Lobster Cobb Salad Rolls

from: Cooking Light December 1999

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

Directions
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring constantly. Stir in barbecue sauce and beans. Sprinkle with cheese; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream, and roll up.

Nutritional Info (1 burrito(
CALORIES 458(26% from fat); FAT 13.3g (sat 4.1g,mono 5.6g,poly 2.4g); PROTEIN 34.9g; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 243mg; SODIUM 744mg; FIBER 4.8g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.1g

from:

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
3 1/2 cups (1-inch) cubed red potato (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Add potato; saute minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, thyme, pepper, nutmeg, corn, and broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in crab, parsley, and salt; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

from: Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients
For the vinaigrette:
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
5 tablespoons good olive oil
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the salad:
2 ripe Hass avocados
1 lemon, juiced
1 bunch arugula, washed and spun dry
1 1/2 pounds cooked lobster meat, cut in 3/4-inch dice
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lean bacon, fried and crumbled
3/4 cup crumbled English Stilton, or other crumbly blue cheese

Directions
For the vinaigrette, whisk together the mustard, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
For the salad, cut the avocados in half, remove the seed, and peel. Cut into 3/4-inch dice and toss with the lemon juice. If the arugula leaves are large, cut them in half crosswise.

Put the lobster and tomatoes in a bowl. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and toss with enough vinaigrette to moisten. Add the diced avocados, crumbled bacon, blue cheese, and arugula and toss again. Fill the hot dog rolls with the salad. Serve at room temperature.

Organized Living


Sorry I didn't post yesterday! It was one of those days … incredibly busy. But I'm back today with new photos of my ever-so-organized craft room. My method of organization is simple: throw everything in the center of the room and then slowly empty the pile, sorting things as you go. If you find more paperclips, you find a bigger container. Once everything is in proper storage containers, you load it all back into the cabinets/closet/whatever, adjusting as necessary. This is a classic example of that.

What I like about this method is that I *always* finish organizing. I can't not finish because if I don't, then there's a huge mess in the middle of my room and I won't live with that.

I did largely the same thing in the bathroom, which you'll see when hopefully this evening, I sit down for more than a min at my home computer and upload all the back photos I've been hoarding.

Snow(y) Day

Well it's one cold and snowy day here in CO. I'm almost wishing that I'd taken off today instead of Friday because man would it have been nice to just lie in bed this morning and watch the snow fall, followed by a day of sitting and reading and drinking tea.

But then I mightn't have gotten all the stuff done that I did get done on Friday. Suffice to say it wasn't my whole list, but it was pretty impressive. Continue reading “Snow(y) Day”

Thursday is the New Friday!

Well this week anyhow. With all the *everything* that I've been doing, I feel like I really need a bit of time to knock a few things off my to-do list. The hosue is a wreck and things need to be culled-through and organized. I thought I'd have some time to do that sort of stuff this week, but no, I've been unnaturally tired and going to bed at like 8 and 9 o'clock. What's up with that??

Today I feel a bit better. So hopefully after I get off work, go to the store, make dinner, and do a bit of clean-up, I'll be able to sneak in a few minutes watching TV or playing Sims 2 Night Life. Wouldn't that be nice? I also need to work on a few little projects. Like updaing my links pages on Jesser. Adding some new photos and a host of other things. I'm going to need to make a list. Continue reading “Thursday is the New Friday!”

And on Sunday …


Since we'd stayed up until 1:30 at my parents house playing Phase 10, we were a bit slow to get started on Sunday. Once we did, we introduced Patrick to the wonders of Noodles and Company and then headed south to visit Garden of the Gods. I'm not sure I've ever been there before Sunday, but whatever the case, we got to take Loki on a nice walk around the area and look at some very nice rock formations. I will be posting further photos later …

After GotG, we drove back to Denver and picked up dinner at Tamale Kitchen … we took the food home and made the only thing that could possibly improve upon Tamale Kitchen's food: margaritas. Margaritas were followed by lots and lots of Karaoke Revolution. I think it's safe to say that everyone enjoyed themselves.

On the Slopes

Our good friend, Patrick, was in this weekend from Nashville. As is our tradition, we went skiing!! We usually go Vail, but since the condo was occupied, we day-tripped Copper Mountain instead. It was perhaps one of the best skiing days I've ever been on. The weather was gorgeous … sunny and warm(ish) for most of the day and the snow was bee-yoo-tee-ful. Since we rented skis in Denver, packed our lunches, and used our vair cheap Copper 4-Passes, it was a very cost-effective day on the slopes as well.

It was quite the remarkable day, too. As we were waiting in the lift-line we noticed a young lady in a puffy pink jacket with a fur-trimmed hood. She was wearing TONS of make-up and talking on her cell-phone (and a call that was clearly NOT “I'm in the lift line!”). Well we got on the lift, went on up and started skiing down. We noticed Ms. Cellphone skiing and talking at the same time. Suddenly, the multi-tasking became too much for her and she fell in a giant poof of white. Miraculously, she managed to hang on to and keep talking on her cell phone. Tres amusant.

But that does not compare to the other spectacle we witnessed … Continue reading “On the Slopes”

Chunky Potato-Crab Chowder

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
3 1/2 cups (1-inch) cubed red potato (about 1 pound)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
8 ounces lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt

Directions
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Add potato; saute minute. Sprinkle with flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, thyme, pepper, nutmeg, corn, and broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in crab, parsley, and salt; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

BBQ Chicken Burritos

from: Cooking Light December 1999

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 pound skinned, boned chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup bottled barbecue sauce
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
4 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream

Directions
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, onion, and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until chicken is done, stirring constantly. Stir in barbecue sauce and beans. Sprinkle with cheese; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/2 cup chicken mixture down center of each tortilla; top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream, and roll up.

Nutritional Info (1 burrito(
CALORIES 458(26% from fat); FAT 13.3g (sat 4.1g,mono 5.6g,poly 2.4g); PROTEIN 34.9g; CHOLESTEROL 65mg; CALCIUM 243mg; SODIUM 744mg; FIBER 4.8g; IRON 3.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 49.1g