Is there such a thing as too much strawberry?

Happy Tuesday loves...it is cold, really cold. Too cold for the third day in May. I had to turn my heater on...why is this happening Mother Nature?. I am not a fan. So, I almost didn't write anything today...I just couldn't think of anything blog worthy.

It's not that I don't have ideas, I just didn't feel like writing. Weird. I know. Then I got to thinking, if the Pioneer Woman didn't feel like writing one day, she may have never become The Pioneer Woman, a cookbook would have never been published, A love story would have never been told, the mischievous happenings of a certain basset hound would never make people laugh, a cooking show would have never been started, so you see....I have to blog. You just never know what could happen.

( I realize I am no Pioneer Woman, but a girl can dream, right?)

I subscribe to the magazine Cooking Light and I get emails with new recipes, one of the emails was all about Strawberry recipes. OMG...Strawberry is like my 2nd favorite fruit. Pineapple (fresh) is my number one, then Strawberry and then Kiwi...followed by all other fruits. I am so sure you  so wanted to know the order of my favorite fruits. Anyway, these recipes look amazing, I haven't had the chance to try them out, but I can't wait until I do.  I am thinking about having a strawberry dinner party...you know, strawberry salad, an entree with strawberries, a strawberry dessert, too much strawberry?? I think not : )

Don't these look sooo good!



Strawberry Shortcake

Serves 6

• 3 1/2 cups halved strawberries, divided
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chilled stick margarine or butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
• Whole strawberries (optional) 

Combine 1 cup strawberry halves, 1/3 cup sugar, orange juice, vanilla, and lemon juice in a bowl, and mash with a potato masher. Stir in 2 1/2 cups strawberry halves. Cover and chill.

• Preheat oven to 425°.
• Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, 3 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; cut in margarine with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, stirring just until moist (dough will be sticky).
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead lightly 4 times with floured hands. Pat dough into a 6 x 4-inch rectangle. Cut dough into 6 squares. Place 1 inch apart on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• Split shortcakes in half horizontally using a serrated knife; place each bottom half on a dessert plate. Spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each bottom half. Top with shortcake tops; spoon 1/4 cup strawberry mixture over each top. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon whipped topping; garnish with whole strawberries, if desired.

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 270
• Calories from fat: 24%
• Fat: 7.2g
• Saturated fat: 1.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 2.7g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.1g
• Protein: 4.3g
• Carbohydrate: 47.3g
• Fiber: 3g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 1.7mg
• Sodium: 183mg
• Calcium: 93mg

Chicken and Strawberry Salad

• YIELD: 4 servings
• PREP TIME:20 MINUTES
• COURSE: Salads

Ingredients

• Dressing:
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Salad:
• 4 cups torn romaine lettuce
• 4 cups arugula
• 2 cups quartered strawberries
• 1/3 cup vertically sliced red onion
• 12 ounces skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted cashews, halved
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

Preparation

1. To prepare dressing, combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually drizzle in oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.

2. To prepare salad, combine romaine and next 4 ingredients (through chicken) in a bowl; toss gently. Place about 2 cups chicken mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cashews and 2 tablespoons cheese. Drizzle about 4 teaspoons dressing over each serving.

 

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 333
• Fat: 16.4g
• Saturated fat: 4.9g
• Monounsaturated fat: 8.3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.1g
• Protein: 32g
• Carbohydrate: 14.8g
• Fiber: 3.5g
• Cholesterol: 83mg
• Iron: 2.5mg
• Sodium: 347mg
• Calcium: 156mg

Strawberry-Avocado Salsa on Pork Tenderloin

 

• YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1/4 cup)
• COURSE: Sauces/Condiments

Ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped strawberries
• 1/4 cup finely chopped peeled avocado
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preparation

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; toss gently. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

• Amount per serving
• Calories: 34
• Fat: 1.6g
• Saturated fat: 0.2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 0.9g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.3g
• Protein: 0.6g
• Carbohydrate: 5.4g
• Fiber: 1.5g
• Cholesterol: 0.0mg
• Iron: 0.3mg
• Sodium: 2mg
• Calcium: 11mg

Ok, well I have to go now...because these recipes are making me hungry...good thing it's almost lunch time.

 

Peace out loves!

 

Party in the USA

Good Morning...and what a GREAT morning it is. I wake up this morning so proud to be an American. As you all know Osama Bin Laden is dead. I don't want to go all political and what not and talk to much about this subject. I just want to say how thankful I am for our soldiers who risk their lives for each one of us every single day. I pray for there safety and a safe return home...hopefully it will be sooner than later. I hope this event gives some closure to those who lost their loved ones on 9/11 and one last thing...I love this quote

The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done." George W. Bush

So, change of topic to a more lighter note...what I did this weekend. I partied like I was 21 again...and let me tell you, I ain't no spring chicken anymore! That is fo sho. Saturday night my mom, baby brother, baby brother's girlfriend and her mom and I all went to stillwater for Calf Fry. Calf Fry is basically a 3 day outdoor concert for Red Dirt Music and yes...they serve Calf Fry's. I, do not eat them. GROSS!!

This year was baby brother's first time to go and my like 100th or something like that. Needless to say fun was had by all. We did a little shopping during the day, where baby brother made out like a bandit. Which he does quite often...mom and I love to buy him clothes...he is one lucky guy.

I bought some awesome new running shorts to show off when I run this summer in San Francisco. Gotta show some love to the Alma Mater.

All in All it was a great weekend spent wit the people I love the most : )

Baby Brother, Mom and Me

Baby Brother and I

Hope everyone has a great day!!

P.S. here are some funny FB status from friends regarding the news of Osama

"Now we can get to the real business and get back to finding Carmen San Diego."

"William and Kate, pay attention...because this is what we call real news"

"I don't just want to buy the soldiers that got Bin Laden a beer, I want to buy them a brewery."

They say it's your birthday

Good Morning loves!

So, who got up early to watch the Royal Wedding? Not I...I did DVR it and watched a little bit of it this morning, I had to see the dress. I will blog more on this later, but today I am going to celebrate my Bestie's Birthday. Her birthday is actually Saturday, but I won't be around a computer and I know she won't read it on Saturday, so today it is.

Can I just say that I have been blessed in my life with a wonderful family and some pretty amazing friends. I know I have blogged about all of them before, but I just feel so lucky to have more than one best friend. Said best friend in particular, is known on this little blog as Bestie. Just a little background of S and L. We met in college at OSU, where I met those other bff's as well, we were both rushing the same sorority and we were being forced to partake in some sort of ridiculous game that you have to play to "get to know one another", you know those games. Neither one of us was wanting to participate, in fact we kinda of separate ourselves away from the crowd.  Needless to say, we were already like two peas in a pod.

Fast forward 7 years later...we still are pretty much two peas in a pod. Wow, I can't believe we have been friends for 7 years. It truly seems like we have known each other our whole lives and at the same time seems like we just met yesterday. I love this girl with my whole heart. When I think about all the people who do not truly have a best friend, my heart breaks for them. I mean who did they have to drive them to their 8:00am class when it was snowing outside or pouring down rain, who drove with you with the windows down, music blaring as you both sing at the top of your lungs to "Wild Wild West" or "Delta Dawn", who took you out for your 21st birthday-a very memorable 21st birthday for that matter, who was there for not only the good times in your life but the really hard times when most people just leave.

Bestie and I have had our share of some quite memorable experiences, I can't go into too much detail, for fear that my mom reads this blog. Hey momma! Actually, who am I kidding, my mom knows how we are and how we love our Margarita nights.

In all seriousness y'all this girl is my sister, we may not be blood related but we are sisters in every sense of the word. Without this girl, my life would be quite boring to say the least.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY BESTIE

(I won't say how old you are, but let's just say next year when you are celebrating the big 30...we are hitting up Vegas)

Love you so much girl...here's to 50 more years of friendship and celebrations!!

Hope everyone has a blessed Friday!

The one where my dogs get fed biscuits and gravy

I decided it's time to get back to Nutrition Thursday...except today is all about Doggie nutrition...kinda. See, I have mentioned before that my little doggies may be slightly over weight. If I outright say that one dog in particular, Bentley Sue,  is overweight, then her lawyer also known as Miss Football gets mad at me. It's really not their fault, nor mine. Maybe mine a little bit. I buy them the "Healthy" dog food. I don't give them treats that often, unless you count little bites of what ever I am eating. I know I am a bad mother. The real culprits of this doggie overweight debacle are my neighbors. Sammy and Ruthie. They are the sweetest most kindest elderly couple that live next door.  Anytime I am gone the dogs are outside in the backyard, I don't have a privacy fence, just a little fence that you can pet them through and they will sit their with their lawn chairs and pet the dogs. It really is quite adorable.

Well, one day I came home for lunch and I called for them to come into the house-they didn't come. First thought, was "Someone has stolen my dogs!" If you know me, you know that this is ONE of my biggest worries about my dogs. Call me crazy and paranoid, but for some reason my first thought always goes to someone stealing my dogs. Dog thieving happens people, it really does.

Now then, back to Sammy and Ruthie...see, the dogs weren't coming to me because they were being fed, not just your normal dog food...wait for it...roast, potatoes, gravy and biscuits. Yep...while I was eating freakin Tuna for lunch my dogs were getting the royal treatment over here. I have thought several times about just sitting outside by the fence to wait for Ruthie to feed me. Now, I thought..."Aww, this is so cute, she loves my dogs." Until one day, I looked out the window and they were getting breakfast fed to them. Biscuits and gravy...not just regular gravy, sausage gravy.

Are you starting to sense a pattern here?

I sure as heck don't even make myself biscuits and gravy, let alone for my doggies. I love them, but no.

The dogs started putting on a few lbs...I started cutting back their dog food, taking them for walks, nothing was changing. So, I had to have a little come to Jesus meeting with my neighbor. Sweet lil old Ruthie. I said, "Ruthie, I think we need to stop feeding the dogs so much food, they are starting to put on a few pounds and it's not healthy." As I am saying this, she is literally feeding them bread. She responds, "Well, this is low-fat bread." I couldn't help but laugh. Then she said the kicker, the melt-your-heart kicker.

"I used to have a dog, but I can't have one anymore, and when I come out here to sit with yours, they call my name.They say Ruffie, Ruffie."

After that I knew it was a lost cause. I could not tell her not to feed them anymore, it would break her heart. So, I thought of something else. I will ask her if she wants to walk the dogs with me. That worked for oh about once around the block. When we finished walking the dogs and I was hanging around talking to her husband, she came out of the house and fed the dogs a whole sleeve of crackers.

We haven't asked Ruthie to walk with us anymore. I realized I was fighting a losing battle.

I said of all of this because yesterday I was just surfing the net, and I came a cross an article on Yahoo. "Is your pooch too pudgy?" It's like the heavens opened and it was calling my name...why, yes, Yahoo...my pooch is too pudgy. Both pooches in fact. Whatever will I do?

Dogs who are overweight, just like humans, will have a higher risk of arthritis, diabetes, kidney disease, etc. This chicka can't afford an overly priced vet bill just because the doggies are eating to many biscuits and gravy. I just might have to bill Ruthie and Sammy on that one.

The article then goes on to list the "Do's and Don'ts" of getting your dog to lose weight. Basically normal stuff you would do to lose weight yourself. Eat less/Exercise more. I just wish it told me what to do about sweet little neighbors who feed your animals. Build a bigger fence? Leave them inside? No and No. Plus, I just can't take them away from my neighbor's, they love them.

So...if you need me I will be trying to figure out a way to get my dogs skinny and to keep Ruthie from giving them food.

Wish me luck.

All things I am loving

Hey y'all...Happy Wednesday! Want to know what I am loving today...oh, sure you do!

I am loving this movie and yes I realize I am probably one of the last bloggers to blog about this, but I am getting more and more excited because May 6th is next Friday and this movie comes out...I can't wait to watch it.

Also loving this movie that is coming out...it has the lady in it from Gilmore Girls and now from Mike and Molly...loved her then and love her now.  I can't wait to watch both of these movies.

And because I apparently am on a YouTube kick today, I am loving Carrie Underwood's performance from the CBS show "Girls night out"...I knew that girl could sing, but dang...this song is always so great, but when she sang it, lets just say I got a little teary eyed. Great job Mrs. Fisher...way to do us fellow Blonde Okies proud

Might as well keep up with the them of YouTube videos going and tell you that I am in LOVE with this new song by Miranda Lambert's new little band, Pistol Annies. LOVE it...they sound amazing and can't wait until I can purchase it on itunes. It's not there yet, I have already checked...like freguently : )

I am loving that I get to relive a little bit of my college life this weekend. I am going to the annual Calf Fry in Stillwater this weekend. See, baby brother just turned 18 and can go...he is so excited. I am going with a different crowd this year, aka...my mom and baby brother, but I am oh so excited to go with them. Just wish my girls could be there too.

What are y'all loving today...go visit Jamie and link up.

Hope everyone has a great day : )

I'm not your princess...this ain't a fairy tale

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday! For the first time in what seems like days, its is sunny and not rainy. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, but I was starting to think I was going to need a boat to get home from work yesterday. Speaking of boats...I AM SO READY FOR SUMMER!!!

So, who else is tired of hearing about the Royal Wedding? Anyone? I mean, I love a wedding just as much as any gal, but seriously...this is getting old. It's all over the news, I think the news anchors actually forgot that there is real life stuff happening in the world, not just this wedding. For the first time ever....and this will be the only time I ever say this...but I am very glad I am not getting married, right now. At least not during the weekend of the Royal Wedding. Talk about someone stealing your thunder. Obviously, the same guests who are going to the Royal wedding wouldn't be coming to my wedding, but still...If I was having a wedding this weekend, I would still feel overlooked.

Also, I could care less what kind of freakin hat the Queen is going to wear. I don't care. She can go in a mad hatters hat with a bird sitting on the top, it won't matter to me. I also don't care about every other single little detail the news is dissecting about this wedding...Good Grief people! I think other stuff may be important. No? Do I sound bitter? Maybe, what little girl doesn't dream of becoming a princess.  I blame this make-believe, never ever going to happen dream on Disney. I was slightly obsessed with all the princess movies as a child, maybe I still am. Favorite movie's are Cinderella and Pretty Woman. One- my father didn't get run over by a stage coach of horses, and I don't have an evil step-mother and step-sisters...so that scenario of me becoming a princess won't pan out and Two- I am not a prostitute waiting on Richard Gere to drive up in his Lotus and rescue me and then there was always the hope of marrying Prince William and now that is obviously not going to happen. Damn my luck.

With all this being said, am I going to watch the wedding? You may have guessed no. However, I set my DVR up to record it. I know, I know, I am crazy...because I did just do a whole tangent about the wedding being all anyone talks about. I just don't want to be the only person in the world that didn't watch it...and maybe...just maybe, I kinda want to know what hat the Queen will wear, and watch a normal,everyday girl walk down the aisle and marry a real-life prince...that kind of stuff only happens in the movie's you know.

So, Disney....if your listening...where the hell is my Prince Charming...I would even settle for a Richard Gere...since I'm asking, how about Matthew McConaughey?

 

When it rains...I don't mind being lonely...

Hello loves! I'm baaack....did you miss me? I missed you. However, I did have a great time at my Nana and Papa's. Thank you for all your prayers for a successful surgery and a speedy recovery. Papa is doing great, and his surgeon said that on a scale of one to ten...Papa did about a 9.5! Yay!!

Oh, Happy belated Easter too. Hope everyone had a great Easter. If you live in N.E. Oklahoma, or any part of Oklahoma for that matter, there probably wasn't much Easter egg hunting going on, as we were in an all day thunderstorm. I kinda liked it though, because we so badly needed the rain. Plus,I kinda like lazy Sundays, listening to it rain outside, you can take some pretty good naps in that kind of weather, which I did....that is after I got home and changed into some dry warm clothes. See...this blonde okie accidentally may have locked her keys in her car. Which was outside. In the middle of a thunderstorm. Pouring down rain. Yep...that would be me.

I am blessed to have some great men in my life in the form of my baby brother, my dad and Pepaw(not to be confused with Papa. Papa lives in Southern Oklahoma and is recovering from heart surgery) Just had to make that clear. Don't want the doctor coming to get me for keeping my Papa outside in the cold pouring rain...probably wouldn't be good for his recovery. Anyway, back to the ordeal. It looked like the three stooges and a little lady. That should be a movie. Kinda like "Three men and a little lady" Except, this would be one old man with hearing aids and huge glasses(which are super cute btw), a middle aged man who is getting more and more gray by the hour and a teenage boy...who of course knows it all and then me, the only genius one of the bunch. That's right, I did say genius. It really is true, people underestimate my genius capabilities. While they are walking back and forth to the storage shed trying to get a longer part of a fishing pole, debating on if they duck tape a welding rod to the bottom of the pole for extra weight, they are ignoring my request to just take the hanger and try and pull the lever instead of trying to hit the unlock button(which was clearly not working) Finally the old man with hearing aids and big glasses(Pepaw)listened to me and what happened. My car became unlocked.

Yep...I tried to tell them from the beginning, but no they wouldn't listen to my genius ways.

Of course, if I really was a genius...I probably wouldn't have locked my keys in my car in the first place. : )

I love those men for standing out in the pouring rain trying to help me.

Hope everyone has a great Monday and an even better week.

P.S. Please say a little prayer for my mom today. Thank you : )