EASY Dinner Side Dish- It’s so easy, it’s not even a recipe !
From time to time I find great ideas for dinner on blogs. As everyone knows, there are cooking blogs, and mommy cooking blogs and blogs about cooking, etc. etc. I’ve even had the pleasure of meeting a fellow DC Metro Mom Contributor who has a fantastic cooking blog…
This ‘recipe’ is for the rest of us…
It’s not even a recipe-
* Just get Plum Tomatoes from your grocery store (all stores have them), they’re just tomatoes that are more oval in shape and a little sweeter, it seems
* Slice them and serve them with slices of cheese and a little vinaigrette…
YOU’RE DONE!
I slice them and put them on a little platter with slices of cheddar cheese, provolone and I usually have mozzarella cheese sticks in the fridge, so I slice those up too. Use whatever you have, let your kids choose, and then drizzle a little vinaigrette on them!
During the winter I usually bake the tomatoes in the oven for several minutes and let the cheese melt over them- this takes just minutes too!
See, I told you- a healthy side dish in 1 or 2 minutes!
These are the kind of ‘recipes’ I like!
Enjoy!
I’m a New Aunt !
A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to my brother and sister-in-law !!!
John Theodore was born yesterday evening at 6:47pm. He’s 7 pounds 15 ounces and 21 inches long.
My awesome sister-in-law was in labor for about 5 hours and everything went smoothly.
They are calling him Jack!
He is their second… that makes all grandsons on my side of the family…
Mom: don’t get rid of any of those toy cars!
Random: Why is this movie always on TV?
This movie, The Last of the Mohicans, is always on TV. My husband has seen it about 20 times, it’s supposedly a good movie. Oh, by the way, it first came out 17 years ago…
I have not seen it all the way through, because now it has become a joke in our house, that you can always find this movie on some channel, at any given time of the day… that’s not really logical, but you know what I mean.
The other night I walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water, returned to the living room, and my husband was sitting on the couch watching- you guessed it. We looked at each other and started laughing. Okay, it’s a pretty stupid inside joke, but it was still funny.
So, Why is this movie ALWAYS on TV?
Or, almost always- it’s not on as much as any given episode of Seinfeld or Law & Order… yet.
Good Mom / Bad Mom
I have my good days… and I have my bad days.
Don’t you love those days that are terrific? When everything falls into place at just the right time: everyone is happy, the house is clean, the wash is done and folded, dinner is planned and you’re doing an educational art project with your son? I have days like that… sometimes. And on days like that I say to myself,
‘I have got this mom-thing down!’
Most days are pretty much like that, without the laundry getting done, and my son and I doing something together, although it is not always an educational art project…
And then there are days that are not-so-good.
On these days I forget to do something, my son is cranky, or we are out-of-sync or all of the above.
I give myself a break on the forgetting part because we all know that you just become more forgetful once you give birth, it must be one of those left-brain/right-brain things… I don’t know, I forget.
But anyway- on the incredibly harried days I think to myself,
‘How can I possibly be so inept at something I’ve been doing 24/7 for 5 years?!…’
Does this happen to anyone else?!!
My thoughts usually get better in a little while, when a tantrum is over, or I realize that you can’t always have a logical discussion with a 5-year-old…
And then I realize that I am unconsciously basing my net worth on if my child is happy, and fed, and not tired and cranky…
And this is not totally out-of-line, because I can control/fix/remedy most of these scenarios… And it’s my job.
But I shouldn’t get frustrated with myself, if my son isn’t thrilled about eating lima beans.
My mood is so affected by my little guy’s.
If he’s having a good day, I’m having a good day. When he gets excited about something, I do too.
If he’s sick, I might as well be…
I wonder if this ever changes? The way my mother looks at me sometimes, I don’t think it does…
I am constantly reminded of the overwhelmingly ENORMOUS amount of love,
that my heart can generate for such a little human being…
Love is powerful, however. It’s been written about for centuries…
So it’s no surprise that then he smiles, and it’s a good day again.
An abbreviated version of this can be read at DC Metro Moms.
My Decade-Long Recycling Project!
A decade ago, when I started freelancing, I realized that I could re-use paper… umm, yeah, DUH!
So all my paper that had something on just 1 side, I put in this light blue box. I kept using it and using it, recycling and recycling. I put it in my printer whenever I’m printing stuff out just for myself- rough drafts, articles to read, lists, etc.
Now my ‘one sided’ paper box is empty, but here’s the good part-
IT TOOK 10 YEARS!… A decade? Are you kidding me? I’m so excited. Now I’m realizing how very little paper I’ve bought in the past decade and how much of a difference my little recycling effort has made on my life and for the planet.
Happy (Belated) Earth Day!
THE Tutorial On Teeth Whitening… (According to me, Obviously)
Who doesn’t want really white teeth?
What’s amazing is that a decade ago the teeth whitening industry really didn’t exist… My how things change…
Years ago, when you could only buy Go Smile whitening strips at Saks, I headed over there and went to pick myself up a package; one of my girlfriends worked there at the time and we asked her co-worker, who presided over the ‘Whitening/Moisturizing/Pamper Yourself’ Counter if they worked well,
“I think Crest Whitestrips are the same, if not better.”
And Crest Whitestrips ARE WAY less expensive.
So I put my money away, headed to my local drugstore and bought some Crest Whitestrips.
I have used these occasionally over the past few years…
The last time I was at the dentist I asked him about whitening, especially because I am constantly during the day, drinking tea…
His response-
“Brush your teeth with a little baking soda, or just buy baking soda tooth paste.”
So I did, I bought Arm & Hammer Advanced White toothpaste, with Baking Soda and Peroxide,
and you know what?
It works! I’m really happy with the shade of my teeth!
So the least expensive solution has turned out to be the best-
I LOVE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS !!!!!
You Gotta Love Mr. Rogers…
On this rainy Monday morning,
I can always count on words of wisdom from
“Love and trust,
in the space between what’s said and what’s heard in our life,
can make all the difference in this world.”
– Fred Rogers
Have a Great Day
Be Inspired… SpiritJava
I was planning on ending the week highlighting SpiritJava. As you can see in the logo, SpiritJava consists of ‘Caffeinated Meditations’. If you click here you can enter your name and email and receive at the start of each day a quote, and a few lines written by Gregg Kennard.
Imagine my surprise when I opened this morning’s SpiritJava email and it was about Susan Boyle, the same as my post yesterday…
Here it is:
“I dreamed a dream…” Susan Boyle’s excerpt from Les Miserable
The Britain’s Got Talent contestant’s dream is coming true. Good for her.
God’s desire is that all of our dreams come true. It may require some patience, persistence, courage, and action, but manifestation of your best life is definitely what God is about.
He put the dream and desire in you, so keep believing, hoping, and moving forward.
You never know when that defining moment may come. A week ago, Susan Boyle was in virtual obscurity, now she is a household name, an international star.
Keep dreaming!
How’s that for Karma?
I love starting out each day with my SpiritJava email,
it is a reminder to decide at the start of each day, to go into that day with the intention of it being your best day yet…
and that’s pretty important, after all, you’re living it, it’s your day!
Check it out!
Be Inspired… By Susan Boyle
If you have been under a rock, as I sometimes find myself,
or busy getting playdough out of the rug,
you may not have seen this video of Susan Boyle,
a 47-year-old unemployed woman who lives with her cat,
in a small village.
She was on Britain’s Got Talent
AND SHE HAS THE VOICE OF AN ANGEL.
Warning: This will move you to tears, good tears.
Simon was even moved…
If you haven’t heard her yet- Here she is…
What is so inspiring about her is that she reminds us that we all have a special gift inside us, that only we can bring to the world… discover and use your gift.
*I would have put the video right here but you cannot get it off of youtube anymore, you have to go to youtube and watch yourself, which explains the above link… enjoy!*
“Why Make It, When We Can Buy It, Mommy?”
Another thing I’m unconsciously teaching my son…
My little Guy and I planned to surprise my Big Guy by making him his favorite dessert the other day-
Angel Food Cake! We had all the ingredients at home, and by all the ingredients I mean: angel food cake mix and water.
We had to swing by the grocery store for a couple of items before we went home from school. We were walking through the bakery section when my son EXCLAIMED,
“Mommy, Look!” He had picked up a freshly baked Angel Food Cake.
“This is perfect! We can get this for Daddy!”
And we were going home to BAKE him one…
I explained to my little one that we already had the ingredients at home to bake Daddy the cake, which he already knew, and that it would be fun… and then he hit me with it:
“Why make it, when we can buy it, Mommy?”
I think that if there was a ‘Mom School’ I’d surely be in detention right now, writing,
‘I will teach my son the value of making things more, and the value of a dollar’ on the chalk board a thousand times.
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
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