Dinner : Mexican Style Corn and French's Fried Onion Chicken

I first had the French's Fried Onion Chicken in Florida a year and a half ago, when we were attending my Hubster's half sister's wedding, and we were staying at his dad and step-mom's house.

I searched the Internet and came across this recipe for the Mexican Style corn, it is similar, but made with roasted corn cobs off the grill, a chipotle mayo, and a different cheese.  Looks good!

The recipe is super simple.  Basically, you take a can of corn, or a bunch of frozen kernels, and put them in a pan, add a bit of butter, and heat them up like you would normally.  Then, once you have reached preferred done-ness, add half a cup of Mayonnaise (mind you I am generally a Miracle Whip girl, but this needs Mayonnaise), and stir it together.  Then add some queso fresco on top.

For the French's Fried Onion Chicken, just follow the recipe on the outside of the container.  You take some fried onions, and crush them, add a couple tablespoons of flour, pepper to taste, stir.  Coat in egg wash, and then dredge in the crumb mixture.

Bake as you would normally for chicken.

Words for Wednesday

I am a recently married 31 year old female, who would like to have a full term pregnancy, which would result in a small crying tiny thing resembling a person.

With that having been typed, do you know how crappy the wait for my monthly week of torture (okay, like three days, but who's counting?) is.. well, torture in itself.

I want coffee. And alcohol. And a sushi roll or two.

See, if there were a reason, it wouldn't be so bad. But, currently, no actually, known reason. And when Mother Nature decides to show on up, I'm going to be let down. 1- because it sadly confirms that I am not with child, and 2- I had to skip yummy stuff for no actual reason.

I have had 2 miscarriages, not uncommon, I know.

The first one was harder than the second, I didn't 'feel' pregnant anymore, but didn't have an appointment for another 4 weeks. I showed up at the Dr. With a brave face, broke down in the room, lady confirmed, and sent me to the ultrasound techs to get it for sure confirmed. I would have been 12 weeks. It had refused to evacuate in its own.

When they did the D & C, they sent it to pathology, and determined it was a molar pregnancy. If you don't know what that means, basically, 2 sperm buddies broke into the egg, instead of 1. Which apparently can cause cancer, and you are told do NOT get pregnant for at minimum of 1 year.

Two weeks later my Gram Cracker lost her fight with (originally) stomach cancer.

That year ended in August 2012.

Engaged in September, married in November, and ready to take on this challenge.

First chance was successful! Yay! Took the pregnancy test at home, on December 15th, took another. And called the Dr. on Monday, blood test to confirm. Then sent on Thursday to get an ultra sound for photos to make sure it was an itty bitty thing, and not Cancer. And it was confirmed an itty bitty being! How cool!

I set up my next required ultra sounds, and Dr. appointments for 3 months.

Christmas Eve comes, I am sitting at early midnight mass with my husband on one side, and his mom on the other, and I start cramping. Through service it gets worse. I knew.

We got out of mass, went to brother in law's house, searched out pads, and Tylenol until we returned home 3 days later..

Merry Christmas. I have never really liked Christmas anyways.

So here I am, waiting, hoping, trying to be positive. But will be quite sad if I'm not. I will drown my sadness in a large white chocolate mocha 'moosed' at caribou if needed.

Manicure Monday : Dark Gray Sparkle

Unlike last week, I know what color this is!  I have a gray sparkle on.  Still dark, and still holographic.

I like the holographic because it makes me smile in the middle of the day when I take a moment to enjoy the little things.

Manicure Monday : Dark Teal Sparkle

This week I did a darker color. It's a teal-ish color. I wouldn't say blue, I wouldn't say grey either. But it has a sparkle.  A sort of holographic sparkle.

Dinner: Gumbalaya Time!

Did you know that when you crush raw garlic, the juice is sticky?

I didn't know that either.

So, you may be asking yourself, what is Gumbalaya, surely she meant Gumbo, or Jambalaya.  Didn't she?

Well, I, in fact, did not.  Those recipes included chicken, or used flour.  I used neither.  I did use rice though, and sausage, and shrimp. I used this recipe from Iowa Girl Eats, and altered it to what I wanted. And it was delicious!

Not pictured, corn and crushed garlic.

Basically what you see is what you should get, also grab a 2 green peppers, large onion. You can find more info on the ingredient list on the Gumbalaya recipe page.

This is what I did:

First find the LARGEST stock pot you have.  I would have used a large dutch oven, but I do not own one.  Then finely dice all your first 3 ingredients (onion, pepper, celery) - this is the 'Holy Trinity'. Set aside.

I sliced the sausage at an angle, and put it in the largest pot I had.  I browned the slices.  Once they were done, I put them on a plate, leaving the oil behind.  I added my Holy Trinity ingredients, and I ended up adding a little extra oil.

  

Saute these until softened, about 10 minutes or so.  Once everything softens, add your crushed garlic cloves, cook for about a minute.

Return the sausage to the pot, add all the other canned items.  Add the broth, hot sauce and rice, and stir it all together. 

Turn the heat down to medium-low, and cover.  Keep it at a simmer for for 15 minutes, stirring frequently, then add your shrimp.  If you purchased them with tails, I recommend you remove them before putting them in the pot.

Cook for about 10 minutes, or until your shrimp are cooked, and serve.  I always add a little more hot sauce.  But taste yours first, my hubster is not a fan of anything too spicy.

Looks Delicious, doesn't it?!

This is a story of a girl...

Who woke up at 2 am, surprised it was that early still, and is now pissed that it's 4 am and she can't fall back asleep.

See how excited I am?

I used the bathroom, got a glass of water.. stretched a little.. Now I'm bored and have a headache. I just took some Tylenol, so maybe in 20 minutes it will kick in and sleep will come...

Today I will need nap.

So crappy.

What do you do to get yourself back to sleep? Any tips/suggestions for next time?

Happy New Years : Resolutions!

Resolutions!
Do you make any? Mine are generally pretty easy, and hinge on developing better habits.
This year the resolutions I have made are:
Take time to eat breakfast in the morning.
Take vitamins and calcium pills.
Brush and floss 2x daily.
Only go to coffee shops while hanging out with others.
No more Ramen for lunch.
Use this tool (http://sleepyti.me/) to see when I need to go to sleep, and follow it!
Personal goals:
Meet up with a home buyer person to help myself and the husband make some strides to owning our own home.
Have a successful pregnancy (2 failed so far, hoping for a good one..)

What you got? I will check in with you at the end of the year if you post something.. Even if you post in September - promise!!