Buffalo Chicken Chowder Recipe

Yeah so whats new!!!! I all I do is cook!haha I am very thankful that my mom allows me to be adventurous and play food network star and try out all kind of recipes! Thanks MOM! Last night I decided to try another recipe from the Everything Healthy Cookbook and it was a delicious soup called Buffalo Chicken Chowder. Normally this would probably be a better soup to serve in the fall or winter...but I just couldn't wait a few months to try it! It turned out to be a two thumbs up recipe in the miller house!

It tastes like a delicious buffalo chicken queso soup! Has a bit of a kick but its not too hot at all!

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pounds boneless & skinless chicken breast
3 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or red pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cups sliced celery
1 (8oz) package sliced mushrooms
2 cups chopped carrots
4 cups chicken broth
1 (13oz) can non-fat evaporated milk
1/2 cup fat free half&half
1 & 1/2 cups lacy swiss cheese
1/2 cup lowfat crumbled feta cheese
1/2 bottle Franks Red Hot Buffalo Wing Sauce (The buffalo one is a milder sauce and good for this recipe)
1 small can chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup low fat blue cheese dressing

Directions:
1) Cut up chicken breasts into small chunks and then toss in mixture of flour, salt, and cayenne pepper. Then heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat and add chicken. Cook and brown chicken for about ten minutes and then remove from pot.

2) Add butter to pot and melt. Add garlic, onion, and celery, mushrooms, carrots, and pepper to pot. Cook and stir the veggies on medium to high heat until they are crisp and tender for about 8 to 10 minutes. Then return the chicken to the soup pot and also add the chicken broth.

3) Bring soup to a simmer, cover, and leave on medium to low heat for about 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Then reduce heat to low and stir in evaporated milk, half and half, swiss cheese, feta cheese, and franks sauce. Continue to cook and stir until cheese melts and is creamy.  Turn up to medium high heat and add some clear gel or cornstarch to thicken if need be.

4) Stir tomatoes and blue cheese dressing together in a dish to serve as a garnish for on top of bowls of soup.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes prep time (to cut chicken and veggies up) and then about 40 minutes for cooking the soup! Its 6 points plus on WW for a cup and a half. And the recipe easily serves a family of 6. Enjoy!

This is so Not Greys Anatomy!

Sex in the closets, McDreamy doctors, dramatic lovers, fighters, best friends and over dramatized situations where there are bombs inside patients??? This is not what goes on inside a REAL hospital...but it sure makes for interesting tv on beloved  award winning shows like Greys Anatomy and ER. This past Friday I had the opportunity, for the first in my time in my life, to go to work all day with my dad. Up until this point my view and explanation for what my dad did was kind of a mystery. I could tell you what my dad was, his title I mean, but I never really knew the extent of what my father actually did. Many of my friends over the years could easily tell me what their dads did for a living. Maybe they sold insurance or owned their own company. Maybe they were a history professor or an electrician. Or maybe I even got to see some of them at their job because I have a number of best friends who's fathers are Pastors! So anyways when I would tell people that my dad was a PA (a physicians Assistant) with the cardio vascular team...people would turn and say "oh okay so your dads a doctor!" "wow you guys must be millionaires!" NO No you have to go to school for about a million years to be a doctor. While my father did put in many years of schooling after his undergraduate studies at Goshen College, he became a PA and not an MD.
So finally on this Friday 6/24/11, almost 23 years later I returned to the hospital where I was born at 6:30 in the morning. Dad and I woke up at 4:30 ( the way dad has started his day for about 30 years) and got ready and left around 5:30 for the hospital. Piedmont Hospital certainly doesnt look like Seattle Grace but the day started to feel real when we got there and immediately dad passed me off to a nurse who took me into the locker room to change. Why hospital people have to wear nice clothes only to change into scrubs, I will never understand. But anyways in the locker room I grabbed pants, a shirt, a jacket (its kept very cold in the operating room), a scrub hat, a mask, and goggles. I was so unrecognizable that when we walked out of the locker room and into the OR someone asked me if I was a Nurse!ha noooo not me Im a teacher playing dress up! I sat in a chair and waited till about 7:30 when the first surgery or case as they call it would begin. No I was not going to see McDreamy do brain surgery because I was on the CVOR- Cardio Vascular Operating Room floor. My dad works with the one thing we need to keep the blood pumping...the HEART! This is the floor where you go when you have a heart attack or you have blockage in valves or you need bypass surgeries....so the patients are usually not young!lol Anyways I was then taken into OR 18 where my dad was. Finally I was going to see exactly what my dad loves so much! Before I walked in I didn't scrub in (cause obviously Im not the one operating!ha) but I did have to squirt this soap stuff on my hands every time I entered the OR cause everything is very steril. There were a ton of people in the room. At any given time there are usually 6 or more people in the room. people like nurses who pass instruments, the PA anesthesiologist who pushes drugs to make sure the paient stays asleep (my dad was a PA anesthesiologist for 4 years but he just loves surgery so he went back to PA-CV surgery). There is also an assistant nurse who helps the doctor during the surgery, another nurse getting stuff for the nurse who passes instruments, the perfusionist who manages the heart and lung machine (the keeps the patient alive when they stop the heart for surgery) and of course MY DAD the PA! The sounds of Justin Timberlake's "Sexy Back" lingered as my dad started off the surgery after the patient was put to sleep...although no one broke into song like on that weird episode of Grey's. Then the medical team did a call to order to make sure they knew what they were doing, who the patient was, etc. Then my dad did his job. He made a small incision in the patients leg and got this huge fancy tool and stuck it into the guys leg. It had a camera attached so I could see what was happening inside. My dad was going in to get a Vein! Dad worked for about 20 minutes cutting inside this guys leg to pull out a vein. When he got it out I was surprised that it wasnt bigger. It looked like a small red string. Dad quickly sowed up his leg and then worked to prepare the vein for the doctor. I was very impressed the way dad worked meticulously on this small vein sowing up tiny microscopic holes that were in the vein. He prepped it for another 20 minutes and then the doctor showed up to start the surgery. My dad left because he had to go do rounds (talk to patients and families who were recovering etc). Then I got up at the head of the patient and got to see as the doctor and his nurse assistant began to open the patients chest! I thought killing hens and chickens in Peru was intense...no, cracking open someones chest is insane! First they cut with a scalpel on the top layer of skin, and then they use a tool that cuts through the fat and cauterizes or burns it so it doesnt bleed to much and then they use a small saw to cut through the sternum. Finally when the chest is open they use a device to crank open and hold open the chest so the doctor can work. Then I saw it all the heart and the lungs, these organs we love with and breathe with, sitting there exposed. It was unreal and so interesting to see. So basically to make a really long story short. I watched a three or so hour surgery where they stopped the heart and took the vein that my dad had gotten out and attached it somewhere in there. Throughout the whole process they were talking to me and explaining things and I I was trying to sound like I knew what was going on, but all i could think to say was "My friend Bethany is a nurse!" haha I must have said that like 20 times throughout the day!haha. Anyway after the surgery was over, my dad showed up again the close the body. He literally had to sow up like four layers. He first put wires into the chest to pull it closed. Then he sowed up the fat, then another layer, then the skin and then the guy was done. The nurses wheeled the patient to a room in the ICU where he would spend the next five days to be watched and monitored. The rest of the day was much the same although the second surgery I watched my dad on he had his hands right in the patients chest holding the heart for the doctor....it was very cool. Then finally around 5:15 dad and I left the building. This post is already very long, but I could have gone into more stuff about all the people I met, all the WOMEN dad has to deal with haha. I told my dad that where he works is like working in a school like I do cause you work with a bunch of CRAZY WOMEN....lets just admit it when a ton of women get together in a work environment things get a little insane...but anyways thats another story.
I had a long, but awesome day finally getting to see what my dad does for a living. I realized no, my dad is not a doctor, so maybe he wont get any credit, but he is in there with a team of people saving lives everyday and doing it for 12 hours and smiling and talking to patients and interacting with all kinds of people. Okay okay long enough I know so I leave you with a quote from Grey's Anatomy:

"Its not about what you look like, or your job, or how successful you are. It's about having people in your life who you love and who love you. That's all that matters."

Recipe: Caramelized Onion-Apple Pork Chops

Found this recipe and made it last night and it was spectacular...and Im not just saying that because I made it!lol It takes about an hour of prep time and then a few hours in the oven but its totally worth it!

Caramelized Onion Apple pork chop with a side of corn and peas! Yum!

Ingredients:
2 Tbs butter, divided
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 granny smith apples, skinned & chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup apple juice
3 Tbs dijon mustard
4-6 (6oz) boneless pork chops

How To:
1) Melt 1 Tbs butter in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook and stir until tender for about five minutes. Lower heat just a bit and stir frequently until onions are caramelized, like about 20 minutes.
2) Spoon onion mixture into medium bowl; stir in cut up apples, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Let mixture cool for a few minutes. meanwhile cut a pocket into the side of each porkchop (I you tubed this cause I had never stuffed porkchops before!)
3) Stuff onion and apple mixture into each chop, reserving the extra. Dredge filled chops in flour. Melt remaining 1 Tbs butter in skillet, brown chops on both sides.
4) Place remaining onion mixture on chops in a casserole dish. Deglaze pan with chicken broth and apple juice and stir in mustard. Then pour mixture over chops. Cover and cook at 325 or 350 for about 2 hours.

You can serve with veggies or coleslaw or potatoes! The porkchop is healthy and is only 7 points plus on WW! Enjoy!

Its Officially Summer!!!

Today is the First Official day of SUMMER!!! Although we people down here in the ATL wouldnt know that to be any different cause its been 95 plus degrees outside for the past two months!! Anywho in honor of this day I bring you some of the best classic Summer Flicks, in my opinion of course, cause nothing says summer like MOVIES!!! So if your sitting around bored (I highly doubt you are??? Hello we are adults and we have commitments!!!) but If ya just want to escape the heat and kick back with a classic summer movie then here are a few you should check out!

1) Now and Then - Hello this was every girls movie back in 95! I remember first watching it at a birthday party probably when I was like ten, so like three years after it came out. And I remember calling my mom and asking her permission to watch the movie cause I knew it was Pg-13...what a good daughter I was!ha!

2) Sandlot- Every boy's favorite summer movie of 93! "YOU PLAY BALL LIKE A GIRL!!" Dont remember when I first saw this one but I assure you I probably watched it with my two brothers. And after watching it I remember wanting to play baseball with the boys....so that is just what I did on the neighborhood street, I played ball with the boys!lol

3) One Crazy Summer- You cant have summer without the 80s, so this one takes us back to 86 before I was born and you can catch a young John Cusack and Demi Moore hangin out and makin out in Nantucket in the summer no less!!! This is a fun movie I've seen probably over fifteen times!

4) Stand by Me- Again with 86!!! That year was money! Also my oldest brother was born that year...random fact. Classic story of four friends out on adventure in search of a body...no its not a horror movie but its a classic!

5) The Endless Summer- 1966 Classic Surfing movie... basically THE SURFER MOVIE!! Again I cant recall the first time I watched this movie but I know it was sometime when I was in Florida  hanging with my cousins Benji and Jordan, who are quite the surfer dudes! I always wanted to be a surfer...so maybe when I move to Florida in August I can become one too!ha

6) Summer Rental- This movie came out in 1985 but I dont think I saw it until about 15 years later. I found it on tv one summer and then I watched it a bunch! Its about a family who is going on summer vacation and just cant seem to catch a break. Another good one from the 80s!

7) The Parent Trap- Both the 1961 and 1998 version! The classic switch-aroo movie! I remember watching the orignial with my cousins Katelyn and Olivia and Erin especially (probs cause Erin and Liv are twins!!!!) But then the new version came out and I got to go for my birthday and ever since then I have spent the last 14 years A) trying to get that handshake down and B) wishing I could have gone to Camp!!

8) Jaws - This 1975 movie is the reason I hate the Ocean...well I love the ocean I just hate sharks!!! For some reason we would always watch these movies while we were in Florida on Summer vacation, and then of course there was that jaws ride in Universal that did me in when I was eight...I am scarred for life!

9) Heavyweights-1995 I really wanted to go to fat camp after watching this movie...mostly for the Blob...and maybe to hang out with ben stiller in his prime! This was Judd Apatow's brilliance many years before movies like 40 year old virgin and knocked up... etc!

10) Blue Crush- In 2002 I was 14 in eighth grade and totally in love with this movie. This movie started my favorite photo pose.."The Blue Crush pose" you know the one where we stand looking at the ocean and we take a picture just of our backs??? yeah thats the one that I coined back in freshman year of high school due to my intense love for this movie! Again I wanted to be a surfer...."You think you can surf it for real?" "you know it"...it has a killer soundtrack too!

So obviously I left off some good ones like Dirty Dancing, Almost Famous, Adventureland, Tommy Boy, Wet Hot American Summer, The Karate Kid, Grease, just to name a few. But anywho check any of these flicks out this summer!

Can U Handle the new Tunes??

So yeah its Wednesday and its the middle of the week and I'm just gonna throw out some new tunes that I am totally into! Now maybe you have heard them and maybe you havent and maybe they are from ten years ago...but whatever the case check them out cause they are on repeat on my itunes...

1. "Break off the Bough" -Cary Brothers: I love this dude and this is one of his tunes from last year but I just found it from watching that new abc family show "switched at birth"

2. "Struck by Lightning" - The Wooden Birds: This song is from their new album "two matchsticks" and I was totally obsessed after I heard it on one tree hill. The whole album is tight so check it out!

3. "Waiting for the sun"- Powderfinger: These aussies have been around for awhile...like many years and I just stumbled upon them..cant remember how but I love this song and I also love their song "my happiness"

4. "Calgary"- Bon Iver: If ya havent heard Bon Iver's new single then u must be hiding under a rock! Justin Vernon is a genius...This song builds beautifully... If ya like this song check out some of his old stuff.. my mom and my personal fave is "Skinny Love" we rock out like no other to that song!

5. "Faint Not"- Jenny and Tyler: My dear friend Bethany Yoder introduced me to this husband and wife duo and I havent looked back since! Awesome Tune...Thanks B!

6. "Sugar"- Stretch Princess: Anyone who is a fan of MK & A movies aka Mary kate and Ashley... has to remember this song from Passport to Paris! Found this song when I was watching the movie with my dear friend Cree and then of course I went and downloaded it! Its so fun!

Yeah yeah so thats what I have for ya now! I dont want to overload you will my thousands of songs so TUNE in next time for some more TUNES!ha!

Peace Out

-AL

SheBAM!! Two new recipes!

Okay people just call me the food network star cause I am on a cooking roll. While I would love to update you on life, music, and movies Im afraid that this new online class is keeping me fairly busy...but have no fear my favorite stress relieving thing to do in between online classes is COOK!

So the first recipe is taken from weight watchers but me and my mom changed it up a bit adding some flair...but dont worry its still super healthy and super delicious! Here is the recipe for Chicken with balsamic vinegar, sweet onions, and thyme.

Chicken with Balsamic vinegar, sweet onions, and thyme. Serve over brown rice with Broccoli and a whole wheat roll on the side!

Ingredients:
3 Tbs flour
3/4 tsp salt
1lb (four 4 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tsp olive oil
1 large vidalia onion, cut in half lengthwise
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
4 Tbs balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbs thyme
1 tsp butter

On a plate combine flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Coat chicken in flour mixture. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken, browning on both sides for about five minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 350
once all chicken pieces are browned on both sides put them in a casserole dish and cover and place in oven.
Add onions to skillet and saute over medium high heat until browned about four minutes. Add broth, vinegar, thyme, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often for a few minutes. Remove this mixture from skillet and add the whole mixture to the casserole dish with the chicken in it and put it back in the oven.
Leave the chicken in the oven for about 2 hours to finish cooking with the sauce.

Serve over brown rice and with broccoli on the side. It makes for a great meal and the chicken with 1/4 cup of sauce is only 6 points plus on Weight Watchers!


Okay now for something sweet! Here is a delicious recipe for cookies that I got from Joy Bauer's Slim & Scrumptious cook book! Did u know they have millions of cook books at the library??? LOVE IT! Anywho this is a recipe for Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies...and they are delicious! Im serious, you wont even know they are healthy cookies!haha

Two cookies for only 4 WW points plus! YUM!!

Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup mini semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cherries or cranberries

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 Tbs canola oil
2 egg whites lightly beaten
1 Tbs vanilla extract

In a bowl combine oats, flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Then add chocolate chips and dried cherries.
In a separate bowl combine applesauce, canola oil, egg whites, and vanilla
Then add dry ingredients to the applesauce mixture and mix until combined

Place in the fridge for a few hours. Then pre-heat oven to 350
drop Tablespoon size dough onto baking sheet and press down with your fingers to flatten cookie
Bake for 9 to 11 minutes depending on the oven

You can have two cookies for only 149 calories, 3 grams of fat, 135mg of sodium, 28g carbs, and 3g protein...Translation only 4 points plus for weight watchers!

And I am telling you the truth these are delicious and you wont miss the butter and sugar!

Ummm yeah NEW Recipe: Asian Pasta Stir Fry

yeah yeah sorry for the lack of update here in the ATL!!! I have been busy and stressing with this whole Job search but, do ya know what calms me down (other than goin to the movies...duh that was obvious) But anywho its cooking!!!! And I love that my mom has let me go out and buy groceries and try new recipes cause I found another good one in my Women's Health Magazine. This recipe is for an Asian Pasta Stir Fry and get this its HEALTHY and DELICIOUS!

Here is a pic of the Asian Pasta Stir Fry from Women's Health Magazine

Serves 4 (you can double everything to make more. I doubled and it served 6 or more)
prep time 20 minutes
total time 30 minutes

ingredients:
1 small onion
2 cups whole-wheat or whole grain penne
2 tsp whole wheat flour
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
3 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
1 egg plus 3 egg whites
1 Tbs canola oil
4 cups baby spinach
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups chopped tomatoes (use canned its cheaper and drain them)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 & 1/4 cups canned pineapple chunks drained
salt and pepper to taste

1. cook pasta until al dente and then rinse under cold water and drain and put aside
2. while pasta cooks whisk together flour, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, and broth in small bowl
3. In another small bowl lightly beat egg and egg whites
4. In a large skillet heat oil on medium high heat. Add spinach, garlic, and small chopped onion and stir fry for about 3 minutes. Drizzle eggs into pan and continue to stir mixture as they cook. About 1 minute later add tomatoes, red pepper, and then soy sauce mixture. Cook for 2 minutes and bring to a boil.
5. Add pasta and cook in skillet for about 3 minutes so pasta is heated
6. Remove from heat and toss pineapple in and then add salt and pepper to taste.

* This is a vegetarian dish but I added already cooked chicken strips when I added my pasta to the mixture on the heat so you can do that too if you wish to add some meat

1 serving is 2 cups and its 8 points on Weight Watchers points plus! Enjoy!

You Call It Madness, But I Call It Love

Can you name three tv shows that consistently use song titles, like the one I have named this post after, as their episode titles???


Okay so that was just some trivia for ya but anywho I havent been posting much the last few days because I have been applying for jobs and licenses and all of that crazy adult stuff!aahhhhh!!! So I decided that todays post is all about OBSESSIONS!! So I am going to update you on my life with my current obsessions and maybe you will see one that you might want to check out!


Current Book Obsession: The Hunger Games Trilogy (Im on the second one) If you havent read them you would be crazy not too! They are totally addictive and way better than the twilight books! They have romance, action, drama, suspense and a tough female lead...I want to be Katniss! I cant wait for the movie next summer!


Current TV Obsession: So You Think You Can Dance....its just beginning and Im so excited about it...I just wish I could dance like they do!


Current Food Obsession: Frozen Yogurt aka Fro Yo- Its got the taste of ice cream but its smooth and creamy and doesnt make you feel guilty cause there is practically no fat or calories!


Current Web Obsession: Hellogiggles http://hellogiggles.com/- this website was put together by the actress Zooey Deschanel and some of her friends! I love it! It has funny videos and articles and reviews and all things girl! check it out and I promise you wont be disappointed. 


Current Workout Obsession: Kickboxing- three words of advice...JUST DO IT! for real though try it..its a great workout and stress reducer. And if you are a peaceful mennonite like me, it gives you an excuse to beat the crap out of something, ya know get in touch with your inner butt kicking BAMF!


Current Movie Obsession: Bridesmaids- It is the must see comedy of the summer...sure its raunchy and has terrible language but Kristen Wiig is pure genius and she wrote the fricken script! You will be laughing from beginning to end. Its one of those movies you could definitely see more than once


Current Song Obsession: "Baby Drugs" by Tristen...I love it, I dont know why I just do, so why dont ya have a listen too! 

So yeah those are the current summer obsessions for me right now! WHat are yours????


Peace & Blessings