My Husbands Idea of Holiday Decorations

Since we have moved several times within the last few years and have always gone home for the holidays,  Carl and I do not have many holiday decorations. Actually, this is the extent of our collection...

A snow globe that I keep out year round anyway and 2 stocking hangers minus the stockings. We don't really have a place to display them properly but I have an idea and I'm hoping to put something together after Thanksgiving. However, last night I heard my husband fumbling around in the other room so I grabbed the camera (like a good wife) to see what he was up to. Here is what I found him doing...

He's fiddling with his Ghostbusters shelf. What does that have to do with Holiday decoration? Take a closer look...

Yup, those are the Ghostbusters sporting Santa hats.  My husband was so proud. This is my husbands idea of holiday decorations. I admit that they are cute and festive, but it's going to take a little more than this to make it feel like Christmas around here. Stay tuned because I'll be back to post about my version holiday decorations after Thanksgiving. 

His & Her Dinner # 7- The Soup Edition

It has been quite awhile since I have posted the feature His & Her Dinner, but I am happy to be bringing it back now! For those who may not be familiar with His & Her Dinner let me explain. My husband is one of the pickiest eaters I have ever known. When we moved to California we decided to try to cook at home as much as possible in order to save money. However, with his very limited pallet it soon became very  difficult to find meals that we could both enjoy together. So to solve this dilemma I began cooking 2 different meals, one for him and one for me, but used the same base ingredients to create both which still helped cut down on our food expenses. You can catch up on past episodes by clicking the links below. 

His & Her Dinner #1

His & Her Dinner #2

His & Her Dinner #3

His & Her Dinner #4

His & Her Dinner #5

His & Her Dinner #6

And without further adieu, here is His & Her Dinner #7

The Soup Edition

Carl has always enjoyed a nice bowl of soup and has actually expanded the variety of soups he'll eat. By expanding I mean he went from eating 1 kind of soup to enjoying 3 kinds of soup now! I should also tell you that it  took several attempts before he would try soup that I cooked-if it didn't come from a restaurant or from the grocery store's hot soup bar he didn't want to eat for some reason. Thankfully,  one day the store was out of their Loaded Baked Potato Soup so I told him again that I could make him a soup just like it and he finally agreed to try it. He now asks me to make it regularly.  

His: Cheesy Potato Soup with Bacon

If you hadn't noticed, Carl likes to eat almost an entire loaf of French bread with his soup!

Her: Fall Chowder

Look familiar? That's because I just posted the recipe, click here to  get it. Remember it had 3 kinds of peppers, spices, corn, and potatoes! It was exploding with flavor. Speaking of exploding,  I took some to work the next day and put it in the microwave to heat and when I came back to check on it I found that it had exploded all over the microwave! Not only did I spend my lunch break cleaning up the mess,  I also went hungry! That is what happens hen you don't own a microwave for over a year-you forget how to use it and end up ruining your lunch!

The base ingredient this time is Campbell's Creamy Potato Soup. It's such a versatile ingredient. I also use it when I make myself Chicken Pot Pie, which Carl still refuses to eat. 

If you enjoyed this episode of His & Her Dinner, you'll love the Thanksgiving episode coming soon!

$45 CSN Giveaway Winner

Thank you to everyone who signed up and participated for their chance to win the $45 CSN Giveaway. I used the Random Number Generator to choose the winner. I hope you will trust me on this since it would not let me copy  and paste the actual results like I had intended.  But with out further adieu...

The Winner is...

Comment #36

 Roberta said...

Your blog button is posted on my sidebar and I just posted about your giveaway today for Mosaic Monday ;)
http://con-tain-it.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/11/twinkle-twinkle-little-starmonday-mosaic-a-giveaway.html#tp

November 1, 2010 11:44 AM 

Congratulations Roberta!

Roberta is currently working on a 21-Day Challenge which she has re-named her 21 Day Purge. In the first four days she has managed to tackle the daunting task of sorting, downsizing, and organizing her blog subscriptions, magazines, coupons, and shoes! What will she do  next? You can find out by subscribing to her blog at Con-tain-it. 

I wish  everyone could be a winner here at Living and Loving in California but I only had one gift card to giveaway. However,  the following lovely blogs are holding giveaways to CSN Stores too, so head on over for more chances to win!

New Blessings Everyday, $45 CSN Giveaway, ends November 12th

Happier Than A Pig  In Mud, $50 CSN Giveaway, ends November 15th

Passages to the Past, $100 CSN Giveaway, ends November 21st

Shortly before I held this CSN Store giveaway I was lucky enough to win one myself. Here's a quick peek at what I picked out! 


 I have to thank Cheri for leaving the link to these boots in her comment. (I'm sorry you didn't win). I saw them and I also fell in love. I went for the red ones instead of the turquoise though!

And I have to thank 'floating' who gave me the idea to get a scale. I have not stepped on one in over a year...actually, I haven't stepped on a scale since the day before my wedding. I'm married now, my husband promised to love me tubby or not, so why should I care? Let's just say I bought the boots for myself and the scale for my husband...but don't tell him that!

Thanks again to all of my loyal followers who have been with me with or without giveaways!

Your daily support is motivating and uplifting and I appreciate every single visitor. 

To my newest followers, I  hope to see you in blogland soon!

Fall Chowder

Back in October the lovely ladies, Amanda, Leslie, and Lindsey, from Messy Aprons held a  giveaway for a Vera Bradley Recipe box containing all the yummy recipes that they have featured. (I am a HUGE Vera Bradley fan) The ladies asked followers to leave a comment telling everyone what their favorite Fall meal or treat was. Here is what I said: 

Cortney Lyon said...
My favorite fall food is a tie...anything made from apples and any kind of soup. I am going to be posting soon about my favorite soup-it's a Roasted Red Pepper and Red Chili Corn and Potato Chowder...I need to come up with a shorter name for it though. Any ideas?

OCTOBER 20, 2010 6:31 PM 

Although I didn't win, it did inspire me to get back into the kitchen this fall and try some of my favorite recipes again. The girls were nice enough to respond to my comment via e-mail and helped me come up with a much  shorter name for my favorite chowder recipe. So, my formerly named Roasted Red Pepper and Red Chili Corn and Potato Chowder has officially been re-named Fall Chowder thanks to the gals at Messy Aprons. 

And now I'd like to share that recipe with you! I will warn you that this chowder is very spicy according to  my pallet, so feel free to tinker with it to please your taste buds.

Ingredients
2 cans of Campbell's Creamy Potato Soup
2 cups milk
1/2 of a red bell pepper
1 red chili pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1 orange hot pepper, seeded and chopped fine
1 clove garlic, chopped fine 
1 cup frozen sweet corn
1/2 tsp. Coriander Powder
1/2 tsp. Cumin Power



Directions
1.) Quarter the red bell pepper and put 2 quarters away for a rainy day.  Take the other 2 quarters and lightly brush with oil and place in a lined baking dish. Broil red pepper for 10-15 minutes on high until the tops start to blacken. Remove from broiler and let cool.

2.) Finely chop 1 clove garlic, 1 red chili pepper, and 1 orange hot pepper. When the red bell peppers are cool enough to touch, peel off the blackened skins and chop the roasted red pepper quarters into small pieces. Place all chopped ingredients into a medium/large pot.

3.) Over medium/ high heat saute peppers and garlic. Add 1/2 tsp. Cumin and 1/2 tsp Coriander while sauteing. I don''t know how long to saute them for, I just know when  it starts to smell REALLY good that I start adding other stuff. I love the smell of Cumin!

4.) Add 1 cup milk and then add both cans of Campbell's  Creamy Potato Soup followed another cup of milk. Whisk together until smooth.

5.) When the mixture starts to bubble around the edge of the pot, add the frozen corn.

6.) Simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes. Season to your taste if needed. If  it's too spicy try adding a little bit of heavy cream or half & half.

7.) Serve! Depending on how much of this spicy chowder you  can handle in one sitting, it makes 3-4 servings.

This picture doesn't do the Fall Chowder justice, it looked and tasted yummy in person!

I like to eat my Fall Chowder with a few slices of Sharp Cheddar Cheese and some tortilla chips to help cut down on the heat. This particular batch made my eyes water, nose run,  forehead sweat, and lips tingle. But boy was in good!


Every fall I also like bake my  favorite apple dishes such as Apple Pie, Crisp, Turnovers, and good ole baked apples. This year I wanted to venture outside my usual Apple comfort zone and try a new recipe. I found a delicious new recipe for Dutch Apple Bread courtesy of Shannon from North Dakota Kitchen.

It was so yummy while it was still warm and the apples were perfectly cooked through out the loaf. The day after baking it I buttered up a few slices and threw them on a hot skillet for the best toasted apple bread I have ever tried.

If you'd like to try this recipe head over to North Dakota Kitchen soon. Shannon has a wealth of other delicious meals, sweats, and treats to share as well.

I hope you have found some fall food inspiration here or from the lovely ladies who have inspired me. Thanks again to the gals at Messy Aprons and Shanon from North Dakota Kitchen!

Curious Nature

Seeing as how I forgot to turn the clocks back last night I got up a bit earlier than I had intended...6:30 AM to be exact.  In the past few hours, while my husband remains curled in bed, I have been going through photo's on the computer that I hadn't  looked at in awhile and I found a few that I thought I would share. 

While living in Pennsylvania, one of my favorite things to do was to sit on our back patio and just watch the curiosities of nature. Although I will not miss the cold weather, a part of me will be missing the snow this year. Snow just brings a new light and magic to everything it touches, especially nature. I would bundle up and sit on that porch with a  camera until I couldn't feel my fingers. These are some of my favorite images that I was able to capture. I hope you enjoy!

Only 7 Days left to enter the $45 CSN Giveaway

Click here to enter my $45 CSN  Giveaway. 

I have 69 Followers and only 20 have signed up! 

You only have 7 days left before I draw the winner.

It could be YOU!

Mother Warriors by Jenny McCarthy

The full title of the book is actually Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds. After attending a conference on Autism I had a discussion with a co-worker about Jenny McCarthy and her views on Autism. Her name came into the discussion because the morning part of the conference was dedicated to the research and causes of Autism. Jenny McCarthy is kind of known in the Autism community  for her stance on the debate over whether or not vaccines contribute to Autism. She is firmly on the side that there is a link between vaccines and Autism. She also has strong opinions in regards to healing Autism. However, the conference reported no data confirming the connection, nor did it acknowledge the possibility.

I first watched Jenny McCarthy on the Oprah show several years ago before I became a teacher and before I had learned much of anything about Autism. Since then, and especially since I became a teacher of students with Autism, I have wanted to read one of her books related to the topic. I admit, watching the Oprah show scared the crap out of me and made me start questioning whether or not I would vaccinate my future children.

After finishing Mother Warriors and having had several other discussions with co-workers and reviewing the materials from the conference, my feelings are very torn on the subjects of 1.) Do vaccines cause Autism and 2) Can you heal Autism. The book makes an  effort not to use the word "cured", but sometimes it is implied.

Here is what I liked about the book:

• It shows the dedication of parents to help their children.
• Jenny McCarthy is brutally honest in sharing her feelings.
• Emphasizes the brain-gut connection- that what you eat effects how your brain and body are able to function. 
• Emphasizes the importance of using multiple treatment options and that not every case of Autism is the same.

Here is what I didn't like about the book:

• It shows no scientific research to validate the claim that vaccines are related to the onset of Autism. A group of parents with similar stories can not count as validated research. However, I will give some credit here to the fact that Jenny McCarthy and the other parents were trying to get research started and that they ran into many roadblocks. 
• If the vaccine theory was valid, it still would not explain why the number of boys with Autism is significantly higher than the number of girls with Autism. 
• I do not agree with some of the treatment methods used. 
• They do not  give enough credit to the use and effectiveness of Applied Behavior Analysis strategies as treatment options. 
• They give no credit to the use of early intervention strategies.   

Overall, it is an okay book that shares some heart wrenching stories. I tried to read it with an open mind and to understand where these parents were coming from and their frustrations. But, I am a teacher and I like knowing facts and statistics and  they just weren't presented in this book. I will say that I did like the portion of the book in which Jenny describes how when she healed her son's physical ailments that the Autistic characteristics also decreased and that she didn't use the word cured. 

I do have the urge to go back and read her fist book Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism although I am a little turned off and skeptical about the use of the word "Healing". She has also co-written a book called Healing and Preventing Autism: A Complete Guide with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel. I am trying really hard to be open minded about these books. I feel  like a line has been drawn in the sand and the people who believe in the medical/dietary route stand on one side and the behavior interventionists stand on the other. One group seams to be focused on healing while the other is focused on helping and adapting. Can they both work together...that is my question. 

Thank you again for reading, I could have gone on longer and gotten much more technical  but I don't want to scare anyone way. As always with my book reviews, it is only my opinion...and they may change after a little more informed reading, but I will always be honest. 

Congratulations to Crystal from Adventures in Manis-Land, you will be receiving my $5.98 copy of Somebody Else's Kids that I reviewed last week. Please e-mail me your address so I can get it out in the mail soon!

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