I Work Hard for the Money

Dang, I am tired! This working stuff is hard! Like I've said before, I'm just doing general office stuff but I come home exhausted. I think it's a combination of not sleeping well and wanting to do a good job and not screw anything up through the day that leaves me drained by the time I get home. Don't get me wrong, I'm still enjoying it and everyone is still super nice and easy to talk to...I just had forgotten how much work work really is.

2 Sleeps until Boyfriend gets here!

Thank You for Being a Friend

Today is the Hairdresser's baby shower (well I should say was as it is early Monday Morning Aus time and Sunday afternoon here). I wish I could've gone. I emailed the Hairdresser last week as I am trying to hunt down some Nerf guns for her nephews while I'm here and she assured me that she had a cute outfit picked out for the party and that she was going to be wearing heels, no matter how much they killed her feet! That is so like her :) The next time I see her she will be a mom (mum) and I can't wait to meet the little guy or girl and to see her and the Soccer Player be parents.

I wanted to say a big thank you to all my friends in Australia who have helped me and Boyfriend by filling out a statutory declaration letting the Australian Government know that Boyfriend and I are, indeed, a real couple and I'm not just after a green card. Knowing that you guys took the time to fill the forms out (and that you really do want me back in Aus with you) means a lot to me. It's nice that I/we can lean on you guys when we need it and that you all always deliver. I hope you know that I/we would do the same for any one of you! It's still Thanksgiving weekend here in the States, so if any of you guys are reading this, know that I am thankful for you!

The Way You Squeeze My Lemon...

Happy Black Friday to everyone! Hope you went out and bought lots of stuff you didn't really need/want, but got it anyway because the deal was too good to pass up :) Or maybe, instead, you stayed home/in bed all day still in a food coma? I had trouble sleeping last night, probably because I was too full and was really tired when it was time to get up for work this morning.Nae's food was amazing, as expected. The big highlight for me was this spinach salad with apples and candied pecans with a citrus vingarette that Nae whipped up both last night and tonight. I could eat that salad all day, everyday. I've got a dark picture of it, but it really doesn't do it justice.

I think she got her recipe inspiration from something she saw on the Food Network website and then tweaked it by adding some fresh squeezed orange juice in to the dressing, as well as some lemon zest and rather than doing the walnuts, she did the candied pecans instead.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 5 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 5 cups lightly packed)
• 1 Granny Smith apple
• 1 tablespoon of orange juice
• Pinch of orange zest
• Candied pecans

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar, mustard, orange juice and zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss the spinach with the dressing until evenly coated then divide the spinach among 4 serving plates. Core the apple and slice it into matchsticks. Sprinkle a quarter of the apple pieces on top of each salad. Follow with the pecan pieces. Serve immediately.

She also made up a double batch of lemon bars and I had a peak at the website she was consulting while making it and it was from another Food Network friend, Emeril! These are always a big hit, but seem pretty time consuming as you have to squeeze and zest lots of lemons (my job yesterday) and bake the bottom layer before you then rebake it with the lemon layer added. Here is the recipe and a picture from the site, as well as a picture of our slice (can you spot the difference in picture quality? haha)

I thought this lemon looked kindof neat after it had been zested.

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks), plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon salt plus a pinch
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice, strained
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 tablespoons limoncello, or other lemon-flavored liqueur, optional

Directions

Lightly butter a 9 by 13-inch baking dish with 2 teaspoons of the butter and line with 1 sheet of parchment or waxed paper. Butter the top of this sheet of paper with 1 teaspoon of the remaining butter and then lay a second sheet of parchment or waxed paper crosswise over the first sheet. The parchment should be cut large enough so that the sides are even with the top of the baking dish; this extra paper will function as handles to help you remove the lemon squares from the pan later. Set pan aside.

In a large bowl combine 1 3/4 cups of the flour, 2/3 cup of the confectioners' sugar, the cornstarch, and 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and mix thoroughly. Cut the remaining 12 tablespoons of butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using your hands, 2 forks, or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer the butter-flour mixture to the prepared baking dish and press into an even 1/4-inch layer along the bottom and partly up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the crust is chilling, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the crust until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, assemble the filling by combining the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, and lemon zest in a medium bowl and whisking until smooth. Stir in lemon juice, milk, limoncello, and remaining pinch of salt and mix well.

When the crust is golden brown, remove it from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Stir the lemon mixture again, then pour onto the warm crust. Bake until the filling is set, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Grasp the waxed paper that lines the 2 longest sides of the baking dish and remove thebars from the pan by pulling up gently. The entire dessert should easily dislodge and come away from the pan.

Transfer to a cutting board and, using a clean knife, cut into squares, wiping knife after each cut. Place a small amount of confectioners' sugar into a small sieve, and sprinkle the bars with the sugar. Serve immediately, or refrigerate, wrapped with plastic wrap, up to 2 days, until ready to serve.

And just in case you aren't sick to death of turkey and all Thanksgiving related goodness, here are pictures of our dinner last night:

Sorry about the glare, I didn't even notice it until uploading it earlier and it's the only picture of a full plate I got.

I Eat the Turkey and I Take a Nap

Nae is just getting started in the kitchen now. She's been prepping for the last few days and the turkey has been brining away. On the menu tonight are: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce (homemade and the good stuff that retains the shape of the can), herb mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows and/or pineapple, homemade bread rolls, spinach salad with candy walnuts apples and orange zest, sauteed brussle sprouts, baked apples and for dessert lemon bars, vegan pumpkin pie (Nae's making it special for one of her roommates), or cream cheese pie. Did I mention there are only 4 of us?!? We have enough food to feed the neighborhood! Nae is a really good cook so I don't mind eating her leftovers for the next 5 days. I'll get some pictures later. I asked Nae for her recipes because everything she made last year turned out amazingly, but she said "Why do you want to steal my secret family recipes (that I got from Food Network)?" so we'll have to see if she comes around to sharing later. I think she is going to at least share her lemon bar recipe with me so I'll post that up with pics in the next few days. I'm really hoping she gives me her turkey brine recipe because she only started doing it last year and last year's turkey was the best I've ever had!

In other news, work has been going well. Everyone in the office is super nice. The work is fairly repetitive, but it makes the day fly by! Yesterday I got to taste test a new cookie flavor they are trying to perfect. It was good, but not quite there yet. I can't wait to see how it turns out. I was also able to grab a couple fresh cookies to bring home to the family last night- regular chocolate chip and chocolate chip macadamia...so darn good! We also have in a dark chocolate, walnut, and cherry cookie right now that one of the girls brought up for me to try because they are that good that they don't last long! I thought I wasn't working tomorrow and had planned to hit the Black Friday sales with Nae and Mom down in Monterrey, but I've been asked to come in from like 10-4 tomorrow so I'll be missing out on the shopping. A little bummed because it would be nice to hang out with them, but on the other hand I really need the money and could've told work that I wasn't available if I had really wanted to.

Yesterday I also learned that the homeless in Santa Cruz must have it pretty good. I went down to the beach on my lunch break to sit and watch the water while I ate my sandwich. I was pretty full after having one half and as it was a sandwich from Trader Joe's, the other half was still nicely wrapped, so I decided rather than let it go to waste I'd find a homeless person (there are normally tons downtown) and offer it to them. I hadn't even gotten away from the beach when I saw an older lady with a backpack on and a cardboard sign taped to her back that said "Need Food". I did a u-turn and rolled down my window and asked her if she'd like my sandwich. She said she was weird about people touching her food and she couldn't tell how fresh it was so no. My jaw just about hit the floor. She obviously wasn't that hungry! I brought it back to work and one of the ladies there happily had it, instead.

Only 6 more sleeps until Boyfriend gets here! I don't know how people do the long distance thing. I miss him like crazy, but then we get on the phone or a video chat online and have nothing exciting to tell each other. Boyfriend has also been on a tight deadline to get a new website up for Clinique and so he has been stressed, tired, grumpy, and not very talkative in general. There are times we talk and I just want to strangle him and I'm sure he wants to strangle me, haha! It's so funny because in real life we hardly ever fight or get super snippy with each other. I can't wait to have him here and get back to "happy couple" status.

Edited to Add: Just wanted to say a Happy Thanksgiving to all those Expats living in Australia and other places around the world! Hope you had a good one and were able to eat something that reminded you a little of home.

Sing For Your Supper

I made these tonight. They were pretty tasty and better still, they came from Cooking Light Magazine so they aren't even bad for you! We had them with roasted corn bits from Trader Joe's and I made sweet potato chips. It felt like hearty comfort food and that's just what you need through winter, I think, but this way you're doing it guilt-free.

Things have started to pick up at the Cookie Company so they've asked me to start working this week instead of next, which is great because every little bit of extra money helps. My first day is tomorrow and I'm super excited and hope I do a good job. Fingers crossed for me that I go in there and rock there socks off (or at least not make any major mistakes)!

Here's the recipe:

Southwestern Chicken Roll-Ups

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 chicken roll)

Ingredients

• 6 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 tablespoons (about 3 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
• 6 tablespoons picante sauce
• 6 cilantro sprigs
• 6 tablespoons Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Top each breast half with 1 tablespoon cheese, 1 tablespoon picante sauce, and 1 cilantro sprig. Roll up jelly-roll fashion, beginning at narrow end.

Dredge chicken rolls in breadcrumbs. Place rolls, seam sides down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; lightly coat rolls with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until chicken is done. (We have a good nonstick cooking sheet so I didn't bother to spray it or them with the cooking oil and they didn't stick or burn to the sheet.)

Nutritional Information

Calories:

257 (20% from fat)

Fat:

5.8g (sat 2.7g,mono 1.5g,poly 0.6g)

Protein:

41.7g

Carbohydrate:

6.9g

Fiber:

0.3g

Cholesterol:

109mg

Iron:

1.6mg

Sodium:

385mg

Calcium:

40mg

When the Sun is Shining...

Man, yesterday turned out to be the day for good news. Not only did I get that job, as I've already mentioned, but one of my friends got engaged and I found out that our friends in Sydney are going to be having a baby! You always hear the phrase "when it rains, it pours" well this is the converse of that "when the sun shines, it shines brightly!"

C is for Cookie

Wahoo! I got a job! I'm working for a local cookie company. They have a storefront downtown and a second location, where I will be working, where they actually make the cookies and have their offices. I will be helping them with their holiday internet orders. I'm excited and the woman who hired me seems really nice and so is the admin so I think it'll be a great place to work. And you should smell the place...pure heaven! This will not be good for my diet as they sell cookies there, too!

It will be great to have some Christmas spending money and to have some money to take back to Australia with me and be able to contribute to our household once again.

I don't start work until after Thanksgiving, but when I do, I will have diet friendly cookie pictures up on the site.