Day off Bliss

Presently I am  nibbling a KitKat bar and enjoying the quiet.  I even enjoy the wild weather pattern that is the Pacific Northwest in the Spring. A little sunshine, a little rain, a little hail-- but whose counting.   I feel like the proverbial "Lilies of the field" I neither strive nor toil on my days off. 
I completed my scrapbook to the French West Indies at the Scrumptious Scrapbook retreat.   Sure, sure. the pictures are 24 years ago but I had to get them out of that old peel-and-stick album or my pictures would deteriorate.  Next scrapbook project will be my Honeymoon.  These pictures are a little more recent, wow, only 19 years ago.  One project at a time please.  I need to post some pictures of my completed pages.  We had such a good time at the retreat.  Making personal time to retreat once a month makes me get the scrapbook work done.  It also helps me decompress and I think I am a better Mom for it.  I love it.  I believe Dee will be opening up some one day retreats soon so keep checking her web site. 

Quinoa Recipe

Got Qinoa?  Ever heard of this high protein grain?  I had but never used it.  It is very tasty something like cous cous or bulgar wheat.  A friend warned me to always rinse your grain in water before cooking or it can become gelatinous.  I worked out the recipe from tasting it at a restaurant.  I think I came pretty close.

Using Qinoa is easy.  Measure per Measure treat it like cooking rice.  I have a rice cooker and after rinsing my grain I use 1 1/3 cup of salted water to 1 cup of Quinoa.
In a skillet I add:
2 large (costco size) cans of chicken
1 can of corn
2 cans of Caribbean black beans (they have the spice I like)
1 chopped large red pepper
1 chopped large onion
cilantro to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of key lime juice to taste
Simmer until thicken slightly and juices have merged
throw your steamed quinoa in a bowl and top with the skillet mixture and a little salsa and yum yum.   It is sooo tasty and a perfect protein too.
Bon Apetite