Summer Plans

It has been way too long since I have posted anything but I have many good excuses.  Really, I do!  I went through a pretty tough bout of mono... actually still going through it but life goes on.  My husband came down with it before I did but was diagnosed with strep throat (no throat culture was done).  When I came down with it we rushed to urgent care because it was a Sunday morning.  I tested negative for strep but because my husband "had it" the doctor said the test he did was wrong 20% of the time and it looked like strep to him.  He wrote me a prescription for some strong antibiotics and sent me home.  (I say wrote me a prescription and sent me home like he did it in a timely manner... ha!)  My husband at this point was pretty much back to himself after only having it for a week, but for some reason mine wasn't going away.  I finally made an appointment with my doctor after about 2 weeks of pain.  She asked me a few questions then told me she thought I had mono so she sent me into the lab for a blood test for mono to which I tested positive.  At this point I was a little stressed out because of all we had going on (which I will dive into later), and I was worried because we had a 10 month old baby girl.  After much googling, I found that the younger you are the less mono affects you.  Some children can have it with no symptoms while others will seem a little tired with maybe a runny nose.  With that information I decided that our Little Miss most likely had it first and gave it to us because about a week before my husband came down with it  she had been a bit cranky and sleeping for a good 12-13 hours at night.  She also had a runny nose.  So there we have it.  I still have no idea why my husband was able to get through the mono so fast and I still am dealing with it.

Not long before this whole mono thing happened, my husband was accepted into graduate school to obtain his PhD in psychology!  He was accepted very early in the process, before most students even get interviewed.  It is very nice knowing that he is already so valued by the professor he will be working under.  He has worked so hard to be qualified to work with this man in his field of study.  With this acceptance comes a HUGE move for us.  Although I'm not comfortable making our location known on here, I'm talking we can't take very much with us.  We have already had three garage sales, sold things off craigslist, and given stuff to family.  We still are trying figure out what else we can leave behind.

We are currently in Arkansas where my husband has joined a team doing sales for this summer, hoping to make up for the lack of income we will be experiencing very soon when we move.  I am fine giving up this location because it is so short term.  By this weekend we should be heading to Louisiana for the team to finish up the summer!  We will be leaving early in July so we can tie up loose ends before the big move.  But right now I am living it up, exploring this part of the country I have never been, and making good memories with these cuties!

My baby girl turned one out here in Arkansas!  I was in a frenzy before we left to get her birthday party planned and done before we came out here.  It was a big success and I will be posting about it soon!

A Healthy Snack -- Strawberry and Feta

Doesn't that look delicious?  This is a really easy and quick snack that is healthy and satisfying.  Just cut up a few strawberries and crumble some feta cheese on top!  It amazes me how something so simple can be so delicious.  The strawberries and feta provide a salty/sweet combo that I LOVE.

If you are trying to control your portions, here is the "recipe":

• 3-8 strawberries, depending on the size (about a 1/2 cup)
• 1 square inch chunk feta

Do you want to know the best part?  That's ONLY about 70 calories!  Plus a lots of vitamin C and some protein.  

Spicy Strawberry Boneless Wings

I hope everyone had fun watching the big game this weekend!  My family got together and we had a TON of food that probably could have fed the neighbors.  All of it was good but I must say that my boneless "wings" were a hit.  

Disclaimer #1:  This recipe is an adaptation of two recipes that I combined and added my own flare to from allrecipes.com.  

Disclaimer #2:  I usually try to cook healthy, nutritious meals... but we all deserve a little indulgence every once in a while right? 

The chicken:

• 1 bag frozen chicken tenderloins (thawed, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces) -- this is a PARTY sized recipe

For the sauce:

• 3/4 cup strawberry jam (no chunks)
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 2-3 pinches red pepper flakes (could certainly be left out if you don't want them to be spicy)

Put all of the above in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  Keep it for a rolling boil for a minute or two until it becomes the consistency of a thin syrup.  You can set this aside while you cook the chicken or make it ahead of time and reheat it prior to coating the chicken.

For the batter:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne (optional)
• 3/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk

Combine all the dry ingredients in a shallow dish.  In a separate dish, whisk the egg then stir in the milk. 

Fill a large frying pan with vegetable or canola oil about one inch deep.  Prepare a baking sheet lined with a couple layers of paper towel.  Once the oil is hot, dredge the chicken in the egg mixture then the flour mixture two times.  You want the breading to be nice and thick.  CAREFULLY place the chicken in the hot oil, flipping after about 3 minutes.  Once all sides are golden brown, transfer the the lined baking  sheet.  Because there is so much chicken you will have to fry it in batches.  A deep fryer would work excellently too.  

In batches again, fill a gallon sized plastic-zip bag with the chicken and pour in some sauce and gently shake it up until all pieces are coated.  Enjoy!