slow cooker mexican chicken vegetable soup

Here's a yummy recipe I adapted from this blog found on pinterest I added extra vegetables. Not only did I like it, my picky nine year old eater liked it.

The recipe:


1 tbs olive oil

1/2 a sweet yellow onion, diced

1 red pepper, diced

7-9 baby carrots thinly sliced

1-2 tbs minced garlic

5 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I put them in frozen)
1 can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can of corn (drained and rinsed)
2 cans of Ro-tel tomatoes (pick whatever heat you might like)
1 4-oz can of diced green chilis
1/8 C of chili powder
1-2 tbs of cayenne pepper
1 tbs oregeno
16 oz of vegetable stock (low sodium)
16 oz of chicken stock (low sodium)
half a medium zucchini cut into half inch cubes
1 can of green beans (drained and rinsed)
Juice of 5 limes


Toppers (not included in the nutritional info below)
avocado
onions
fresh tomatoes
sour cream/or greek yogurt
grated cheese
fresh cilantro

Saute the onions, garlic, peppers and carrots in the olive oil. Spray a crock pot with Pam and place the chicken on the bottom, when veggies are soft and fragrant, pour on top of chicken.  Add the rest of the ingredient, up to the zucchini. Cook on low 8-10 hours. An hour before serving, shred chicken and return to soup and add the zucchini, green beans and lime.

Makes 15 servings.  Big bowls.

Enjoy.


Here's the nutritional information, which, except for the sodium, is awesome.  Although it doesn't take into consideration I used low sodium stock and rinsed the canned vegetables.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 serving (318.4 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 186 Calories from Fat 31

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 3.4g 5%

Saturated Fat 0.9g 4%

Cholesterol 40mg 13%

Sodium 796mg 33%

Total Carbohydrates 21.1g 7%

Dietary Fiber 5.1g 20%

Sugars 4.8g

Protein 19.5g

Vitamin A 31% • Vitamin C 39% Calcium 8% • Iron 13%

* Based on a 2000 calorie diet

Our little Jock is 13

July 2, 1999, Jacob Michael Zimmer was born. It was one of the happiest days of my life. Here we are in the hospital with my sister, Leyni visiting us.

2000 Here he is on his first birthday.  Jason had to hold him down just to get this picture. Once he was walking he was constantly on the move.  Jason has no gray here...hmmmm.

2002, here he is with his new baby brother, Isaac.  This year he tried out tennis.  The tennis coach said he might want to try baseball, after the second time he ended up hitting her with the ball and holding the tennis racket like a bat.

2003 Right after Isaac was born we moved to Kansas City. Jake went to preschool in KCK, this is him his first day, wondering why I needed to take his picture.  We continued on with tennis and started swimming while there.

2004 at 5 Jason took Jake to Disney World on a father-son trip.  Jake had a great time.  He started baseball and tried basketball this year too.  On one of baseball games I overheard a dad talk about Jake, at first the poor kid couldn't even hit the ball off the T and the dad said something about that....but then Jake picked up the ball and got it from first to third...and that dad said, "he might not be able to hit, but that kid has an arm him and he can throw"

2005 Jake tried karate, and football, he was still in baseball, baseball being his favorite.

2007 golfing...why not? still in baseball too.

2008 soccer and of course baseball, didn't like soccer much but was pretty good at it.  Loved him with that long hair but he gets to choose now and he likes it cropped short...how rebellious of him.

2010 he revisited basket ball and really started to like it.  He's not the best and getting in the hoop but is really good at defense and seems to really like defense.  He laughs at me when I tell him, that he was being so mean by stopping right in front of those boys and not letting them run (I think it's called picking).  And he's still playing baseball.  In 2011 he got onto a semi-competitive team and they went to  the championship game.

2012, he's 13 now, he's been playing baseball now for 7 years and it's still his favorite sport.  Basketball is second and he'll continue on with track too.

Jason and I still wonder, how we got a jock for a son.

20 years baby!

IT'S MY 20TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TODAY -- I am married to one of the most patient, loving, loyal men, and he's pretty cute too. He's also a great father, a wonderful provider and the funniest man I know!

Here's a picture of me from 1992 -- 1992, a lifetime ago!  Here's how long ago it was, my wedding colors...pink and teal -- yeah, that color combination, probably never coming back into style.

I will be a better blogger after May 29th

I suck, I know. School is kicking my beeeehind! It's crunch time....I keep telling my family, I'll be a better mom after May 29th (28th, last day, 29th, our 20th anniversary).  I tell my friends...just wait, just wait, I'll remember birthdays, make casseroles for new babies and for families where loved ones have died, I tell my employer I'll get more organized, I tell my husband, to just hold out until the 28th and I'll pick up the slack and we may even have sex again.  I will also, after May 29th, catch up on all my favorite blogs...I've missed reading you! I've missed writing....but all my writing and reading have been reserved for boring nursing books and articles.  I haven't read a book for fun since January.  Oh, that reminds me, I need to tell book club members I'll be a better participant after May 29th too.

 This is my desk....I have to read and summarize a total of 35 articles and then create a PowerPoint Presentation, teach what I've learned and give a test...also throw in a couple surveys and papers to back up why I am teaching what I am teaching (health promotion in schools and why nurses should do it)....I've read only 15 so far.

The mess from my desk is creeping to my floor...not only do I have all the school stuff on my desk, I have to continue with the day to day paperwork that still comes in from the boys' schools, the mail, the bills, AND my desk is also the dumping ground of stuff that no one else wants to deal with....so yes, it's finding it's way to piles on the floor, because I have no time.

After May 29th, I'll have a clean desk.

Or I'll have a nervous breakdown...in that case, I'll start blogging more regularly 6 weeks after May 29th, assuming they let me out of the in-patient program.

(top picture came from go2uttyler.blogspot.com -- never read that blog, it was a google images find, just giving credit)

Two blog entries in one day...yikes I must be procrastinating...

I've been seeing all these recipes on  that use a can of coke or Dr. Pepper in some crock pot dish.  I kept thinking how gross that was....but can that many pinners and bloggers be wrong?

I guess not.  

I just tried this awesome recipe that I found on  but originally came from the Sweet and Savory Blog it's for Pulled Pork Sandwiches.

I originally pinned this recipe because my kids were saying things like, "chicken again, mom" in a whiney voice.  Or if they were at the super market with me and I put chicken in the basket they'd run screaming from the meat aisle.  They would look longingly at steak, or hamburger and then turn their puppy dog eyes at me in hope.  I guess we've been eating a lot of chicken recently.

Last night I made this recipe and we had it today....kids and hubby gave it a thumbs up.  And the best part? Ridiculously freakin' easy! I mean easy for even a crock pot recipe.  I will so do this again.

You can find the original recipe here or you can  and check out the link from my 'tried it recipe' board.

Here's how I changed the recipe to suit our family and frankly to use what we had in our pantry.

2 lbs pork loin roast
1/2 bottle of Stubbs Hickory BBQ sauce 
1 can of Coke (original recipe called for diet, I didn't feel good about cooking with aspartame, especially for my family so used regular Coke - she seemed to get a lot of flack for that on the comments on her blog...so that I don't sound like a hater...this is just a decision I made for my family, should you choose the diet, and decide to tell me about it, I won't judge -- especially because I served this with canned  -gasp- beans so I have no room to judge)
Mexican Spice Blend (because I didn't have Lawry's seasoned salt in my pantry, I have star anise and fennel -- but not something as basic as Lawry's, what can I say, I'm a freak)

Crock pot on low for 8-10 hours or high for 6-7 hours (original recipe said 3-4 hours, so I started this after work and at 7 it still wasn't tender-use-a-fork-to-shred-tender so we cooked it for another 3 hours and we had cereal for dinner.  This was yummy the next day though and that extra time was well worth it)

Shred pork, add rest of BBQ sauce and serve on toasted buns.

Enjoy!

Spring in the Rockies

It was almost 80 degrees yesterday and today it's

and that's Spring in Colorado

seriously?

I was at the lab yesterday to have my blood drawn (thyroid issues, they suck).  The clerk there, may have been on crack or meth, I'm not sure how these drugs manifest themselves in the work place.  She was one of those women who was super rude, but with a smug smile so there was nothing to call her on, well at least out loud and in public.  Here on my blog I can say whatever I want.  It started with a couple who were probably from Mexico or a South American country.  The did speak English, but heavily accented.  She asked for their ID's.  I figured, that's something new I've been going to this lab every three months for two years and I've never seen that before. But no, only two people she did that with. She spoke slowly and loudly.  I didn't like that much but it's common enough for people to do when speaking to someone who has an accent.  Then she did the same thing to the well-spoken, fabulously dressed (the suit he was wearing probably cost more then a month of my salary) black man.  This guy was actually smart enough to make an appointment (I wish I had been that smart because I wouldn't have been in that waiting room for an hour watching all of this unfold).  Next was a little old lady who she took into the back room, but loudly (and slowly) berated her for not properly collecting her stool sample and then told her that she could make all of them all sick, so she needed to go to the public bathroom by the elevators to correct the problem.

The waiting room was standing room only, we all heard it.  I caught the eye of another woman in the room and I made the 'coo coo' symbol with my finger and she nodded her head in agreement.

The next person was a young, white, english with out an accent speaking person.

Nothing.

Then another elderly person came in with a question about which lab she could use on her insurance because she was getting a letter saying that this company wasn't on her insurance.  The clerk repeated that this was the lab she needed to use over and over again, using the same words, but more slowly and more loudly.  I was getting frustrated for the woman.  Finally the clerk called the insurance company and after the call, hands the woman her card and says, "It's just what I thought, you need to go to Q---, it's down the hall."

WTF, that's not what you were saying you crack-ho.

Just to add, every time she opened her mouth she slaughtered the English language.  I'm not saying I'm that great.  I have a BA in English, but the knowledge obtained during those years makes me realize how inadequate I really am.  It also helps me realize that some people are even more inadequate then I am...this clerk for instance.

She would say things like, "I seen this...", "You is..." Loudly and Slowly.

Like fingers on a chalkboard.

I looked at the other lady in the waiting room, her eyes were round, lips pursed, much like my own.

Another young, white guy goes up.

Nothing.

Hmmmmmm.

Then she says, with frustration, "I can't read this name, the handwriting is too cramped".  I had no idea it was going to be me.  Why? Because I have great penmanship.  I mean people asked to use my notes in class because they could READ them.  I get compliments on my handwriting.  "Last name Zimmer?"

Holy crap, it was me.

I walk up there and she berates me for my penmanship.

I look at it, the signature on the sign in sheet before mine, cramped little handwriting, the one after mine pretty much a line.  Mine, clearly written, almost print.

You have to be effin' kidding me.

I smile, hand her my insurance card and orders.

She types away and then says to me, "if you come in again" (and I wish I could say that I didn't think that would happen) "and they can't find your name it's because I had to put it under Maria Teresa."  So I said, "I don't see a problem with that, because that's my name"

I didn't even muddy the waters by throwing in my nick-name of Tracey in there.

So in her slow, loud voice that she reserved for those who are black, elderly and accented speakers she said again, "Just....so....YOU....understaaaaand.....I....am typing....MARIA TERESA."

So the Maria-Teresa threw her off? Should I mention to her that My dad's family has been in this country since before the revolution, helped settle the West? That my mother's family, more recently to this country has a proud history of diplomats, lawyers and architects.  That both sides of the family have had people serve in our Army and Navy.  My brother is currently serving.  But my name, obviously gave her an idea of who I am and it was so wrong.

I so wanted to say, "look bitch, you aren't smart enough to be condescending so shut the hell up"

But I just said, "thank you?"

I'm such a coward.

The woman after me? Got a 'I'm so sorry you had to wait", got "your son is so cute" she didn't speak to her slowly or loudly.  She was a blond woman with a name like Jenn or something.  When she was done at the desk and turned around she caught my eye and crossed them and smiled at me....

Glad to know it was obvious to someone else too.

more pinterest stuff

I found this really yummy recipe for jalapeno chicken on Pinterest.  It had this really awesome mild creamy flavor.  Even the picky nine year old liked it.

 It's not healthy though, cream, whole milk, cheese, butter...you get the idea.

 I did serve it with brown rice and asparagus to alleviate some of the guilt.  Visit just cook nyc for the recipe.  It's super easy too.

The other day when I was sick....I toggled between HGTV and the Food Network.  I was watching the Barefoot Contessa and she made these wonderful apple turnovers.  They were so simple and so tasty!  I served them for some company and not a crumb left on any of the plates...big hit.  You can find the recipe on the food network website.

Spring break has officially started.  I can't tell you how excited I am to not be going to work tomorrow. I may be getting paid half of what I made as a dialysis nurse, but you can't beat the time off and having the same schedule as the kiddos.

If only I was done with school too then I could really relax.  I'm working on my final project this week while I'm off of work.
May 25th (graduation) can't get here soon enough!

Time for a letter, two in fact

Dear Little Ol' Lady with a Walker,
Please, dear God, use a cross walk.  I'm not fond of slamming on my breaks in the middle of a busy street as you meander across the road.  I get the feeling you feel like you've paid your dues and the rest of us can go f*&k ourselves because you're going to cross the street wherever you damn well please.  I get that.  I agree with it.  You are entitled, you've lived a long life, you've probably lived with deprivation, through wars, and you've probably lost a lot of people in your life.  You are entitled.  I just don't want to live with knowing I hit someone.  So it's not that I don't respect your life and your choices, I just don't want to be the one responsible for ending that life.  So, Please Please, use a cross walk and walk with the light.  I won't even be mad if I have to stay there awhile while you cross....I'd even smile and wave at you.

Thanks,
Concerned Citizen

Dear A$$hole in the big diesel truck behind me,

Were you honking at the little ol' lady crossing the street? Because I'm pretty sure your honking wasn't going to make her move any faster.  Get over yourself already.  Were you honking at me? Because, as much as I disagreed with her decision, I wasn't going to run over her. That punishment -- doesn't quite fit that crime. Seriously, take a chill pill already, that whole two minutes was not going to affect you, you weren't going in a direction of a hospital, you didn't have a siren on you big ol' fancy truck, that I daresay hasn't even seen mud (you didn't look that tough) and there wasn't any other traffic, you could have easily swung into the other lane, that the little ol' lady had already gone through and passed us both.

You were just being mean.

Don't be mean.

Thanks,
Concerned Citizen

easy peasy breakfast

I did not actually get this one off of Pinterest. Anyone else love those breakfast sausage biscuits from McDonald's? Anyone even willing to admit it.  I do!  They 'stick to your ribs'. After one of those I don't need to eat for hours. And...breakfast is the most important meal of the day -- But I don't like how bad they are for you.  

So here's my version -- granted, still not the healthiest, but better.  Takes almost no prep time -- seriously ripping open a couple packages and throwing something into the oven and microwave. It's high in protein and a moderate amount of calories.  AND -- real biscuits.

 Have you seen these mini biscuits? They're real, you get that biscuit flavor and texture but better portion control.

The biscuits take 17 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and the sausage 70 seconds in the microwave.

 Serving size is two biscuits, we only use one.  It's enough, you get that biscuit flavor with just one.  So using one biscuit and two turkey sausages your calorie intake is 210 kcal, 10 fat gams, 14.5 protein g  & 11 carbs.

I'm not claiming it's a health food, but it's a better choice than the McDonald's sausage biscuit (430 kcal, 27 fat grams, 34 carbs & 11 g protein).  Even if you are one of those people who never ever crave them.

The kids love them too!

Corn Dog Muffins (made it off of Pinterest)

I am all about easy, I'm also all about Pinterest, it's gone beyond addiction and is a full-fledged obsession.  I have yet to 'pin' any pins about Pinterest, which means I have not crossed over to the dark side, I'm sure that's coming.

Found this very Isaac-friendly recipe on Pinterest and it was so easy I didn't even have to go to the original link...It's your favorite corn bread recipe and hot dogs.

that's it.

seriously!

 Mixed up a batch of some corn bread mix, filled 2-6 muffin muffin tins half way full.  Cut some hot dogs in thirds.

 Found these hotdogs at the store...yay, guilt free -- well then looked at the fat grams and not so much guilt free....just nitrate free....but feeling less guilty about essentially feeding my child corn dogs for dinner.

 placed a third of a hot dog in each section of the muffin tins and then poured the rest of the corn bread mix on top.

 Baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 16 minutes....yup, that's it! super freakin' easy! Put on some broccoli to steam and cut up some pears and dinner was ready.

Isaac Approved!

which Paul?

A while back when they were announcing who was running for the Republican candidate I heard the announcer say Ru Paul (I should pay more attention when I'm watching the news....)

What the Heck?

I wasn't sure if I was more shocked that he would be running for office or that it was for the Republicans (more the latter I think)

Then I realized it was this guy....Ron Paul.

okay, that makes more sense (I mean then Ru Paul, not necessarily for the Republican nominee)

I still giggle when I hear his name, I go back to my original mistake.  I even picture Ru Paul in the debates and start laughing.  My husband wonders why I'm laughing as I hear these guys discuss foreign policy, but I just picture Ru up there with the rest of them, behind a podium, with a blond wig, breaking out in a song or something.....

Have a great weekend everyone....I got an extra day thanks to the foot of snow that's dumping on Denver right now! YAY snow days. Love being a school nurse!

What? I'm not a Gemini anymore?

I guess this news wasn't that earth shattering, or at least it didn't enter into my consciousness when it hit the papers...in January 2011.  There's a thirteenth sign.  It ended up moving around all the other signs.

I'm no longer a Gemini. I'm a Taurus.

My identity is really shaken right now.

Jason can no longer tease me about having multiple personalities.
I can't blame my fits of fancy, changes of mind and all around flakiness on my mercurial nature.

Jason's a Leo.

I'm not supposed to get along with Leos.

At least when I was a Gemini I wasn't, I'll have to look it up, maybe I do now?

See what I mean -- I'm really confused now (I was confused before, but that was part of being a Gemini, now that I'm not a Gemini, I'm confused for a specific reason and that's because I don't know how to be a Taurus).

Although, come to think of it, I have been feeling more stubborn lately.

Thank goodness I'm not the new sign,  Ophiuchus -- I can't even pronounce it (it's not even in spell-check right now -- it's been a year come on spell check people!)

It's 2012, we've lost a planet (at least that news I was up to date on) and we have a new astrological sign...

I'm worried.

Do Taurus's worry?

Really?

I was reading candyland to bandland's blog about the new obesity intervention public service ads that are running in Georgia.  As we all know the South has one of the bigger problems with obesity then in other areas of the country and I have to say that I understand the intent was well-meaning.  But if they seriously think the same type of campaign they do for not trying Meth is going to work for obesity then the creators of this campaign have no idea how obesity effects those who are obese.

It's not like you can say, don't try food because once you try it you're hooked and your life will be all about stealing money to buy that pizza you're craving.  At first it's whining to mom you want the sugary cereal while walking down the cereal aisle and next it's stealing jewelry to get enough cash to score skittles in an alley from a dealer.

Here's one of the supporters/creators who talks about the research about being effective, what she's not saying is the research is most likely market research determining if people thought the ad campaign was effective in creating a dialogue about obesity, not if it's effective in the solving the problem of childhood obesity. For that you need evidence based research -- this is the problem when you try to move this out of the health arena and into the marketing arena -- this can not be solved by focus groups.



Okay, maybe they're not as scary as those don't try meth commercials (and have you seen those, they freak the he.ll out of my kids YAY). Yes, I do think that parents should get their heads out of the sand about it.  But what research (and not market research but evidence-based research) shows is that health care providers, especially pediatricians are loathe to bring the subject up.  Where is the ad campaign for them?

My kids' pediatrician? oh my gosh he's on board! My oldest is 95th in height and 70th in weight, he's quick, good in sports eats anything and is skinny and enjoys being active (I think he may have been switched at birth) my younger one didn't get so lucky, he's 97th in height and 105% in weight, which puts him at a too high BMI, even with that massive height.  He's really built big, the kid has muscular thighs and shoulders that would have made the shoulder pads Linda Evans wore  in Dynasty look discrete. But he also has a 'bowl full of jelly'.  The pediatrician said he didn't want to do a weight loss plan for him, he just wants him to grow into his weight.  He does snack too much, he does like junk food too much.  He does Karate, but we've upped the ante and he has to spend some time on the elliptical if he wants to play video games and now only one snack after school instead of grazing.  I tell him it's about health, not about weight.  I tell the older one too.  No sugar treats or soda during the week either, weekends in moderation.

I'm trying.

Even if I hear grumblings that I may be abusive when I tell them they have to eat all their vegetables and their reward is just a hug and not chocolate.

I don't want my kids to struggle like I have.

Okay, back to the actual issue....(if you've been reading my blog you know I digress, I also take liberties with grammar...whatever, oh look I digressed again --- so seriously, NOW back to topic)

Kids are in school more of their life then out of school, where is the funding to have health and nutrition classes? Why is physical education one of the items to be cut out of programs?  Why is recess only ten minutes long?  And have you seen the crap that's served in school lunches.  A sugary fruit cup is NOT a fruit choice no matter how you cut it.  This is particularly important because obesity tends to run higher in low income areas and those kids are getting free and reduced lunches, so if we want to help our children, how about lobbying for healthier school lunches, longer recess and PE every day.

Okay, so I feel a bit passionately about this, it's what I'm doing my Master's project in.  That project I should be working on instead of doing this blog....so  let's just call this research (wink wink).  In an article I'm reading "Fighting an Epidemic: The role of Schools in Reducing Childhood Obesity" by Sara Pyle, et al says "Interventions targeting obesity in the schools should be designed to promote healthy weight rather than focus on losing weight or obtaining a specific weight" in fact focusing on weight reduction may cause other problems, such as growth decline or feelings of failure and exacerbate other issues such as depression or impaired self esteem.

So yes, let's get educated on obesity and obesity in children. We can do something about it, but let's go about it in an emotionally and physically healthy way.

Stepping off soap box now.

Would hate to break tradition....

Jason and I have been together since we were 16 -- amazing I know, you don't actually meet a lot of high school sweethearts that "made it".  Being together since we were 16 means we've had about 26 New Year's eve's together.  We have stayed awake for only a few of them.

One was in Vermont in 1986.  We were staying in this decrepit bed and breakfast of a friend of his dad's.  The teenage kids were having a party (strangely, Jason and I were technically also teenage kids as we were 18, but we felt so much older because we were in college - 1st semester and not high school, so there was a distinction in maturity, at least in our minds).  I was sick. The bathroom was down the hall.  Our room had two single beds that we put together.  Even with putting them together and both of us having all our clothes on, the thread bear blankets were not enough to keep us warm.  Vermont gets really really cold.  Periodically, I would make my way through the dark hallway to the dark bathroom and throw up.  I would have to climb over making-out teenagers and two girls lamenting over some other girl being a slut and how some boy just didn't know a good thing when he had it.  Jason and I decided we couldn't handle it any more and decided to leave.  But his car wouldn't start (because it was that freakin' cold).  By the time we got back to our room the teen agers had stolen our two pillows and our thread bare blankets.  So we huddled together, miserable and rang in the New Year.  His car started the next morning....thank GAWD.

The only other one I remember was 1999.  My brother and his then girlfriend (who is not his lovely wife of today, and I'm so happy about that because his lovely wife of today is wonderful), Jason's sister and her husband and Jason and I went to a fancy party at a fancy country club, dressed up and partied like it was 1999 in a we're-in-our-early-30's-have a-six-month-old-and-are-sleep-deprived-and-have-never-been-drinker-partiers kinda way.  It was fun, loved being with family, stayed awake to drink champagne with my sweetie.  Very nice experience, not sure I'd do it every year (actually pretty sure I wouldn't do it every year, since it was the only year we did it).

In those 26 years we may have stayed up another time or two and watched the ball drop.

Other then that....it's Z's at the Zimmer's.

Yesterday Jake had two back to back basketball games (won one, lost one).  They only had five players so those poor boys didn't get a break.  He came home, took a bath and passed out.  Isaac desperately wanted us all to stay up and out of the four of us, he's the one who could do it.  But since Jake's basketball tournament continues today we made him go to sleep.  Jason promised him he would set his alarm and wake him up to see the ball drop.  Isaac, didn't trust him so he set his own alarm.

I vaguely remember Isaac coming in, waking Jason up, watching the ball drop, some people yelling outside and getting a sloppy nine year old boy kiss on my cheek and a whispered, "happy New Year mommy", then it was back to Z-land for me.

Best New Year's ever.

Being home with my family, one who loves me, one who I cherish.
I am blessed!

May everyone have a blessed, restful and happy 2012!