Chalazion, I have a Chalazion!

I will spare you the picture of MY chalazion, let alone any old picture from the files. What is a chalazion you might be asking? I know, I had never heard of a chalazion before today. Isn't the thin skin around the yolk of an egg called such, but spelled differently? I could be wrong there. That's not what I have (the thin skin surrounding an egg yolk). I have a lump on my eyelid called a chalazion. Who knew??!! It's been with me for a few weeks and in typical Jenni fashion, I have not consulted a doctor yet. Who needs a doctor when you have WebMD?! Right? So, it's been there for awhile and I had a new tube of Erythromycin, so I used that for a bit thinking it was some kind of infection. Not an infection. Then I started thinking that maybe it was a sty, but it didn't have all of the characteristics known to a sty. So, I consulted my trusty WebMD today and faster than you can say, "Chalazion" I had my diagnosis! How is that for speedy? All the while my husband is rolling his eyes at me because I won't make an appointment with a "real doctor"!! Phooey.

If you would like to know more about my chalazion and others like it, click here, but don't scroll down to the bottom if you have a weak stomache.

Get it right

Dear Fruit of the Loom, Hanes, Children's Underwear makers of the world,

Would you please put the large character on the front of the children's underwear so that my child will not have to wear his underwear backwards anymore. I would think that with the technological advances and progressive thinking in the underwear industry today, you would have figured that kids want to be able to see who they are wearing. Until then, we will continue to wear them backwards so we can see Spiderman, Batman, Lightning McQueen, Superman, Hulk, Power Rangers, and Scooby up close and personal.

Thanks so much.

Chicken Divan

Every once in awhile I find a decent recipe from she-who-shall-not-be-named in this household. This recipe makes two dinners in one, but I have only made the Divine Divan part, so I will list it here. It's really just a chicken and broccoli casserole, spiffed up.

2 c. chicken stock or broth
4 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
1 shallot, chopped
2 t. olive oil
1T. butter
1 1/2 t. flour
1/4 c. heavy cream
1/8 t. nutmeg
1 lb. broccoli spears
8 oz. gruyere cheese- shredded
salt and papper to taste

Bring stock to boil, add chicken and poach. Remove chicken and reserve stock in separate dish. Saute shallots in oil and butter for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring. Ladle in reserved chicken broth and whisk in cream. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Slice chicken and add to sauce. Meanwhile cook broccoli. If using frozen, microwave a few minutes. If fresh, simmer in 1 inch of boiling water 2-3 minutes. Place cooked broccoli in 9x13 size dish. Layer 1/2 the cheese over broccoli, top with chicken mixture, then add rest of cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. That's it.

Happy Monday

Did you miss free cone day like I did? Blast! This is the flavor I would have chosen if I would have remembered to go. It is one of my favorite flavors that B&J make. I think Baskin Robbins may have their free scoop day coming though, or did I miss that too? If I haven't missed it, I will choose German Chocolate Cake if it is in that day. Most days it is not. Have you ever tried Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip? I hear it is tasty tasty. Maybe someday I will splash out and get the 6 pints for $50 smackerooos. Or better yet, I could probably just drive/ fly to Ohio for that price! Afterall, Cleveland is in Ohio and ever since 30 Rock last week, I've been aching to go to Cleveland. "If the whole world moved to their favorite vacation spots, then the whole world would live in Hawaii, Italy, and Cleveland." -Floyd

What is your favorite ice cream?

Will It Float?

Apparently my toddler has been sneaking out of bed at night to watch David Letterman do his Will It Float? bit. Almost daily I walk into the bathroom to find a few new items added to the toilet. Most of them do NOT float. Do you want to know what they are? Legos, do not float, Hot Wheels cars do not float, neither do bagels, toothbrushes, cell phones, shampoo bottles, toothpaste tubes, pencils, hairbrushes, granola bars, etc. etc. Almost everything we own, if it is big enough to fit into the toilet bowl, has been put to the test. While some of the items may float upon initial dive into the toilet, by the time I find them, they are safe and snug at the bottom of the can. Don't worry, most of these things flush down quite well with no adverse affects(so far). As for the cell phone, it has survived, but there is not enough disinfectant in this world to get it clean enough for me to use it!

Lemon-Blueberry Cake with White Chocolate and Cream Cheese Frosting

I love this cake. I love the frosting, it's not too sweet, great consistency and compliment for the cake. Do make this frosting for this cake, they were made for each other. I love blueberries and lemon together, it is such a Springy combination to me. The nice thing about this cake is that the whole thing freezes well. I have wrapped individual slices and frozen them and taken them out of the freezer whenever I needed a little cake, which is about everyday. I really didn't need to freeze this cake because it was gone in no time, but do keep it cold in the refrigerator and do use cake flour. Next time I make this cake, I think I'll make it into cupcakes. Maybe Spring would come at last if we all made this cake and joined hands and did a little dance!

Photo: epicurious.com

Serendipity

Waiting for the mall to open today, I wandered into CVS. I must have done something right in my life because there was one box of these See's Lollypops and one box of the little pops on the shelf with all of the Easter clearance candy! The bonus is this: $3.50 for the Lollypops(regularly $13.75 plus shipping for me) and $1.49 for the Little Pops($3.30 a box). I couldn't quite figure out why CVS was carrying these, but I didn't ask, I just ran to the checkout quickly before anyone realized that there must have been some mistake! I don't think anyone knows what a good thing they had there. And the extra bonus is that my little Russel Stover Coconut Nest's are only 33 cents a pop now! That, my friends, is sweet serendipity.

Chili Friday

I made this chili the other day, but was not crazy about it. It has potential, but needed a lot of work. I added garlic and that helped tremendously, but it still needs a little something. I have tried many a chili recipe only to keep going back to my faithful stand-by. It has a whopping 1/2 cup of chili powder, which is way too much for me, I use about 1-2 tablespoons. I also leave out the stout. Besides those 2 changes this chili is delicious, I love the smokiness of the chipotle peppers and the lime crema makes it extra deliciousness.

Grace - Part 2

You need to click on this and check out this fall. It made me feel less clumsy to see that even people who get paid to walk, still have a little trouble sometimes, okay, a lot of trouble in her case. And to see my runway debut, click here.

Grace

A little comic relief for today. This past Sunday I was taking my son out of the nursery at church. There is a baby gate at the door, a new baby gate, a much taller than the old baby gate, gate. I am holding my toddler in my right arm. On my left arm are a few bags, coats, papers, etc. I proceed to step over said baby gate to make our exit so as not to let any of the little nursery people out. You can see where this is going...pencil skirt+high heels+big baby in arms+new, way too high baby gate =
It was all a blur to me, all I remember thinking is, "I'm going down and there is nothing I can do!" I only remember seeing my shoe dangling in the air above my head and my little one looking at me like, "What is wrong with you? You are NOT supposed to fall with me in your arms!" I quickly came to and made my graceful exit only to find my husband on the other side of the door, snickering! Of course, I burst out laughing with him, but I wasn't sure who I felt more sorry for, me, or the missionaries who happen to catch a glimpse!

Chicken Cacciatore

This is a really uncomplicated dinner to make. It only uses about 5 ingredients, which is what I love about it. It got a few nods of approval around here, so I think we will be seeing it again a few times. Oh yes, we will be seeing this one again. I have a tendency to get a little excited when I hit on a meal that appeals to all three of the little gourmands in this house, that is until I make it to death and then no one ever wants to see it again! I will try to exercise a little restraint with this one. I served it with egg noodles and it seemed to work out splendidly.

Animal Bag

Does your house seem to be overflowing with stuffed animals? I came across this solution for storing them awhile back, but haven't made the purchase yet. I am not sure if the animal owners in this house are quite ready to see their pets enclosed like this, but it sure would make a comfy seat, I argue. There are quite a few different shapes and styles to choose from. Find it here.