Friday, March 26, 2010

A Word of Warning

Do you remember how I mentioned I've been having wrist/hand issues and had to buy a brace?

Well, I went to the doctor today just to have it checked out, and I found out that I do have carpal tunnel syndrome. The doctor turned my hands over (palms up) and could tell right awa. He showed me how the nerves at the base of my right-hand thumb had collapsed. The fleshy part below my thumb on my right hand was almost flat. On my left hand, it's rounded (like it should be). He's sending me to a neurologist to test how bad the nerve damage is.

Considering I write/type for a living, this is really not good news. Still, it could be worse right?

This is all just to say... be sure that you are using proper posture and alignment when using a computer. Oh, and stop texting. It's really harmful to your hands, and honestly, who needs it?

Okay, so anywho... on to better news.

Last night, I made amazing pasta using the leftover chicken from Wednesday's chicken disaster. I made it using a bunch of leftovers we had.

Chicken Fiesta Pasta

Ingredients
-Shredded Cooked Chicken (I used probably 2-3 cups because that's what I had leftover.)
-1 cup light sour cream
-1 box whole wheat rotini pasta
-1/2 cup black beans
-2 tbsp taco sauce (salsa would work too)
-1 can cream of chicken (healthy request)
-1/4 cup nonfat milk
-1/4 cup 2% shredded cheese
-Nonstick spray

Directions
Boil pasta as directed, drain.

Preheat over to 350.

Shred chicken in a large bowl. Mix in black beans, sour cream, soup, cheese and taco sauce. Mix well. Add in shredded cheese. Next, add the pasta. Mix all ingredients together. Spray a glass baking dish (9x13) and pour contents of bowl into the dish, patting out the noodles to fill the bowl. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 mins. Uncover, add in milk, stir, and bake for 5 more minutes.

Serve with a vegetable or fruit to round out the meal.




This was really good. Obviously, not that low calorie, but it's a feel-good meal that uses lower fat ingredients to create a meal that can be frozen for other nights or to feed an entire family for dinner and lunch the next day.

***Silly Survey Time***

Cooking Survey

How often do you cook meals at home?
What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen?
Where do you get most of the receipes you use?
Do you own an outdoor grill?
When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons?
Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction?

(My answers below.)

Tootles...

10 comments:

  1. How often do you cook meals at home? almost every single day
    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen? electric all the way!!!
    Where do you get most of the receipes you use? I very rarely use recipes, but when I do, I get them online.
    Do you own an outdoor grill? No, but we'll soon be able to have one, so it's on the list.
    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? YES!!!!
    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? Nope, but I would actually really enjoy taking a cooking class someday to learn more

    ReplyDelete
  2. How often do you cook meals at home? We have a $100/month budget for eating out. So we cook almost every night. Right now my husbands doing a lot of the cooking.

    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen? Gas! I love the stove part but the oven start by heating an electric coil and then pumping in gas. It results in lots of gas fumes in the kitchen right after turning on the oven. Not cool. We called maintance and he said that's normal just turn on the fan or open a window!?!

    Where do you get most of the receipes you use? My favorite cookbook is The New Best Recipes from Cook's Illustrated. I also rely heavily on The Moosewood Cookbook and The Joy of Cooking.

    Do you own an outdoor grill? We have a gas grill. It was a wedding present. But we don't have an patio or balcony. Right now the grill in sitting in the corner of the living room. Luckily it's the type that is made to collapse. We usually take it camping with us.

    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? Sometimes. I'm not a big clipper. I don't buy a lot of the prefab items and those are generally what has coupons.

    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? Nope.

    ReplyDelete
  3. so sorry about your carpal tunnel:( but a great meal was made after:)

    How often do you cook meals at home? 6/7 nights a week
    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen? electric
    Where do you get most of the recipes you use? one of the like 15 cookbooks i have, online, or other blogs:)
    Do you own an outdoor grill? not yet - cant have one at the townhouse complex we live in, but when we buy a house we will for sure!
    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? yes! we dont get a paper delivered, so the coupons i use are from online or grocery store receipts
    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? no, but my bff and i are taking a cooking class for asian dumplings in april!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I started getting carpal tunnel-like symptoms when I was going through programing classes in college. Something that helped me immensely was the adaption of a new keyboarding layout. Now, it's not for everyone, but after switching to a layout like Dvorak or Dvorak-righthand, I noticed immediate relief. It did take about 2 weeks of snail paced typing, but the change was worth it, and I eventually began to type faster. It may be worth a look:

    http://www.dvorak-keyboard.com/

    I printed and posted a picture of the two keyboard layouts on my monitor in order to learn (I still have problems touch-typing qwerty, but never dvorak).

    How often do you cook meals at home? -
    I'll usually make my own meals at least once a day, and cook them about 4 times a week. Usually I get most of my food from Starbucks!

    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen?
    My current apartment has an electric stove, and I long for the days of gas stove-ing.

    Where do you get most of the receipes you use? -
    Most of my recipes come from a dirty old cookbook my father gave me when I moved to college, or from the internet.

    Do you own an outdoor grill? -
    No, Though in the market for one!

    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? -
    No

    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? -
    Only the days in the kitchen as a child when my father attempted to pass on some of his knowledge. The only thing that really stuck was his ability to make crepes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. That meal looks amazing and I am so going to have to try it! Sorry to hear about your wrist. I type a lot for my job too and my wrist / lower arm has been feeling a bit numb lately. You've motivated me to get it checked out and to do something about it early, rather than pushing it off!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sorry to hear about your carpal tunnel. A girl at my work has it really bad and we had to order her something for her keyboard. Texting has been a huge problem in people these days. There was a recent article on a 16-y/o w/ carpal tunnel who has braces on her wrists and shes STILL texting. Unbelievable.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How often do you cook meals at home? We only eat out maybe once per week...if that. So all the time pretty much.

    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen? Electric. I would prefer gas.

    Where do you get most of the recipes you use? I have a ton of cookbooks and I get some online. Some times I eat some thing some where else and replicate it and some times I just wing it :)

    Do you own an outdoor grill? Yes...and love it.

    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? Yes. My MIL and my mom send them to me in the mail and I get them online.

    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? Nope...it would be fun though!

    Sorry about the carpal tunnel. My mom had that and had to have surgery. Ergonomic keyboards are the way to go. Even for a laptop you can plug it in and use it instead of the attached one.

    The chicken pasta looks good....I'll have to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cooking Survey

    I am definitely going to try that fiesta chicken recipe! I love how easy your meals are... I think I'm starting to enjoy cooking ;) I love that my roomie commented on your blog. So cute! hehe.

    How often do you cook meals at home? Couple times a week.

    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen? Electric but I also prefer gas!

    Where do you get most of the receipes you use?
    You spelled recipes wrong... I get most from my fabulous friend Jazz who knows how to cook.

    Do you own an outdoor grill? Nope, but also in the market for one :)

    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? No. I feel they make you actually spend MORE money on things you don't actually need at the time, but think you may need.

    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? I wish!

    ReplyDelete
  9. How often do you cook meals at home? Nearly every night!

    What type of stove do you have in your home kitchen? Electric..

    Where do you get most of the receipes you use? Honestly I just cook-but if i want to try something new I look online.

    Do you own an outdoor grill? yes and it is used OFTEN!

    When shopping for food and groceries, do you use coupons? No but I should!

    Have you ever had any culinary training or instruction? Does 9th grade cooking class count?

    <3 S

    ReplyDelete

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