Dinner and a Movie

To start off my post, I would like to wish a happy birthday to my favorite chef, Rachael Ray!!!

So for dinner tonight I finished up my pizza craze with a new recipe; buffalo chicken pizza.

It was very very easy to make. 

All you need is:

1 can Pillsbury pizza dough

2 large cans of shredded chicken breast

1/2 cup Franks hot sauce (divided)

1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt

1/2 large onion (I prefer yellow onions)

1-2 cups shredded monzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dice onion and sautee until tender. Mean while, mix yogurt and 1/4 cup of hot sauce. In a baking sheet spread out pizza dough. I put mine on some parchment paper, so that it wouldn't stick. In a separate bowl mix chicken and remaining hot sauce. Spread yogurt mix over pizza crust (I didn't use all of mine, but do what you like). Next sprinkle chicken and onions over pizza. Then layer with cheese. Bake pizza for 10-15 minutes (I did 10 minutes and thought it was fine, my husband said he liked it crispier). When done crust should be golden around edges, and cheese melted. I served my pizza with ranch dressing (Hidden Valley, of course).

The pizza was great. Now it's movie time. Obviously I pick out terrible movies, that only I enjoy, so my husband picks out the majority of our movies. Lately it has been either western or war related. 

Tonight we watched We Were Soldiers, starring Mel Gibson. It was a great movie! Funny, dramatic, emotional, and action filled! This movie made it easy to see why so many soldiers have PTSD. I mean the movie was pretty graphic at times (I'm an ICU nurse, so I've seen a lot of graphic stuff, and this movie was intense). I'm not sure if this movie won any awards, but it really deserved too.

Now we are watching Emperor, with Tommy Lee Jones and that guy who played Jack from Lost. We're only thirty minutes in, but it seems to be a pretty good movie. Hopefully I can stay awake, to watch all of it...I mean it is 10:50pm. 

That is all for right now. Leave me comments, I'll read them!

Until next time,

-Lesli

Dinner Winner

So about those food photos I promised yesterday....here they are.

First is dinner from last night. I prepared some pork chops, just seasoned and popped in a skillet. My husband fixed his wonderfully crumbly cornbread. And I finished it off with stewed squash, blacked-eyed peas, and homemade fried okra. There was also two okra balls made on accident...aka my battered okra stuck together, so I went with it.

For tonight's dinner, we had pizza. Instead of the usual Pizza Hut $32 order, or some Digorno, I made this pizza myself. The hardest part of this pizza was the sauce. I had some tomatoes left over from my parents' garden, and really needed to use them. Thank God for Pinterest. I found a simple marinara recipe and the rest is history.

Both meals were supper delicious. The first meal I paired with a Redd's Strawberry Ale and a glass of sweet tea. The latter, I paired with some Red Moscato wine, about three glasses. 

So that's my food for now. I have to go back to work the next three nights, but hopefully more pictures of my home cooking will be posted this weekend.

Until next time,

- Lesli

I have made a budget!

Hello boys and girls of all ages.

I, Lesli the blogger, have made a budget!!! Let the celebrations begin!!!

Seriously though, I have finally sat down and made out a budget. It took all of 1.5 hours. After looking at Pinterest, for a good long while, and deciphering through all the free and non-free budget print-outs; I made my own. It is nothing fancy by any means. I threw in the colors for my own benefit of sprucing it up. None the less, I hope that this spreadsheet, will help me put a name to ever dollar; that way instead of losing money, I can hopefully save some.

Unfortunately I can not figure out how to post a copy of my budget spread sheet for others to see. If you are tech savvy, or smarter than me in general, please comment so that I may know how to post a Word Document on my blog.

Anyways, that is all I have accomplished for now. I do not have to work this evening, so I'll probably cook. Hopefully if I remember I'll post some Foodie Photos for you.

Until next time,
-Lesli

Goals!

I know I start every post the same, and this time is no different.

I know it's been a while, but I am going to do better and post more often. I have a few goals in mind that I believe will help me. Those goals are as follows: become more active, build up enough endurance and stamina to complete a 5k, learn to make and stick to a budget, and become a more adept chef.

Now why these goals might sound silly, absurd, reasonable, and unachievable. I believe that by posting about my progress with each goal, that the magic of the inter-web will hold me accountable; or at least I hope so.

So to start off this journey I will catch you up on my progress thus far.

Goal #1: Become More Active

I have been trying to go to the gym more often. I also try to be active around the house, which entails doing chores inside and outside. I've also started running, which brings me to my next goal.

Goal #2: Complete a 5K

For the past week and half I have been using this "Run 5k" app on my phone. I already had the "Couch to 5k" app, but bought this one because my friends were using it. Anyways it uses interval training to help build up endurance, stamina, and strength. This way at the end of eight weeks you should theoretically be able to complete a 5k without stopping. So far I've been running/jogging/walking just over 1.5 miles each time. But hey I'm only on week two.

Goal #3: Make and Stick to a Budget

After buying a house, new furniture, and now a new vehicle, it is time I make a budget. I've always been pretty good with money...when I didn't have to pay the bills. But since that ship sailed 2 years ago, the husband and I have acquired some debt. Now it's time to get rid of that debt. My plan is the "snow ball effect". Pay off the smallest debt first, then take its payment and combine it with the next smallest debt, and so on and so forth. Sounds easy enough. But lately I can't find any extra money to get stuff paid off any faster. That is where the budget will come in to play. 

Goal #4: Become an Adept Chef

So evidently I like to cook. I at least like to take pictures of my food and post it to Facebook. So now all my friends think I can cook. I am being asked more and more frequently if I cook every night and if I love to cook. And while I do love cooking, I do not cook every night. I would love to be an amazing cook though. Cooking is therapeutic for me. And if it's just me and the dogs home while I'm cooking, I tend to talk out loud and pretend I'm on a cooking show. Yeah I'm crazy! Cooking and preparing meals is calming and let's the mind be creative. I have made meals up before, but generally I like to follow recipes. That's why the majority of my 65+ Pinterest boards pertain to food. So be prepared for food pictures, recipes, or links to recipes.

So let's start this journey together. And while I may not post everyday, I do hope to post at least once a week with a progress update on me and my goals.

Until next time,

-Lesli