On Vacation

Just wanted to let you all know that we'll be on vacation for the next 2 weeks and will not be posting to the blog. We'll be on a 12 night Scandinavia & Russia Cruise. Hopefully we'll have lots to blog about upon our return.

What Every Woman Needs: A "Sport" Washer

After nearly 2 years of living abroad, I still get the weekly Costco deals emailed to me (and so does Ben). We actually read them...they don't go to the virtual recycle bin unread. As many of you know, we actually love Costco that much. These email circulars provide quite a bit of conversation fodder in the Gale household. Ben and I will often talk about the awesome deals on cool stuff that we are missing out on (Waterford crystal, wooden play kitchen for Carter, computers, cameras, and other random stuff that we don't need).

The latest e-circular arrived and I'm really stumped by one of the offerings: a Whirlpool "Sport" Washer & Dryer. What exactly is a "sport" washer and dryer? It doesn't look especially sporty to me.

Is it faster than a traditional laundry system? Or do I get a workout from it while doing laundry? In reading the specs, it is apparently equipped with an "innovative suspension system." Who knew this was important for laundry. I'm still not convinced that's what is sporty about it, though. It certainly can't be to encourage men to do laundry...it would need an ESPN ticker and video game like graphics to entice Ben into the laundry room.

Your thoughts? What makes a washer and dryer "sporty?"

If It Wasn't So Gross, It Would Be Funny

What does a slug do after a long night of eating poison? Take a nap on my lawn chair, of course.



I'm at a loss for words.

PS - Ben said if they come in the house, we're moving. I support that.

Sunday Supper #2

This week's dinner suggestion is a favorite at our house. I don't make it very often but when I do it's always a hit. This is a recipe from Cooking Light: Super Fast Suppers. I wouldn't exactly call it "light" especially if you are generous with the cheese and sour cream. And I wouldn't call it "super fast." If you are like me and use fresh peppers instead of frozen, it's a little more time consuming to do all the chopping. But, it's certainly an easy dinner. And more importantly, super delicious.

I have included the orginal recipe below and then beneath that I have included some of the things that I have done to "tweak" the original to our liking.



Chicken-Pepper Tostadas

Yield - 4 servings (serving size: 1 tostada)

4 (6-inch) corn tortillas
Cooking spray
12 ounces frozen pepper stir-fry
12 ounces chicken breast tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 1/2 teaspoons salt-free Mexican seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp Cheddar or part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat broiler.

Place tortillas on a baking sheet; lightly coat each tortilla with cooking spray. Broil 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp, turning once; set aside. Place pepper stir-fry in a colander. Rinse in cold running water 30 seconds or until peppers thaw; drain well, and pat dry. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray; place over medium-high heat until hot. Add pepper stir-fry; sauté 4 minutes. Add chicken, seasoning, salt, and red pepper. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes or until chicken is done. Top each tortilla with 1/2 cup chicken mixture and 1/4 cup cheese. Broil 1 minute or until cheese melts.

A couple of changes that I do from the original recipe:

• I use flour tortillas as we don't like corn tortillas very much. When broiling the flour tortillas, you have to be very careful not to burn them...it's more like 1 minute a side, not the 4 you would need with the corn tortillas.
• I use fresh bell peppers and onion in lieu of the frozen pepper stir-fry. 3 bell peppers plus 1 medium onion is probably more than the recipe would call for but we like the extra veggies.
• I always have sour cream and salsa on hand for topping.
• And, finally, the recipe says it yields 4 servings...no way, not unless you are serving something else. Ben and I each eat two.

Die Slugs, Die!

First thing this morning, while the grass was still damp, I went out to the yard with a wooden skewer and some Windex in a bowl. I'm sure I stabbed at least 35 slugs and dropped them into the Windex. The ammonia makes them ooze. It's super gross but effective. I thought of taking a picture but decided that was a little too disgusting to post. Even Carter was out there helping me hunt them down in the grass.

I also made it over to the garden store and bought some slug poison. The reason I've never been able to find it there before: it's locked up behind the counter. The rat poison and wasp killers are out in plain sight on a regular shelf, but the slug bait is behind the counter? Go figure.

Back when we lived in Northville, our hostas were essentially eaten to the ground and it didn't really bother me. The difference: the deer were eating the hostas. Bambi is so much more acceptable in my book than hundreds of slimey slugs.