter I get - "Weeknight Kitchen" by Lynn Rossetto Kasper of "The Splendid Table" show on NPR. I don't get to listen to her show much, but I like to get the newsletter. Although most of the recipes are quick, they frequently have somewhat exotic ingredients, so I'm not inclined to make them. But, this one seemed really simple so I decided to try it out.

Orange and Chipotle Rubbed Chicken Breasts
I got it from "Weeknight Kitchen" by Lynn Rossetto Kasper.
She excerpted it from: Grill Every Day: 125 Fast-Track Recipes for Weeknights at the Grill by Diane Morgan. Used with permission of Chronicle Books LLC. Copyright 2007 by Diane Morgan.

Ingredients
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 boneless, skin-on chicken breast halves

Directions
Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill on medium-high.

In a bowl or baking dish large enough to hold the chicken, combine the orange juice, olive oil, chiles, garlic, salt and pepper. Stir to mix thoroughly. Add the chicken breasts and turn to coat on both sides. Let the chicken marinate while the grill heats.

To create a cool zone, bank the coals to one side of the grill or turn off one of the burners. Oil the grill grate. Place the chicken breasts, skin side down, directly over the medium-hot fire and sear on one side, about 3 minutes. Turn and sear on the other side for 3 to 4 minutes. Move the chicken to the cooler part of the grill, cover, and grill until the juices run clear when the thickest part of a breast is pierced with a knife, or an instant-read thermometer registers 165 F, 6 to 8 minutes longer.

Divide the chicken breasts among warmed dinner plates. Serve immediately.


The Verdict
Overall, we liked this one. I thought it was a little too pepper-y so I will probably reduce the black pepper next time (but I don't really like pepper so I'm probably not the person to believe on this one). I could not find minced chiles so I got the whole ones and minced them myself. It took about 3 chiles to get 2 Tbsp.

I made it on our indoor grill, which only takes 5 minutes to heat up so I knew that just letting the chicken marinate while the grill heated would not be enough. So, I let it marinate for about 15 minutes, flipping it 1/2 way through. I did pierce the chicken before I put it in the marinade. Still, I did not thing it marinated long enough. Next time, I will try it for an hour or so. The chicken was still very moist and tasty, I just didn't get much of the orange.

I served it with a side of black beans. I tried these canned "Ranch Style" beans that are supposed to be already seasoned but they were pretty plain. I should have bought regular beans and done one of my other black bean recipes.

Our camera is still broken, so no pictures. We did get some of that canned air stuff the other night to try and clean out the crevices around the lens (the problem being that the lens won't open all the way). That is one of the tips I found on-line for fixing the problem. Hopefully that will work (because none of the other tips I've found have). If not, I will be soliciting donations for the "get Catherine a new camera before cake decorating class starts" fund.

I'm an "Average" 1930's Wife

This quiz was a hot topic on the Nest today. Apparently, it was a real survey from the 1930's. Someone took the original document and programmed an on-line quiz to score it.

44 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

I feel I was penalized for not having children (I just didn't answer the questions that related to child care so I didn't get any points for those).

There is a version for husbands, too. I'll have to make Alec take it!

Coming Soon - Cake Decorating

I just got back from our brand-new Michael's craft store, where I signed up for the Wilton cake-decorating course! I am very excited. It starts July 7th. Hopefully we will get our camera fixed or replaced before then so I can post pictures!

This Week's Running Update

Yesterday Cousin J. pointed out that I haven't done a running update in a while. Well, that's because I haven't been running. While M.K., Alec and I all had good intentions of running while we were in Kansas, we didn't. Yeah, we're slackers.

Last week, I was a slacker, too. Tuesday I had a migraine. I don't remember what my excuse was on Thursday, but I bet it wasn't a good one. Probably a combo of Alec's not really wanting to get up and my not being motivated to run and thus not pushing him to get up.

So this week we got back on the wagon. We sure picked a great week - hot and windy.

Tuesday, I ran with Nancy. She'd already done 2 miles but she said she'd do the 3 with me if I went slow. Duh, I'm always slow. I had good intentions of running the whole first mile, but with the heat, I pooped out at the end of the first street. We walked a couple blocks, and then ran the rest of the mile. Then, we walked a while longer. Then, we cut off one of the loops of the route. We walked a little more, then ran a bit. This was followed by more walking and then a slow jog to the finish. There Alec was waiting to greet me with my Gatorade and the news that my time was 35 minutes. I admitted we cheated a bit. He said he thought we must have because this was not a day to set a record!

Thursday, most of the group wanted to walk. I tried to say I would walk too, but they all said "no, you have to run." So, I did. For my first spurt, I ran a block father than on Tuesday. I walked to the same point as Tuesday, then ran the rest of the mile, plus a block past that. I was actually feeling pretty good, though it was hot and very windy (in the 20-30 MPH range). I walked for a bit and crossed paths with the walkers. Kate and Don cut off and joined up with me. We ran a long block and then we walked the rest of the way. You know it was hot if Don wasn't encouraging me to run! But, I did go the whole 3 miles and my time was about 43 minutes.

Tonight, I started looking for training plans for Disney. I found one that's 12 weeks, which means I'd have to start in mid-October. It assumes you can run 3 miles, which I think is certainly doable by then. I'd like to get to 3 miles well before then, though. But, I know that may not be a realistic goal for the summer. The heat makes me nauseous and I don't want to kill myself! Although, I did realize on Thursday that I run better by myself. When I run with people, we usually talk and that takes up a lot of my energy. However, I like the motivation of having someone to push me to run. I might just have to set a "no talking" policy.

Recipe of the Week - Salmon Cheddar Bake

I found this recipe on the back of the Honey Boy (r) Salmon can when I bought some for the salmon burgers I made a while back. Since they were on sale, and Alec and I thought this recipe sounded good, I picked up a second can. I finally decided to make it this week. It is basically a salmon and Cheddar quiche.

Honey Boy (r) Alaska Salmon Cheddar Bake
from the Honey Boy (r) Salmon can

Ingredients
1 can (14.75 oz.) Honey Boy (r) Pink Salmon
8 to 9 slices bread, crusts trimmed
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
6 eggs
3/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
1/4 c. sliced green onion
1 Tbsp melted butter

Directions
Drain & flake salmon, set aside.

Cut bread slices diagonally to make triangular pieces. Arrange bread in spiral pattern in a greased 9-inch pie plate to cover bottom. Arrange remaining triangles upright around edges to form a crown. Sprinkle 1/2 c. cheese over bread in bottom of pie plate.

Whisk together eggs, milk, dill, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in salmon, green onion and remaining cheese. Spoon evenly into pie plate.

Brush edges of bread with melted butter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until center is set. Check after 15-20 minutes. If bread is browning too quickly, cover edges with aluminium foil.

Makes 6 servings.


As usual, I had a few changes. I skipped the "crust" and just poured the filling into a greased pie plate. I didn't sprinkle any cheese in the bottom, I just put the whole 1 1/2 cups in the main mixture. Since I don't like dill, I substituted dried thyme. I unintentionally left out the onion. I didn't even realize it until I was writing this post! I planned to sub regular onion, as I'd used 1/2 an onion earlier in the week for another recipe so I was going to use that up instead of buying the green ones.

Overall, it was good. It maybe had too much egg. If I make it again, I might just use my usual crust-less quiche recipe from Joy of Cooking for the egg and milk measurements.

Blogs I Read: Dispatches from the Island

Oh my gosh! Jorge Garcia (Hurley on Lost if you don't know who he is) has a blog! It's so funny. He has some pictures from the set and also stuff about his life in general. I actually found out about it late last week, but I just spent 45 minutes going back and reading all the archives. I laughed out loud several times.

Dispatches from the Island

Recipe of the Week - Honey Nut Chicken Sticks

This is actually from the week-before-last. I made it early in the week and then with getting ready for the trip to Kansas, I never posted it.

It's another recipe from Food Network, so I'm just posting the link:

Honey Nut Chicken Sticks

from 30 Minute Meals

Of course, I made a couple of substitutions and changes. First of all, I halved the breading recipe. I couldn't find honey Corn Flakes, so I used Honey Bunches of Oats. I used chicken breasts instead of chicken tenders.

Overall, it was a good dish. I did think the grill seasoning was a little overpowering. I think next time I will cut it back. I could hardly taste the honey from the cereal.

I served it with sourdough toast (our grocery story bakery makes awesome breads!) and my go-to green veggie, peas.

This may be the last picture for a while. Our camera went on the fritz on Friday.