wow

So much has happened since my last post (most likely because a lot of time has passed) but I'm going to do my best to bring you up to speed.  Hopefully, in the days/weeks to follow I can go into more detail on some of the updates.  Here's to keeping you in the know...

-Jake and I got accepted as counselors at Camp Jake by The Red Thread Promise.  We'll be in Haiti just shy of two weeks this July and are getting really excited!  We have been toying around the idea of doing a block party that could serve as a fundraiser as well.  The plan is to provide the food and drinks (a perfectly timed home brew) and put a shoe box out for donations- old school style.  Anything collected above our $500 fundraising goal would go straight back to the organization.  More details on this definitely to follow.

-Jake broke his foot.  He is fine, but it sucks.  He is pretty limited in what he can do and I predict will go stir crazy by the end of the week.  The worst part is that he's been training for a half ironman that he now won't be able to do.  As a matter of fact, he broke his foot while trail running this past weekend as part of his training plan.  Poor guy.   The only thing he hates more than inactivity is wasting money.  This incident has resulted in both.

-I'm headed to San Antonio tomorrow for work and am bringing our new(ish) Marketing Coordinator with me.  The plan is for this week to serve as a live training for her before our biggest event in June.  I'm really looking forward to teaching her the ropes and having some company while working the event, it should be fun!

-I've taken a break from my book and am having a really hard time picking it back up.  Hopefully my upcoming travel may create an opportunity to dive back in.

-The hard drive for my work computer crashed today.  Need I say more?

I hope to post when I get back this weekend, but I understand if you take your time to check back!

4 Day Challenge: Day Three

My Baking Addiction has a ton of great recipes! 

Day Three's meal happened but I wasn't able to document it with photos. Bummer.  

Let's get right to it.  We enjoyed some tasty shrimp & scallop tacos with avocado sauce, inspired from this recipe; my corn salad for a side; and delicious No Bake Nutella Cheesecake for dessert.  Both the tacos and cheesecake were new recipes... and I would say were a total hit!

Tip: if you try your hand at the cheesecake, plan to prepare it in individual dishes- it made for a pretty presentation and would be difficult to serve otherwise.

 

4 Day Challenge: Day Two

Sorry for the delay but it was Jake's birthday week, so as you can imagine celebrations were in order... for what felt like every night!

The 4 Day Challenge ended up being more like a 3 Day Challenge which was fine because Jake had a work happy hour on Wednesday night and that is the same day our community group meets, so needless to say time was tight.  Anyway, I'm not worried about it, I gave it an honest effort and I think that's what matters.

Tuesday's dinner (aka Day Two) from fortheloveofcooking.net was OK.  The chicken was a little dry which was totally on me... I didn't realize toaster ovens cook hotter than the oven.  Lesson learned.  I will say however that the squash side was delicious and definitely something I'll make again.  Check it out.

Panko Crusted Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta, Spinach, Tomatoes, & Basil: 

• 1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
• Small handful of baby spinach, chopped
• Small handful of grape tomatoes, diced (remove the seeds if possible)
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• Dash of oregano
• 2 chicken breasts
• Italian seasoned panko crumbs
• 2 tsp olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Combine the ricotta, spinach, tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Mix until thoroughly combined.

3. Rinse the chicken breasts then cut a long horizontal slit along the center of the thin long edge of the chicken breast, nearly through to the other side. Fill the cavity of the chicken breast with the ricotta mixture. Season each side of the chicken with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Carefully dip the chicken breasts in the panko crumbs until both sides are evenly covered. Close the slit together with toothpicks.

4. Heat the olive oil in an OVEN PROOF skillet on the stove over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is golden brown, flip the chicken over and place the skillet into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Let the meat rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

I followed this recipe for the side but replaced the zucchini with a squash and left out the pine nuts.  d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s.