Is this week over yet?

Well this is my last week working and it seems to be taking a very long time - I can't believe it is only Wednesday afternoon. Two more days!

Today the office took me out for lunch, it was great to get a chance to sit down with everyone, but still very sad. As much as I am looking forward to not working, (in an office - I know my next job will be much harder) I am really going to miss everyone.

I have considered myself very lucky to enjoy not just my job but the people I work with as well. Today they also gave me a GC for Michael's. With a little insight from Adam, this is one of my new favourite stores.

I have recently been exposed to and subsequently addicted to the stamping world. I have started to make my own cards, so far it has been a wonderful change of pace and just the hobby I needed. My other hobby is cooking and baking - unfortunately there is only so much 2 people can eat (or should eat), so card making and stamping has given me a great hobby to fill my free time. (We will see what happens to that free time in a few weeks.)

TUPPERWARE!

Finally my Tupperware has arrived. Part of the host special in January was a deal on a huge pantry set - unfortunately it was back ordered for quite some time, but it arrived this weekend. So Sunday evening while the Oscars were on TV, I started working on my pantry.

I am not quite done, I still have stuff all over the counter, but I got quite a bit organized. Amazing - I realized there were things in my pantry that had made 2 moves with us (raisins - Adam hates them and I rarely make anything with them only for me). So it was a good chance to dump a few things.

Before

After - Adam said it looks like a "Sleeping With the Enemy" pantry.

Chinese Chicken with Pineapple

This is a recipe I have not had for years, something I grew up with Mom making. It is extreemly easy to make.

Chinese Chicken with Pineapple

1 can pineapple chunks
2 chicken breasts
1 chicken thigh
2 TBSP fat or salad oil
¾ cup sliced celery
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP cornstarch
¼ cup water
2 ripe tomatoes, quartered, peeled (optional)
1 green pepper, thinly sliced

Meanwhile; drain pineapple chunks saving syrup. With a sharp knife, remove skin from chicken parts; cut meat off bones and cut up. In hot fat in skillet, brown chicken, turning. Add celery, soy sauce and pineapple syrup; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with cold water; add to chicken, stirring until thickened. Add pineapple, tomatoes and green pepper; simmer, covered, 10 minutes.

Serve on hot rice.
Yield: 4 servings.

~Enjoy!

World Famous Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Well, maybe they are not quite world famous yet, but they are famous in the Nadeau Family. My Mom has been making these as long as I can remember and with 4 kids in the house she usually quadrupled the recipe. (They freeze extremely well.)


Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
¾ cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs unbeaten
1 cup mashed bananas
1/3 cup milk or buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour
½ cup chocolate chips

Cream margarine and gradually add sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beat well. Add bananas and milk, mixing well.
Add the baking soda to the flour; add to the banana mixture. Fold in chocolate chips. Bake muffins at 350°F for 20 to 30 minutes.
~Enjoy!

Brutis - a new toy!

Brutis was given a new toy from a very big fan of his. He has enjoyed it thoroughly!

My New Job

I would like to officially announce that I will be leaving my current position at Wood Group Pressure Control Canada, Inc. effective Friday March 2, 07. I have accepted a new position at The Hill Family as a Stay at Home Mom, or SAHM.

The new job benefits:
- Vehicle included
- afternoon naps – strongly encouraged
- fully stocked kitchen (food and appliances)
- cable television
- long term with the possibility for advancement
- a very small management team – I am the CEO and Adam is the assistant manager
- no set schedule – strongly encouraged to make your own and “do whatever works”

Unfortunately, like with any job there are a few drawbacks:
- on call 24 / 7
- miscellaneous household duties: laundry, cleaning, etc.
- permanent position with no possibility of resigning
- substantial salary cut – no yearly bonus and no cost of living increase

I am almost finished the initiation phase for this new position, however I have been told there is a very grueling final exam coming up in a few weeks, but still I am looking forward to taking on this new position. I will be posting some pictures once I pass the final and officially start my new job!

Brutis - One Year!

One year ago today Adam and I woke up early, picked up some coffee and hit the road. We were both very excited - we were on our way to bring home a new family member.

We drove 4 hours to a farm north of Drayton Valley and for the first time we met Brutis!
After a quick introduction, some attempts to get him to pee, signing some paperwork, we hit the road again this time headed home.

Well Brutis cried almost the whole way home, but Mom held onto him and did as much as she could to comfort him and let him know he was safe with his new family. It was a long day - 8 hours of driving - 4 with a crying dog - but oh so worth it.

Here is a picture of Brutis in the car on the way home.

Brutis after getting fixed - not a happy boy!

Likes:
Treats
Going for walks
Mom and Dad coming home
Jazz – his girlfriend
Toys – the best ones are ones with a squeaky – the mission: you must get the squeaky out within the first 30 minutes
Sleeping with Mom and Dad – this only happens on special occasion or while camping
Camping
All human food – especially Cheerios
Underwear!
Cardboard

Playing - chase Brutis

Dislikes:
Anyone that walks down the sidewalk beside our house – they are all evil – I must protect everyone by barking as much as possible to scare these people away.
Being sent to the kennel – I don’t like sleeping away from Mom and Dad
The pink exercise ball
Vacuum cleaner
The doorbell
Lemons
Wearing my winter boots

A few Brutis Casualties:
A pair of Jenny’s sunglasses
One of Jenny’s shoes
Lots of Adam’s socks
Even more pairs of Adam’s underwear
Many, many, many cardboard boxes

Nick Names:

Mister Magoo

Monster Magoo

10 more days left...

This morning is my 10th last day at work! I am going to miss not only my co-workers but working with Adam as well. We were a little unsure of how the past 4 months were going to play out - but since it was only 4 months we knew we could handle it.

Things have been great - we love driving to work together and we get to have lunch together almost every day. Probably the best part has been that as Adam started with Wood Group and had to learn not only the product but the industry as well - I was able to help him with many aspects of the office side of the job.

As exciting as the next few weeks are going to be, we are both going to miss being able to pop into each others office to say a quick hi.

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

Cinnamon Doughnut Muffins

This morning I got to leave for work a little late, I had the home builders come by for our 6 month walk through and someone else come by to fix some Brutis induced carpet damage - this happened just after we moved in, but have not gotten around to getting it fixed until now. But just because I might be leaving early does not mean the dog knows how to sleep in, so that left me with a few hours things morning - so baking filled my time slot.

I have been meaning to make these for a while but never got around to it. I don't know why I waited - they are amazing. I didn't get a chance to eat mine warm, but I can imagine they are even better that way.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg -- lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
Jam of your choice

TOPPING:
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Next combine sugar, oil, egg, and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full; place 1 tsp jam on top. Cover jam with enough batter to fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done.
Place melted butter in a small bowl; combine sugar and cinnamon in another bowl. Immediately after removing muffins from the oven, brush top of muffins with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture.

Serve warm.

I made a double batch and only got 18 large muffins - next time I would make them a little bit smaller, so a single batch should yield 12 muffins.

Enjoy!

The Nursery - almost done

This weekend was dedicated to finishing the nursery and we came close. Unfortunately the one thing we are missing is really the most important (besides the baby) - the mattress. Since the crib we bought converts to a day bed and we plan on having more than one child use this crib (plans are for only 2 - but who knows what will happen) - we were not keen on buying the super cheap mattresses. And it seems like everywhere in Calgary that sells decent crib mattresses is sold out. So we will wait a little bit longer. We are borrowing a bassinet from our friends Starr and Cory - so if we bring the baby home and still don't have a mattress we will have a place for the little one to sleep.

One addition was a book shelf - bought from Ikea and matches the dresser perfectly. We also hung the wooden moon and stars I bought the previous weekend. It is hard to see in the picture, but they are covered in sparkles. We hung a total of 15 stars (5 different colors and 2 sizes) and one moon.



Also installed this weekend is the mobile. It plays music, has lights, spins - quite the fancy contraption!

Banana Bread

I know this is a classic and many people already have a favorite recipe - but this is my favorite.

This Banana Bread recipe is so good it does not need chocolate chips (I know - for almost everyone it is a sin not to have chocolate chips in banana bread - but trust me). A very moist and relatively healthy banana bread.

Pictured here in the Pampered Chef Stoneware Mini Loaf Pan.

Banana Bread

1 cup sugar
¼ cup light butter, softened
1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
¼ cup fat-free milk
¼ cup low-fat sour cream
2 large egg whites
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Combine sugar and butter in a bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add banana, milk, sour cream and egg whites, beat well.
3. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife. Combine flour, baking soda and salt, stir well. Add flour mixture to banana mixture, beating until blended.
4. Spoon batter into 4 (5 x 2 ½ inch) mini loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack, remove from pans. Cool completely. Yield: 4 loaves, 4 servings per loaf (serving size: 1 slice)
Note: To make a 9-inch loaf, spoon batter into a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; bake at 350˚F for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean. Yield 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

Taken from The Best of Cooking Light Everyday Favorites

Manhattan Clam Chowder

I am not the biggest fan of the classic New England Clam Chowder - maybe I just love tomatoes too much - but this is the best recipe I have found for Manhattan Clam Chowder. This weekend I made a quadruple batch. I needed enough to serve Blake and Karen Sunday for dinner, and was able to put 2 large containers in the freezer for meals during baby time.



Manhattan Clam Chowder

1 ½ tsp vegetable oil
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup sliced celery
½ cup sliced carrot
½ cup diced potatoes
1 (540 ml) can whole tomatoes in juice
1 (142 g) can baby clams
1 cup water
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1/8 tsp thyme
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

In a 3 quart pan heat oil over medium heat; add onion. Cook 2 to 3 minutes until transparent. Add celery, carrot, and potato; cook. Stir often until tender. Add tomatoes and clams with juice. Add the remaining ingredients. Stir until blended. Simmer 25 minutes or until vegetable are tender.

Date Night

Last night Adam and I went out for date night. First it was a bit of a Valentines date, but mostly it was a last date just the 2 of us for a little while anyway.

So to make it special we went to the Saltlik (as many of you know this is where Adam and I both took part time jobs 4 years ago and met). We had a great meal and a chance to see and catch up with some old co-workers / friends.

35 1/2 weeks - AKA - Very, Very Pregnant!

As I approach the 36 week mark, this morning starts my 15th last day at work. I am very much looking forward to being done - a mid afternoon nap right now sounds dreamy.

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday - things are looking good - the head is down and I am 1 cm dilated (sorry if that is too much info for some). So things are coming along - we are going to try and finish the nursery this weekend and get a few more things done around the house.

Cooking and Baking

As many of you know I love spending time in the kitchen (although being pregnant seems to have stifled this a bit). So I thought I would start posting some of our favorites.

This first recipe is in the top 5 if not number 1 favorite. I made it last night for dinner and intended to take a picture of it, but we were both hungry and totally forgot. You will have to use your imagination.

Chicken with Artichokes and Peppers

4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast (about 6 ounces each)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 onion, halved and sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed (minced – whatever)
2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped (or ½ tsp dried)
1 ½ cups jarred marinated artichokes, drained
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, sliced into strips
2 tablespoons dry vermouth
1 cup chicken broth (low sodium)
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves (any fresh parsley will do or 1-2 TBSP dried)

Cube the chicken breast, season with salt and pepper.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the olive oil. Add the chicken, cook until just done. Take chicken out of the skillet and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic and thyme to the skilled and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until brown, about 5 minutes. Add the artichokes and peppers and cook until brown as well, about 3 minutes. Add the vermouth and stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the vermouth is syrupy, then add the broth and bring the mixture to a full boil. Simmer until the sauce thickens, and season with salt and pepper. Add the chicken, whisk in the butter and add the parsley.

Serve over rice. 4 servings

Enjoy!

Girls Shopping Day!

A few months back I decided I needed to utilize some resources in my friends. I needed to hit some baby stores with some experienced Mom’s. So Starr, Tara and I booked a Saturday to go shopping. With Starr already having 2 children and Tara having one and one on the way, they were great help in navigating the confusing world of baby products.

Some of the purchases: baby bath tub, nail clippers, digital thermometer, mobile for the crib and decorations for the nursery walls.

I also got lots of advice for things I would need later (3+ months) but decided to wait and purchase as we need them.
Thanks Starr and Tara – I had a great day

The day started off with lunch at Open Sesame

The Fat Off - Update

Sorry it has been a while since we have done an update on the weight loss / gain – but Houston was not a kind place to visit…
Anyway – Adam is back on track going to the gym almost everyday.

Adam

Jenny - I know this is the same weight I had last posting - I am not dieting but I am having problems eating a lot - I have a very small stomach right now.