Recipe Rundown

Ok, so I've been trying, as money allows, to try out new recipes every once and a while. Since I didn't cook often in my itty bitty kitchen at the old place (it was just plain annoying to cook on 2x2 counter space and a half sized stove), my basic cooking supplies had dwindled down to nearly nothing. Things like spices, olive oil etc...Thus, initial shopping trips have been rather expensive.

I now have updated my kitchen with a lot of the basics...so I should be able to do a little more experimenting.

I made this recipe called Spicy Chicken Spaghetti last night for Brian and I. I'm one of those people who LOVES to spice things up with hot sauce...the spicier the better. I've always wanted to find a decent spicy spaghetti recipe, and this one looked interesting.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 10 chicken tenderloins
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (10 ounce) can whole black olives, drained
• 1/4 cup canned jalapeno pepper slices, undrained
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook 6 minutes on each side, until juices run clear. Set aside, and keep warm.
2. In a large pot, mix spaghetti sauce, tomatoes with liquid, red bell pepper, corn, olives, and jalapenos. Bring to a boil, and season with garlic powder, onion powder, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Place chicken in the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Place pasta in the pot, and cook 2 to 4 minutes, until al dente. Drain, transfer to a bowl, and toss with remaining olive oil and butter. Spoon the sauce over the pasta to serve.

I forgot to take a photo after making it, so the photo above is actually of the leftovers I had for dinner tonight. If you like spicy food, this recipe is VERY good(even as leftovers)...I'm a spicy food lover and it even had my nose running.

I used a whole grain pasta to try to and add a healthy element to the recipe. It tends to be slightly stickier than regular pasta, but better for you and not different enough to justify not using it. I'm guessing it would be possible to make the sauce in large batches, and freeze it into smaller portions. I may try doing that next time.

Anyway, that's my review of spicy chicken spaghetti. I'll post more on my cooking successes (and failures) as I try more recipes on for size.

Tawny

She has been here since Monday morning, and she seems to be adjusting slowly but surely. At this point, she mostly stays under the bed or in the "closet cave" we created for her, but will come out to be social if you are sitting anywhere near those 2 places. She is still very shy, which is to be expected since she has spent her entire 9 months of life in shelters. She loves to be scratched, and will even roll over on her back to get belly scratches. No snuggling just yet...we are hoping that will come with time.

(If you look at the first image, you can see she is still missing all the fur on her little pink belly belly from when she was spayed. So cute!)

At night, when she thinks we are sleeping, is when she goes crazy. She runs all over the room, into the bathroom and chases her toys from one end to the other. I currently have a baby gate separating the living room from the bedroom so that the two cats can't kill each other. I catch them sniffing each other through the gate from time to time. Tawny is very ok with Baby, but Baby tends to hiss at her. I know this is to be expected...they just aren't ready to be fully introduced just yet.

I'm trying some behavioral stuff and giving Baby things like turkey and catnip whenever she has a nice relaxed visit with Tawny. I want her to start associating the new kitty with positive things, rather than viewing her as that little tart who is taking her family away.

That's all for now. I'm hoping to see enough of a breakthrough in the next two weeks that I can feel comfortable taking down the gate for my trip to Arizona...we'll see...

A New Friend

Brian and I have been talking about getting a new kitty. The one we fell in love with is named Samantha, and she is with a rescue organization called tail chaser rescue.












She's 9 months old and super adorable. We like her because she is tiny, and on the mellower cuddly side, which will be a perfect pairing for my tiny 13 year old lady kitty.



My kitty has been an only kitty her entire life. There are probably going to be some jealousy issues at first, but I'm hoping that over time, they will lean to get along.





We're not too keen on the name Samantha, and have contemplated changing it. Ideas that have come up so far are Tawny and Gabby. Any thoughts?

We are going to meet her tomorrow at 10am. After that we have a few days to decide if she is going to be a good fit. Wish us luck!

Motivation Drain

I'm really having a hard time getting motivated this semester. I still feel so burned out from the first one, that it is really difficult to find the drive necessary to do really well in the program. It's only week 3, and I'm already skimming the readings to save myself a few hours of boring reading.

This could potentially come back to bite me later. Like...right around midterms.

Placements have turned out to be a bit more complicated than anticipated. I have applied to two different places, and am waiting to find out if I can get an interview. Most people I have contacted thus far have been really difficult to get a hold of, and will not return your calls or emails for weeks. Meanwhile, the waiting list is piling up with lots people like me, wanting to interview for just a few positions.

The day before yesterday, I attended a two hour orientation for the county mental health center. Apparently, you have to attend orientation before you can even get an interview. The up side to this placement is that they can guarantee you will get paid around $12 an hour...which is far better than working for free like I would at most other places. Hey, in this economy, an extra 600 bucks or so a month couldn't hurt. The down side is that because it is a paid position, it is likely to be far more competitive. Not only that, but with budget cuts, it is entirely possible that my intended supervisor could have been laid off by the time I start this Fall.

As for my clinical experience in class, I'm not going to lie...I'm super nervous to get my first client. Three of my cohorts have been assigned clients so far, and we are just waiting to drum up enough business for everyone to get a client. It is going to be super weird sitting in front of my very first client, trying to pretend like I know exactly what I am doing all of the time.

On happier news, I'm looking forward to spending a quiet Valentine's day at home with Brian. This is our 2nd one together now, and I'm all for the idea of making something for dinner together and curling up in front of a movie. After all, Valentines day is supposed to be for being with and appreciating your loved one, and that is pretty hard to do while waiting 2 hours at your favorite restaurant just to get seated.

Furthermore, home is closer to the bedroom ;-)

Can't beat that logic!

I hate it when...

I hate it when people punish you for things they are unhappy with about themselves.

Losing weight is hard. I know this.

There is a friend of a friend who always treats me like crap whenever she talks to me. Fortunately I don't have a lot of contact with her, but I do have some, given that she is close to a very close friend of my own.

About while back, we were talking about dresses that we had to buy. I mentioned something about how I bought my dress at a store, and it fit well, but was a bit too long, so I was having it altered.

Her comment (in a snippy voice) was
"well, not ALL of us can buy dresses off the rack"

Then she looks at my friend who is slightly overweight as though she is looking for support to back her up.

What the hell?

Following that was CONSTANT comments finding ways to insult me for being the size that I am.

I'm sorry, I worked very hard to be where I'm at. And even where I'm at, I'm just like every other girl who is self conscious about her body image.

I just saw her again recently, and while she was not making rude comments, she was not particularly friendly either.

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have to walk on egg shells, for someone who is unhappy about their own image. She needs to either accept herself for what she is (because what she is is perfectly fine!) or do something about it.

DON'T PUNISH ME!

I read it for the articles....

OK, so Brian and I were flipping through the channels this morning when we suddenly came across a porno. This was kind of odd because I only get basic cable, and don't pay for any of those channels. However, I do have a nice digital tv that is able to pick up channels I'm not supposed to. Not a lot, but some.

Anyway, a few seconds into the porn it starts to fast forward...all the way to the next sex scene.

We were totally seeing someones porno that they purchased on demand or something and were watching at home.

I guess I don't blame them much. You don't really buy a porno to watch bad actors talk to each other, lol

Just get naked, and shut the hell up.

ha.

3.7.9

I finally found a dress for Brian's brother's wedding this March.

Ok, let's rewind since I know I haven't brought this up yet in any of my blogs. Brian's brother and fiance had all of their bridesmaids set up, but then Brittany (their sister) had to drop out since she is also doing the photography. I can't imagine being photographer AND bridesmaid while still giving both jobs the needed attention. That is WAY too much to do.

On a side note, her photography is WONDERFUL. All you out there in blogger land should check her out and consider her if you need a photographer for things in the future. And no, I don't say all this to suck up to the potential future sister in law. It really is awesome stuff.

So anyway, they asked if I would fill her spot. The details were fuzzy at first since I was only being told what Brian was being told by his brother with regards to colors and such. Trusting boys with wedding details? I think not.

When we went up to Bear Valley last weekend, I was able to talk to the bride directly and get a clearer picture of what they were looking for. I then was able to get this dress in royal blue (without the scarf thingey):

I love it. Just a cute little strapless dress in a pretty royal blue. The best thing is that this isn't one of those dresses you have to wear as a bridesmaid that everyone says "oh, you can so wear that again!"

Don't you just want to smack people who say that as you stand there looking like the good fairy from the Wizzard of Oz?

I actually CAN wear this again.

I'm looking forward to the wedding because it should be a good chance to get to know his family better. I'll finally get the chance to meet his other brother's wife and their son....I talked to her on the phone the other day and she seems really nice.

Why do I mention all this? Because it's really cool that the person you want to spend the rest of your life with has a really cool family. Even though his brothers like to tease and give me a hard time (what family doesn't?) one of them took some time out last weekend to thank me for making his brother so happy.

An awesome boyfriend with an awesome family and no crazy mother in law who thinks you are "taking her baby away"... Big time score!