Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The BEST 5-Minute Recipe Ever!

Ok so I am not really a chef; in fact, I am quite a novice when it comes to the kitchen. I even have a hard time cooking hamburger patties, haha. But I am kinda sick of the traditional foods (since I ate out for 8 months), and so I'm combing the web for really tasty recipes. One thing I love is bleu cheese. I found a whole page of recipes here, all about using bleu cheese. Tonight, I was trying to think of a quick meal that consisted of few ingredients (since we're in ak folks!), and I remembered this recipe. Now, being the beginner chef, this took me 5 minutes- literally- to put together:

Bleu Cheese and Sundried Tomato Stuffed Chicken Breasts

4 6 to 8 ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
4 ounces bleu cheese, crumbled
8 sundried tomatoes, marinated in oil (you can find these already in oil at the store)

Preheat oven to 375F. Pound chicken breasts flat. Sprinkle 1 ounce bleu cheese and 2 sundried tomatoes in the center of each breast. Fold breasts in half and roll, securing with string or toothpicks. Place rolled breasts in a nonstick or lightly oiled baking pan and bake for 20 minutes. Serves 4.

Truly, this was so quick to prepare! I served it with a lovely strawberry & bleu cheese topped mixed green salad, and it was soooo good. I am craving more already and I just finished eating it like 10 minutes ago. Even Trent liked it, which was a good sign since he doesn't generally care for sundried tomatoes. And as easy as it is to make, it "looks" complicated and tastes like something at a really fancy shmancy restaurant, so it's a good idea for a dinner party! hehe.

Anyways I just wanted to share my "win".

What about you, what are some of your favorite 5 min recipes? 

Monday, May 17, 2010

My Love/Hate Relationship with Living in Alaska

Lately I'm like, it's kinda cool living in a small town where you don't have to lock your door or heck, even take the keys out of the ignition. It's weird to not have anonymity sometimes, but for the most part I love that I know everyone and that everyone waves as they pass each other driving, even though half the time I'm like "hmm do I know you?". I love that it's like one big happy family. I love that I don't get all sweaty and gross in the summers- I have practically forgotten what that feels like. Even on "hot" days, there is usually a comfortable breeze.

But, the one thing that I absolutely detest about living up here is...

...how much online retailers charge to ship stuff!!! It's ridiculous, they usually want between $15-50 for shipping! Even if you qualify for free shipping. Like today, I was stoked to find that walmart.com had Kashi bars online, and were free shipping too. Then I go to check out and they want to charge me $24- so basically it was going to be $50 for 8 boxes of granola bars! hahah ridiculous.

Now, you may be thinking it's because it's more expensive to ship to Alaska, but USPS is the same here as it is in the states. Granted, a lot of companies use UPS or Fedex, so that could explain the high shipping, but still.

Some sites that are nice: Maccosmetics.com (thank goodness!), nordstrom.com (awesome!) and forever21.com. THEY don't have surcharges. Victoria's Secret.com only charges like $10 which is still a bit but less than what the rest charge.

It just stinks because things are so friggin hard to get here anyways, and the selection is so limited. I was just so stoked to see my Kashi Go Lean bars on walmart's site, only to be rejected! Grr...

Anyways yea, that's my rant of the day.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Update

Yes, another update! Considering I haven't updated in a while! I am now in Skagway, working hard. I haven't had a day off until today- so 2 weeks straight I worked. It was fun and I learned a lot. But two days off seem to  be a possibility now. Well not the entire day off, but a bit of day off.

I have also decided to share this message: Rid yourself of guilt! This is not directed towards anyone, but I know ALL of us have, one time or another, felt guilty for being ourselves. It can really tear up your life, and so I have decided that I am done with feeling guilty. I refuse to spend the rest of my life feeling like crap because I'm not doing this or that. I don't want to waste any more time feeling that I should be better, that I'm not good enough, etc. It's such a waste! I enjoy life, and figure that God loves me no matter what.

Anyways, have a blessed day, and above all, don't hate on yourself- love yourself for who you are!