Weekend Recount and Quick Weeknight Meals Made Easy

I want to thank all of you for your kind get well wishes from last week. I am finally starting  to feel better. Manatee and I don’t get sick very often so this has been a hard week for us. For the first time in a long time, I missed 7 days of working out and he missed 5. That didn’t even happen post-marathon! I am really excited to get back in the saddle tomorrow and he is at the gym right now (lucky guy!).

Patient vs Nurse

In the past week, Manatee and I both got to play the parts of patient and nurse. Lucky us. I don’t think anything tries a relationship more than sickness.

Manatee as patient.

Time: The morning that Manatee stayed home from work

Setting: Badger Girl at kitchen table going through emails, Manatee crosses the room wrapped in a blanket and cradling a cup of tea.

Badger Girl: George and Lil invited us to a party on the 21st. Wanna go?

Manatee: Sure, that is (dramatic pause) if I LIVE until then.

Manatee as nurse. 

Time: First night of Badger Girl being sick. 

Setting: Badger Girl buried under blankets, holding a Kleenex up to her flowing nose, Maggie tucked into her lap. Manatee looking out the window at the falling snow. 

Manatee (with an excited tone): Do you want to go skiing this weekend?

And yes folks, in both instances he was completely serious.

Good-byes

In sad news, we took Maggie back this weekend so we are now dog-less. She was such a great companion and an amazing little nurse.

Her only annoying habit was that any time she sensed tension, she dove under things to hide. She hid under the Christmas tree, end tables, and had  a knack for getting stuck under the bed in our guest bedroom.

The first time she got stuck we didn’t realize it and we tried to lure her out with all of her favorite things, putting them just out of our reach. You can imagine how bad we felt when we realized she couldn’t move. It was like taunting Baby Jessica with a teddy bear when she was stuck in the well. No wonder she growled at us when we reached for her.

It got to the point that as soon as she dove, one of us apologized. Right before we left, I made the mistake about snapping at Manatee about something stupid and there went Maggie, headfirst under the tree. I didn’t even realized I had snapped! I apologized and then went to retrieve the dog.

All throughout her visit, Manatee wouldn’t give me a straight answer on whether or not he was sold on getting a dog. But within an hour of coming home to an empty house, he was online taking quizzes to find out what dog breed we should get. Project-Get-a-Dog was successful!

Quick Weeknight Meals Made Easy

I had a rough start to January. When I started my business in April, I was moving on the defense. I never had time to set up a filing system, a means of organization, or process. I had decided in December that with the new year, I needed to put all of that in place. December flew by and it was 2012 so for the last two weeks, I have been scrambling.

On top of wanting to get the business in order, Manatee and I also re-dedicated ourselves to Clean Eating. So I needed a way to make healthy, clean meals that wouldn’t suck up time I needed on the business.

Sound familiar?

Here was our solution:

At the beginning of the week, we grilled up two packages of chicken tenders and made a double batch of quinoa or brown rice.

The first night, we had grilled chicken tenders with BBQ dipping sauce, sauteed veggies with quinoa (or rice), and a salad.

The rest of the week was just about finding different combinations with our leftover tenders and veggies.

You can toss them with a pasta sauce with some veggies and serve over whole wheat pasta.

Wrap up in a whole tortilla with shredded lettuce, tomato, and salsa.

Mix together soy sauce, Sirracha, and hoisin sauce for a stir fry with tenders and veggies over your leftover quinoa/rice.

And our favorite meal….

Super Easy Chicken Curry

1 tablespoon oil* 
2 packages of fresh mushrooms*
1 can of light coconut milk
3-4 tablespoons red curry paste
2 tablespoons brown sugar 
2-3 tablespoons Sirracha
2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce
1 package of frozen stir fry veggies
2 cups of leftover brown rice or quinoa
4 cups of spinach
3-4 cups of cooked chicken tenders, chopped

*We had mushrooms to use up and we love mushrooms more than anything. If you are not a fan or don’t want to make a special trip, omit these ingredients.

1. Heat the oil in a large saute pan on medium high heat.
2. Add mushrooms and cover until mushrooms are cooked through.
3. Turn down heat to medium. Add coconut milk, curry paste, brown sugar, Sirracha, and soy sauce. Mix until combined.
4. Add veggies and leftover chicken. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes until all ingredients are hot.
5. While that is simmering, heat up leftover rice or quinoa in microwave.
6. Serve curry over spinach and rice.

   

What are your favorite go-to meals or tricks when you are faced with a busy week?

What kind of dog should we get? 🙂