Oatmeal with Strawberries

Oatmeal and strawberries is my most recent breakfast of choice. I am trying to eat healthier and oatmeal is good for your cholesterol, but let's be honest, it doesn't have much flavor. I normally smother it in brown sugar or maple syrup, but those aren't exactly healthy either. So, I decided to try some strawberries (and a little brown sugar, but not a lot.) It tastes really good. I don't know what I will do as winter approaches and strawberries become harder to find. I guess I'll have to see what I can do with Apples, since fall is here and it's APPLE SEASON!

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

I don't think anyone is more excited for me to have a new post than my Mom and my Sister. When I told them to check my blog tonight they both said "oh good, it's about time" (or at least something along that line.) I REALLY need to try and blog more! We'll see.

Anyway, today I got off work at 4 (like I do every Tuesday) and had a ton of energy to be creative with dinner. I had thawed out two chicken breasts and have mostly pasta or rice in the cupboard, so my options for a side were limited. Rather than make the regular BBQ chicken with Rice, I decided to go Italian and make one of Chris' favorite meals. Chicken Parmesan. I have only made it once before and although it was good, it wasn't great. I needed to fix that. It wasn't hard, but did require some thinking before just jumping in. Check it out.

Chicken Parmesan
2 Chicken breasts (thawed)
1 cup bread crumbs (super fine if possible. They stick better)
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs (beaten a little)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butterfly cut the chicken and pound until 1/4 inch thick. Cut down the middle so you have four long pieces of chicken. Pat dry. Coat chicken in flour, then dip in the egg and last coat with bread crumbs. I mixed onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper in my bread crumbs for extra flavor. After coating the chicken I placed it on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet. This way both sides of the chicken could bake evenly leaving no part of the chicken soggy. I baked it in the oven for 20 minutes. Chicken was perfectly cooked. Not too moist and not too dry.

Marinara Sauce
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes (chopped in a food processor or blender a little or just mashed)
1 Tbsp granulated onion
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
3/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
2 tsp sugar
dash of pepper
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Mix all the above ingredients togethe (except the Parmesan cheese). Bring to a boil and let simmer while the chicken bakes.

Serve chicken with pasta and a veggie. Spoon marinara sauce over each piece of chicken and over pasta. Sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese over the sauce while it is hot. Once cheese is melted eat and enjoy.

Summer Trip

As many of you have pointed out to me, you can tell I have been busy since I haven't posted anything new since August 3rd. Yes, that is exactly the case. Chris and I haven't had much free time this summer with school and work picking up and our energy going down. Fortunately for us, summer trimester is over and we were able to take 10 day vacation up North. We spent a week with my family and a couple days here and there along the way. It was the first time since our Wedding (2 years ago) that my whole family has been together. My sister and her husband came down from Oregon and both my Brothers and their Wives came over. Plus my Aunt's came up from Lakeport and we had a big Family BBQ. It was so fun to see EVERYONE while we were there, but I sure do miss my family!!!

My brother-in-law Chris has a birthday coming up this Tuesday, so while we were all together I decided to make these golf ball cupcakes for him. I bought the chocolate molds about a month ago, so I could make the golf balls. They were super easy to make and looked sooo real.

Chris really enjoyed his cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Chris!!!!

I couldn't resist putting up this picture of my precious nephew Tayden and me. He is so fun and has a TON of energy. Grandma and I bought him his Elmo shirt and he just loved it! (We also bought him a shirt that says "Don't you wish I had an off button" so true sometimes.)

This is my beautiful sister and cute little niece (my brothers daughter.) Marcie is so good with the babies in the family! She seems to have the gentle touch to put them to sleep when they need it. I don't quite have that gift and am totally jealous of her when they rest on her shoulder so peacefully.

Yes, this is a picture of us eating pizza for the first time in 5 months. It was DELICIOUS!!! I am glad we did the pizza fast, but even more glad we got to break the fast with ROUND TABLE PIZZA!!!! My Mom also had Schwans pizzas in the freezer for me, which I ate a couple of during our visit. I guess you can say I just love pizza.

This is Donna. She is an extended member of our family and my Mom's Tuesday night dinner date. For several years now, Mom and Donna have gone to dinner every Tuesday night. When I lived at home I often joined them, and enjoyed chatting with them about the events of their day at work. It was a treat to be a part of their Tuesday night dinner while we were in town.

On Wednesday my Dad, Mom, Chris and I decided to go sailing and have dinner on the boat. After a tire blowing out on the freeway and an hour and a half wait at Les Schwab we finally made it to the lake. By the time we got the boat in the water, the sun was setting and our time was limited. The weather was perfect and Mom and I were rather glad we missed the afternoon heat out on the lake. Before we knew it we had to head back before it got too dark. It was so much fun and we had many great laughs. I can't wait to do it again next summer!!

And last but certainly not least My Mom and I. I love my Mom so much and miss her like CRAZY. She is my best friend (along with my sister) and my inspiration. I have never met another women like her and I doubt I ever will. Her faith, love and support in us kids is what gets me through my hard days at work and reminds me I can do anything I put my mind too. She is the one who taught me (and continues to teach me) how to cook and she is everything I hope to be when I have children.