Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

12 February 2012

Jerk Chicken Soup

So, I have been making an effort this month to try one new recipe a week. Last week it was enchilada casserole from Cooking Light. This week, I modified a recipe I found on Weight Watchers dot com. I tweaked it enough that I will just claim it as my own.

1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning
1 tsp black pepper
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1.25 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs - cut into bite sized pieces
2 cloves garlic
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted tomatoes with peppers, onion and garlic (I used HyVee brand)
1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1/2 lime, juiced
2-3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro


Mix the first 5 ingredients (dried spices) in a small bowl. Toss with the cut up chicken and set aside.
In a 4 quart soup pot, saute garlic, onion and bell peppers in 2 tsp olive oil until soft. Add in tomatoes, beans and chicken broth.
In a large non-stick skillet, cook chicken in 2 tsp olive oil until mostly done. Add to the soup. 
Cook for at least 20 minutes until chicken is cooked through. 
Just before serving, squeeze in juice from 1/2 lime and stir in cilantro.


This is pretty spicy and I imagine my leftovers will be even more so. You can cut back on the amount of the spices to make it more mild, or some diced avocado or a little light sour cream might help tone it down, too. 


This makes 6 servings, about 1.5 cups each. By my calculations, it's 6 WW points per serving. 

07 June 2010

My first ever guest post on a blog!

Check out The Mighty Rib...Kevin asked me to do a short review of a place I went while in St. Louis last weekend.

12 April 2010

New Stuff

Somehow, through a series of moves and the dividing of the stuff, I've found myself without a socket set. My friend Rob would tell you that this is a most unfortunate position to be in, particularly when you've just purchased a 1970 automobile. I kindly remind him that I have friends like him with well stocked garages and mad car-fixin' experience and skills to hold me over until I get off my duff and buy new tools. I finally got off my duff a few weeks ago, marched myself down to sears, and bought a new socket set. It has about eleventy-seventy pieces in it. It's a beautiful sight. Now that I have a set, I have not yet had a need for it. Now that I've said that, I will. This is the first in a series of tool purchases that are becoming necessary. Next on the list is likely a saw of some sort.

In other new stuff news, I finally found some new towels for my bathroom. I had pale yellow ones that matched a shower curtain that I no longer use. The pale yellow went with nothing else in the bathroom. The pale yellow does not get clean enough. The pale yellow is stained from using it to wipe off Miner's paws after late winter/early spring walks. And I really wanted some striped ones. And I really wanted some that had the blue-ish green color of the bathroom walls in them. And I really did not want to spend a fortune. As luck would have it, I scored big at Marshall's/TJ Maxx this weekend and found the perfect towels at a great bargain. I know, I know, I sound like a commercial, but seriously, don't they look great?! I wish you could see the photo my cousin Stephanie took a little better in this snapshot. It is so beach-y and looks great. Also, on the shelf, whose reflection you can see in the mirror, is a thrift store vase full of the seashells I picked up in South Carolina. I am so in love with my bathroom this week!
And lastly, there's a new blog I am following. A high school friend named Kevin has what I would call a foodie blog that I am really enjoying. Check out The Mighty Rib. I am thinking Mom and Dad will dig it. Kevin ranks Teotihuacan Mexican Restaurant in Houston, TX in his top 20. I always knew he was smart.

29 November 2009

So Much Fun

Well, Mom and Brian both headed home today. Mom at the crack of dawn, Brian at about 1:30 PM. 

It was so much fun having them here. Thanksgiving morning, Brian and I ran/walked the Turkey Trot in Davenport. It was cold, but really fun. It was nice having B with me...he even went slow for me. We had a great meal Thursday. My friend Chanda and her mom Michelle came to share Thanksgiving dinner with us. We had such a good time. I made the WW pumpkin pie recipe. It is now my favorite pumpkin pie! It's got molasses in it, and all the usual pumpkin pie spices, but seems "spicier" than the recipe from the back of a can of pumpkin. Spicier in a good way. 

We continued our tradition of watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy until late at night. Then we added a new one: The Bourne Trilogy movies. I forgot how good those were. 

Mom helped me put up Christmas decorations. She even did my least favorite task of spreading out the branches on my artificial tree. We put lights in the bushes out front. I also got a new little snow man to add to the outdoor decorations. We had a little photo shoot, because I wanted a picture of me and Miner to send to mom, Granny and Erin. Here's a preview, but not the one currently being printed at the drug store. 



I did have to interrupt Mom's decorating to take her for a short ride in the bug with the top down. We drove over to a friend's house, but they weren't home, so we tooled around for a few minutes and came home. Then we finished the tree. You can see most of it in Miner's "bah humbug!" photo. Miner is definitely not a fan of photo shoots.


24 November 2009

So Excited

Tomorrow, Mom and Brian will be here (assuming all travel happens safely, timely, etc. knock-on-wood). :) Woot! 

On the schedule - Brian and I are running the Turkey Trot on Thursday. Thanksgiving dinner at my house with Chanda and her mom joining us. Friday who knows what followed by board games at the Garton's house. Saturday who know what. Sunday they all go home and I start cramming in homework that I have been putting off to grocery shop and vacuum. Oh, and there will be some LOTR watching going on. 

On the menu - 2 turkey breasts (4 actually...heh boobies). Mom/Aunt Net/Granny's dressing recipe. Mashed taters. Gravy. Cranberry sauce I am making. Broccoli cheese casserole. Pumpkin pie. 

Wah Hoo!

31 May 2009

Summer of the Deck

I have declared this to be the Summer of the Deck. Last night, I had 8 friends over for grilled spicy pork tacos (recipe care of Cook's Country). It was a great time.

I've also decided that I want to put of some privacy fencing on the west side of my back yard. Just 6 or so panels similar to what my neighbors put up on the west side of their patio. So, I am off to Menard's this morning to price that out.

14 April 2009

ugh...stomach ache

I will not eat the homemade chips and garlic dip at The River House any more. Every time I do, my stomach bothers me later that day. Today, it's stomach bothering me combined with a little dizziness. UGH!

12 March 2009

Going to see the family

I am getting very excited...I leave around noon tomorrow to go see Brian in St. Paul, MN. Plus, Mom and Dad get there tomorrow night, and will be there for a few days, too. It will be a nice little mini-vacation. Too bad it isn't to someplace really warm. That will have to wait until I get to go see Erin and John and the boys in HI this summer. :)

Like all good Pousson visits. We already had one meal planned well in advance. We have reservations for breakfast on Saturday at Hell's Kitchen in Minneapolis. Yumm, yumm, yumm!!!

02 January 2009

I love my friends

Just when I am thinking I'm going to have a crappy stretch of time between leaving Houston and going back to work on Monday, my friends do some amazing things.

Shawna and Payton picked me up from the airport. I love it when someone meets me in baggage claim! That hardly ever happens anymore.

Today, it was a triple great day.

1) My mail hold ended and I got 3 more Christmas cards from friends in WA, TX, and MO. The one from Larry and Missy was my favorite. Anthony is so cute!
2) My friend Jada (a native Texan and founder of the Displaced Texans) was in town. She came over and we hung out, chatted, caught up and had Whitey's ice cream for dinner!
3) Best of all: This morning, a FedEx truck pulled u
p and I am thinking to myself, I didn't order anything...I got a super special package from Quinn. My very own baggie full of the little tiny wreath cookies that Mama Quinn makes that I love so very much!


Yes, I have pink counter tops...so what?!

30 November 2008

Thanksgiving, etc.

Mom and Brian came to town for Thanksgiving this year. Dad stayed back in TX to go deer hunting. We made a couple of turkey breasts and all the sides. My friend Vonda joined us. She made 2 pumpkin pies, rolls and cranberry sauce. Vonda left a whole pie plus 2 pieces with us. Guess what I had for breakfast, afternoon snack and late night snack?


Movies watched from Wed-Friday: the extended versions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Snatch and The Usual Suspects.
Miner and Brian in full-on relax mode:


Mom and Brian helped me pick out a new sofa on Friday. They both left Saturday morning. Saturday, I did more shopping, went out for sushi with friends for Sarah's birthday, and then out to see Mommy's Little Monster. It's been snowing since I left the bar last night! Today, I stayed inside and organized my closets and cleaned my office.


I also checked grades for my statistics class that ended last month. They aren't all posted, but the grades for the final exam were. I got an A on the exam! Woot!

11 May 2008

TX Weekend

I had a nice long weekend in TX. I flew into Houston on Wednesday night. Thursday my mom, dad and I drove to Austin for my cousin Kelli's wedding. It was a 3 day party! So much fun. There was a rehearsal dinner on Thursday, the wedding was Friday night and a brunch on Saturday. She and Nick got married at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. It was so beautiful and Kelli looked so pretty. I got to see lots of other cousins and aunts and uncles. We had a good time. The food was awesome, chocolate cake and dancing until late.

I was also able to get a good tex-mex fix with several mornings of breakfast tacos and lunch on South Congress with Holly. Yumm! Then last night, Mom, Linda and I went to Fuzzy's Pizza in Houston for dinner. We ordered a great pizza with the unfortunate name of "President Bush's Pizza" named for George H. W. Bush who is buddies with Fuzzy (the owner). We told the kid at the counter that we were celebrating Jenna Bush's wedding. He looked at us like we were nuts. But it was awesome pizza with artichoke hearts, pepperoni, sausage, canadian bacon, onion, mushrooms, black olives and green peppers. SO GOOD!

Things I miss about TX: family, food, all things pretty and green
Things I don't miss about TX: heat, humidity, traffic

14 February 2008

Happy Hallmark Day!

For Valentine's Day, David grilled some steaks on the stove, cooked some fresh broccoli and I made garlicky oven fries (out of the current Cook's Country). Let me tell you...DEEE-liscious!

He's been working on building me a bookcase and a desk for my office (formerly known as the guest room). And he gave me some new earrings and a cool post-it note holder. I got him an Ohio State trailer hitch cover for his truck.

Oh, and 5 down. 95 to go.

05 February 2008

Super Bowl

We had friends over Sunday for the big game. 4:30 pm was our 'show up around' time. At about 4:15 it started snowing...a lot. Which kinda bummed me out since we made all this food that we don't normally make unless there are plenty of other people coming over to help eat it. Luckily, my friends are from the Midwest and don't fear winter weather like I do. So we had a good time. Anna (2 year old daughter of friends Amy and Jeff) chased the dog around. Kaitlyn (3.5 year old daughter of friends Barb and John) got to play her favorite game with David. It's called Superman and basically entails her running at full speed towards David, him catching her, throwing her up in the air and tickling her. So, we had those two for entertainment. Which was nice, because the commercials sucked this year. Lucky the game was good. I like it when the underdog wins.

The Food: chili, cornbread, guacamole, veggie dip, summer sausage, cheese, velveeta/rotel dip, cookies and brownies. (That's Anna
in the corner of the one picture.)



01 January 2008

back to reality

Well, we have been home since Saturday morning. Miner was happy to see us. We were grateful for our totally awesome neighbors. Davenport had 6 inches of snow on Friday, and all our sidewalks were cleared. Last night we got another 3 or so inches. And it's WAY cold and windy. The Van Hook M.O. for the past few days has been:
football
nap
eat
nap
football
nap
bursts of organizing the kitchen
eat
nap
football

25 November 2007

Thanksgiving Recap















We had Thanksgiving at our house again this year. David's parents, my parents and Brian were here. Mom and Dad had a short trip, which is kind of a bummer because I like hanging out with them. Of course, as all Pousson family gatherings go, it revolved around food. I did the 'Alton Brown' turkey where you soak it in a brine. Turned out nicely. Food was followed up by plenty of football watching and naps. We managed to avoid the shopping crowds on Friday, with only a trip to the grocery store for 'cokes' and the fixings to make my Aunt Jeanette's broccoli cheese cassarole for Brian.

I think I'll brave the stores later today to get Christmas cards. I also need more bird seed. Need to keep the birds coming to our yard. Miner's other favorite thing to do is chase the birds out of the little trees by our front door.