As the saying goes

I'm heading to Vegas this coming weekend with a bunch of my girls - and of course, the inevitable "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" always comes up. We are a bunch of well behaved wives and mothers, so I'm sure nothing will happen there that needs to stay there... but it got me thinking. What sayings out there come up all the time but should come with disclaimers?

 

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"

     --Disclaimer: Except for STD's. That shit stays with you forever.

 

"The grass is always greener on the other side"

     --Disclaimer: That's probably because that grass is all full of manure. Go ahead. Take a trip to the other side and see what you get all over you.

 

"There is no "I" in team"

     --Disclaimer: Uh, yeah there is. See below.

 

 

 

"Once a cheater, always a cheater"

     --Disclaimer: Unless it's a guy and the last girl he cheated on cut off some vital body part. No more cheating for him.

 

"If you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it was meant to be"

     --Disclaimer: First of all, if you love it, why set it free in the first place? But anyway, pertaining to animals - don't set it free. You set an animal free and it gets hit by a car and dies. Then what?

 

"When one door closes, another one opens"

     --Disclaimer: What if I wanted the stupid door closed? Leave it closed and leave me alone!

 

Then there are the statements below. Women would never lie about any of these things... no disclaimer needed.

 

 

 

 

Fool for food

I am in heaven... in love... so super duper happy! About my new food processor. Yup, I'm that person.

I got a food processor for Christmas (thanks, Mom!) and after my initial paranoia about not having a clue how to use one of these things, I drug it out yesterday for all my prep work on my chicken pot pies. I make pot pies and stick them in the freezer so if we need a meal in a pinch, I can pull one out and cook it. They taste really good and except for all the chopping and dicing, are super easy to make.

I always hated the prep part of them because you have to chop/dice 6 carrots, 6 celery stalks, 3 onions and 3 potatoes. Not to mention shredding the 6 chicken breasts as well. But with my new kitchen toy, this takes a matter of minutes. It's freaking awesome.

It took me a couple tries before I finally figured out the best way to slice everything up - but when I finally got it...

Then I decided, what the hell - I'll do a couple casseroles to put in the freezer too. One was super easy (read: requires no cooking, chopping, dicing, shredding, effort) and the other took a bit longer but I got to use my new processor again. Score.

Red and White Tortellini casserole - looks great, will have to let you know if it's any good!
Buffalo Chicken casserole - same as above
Sweet and Sour Meatballs - didn't freeze, but made the same day (verdict = LOVED)

I have no idea where I found the original recipe for the chicken pot pies, but read on below if you want to make them. I have it saved on my computer since I make them a lot. It says it makes 3 - it can easily make 5. It's a ton of food! The tortellini and buffalo chicken casseroles will make 8 different meals (instead of putting them in a 9x13, I split them into two 8x8 pans). The meatballs were about 3-4 meals. The pot pies? Those will last 2 meals each and I've got four, so that's 8 meals. I'm set for a while LOL.

So as soon as we buy another freezer (because our current one is stocked to the brim), I can make some more crock pot meals and casseroles. Now that I won't have to spend hours in the kitchen, I can make up a ton of stuff to have on hand! Because let's face it - I like my food.

This is why I will never survive a diet. Oh well.

Chicken Pot Pie – if thawed in fridge, cook at 350 for 45 minutes (frozen, cook for 60-75)

Ingredients:
6 chicken breasts
3 onions
6 carrots
6 celery stalks
3 potatoes
42 oz chicken broth
3 cans of peas
3 cans cream of chicken soup
9" pre-made pie crust (one for each pie)
8" foil pie pans (one for each pie)

Directions:

• Wash and trim 6 chicken breasts. Put in a pot of water on the stove and cook at med-high for about 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
• Chop the onions, carrots, celery and potatoes.
• Melt 4 tbsp butter in large pot and add all veggies except potatoes.
• While veggies sauté, shred chicken and set aside.
• Add chicken broth and diced potatoes to veggies after about 5 minutes and simmer over med heat until reduced by half.
• Remove pre-made pie crust from fridge to sit for 10 minutes before placing in foil pans.
• After broth is reduced by half, add in shredded chicken, peas and cream of chicken soup.
• Line each foil pan with a pie crust.
• Evenly distribute chicken/veggie mix into each pan.
• Top each with remaining pie crust, pinching sides together with your fingers.
• Cut 2-3 vents in the top with a knife.
• Wrap well with plastic wrap and place into a gallon freezer bag.
• Write cooking instructions and date on each one.
• Place in freezer.

Job searching is e x h a u s t i n g.

I've been working since I was 15 years old. While I was in high school, I worked part time after school. While I was in college, I worked full time and did night school. I always thought THAT was tiring.

But job searching really does take a lot out of you. You can comb the internet, newspaper, and job boards for hours without finding something that fits you. Some days you find a ton of stuff - you apply for all of them and... you never hear back. It's really (really) frustrating.

I'm not looking for a full time job. I have one of those in the form of a 6 month old who is learning, discovering, and experiencing new things that challenge me each and every day. So if looking for a full time job is rough, try a part time one. Anything that pays a decent amount of money is full time. And since I'm looking for something close to home, I'm sort of limited. I mean, when you think about it - why would I take a part time job for 20-25 hours a week that pays $10 an hour and drive into Phoenix for it? I'd use up more in gas money than I would even be making.

So my search criteria on the various job search websites equals a part time job that is close to home and pays somewhat of a decent salary that I don't have to do an insane amount of work for. Yeah.

How I feel every time I search for a job

So after perusing numerous sites and making my eyes bleed, I started to think about things I like to do and decided I should check out pastry school. I like to bake and I've gotten somewhat decent at it - I could go to school and learn a whole bunch of things and maybe open an Etsy shop or something to put it to good use. But holy crap - a degree from Le Cordon Bleu for Patisserie and Baking is freaking $37,000!! Oh, but it includes books and uniforms. Uh, no.

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I thought maybe I could go back to bartending. I did that for a while when I was younger, and I really enjoyed it. And whenever we sit at the bar to wait for a table, I can't help but watch the bartenders and sort of wish I was back there again. If I went to school, I could learn all the drinks that I have completely forgotten how to make. And maybe get a part time job at a hotel bar or restaurant or something. Or I could do this:

Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.