Wednesday, 12/8/2010

Ben and I enjoyed left over jambalaya tonight.  Katie still wouldn't touch it.  Tonight she finished off the chicken nuggets she had last night.  Nothing else to report tonight:)

Tuesday, 12/7/2010

Yesterday afternoon I made up a batch of jambalaya, just in case our babysitters needed something for dinner.  They must have brought their own food, because none of the jambalaya was touched.  So, Ben and I had left overs tonight.  For the jambalaya, I used a package of Zatarain's New Orleans style jambalaya mix and added a pound of sliced, fully cooked Cajun Andouille sausages.  It is super easy to make and was quite delicious.  It only took 25 minutes to cook once the water for the rice boiled. 

Katie usually likes rice, but wasn't interested tonight.  She ate chicken nuggets and dipped them in ketchup instead. 

Monday, 12/6/2010

A while back, our neighbors, Cary and Mike, offered to babysit Katie for us sometime.  We took them up on their offer tonight.  After getting Katie settled with Cary, I drove downtown to meet Ben for an evening out.  I got tickets for us to see the Pacific Lutheran University Christmas concert at Benaroya Hall.  I sang with the PLU choirs while studying there and expected it to be a great concert.  And, it was.  The symphony orchestra and two choirs performed wonderful pieces.  Throughout the program, they invited the audience to sing Christmas carols while the choirs moved in and out of the hall.  What an awesome experience to sing with such a mass of people, many of whom have outstanding voices:)

As an alumni of PLU Choir of the West, I was invited, along with Ben, to a reception at The Capital Grill prior to the concert.  The invitation said there would be heavy appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages.  By the time we got there, the reception had been going on for about an hour.  And, unfortunately for us, most of the appetizers were gone.  We each had some cheese, crackers, and fruit.  Ben got the last of the shrimp being offered.  He did pick up two small lobster and crab cakes as they passed by, which he said were excellent.  I am not a fan of lobster, so I passed on that offering.  Instead, I opted for a piece of bruschetta.  It was only okay.  We both ate an outstanding miniature creme brulee.  And, we enjoyed a very friendly conversation with another couple during the reception.  We were glad we attended, even if there wasn't much food being offered. 

Sunday, 12/5/2010

Katie still had a bit of a fever this morning, so Ben stayed home with her while I went to church.   The children put on the most fantastic Advent Pageant today.  A ten-year-old in our church wrote the play and our music director wrote the music for it.  I was moved to tears by the whole production.  The props and costumes were perfect, the songs were touching, and the script was humorous and clever.  Wow...nicely done! 

For dinner, we finished off last night's pepperoni pizza.  Katie's fever is down, but she is still not back to her normal self.  She ate some pizza, but just doesn't seem to be hungry.  Hopefully she'll be better tomorrow. 

Saturday, 12/4/2010

Katie developed a fever today and was quite irritable.  We were planning on going out to see Christmas light displays this evening, but decided to keep her inside and warm instead.  We were also planning on going out to eat.  Since that didn't work out, we ended up ordering a double pepperoni pizza from Garlic Jim's.  Katie was watching Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" when the pizza arrived.  Rather than upset her by moving into the dining room, we just ate in front of the TV.  Ben and I used to eat in front of the TV every day, but have grown to love our time at the dinner table as a family.  Even so, it was kind of fun to do the TV thing as a family too:) 

Friday, 12/3/2010

Ben and I ate left over turkey stir-fry tonight. I reheated it in a skillet and added several drops of chili oil to the pan. We thought that the recipe lacked a little umph. The chili oil made the dish much more flavorful.  I would guess that I added 1/2 teaspoon of chili oil to the left overs.  

Katie didn't seem very hungry tonight, but she did eat most of a delicious pear.  Ben said it might have been the best pear he has ever eaten.  Thanks Fred Meyer for the yummy pear:)

Thursday, 12/2/2010

Tonight I made Turkey Noodle Stir-Fry.  I got the recipe from the same Sunset Magazine we used for our Thanksgiving meal.  It was a suggested way to use Thanksgiving left overs.  It turned out pretty good:)  I was proud of myself for choosing a recipe that included mushrooms.  In general, I'm not a big fan of mushrooms.  I am willing to try them, but rarely choose to eat them.  Thankfully, they were totally edible in this dish.  Ben said he loved them and would have eaten more.  The recipe makes enough for four servings.  I think tomorrow we are going to try to add just a little more heat to the dish.  I've included a link to the recipe above, and I am including it below too. 

TURKEY NOODLE STIR-FRY

Ingredients:
9 ounces fresh Asian egg noodles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 cup sliced red bell pepper
2 cups quartered mushrooms
8 ounces snow peas
2 cups cubed cooked turkey or rotisserie chicken
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 1/2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain and spread out on a serving platter.
2. Heat oils in a large wok or frying pan over high heat. Add garlic, ginger, bell pepper, mushrooms, and snow peas and cook until fragrant and peas are bright green, about 4 minutes. Add turkey, broth, and soy sauce and cook, stirring once, until mixture is hot, about 3 minutes. Pour over noodles and sprinkle with onions and sesame seeds.