Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Every now and then I make a recipe that Eddie raves about. He has approved this dish to be on our regular rotation! It's so easy and healthy. We paired it with a light Caesar salad. Eddie prefers this with no sauce, but you can easily serve this with a cream of chicken soup as a topping. Enjoy!
               

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded to 1/2 inch thickness

6 string cheese or slices of low fat Sargento Mozzarella Cheese                                                

18 slices of thin sliced ham deli meat

1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs (panko crispy Italian is my favorite)                                                 

Cooking spray 

1/2 tsp salt (optional-mix with bread crumbs)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Lay out the pounded chicken breasts on a clean surface. Place 3 slices of ham on each piece, then one stick or slice of cheese. Roll the chicken up around the cheese and ham, and secure with toothpicks. Spray the chicken with cooking spray, then roll in bread crumbs. Place in a shallow baking dish.
3. Bake for 40 minutes in the preheated oven.

The Grill Master General

Who knew Eddie had a gift for grilling? We broke in the new grill with some hot dogs and drumsticks. Next up, maybe ribs. I had some leftover ground turkey so I made dumplings for the first time without Dad. It was nice to have Eddie wrap a few even though I teased him for overstuffing them. Wish our family was here to enjoy the good food and fun. We have some great trips to look forward to, but somehow they just seem so far away at the moment. To pass the time, I've signed up for my 7th half marathon - Run with the Jets when I visit my family in a couple of weeks. What's exciting about this is that my mom will be walking the 5k so we'll both celebrate with medals! Here's to a eating well this week!



Grill Master General in motion.



Olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. 45 min on the grill on med-hi heat.
Drumsticks were crispy and tasty.


Easy Dumpling Recipe

• One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
• thawed 1/2 pound ground chicken or turkey
• 1 scallion, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger finely minced
• 1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine or sherry
• 2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Squeeze out all excess liquid from thawed spinach. In a bowl, mix together spinach, chicken, scallion, ginger, rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Wrap with potsticker wrappers. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until they float. 



We Got a Grill!

There's something very grown-up about having a real grill. After toying with a portable charcoal grill, we finally decided to go with this one. Here's Eddie proudly showing off our newest addition to our home. Looks great on our patio.



A man with a grill is a happy man.

Huntington Beach Getaway

Huntington Beach, also known as Surf City USA because of having the most surf shops per square ft. and surfers in the water, was just what we needed. We started off our getaway at The Sky Room, a dinner at the first Hilton hotel. Surprisingly, we drove the route of the Long Beach Half marathon. The drive was much less strenuous, but still a good 40 min. away from our hotel. We took the old elevator to the top floor where dined with sweeping views of the city. Eddie ordered the short ribs with gnocchi and I had the ahi tuna with soba noodles. The night before I surprised Eddie with a swing dancing class, so with a live band, we attempted to show off some of our moves. It was nice to take in a run in the am, while Eddie opted for the super nice gym onsite. We had a relaxing lunch at the resort in the shade. Although we had planned on going to Oktoberfest nearby, we opted to not drive and took a walk across the street to the beach boardwalk where we rented a surrey bike. It's a lot harder than it looks! We didn't go anywhere very fast, but it was a fun day.

Dessert - Panna Cotta, Bread Pudding, and Crème Brulee

The Sky Room

Surrey Bike

Eddie couldn't resist a photo op by the fountains at our hotel.

Go Yankees!
 

Los Angeles and Wine Country

Me and Mom at my fitting.

We had an action packed weekend with my mom in town. First, Mom and I drove to LA to pick up my wedding dress. While I was a little nervous about my mom's reaction since she had said she had liked another dress better based on photos I had shown her, I breathed a sigh of relief when she said the dress was beautiful! My dress designer couldn't have been more sweet to us with all of tips and patiently explaining the nuances of slight alternations for the dress. Having watched a gazillion episodes of "Say yes to the dress", she reacted like any mom did when the designer put on a veil. My mom said, "I can't believe my daughter is getting married," and she was glowing with happiness. Of course, she raved about how perfect Eddie is - I couldn't agree more. The next day we visited Temecula for a lunch at a winery and then followed by a champagne tasting. The favorite of the day was Wilson's Creek Molly Medley with a miniature pig on the label - who can resist the pig in a tutu? We had more than our share of some fantastic meals beginning at the Lumberyard and ending with dim sum. Can't wait for the next visit.

Mom initially declined, but then couldn't help saying yes to Rose. 

These grapes were very sweet.

Eddie was very hot here.

America's Finest City

I couldn't be more proud of us for completing our 6th half marathon! Now we can also say that we've actually ran the San Diego Airport - we discovered this as we were running on airport roads today. While we went in feeling unprepared, we somehow managed to run a decent race. Eddie ran without walking and thanks to our Fitbit - it tracked that he took 23,000 steps and burned over 2500 calories. We could not have had better weather, overcast and chilly in the am.

Pros
Generally flat, downhill at mile 4
Never felt too crowded
Lots of water stations
Cool weather
Plenty of bathrooms (but no soap and water stations)
Well-organized
Timely shuttles pick up and drop off

Cons
Gatorade really? it was grape flavored water - I'll take the real stuff!
Big hill at mile 12
Seemed to be a 30 min shuttle ride to the start line
Host hotel - long lines to check in - Sheraton needs better communication on alternate check in spots
No fanfare - even the start of the race was not announced - people just started running
This is truly a runner's race, no gimmicks, just a well run organized race - no frills.
Course was not as scenic as I would have liked, we ran by a cemetery at the 1 mile mark.
Post race food nothing special/bananas, bars, coconut water, some kind of sports energy drink
No post race party - although they were supposed to have a band, not much going on

A nice turn after a hill at the 12 mile mark

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

 

There is nothing like the sight of the finish line.

At the medical tent in some serious pain!

Ice pack in one hand and cliff bar in the other.

Back at the hotel and ready to shower and get some grub!

 

Yankees vs. Padres 2 weeks earlier at Petco Park

 

50th Wedding Anniversary

It was such an honor to celebrate Eddie's parents' wedding anniversary this past weekend. We celebrated at St. Patrick's Cathedral where celebrities like Mariah Carey got married. The cathedral was under construction, which obstructed the architectural beauty, but it didn't take anything away from the beautiful sight of 400 couples renewing their vows. Big Ed's toast was well put as he thanked everyone for joining in the celebration and shared his wish that everyone at the table can celebrate their 50th with their respective partners. How touching and inspirational! Thanks to Monica and Jason for their hospitality and the Arirang birthday song will continue to ring in our ears.

Giant bagels or regular sized bagels if you're from NY. The cinnamon raisin was out of bounds good.

A beautiful family photo opp. Eddie, Mary Ann, Eddie Sr., Patricia, Michelle, Monica, Sister Genevieve

Couldn't help snapping a shot of my engagement ring. Love it.

Us on a bus. Eddie being silly.

The whole gang.

We got suite level tickets, which was pretty sweet. I am the first to eat sushi at a baseball game with Eddie.

The bride and groom!