Camping!

This past Monday was mine and Jimmy's 2nd anniversary.  To celebrate, we took a camping trip.  We have been talking about getting a tent and going camping for months now.  After the great tent fiasco and subsequent trading, we have a tent we are really happy with.

We couldn't really decide where to go.  We wanted it to be special since it was our anniversary, but due to time constraints and commitments, we couldn't go very far.  Googling "eastern NC campgrounds" eventually led us to the Bay River Campground's website, which you can check out here.  Google mapping the location, we found out the campground is on Swindell Bay.  Needless to say, we were sold.

Jimmy went out to pitch the tent before he went to work and sent me a picture from his phone:

This was the primitive campsite that didn't have electric or water hookups.  However, this was the only campsite right on the water.  There was a small dock on a channel to the side of our site:

 We definitely tried to catch some things in the casting net and go fishing.  The casting net only caught some bait-sized fish.  Sadie and Katie enjoyed getting on the dock.  When we walked out the front of our tent site, this is what we saw:

 Even though it was a primitive site, there was a shower house just a quick walk away.  These were the best bathrooms at a campground I have ever seen!  There were only 2, but they had a full shower, toilet, and sink, with little benches. It was like being at home!  When we got to the campsite around 11:30 Friday night, the people who ran the campground had already started a fire for us in the firepit.

This was only the first nice thing we experienced here.  There was a dock with crab pots owned by the campground and they told us we could have as much crab as we wanted if we would just put some bait back into the crab pots.  Since fishing did not turn out as well as expected, we got a few crabs.  I had already fixed up some ribeyes for Saturday night, thanks to this recipe.  Saturday night, we ate like kings!

 2 guesses as to who the beer belongs to, and if you need a hint, I don't drink beer!  Earlier in the day Saturday, we drove down to Oriental.  It is GORGEOUS, but there is nothing to do there if you are not a boater.  We drove over to Bayboro looking for a grocery store, but didn't find one.  Pamlico county is beautiful, yet sparsely populated.

We had a really awesome time.  I found out I am no spring chicken--2 nights on the ground just isn't fun on the hips and back!--but I can't wait until we do it again!

Refried Beans...renovated

     My tagline at any Mexican restaurant while growing up was, "Just rice, no beans."  Refried beans have always been so bland and therefore unappetizing to me.  However, at least once a week we had burritos, and the side dish was always refried beans.  Dad would brown some beef, throw in a pack of taco seasoning mixed with water, and a can of pintos. I think the refrieds may have been more like glue to hold the burrito together.  Now my husband loves these burritos and we make them about once a month or so.  But I still didn't like refried beans.

This was until I met Pioneer Woman.

     Now, I like Pioneer Woman's recipes.  I've never made anything bad from her website.  She does get on my nerves a little bit because she is so cutesy and I can't stand to hear her talk.  I guess she would fall into the category of someone I wouldn't mind hanging out with, but in small doses.

     I never would have thought about changing up a can of refried beans, but she has convinced me.  There is no going back.  In this recipe, she uses the beans in burritos, but I stole her idea for just cooking the beans: Beef and Bean Burritos.  Throwing a handful of shredded cheese in a can of beans totally changes them.  It adds salt and flavor.  I usually get fat free refrieds, so I'm sure the fat grams even out between the cheese and beans (and if not, I'll keep telling myself that).  Today I also threw in about half a tablespoon of Valentina's sauce.  It's in the Mexican food section and, instead of just being hot, adds a nice smokey flavor.  YUM.

Chicken chili

So, about a month and a half ago, I checked out the new South Beach Diet cookbook. I got the stuff to make one of the recipes (You might know I make a weekly meal plan, then shop exclusively based on that) a few weeks ago, but I accidentally turned the book in before I made the chicken chili. Thankfully it was all canned goods, so nothing went bad. So today, I took out all the ingredients and made my own chicken chili, loosely based on a recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breasts
4 tsp. EVOO
2 tsp. cumin (heaping, cumin is my favorite spice!)
2 tsp. oregano
3/4 tsp. cayenne
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. butter
3 cups broth
2 cans of white beans
1 can diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 can tomato paste
Tabasco brand Jalapeno sauce

While heating 2 teaspoons of oil in a frying pan on medium high, I mixed all the spices in a small sauce cup. I sprinkled each chicken breast with some spice mix, approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons total. Next, I browned the chicken on each side. When the chicken was done and removed to an extra plate, I put the rest of the EVOO and butter in the pan. Then, in went the onions, and I sprinkled those with the spice mixture (about 2 tsp.) When they were soft enough to pass the Jimmy test, I poured them in my soup pot. I deglazed the frying pan with a cup of broth, then poured the broth in with the onions, with the other 2 cups of broth. I poured in the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, and remaining spices, and sprinkled about 6 drops of Tabasco Jalapeno sauce. While it warmed over medium high heat, I shredded the chicken and threw in the chicken. I let it simmer for a bit, but I was hungry so I took out a bowl and began eating. I sprinkled a little cheddar on top, and crumbled some tortilla chips on top. YUM.

Next time, I will probably drain and rinse the beans to reduce the sodium content. This chili wasn't too spicy, but had plenty of flavor. You could definitely increase the heat if you wanted.

One Year Later....

One year later and I'm updating again. There's something about the summer...oh wait, my days aren't consumed with work!

This was quite possibly the most difficult EOG season so far. On top of giving EOGs, my team managed to place 11 children. ELEVEN. The Exceptional Children's program in North Carolina requires a litany of evaluations to be given--educationals, IQs, social histories, the list goes on and on. So when you factor in that, on top of preparing for EOGs, middle school transition meetings, giving EOGs, attempting to do homebound, and regularly scheduled meetings, it has been a hard 2 and a half months. And when you come home, you don't want to cook, much less have to think about what to cook, so you wind up making whatever's easiest and has the most carbohydrates. Ironic how those two things go together.

Jimmy has started night shift. He really loves it. I don't mind it, in fact I like it better for the summer than regular 7-3:30 shift. I do feel a little guilty, as this incredible malaise has settled in and I feel very unmotivated and lazy, but he is working hard: cleaning out the garage and working on his projects.

I'd really like to blog more. I don't know that I can really call myself a "blogger," as I have had quite a lapse in postings! But I have "Stumble!d" onto some really awesome websites and I would like to try my hand at it.