three hundred and twenty-nine

That was the longest "tomorrow" ever. I had intended to share my recipe for green beans last Wednesday, followed by my Thanksgiving pictures and this week's menu plan* on Friday, but the holidays got in my way. I managed to overwork my side effect addled self to the point that I almost ended up being hospitalized for IV fluids.

As a last "please don't make me pay the ER copay" resort, after three days of tons of vomiting and little to no eating and drinking, I buckled down and followed some weird Oregon Trail-esque rehydration treatment (no, I am not kidding) that involved teaspoonfuls of room temperature water every 15 minutes. I kept 72+ ounces down last night, and I'm halfway through my third-24 ounce tumbler of water today as I speak, so I think it's safe to say I have dodged yet another medical bullet.

So, without further ado, here's a recipe I never want to see again. I'm not sure if I can recommend anyone make it, as it only ever seems to cause frustration for me whenever I try to share the recipe. If you're one of those daredevils who likes living on the edge, click through for the recipe. Caveat coquus!

*Speaking of menu plans... I have a big old cache of them built up. Do any of you want to see what I ate a few weeks ago? I'm thinking not, because there's only so many menus one can read without going mad.

two hundred and sixty-three

Remember last Friday when I said I'd share my recipe for fried chicken with you this week?  Weeeell, I ended up feeling really terrible this weekend, so Mr N and I opted to get fried chicken from the KFC ripoff down the street.  Despite the sides being prepackaged and terrible, the chicken was hot and crispy.  It hit the spot, even though it wasn't as good as mine.  Unfortunately, the okay-ish chicken left me with the problem of not knowing which recipe to share with you today!  I looked at my menu plan and didn't see anything I hadn't shared before: black bean soup; penne with sausage, peppers, and onions; ginger chicken and green beans; homemade "Sierra Turkey" sandwi----wait a second!

P.S.  In case you can't tell, I've been playing with my recipe formatting in order to make my Dreams Unreal recipes as well laid out as my Home Ec 101 recipes.  So....  How do you like it?  Is it easier to understand?  Click through, check it out, and let me know!

two hundred and twenty-six

Today I met with one of my pain management center's nurse practitioners, and she was absolutely lovely.  After chatting for a few minutes, she abruptly stated that I needed to stop being so obsessive and paranoid about doing something wrong and/or being seen as a druggo.  She said it jokingly after I mentioned that I felt like my patches weren't lasting a full seven days (but that I was probably just imagining it [turns out, a lot of people say the same thing!]), but the more I think about the nurse's words, the more I realize that her advice rings true in all aspects of my life.

As you probably know, I'm a terrible combination of perfectionist and ADHD.  I literally cannot make myself slow down enough to think before I act, which means that I end up I spending a lot of time thinking about what I should have done, or should have said, or (more often) shouldn't have said.  Have you ever experienced presque vu?  It's when you just know the word you want to use, but you can't seem to think of the right one.  Most people just shrug it off, but with the way my brain works, I'll suddenly blurt out the forgotten word days or even weeks later.  I think about it in my spare time without realizing it, only because I can't just accept that a word could be so easily forgotten.  Crazy, right?  And that's just how much I think about something as inconsequential as a single word!

As frustrating as my obsession may be, I feel that it is the driving force behind my love of homemaking.  Some people groan and grumble at the thought of cooking dinner or scrubbing the baseboards, but my perfectionism makes it an enjoyable challenge--most of the time.  After a long day, my Type A self retires to its mental chambers, leaving the inexperienced Type B Michele to tentatively poke her figurative head out of her possibly less figurative shell.  Type B Michele demands video games, drawing in the dust instead of wiping it, asking the cats to wash the dishes, and (perhaps most importantly) easy dinners--much like the one I'm going to share with you now.

Enjoy!  Or don't.  I don't really care.  (Don't worry, I'll be back to my normal obsessive self tomorrow.)

two hundred and twenty

Menu planning is your best friend, especially when you have a chronic illness or disability.  It makes grocery shopping a far less painful and much more efficient event (hugely important for those of us who are prone to limping when we walk too long), and it turns daily meal preparation from a stressful hassle into a quick and easy routine--most of the time.  Those of you who have never been sick or stressed or busy (email me! I want your secrets!) may not realize it, but there are times when life gets in the way and your menu plan flies out the window. 

Since those days have happened to me more often than not in the last couple of months, I have written a lot of flexibility into my menu plans recently.  Unfortunately, I can't tell the future (yet) so despite the flexibility in my menu, there are still days that I find myself scrambling to figure out dinner.  Fortunately for you, dear readers, those scrambley days often lead to creativity out of necessity which, more often than not, leads to development of a new recipe.  Case in point: tonight's dinner.

Last night I planned to roast a chicken, potatoes, and broccoli on a sheet pan.  I ended up spending the majority of my afternoon and early evening working on a Home Ec 101 post while trying to will myself to have an appetite.  I ended up kind of forgetting to cook the chicken and made a roasted broccoli and baked chicken (breast) pasta instead. 

Problem solved, hands wiped, but a problem remained: I needed the leftover meat from the whole roasted chicken for tonight's dinner of Asian style chicken salad.  I had no intention of heating up the whole house to roast the chicken Julia's way, so I decided to cut it up, marinade it to make it Asian-ish (my political correctness is totally showing), and share the recipe with you.

one hundred and ninety-three

Being that I'm very much a creature of habit, my most commonly prepared foods are simply variations on a theme.  That's not to say I don't like to experiment with new recipes or try unique restaurants, of course, but there are times that I enjoy not having to worry about constantly tasting and adjusting a new dish. Fortunately for you, these go to recipes are inherently well tested, which means that they're the ones that end up posted on this blog--but unfortunately (for me), these are the meals that can sometimes feel like they've been served one time too many.

As you may know, I'm more than a little prone to food cravings.  My husband, on the other hand, never seems to have any sort of opinion about food* until it's cooked and sitting in front of him.  Our completely opposite (yet disturbingly complementary) food preferences put together mean that we eat whatever I feel like on any given day--and these days, I have been craving fresher, springier meals (in no small part thanks to the blahness of the SNAP Challenge.)  So, easy, right?  Why not just make springy stuff and be done with it?

I've been feeling terrible for the last month or so due to medication changes,** so I haven't really had the pain tolerance or level of concentration to stand in the kitchen and think about/experiment with a nice salad or tasty spring lamb.  What's a disabled homemaker to do?  Why, fall back on one of those easy-peasy go to meals--and put a twist on it, of course!

*except that bacon > beef > everything else
**sometimes, generic =/= name brand side effect-wise, it seems.

one hundred

I'm still sick, but I can't really call this post "ninety-nine point eight"*, so hooray for my "one hundredth" post! Fortunately, I seem to be getting better, despite the disturbing level of pressure that seems to be trying to make my eyeball explode out of its socket and my teeth out of their little spots in my gums (Do those have names?  Tooth holes?).  I was able to run an errand today, do a couple of loads of laundry, and make some matzo ball soup as a compromise for my antibiotic conundrum.  I think I'll be good to go grocery shopping tomorrow and, after I finish this exhausting paragraph, I may have just enough energy to share my most favorite bread recipe in the world: ciabatta.

*Well, I could, but I'd feel really lazy.

ninety-four

I spent hours at the social security office this morning, but finally have my application all finished and whatnot.  I've been told I'll find out their decision in 3-6 months, but I'm expecting to hear that I'm super-mega-healthy and that I am capable of going out and getting a job at Wendy's.  Fortunately, it's not like we're financially dying over here, so wait I can.

To start the week off on a tasty note, I'm going to share the awesome sides that I prepared with dinner last night.  Because I'm a slacker (and because I was literally five minutes away from literally dying of hunger*), I neglected to take pictures, but I will make them again this upcoming weekend just to share the photos with you, my adoring readers.  Now that I think about it... sides aren't very photogenic, so I'm probably doing you a favor by sharing the recipes sans image.  Happy to help!

P.S. Updated the Simpsons post with yet more proof.

*srsly.  My last snack was two whole hours prior!

forty-nine

I'm feeling absolutely horrible today, so I'm probably not going to get a real post written.  I woke up this morning, went to the kitchen to start a batch of scones for breakfast, then promptly had a seizure.  For those of you who don't have seizures, you may be unaware of exactly how exhausting they are and how "off" you can feel for the rest of the day post-seizure.  I've had a killer migraine for the last six(!!) hours and am trying to do my best to not break down in tears due to just how "blah" I feel. 
I'm not sure if it's the heat from the oven or the fact that I go from asleep to mixing dough in less than five minutes, but I was actively cooking breakfast last time I had a seizure, too.  Apparently my body has decided that cooking breakfast first thing in the morning is evil, so I'll take today to share my favorite recipe for a breakfast that you can prepare weeks ahead of time.  It freezes well, reheats to perfection, and can even work as a sandwich roll.  What could this awesome breakfast food possibly be?  Bagels!

I promise I'll be back tomorrow with something more interesting and less whiny.  Thanks for understanding, Internet.

forty

Today has been painfully long.  I want to write something but, as I am busy fighting the urge to rip my ear from my head, I can't come up with a thing to say.  Quite recently (as in right before I started writing this post) I found out that I actually have a reader!  It's someone I sent the link to, though, so I don't know if that counts as much as a random person would...  I think I'm rambling.  ANYWAY.  I feel like this exciting tidbit of information should cause some sort of literary awesomeness to start shooting from my fingertips, through the keyboard and into the Internet.  Based on this post, however, I'm thinking that I need to improve upon my awesomeness--or maybe I just need to lower my expectations of myself.  The latter seems easier, so I'll leave you with an easy, one pot,  "I don't want to cook because my ear is distracting me"* recipe.

*Ladies, feel free to use this mega-awesome excuse on your husbands next time you're feeling lazy.  You're welcome.

Pasta with Sausage, Peppers and Onions

1 lb penne or other small-ish pasta

1 lb spicy Italian sausage (I'm using turkey)

2 large sweet onions, halved, then sliced

1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced

3 cups tomato sauce (or 1 jar store bought)

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.  Drain.

Heat large pan over medium-high heat.  Remove sausage from casing, crumble and brown in heated pan.  Remove sausage to a paper towel lined plate and allow to drain. 

In the same pan, add onions and cook until slightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add peppers and cook until softened but still slightly crunchy, 3-5 minutes. 

Stir in sausage and sauce, then simmer over low heat until sauce is warmed through. 

Stir in pasta and serve topped with Parmesan.