Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Burnt out...

Today has been absolutely miserable.. I know I shouldn't throw my life out there for people to read, but really I don't know where to vent to & I'm just tired. I know there are a lot of people out there who have it way worse off, but really at this point in time something has to give. Like seriously.

So my husband had his video conference with Walter Reed today and he said that he was just irritated with the lady the whole time. Yeah well that's normal for him, he's ALWAYS irritated with everyone, nothing new. He said that the look that she gave him, looked as if she didn't believe a word he said, so after about an hour and a half of video conferencing with her he called me to tell me how it went.. he was pissed off by then. Then his day just continued to go down hill. Of course he manages to always drag me down with him, except I have no one to vent to like he vents to me so I just soak it in and hold it in like I do best.

Once he's home from his wounded warrior therapy class he starts to sort the mail & he got 3 things, 1)VA, 2)Social Security Claims, 3) some other crap... Well VA says they need more things from him, we are supposed to find his rating out this month after 8 months on the MEB and for the VA to just NOW ask for more stuff is beyond me, seems rediculous, and then the Social Security people denied him his benefits although some fellow soldiers got their claims. So someone really pissed in his cheerio's today. He's so frustrated and angry (GOT TO LOVEEEE PTSD!!!) that he's already managed to scold the dog & our son who is sick, then he was joking around and talking to me but tapping his dinner plate and managed to break his plate in half & then got so pissed that he broke his plate he threw his fork & then threw a couch pillow and landed in my dinner plate.. now the pillow is ruined... I'm sick of this crap and not sure how much more of his anger and frustration I can handle. It's not like I want to walk away (sometimes I really do) but it's just frustrating for him. He's always getting the shit end of the stick and something has to give. I'm trying my best to be supportive but my heart aches for him, & I'm seriously worried about our future. If he doesn't make a high enough rating we won't have anywhere to live, & in this economy that's a lot on my shoulders since I'm the only one who can really work. Then I have to worry about how to get him to his appts & how to get myself to work.

Exhausted... frustrated... just want to let go..

Monday, January 10, 2011

Blog Update...

I've been slacking on posting recipes.. So what I will start doing is just blog daily life stuff (maybe not daily) and post a recipe along with it. As of right now I've been busy with my son's therapy schedule & my husbands MEB. My husband was recently diagnosed with severe depression, severe PTSD, Post concussive syndrome which is the aftermath of a TBI, & he also has degenerative disc disease of his back so This past 14 months has been a huge battle of trying to get him the proper medical care that he needs. Our 5 year old son has also had a battle of his own, and spent some time in a children's psychiatric center. Overall this will probably be my place to vent, but also provide what ever audience I have with new recipes. Thank your understanding.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Turn Todays Roast into Tomorrows Tacos

This is a very FILLING dinner!

Get a chuck roast (if you have a large family you may need 2..) but for our family I usually get the largest I can find.

Toss it in a crock pot with 1.5 to 2 Family size cans of Campbells Cream of Mushroom, & about a teaspoon of pepper.

Cook on low for about 7-8 hours or high 5-6 or until it pulls apart easily with a fork.


Mashed Potatoes.. Not from a box!!

For my family of 3 I usually do one large baking potato per person or sometimes toss in an extra.. Peel and dice your potatoes into decent sized chunks boil them. You can toss some salt in or if you want garlic potatoes toss 2 to 3 cloves of garlic in the water.

Drain the water.

I never measure I eyeball everything and do things to taste so add butter (I use a lot), Milk for moisture, sour cream about a heaping tablespoon maybe 2, salt, & coarse black pepper. I have a mixer I use to mix the potatoes taste them and add things as necessary!

Asparagus!

I know you think eeeeewwww.. No!

I usually grab one of the asparagus stalks and bend it, where ever it snaps is a good measurement as to where you need to cut the ends. Then you lay them in a dish and lightly drizzle some Olive oil, sprinkle some sea salt and I have a garlic press and I press about 3-4 cloves of garlic onto the asparagus. Now get your hands dirty and make sure everything is evenly coated. You can either bake this in the oven or toss into the broiler. Just keep an eye. You want them to be somewhat crispy but not overly brown or black =]


Tomorrows tacos!...

Use the shredded pot roast and heat up. Get some corn tortillas and put a healthy spoon full into the warmed up corn tortilla and fry them in some veggie oil. Layer on your cheese, lettuce, tomato, guacamole and you're set!!

My friend Jessie and her hubby made some breakfast burritos with the roast too, just put some scrambled egg with bell pepper and onion in and flour tortilla and they said they were Schamazing =]

Hope you enjoy!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Knock Off Pork Adobo (A Fave!)

So my family got this recipe from a couple who had a restraunt that was going out of buisness. You can make it with chicken too, but we prefer pork spare ribs..

Get a cookie sheet or a dish long enough to hold the spare ribs and catch their juices. Pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees put your pork spare-ribs on the dish and generously sprinkle with apple cider vinegar and pepper and cover with foil.Cook for about 2-3 hours.

Let them rest for about 5 minutes, then cut them individually and put in a large pot. Cut a white onion into 1/4's and toss in the pot, 4-6 cloves of garlic, 6 bay leaves and then toss the stuff for the sauce in..

2 cups water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup La Choy Soy Sauce (you have to use La Choy or it doesn't taste right)
1 1/2 cups Hunts tomato sauce
I bring everything to a boil then I put a lid half way on and drop the temp to low and let simmer for about 45 minutes.

We make a pot of white rice and then spoon the juice from the adobo on top! It's a family fave and my friends love it too!


If you want to do chicken adobo
brown the chicken with 1/2 white onion, 3-4 bayleaves, 2-3 garlic pieces once brown then pour in 1 cup water, 1/4 vinegar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 3/4 tomato sauce and cook on low for about 1 hour, serve with rice.

Tortilla Soup

Okay so this is a recipe my mom gave me it's so awesome we even eat it in the hot Texas Summer days.. But since moving to Fort Drum brings extremely long and freezing Winter this will be sure to make you crave this year round!..

So first off get a whole chicken drop it in a large pot and add in a whole onion (cut that in half) season with some Salt, Pepper, & about a 1/4 of a small bottle of Caldo de Pollo ( you can find this where the Mexican food is at your local grocery store)

Cook the chicken til it's fork tender. Remove it from the broth and take the skin and bones off and shred til it's the way you'll like it. Remove the onion from the broth, and put the chicken aside. Now you're going to toss all your veggies in..

Carrots
Celery
Can of whole tomatoes or 2 fresh tomatoes, pull skin off after cooked mash, stir in..
Cilantro chopped finely
1-2 cloves of garlic
and if you need more salt or pepper or even Caldo De Pollo add it now!


Depending on the amount of veggies depends & size of your pot, cook time will differ, but you want the veggies to be fork tender. While everything is cooking we get corn tortillas and cut them into thin strips and fry them, you will need quite a bit. Let those drain off. Once the soup is done cooking we put the chicken at the bottom of the bowl, then add the tortilla strips and sprinkle some Monterey Jack cheese on top then spoon the soup and veggies into the bowl and then thinly slice some avocado and put it on top usually 3-4 slices is a good amount, if you want you can also garnish with a little bit of cilantro..




Ingredients you will need:
Chicken
Caldo De Pollo
Cilantro
Canned whole tomatoes or 2 fresh
Celery
Carrots
Avacados
Corn Tortillas
Garlic
White Onion
Salt & Pepper
Monterey Jack Cheese

Monday, November 16, 2009

Momma's Maccaroni Salad

This is my mom's famous mac salad... She's gonna kill me for sharing but it's soooo yummy!



1 pound Ditalini pasta

2-4 heaping Tbs. of Hellmans/Best Foods Regular mayo (add as needed)

1 pound Bacon (regular, chopped)

1- 1/2 Large Tomatoes chopped small

1 bunch finely chopped Green onion

Lawry's Brand seasoning salt to taste

Coarse ground pepper seasoned to taste

Cook the ditalini pasta to prefered tenderness drain and rinse pasta, I use a few ice cubes to help cool the pasta. Put it in a large container and either refrigerate or put in freezer til the pasta is completely cool. If you add the mayo to the pasta while it's warm or hot it absorbs it and makes it taste rubbery. Once pasta is cooled mix all ingredients in. I refrigerate for about an hour, stir and then serve it chilled. =) Hope ya like this one!

Jessi's Pork!

Shredded Kalua Pork
1 Pork Roast (Walmart has some that are small and work well for a hungry family of 3 with some leftovers :) )
2 TBS. Salt
2 TBS. Liquid Smoke
1 1/2 C. water

Rub the pork roast with salt.
Place in deep roasting pan or in a crockpot

Mix the water and liquid smoke, and pour in the roasting pan. Seal pan tightly with foil. Bake at 350 for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. (or on high in a crockpot for 4-6 hours).

Carolina BBQ Sauce

1 C. apple cider vinegar
1 C. ketchup
2 TBS. brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried crushed red pepper

Stir all ingredients in bowl until sugar and salt dissolve. Can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

The best chicken enchilada's ever!

Mama’s Green Enchiladas

You need:

cheese and lots of it.

chicken cooked, anyway you want, (easy way to boil it with salt, pepper, and an onion)

reserve some chicken broth for later use if needed.

sliced green onions

corn tortillas

green enchilada sauce

mushroom soup

Pre-heat oven to 375

Heat the mushroom soup first and get it creamy then add the enchilada sauce and wisk it in. If you need to thin it a little or stretch it, add some of the chicken broth. Spray baking sheet. Heat tortillas first, then dip in sauce, shred up the chicken and put some sauce in it to eliminate the step of putting more sauce on it later, then add cheese, green onion and roll. After you’re done rolling them, put more sauce over the top, add more cheese and if you’d like add some more green onion and even black olives go well. Cook at 375 degrees for about 40-45 minutes.

Military Wives in the Kitchen..

Hey Everyone!

This blog was started by an Army Wife, meeting new friends in new places and sharing awesome recipes! A few of my girlfriends and I have dinner parties and often want to know the recipe of certain dishes, rather then sit there and re-type it for everyone individualy we all just decided to make a blog and post them here. So I hope you enjoy the recipes shared and if you'd like to submit one please do!

Bon Appetit!

10th Mountain Wife