Another year, gone. Another year in which I didn’t die! That pretty much checks off all my 2011 resolutions.
Ha! Ok, I aimed slightly higher than just surviving the year. I did pretty well actually.
I’ve made a few resolutions for 2012, some of them are very personal and some of them are just boring so I’m not going to list them all out. Besides, if I don’t hit all my goals, you’d all know. And then you’d totally judge me. Don’t lie.
However, there is one resolution I want to talk about.
It’s a pretty important one.
Are you ready?
Ok.
You know how a minute ago I said this was another year in which I didn’t die?
Well, lucky me! It’s estimated that almost 1.6 million people will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Cancer takes more than 570,000 lives per year in America. Many people I know and love have battled cancer and considering about one in every four Americans will at some point be diagnosed with cancer- well, I, personally, have been lucky so far.*
So my biggest resolution for 2012 is to participate in the Relay for Life event in my town. If you are not familiar with Relay for Life, you should take a moment to read that link. It’s an exciting and fun way to celebrate and honor cancer survivors and those who are battling it currently, as well as raise funds for cancer research through the American Cancer Society. It’s a 24 hour long constant relay, where one team member must be walking at all times around the clock for the duration of the event. It’s also a fun way for the community to come together. There are raffles and all kinds of exciting things going on the entire day and night of the event.
I contacted the event coordinators and asked how I could help. I was assigned a position on the committee in which I will ask for donations from businesses around town. The event coordinators also asked if I would be able to form my own Relay team, and of course I enthusiastically responded YES!!!
As you can see, I have no donations as of yet since I’ve only just signed my team up. And despite what it says, my team does have members, I’ve just got to get them signed up on there. (Hint, hint friends and family.)
If you have any money to donate, it would be greatly appreciated. Any amount helps! It’s very simple too, just click the purple “donate to our team” button located in the center of the top third of the page. It’ll walk you right through your donation and it’ll go straight to my team fundraising total. And thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you that do donate to my team. Every dollar helps. We will find a cure and not another life will be lost to cancer.
*facts taken from the American Cancer Society website.
I don’t have many guilty pleasures. Mostly because I don’t like to feel guilty about stuff.
This is my one exception.
Guilt: At my grocery store, they’re $9 a box. (Here is a $1 off coupon though!) (And they’re only $8 a box when you order on the site.)
Pleasure: OMG SMELLGASM.
I only use them on my laundry and the sheets though, everyone else gets Bounce.
I just created this tonight but it was so good that I had to run here and tell you all about it. Even Keegan, The World’s Pickiest Eater, ate all of his and asked me to make it again tomorrow. YEAH. I know. I almost fainted.
These would make a great appetizer also. I cannot tell you how much I love puff pastry. It comes out so flaky and crisp. And in this recipe, with the saltiness of the bacon and smooth richness of the cream cheese…. just YUM! Sometimes I even impress myself.
Chicken Bacon Swirls
1 package frozen Puff Pastry sheets
5 slices of bacon, diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or some ground turkey)
1 small shallot, diced
salt, pepper, garlic powder
whatever spices make you happy. (I used Penzey’s Mural of Flavor )
a handful of spinach, chopped
2-3 roasted red peppers, chopped
a big handful of shredded Italian mix cheese
about 4 ounces of garden veggie flavor cream cheese, softened
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Cook the bacon til crispy. Set aside. Reserve a couple Tbsp of the fat.
Grind the chicken in your food processor (or just use pre-ground chicken or turkey).
Brown the chicken together with the shallot in the bacon fat. Season til it tastes good. (What? I don’t measure anything, ever!) Probably go easy on the salt, as bacon and cheese are both pretty salty.
In a big bowl, combine chicken, spinach, roasted red peppers, shredded cheese, and whatever bacon didn’t magically disappear while you were cooking.
Spread your puff pastry sheets out. On each one, spread 2 ounces of cream cheese. Heap half of the chicken mix on each. Roll them up jelly-roll style. Pinch the free end into the roll. Slice into 2 inch pieces, place slices cut side down on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and a bit crisp. Serve hot.
I’ve got an iPhone 4S now and I have to say, I absolutely adore it. The camera especially, it takes fantastic pictures. I think it will really increase the amount of food blogging I do here, which is awesome. I am loving everything about the phone except for autocorrect. I told a friend in a text that I needed ‘forest time’. I don’t even remember what I was talking about but I know I wasn’t trying to go out and be Snow White… funny though!
 Baked apples By the way, these were really good and the recipe can be found here.
 My baby My little blond boy and his ridiculous eyelashes and his messy face.
 Showing off new pajamas This one was in pretty low light and without a flash, still came out better than my Droid did with its flash.
 Running errands And I LOVE the front facing camera, I don’t have to take 30 self portraits to get one to come out right!
So, new phone: good. School is going great except that I have a math placement test I need to do this week… I actually needed to do it last week but I’m a procrastinator and also I am scared and psyching myself out. I hate math. And I really need to get into a certain math class. EEP.
We have been feasting on leftover turkey and all the sides for days and I gotta say- I’m not sick of it yet. And by feasting, I mean stuffing myself at every meal and usually grazing in between. However, the five pounds I’ve packed on this week are telling me it’s time to knock that crap off and get back to my small, frequent meals- and to get serious about the workouts again… before I pop out of my jeans! I did P90X Kenpo X today and it was very hard and my butt is sore already. I wonder if Tim would massage my butt if I ask. (Come on, who’d pass up THAT opportunity?!)
It’s been really nice to have Tim and the kids home for the last four days, we have spent the days in our pajamas, doing crafty things, playing games, and just hanging out and doing nothing. Tomorrow, it’s back to the grind for all of us except Tim, who is still on vacation. I am ready. While it’s been fun and relaxing, I am going a bit stir crazy, as are the kids. We’re ready to re-enter regular life I suppose.
This was a spin on a soup that my granny makes. She calls hers Hamburger Soup, it’s just a combination of ground beef, various veggies, potatoes, and seasoning. It’s quick, delicious, hot, and filling- a great comfort food. I decided to give it my own spin today. So basically, you could put whatever you want to in this, I’m just giving you a general idea.
Tortellini Turkey Veggie Soup
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 pound Italian seasoned ground turkey (or unseasoned and you can season it however you’d like)
- 5 cups chicken broth (more or less, depending on how soupy you like it. remember the tortellini will suck some of it up)
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 8 oz corn (canned, drained or frozen)
- 8 oz diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 8 oz green beans (canned, drained or frozen)
- 8 oz dried tortellini
- salt, pepper, seasonings of your choice (I used onion powder and Italian seasoning)
Heat the olive oil in a stock pot. Saute the carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic until soft. Add turkey and brown, breaking up with a spoon. Add chicken broth, tomato paste, corn, tomatoes, and green beans. Bring to a boil. Add tortellini and cook til tortellini is done. Season to taste.
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