Jessica

Weekend Links

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I want to take a minute before I bombard you with all the cool things that I have seen on the internet lately and just mention that some big things are going to be happening here on the blog soon. Like super big exciting things. I’m going to try to keep the daily program around here the same, but next week might be a bit difficult. Hang in there with me, and I’m hoping we come out a little stronger and more professional looking on the other side.

First up in case you missed who won the Boston Marathon.

I had a little too much fun checking out google’s Loch Ness Underwater Street View. I might be a nerd.

Check out these girls. Just wait for the lead guitarists solo. You wont believe they are 14, 12, and 9.

I love these “through the years” Videos. This one about womens exercise cracked me up.

Just scroll through this article. I didn’t read it at all, but the sandwiches have me mesmerized.

This little red head at 5 years old has raised over $25,000 from her lemonade stand. Find out why!

Does anyone want to get the Wood Brothers to come do this at my wedding in September?

Speaking of music. This band is my newest obsession.

This kid is real and his family is using his fame to help save his dad. Sometimes the internet does wonderful things.

36 Celebrities that Prove that Pale is the New Tan – I’m finally back in style!!!

The author of this article won a Pulitzer Price. Now go read it, because it’s amazing.

Thai Ground Chicken Salad with Peanut Sauce

By Jessica

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Thai Ground Chicken Salad with Peanut Sauce

Everyone seems to be into these Thai lettuce wraps and what not, but lettuce wraps have never been my thing. I mean there’s only so much you can pack into a lettuce wrap before your lettuce is exploding all over the place.

Now I am a fan of messy food, usually the messier the better, but the ratio of the mess to food that actually makes it o my mouth needs to lean a certain way if you know what I mean. Why not just take all that goodness and plop it in a bowl, and eat it with a fork. It’s still messy but I get so much more into my mouth this way!

Thai Ground Chicken Salad with Peanut Sauce Recipe

It’s this line of thinking that got me to come up with this amazing recipe. It’s not just a Thai ground chicken salad, but it’s a Thai ground chicken salad on top of a loaded green salad and soaked in delicious peanut sauce.

By the way, did you know that thai ground (or minced) chicken salad is a thing? Before researching this recipe (yep I’m nerd) I had no idea, but it’s a traditional dish that’s usually served with sticky rice and it’s called Larb Gai. There that’s your piece of trivia for the day.

Back to the salad.

Seriously I could eat/talk about this thing all week.

I won’t torture you that way I’ll just give you the recipe.

A little note: make more peanut sauce than you think you will need. I promise it will end up on all kinds of things that you don’t expect, and you will run out before you are ready.

Thai Ground Chicken Salad with Peanut Sauce

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 20 mins

Serves: 4 Servings

Ingredients

1 lb ground chicken
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 small shallot, peeled and minced
1/3 cup mint, chopped
1/3 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon rice flour
½ teaspoon chili flakes
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup water
1 cup shredded lettuce of choice
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 large carrot, julienned
4 red, yellow or orange sweet peppers, julienned
½ cup green onions, chopped
1 cup frozen edamame, defrosted
½ cup crispy wonton strips

Instructions

Heat a oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the ground chicken and cook, crumbling it as you go until the chicken is cooked through, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the shallots and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and add the lime juice, fish sauce, rice flour, and chili flakes tossing to combine. Set aside.
In a medium sized mixing bowl whisk together the garlic powder, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, oil, peanut butter, and water. Adjust the seasonings and set aside.
In a large bowl toss the lettuce, cabbage, carrot, peppers, onions, and edamame.
Top with the cooled chicken mixture. Drizzle with peanut sauce and top with crispy wonton strips.
Serve immediately.

Project No. 3 – Making Soap

By Jessica

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Mothers Day is coming up and I’m a little short on ideas
right now. When you get to be my age it feels like everything has already been
done. I decided to hit up the local craft store and see if there was anything
that I could come up with for my sister and I to do together.

I found this soap making kit, and thought why not? It’s a
fun idea, and I like the design. It doesn’t look too ridiculously hard, and
everything that I need is right in the box. Before you ask My mother only reads this blog when I send her the link to a specific post, so I’m pretty sure it will be safe until the big day.

The actual hard part of all this was trying to nail down a
time to hang out with my sister in a kitchen un-inhibited and without my mom’s presence.
I did manage to make it work though and we spent a lovely morning with our Gram
busting out this project.

Basically the stock soap is melted, then anything you want to put in is added. We used a mixture of essential oils, apricot seeds and rose coloring that came in the box. My sister had a good time trying to mix the different scents. The mixture is then poured into the molds and left for 45 minutes to an hour. We used a mini muffin tin and suran wrap for some of the excess soap. Really it was that easy.

I think the best part of this project was the ease with which everything was cleaned up. Basically a rinse in the sink was all that it needed, I mean it’s soap after all.

While this project was fun, I don’t think it’s something I’ll want to do all the time. I really like the organic soaps that I get from Filthy Farmgirl, but it was good sister project this time around.

9 Ways I keep our Grocery Bill Below $40 per person

By Jessica

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Launch Mini Books then post this.

9 Ways I keep our Grocery Bill Below $40 per
person**********

The average American family in my area spends about *****

Cook from scratch – this is by far
the best piece of advice I can give anyone looking to save money. You can save
*** a serving on something as simple as mashing your own potatoes. I know
learning to cook can be daunting for some but check out my new book*****
Shop sales – If we are craving
burgers but beef isn’t on sale, we wait until it is. Simple as that, I don’t
buy anything that’s not on sale. On the same note I don’t buy something just
because it is on sale, you could end up spending an excessive amount of money
on something only to find out you already have a few years supply of it at
home, or no one in the house likes it, so it will go to waste.
Stock pile – When things do go on
sale I buy multiples of them (especially meat and household products) and then
I keep them in the freezer or cabinet for later use.
Buy in bulk – I never buy staples
like rice, beans or certain meats in individual or small packages. Buying the
large package usually saves on the price per unit. It also saves on packaging,
when I get home from the store I break up the larger packages into manageable sizes
and store them in re-usable containers. I’m saving all around this way.
Shop in season. – it helps to know
what’s in season, and keep track of the prices of your favorite things. Lots of
vegetables are for sale at reduced prices at certain times of year without
being on sale, knowing what’s a good price makes all the diefference.
Meal plan – more on How I Meal
Plan Here. If you need some inspiration check out my Weekly Meal Plan Series.
Eat Leftovers – Sometimes we get
sick of eating the same thing for a week so it goes in the freezer for a last
minute meal, but we never throw anything away.
Avoid take out – More on how to do
that in this post.
Recognized that not all months are
created equal! – sometimes we spend way more on food, maybe there was a good
sale, or we spent a lot of time traveling or something, it happens, but there
are also times when we spend way less on food than we planned. Maybe someone
gave us a ton of garden veggies, or we just ate stuff from the freezer, it
happens. Don’t freak out.

What
are some of the ways that you save money on groceries?

Wedding To Do List (6 Months)

By Jessica

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OK, so it’s a little less than 6 months from the wedding at this point. Obviously I’m a little behind. I’m not worried. The further into this whole thing I get the more easy going I feel about it all.

Below is the list from my previous to do list post almost 4 months ago now. Reading through this I am definitely missing a few things, transportation, wedding music, traditions to do and not do (that’s a whole other post), but I’m not too worried about those.

What is left to be done:

Invitations designed. Ordered. And Sent.

Guest list finalized. Addresses found and organized.

Bridal party finalized.

Website designed & hashtag chosen.

Dress Altered. And outfit details configured.

Men’s wear chosen.

Menu decided on.

Cake baker booked.

Hotel room booked (for us and a block selected for guests).

Centerpieces designed.

Ceremony & reception signage designed.

Guest book designed.

Favors created.

Clearly I haven’t checked very much off my list, but I’m getting there. I really wanted all of this done by the end of May (ha!). We will see if I can do it. I did however smarten up a bit and gave up on planning any kind of honeymoon. I figured the Chuck needed a job so it’s now his responsibility, which takes a whole big weight off my shoulders. Right now I’m focused on getting those invitations done, and scheduling a time to meet with the venue. If I can get those two big things off my list this month the rest should (hopefully) fall into place.

Jessica

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