recipe of the week: chicken cordon bleu soup

i'm not necessarily a 'soup in the summer' girl
but last week was a bit cooler (low 90s...haha)
and anthony said to "surprise him" for dinner one night

a few months ago i'd spotted a recipe for this soup online
and have seen a few variations
but (as usual) decided to create my own rendition of it

and
it.was.excellent

so, here's my spin on chicken cordon bleu soup!

chicken cordon bleu soup

makes 6 1-cup servings
nutritional info and printable recipe can be found here

2 tbsp olive oil
4-5 chicken tenderloins, cut into cubes
½ large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
½ cup white wine (i used sauvignon blanc)
2 ½ cups chicken broth
85 ounces diced cooked ham (i used ½ a package of trader joe’s rosemary ham)
3 stalks celery, diced
½ tsp white pepper
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
--if not using rosemary ham, which is admittedly pretty specialized, 2 tsp rosemary should add the right amount if flavor--
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup skim milk*
4 slices of swiss cheese, cubed (OR 3 slices of swiss and 1 slice havarti)

heat olive oil in large pan
add cubed chicken, heat until pink is cooked out



add garlic and onion, sauté for 5 minutes



add wine, reduce (about 3 minutes)



add chicken broth, ham, celery and spices. bring to a boil






while waiting for the broth mixture to boil, in a second (medium) pot, mix cream, milk and cheese. heat until cheese is melted









pour cheese mixture into the broth mixture



reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes



we found pita bread an excellent side for this soup, and i also cooked some edamame for the table.
anthony liked this soup enough to have 3 bowls! I loved it too, but tried to refrain from more than another ½ serving since i AM watching my calorie intake!

this is definitely staying in the rotation, and i am thrilled that it’s not horrid as far as calories/fat go. *i played around with the cream/milk mixture on sparkpeople until i got it down to where i was happy. i'm sure that using fully cream like most of the recipes i searched online would be fantastic, but truly i didn’t miss the fat and calories added by that…and the flavor was incredible as it was!

what i'm loving wednesday (6.15.11)

click the pic to go to the host site!

i'm loving this new job, with children who are precious, precocious and who continually keep me on my toes.

i'm loving times spent with this wonderful guy

i'm loving spiritual community and family.  my cell group girls, pastors, and the amazing people God has surrounded me with!

i'm loving odwalla protein drinks.  nom, nom.

i'm loving the slightly cooler temperatures and rainfall this week.  i love the heat, but this is a nice little break. (and by 'break' i mean in the low 90s...)

i'm loving getting back into jewelry making lately! planning to devote some serious time to it in the next month or so :-)

i'm loving my sunroof and hammock! both allow me access to the outdoors...

i'm loving that my garden is growing, slowly but surely! (this picture is from about a week ago, and that itty bitty tomato is nearly twice as big now!)

Made By Lora

necklace for a charity auction (wine not included)necklace for a friend to wear to her son's rehearsal dinner

earrings for the dress I wore to the wedding

It's a Great Day to Go to (Yet Another) Wedding

Happy Saturday everyone!
(go here to join the wordle craze)

and...



Off to Caitlin and Pat's Wedding!

I say "yet another" in the post title because since Anthony and I have been dating it seems like we have one of these every few months!

However, this is the first one that one of us is involved in. This is his turn--he's a groomsman. In the next wedding that we know of (May) I'll be a bridesmaid as well as singing in the ceremony. However, this wedding is here...that one will be in Indiana. Slightly more long-distance!

Thankfully (for the most part) I just get to show up and enjoy all the festivities--beginning with the shower a couple of weeks ago, including the rehearsal dinner last night, and culminating in the wedding today. Caitlin and Pat have found a great little apartment just a couple of miles from me, so that's pretty cool...and I've made jewelry just to go with the dress I'm wearing to the ceremony tomorrow that I'm super excited about.

I'll have to post new jewels on here soon :) I've been busy lately!

Happy Saturday!

Thursday's Ten: Reasons I Suck

No excuses tonight, just a very real list of very real suckage



1. I haven't blogged for nearly a week
2. I'm having trouble with actually eating 2 full meals a day lately. Not on purpose. My schedule has imploded, my days and nights are confused, and I often get to 3 pm and realize I missed lunch. So that means dinner plus a heavy unhealthy snack. This is clearly not making my weight-loss goals happen any faster
3. I have slacked off big-time on exercise. But I did hit the greenway tonight and plan to go again tomorrow if time allows and Saturday if it does not. And both if life turns out perfectly!
4. People around me are hurting and I can't be there for them like I'd like. This includes my boyfriend and his family, who are amazing and wonderful to me...
5. My cat may be sick (she keeps wheezing) and I am worried about the vet bill. On a positive note, she hasn't wheezed at all since Tuesday, so I'm hopeful that whatever it was has now passed.
6. I have a wedding to be in early May and I haven't bought my dress yet because I can't even pay my freaking bills...how can I justify over $100 for a dress?!
7. My temporary job (which I have been sooooo grateful for) ends this week. So I'm stressed to the MAX about what I'm going to do for income. I know that I know that I know that God provides, but I'm still worried. Even though the past year and a half have taught me so much about reliance on Him and that money is not as major as it seems.
8. I barely managed to get a jewelry order done in time for a friend even though I've known about it for months. Thankfully it turned out beautifully and she is grateful (and has no idea that I...forgot about it...for forever).
9. I lost a contact last night and literally spent hours crawling around on the floor and looking under sofa cushions for it. Never found it. Am concerned about how much an eye exams+new contacts will cost...and am literally down to my last one now.
10. People have said (online and in person) this week that they admire my positivity and good outlook on things through this whole unemployment bit. And most of the time, they're right. I've remained pretty positive and stayed on the happy side of life, but there are times like today that I feel anything but. And clearly, that's coming through in this blog post.

I hesitated about posting this, truly. I try to stay positive here and not be a whiny crybaby...but it's my blog and I'll cry if I want to. I promise to make the next post back to the normally scheduled program of cheer :)

(on a very positive note, I start teaching private voice lessons in early April. and there's a possibility of a nanny job from end of April-August which will take me right into the school year. I'm going to either be teaching in August or nannying for a friend, so I know if I can make it through the next month and a half...I'll be ok.)

So, uh, I'm not mcklinkying this. If you want to create a list of reasons you suck, let me know and I'll visit you. If you want to create a list of why I suck, please don't let me know ;)

A look back:

*for those of you wondering, the back is still out. The sinuses seem to be somewhat fading, but I've definitely made the back worse after there had been a significant improvement over the last couple of days. I think I've taken about 10 steps backwards, and just hope that future progress is positive!*

Ellen quote that sums me up right now:

"This morning I hopped right out of bed...and by hopped I mean it took 30 minutes, 6 Advil, a pulley system and a handful of sedatives to get me out of bed in a seated position. And I know that you're probably thinking 'Ellen, you shouldn't have to be taking Advil and sedatives together', but the Advil was for me and the sedatives were for Portia; the screaming is killing her...she's tired of hearing me scream."

Sad...but true. Substitute "Lora" for Ellen and "Anthony" for Portia, and you have the partial scenario of me trying to get up off the floor tonight. It was NOT pretty.

anyway, on to the real blogging!

It's been quite a year! Here's a brief look back...

January: New Year's at Anthony's parents house; began "driving Miss Nancy"; Inauguration of President Obama
February: good friend from college visited; sweet Valentine's day; last praise team retreat ever with Randy (although we had no idea)
March: one of my best friends from high school visited this month; 28th birthday
April: Dave Matthews Band concert...uh...I'm sure there were other fun things too. We did join the zoo this month...and I did have one CRAZY day!
May: Anthony and I traveled together for the first time--to see his aunt in Atlanta; started doing some consulting work
June: 10 year high school reunion and reconnection with Dotty; good friend Laura had her baby Israel (and began the many births of summer '09)
July: Camp with youth group + Anthony's family vacation = over 2 weeks apart! Ugh.
August: Laura and sweet baby Izzy spent a few days at my house; went to Texas to a friend's wedding with Anthony and our friend Ben; celebrated a year of dating the most wonderful man :); began working at Catholic Charities temporarily; found out that Randy and LaJuana were moving
September: visited the Jack Daniels distillery; found out about Sam's cancer
October: 2nd annual ghost tour; finally cut my hair to donate (after over a year of growth); went to my very first NFL football game (between my two favorite teams no less!)
November: Thanksgiving with Anthony's family
December: Christmas with Anthony's family; 2 trips to Indiana (one for the Colts game, one for Christmas); got to sing in a friend's Christmas show downtown; also sold jewelry offline for the first time!

I've been busy...

Had a few ribbon necklace orders to fill

(you can find more at my etsy shop)

Some wine to deliver


A present or ten to wrap

Moments to spend with friends

Some gelato to indulge in
A baby to snuggle

An impromptu photo shoot to capture

A kiss to steal

And a whole lot of living to do.

And you?

Weekend Wordle/SWS

(join Shannon to join in the fun)

Babysitting for two sleeping boys...ahhhh.

Yeah. They are adorable and sweet and I even elicited big huge giggles out of the 4 month old earlier this evening...but now they are in bed and *I* am catching up on blogging and the last couple of Medium episodes.

Last night I sang in the backup choir for a friend of mine from college. Her name is Timbre and she is an incredible harpist and singer. Visit her page to hear an example! It was a blast and I was amazed at the talent in the room! She and her 3 siblings are a complete musical powerhouse. Even Anthony was blown away. The bonus was tht she set up a "non consumerism" holiday shop and had local artisans bring in their stuff to sell. It was the first time I've ever had a chance to sell my stuff outside of word-of-mouth or my Etsy shop. Since I had to sing part of the show, my friend Mattie agreed to sit behind my table and sell for me. We arranged a barter--she gets free jewelry :)

One of my faorite professors from college is actually my Timbre's father, so he was there. On my way out he asked if I was still singing. I told him "church" and he kind of shook his head and said "well, maybe tonight will inspire you to do more out there?"

Flattering. Something to think about.

Ok...off to be creeped out by more Medium!

ps...speaking of that Etsy shop, visit it in the next couple of days--new stuff will be posted soon!

pps...I finally gave up on this week's Thursday's Ten. I had forgotten that my camera was out of battery, and had to charge it up Thursday evening. So we'll combine ornament pics with this week's...Christmas traditions/memories. They kind of go hand in hand anyway. Sound ok? All right...

Bring on the goosebumps!

Thursday's Ten: Gifts on the Cheap

Yep, holidays are on the brain, and I for one am thinking of inexpensive but meaningful gifts for the people on my list...without giving too much away since I know that some of those lovely people read this blog!



So I thought we could all help each other out! Here's ten relatively inexpensive ideas for you all this year!

1. baked goodies in a nice tin, box, or plate. I love making peppermint bark or some sort of holiday cookie.

2. a "themed" gift. One year I gave a girlfriend who loves to cook a really fun serving dish with a cookbook. I've also heard the suggestion of baking a favorite recipe in a new serving dish and giving it to the person, but I don't love that idea so much. Kind of takes the newness away, ya know?

3. something that represents something you love doing with the person/couple. A and I gave our friends 4 decks of cards, a personalized notepad, and a card tray for their engagement gift. It's because our favorite thing to do as the 4 of us is to play Hand and Foot, and now they have their own set to use when they host! On the same token, I've given gift cards to a pedicure place to a friend with whom I love to go get pedis with.

4. Etsy.com. Need I say more? I sell jewelry there, and I'm always finding cool things for gifts! Most of the people who sell there have more than reasonable prices and it's always great to give something that's not available everywhere you turn around

5. if you're crafty--make something! A lot of my friends get jewelry. They don't seem to mind! I have also received several scarves which I LOVE!

6. a picture of something special you've done with the person in a great frame. Hobby Lobby ALWAYS has their frames 1/2 off, so you can get some really good deals there. And who doesn't love pictures? Just make sure it's flattering of *both* of you!

7. a pampering basket (mostly for the females on your list). Lotions, nail polish in shades she loves, a couple of bath bombs...I shop sales year round and always have a few soaps or fragrances on hand. I also have found a great little local store that handmakes soaps and bath bombs--they're fairly inexpensive and quite unique.

8. ornaments. I love getting new ornaments, and I always enjoy receiving them as gifts. Every year as I put up my tree I think of the people who gave the ornament to me--it's like getting a new gift every year :)

9. books. Most of the kids in my life at some point get my favorite Christmas books at Christmas, and others on their birthdays. Board books (for babies and toddlers) will run about $5 apiece, and prices vary once you get into the older kids/bigger books. But they can be personalized and you're helping build up their little library! (I find great deals at local booksellers when they have clearance sales, or you can always check amazon.com)

10. finally, one FROM the kids. My friends did this a few years ago and I thought it was great! At a local craft store (Hobby Lobby or Michaels in our case), buy a cheap artist's canvas. Buy some (washable) paints, strip the kid down, put him in the bathtub and let him go to town! If you buy one each for the grandparents you've got a priceless piece of unique art that they will treasure forever!

Hope you got an idea or two...now I want yours! Creativity and cheapness are *good* things in my book, especially in my current underemployed state!

Please sign Mr MckLinky and grab my button!





(next week we'll talk about our favorite ornaments--please take pictures for us--and the following week will be Christmas traditions/memories. just trying to give a heads-up!)