Delicious Dinner and One Sleepy Puppy

{take a looksie at my cute Oil & Vinegar set from Home Goods}

Last night I made a delicious dinner that I just had to share. Mr. SE handles the Asia Pacific accounts for his company and works late on Tuesday nights to compensate for the time difference. The good news: we get to sleep in until 11ish in the middle of the week. Bad news: he doesn't come home until 9pm at the earliest. So on Tuesday nights I've been making slack-ass meals for myself. No more. I'm going to try and make a simply, healthy meal every Tuesday from now on.

Last night I picked up some fresh Perdue chicken tenders. Coated them w/olive oil, dried rosemary, salt, pepper and baked them in the over. Used my bagged greens and sliced up a red pepper. Drizzled oil and vinegar on top of the greens and placed chicken tenders on top. End result: delicious perfection! I ate my fancy feast on a tray table and watched the CMT Awards.

One last this I felt compelled to share. Duffie has found a new home in my closet. Our closets are particularly small, so I've started using the one in our 2nd bedroom (office). The closet aligns next to my desk and Duffie now enjoys curling up at the end with my dresses. Too cute to NOT take a picture! Yes, those are my scrapping supplies. We had the carpets cleaned yesterday and had to get everything off the floor. {see her at the end?}

Thirty Followers & One Fantastic Meal

30!!!

I never thought there'd be thirty people who were actually interested in what I have to say.
Not bad for a little blog I thought nobody would ever find!

Our new slow cooker has proved to be a wonderful edition to the kitchen. Monday night I surprised Mr. SE with dinner already cooking when he returned from work. Here's the skinny on our delicious meal:

4 chicken breasts, 1/4 C light beer, 1/4 C lime juice, 1/4 C chopped cilantro, 1 tsp minced garlic
Combine and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-8, depending on your schedule

I served this delicious chicken meal w/hearts of romaine and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. For desert we had Martha's "Glazed Lemon Cookies". Delicious!

Harriet Homemaker

Harriet Homemaker. That's what Mr. SE calls me when I cook and do things around the house while he's at work. Just wanted to let you in on a fantastic recipe I tried a couple weeks ago, and have made THREE times since then! The "linguine with a lemon, garlic, and white wine sauce" is more than amazing. It's life changing. I made the variety twice with regular ingredients, and the 3rd time I added a can of clams. Delicious! I'm pretty sure Mr. SE thought he was at a fancy schmancy restaurant.

And to top it off? Hearts of romaine with homemade dressing (balsamic vinegar, Italian seasoning, Italian herbs mix). Delicious! Here's the picture from The Entertaining Kitchen, where I found the recipe. She has tons of other fabulous food and drink recipes. Please try the Lemonade Sangria- you'll thank me!

Tomorrow I'll post the delicious skirt steak and veggie kabobs Mr. SE and I made on Tuesday.

Muffin Top

Okay, so my muffin top doesn't look exactly like this picture- but I'm sure you get the picture. As my faithful readers know, Mr. SE and I have been living together for a little over a week. I've heard of post-wedding weight gain, but I'm thinking that it's more closely related to living together.

Mr. SE eats whatever he wants, and looks smoking hot! Me, on the other hand...I have IBS, so preservatives and un-natural foods aren't my friends. They make me gassy and bloating is inevitable. It's a fact that male metabolism is much better that females. I'm home during the day and Mr. SE is at the office. Where does this leave me? With the pantry full of honey roasted peanuts and Doritos!?!?!

I've tried to eat healthy (I'm happy eating plain whole wheat pasta for dinner. I did it almost every night at college). But it tends to drag down Mr. SE's excitement about dinner. We love cooking together, but it's hard for us to find meals that are quick and healthy. Mr. SE feels a need to have meat with every meal, and I honestly wouldn't notice if it wasn't there.

Since I'm still recovering from my last ankle surgery, my normal stand-by cardio routine isn't a possibility. What have you done to help maintain your weight/healthy eating habits while living with your Mr? I would LOVE any, and all, advice that you'd like to give. Please help us make this work, so he's full and I'm not gassy/bloated! Sorry if that was TMI- I feel like we're on that level now.