17

Today was my day off. Russ and I had doctors appointments--that went interesting. Russ and I both have to go back in a couple weeks. Russ for some blood tests and me for a complete physical exam. But we will be going at different times. It seemed like a very nice office though. My sore throat that is only on my right side is tonsil stones. The Nurse Practioner was able to get one of the larger ones out but I still have more. The prescription is gargle with salt water twice a day. Yuck! If it doesn't go away then I have to see an ENT specialist. And they will have to numb me because I have a very sensitive gag reflex. So salt water here we go. :P

Penelope has been desperately trying to prove that she doesn't need a nap anymore. However, failing as it may be, we haven't been able to successfully get her to go down. With the "nap strike" she isn't the most obedient child. Testing our limits is putting it mildly. She doesn't talk a lot about school. I think next Wednesday (she has Monday off for President's day) I'll talk to her teachers and get some details so I can talk to Penelope about her friends with their actual names, not the names that she has made up in the conversation that she can't keep straight. Ya, I'm going to be one of those mom's. LOL. All in her business.

Austyn keeps turning heads everywhere he goes. Russ went to Costco to refill some of his prescriptions with him today and he's turning heads everywhere. You know how he is, he smiles at everyone who is willing to make eye contact. He is so adorable. He is starting to dance to the music of his toys. He'll be a totally different hand full. ;)

I was going to cook dinner tonight and then cook soup to eat tomorrow. (I work late tomorrow, but that way everyone in the family eats a good meal). I was really craving fish and saw a good recipe for Mahi Mahi Tostadas. But after going to 2 different places and calling a couple more we finally landed upon this place called the "Meat Market" in Clovis. They had some really good prices on some different things. They didn't have mahi mahi either, we ended up getting some fresh Bass instead. It just for tostadas after all. Mahi mahi isn't "popular" up here or so people say, which is a bummer because it's my favorite fish. But while at the Meat Market we found some wine from Cal State Fresno's Bulldogs. At $6 a bottle I got it in white to just see. I think it's hilarious, especially with the big picture of the Bulldog mascot cartoon on the front. The Bulldog's are really popular out here. It's not abnormal to see people wearing their stuff around town. And I've heard they get more popularity then the minor league baseball team, the Grizzles, do . I have also heard that the wineries around here are more dry due to the soil. So we will see.

Anyways after all those delays we ended up going to Applebee's restraunt. But I did get seafood. And I'll make the Bass Tostadas some time this weekend. I did come home and make the soup. That is also a new recipe. I've been on a look out for a good minestrone like soup. It's one of Russell's favorite soups. This is maybe the 3rd or 4th different recipe I've tried. It's suppose to be in a dutch oven and cook for about 30 minutes. But I put it straight into the crockpot. And Russell just has to reheat it tomorrow along with bake some chicken, because beans isn't enough protein for him : ).

Here's the recipe with thanks from a Weight Watchers cookbook.
Italian Vegetable-Bean Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (15 oz) can no-salt navy beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can stewed tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic
1 (14 oz) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped bottled roasted red bell peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp crushed fresh basil
1 tbspn olive oil
1/4 cup (1 oz) grated fresh parmesan cheese

1. Heat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and bell pepper; cook 6 minutes of until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Add garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add navy beans and next 5 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.
2. Remove from heat; stir in basil and oil. Ladle soup into bowls, and sprinkle with cheese.

Yeilds 4 servings ( 1 1/4 cup with 1 tbspn cheese) Cal 184 (29% from fat); fat 6g (sat 1.6g); pro 10.2g; carb 25g; fib 7.1g; chol 5mg; iron 2.2 mg; sod 808mg; calc187mg. Points 3.

I, of course, bypassed the "browning" by just throwing it in the crock pot. I read an article somewhere that talked about converting recipes to crock pot recipes, except I can't find it. So I'm guessing 30 minutes would be 4 hours on high. I'll let you know tomorrow how it is. Or maybe the day after. I work tomorrow from 11am to 9 pm. But then I'm on call from 9 pm to 7 am. So we will see what time I'll be blogging next.