I guess I need to practice...

I guess I have some bugs to work out.  Here's the link to the recipe.  It's not completely low-carb since there is sugar but you could use less or a substitute...

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/vietnamese-chicken-salad-10000001654686/

Good luck!!!

Here's a hint at Friday's food: smoked paprika, oranges, black beans

Curious?????

I'm at it again!

Well, I'm at it again.  Blogging that is.  I've had some computer problems.  My kids messed up my computer and my hubby uses his macbook pro all the time.  I was beginning to wonder when I would ever be able to get online again and then it was my birthday.  Taylor gave my an awesome gift of an ipad!  I loooooooove it!  My super fantastic mom bought a camera connection kit that allows me to upload photos AND I can connect a usb keyboard (which is what I'm using now).  Fabulous!!!  

I have been thinking for a while that I want to post recipes I have enjoyed once a week.  So, I am beginning Food Fridays. I am going to give you one right now (you were already salivating, weren't you?).  My husband and I (well, mostly Taylor) have been eating low-carb for about a year now.  We enjoy it.  I can really tell when I have sugars and starches because I go into sort-of a coma-like state.  Sometimes it's nice. Like when I eat a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut and I don't have anything I have to do.  I like having more energy on a  regular basis.  So, here is our dinner from last night.  I was going to post a pic but I ate it too fast......

Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Pardon the craziness of the post - I'm getting used to my set-up)

This crunchy salad embodies the culinary philosophy of balancing contrasting tastes of sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Increased availability of ethnic ingredients, such as fish sauce, means you can create authentic dishes without a separate trip to a specialty market. Packaged angel hair slaw and matchstick-cut carrots speed preparation.

Outstanding

 | Read Reviews (11)

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups)

Recipe from

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Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 215
• Calories from fat: 25%
• Fat: 6g
• Saturated fat: 1g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.6g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 1.9g
• Protein: 22.4g
• Carbohydrate: 20.4g
• Fiber: 4.6g
• Cholesterol: 44mg
• Iron: 2mg
• Sodium: 625mg
• Calcium: 90mg

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Ingredients

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• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts $
• 1 1/2 cups chopped green onions, divided
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice $
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 6 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
• 1 cup matchstick-cut carrot
• 3/4 cup (3 x 1/8-inch) julienne-cut red bell pepper $
• 3/4 cup (3 x 1/8-inch) julienne-cut yellow bell pepper $
• 1/2 cup finely chopped dry roasted peanuts $
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

1. Place chicken and 1/2 cup green onions in a medium saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Drain and discard green onions. Place chicken on a work surface or cutting board, and shred chicken with 2 forks.
2. Combine juice, sugar, and garlic in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; microwave at HIGH for 20 seconds or until sugar melts. Cool to room temperature; stir in fish sauce.
3. Combine remaining 1 cup onions, chicken, cabbage, and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle with juice mixture; toss well to coat. Cover and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light 
SEPTEMBER 2007

Happy Eating!!!

Where has a year gone???

I don't even know. I don't even know why I stopped blogging. Well, facebook kept me busy. So have kids, knitting, my house, my hubby and life. I finished my first sweater, went to Nauvoo, hung out at the beach for a week, got a Nook Color, painted my porch, re-painted my front entry, opened a non-functioning Etsy shop, gained some weight, lost some weight, and the list goes on. Really it's just been a year of stuff. You know, regular things that life throws our way. I'm so thankful all of my family is healthy, my husband has a job and all our appliances work. So, since I am sick I'm going to make this short. Here are some photos I recently took at Taylor's aunt's farm. FUN!

My Husband is a Cricut Master

What is a Cricut? It's a gadget, known only to the crafting ,card-making, scrapbooking world, that is super awesome! Ok, it cuts out whatever you tell it to but you have to use proprietary cartridges that are expensive but, whatever. Did I mention it's awesome??? Actually, I haven't used mine in a while. I think it's because when I'm not homeschooling, I'm doing all the other things that I would normally do while my kids were in school. So, where was I? (ADD) Oh, yeah, my hubby is awesome....(and the Cricut). So, some guys from our ward, including my husband got together and bought basketball jerseys. Actually, they are more like pinnies(I had to look that one up). The number printing was going to be too expensive so he said he would figure out how to get the numbers on there. He could do iron on but I don't think he liked that idea. Then he thought he would use my cricut to cut out fun foam numbers and use the negatives as templates with some spray paint. The final idea was to cut out freezer paper, punch out the number and iron the paper on the shirt. I have been busy so I really wasn't much help. Taylor looked at all my cartridges and decided they were too cutesy for guys bball jerseys. He poked around online and found a program that lets you use any font you want. COOL!!! I love it! So, that's what he used. We spent Friday evening listening to music, cutting and ironing stuff on pinnies. Now all they need is a little spray paint. Who knew Taylor was such a crafty guy?! Maybe he will stamp with me next.....oh wait....he already did that.......

Going to the PO.

My friend Marianne just wrote a blog post about how much she hates and fears the post office. I was commenting on her post and realized that I was just writing my own blog post......

I HATE the PO too!!! I don't have a fear of it though. I do have a holiday shipping story though. I had a package to send to my Father-in-Law in CA and put it off until the PO was almost closed, Smart, huh? If you wait until they are almost closed there is a massively long line of people who just thought the same thing as you. Lame. So I waited and the PO people were nice enough to let us stay in line and not kick us out right at 5. I finally got to the counter at 5:20 right as my daughter called my phone. As I was telling her I would call her right back the lovely PO lady gave me some nasty look that said, "I know you didn't just pick up that phone on the way to my counter." Lame again. My package by weight was going to cost me $28. Whatever. But then the lady said that because of the dimensions there would be a $44 surcharge. What !!?? Are you out of your mind???!! The stuff inside isn't even worth that much! Apparently there is some magical weight to size ratio you have to meet to get the best shipping deal. I asked her how many bricks I needed to put it the box. She didn't like that question. I decided to figure something else out and buy some other postage while I was there. Did you know that if you pay for a $10.70 flat rate box they give you all kinds of stamps that equal $10.70? UGH! I just want ONE I can stick on it! Now I have to keep track of all that crap you just gave to me. The end of the story? I left with nothing sent and dreading the next day's return. I told my hubby all about my PO woes and he found a new box, measured and weighed it, and paid for and printed a label. I slapped the postage on that box, put the hoards of stamps on my other one, and walked the boxes right up to the PO counter. I was there for less than a minute. Sweet! Hubby/hero to the rescue again!!!! I leave you with a wish. May your trips to the post office be swift and your PO ladies be nice.

FOOD!

I was going to write an all inclusive post that covers what I have been doing the past whatever weeks I haven't written. It really isn't that interesting. Really. Wouldn't you rather I talk about food? That's WAYYYY more interesting to me that what I did with my kids during school or how my Halloween went. Actually, since I brought those up they both have to do with food. We went to Hershey park for Halloween. I discovered that I LOVE kettle corn. It's so yummy and crunchy and salty and sweet and, if you're lucky, WARM! Mmmmmmmmmm! I tried to make it the other day and it turned out alright but not like theirs or the one I had with Katie in Intercourse, PA (heehee). On Wednesday the kids and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant in Richmond for social studies. It was good and fun. We ate beef, chicken, lentils, cabbage and potatoes with our hands. The lentils were the best AND they were spicy. Love it!!!

Last night I watched an episode of Psych. It was sort of weird but there was this pie. Cinnamon pie. Have you heard of it? I haven't. I found a website with a handwritten recipe for it. I'm going to try it very soon.

Katie and I have been making a list of foods we both like. It's just a mental one but I think it should be written down. Here are one's I love:

Sushi - Unagi(eel), spider roll, all kinds just not wierd ones like sea urchin
Funnel cake
Raisin pudding
Eggs benedict
Good chocolate
Stuffed rolls - maybe I will post the recipe and you can tell me if you think its good
ICE CREAM!!!
Taylor's cookies - any kind

I will have to add to this later. Katie I think you will think stuffed rolls are asgusting!!!

Stuffed rolls

1/2 lb velveeta, cut into small cubes
2 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped
1/2 can chopped olives
1/2 small can tomato sauce
1/4 C oil
hard rolls

Combine ingredients. Cut rolls in half and hollow out. Fill with mixture. Wrap in aluminum foil and heat in oven about 15 minutes.

Sounds disgusting but it's good. I am trying out some new recipes this next week. They all sound yummy. I'll try to post how they go. I'll also try to post a pic of what I am doing this weekend. You'll laugh.

"Mom, you're awesome!"

I love when my kids say that! In fact, sometimes I do things because I'm pretty sure they will say it. Earlier this week Chay was trying to decide what to be for Halloween this year. We finally settled on an indian. I said, "Let's go to the fabric store and get stuff to make a costume!" (As if I don't have enough to do!!!) Well, I have the pants done and now I have to try and make this crazy shirt tomorrow. I think if I didn't homeschool my kids I could have it done by lunch but I am hoping that it will be done before bed. Then, I get to start on Dylan's karate costume. Am I crazy???? Why do I do this? (Katie will say ADD!!!)

BTW - My quilting tools are my best friends for the day. I could not have made awesome fringe and saved myself mucho dinero without them.

On a side note, I sang Dylan "Silent Night" before bed tonight. I used to sing it all the time to my kids. They would BEG me to sing more and I would have to finally hum it and then sneak down the hall before they noticed. Dylan practically laughed the whole time I was singing. I guess the time of my babies has ended. So sad. Maybe I have become a lazy mom. Oh wait..you DID read what I have been doing today, right??? So....maybe not.........