13 May 2012

Mothers Day Blessings

I had a great Mothers Day weekend. It kicked off Friday night when I met up with some girlfriends for dinner and drinks. We shared a lot of laughs and it set the tone for the rest of the weekend. Saturday morning I got up early to meet my running buddies for an "easy" 4 mile run on the Monon Trail. The weather was perfect and the run was so easy I didn't really break a sweat which I was hoping for since I had just gotten my hair freshly done the day before. Then I hurried home to get ready for a date with my husband. We planned to go out to lunch and then to a movie. Thankfully two of our friends (a couple) agreed to babysit Carter while we were out. We went to eat at a restaurant near downtown Carmel named Divvy. It is a new small plates restaurant with minimalist decor but still with a cool vibe. The food was yummy and we complimented it with a bottle of Pinot Grigio. After lunch, we headed to catch a 3 p.m. showing of "Avengers." I was already dozing when the (20 minutes of) previews ended and I was definitely sleep within the first 10 minutes of the movie. Jimmy already knew it was coming so he graciously offered his shoulder; although he did give me a couple of nudges to try to wake me up (emphasis on the "try"). While I was awake for some parts, none of those times were during the good parts. I couldn't even begin to tell you what happened in the story. Message: do not drink a bottle of wine and gorge yourself with food just before going to sit in a dark theater with comfy chairs for 3 hours if you actually want to watch the movie. Anyhow, after putting Carter to bed, Jimmy cooked dinner for us: steamed lobster tail with melted butter, fried potatoes (his specialty), and a green salad. It was yummy and hit the spot. We watched a recorded episode of our favorite tv show "Revenge," and then called it a night.

Today, we woke up early for church where the pastor finished up a series on marriage entitled "Marriage Unscripted." The overarching message was that a husband and wife should be friends and always nurture their friendship together over things like physical attraction, romance, etc. because it is the friendship that will help the marriage endure. I thought that was fitting because Jimmy and I had such a great time yesterday, mostly at lunch (when I was awake), talking and laughing with each other. We don't always have the opportunity to do that with our busy schedules so the time together meant that much more. We also took the opportunity to spend more quality time together this afternoon during Carter's nap and before Jimmy had to jet off to Kentucky for work. I finished off my Mothers Day evening with the one who made this day possible for me-my little man Carter. After Jimmy left, we headed to the park, ate dinner, and then took a walk around the neighborhood with our dog Sarge. All in all, I would have to say that my 2nd Mothers Day was a complete success.  

10 May 2012

Delicious White Bean Turkey Chili

Today I was planning on making Giada de Laurentiis' White Bean Chicken Chili for dinner but when I got to Whole Foods they only had ground turkey so I had to substitute. Her recipe also calls for swiss chard but I decided to use kale instead. I also left out the onions because Jimmy is allergic. Here is my adapted recipe:

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 teaspoons minced garlic
1 lb ground turkey thigh
1 bunch kale, stem removed and torn into small pieces
2 ears of corn, kernels cut off and reserved in a bowl
2 cans great northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
3/4 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons flour
grated parmesan cheese

In a large and deep pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the ground turkey, salt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, and black pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until turkey is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in flour until combined. Add the beans, kale, corn, and chicken stock. Stir ingredients well to combine and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Ladle the chili into serving bowls and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.






Old Habits Never Change

So we all know that Mothers' Day comes every year around the second week of May. And even though I have had mothers (mom and stepmom) for all of my life and I am now a mother myself, the very well-deserved occasion always seems to sneak up on me. The only option I'm usually left with is sending flowers through an online carrier that does next day delivery. Now I know what you're thinking ("aren't your mothers reading this")...probably, but if they don't know I'm a procrastinator by now, then they will never never know me (I stole that from Teddy Pendergrass...sort of). But I digress (shout out Fred). This year I decided I was not going to send flowers because the last time I sent flowers through an online vendor they turned out to look nothing like the vibrant picture on the website. Sigh. While I made this decision several weeks before Mothers' Day, I still found myself spending a couple of hours in front of my computer today searching for appropriate gifts. Darn it...it snuck up on me again. After searching several websites and soliciting opinions from others, I finally made my decision. Unfortunately I can't tell you what I purchased because I don't want my moms to find out before they receive the gifts. All I have to say is thank goodness I have an Amazon Prime Membership that includes free 2-day shipping. I just made the cutoff to have the gifts arrive before Mothers' Day. Another Mothers' Day disaster averted. Whew! Until next year...

Happy Mothers' Day to all (who qualify)!