True Love

‎"Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself-and especially to feel. Or, not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That's what real love amounts to-letting a person be what he really is."

- Jim Morrison

Love in my heart

"I will greet this day with love in my heart.  And how will I do this?  Henceforth will I look on all things with love and I will be born again.  I will love the sun for it warms my bones; yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit. I will love the light for it shows me the way; yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.  I will welcome happiness for it enlarges my heart; yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.  I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due; yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge."

- Og Mandino

LOVE THIS!

"Be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. Talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet. Make all your friends feel there is something special in them. Look at the sunny side of everything. Think only of the best, work only for the best, and expect only the best. Be as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. Give everyone a smile. Spend so much time improving yourself that you have no time left to criticize others. Be too big for worry and too noble for anger." 

- Christian D. Larsen

Forgiveness

"The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."

- Mahatma Gandhi

"Resentment is like a glass of poison that a man drinks; then he sits down and waits for his enemy to die."

- Anonymous

"Many people are afraid to forgive because they feel they must remember the wrong or they will not learn from it. The opposite is true. Through forgiveness, the wrong is released from its emotional stranglehold on us so that we can learn from it. Through the power and intelligence of the heart, the release of forgiveness brings expanded intelligence to work with the situation more effectively."

- David McArthur

"One of the biggest misconceptions about forgiveness is that by forgiving someone we somehow make right what they did. We believe that if we forgive, then we condone their actions. Nothing could be further from the truth." - Mastin Kipp, The Daily Love

"Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." (apparently an ancient Buddhist saying quoted by David Arquette on Oprah)

If you’re not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you’re not hungry

Happy Valentine's Day!

"But the most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.”

-Sex and the City

Here's one for my fellow Longhorns, my sentiments exactly Mack.

"I felt like I had a hangover after the '09 national championship game. I'm not sure I've ever taken a loss so hard"

-Mack Brown

Meatballs with Peppers & Pineapple

(cooking on the stove, sauce hasn't thickened yet)

A friend posted on Facebook how much she loved this recipe and I finally got around to trying it. Its a recipe from The Pioneer Woman's cooking website (which I love!) I used ground turkey breast for my meatballs, whole wheat panko bread crumbs, and in place of sugar I used ~3 tablespoons of agave nectar (I don't use refined white sugar anymore). I also used a very small amount of oil to cook my meatballs. I wanted that crispy crust but you could bake them if you wanted to. I served it on sticky sushi rice & it paired like a charm. I LOVED LOVED this recipe!! And it was delicious a little spicy! It took a little longer than I thought to prepare but the end result was so worth it! YUM!!

Meatballs with Peppers & Pineapple (links to original recipe)

• 1-¼ pound Ground Beef
• ½ whole Onion, Diced Very Finely
• 1 whole Egg
• ½ cups Panko Bread Crumbs (or Regular Breadcrumbs)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• ½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper, More To Taste
• ¼ cups All-purpose Flour
• Canola Oil, For Frying
• 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Seeded And Diced Roughly
• 1-½ cup Fresh Pineapple Chunks
• 2 cups Beef Stock Or Broth
• 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
• ½ cups Sherry Or White Wine Vinegar
• ⅓ cups Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
• Salt To Taste
• Crushed Red Pepper, To Taste
• Extra Beef Stock If Needed

Combine ground beef, diced onion, egg, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs, and crushed red pepper. Mix with hands until combined. Roll meat mixture into small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Freeze on the pan for 15 minutes to firm.

Mix together beef stock, soy sauce, sherry (or vinegar), sugar, and cornstarch.

Heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Roll meatballs in flour, then fry in two batches until nice and brown, about two minutes per batch. Remove meatballs and set aside on a separate plate.

Pour off oil from pan and return pan to medium high heat. When pan is hot, throw in the chopped green peppers and cook for one minute. Add pineapple to pan and cook for one minute, stirring gently. Pour in stock/soy sauce mixture, then add meatballs. Stir gently to combine and allow to cook and bubble for a few minutes, or until sauce is thickened. Add salt and crushed red peppers to taste. (Hint: this dish is yummy if it’s a little spicy.)

Serve over cooked brown or white rice.

"Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world" -Desmond Tutu

Stress

"When life becomes intolerably stressful the temptation is often to blame external influences. But it is often we who are responsible for holding ourselves back from getting the most out of life and realizing our full potential"

~Speaker at our work retreat (sorry I forgot his name)

Artichoke and Broccoli Pasta Salad

Another recipe I got from Whole Foods. Yum! Variation - I added some fresh squeezed juice from some mandarins I had. I also used black olives and goat cheese instead because that's what I had! You can also add more veggies & do less pasta if you want.

Artichoke and Broccoli Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
Salt And Pepper To Taste
¾ pound Penne Pasta
2 tablespoon(s) Champagne Vinegar Or White Wine Vinegar
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 (12-ounce) Jar Marinated Artichoke Hearts,drained and chopped
1 small Red Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
1 small Green Bell Pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 cups Small Broccoli Florets
½ cup Sliced Pitted Kalamata Olives
½ cup Sliced Basil
½ cup Grated Parmigiano Reggiano Or 1 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside to let cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Slowly drizzle in oil while continuing to whisk constantly to make a dressing. Add pasta, artichoke hearts, bell peppers, broccoli, olives, basil, cheese, salt and pepper, toss gently to combine and serve.

Notes: Per serving: 300 calories, 12g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol, 460mg sodium, 40g total carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 10g protein

"Do one thing a day that scares you. You'll either step forward in growth or you'll step back in safety" - Abraham Maslow

Charity Never Faileth

"Real charity is not something you give away; it is something that you acquire and make a part of yourself. And when the virtue of charity becomes implanted in your heart, you are never the same again. Perhaps the greatest charity comes when we are kind to each other, when we don't judge or categorize someone else, when we simply give each other the benefit of the doubt or remain quiet. Charity is accepting someone's differences, weaknesses, and shortcomings; having patience with someone who has let us down; or resisting the impulse to become offended when someone doesn't handle something the way we might have hoped. Charity is refusing to take advantage of another's weakness and being willing to forgive someone who has hurt us. Charity is expecting the best of each other. Charity is the pure love of Christ. It is the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love"

~Marvin J Ashton

Quotes

Is it weird to start adding quotes to my recipe blog? Hmm well too bad. For the past year I have been making a daily effort to become a better person. Not that I was a bad person to begin with but I feel like everyone has something they can work on & don't we all want to be the best us? My first "goal" was to become more positive. I was actually kind of surprised to learn that this is not some goal you can just achieve. Just when you think "I've done it, I've got it down" something tests you and you slip back to simple thoughts of human nature...or try to help a coworker feel better by complaining with them...or get frustrated at the car that cut you off. There are many small things in this world that I never even realized test your positivity or growth in general. So I broadened my "goal" to ACTIVELY trying to be a better person in some way each and every day. I use goal in quotes because I've always learned that goals need to be measurable. There is no way of measure or meeting this goal. It is a lifelong plan. I also use actively in all caps because I realize it is something that takes work, thought, and diligence. And by work I mean work! I have to recenter myself often and I have to empty my cup of whatever is weighing on me often....but it is being aware of this that is the process. Sooo with that being said - I love quotes. I write things that touch me in a notebook a dear friend gave me once. I read through favorite quotes often to recenter myself. I google quotes on certain topics when I find I need something in particular. Quotes can come from books, cards, songs, speakers, scriptures, words from a friend, something that pops into your head, anywhere! A dear friend...who is a fellow quote lover and soul builder... also gave me a book for my birthday called The Book of Awakening. Sometimes I love some of these passages and just feel like sharing. Sometimes I read a great quote that I just want to remember forever. Too many friends on Facebook for this, too many words for Twitter....so I thought - can I add quotes to my recipe blog? My answer....why not, it's my blog! I can do what I want!!

"Those who truly love us will never knowingly ask us to be other than we are" - Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo