30 min Recipe: Chipotle CheeseSteak Pasta

Being a wife, mother, educator, blogger, entrepreneur, nutritional lifestyle coach, and environmental activist leaves very little time to be creative in the kitchen. Last Saturday I came across a restaurant inspired recipe, Chipotle CheeseSteak Pasta, while reading the local newspaper. Coincidently I had picked up lots of organic vegetables at a local farmers market last Sunday after Church, I had a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the pantry, and there were organically raised beef sirloin tips in my freezer that I snagged from a “Living Social” Labor Day Grilling deal a few weeks ago. I had all the makings of a quick, family dinner that I made for my family tonight ---

Chipotle CheeseSteak  Pasta      Makes: 4 servings     Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

¼ cup barbeque sauce                       ¼ cup A1 Steak Sauce

¼ Robusto Italian dressing                 1 small red sweet onion

1 green bell pepper                            1 red bell pepper

1 box Kraft Mac & Cheese                   1 pound boneless sirloin steak

Pinch of Lawrys Season Salt                Pinch of Black Pepper

Directions:   (preheat grill now)

1.  Combine barbeque sauce, A1 Steak Sauce, Robusto Italian Dressing in large bowl. Add Boneless Sirloin Steak to sauce mixture, and mix well until beef is completely covered. Place bowl with meat in the refrigerator to marinade.

2.   Thinly slice onion, red pepper, and green pepper. Mix. Set aside in a vegetable grilling basket.

3.   Prepare Kraft Macaroni & Cheese per box instructions. Start boiling water in medium sized pot. (cook time 10 min)

4.   Place marinated Beef Sirloin Tips, and veggies inside basket on grill. Set timer for 12 min. After first 12 min, turn beef tips over. Remove veggie basket if veggies are soft to touch. Cook beef tips on other side for 12 min. Remove beef tips from grill after 24 min total.  

5.   Slice Beef Sirloin Tips thinly. Set aside.

6.   Place prepared Mac & Cheese on large serving platter. Place sliced Sirloin Tips on top of Mac & Cheese, and then place mixture of veggies on top of Sirloin Tips. Serve and enjoy.

Since it is summer now, I chose to grill the meat and veggies. However, for this recipe the beef and veggies can be prepared on a stove in a skillet. I’m sure other meats can be substituted for beef – chicken, Italian sausage, or Turkey are some suggestions. 

My family loved this recipe, and ate it all up. I will definitely add it to my dinner recipe rotation. My goal is to find 20 new recipes to recycle for dinner during the month of September. Do you have any 30 minute dinner recipes to share with me? I will continue my 20 recipe search, but I would love your help. Show me what skills you have in the kitchen? Let’s make dinner creative again. Here we go!

The NIA E.R. Project: The Plastic Bag Diet

If people really knew how much plastic shopping bags are hurting the environment, maybe they wouldn't roll their eyes so hard when I pull out my reusable canvas shopping bags.Usually I carry 4 reusable canvas shopping bag, and 1 insulated shopping bag during each grocery shopping trip. In fact, Walmart.com  has a very nice insulated black shopping bag for only $10.



I'm very proud to say that I am still on the plastic bag diet, and I have been off plastic bags since July 1. I have even eliminated plastic garbage bags in my home completely, and I don't miss them at all. Actually I am using less bags when I shop, and I'm not polluting the oceans. Just check out my neatly compacted $50 shopping trip from Walmart. Best of all, I can carry all of this into the house in TWO trips.

I've also found out that Shoprite gives $.05 deduction off your grocery shopping total for each bag "reused." My grandmother always said, "A Penny saved, is a Penny earned. If you don't believe her, check out this chart below that shows how much money could be earned by doubling the amount of money saved the previous day. 

Shopping with reusable canvas shopping bags helps cut down the manufacture of plastic bags, which helps reduce the number of plastic bags floating in the oceans, and best of all you can earn "money" while saving the lives of countless marine animals. Do you want to save money on your next shopping trip? If you answered yes, then stop using plastic bags today. Did you know that 26 Glad Tall Kitchen Trash bags cost about $7? $7 x 12 months = $84, so you can save about $100 annually just by not using plastic garbage bags. Did you hear those pennies hit the bottom of your savings account??? Ca-ching! Get yourself some reusable canvas shopping bags, and let the savings begin......Here we go!

A Dog Day Afternoon: National Dog Day

Are you a dog lover? Have you ever wondered what life would be without dogs? Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always had a dog as a pet. In my mind, a house is not a home unless a dog is living there with you. My earliest memory of my love affair with dogs has to be when I was living with my family in a very “urban” New Jersey town. There were several abandoned buildings between my house and the Catholic grammar school I attended. During my walk to and from school (children were allowed to do that back in the day), I would always come across a stray dog or two. I would save food bits in my “Scooby Doo” lunchbox to feed them, because even as a child I knew they were hungry. One time I found a mother and her puppies in an old bordered up house, and I would squeeze through the iron fence to reach them in the front doorway. I would play with them every afternoon after school until they weren’t there anymore. I never knew what happened to that dog family, but those afternoons with them will always be a happy childhood memory for me.

At the age of 10, my mother moved us to “suburbia,” a quaint small town in New Jersey. It was there that got my first dog Quincy. One afternoon I had accompanied my mother to the grocery store. A lady had a black lab puppy in a shopping cart in front of the store. She was asking shoppers to take this puppy home, because she couldn’t  keep it. I looked in that cart, and there was a tiny black ball of fur wrapped in a powder blue blanket. The little puppy looked up at me, and I knew immediately that this dog had to be mine. My mother and I listened to her story, and with a little begging we took that puppy home the same day. Actually, that day was the start of my love affair with dogs. I named that puppy, Quincy (after the medical show with the same name starring Jack Klugman - from The Odd Couple TV show), and immediately fell in love with him. I fed him. I trained him. I held him. I talked to him. I walked him. I took care of him. I loved him.


My mother was a gracious host to the animal farm in my head and in the house. I had convinced my mother to allow me to keep the puppy, and later she allowed me to keep a plethora of fish, a beautiful Dutch rabbit I named Oreo, and many of my classroom pets that always seem to be in my home during school vacations. Thinking about animals was all I could do as a child, and I would draw pictures of the animals in my mind's eye to display on the refrigerator in our home. I even watched TV shows with animals – Lassie, Mr. Ed, and my favorite was Snoopy from Peanuts. I was only 10 years old, and all the animals in my home were my responsibility. I always felt so proud and happy to have my pets around me. They gave me years of happiness, and for a shy little girl from the big city - that meant the world to me.

Since my childhood dog Quincy (Labrador Retriever), I’ve had Cham (German Shepard, Collie mix), Aurora and Missy (Rotweillers), Lucky (Cocker Spaniel), Taco (Chihuahua), and finally Foxie Boy (Chihuahua). Today Lucky and Foxie Boy live with me and my family in a beautiful home in Suburban NJ. My daughters, S and N, have definitely gotten the doggy love bug from me. I initially got Lucky for S as a little girl, Taco and Foxie Boy were definitely for N. Last school year, N chose a back pack with two brown Labrador puppies on the front. Dora and Hello Kitty came in at a distant second and third respectively.  N is a dog lover in training for sure.

N and Taco playing in the backyard last summer.

One afternoon two years ago, I went to see a lady that had Chihuahua puppies for sale. She lived in the most quaint little Jersey Shore town I've ever seen. When I entered her house, and she led me to a room with a sea of puppies all huddled together in the corner. Every time she reached down to get one, the whole pack would run to another corner of the room. It was hilarious to watch those little Chihuahua legs move so quickly across the floor. During one of the puppy shuffles, I reached down and scooped up this shaking ball of black, white, and tan fur. I sat on the floor and held him up to toward the daylight shining through the oversized window, and we were face to face. I knew at that very moment that little doggy had to be mine. He came home with me that same day. My husband named the puppy, Taco, because of his extra small size and the fact that his doggy ancestors are from Mexico. 

Foxie Boy relaxing in the kitchen.

My husband named Foxie Boy too. We agreed that Foxie looks like a very good looking Fox, and Nylah added the "Boy" that stuck kind of reminiscent of "Boy George's" moniker (because he so gorgeous and he's a male dog). My husband jokes that the newest member of our pet family, Foxie Boy, is the son I never had, and I know he’s right. Before my husband announced that he didn’t want any more children a few years ago, I just couldn’t understand the term “pet parent.” What is that? How can a human being be a parent to a dog? a cat? a Bird? But now that I think about it, that’s exactly what I’ve been since I was 7 years old taking care of that doggy family in that abandoned building around the corner from my home in that very "urban" New Jersey town. 

Of course I know that a dog can never be my son, but every one of my dogs were/are a part of my family. In fact I’ll go so far as to say that a house is not a home unless there is a dog living inside with you. Yes I said it (sorry cat lovers). Dogs hold a special place in my heart – always have, and always will. A family home is the perfect environment for dogs. Have you ever wondered how dogs make the transition from family to family almost effortlessly? After watching countless episodes of Cesar Milan and "The Dog Whisperer," I know that Dogs love to be a part of a pack. A pack  - whether human or animal - is a family. More importantly, when children learn to take care of a dog, they learn a life long lesson about caring for all living things - people, animals, plants, and the earth. If you want to raise compassionate, loving, caring children, then get them a dog. In my opinion, every child should have a dog.


Why do I prefer dogs over cats? Having a dog as a pet is like having a best friend for life. All of us need love, and dogs give love to us all. When I turn that key in the lock of my house, my dogs are waiting there to greet me with the unrestrained enthusiasm of a Justin Beiber groupie. For about five minutes I am their biggest fan. I could turn right around, go out the door, and then come back in the house to the same revelry I received just five minutes earlier. My dogs show me this level of love each and every day, and I do the same for them without jumping on them of course. How many of you dog lovers have had the worst day imaginable, but your troubles seem to melt away as soon as you pet your dog? Have you ever been sad or sick, and your dog didn’t leave your side until you were better? 

 N dressed Lucky in a wedding gown. 

Dogs are the most resilient, lovable, loyal, and caring animals on the face of the earth. No matter how terrible they were treated in the past, they seem to be able to love their caregivers unconditionally – once the people and the environment change for the better of course. Case in point, Lucky was rescued at the age of 4 from an animal shelter in New York. One afternoon I packed some chicken, left my apartment in NJ, and took the 1 hour 30 minute ride to an animal shelter in Long Island, NY. The lady let me take a small black freshly groomed cocker spaniel outside the facility for a walk. He was so happy to be out of that cage that we almost ran away from the building. I bent down to get a good look at him in the sunlight, and to my surprise that little black dog’s eyes were tearing. I lifted up his snout to look at his face, and I knew at that very moment that this dog had to me mine. Lucky came home with me that same day. I knew nothing about Lucky’s prior life, and he knew nothing about my current life. Lucky was so well trained that I knew he had been a part of someone’s family. Training that thorough had to be professionally done. It makes me sad even today to think what could have happened to get him landed in that shelter, but 8 years later I am so glad he was there waiting for me on that hot July afternoon in 2004. I named the little black dog Lucky because we were so very "Lucky" to have such a great dog join our family. Do you consider your dog to be a member of your family? I sure do.

I guess many dog owners feel the same way I do about dogs being a member of the family. Today many pet parents across America are celebrating “National Dog Day.” In the past I may not have even thought twice about taking a day to celebrate dogs, but know that Taco is gone I say YES to this doggy celebration. Why celebrate a dog? Why not? Even plants like special treatment. In honor of the celebration I picked up a plush football toy for Foxie Boy at Walgreen’s today, and Lucky got a special dinner with “human” food (he loves his belly full LOL). If they could talk to me right now, I’m sure they would say, “Rank Rouuu.”

No I’m not crazy, but I am crazy about dogs. Have you ever looked into a dog’s eyes, and actually felt your souls connecting? If so, I would really like to know because I’m thinking that it’s just me. It hasn’t happened with all of my dogs, but it has happened with three of them. Can you guess which ones?

A Little Dog Angel - The Aftermath

Never in a million years could I fathom what DID happen next? All I know is that in a blink of an eye our lives changed forever…. 

 (Taco wearing a candy corn sweater I crocheted last Halloween.)

I answer the cell phone in the bathroom. S is screaming over car traffic noise, “Mom, Taco got away. He’s running through the streets.”

I answer frantically, “ Where is he? Where is N? Can’t N get him?” “Don’t panic. I’m coming right down.” I grab my hotel key. I’m still in my bathing suit, but I run to the elevator. It seems like it took an hour. The elevator door opens, and I jump inside. “Where is he now?” 

The ride down three floors took forever, and finally the elevator doors open. All of a sudden I hear S yelling,“NNOOOOOO. AAAAAAH. Mom he just got run over by a car. Oh my God!” 

I race through the lobby. I race through the automatic doors of the hotel entrance. Breathless I look to the left. I don’t see S, N, or Taco. “Where are you? Where are you?” I look to the right, and I see N running toward me. I start running full speed. I race across the street as fast as my legs will go without looking. I put my arms around N, and drag her with me. I can see S now, but no Taco. S is standing between two parked cars holding her hand over her mouth, and there is a strange man on his knees looking underneath the parked car. “Where is he?”

S is shaking. “Mom he is so scared. A car ran over the back of his body. He won’t come out.”

“OK.” I kneel down to look underneath the car, and there is Taco hiding behind the rear right tire. “OMG!” I remember thinking, he looks so scared. The strange man is looking over my shoulder. “Taco. Taco. Come here baby.” Taco doesn’t move, so I reached out to grab his neck. I pull him gently towards, and pick him up. Taco body goes limp, and I cradle him against my body. 

The strange man says, “you should take him to the doctor. Dogs don’t always show that they are hurt. My dog fell down the stairs, and my wife found out two months later that he broke his leg.”

“I will. I will take him right now.” I start walking back to the hotel. S and N are walking behind me trying to keep up. 

A woman jumps out her car, “Is he ok? I didn’t see him.”

“I’m not sure. I have to take him to the doctor.” S whispers in my ear, “She wasn’t the one. She didn’t hit him with her car.” I look at the woman. Her eyes are filled with concern. “I’m sure he will be ok. Thank you for stopping.” 

We continue walking to the hotel. “S take N upstairs. I’m going to try to get the Veterinarian information.” I didn’t want to upset them anymore than necessary. Just as I see the elevator doors close, I realize that I had given S my phone when I was on the ground getting Taco. Now what am I going to do?

The check in line in the lobby was longer than I would have liked, so I walk up to the counter. All eyes fall on me immediately. “Excuse me. I have an emergency. My dog was just run over by a car. I really need to get the name of a 24 hour animal hospital. Can you help me?” The hotel clerk says, “just a minute.” And she actually continues with the hotel customer. My arms immediately felt like I was carrying 1000 pounds. I bent down to put Taco on the floor, and our eyes meet. Taco looked so wounded, and I can’t help him at all. Why did this happen to him? Taco was the sweetest dog ever. I was wondering what S and N must be feeling now. 

“Excuse me miss. I can search a vet for you on my iPhone.”

I jump to my feet. “Oh, thank you. It is very nice of you to help me. My dog is really hurt.”

“I found three animal hospitals near the hotel.”

Choking back tears I say, “Thank you. Thank you.”

The young man looks at the hotel clerk, “Can we please have a pen and paper?”

The clerk responds, “Was the dog hit by a guest of the hotel?”

“What?, No. I’m not sure who hit my dog. Thank you” as I take the pen and paper. I write down the three numbers, pick up Taco, and start walking toward the elevator. 

I enter the room to see S and N sitting on the beds. They jump up and walk toward me. “Maybe you and N should go to the hotel restaurant. I am going to take Taco to the Animal Hospital. You too must be really hungry.”

Nylah looks at Taco, and pats his head. “Mommy is Taco going to be ok.”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to take him to see a doctor." Here S take N downstairs, and get something to eat.” I hand her some cash, and they both exit through the big brown door. I place Taco on his bed, and I hear him moan. Oh my poor little buddy is so scared. I start dialing the numbers, and I reach a live person at a 24 hour emergency pet hospital. The woman says that the hospital is about 30 minutes away. I change my clothes quickly, pick up Taco, and walk out the room to the elevator. 

…… I remember thinking “What happened to my little buddy?” It’s quite apparent that he is hurt, but now I was the one who was really scared. I consider myself an eternal optimist, but I was having a hard time with this accident. I was feeling very uneasy. “What will happen to my little Taco?”

Never in a million years could I fathom what DID happen next? All I know is that in a blink of an eye our lives changed forever….