Fried Rice

I know it looks a little nasty but I was sooo proud.

I learned how to make fried rice! Who knew it was sooooo easy and sooooooooo delicious. Seriously. Why has no one ever taught me how to make this delightful easy easy easy easy easy easy dinner.

What I did:
scrabbled 2 eggs and put them off to the side
put day old rice into my fry pan with a very minimal amount of oil
added a half bag of peas that have been in the freezer for who knows how long
added a half bag of corn which also has been in the freezer for who knows how long
added some ham that I took out of the freezer earlier in the day [still eating Easter ham]
added some minced garlic
added some onion
added some soy sauce to taste
cooked till yummy

How did I not know about how easy it is to make fried rice and how easy it is to use up freezer veggies with this recipe?! Seriously!

What do you like to make with rice? I am looking for some other rice based dinner options.
What is in your frequent dinner rotation? I am seriously beginning to make a list of some great go to options for dinner so we don't get stuck eating much of the same stuff over and over again.

If you know of the world's easiest dinner (like this one) please please share with me. I love quick fast, delicious meals!

I am debating making cards with all of our favorite meals on them so I don't forget about some and can get them in some type of a great rotation. Or I need to get better at meal planning.

Thanksgiving Weekend

I had an interesting Thanksgiving weekend for sure. I went to Marc's family for the first time. I always find going to someone else's house strange, partially because there is a certain degree that I was the outsider and it was weird to not know who everyone at the table was, to know the traditions, or what is what. His family was marvelous and very hospitable but it is always that strange moment when you have nothing to contribute to the conversation as family recalls holidays past and you have no clue what is going on. It was great to meet many of the people who mean the world to him.

It is a strange transition getting use to the idea that I can no longer function totally on my own, there has to be give and take. We did have a marvelous time in Wisconsin, while I was physically there, I couldn't help but have part of my heart and mind in South Dakota.

I must admit I was happy to return back to my house and have my sweet puppy back with me. I missed being around her. I missed being with my family this Thanksgiving [yes, I am fully aware that this kind of stuff will become more normal the longer we are married, but it doesn't take away the fact that I missed my family and my mom's cooking].

Yesterday we went out and got a Christmas tree (the branches are still settling from being bagged up) so we haven't decorated it yet, but I was loving digging out all the Christmas decorations. I also had a little photo shoot with my sweet puppy, Dakota, who was way more tolerant of it than I thought she would be.

Challenges

Recently I have been trying to be more aware of what I eat and what I don't eat, I have been trying to consume more water and less sugary beverages, I have been trying to eat more veggies and fruit and eat less overly processed things and carbs. I am working on it. It is a slow slow slow process for me. I am overcoming years of eating whatever I want and not having it effect me. There were the years that I played women's basketball at the college level and it was almost like I couldn't consume enough during those years, we would practice a couple times a day and I never had to watch what I ate. I am learning that as I am no longer the athelete I once was, I need to adjust certain things and learn how to continue to train my body so that I am happy with it again. I have to watch my portion size as well, I no longer need to be consuming way more than my body needs.

Working at a church this can be quite the challenge. For example many Wednesdays we serve a meal before church (generally it is a hot dish of some sort or a pasta dish or something along that line) the food is marvelous, however there is no limit on portion size or a balance of fruit and veggies and I should not even begin to talk about the amazing desserts. At youth group last night they had huge rootbeer floats or purple cows (substitute the rootbeer in a rootbeer float for grape soda and you have a purple cow) and they looked delightful. Last night on my way home I held my head high as I left knowing I had brought my own dinner and successfully didn't consume a rootbeer float (despite the fact that I love ice cream, and do eat it in moderation, I knew that I wouldn't be able to limit myself to a small portion). I was happy and content.

As I arrived home I called my fiance (he lives down the block) and he was just coming home from the grocery store and so I walked down to his place to help him unload and put away his groceries. As I was unloading there was a certain piece of me that was jealosu as I know his metabolism is way faster than mine and can get away with eating differently than I can.

what I pulled out of one bag of his groceries

As I pulled these out of one bag of his groceries there was a certain piece of me that was jealous that I knew that I wouldn't be sitting down with a large pile of oreos and consuming them all with an oversized glass of milk. There was a piece of me that was a little jealous that I would get to eat these things. And then I thought about it for a while and realized that for me these cookies, donuts, muffins, are not what my body needs or requires any more. I make no promises that I won't ean an oreo at some point but I know I won't eat a pile of them. Slowly but surely these types of food no longer have the temptation that they use to. They don't have the same appeal they once did.

As I walked home last night. I once again held my head high knowing that slowly but surely I am winning the battle (or at least won yesterday) over what I eat. I make choices and stick to them. I do still eat ice cream and oreos and chocolate on occasion just in moderation and with a serving size at a time rather than four or five. Slowly but surely I am reclaiming my body and feeling healthier as I do it.

Foodie Pen Pal - August Reveal

My foodie pen-pal for the month who sent to me was Elise. Elise blogs as the jersey flower, feel free to click on that and see her blog. I got an amazing package from her (thank you thank you thank you). It contained: a note explaininig everything inside of the package, hot chocolate, peanut m&ms, lipton tea, vegan butterscotch disks, granola bars, Cherryberry crunch bites, and some orbits gum (in a flavor I haven't tried in the past.... yummy).

The contents of the delicious package I recieved.

 

 

If you are interested in signing up I highly encourage you to click the picture below and sign up for next month, it is super fun to get mail that is not bills or junk mail but rather yummy treats.

 

Boundary Waters Canoe Area

I spent all of last week in the holy of holies, the sacred ground on which few dear to tread, the space in which you look all around you can't help but meet God there, I was up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota. A couple friends, one 5 month old, and myself spent four nights loving every second we had together in the boundary waters in northern Minnesota. We went into BWCA through Duncan lake, over the staircase portage (no small feat), and found ourselves on a campsite on Rose lake overlooking Canada. It was glorious. I couldn't have asked for a better vacation.


A view out of our campsite - we had a 3 tiered campsite

 One of the quirks of our campsite, which we loved, was that we were right across from the portage so we watched people coming and going from Rose lake. It provided hours of entertainment, checking out what people packed and how and what type of boat they were using as well as what time of day they were coming and going. We also were able to talk to many people. One day while out swimming we saw some day trippers who had probably come over to admire the water falls as we were swimming in the bay and realized they were from Brainerd, so they jumped off the rocks with us and swam around.


Hammock Village - we overlooked the lake and bay from here

What did we do you may wonder? We spent our days:

• playing with the baby
• laying in our hammocks
• reading
• napping
• paddling around
• hiking
• swimming
• relaxing
• enjoying one another
• watching the wildlife: beavers, bears, bats, mice, bald eagles, and countless other birds
• laughing
• cooking and eating well
• chicken pesto pasta
• chicken with Thai peanut noodles
• beans and rice
• crackers and salami and cheese
• chicken, broccoli, and cheesy rice
• popcorn
• brownies
• oatmeal

Love these three

It was delightful. We had a blast. Our cellphones had no reception and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way [there are rumors of a cell phone tower going up in BWCA and I think even if one does go up I will continue to shut my phone off while up there]. Yes, I did miss being able to talk to people and know what was going on, but it was also very good for me to disconnect with the world for a while. It was glorious and now I am back to work dreaming of my next trip north.