Gumbo is Pretty Awesome

Here are some recipes if you want to try it.

Clean Eating's recipe will be a little easier to copy than my own recipe because of the way I cook. You know the type cook it until its done...put in about two handfulls and taste it...anyhow
SHRIMP AND CHICKEN GUMBO
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2tbsp olive oil
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, diced
2 med onions diced
2 celery ribs, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp paprika
8 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 cups marinara sauce (clean eating has a recipe, use your own, or buy)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1lb collard greens leaves only, roughly chopped
8oz fresh okra, stems removed, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
sea salt and pepper to taste
4 cups steamed puinoa
3 green onions thinly sliced
hot sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 375F. Spread flour onto a small baking sheet in a 1/4 inch thick layer and brown for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes, until opaque and light golden brown. Add white onions, celery and garlic to pot with chicken. cook for 8-10 min, until onions are soft and translucent. Add flour and stir until vegetables are coated. Add paprika and stir, then add broth, marinara sauce and thyme.
Increase heat to high and bring gumbo to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in collards and let simmer for 45 minutes. Add okra and shrimp and continue to simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve scoop 1/2 cup quinoa into a soup bowel. Top with 2 cups gumbo and 1tsp green onions. Serve with a dash of hot sauce, if desired.

FAITH'S GUMBO

1/3 cup of browned wheat flour as mentioned above
3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 lb spicy sausage
1 large white or yellow onion
2 celery ribs, diced
1 cup celery greens, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp paprika
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (i bought this at the store)
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cups collard greens, stems removed, chopped roughly
8 oz frozen okra
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
5 green onions chopped
1 small can green chiles
sea salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste
2 cups brown rice, steamed

Have flour ready before beginning. It can be stored in the fridge until ready.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add sausage and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add white onions, celery ribs, and garlic. cook for 8 minutes until onions are soft. Add flour and stir until veggies are coated. Add paprika and stir, then add broth, marinara sauce and thyme.

Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in collards, celery greens, and green onions, and okra and let simmer for 45 minutes. Add tomatoes, hot sauce, salt pepper and rice. Simmer for 10 more minutes and serve. I add hot sauce to my serving because I like it very hot.

Enjoy.

Merry Chistmas!

I hope everyone has a great Christmas!  We will be celebrating the new year in Atlanta with our friends from Shaw, Jackie, Brandon and Koan.   We will be staying the 31st through the 2nd.  Suzie will be staying here..
http://www.najupets.com/
Everyone is doing pretty well.  Michaela seems very unhappy and is giving us a lot of trouble still.  I do hope she will participate in the video chatting over the holiday...
Morgan is doing just fine.  She gets into everything!!!  She is so big and strong and demanding.  She is speaking more clearly now than you all remember.
I am working to find a daycare for the girls before January 4th.  I start school on the 5th.  It seems so early.  I will keep you posted on the daycare situation.  We are visiting one tomorrow.  Anything off base is very pricey and the center on base is full.
I have applied for the RN program at the college.  I will only be taking two classes this semester and could start the program as early as August, if all goes well.  After I get my Associates in nursing, I would like to go immediately back and become a surgical first assistant.http://www.caahep.org/Content.aspx?ID=52
If you don't have the time to read into it, it is basically saying I could have my hands inside the patient performing parts of a surgical procedure.  Sounds very exciting to me.  If I pursue the RN first, I have more career options, plus a better chance of getting into an operating room should I still choose to do that.  That is all the news I can think of. 
Our roof is done.  We are getting estimates on windows. 
We miss everyone and we are sorry we cannot make it home for the holidays. 

Whats New?

I have been very busy trying to get ready for school.  I am signed up for classes and working out the details of childcare right now.  I am looking for a part time job, as I cannot attend school full time until January of next year.  We really need extra spending money. 

 We have been approved to adopt a great dane by the Northwest Florida Great Dane rescue. 
http://www.nwflgdr.com/
 We are interested in Emma, Cloie, and Bella and Suzie.   We have not met any of them, or made a decision.  We will probably adopt after the holidays since we are planning a new years trip to the Georgia Aquarium.  We are going to meet our good friends Jackie, Brandon and their boy Koan. I am sorry to say a trip home for Christmas will not be possible this year.  The next time we are planning to be in Ohio is June.  Please come see us!  Please skype with us.  We do miss you all so much!
I took Michaela to see Tangled this past Sunday.  We both enjoyed it very much. 
Morgan has been sick with a cold this week.  We took her to the doctor yesterday and it is just viral, of course. 
Both of the girls had their flu booster yesterday and Michaela had one other shot.  Michaela spiked a high fever last night and I am waiting to see how she is when she wakes up.  I will try to keep everyone posted. 
Christmas cards will go out by the end of the week.  Please keep in mind the photo was taken in November(hehehe).
I am running that race on Saturday, but I do not feel confident.  I have had almost no training time in the last month(sad).  I am very excited to be a part of it. 
I did make mention of it on FB.
We will be doing yard work for the first time this weekend.  I enjoy weed whacking and edging and hedge trimming and what not, so that is exciting to me.  I will probably do some of that after the race, then I am hoping to go to my favorite seafood restaurant for supper for my birthday, but the girls and restaurants don't mix all that well, so I have to decide if it is worth it, or maybe I can even get a sitter for a few hours.  I have met a few great people who can watch the girls on an hourly basis already. 
I think that is all I have to report.  Love you all!

Sunday is Beach Day!!

Hello!

We are in our new house in Florida.  We still have lots of unpacking to do.  Our household goods arrived Saturday.  We went to the beach Sunday.  This beach is the best beach I have ever seen and it is not crowded, not this time of year.  I will work on getting pictures up.  We just set up the internet, so I just wanted to touch base with everyone.  We are doing very well.  The girls love the beach and the yard with the swingset.  Michaela is giving us lots of trouble, lots of tantrums.  Three is much worse than two for her.  I have to go for now, I get limited time on the computer, we cannot find our wireless router, the computer is in the bedroom.  Luckily, Joe is off until Monday, so he is watching the girls right now.  I do hope I can get on every day to keep everyone updated, but right now things are crazy.  I hope to skype with anyone who can very soon!!!!   Remember, we are one our behind you all. 

Nature's Bin and Friends | Lakewood, Ohio 44107 | Saturday, October 02, 2010 @ 9:00 AM

Nature's Bin and Friends | Lakewood, Ohio 44107 | Saturday, October 02, 2010 @ 9:00 AM

5K

I am running a 5K tomorrow!  This will be my first official 5k, although I run that distance often.  The girls will be in Aurora with Joe's family.  The weather should be great.  I'm sure it will be interesting.  As most of you know, Pappy found the event and is also running.

http://www.active.com/running/parma-oh/parma-firefighters-fill-the-boot-5k-runwalk-2010

No Termites

That is all.  I am just buried in the whole loan, insurance, negotiating, moving process right now.  Next step is the appraisal. 

Michaela's Sensory Processing

http://www.spdfoundation.net/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html

If anyone is interested in reading more about  SPD and why Michaela goes to occupational therapy once a week.  There is a lot of info available.

Getting Closer

We have worked it out so far to make it beneficial for us(Joe and I) to go ahead and put a new roof on the house.  The seller is very motivated and doing everything within their means to make it affordable and reasonable for us to purchase and improve this home.  I am happy with the way things are going so far!  Next is the termite inspection.  My realtor told me that there are two kinds of houses in Florida: The kind that has termites and the kind that is going to get termites.  Oh yay.  Just because hurricanes aren't quite enough to spook a buyer from Ohio.  Actually, termites are not a deal breaker.  I will keep you updated.

Michaela's Birthday

I have endless ideas for Michaela's birthday. 

She will be wearing 4t shirts and 3t pants(no shirts with elastic please)
The girls can always use cute socks
Anything with:
My Little Pony
Barbie
Disney Princesses especially, Snow white, Sleeping Beauty(I already bought a Snow White Barbie)
Tinkerbell
Dora and/or Deigo
She would LOVE some nice nightgowns
She wants Pony Gals (saw them at Target)
She needs more bathtub paints
She is a fan of Marvel comic Heroes and Batman and Robin
She would like Moxie girls
"We did it" Dora doll
my littlest petshop toys
Polly Pockets
DVD's:
The Chipmunks 2 The squeequel
Shrek 3
Episodes of Dora that include her baby brother and sister
I bet she would love a hand held mirror
Any stupid toy you see advertised on Nickalodeon
She likes books
She can solve puzzles for 3-5 year olds
She needs more washable crayons



That is a good start.  If you need more ideas (lol)  let me know.  Im sure I could come up with many more.

Yikes!!

We had the house inspected today.  It needs a new roof!  Now we wait on an estimate to see what the next move is...

New Home

Well everyone, we are under contract to purchase our first home.  If everything goes well, we will close October 20th.  We are excited and nervous and everything that goes along with buying a house.  Wow.