My Favorite Quick Meal in a Pinch

by Emily


Dinners at our house are very important. Making the effort so sit down at the end of the day and have a meal together brings a sense of routine and security to our family. Of course there are times when dinners are less than perfect, a person may be missing, or the meal may be a bowl of cereal (this is rare).

Here is a recent favorite dinner of mine that takes little effort, but it requires something essential: Trader Joe's

We don't live near a Trader Joe's, unfortunately. But when we see one, we stop in a buy a few jars of simmer sauces. We also buy the maple granola cereal--wow! But Trader Joe's is an entirely different blog post--so back to the recipe:
Trader Joe's Simmer Sauces are pretty delicious, my favorite is the Masala sauce (a tomato based sauce used in Indian cuisine). I also like them because the ingredients are normal, they're all things you've heard of before, natural and whole. Tastey too.

I simply fry up some chicken or tofu (I like firm tofu, pat with paper towels first to soak up water, cube and saute w/olive oil until a little brown on edges), toss in the jar of sauce, add a little water, and simmer until a little thickened.

Tofu is easy to cook with because it has a decent "shelf" life (refridgerate, of course) of a few weeks, or even months. So I like to buy some and have it on hand for other quick meals. It is really easy to cook with--if you can fry an egg, you can cook with tofu. I like to use it with the simmer sauce, but I also like it for a quick stir-fry with frozen or fresh veggies on hand.

Serve with any kind of rice (basmati for a more indian flavor) and/or lentils.

Lentils.

Ever made them? Lentils are easy to cook, essentially you boil them in water until they are soft and ready to eat. Unlike rice that soaks up all the water you use to boil, lentils will only soak up some water, drain the rest. To test if they are done, simply try some to see if they are soft. They should not be chewy--cook them longer if they are. Lentils are a great source of iron which might explain why I craved them during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I make extra for leftovers for lunch (microwave and add a little pad of butter and salt). They are a dry kind of bean, so they go well with sauce.

So, lets review: fry up some chicken or tofu, add some Masala simmer sauce, serve over rice and/or lentils. Voila!

You may be able to find some other simmer sauces of other brands at your local grocery store--I would look in the asian foods isle.

Having Fun...local style

By Sally

Do you like to have fun? So do I.

Cyndi knows that girls just want to have fun.

One way to have fun is to find great things to do in your community. I am a big fan of this kind of fun because it is close to home, I see people I know, my kids love being out and about, and it's generally safe and free.

The town we live in has events constantly. At least once a month there is a free outdoor concert, a music or art festival, a tree lighting, a movie on the town green, a fair at the library, or some other fun free community event. We go to as many as we can and almost all of the time we have fun. Here are some ideas on how to find local events:

1. Check your city's official website. There you'll find a calendar of events and most likely a parks and recreation department that offers classes and workshops for every age group. We take advantage of soccer, music and basketball programs through our city. I want to do yoga at the park but my schedule won't allow it. Most cities have great offerings through their parks and rec departments. Also check out the community library. We've done Mother Goose storytimes a zillion times, it's fun.

I've been to an art festival in Boise, ID that looks just like this.

2. Read the local paper. On the weekends there is generally a calendar of events in your and nearby cities. I read the local paper like this: cover story, first 2 pages, crime report (rubbernecker? me?), and calendar. I often end up tearing out the calendar, walking over to my own calendar, and writing all kinds of things to do. I don't have to do those things, but now they are on my calendar and if I want to I can. The newspaper calendar is great because it will include sporting events and events sponsored by cities, churches, schools, just about anyone.

Not the one we went to. The sandcastle festival we went to was in Oakland, CA, not really even on the beach. Most of the castles were made by amateurs. We had fun anyway.

3. Whatever your interests are, find local options for those interests and get on their email and mailing lists. We get monthly mailers from local concert venues, children's sports programs, and art studios. Someone mistakenly thinks we're athletic as we keep getting invitations for "fun runs" (an oxymoron if there ever was one). We have taken advantage of guided children's nature walks, free play days at children's gyms, sandcastle festivals, all kinds of fun stuff.

Newsflash, Old Bill: Running is not fun. It is good for you. The fun part is when you are done running. I met lots of nice people when I was training for a 1/2 marathon through a program I found in the local paper.

4. Ask people what they enjoy doing locally. Our neighbors across the street picked up on the fact that we like to explore. Now, every few weeks, they drop some awesome wisdom on us about a cool spot to check out. Sometimes it's an event, a park or scenic spot, a restaurant, doesn't matter, they know we are interested and they share their wealth of knowledge.

Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

5. Check out your local university/college/school district. University music departments often put on decent musicals, holiday concerts, and even free senior recitals.

6. Last but not least, don't overlook the web. I love Yelp for finding places to go and restaurants. Fodor's website has traveltalk forums where people post all kinds of great info about every locale. Thanks to Fodor's, we've recently been to a planetarium and a nature reserve. If you are lucky, you might even find a local parenting group online where people post reviews of things they've done with their families.

I bet our readers do this stuff all the time. How do you find out about local events and sights? If you keep your eyes open for fun things to do, you'll see they are all around. It's just a matter of getting everyone out the door! (And good luck with that!)

All Bossy, All The Time

One of our favorite bloggers, Gabi, featured us in an interview on her funny, sweet, smart blog! Check it out.

Isn't she a babe? Thanks Gabi!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

We love all of you who share our lives with us through our Bossy blog!

We love the witty comments you make.

We love that you share your insights with us.

We love your webpages and blogs that we've found through your comments.

We love your wisdom.

We love that you share us with others.

We love how generous you are with your own stories.

We love learning more about you.

We love you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Made ya laugh.

I've been trying to come up with a list of things that made me laugh recently and I'm not sure they are funny.

Well, I think they are funny, but they might be the "you had to be there" kind of funny. Like when my sweet mild mannered husband said to the woman at the drive thru (who spoke no English) "Danke Muchacha!!!!!!!!!" in a loud gravelly voice. I spit out my soda. She'd already closed the window, but we laughed till we cried. Then, we said it over and over on our trip and laughed each time.

We laugh when we hear our sleeping little ones snoring.

We laugh when we see our kids being goofy.

We laugh at dumb shows like the office. Oh, Angela and the hairball! ack!

We laugh at silly mis-said words. Lily has been making "clementines" (valentines) for her cousins all week.

We laugh when we do the same dumb mistakes. Will I ever learn to put Jell-O in the fridge without spilling it?

We laughed at the letter of apology my son wrote to his teacher. In respect to him I won't share it, but I promise it made his teacher smile.

We laugh at pictures--captured images that show Personality!

Tell me what has made you laugh lately.

Grow Your Own Wheatgrass

Do you miss spring? I have a cure for you. Grow your own wheat grass!It's easy. It's fun! It will make you feel good.

I have been growing wheat grass every spring for the last 5 years. Seeing that bright green patch of grass everyday lifts my spirits and helps me feel hopeful. I don't use it for juicing - but you can. It is the same exact wheat grass that you get at juice bars. It really is good for you.

You probably have a couple of barrels of wheat right? If not, get some. It's good to have on hand should anything happen to your source of food. It lasts forever. I have had my wheat for 15 years now and it still makes wonderful bread and beautiful wheat grass! You can buy a pound of wheat berries (wheat seed) at a health food store for $1. A pound is more than enough.

Next, find some containers for your grass. Seed trays work great and are available anyplace that sells garden supplies. I also have planted in shallow buckets, Easter baskets, clementine boxes lined with plastic, bowls, trays, casserole dishes and even in cracked eggs! Anything that will hold about 2 inches of dirt and water will work fine. Drainage is nice but not necessary. If you do have drainage in your container, cover the holes with newspaper before adding dirt.

Now you are ready:

1. Soak the wheat berries in water for 10 hours.
2. Fill planter with potting soil 2 inches deep.
3. Sprinkle soaked wheat berries over damp soil. They can be very close to each other, even touching.
4. Lightly sprinkle a very thin layer of soil over the wheat. Sometimes I skip this step and it turns out fine.
   
5. Spray with a water bottle.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and put near a shady warm spot. (I keep mine in the southern window with a thick dishtowel covering it.)
7. Check daily to be sure the wheat is moist and warm.
8. After about 3/5 days you will see sprouts, remove plastic as soon as you see those sprouts and move sprouts to sunny area.
9. After 7 days you should see grass! Check daily for moisture, spray with water if needed.
   
10. 10 days after planting you should have a nice tray of grass about 6-8 inches long.

Hints:
Sometimes the wheat grass gets a little mildew - that's okay, you can't really see it, but it has that smell. When that happens I let mine dry out just a bit and move it so it isn't under my nose.

After 14 days your grass might look a little worn out. Just give it a little haircut! Cut 2/3 of the grass off and in a few days you will see bright green new growth.

After the second cutting and growth the grass kinda fades. When it looks tired, I dump the grass and soil into my garden (or flowerpot) and cover with mulch. Then, in May plant your annuals in that spot and you will have the best annuals ever!

This makes a wonderful display/gift for Easter. Easter is April 12th this year. So, If you haven't done this before, do a trial run now, and then on April 2nd start your Easter project.


Interested in wheat grass juice and how to use it? Check this out. It's pretty much a miracle food.

SLEEP!!!

This week I have had some sleep experiences that have confirmed to me that I need sleep. On Sunday I got home from a great and restful vacation in California. Already I am exhausted! That was only 2 days ago!

On Monday I had an EEG and MRI scheduled - the EEG required that I be sleep deprived, so like a good patient I stayed up Sunday night watching episodes of True Beauty, Biggest Loser, and Burn Notice, I also woke up on Monday at a bright cheerful 5:30am ... net sleep = 3.5 hours.
Monday night I stayed up trying to catch up on email, mail, bills, etc . till midnight, and by the time I got into bed it was actually 12:43am. I woke up at 6:00am to work out with my trainer ... net sleep = 5 hours.

Later today I got a call from the doctor, wanting a second MRI, with a dye contrast. So I went and did that today.

Now I'm not sure if the dye is causing my swimming dizzy head, or if it is the severe lack of sleep...but I can tell you, it is not working for me!

Lesson here - sleep. Get at least 6, preferably 8 hours of sleep each night. Or you will be a walking zombie like me!

So that is your bossing for today - sleep, sleep, sleep! Goodnight....

GO TO SLEEP!

Wow.

I am composing a great blog post on the topic of "organization". But since I'm not that organized, it is going to take me a long time. In the meantime, I have something for you to feast your eyes on and enjoy:

TILDA SWINTON

I mostly recognize her as the witch in movie version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Photos thanks to the "fugly" site.

Click on over for a few laughs. Happy Rainy Tuesday!

"You rock like a princess."

by Sally



You look good today. Your hair looks great. You have a beautiful smile. And your personality just shines through that smile. And I like that shirt! It's cute.

You know, I love the comments you leave. You are funny, insightful, and you have great experiences to share. Sometimes when I read your comments I think--why can't I be neighbors with her? I so enjoy what you write. I look forward to reading what you have to say and your impressions and ideas. You have so much to offer the world.

And your blog is fun to read, interesting, and your kids are super adorable. I can tell that you are a good mom, even though there may be days when you feel like you're not at your best. Your kids are lucky that you are their fun mom. And I've noticed that you are a good photographer.

Your husband rocks, but you rock like a princess. And I mean it.

Last but not least, this applause is for you. You are awesome and your crowd is going wild for you.





This post was inspired by my preschooler, who recently told me this: "Daddy rocks. But Mama, you rock like a princess." I loved to hear that from him and I wanted to send some of the same appreciation to you.

U R a QT.

Remember reading every single conversation heart from every boy in your class and trying to find hidden meanings? Does he like me? The conversation heart says YES! This post is about Kids Valentines! Growing up we never ever bought boxed Valentines, so my kids don't complain when I cover the dining room table with pink and red paper, doilies and stickers, and tell them "Go Wild!"

I love Valentines Day! I love watching my kids pour over their bags of cards and eating too much sticky sweetness and reading silly jokes and cheesy well wishes.

Getting Valentines ready for classmates is becoming a bigger and bigger job each year. At first we just made a handful for friends, then we started Pre-school and had to sign 12 of them! That was intense. This year we have 3 school age kids with 25 in each class... time to stream line. I think tomorrow we will be making these:and these:


Although something like this is fun, I think we'd loose our steam half way through.

Please share your adorable ideas for kids valentines. I'm not totally sold. (Also, if your child came home with a home-made goody from a classmate would you let them eat it? assuming they didn't eat it on the bus on the way home... para.) I don't want to bother delicately decorating 90 sugar cookies with individualized names for nothing.... yeah right.

Ideas came from here