Peasant STEW

We're going to argue this one the whole rest of our lives, but last night's dinner was STEW!!!  I made it, I followed the recipe and that's what it said!  Kent's thoroughly convinced I sneaked chili into his diet (and not as a condiment, either!) and he just doesn't like chili.  But this is Peasant STEW so it's okay!  I'm sorry I didn't get a picture, but this recipe comes HIGHLY recommended!  It came in last weeks' "My Recipes - Weekly Specials" and was out of "Cooking Light" magazine.

PEASANT STEW

Ingredients

• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/4  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 6  chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned
• 1  cup  chopped onion
• 1  (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
• 1  (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4  cup  minced fresh cilantro
• 1/4  cup  reduced-fat sour cream

Preparation

Combine cumin, salt, and pepper; sprinkle over chicken.

Place chicken in an electric slow cooker; stir in onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting for 3 hours. Stir in beans. Cover; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour.

Place 1 chicken thigh in each of 6 soup bowls; ladle 1 1/4 cups stew into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 teaspoons cilantro and 2 teaspoons sour cream.

*Note: I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it shredded itself when I stirred in the beans.  For time reasons I also cooked it on low for 6 hours and bumped it up to high for the last hour or so when I added cold beans. (I had drained and rinsed them before work and added them, refrigerated, before class.)

Nutritional Information Calories: 214 (16% from fat) Fat: 3.9g (sat 1.4g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.9g) Protein: 21.5g Carbohydrate: 23.7g Fiber: 6g Cholesterol: 61mg Iron: 3mg Sodium: 773mg Calcium: 85mg

Funny!!

So, class today had my table partner and I in stitches!  We received our last tests back and both of us did extremely well.  We are also in class everyday, have had our books since day one and bought the requisite calculators a couple of weeks ago.  We are also two of the oldest, if not THE two oldest people in our class.  Well, then there's "Joey".  "Joey" has yet to buy a book (and thus, can't do the homework!), he's in class maybe once a week and, well, obviously is NOT doing well in the class.  That does NOT stop his mouth from running!  Goodness me! does that boy have attitude and lip!  Class runs from 4pm-5pm and about about 4:57 Joey walks INTO class.  Not out of class to go home early, no, he walks into class.  Mind you, his mouth is running almost instantly.  One girl is always having to leave directly on time because of her bus schedule.  She asked for homework but the instructor wouldn't give it to her because we hadn't gone over how to do part of it.  At that, "Joey" asks, "Do you know what time it is?!" (At this point it is now 5:02 - a full 5 minutes after he's entered class!)  And there were other silly comments like, "So, do we need a calculator to do this?!" (We're doing square roots so it would be helpful!).  As class is ending and he's invited to look at his test he's chanting, "Praying for a good grade, praying for a good grade!"  My partner and I looked at each other and wondered how low it could possibly be.  Thankfully he has a big mouth and ego and he exclaimed it loud enough for us to know!  "A 10?!?!  I GOT 10 OUT OF 100?!?!  IS THAT WHAT THAT MEANS?!  HOW THE ***?"  He was reminded to watch his language and all we could do was laugh!  Seriously?!?  You don't show for class, you don't do the work, you put forth 0 effort and you expect more than a 10?  He's good for a laugh, but he also wastes my time and that makes mama bear mighty unhappy.  The best though is accusing the teacher of not knowing what time it was when he didn't bother showing up until class was over!!

"My Dad is so...

MEAN!!!"

                                                                 -Coda

Another year...

 

Another group of kids to interview.  This is probably one of the biggest things that could happen to these kids and I am fortunate enough to have the privilege of getting to be a part of that.  It was, wow!, so many years ago that I sat in the hot seat these kids will sit in tomorrow!  I faced a bunch of adults, I felt lousy with a cold, and I answered questions based on an application I hadn't read or totally thought about in a number of months.  It was a long day -- a day that started with me attempting to "chill" with a bunch of kids I didn't know -- that included interviews, both individual and a group.  About 2 weeks later I received a hall pass in class telling me that my mom would pick me up. With trepidation I went to the office, signed out and went to the car.  (I still have that hall pass!)  There it was, sitting on the seat.  THE envelope.  I didn't want to open it, I couldn't wait to tear the letter out.  I WAS ACCEPTED TO GO TO GERMANY!!!  More paperwork later, I am assigned to join Manfred, Ellen, Britta and Julia in northern West Germany (yes, there were two Germany's then!).  I tried to call them but only got a recording -- that I couldn't understand!!  What ever was I going to do?  All of my school German was failing me miserably!  Fast forward the end of July, the family vacation consists of a cross-country drive to D.C. where I would say good-bye to my family for 11 full months.  Wow.  The beginning of HUGE change.  Eleven months alternately crawl and fly by.  At the end, I can say, they FLEW at supersonic speed.  That year changed me.  In some ways just very subtly but in others very profoundly.  I love the city, I love to travel, I'm drawn to foreigners, I love historical things more than ever.  I expanded.  My thoughts expanded.  My heart expanded.I have friends and "family" who are forever.  Tomorrow I hold in my hands the power to change another person for I have the power to send them in search of themselves in this great big huge world that we live in - this huge world that is shrinking as I write this!

1988

Ellen, Omama, Manfred, Julia and Britta

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

To the Coolest, Hippest Dad a girl could have:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Finished Project!

Some lucky kid's going to have a serious sugar high with this gift!!

The Sound of Silence!!

It's been a good day!  With no music, no noise, nothing but the wash machine and dryer hum, I've managed to get a TON done!  I pretty much have my English essay done, I got cookies decorated, the bathrooms clean.  It's good!  The coolest part though?  I get to have 3 teenagers at the house right now.  They are working on a project for world history regarding child labor.  Tristan is filming and Sidney and Tiana are child laborers.  The VERY best part?!  The girls' mouths are duct taped!!  LOL!  Very clever!  Very powerful statement they are making, but the mom in me is giggling!  So beautiful!