Stuffed Bell Peppers- Asian Style

I created a new recipe, and I really liked it!

I was craving stuffed bell peppers, and lettuce wrap Asian chicken, so here is what came of it.

Stuffed Bell Peppers- Asian style
serves 4

1/2 pound of ground chicken breast

1-2 cups of brown rice

1 package of Simply Asian Kung Pao Stir Fry sauce (or you could make your own)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup shredded carrots (cut so they are not too long)

1/2 cup zucchini finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cashews (peanuts would work too)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 red bell pepper (orange or yellow bell peppers would be good too)


Cook the brown rice.
Heat oil in a skillet, begin cooking the chopped onion and carrot shreds on medium-medium high heat. When soft, add the ground chicken and cook until done (lightly browned). When the meat is almost cooked, add the finely chopped zucchini. Add the sauce, then add the the cashews.

Mix together the cooked brown rice with the soy sauce. Then, add the chicken mixture.

Cut the bell peppers lengthwise and cut out the seeds.

Spoon in the chicken/rice mixture, packing as much in as you can.

Top with sesame seeds (if desired)

Bake for 45min at 350 degrees.


The Kung Pao Sauce is spicy, but when mixed with everything else, the end result is not too spicy. If you like spice, you can easily top yours with Siracha sauce before or after baking.

Water chestnuts and green onions would go well in this recipe if you like those things (which I don't)

You cannot taste the Zucchini in the recipe.

We ate ours alongside some steamed broccoli. I mixed the broccoli in with this as I was eating and really liked it. So, broccoli could easily be added to the recipe, but the bell peppers fill up fast.

Honey Wheat Oat Bread

I have been working on testing and perfecting this recipe. I love this bread!
I slice it, lightly butter each side and grill the bread on a griddle, then use for sandwiches. So good, I am now a homemade bread snob and I cannot even eat a sandwich on regular bread anymore.

Honey Wheat Oat Bread

5 cups unbleached flour

3 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½  cups oats (I use Coach’s Oats, but you can also use, old fashioned or quick cooking)

4 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil works too)

1 tablespoon flax oil (optional)

3 1/2 cups hot water

1/8 cup vital wheat gluten flour (optional- helps it rise though)

In a very large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oats, sugar, salt.  

In a 4 cup measuring cup or medium bowl whisk yeast, honey and oil into the water.

Stir the water mixture into the flour mixture, until blended. (I use my dough hook on my mixer).

Then add the vital wheat gluten and mix just until thoroughly blended

Put a cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then put the bowl of dough in the microwave to let the bread rise (if your bowl will not fit, then you can let your bread rise on your counter top) Let rise until double in size.

Spray two loaf pounds with Baker’s Joy (or Pam, but Baker’s Joy works better for non-stick)

Spoon dough into the loaf pans  let rise again until they reach above the top of the pan (you can do the microwave rise again if you want)

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes (halfway through, gently cover  the loaves with foil to prevent the tops from getting to dark).

Cool in pans on wire rack for 5 minutes. Then remove from the pans and cool loaves on wire racks.

Dear Professor

 Teaching is often frustrating and exhausting, but getting feedback like this makes it all worth it.

Dear Professor,

            I was assigned to write a letter to a former teacher who has made an impact on my life. You were my first choice, for you’ve taught me more than most I’ve ever known or remember. I have never had another teacher or professor from any school support me in the way you have. What you did for me in my first college class last year made such an impact with me and helped me to gain assurance and strength to carry on with my education in college courses. When I was at my worst with so much frustration and close to dropping not only your class but out of college altogether, you were able to get me to focus on the positive, understand my personal situation, and give me self-confidence to complete your class.

            I have continued my courses knowing I can do what I need to do to accomplish my goals. I’ve learned to not put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. I continue to think of you and remember the lessons you taught me throughout my first class with you. Your structure and attention to detail was just what I needed to help me be successful.

            As I begin to work with children, I plan to use your style of teaching, attention to detail, structure in planning, and understanding that we all are people first. I will think of you as I help students overcome their difference and other obstacles they may come across. I plan on communicating with not only my students but also their parents in a timely manner as you have with your students.

            I have been blessed to have you as my “first” official college professor and I don’t believe I’d be continuing my education if it wasn’t for you support and believe in me the way you have.

Thank you,

Westley told about Angels, Jesus, and Heaven after his Great Grandma died

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Just days after her 94th birthday, Grandma Nellie May Franke passed away. Westley was 3 at the time. We wanted to wait a few days until closer to the funeral to tell him she had died, so we were careful not to talk about her death.

5/17/10 I just made this picture my computer desktop picture. Westley (who didn't know yet that Great Grandma died) came over and looked at it for a minute, and then pointed at the picture and said There's God. He said there's two... one's a birdy-man. I asked if the birdy-man had wings and he said yes. I got him close to the screen and asked him to show me where God was. He pointed to the white area above Grandma

5/18/10 Westley was reading a book about seasons, nature and animals  with Grandma Kathy. He pointed to part of the top of the page and said "that's where Marni is” (Marni is my cousin who passed away last year). Kathy asked "what is that?" and he said "Heaven" She asked who else was in Heaven and he said Great Grandma. (I had still not told him that Great Grandma died)

5/19/10 I sat down with Westley today before his nap and I was going to tell him Great Grandma had died and was now in Heaven.

Before I mentioned Grandma he brought up her name and told me she doesn't live at her place anymore. I said that was right… that she lives in Heaven now and we won't see her again until we go to Heaven.  He asked why she wasn't in the hospital anymore, he said "cause it didn't work?" ( I think referring to them healing Grandma) I said, well it helped some and she got out of the hospital but it must have just been her time for her to go to Heaven. He told me "sometimes it isn't your time"  (not sure where he got that from, it’s nothing we have ever talked about before) I said that's right. I told him Great Grandma saw Jesus when she was 84 but he told her it wasn't her time yet, so she lived here on earth until now when it was her time..

That's all I remember. He didn't cry or seem emotional - he was very matter of fact about it and acted like he already knew. 

5/20 I continued to talk about Grandma to remind him why we would be going to Hemet. I mentioned angels taking Grandma to Heaven. He said “No, first she gets her wings.” I confirmed, “They give her her wings and then she is able to go up to heaven?” He said yes. I asked him where he learned that as it isn’t something we have said before, thinking maybe he heard something at church. But when I asked “Who taught you that?” He said “Jesus told me… when I was a little little baby.”

I asked him if he had been to Heaven, he said “yes” but then quit answering me.

Story for My Grandma

Today is My Grandma's birthday. She would have been 96. She died days after celebrating her 94th birthday. My Grandma loved to write stories about her past and about family history. For her 94th birthday her grandchildren wrote her stories. She was read these stories in the hospital a few days before she died. We also read them out loud at her funeral.

I am so glad she was able to hear the stories we wrote. It is a great reminder that if someone means a lot to you, tell them right now, because you never know when you may lose your chance to do so.

This is the story I wrote for my Grandma.

Passing on Grandma’s Love & Values

By Gina

I am Grandma’s youngest grandchild. For years she was the oldest and I was the youngest at family gatherings. We learned to watch out for each other and had a special bond. Being the youngest I also probably spent more time observing my family, and began to realize how truly special my Grandma was and how I wanted to strive to pass on some of her finest characteristics and values.

I shared with Grandma a love for the beach and for nature. I remember as a young child, many of the adults did not want to go swimming in the ocean. Grandma was never afraid of the cold water or getting sand in her bathing suit. It was special when she would take me out swimming and we would find the perfect spot, way out in the waves, but not too deep. I hope that when my children ask me to take them out in the water, I too, put aside the fact that I will get wet and cold, and have sand in my bathing suit and we will enjoy that time together.

 I remember spending time at Grandma’s house on Palm Avenue when I was very young. It seemed like she was always making fresh bread. It was a fun new experience to make something with her, from scratch. I remember there would be flour and bowls everywhere. Sometimes we would take the flour, put it on our cheeks and just laugh together. Then, we would have to wait for the dough to rise, which is a long process to be patient for. Grandma had that patience, but I didn’t. I would always sneak off a little pinch of dough to eat when she was not looking. Now days, with bread machines and box mixes, most people no longer cook and bake the way Grandma did. Probably the only type of dough most children are familiar with is cookie dough that comes in ice cream. Remembering the experiences that I had makes me prioritize some time in the kitchen and show my children what it means to make something from scratch.

As I got older, I would occasionally run errands with Grandma or attend meetings with her and her peers. While these were not always our most exciting adventures in my opinion, it was interesting to see how others related to her, those who were not part of our family. Every where we went, Grandma knew someone, and would stop to smile and say hello. After she introduced me, her friends would always tell me that my Grandma was the sweetest lady they knew. I believed them, because Grandma was one of the sweetest people I knew as well. I do not ever remember Grandma ever saying anything mean or bad about anyone. She demonstrates the importance of accepting, and not judging others. This brought peace to her life, as well as to those around her. I’ve got a ways to go, but I work to live my life by her example, acknowledging the value in truly respecting others.

Grandma was also the one who showed me God’s love. She always shared her church  with all of us. She showed me how to pray and always reminded me that God loved me, and loved everyone. Grandma told stories of how she had met angels on more than one account. I think it’s even likely Grandma is an angel herself. By her example, her stories, and unconditional love, Grandma helped me become a believer in God and his Glory

Thank you Grandma for being you, and teaching me such important lessons in life. I know I am fortunate to have had such a wonderful, caring grandma and I think it’s so special that you have had the chance to meet handfuls of your great grandchildren. You will always be in my thoughts and in the stories I tell as I teach my children about the beauty in the world, precious times together, love and kindness, and worshiping God. 

Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt- The Best Vanilla Yogurt!

Will loves yogurt. He has eaten yogurt everyday since he was 1. Our favorites are the little cups of yogurt from Trader Joes, but they are made with whole milk so it is good that they are in little cups. Those are great for kids though as the yogurt is thinker and they can feed themselves without much dripping.

The other favorite, is Dannon All Natural Yogurt. It comes in the 32ounce size. Many stores have the plain, the Vanilla can be hard to find, but it is the best vanilla yogurt. Best taste, best consistency, no high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners.

Often we mix in some plain just to cut down sugar content ( I do that to all yogurt) but it is good straight out of the carton as well.

The Vanilla (and the plain) can be found in the 32 ounce size  at Walmart and Ralphs. Usually we buy it at Walmart for $2.49 or $2.79 as regular price at Ralphs is like $4

March 14-March 20 Ralph's has it on sale for $1.49! I have never seen it this cheap in my 3 years of buying it. Stock up - check the expiration date and buy as many as you can eat before that date.

Project Complete! February = Spend $0 (or as close to it as possible)

We made it!
What an experience! I recommend everyone should try it!
It was stressful at times, but a good learning experience.
Also, it helped me be even less wasteful (and I am a pretty frugal and non wasteful person anyway)
We didn't really throw away any food. I was extra conscience of making sure we ate it before it went bad and had to be tossed.

We did not spend $0, but we did very well.
We likely spent $1,000- $1,500 less than we otherwise would have.

In this past week, I just had a $5 target purchase I used a giftcard for, and $10 charge that went on the credit card for milk, bread and bananas

Kevin is doing home improvement projects this week, so he had spending from those from the last 2 days, but didn't have any charges of eating food/drinks out or anything like that.

Spending less than usual made it easy to spot another wrongful credit card charge. We had $620 worth of charges on the credit card we are sure were fraudulent. I think we would have caught that anyway, but we are getting good reminders to always check your statements very carefully.

We did a pretty good job of cleaning food out of the freezers this month. We have a few things we are still going to eat up this week. Otherwise, we get to start fresh, which was needed.
My pantry of boxed foods, canned goods, snacks, etc. Is still pretty full. We could probably go another month (or 2 or 3) of buying only dairy, eggs, bread and meat. I like it well stocked though so I'll think about that. I stock up when foods are on sale, that way I never have to buy foods at full price. It works very well, but some things we don't eat regularly so they have been sitting and need to be used.

We ate out a few times with gift certificates and coupons. We didn't even use all those up.

Again, I encourage everyone to try this. You could be a little more flexible in your food buying than I was and still have it be a success.

This project saved us $500 in credit card/bank errors!

so our Costco credit card bill came, Kevin opened it and grumbled "$500... so much for no spending month" and put it down.
I said no way! There must be some mistake, It should be like $50. There was no way that was possible!
He looked again more closely to see that it had our previous month's total still as that we owed it, plus a late fee.
He checked our bank records and confirmed we did pay our last bill. He called the Costco Credit card company and got the error taken care of, removing the $450 bill with late fee.
There is a very good chance that if we were spending money as usual he would have just sighed, paid the bill and been done with it.
When looking up the records to figure this out, he saw that the last couple of months the bank has been charging our account a $25 account fee. Since our statements are just online, it was easy to miss this fee from the normal view of account, (AKA- hidden fee?) But he called the bank and they apologized and removed the fees, giving us back $100.

Good reminder to check all bills very carefully!

Week 3: Spend $0 in February (or as close to it as possible)

Week 3

Day 1 & 2
no spending

Day 3
Kevin got gas- put some on an old gift card, the rest went on the card $30 or so
Costco- had to get water and eggs  and some other food I am blanking on $15
Kevin went to Denny's while at work, but had a free meal code from doing a previous satisfaction survey

Day 4
no spending

Day 5
Kevin went to the store and bought milk and 2 bananas about $7

Day 6
I went to Target- got bread, Will's pasta, and special frosting and baking cups for a baseball themed cake we had to make for T-ball. Used a gift card about $15
Went to Trader Joes- passed up the neat looking cinnamon sugar grinder shaker, got yogurt and cottage cheese. $5 on the credit card
Went to Stater Brothers - bought Will's favorite noodles (that they only sell there now - Nature's Way Pasta Roni) Could have just got one, but bought 4, as I had a coupon for $1 off 4, and because I don't want to have to be going out of my way to Stater Brothers all the time just for these noodles  $4 on the credit card

Day 7
Spent $14 at the Post Office, on the credit card, paying to ship some textbooks I sold on half.com. But I made $160 from the books :)

Day 8 (I guess this should be counted in next week, but oh well, since I already advertised about my Sprouts trip)
Went to Sprouts $8 on the credit card for produce- but got a lot for $8 as there were good sales!

Weekly Totals:
$ put on credit card = $68
$ put on Costco credit card = $15
cash spent =0

Summary

T-ball is expensive :)

Selling books on half.com made up for all our spending :)

This project has made me plan meals more closely. We have had less food waste. And, I think I have lost 2 pounds :)

Week 2: Spend $0 in February (or as close to it as possible)

We are still working on our goal to spend as little as possible for the month of February, keeping our usually credit card, which is usually a couple thousand dollars a month to as close to $0 as possible.

Week 2

Day 1
no spending

Day 2
I had to get gas. $30 did co on the card :(

Day 3
Had to pay some t-ball related expenses for shirts and team banner. Total $35. I think we are about even now on the money we got reimbursed from our sign up fees for being team manager, so that purchase is fine.

Day 4
no money spent

Day 5
I saw a groupon type coupon I really wanted for ice skating. We went once before on a coupon deal and the boys had a great time and keep asking to go back. This was definitely not a justifiable purchase though, so I had to get creative. I bartered with my sister. She bought the deal for me, now I owe her babysitting and a loaf of pumpkin and banana bread.

Day 6
Needed some produce.
Spent $6.75 at Sprouts.
Spent $18 at Walmart on bagels, yogurt, and pull ups that Will wears at night.
These purchases went on an old gift card we got from a rebate that we had.

I had found 2 old groupon type codes for Papa Johns. I thought I had used them up, but realized I hadn't. It said on them that they expired, but I tried and it worked. So we got pizza without spending any money tonight. It tasted really good... especially up against all the freezer food we've been eating

Day 6
no spending

Day 7
Valentine's Day!
I had a few things I bought a long time ago so I made little gift cups up for the boys. I wanted to decorate but realize I didn't have any crepe papers or balloons or anything. We had many valentine picture crafts Will had made so I hung them all up. Grandma Kathy was here with us and had gotten 2 mylar balloons at the dollar store so that livened things up too. She took us out to lunch on Valentines day. Thanks Grandma Kathy!

Weekly Total:
$30 on credit card (gas)
$28 on gift card (food and night diapers)
$35 cash (for Tball stuff)

February = Spend $0 (or as close to it as possible)

So Kevin and I took on a challenge for the month of February. The goal is to spend as little money as possible for the whole month. We put all our monthly purchases on our credit card. Then we pay it off at the end of the month. Our system works well with us, and we are fairly frugal people always so we always can pay our bill. But often it is higher than we hoped for.
This month We are going to eat the food we have in our house (just buy dairy, bread and produce - foods I need to feed my boys because I do not want their nutrition to be affected) not spend money eating out, and not spend money shopping or for entertainment.
We did not stock up on anything in preparation of this month

Week 1
Day one - I had to go to Costco. Will lives on peanut butter and honey tortillas and I give him the multigrain with flax seed tortillas I get at Costco. I also needed eggs and AAA batteries. I could have not bought the batteries, but they are for some flashlights we have for emergencies. I couldn't stand the idea of there being an emergency and needing them and I didn't have them because of this project. Also, Kevin needed yogurt. So I left spending $44. This isn't bad considering our usual trips to Costco are $150 or more. I passed many food items I normally would have saw and bought. I didn't even go near the clothes or other non food items. I have enough tortillas for at least a month so we shouldn't have to go back there to be tempted again this month.
We saved $65 today by canceling our YMCA membership. We haven't gone in a few months, so we finally took the steps to canceling, preventing the monthly charge for February

Day two- Kevin had to buy gas. Like I said, we didn't stock up in preparation for this month, so that is an expense we just have to deal with.
We had a bowling groupon to use up. It included bowling and food. We ordered just enough food to reach the groupon limit. We don't want to short others with this challenge, so Kevin did tip $5 cash

We saved $4.50 on newspaper subscription. Before I was told that $6.50 was the cheapest way to get the newspaper. I only wanted it Sunday but they said it was cheaper to get it everyday. So we have but rarely read it on other days. Funny that when I went to cancel it altogether I was then offered a special for Just Sundays for $2.00 a month. That's all I wanted all along

Day three- I went to Sprouts. I don't want my children's nutrition to be affected, so while we could survive without fresh produce I didn't want to do that. I had a Mastercard type giftcard we have had a for a while I used and I spent $11 on produce that was on sale (so no charge was put on the credit card).  Many times I buy produce and I don't use it all and we end up throwing some away. I bought just what I needed, we have been eating all and are not throwing any away. Usual Sprouts bill is $30. The week previous I bought a watermelon there. As soon as I cut into it I could tell it was no good. Normally I would just throw it away. I saved it, took it back and exchanged if for a new one. So in a sense, we got a free Watermelon.
Kevin wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Will while Westley was in school, so he took Will to Legoland (we have annual passes) Will wanted to get ice cream, so I found a free Milkshake coupon we had for Chick-Fil-A and they got that on the way.

Grandma offered to watch the boys for us to have a date night. We had some old movie gift certificates and a Ruby's gift card which were still valid, so we used those for dinner and a movie.

Day four- Kevin bought $20 worth of girl scout cookies. Again, don't want to short others and me stingy even though we aren't spending. He used cash, so at least no purchase on the credit card.
At work Kevin went to Denny's He had a free meal coupon he got at an SDSU game so he used that to pay.

Will needs more sweaters. I thought about buying them, but knew I couldn't. I asked a mom friend I give baby stuff to if she had any from her son. She brought over two. I avoided clothing stores

Day five- I went to Albertsons. I had a $5 in rewards to use. I bought Milk, some cooked chicken strips that were on a good sale and I had a coupon for to make them just 50 cents. After my $5 reward my total was $2 that went on my Mastercard gift card

Kevin was asked (begged) to take on the manager/coaching position for Westley's newly starting T-ball team. Bad news is T-ball has some expenses, like $40 for pants, cleats, cup, and belt. But the good news is we get a full refund of the money for registration. Not sure how much it was, I think around $100?

Day six- I went to Walgreens. I never go there because they are expensive, but I had a $10 gift card I got  as a baby gift when pregnant with Westley (6 years ago) I bought children's ACT for the boys and a package of shredded cheese. I have $1 left on that card.

Day seven- I had a $2 off groceries coupon for Vons. It expired today. Usually I miss using these as they expire quickly. But I made a point to use this one- at 10:00 at night after teaching my class. I got a loaf of whole wheat bread and bananas. Total cost after coupon 60 cents. went on the Mastercard Giftcard. It should still have like a $5 balance on it.


Summary:
It was surprising how much more aware I became of things. The first day Will asked for cereal, once I poured the milk he didn't want it anymore. I got the idea of how people feel who do not have much money. Usually I would be annoyed that he didn't eat, this time I was upset... he just made me waste the milk!
Despite the project we have been eating well. I have made good meals with frozen meat I had. I also made more things from scratch including crepes and a new healthy banana bread.

This week totals
$45 on Costco Credit Card (tortillas, eggs, yogurt, emergency batteries)
about $90 on regular Credit Card (for Gas and T-ball Supplies)
$25 in cash (tip and girl scout cookies)