The Sunroom

The first time I saw a picture of my eco house, I thought it was very odd. I did not care to go and look at it but agreed after one of our offers on another house fell though. We had looked at five or six homes before we came to the eco home. Some of the home we had seen had nice things about them but not one of them felt right. When we walked into the eco home it was an instant feeling of peace. Among the things that I loved was that it had an entryway, which is also a sunroom. 

This past winter I enjoyed going in the sunroom to see what the temperature was. As you can tell by the name it was designed to heat the room by the sun. The days that the sun was up the room was over 70 degrees. Even on days that feel well below zero. The sunroom had proven itself lovely in the winter but what would it be like in the summer?

Summer in Pinedale are mild and very nice. I think we have almost had a week of summer already this year. What do I mean by this, well temperatures that don't drop below freezing at night and get into the high 60 and low 70 in the day. Be serious it is very nice during the day. The only down fall is that growing a garden is very difficult with a 55 day growing season. I have has a garden for the past few years and miss it. So I decided to put the sunroom to use and see what I can do with it. I have started with tomatoes and some pots of flowers. I planted a tomato plant that was 6 inch tall two weeks ago. I am happy to say that the eco house was well designed and my tomatoes are over two feet and very happy.

Oh, there you are...

I know it has been a long time. I am back and hope I will figure out how to post more pictures because my account says that I don't have any more space. Why do I need to post pictures you ask? Well, because I'm not a great writer and the pictures say it so much better than I can.

What I have been up to....

• Traveling to exciting places like; northern Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma and the best of all Pennsylvania. I bet your thinking that at least three out of the four of these destinations are not on your must see list. They were not on mine either. Travis has been traveling or work and I have tagged along. Except Pennsylvania, I was visiting family there.
• Planing Landscaping. There are both pros and cons to buying a home with no landscaping. Pros you don't have to remove anything that you don't like. Cons it cons a lot of money to landscape. This is what is currently consuming my every thought. I have an amazing master plan (thanks to the talented Ginger). We have a large yard and can't afford to landscape it all at once. So we are starting on the patio. I will post pictures at some point.
• Learning to love Wyoming. The more I am away from home, the more I want to be here. Pinedale is a beautiful place, with some very nice people. I am starting to feel more at home here.

There it is in a nut shell. My plan is to update weekly. Cross your fingers.

Where did all the good soda go?????

Water Please

I grew up in house where soda was a rare commodity. When we would go out to eat, you did not even think about ordering a soda. With six kids that would drive up the bill. As an adult I am not much different.  I would prefer water to any other drink, most of the time.  Now and again I want diet coke, not pepsi, but a coke.

My love of the drink started while I was guiding on the river. It was a good pick me up in the late afternoon when the up-stream winds would kick in.  My love affair was turned up a notch after I became the special education coordinator of a Jr. High.  The long hours and high stress were a little much at times. During this time I went from having a diet coke a week to three a week.

When I moved to Wyoming my soda drinking dropped and I only craved one when we go out to eat. However, the restaurants in this town serve only pepsi products. And yes there is a deference. So, Travis and I were out to eat at one of our favorite places "Wind River Brew Pub" and I decided that I needed a soda. Coke or no coke. So I ordered a diet pepsi. In the process I may have mentioned to our waitress, that I miss diet coke. She was so kind to inform me on why there is only pepsi products in town.......

"Well its because of those Mormons, ya know?" 

"Oh really?"

"Ya, those Mormons own pepsi."

"They do???"

"Ya and the Mormon hub is in Salt Lake City, and thats were the pepsi comes from."

"Are you sure?"

"Ya, and those Mormon are'nt even aloud to drink caffeine."

The funniest part of this conversation was that she made "those Mormons" sound like dirty people. I wonder if her story would have changed if she knew that she was serving two of "those Mormons".   Anyway the pepsi turned out to be all right, but I well be ordering a water from here on out.

In the Mail.

I have been lucky or unlucky (however you want to look at it) to have had something like 30 different roommates during the trials of my single-hood.  I can no longer remember the names of half of these women but only two or three were a really bad idea. However I am not going to talk about the bad ideas but one of the really good ones, Rebecca Ann.

Becca and I met while on study abroad in Israel. We were not best friends in fact I think we rarely hung-out outside of class time.  She had her group and I had mine. But when I think back on the experiences that are closest to my heart and impacted me the most, she was there for almost every one.

When I decided to go to the University of Utah I asked her for help finding a place to live. Being the kind of person she is she offered to let me live with her in a room that was not meant to be shared. We shared the room until another roommate (I can't remember her name) got married and moved out. I can't remember exactly how many years we lived together but I think it was four years.

When she moved out I just gained a new place to go and hang out. Becca and her now second half, Pat have seen me through some highs and lows of dating.  In fact they were by my side through a very hard heart break. Oh the drama, Yep they put up with it and supported me.

When I got married I had a list in my mind of the people that I really wanted to be there, Becca and Pat were somewhere near the top. Unfortunately Becca's due date was within a week of my wedding day. It was touch and go whether or not they would be there.  Rossco (the baby) was kind enough to wait and let his mom and dad come and support me on the most important part of my wedding day. They left right after the ceremony and thought they were going to be heading to the hospital that night.

To show my love to a friend who has been so dear to me and a baby that pushed back his arrival, I gift you this.......

After trying to meet up and give it to you the past two months, I put it in the mail and you should have it by thursday.

Thanks for your friendship, I love ya tons.

Have you missed me???

I am currently in Utah, teaching my guts out at Sundance. It has a been a very busy week and I will be back posting by next week with lots of pictures.

Sneak Peek into the Wight Home

Getting Ready for The Steven Densley Family

Guest bathroom

Guest Bedroom

T.V. Room

My walls are still white and bare. It is a big commitment to pick out paint and to hammer a hole. I will get there. I also don't have any window treatments in the house. We are like the neighborhood fish bowl, everyone can look in and they do. Little by little it is coming together and I LOVE my house.

Super excited for a fun family filled weekend, I will fully inform you of all the happenings. Have a good weekend.

Hey Food Lover Cook This...

Mmmmm...

This is a butternut squash soup,
I like the picture better than the soup.

My sister called me just over a week ago now and asked if I wanted to join her in a pledge to eating healthier. Not only did I agree to but my brother and other sister did as well.  We are all doing are own version of cleaning up our diets. Mine includes cutting out all sugary junk and adding 5 a day, every day. Today is day 8 and I have had only a few monuments of weakness. Which by the way I did not give into. I am tying to make a life style out of this change and I want to fit into my own wardrobe.

Over the past few years I have looked high and low for an understanding of how to cook food that taste good but is also good for you.  Two of my favorite books I found while working out with the fabulous Mat  the trainer (who I would love to still be working out with if it where not a 4 1/2 hour drive to his gym). He suggested them to me and I have enjoyed them very much. I will share week worth of dinners out of them. I am sorry that I don't have pictures for all the recipes.

If you are wanting to make something yummy and good for you then here you go.....

These pieces of ck are bigger than the recipe

Baked Chicken Strips

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients: (the serving size 1 large or 2 small)

• Boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into 1/2 inch strips)
• Salt-2 pinches
• Pepper-1 pinch
• Paprika-1 pinch
• Omega-3 egg- 1 egg
• Water- 2 Tbsp
• Coarse whole wheat breadcrumbs - 1/4 cup
• Grated coconut -1/4 cup
• Olive oil cooking spray

Preheat your oven to 350F. Season ck with salt, pepper and paprika. Add the egg and water to a mixing bowl, whisk it together and set it aside. Mix the breadcrumbs and coconut together in a separate bowl and set it aside. Dip the ck into the egg. Make sure it is completely covered and then dip it into the breadcrumb mix. Roll around until it is nicely covered. Lightly coat a lightly cover a cook sheet with the olive oil spray and place ck on it. Bake until it is lightly brown (about 15 min). Take the largest pieces and check to see if it is cooked all the way through.

8-Layer Dinner

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 25 min

Serving Size: 3 large to 6 small

Ingredients:

• Boneless skinless chicken breast (1-inch cubed)- 1 lb 
• Salt- 1/2 tsb
• Pepper- 1/2 1/4 tsb
• Olive oil cooking spray
• Sweet Potato (peeled, thin sliced) 2 cup
• Salsa 1 cup (I like it hot) 
• Black beans (drained) 1 can
• Onion (small dice) 1 cup
• Corn (canned or frozen) 1 cup
• Peas (canned or frozen) 1 cup
• Almonds (sliced) 1/2 cup

Preheat the oven to 350F. Season the ck with salt and pepper. Preheat a non-stick frying pan on medium heat and lightly coat with spray. Add the ck (in batches if needed)and saute until lightly browned on all sides. Remove and set aside. Add sweet potato and salsa and saute for 5 min. 

Layer the ingredients in a large and shallow casserole dish. Start with the ck, then the sweet potatoes/salsa, black beans, onions, corn, peas and almonds. Bake for 25 minutes and ten serve.

Texas Thin Crust Pizza

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 10 min

Serve size: 1 large or 2 small

Ingredients:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• Extra lean ground beef- 6 oz
• Salt- 1/4 tsp
• pepper- 1/4 tsp
• Yellow onion- 1/4 cup
• Red Pepper- 1/4 cup
• Garlic (minced) -2 tsp
• Tomato (small and diced. I like to use cherry) - 1/4 cup
• BBQ sauce 2 tbsp ( I don't ever use it but it could be good)
• Whole wheat tortilla- 1
• Pineapple ( I don't use this either) 1/4 cup
• Aged white cheddar (graded) 1/2 cup  (I use mozzarella)

Preheat the oven to 400F. Cook the meat and veggie in a non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Add all the spices at this time. Brown the meat before adding the veggies. Add the tomatoes for the last min before removing form the heat. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil. Spread the meat and veggies on the tortilla about a half an inch thick. Top with pineapple and cheese. Place in the oven and cook until the cheese is melted and the shell is toasted. 

Mmmm... I had one by myself and was very full. It was almost to much. This one is very fast and very easy.

All the above recipes came out of....

Gourmet Nutrition: The Cookbook for the Fit Food Lover

DR. John's Chili 

Prep Time- 1 hour

Serving Size -10

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs extra lean ground beef
• 4 cans Kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 bell peppers- 1 green, 1 red, 1 yellow, 1 orange cut into 1/2- inch squares
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• Two 46- fl oz bottles V8 vegetable juice, spicy hot
• cashew meal  (I like the cashews in bigger chunks, so I crush them myself)

Spices: (if you prefer a faster versions you can use 3 packages of chili seasoning mix, but it is better to add the spices yourself)

• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

Brown the beef one pound at a time, over high heat together with garlic and onions. (If your  skillet is large enough you can do it all at once) On the last batch add the spices after the meat is browned. Add the browned beef to a large pot with a lid. Add the beans, tomatoes, carrots, pepper, and V8 juice. Bring to a boil and the reduce heat to a simmer until all the veggies are soft.

This recipe makes a lot. I half it and Travis and I eat it every night for a week, but it's really good and a great way to get some veggies.

Greek Burger

Prep time: 15- min

Serving: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1/2 cup olive slivers
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt & pepper, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Make into to large patties with the mixture. Cook them on a George Foreman or on the grill for 5- 8 minutes on each side. 

Instead of a bun I eat mine on ice burg lettuce. I like a greek salad on the side or grill veggies. 

Peasant Stew

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 on high in Crock Pot.

Serving: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs cubed beef
• 2 large turnips, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
• Cabbage, 1/2 medium head, sliced
• 4 medium-large carrots thickly sliced
• 15 green onions chopped (scallions)
• 10 Medium mushrooms halved
• 4 tbsp whole flax seeds (or 8 ground)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 beef bouillon cube
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 tbsp  freshly chopped parsley (or 1tsp dried)
• salt&pepper, to taste
• 3 ups of water

Brown the steak and minced garlic in half of the olive oil until brown on the outside(leaving it raw inside). when the beef is browned, add the water and bouillon in the skillet. Bring to a boil, then pour it into the Crock Pot.

With the remaining oil, stir-fry the turnips, scallions. and carrots in the skillet on medium-hight heat for 5 min, then add it to the Crock Pot.

Add the remain ingredients to the Crock Pot, cover and simmer at 300-degrees F (medium or low) overnight (7-8 hours), or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Pecan-Crusted Salmon

Prep Time: 15 min

Serving: 1

Ingredients:

• 10oz salmon filet (I like to get it form Costco, they have the salmon cuts that have no skin on either side)
• 2tbsp pecan meal (I put he pecans in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste (sometime is use garlic salt)

Mix the pecans (crushed), slat, pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Wash the salmon in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel, before dipping it into the mix. Cook the salmon in an oven at 400-degrees F for 12 min, broiling the last 6 min.  Or cook on a George Forman until the meat is flakey.

This one of my all time favorite way to eat salmon. I like it with steamed spinach or grilled veggies. 

The recipes above are from the GormetNutrition vol 1. by, Dr. John M. Berardi & Dr. John K. Williams. I could not find it online.

I hope you find this helpful on the quest for a healthier life.