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Word, speak. Breath, blow. Water, pour. Bread, feed. Light, shine. Vine, grow. Wine, fill. Shepherd, lead. All You are. All we ask. – Beth Moore
Baby Girl
Carmen and I have a somewhat not normal mother daughter relationship.
First, please excuse the very casual pictures. Second, I don’t remember what the conversation was that began these “snaps” (I have a Snap Chat account mainly to chat with the kids), but this is us some of the time.
So when I try to get a picture of us before she left for school — I get this expression.
But in the end…always smiles. Love her. So grateful she has spunk, and sass. Well, and that she is mine.
Blessings!
Brie Bites
Brie Bites are super easy to make, and most everyone likes them. Sweet, salty, and crunchy…what’s not to like? I made these for our families annual Christmas gathering at my friend Julie’s house. I also made Mexican Spinach, and crock pot meatballs. Those recipes will come later.
Ingredients:
1 package 15 mini fillo (phyllo) shells (I found mine in the freezer section.)
4-6 oz. brie cheese (casing removed; to make removing the casing easier, put brie in freezer for a few minutes, it will also make it easier to cut the brie into cubes)
1 jar of favorite preserves (apricot is shown, but I ran out and used ended up using plum jelly)
Pecan halves
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place mini shells on a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a splat-mat.
Cut brie into ½ cubes and put one in each mini shell.
Top each brie filled mini shell with a little of the preserve (almost ½ teaspoon). If you choose to add the Pecan, you can place on top of the preserves.
Bake in 350°F oven for 7 minutes or until brie has melted. Be careful to keep an eye on it so shells don’t burn.
I didn’t get a finished picture.
Enjoy!
Weight Loss Surgery (WLS), Egg Rolls and Routines
Well, in my previous post about Egg Rolls, I talked about Carmen learning how to prepare them. Well…the egg rolls smelled so wonderful…so.
Limitations. I could only eat two of them, and they were somewhat small. I did choose to eat the more protein filled ones, and tried not to eat all of breading. They were yummy, but not something I can eat everyday.
Choosing what to eat over the holiday break was more difficult than I had planned. Isn’t life that way? During my normal routine of work (8a-430p), I take a P3 Protien Pack and maybe another snack. I do fairly well with this routine. Being around food over the holiday made me want other things even though I had some P3’s to eat.
Everyday, first thing I drink one of these Bolthouse Farms Protein Shakes. I am in love with the coffee one. I drink one 15 ounce every morning, and that gives me 30 grams of protein for the day. The P3’s average 11-13 grams, so that adds to the 80-90 grams of protein I have to have everyday. I will talk more about my daily schedule in a later post.
WLS has changed how I see food, and really try to look for what benefits the food can give me. Not just to eat whatever is in front of me. Protein first, then vegetables and not many of those just yet. So far, cooked carrots, green beans, and spinach are my favorites that don’t hurt my tummy.
Baby steps…
Egg Rolls
To follow up with the request from Carmen for cooking help…she wanted Egg Rolls.
I used to make these in large batches (small children, busy family), and haven’t made them in a long while.
Egg Rolls 
Ingredients:
Nasoya Egg Roll Wraps (what the store had – just get square ones)
1 lb hamburger meat (93% Fat Free)
1 package cabbage – sliced angel hair (for the lazy me)
1 package carrots – sliced thinly (again for the lazy me)
2-3 green onions or scallions, chopped
4 T fresh parsley, chopped
garlic – minced – about 2 teaspoons
ginger – minced or ground – about 1 teaspoon
Soy Sauce (we use the light version)
salt and pepper
Directions:
I mix the cabbage, carrots, parsley, and scallions in a large bowl.
Brown the hamburger meat, drain fat (if any), add garlic, ginger and some salt and pepper.
Mix with the cabbage mixture. Add soy sauce for flavor and moisture. (Be aware, too much moisture, and it will leak out of the egg roll.) Taste it, and add more salt and pepper if wanted. Cabbage should wilt a bit.
Roll the egg rolls per the package directions, and place on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
I freeze mine this way, and place them in zip lock bags for enjoyment anytime.
Nasoya brand of egg rolls allows them to be fried or baked. I prefer our baked, so I followed the instructions on their packaging. Brush with oil, and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until done.
Serve with soy sauce, or a Thai chili sauce (yummy!).
Enjoy!!
Something Good…
Bucket List – Updated
Below is a Bucket List that I put together in August of 2012. I have recently purchased a Passion Planner (www.passionplanner.com), and have written goals. I somewhat did this last year with my weight being the highest priority.
So this year I wanted to revisit my Bucket List. I have been thinking a lot of what I want to do, and how to go about getting there.
Original post in August 2012 – update
1. Get a good camera –August 2012
2. Travel to Australia
3. Travel to Japan
4. Travel to Scotland/Ireland (they are nothing alike, but are listed together. I am not sure why.)
5. Spend a week in New York –see a Broadway play a day.
6. Jump out of an air plane (preferably when I want to, not need to.)
7. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon.
8. Dance on Broadway (was an original dream of mine at 17.)
9. Make a quilt (like my grandmothers.)
10. Learn to speak German – really!
11. Learn to speak Japanese
12. Open a restaurant.
13. Open a store (scrap?)
14. Write a cookbook
15. Walk on the Great Wall of China.
16. See Paris again with my love.
17. See London again with my love – September 2012
18. Conquer Algebra – beginning Math classes January 2017
19. Eat at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in London – (The Savoy) September 2012
20. Eat at Morimotto’s sushi restaurant – Orlando, Disney Springs, August 2016
21. See U2 live in concert (front row preferred.)
22. See Motley Crue in concert (I tried in 1987), and now finally done!
23. See Poison in concert. – done
24. Meet Bret Michaels – done
25. Run a 5k. Walked a 5k December 10, 2016
26. Live at Disney World.
27. Be the Fairy God Mother at Disney World.
28. Grow a vegetable garden.
29. Write a book.
30. Be a mentor.
31. Refurbish a piece of furniture.
32. Color my hair (or parts of it) pink.
33. Be a size 12 again – on my way…size 16 or XL
34. Organize my scrap/craft area – if Stephen moves out – his room will be my craft room.
35. Take a trip around the world.
36. Be a tour guide.
37. Sew a dress – see 34.
38. Crochet a blanket.
39. Learn to knit – still basics but I know how to knit and purl January 2013
40. Meet the Queen of England.
41. Meet Nathan Fillion.
42. Speak in front of a group of people without freaking out.
43. Learn how to can vegetables.
44. Learn how to make jam or fruit preserves.
45. Be a friend to my children.
46. Get a Bachelor’s degree – in process – began my AA in October 2016
47. Learn more than 6 words in sign language.
48. Live in Germany.
49. Own a Corvette.
50. Own a BMW or Mercedes.
51. Go to a Dallas Cowboys Football game.
52. Attend an Olympic event.
53. Zip Line – done – Labedee Haiti – August 2016
So I have a ways to go with a lot of my items. But I find that I want to add things daily. Reminding myself to take things slowly as to not overwhelm myself.
Blessings!
Jerry Ann
Gumbo
Over the holiday break, Carmen was home for a brief visit from school. We have had many a discussion on what I used to cook, and how she doesn’t know my cooking ways. Ha.
Well, I asked (and regretted) what she wanted to learn. Gumbo. Great. I know how I make it, but it isn’t truly a traditional gumbo. She didn’t care, and we went to the store.
Ingredients:
2 cups of white onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, green, chopped
1 cup of parsley, chopped
3 small shallots, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 cups of okra (we like it)
2 cups of chopped tomato
1/2 can of tomato paste
1 16 ounce package of chicken stock (I always use stock instead of water when recipes call for water in Cajun cooking.)
1 package of Conecuh Hickory Smoked Sausage, sliced (most recipes will call for Andouille sausage, again, we don’t like it very spicy – you can always substitute.)
2 lbs of shrimp (we cheated and got the already peeled, and divined)
1 lb of lump crab
1 lb of grouper (or any large, white fish)
salt and pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Bay leaves (medium – 5)
Shakes of Tabasco
Shakes of Worcestershire sauce
File’ if wanted
1/2 cup of flour
1/2 cup of oil (vegetable)
Cooked white rice
Directions:
Prepare all of your ingredients, so when you begin the roux you will not have time to chop anything. You will be stirring.
First and foremost important item is the roux. The key is to make equal parts of flour and oil. Most will say to heat the pan, then add the oil. I agree. I did not follow the rules to add the flour slowly. I just added it. I also add salt and pepper. Stir until clumps are gone, and then stir over medium/high heat for about 30 minutes or a dark pecan color. Be patient. You will want to speed this up, please don’t.
Then add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, shallot, cayenne pepper (I don’t add a lot, as my family doesn’t like it really spicy), and stir in with roux. You will want the onions to become translucent or clear in color. Don’t brown them.
Then add the sausage and tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add one pound of shrimp.
Cook until the tomatoes are cooked down a bit, maybe 5 to ten minutes. Then add stock, okra, Worcestershire and bay leaves. Cook for about a hour. You should be stirring about every 15 minutes or so to make sure that nothing is burning.
Then add the remaining fish, shrimp and crab. Be careful not to stir too much as the fish and crab will just melt into the gumbo. Add about half parsley, and scallions.
Serve with more parsley and scallions, file’ if you like and Tabasco. We add a bit of rice (mostly gumbo).
Enjoy!!
Cooking Frustrations
Ugh…so for Thanksgiving I bake the biscuits and cornbread muffins for my dressing in advance (so they can dry out), normally on Sunday before Thanksgiving.
So, on Sunday, I was making a new chocolate treat for the family “Rolo Turtles.” Square pretzels, unwrapped Rolo’s, and pecans. Place the Rolo on the pretzel, and place in heated oven for 8-10 minutes. Take out of the oven, and place (carefully) pecan on top (pressing down). Let cool, and enjoy.
Well, I did those and turned off the oven. About a hour later, I went to turn on the oven to preheat for the biscuits and muffins, and no heat. Nothing. I have a gas oven, and the burners worked. Broiler worked. Looked like the heating bulb igniter went out. This happened before when David was in Afghanistan (it is always when they aren’t home), but was told from the repair guy not to service it, but replace the oven instead if it happened again.
So in a panic, we have been shopping for an oven. Lots out there, but none that could be delivered and installed before Thursday. Friday or even the following week, no problem. Ugh.
So, in frustration, David started looking up how to repair videos on YouTube. About a hour later, I have a working oven again. Replacement part ordered from Amazon (for $18) to be delivered on Wednesday (just in case).
But now I want a new oven. But I want a lot of things. Just really THANKFUL that I am able to cook, and enjoy the day. Oh, and have some dressing.
Blessings,
Jerry Ann
WLS and Thanksgiving
I received this from Dawn at 
… and would like to remind myself that the holiday is okay to eat, but not everything.
So…Dawn says:
The holidays can be fun, full of laughter & memories, but stressful, and exhausting. The good news is they don’t have to get you off track. Follow these simple strategies to stay focused:
- Don’t skip breakfast, make a plan so that you eat first thing. Have an egg or a green protein smoothie to balance blood sugars and keep cravings in control.
- Take a dish you know is safe
- Fill 75% of your plate with veggies
- Sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes, this will prevent blood sugar spikes which will send you seeking for sugar
- Enjoy the turkey or ham, perfect way to get good quality protein
- Avoid all bread, rolls, noodles, and pasta
- Avoid sugar, it is addictive and can take you down the wrong track. Take a dessert that is made from fruit, like baked pear halves with chopped walnuts and a drizzle of honey and a dash of cinnamon or try these Pecan Pie Lara Bars or any of the 20 copy-cat recipes.
Remember, if you want different results you can’t continue doing things the same. Make Thanksgiving about the people, laugh a lot, play a game, take some pictures and get filled up with love by giving love away.
Thanks Dawn!
I am making roasted vegetables this year, and having both ham and turkey (will post recipes soon) so planning my day not to fail or just plain overeat.
Happy Thanksgiving week—we can do this!
Blessings,
Jerry Ann
mommajerryanns.com 