One of those days, where you wonder, what did I do all day?

I don't even know. Seems like not nearly enough of my to-do list got completed. Does this happen to you? It was nice that we didn't have to leave the house today, but I did miss my morning run..can't go for one of those w/the kids finished w/daycamp!

I did find a website called http://ecarepackage.org you can go there and put together a care package to be sent to a deployed serviceman or woman or their family. It's pretty nice to be able to put together a care pacakage online, for me much easier to make it happen that way than to try and put it together on my own. It matches you up w/a member of the Armed Services and you can see what they would like. So I hope my serviceman likes what I picked to send to him.

Ah a week from Wednesday I'll be traveling to Minnesota for the big National Conference, can't wait!
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A friend of mine has an easy and healthly recipe for homemade chicken nuggets.

4 Servings
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast,
rinsed and patted dry with paper towels
11/2 cups plain yogurt
3 cups crushed corn flakes
2 TB fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
vegetable or olive oil for spraying pan plastic or paper bag
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Slice chicken breasts into 2-inch strips. Marinate chicken pieces in yogurt for one hour or up to 24 hours, refrigerated.Prepare the crunchy crust by combining the corn flakes, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl.
Place corn flake mixture in a plastic or paper bag. Drop chicken, a few pieces at a time, into the bag and shake thoroughly to completely coat. Remove chicken pieces from bag, shaking excess mixture from each piece.

Place coated chicken pieces on a sheet pan lightly sprayed with oil.Bake for about 25 minutes or until crunchy on the outside and cooked through. Serve with dipping sauces.

I hear it is really good w/a little Garlic Garlic in there. :-)

Another Weekend On the Books.

Did you have a great weekend? I hope you had fun, saw friends and famiy and maybe brought a little Tastefully Simple to any backyard BBQs that you attended.

Last night my friend and I had a great time seeing Steve Dahl and the Nadas at North Beach in Downer's Grove. Too bad I still don't have that new digital camera I need because my cell phone just wasn't cutting it. There are a bunch of pics from the show already posted at http://www.dahl.com, I check through them and there are no silly pictures of me dance. LOL

It's always nice to have a big frosty drink if you are dancing or listening to a band and so I'll share a few frosty drink recipes:

Prickly Pear Margaritas

Description:

Ingredients:
3 T. Prickly Pear Cooler
1 can limeade
1 Corona beer
1 can water
3/4 -1 can tequila
1-2 can ice

Directions:
Use limeade can for measuring purposes.

Christi Seelen's White Chocolate Chiller
Description:
A fabulous ADULT version of the Chiller!

Ingredients:
2 scoops (8 Tbsp.) Vanilla Bean Chiller™
5 oz. cold milk
1 oz. vanilla vodka
1 oz. white chocolate liqueur (I used Godiva, but I think there are other brands too)
1 1/2 cups ice


Directions:
Combine ingredients in blender; blend on high until smooth.


Number Of Servings:2

Preparation Time:5 minutes

Tom Bryce and Anna 7/2

Change in Schedule

Last night and this afternoon, I had 2 Tastefully Simple Party scheduled, but my hosts had to reschedule until August. So this left me with empty slot in my calendar. I tell you the 2nd wknd in July is a great time to have a suprise opening in my calendar!

Yesterday we spend the day garage sale-ing in Palos Hills where they are having a 2 day all town garage sale event. We drove from house to house down blocks here and there scouting the goods to be had for mere pennies on the dollar.

The big finds...

*Care Bear Twin Sheet Set w/Pillow Case New! $4.00

*2 Long Sleeve White Sox Shirts for Bryce $.50 each

* A SpongeBob Rock Em Soc Em game for $3.00 ---Patrick Freaked over that!

And the best find of all...

a Dora Doll House w/accessories and the dolls for $15.00.

Anna is really loving that, today Tom figured out you can open up the top to make a 2nd floor on the house.

So that was our adventures in Garage Sales. Then Anna, Bryce and I went to the library and they got their Summer Book Contest sheet stamped, picked out a prize...it was all good!

And later on we went to the movies w/the kids best friends and our awesome friends and saw Transformers. It was really good, I always love a good movie where the little guy defeat evil and saves the world. This one was also was pro-military and I also love movies w/our troops in them. I guess I like a good good vrs. evil battle. So in any case I agree w/Richard Roeper and give Transformers a thumbs up.

Today, we are probably going to make it to the Palos Friendship Fest, and the fun for me is tonight I'm going with a friend of mine to see Steve Dahl and the Nadas play at North Beach.

http://www.dahl.com/

It's always fun to go see and say hi to the man I listen to on the radio 5 days a weeks and the man who married me and tom!

A nice twist on the standard slaw featuring our new Ginger Teriyaki Ranch Dressing

Ginger Teriyaki SlawSubmitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients 1 cup Ginger Teriyaki Ranch Dressing or to taste
16 oz. pkg. shredded cabbage for cole slaw
1 red bell pepper, diced
Chopped, fresh cilantro for garnish
Directions Combine first 3 ingredients; toss gently to blend.
Garnish with fresh cilantro. Makes 8-10 servings.

TS on GMA!

I received an email tonight that Tastefully Simple may very well be included in a segment on Good Morning America! about Direct Sales and Home Parties. I am going to try and watch it. The direct sales segment will air between 8:30 and 9:00 am. Be sure to watch it if you can!

In other news, the weather was spectacular today! I made pasta sauce and a mix of white penne and whole wheat penne pasta for dinner. And the big exciting part of that was that I was able to chop up zucchini very small w/my PC hand chopper and no child was the wiser. haha!

Sigh, tomorrow I am mailing off a big chunk of change for the boys school fees. Ouch. Kids are rather pricey!

I have no clue what I am going to make for dinner tomorrow, but I am very happy that we have a few days here in the 70s so cooking isn't liable to heat up the whole house.

1/2 Marathon Anyone?

Last week I ran 12 miles on Wed. 12 miles in a row. Nod, I know I can't believe it either. Only had 1 small blister. So looks like I *could* do a 1/2 marathon....

---going to do a blingo.com search and see when any 1/2 marathons are in Chicago---

Found one.
The Chicago Half Marathon, Sept 9th 7:30AM. Okay I better sign up it's 75% full already and they are capping it at 12,500 entries--can you believe there are that many crazy runners out there?

Alright I did it, I am all signed up for the big event...and now that my mind is working I am thinking that I will see if I can use my 2 night 3 day Get Away Your Way trip I earned from TS to get a hotel for me and the family for that wknd...and we could stay down there and they could watch me run and I wouldn't have to travel downtown that morning!

The night before a big race many runners load up on the carbs for quick energy the next day and what better way to carbload than a nice plate of pasta...

A recipe adapted from the Costco Connection to be healthier and include Tastefully Simple products....

Penne with Cauliflower
1/4 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1-2 tsp Garlic Garlic
2 lbs of tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped if you have fresh tomatoes from the garden or from a farmers market OR just make life easy with 4 cups canned diced tomatoes
1 head of cauliflower, broken into florets
2 tbsp salt or 2 tbsp Italian Seasoning Blend (product from TS Fall/Winter Catalog) OPTIONAL
1 pound of whole wheat penne pasta
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
Fresh Ground Pepper
Optional Grated Parm Cheese for garnish (to keep fat content down very lightly garnish or skip.

In a large saute pan heat olive oil then add garlic garlic and topmatoes and cook until tomatoes begin to break down.

Add cauliflower and stir well. Add 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup very hot water, lower heat to med. and cook for 30 min or until cauliflower is tender.

While that is cooking bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot, add the 2 tbsp salt if desired. Add penne and cook until the penne is al dente.
4. Drain pasta and add to pan w/cauliflower, stir in parsley and black pepper to taste, toss for 1 minute, plate this delicious meal w/lots of flavor and fiber and cheese fans sprinkle on a bit of Parm.

Want it Vegan? Just skip the cheese.
Want it to have more protein? add diced chicken breast.
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Once I have accomplished this 1/2 marathon goal I will begin working toward participating in the Team in Training Leukemia program to run in the Nashville Marathon on April 18th in honor of Tonya Ross, Tastefully Simple Consultant and mom of 3 little ones who passed away father's day weekend because of Luekemia. Tonya Ross was only 32.

I will be posting frequently about the training and my fundraising efforts once 2008 begins.
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Hot. Really Hot. And Sweet Potato Salad

The Bean
and Me.

Here I am at Millenium Park after a few hours at the Taste of Chicago. Good Gravy it was so hot. Did I mention it was so hot? Whew.

And amid all the heat and more heat, I managed to try a few items...

Toasted Ravioli from Tuscany, Perogies, a chopped salad that just didn't stack up to my fav chopped salad (The chopped salad crown still belongs to Portillos) and the most delicious sweet potato salad..oh that was the highlight of the whole food fest...well that and the really really good SoCo Hurricane (ie a slushie drink made w/Southern Comfort).

Okay so I must share where the Sweet Potato Salad came from..oh it was so good, chunks of sweet potatoes the perfect consistency, some chopped scallions, a little chopped red pepper, some cilantro and a really light mayo thing holding it all together. Good thing I only had the taste portion. It was simply outrageously good. And now I MUST GO to the restaurant...

Deleece
4004 N. Southport
Chicago, IL 60613

http://deleece.com/

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The day downtown was topped off w/a trip to the Signature Lounge in the Hancock Building. Where you can pay $7.50 for a beer and get the same view the observatory charges at least $8.00 sans beer. And at the Lounge they also have some great appetizers, including a cheese plate. I love a good cheese plate, only this one included figs..which it turns out I don't like and a goat cheese that was really really really too reminiscent of a trip to the Children's Zoo! Blech.


All in all a great day in a great city!

When it's in the mid to upper 90s in Chicago...

It must be time for the Taste of Chicago! Yes that is right tomorrow me and a great friend are venturing downtown for the Sweat of Chicago...I mean Taste of Chicago. It's been a few years and wisely this time we are going w/o kids or cranky hubbies that would rather not stand in line to get a taste of eli's cheesecake.

I hope it will be a tad cooler by the lake, fingers crossed for a nice lake breeze! I have already checked out the taste portions listing...at the taste you can get a few full sized items...or a bunch of different 'taste' portions...kind of like a mini tapas extravaganza...so that is what I'll be doing..I must have....the perogi taste, a chop salad taste, a pad thai taste, and a spinach pizza taste. And if I have some tickets left over...a big frozen drink?

If Tastefully Simple was at the Taste of Chicago I am sure a nice Prickly Pear Margarita would be an enormous hit!

1 1/2 Cups Prickly Pear Cooler Prepared
2 1/2 Cups of Crushed Ice
4-6 oz tequila
Blend and Serve w/some glassed rimmed w/koser salt.

Yum.

Knee high by the 4th of July

Ah the 4th of July, a great reason to have a nice serving of German Potato Salad. I have always loved German Potato Salad and that would be because my Oma used to make the best. It was not hot, it was ah, like Lukewarm, which I prefer and she didn't slice the potatoes she kind of chunked them...of course I've never seen or been able to duplicate her most fantastic and mouth watering salad.

Here is a recipe from Allrecipes...

GERMAN POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS
4 potatoes
4 slices bacon*
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop.

Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.

OR JUST SKIP THE WHOLE MAKING BACON AND SUBSTITUTE 2 TBSP TO 1/4 CUP BACON BACON.
Add the flour, sugar, water and vinegar to skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until dressing is thick.

OR SKIP THE BOLD INGREDIENTS AND USE VIDALIA ONION DRESSING ABOUT 1/3 CUP.
Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.

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Three weeks from today I''ll be flying up for the Tastefully Simple National Conference!!!

We always have great speakers, plenty of time to meet other consultants, and the opportunity to try all the new products!

Now many people don't know that German Potato Salad is pretty low in fat all things considered and especially when compared to it's chubby Cousin American Potato Salad. And you could leave on the potato skins for a bit extra in the vitamin department.

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Red White and Blue Desserts are a favorite of mine since I love berries...one fun thing to do is to make an Absolutely Almond Pound Cake (use 1/2 butter and 1/2 applesauce to reduce the fat) and then frost it w/cool whip mixed with 2-3 tbsp dry Vanilla Bean Chiller then top w/blueberries, raspberries and/or strawberries.

Links are so much fun

I love to put links to other sites in my newsletter and was super happy to figure out how to add some links here. I think I'll change them whenever I learn about a site that one of my friends, clients or collegues has to share.

Tomorrow night the family will all be going to see the White Sox game. This time I'll be smart and feed the kids dinner before I leave for the park. That way we won't spend too much $$$ on food!

For the 4th we are going over to a great friends house for a little BBQ...I am hoping that she will be making some of her AWESOME 7 layer salad. I will be more than happy to bring any and all of her favorite Tastefully Simple products if she'll make the great salad.

I have loved 7 layer salad since I was a kid. The boys don't care for it, but Anna fortunately for me is more daring in her tastes and she likes it about as much as me.

What a beautiful day today. I participated in my first virtual personal development seminar and it was really good. I can't wait to do it again. The coach behind this virtual even was Michelle Burns and this is her website: http://www.designyourdestiny.com/. She rocks, I higly recommend her!

Now that a new TS year is here I am looking forward to growing my personal business, my team and myself this year. The beginning of a new year is always exciting for me be it, New Years, or the new Recognition year, or the beginning of the school year...

The 7 layer Salad:

8 cups chopped iceberg lettuce
3/4 cup sliced red onions (about 1 small)
2 cups frozen peas, thawed (one 10-oz. pkg.)
about 6 slices crumbed bacon 0r turkey bacon (or Bacon Bacon)

1 green pepper chopped or carrots

6-8 eggs sliced
3/4 cup KRAFT Mayo (feel free to use low fat--you gotta reduce the fat in this recipe somewhere!
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Layer lettuce, then green peppers or carrots, onions, peas, eggs, then bacon. Mix the mayo and the sugar. Spread on the top then sprinkle the cheese.
Refrigerate several hours or overnight.