Latin Jam

I love nights like tonight.

I went to an AMAZING Latin Jam class. The class was packed. SIX of my friends came to the class. There were at least 30 people there. When the class is that big, the energy changes. Every one pushes a little more, tries a little harder, dances more "balls out".

I like to stand in the front. I can see what the teacher is doing much better than if I was in the back, and I CAN'T slack because the teacher, and everyone else, would notice. Tonight, I sweated so much that the sweat got in my eyes and made my eyes sting!!

The first time I looked up at the clock, half an hour had already gone by. The next time I looked up, 55 minutes had elapsed. To me, that is the PERFECT workout. One where I don't feel like I'm working out. According to multiple websites, Zumba burns about 400-600 calories an hour! I would have to say that these Latin Jam classes burn AT LEAST 500-700 calories an hour!

Afterwords, a couple of us went to Starbucks for coffee/dinner. My "dinner" consisted of a Caramel Machiato, and I was even able to stay away from the pastries.

One day, I will take a video and post it up here. Until then, if you are in the LA area, check out a Latin Jam course.

www.latinjam.net

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta

Last week I was looking at a great new blog, http://momscookingclub.blogspot.com/, when I came across a recipe for Creamy Cajun Shrimp Linguine. It was from Cooking Light so I knew it would be relatively healthy. It was just what I was looking for to bring to Saturday nights girls night!

The recipe was a hit!

Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Cooking Light – September 2006
Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup water
1 can fat-free -- (14-ounce) less-sodium chicken broth (I used a low sodium vegetable bouillon cube soaked in 2 cups boiling water)
6 ounces uncooked linguine (I used 1 box of penne)
1 pound medium shrimp -- peeled and deveined (I used 1.5 lbs)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter (I used 2 teaspoons)
1 package presliced mushrooms -- (8-ounce)
1 large red bell pepper -- cut into (1/4-inch-thick) slices
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I used 2 teaspoons)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup half-and-half (I used 1.5 cups of fat free half-and-half)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I used 1/3 cups)
1 Patty Pan squash and 1 yellow squash



Combine 1 cup water and broth in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil. Break
pasta in half; add to pan. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat,
and simmer for 8 minutes. Add shrimp to pan. Cover and simmer for 3
minutes or until shrimp are done; drain.

Note: I did not drain the liquid since there wasn’t THAT MUCH LIQUID.
I just took out the pasta and shrimp and proceeded in the dutch oven.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, squash and
pepper to pan.

saute 4 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Add flour,
seasoning, and salt to pan; saute 30 seconds. Stir in half-and-half; cook
1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add pasta
mixture and parsley to pan; toss.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items and my additions): 173 Calories; 6g Fat (33.8%
calories from fat); 23g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 184mg
Cholesterol; 401mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1/2
Vegetable; 1 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

This picture is of the leftovers because I forgot to originally take a picture of the finished product. It looked MUCH better than this :)

Three Columns

Yay! I have 3 columns now. I followed the instructions from Blog Buster. It was super easy, but I'm just not sure how to fix the little things that are now wrong with it.

Please bear with me :)

Kids Say The Darndest Things

This weekend:

The monkeys were swimming and the big one took an awkward jump in to the pool. SHE comes up through the water and yells, "Ow! My nuts!"

The little monkey was talking to the neighbors about their dog. We were saying how the dog was silly, just like her. She says, "I'm not silly. I'm crazy"

We were driving in the car and the older monkey asked me if we were rich. I asked her if she knew what rich was? She said, "It's when you have a lot of money and have a big house". Obviously we are not rich. I asked her if she knew anyone who was rich? She said, "Yes, Riyad. He says they have a big house". I'm sure his mom (a close friend of mine) will be happy to hear that they are suddenly rich :)

Friends

What a great weekend so far. Dinner last night. Tonight:

This will be short. I'm at a friends house for girls night. Great food, AMAZING drinks (my friend mixes the most awesome drinks), and now...

There's a pole in the middle of the dance floor.

There will be NO pictures :)

Friday Observations

I went to dinner with a great girl friend tonight. There are many types of friends, but girls like this are the best:

• She agrees to go to the restaurant I want as often as I agree to go to her picks (and MANY times, both of us have the same pic).
• We used to have 3000-4000 calorie meals. We would go to a restaurant, say that we weren't that hungry, or that we were on a diet. Then we would proceed to order 1/2 of the fried or cheesy appetizers on the menu. Not to mention the HUGE margaritas. Now we are both trying to be more mindful of what we eat, and how much we eat. Tonight we had a couple of orders of meat to BBQ (it was a Japanese BBQ place) and called it quits. Before, we would just be starting to eat after that.
• When we get together, we hang out for AT LEAST a couple of hours. And we don't run out of things to talk about. In fact, we hang out by the cars for a while because we each "forgot" some ting "important" to tell the other one.
• We are honest with each other. I can tell her what I think about her love life/work issues/grooming habits (eye brows) and she can do the same for me.
• We laugh more than we talk.
• She is willing to do anything for me, and I for her (except most Sundays - I know not to bother her then (lol)).

I am very lucky that I have a number of friends that fit this bill!

If any of you are out there reading this - THANK YOU!!

RIP Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

I was GLUED to TMZ today. It has become the #1 source for many different types of news these days. EVERYONE was citing them as their source. It was pretty crazy!

Facebook was lite up with status updates about MJs passing - so unexpected and surreal; kind of like he was.

Once again, today we learn that life is unexpected and fleeting. Kiss your loved ones today!

On a different note, I joined twitter today. Now what?? And why??

Bummin'

I had all these plans of what I was going to do tonight when I got home from Latin Jam:

• Help a friend transport a bench (I have a Navigator) - she was busy talking to her husband and re-scheduled for tomorrow
• Not eat dinner - I got home and realized I was hungry for the chicken I made last night and it was OMG good!
• Clean out at least one drawer - have been lying on top of my bed since 8:45 pm
• Clean out my closet - have been lying on top of my bed since 8:45 pm
• Look at my stack of mail - have been lying on top of my bed since 8:45 pm
• Come up with a meaningful blog post - have been lying on top of my bed since 8:45 pm and my mind has been a blank

Do you see a pattern emerging?

I have realized that the mot meaningful think that I am going to do before I fall asleep is take a shower since I tend to sweat ALOT during Latin Jam class.

Braised Chicken in Coconut Milk

Looking through the Cooking Light Bulletin Boards (OK, I say that all the time) I came across this recipe at the same time as I can across the beans recipe.

I bought the chicken breast a couple of days ago and they were in the refrigerator. I knew if I didn't use them today, that I would be scared to use them tomorrow and would throw them away.

Before going to Latin Jam tonight I quickly cooked up this recipe (about 10-15 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of total cook time). I ended up eating this when I got home from class.

The braised chicken was SO tender. The flavors were rich but not so much that you can't eat a big portion of this. The spice was very mild, and the cayenne pepper can easily be increased if you want SPICY.

I can easily see myself making this meal for company, and will definitely be making this again for just our family.

Braised Chicken in Coconut Milk
PREP AND COOK TIME: About 45 minutes
MAKES: 4 servings

2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ground dried turmeric
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)
4 boned, skinned chicken breast halves (5 to 6 oz. each)(I used about 2 lbs. of chicken breasts)
1 teaspoon salad oil (I cooked on a little chicken stock instead, since it was already on the stove)
1 cup thinly sliced onion (I used 1 sweet onion)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (I used 1 tsp. ginger powder)
1 can (14 oz.) reduced-fat coconut milk (I only had regular coconut milk, hence me saving on the oil and using more chicken to increase the servings)
About 1/2 teaspoon salt
Thin red or green bell pepper rings (optional)

1. In a small bowl, mix coriander, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and vinegar until smooth.

2. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Rub spice mixture all over breast halves.

3. Pour oil into a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat, swirling to coat bottom. When oil is hot, add chicken and turn as needed to brown on both sides, 4 to 5 minutes total. Transfer to a rimmed plate.

4. Add onion, garlic, and ginger to pan; stir often until onion is lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir often until mixture boils. Add chicken and any accumulated juices, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered, turning pieces once, until no longer pink in center of thickest part (cut to test), 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer chicken to a rimmed platter.

5. Turn heat to high and boil sauce until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 4 minutes. Spoon evenly over chicken. Add more salt to taste, and garnish with pepper rings if desired.

Per serving (without my changes): 253 cal., 30% (76 cal.) from fat; 35 g protein; 8.4 g fat (3.9 g sat.); 10 g carbo (0.8 g fiber); 411 mg sodium; 82 mg chol.

What do I look like?

I went out to lunch with old co-workers today. One of them CRACKS me up most days! Other days she does this:

Friend - I love your wrap
Me - Thanks
Friend - Where did you get it?
Me - My monkey's ballet studio
Friend - Is it comfortable?
Me - Yes
Friend - What size is it?
Me - Small
Friend - Does it come in extra small?
Me - I don't know
Friend - Where else can you buy it?
Me - I don't know
Friend - What other colors does it come in?
Me - what do I look like to you, a store?
Friend - Stand up, I want to see how it flows
Me - OK
Friend tries it on - How does it look?
Me - Fine

For the record - it looked cute on her. It is pale mauve, long sleeved and warm enough to wear in the office with a tank top underneath. It looks very nice with slacks and looks professional enough.

I'm just glad she didn't ask me to go in to the store, take pictures of what else they had and report back to her.

:)

Beer Glazed Beans

Every Sunday morning we cook for the monkeys. Today, my in-laws came over and we made breakfast for the family. We made both waffles and eggs. This meal kept me full until about 7pm.

I decided to make something a bit different for dinner. A couple of days ago I was tooling around the Cooking Light bulletin board and came across a recipe that sounded WONDERFUL. A complete pantry meal (with a little substitution).

Beer-Glazed Black Beans
(Mark Bittman: HTCE, 2008 revised edition)

Makes: 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes with cooked beans

It's amazing how much flavor you can get from adding beer to black beans. Lagers and wheat beers will produce a lighter, fruitier dish; porters will add richness and stouts a deep, caramelized flavors.

Other beans you can use: pinto, pink or black-eyed peas

2 Tbsp. EVOO (I used 1 tbsp.)
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup beer (I used Sierra Nevada)
3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained but still moist (I used 1 can black beans and 1 can garbanzo beans because that’s what I had on hand)
1 Tbsp. ground chili powder or ground cumin (I used 2 tsp. each)
1 Tbsp. honey
salt & freshly ground pepper

1. Put the oil in a skillet over med-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft, about five minutes. Add the garlic, cook for about a minute, then add the remaining ingredients with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.

2. Bring to a steady boil and cook til the liquid is slightly reduced and thickened, about 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve hot or refrigerate for up to 3 days and reheat.

I added sliced chicken and apple sausage I had in the freezer to the mix as the been mixture was starting to boil.

The first 15 minutes of tasting this, the beer COMPLETELY overwhelmed this dish. It could have been the beer I used (I'm not a beer connoisseur) but it took about 30 minutes for the flavors to join together and be quite tasty.

I have a feeling that this will be AMAZING tomorrow for lunch, after the flavors have had a chance to completely meld together over night.

You Were Right

Apparently, I needed to slow down. To stop running around. I was EXHAUSTED!

I came home last night with all the best of intentions to go to the gym and maybe go to the movies. I thought I would rest for about half an hour. At 7pm, I barely got a blog post out before pretty much passing out.

I slept from about 8pm to 8:15am! I think it's been years since I have done that. I guess my body REALLY needed sleep :) 12 hours worth!

Today was back to insanity (two different recital, in different locations, back to back, and then a kids birthday party, with grocery shopping at 9pm) but wow was last night great!

I am hoping to get a little more rest tomorrow afternoon.

I think I should listen to people more often.

Graduates

Congratulations! To the Pre-School, Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School and High School graduates.

May the future only be brighter than the present!

Change

Along with a sense of fun times ahead, I have always thought of summer as a time of renewal. You can be what you want, do what you want and change whatever you aren't happy with.

I'm curious and anxious to see what this summer brings.

Summer

First off, blogging has been very therapeutic for me. I'm not necessarily able to say EVERYTHING I want (my blog isn't that anonymous) but it's nice to have an outlet for the things I want to say. I love the comments that I do get. So, thank you.

I blogged earlier about loving summer, even though I work full time. Well, tonight illustrated why. I took the little monkey to ballet dress rehearsal. Afterwards, we invited good friends over for dinner (Chinese take-out). After dinner, the monkey's and their friend went out to the front yard to ride scooters and play basketball. The adults stood around talking and playing with the kids.

We had a GREAT time. It was warm outside, the sun was out, and since it is the last week of school, no one had to rush home to do homework.

What a nice beginning to summer vacation. I sincerely hope that he rest of summer is just like this!