10 Minutes

Ten minutes...that's all the time it takes (probably even less) for my children to destroy nice things. For instance, I very carefully mopped the kitchen floor and within a matter of mere minutes, they had spilled food and drink, marring its pristine cleanness. Or this morning, I put on a brand new sweater. And in less than two minutes, someone rubbed greasy vitamin A+D ointment on the front...which effectively ruined the sweater--that stuff never comes out.

Sigh...I need to create a bubble of protection around the few things in my remaining that my children haven't destroyed...

Quickie Mexican Chicken con Queso

Hey there, dear readers...it's Thursday, late afternoon and you haven't planned a thing for dinner. Sound familiar? Here's a great quick and easy recipe I've come up with that you should be able to make with either items on hand (I have this stuff on hand) or a super-quick trip to the grocery store. And, as an added bonus, this tastes like you worked long and hard on it, when, in fact, it should only take about 20 minutes--if that.

Quickie Mexican Chicken con Queso (as described, this serves 3-- two adults plus a little leftover. This multiplies very well if you need to serve more)

You will need:

• 1 package Boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small, bite-sized pieces. (I use the thin cut "great for scallopini" sized meat which is just right for 2 adults)
• 1 small can diced green chilies, with juices.
• 1 TB taco seasoning (I use Penzey's Chicken Taco Seasoning which I keep on hand)
• cream cheese (you'll need about 1/3 of a block, cut into smaller pieces)
• heavy cream (also called whipping cream) 1/2 to 3/4 cup
• monterey jack cheese (shredded--I use half of a standard 10 oz. block)
• 1 can "traditional" refried beans (optional side)
• instant rice (optional side)
• shredded lettuce (optional side)
• guacamole (make fresh or buy from the refrigerated section of your grocery store)

In a medium-sized skillet over medium heat--sprayed with Olive Oil--combine your first three ingredients. Saute the chicken until done.

While the chicken is cooking, use a 1.5 quart saucepan heat the 1/2 cup cream over medium heat. Add the cream cheese and stir (I use a small whisk) until the cream cheese is melted. Then add the shredded monterey jack cheese. Stir until all of the cheese is melted and the queso sauce is creamy. If it's too thick, add more cream--a little at a time--and stir. Turn heat to low/warm and stir occasionally until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

If you are using any of the optional sides, prepare them now.

When the chicken is done, plate and pour the queso sauce on top. I usually serve it like this: Chicken served over the cooked rice with a serving of refried beans and a lettuce and guacamole salad on the side. I pour some of the queso sauce on top of both the chicken and the beans.

Enjoy!!

p.s. if you have kids to feed and they're like mine and won't "eat anything." While you're making this, place a small flour tortilla (1 per child)--covered with a hand-full of shredded cheese (cheddar for my kids) in the center of the tortilla--into your toaster oven or regular oven. Heat/cook until the cheese is melted. Remove and quickly roll up. Cut in half and served with fresh raw veggies and fruit. My kids love their "Mexican" meal, too.

I might be a terrible homemaker, but I make a pretty good salad...

On my first trip to the grocery store after receiving my diabetes diagnosis, I wept. Each aisle contained a bountiful cornucopia of delights which I could no longer consume. It seemed that everything before me was forbidden; it all might have well had the skull and crossbones sign of poisons. I felt utterly depressed and without hope. What would I eat? Would it taste good?

I have learned how to cook some pretty tasty diabetic friendly meals, but I struggle daily with what might as well be called an addiction to all things carbohydrate. I have created--with a little help from my mother-in-law--a great, diabetic friendly salad that can help neutralize a carb-heavy meal. The recipe follows...enjoy!

I like to keep things simple, so I start with a nice prepared bag of field greens. Field greens mix or a baby spinach mix are ideal for diabetics and others looking to be sugar-free or low sugar because they are higher in fiber and contain vital nutrients. I added some sliced English cucumbers (skin on.) I like English cucumbers because they have a taste almost as good as homegrown cucumbers. I then add in some tomatoes (I like cherry sized.) Finally, to add crunch (we don’t need the empty carbs of croutons) I add pecans (pieces or halves) and chopped celery, carrots, and radishes. For the zing I add a generous handful of dried cranberries.



Now comes the fun part: the salad dressing. You’d be surprised how many pre-prepared salad dressings contain added sugar. It is pretty easy to make your own salad dressing from scratch. Here’s one of my favorites—and as an added bonus, I’ve learned that the vinegar from the dressing helps counteract sugars in the digestive process.


• Clove or two of garlic, minced (depending on how garlic-y you like things...dried garlic powder works if you don't have fresh garlic.)


• Extra virgin olive oil


• Balsalmic vinegar (cheap olive oil and balsalmic vinegar are fine—there are some that retail for $20 or more, these are not needed for this.)


• Salt (I use kosher flake salt) and pepper to taste


• Salad fixings (as described above: celery, cucumbers, lettuce—I like field greens—,carrots, radishes, and tomatoes.


• Pine nuts or pecans


• Dried cranberries (optional)


In your salad bowl (it should be large enough for your salad contents) add enough olive oil to cover the bottom, flatter part of the bowl (it’s about 3 tablespoons, more if you’re making a very large salad.) Then add about half as much of the balsalmic vinegar to the oil (you can add more later if you like more bite.) Then add the garlic, salt and pepper, stir well and taste. If it’s too mild, add a little bit more vinegar…if it’s too strong, add a little bit more oil. Then add all of your veggies except for your lettuce. This allows the veggies to soak up the taste of the dressing a bit. I usually let all of this sit on the counter while I finish preparing my main dish. Then, when ready to serve, add the lettuce and optional dried cranberries and toss then serve.


I have found that a nice serving of this salad, plus a healthy meal with good protein, usually means I can have a small dessert afterwards and it won't raise my bloodsugar. I hope you'll have the same luck!

I am a Bubba Magnet

Yes. It's true. I am a Bubba Magnet. It's a sad, scary affliction that I've had since childhood. Nowhere, it seems, am I immune from my appeal to all things Bubba.

I first noticed my affliction when I was fifteen. On summer vacations with my parents on Lake Gaston in North Carolina, the Bubbas would come out of the woodwork. The local boys thought I was right purty and it went downhill from there. When I was 17 and off to college in rural Buies Creek, NC, the Bubbas could spot me from a mile away. Most locals didn't have anything to do with the college students except lucky me. I had a sheriff's deputy take a fancy to me. So, not only did this deter any other Bubbas from bothering me (which I appreciated after my first month of continuous Bubba pursuit) it also prevented any of the nice college boys from pursuing me (which I didn't like as much.)

Now at this point, you might be asking, "what does she mean by Bubba?" Well, let me tell you.... some uses of the word Bubba are quite nice (it's what quite a few brothers are called from childhood, which I think is sweet.) However, in this context, I am referring to the Bubba Stereotype. And while I hate stereotyping, in this case, it's just and true. The Bubbas of this story are generally persons of lower economic status and limited education and/or one who is a "good ol' boy." The Bubbas from my younger days as described above weren't that bad...they were somewhat cute, but not my type at all. I was never fond of the mullet hairdo (which Bubbas seem to adore) nor of skin tight jeans and plaid flannel shirts with the armsleeves cut off. Although, to be fair, the sheriff's deputy didn't have the mullet and he was almost always in uniform. He did, however, live in a trailer with his mother.

The Bubbas of my younger years were sweet and fun to hang out with as were the Bubbas of my working years.  In my working years, I worked with lots of Bubbas (more of the country boy variety) and I thought them all very sweet and endearing. But they all asked me out constantly and I had no desire to "go to the races" or "go see Travis Tritt or Kenny Rogers" (or whoever it was.) And they were not deterred by my refusals....they kept on asking. And trying to impress me with things that just didn't impress me (no, thank you, I don't need a mounted deer for my wall.)

After getting married, I thought I was finally free of the Bubbas. And I was for a short while. That was...until our house started needing repairs. Then the Bubbas returned. Only this time they weren't so sweet. Through some sort of psychic Bubba network, they must have known of my refusal of the other Bubba's courtship offers and were out for revenge. For now, it seems, I am at the mercy of the home-repair/maintenance Bubbas. And they like it...they love the Bubba power they have over me.

They'll come into my home or stand over my car and remove their caps (Bubbas ALWAYS wear caps,) scratch their greasy hair (ugh...still in that awful mullet cut usually...) and hitch up their too often sliding down pants (they give a whole new meaning to "plumber's crack") and tell me some long story about how broken my whatever is, how hard it will be to find the parts, how hard it will be to install said parts, and how they "reckon" it'll "set me back a little." But, "because they like me" they'll knock a little off the top. All I really wanted was for them to fix the problem and fix it right, but noooooooo, that almost never happens. The Bubba wants to make sure he gets to see me again, so it's never fixed right.

For a while, I was so fed up with the Bubbas that I declared a NO BUBBA repairman policy. Only I haven't found a repairman yet who wasn't a Bubba (please email me if you have a non-Bubba repairman.) So, as my aging house needs repairs, I suppose it is my fate to remain a Bubba Magnet...sigh...

From the hilltop

My father's grave sits on a peaceful hill in an old cemetery. He would have been 66 this week. The kids and I went there today and enjoyed walking around, reading epitaphs, and leaving wildflowers on my dad and grandmother's graves.

It's quite lovely up there. With a near constant breeze it's almost never hot...not even on a 95 degree day like today. From underneath the shade of the old oak tree at the very top of the hill, you can see for miles. My favorite view is of the city skyline. It's an interesting juxtaposition of life and death--the bustling city life imposed behind the gravestones and memorials of the dead.

My family's plot goes back to my great-great-grandfather. I can't help but wonder what life was like when he was my age...I wonder about all of the people buried in the cemetery...does anyone remember them anymore? Does anyone stop by and say "hello" to them anymore? Of course, the more creative epitaphs give you some idea of who or what the person was. I love my father's epitaph, "Beloved physician, father, and friend." Years from now, when no one remembers him personally, they can still read his marker and know what a grand guy he was. I think that's just what he would have wanted...to be thought of as a grand guy.

Farewell, old friend...

Our old family friend, Ukrop's, is finally gone. It was a grand old store...there through every facet of life.

My grandmother shopped at the original Ukrop's in Richmond's southside and was a loyal customer from the beginning. My mother shopped at Ukrop's, too...and Ukrop's in its quiet, subtle way was there throughout the ups and downs of life. For birthdays, graduations, and celebrations, nothing beat a Ukrop's cake. When you needed some good local fruits or veg, Ukrop's had it. When you were too tired to cook, or just didn't want to cook, Ukrop's was there with meals to go. Even for funerals, Ukrop's was there with its white house rolls, ham, redskin potato salad, and other funeral fare.

I started shopping solo at Ukrop's when I was 16. Every week, my grandfather gave me his list (it was almost always the exact same thing--I still have it memorized...) and I'd get his groceries for the week. His favorite treat were the little coconut tarts. My favorite treat was the cute teenaged boy who bagged my groceries and brought them out to my car. When a cute boy wasn't there, it was one of several cute older guys who knew me when I was little...and recalled bringing my mother's and grandmother's groceries to their cars.

I took my last stroll through Ukrop's a little while ago. My kids didn't understand why I was in tears. I was saying goodbye to an old friend who had been with me through my life. The end of Ukrop's feels like everything I knew growing up--everything old Richmond--has finally gone. Thalheimer's, Miller and Rhoads, and now Ukrop's. There a few places left...Bill's Barbeque comes to mind...I think I'll take the kids out for some barbeque, grape-limeaids, and coconut cream pie.

Meanwhile, goodbye Ukrop's...thanks for being there.

Happy Easter!

What I really wanted to say is it's going to be hard to be pleasant when one child woke me up at 3:00, another came bounding in my bed at 5:00, and the baby again at 6:30. So, I'll stick with good old "Happy Easter!"

Meanwhile, while I was unable to get back to sleep after the 3:00 AM interruption my mind wondered all sorts of things...like why it's called Easter (googled it, pretty interesting) and why eating ham is a tradition (I figured it was a "Yay, we get to eat ham because we're Christians" kind of thing.

So, I've digressed. A lot. Hopefully, next Easter I'll be better rested and more suitably reverent and/or relevant.

Until then: Happy Easter!!