For whatever reason, I've been holding onto this recipe gem for a while, so haven't made it in about a month, before my whole change in diet. Still, Enjoy!
I don't have a crockpot. (cue gasp!)
Let me explain: I'm cooking for one. Yes, I could take the time to pack my freezer full of the leftovers, but if history has taught me anything, those meals will rot with freezer burn before they make it to my tummy. Secondly, I work a ton, and my life is unpredictable. This means that when I set that handy timer for eight or even ten hours, there is no guarantee that I'll be home in time to take it off the heat. I have ruined many a beautiful meal by letting the crockpot go a few hours over. Thirdly, I don't have the room. My tiny apartment can only hold so many items, and choosing to lose the crockpot was one of those necessary sacrifices for the love of living more simply.
What's my point? You can totally cheat and make pulled chicken without the slow cooker! I adore pulled meats, and back in the day, I used to love smoking bone-in chicken breasts on the weekends. Alas, this is one of the things I no longer have...But I've found a loophole, and I couldn't wait to share!
I found this recipe from Just a Taste for slow-cooker balsamic pulled pork, and substituted chicken breast (I had oh-so many in my freezer). The beautiful thing about ditching the slow cooker for this recipe is that chicken takes waaaay less time to cook, so I started about two hours before I wanted to eat. I made the marinade, poured it over about 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts in a nice deep skillet, and covered at medium heat. Two differences from the recipe provided: I omitted the blackberry jam (I'm sure it would have been amaze-balls, but I got impatient looking for it at the grocery store), and I used about 2 cups of chicken broth, with the last 1/2 cup mixed with cornstarch to thicken up the sauce at the end. I also made this tangy slaw from the same website while the chicken boiled.
After about an hour, the chicken was pull-ready, so I removed it from the pan and added my last 1/2 cup of chicken-broth/cornstarch mixture. Letting this simmer while I pulled the chicken allowed it to become nice and thick, so when I added the chicken back to the pan, it stuck beautifully.
The first night, Kristine and I made sandwiches with the chicken and slaw atop. The next night at my sister's house, we decided to make little BBQ crostini's, which were more delicious than I thought possible.
Definitely a keeper recipe, especially now that we have a fabu new app recipe! Happy eating,
I am not a "computer person" per se, but Google has become my best friend in recent years. I Google everything, from sore throats to how to properly format a newspaper ad (yes, they still have newspapers here in Colorado). Today was the day I needed Google to show me how to make my email signature gorgeous with all my social media buttons. I maybe spent a bunch of time on this last night...and last week...until I was nearly ready to secede and swallow the fact that I would simply have a plain-Jane email signature.
Just as my heart was sinking, my eyes opened and I realized I had been totally misreading the directions! You know when someone else can clearly see what you cannot? It was one of those aha! moments when I wanted to slap my forehead and laugh (or cry) out loud. As I was reading the many forums online about this same topic, I noticed there were a select few in my same tribe who just couldn't figure this out. And the folks on the other side trying to help just kept repeating themselves. Not helpful; very frustrating. So I wanted to share my step-by-steps so we can all have the beautiful email signatures we want. I heavily referenced this forum for assistance along the way.
I work for a smaller company, so we don't have a specific "IT" department, let alone one expert to call upon for my many needs and questions. Many businesses across the U.S. likely function this way, especially those who have started your own biz and have no other staff. So without further adieu, let's get you a pretty signature! (PS- I use Microsoft Office 365, so these steps may vary for other applications. I'll also review how to properly add this to your iPhone sig.)
First, take your company logo and social media logos and upload them onto a free hosting app like tinypic.
Next, go to Outlook--File--Options--Mail--Create or Modify Signatures for Messages.
Click in your signature the place you'd like your image, then click the image button on your toolbar.
Go back to tinypic (or other hosting site) and choose your image. Highlight and copy the "Direct Link for Layouts" web address.
Back to Outlook: Paste your image's address into "File", and click the drop-down arrow, choosing "Link to File".
Boom! Your image should now show on your signature. Repeat this for as many logos/icons as you'd like!
When your clients open up your emails, you'd probably like for them to be able to click the image and go to your website. To accomplish this, head back into your Outlook signature editor, click the logo you'd like to link, then hit the Globe/Link icon:
Type the web address for the link, and press OK. Done!
Now for customizing your iPhone sig...
Send yourself a test email from your desktop Outlook account. When you receive it on your iPhone, select the entire signature text and copy. Then go to Settings--Mail--Signatures--Select the email account you'd like to populate with this signature. Shake your phone to undo attributes, this should take care of the auto font changes Apple makes.
Compose a new email message on your phone. Don't send this message! Hit cancel and save to drafts.
Go to your Drafts folder, copy entire signature piece, and go back to your iPhone settings to paste into the Signature area for your account. Shake your phone to undo attributes, and you should be all set!
I hope this is helpful to those who may not have access to an IT guru. Be sure to test your new, fabulous signature before sending it out to all your clients!
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/01/11/3610327/college-men-forcible-sex-study/?utm_source=takepart.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_module
Rape culture exists everywhere, regardless of the supposed "intent" of the offender. Rape culture to me includes the instances when men repeatedly push themselves on a woman because they are treating their sexual needs as the most important thing in the world.
I tell people all the time (although it's not very lady like and so I probably shouldn't) that I am just as horny as a man; if not more so. Yet, I allow my brain to think for me, not my private parts. It's incredibly unfair to say that because someone has a penis, one becomes justifiable in forcibly putting it in a hole. I want sex all the time, too; and I check people out when they are beautiful. But you don't see me running around, rubbing my vagina on everything.
When someone says "No", it means just that. It doesn't mean, "Try harder." It doesn't mean, "Only when I'm dressed slutty." And it definitely doesn't mean, "Yes". I am a little confused by the apparent disconnect. If I have the ability to control my sexual desires and urges, why can't a man do the same? Just because you may like my body does not mean you get to do anything about it.
I also want to make it clear that I know PLENTY of men who can indeed control their urges just like I can; they are polite, they don't expect sex just because they buy dinner or drinks, and they treat women as equals. It's frustrating that all men don't act this way, because these men that I know are wonderful, and I feel fortunate to have them in my life.
Cathie and I (mostly Cathie) have nearly mastered the confusion of the Trenitalia's train staziones. We know how to look up train times online, how to check the bin number for our intended train, and how to navigate the subways leading to each bin. We no longer get lost, only delayed, which seems to be Trenitalia's M.O. There are people everywhere, mostly lost-looking tourists, and they don't move out of your way. Ever. Everyone has the tendency to creep on and off the trains, even though oftentimes there is no conductor and you may get left behind if you are too slow and the doors close. We wrestle through the crowds to get to our trains early, and we can usually find a decent seat.
Today, however, we messed up. We had planned to buy our tickets early this morning, giving an ample two hours to eat breakfast and say "Ciao" to our fantastic host before making the treck to New Monterosso's train station. We didn't realize that both the early trains (nonstop to Milan) had been sold out, and the earliest we could leave would be 1:15. So, it is 9:30 in the morning and we are forced to kill almost 4 hours, armed without bathing suits on and hauling massive suitcases.
Not to be deterred, we order cappuccino, croissants, and fruit at a local bakery, successfully wasting an hour whilst people watching. Tourists are worse on this side of town compared to Old Monterosso; they are pushy and loud and fairly rude. We sit along the boardwalk after breakfast and snap some pics; although all I really want to do is get in that gorgeous ocean! The issue we have is lugging our suitcases down the hill, through the sand, and then back up again...no, thank you!
Around noon, we mosey over to a different shop for lunch (yes, this trip has revolved around food; to my utter delight). I get a greasy and delicious Prosciutto, Tomato, and cheese sandwich; Cathie gets a rice pizza that reeks of fresh garlic...so amazing!! I'm almost positive the lady helping me calls me a stupid American; but I can't blame her...I have learned probably 4 Italian phrases, and even though we've gotten by more than fine; I would be annoyed by me, too. We decide Old Monterosso is our fave.
Our train arrives without delay, and all I can think about is getting to Milan. Get to Milan, get out of this 1000-degree hotbox, take a shower...This is our last train ride of the trip! We could not be more thrilled. The scenery on the way is beyond beautiful, and the fact that this is our final train excursion makes it all the more so.
We arrive in Milan and hail a female taxi driver to help us get to Hotel San Francisco. It is amazingly air-conditioned in the lobby; but the room feels like a red jail cell, and the "Garden View" is shrubbery out back. Our concierge, Carlo, recommends a fabulous place where we have a delectable, long meal in a deserted restaurant. This is the first night of the trip that we have drank a respectable amount of vino, and are in bed before 10pm. Perfecto!
There are these amazing electronic blinds in Italy that block out all the light! (Yes, I understand we have these in America, it's just everywhere here.) So, we tell our wonderful host that we will DEFINITELY be at breakfast at 9...no problem...we get to our room at 3am, click the button to block out the Saturday morning light, and oversleep. Cathie wakes up at 9:15, shouting, "It's 9:15! We gotta go!" I don't believe her. It's so dark, how could it be the morning already?
We throw on respectable clothes and dash to the restaurant, a full 3-minute sprint with a finale of terrible stairs. Upon arrival, everything is just fine, although we feel that we have likely insulted Augusta, who is Francesco's mother and super adorable.
Being hungover with delicious food is difficult, but we power through. We choke down scrambled eggs, home made croissants, fruit, and pineapple juice (it sounded great when I ordered it). After breakfast, we explored Monterosso and ate dinner at a beautiful little place; every bite was heavenly; we had Calamari, Gnocchi with Pesto, and Ravioli with Walnut Sauce. The wine is cheap but smooth; I actually don't know what we will do when we get back! The 8-dollar glasses we order back home pale in comparison to the beautiful Litres we enjoy here for the same price.
After dinner, we head to our new favorite bar (FastBar, an American-themed joint that our landlord owns). We meet George and Michael, who will forever be known as one name. They are sweet to us but obviously want only one thing, so we walk away to order more vino. Our second-favorite bartender (Francesco is the first) invites us to join him, and we do. His friends are Thor and someone I don't remember. They invite us to a "lookout" to drink a bottle of wine and enjoy the scenery, and although we respectfully decline, they were still miffed that we decided to go home. (We actually paid our tab and RAN home so as to not allow them to know where we are staying.)
We were certain not to queue the blinds that night, and woke up bright and early to tackle the trails through Cinque Terre...
It's our first trip out of the country; with no guide, no real plans, and only a pocket translator (thanks, Lee!) to help us decipher what others are saying around us.
Thank goodness we are staying for 11 days, because today has been a traveling disaster. We left yesterday morning on 3 hours of sleep, and at this point are nearing hour 28. It will be closer to 30 hours once we finally arrive to our hotel! We are stinky, exhausted, and a little stressed out; which is too stressed for vacay. Each one of our flights was delayed, resulting in us strong-arming old ladies out of our way as we sprinted (more of a run-shuffle, in flip-flops) to our next airport hub.
We arrived safely, albeit sweatily, in Milan around 1pm this afternoon (5am our time). We quickly discovered that although traveling without knowing the language of the land is easy in an airport, the train is another beast altogether. We purchased tickets to Malpensa from Milan, with a connection to Milano Centrale train station (or so we thought). Upon arriving in Malpensa a little over an hour later, our driver told us we had the wrong tickets. There was an obvious communication gap, leaving us with bags in hand and nowhere to go, and we ended up leaving our bus to find another way to Milano Centrale.
We purchased tickets for a train to Milano Centrale using a different company, and we relaxed on a speedy train for another hour, basically heading back in the direction we came. Awesome! I dozed off, and when I awoke, we came to the conclusion that it was time to get off the train. What we didn't realize was that we were getting off a full 3 stops early! Again, train travel is harder than air travel.
We sped around this new station, trying not to look too lost and foreign in this foreign land. It appeared there were literally zero kiosks or employees to ask for assistance from, but we finally found an English-speaking attendant who helped us purchase the correct ticket for our seemingly elusive destination.
Entering the Milano Centrale train station was exciting and chaotic. The architecture is beautiful, and the people even more so. We found a dark-haired, blue-eyed (married) police officer to assist us to ensure we would not miss our train to Monterosso. He graciously advised that we could keep an eye on one of the many monitors around the station for our gate assignment, and to pay special attention 10 minutes prior to departure. Whew! We were 40 minutes early. No sweat. We shopped, payed to use the restroom (weird), re-hydrated, and kept a watchful eye on our gate position.
So...our gate never comes up. We ask another officer, a different kiosk, and finally, a fairly grumpy man who is being shouted at in all languages about travel. Cathie takes the lead, pointing out our destination and the time. "You are 35 minutes late; that train has left. These displays are not working." So THAT'S what the many announcements (mind you, all in Italian) were for! Perhaps we should have become fluent before making this excursion?
Not to be deterred (although we both are on he verge of tears, red-faced and wide-eyed...Will we ever reach our little village?), we sweet-talk our attendant on Trenitalia to throw us on another train. She does, but fails to mention that since we no longer have seat assignments, we get to play musical chairs for anyone that enters our cabin. We end up moving about 3 times, each instance creating more anxiety than the last.
We finally settle in, and an angelic attendant sits with us to write down the times and names of the towns we will need to hop off in order to reach our final destination. Holding onto this piece of invaluable information, we successfully, nervously, hop off our train to Monterosso. We pass through the tunnel towards the exit, with absolutely no idea of what we would see on the other side...
...the view is breathtaking, even at 11 o'clock at night. The sea greets us amid softly-lot pathways that travel all over the village. People are everywhere; beautiful and put together and stylish. We finally made it.
this is an older post, but I love it so wanted to share again... There aren't enough of these stories being shared, and it's happening all around us... Share your good news, send me a link, click on the links provided to learn more...let's drown out the dumb together!
These were some of the stories that got me inspired in 2014.
Browse around, and share your Good News to be included below!
I continue to share these via my Facebook page, hope to see you there!
Have you heard of the dry cleaner in Minneapolis who will dry clean interview outfits for FREE??? Elite Dry Cleaner shop has helped over 2,000 unemployed workers, at an estimated total cost of $32,000. If there were a shop here in Dublin that did this, I would definitely give them my business!
This Goodwill employee found $10,000 at the store and turned it into her boss. You would hope that everyone would choose to do the right thing in this scenario...
It’s official! All CVS/pharmacy locations are tobacco free as of September 3, 2014, beating our original target date by nearly a month. When we first shared our decision to remove cigarettes and tobacco from the shelves of our 7,700 CVS/pharmacy locations, some called it a bold decision. We called it the right decision then, and we call it the right decision now.
We all know the dangers associated with tobacco products. In fact, smoking is the leading cause of premature disease and death in the United States with more than 480,000 deaths each year. While the prevalence of cigarette smoking has decreased from approximately 42 percent of adults in 1965 to 18 percent today, the rate of reduction in smoking prevalence has stalled in the past decade. More interventions, such as reducing the availability of cigarettes, are needed.
"CVS Health is always looking for ways to promote health and reduce the burden of disease," said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer of CVS Health. "Putting an end to the sale of cigarettes and tobacco will make a significant difference in reducing the chronic illnesses associated with tobacco use."
For some of our customers this is nothing new; they already experience a tobacco-free CVS/pharmacy. For example, two stores in the San Francisco market and dozens of stores in Massachusetts – where tobacco sales are banned by local ordinance – are tobacco free. And since the spring, new and relocated CVS/pharmacy stores have opened without cigarettes and other tobacco products behind the counter.
"Every day, all across the country, customers and patients place their trust in our 26,000 pharmacists and nurse practitioners to serve their health care needs," said Helena B. Foulkes, President of CVS/pharmacy. "The removal of cigarettes and other tobacco products from our stores is an important step in helping Americans to quit smoking and get healthy."
Throughout the rest of 2014, our CVS/pharmacy stores will be unveiling new signage behind the checkout and will introduce a robust smoking cessation program and an enhanced selection of nicotine replacement products in select stores.
This is wonderful! Cigarettes are hard enough to stay away from, I hope this is a huge kick in the gut to Big Tobacco to let them know there ARE still companies who care more about people than dollars. Read about it here.
Start at 3:47... I love these ladies on "Today" anyways, and they make some great points here about feminism and a woman's prerogative to do WHATEVER SHE WANTS with her own body. PS-Go, Miss Zellweger, for not giving in to the drama.
Project Sunlight
"Project Sunlight is a movement that has already started.
It’s made up of a growing community of people who believe it is possible to build a world where everyone lives well and lives sustainably.
Who recognise we can only achieve this if we all work together to do small actions every day that make a real difference.
And who inspire others to join us in making this the way everyone chooses to live."
This made my soul happy...A Pay It Forward Flash Mob! I don't dance in public, nor do I have the time to learn how, so this is my cup of tea, for sure! At 4 p.m Eastern time on Saturday, October 11, stop whatever you're doing and pay it forward. Maybe buy someone a coffee... or gas.. or groceries.. big or small, let's have an event where all over the world, we are paying it forward at the same time. However, if you are NOT able to make it in that time frame, ANY TIME on October 11 will be great. This is going viral, around the world...
This pay it forward event crosses the world...includes everyone...of all beliefs, backgrounds and cultures. Kindness has only one language...love.
To help shape future generations of young men who desperately need positive gay role models. The Gay Men Project is simply beautiful!
These employees boycotted when their favorite CEO was put out of his job. Most employers will never understand what an impact their employees can have! Read the article from Co.Exist.com, here.
This guy seems at first to be a bit douche-y, but I think his heart's in the perfect place!
I'm not saying I'm going to stop shaving my armpits, but I am a feminist for exactly these reasons!
Amy P., you are one of my heroes!
Did you know that instead of packing away your wedding dress in the back of a closet, you can donate it? "At Every Girls Dream "EGD", our mission is to provide a beautiful wedding gown to brides undergoing financial hardship in the Southeast Michigan area. We have a variety of gorgeous gowns in every size and style. Through the generous donations of community partners we're working to make every girls dream come true. Our goal is to provide a free wedding gown that matches each brides personal style." See how simple such a huge gesture can be on their website.
On a similar note as the wedding dress donation, imagine what you would do with a broken engagement but the wedding already planned and paid for? A man found himself in just that situation, and instead of focusing on his own broken heart, he turned his wedding day into a fundraising event! See how he turned lemons into LemonAID on HuffPost's website.
An eight-year old girl heard about a veteran's fundraising efforts to professionally train his service dog, something that he sorely needed after serving our country. She immediately took action, asking her parents if she could help raise money for him, even though they had never met! Watch the inspiring video here.
Some parents are really doing things right... We recently got invited to our dear friend's 6-years old's birthday party, and inside the invite was this:
On the website, Uplifting Entertainment , I found this little nugget of Taylor Swift singing with a fan. The power of music is truly amazing!
In Massachusetts, a little boy's birthday wish is simple: he just wants birthday cards. Danny turned 6 years old on July 25; and battling a brain tumor, he's unable to continue kindergarten and gets lonely without his buds. I also adore cards, and figure a late one is better than none at all! Read more here, and why not send a card to this bright-eyed kiddo?
This is from a website called Uplifting Entertainment, and the video almost brought me to tears. We truly have no idea what crosses others have to bear... (Read the article here)
Last month, the patrons at back East bar & Grill in Colorado Springs banded together to raise money and make a little girl's first trip to chemo not so terrifying... What a wonderful group of people!
