Friday, October 8, 2010

Creamy, Delicious Chicken Recipe day!

I don't remember where I got this recipe, so it's mine now! Unfortunately, I do not have a picture to show you how amazing this dish is; just know that everyone who has tried it loves it!

Tarragon Chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted (use the low sodium type)

1 cup half-and-half (use milk to reduce fat)

2 teaspoons dried tarragon

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 (8 ounces) package linguine or spaghetti, cooked and drained

2 cubed, cooked chicken breasts

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Paprika


In a large bowl, combine soup, cream, tarragon and pepper. Stir in the linguine and chicken. Transfer to an ungreased 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Opposite Action

Opposite action is a little strategy I like to use to change my mood. All it means is to do something that makes you feel different than your current mood. I'm feeling down, tired, discouraged, crabby tonight, so you get to be the recipient of a list of things I love!

1 Josh
2 Bubbie
3 My parents
4 My sister
5 My friends
6 Josh's family
7 Portland
8 My car (I know I know)
9 Tia
10 My bed
11 Being outside
12 Music
13 Justice
14 Very troubled teenagers
15 Sassy pants teenagers
16 Cooking
17 Parks
18 Reading
19 Good food
20 Massages

Whew! I feel better already =).

Time for a story. Tonight was Youth Progress' annual Soup Smackdown event- chefs from local restaurants create a soup inspired by one our kiddos and compete with each other to get the most votes for best soup!

The event was hosted by Hotel Lucia, which was lovely, and the children were adorable and did a great job. I was so impressed by the chefs' generosity and graciousness towards our kids.

Thank you to the following restaurants:

50 Plates
Souper Natural
Typhoon
Ned Ludd
The Portland Soup Company
SoupCycle

Sunday, October 3, 2010

And the pursuit of happiness.

Around this time last year, with Josh's prompting, I decided to exercise my right to happiness. Since then, I've exercised the shit out of that right! Just kidding. It's been a journey filled with ups and downs, and I've learned about myself.

In no way am I advocating for the idea that "it's all about you" or that happiness is the most important thing in life, but sometimes doing a couple little things a day can really improve your mood and outlook. For me, it also helps keep things in perspective.

Here's my list of ways I pursue happiness (and pictures of some of my favorite things):
1. Greet and pet Tia first thing when I get home
2. When Josh gets home, I stop what I'm doing and hug him and make eye contact
3. Sit on my porch and drink a glass of wine when I get home from work
4. Buy fancy cheese and eat a small piece a day (especially good with that glass of wine!)
5. See Bubbie, even if it means cancelling plans with humans
6. Read a book in the park before the sun goes down
7. Call or get together with a friend
8. Write a thank you note
9. Organize something
10. Take a long time to cook something extra special
11. Take a day long road trip

12. Get outside and sit somewhere quiet

13. Draw or write a poem
14. Pick or buy flowers and put them on my table

What about you? In what small ways do you pause and enjoy something?

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Social Justice Saturday

Tonight' s post is a somber subject, and one that is close to my heart: advocacy for women who are prostitutes and the myriad of criminal activity that surrounds them including human trafficking and drugs.

This story starts when I was 17 years old and visiting Trinity Western University with my parents to check out the school. While we're there my dad introduces himself to a student and then introduces me to her. We chit chat for a few minutes and I agree to let her know if I decide to attend TWU.

Fast forward a couple years and this young woman is my mentor; we meet every couple weeks, and we're both involved in our own campus outreaches. Mine is to girls who are in detention (often for prostituting), hers is to prostitutes on the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver, BC. We spend hours talking about social justice, the church's role in it, how to end the exploitation of women, why men purchase women, etc.

During this time my mentor had formed a friendship with a woman who was prostituting, and they came to the TWU campus a couple of times and spoke to the student body about these issues.

Today my former mentor continues to work for those whose voices are not heard, and she continues to inspire me with her overflowing love and drive. The woman whom she helped get off the streets is an amazing and inspiring advocate for prostitutes. Here is her website: http://www.honourconsulting.com/. Please take a few moments to read how to help end the lies about prostitution- she has a fantastic list of things you can do.

Here's my list of steps you can take here in Portland:
1. Attend meetings or support the Coalition of Advocates for Equal Access for Girls- they are a great organization of women from all walks who are working on many projects that will benefit girls, including addressing human trafficking and prostitution
2. Fill out this quick and easy form to contact Senator Wyden and thank him for his work against human trafficking- http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/
4. Watch this documentary following the lives of young prostitutes- http://www.gems-girls.org/get-involved/very-young-girls
5. Educate yourself! notforsalecampaign.org, honourconsulting.com

Thank you for reading!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Foodie Friday!


I was a little intimidated by this recipe, but it came out perfect and delicious on my first try. Bon appetit!

Mango Curry
ingredients:
3 boned and skinned chicken breasts
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon chilli powder
curry sauce:
1/2 tablespoon oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons plain flour
2/3 cups milk
3 teaspoons mango chutney
salt & pepper

Cut chicken into 2cm pieces and mix with oil, paprika and chilli powder.

Place chicken on a serving plate. to make curry sauce, heat oil in a saucepan, add onion and cook until soft. Stir in curry powder and cook for 2 minutes, then stir in flour.

Gradually stir in milk and bring slowly to a boil, stirring all the time. Continue to cook until sauce thickens. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add chutney and season with salt and pepper. For fondue, serve hot with the chicken cooked in the hot oil (if you don't have a fondue pot just cook the chicken in a skillet).