Monday Musings

--It's Monday after a long but fun weekend.

--It's a gray day.

--I like gray days.

--I don't have anywhere to go tonight!  YAY!!

--I have a bazillion loads of laundry to do.  BOO!!

--My dark-skinned son got sunburned this weekend.  Boo Dad!

--My lily-white daughter did not!  Yay Mom!!

--I have no idea what to fix for supper tonight.

--I'm ready to go back home and curl up under a blanket with a good book!  

Look Who's 12!!!!

Happy 12th Birthday to the best most fantabulous young man in the world today!!  We love you to pieces Scott!!

Wordless Wednesday--April 23

Easy Garlic Baked Shrimp

I promised to share some recipes on our journey to better health and this one is a keeper!  Easy Garlic Baked Shrimp is packed with protein, low fat, savory and best of all.....quick and easy!  I warn you, I'm kind of a kitchen experimenter so I don't usually measure much unless I'm baking but I'll try to give estimates for you.

Easy Garlic Baked Shrimp

Servings 2-4 

1lb raw shrimp fresh or frozen (I use the medium sized shrimp)

1 clove garlic minced/crushed (I use the jarred garlic and use a lot more than this.  We love garlic!)

2 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup Seasoned Panko bread crumbs 

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Lightly mist a small casserole dish with cooking spray or olive oil.

Thaw shrimp if frozen under running cold water.  Remove shells and tails, devein if needed.  In a bowl, combine shrimp with garlic, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well then pour into the prepared casserole dish.  Sprinkle seasoned Panko bread crumbs over the top.  Bake uncovered for 15 mins until shrimp is cooked.  Do not over cook.  Shrimp will continue to cook after removed from the oven and can easily over-cook and be tough.  Enjoy!  

Nutritional Analysis:  Servings--4, Cal. 167, Carbs, 8.  Fat, 2.  Protein, 27.  Sodium, 197.  Sugar, 1. 

As a side note:  I have also done this with marinade sauces.  Simply marinate the shrimp with your favorate marinade for about 15 mins, dump in the prepared casserole, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake as above.  If your marinade is saucy, the bread crumbs will absorb it.  So good!  We like Lawry's Brown Sugar Bourbon marinade for this!

Spring Break!!

We spent a lovely long weekend in the mountains and visiting family.  It was great to get away!  The kids had lots of fun and we walked and walked and walked!  I think I needed to get back to work to rest!  Exhausted but wouldn't trade it for nothing!  Best vacation I've had in a long time!  Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend with your families!

Wordless Wednesday

She Knows

Last night, my daughter amazed me.  She showed me what an absolutely awesome young woman she is growing to be.  She showed maturity I didn't realize she had. 

Sara has been working so hard at volleyball.  Each year she has played she has grown so much as an athlete and her drive to keep improving is strong.  Her confidence in herself is growing as well as her insight to see what’s truly important.  I've watched her team lose every match in a tournament and then listened to her tell me that she was okay with it because she felt like her team played their best and supported each even when they were losing.  

She recently tried out for a higher level team.  She wanted to make this team so badly.  She did very well at tryouts.  She played her best and stayed positive and confident.  There were probably 10 players competing for the same position.  She took the Coach’s call in her room.  She came out smiling and said, “She said no” and she followed up with  “But she said I’ve really improved a lot in the short few weeks I've been training with her and to keep working.”  Wow!  I was ready for the “stay in my room and sob quietly into my pillow” reaction, heck I wanted to do that myself for her.  But instead I got a mature, see the big picture response.  She knew there were only so many spots.  She knew although she did her best and she was good, others were better.  She knows that she’s getting better every time she touches that ball and she WILL get to her goals and dreams with lots of effort and hard work.  And she knows she’s not going to give up.  

Got. To. Get. Healthy!!

Over the last few months, my husband and I have seen the pounds creep back on.   I guess it was inevitable as we succumbed to convenience foods and fast foods due to our crazy work, school and sports schedules.  We so need to make changes around our house.  The first being getting rid of the last of the Girl Scout Cookies.  Being Troop Leader/Cookie Mom and having all those cookies sitting there calling your name is NOT good for a healthy way of eating-- or a healthy wallet for that matter!  Also, we need to stop buying the junk snacks we have in the house.  If it’s there, it WILL be eaten!!

So I’ve been trying to get back to cooking at home again.  It’s been great!  The food tastes so much better and I’m making extra so Hubby and I can take leftovers for lunch.  Double score—positive impact to health AND wallet!!!  I’ve tried a few newer recipes lately and also have tried to lighten some others up.  

It is still hard to work home cooking into my crazy schedule but I’m learning to improve my meal planning skills and kitchen organization to help.  I admit I’m not cooking each night but even 2 or 3 nights a week is a big help.  One thing I’ve learned which works for so many things is to start low and go slow or risk a burnout.  Using the grocer sales flyers to plan my meals has been a great help.  I also try to do several themes each week like Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Fun Food, Crockpot—then I look for new recipes to try.  It keeps it interesting!!

Stay tuned to see some of my Proven Awesome Recipes very soon!!  Next step is to get moving!  More on that later.