Jessy's Odds 'N' Ends

Come Visit me at my NEW PAGE!!!

2012-10-12T21:48:00.003-07:00

I will no longer be posting on this blog!

I now have my own web page!!!

So, head on over & follow me at:

www.jessysodds-n-ends.com

Follow me as I learn more every day about juicing, cooking, eating healthier (I still will cook the occasional thing that is more tasty than it is healthy, but it will still be made at home, from scratch!) I have a few goals for next year, completely cut any fast food/soda out of my diet, all of my meals/snacks will consist of real food, nothing with preservatives, mostly stuff I've made myself at home! I also intend to get the supplies to learn how to start canning! I've only just begun to chronicle this new chapter in my life as I begin down this path!

Follow along, learn what you can from me; share what you know WITH me so I can continue to learn and grow every day!!! Hope to see you at my new page!!!

Much Peace, Love, Happiness to you all in your lives <3 <3

Holy Cow! I am so lucky to be here!!!!

2012-10-10T22:27:00.000-07:00

Emergency Open Heart Surgery

~ 10/10/2011~

This is my story of how I almost didn't live past October 10, 2011..

It is almost 9pm the evening of October 10, 2012... I sit in my living room typing this and remember exactly what I was doing at this time on this day last year.. I remember what I was wearing and what I had in my pockets..

Monday, October 10, 2011, was a holiday, it was the observance of Columbus Day. At my work, we close on bank holidays so we were closed that day. I had a three day weekend. My sister had given me two free movie passes so I'd have something to do with my long weekend. Having recently decided to separate from my husband of five years (no children between us), I was renting a room at my friend's house and didn't usually have much to do on the weekends.

I had gone to dinner at my sister's house the Saturday of that weekend and had a great day with my family and some of my sisters' friends. Figured I'd see one movie on Sunday and another one on Monday. One of them was Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part II.. I still don't remember what the other movie I wanted to see was though.. Sunday afternoon, I went to leave & saw my back tire on my truck was low-very low. The tire place I go to isn't open Sundays, so I drove my truck to the gas station & aired it up, figuring it wouldn't be a good idea to go see a movie with a tire that could be leaking & may be flat by the time I come out of the movie, so I stayed in for the night after all.

On Monday, I slept in, took my truck to the tire place and waited while they fixed my tire (it had a nail in it). I ran into a friend there and we chatted most of our wait until she was taken care of & good to go. I went back to the house & read my book, talked to my boyfriend on the phone until he went to bed (he's on the East Coast, so three hours later than we are). There was a 645ish showing of Harry Potter that I decided to go to once I got off the phone. The last person I talked to was my room mate & told her I was going to see the movie, I also posted it on facebook-of course- lol ;-)

I got to the theater about 655pm & had missed the first few minutes of the movie, I was pretty irked with myself over that lol.. I sat down, the movie had been out several weeks by then so there weren't many people in the theater. Right about the time that Harry, Hermoine, Ron, GripHook & the confounded stranger were walking into Gringotts bank.... I started to feel an uncomfortable sensation in my chest.. I do use an inhaler during the spring time, sometimes during the winter but usually I need it when I've been exercising/working out & have been exerting my self.. it just felt like I couldn't take a deep breath in.. I happened to have my inhaler in the truck but was really, really hoping it would just pass because I'd waited forever to see this movie!

After about five minutes, I was literally squirming with discomfort and started wondering if it was indigestion and what I needed was tums? There was just an uncomfortably tight sensation about where my diaphragm is, I couldn't take in a deep breath. I finally decided to leave the theater to get my inhaler and by the time I walked out of the theater, I was starting to sweat, which was very weird because I was not warm or overheated in anyway. In the time it took to walk to the front of the theater, my arms and face had a thin layer of sweat on them, I remember running my finger across my arm & couldn't believe the amount of sweat there was..

I was starting to feel lightheaded, like you do if you haven't eaten and you stand up to fast? I was feeling nauseous, lightheaded, my hands were starting to feel tingly. You know when you rest your arm on the rest of a chair or couch & it just starts to fall asleep, it's not pins & needles yet, but just slightly tingly? That's how both of my hands felt and it was spreading to my arm. I was in the lobby of the theater, had walked to the door, then decided maybe I needed to splash some water on my face & had turned and headed toward the bathroom, only to change my mind again and head to the truck after all for my inhaler..

I got to my truck & took 2 puffs off my inhaler but didn't notice any difference & usually within a couple minutes, I can feel an improvement, so I took two more puffs. There was no difference what so ever & I just was feeling more & more uncomfortable.. I tried to lay down in the cab of my truck but it's too small, so I actually went back into the theater, into the bathroom, went to the handicapped stall & laid down on the floor with my sweater under my head as a cushion. I took a couple sips off my soda, waiting for the nauseous/lightheaded feeling to pass but it didn't.. I started thinking something serious was going on but didn't have a clue what, the only thing I could guess was my lungs were closing up for some reason & I wasn't getting the oxygen I needed..

I walked to the front of the movie theater & sat on the ground outside, up against the wall, my arms and legs felt so tingly and weird, I could barely stand, it felt like my legs wanted to cave. I called Mercy hospital because I wanted to ask a nurse if it was safe for me to drive myself to the hospital or not (not being sure what was going on, I couldn't have a clue what to expect & either way I took to the hospital would involve a freeway, I wasn't getting behind the wheel of my truck if I was afraid I'd pass out or something) as soon as I told the operator I couldn't breath, she said I needed to call 911. I didn't want to tie up emergency services for a non emergency but heeded her advice.

I called 911 and explained what was going on, I told them I needed an ambulance but that they didn't have to turn the sirens on or anything, it wasn't life threatening, I just needed urgent help but not "immediate" attention if that makes sense. (reminds me of someone I know who said close to the same thing when he broke his hip & had to call 911 lol) The operator wanted me to stay on the phone, during the few minutes it took the ambulance to arrive, my arm started to feel so weak that I couldn't hold the phone up to my ear anymore & told the operator I was going to put her on speaker so I could set the phone down... Nothing hurt, I just felt incredibly uncomfortable and weak.

When I saw the ambulance, I waved from where I was because I knew standing would take a big effort & didn't want to expend that energy until they truly needed me to. The paramedics got me up & onto the stretcher, asking me questions about how I felt and about my history. 30 year old female, no history of hypertension, heart disease, high blood pressure. No major health issues at all that I was aware of. Had been an off and on smoker from the age of 14 but hadn't smoked in over a month. Some off and on periods of binge drinking/ alcohol abuse but not recent to that date. Not over weight, etc...

The paramedic thought it sounded like a panic attack & asked if I'd been under a lot of stress. The year 2011 had consisted of bankruptcy, foreclosure, putting my 18& a half year old cat to sleep, deciding it was time to file for a divorce, so yes, I had been under a lot of stress. However, I tried to explain to him that anyone who knows me will tell you, stress doesn't effect me like that. I don't have panic or anxiety attacks, actually I'd been dealing with things rather well over all and since I had filed for a separation, I had also met someone new and things were on their way up, the pieces were coming back together- so no, I didn't think it was a panic or anxiety attack. He told me he used to be a drill sergeant in the army & he used to get them, still does! and that it isn't uncommon. I appreciate what he was trying to do, reassure me, and I understood it, but I still didn't think that was what was wrong.

He said my EKG in the ambulance looked fine, I was breathing the way he told me to, nice slow deep breaths, but I was just so uncomfortable.. They got me into the ER, hooked me up to some machines, I was really a little dazed by the aftermath of the next few moments so this bit is a little sketchy to me. I just remember them asking me the same questions, then a cardiologist came into see me & she repeated the same questions about my health history. She assured me she didn't think my mild history of alcohol abuse was to blame for what was happening.

She told me there were some very slight abnormalities in my EKG, she gave me some nitrates (I think that's the right term, I remember thinking "that can't be good... is that what they give people on TV who are having a heart attack?!" and was so confused but I knew something serious was going on so I put my trust in them... She explained that for some reason my blood wasn't getting where it should so they wanted to give me some morphine to open up the capillaries in case there was a blood clot somewhere? That made me nervous because I've never had anything so strong in my system, I take tylenol/ibuprofen maybe once a year for headache/cramping. I had half of a vicodin once and that made me so nauseous I never went near any Rx strength pain meds again...

I called my boss because he is a physician whom I am familiar with, so I feel like I can definitely trust his judgement and opinion. He said it sounded like I may be having an episode of angina (chest pain, can mimic a heart attack but not necessarily anything to be overly concerned by) and that he didn't think a little morphine would be harmful and that if they felt I needed something to open my capillaries, it may not be a bad idea to let them.

So they gave me some morphine, the cardiologist said these exact words "With your health and your age, it doesn't make any sense & I don't understand it, but I think you're having a heart attack" and said she wanted to send me in for an angio-gram, where they mildly sedate you, put a catheter into an artery in the groin area & use that to insert some dye into the arteries and follow the paths to see where, if any, there is a blockage. I called my dad, seeing as no one even knew I was at the hospital. I also called my room mate who is also my coworker & left her a message because the cardiologist said I'd need a couple days to recover from the angio-gram..

Above is the actually drawing she drew for me in her office a couple weeks later. The first image in the upper left shows what she should have seen, all of the vessels & arteries lit up on the screen like a map where she can see the blood flowing smoothly. What she saw is what you see on the top right. As you can see, there was absolutely no blood flowing from my LAD, which supplies a huge portion of blood to your heart (in the hospital, I was given different numbers, basically between 40-65%, even at 40, that's a huge loss of blood supply pumping through your body) So she thought there may be a clot (the middle left drawing) and wanted to insert a shunt (see the center drawing with the patch showing where a shunt would open up inside the artery, creating a new path in the vessel for blood to travel through). But she couldn't get the shunt in at all, couldn't get it all the way through the vein.

So she told me, while I was half sedated, that my next option would be a single bypass... I hadn't even really had time to process that I was having a heart attack, now I realized I was in the process of dying, I asked her when & she said "immediately, I've already paged the cardiovascular surgeon on call..."

As they wheeled me out, I saw my dad waiting for me, he had gotten there during the angio gram and had been watching them work. I explained what I could, asked Dr. Nikita Gill if I'd have time to make some phone calls and she said I had a few minutes. I called my boyfriend, Matt and left him a voice mail trying to explain what I knew so far. I think I called one of my sisters, she says she still has the voice mail, I keep meaning to listen to it sometime..

Then I just remember them putting a mask over my face and having me count backwards from 100...

I remember waking up a little bit at some point and I could hear someone say "If you can hear me, squeeze my hand" and could feel someone's hand so I squeezed. I found out later, it was my dad. I had just been wheeled out of surgery and was on my way to recovery. I didn't really start to wake up for good until a few hours later when they needed to extract my breathing tube (I can't remember what it was called lol) and they told me that when they said so, I needed to cough & they would pull it out..

(10/13/12, about 48hrs after surgery, the first time the dressing was changed on my surgery site)

I had a single bypass, they had to cut my sternum completely open to perform it. I was in a lot of pain the following weeks, especially anytime I went from laying down for a long time to sitting up, the shift was very very uncomfortable. I was in the hospital three and a half days. Went into the ER Monday night around 8pm, surgery like at 10pm, or something like that. Was discharged Friday around noon.

My cardiologist explained the next day that there are three layers of tissue in the arteries, the inner most lining of tissue in my LAD had a tear in it. That tear of tissue had flapped into the valve causing a complete blockage, the reason she couldn't get the catheter through was because she was stabbing the tissue with it. My surgeon explained that it is the type of tear you would typically see in someone with high blood pressure, body builders, weight lifters, meth addicts, people who strain their hearts beyond measure. I asked what the chances are of it happening in someone such as myself with none of those risk factors at all? He said about 2 in a million, that's 1 in half a million odds...

Couldn't have been a lottery ticket instead, could it?! lol!

But anyways, that's my incredible story of my rare, freak incident, nearly fatal heart attack. It's still so weird to say 'when I had my heart attack'. Every once in a while people notice my scar and ask, but overall the scar is looking pretty good I think :) I've seen some much more serious scars.

This was the first time I had been hospitalized for anything since I was born, the first stitches I had ever hard were put in my heart, I've never even been treated for a serious infection or anything. I think in the last ten years, I've taken antibiotics two- three times for a cold & that's it.

I've recovered perfectly well, all follow up visits have gone wonderful. My cholesterol is as perfect as it can be, literally, my cardiologist said that my numbers were smack dab on the line of perfect. I have excellent blood pressure, I am not on any medication, other than a suggested aspirin a day and two fish oil supplements a day as a precautionary measure on my cardiologist's advice. Her over caution is what saved my life so if she wants me to take those two things, I will lol...

Thanks for taking the time to read my story! If you have any story you'd like to share, please feel free!

New Post!!!

2012-10-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

Head on over to my new home & check out today's juice recipes!!

Jessy's Odds 'N' Ends

Check out my new page!!!

2012-10-09T00:07:00.000-07:00

www.jessysodds-n-ends.com

Is officially up & running!!!

Check out my new page!

I now have my own domain! I still have several things to learn about how the new set up works, but check it out! Let me know what you think, please?! Your feedback is vital to my success!

Thank you all for all of your support, feedback & words of encouragement <3

Having you in my corner means the world to me! Thanks again!!

Butternut Squash Soup

2012-10-07T14:09:00.001-07:00

My first Butternut Squash Soup!

This was my own creation

I couldn't find a recipe online that I liked all of, so I used what I had available and just put it together myself =) First time I didn't follow a recipe or someone's guidelines!

You'll need:

Two medium/large butternut squashes

One large pan & one skillet

Milk

Honey

Sweet yellow onion

Fresh Thyme

Butter

Sea Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

Fresh Garlic

Either water or Vegetable broth. (I used some frozen veggie stock cubes)

Most of the recipes I found instructed you to peel the butternut squash and to dice it & boil the squash. I simply cut mine in half, spooned out the seeds, and baked them.

Place them open side down on a cookie sheet & fill the tray with about half an inch of water.

Bake them for 45 mins to an hour at 350.

While your squash are cooling, heat some olive oil on medium high heat.

Add your chopped onion and chopped garlic

I added some fresh thyme sprigs as well

Heat until onions are soft

By now, your squash should be cool enough to handle

Spoon the flesh of the squash into the pan, use a potato masher to really mush up the squash.

I then added a couple of cups, approx, of milk

About a cup and a half of veggie stock

1/4 cup, approx, of honey

Sea salt & pepper to your preference

I'll be honest, when I'm cooking, I tend to just pour this stuff right into the pan and don't always measure -thus all of the " about"s and " approx"s lol ;-)

It seems to work out pretty good for me so far, I'm sure once in a while I'll wish I had measured, but it hasn't happened yet ;-)

When I'm following a recipe I find online or get from a friend, I follow those measurements though.

I used my Braun hand held immersion blender to really make sure this was smooth, with no real chunks. I brought it to a boil on medium heat.

I then removed from heat but put the lid on left it to simmer like this for about an hour, not opening the lid so as to not let any of the heat out.

This was my first time just throwing something together myself and I think it really came out well!

The one bummer is, I had intended on cooking one white sweet potato & adding that in and I forgot. So I will have to add that next time and see how it comes out :)

Overall though, I felt this was a success in my kitchen :)

Rainbow Chard Salad!

2012-10-07T13:50:00.001-07:00

First time having Rainbow Chard!

Chard is actually a member of the beet family

Fresh tasty salad, makes a great side dish!

What you'll need:

Olive Oil

White Wine Vinegar

A couple of mixing bowls

Italian seasoning (basically a mix of Thyme, Marjoram, Basil, Oregano, etc)

Canned or frozen corn

Salt & Pepper (I prefer Sea Salt)

Fresh Garlic-chopped

Either Red or Sweet yellow onion-chopped (I use sweet onion in everything I cook because I prefer it's flavor over red and because red onion or white onion can sometimes be too spicy for me)

Rainbow Chard (It is so pretty!!!)

First, remove the leafy greens from the stems.

Then you'll cut the stems into about 1/2" pieces

Coarsely chop the leaves & set them aside for now.

Place the stems in boiling water and let them cook about two mins

Add your corn. Because I used frozen corn, I let this cook about two mins before I added the leaves.

If you use canned corn, you can just add the corn and leaves at the same time. Let this cook 2-3 mins or until the stems are tender.

Drain your mix and set aside for a few minutes

Heat up some olive oil on medium heat & add your chopped onion and chopped garlic.

Add a splash of white wine vinegar & your seasonings.

You can also just use an Italian dressing instead of the olive oil/seasonings/vinegar.

Cook this until the onions begin to get tender. (about 2-4 mins)

Add your leaf/corn mix & cook this for two to three minutes, stirring frequently.

Remove from pan and let cool for a few minutes before enjoying!

I just ate it by itself, but this would be very good next to a roasted chicken breast

or some grilled fish :)

Jessy's Juice #19!

2012-10-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

~Juicing with my power juicer express deluxe~

Increased vitamin C digestion lessens menstrual cramps

Peach, cilantro, parsley, Italian parsley, Sweet potato, cucumber, ginger root, broccoli, spinach, tomato, carrot

This made nearly 43 ozs of fresh, wholesome, juice!! I will admit, though, that this was not a very tasty concoction lol.. It had a very very green taste to it and the sweet potato did not add well to this combination.
With this juice, though, I had a goal-VITAMIN C!!!! I have read online that increased vitamin C intake during the week of your menstrual cycle can help relieve the cramping.
Up until last year I really didn't have to deal with cramping but when I had to stop taking oral contraceptives and get a copper IUD instead, it is accompanied by much worse cramping.
Every month, I have one or two days (I am lucky, I know there are people who have it far far worse!) of pretty heavy cramping. Last month I made a juice and for once I wish I had taken my boyfriend, Matt's advice & written it down. It had a lot of spinach and broccoli and it had two peaches and a bit of ginger root but I don't really remember what else. I may actually have a picture though come to think of it...
Anyhow, that was so delicious and I had read online that spinach is a natural muscle relaxant and that increased vitamin C will reduce the cramping. I drank that juice the first day I could feel the cramping start & I was fine that day & the following day!
This month, I waited to see whether I would have severs cramps or not (I wasn't sure if it was merely my body beginning to adjust to the IUD and therefore that month was just not as bad as the ones before had been) And sure enough, I was starting to have pretty bad cramps yesterday, so I made this juice with as much leafy green stuff as possible to get lots of Vitamin C & it worked, no cramping the rest of the day yesterday!
But I need to figure out what the juice I made last month was because that tasted a bit like a peach smoothie with a hint of green taste, not enough to overpower the yumminess of the peach. It was very very tasty. This mix, not so much lol.. It was one of the only ones I've had to really force myself to drink.

Peach: boron, antioxidants, vitamin C & beta carotene
Cilantro: Thiamin, zinc, fiber, Vitamin A, C, E, K, B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper & manganese
Parsley: antioxidants, folic acid, iron, Vitamin A & C
Sweet Potato: Fiber, Vitamin B6 & A, potassium, manganese
Tomato: Beta Carotene & Vitamin C
Blackberries: Vitamin E, C, K, folate, magnesium, potassium, copper, fiber & manganese
Ginger root: Vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium & a natural anti inflammatory
Celery: Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, K, C, A, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, folate
Carrots: Beta carotene, Vitamin A &C, pectin, flourine, potassium
Cucumber: Vitamin A, C, K, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese
Broccoli: Beta carotene, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid & chromium
Kale: Antioxidants, calcium, iron, Vitamin A& C
Spinach: Antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium & Vitamin C

Butternut Squash Lasagna

2012-10-03T23:30:00.003-07:00

I love cooking!

First time cooking Butternut Sqash!

This is such a yummy dish!!

You will need:

9x13 baking dish & a cookie sheet

1 Large butternut squash

1tbsp of honey

16 oz of cottage cheese

1tbsp of basil

1tbsp of oregano

cloves of fresh garlic (2-6 depending on preference )

10oz frozen chopped spinach

12-16 sheets of lasagna

16oz mozzarella, shredded

Salt & Pepper

Cut your squash in half & spoon out the seeds.

Lay the two halves open side down on a cookie sheet & fill sheet with half an inch of water

(I still hear a live version of John Prine in the back of my head singing Happy Enchilada every time I see the term 'half an inch of water' lol)

And bake this at 350 for 45 mins- 1 hour

Cook your frozen spinach & drain it.

You can use 1 tbsp of dry oregano, I used my amazing handy little chopper and chopped about 3tbspns fresh oregano instead :)

Mix the 1tbsp of honey, your cloves of garlic-chopped, your basil & oregano

(I used the organic gourmet basil blend that comes in a tube in the veggie aisle of your fav grocery store) in a large mixing bowl.

Add the flesh of your squash and use an immersion blender to make a nice paste. If it is a bit thick, add some of the water from the cookie sheet you baked the squash with.

In a separate bowl, mix the 16 oz of cottage cheese with your chopped spinach

Spread 1/3 of the squash into the bottom of your pan, covering the bottom.

Add one layer of lasagna noodles.

I used the no boil ones. The recipe I found had actually called for whole wheat noodles & I would really like to try it with those some time, but I couldn't find them when I went to the store this trip. Maybe next time =)

Spread 1/2 of your cottage cheese/spinach mix on top of the noodles.

Eventually your layers will go as follows (from top)

1/3 squash paste

noodles

1/2 cheese mix

noodles

(I added a layer of mozzarella here that the recipe didn't call for)

1/3 squash paste

noodles

1/2 cheese mix

noodles

1/3 squash paste

You then cover the top with mozzarella. The recipe called for a cup & a half.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 mins. Mine was a bit over browned-which is more than okay with me, as I LOVE that 'almost' burnt cheese taste!! But if you don't, I would pull it out of the oven at about 40mins.

This really was one of my favorite recipes I've cooked yet!! I absolutely love the butternut squash! I've only ever had butternut squash soup & have never cooked the squash at home until now. I really think that even most people who aren't big veggie fans would probably like this if you make it the way I did because it is so cheesy :) Me loves melted cheese!!

This squash I bought from a local farmer, I am very curious to see if I notice a big difference in taste if I ever have to buy one from the grocery store.

Juice #18

2012-10-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

Monday-Lunch time juice

~Juicing with my power juicer express deluxe~

Strawberries, blackberries, carrots, cucumber, kiwi, lemon, beet, cilantro, kale, celery, spinach, parsley, broccoli & ginger root ;-D

Strawberries: Folate, potassium, fiber, Vitamin C, manganese

Blackberries: Vitamin E, C, K, folate, magnesium, potassium, copper, fiber & manganese

Carrots: Beta carotene, vitamin A, C, pectin, flourine, potassium

Cucumber: Vitamin A, C, K, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese

Kiwi: Fiber, Vitamin E, C, K, potassium, & copper

Lemon: Thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, iron, magnesium, fiber, Vitamin C &B6, calcium, potassium & copper

Beet: Folic acid, iron, calcium & potassium

Cilantro: Thiamin, zinc, fiber, Vitamin A, C, E, K, B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper &manganese

Kale: antioxidants, calcium, iron, Vitamin C & A

Celery: Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, K, C, A, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, folate

Spinach: antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium & Vitamin C

Parsley: antioxidants, folic acid, iron, Vitamin A &C

Broccoli: beta carotene, vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid & chromium

Ginger Root: vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, copper &potassium & is a natural anti inflammatory.

This made approximately 38oz of delicious juice!! The lemon wasn't the strongest flavor, followed by the beet & then the blackberries, followed closely by the greens. Definitely have to have an appreciation for 'raw' food to really enjoy this particular concoction ;-)

Stuffed Jalapenos

2012-10-01T22:30:00.002-07:00

~Bacon - wrapped, stuffed with cream cheese & cheddar~

These are so yumm!!!!

Great appetizer or snack for get togethers or parties!

Just need cheddar cheese, cream cheese, whatever bacon you prefer & some jalapenos ;-D

Because I am a MAJOR wimp when it comes to spice, I always completely de-seed them and completely de-rib them (all of the white 'ribbing' inside the pepper)

I STRONGLY suggest you wear gloves the entire time you are handling the inside of these peppers!

I had made cream cheese stuffed jalapenos before that didn't involve cutting them open, just cut the tops off & used a knife to hollow them out.

When handling the inside of the pepper, the capcaisen gets on your skin & will BURN your hands for hours afterwards (at least if you are as sensitive as I lol) Was not any fun waiting for that to pass >.<

I mixed just over one container of cream cheese (Had about 1/4 of a container from last time)

And a couple handfuls of cheddar-maybe two cups? of shredded medium cheddar cheese.

Filled each one, wrapped in 1/2 strip of bacon each & baked at 350 for 30 mins, then put on broil for 5mins but pulled em out after 3, they were just starting to burn.

Putting them on the broil for a few mins at the end really gave them a very nice crispy finish, I would suggest 25 mins at 325 followed by 3 mins under the broiler.

I had bumped the temp up because I had more peppers than I usually do.

These came out absolutely delicious!! I like them better than just the regular cream cheese stuffed ones I usually make! The cheese filling to pepper ration is more even with this recipe, if that makes sense?

Stuffed Patty Pan Squash/Zucchini

2012-10-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

I have discovered, I love cooking!!!

Stuffed zucchini & patty pan squash

Stuffed with quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wa'), shredded Parmesan cheese, spinach, onions, garlic & the flesh from both zucchini & the patty pan

Here is what you'll need: dry quinoa (pronounced 'keen-wa', this was the first time I've ever cooked with it!)

Patty pan/zucchini (can use either or, I chose to use both

1 cup of broth (I used veggie stock that I had made, the recipe I was following called for beef broth)

Sea salt & pepper

Sweet yellow onion (I used half a large onion), chopped

About 3 oz of spinach with the stems removed (you can also use a package of frozen spinach, thawed)

Olive oil

Shredded Parmesan cheese, about a cup

Some fresh garlic (amount may vary upon preference, I used about 4 cloves), minced

Grease a 13x9 baking pan

Bring the stock/broth to a boil

Mix in the dry quinoa

Reduce to low & cook until all liquid absorbed

Slice a small layer off the bottom of each squash so they will sit flat in the casserole dish

Slice a thicker strip off the top of each to act as lids

Spoon out the flesh of each squash. I didn't have room for three zucchini so I cut it down to two

Mix the scooped out flesh of the squash with your minced garlic & diced onion

Heat up some olive oil & cook these until the onions are starting to soften

Add your spinach & cook 3-5 mins (if using fresh spinach, cook until just starts to wilt)

I waited until this step to preheat the oven, as you do have about half an hour of prep before here. It will get to temp in time.

Remove from heat and mix in your quinoa & shredded Parmesan cheese

Mix well (I used my Braun hand held immersion blender to create a nice mix and really mash up the squash well) You may add Sea salt & pepper here to taste, if you like.

Fill each squash & replace lids, drizzle with olive oil

Cover with foil & bake at 350 for 30 mins, then remove foil & bake an additional 7-10 mins

These came out so delicious!! I did see another recipe that called for portabella mushrooms and I think if you incorporate those into this recipe, it would be even better! The recipe I followed also called for 1/2 lb of ground beef, browned & only use half of the flesh of the squash in the filling. Brown it while the quinoa is cooking and mix it in at the same time as you mix in the Parmesan & quinoa.

These would make a great side dish or just eat a couple as your full meal =)

My first garden (small, but it's alive & that's what counts lol )

2012-09-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

My garden on my porch!

Just a few planters with the first plants I've managed to grow & keep alive :)

These are just a couple of the things I have on my porch:

My two avocado trees I started from pits in April

My celery plant. In May, I saved the base of a celery cluster & just planted it into the ground and started watering it :)

My one bean plant. I planted four beans in April, all four sprouted. Two of them didn't survive me trying to transplant them into a separate planter. I had the last 2 in one planter for a bit, then I moved them each into bigger planters & the other one died. This one has been string from the beginning & it was the first to sprout.
Today I realized there are little bugs on them, I believe they're aphids, I am going to get some ladybugs to fix that problem! But when I was looking at it closely, I realized I've had beans growing that were hiding under the leaves =D

Juice #17-yummmmm!!!!!

2012-09-30T18:21:00.002-07:00

Sunday afternoon yummy fruit juice!!

~Juicing with my Jack LaLanne Power Juicer Express Deluxe ~

Pineapple, pears, kiwis, strawberries, blackberries & oranges!

Usually, I just grab whatever I see in the fridge and end up with a whole variety of fruits and vegetables. Today I was actually just craving fruit juice and actually thought about what to put together instead of just randomly grabbing stuff ;-D

This made about 40oz delicious fruit juice!!! Mostly I could taste the pineapple and the blackberries followed by the orange, strawberries & kiwis. The pear taste is pretty mild so it's not very noticeable but adds a bit of frothiness to the juice, makes for a very tasty fruit drink!

Strawberries: Folate, potassium, fiber, Vitamin C, manganese

Blackberries: Vitamin E, C, K, folate, magnesium, potassium, copper, fiber & manganese

Pineapple: Bromelain, manganese, Vitamin C

Kiwis: Fiber, Vitamin C, E, K, potassium & copper

Oranges: Natural aspirin & boron

Pear: Vitamin C, Fiber & potassium

The photo after I stirred it does not do it justice! This was such a pretty, frothy purple, was very yummy!! If you go to YouTube you can watch me make this juice and you can see what pretty layers developed in the pitcher before I stirred it up!

I absolutely LOVE juicing lol!!! It really is so fun and so rewarding and just the variety and amount of minerals & nutrients I am receiving through this beverage is just awesome!!!

Saturday spent working on the car with dad =)

2012-09-30T01:33:00.001-07:00

Replacing brake pads (mostly)

~ 9/29/2012~

Saturday, I spent the day with my dad replacing the brake pads on my car and fiddling with a finicky hose ;-)

Hi everyone!! Sorry I don't have a juice recipe or anything I've cooked to share with you today! I spent the day working on my car with my dad :) Our plan had been to replace the brake pads on both the front and back of the car, the rotors on the back & hopefully to finish installing a hose we had started on a few weeks ago.

Once we had my lovely 'niece', Annabelle supervising, we were ready to go! She makes sure that the driveway is free of the annoying kitty from around the block and also any dogs walking by ;-)

Well, tire came off well enough! That's a promising start ;-D (kidding, folks, lol ;-) )

Got the new rotor on!! So shiny!! I couldn't have done any of this without my dad's help and know how around a car :)

One back corner done =D New pads, new rotor!! Soooooo shiny ;-D

We had tried starting the brake pads a week prior, but realized it would be much more complicated than it needed to be without the proper tools. Luckily, Autozone has an AWESOME program where you can actually borrow their tools! You place a deposit on the tools while you have it, when you return the tool(s), you receive your entire deposit back so you don't actually have to pay anything for borrowing the tools! This is a tool used to push the piston back into the caliper. Without this, the job would have taken hours longer than it did, it was so very convenient being able to borrow this!!

Once we completed the brake pads on the back, we began to do the ones on the front only to discover that those pads had barely worn down! They had been replaced not long ago and therefore didn't need changing yet =D I can get a few bucks back by taking back the pads I didn't use! So now we tried to finish the power steering hose:

We had partially installed a hose a few weeks ago that we hadn't been able to complete. Once we were done, a washer was found that we thought needed to go onto the bolt at the end of the hose that attaches to the engine somewhere here.. which meant we needed to unscrew that bolt, put the washer where it belongs, and try to get that bolt in again--It was already a horrendous effort just getting the bolt in the first time *ugh*!

So dad had an idea so we could see what we were doing!! He brought a webcam and I brought my laptop! You can see above, the web cam clipped onto part of the car (the LED lights are on on the camera, makes it easy to spot lol ;-D)

This way we were able to see inside a small tight space and try to get that bolt in. It still took quite some time because the hose has to be maneuvered just right, etc. But after trying for quite some time, dad learned that the washer we had didn't go on there, it was from the old hose so we hadn't needed to unscrew that bolt to begin with X(

But we got it back together =) Still having some issues at the top end of this hose, though.

But it was very nice to spend the day with dad! Learned a thing or two about working on my car ;-D Got to see one of my sisters a bit and also two of my nephews, and two of my nieces <3 <3

Jessy's Juice #16

2012-09-28T13:42:00.001-07:00

Friday Lunch Juice

~Juicing with my power juicer express!~

Cilantro, parsley, apple, pear, pineapple, kiwi, oranges, carrots, celery, broccoli,

ginger root, sweet potato

Cilantro: thiamin, zinc, fiber, Vitamin A, C, E, K, B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper & manganese

Parsley: antioxidants, folic acid, iron, vitamin A& C

Apple: Boron, cellulose, & pectin

Pear: Vitamin C, fiber, potassium

Pineapple: Thiamin, Vitamin B6 & C, manganese

Kiwi: Fiber, Vitamin E, C, K, potassium & copper

Oranges: Natural aspirin & boron

Carrots: beta carotene, Vitamin A, C, pectin, flourine & potassium

Celery: Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, K, C, A, pantothenic, acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, folate

Broccoli: Beta carotene, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid, & chromium

Ginger Root: Vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium

Sweet Potato: Fiber, B6 & A, potassium, manganese

This was a very tasty juice!! Tasted much like an orange carrot smoothie with a bit of bite from the ginger root & just a touch of 'green' flavor from the green stuff :) very tasty!!!

Jessy's Juice #15

2012-09-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday's lunch time juice!

~Juicing with my power juicer express~

Cilantro, parsley, spinach, lime, beet, kiwi, broccoli, carrots, cucumber, strawberries & celery!

Cilantro: ( Thiamin, zinc, fiber, Vitamin A, C, E, K B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper & manganese)

Parsley: ( Antioxidants, folic acid, iron, Vitamin A&C)

Spinach: ( antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium Vitamin C)

Lime: (Calcium, iron, copper, Fiber, Vitamin C)

Beet: ( folic acid, iron, calcium, potassium)

Kiwi: (Fiber, Vitamin E, C, K, potassium & copper)

Broccoli: ( Beta Carotene, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid & chromium)

Carrots : (Beta carotene, vitamin A&C, pectin, flourine &potassium)

Cucumber: ( Vitamin A, C, K, pantothenic Acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese)

Strawberries: (Folate, potassium, Fiber, Vitamin C& manganese)

Celery: ( riboflavin, Vitamin B6, K, C, A, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, folate)

This juice tasted a bit like a lime/beet juice with a hint of the green taste from the leafy stuff and the celery and cucumber. Very tasty!!!

Jessy's Juice

2012-09-27T08:49:00.001-07:00

Thursday morning Juice

~Juicing with my power juicer express~

Orange, pineapple, apple, pear, kiwi, sweet potato & ginger root

(though I added the ginger root after I took the pic, I almost forgot to put it in my juice this morning =O one of my fav ingredients!!)

This tasted a bit like an orange pineapple smoothie!

Jessy's Juice #14

2012-09-26T23:12:00.001-07:00

Wednesday's Lunch Time Juice!

~Juicing with my power juicer express!~

Pineapple, ginger root, broccoli, cilantro, parsley, spinach, apple, peach, lemon, cucumber, sweet potato

Pineapple: (Bromelain, Manganese, Vitamin C, Thiamin, Manganese)

Cilantro: (Thiamin, zinc, fiber, Bitamin A, C, E, K,B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper & manganese)

Parsley: (Antioxidants, folic acid, iron, Vitamin A&C)

Spinach: (Antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium, Vitamin C)

Broccoli: (Beta carotene, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid & chromium)

Apple: ( born, cellulose & pectin)

Peach: ( Boron, antioxidants, VitaminC, beta carotene)

Cucumber: (Vitamin A, C, K, panthenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese)

Sweet Potato: (Fiber, Vitamin A &B6, potassium, manganese)

Lemon: ( Thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic Acid, iron, magnesium, fiber, Vitamin C& B6, calcium, potassium & copper)

Altogether this made about 36 oz of juice!! Mostly I could taste the peach and the lemon over everything else, followed closely by the cucumber and then the green flavor of the spinach, parsley & cilantro.

There was just a touch of bite from the ginger root that I could taste. This felt much like a thinned down smoothie, thicker than juice but not as thick as a typical smoothie. Very tasty!

Ben & Jerrys Greek Frozen Yogurt

2012-09-26T22:56:00.002-07:00

Greek Fro'Yo' this time!

~Trying Greek Frozen Yogurt for the first time~

Blueberry Vanilla Graham

I tried the Ben & Jerry's frozen yogurt in one of my fav flavors- phish food & really enjoyed it! I have yet to find a Greek Fro' Yo' flavor in chocolate- I find I just prefer either chocolate ice creams or something that has a lot of something chocolate in it.

I tried the Greek Frozen Yogurt Raspberry Fudge Chunk (I think that was it's name) and it was ok but not something I'd buy again-but I think that had more to do with the raspberry flavor than the greek frozen yogurt bit.

Same here with the Blueberry Vanilla Graham-while I like this one better than the raspberry, I think I just prefer something with more chocolate to it. So I may buy the Fro'Yo' once in a while but until I find a Greek Frozen Yogurt with more chocolate, I prob won't get it again ;-P

Bacon-wrapped, cream cheese-stuffed jalapenos!!!

2012-09-25T22:15:00.001-07:00

These are so yummy!!!

9/25/2012

Fresh, locally grown, jalapenos, cream cheese, bacon!

I always rinse the jalapenos, cut out the seed core, remove ALLLLLL seeds & use a narrow, sharp knife to hollow out the inside of as much of the white 'ribs' as you possibly can--leave these in if you'd like them to be spicier.

I don't eat spicy stuff and have found by removing the seeds and ribs I am usually safe once these are baked that they won't be spicy. (I won't chance buying them at the store, these I buy from a local farmer whose produce I have become very familiar with)

Once I've seeded them I will rinse them inside & out very very thoroughly and also wash both cutting boards with hot soap and water.

I then use a clean knife to cut off strips of cream cheese- how ever many jalapenos I have, I will cut strips for.

I have discovered cream cheese is very 'moldable' lol :) Very easy to just twist into the jalapenos and fill each one to the top, smoothing off the top

I lay foil onto a cookie sheet (less cleanup later) & spray with nonstick coating.

Wrap each pepper in a strip of bacon-I like using the thick sliced bacon, but whatever your preference would suffice, even the maple bacon I would guess would taste good with this!

Bake at 325 for between 25 and 35 minutes, depending how many peppers and also how crispy you like the bacon.

If you are like me & a major wimp when it comes to spice, I would be careful buying the peppers & stick to buying them from someone you are familiar with so you'll know what the chances of them being 'hot' are. About 1 out of 10 peppers I buy from him are 'almost' too hot for me, I can still handle them once they've been stripped of 'the good stuff' lol :)

I also keep a glass of milk handy just in case there is a hot one, that or a slice of bread are both good rescuers if need be :) enjoy!!

Salsa!

2012-09-25T22:04:00.001-07:00

Homemade Salsa wi/th fresh ingredients!

9/25/2012

Made home made salsa for the first time in a long time!! Most of the ingredients were locally grown, as well!

Fresh & locally grown; tomatoes, costa rican peppers, bell peppers, jalapenos (one seen here but I put two in the salsa).

From the store; sweet yellow onion, parsley, garlic, cilantro, sea salt, pepper, garlic salt & tortilla chips :)

Using a handheld chopper I recently stumbled across that I've had in a cupboard for years and yet only recently realized it's full potential with all of my new found cooking at home!! I've never really put this baby to as much use as I did in just the last couple days lol!!

I minced all ingredients instead of chopped because I'm still getting the hang of the chopper lol :) When I made the bruschetta (see previous posted recipe ;-D ) you can tell I've learned to 'chop' instead of just mince lol :)

Bruschetta!

2012-09-25T21:55:00.001-07:00

Bruschetta!

Made bruschetta for the first time!

Ingredients: Tomatoes, basil, feta cheese, onions, minced garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper. Also will need sour dough toast

I made bruschetta after a friend gave me a great recipe! I didn't measure, I just used what sounded good to me lol ;) My favorite method for cooking!

Diced about 4 medium sized tomatoes.

4oz of feta cheese

Diced a wedge of sweet yellow onion

(I use sweet yellow in just about anything, while I enjoy the taste of purple onion, sometimes they can be spicy-the white ones can also be spicy. The sweet yellows seem to be pretty consistent in how they taste)

Minced about 3 cloves of garlic

(I like a lot of garlic lol :) )

Used a squirt of organic chopped basil

(comes in a tube marked gourmet garden)

a splash of olive oil

a splash of balsamic vinegar

sprinkle of salt & pepper

Mixed this altogether & put it in the fridge overnight.

I then bought a sour dough baguette & sliced it into about 3/4" slices

I toasted those in the toaster oven & topped them with the bruschetta!!

Sooooo yummy!!! And easy to make too! Would make a great party favor =D

Jessy's Juice #13

2012-09-25T13:36:00.001-07:00

Tuesday 9/25/2012

~Juicing with my power juicer express~

Peach, 2 stalks of celery, beet, 2 kiwi, a sliver of ginger root, 3 carrots, lime, broccoli, strawberries, spinach, parsley & cilantro

Here are some of the minerals and vitamins I received in today's lunch juice :)

Cilantro: (Thiamin, zinc, fiber, Vitamin A, C, E, K, B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper & manganese

Peach: (born, antioxidants, vitamin C, & beta carotene)

Celery: ( Riboflavin, vitamin B6, K, C, A, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese & folate

Beet: (folic acid, iron, calcium & potassium)

Kiwi: (Fiber, Vitamin E, C, K, potassium & copper

Carrots: ( beta carotene, Vitamin A, C, pectin, flourine & potassium)

Broccoli: (beta carotene, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid & chromium)

Strawberries: (Folate, potassium, fiber, vitamin C, manganes)

Spinach: (antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium, Vitamin C)

Parsley: ( antioxidants, folic acid, iron, vitamin A & C)

Ginger Root: (Vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium)

The lime and the beet were the strongest flavors I could taste, followed closely by the peach and the the combination of green stuff & the carrot. The strawberries add just a hint of sweetness to it.

This juice is a relatively smooth texture, and just about like a thick juice, not quite as thick as a smoothie. Very tasty :)

Homemade spaghetti sauce & homemade meatballs =D

2012-09-25T08:44:00.002-07:00

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce w/ Homemade Meatballs!!

9/24/2012

I made my homemade spaghetti sauce again! Came out amazing! This time I also cooked homemade meatballs to go with! Those were incredible too!!

The recipe for my sauce can be found in the blog archive =) If you don't want to search for it, feel free to contact me and I will send it to you :)

For the meatballs, I started with some fresh minced parsley and fresh minced garlic.

I then mixed 1 1/2 lbs of ground beef, 1lb of ground pork, 6 eggs, 3 cups of dry bread crumbs, 1 1/2 cups of milk and some salt and pepper all together!

I shaped those into about 2-2 1/2 inch meatballs.

Heated just a bit of vegetable oil in a pan, the fat from the meatballs really did most of the work after the first set of four meatballs. I cooked them on a low-med setting for about 20-30 mins each batch, using a meat thermometer to check the temp inside & be sure it was at 165 before I removed them and placed them in the sauce.

I placed each batch directly in the sauce as they finished so the first ones cooked int he sauce longer, the last I let cook about 20mins before I removed the sauce from heat and from the pan to cool for a bit.

I let this sit in the fridge overnight as I prefer sauces the next day because the flavors have all blended together even more over night :) Tonight I will boil some spaghetti noodles & pour this over them! This recipe was given to me by a friend, it was a recipe his mother used from an old Betty Crocker cook book (from the '50s/'60s)

The sauce takes about an hour of preparation and it cooks for as long as you like- the longer it cooks, the better it tastes ;-) I let mine simmer for 3-4 hours

The meatballs take about half an hour of preparation and each batch of four took 20-30mins to cook. So it was about two hours to cook all of the meatballs doing it this way.

A lot of work and a lot of patience but boy does it sure taste good!!!

Jessy's Juice #12

2012-09-25T00:04:00.002-07:00

Monday 9/24/2012

~Juicing with my power juicer express~

Cilantro, parsley, spinach, tomato, lemon, beet, broccoli, kiwi, strawberries, cucumber, celery, carrot & ginger root

Here is a breakdown of the nutrients in today's lunch time juice:

Cilantro (thiamin, zinc, fiber, vitamin A, C, E, K, B6, riboflavin, niacin, calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, pantothenic acid, potassium, phosphorus, copper & manganese)

Parsley: (antioxidants, folic acid, iron, vitamin A&C)

Spinach: (antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium, vitamin C)

Tomato: (beta carotene & vitamin C)

Lemon: (thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, iron, magnesium, fiber, Vitamin C &B6, calcium, potassium, copper)

Beet: (Folic acid, iron, calcium, potassium)

Broccoli: (beta carotene, vitamin C, calcium, iron, folic acid & chromium)

2 kiwi: (Fiber, Vitamin E, C, K, potassium, & copper)

Strawberries (Folate, potassium, fiber, Vitamin C, manganese)

Cucumber: (Vitamin A, C, K, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese

Celery: (Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, K, C, A, pantothenic acid, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, folate)

2 Carrots: ( Beta carotene, Vitamin A&C, pectin, flourine, & potassium)

Sliver of ginger root: (Vitamin C, manganese, magnesium, copper, potassium, natural anti inflammatory)

In today's juice, the strongest flavors were definitely the lemon and the beet, followed closely by the greens (the celery, spinach, parsley, cilantro tend to just take an overall 'green' flavor when combined), then the cucumber and the sweetness of the strawberries.

When you use just a small sliver of ginger root like I do, you don't taste it a whole lot. There may be a bit of bite from it but it won't over power it. It's really a nice way to get an awful lot of good minerals and vitamins!!