The Crazy Life of an Air Force Wife
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8/23/2014

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Haven't written much lately, and I really don't have much to write about now!  However, we have lots of pictures that deserve a little spotlight!
On Wednesday, Drew's squadron took a trip to the Korean War Memorial Museum in Seoul, and I was fortunate enough to be able to tag along.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to stay long and tour the whole place, but we will keep it on our list of places to go and eventually get through the whole thing.  We saw a lot of neat stuff while we were there!
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Statue of Brothers
"The Statue of Brothers is an 18 meter wide and 11-meter high symbol of the Korean War. It consists of the upper part, lower part and inner part. The upper part of the statue depicts a scene where a family's older brother, an ROK officer, and his younger brother, a North Korean soldier, meet in a battlefield and express reconciliation, love, and forgiveness. The lower tomb-shaped dome was built with pieces of granite collected from nationwide locations symbolizing the sacrifices made by our patriots. The crack in the dome stands for the division of Korea and the hope for reunification. Objects inside the dome include a mosaic wall painting that expresses the spirit of the Korean people to overcome the national tragedy and a map plate of the 16 UN Allied Nations that dispatched troops to the war. The links of iron chain on the ceiling signify the unbreakable bonds of a unified Korea."
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Mosaic inside the dome.
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Mosaic inside the dome.
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Mosaic inside the dome.
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United States map plate.
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In the center of Peace Plaza is the Korean War Monument: The central "tower" represents a bronze sword and the tree of life.
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Unity Bell
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Each red circle shows where this ship was hit during the war.
Drew had a LOT of fun playing in the tanks and guns and whatever they were ;)
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The hallway that listed the names of all of those who lost their lives during the Korean War.
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The names were separated by states.
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I TOTALLY realize this isn't my Grandpa.. since he is still alive.. but still weird to see his name on the wall since I know he was here!
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In addition to going to the museum, I also started teaching this past week!  Lots of easy review, but we are knocking that out of the way so we can start learning some fun stuff!  This week we are learning about volcanoes, at the request of 6 year old Lucia!
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I asked the girls to write things they wanted to learn about this year. Lucia's list was: cheetahs, snakes, robots, volcanoes, God (oh my goodness so cute), animals, and boomerangs!
It was also Rooney's birthday last Sunday!  He's a big, bad, two year old now!  
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Now, some random pictures that don't have to do with anything really.  ENJOY!
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There were 4 Praying Mantis on our doorstep for about a week! They're so creepy!
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This is a 4 inch long Joro Spider. They are EVERYWHERE, but luckily this is the biggest we've seen!!!
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Spam is apparently all the rage here. I'm still not a fan.
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I need a second job to afford all of these adorable kids' clothes for the future!
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And a third job to afford ice cream! Almost $10 for a pint!
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It cracks me up every time we go to the train station and I see an IGA Mart.
And, it wouldn't be right if I ended a post without a cute picture of Rooney!
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Twice Baked Caulifower

8/18/2014

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  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 T. butter
  • 1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/4 c. sour cream
  • 1 t. garlic
  • 2 T. bacon bits
  • 1 T. chives
  • 1 c. cheddar cheese
Roughly cut up cauliflower and place in casserole dish.
Put cauliflower in microwave for 6-8 minutes.
Once cooked, place in food processor.
Add butter, yogurt, sour cream, garlic, bacon bits, and chives.
Mix well in food processor.
Pour mixture into casserole dish.
Top with cheese and more bacon bits.
Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

This is SO GOOD.  Tastes like twice baked potatoes, but healthy (i
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Coconut Chicken with Jalapeño Mango Salsa

8/18/2014

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Chicken
  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into strips
  • Curry powder
  • Cayenne pepper
  • 1 T chives
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 c. flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 c. coconut

Salsa
  • 1/2 c. mayo
  • 1/2 c. frozen mango
  • 2 T. cilantro
  • 1 T honey
  • 1/2 t. lemon juice
  • Curry powder
  • 1 jalapeño
  • 3-4 drops Sriracha
Option #1-
Mix curry powder, cayenne pepper, chives, salt, and pepper in a bowl and add chicken strips.  Let sit for 15 minutes.
Dip chicken strips in flour, egg, then coconut.
Option #2-
Mix spices with flour.
Dip chicken strips in flour, egg, then coconut.

Once all chicken is coated, place on greased baking sheet and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
OR
Pan fry in a small amount of coconut oil.  (Or any cooking oil you have)

Sauce
Put all ingredients in a food processor and puree.
  • I used cilantro leaves and stems AND the whole jalapeño, seeds and all.
Probably the BEST new recipe I've tried!!  Drew and I couldn't stop eating this.  The chicken is delicious, and the sauce is almost even better!  (I used the leftover sauce as dressing on a salad and that was good too!)  Drew says this meal is like a tropical paradise.  Just add a rum and coke and you are set!
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jalapeño Chimichurri

8/12/2014

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  • 2 jalapeños
  • 2 c. cilantro (including stems)
  • 2. c. parsley
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 T. lime juice
  • 3 T. dry red wine
  • 1 T. wine vinegar
  • 1/2 c. olive oil
  • salt and pepper
Chop and remove seeds from jalapeños.
Add all ingredients to food processor.
Puree until very smooth.

**I didn't add the parsley or wine because I didn't have any.  It tasted just fine!

I made this to put over salmon, but it can be served over steak!  Or anything.

I also used this as salsa for taco salads and to dip chips in :))  It's so delicious!
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Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting

8/12/2014

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Meatloaf Cupcakes

  • 1 t. olive oil
  • 1 c. onion
  • 1/2 c. carrot
  • 1 t. oregano
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 c. ketchup
  • 1 c. bread crumbs
  • 2 T. spicy mustard
  • 1 t. worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 t. pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 lb ground beef
Saute carrots, onions, and garlic in olive oil.
Combine everything in a bowl and mix very well.
Put mixture in greased muffin tins.
Top with mixture of ketchup, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.



**I used half as much ketchup and extra mustard and worcestershire sauce.
**I'd also add more beef!

I hate hate hate meatloaf, but this is very good!

Mashed Potato Frosting

  • 4 c. peeled gold potatoes
  • 1/4 c. sour cream
  • 1/4 c. milk
  • 3 T. butter
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1/2 t. garlic powder
Peel and boil potatoes.
Mash potatoes with a fork before adding other ingredients.
Once ingredients are added, use hand mixer to completely mash potatoes.
Put in pastry bag and pipe onto the top of the cupcakes.


These are seriously the most AMAZING mashed potatoes I have EVER eaten.  Well, except for my Aunt Coleen's Thanksgiving mashed potatoes! ;)
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A Stitch in Time

8/11/2014

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I was so excited, nervous, scared, happy about my appointment today!  I was SO ready to get my stitches out and be that much closer to getting my cast off, but I'm the biggest baby EVER, so I was so scared; I KNEW it was going to hurt!  Unfortunately, Drew wasn't able to come with me to the hospital today because of work.  I thought I would be just fine by myself; I've been trying to tell myself I'm independent through this, but I have to admit, I love having Drew by my side to help me.  Whether he's helping me clean, cook, get dressed, wash my hair, paint my nails, CURL MY HAIR (yes it happened I swear!), or just sit next to me and let me squeeze the crap out of his hand while I'm in pain, I LOVE the support he's offered though this whole situation.  So anyway, I ventured out alone, without him... on our scooter!

I'm so dumb, but I was running late and didn't want to wait for a cab.  I hopped on our scooter and drove the 10 minute drive to Songtan Station with one hand.  I got some looks, but I freaking made it!  I bought my ticket, waited for the train, and hopped on.  
Okay, so whenever we ride the train, everyone stares at us.  It makes sense; we look different.  However, it's not something I can get used to!  Everyone on the train stares at you!  Some people are nice and try to show off their English skills, but most people just stare like, "why the hell are you here?!"  This is uncomfortable enough when I'm with Drew, but it was so much worse by myself!!

When I arrived at Suwon Station, I remembered where to go since I'd done it before with Drew.  I grabbed a cab and figured since the name of the hospital is Ajou University Hospital, that the cab driver would know exactly where to take me... WRONG.  He had no idea.  I finally just pointed to my cast and said, "hospital!"  Apparently there are two hospitals in Suwon, and he didn't take me to the right one!  We pulled up to a Catholic hospital, and I finally realized I had paperwork from Ajou that was written in Korean.  I showed that to the cabbie, and 7,800 KRW later, I was dropped off at the CORRECT hospital.       15 minutes late!  Whoops.

As soon as I walked in I instantly regretted telling Drew not to ask his supervisor if he could come with me.  That hospital just exhausts me.  There are SO MANY people, I can't understand or talk to almost ANYONE, and plus it brings back all the bad memories of surgery!  
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Korean surgeons can see up to 40-50 patients a day! This was just half of the waiting room for the Orthopedic Surgeons!
My doctor finally called me back at about 4:30.  He took off my cast and started messing with my hand.  He straightened my fingers out one by one, which sent tingly shocks all the way through my hand.  Then, he flattened my hand over and over.  I think that hurt more than cutting my hand initially!  It was so painful, and he kept doing it.. over and over and over.  "Does it hurt?"  I wanted to say, "No... I'm just bawling my eyes out because it feels so good...  YES IT HURTS CRAZY!"  At one point, I almost kicked him because the shocks that were going through my hand hurt so much that I couldn't control it!!

The doctor told me he wanted me to keep my cast off from now on.  Originally he wanted me to keep it on for at least another week after the stitches were removed, but he decided to leave it off.  I actually wish I could have worn it a little longer!  I don't feel safe without it on my hand, but I know this will help me heal faster.  He told me to start trying to use my hand for little tasks like doing my hair, putting on make up, cooking (he clearly doesn't realize how this whole thing happened), and typing.  Finally I can type blog posts with more than one hand!  I have only been using my thumb and index finger to type this, but hopefully soon I can start using all of them.  I'm still not supposed to lift anything with my hand, or do any exercise (yeah right).  Sorry Doc, but Drew and I started T25 today.  I just use one hand though!

After talking to my doctor more, I was sent to another room to have my stitches removed.  SO many people told me this was not going to hurt at all, so I actually wasn't too worried.  WAH THEY WERE WRONG! :(  It freaking SUCKED.  The guy was not very good at taking them out haha.  It took at least 10 minutes to remove 15 stitches.  He cut me a few times too! Not badly, but enough to make me cry more than I already was!  Once they were out, he gave me a nifty bandaid fit perfectly to go around my fingers, and wrapped me up.  

I took a video of the doctor taking some of my stitches out.  After this, it got too painful to do anything but squeeze a wad of Kleenex and cry haha!  Ignore the poor baby boy crying in the background; he was NOT pleased to be there.
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So gross looking from dried blood, new blood, and iodine! I'm going to have an AWESOME scar though!
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Let's not forget that the knife went all the way through my hand. Can't let my palm get ALL of the attention!
After all of that trauma, I paid and got my new at home pharmacy...
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Another 6 pills each day! Better than the 12 I was taking, but still sucks. AND the big bag has a pain killer that, "may cause weight gain" so yeah, I'll probably be skipping that one.
And that was that.  (Well besides getting on the wrong train on the way home hahaha.  Yet another reason I need Drew!)  Anyway, I go back to see the surgeon again in 3 weeks.  Until then, I am supposed to use my hand as much as possible and start to get my range of motion back.  Meanwhile, hopefully my nerves will continue to regenerate and get back to normal.  Fingers crossed!!!







Since I mentioned how helpful Drew has been through all of this, here's a video of him braiding my hair before I went into surgery!! (He's actually pretty good!)

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Not the best picture of my hair, but Drew actually curled it all by himself with my curling wand! AND, it looked GREAT! He's the greatest :)









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And just for fun, the BEAUTIFUL almost double rainbow from last night after the thunder storm!
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Rated R for Blood and Gore

8/11/2014

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I'm SO SERIOUS...




If you are AT ALL squeamish... DO NOT, I repeat... DO NOT scroll down!




I'm NOT KIDDING.







You are about to see pictures of the INSIDE of my hand.  Like, hand cut open.. skin peeled back.. nerves exposed.. BLOOOOOOOOODY hand.




You can still turn back now!





Okay...

I warned you!

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This picture was taken before any repairs had been done.  You can see in the middle of the nerves, there are dark spots.  That is where I cut the nerve.  Obviously, it's unbelievable, and totally lucky, that I only cut them that much!!
Also, notice that they stitched my flaps of skin to my palm and finger to keep them out of the way during surgery!  Yes, I still have little scars from those stitches!
***The blue thing is a tiny plate that they put under my nerves to isolate the two they were working with during the surgery.  They removed it before sewing me up!
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This is a picture of the surgeon actually repairing the nerve.  I truly have no idea what they did to patch it up, but I just know it was patched!  
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This is right before they took out the blue plate and stitched me up!  You can still see the part of the nerve that was damaged, but it doesn't look the same as before.  You can see a difference in its appearance because it is patched in this picture.

And that's all folks!  I'll write about my appointment today in another post.  I didn't want people who are squeamish to have to see these pictures!!

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Good for the Seoul

8/9/2014

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Now that I'm out of commission in the babysitting world, we are taking advantage of Drew's long weekends and doing some adventuring!  On Friday, we decided to take a little day trip to Seoul.  It was so much fun to get out of Songtan and start seeing new things.  We left the house with no plans other than making it to Seoul.  We had no idea which train station to ride to and no idea what things to go see.  We took the almost 2 hour train ride from Songtan Station to Seoul Station, seemed like a good one to choose, and began our adventure! :)
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The first thing we saw when getting off the train! Somehow, I don't think there would be enough gas masks to go around! ;)
Right outside of the train station was a BIG city and LOTS of people! (shocking.)  We walked down the side walk next to the giant buildings and ran into this beautiful piece of history!
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Sungnyemun Gate: this is one of the Eight Gates of Seoul. The gates used to be part of a wall that surrounded the city of Seoul. It's crazy to see this in the middle of such a big city!
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We met a mom and daughter from Canada and they took our picture :)
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The ceiling inside the gate.
Across the street from the gate was Namdaemun Market.  Saying it was huge is an understatement.  There were streets and streets and more streets filled with shops, stands, and hundreds of people.  You could buy whatever you wanted; socks, underwear, blankets, towels, food, souvenirs, purses, shoes, clothes, and SO MUCH MORE! I LOVE exploring the markets in Korea!  This was like a dream world for me!  We walked through the streets and looked through everything we could!  We found some little gifts to send home and some delicious snacks!
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This is the very beginning of the main street of the market. You can see how crowded it is up ahead!
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An entire street of blankets and pillows!
Okay the next thing we saw was the highlight of not only Drew's day, but will probably be the highlight of his entire year in Korea.  When we first started dating, Drew found a video on Reddit of a guy in Korea making a honey candy called Kkultarae.  They start with a block of sold honey and turn it into 16,000 strands of honey.  Drew was absolutely obsessed with this video.  He showed it to me so many times and thought it was the coolest thing ever.  Keep in mind, this was before he had even enlisted in the Air Force, let alone gotten his assignment to Korea.  
Here is the original video he watched.   
Once we found out that we were coming to Korea, Drew said he HAD to find one of these guys and try this candy for himself!  We knew there had to be a stand in Seoul, so we kept our eyes peeled.  As we were walking, I saw a booth and said, "Drew.. look!"  You would have thought he won a million dollars!  He was the happiest person EVER.  I took a video of our "live show" the guy saud he'd give us, but unfortunately it doesn't have sound due to my new phone case :(  We will take another video next time we visit Seoul!!!
After more walking, we found a place to eat lunch.  We usually base our decision on the pictures of the food that most restaurants have in the windows.  And, we've realized the cheap places usually advertise their prices out front, so we look for that too!  I'm sure we were the only Americans that ate at this restaurant all day, maybe all week!  It was so tiny, but the food.. ohhhhhh the food was delicious!  (AND I ate my whole meal, noodles included, with chopsticks!)
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Drew had fried rice with tempura fried shrimp (ebi).
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We shared my FAVORITE, Udon noodles.
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I had tempura fried pork filled with cheese called, Don Katsu.
After eating, we walked around the market a little more and then headed back to the train station.  On the way back, we passed some produce stands and I saw the most beautiful, amazing, awesome thing ever...
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These grapes are exactly like Concord grapes, but apparently they're not.. some kind of cross I guess. BUT they're SO expensive in our area! They're about 10,000 won for one bowl at the street markets and more expensive at the commissary! This was the most amazing thing ever! We bought a bowl and couldn't help but munch on them the whole way home. A few pesticides can't hurt ;)
It was such a fun day in Seoul!  We are planning to go back to another part of the city this coming weekend!  We're trying to get as many trips in as possible this month!  

In other news, I have a few random pictures that I want to add.
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So, you can't see Rooney, but Drew has him on the leash. We were walking him on base to the dog park and this Korean guy slowed his car to barely even moving, rolled his window down, and stared at Rooney FOREVER. This happens everywhere we go! People are fascinated by him! I mean, I know he's absolutely perfect, but it still cracks me up. I swear Rooney is getting extra cocky from all of the attention ;)
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This weekend was beautiful. Not too hot, less than 50% humidity (which is amazing), and so sunny! This picture was taken at the top of the hill on base. It looks out on the flight line and you can see a big city put past the base. On normal days, it's hard to even see the city through the smog!
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Look how expensive produce is here! :(  $9.83 for a pound of green onions, which was around $5.60 for one bunch,  and the worst, $12 for a watermelon!!!!!  I want to cry.
And that's all!  My stitches come out TOMORROW!!!!  So don't you worry, I'll have a lovely video of that to upload! :)
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So-Good-You'll-Stab-Yourself-In-The-Hand Guacamole

8/6/2014

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$5,000 Guacamole

  • 2 avocados
  • 1/2 white onion
  • 2 jalapeños
  • 1 Korean chili pepper (obviously optional)
  • Cilantro
  • Lime juice
  • Cumin
  • Cayenne pepper
  • Red pepper flakes
  • Salt & pepper
Cut avocados in half & remove pit.  DO NOT ATTEMPT TO STAB PIT.  THIS WILL RESULT IN SEVERE NERVE DAMAGE & MEDICAL BILLS.
Smash avocado & put in bowl.
Dice onion, chop cilantro, jalapeños, & chili pepper & add to avocado.
Add lime juice & spices to taste.

We like spicy guacamole, so we add lots of peppers and hot spices.
Also a fan of lots of lime juice and cilantro!

ENJOY! Preferably in your home and NOT in the hospital!
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Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

8/6/2014

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Chicken Poppyseed Casserole -- Recipe from sixsistersstuff.com

  • 2 cups cubed chicken
  • 1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup
  • 1. 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 2 T Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 T lemon juice
  • Salt & pepper
  • 2 cups crushed Ritz crackers
  • 1/4 cup melter butter
  • 2 T poppy seeds

We had this for dinner Tuesday and ate the leftovers for dinner last night.  Very good, but would be better with the changes -->
Mix chicken, soup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and sour cream in a bowl.
Spray casserole dish and add mixture.
Crush crackers and mix with melted butter.
Put on top of chicken mixture.
Sprinkle poppy seeds on top.
Bake for 30 - 35 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

**I would add AT LEAST twice as much chicken.  Make sure to have large cubes of chicken; mine were too small!!
I only used about 2 T butter; just enough to wet all of the crackers.
I also don't think the poppy seeds are necessary.
Next time I make this, I'm going to add mixed veggies and make kind of a pot pie sort of thing.
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A Little More of the Same

8/4/2014

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First, an obligatory update on my hand.  I went to the doctor on base yesterday, the one who referred me to the surgeon off base.  He checked out my incision and changed my bandages.  He said everything looked good and it appeared to be healing well.  He tested my range of motion, which is still pretty stiff.  
Next Monday I will return to Ajou University hospital to have my stitches removed.  Then the surgeon will give me an idea of how much longer I'll have to wear this cast!  (Hopefully not too long)  After that, I'll start therapy!  I can't wait to be able to use my hand.  I've been trying to do too much with it, and now I'm paying for it with lots of pain!
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My hand 4 days after surgery.
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1 week after surgery.
Next are a few random pictures that don't require a whole paragraph of explanation!
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The little girls I babysit brought me get well/happy birthday cards and a few little gifts! My favorite rice cakes and an adorable potted cactus/succulent. I don't even think they knew how obsessed I am with succulents!!!
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Drew has had to help me cook recently since I am banned from knives ;) He decided the gas mask was necessary for chopping onions! I think I might have to start using it too!
With all of the time I've spent at home, I had to start crafting again!  Yesterday, I make a menu board for the kitchen.  I got tired of keeping track of a piece of paper with our meals for the week written down on it.  I found this white board with a cork board border at the BX for $9.  I used permanent marker to write "What's for Dinner?" and the days of the week.  Drew helped me put the purple washi tape (actually colored scotch tape) on the board.  It was way too hard to do with one hand!  Then, I found chalk markers to write the meals on the board.  I got this board with the cork border so I could pin recipes for the week to it!  Pretty proud of my first one-handed craft!
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SO blurry, but you get the idea!

New Section to the Blog!

I've been doing a LOT of cooking since getting to Korea.  I've tried some Korean recipes, recipes from home, tons of Asian-inspired recipes, and recipes people here have shared with me.  I am going to add ones that we love to the blog so I can share them with all of you!  Here is the first one I'm going to add.  This was dinner last night:

Colombian Style Lentils -- Recipe from Sharon Arana

  • Olive oil
  • 1 small onion - chopped
  • Garlic 
  • 1/2 bag of lentils - rinsed
  • 1 small potato - cubed
  • Chopped carrots - chopped (optional)
  • Cumin
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Cilantro
  • 1 packet Sazon
Heat oil in pan and saute onion and garlic for a few minutes.  
Add lentils.
Cover lentils with water.
Add potato, bay leaf, cumin, salt, and pepper.
Simmer until lentils are soft. (30 - 45 minutes)
Add more spices to taste.
Add cilantro and Sazon before serving.
Serve over rice or eat plain!
I mixed the rice into ours when it was on the stove.

This is a new favorite of ours for sure!
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Super yellow this time from the ridiculous amount of cumin I added.
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    TheCrazyLife
    Hi! I'm Olivia! I'm an Air Force wife, dog mom, daughter, sister, friend, teacher, nanny, and crafter. I love all things cheap. "DIYs" is my favorite four letter word. I love animals more than I love most people. I'm emotional. I'm messy. I clean when I'm mad. I love music and babies and everything summer. I love creating and being busy. I'm living this crazy Air Force life and making a home where ever they send us. I hope you'll join me on my adventure!
    Head over to my About page to learn more about who i am!  Head over to my About page to learn more!
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