I am Officially a Housewife

  As some of you may already know, I've been making some adjustments to my personal life. After many conversations between myself and my wonderfully supportive husband, we have decided that it's time for me to pursue some other opportunities. I have finally made the leap from working wife to housewife(/student). I enrolled a little while ago in some online courses and have been very slowly making my way through, and now I'm able to focus on that full time! And hopefully now that this shift has happened I'll also have more time to dedicate to the blog (which I've really been missing!).

  Also, now that I'm back writing again, I couldn't start up with just any old thing, so tonight for dinner we spiced things up, Moroccan style! One of my favorite places is Marrakesh, the restaurant in Portland Oregon, not the city in Morocco (although I've never been there and am sure that I would love it there too!). It wasn't somewhere that I went often, but I always enjoyed the experience whatever the occasion. If you are one of my many Portland area readers and haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should. And if you are one of my many readers from elsewhere, or just want to save some money, I suggest having a Moroccan night in your home too!

  My husband had no idea what he was in for as I was whisking around the kitchen preparing dinner with ingredients that you don't too often find in our house, but I'm sure common in most other homes they are more common. In fact one of the biggest appeals to this meal, besides the familiar smells wafting though our home, was that I only had to run to the store for 3 things! Another added bonus was that the main course hasdbeen prepared in the crockpot, so NO FUSS! 

  For those of you familiar with the Moroccan way, we ate dinner sitting on the floor and eating with our hands this evening. And we started that awesome meal off with a salad, but not any ordinary salad, a roasted eggplant salad! In Morocco they call it Zaalouk, and it turned out perfectly! (After Ryan's first bite there was a loud and resounding "MMMMMMMMMMM!")

Roasted Eggplant Salad: Zaalook/Zaalouk Recipe

4 servings

For the eggplants

1 medium eggplant
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped parsley, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut off the top and bottom of the eggplant and peel it, leaving sporadic strips of skin throughout. Cut it into 1-inch cubes. If the eggplant is old and excessively seedy, you may need to salt and drain it for at least 30 minutes before use, otherwise proceed directly. Place the eggplant cubes in a single layer in a baking dish or cookie sheet and generously brush them with olive oil. Roast them for 25 to 30 minutes (I'm at a little higher altitude and I only roasted them for about 15 minutes and they were perfect). Remove from the oven and mash the eggplants on a cutting board with a fork or potato masher.

In a medium sauté pan, cook the tomatoes with garlic and olive oil over medium heat, for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the mashed eggplants and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes, mashing them some more with a spatula to completely blend with the tomatoes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sea salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin and vinegar.

Serve warm, cold or at room temperature, garnished with chopped parsley. Serve flat bread or crusty bread (I went with a crusty artisan flat bread that I found for $2 at the store) **I served it with finely diced cucumbers and green leaf lettuce (again, that's how it is prepared at the restaurant, but you can take it or leave it). 

  It comes out looking, or at least mine did, like a big pile of mush. But, if my memory serves me correctly, that's what it looks like at the restaurant and it smelled EXACTLY the same! It can be served warm, but I prefer it the way that I've been served it in the past, which is kinda cold. The greatest part is that you can quickly make this up after you've thrown dinner in and let it chill for a while in the fridge, then just pull it out right when the crockpot goes off and VOILA! And speaking of dinner, the main course tonight was:

Lemon and Olive Chicken!

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped onion
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I actually used chicken thighs because I love the taste of them)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 cup green olives (you can always add more, I did!)
1 tbs white vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 cup swason 99% fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions:

Place onion in bottom of slow cooker. Arrange chicken breasts over onions. Place the thinly sliced lemon's on top of the chicken breasts, add olives, vinegar, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Slowly pour broth over chicken.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or on HIGH 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until chicken is tender. Add parsley before serving.

 I can't even begin to tell you how awesome your house will smell!

  About 5 minutes before the Crockpot went off I whipped up some Cous Cous (SUPER EASY TO MAKE, just follow directions on the box) and dinner was ready! I know that this might seem like a lot, trust me, I thought the same thing before attempting it, but it really is one of the easiest meals I've ever made and with the greatest reward. 

  It was definitely something different than we normally do, and I'm fortunate enough to have a husband who is equally as adventurous and doesn't just roll his eyes when I carry dinner past the dining room table and set it on the coffee table. :) 

I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy!

  It may or may not surprise you that I love musicals. One of my favorites would definitely have to be South Pacific. My earliest memory with this musical was going over to my grandparent's house and my grandfather was sitting in his chair watching it. And I remember curling up by his feet and watching it with him. And now every time I watch it, which is probably twice a month, I think of that time fondly. The other thing I think about, is how much there is no way I actually understood anything that was really going on in the movie. Even still, I notice something new every time that I watch it. Or maybe it's just that every time I watch it I am in a different place and just see it differently. Either way, this last time that I saw it, just a few days ago, I gravitated toward the song "I'm in Love With A Wonderful Guy". It happens in a part in the movie that she has all by written him off, by "washing him right out of her hair", and then of course he shows up and as soon as she sees him it is undeniable that she loves him. It's hard not to smile when watching this.

  What I love most about the song is that it's exactly how we should feel with the person that we're with. When you are with someone that makes you so happy that it overflows and you can't help but sing it from the rooftops (or in her case the beach)! You may not express it in song and dance, but I hope that you do express it in someway. As much as I love watching it in the movies, I'm personally not a big "song and dance" type of person, but I show it in other ways. From the way that I cut up the bread when I make french toast (because I know that he likes the french toast sticks) to making sure the house is clean when he gets home so that we have more time to spend together. And, of course, everyday I tell him how much I love him and how much I appreciate everything that he does for me.
  As a side note: Ryan likes to remind me that instead of using up valuable/limited DVR space to keep this on the recorded list, I could just put in the disc of it that he bought for me. But it's like hearing a song on the radio that you know you have the cd for and could listen to anytime that you want, it just sounds so much better on the radio. Or when you've watched Julie&Julia for the 17th time, because they keep showing it, but I wouldn't take the time to put in the DVD that I have. I know that it's silly, but I also know that I'm far from alone in this!

Menu Monday!

  Ryan says to me last night, "If this taste even half as good as it smells, then it's going to be the best thing you've ever made!".
  And it did.
  And it was!

  I love trying new dishes, and I love it even more when they turn out good! Dinner last night was no exception. And just like the rest of my meals, the gyros that I made for dinner were quick, easy and delicious!

For the meat:

1 lb. ground lamb (which I thought would be hard to find, but it was right next to ground beef in the deli!)
4 cloves of garlic, grated
1/4 c. grated red onion
1 tsp. dijon mustard
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. chopped rosemary (dried or fresh)

*mix it all together (I like using my hands!) and then throw it straight into a hot pan to brown up. The instructions said to make patties out of it, but I decided not to!

For the Tzatziki sauce:
1 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, grated
1 tsp. lemon juice
3 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. dried dill weed
1/2 med. cucumber, peeled and grated (when it's grated, the flavor seems to infuse into the sauce a lot better)
salt and pepper to taste

*combine and chill for at least an hour before using.

  And that's basically it! Grab a pita, pop in the meat, top with the sauce and some thinly sliced red onions, tomatoes and feta, and you've got yourself dinner! I honestly thought that it would more complicated, or that I would spend a bunch of money on all the ingredients. But once I figured it all out, the only things that I didn't already have at the house were the lamb (which was only about $5), the dill weed and the rosemary (which I now have and can use it so many other things).

Now, I know you're thinking to yourself, "But Ashley, what about dessert?" Don't you worry, I got that covered to.

  Dessert was a quick and easy (duh!) chocolate mousse pie! I whipped up a packet of chocolate pudding, mixed in a little cool whip, tossed it in a pre-made graham cracker crust and topped with a thin layer of more cool whip, and PRESTO!
 
Add it all together, and what have you got?

One very happy husband!

A Quick Update

  I know that I've slacked the last few days on updating, but I want to let you know that I've got some great stuff in the works. I'm in the process of working out a new system for the blog. The biggest change is going to be that I will start posting every other day (Monday, Wednesday and Friday). I'm also going to try and have a little more structure to the entries (not too much, so don't worry).
  So don't you fret dear readers! Give me just a few more days and starting next Monday things will start fresh! Thanks so much to all of my readers, and I promise that things will get back on track!

What's for Dinner?

  One of my favorite salads is the Asian Coleslaw (aka Ramen Noodle Salad). So for dinner tonight I'll be making up a big side of that to pair nicely with some Asian style meatballs. If you can't tell we're doing an Asian theme for dinner tonight. :P
  This is one of the quickest, easiest and most delicious meals that I make. Let's start with the salad!

Asian Coleslaw

Ingredients:

1 bag coleslaw mix and 1 bag broccoli slaw
green onions finely chopped (approx 1/4 cup or less)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 pack ramen noodles (I use the Oriental flavor) broken into small pieces (I also throw them in a pan and toast them slightly, just keep an eye on them cause they don't take long at all)

Dressing: (I just mix this all up in a big measuring cup)
3/4 cup oil
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
flavor pack from the ramen noodle package

Now for the super hard instructions: Mix, Pour, Toss and Chill!

And if you thought that was difficult, now it's time for the meatballs.

Asian Meatballs 

Ingredients:

As many meatballs as you would like out of a bag of frozen meatballs (we use turkey meatballs)

3/4 cup Yoshida's marinade

1 clove of garlic, grated

Instructions:

Put ingredients in freezer size zip lock bag and throw in the fridge. (I get it all in the bag in the morning and they are thawed and fully marinated by dinner time.

Use tongs to remove the meatballs (toss the rest of the marinade) and heat them in a frying pan. (approx. 5 minutes)

That's it! And now you know all of my secrets for a quick, easy and delicious meal! People always assume that it has to require more than that, but it doesn't. 

Happy cooking!

Lost Crate Update!

  I got home yesterday to my box from Lost Crate! As excited as I was to open it I had a few errands to run first. If you recall, I just recently bought a new car and my husband and I had decided to sell the old one. So yesterday we got the rest of the money and handed over the title. Then we had to run straight to the bank to deposit the money, and of course run over to Sonic to celebrate with milkshakes!

  Finally back at the house I had a chance to open my gift. The first thing I noticed about it was that it is definitely not a crate. In fact, a pretty small box. But I was excited none the less. I cut the tape and opened the box, and the first thing that I said was, "Oh my gosh, my mom would love these!". Inside were 3 little "sweater pumpkins". I am not exactly sure what I was expecting to be in the box, but it was definitely not that. But the more I looked at them, the more I liked them. So it looks like my mom is going to have to wait until I buy her some other ones, because these now have a new home on my mantel.
  Due to the funds involved, I probably won't renew my subscription to Lost Crates. Instead I might occasionally just purchase one, or try and find a little cheaper subscription box to sign up for. I still just love the surprise of not knowing what's going to be inside!

My New Love For Yoga!!

Not my idea of relaxing!

  As a super busy woman, I am always looking for ways to relax and unwind throughout the day. My "go to" has always been a long soak in a hot bath,which I still love, but it's not always convenient. I've thought about trying yoga before, but I've always heard that it's surprisingly hard, so I've opted for other solutions. But now that our house guests have left and the house has been cleaned it, I needed to try something extra special to relax.

  I remembered that On Demand they have little workout things, some of which were yoga and Pilates. I wasn't really looking to "workout", just relax. So after quickly ruling out Pilates I started searching through the yoga lessons. I was looking for a very specific type of yoga. It might sound lazy (isn't that the point of relaxing) but I wanted one that was the easiest and most soothing. Mostly looking for one that just focused on stretching and breathing. There was about 6 yoga videos to choose from and I went through a few minutes of each one before finally getting to the last one that was actual a prenatal yoga lesson. (Don't get any crazy ideas!) It did make the most sense though, because pregnant woman aren't suppose to do strenuous workouts, so all it focused on was stretching and breathing. It was perfect!!

  After the 15 minute session I felt more relaxed than I ever have even after hours and hours in the bathtub! It was absolutely amazing. Yoga helped me discover places that I didn't even realize I was holding stress. It does take a little getting use to clearing your mind, but I could tell that even towards the end of the first session it was getting easier. I can't wait to do it again tomorrow! And what's great about it is that it's something that can easily be done anywhere and anytime. I'm even thinking of taking 10 minutes during my lunch break and just clearing my head, breathing and relaxing!

  What are some of the techniques you use to relax?