Tag: goals

#3/52 Italian Stuffed Peppers

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This recipe from well plated was okay. We opted for ground turkey, and I’m pretty sure my husband didn’t notice it wasn’t beef. In my opinion, turkey doesn’t have much flavor, so I did HEAPING teaspoons of Italian seasoning, doubled the red pepper flakes (would do more next time), and added extra mozarella by accident.

Our peppers were on the thicker side, and I wish I would have cooked them for closer to 50 minutes instead of 35. All in all, these stuffed peppers are on my “OK” list. I think the next time I try stuffed peppers; we might check out a different recipe. Do you like stuffed peppers? What are your favorite ingredients to stuff them with?

Ingredients  

  • 4 large red bell peppers
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or up to ½ teaspoon if you like more spicy
  • 1 can no salt added diced tomatoes with juices, 15 ounces
  • 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice farro, quinoa, cauliflower rice, or orzo (if using orzo, undercook it slightly)
  • 1 cup shredded Mozzarella provolone (or a mix)
  • ½ cup Parmesan divided
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Instructions 

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray. Slice the bell peppers in half from top to bottom. Remove the seeds and membranes then arrange cut side up in the prepared baking dish.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook, breaking apart the meat, until the chicken is browned and cooked through, about 4 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid, then pour in the can of diced tomatoes and their juices. Let simmer for 1 minute.
  3. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the rice (or farro) and ½ cup of the Mozzarella and ¼ cup of the parmesan. Mound the filling inside of the peppers, then top with the remaining cheeses.
  4. Pour a bit of water into the pan with the peppers—just enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes, until the peppers are tender and the cheese is melted. Top with fresh basil. Serve hot.

52 New Recipes in 2023, #1/52 Sublime Swordfish

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2 years ago, I started a journey to lose some weight in a healthy way, my New Year’s resolution was to make one healthy snack a week. Well, this year my New Year’s resolution will be to make one new recipe every week for a year. As a domestic engineer, meal planning multiple meals a day is exhausting. I have found that I am more motivated to cook when I am trying something new! So, please leave me some comments if there is a favorite dish you love and want me to try. I am really excited to embark on this culinary adventure and grateful to have you here for the ride! If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do so at the end of this blog post.

The first new recipe of the year is Swordfish. I decided to try the Best Grilled Swordfish recipe from Tasting Table, and I am so happy I did! This is definitely a recipe I will make again in the future; the taste was sublime. I decided to pair it with pesto spinach and cheese tortellini and sauteed green beans. If you try it, let me know what you think too.

Ingredients

  • 3 lemons
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ½ cup olive oil, divided
  • 4 (6-ounce) swordfish steaks
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
  • 1 bunch fresh basil, coarsely chopped
  • 1 bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Wash and dry the lemons and fresh herbs.
  2. Zest and juice 1 lemon into a 1-cup glass measuring cup. Juice a second lemon into the cup, but do not zest it. Then, add the thyme to the mixture.
  3. Finely mince the garlic or paste using a garlic press
  4. Add ½ the garlic to the lemon and thyme mixture. Then, add ¼ cup of olive oil. Whisk to combine the marinade.
  5. Dry the swordfish with a paper towel.
  6. Using 1 teaspoon of salt, season both sides of the fish.
  7. Place in a zip-top bag and add the marinade.
  8. Place in a shallow dish and marinate in the fridge for up to 20 minutes.
  9. Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. Pick the fresh basil leaves and fresh parsley leaves from the stems, and coarsely chop. (You are looking for about ½ cup of each basil and parsley after the leaves have been chopped.)
  10. Add the leaves to a food processor. Add the juice from the remaining lemon, ½ teaspoon of salt, the rest of the garlic, ¼ cup of olive oil, and the red pepper flakes. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped (do not process until smooth), about 5 to 7 pulses.
  11. Heat the grill using high heat for 7 to 10 minutes. Clean well with a grill brush. Then, reduce the heat to medium.
  12. Remove the fish from the marinade and place it on the grill.
  13. Grill the swordfish for 3 to 5 minutes per side, until it easily releases from the grill and the inside is flaky and opaque — or a probe thermometer registers 130 F in the thickest piece of fish.
  14. If desired, cut an additional lemon in half, and grill it for 3 minutes. Serve with the fish for a final squeeze of freshness.

No plans November

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Anyone else feel burnt out from all the activities over summer? I am. Some people are planners, but I am not one of them. I prefer to go with the flow and decide what to do day of. For the sake of my toddler getting some socialization we have been busy doing playdates multiple times a week since Spring. I am burnt out. I need a break from making plans. How do you tell your friends you don’t want to hang out, without hurting their feelings?

I am not sure either. So here we are, almost halfway through November and I have done fantastic with my No plan- plan, I guess I got lucky with colds and a Montessori conference, but I think I am to the point I will just have to say something and hope my dear friends do not take it personal. We have gone out to eat once with another family – but that was planned and arranged by my husband, so still on track with my weird goal.

Today’s world has me feeling like I must be depressed if I don’t want to hang out with people, but I don’t feel that way. I really enjoy alone time and embracing a season of rest, decluttering, cleansing, and reset. We aren’t being completely antisocial either. We have been to the playground several times and Malia always manages to make a friend and I end up talking to said friend’s mom. Perhaps in these conversation, the inner questions will unfold and be answered.

I feel like my soul is calling out to slow down, sit alone with my thoughts, conserve energy, and deal with one thing at a time, as I follow the prompts from within. Planning doesn’t allow me to be as present. Most of the summer felt like a race of cleaning, teaching, hiking, and errands. Winter is a wonderful time to slow down and breath. When you hike down a snow covered trail, the peaceful-serene feeling is inexplicable. I can’t clear my head on a hike if someone else is walking beside me talking, which is why I prefer to go alone. It’s my therapy. Anybody else need alone time to reset?

In honor of being more present this month, I am sticking to No Plans November. You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, and let go and see what happens. Que Sera, Sera.

Ocean Waves

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The ebb and flow of change is sometimes hard to cope with. When the story doesn’t go as you imagined and it doesnt seem to be in your favor. It sure is hard to see the light sometimes, collecting our blessings and lessons gathered from realizations of experiences with positive or negative outcomes.

If you are currently unhappy or upset about a thought, feeling, or consequence

Change it.

Easier said then done. Although, different perspectives can drastically shift the emotion attached to particular thoughts. For instance, a lover’s quarrel seems miniscule in comparison to a friend being diagnosed with cancer. Sometimes all it takes is a change of scenery to secure a different outlook on your current situation. Sometimes I look at pictures of puppies and kitties for sale on craigslist – it always seems to make me smile. Perhaps I will sit down and watch a comedy or a documentary or a guided meditation. Today I decided to try something new….

It was both terrifying and magical to walk through the tropical forest at The Butterfly Pavilion. So scared I may step on one, yet watching them flutter around and zip past my head was breathtaking. They freaked me out when they came zooming for my head, of course it always resulted in a soft giggle to myself for being frightened of something so silly.

One of these delicate creatures landed on my journal this afternoon, while staring up at me with its glossy eyes, it smiled and reminded me to see the bigger picture. Change can be complicated, terrifying, magical, breathtaking, humbling, fast, silly, and simple all at the same time.

Butterflies are not afraid of the unknown and whimsically dance through the forecast of fear to fully live in the now. There is an innate beauty in the finishing of a process, a completion of a step, and the excitement of the unknown future. To go boldly, genuinely, and with love is the greatest gift one can give. Always keeping in mind “Everything is going to be OK in the end. If it’s not OK, it’s not the end.

❤

Contradicting Thoughts and Realizations 

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I went to a CA meeting on New Year’s Eve. The gentleman sharing was 21 years old. He had 5 years clean. I instantly judged him as not credible. He didn’t have enough experience. He didn’t have enough to lose.

Then he said something that instantly made me feel terrible about my judgments. “It doesn’t matter if you hit rock bottom or not we are all here for the same reason.” We go to meetings because we have a problem, we keep it anonymous to not be judged, we all agree we need help and that we cannot stay clean doing it alone. 

I felt horrible for having that initial thought, but that’s the point right? To catch ourselves if we do something wrong, recognize the error, and make it right. I realized this initial thought was silly based on one of my own beliefs. You only hit rock bottom when you die, if you are still alive there is still room for improvement. If you aren’t alive, you never have a chance to make things right. It doesn’t take a major life event to open your eyes to your addiction or a developing addiction. Sometimes all it takes is a realization that alcohol or drugs are causing you more pain then the pain you aim to escape from. Meetings are to give hope, to know you’re not alone, and something greater can help you conquer your addiction in despair. 

Pain is the touchstone of spiritual growth. It is important to stop pursuing whatever your idea of perfection is, you will never be happy if you aim for such an ideal. Find beauty in the littlr things. Happiness is appreciating what you have, not getting what you want.

Sobriety is a journey not a destination. I am excited to see what 2018 has in store for me!

#alwaysgettingbetter 

Donatello, The Reminder.

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Just breath.

In.

And.

Out.

Repeat.

This week has been rough emotionally for me. No reason why. Just sad. Maybe the solar flares a couple days ago had an effect? Perhaps mercury retrograde is placing a spin on things? Could be the stress from the holidays and scrambling to get the “appropriate” gifts for everyone. Either way, sometimes these “emotional funks” come and it can be impossible to leave your bed.

Occasionally they pass, and other times you must pull yourself out. The best way I have found to do this is by re-accessing my goals and making sure I am still on the path to achieving them and remembering what I am grateful for.

Today I put a little Donatello Ninja figurine at my desk. Although this action may look as though I am trying to preserve my youth, it has a deeper representation for me. The name Donatello has Latin, Italian, and Spanish roots and means “Gifts or Given from God”. Placed on my desk today as a reminder to hold gratitude for all the gifts we already have, counting all the blessings that continually enter my life.

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Best Crystals for Travel

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Last week was one of the biggest gem shows in Colorado. I am not sure if it is fortunate or unfortunate that I cannot go without spending at least $500 every year. I thought I was doing well this year only spending $100, then the next day I spent another $300 and work traded $500 worth…oops. #sorrynotsorry

This year I had a different goal in mind. Generally, when I go I try to get items I don’t have yet or that I am really drawn to for meditating purposes. This year my goal was to pick out some small crystals that will help for traveling! I read over a few different blogs to see what other people thought was best. Then I made a list of ideas of what I wanted from the trip, some of those being abundance, divine guidance, confidence, emotional balance, healing, opportunity, problem solving, protection, and strength.

With the help of my handy dandy crystal book this is the list I came up with:

  • Malachite – Malachite is a guardian stone, it is said that if danger is looming it will shatter into pieces. Promotes leadership, enhances creativity, provides protection, and encourages confidence. It is also a stone of transformation, bring positive transformation to the wearer.
  • Sunstone – Benevolence, strength, abundance of blessings. Has a connection to the sun, holding its power within. This stone of luck permeates a special shine and boosts vitality.
  • Citrine – Manifestation, personal will, mental clarity, creativity. Inspires self-discipline and willpower, attracting professional success and wealth.
  • Bloodstone – Strength, courage, purification, vitality. Legend says that Bloodstone was first formed at Christ’s crucifixion by drops of blood staining the stones at the foot of the cross. Its grounding, fatigue, and irritability combating qualities also make it a strong stone for women to level out emotions.
  • Labradorite – Magic, protection. Properties heighten intuition and improve psychic abilities. It balances and protects the aura, preventing energetic leaks.
  • Rhodonite – Discovering and developing hidden talents, compassion, love, generosity, altruism. It is a stone that helps prevent arguing and bickering allowing one to see both sides of the situation.
  • Moonstone – Mystery, self-discovery, intuition, insight, dreams, the goddess, soothing, and helps with digestion. Moonstone is excellent to put in your luggage to ensure that it does not get lost.
  • Amethyst – Protection, purification, and release of addictions. Amethyst opens and activates the crown chakra, allowing the divine connection to thrive.
  • Lapis Lazuli – Inner vision, truthful communication, royal virtues. Helps to look at situations objectively. Reminds us of the power of the spoken word, fosters full verbal expression and clears problems caused by “swallowing your tongue.” Lapis Lazuli encourages clear expression when sharing information with others, including easier communication of anger.
  • Selenite – To clear and charge the other stones, it also breaks any negative attachments that may be looming on one. Calms, brings deep peace and mental clarity.
  • Shungite – Russians have been using this stone for years to purify their water. Besides purifying, this stone is excellent for counteracting negative electromagnetic radiations from affecting one’s physical body. It removes negativity, but will also rid the body of pollutants, bacteria, viruses and free radicals. It is the epitome of detoxifying.

Here are some other pictures I snapped at the gem show!

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Without Change There Would Be No Butterflies

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Butterflies have held symbolism in many cultures for centuries, mainly representing endurance, change, hope, and life. How suiting that this lovely creature decided to fly inside, to say ‘Hi’ at a celebration representing change, hope, and resilience.

 

Friday night was a celebration of overcoming the obstacle of addiction. Addiction is a side effect of anxiety, emotional, and physical traumas. The butterfly fluttering in was a great representation to remember the great endeavors we have overcome in life. It takes a lot of willpower and continuing hard work to maintain a life of sobriety. I wouldn’t be where I am today with out the support of my family and friends; living in a state of gratitude every day I wake up.

The Christian religion looks at the butterfly as a symbol of resurrection. Resurrection into a truer you. Powerful transformation, metamorphosis in your life, moving through different life cycles, renewal, and rebirth – I am using this evening’s visit as a refresher. A reminder that it is important to keep sight of your goals and keep pushing for what you want out of life.

Always. Taking. Steps. Forward.

“Like a butterfly, I am growing, and changing and finding my true colors in life. I am finding my wings so I can fly, and soon be on my way.”

 

Crickets – Symbolizing Luck

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The beautiful sounds of crickets chirping outside as I lay my head down to rest. This last week has been packed full of long days of work. It feels so nice to be horizontal and this lovely tune outside of my window inspires me to write. How fitting that the cricket symbolizes luck, good fortune, and everything one has been working toward and dreaming about are now possible.

Every step I take, now in the direction aligned with the end goal – save enough money to move out of the country for several years. There was lackadaisical planning since 2012 when my first escape was interrupted by the law. The plan bloomed the summer of last year. Now, with a year left until launch date, there is serious planning, arduous work, and of course honoring my wild side until we depart.

When I say we, I’m referring to my friend Margaret and me. Oddly enough I met her in the rehab I was sentenced to 2 years after my judicial debacle. I didn’t like her when I first met her; funny how some people grow on you over time – to a point where we are virtually inseparable. This lovely woman and I are currently planning an exciting expedition. Theoretically we would love to go to every country, although most nations aren’t very fond of Americans or felons for that matter.

I have always been an explorer. Traveling to 48 states and a several countries left me craving more, more than the drugs I use to lose myself in. I have been patiently (well let’s be real, I haven’t been patient) waiting to finish probation so I can leave the state freely without requiring permission. Probably a funny thought for most people, requesting to leave and having a solid approved reason to do so. Apparently “because I feel at home on the road ” wasn’t a sufficient answer. 😉

chakraThe day that I discovered the world had different chakra centers of energy vortexes, both hemispheres of my brain lit on fire. This was it. This would be the basis of a guide for the beginning of traveling. What started off as a singular adventure quadrupled to four companions. Over the course of a year, 2 dropped off the bandwagon, leaving just two of us to pioneer our own destinies of exploration.

Planning escalated when two friends informed me they were getting married in Costa Rica 3-4 months before we thought we were going to leave. The research beings. Where do you even start to plan a trip like this aside from overworking yourself to save the money … we decided visas and vaccinations, after we picked all the countries of course. Our list is currently nearing 80 different countries.

As this cricket slowly gets quieter I feel as it’s my cue to wrap this up for tonight …. it’s so hard to sleep when I get excited.

Solar Eclipse…Embrace A Little Lunacy

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Advice from a Solar Eclipse:

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Cast a long shadow.
Glow with Excitement.
Have a stellar attitude.
Be out of this world!

Wow. There are not words to describe the experience of the totality of the solar eclipse. When the moon comes in-between the Earth and the Sun. Planets start to pop out in the sky, birds become quiet, and the horizon mimics a sunset – 360°. I have to say it was the most epic natural experience I have ever encountered.
​The amount of energy was wild, from the people watching it on the side of the highway with us, all the way to the cosmos. Personally, I felt refreshed, renewed, revitalized. I had a new sense of what direction I wanted to take my life and new goals emerged. What a wonderful time to ignite them with the power of this solar eclipse new moon!
I am finally going to take the steps to finish my Bachelors in Nutrition, plan a series of  yoga classes, and take the steps to saving and planning for a world excursion! Stay tuned to see how things pan out … ❤