Easter Cooking

M and I are stuck here in Sacto because, frankly, a 2 hour drive back and forth to the Bay Area would probably knock M on his ass right now. Plus - we have sick family members. Not good for those who have no immune system.

So after doing absolutely nothing today, I decided to finally start making dinner. I opted to not plan for anything in case M couldn't eat our old stand-bys. But I was determined to make SOMETHING for dinner since I rarely do so. (I just don't cook.)

Sadly, since I didn't plan anything, I didn't really have a whole lot of ingredients to make anything fabulous. My attempts at re-making my Honey Nut Chicken Sticks were thwarted by the lack of Honey Nut Chex in our house. And this rainy weather doesn't exactly motivate me to want to run out to the store. (Especially since I really didn't plan to leave the house today anyway...)

Luckily, we had some left over Parmesan cheese and about a pound of chicken. Typically, when I make Chicken Parm, I use Mozzarella cheese. Which may sound strange, but it works somehow. It's probably one of M's favorite dishes. Since no Mozzarella was to be found, I decided to make legitimate Chicken Parm. It's currently in the oven now. And it seriously took, like, 10 minutes worth of prep work. I imagine if you were making 3 pounds of chicken, it'd take a little longer. But - for two of us... no need. Now we just have to wait until it's cooked. So far, it smells hella good.

I have some pasta and mashed potatoes sitting in the pantry. Along with some frozen veggies. I'm sure our Easter meal will be somewhat impressive.

Ingredients

• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1-1/4 cups crushed cornflakes or finely crushed rich round crackers (about 35) [I just used regular ol' bread crumbs.]
  
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• 2-1/2 to 3 pounds meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine egg and milk. For coating, in a shallow dish combine crushed cornflakes, thyme, paprika, salt, pepper; stir in melted butter. Set aside. Skin chicken. Dip chicken pieces, 1 at a time, into egg mixture; coat with crumb mixture.

2. In a greased 15x10x1-inch baking pan, arrange chicken, bone side down, so the pieces aren't touching. Sprinkle chicken pieces with any remaining crumb mixture so they are generously coated.

3. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree F oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink (170 degrees F for breasts; 180 degrees F for thighs and drumsticks). Do not turn chicken pieces while baking. Makes 6 servings.

4. *Note: To make your own tenders, simply cut 1-1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast halves lengthwise into 1-inch strips.

5. Oven-Fried Parmesan Chicken: Prepare as above, except omit thyme and salt and reduce crushed cornflakes to 1/2 cup. For coating, combine cornflakes; 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed; the paprika; and pepper. Stir in melted butter. Continue as above.

Googling my name

Here is what Google thinks of my name based on the following scenarios:

1. Type in "[your name] needs" in the Google search:
a) Jen needs rates on 2 scenarios
b) Jen needs a human anatomy lesson
c) Jen needs a hero

2. Type in "[your name] is" in the Google search:
a) Jen is an exceptional person who is to be worshiped and adored at all times. [Um...]
b) An anonymous girl — let's call her "Jen" — is a junior in college ...
c) Jen is famous

3. Type in "[your name] likes to" in the Google search:
a) Jen likes to multitask during sex [Ummmmm...]
b) Jen likes to dance (although everyone else does NOT like to watch Jen dance) [Awwww... boo]
c) Jen likes to swing

4. Type in "[your name] wants" in the Google search:
a) Jen wants John to keep his mouth shut
b) Jen wants Brad back at Angie's cost?
c) Jen wants prenup
[Damnit Jennifer Aniston and your tabloid headlines...]

5. Type in "[your name] gets" in the Google search:
a) Jen gets fancy
b) Jen gets it done
c) Jen Gets Ready For Flight While Ben Takes Off on the School Run.

6. Type in "[your name] says" in the Google search:
a) Jen says: well wen sum1 told her dat i harm she found me in da house and told me to ... [OMG, WTF...]
b) Jen says What?
c) Jen says relax [don't do it, when you wanna come]

Food for Thought

I've been spending some more time back over at TheNest.com boards to pass time and see what some old friends were up to. I love having as much support as possible during this difficult time and sometimes the gals there just crack me up when I need it. (For those not following my tweets and whatnot, M was diagnosed with cancer late last month.)

So one of the members posted these gems that I thought were hysterical. I need more stuff like this to keep me going. Between this, and the antics of my dance instructors and friends, I think I'll continue to laugh even though I feel like everything is crashing down around me.

Happy Friday!

~Don't let yourself forget what it was like to be 16.

~Always imitate the behavior of the winners when you lose.

~Ever wonder why lemon juice is made with artificial flavor and dish-washing liquid is made with real lemons?

~Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.

~Better to get up late and be wide awake than to get up early and be asleep all day.

~There is no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast.

~Living on Earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip around the sun.

~Movie-related foods, such as Milk Duds, popcorn, Junior Mints and red vines do not have additional calories because they are part of the entire entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.

~Peanuts are one of the ingredients in dynamite.

~During their lifetime, the average American spends six months waiting at red lights.

~People like winter because they can stay indoors without feeling guilty.

~You know it's going to be a bad day when you turn on the morning news and they're showing emergency evacuation routes.

~Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made.

Oh! The Horoscope!

So here is what 2010 has in store for this spunky Leo (from Yahoo):

Oh, big playful Leo -- how the last couple of years have been dramatic (and often less than kind) for you! There's little doubt that whatever you've gone through in the last year, the uppers have fueled your inherent charm and lovability, and the downers have gotten a little ignored. That's one of the problems with being a Leo: you can be so sunny that no one notices the rainy days. Mars in your sign this spring is going to give you newfound energy and motivation to really get things done your way, and the summer will bring new opportunities to express yourself.

The challenges will be slowly changing from big drama to smaller, more manageable issues. You've probably been too busy taking care of others to really take care of yourself lately, but 2010 marks a new direction in taking yourself seriously, and taking care of yourself with the due diligence and concern you usually reserve for others. Don't think of it as becoming inwardly-focused; think of it as doing the necessary maintenance on yourself so you can do a better job of letting your light shine for others.

Life is going to be taking a turn for the philosophical in the next year. All of the noise and confusion of the last year may have made you neglect your Higher Self; that too should be a part of your personal care regimen. This year is going to provide ample opportunities for you to get caught up on your spiritual homework. And, unlike regular homework, you'll probably feel like there's a point to doing it!

Considering I've considered choreographing my routines more and how neglected my faith in 2009, I'd say this isn't that far off. (Particularly the parts in purple.)

Interesting...

Have a Nice Decade!

I vaguely remember how I started this decade. I'm pretty sure it involved too much alcohol, fraternity boys, and Y2K panic. But, I digress.

So I'm dusting off the blog to wish everyone a Happy New Year and good riddance to this wacky 10 years of chaos. A nice change from all the micro-blogging I've been doing lately. (Thanks Twitter!)

Not all of it was bad - I graduated college, got a "real job," got married, bought a house, kind of started a business, started a worth while hobby, and finally traveled out of the country. Wow - living the American dream and stuff.

But I'll start small. I'm not going to analyze every little thing that did or didn't happen this last decade. Instead, here is what I wanted to do last year before 2009 began:

Things on my to do list this year:
1) Start my wedding stationary business... for real this time.
2) Improve my Photoshop and Illustrator skills.
3) Study for the CMP exam and take it in 2010.
4) Get ahead of myself at work more often so I'm less stressed around the event dates.
5) Plan a totally awesome Marker Reunion/Meet Up in July!
6) Be a more attentive wife to my husband and spend more quality time with him.
7) Dance... dance... and dance some more! YAY! I'm so excited to take the adult beginning jazz class this semester. And even more excited that the studio is offering PiYo classes now! Score!
8) Scrapbook. Because I haven't touched my supplies in THREE YEARS and I should really start documenting things. (One of the Markers has totally inspired me to pick this up again.)
9) Watch more movies and read more books! Especially ones that I haven't seen or read and really should.
10) Travel somewhere I haven't visited before. I'm thinking Seattle with a road trip up to Canada. But I could totally change my mind.

Hmm... looks like the only real thing I did was number 5 and number 7 (even though I never finished that jazz class, and can never make it in for PiYo). And the Netflix subscription has really assisted number 9, but I haven't really read a whole lot more.

Yeah. I suck at making resolutions and keeping them. So here is my resolution for 2010:

Stop making resolutions. The end.

Happy New Year!

Baking October Away

October 2009 draws to a close in a week. So I was going to round out the month by baking Pumpkin Butter Cheesecake muffins. It's a recipe someone posted a few years ago on TheNest.com... who probably got it from Trader Joe's. I have no idea. Anyway, it uses the TJ's Pumpkin Butter. And I wanted to make this last year, but got side tracked. And the butter went bad.

So, we'll try it again this year. And yes, Sunday Spotlight Crew, you'll get samples this weekend.

Pumpkin Butter-Cheesecake Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. cornstarch

Muffins:
1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour (sifted first)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup oil (or melted butter if you prefer)
1/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/4 cups Pumpkin Butter
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:
Have all ingredients at room temperature before starting. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour muffin tins or line with paper baking cups.
In medium bowl, with electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and sugar till fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat some more. Stir in cornstarch, mixing till well combined. Refrigerate while you prepare the muffin batter.

In large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon till well combined. Set aside. In medium mixing bowl, whisk oil, sugar, eggs, pumpkin butter and flavorings till well combined. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquids all at once, stirring just till barely combined. Do not overmix. Batter will be thick.

Fill muffin cups about 2/3 of the way full. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the cheesecake batter on top.

Place muffins in oven and bake for about 18-22 minutes for dark or coated pans, longer for shiny pans. Check for doneness with toothpick. When it returns with just a few crumbs, take the muffins out and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the muffins should release easily and should be placed on a rack to finish cooling. Yield: 12 standard muffins.

Misc. Musings

Musings for the beginning of October:

Starbucks Via is gross. Don't drink it. I mean, okay, maybe if you are in a bind and you really need a caffeine fix. But at that point, I'd rather have a Mt. Dew. And I hate Mt. Dew.

Sprained feet actually heal faster if you just keep working through it. It was amazing. I tried heels for the first time in 3 weeks and taped the foot. It hurt like hell for the first 15 minutes... but after that... nothing. Felt great! And now I'm tape and Motrin free. Hooray!

Red Velvet Cake is the best stuff ever. I bought a box of it at the grocery store. I think I'm going to make some this weekend.

We've finally reached fall in Sacramento. However, last week, it was pushing 100 degrees. Now, it's barely 75 degrees. My allergies are really working overtime here. Either that, or I'm getting sick. (No!!!!!) No worries though... this weather will be gone in 2 weeks and suddenly it'll be winter.

It's amazing how all the dances I hate are all the dances I do really well in. I can't stand foxtrot. But it's the only one I can recognize patterns really well in. (WTF is a corte w/leg crawl, by the way?) Let's put it this way: I couldn't stand the Hustle last January.

Just because I'm under 5'2" does not mean I enjoy being picked up and lifted/flipped/spun-hugged. Not all of us are aerodynamic. Not all of us enjoy heights.

I'll be celebrating a 2 year wedding anniversary this month.

The first two weeks of November are going to suck.

I'm not as flexible as I thought I was.

I need longer hair. Alice Cullen spikes don't work well with a long, flowy dress in smooth.

Yes, those little tiny insulin needles can leave nasty bruises. I just don't think I've seen a shot injury bleed internally. I guess I need to get back on the pump here soon.

Halloween costumes for women that are modest, but cute and stylish, don't exist. Apparently my ass, boobs (or lack thereof) and back all have to be showing in order for the costume to be age appropriate.