eaten: chicken tikka masala (crockpot)

Steve and I used to go to this Indian restaurant in Provo all the time. They had this delicious naan bread dripping with garlic butter. Yum. There is only one Indian restaurant in Athens and we haven't even been to it yet. But I do like making a couple of dishes at home. Its usually a lot of work so when I found this crock pot version on Pinterest, I was intrigued.

So simple. Could it be good? Well I thought it was delicious but not as good as this recipe which has better flavor. But does easiness to prepare add flavor for the maker? Sometimes. And I didn't serve it over rice, I made couscous. This is my favorite way to prepare couscous.

Chicken Tikka Masala {Crockpot} 

Yield: 6-8 servings | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours

Recipe and Photo from Table for Two

Ingredients:

8 boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins, or about 5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 3 lbs.)

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced

1 (29 oz.) can of tomato puree

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. Garam masala

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. salt, or to taste

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. fresh ground black pepper

1-3 tsp. cayenne pepper (depending on your heat preference)

2 bay leaves

1 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp. cornstarch

Chopped parsley or cilantro, for topping

Instructions:

1. Place everything up to the bay leaves in a large bowl. With a spatula, stir to combine everything and make sure the chicken is coated well.
2. Gently place the mixture in the insert of the crockpot and add the two bay leaves.
3. Cover and cook for 8 hours on low (or 4 hours on high).
4. When done, in a medium bowl, whisk together heavy cream and corn starch, then pour the mixture into the crockpot and gently stir. Let cook an additional 20 minutes to thicken up.
5. Serve hot over a bed of white (or brown) rice.
6. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Steve Rating: 7
beckie Rating: 6

i'm not athletic

Today I had an epiphany of sorts. As you know I have been frequenting the gym. I have worked out a schedule of workouts and today is my day to run a 5k. I have been keeping track of my times in my phone, trying to beat my previous time is going to be the goal. I have been kind of stuck at a 12 minute mile for a long time. Even during the 10K, I think I averaged about 12 minutes a mile. Its an easy doable pace I could see myself running for a distance. Well today I really pushed myself and I ran the fastest 5K of my life, an 11 minute mile for all 3.1 miles. I beat my previous time by over 4 minutes. Now that might not seem like a very big deal but I really am proud. I pushed myself and I even increased my speed for the last bit to finish strong. And I know I can beat that time because even though I was dripping sweat, I wasn't dying or even breathing heavily.

So here is the epiphany. As I was running, I was thinking. Why have I always thought I wasn't athletic? Here I am pushing myself physically, making goals and achieving them but I still think I can't do it. I have put this label on myself: beckie = not athletic. It's a label I've carried around with me as long as I can remember. In high school, I didn't really like playing sports so I guess I just turned it into "I am not athletic" and hence not able to do anything physical. I was smart and bookish, not sporty. And even though I have failed a lot, all those times I headed out for a long run but came home after less than 2 miles, I knew I could do it eventually. You know that thought that runs through your mind as you're heading home, "I should have worked a little harder on that, next time!"

Why do we label ourselves? I find myself doing it all the time. Oh, I'm just not musical. Even positive labels, "I'm creative" can be detrimental. I find myself getting lazy with my creativity because it comes naturally to me instead of really trying to hone my skills and develop new ones. That is why I signed up for this drawing class, to really push myself to improve and try new things. That is why I am at the gym, trying to be healthy and push my body to new strengths.

I know, kind of deep thoughts for a morning run. Think about it though, are you limiting your potential because of some self assigned label that isn't even valid? I know I am.

bexcaliber: giveaway winner!

And the winner is Maren Costa with a guess of 637. I actually bought 622.28 yards of fabric last year. Longer than 6 football fields. Wow! My mind kind of boggles at how much it is. And the even better part is that I have sold most of it already because it is hard to believe I just have that much fabric hanging out in my limited space.

And on another note, I will be attending the Makers Summit next Saturday. Its a one day small business conference for us crafty types. I am thrilled to be in the company of some of the people who have helped shape my business. Stephen Fraser, the founder of Spoonflower, where I get my fabric printed and Amy Flurry, a marketing genius whose book gave me the confidence to start pitching myself. I'm a little terrified too of the one on one consultations that each participant receives. But I am excited to rub elbows and share ideas with lots of other crafty business owners.

Have a great weekend everyone!

A New Sleep Trend...

3 of the last 5 nights have brought us this or a variation of it when we check on Henry before bed. So busy playing that he falls asleep almost hidden among his toys. Busy boy.

And don't forget the giveaway! Today is the last day to enter.

eaten: slow-cooker chicken tortilla soup

Don't forget to enter the giveaway! So far your chances would be pretty good as only 2 people have commented. It ends tomorrow night!

We don't eat a lot of soup. Mainly because I don't often think of it as a meal option. But since it is kind of winter here (today it is almost 70* and we have used our AC within the last week) I thought I would try more soups in my menu making.

This soup was really easy and good. Better the second day when it wasn't so hot that it burned my tongue. It was also really easy and required maybe 10 minutes of prep, my kind of cooking.And the picture is bad because just as dinner was ready my camera battery decided to die. Poor quality phone it is.

Slow-Cooker Tortilla Soup
recipe from Sue Arnett

1 lb chicken breasts, can be frozen
1 (15oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10oz) can green enchilada sauce-I couldn't find green enchilada sauce so I just used mild red
1 medium onion, diced
1 (4oz) can chopped green chiles
2 cloves garlic
1 (14.5) can chicken broth
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10oz) pkg. frozen corn
Garnish: Tortilla chips, avocado, fresh tomatoes, lime, cheese, etc

Place all ingredients in crock pot. Cover and cook on Low setting for 6-8 hours or on High for 3-4. Before serving, shred chicken and remove bay leaf.

To serve garnish with tortilla chips and cheese. We also mixed in black beans. Steve doesn't like black beans so I didn't add them to the whole soup but just used as a mix in and it was really good.

Steve Rating: 7
Beckie Rating: 7

bexcaliber: giveaway

Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!

So I wanted to do a fun giveaway and I also needed some motivation to finish up my paperwork/tax stuff for 2012. I am combining both efforts into a guessing game giveaway.

How many yards of fabric did I buy last year?

I have no idea. The thought kind of boggles my mind. Its a lot. I know I have purchased at least three complete rolls of white cotton at 25 yds a roll. I also know that to find out I will need to go through all my receipts for the year, a task I have been putting off for months.

So there you have it. Please leave a comment with your guess as to how many yards of fabric I have purchased in 2012. Closest person wins a pillow cover of their choice from one of my fabric designs. Pillow can be 16X16" or 18X18" and has to be in stock. Only printed designs are available not appliqued or quilted ones. And I have some fun new prints in the shop too!

Giveaway will end this Thursday Jan 25 at 10:00 pm EST. Winner announced Friday.

And a hint: it takes less than 1/2 yd to make one pillow cover.
Another hint: I jotted down a guess and I am already way off and I only have gone through about half my receipts.

Resolution ReCap

So since this is the first part of the year and doing all these new goals I thought I would follow up here on the blog.

First, I have enjoyed coming up with new menu ideas. Its refreshing to have one new thing each week but not so stressful as to have a whole new menu each week. We have also had some new deliciousness so my repertoire will benefit as well as our bellies.

I have also loved working out more. I joined a gym too. I used to go to the gym all the time when I was single and had roommates with memberships and I loved it. After Steve and I got married we went for awhile but then life got in the way and we stopped going. Man, I didn't even know how much I missed it. I love going now and not only because I actually like working out but because they will watch Henry for up to two hours. Two hours! and lots of his little church friends are often there so he has playmates.

Pros of Working Out:

• Obviously the health reasons and I feel healthy and like I am doing something good for my body
• I am sleeping so much better. I awake early and actually have energy.
• I can feel myself getting stronger especially after a brutal training session with my ultra-athletic friend Stacey. She taught me a strength training routine and it was so hard but I did it. And while it took me a couple of days to recover, I do feel like my body will soon be strong if I can keep it up.
• Time for myself. I usually workout and then take a shower at the gym meaning I have almost 2 hours to myself every morning.
• TV! The gym has tvs on each cardio machine. I love watching tv while working out, its practically like you're not even working out. Plus they have a camera in the daycare room so you can watch/check up on your child while you're exercising.

Cons of Working Out:

•  I am hungry all the time.
• My laundry has tripled. Seriously. 
• My body is often sore and weak but hopefully that will soon pass. I sometimes can't even function without feeling like an old lady.

 And my drawing class is going well too. I had my first class a couple of days ago and I already learned so many interesting things. I learned that I have been holding my pencil wrong and the reason why I have never been able to erase anything--too much pressure. I am a notoriously hard presser and have serious control issues. Both of these will need to be addressed if I am going to succeed. Its been pretty eye opening.

So check back this week for more recipes and my first giveaway of the year!

Video Viernes: Crystal Castles Dance Party

Steve had Henry rock out to some new music while I was running errands. Love the one leg action. And this is the song he was listening to, I just added it to the video so you could hear it better.

eaten: oven tacos

So here is my first new recipe for the year. I, of course, went to Pinterest while menu-making and thought these oven tacos were intriguing. Actually Steve had seen them on my pin boards when I left it up on the computer and said it looked good. They were really good. The recipe and pictures come from Mommyimhungry who I might be checking out for more family friendly recipes.

 A few notes: I misread the amount of beef so I only used 1 lb and the ratio was still fine. And I just used store bought taco seasoning. The filling it very good and I even ate some of the leftovers in a burrito the next day for lunch. I only bought 12 taco shells since there are only three of us and they were overflowing. Next time I would fill them only 1/3 full so you get a better crispy shell/meat ratio and then freeze the extra or have leftovers. Once the shells are baked they need to be eaten that day but the filling would be good another day even in another meal like burritos or taco salad.

 Oven Tacos
adapted from Blog Chef

2 lbs ground beef (or turkey/chicken)
1 small onion diced
1 small can diced green chilies
1 recipe for Homemade taco seasoning, follow link if you really want to go above and beyond
 1 (8 ounce) can low sodium tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can fat free refried beans
2 cups shredded reduced fat Colby-jack cheese
18-20 hard taco shells {if gluten free, be sure they are}

Optional Condiments-
Lettuce (shredded)
Tomato (diced)
Salsa
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Olives, sliced 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

In a large skillet brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Return to pan, add chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Mix well and cook for a few minutes if mixture seems runny. (I cooked mine about 10 minutes to ensure it wasn't runny at all)

Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, standing up. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through.
Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments for serving.

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And this year all new recipes will be tagged with a rating so I can remember what was a hit. Rating is from 1 (please never make that again, yuck! how dare you assault my taste buds) to 10 (let's eat this every week and have leftovers too!)
Steve Rating: 8
Beckie Rating: 9

bexcaliber: groopdealz

I'm doing another groopdealz this week. They talked me into doing a Valentine's Day one. So I am offering a 16X16" love print pillow for $15. You can go here to score this awesome deal.

fav moments: instagram

 Early spring cleaning/dejunking unearthed an old Zack Morris phone. Henry loved it. And then we recycled it when he was asleep.

 3 year old check up stats: 34 lbs. 36.75 inches

 Henry finally has the attention span to sit through a game of Candy Land. And he usually wins.

 Sleeping al fresco

 Steve: Henry, what's in your tummy?

Henry: it's a baby. a baby lion. it's not scary.

No, I am not pregnant. He does crack me up though.

 Memory, anyone?

 Christmas Eve tamales

 Preview of our Alphabet learning

Christmas overfloweth all over the house. Post about kitchen and DIY play food coming soon too.

Video Viernes: Christmas Montage

This is the last of the Christmas. Bring it home, Mariah!

2013: The Resolutions

Last year you will remember that I did a Weekly Tally. Every week I would fill in little squares when my desired tasks were complete. I loved it and it helped me develop and keep some new and necessary habits. Eventually I grew out of it which was the ultimate goal. I no longer needed the sheet to read my scriptures and make my bed everyday.

So this year I have just a few things I am going to be focusing on. I put them here so I will be accountable and I will hopefully follow up by blogging about my attempts and my successes (or failures).


Try One New Recipe A Week: I get stuck in huge menu planning ruts so I am making this goal. I will also be sharing here the new things that were extra tasty so you can benefit too.

Send One Thank You Note in the Mail A Week: This is part of my larger goal to have more charity towards others. Its been fun thinking about not only those who I could thank now but people from my past who have influenced and loved me. 
Why in the mail? Lately I have been feeling the loss of paper in my life. It saddens me to think that Henry might know very little of holding a book in his hand, reading a letter he got in the mail and scribbling notes on a pad or in a journal. Plus who doesn't love to getting mail?

Stretch Myself Creatively: I know I am already creative but I wanted to give myself a little push this year to try new things. So I signed up for an Introduction to Drawing class through a community art center. I'm excited to see how a return to the basics will inspire my work.

Exercise More: I have really enjoyed running lately and spending more time on myself. So I have devised an incentive plan. Every time I work out I get one point, when I reach 100 points, I get a treat. Like a massage or a mani/pedi. So far I am up to 7 points. Not too bad considering I didn't really do anything the first week of the year.

Teach Henry the ABC's: We're doing one letter a week until we cover them all. 

That's it. Super simple and doable. Just what I need right now. Nothing like setting yourself up for success, right?

Super Hero Pirate Mommy

Just crashing my photo shoot. 

Center of attention.

Zippy: Day 13-32

So I kind of got lost in the holidays and forgot to finish off our Zippy adventures. As I was going through these pictures again, I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed this magical tradition. If you are thinking about doing it, I would recommend it. It was so simple yet Henry loved it so much. Little bit of work, mega pay off.  

 Jingle Bells! A book and a bell. The bell is still making merry here at the house.

 Amongst advent stockings. Tricky hiding spot.

 A vandal TPed our tree. Wait, that was Zippy.

 Laying down on the job.

 Guarding the freezer and the peppermint ice cream

 Reminding us to not watch too much Barney Christmas

 Zippy Loves Henry!

 Pirate Zippy all ready for Henry's pirate birthday party.

 Laying down on the job again. Can you tell I was running out of ideas...

 All tied up!

 Hanging with balloons on Henry's birthday

 Again, running out of ideas...

 He brought How the Grinch Stole Christmas on almost the last day because this book is so long I didn't want to have to read it more than a few times. Smart Zippy (Mommy)!

 Dry Erase Marker Fun! There's a snowman in the bathroom!

Zippy gave Henry a Rudolph nose on his last night. Henry was thrilled and didn't mind that Zippy only got a partial nose painted.

See you next year Zippy!

Christmas Eve and Christmas

 We spent our Christmas Eve morning burning off some mega calories at Pump It Up in Athens. A few other families from the ward came and it was fun to start off the holidays with some action. Henry was terrified of the bouncy castles and refused to go in them willingly. After a few minutes of coaxing we got him to bounce on a mat at the bottom of the huge slide. In the end, he was also forced to go down the slides a couple of times and enjoyed bouncing off the slide to the mat. Maybe next time he will be more excited.

 Steve and I also raced through an obstacle course and I creamed him.

 For Christmas Eve we started some fun new traditions. I made tamales which turned out pretty good and of course we made cookies for Santa. Henry loved cutting the cookies and "helping" put them on the cookie sheet.

 We also were gifted this advent calendar from my mom. It was the one we used growing up as kids. I almost cried when I opened it. Henry loved putting up each little figure everyday and sometimes 2 a day as I would forget to do it daily.

 Another tradition I had growing up was making name tags to leave on our stockings for Santa. Each family member decorated a name tag and left it in their stocking. Santa would leave our names next to our gifts Christmas morning.

 We also decorated the cookies for Santa and made him this plate. Henry was very excited the next day to see that Santa (I) had taken bites out of each cookie.

 After decorating and eating cookies, Steve read the story of Christ's birth from Luke 2 while Henry put up the pictures on a flannel board. Yes, this flannel board story is circa 1983. Then we sang "Away in a Manger" and Henry went to bed.  It took him awhile to fall asleep so we were grateful we had built his little kitchen days before. With everything set up, we went to bed.

 Santa brought Henry a new, red kitchen full of felt food, a Mickey Mouse cell phone, a talking zoo with lots of animals and a huge drawing book.

 Santa brought Steve and I a new Wii and some movies plus way too much candy.

Henry woke up early but we woke up earlier. We all showered and got dressed before the party started at 6:30. Henry came out into the living room and was in awe of all that Santa had left. After looking at our stockings, we took turns opening gifts which helped it stretch out to about an hour. Henry loved handing each of us a new gift to open and of course he loved opening all his new gifts too. I used a number system this year so all the presents had numbers instead of names. We were very blessed from family who showered us and Henry with a wonderful Christmas. Steve did a particularly wonderful job mixing items from my list (new art from etsy), things I needed (armband for phone while running and new headphones) and surprises (necklace and gift card to Entourage). He also got me tickets to see Beauty and the Beast which is coming to Athens in February.

After opening everything, we had waffles for breakfast and candy too. The floor was soon covered with toys, puzzle pieces and felt raviolis. For dinner we invited the Nelson's over and we had a delicious turkey and all the classic dishes. Steve and I each managed to take small naps to keep us going. We also got to Skype with our families and see everyone we missed and love.

I have admit we were a little overwhelmed with all Henry's new toys. It was unsettling how quickly his room filled up. But we have sorted out old toys for storage and sent some things to Goodwill and life is a little more organized these days.

Henry's Birthday

I know I know, another blog about Henry's birthday? Well let me just finish these and Christmas and we can move on to 2013 and resolutions and a fun giveaway.

 Here is Henry with all his birthday presents. He was so blessed to have lots of gifts from family and friends. The Big Mickey and the safari puppets were the biggest hits. He lugs them everywhere we go and they all end up in his bed each night. 

We had waffles and strawberries with cream for breakfast but someone didn't eat his waffles. Whipped cream and strawberries it is. And of course, chocolate milk too!

 Gramma sent Snoopy fruit snacks. Henry loves fruit snacks that aren't just the boring smiley face walmart ones. He may have eaten half this box on his birthday.

 Feeding the ducks. Such a happy boy.

Some other fun things about Henry these days. He has developed this elaborate night time routine of his own. After prayers, Steve stays and tells him stories and sings him a few songs. Once Steve leaves Henry immediately turns his bedroom light on and then strips his pajamas off. We turn the heater on in his room before tucking him in since he insists on sleeping in just a diaper in the winter. Then he plays. Sometimes he plays for two hours. Seriously, sometimes we can hear him playing in there until 10:00. He reads his books, loads his bed full of stuffed animals and his pirate ship and anything. When he finally falls asleep, we go in and take everything off his bed and turn his light off. Sometimes he will awake again in the night and just play in his room. Crazy kid. I don't understand how he can get away with less and less sleep. At least he hasn't been super cranky but he has been falling asleep during quiet time.

Henry is getting more and more creative these days and more willing to play by himself. I had a total "aha" moment last week and set up my sewing table in Henry's room. He quietly played by himself for over an hour while I was sewing. And while he played alone, we were interacting because he set up his trains on my table and built towers by my feet. Success.