Not My Normal Sauce

I'm not a recipe blogger.

The Pioneer Woman is admirable, but I'm just not the same kind of girl.

I don't feel others turn to me - and here - for recipe advice. Just not what I'm serving up, I guess.

And the thing is, I'm a good cook.

There. I'll say it. I'll toot my own horn: I'm a darn good cook.

But I still take short cuts. Little fast-forwards in the culinary process.

I am woman, hear me roar, and all that jazz. This momma-to-be is busy, because not only do I work part-time, but I also take care of my husband; carry around, prepare, and care for my future progeny; exercise; parent a dog; shop for our every need; clean; launder; pay bills; sort paperwork; sew, and bake.

Oh, and cook.

Yeah, I cook. Every day. Three times a day.

So, in this day in age, when I can buy a box of whole-wheat, organic raviolis with a coupon, I don't see the need to make my own pasta dough and filling.

Frankly, I don't have that kind of time. Not unless you want my house to completely devolve into a dog-hair-covered hot mess.

A girl needs a few easy fixes in her complicated day. Am I right, ladies?

Case in point: Pasta sauce.

You can buy cheap, organic, gourmet jars of spaghetti sauce almost anywhere.

And a lot of the time, when I'm in a pinch, they save me. It's the modern housewife's quick fix - the jar of pasta sauce.

But this week, after getting a deal on bulk, canned, diced, organic tomatoes, I decided to take a novel approach to my normal easy-to-make Italian dishes.

I decided I'd make my own pasta sauce.

I know, I know. Be still your beating hearts. Quiet your gasps. Alert the media that I am, indeed, finally living up to the fact that I am an Italian woman.

My grandmother would be so proud.

So I started by throwing in a can of diced tomatoes with the juice.

Then a can of tomato sauce.

Then - my favorite - a huge spoonful of minced garlic, followed by a tablespoon of sucanat (an organic, healthy sweetener - it works just like sugar), and a big spoonful of already-prepared basil pesto.

I brought it to a boil then let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Grand total prep time? Less than five minutes. It was literally almost as easy as heating up the jar of pre-made sauce.

And it tasted?

Amazing.

Like, a thousand times better than any sauce I've ever eaten out of a jar.

I boiled ziti that night, to serve with it, and I liked it so much that I actually had a second helping of the sauce.

In a bowl.

With a spoon.

Yep, just the sauce.

Trust me, it was that good, people.

That. Good.

I'm a convert. A full-on, sauce-making, spoon-licking convert.

As God as my witness, I will never use jar sauce again.

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For those of you who are red-sauce lovers, try this at home and impress your family. Take full credit for it, too. It's just that easy, and I'm more than willing to let you bask in the glory that is the five-minute process of making your own authentic pasta sauce with me.

Happy Thursday, everyone!

R-Rated Restaurant Fare

Last night, a bunch of my fellow Navy wives and I attended a cooking class.

It was a complimentary activity offered on the Navy base, and with the promise of free food and culinary tips, many a military spouse made the trip out for some delicious Italian fare.

To accommodate the massive crowd, several chefs manned a make-shift, yet fully staffed, kitchen in front of the room, while the crowd of wives peered at them, oooh-ing and aaah-ing and studiously taking notes. (Wait? That was just me?)

So there we were, for two hours, watching a chef chop garlic, onion and pepper, and bathing in the fumes of lemon-infused butter.

It was by no means the most participatory activity we've ever done.

After all, we weren't cooking. We were simply watching the professionals do it.

But, by the looks on our faces, we could have cared less.

We sat there, open-mouthed, almost drooling.

We were in awe of how fine the chefs chopped the garlic. We clapped while they added white wine and butter to their sauce.

We gazed on lovingly as they whipped the chocolate-chip cannoli cream, and I almost flew out of my seat when they stirred in plenty of basil to their red sauce.

For four women who cook almost every meal, every day, for their families, it was heaven to watch others - and men, at that - cook us dinner.

In fact, it made eating it all the more exciting.

Which is why one of my fellow food-watchers and a good friend of mine here leaned over at one point and, with hunger in her eyes and drool on her lips, said, "Not to compare it to sex, but you know, watching him cook our food is kind of like foreplay."

Oh, heavens, I've never laughed that hard in my life.

Blame it on the fact that she had two precious hours away from her baby - a treat she rarely gets.

But it was so poignant and so in-the-moment that the four of us literally cackled aloud in the back row for a good five minutes. I'm surprised we weren't booted out right then and there on our inappropriate rear ends.

Luckily, they were kind to us. And they fed us anyway, for which we were very grateful.

After all, it would have been a shame to get all hot and bothered for nothing.

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Honestly, I couldn't help myself from sharing this anecdote with you. I know; it's a little off-color for me. But it's also quintessentially me and quintessential of the friendships I form with women when we are real and honest with each other. I know you all get that, as well. After all, that's the kind of friendships I've been able to form in the blog-world, too.

So, in an effort of friendship, I thought I'd share my favorite recipe we learned last night:

Stuffed Chicken with Lemon-Butter-Mushroom Sauce*

Ingredients**

CHICKEN:
Chicken breasts
Prosciutto
Fontina cheese
White pepper

SAUCE:
Butter - a lot of butter
Fresh-squeezed lemon Juice
1/2 onion
Several cloves garlic to taste
White wine
White pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Mushrooms
Flat-leaf Italian parsley

Directions:

1. Butter-fly your chicken breasts, cover them in plastic wrap, and gently tenderize them. Liberally sprinkle the insides of the breasts with white pepper.
2. On one side of the butterflied chicken, add a piece of prosciutto and two small pieces of fontina cheese.
3. Fold the top of the chicken breast back over and place in the oven, at 500 degrees, for 15 minutes. (Our chef friend said you could also grill the breasts. I, however, am only brave behind my oven. The grill and I are not friends.)
3. Meanwhile, super-finely chop half of a white onion and four to five garlic cloves. (Use as much as you want. I'm a garlic girl; I like a lot.)
4. Saute the garlic and onion in extra-virgin olive oil. When translucent, add white wine and lemon juice. The chef said to add more lemon juice than white wine. It appeared to be about 1/4 cup of white wine and a 1/3 cup lemon juice.
5. Let the sauce reduce over low heat till it resembles the texture of "oatmeal." (Not even kidding, he said that.) Then remove from heat.
6. Meanwhile, saute mushrooms in olive oil with white pepper and salt. (Tip: Keep your mushrooms covered while they cook for 10 minutes. That will keep them from turning black.)
7. Finely chop the flat-leaf parsley and let the mushrooms cool.
8. Once the onion and garlic has reduced, melt in the butter, about - gasp! - a pound!
9. Then add in the cooled mushrooms.
10. Remove from the heat and stir in parsley.
11. Serve each chicken breast with a liberal topping of lemon butter and mushrooms.
12. Enjoy!

*Recipe and lesson courtesy of Carrabba's Restaurant. Thanks for providing Charleston military spouses and service members a fun night out!

**The chefs were not clear on how much of each ingredient went into the dish, so I can't be too specific here, either. Luckily, this is how I cook, too. But if you're a measurements stickler, I apologize. I'll let you know if I can narrow down some more specifics for you.

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Happy Thursday, everyone!

Workout Wednesday: What to Eat When There's No One Else

I'll admit it.

I was at a loss for what to write about for today.

I'm still dealing with the husband-at-bootcamp blues, and I'm also a wee bit stressed and spent about, oh, pretty much everything else in my life.

My blogging brain is struggling.

And then I sat down to dinner last night.

Or, more appropriately, plopped down on the carpet in front of LOST - still wearing my sweaty gym clothes - holding a mismatched Tupperware container in my hand filled with my own special sort of mush.

After all, it's what one is wont to do, considering I'm alone. With no one to cook for but myself.

When that happens, I opt for the easy, the cheap, the "Eh! I Guess This Can Count As My Dinner" meal.

I'll eat some salad, half a grapefruit and some peanuts on a good day.

I'll eat a few bites of leftover ravioli, some carrots and hummus, and a small carton of chocolate frozen yogurt on a bad one.

I've even been known to open a can of beans, cut up some tomatoes, heat it all throw, and eat the lukewarm mix with crackers. Because I'm totally classy like that.

I'm also a minimalist, i.e., easy and cheap.

After all, no one is looking at my recent meals but me.

This is, in fact, also how I survived college. I ate whatever combination of foods met my protein-veggie-carb requirements while simultaneously requiring little to no effort in the kitchen.

And, it's safe to say, I've reverted.

Because after all, no one is eating it but me.

Still, last night, I was eating a cheap, easy, quick meal that has a purpose. It's been my go-to for years. And I realized I've never shared it with you all.

Partly because the stuff doesn't really have a name. It's part porridge, part pasta, part fried rice.

And partly because I technically stole this little idea from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. (Although, not in person. My brother trained their one summer and managed to bring it back to the family. Because that's the kind of people we are. Some people come back from the Olympic Training Center with gold medals. My brethren? They return with a recipe for carb-filled goodness.)

Regardless, this "stuff" is designed to give athletes energy, along with light, balanced protein. Coupled with a side of veggies or a salad, it's a perfect meal you can make in five minutes, with three ingredients and little to no mess.

And that's why, as of late, it's become my Sorta-Single-Girl Dinner.

Because all you need is a can of chicken broth (14 ounces), an egg, and a box of pastina pasta (also known in some circles as Teeny, Tiny Star-Shaped Noodles - the technical term.)

source

And then all you have to do is...

1. Bring the can of chicken broth to a boil.

2. Pour in half the box of pastina, and stir while it begins to absorb the broth.

3. After a minute or two, you scramble up an egg in a different bowl, and then stream it into the boiling broth-pastina mixture, much like you would with egg-drop soup.

4. Boil for another minute.

5. Remove from heat.

6. Add what flavor you will (salt, pepper. I like soy sauce.)

7. Then eat.

Seriously, could that be any easier? I think not.

It's also great recovery food after a hard workout or a taxing race.

Now, it's not entirely perfect. For instance, I've yet to find a whole-wheat pastina, which would be a better carbohydrate option. But hope springs eternal, and you can bet there's probably some out there somewhere. (If, in fact, your store carries it, buy me 18 boxes. That should get me through my husbands' absence. I'll reimburse you.)

So, if you're left alone at the end of a hard day, and if you need an easy meal that fills up one hungry, sore gym rat, then try my, um, (slightly stolen) recipe.

And if you can think up a name for this "stuff" while you're at it, that would be awesome, too.

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Happy Exercising everyone! Please feel free to leave me any workout-related questions below. Be back tomorrow with some normal ramblings!

We've got another long one...

I promise, I am not getting in the habit of throwing everything into one big, hodge-podge Thursday post, although I seem to be doing that these last several weeks.

It just seems that as the week ends, I get a pile of snippets I want to talk about, all at once. I have conversational ADD, I'm pretty sure.

Anywho, I have a brother to brag about, an award to give out (and ramble on about), and a recipe to share, so let's get on with it, already!
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I"m already getting excited for this weekend, because the hubs and I are heading down to Orlando to watch my littlest bro play in the state championship water polo tournament. (Frankly, I get excited watching water polo period. It's the only sport I really understand, and that's only because I played it, too. I kind of take a weird joy in knowing more about a sport than the hubs. It happens so rarely.)

As it turns out, the little bro is the famous face for the tournament this weekend, or so it seems, if you're watching the news coverage (i.e., if you are my parents and I; the only three people who actually read/watch this section of the paper/TV.) Check out my little bro!


The only unfortunate thing about this weekend is the fact that I'll have to drag out my orange garb (which basically consists of one headband) to show support for his team and my old high-school alma mater. I hate orange, and I'm not a huge fan of it on me, especially. God must have thought it was funny to send me to a high school and college where orange was one of the key school colors. (He also must have gotten a kick out of making me cheer "Orange! Blue!" at all college Gator football games, too.)
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Now, Becca over at simply fit has so graciously given me the Neno Award. Thanks, Becca! (Check out her blog. She's a mommy and an excellent writer! Love her!)

As the recipient of this award, I have to share why I love blogging:

A couple years ago, I started reading my dear friend Melissa's blog. She was having her first baby and had moved away for missionary training, and I loved seeing her travels and lessons learned (and her now-3-year-old, Elijah!) I read her blog like I check my e-mail. Obsessively. Then, about seven months ago, I became what some of you affectionately call a "blog-stalker." I didn't have a blog, but I read several blogs daily. I loved it. However, I did have a lot of guilt about gaining so much from reading others' blogs and not putting anything out there myself. Plus, I really, really wanted a way to update my friends and family on our daily goings-on (our schedules keep the hubs and I away from our phones a lot.)

So I started a blog, and lo and behold, I loved it even more than I thought. I am so honored and blessed to have met such amazing people all over the world through this blog over these past few months. I love reading everyone's blogs, and I love when people comment on mine. In addition, blogging has provided me with a community of women I don't have access to in my current town. Because of the place I live (a college town), there are very few women under 40 who are married, working and/or starting a family. The churches around here either have college groups for younger women or Bible studies for women MUCH older than me. I don't have a lot of people who live here who can relate to being young, newly married, active, etc. But my dear blogging friends have provided that for me. They let me know I'm not crazy and alone; they offer wise advice; they laugh with me, pray for me and listen to me. This blogging community, quite honestly, makes my day almost on a daily basis. I am so thankful for all of you!

(OK. Sorry. Got a little long-winded there. I'm down off my sappy soapbox now.)

Now, I want to pass this award along to a couple fellow bloggers who I care about so much and who I haven't gotten the chance to pass an award on to yet (just ignore me if you've already received it):

Lola at not all those who wander are lost (a fellow Gator girl!)
Lauren at Whatsoever Things Are True (a new blog friend who has such wise SAHM advice!)
Kat at My Girls and Me (another dear friend, wonderful mother, and fellow teacher who always comforts me when I have my blog freak outs)
Heather at Living, Laughing, Loving, Learning (another fellow teacher who lets me know that I am indeed not crazy when the kids start to get to me!)
Laura at Wringing Out My Sponge (she's going to have a little girl soon!)
Marketing Gurl at Diet and Fit Chick (also another mommy-to-be!)
Helga Marie at ...just a thought (and another mommy-to-be! Can you tell how excited I am for my blogging friends to have babies?)
Samantha at The RubyTurtleHippie Times (She's on a blogging break, but I can't wait for her to come back!)
Mrs. Potts at Experiments in a Galley Kitchen (Such a sweetheart with a heart of gold!)
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And now, the aforementioned, awesome Heather is having a bridal shower for a friend and needed side dish suggestions (hop on over and help her out if you can!)

I thought I'd post a favorite of mine and a staple when I'm called on to bring a side dish (Open Admittance: This is yet another recipe I have unabashedly stolen from my own mother. And no, I do not give her credit when I get raves about it at a dinner party. I'm sorry, Mom.)

Strawberry-Spinach Salad (contain yourselves Krystle and Sherri! I know what you all are thinking!)
1-2 (1 lb.) bags fresh spinach
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted (with a bit of butter, if you prefer)
1/3 cup rasberry wine vinegar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs. poppyseeds
1 tsp. dry mustard
3 tbs. chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1. In a blender, mix up the rasberry wine vinegar, the canola oil, the sugar, the salt, the dry mustard, the poppyseeds, and the onion. [ I do this while the nuts are toasting.]
2. Toss together spinach, strawberries and toasted nuts.
3. Pour dressing over salad. Dig in!
Caveat: The salad will wilt, so don't put the dressing on until you're ready to serve it. However, some people like the wilted taste (like the aforementioned Krystle) so go for it if you're into that!
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To wrap up this crazy post, I just wanted to touch base on a couple subjects I've mentioned and then subsequently dropped in my blog posts. For those of you whom I "talk" with every day about all this "life" stuff, I promise, I'm not ignoring you and your comments on my posts. The hubs just wants me to hold off on busting out with some big news on the blogosphere before we tell, for instance, our parents.

Big life changes/moving: Indeed, we are moving. Between the hubs and I, we will move a total of three times in the next year. However, I will be keeping my job as a teacher, at least for now. Curious, yet? Yeah. Me, too (sometimes, I don't even know the exact plan until the hubs lays it out for me again.) The details are almost finalized, and then I'll let everyone know what our plan is. (Hint: If you look at a lot of the blogs I've recently started following, you might figure it out!)

Babies: At this point, we are not pregnant. But we wouldn't be upset if we were. We both love children and want a family. So, I'll leave it at that for now and let you all interpret it as you will (teehee! Sorry! I don't mean to laugh. I'm just so bad at not telling the whole story and then some!) However, I do have a question for all mommy bloggers, in case this falls into our laps sooner than we anticipate. When do you tell the blogosphere you're expecting?

Teaching: Five weeks, people! Five weeks till summer! Thank you, Lord! And then I shall be free of the children for two whole months (well, not quite. I have to take my kids to yearbook camp in July. What's that? You didn't know there was such a thing as "yearbook camp?" Yeah, me either. That is, until I started teaching high school.) As I'm sure you can tell, teaching right now is not as fun as it can be, with summer right around the corner and about 1/4 of my students about to graduate and head out into the big, scary world. I hope to post tomorrow a little bit more about it, so you all don't think I've become a crankster about the classroom all of a sudden.
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And there you have it. Another hodge-podge post. Survived. Phew! Thanks for hanging in there! Happy Thursday, dear friends!

I've got pound cake and painted toes...

...and an award and tag.

So we've got a hodge-podge post today, as promised.
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First off, Shannon at Mr. and Mrs. in Training tagged me to participate in what I like to call the Eight Game (I'm not sure what it's actually called, but I've been calling it that when I've seen it on other blogs.) Thanks, Shannon! (Love her blog so much, so make sure you all check it out!) Without further ado...

8 Things I Look Forward To
1. The weekend
2. Having time to read my books and magazines
3. Going to church and breakfast with the hubs on Sunday morning
4. Getting my haircut today!
5. Sleeping
6. Having an afternoon (heck, an anytime!) cup of coffee
7. Planning my friend Autumn's bridal shower
8. Having babies
8 Things I Did Yesterday
1. Taught my students how to edit photos for Soundslides (i.e., corralled the masses while making sure they didn't do anything inappropriate or unethical to the school's yearbook photos)
2. Taught a spinning class
3. Ate my first tasty watermelon of the spring
4. Tried the 10-calorie Vitamin Water (not so sure about it, to be honest)
5. Read everyone's Wednesday blogs
6. Called four people who never called me back (which was weird since I'm normally the one that's horrible at returning phone calls!)
7. Took a 15-minute soak in the gym's hot tub after my workout
8. Drank two huge cups of coffee before work then crashed mid-way through teaching sixth period at 2 p.m. and had to drink another cup to survive a 3 p.m. meeting
8 Things I Wish I Could Do:
1. Skip work, take a four-day weekend, and go to the beach
2. Visit the friends/family I never see in Ireland, Missouri, the lower-half of Florida, Maryland, New York, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, California, Texas, heck, everywhere! Why did you all spread out so much?
3. Eat popcorn for lunch
4. Go shoe shopping
5. Lose 5 pounds from eating Funfetti cake
6. Get paid to blog for a living
7. Make my own hummus and pickles (random!)
8. Dance ballet like I could as a kid
8 Shows I Watch (This is hard, as I don't have time for TV a lot):
1. Lost (This is the only show I actually watch on a weekly basis. The rest are hit or miss. If I turn the TV on, and they're on, I won't turn it off. That's my modus operandi with most TV programming, except Lost.)
2. RHNYC (I'm so ashamed, but it's like a car-wreck you can't stop watching! And yet, these women are so disturbing.)
3. Bridezillas (OK, I don't actually watch this, because we don't get the WE Channel here. But when I visit my parents in Orlando, it's always on, and again, I can't NOT watch. I just sit there and go, "I can't believe somebody is willing to marry these women!" And yet, I seem to be willing to watch them...)
4. Friends DVDs
5. CNN (I know. It's not a show, but I love the news, and I take sick joy in making fun of CNN anchors.)
6. 18 Kids and Counting(Again, I know! So crazy! The Duggars have a huge family, but I find them kind of endearing, despite their ginormous fam! And they live near my hubs' hometown, so it's fun to see!)
7. Top Chef (bring on the next season already!)
8. Paula Deen (I also find her endearing.)
8 Bloggers Who I Am Tagging To Do This (if you've already done it, just ignore me:)
1. Krystle
2. Melissa at Elijah's Adventures
3. Gina at Namaste By Day
4. Kristina at Everyday Love
5. Carrin at Carrin's Comments
6. Rachel at In No Simple Language
7. Nat at It's a Charmed Life
8. Jenna at Life, Love and Home Improvement.
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Next up, KLo, over at The Philosophy of Klo, gave me an award.

Thanks, KLo! As a new blog friend, it was so kind of you to share the Lemonade Stand Award with me.

Now, I have to pass this on to 10 people, which is always so darn hard for me, because I want to a) give it all of you because I really do love everyone's blog, b) make sure I don't hassle people by giving them something they already have, or c) keep giving some of you award after award (I just wouldn't want anyone to say, "Brittany, I get it. You love me. You love my blog. Enough with the love already.")

So, I hope I don't offend anyone as I pass this on to...
Annie at Two Up, Two Down
Ruggy13 at Adorably Distracted
Brown-eyed Girl
Emily at Living our own Fairy Tale
Shannon at Mr. and Mrs. in-Training
Christina at My Walk By Faith
Naturally Caffeinated Family
Pamela at Pamela's Pink Pencil
Becca at simply fit
Kristy at The Hall Family
Yours Truly
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Now, moving on to a delicious pound cake recipe I wanted to post for Annie, who's helping out with the Great American Sale to End Childhood Hunger. (Please go visit and help out with a recipe if you can!)

This is my mom's tried-and-true dessert recipe, and I stole it and basically think it's the only reason my in-laws let me into the family. (The hubs' grandmother forgets almost everything, but one of the only things she does remember is that I'm "that girl with the delicious cake." Yes! I'm in!)

Brief warning: It's so delicious because it's kind of horrible for you. I don't recommend eating this as an everyday snack. That's all I'm saying.

So without further ado...
7-Up Pound Cake
3/4 cup 7-Up (Sprite works, but I don't think it does the job quite as well)
3 cups cake flour (don't skimp! Get the cake flour, not the unbleached stuff!)
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 tbs. vanilla or lemon extract (We prefer vanilla, but if you want a citrus-y cake, go for the lemon. I've also done half vanilla, half lemon.)
3 sticks butter
1. Beat together the eggs, melted butter, vanilla or lemon extract, and sugar.
2. Then alternate pouring in a little cake flour then a little 7-Up, mixing the ingredients in between until you have a nice consistency and all of the flour and 7-Up have been added.
3. Grease 2-3 loaf pans (depending on the size.)
4. Bake at 350 degrees for close to an hour, until firm and set.
5. Eat with anything you like. Our fav is whipped cream and berries.
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And last not but not least, my dear friend Melissa requested a photo of my much-debated lavendar toes.

So, Liss, here you go!

Now, I'd like to point out why I shouldn't even get pedicures.

My husband steps on my toes (and by steps, I mean roughly slides up and under my toe nails with his huge man shoes) all the time, thus chipping, cracking and essentially ruining my polish and nails. You think I'm joking. I'm not. He's done this to every pedi I've had since we've been married, including the one I got for our wedding! Day One of the honeymoon? Skid and clop! He ruined my bridal, French pedicure. It's horrible. He's destroyed, I'd say, in total, close to eight pedicures. (Although, to be fair, my constant use of athletic shoes probably doesn't help either!)

Also, my toes are hairy. Apparently, I have no shame.
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If you made it all the way through this, well, God bless you. Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Happy Thursday everyone!