Monday, August 25, 2008



Woo Hoo! It's almost Football season. The first Ute game is this Saturday and then Sunday Richard & his friends have their annual fantasy football draft. GOOOOOOOO Utes!!!!! I admit I'm not a HUGE football fanatic but I love the start of football season because it means Fall is coming and I adore the Fall. It it hands down my favorite time of year. The weather, the food, the holidays and even the clothes are awesome. Yay for Fall!

Friday, August 8, 2008

Yummy New Recipe

Felt like sharing this recipe from the new Pampered Chef season! SOOOOO delicious!

The Pampered Chef ®Lemony Moroccan Chicken PitasRecipe
1 lemon, divided
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
6 (6-in.) flat pita bread rounds (without pockets)
1 large red bell pepper (about 1 cup finely diced)
2 cups finely diced cooked chicken
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbsp Moroccan Rub
1/4 cup water
1 cup (4 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
Crumbled feta cheese (optional)
Preheat oven to 450°F. Cut lemon in half crosswise using (5-in.) Santoku Knife; set half aside for later use. Slice remaining lemon half using Ultimate Mandoline fitted with v-shaped blade. Sprinkle lemon slices with salt and place in Prep Bowl; drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil. Microwave on HIGH 1-2 minutes or until slices are softened. Set aside to cool.
Trim pitas to form 6-in. squares using Bread Knife; discard trimmings. Cut pitas in half diagonally to create triangles. Arrange pitas close together on Large Bar Pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until pitas begin to brown.
Meanwhile, finely dice bell pepper and chicken. Pat lemon slices dry with paper towels. Finely chop lemon slices and cilantro using Chef's Knife.
Heat rub and remaining 2 tbsp oil in (10-in.) Skillet over medium-high heat 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Add bell pepper; sauté 1-2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add chicken, chopped lemon, cilantro and water. Juice reserved lemon half into Skillet using Citrus Press; cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add mozzarella cheese to Skillet; stir until cheese is melted and fully incorporated.
Remove bar pan from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack. Spread chicken mixture over pitas. Sprinkle with feta cheese, if desired. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6 servings

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Feelin' good...sort of....finally!

Yay, I'm finally starting to feel like a normal person. For those who I haven't been in touch with lately, after about 4 months of weird pain that nobody could explain, and after 2 surgeries, I had a third and hopefully final surgery on June 24th to have my right kidney removed, which I believe was causing my pain all along. Back in March, I started having some pain in my lower back and abdomen on my left side, had a ct scan done and found out I had a narrowing of my ureter, which was causing some swelling in my right kidney. The narrowing was caused by a blockage, what was blocking it is unknown, they think it was scar tissue. SO I had that done and then my pain on my left side came back, thinking it was possibly endometriosis or something, I went to my OBGYN and ended up going in for exploratory surgery. Didn't have endometriosis, but I did have a huge cyst on my right ovary that was about to burst. After a couple of weeks the pain in my left side was back so I had another ct scan thinking it may be kidney stones, it wasn't, but they saw that my right kidney had gotten worse and was pretty much not functioning anymore. So surgery was scheduled. They did it laporoscopically so I only had to stay overnight in the hospital, and I only missed a week & a half of work and just have four small incision sites. Whhheeewww, long story huh. Just wanted to catch people up because I know that there are lots of friends that haven't heard about the surgery yet. Anyway, I'm feeling much better and believe that even though the bad kidney was on the opposite side as the pain I was having that the bad kidney was somehow causing the pain....because the pain hasn't returned. For those of you who had already heard about the surgery, thanks for all your prayers & thoughts! :)
Four random things I like about my boyfriend:
1. He makes me laugh.
2. He's smart.
3. He's a great daddy.
4. He's cute.
Four jobs I have had:
1. Sweeper at my old elementary school.
2. Invoice clerk for a trucking company.
3. Admin Assistant at Axiom Financial.
4. Admin Secretary at IHC.
4 Movies I have watched more than once:
1. Pirates of the Caribbean
2. Steel Magnolias
3. Sweet Home Alabama
4. Anchorman
Four TV shows I watch:
1. House
2. Heroes
3. My Boys
4. Family Guy
Four places I have been:
1. Las Vegas
2. Denver
3. Los Angeles
4. Jamaica
Four people who email me regularly:
1. Tina
2. Michele
3. Di
4. Chris
Four of my favorite foods:
1. Rice
2. Pasta
3. Artichoke Dip
4. Thai food
Four places I would like to visit:
1. Greece
2. Ireland
3. England
4. Portland Oregon
Four things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Watching Grace grow
2. Halloween/Fall
3. Hopefully taking a vacation
4. Christmas