Whatever Wednesday - It's My Blog & I Can Write When I Want To!

It's been a while. I've had bloggers block.

And now "It's My Party" is stuck in my head. Super.

FALL has finally arrived (or so says the calendar) and we couldn't be more stoked about that. The weather has been really mild (YAY!) though the end of this week it will almost be back into the 90's (sad face).

This past weekend Ryan & I along with Kim & Jason and Brittany went to our local Farmer's Market and I officially have a new obsession. We bought some veggies, cheese, grass fed beef and a few other items. The beef was SO much better than what we have been buying at the grocery store. We made Taco Soup amd used the grass fed beef and you could really tell a difference. It was such a rich flavor! I will definitely be buying our meat (and produce) there as much as possible. They also have free roaming chicken (and eggs) but they sell out of it very fast, so we will have to go earlier next time so we can try that too.

As it gets cooler out, I'll be able to start using my oven more, so expect new recipies soon! :)

Whatever...Thursday? Again?

Really? Again? I blinked past Wednesday without realizing it? It's not totally my fault. I’ve been sick. I felt it coming Friday, then by the time I got home from the Jackson Browne concert Friday night (more on that in a sec), I knew it was hours away from hitting me like a MACK truck. I woke up at 5am Saturday morning with an aching throat, unable to breath out of my nose, with a fever of 101*. S-I-C-K sick. I barely left the couch Sat-Mon. I went back to work Tuesday, still a bit under the weather. Yesterday, I felt much better, though I’m not yet 100%. Today, I am back in the game! I woke up feeling awesome. And I have to thank Ryan for a lot of my quick recovery because, when I get sick, Ryan steps up his game. He is a genuinely sweet guy, though he is occasionally a bit sharp around the edges, but when I get sick, he turns on the part of his personality that is super nurturing. When he got up on Saturday morning, several hours after me, he took one look at my pale face and swollen eyes and jumped into action. He made a list and headed out the door. A short time later he walked in the door, full grocery bags in hand. He had the essentials: OJ, Gatorade, Chicken Noodle Soup, cough drops and kleenex. He also had a few comforting extras, cause he knows his wife well: Velveeta Shells & Cheese, sourdough bread (don’t judge me, we all crave weird stuff when we’re sick. Right??) AND because I didn’t get to go the baseball game I’d been looking forward to for months, he got me Lemon Italian ice - my favorite ballpark treat! What a lucky girl I am to have such a loving hubby. :)

So, as previously mentioned, Friday night a group of us headed to Grand Prairie to see Jackson Browne with David Lindley! Even though I wasn't feeling great, I had an awesome time. Frankie really got me in to Jackson Browne probably in middle school and has seen him in concert at least 4 times now. It was always a "guy thing" with two of his best friends, Scotty and Justin. But, Justin is an umpire now and he was out on the road this year, so Frankie invited me, Scotty, his roommate and BFF George, George's girlfriend Lindsay and one of my BFFs/Justin's sister Brittany to come along with him. It was such a fun group! And I cannot even put in to words what an amazing show it was. Jackson Browne sounds exactly the same live (in his 60's!) as he does on his albums...if not better! I mean, this guy is immensely talented. I could listen to him sing all day.  And David Lindley! That is a once in a lifetime kind of thing. This guy plays just about every stringed instrument on the planet. No kidding. Here are a few highlights of the night:

A really blurry shot of Brittany & I in which my head and nose look abnormally large.

Scotty with his new shirt.

Lindsay, George, Frankie and Scotty

JACKSON BROWNE!!!

DAVID LINDLEY!!!

Jackson Browne and David Lindley, making beautiful music.

Alright, that's all I've got this week. No recipe though...sorry!! See, the thing about trying new things is that sometimes, they don't turn out very well and you end up ordering pizza for dinner. I could give you the number to a great Domino's though! ;)

Whatever Wednesday!

I don't have much that is blog worthy this week, so I'm just going to jump right in to my Recipe of the Week!

Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)
adapted from Gina's WW Recipes

2.5 lb pork shoulder blade roast, lean, all fat removed
6 cloves garlic, minced
cumin, to taste
adobo, to taste
garlic powder, to taste
1 can chicken broth (we use the low-sodium Swanson broth)
chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to taste (we used 5-6)
2 bay leaves

Season pork with salt and pepper. In a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat, brown pork on all sides for about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Cut small holes sporadically in the pork and insert garlic. Season pork generously with cumin, adobo and garlic powder all over.

Pour chicken broth in the crock-pot, add bay leaves and chipotle peppers. If the pork is not covered, add water until covered. Place pork in crock pot and cover. Cook low for 8 hours. (Our crock pot evaporates liquid fast, so you made need to add more liquid.) After 8 hours, removed the meat from the crock pot and shred using two forks. (Remove bay leaves and chipotle peppers prior to shredding.) Adjust salt and cumin (we had seasoned it well, so we did not need to add more).

We served this with low-carb tortillas, and topped them with reduced fat cheese, avocado and salsa.

Frankie came over for dinner when I made this and he and Ryan went nuts over it. They both request I make it again - soon - and my hubby who loves to send people home with all our leftovers, told Frankie he could only take half. It's THAT good.

Random Ramblings? Sure, why not! I finally got my new iPhone 4 yesterday!! That was my birthday present, and I used my birthday money to buy it. This thing is so great. I've had the iPhone 3G for a couple of years now, and will never use anything but an iPhone as long as I can help it. Well, the 4 puts the 3G to shame! It's lightening fast, I love the sleek new design, the screen is so clear and vivid and the features are unbeatable. My 3 favorite new features are, multi-tasking between applications, Face Time video chat between other iPhone 4 users and the video camera/camera with flash and zoom. As if I wasn't already obsessed over my phone enough, this has sealed the deal. Thanks, Apple.
Here is a quick little video of Frankie playing with Cooper that I shot last night while messing with the settings. The volume is low but Frankie is "baby" talking to Cooper. ;)

Whatever Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! Or "Hump Day" as some call it. I prefer Happy "Middle-of-the-Week" Day.

So, I've been cooking a lot more lately. Ryan used to do 80% of the cooking, if not more, but now that he is working later than I am, I am doing the majority of the cooking...and getting better at it as I go! (This makes Ryan really, really happy, by the way. I think he doubted my cooking skills.) Along the way, I've gotten a lot of recipes from friends and family. My friend Carie and I do a lot of recipe exchanging. This Recipe of the Week came from her, via The Biggest Loser cookbook, and you know me, I had to tweak it a little. ;) I probably added back in some the calories The Biggest Loser peeps took out, but I have to make it so that Ryan will eat it!

Baked Ziti

1 (14 1/2 oz) box fiber-enriched ziti or penne rigate
1 15 oz container fat free ricotta cheese
2 Large egg whites
8 Ounce (4 cups) finely shredded reduced fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 Teaspoon garlic powder
salt, to taste
black pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
1 jar of low-fat, marinara (I used Classico's regular marinara)
Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 450. Lightly mist a 13x9x2 ceramic or glass baking dish with the non-stick spray. Cook the ziti according to package directions until al dente. Drain and shake off any extra water. In a large mixing bowl, mix the ricotta, egg whites, and all but 1 cup of the mozzarella until well combined. Add the garlic powder and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the cooked pasta until well combined.


Spread 1 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of the prepared dish. Add the pasta mixture and spread to evenly cover the dish. Top with remaining sauce then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and the Parmesan over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes longer, or until the mozzarella is melted. Let stand 5 minutes.

It was SO super easy, and really tasty! It's definitely a winner.

Today's Random Ramblings from Rachel is an open letter brought to you in part by Rachel's Rules of the Road:
Dear Fellow Drivers,

I want to talk to you today about the LEFT LANE. It seems many of you have forgotten what we learned in Driver's Ed and The School of Life.
Here is a break-down of a few "unspoken" rules of the road:
Let's start with an easy one. If you are getting into the left lane to pass someone, don't cut off the person who is already in the left lane, forcing them to slam on their breaks. Wait until said left lane driver passes (cause they are going faster than you), then get over.
Next, if you chose the drive in the left lane, especially during rush hour traffic, please do not fluctuate your speed like a maniac. I use cruise control to maintain pace. When you are in front of me, it impedes my peaceful drive when you are going from 60 to 70 and every speed in between every few minutes.
Part two of the fluctuating speeds situation is when you are behind me. Because I use cruise control, I know what speed I am traveling at all times. When you get on my tail, then drop way back, then get back on my tail, I become confused. In an attempt to be a courteous driver, I move to the next lane in order to let you pass, and then you drop way back again. Please make up your mind. Are you going faster than I am, or are you just trying to give me road rage?
Lastly, the left lane is for passing. If you are driving under, or right at the speed limit, chances are you should pick a different lane. It's clear I am going faster than you. If you absolutely refuse to move over, I will pass you from the middle lane. Giving me the finger makes YOU the (slow) jerk. Not me. I'm following the rules. Perhaps you should to.

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Driver

**Note from the Editor (also known as...me): Some people seem to be offended by my open letter. An open letter's purpose it to express MY opinion. I am not stating law. Just my thoughts. 

Whatever Wednesday!

*Note: I wrote this yesterday, but forgot to post it. Forgive me.

I haven't checked my Google Analytics in a few weeks, so I logged on today, knowing it was Wednesday.

Blog Stats
I have 205 hits this week, and 40 of them were from googling the TV shows or actors mentioned in my DVR post! I also had one person land here after googling "telephone ben naslund". Um...What? Who is Ben Naslund? Is he related to the infamous Chloe Naslund (who still gets me a hit or two a month)?  Out of curiosity, I googled Ben Naslund. I found nothing. I do not think he exists.

"Recipe" of the Week
Last week I got an email and two Facebook messages asking me to post a quick, easy and tasty dinner idea. So, here is one of our "go to" dinners that fit all the criteria AND is budget friendly.
Chicken & Avocado Quesadillas

Low-Carb Tortillas
Avocados (1/2 an avocado per Quesadilla)
Low-Fat Mexican Blend Cheese
Chicken
Whatever seasonings you like on your chicken

I marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes in the mix we've "perfected" to our liking. For me, that's Fajita marinade, garlic powder, a little lime juice, a splash of tequila and adobe seasoning. Ryan is probably going to kill me for giving away our secret, but I didn't share how much of each we use. You'll have to decide what you like. ;)  Then, I grill the chicken, and chop it. 

To assemble my quesadilla, I like to do cheese first, then avocado, then chicken with a little more cheese to bind it all together. I "fan out" my avocado so I get a little in every bite. If you ask my close friends, they will tell you, I am slightly obsessed with avocado.

Here is the finished product!

Mmmmm...now I want one. Anyway, I feel super cheesy for typing this out in "recipe" form...but the people asked! Enjoy!

Random Ramblings from Rachel

This is dedicated to Ryan's Grammie. (His Maternal Grandma in AZ.) She emailed me recently about Ryan's current "look". She prefers a clean cut Ryan. And while I prefer the rugged Ryan, he wanted a change so I gave him a hair cut, and he saved off his facial hair. The rest of the night I couldn't stop looking at him cause he looked SO different to me! He did need a hair cut...it was getting pretty shaggy, but I miss the goatee. ;)

Here you go Grammie! Ryan's before and after:

What do YOU think?!

Whatever Wednesday - The Birthday Edition!

My birthday was Monday and I got spoiled ROTTEN, so today's Whatever Wednesday post is going to be 100% about my birthday!

The celebrations started Thursday night - one of my best friends, Kim, also has a July birthday so we had a little joint b-day dinner since we have so many mutual friends. We went to On The Border and just gabbed and grubbed for a few hours! I am so lucky to have such awesome friends!! Here is a shot of the whole group:

L-R: Heather - Our friend from work, Lauren - my BFF from high school, Bridget - one of my closest friends, Me, Brittany - one of our BFFs, Kim - the other b-day girl and Elizabeth - a friend of Kim's from HS who I am now happy to also call a friend :) I love all of these girls SO MUCH!

We had a laid back weekend, though Ryan worked A LOT, then Sunday, my Dad came over for a few hours to hang out and wish me a happy birthday since he was going to be out of town all week. After, we met Ryan's parents for a delicious lunch to celebrate with them.

Richard, Susan, Me & Ryan at Asahi in Flower Mound. It was SO good!

A cute one of just me & Ryan

Monday was my actual birthday. The big 2-7. (Yes, I know. 27 isn't that big, but somehow it feels WAY older than 26!) When I got to work, I opened the door to my office to find this:

THANK YOU Heather & Kim for the decorations :)

Then they treated me to a delicious Tin Star lunch and cupcakes after...

There was an icing incident that sent us all into a fit of giggles.

BUT, we pulled ourselves together long enough to snap a quick pic! THANK YOU girls for making such a big deal out of my birthday!! I love you both!!

After work, I headed home to meet up with Frankie; when I walked in the door he presented me with my gift. He prefaced it by saying he wished it was for him, so I knew it would be good. And it was...

Firefly, the complete series, on BluRay!!!!!

Then we headed to dinner with my Mom. She treated me to dinner at one of my favorite places, BJ's. And even though I told her NOT to get me a gift, she gave me the cutest Winnie the Pooh & Eeyore ornament for my collection! (I LOVE Pooh & Friends. Yes, I am 27 years old.) Ryan had to work late and sadly, he didn't get to join us for dinner :( but when I got home, he had some wonderful gifts waiting for me, even though I had also told Ryan not to get me anything!

Dublin Dr Pepper (DP from the plant in Dublin, TX so it's made with pure cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup and is so, so good), This Is It and my favorite movie EVER The Princess Bride on BluRay, and the most beautiful purple phalaenopsis orchid!

In other words, it was an amazing birthday. I am so very blessed to have such wonderful friends & family. You all made me feel so very special. :)

Whatever Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! This week is creeping by and I feel like its been Wednesday for days now, haha. In fact, I actually started writing this yesterday until I realized it wasn't Wednesday yet! Awesome.

Let's jump right in to the Recipe of the Week! I really don't have much else to talk about so...here it is!

Barbacoa Beef
Servings: 9 • Serving Size: 4 oz
Calories: 161.4 • Fat: 5.0g • Protein: 24.9 g • Carb: 2.8 g • Fiber: 0.7 g

3 lbs beef eye of round or bottom round roast, all fat trimmed
5 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion
1/2 lime, juice
2-4 chipotles in adobo sauce (I used 4)
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground oregano
salt and pepper
3 bay leaves
1 cup water

Place garlic, onion, lime juice, cumin, oregano and chipotles in a blender. Mix in 1 cup water.

Trim all fat off meat, cut into 4 inch chunks. Place meat in crock-pot, and cover the meat with the blended mixture. If it does not cover the meat completely, add more water and mix well. Add the bay leaves. I cooked it on the lowest setting all day long while I was at work. Like, 7:30-5:30. Just make sure there is plenty of water so it wont boil dry.

Once cooked and the meat is tender, remove the meat and place in a dish. Shred it with two forks, and reserve the liquid for later (discard the bay leaf). Return the shredded meat to the pot and add some of the reserved liquid back.

This was SO flavorful and tender. I served this with low-carb tortillas, reduced-fat cheese, and salsa. I had my brother over for dinner when I made it and we all loved it! Definitely a winner and we will definitely make it again. Enjoy!

Whatever Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone had a safe, fun holiday weekend.

Blog Stats
I had visitors from 31 states this week & an all time high at 272 unique hits! I must attribute many of these to Andrew Tinker & Blues Traveler re-tweeting the link to the post about them. So - THANKS GUYS! :D

 I had a good laugh when I checked my google analytics this week. Someone got to my blog by googling "I married a younger man"! Nothing to be ashamed of, random googler! ;)   I also had someone land here by googling "Chloe Naslund'. My apologies if you were trying to track this person down...and found my cat. 


Recipe of the Week
Ryan & I have really been trying to trim our waistlines, so we've been trying recipes that are lower fat/calories. It can be a struggle to find low-cal recipes that are still tasty. I've been looking at several blogs and sites with "healthified" versions of stuff we love. So far, the clear winner this week is this one, which I've tweaked a little to my liking. Ryan & I both loved this, and will definitely make it again.

Chicken and White Bean Enchiladas with Creamy Green Chile Sauce
adapted from Gina's recipe

Servings: 8 • Serving Size: 1 enchilada
Calories: 230 • Fat: 7.3 g • Protein: 20.4 g • Carb: 28.7 g • Fiber: 12.2 g

Chicken and White Bean Filling:
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup minced white onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
15.5 oz can Navy beans (or Cannellini beans)
3 cooked shredded chicken breasts
1/3 can water
1 chicken bullion
1 tsp cumin

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
1 tsp butter
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 tbsp flour
1 cup fat free chicken broth
7 oz can chopped green chile, drained
1 jalapeños, chopped, seaded
1/2 cup light sour cream

3/4 cup reduced fat Mexican cheese
8 medium low carb tortillas
chopped fresh cilantro or scallions (or both!)

For the Filling:
In a medium pan, heat olive oil on low. Add onions, garlic and saute until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add beans, water, bullion, and cumin. Mix well and cover. Simmer on low 15 minutes. Remove cover, add chicken and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until it thickens and liquid boils down. Set aside.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce:
In a large nonstick pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and starts to turn translucent, about 3-4 minutes. Add flour and stir well. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth. Whisk until the sauce becomes smooth. Cook over medium heat until the sauce boils and thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Add green chiles and jalepeños. Cook another minute then remove from the heat. Stir in the sour cream.

Spread about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Fill each tortilla with a few good spoonfuls of the chicken/white bean filling. Roll the tortillas and place seam side down in the prepared baking dish. Continue filling remainder of the tortillas.

Pour the enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas and spread to cover. Top with cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake 20-30 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the cheese is melted. Remove from oven and top with fresh cilantro or scallions.

*My Notes: We seasoned and grilled the chicken then mixed it into the filling mixture because we love the flavor of grilled chicken. This also cut down on cook time, because while I was make the filling and sauce, Ryan was grilling the chicken, instead of waiting for it to bake in the oven. Also, I smushed the beans up, because Ryan isn't a huge "bean fan". It only needed about 20 minutes in the oven before the cheese was melted. Enjoy!

Whatever Wednesday!

It's Wednesday!
Hi readers!! I am only two days away from a 3-day weekend for Independence Day! Hopefully you all have a 3-day weekend too!

Let's move on, because I am going to devote a lot of this post to MY READERS! :) (I so love saying that!) I try not to stalk Google Analytics, and I do my best to only check it once a week. So, this morning I logged in to check up on who is peeping my humble little blog. Last week (6/23-6/29) I had 171 hits! How exciting! Quick shout out to all the states who visited: TX, CA, CO, MO, WI, NC, KS, UT, AZ, PA, NY, IL, TN & MD! I'm feeling a LOT of love today - bloggy style! I also thought it was interesting some of the google searches that brought people here. This week, people googled "Rachel Naslund", "Newlywed Naslunds", "Emett Bolin", "Andrew Tinker", "Danny Gokey", "American Idol" & "Summer Salad" and stumbled upon this blog.

I want to give a Special Shout-Out to the fansite iheartdannygokey for the love they showed after my post about Danny. I especially want to thank users asics717, Lizzy & Ellen B. for the kind words, and for reppin' my little blog here. Your referral lead to 46 of my hits this week! Thank you!

How about some Random Ramblings from Rachel? I’ve been reading the final draft of a book my friend Kelly Riad wrote, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I don’t want to give too much about the story away, because it’s going to be published, and when it is, I want you all to read it for yourselves. What I will tell you is what a beautiful story it is. GLOW, the first book in a series, is a deep, crushing love story (x 2) that finds Emily, a "normal" teen, trying to figure out who she is, getting involved with some new kids in town who are not what they seem. (This is NOT Twilight...don't let the initial feel of the book fool you. There are no vampires or werewolves in this book.) I am enthralled and addicted to this story and these characters and hated it when I found myself coming close to the end of this first book. I slowed my reading, trying to draw the story out,  making it last as long as possible, in fear that Kelly wouldn't grace me with the next book until it’s published as well. Well, she promised to let me read it as soon as it's ready, and I am counting the days!! If YOU want to check out the first few chapters of GLOW (and I know you do!), they are up on Kelly's website.

That's all for today! Have a great Wednesday!

Whatever Wednesday!

Well, another week has past and I haven't had much to report.

Weekend Wrap-Up!
We had a fun weekend. On Friday, I took my Dad to lunch for Father's Day and had a great time spending time with him, one on one. Then Saturday, we had Ryan's parents over and cooked them lunch to celebrate Father's Day with Richard. Saturday night we met up with some of our good friends, Brittany & Jacob, Jennye & Gavin, Frankie (my brother) and a couple of Gavin's friends to head to Deep Ellum for dinner and some good live music. We ate at Twisted Root burger, always a favorite of ours, then headed over to the bar where our friend Andrew Tinker and his band where playing. Sunday, I was parked on the couch all day with a migraine, so Ryan went to Frankie's apartment for a bit. Here is the Wrap-Up of Saturday in pictures:

Here we are on our way to meet everyone.

On our way to Dallas, Frankie, Brittany and Jacob crammed in the back seat of the Jetta.

At Twisted Root. L-R; Britt, Jacob, Danny, Cody, Gavin & Jennye.

Frankie, and Ryan were on either side of me so, they didn't make it in to the picture.

A friend of Frankie's (and kind of mine) Nate (far left) and his band, The Astronomers

Andrew Tinker (on the piano) and his band! They are so, so awesome.

I don't have any new recipes to share as of this very moment, but hope to be trying lots of new ones soon.

Random Ramblings of Rachel!

Ryan is home sick today. Potentially with the flu. Not good. I hate being sick, I mean who likes it, but I really hate when Ryan is sick. Its hard for me to see my big, strong husband like that and not be able to do anything to make him feel better! And then, of course, as a working person I enter this conundrum of, do I avoid him like the plague so I don't get sick, or do I tend to his every need! Haha. I usually do something between the two. Anyway, I am hoping and praying that a)he gets better fast and that its not the flu and b)that I don't catch it!

Well, that's pretty much all I've got today. So, so boring. Sorry readers. :)

Whatever...Thursday?

Um, its Thursday. Oops. I've really slacked on the blog this week, and I have no valid excuses!

Overdue Weekend Wrap-Up!
Even though its almost to the new weekend, I'll give a brief wrap-up of last weekend. On Saturday, Ryan worked and I did house work until mid-afternoon. Then after dinner, our friends Brittany & Jacob came over and we went to my new obsession, Tappy's, for fro-yo. YUM! If you live in my area, I highly recommend it! After, we came back to our place and watched Sherlock Holmes. It was such a good movie! Ryan & I have a list of BluRays we want to buy and this one definitely made the list! The rest of the weekend was low key...just the way I like it!

This is the most boring 'Whatever' post ever!
I seriously have nothing fun to report. This has been a loooong, boring week. But, I will share a super cute picture of Cooper & Chloe!

Alright, sorry I sucked this week. I'll post again soon...

Whatever Wednesday - The Locks of Love Edition

Wow! Blog entries two days in a row! What is going on here?! ;)

I was checking out my google analytics today and noticed that I had a handful of googlers land here when they searched "Locks of Love", so I decided I should update on my progress. I really wish I'd taken a better "before" picture, when I decided to do LoL one last time. But, here is one from the end of February, right before I started growing it out again.

I know it's hard to see in this picture, but my hair brushed my collar bones.

As of yesterday, it's been exactly 3 months. I snapped a pic this morning to track the progress, but my hair is in its "natural state" (aka curly) in this picture, so I don't think it does justice to the length. I'll take another next time I put forth the time/effort to straighten it. In the meantime, here is the curly hair pic.

See, I'm getting there! My mother-in-law, Susan, is also growing her hair for the cause, so its been neat tracking our "growth" together. I'm hoping before the end of the journey, I can convince some of my other long-haired friends to donate with us. :)

Whatever Wednesday!

Hello again faithful readers! Apparently, there were 119 of you from last Wednesday to today! YAY! Per Google Analytics, a lot of you got here by Googling "Lee DeWyze". See how I roped you in there? ;) I added some new states to my list of visitors this week, too. Welcome N. & S. Carolina, Oregon, Michigan and Vermont!

We are leaving tomorrow morning for the annual Naslund Family Reunion! It's my 3rd, and I am really excited to see everyone. I am crazy about my extended in-laws and its always such a fun weekend. Ryan & I are driving this year, so I am also really looking forward to some good road trip time. Its a crazy concept, but we actually really like being together so, 8+ hours in the car is appealing to me. :) Lucky me, my awesome brother is willing to stay at our place and keep an eye on the kitties (and the movie channels) while we are gone!

I will give a quick Weekend Wrap-up! We had a long weekend for Memorial Day, and I'm going to touch on that before I talk about the fun stuff. On Monday, I did some serious thinking about all the people in my life who have served this country. Both my grandfathers fought in WWII. My Granddaddy lost his leg when his Humvee drove over a landmine and Gramp, the Screaming Eagle, fought in the Battle of the Bulge. My Uncle was in the Air Force, my father-in-law in the Navy. My cousin Travis is in the Marines. I have countless friends in various branches of the military, and am fortunate to only know one brave solider who died in Iraq. I thought this little cartoon said it all. :)

As for the rest of the weekend, Friday night we went to one of my favorite places to eat, Sweet Tomatoes. It was Ryan's first time there and he loved it, just like I knew he would. Then we came home and relaxed. Saturday, we spent some time over at my cousins' Mike & Kim's house. My Aunt Suzie & Uncle Frank where there, and so was my cousin Steve's precious daughter Emma (and of course Mike & Kim's sweet little ones, Steel and Akina). It was so great seeing everyone, though it felt a little heavy knowing that Steve was in the hospital a few hours away, continuing his aggressive cancer treatment. After leaving there, we tried to go to a pool party with our friends...tried being the operative word. After leaving my family, I wasn't much in the "party" mood, so my sweet hubby brought me home. Sunday was the day I'd been waiting for. Gavin DeGraw, probably my favorite singer on the planet, was playing a free show in McKinney to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. Ryan & I and our friends Brittany & Jacob headed out to watch the show. Holy cow was it crowded! I expected 1/2 as many people as were actually there. Because of my poor planning, we did end up really far away from the stage. But, I still enjoyed myself. Though, I must say, giant, outdoor venues do not do him justice. I'll hold out for this next appearance in Dallas, which will hopefully be smaller and more intimate so he can let his vocal prowess shine!

Everyone have a GREAT Wednesday! I will try to blog from the road, but if not, see ya next week!

Whatever Wednesday!

It's Wednesday!
I have great love for this day of the week. Some call it "Hump Day"; the day in which we've reached the proverbial "hump" on the mountain that is the work week. I often find myself reverting back to childhood when my parents would make us paper chains counting down to special days like Christmas, birthdays or the last day of school. When my Mom or Dad would wake us up they'd say "10 more get-ups until school is out!" This morning when I woke up and realized it was Wednesday, I immediately thought to myself "2 more get-ups until the weekend". I do realize "get-ups" (days in which we have to wake-up early) is a weird thing to say...blame my parents. But, this Wednesday is especially wonderful, because it means I am just two "get-ups" away from a 3 day weekend! (More on that later.)

Recipe time!

This is not my recipe, nor did I discover it on my own. My friend Mandy shared it with me and it was soooo good, I just had to pass it along! We have been really trying to eat on a budget lately, and this is so easy on the pocketbook.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces (I salted/peppered before cooking)
1/4 cup Light Zesty Italian Dressing
4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) Neufchatel Cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth (I had to add a little more because it was too thick)
3 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn, green beans), thawed, drained
1 ready-to-use refrigerated pie crust (1/2 of 15-oz. pkg.)

Heat oven to 375°F.

Cook chicken in dressing in large skillet on medium heat until no longer pink. Add Neufchatel; cook and stir until melted. Stir in flour until well blended. Add broth and vegetables; stir. Simmer 5 min.

Pour into 10-inch deep-dish pie plate (I used a regular pie plate); cover with pie crust. Seal and flute edge. Cut slits in crust to permit steam to escape.

Bake 30 min. or until golden brown. (In my oven, it was about 25 minutes.)

My thoughts: This is delish! I will probably add a potato next time, just because I felt like it was missing. You could definitely use left over rotisserie chicken, just heat it for a few minutes in a pan with the Italian dressing. This is slightly less fattening since you only use one pie crust and neufchatel instead of regular cream cheese but it still fills my "comfort food" cravings. Plus, it could not be easier. Enjoy!

Let's Talk Idol!
This Idol post is bittersweet. I know many of you will be relieved when it's over, but people searching Idol land on this blog so, I know I'm not alone! Anyway, last night was the final performance show of this season, and Simon's last night judging. Both Lee and Crystal did great, but if I'd been watching this show for the very first time, Crystal would have won me over. That being said, I think Lee should win. I think he has grown the most over the season, and possibly the most of any contestant ever. (Calm down, I said *possibly*.) SO, we find out tonight who will be [insert Ryan Seacrest impression here] the next American Idol! Then this blog will be Idol free...until next season! ;)

More Randomness & Ramblings from Rachel!
I have to brag on my hubby now. He really is such a catch, and I'm reminded of this often. Without getting too terribly mushy (but it is my blog, so I can do what I want!), there are moments when I think about my grandfathers and the kind of man they would expect their granddaughter's husband to be. My sweet Gramp knew & loved Ryan, in fact on our wedding video he says "he's like a son to me, but even better, he's now my grandson". [Oh my goodness, I miss that man. :'( ] Moving on, my wonderful Granddaddy (my Mom's Dad) never got to meet Ryan. He passed away when I was still in high school, and though Ry & I were dating then, he lived in Kentucky. But, he set a huge example in my life as I watched how wonderfully he treated my Grandmommy. The two of them were such sweet, southern gems. My point to all of this rambling is that I have moments when Ryan says or does something and I think to myself "Gramp, Granddaddy, did you see that?!" Yesterday was one of those moments. I had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day. Nothing went right. Nothing was easy. Everything made me want to cry. Ryan knew this, so when he walked in the door after work, he had these in hand...

Beautiful, thoughtful, perfect Passion roses. He spoils me. Or maybe he just loves me a lot. ;) Either way, as I burst into tears (again) and thanked him over and over, I glanced at the Heaven's to seek my grandfathers' approval. I think he's got it.

Happy Wednesday all!

Its Whatever Wednesday!

Hi Readers! I can say that now, because according to Google Analytics,  I had 111 hits last week! I know, a drop in the bucket for many of my favorite blogs, but to little ol' me, it feels HUGE!

I also have to point out where my hits are coming from.

I get Texas, seeing as I live here. I know a few people in Colorado, California, Oklahoma & New York and I have family in Missouri & Kentucky. But, I can honestly say I don't think I know anyone in Washington, Jersey or Virgina. So, that's kind of cool!

So, apparently, 56 of my hits last week were for various recipes I've posted, so to keep the trend alive, I have more!

Tonight, I made Broccoli Beef and it was SO good! I have a lot of friends (and maybe readers?) who don't eat red meat, and I'm sure you could substitute beef for chicken, beef broth for chicken broth, etc. But, I'm married to a red meat lover so, we eat beef.

Broccoli Beef
adapted from Simply Recipes and My Baking Addiction

Ingredients
3/4 - 1 pound flank or sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
2 stalks broccoli (more or less to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oill
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced or smushed through garlic smusher
1 teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
For the beef marinade
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon of Sriracha (you can adjust this to taste as well)
For the sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon cooking rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup beef broth
Method
-Marinate the beef: Stir together the beef marinade ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the beef slices and stir until coated. Let stand for 10 minutes ( I let it marinate for 2 hours)
-Blanch the broccoli: Cook the broccoli in a small pot of boiling, salted water until tender and drain thoroughly.
-Prepare the sauce: Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
-Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat. Add the olive oil and swirl to coat. Add the beef and immediately spread the beef out all over the surface of the wok or pan. Let the beef fry undisturbed for 1 minute. Flip the beef slices over, add the garlic to the pan and cook until no longer pink. (I drain about 1/2 of the juice that is created by the beef or my sauce gets too runny.) Pour in the sauce, add the blanched broccoli and bring to a boil. Pour in the dissolved cornstarch and cook, stirring, until the sauce boils and thickens, this shouldn't take long.
You can add toasted sesame seeds the last 30 seconds of cooking, if you'd like.

 Let me tell you, this dish is seriously delicious. If served with rice, this would easily serve 4.

So, moving along, Let's Talk Idol!

I've been rooting for him since day one. I think he is immensely talented. I've said how adorable and sweet I think he is about 100 times. Who am I voting for to be the next American Idol? Yup, Lee! He is this years most improved by leaps and bounds. Crystal is still so, so good and I still really like Casey, but they have been on a plateau for weeks. Lee just keeps climbing the proverbial mountain. And Simon definitely did him a huge favor by picking "Hallelujah" for him to sing last night. In the words of Kara, he "owned it".

Well, that's all I've got for today! If you stumble across my humble little blog here, leave me a comment and let me know where you are reading from!

Whatever Wednesday

So, a blog I used to follow (it no longer exists) did a bit called "Whatever Wednesday". Pretty self explanatory; you blog about any random thing that maybe doesn't merit its own post. Quite similar to Holly's Monday Potluck only without set topics.

I have found recently that I have more and more I want to blog about, I even start to write, but then I feel it falls short of a full post, so I delete it and move on. Then, when talking to a friend about blogging, I remembered Whatever Wednesday!

Since American Idol is coming to it's season end, and since my wrap-ups have become the same old post every week (let's face it, we all know who I like by now) and will add my line or two here: I think Mike and Lee were the best this week. I think Aaron or Casey will go home. I think it should be Casey, Crystal, Mike and Lee in the top 4.

Moving on. Ryan & I are both iPhone users/lovers. I don't think I'll ever love another phone as much. Yes, I realize its silly to love a phone. If you have one, you understand. So, I've had AT&T for 11 years now and I am faithful. I've never strayed. Ryan has bounced around from plan to plan, well, until me. I vowed to be AT&T till I die. Or they do. Which ever came first. Back to the point, a few months ago Apple announced the release of the oh-so-amazing iPhone HD 4G for June. Ryan & I immediately freaked (in a good way) when we saw both our contracts would be up this summer and we could both get the new iPhone. Then, the unthinkable happened. Apple also announced that this oh-so-amazing iPhone HD 4G would be releasing exclusively with...VERIZON?! Break my tech-savvy heart, why don't you?! Ryan shrugged. No problem. We'll just switch to Verizon. Um, PROBLEM! I'm nothing if not loyal. This has proven to be a heated topic in the Naslund household. To date, we've yet to make a decision as to what we will do come June...

Next up. Lately, I've been really into old pictures. Especially of my parents. And recently, I've been given pictures of them I'd never seen before.
Here is one of my gorgeous Mom when she was a junior or senior in high school.

Seriously. How beautiful is she?!

And one of my super handsome Dad when he was 20. Sorry if the shirtless thing is weird.

That was his dog, Thor.

For me, its crazy to look at the features Frankie & I got from them. We both have my Dad's thick, dark, curly hair (which inevitably turns silver) and his chin. We both have my Mom's eyes, eyebrows, lips and smile. I have my Dad's nose. Frankie has my Mom's. I can't wait to see what my future kiddos take from that mosh of features!

So - that's about all I have to say in this week's Whatever Wednesday! Turned out to be a pretty long post, but I got out all the randomness I wanted! :)

xoxo