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Lost & Found

Posted on December 11, 2010 by kissmybroccoli

Sweet Wild Rice with Warm Cinnamon Pears

Little man watching me taking pics

Tiger wants some sweet rice too!

After breakfast this morning (inspired by HEAB’s rice pudding), I decided to take advantage of the high? temperatures (50 degrees) and try going for a walk.

Back at the end of September, I severely sprained my left ankle and though I am improving through my physical therapy (thanks Moriah!), I haven’t been able to do much physical activity in the past 3 months. It really has been killing me to not be able to run. I’ve tried walking a few times, but always end up with so much pain and swelling that it pretty much knocks out any plans for the rest of the day.

This morning felt different, I just felt like I could do it! About 10 minutes into my walk, I was joined by this little exercise buddy. This wildly energetic little girl either motivated or distracted me enough to be able to go for 2 whole miles!

Meet (little orphan) Annie!

Isn't she cute?

After the 2 miles, I could tell that I should “stop while I was ahead” before my ankle ended up looking like a cankle due to swelling! I was finally able to get Annie to sit still long enough to take a look at her collar (that luckily had her name and a number on it) so I brought her inside and called her mom.

No one answered so I just left a message with my info and waited for a callback. While I waited, Annie and I watched a movie as she slurped some water and I enjoyed my very first Pumpkin Pie Smoothie!

The PPS Players (oh yeah, pumpkin spice kefir Baby!)

Sippable Smooth Pumpkin Pie

After a couple of hours, Annie’s mom showed up. Seems like someone never met a privacy fence she couldn’t escape from!

True story: Annie didn’t want to leave! Her owner called her name and patted her leg and she just sat there on the floor and looked at ME! I ended up having to give her a push out the door and with a somewhat embarrassed wave they were gone.

I almost forgot how much I love dogs. It was so nice to “puppy-sit” for a while but my schedule is just waaaaay to full to take on that kind of responsibility. Plus, it makes Tiger do this:

Scaredy Cat

Too bad I can’t just “borrow” Annie for morning walks!

Posted in Breakfast | Tagged exercise, pie, pumpkin, smoothie | 3 Comments

Nothin’ Beats Mama’s Home-Cooking!

Posted on December 10, 2010 by kissmybroccoli

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you all had a great week! It’s been a busy one for me at work…feels like it’s taken 193 days for Friday to finally get here. Not sure if it was the anticipation for the weekend in general or knowing since my birthday that my mom was planning a special dinner for me tonight!

I knew I was going to have a good day when I took Heather’s advice and finally made myself some of her delicious and super creamy High Tea Oats.

High Tea Oats with Cranberry Pomegranate Jam

I was all out of heavy cream so I subbed in 2 Tbsp of coconut milk that I placed in the refrigerator last night. All I did was whip with a beater (no aerolator for me…yet!) until it got fluffy and then poured the oats over top. Then I added in the jam and some unsweetened coconut flakes. I couldn’t believe how creamy they turned out and you were right Heather, the jam adds just enough sweetness!

After a busy…busy…BUSY day at hospital, I headed to my parent’s house to see what mom had in store for me! As soon as I walked in I could smell the nostalgic aromas of my mama’s home-cooking! She definitely knows how to make a girl miss home!

The Spread

My mom is a busy woman. She doesn’t go all out like this very often so you can imagine my excitement to see this! Pot roast with gravy, roasted potatoes and carrots, roasted yellow squash, and the fluffiest biscuits ever!

My plate

Yeah, so I had this with the veggies x 3 AND went back for another biscuit and some gravy for dipping! Mmmm!

But wait, it gets even better! My mom was so excited when she finally found this:

Old School!

So that she could make THIS:

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

So warm it even started to melt the candle! Oh, and look, I’m 1 year old! 😉

When I mentioned something about the candle, my mom said, “Well, you’re up to a whole new box now. Why don’t we just stick with one!”

Wow, way to hit a girl when she’s feeling old! THANKS mom! Hahaha!

It was nice sitting around my parent’s dinner table talking and laughing like the good old days. Although they don’t live far away, it’s difficult for all of us to our coordinate schedules. I had a great time tonight! Perfect way to start out my much needed weekend break. Thank you mom, everything was absolutely wonderful!

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts | Tagged coconut, family, oats | 6 Comments

Let’s Thai Up Some Dinner!

Posted on December 9, 2010 by kissmybroccoli

Ever been fine one minute and then chew-your-own-arm-off hungry the next? Happens to me all the time. Like for example, I got in tonight at 6:00pm and thought I’d chill for a while before eating but all of a sudden at 6:30pm, I needed to eat…NOW!

Normally, when this would happen in the past, I would just mindlessly grab a bowl of cereal and inhale it while leaning against the kitchen sink, but now that I’ve started this blog, I feel more of a motivation to cook each night. So it’s a win/win! I get a warm tasty dinner more satisfying than dry puffs in milk and you get to ~~drool over my creations~~come along for the ride!

If I had to pick a name to describe my method of meal planning, I would say I’m a

Look (around the kitchen to see what’s about to die) Cook!

So, the first thing I spied in my scan around the kitchen was a pretty soft looking mango. Mango made me think “tropical” which made me think coconut. Coconut made me think of the ~~beach and how much this cold weather sucks right now!~~ package of rice that I found on my last field trip to Trader Joe’s. Rice made me think of chicken. Then as I was gathering everything, I found a pretty red onion in the cabinet when I was getting my skillet.

mango
+
One package of pre-cooked/pre-seasoned Thai rice
+
chicken breast
+
red onion
=
Coconut & Lime Mango Chicken

These rice packages from Trader Joe’s have some pretty impressive stats for a ready-made product.

1 Serving (1/2 of package):
Calories: 210
Fat: 6g
Sodium: 230mg <—-Unbelievable in the world of pre-packaged/seasoned rice! *Proof*
Carbohydrates: 38g
Protein: 3g

From start to finish, it took me 30 minutes to whip this up:

Sautéed the red onion and chicken together. Then added JUICY chopped mango at the end to warm through.
Still no microwave 🙁 so the rice went into a pot of boiling water (package and all) for 5 minutes.
Plated warm rice, then chicken mixture, then topped with unsweetened shredded coconut and dice avocado (another on-it’s-last-leg item).

Sweet mango and red onion + buttery avocado + perfectly seasoned “insta-rice” =
One full and satisfied Heather!