Somehow Menu Plan Monday slipped past with nary a word from me! But who says I can't post a recipe on Tuesday?! This one goes out to Melissa who asked me this weekend if I would put my menu up on Monday and I said "of course!" Just goes to show you how reliable I am!
Anyway, I am not a food blogger and my camera is currently 4 hours away so that means you won't be getting any pictures to accompany the recipe, but then again, when I have ever posted pictures of my recipes!? It's not for lack of trying, I usually forget until we've eaten half of whatever it is and the visually pleasing factor goes way down!
Today I'm going to share a recipe that I consider comfort food. It's something my mom made growing up and it's hearty, simple and kid friendly (at least for Ella it is, Catherine likes the chicken part)
Hearty Chicken Stew
2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes/bite size pieces
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 med onion sliced (or chopped, really your preference)
2 stalks celery cut into pieces (your preference)
2 carrots, sliced (ditto above)
1/2 tsp thyme
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 T ketchup
3-4 med. potatoes, cut into bite size pieces (If you aren't big on potatoes, you can use less, I think this is more than the original recipe calls for)
salt and pepper
Melt butter in large skillet/pan that has a lid. Coat chicken pieces with flour (I put the flour in a ziploc bag and add the chicken pieces and then shake around). Add chicken and any excess flour to the heated butter. Saute three minutes. Add onion and celery, saute 3 additional minutes. Add chicken broth, thyme, ketchup, potatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil, cover and cook at a simmer (that means turn the heat down!) for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Note on the potatoes - I have found that no matter what the potatoes take much longer to cook than 15 minutes. I now put the potato pieces in the microwave for a quick zap (maybe I can add specifics after I make it tonight) so they are already headed in the right direction before I add then to the pan.
You can serve this in a bowl or on a plate. It doesn't have as much broth as a traditional stew might have so it really does work ok on a plate, but I like having it in a bowl - just my personal preference! Also, growing up my mom always served this with applesauce and I guess it just stuck with me because we do too, it has become, for this meal, the perfect side dish.
So as the weather turns colder and you're looking for a simple meal with ingredients you most likely already have, give this comfort food a try!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Comfort Food
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The Top 18!
Here we are, my turn to recap this week's episode of SYTYCD. I haven't been a great member of the sisterhood, I meant to comment on Courtney's recap last week and somehow...I just didn't. Shame on me! Also, I haven't been posting who is recapping each week, so for any of you who may have been looking for it through me, it would have been hard to find.
Anyway, I love the show, but I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed this season, but I think I say that at the start of every season! Maybe it's just too close to last season? Also, put me firmly on the team of hating the new stage. Ugh. It really annoyed me during the intros. Why change something that was working?! Ok, I'm done with complaining....
Just a little heads up that I'm feeling a bit under the weather and didn't have the mental capacity to think of snarky and whitty comments like Courtney and Rachel. What you'll find is a bunch of like, didn't like, fun, not as fun - real exciting stuff like that!
Of course tonight is another one of my least favorites - when the dancers share their partner's best and worst qualities. Anyone else find this annoying? It just seems too fake and staged. Feel free to comment if there was something that stood out, I'm not going to go into the specifics of what they said.
Here we go.....
Noel and Russell -Jamal Sims a new choreographer, hip hop - They are in tennis outfits, battling it out with tennis rackets. hmm? kind of a weird idea, but it was a fun routine and entertaining, not very exciting though. I would have liked to see something that could really showcase Russell. The judges say....Adam, make the big big, and the small small. Mary, thought Russell did better, Noel showed no weakness from previous injury, Nigel was disappointed, sounds ominous for Noel. I hated his crap about Russell doing well last week but being the bottom b/c the standard was so high. Really? Russell's performance was in the bottom two guys? Definitely not.
Ashleigh and Jakob, (Ok, I loved that he called out the sweat factor on both of them) Viennese Waltz with Tony and Melanie, can Jakob manage the lifts? OH no, is Ashleigh freaking out over that kiss? Pretty to watch. Love to watch Jakob jump. Very graceful and smooth. The judges say... Adam, loves them, I can't believe he called out the choreographers. Has anyone ever done that before? Mary, wants them to grow and sees them in the top 10. Nigel loves them both as well. I think the judges like Ashleigh more than America will.
Bianca and Victor - Tyce Diorio, Jazz, going for some Southern gospel soul. Another fun one, but not what I thought it would be, it was fast paced, but not exciting. The judges say... Adam thought they danced it well but it was too much dancing and not enough abandonment (that's the word I think they were going for) Mary and Nigel basically echoed him - good dancing, not great character.
Mollee and Nathan - Bollywood with Nakul Dev Mahajan - Liked the opening scene with the setting sun. crazy opening pirouette with Nathan, I'm more drawn to watching Nathan than Molly, she still seems like a little girl to me, sorry, don't dislike her as much though. The judges say....Adam loves them, loves seeing Mollee be still, did another great imitation of her. Mary and Nigel loved it and them.
Channing and Philip, Samba with Tony and Melanie, she looks uncomfortable, not coming naturally, the lifts seem slow and awkward, whose fault is that though? The judges say...Adam could tell they were struggling, who couldn't though?
Kevin and Karen, Hip hop with Tabitha and Napoleon. Wow, check out Karen's outfit - Courtney, perhaps you could make that for your Halloween costume next year? Not the style of hip hop I like best, I miss seeing Nappy Tab's softer side, but it was another fun (count 'em up, I use it every time, I must not have felt like forming actual opinions) one, definitely got some bumping and grinding going on! The judges say...Adam fell off his chair over Karin, Mary put them on the Hot Tamale Train, Nigel talked about how Karin moved and basically creeped us all out.
Legacy and Kathryn - Stacey Tookey, contemporary, yikes for Legacy, he struggled with this in Vegas. Legacy is winning me over, he just seems like a sweetheart. Ok, love this routine, his strength works so well with this number and is my favorite so far. I really like this partnership. The judges say... Adam is praising them and I keep waiting for Legacy to cry. Mary and Nigel loved it as well. Now back to me...Of course it reminded me of Addiction, but only in the concept, not in the choreography. I love that in the end she rose above her fears! These two are my favorites, so far they've rocked both numbers they've done.
Peter and Pauline -working with Wade (squeal of happiness) doing a piece on Van Gogh's starry night, becoming the discarded people coming back to haunt him. cool and funky, love seeing something different. The judges say...Adam praises their commitment, Mary liked it but her praise falls short, Nigel seemed to like Pauline better.
Ellenore and Ryan - Miriam and Leonardo choreograph an Argentine Tango - OH my!, her dress is caught on her heel, adding tension to the routine. Thank goodness it came free. The judges say...All three praised them for the dance, especially that they pulled it off with the warddrobe malfunction. Adam makes a crack about dancing in a dress, I find it funny, not sure about Mary and Nigel though.
I think it's interesting that they aren't picking the couples as a whole, but from them individually.
For the bottom 4, Matt and I guess Philip and Channing and Bianca and Viktor. I am suprised that Channing gets a pass over Noel, I thought she looked uncomfortable the whole time on stage. What on earth is Viktor wearing?!
Noel is in there, shouldn't be suprised with the way Nigel threatened her earlier.
Results...I am surprised that Bianca was cut so early, I really thought she'd stick around a bit longer.
Nigel pretty much gives it away when he starts off saying how hard this is....of course Philip is going. Nigel lets him go with nary an explanation. Now we find out that Philip's father just passed away, how sad and touching, the way Philip handled getting the boot made me like him for the first time. Wow, Cat just got teary eyed, give that lady an Emmy already, there really is not a better reality host!
Who are you liking/disliking? How do you feel about the judges decisions and their ability to get rid of whomever they want?
I am impressed if you were able to follow through that incoherent post - begin commenting....NOW!!!!
Monday, November 02, 2009
Halloween and a promised recipe
Matt was away this weekend so I was very thankful my parents came for a visit so they could trick or treat with us and watch the girls dance in church on Sunday. We are counting down the hours until Matt gets home, we all miss him very much, it was hard having him away during a weekend of big events.
I have to share a few Halloween pictures for you followed by the recipe I promised!
Ella made a beginning of the week decision from a movie star to a cowgirl. I have to say I think the cowgirl costume was much easier!
Catherine changed her mind from a crayon, to a butterfly, but when I spotted this costume at a friend's house I was able to convince her to be a Kangaroo. Isn't it the cutest ever?! Perfect for a rainy night, I don't think she ever felt wet!
My friend Rachel's husband Joe was with Matt at a conference all weekend, so she brought over her 4 month old baby Jacob to go trick or treating with us. He makes a great Superman!
We also were joined by Batman and Tinkerbell, AKA Wyatt and Jillian. I had to include this picture because I love how Rachel is holding Jacob, at first glance it looks like he's flying!
It was a fun, but somewhat rainy night. After trick or treating around our block we went over to Renee's house to see her kids and collect some more candy, but at that point the rain really was starting to come down and the kids were losing it and we realized that no more candy was needed! I think Jillian was the star of the show, she walked as fast as her little legs could carry her and never complained and even when she was scared by someone handing out candy in a Burger King (actual King) costume, creepy mask and all, she just turned and quickly walked away. Can you imagine how my kids' reacted to that? It almost ruined the night for Catherine!Enjoy!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Why my kids are scared to go outside at night
Our next door neighbor loves to decorate for Halloween. She puts up some...hmmm, how shall I describe them....perhaps unconventional is the best word to describe her decorations. Creepy would be another and just as appropriate.
Last week I wanted Ella to go get something she had left in the car and she said "No mom, I'm scared to go outside in the dark, everyone has their Halloween stuff up." Now you all know that Ella and Catherine are easily spooked (see previous post for a great example), but in this case I totally understand where she's coming from. I'm kind of creeped out by the Halloween stuff as well.
Let's take a tour and I'll show you what I mean....
Starting off, a little ghost. Definitely not a friendly ghost, but he's giving us a thumbs up so he can't be too scary. Not too bad, right?
Moving along we come to a caped devil-like creature. Again, not as friendly as a Winnie the Poo Dracula blow up yard decoration (yes, they exist...why make Winnie into Dracula, why?), but his goofy looking eyes make that sinister grin just a bit less sinister looking. But scarier than the ghost, right?
Then we have the side window. Yeah. Imagine that lit up and staring out at you at night....shiver...scary, but not nightmare inducing.
While I'm talking about staring I'd like to present a series of photos showing what I believe are the creepiest and bizarre Halloween decorations I've ever scene.
Words fail me. The vacant stares on those mannequin heads just creep me out. Can you blame my girls for not wanting to see them staring at them at night? 
What do you think of the ghost hanging from below? Do you think it's supposed to represent the ghost of the decapitated mannequin? What would make someone think of using mannequin heads as Halloween decoration? I'm afraid to even answer that question, although assuming they were going for scary/creepy/bizarre, they definitely were successful.Saturday, October 24, 2009
A Tale of Two Dreams
My mom made a request that I update my blog, she was sick of reading about the tour.
Last night I had a dream that I was first in line at a SYTYCD tour performance and was able to save a whole row of seats for all my friends (apparently we just lined up and were given tickets that told you what order in which you could enter the arena.). But then for the first performance we all gasped because 8 out of the 10 dancers weren't there and other random (and quite funny looking people) were being used as their subs. The first big moved involved some crazy flip but the girl involved landed on her head/arm and everything stopped and I was sitting there thinking that this wasn't worth being in the front row.
When I woke up I realized my mom was right and I really needed to update my blog so could stop having dreams about So You Think Can Dance. Next one would inevitably involve me being on the show wearing one of those costumes, paralyzed with fear....because who wouldn't be if you were wearing something like that on national television?
I don't have any good reason for not blogging over the past few weeks. Just a blogging funk I guess. I wish I could somehow transfer my thoughts to the screen without actually typing them out. It's been a long month and a half. We had two major house projects going on that definitely made the atmosphere around the house feel a bit disheveled. Now granted, both were outdoor projects, but resulted in a lot of debris and material and various ladders and equipment in our yard and driveway. Somehow the craziness outside resulted in craziness inside as well! Or maybe it was just us still getting used to the fall schedule of school and more activities!
Since Monday is the day I do my meal planning and grocery shopping for the week, I'm going to try and start posting either my menu on Monday or at least a recipe I'm trying or have recently tried and was a success.
Monday is also the day I do laundry. I will not be posting anything on that topic!
To try and make up for my long absence, I'll leave you with a classic Demo family story.
Last night, in the middle of the night, we were startled out of a dead sleep by Catherine screaming at the top of her lungs. Terrified screaming. I know I heard her scream "get it off me". I definitely whispered a quick pair as we jumped out of bed and ran into her room. She was laying there crying saying "there was a lizard on me."
Matt is clearly not as versed in Catherine speak because he had to keep asking her "what???!!" over and over again. I did a quick glance on her blankets and around her bed and told her "Catherine I don't think there is a lizard." (Yes, I checked. While I didn't think there was a lizard on her I wasn't totally discrediting her story.) At this point Matt was clued in, "ohhhh, a lizard". In Catherine's defense I think she said it clearly, it's just probably the furthest thing from Matt's mind as he was listening to her.
Thankfully after we looked around her room and assured her that there was no lizard she went back to sleep, and so did we, pretty confident that she had been dreaming.
Jump to the morning when Ella and I are snuggling in bed and Catherine wakes up and comes in and joins us. Right before Catherine had come in I told Ella what had happend the night before and that Catherine must have been dreaming. Of course Ella asked her sister and Catherine said "No Ella, I wasn't dreaming. I could tell, I could see his eyes and he was moving."
Ella turned and looked at me "Ummmm, mommy, I think I'm scared of lizards"
Who wants to bet that I have another middle of the night wake up call? Same lizard*, different child?
*If you know of any lizards native to the PA region, please DO NOT let me know, I am perfectly fine assuming it was all a dream.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The TOUR!!!!
Finally, the post you've all been patiently waiting for!!!
We had a great night at the show. Our tickets were floor seats and not that bad, but it was a bit frustrating because they MADE us sit down. It was definitely hard to sit down when the dances started. We tried standing behind another row and get shooed back to our seats!
Probably the funniest part of the night happened when the lights first went down and the announcer came on with "Welcome to So You Think You Can Dance" and Renee and I turned to each other and screamed. Total fangirls! We pretty much screamed for every routine and gave a few standing ovations. The crowd screamed a ton but wasn't quick to jump to their feet.
There was the opening routine and then all the dancers were introduced - this was a cool new group routine, but it was also a confusing time when people didn't know whether to stand up or sit down (this was also the time we were getting shooed back to our seats).
Throughout the night two of the dancers would come out and "set up" the upcoming routine. The actual dances were enhanced with a cool light set up, i.e, for the Butt Dance the stage resembled a street in Paris. It was interesting to see which of them was better at delivering the rather cheesy lines - some were a bit more natural in the acting arena than others!
One of the little shticks involved Jeanine and Philip coming out in their Russian Folk dance costumes anytime someone mentioned anything along the lines of "dance from all around the world". It was cute, but cheesy, and each time they were told that Nigel did NOT want to see Russian Folk dance again for a long long time and they had to leave the stage immediately.
After many many tries they were finally able to sneak on stage and get to the end of the routine after which they were joined by all the dancers and did a cooler hip hop version of Russian Folk dance (is that even possible?)
One other little shtick involved Kupono coming out on stage in the funniest outfit ever (click here
to see what the shorts looked like) and doing an intentionally cheesy sell for the SYTYCD Get Fit DVDs. As cheesy as it was I would love to get the DVDs (if they were free or something) because how fun would it be to dance along with Katie, Travis, Lauren and others...!
In between all the routines, the individual dancers came out to perform their solos. Can you guess which dancers got the biggest applause for their solos? Of course Brandon, doing his speedo wearing one (not a dig, just figured that would be the easiest way for you all to remember). Jeanine doing the solo that probably one the whole thing for her - when she did those amazing turns with tons of control (no rose in the mouth this time.) Finally....did I mention that Philip was there :) ? Because everyone went crazy for his solo, which was completely amazing. I definitely enjoyed Philip being a part of the show and I'm glad they included him....and special guest Caitlin (yes, that's how they referred to her!).
Here is the set list...Whenever possible I tried to link to a video so you could be reminded which dance it was (some of the videos are from the show and some are from the tour. I wanted to get this published so I didn't get all of the dances linked to. It's definitely fun watching them, so I hope to finish soon!)
Brandon and Janette's disco
Philip and Jeanine's hip hop
Evan and Randi contemporary, Butt dance
Jason and Kayla broadway Mr Monotony
Brandon and Janette Argentine Tango
Melissa, Jeanine and Kayla Superheroes group dance,
Jason and Caitlin Bollywood
Kupono and Kayla Contemporary, Vampire routine
Brandon and Jeanine, hip hop, Battlefield
Melissa and Evan, Broadway, Late for the wedding
Ade and Janette, hip hop, Love Sex Magic
Calle Ocho group dance
Intermission
One group routine
Brandon and Janette, Wade Robson jazz, Ruby Blue
Jason and Kayla, Shane Sparks hip hop, zombie
Ade and Melissa, Pas de Duex, Romeo and Juliet
Brandon and Kayla, Broadway, Bye Bye Love
Willy Wonka Group Dance - Evan, Ade and Brandon
Russian Folk group routine
Kupono and Kayla, Mia Michaels contemporary, Addiction
Jason and Jeanine, Travis Wall contemporary, If It Kills Me
Ade and Melissa, Tyce contemporary, Cancer Dance
Brandon and Jeanine, Pase Doble
Final number, Brand New Day group routine
One of the things that both Renee and I noticed and agreed on was that you naturally were more drawn to watch certain dancers during the group numbers- Kayla being the girl, followed by Jeanine, who you really couldn't help watching all the time. Brandon, obviously was the guy who stood out the most. Not sure if it's because they were featured more often than the others, but they had amazing stage presence.
I know that my favorites were without a doubt Addiction and the Calle Ocho group routine. I am pretty sure Renee would agree with me (we did talk about this!) but maybe she'll add some tidbits of her own. Overall I enjoyed some of the routines more during the tour than I did watching them during the season. I think this was because it was for pure enjoyment and you didn't have to critique them or wonder what the judges were going to dislike or like about them, or if this dance was going to help them stay or not. So even though last season honestly wasn't my favorite, you wouldn't know that for how great the show was and how much Renee and I enjoyed it!
Renee is posting her amazing pictures which you definitely have to see to believe! I want to own them all! There was a hilarious one of Brandon doing a back layout during his solo and we both agreed it was not post-able. Can you imagine what the view was?
Tonight we get to see Vegas week of Season Six! I believe someone...could it be Crafty P....is recapping for the Sisterhood, so head on over and view in on your thoughts!
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Staying home
This will go down as the weekend that wasn't. I was supposed to go to Grove City for homecoming and my ten year reunion, but at the last minute (hours before I would have left) I finally decided that I wasn't going to make the trip. Believe me, I could make a long story (b/c you know I usually do) out of how I went back and forth over the course of the week but all I'll say is that while I was bummed to miss out on time with some dear friends, I felt confident that I made the right decision.
Today we did a lot of yard work, cleaning out flower beds, weeding out the creek, trimming the hedges, work on the patio that Matt is building (for lack of a better word). At one point all of us were out on the bridge in our backyard and Matt froze and told us all to go up to the house. I started to freak out because just minutes before we had seen a LARGE spider in the pile of leaves and bark that I had been gathering up and tossing in the wheelbarrow. I still shudder to think that there's a chance that spider was in my hands.
Anyway, it was just a snake. A tiny snake. We showed the girls thinking they might be scared, but instead they were pretty unimpressed. When Catherine finally was able to see it she just said "oh, that?" Matt tried to shoo it into the creek (which put a damper on the weeding I was doing in the creek bed) and the girls both started yelling at him "don't kill the snake dad" and "it's just a baby snake". Who knew they'd have any reaction other than running away screaming?
All in all it was a good day, lots of time together, getting some work done, but also having fun, like painting pumpkins and heading to a local fall festival.
I hope you all enjoyed your weekends and this gorgeous (but slightly warmer than typical) fall day. I definitely enjoyed having a weekend with my family (although I missed my GCC girls!)
Before I go, one last thing to share with you, if you have a minute or two, check out this post by John Acuff called Raising Dorks. As a mother of two girls it really resonated with me. At one point he says "And although I make about 47 dad mistakes a day, I have learned one secret about childhood: You can fast forward childhood, but you can’t rewind it." Amen to that. When you read the post I have no doubt you'll agree!
