Plan ahead cooking with shredded chicken January 26, 2012

 

Greek Chicken Salad with Artichokes

I am so big into this lately.  It started with yummy rotisserie chicken breasts purchased preshredded from Costco.  But my attempts to recreate it always fell short and the actual product had tendons and fat attached, which make me gag.  But every other Sunday I have to cook 3 dinners, plus three lunches and breakfasts for myself.  I don’t care for what most would consider normal breakfasts like cereal, bagels or toast.  I work 12 hour shifts so I need something filling I can eat quickly, even cold if absolutely necessary.  Many days it’s either fast and cold or just go hungry.  I let too many frozen dinners get to room temperature and end up throwing them away and I have promised myself never to buy one again.  I can’t stand waste, either wasted money, food, or even just the packaging.  So I set out to do better.

Enter the shredded chicken breasts and my much loved pressure cooker.  I stuck two breasts in there along with my pressure cooker secret weapon and let them cook.  From frozen solid to break apart tender in an hour.  Then I set to work experimenting with different ways to prepare it that were foremost healthy and also fast, delicious and family friendly.  I quickly gave up on family friendly.  My kids aren’t picky but what I consider the best meal I’ve eaten this week is not the same thing my kids would pick.  I decided if I could cook an entire week of lunches, I wouldn’t worry so much about cooking a dinner the kids loved.  So now I stick a big package of trimmed chicken breasts in the crock pot or pressure cooker once a week, and my husband and I eat healthy and happily all week.

First up is my favorite-

• Greek Chicken Breasts with Artichokes
• 2 chicken breasts, cooked to tender and shredded
• 1 jar artichokes in oil (preferably grilled) with oil
• 1/4 cup fat free greek olives
• 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1 cup sliced greek olives
• 1/4 cup feta cheese

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and stir until well combined.  Makes 4 decent sized lunch portions, divide and conquer!

 

The things we do May 21, 2011

Today we did what we always do on Saturday.  We went to gymnastics class.  As a mom I never understood why parents enjoyed spending their entire weekend dragging themselves to some boring kids sport.  Like we thought was expected, we tried all the main sports for our oldest.  But it was a miserable experience every time.  The kid hated each sport and spent the entire time sulking on the sidelines and refusing to play.  Then three weeks after it ended he wanted to play.  By then we’d spent 10 weeks in the cold or rain or blistering sun with him refusing to even try and we wouldn’t go back for anything.  Sorry kid, we call that natural consequences around here.

Then we tried gymnastics.  Finally it stuck for us all.  He loves the class and practices all week of his own volition.  His teacher wisely told him he could go to college for free if he does 20 push ups a day.  The message being that you stick with something every day for the next 11 years and you really can get a scholarship.  I love the message, and he loves the class.  But more than that I found something I never understood.  That it is incredibly rewarding to watch your child succeed at something.  I suppose that is the real reason soccer moms sit in the cold, then the rain, then the blistering sun every weekend.  When my son tries and tries and then GETS IT, I watch him almost bursting with pride.  Wow.  Now I understand.  Not to mention the powerful lesson of trying and failing, then to try until you succeed.

So tonight I found myself at the not so young and spry age of almost 36 demonstrating a back bend in the living room.  I must admit I thought about it all day and wasn’t sure it was such a good idea.  For starters, due to a birth injury my back bends must be done one armed.  Add to that a pretty terrible back anyway and I’m sure you are also wondering what I was thinking.  But I did it, to the amazement of my son and husband.  Then I spotted my son while he did it himself and then kicked over to land on his feet.  For his part, my amazing husband has been doing those 20 push ups every day as well.  I can see the health of our whole family improving as  strive to encourage each other.  It makes me feel even prouder, and happy to be a part of such a thing.  So soccer mom’s everywhere, I salute you.  I get it now.

The world ends tomorrow May 20, 2011

Make this one of 1.2 million posts today. My 7 year old was in the room when the news said something about the end of the world tomorrow and asked with genuine concern if it was really the end of the world. Like tomorrow was his last day of life and we’d neglected to tell him. I told him the truth, that there are thousands of people out their predicting a certain day (the end is near!) and they have been wrong for 10,000 years so it’s become somewhat of a joke to most people. Explaining religion to a 7 year old is harder than it might seem on the surface. But he was probably more concerned with missing gymnastics.

I really wish I could make some soap tonight, but I’m waiting for a new scale to arrive and for some cruel reason it won’t come until Monday night. Doesn’t UPS know I really want to make a batch NOW? Monday seems so impossibly far away. Plus the new order brings new scents. Oh my! How to choose? I ordered the popular Santa’s Pipe. I know that seems crazy for the summer but this scent really changed the way I soaped. The first day I had it, it made me almost gag. I put it in the garage and even my husband complained about the smell. But I had spent money and had to follow through so I made a batch. The smell was awful! Then I learned a valuable soaping lesson. The scent mellowed. It deepened and became more complex. It lost it’s overpowering notes and became sophisticated and nuanced. By the time I gave it away it got rave reviews. It’s been almost 18 months since my last batch and people are still asking for it again. It’s not a Christmas scent at all, which is why I ordered it in May. But it is chock full of nostalgia and warm memories. I can’t wait to soap it again!

Coming out of hibernation March 23, 2011

Out of hibernation, or perhaps more accurately, a rebirth.  It’s been a year since I took my first job as a nurse.  It’s been crazy, learning a new job in the real world instead of the “school version” of nursing.  I struggled, succeeded, fell down, got back up, and kept on moving.  There are still days I long for my work at home days.  Being my own boss was really great.  On the down side there was never anyone else to help.  If I got sick there was no fall back person. 

But in the end, it is what it is.  I’m ready to blog again, but it won’t be about anything in particular.  Sometimes work.  Sometimes life.  Sometimes my random ramblings about nothing in particular.  Sometimes I have a glass of wine and think deep thoughts no one else wants to listen to because they are inane.  Tonight is one of those’s nights.

I’m stuck on thoughts about life and love.  Specifically choosing the right love at the right time.  Although it may irritate or bore you senseless, I am disgustingly happy in my marriage.  Really.  My husband was trained very well by his sister in college.  He pulls his own weight around the house.  He takes care of the kids during the day while I work.  He cleans and is learning to cook.  He takes initiative and if he sees the toilet needs cleaning, he does it.  On top of that, he loves me.  He seems to think HE is the lucky one and goes out of his way to show me his feelings, since he isn’t that great in saying it with words and he knows that.  He puts up with my diverse and crazy hobbies that may or may not turn into a small business and result in lots of work for both of us.  He supported me through the horror and hell of nursing school with a new baby born smack in the middle of Christmas break.  And when I had to repeat a semester he was my strongest supporter when I was the hardest on myself.  Then when I graduated and couldn’t find a job, he tolerated and supported me through my daily nervous breakdowns. 

I could really go on, but who isn’t fed up with the drama free boredom of a happy marriage?  Other than me, of course.

But sometimes the drama of others makes me contemplate the twists of life that brought me here.  Once upon a time, I was deeply in love.  Head over heels in a drama filled relationship that went on for over a decade.  I look back now.  How did I get from that deep agony to here.  Once I truly believed that I could love someone enough that it didn’t matter if they didn’t love you back.  I thought (wished? hoped?) that just being with that person could be enough.  Worst of all I thought if somehow I was just good enough, perfect enough, and made myself into that person that he wanted, then he would finally love me.  Even now it hurts to think how much I tried.  How much of myself I sacrificed and how many put downs I took as constructive advice on how to be a better person.

It took so very long for me to wake up.  I remember believing that it didn’t matter if he didn’t love me, because I couldn’t do better anyway.  That I didn’t deserve better.  That it would be the same no matter who I was with, no one would love me and I should just be grateful that I had someone I loved.

What made me wake up, I’ll never know.  But one day it was like a switch flipped inside of me.  I could no longer put up with never being good enough.  I was tired of being grateful for whatever morsel of affection was thrown my way.  And it was like waking up from a bad dream.  I couldn’t stand one more minute and I couldn’t imagine why I had taken it in the first place.

But I know there’s a lot of women out there who still live in that world.  The world of “it’s your fault” and “you aren’t good enough.”  But I wonder why.  Are the majority of men really so dysfunctional that they can’t be an equal partner?  Is it because we continue to let them get away with it, or that they are programmed STILL from birth that women are there to serve a function in their self-centered lives?  I hope not.  I really hope that those I see around me in relationships like that are just a misrepresentation.

There is no reason in the world why a woman should put up with less than an equal partner in marriage and in life.  Why, just because he is the man, should he come home and flop down on the couch while you cook dinner?  Why should you be the only one who knows how to operate the washing machine, or the mop, or see that the floor is filthy and needs to be swept?  We need to raise the standards ladies.  We’ve been trying to be superwoman for too long.

There.  That’s my rant for the night.  Now men, please treat my sisters better because I have to go study statistics.

My newest fluffy butts! March 8, 2010

My sweet, patient and amazing husband.  Full of faith in me and love for our family and the environment.  Just after my oldest was born in 2004 he started talking about chickens.  Since he’s from North Dakota he was more used to the idea of livestock than me, and all I heard when he said chickens was stink, noise and extra work.  Then the kids got a little older and started eating a lot more.  They LOVE eggs, and since eggs are so nutritious it’s a great meal.  About a year ago I finally got on board, and this weekend we picked up 2 chicks for our small, backyard suburban flock.

Pecka and Tweety

So here are two of my new girls.  They are fun and adventuresome so far.  The whole family is head over heals in love with our babies.  Two more will be arriving this weekend.  Yay!

Have you stopped by the Haiti Relief event? February 20, 2010

Stop by now.  I’m just saying.  This is some incredible stuff, by some talented and generous artists.  I haven’t done any math (because I’m generally too tired to do math) but so far it looks like a raging success!  If you participated as either a donor or a bidder, we thank you!  It may seem like a drop in the bucket but every dime helps bring food, water, medicine or shelter to the people of Haiti.  There are still plenty with low bids, and I promise if you bid on the soap from Three Pears you won’t be sorry.  I promise to double what you get for your bid.  You bid $10, you’ll get $20 worth of soap.  You get clean, and you get to help people.  You can’t go wrong!

New products January 31, 2010

I have been stuck a bit.  Sick of making the same item over and over, I have decided to branch out a bit.  The encouragement and great advice came from my wonderful congo-mates at Lilypad Landing.  I love being a part of a congo, I’m so glad I gave it another try after selling my last business.  With their encouragement and a little late night inspiration I came up with this-

It started as a standard plastic grocery sack.  I cut the common plastic sack apart in an attempt to create bags that would be more affordable for the average shopper.  But once I had the bag cut apart I couldn’t imagine using any of my lovely fabric for such a boring, straightforward bag.  It needed something more, a bit of style and flair.  I slept on the idea and like every night I woke up at 3am, this time with  my mind gnawing on the idea.  Like my standard market bags I kept trying to find a way to make the bottom a solid color but the idea just didn’t work.  The early morning inspiration to make the top a solid may seem obvious but it is still 180 degrees from the idea I was trying to create.  After a template and a mock up I found what I was looking for.  So there it is, a simple but stylish market bag.  It fits a ton of food, up to 2 gallons of milk, in an easily obtainable style that makes shopping (and reusing) easier than ever.

Haiti Relief January 23, 2010

Okay, I admit it.  My name is Jen and I have an empathy disorder.  While I know generally what is happening in Haiti I must be honest here and say I have not watched all of the news stories.  I can’t.  I was awake for weeks after hearing a story in England about a baby who was found (thankfully alive) days after her mother passed away.  Commercials for horror movies give me nightmares.  And I don’t say that lightly, I had horrible nightmares every night from the “I am Legend” movie.  After a few weeks of this I decided to read the Movie Spoiler, thinking that if I knew the story it wouldn’t be scary anymore.  The result was more weeks of worsening nightmares.

So maybe you can see why I can’t stand to watch news footage of children scared and homeless and starving.  It’s too much for me and makes me go and wake up my children, who are confused and tired and don’t want to be hugged at 10pm.  But there’s no escaping that the news there is not good.  Hunger, thirst, and fear run Haiti now.  The government never had the resources to deal with such devastation and so there is no one to help.  Although help arrives every day, it’s nearly impossible to get that help to the people who need it the most.

So last weekend as I sat in my comfortable house I couldn’t help but think about Haiti.  My sweet babies sleep soundly in their beds.  The fridge is stocked with food, even it if isn’t brand name and fancy.  Water runs freely from my faucets and if I need something a car will take me without a second thought to a store where I can blissfully buy anything I need with a credit card.  But I think of those mothers in Haiti.  What do you do with three children and NO water and nothing to eat?  I feel bad when I say “we can’t afford that” to my 5 year old.  How would I feel if I had to tell him “we don’t have anything to eat today, you’re going to have to go hungry?”  How would I function day to day if I couldn’t care for the most important thing in my life, my children.  Worse yet, what if the wall of my house fell in and I died?  Or my children died?

So you see why I don’t need the news.  My own imagination is more than enough to scare and horrify me.  I feel helpless and powerless to help them because really, I am.  I can’t drive down there with 10,000 pounds of food and feed and cloth and heal the wounds, physical and emotional, of every family in Haiti.  I’m stuck doing whatever little thing I can.  That’s where the next chapter begins. 

I started http://www.hyenacart.com/HaitiRelief.  Items donated by an amazingly talented and diverse group of talented artisans will be auctioned off starting February 14th through the 21st.  Yes, it’s Valentines Day.  But I figure there’s no better way to celebrate love than to show it to people who need it most.

Lilypad Landing stocking tomorrow! January 13, 2010

Well as usual I am late to the ball.  My awesome mom flew in today, which means I have lots of help with the kids and house this week!  But it also meant I had to clean this house up finally.  Ugh!  It takes 2 days to clean it and 1 hour with the kids home to make it a total disaster again.  So per my usual self I underestimated how much time it would take to clean and ran out of sewing time for this stocking.  I have one lovely needle roll stocking.  I just love the asian themed fabrics, and I can’t ever get enough of blue and brown together.   So tomorrow night at 9 pm EST this little lovely is up for grabs.  It is not crooked, as one picture looks.  I didn’t realize it looked that way until I stocked.  Hopefully I’ll have time to grab a new pic in the am.  Find it at http://www.HyenaCart.com/LilyPadLanding

Cut picture of Blackraspberry January 10, 2010

This swirl sure came out lovely.  I love the deep purple too, it matches with the scent just perfectly!  This will be stocking in 4 weeks, when it’s cured.

Raspberry Vanilla Cold Process Soap