Friday, February 26, 2010

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers

I love chicken cordon bleu, but find it time consuming to make. I wanted the taste but something a bit easier. I thought about the flavor componenets of the cordon bleu, and the fact that stuff like that gets put into meatballs all the time, so why not a burger.
Cordon bleu is chicken, ham, cheese, with breadcrumbs, served with a sauce spooned over the top. It turned out to be delicious and almost better than traditional chicken cordon bleu.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers
1 lb. ground chicken
1 slice of ham, 1/3 inch thick - diced
1 slick of swiss, 1/3 inch thick - diced
1 tbs garlic and herb seasoning (if using plain breadcrumbs)
2 palmfulls breadcrumbs
2 tbs butter
4 tbs mayo
1/2 lemon - juiced
olive oil
salt and pepper
4 burger buns

In a small saucepan, mix the butter, mayo, and lemon juice over low heat, stirring until smooth. Immediately remove from the heat.
In a bowl, mix the chicken, ham, swiss, seasonings, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, and half of the sauce. Form into 4 patties.
Heat a large fry pan on medium with a little bit of olive oil, when heated, add the burgers and cook until golden brown on the bottom, and you can see they are cooking up the sides. Flip and cook until golden on the other side and the juices run clear.
Serve on toasted buns with 1/4 of the leftover sauce.
Lettuce and Tomato optional.

Also great served over a salad of baby spinach.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Color Career Counselor

http://www.careerpath.com/career-tests/colorcareercounselor.aspx

Welcome Hannah

The Dewey Color System® is now the world's most accurate career testing instrument. This report based on your personality traits indicates your two most enjoyable day-day-day occupation skills. It’s a summary of the full report, the Color Leadership Evaluation 5.0.
“Studies indicate workplace enjoyment is the key to success. So as you read, consider only “Was I mostly having fun at work?” Disregard your present and past employer’s environment.
Best Occupational Category
You're a CREATORKeywords
Nonconforming, Impulsive, Expressive, Romantic, Intuitive, Sensitive, and Emotional
These original types place a high value on aesthetic qualities and have a great need for self-expression. They enjoy working independently, being creative, using their imagination, and constantly learning something new. Fields of interest are art, drama, music, and writing or places where they can express, assemble, or implement creative ideas.
CREATOR OCCUPATIONSSuggested careers are Advertising Executive, Architect, Web Designer, Creative Director, Public Relations, Fine or Commercial Artist, Interior Decorator, Lawyer, Librarian, Musician, Reporter, Art Teacher, Broadcaster, Technical Writer, English Teacher, Architect, Photographer, Medical Illustrator, Corporate Trainer, Author, Editor, Landscape Architect, Exhibit Builder, and Package Designer.
CREATOR WORKPLACESConsider workplaces where you can create and improve beauty and aesthetic qualities. Unstructured, flexible organizations that allow self-expression work best with your free-spirited nature.
Suggested Creator workplaces are advertising, public relations, and interior decorating firms; artistic studios, theaters and concert halls; institutions that teach crafts, universities, music, and dance schools. Other workplaces to consider are art institutes, museums, libraries, and galleries.
2nd Best Occupational Category
You're a PERSUADER Keywords:
Witty, Competitive, Sociable, Talkative, Ambitious, Argumentative, and Aggressive
These enterprising types sell, persuade, and lead others. Positions of leadership, power, and status are usually their ultimate goal. Persuasive people like to take financial and interpersonal risks and to participate in competitive activities. They enjoy working with others inside organizations to accomplish goals and achieve economic success.
Section I: You and Your TeamThis personality overview section highlights your natural workplace talents—the tasks you pursue with passion. You'll learn how your natural strengths complement those of your coworkers and how, joining forces, you can resolve on-the-job dilemmas.
Section II: Your Key To Success Here you discover your capacity for dispelling disruption and maximizing profitability. Use this proven, beyond-self-perception advice to create a more positive career path free of detours.
Section III: Managing Strengths and Weaknesses Your evaluation's highest and lowest scores result in this section's recommendations for staying on-track in your career and reversing wrong turns. In focusing on your talents and missteps, you'll re-stoke your energy and enthusiasm for managing costly mistakes.
Section IV: Leadership Power Moves This final section identifies your "street sense," those power moves that turn obstacles into insignificant details. Here suggestions based on your color-ranked evaluations will guide you towards making the most of an interview or harnessing your fast-paced workday.

SO accurate! Give it a try!
http://www.careerpath.com/career-tests/colorcareercounselor.aspx

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Winter Squash Pasta

Last night for dinner I decided to use what I had on hand for dinner instead of treking to the grocery store. I realized that I just didn't want to walk back downstairs and out in the cold after getting home from the gym.

I always have pasta on the shelf, so that became my base, but I didn't want the typical red sauce, and I wanted something somewhat healthy.

In the fridge I had approximately a cup of milk, a quarter cup of parmesean, and some American cheese. I scoured the freezer and found a nice 2 cup package of left over blue hubbard squash from Thanksgiving, it said sweet squash, so it had some maple syrup, a little butter, and some brown sugar.

I figured why not, through some brussell sprouts on the side and had a very tasty dinner.

Winter Squash Pasta

1 Box Pasta
1 TBS Butter
1 TBS Flour
1 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Parmesean
6 Slices American
2 Cups Cooked Winter Squash
Garlic and Herb Seasoning
Cayenne
Salt and Pepper

Cook pasta till al dente.
In a seperate pan, melt the butter and whisk in the flour. Add garlic and herb seasoning, cayenne, and salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid clumps. Add frozen squash and let melt, mixing into cream sauce. Once heated through, add the cheese and stir till melted. Turn off the heat.
Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce.
Serve!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

Avatar - The Movie


This past Friday night, Mom and I went to see Avatar. I had been going back and forth on whether I wanted to see the movie because I am not normally a large sci-fi fan. That, and the idea of watching a 3D movie is just not appealing to me. What made me decide to go see the movie was the chance to spend some time with my mom, it wasn't going to be shown in 3D, and the reviews I read were excellent.

The movie started with no previews, not warning, and it took just a moment to realize that it was the movie that was starting. Once we figured that out, it didn't take very long for the movie to captivate us. All in all, I loved not having any previews to catch my attention and draw away from the movie. Some of the fight seens were a little longer than fully necessary, and yet, I was captivated from the very beginning.

There was so much more than the creation of the characters, the imagination behind the animals, the wonder of the moon. It really spoke of what happens when our society decides they want something. The humans took over the moon Pandora and exploited it. They were not willing to let anything, not even another culture/race/species stand in their way. It just goes to show that we are not the nice humans we make ourselves out to be. It reminded me of the way the Colonists treated the Native Americans, pushing them out of the way because they had something we coveted. It didn't matter that they were there first, we wanted it, so we took it.

It also speaks volumes to the way we treat life and how life should be treated. On Pandora, all life is connected, not just in the trees growing from the dirt and people eating the fruit of the trees, but in the life connection. When animals were killed and trees were damaged, the people of Pandora were able to feel it. They were able to connect on a physical level with everything, and that connection was more than just a touch.

All in all, I loved this movie and was stunned at the powerful images it created and the impact it can have.