Potato Kielbasa Skillet

One thing that I love about pinterest (you should follow me...hint hint), is the recipes. See I am one of those people that is a visual eater. Whenever I go to restaurants, I always look at what the waiter is bringing the table next to me and then wanting to ask them what they ordered and if I could try it...lol. I have never done it, but could you imagine if I did.

I love being able to first see what the food looks like, then look at the recipe to see if it will be something I like. This recipe seemed to have yummy stuff in it and we like smoked sausage in our house.

I didn't take pictures of cooking it, but of the final product. The boy said it was one of his favorite meals and he has a picky palette.

Potato Kielbasa Skillet

original recipe by Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 pound red potatoes, cubed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 3/4 pound smoked kielbasa or Polish sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 5 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

Directions

• Place potatoes and water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 4 minutes or until tender; drain.
• In a large skillet, saute kielbasa and onion in oil until onion is tender. Add potatoes; saute 3-5 minutes longer or until kielbasa and potatoes are lightly browned.
• Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, thyme and pepper; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 2-3 minutes or until heated through. Add spinach and bacon; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

Almost an impulse purchase...

Yep and it would have been for me to play with!

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cute tuesday

animals in hoodies edition - could it get anymore cuter??

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i am contemplating not doing cute tuesday anymore...do you think it should stick around?

december goals

free people christmas window

december goals

: get all christmas postcards out by the 10th:

: go to christmas village:

: go to the gym at least 2 times a week:

: post 2 recipes a week:

: try to get scarfs done:

: do shimmelle's journal christmas this year!:

: neighbor gifts done by 16th:

lots of goals and to dos this month. my hope is to stay focused and not lose momentum and sleep until christmas eve! wouldn't that be nice?

what is your top goals this month?

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bye bye...

bye bye November

where did this month go? i love the fall and wish it was at least 2 months longer for apple cider, trees turning colors, pumpkins everywhere and nice walks in the cool brisk air.

but with saying goodbye to November, I say....

hello December

i am not ready for you. i have many more gifts to make, parades and plays to go to, presents to wrap, candy and cookies to make and a house to decorate.

can we stop time just for a few weeks? no? ok...fine!

i am working on some homemade gifts for family (which i will not post until after the holidays), waiting for my christmas cards to come in the mail. the great thing is i had a few people tell me they are looking forward to them, cause we do picture cards every year. one year is a nice pic, the next year is a crazy, silly one.

here are the last 3 years of holiday pictures just in case you are new or missed them. they are a lot of fun to do and we love planning them. we especially love that everyone looks forward to them.

christmas 2008

rock star life

christmas 2009

last christmas in our coppell, tx house

christmas 2010

ugly sweater christmas

this year is a nice picture, my lovely friend was nice enough to take some quick pictures for us as a repayment for me taking her family pictures. i will show them later this month.

i hope everyone is ready for this month! i am slowly getting there and maybe after this weekend i can breathe a little easier.

happy december and i will be back tomorrow with my december goals, which include, cooking, fitness and memorable holiday activities.

stuff on my cat : edition 1

ohhh hai there!

if you are coming over from pinterest, "HELLO"!!

I am going to start posting all the magic that I find on pinterest and what i make from it. so far, 90% has been food...but who doesn't like knowing if those recipes actually work?

yeah, some of them come from other wonderful blogging sites, but since i have a slight obsession with cooking magazines, well magazines in general...it is always scary to try new recipes with family awaiting hungrily.

some of my favorite magazines for cooking are taste of home, food network, southern living and rachael ray.

i hope you will stop by often and say hello and introduce yourself to me and if you have pinterest - leave your user name so i can follow you too!

happy turkey giving day

ok, you don't really give a turkey...haha sounds like some sort of slang for not really caring. do turkey's care? hmm...thought to ponder on.

so hopefully you will see a lot more of me. i have been dormant. work changed, i came off/coming off medicine that i think was making my motivation/creativity hide way inside my body. maybe someday i will chat about that journey.

but moving on from the boring stuff! i am hoping to post more, will be sponsoring some blogs in the next couple of months with some awesome giveaways and also posting recipes. i have been cooking up a storm and loving it more and more. i am not on facebook anymore, but will be using twitter to promote these items...so if you are on twitter you should add me! go do it now...kimistarr...did you do it...no?, i will wait. done? ok, good!

so tomorrow is thanksgiving. i am thankful for a lot of things and this year has allowed me to realize everything around me and appreciate what i have. and that i can change things if i don't like it.

so quick list of thankfulness.

*charlie and kaitlyn - i love our little family!

*my family

*having a job and having a roof over my head and food in my fridge

*my animals that help me relax a little and not take life so seriously.

*my health...had a rough time with it this year, but hopefully will get better.

*my friends, even though i sometimes thought no one stuck around after i secluded myself emotionally and physically from the world.

*the internet, phone, tv, etc... allows me to grow and absorb amazing knowledge everyday and be in contact with people i would never meet.

*life. we are here for a purpose, treat yourself, put yourself first and don't let anyone push you around!

i hope everyone has a great one.

oh, one more thing...

my name is kimi and i am addicted to pinterest (but in a good way)! blogs coming about my pins, food and crafts made and how i am going to change the world

what i *honestly* wore wednesday

so i decided to participate in maryam of pamplemousse's, what i honestly wore wednesday! i see all these posts of what i wore wednesday and if you know me...i am not one for fashion. i work where i can wear pretty much whatever cause i am locked up in the "cave" all day.

i work for a property management company and do random computer things and don't really deal with people too often.

today was running and slightly cold...i was hoping it was colder (note the sweatshirt), but now it is sunny and in the 80's. bummer dallas clouds, bring me some damn rain! but only at work or home, cause the drivers here think it is the Apocalypse when the weather changes slightly.

so here is what i wore...for reals!

old navy pink t-shirt with polar bears and hearts

american eagle sweatshirt

jeans

avis tennis shoes*

*story about these shoes. last october i was in vegas shooting a wedding and was trying to come home, only to find out they overbooked the flight for seats...bummer! even more of a bummer, my suitcase made the flight. "bye suitcase, hope you like the flight! cause now i am stuck without anything and the next flight is in the morning."

so i went to the outlet stores to find some things to hold me over, pjs, change of undies, makeup (the necessities) and i found these shoes. now see it is hard for me to find shoes at outlet places or any place for that fact. i wear a size 11...hello big foot coming through, grab your children!

so i grabbed these shoes cause the store was about to close in 10 minutes and i had to catch my shuttle back to the hotel.

these were just some cheap tennis shoes for the flight and since have become my go to tennis shoes. they are comfy and warm, i don't tie them...cause i am lazy and really don't see myself running for my life.

ok, end of story....moral - sometimes quick buy shoes that you don't need become your favorite pair.

cute tuesday

i hope my future child is as adorable as this one is!!

via my pinterest

cute tuesday!

oh foxes always remind me of fall...i love them!

{xo}

totally amazing

a to z about muah!

A. Age: 31

B. Bed size: King, we got it last December and I love it!

C. Chore that you hate: cleaning the bathroom and doing dishes

D. Dogs: 3 right now Lucy (pitbull/border collie), Kai (rhodesian/shepard) and our foster dog for now Molly!

E. Essential start to your day: Petting my kitty Bleu and iced tea

F. Favorite color: Bluish/Gray

G. Gold or Silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'8"

I. Instruments you play: Dabble on the piano, used to play clarinet for 6 years, saxophone. Want to learn violin, accordion and guitar.

J. Job title: Admin assistant for property management company.

K. Kids: 1 part time. My fiance' daughter Kaitlyn, she is 9.

L. Live: Flower Mound, TX

M. Mother’s name: Penny

N. Nicknames: Kim, Kimi, KimTom, Kimitots

O. Overnight hospital stays: when i had my 2 hip surgeries

P. Pet peeves: People who are fake and try to be someone they are not. Flakers, people who chew with their mouths open, people who don't use blinkers.

Q. Quote from a movie: "One day you are normal, the next you are like the Chinese guy from Karate Kid. What is with you today?"; "What's with today, today?" -Empire Records

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: Younger sister, Heather.

T. Time you wake up: 6:45-7:00 am

U. Underwear: fun ones that are comfy

V. Vegetable you hate: Jalapenos, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts...gross!

W. What makes you run late: traffic and sleeping in

X. X-Rays you’ve had: Hips, teeth, wrist

Y. Yummy food that you make: Tacos, homemade pizza, carne asada, pot roast

Z. Zoo animal: Tigers, I love the big cats!

Hope you enjoyed learning a little about me...if you do this too - comment so I can go read!

august :5:

august :4:

august break :3:

dessert tonight. yummy southern blackberry cobbler ice cream - taken with instagram on ipod touch.

august break :2:

Lucy: Pitbull/Border Collie
Age: 9 1/2 human years
Likes: treats, dog park, belly rubs
Dislikes: thunder, fireworks, bathes

Taken with Camera+ Diana effect

:Kimi:

cute tuesday - puppy addition

for this week's edition of cute tuesday - here are some rhodesian ridgeback puppies. we have a ridgy mix that we got from the pound. they are amazing dogs, very loyal and great cuddlers.

all images via pinterest

august break!

i saw this over at danielle's blog. i have been trying to take more pics...with either my phone, ipod touch, dslr or my polaroid. check out susannah's cute blog and sign up and grab a fun button.


here is 8.1.11
my adorable charlie. he does this funny face when i tell him to smile, reminds me of a 4 year old. boys never change!

taken with htc evo - vignette toy camera bw

fear is only as deep...

as the mind allows. Japanese Proverb

today was the end of 5 weeks. i can't believe i have stuck to this for the past 5 weeks, including 3 days on vacation in montana at 5000+ elevation. texas is about 500. it was a huge difference and a little defeating - because i felt like i couldn't even run 5 minutes without my lungs burning.

today we did one of the toughest things i have ever done, not just in this journey but in my whole life. i ran for 20 minutes straight. i don't think i have ever done that in my whole life. i had to stay focused, on my body, on my mind, on my goal to finish that run. i have a hard time being proud in myself. i like to succeed well. i am a little hard on myself that if i do it, i find things to be upset about still.

so 5 weeks down and a 20 min nonstop jog today. i did this...only me! i made that run happen, i kept my legs going, i didn't cry when it got hard, i stay focused and got through it and didn't fall on the ground. 3 more weeks to go! Wow!!

P.S. while in montana, i got 3 new colored bandanas! so now you get a rainbow of colors.

cute tuesday

first off a cute bulldog puppy...but a bulldog puppy in a swing! adorable! via my pinterest

Couch to 5K Day 8 - Week 4

week 4 - ugh, i dreaded today. we didn't run in the morning...so then we have to run at night. it would be all good if we lived somewhere where when the sun went down so did the temperature. i hate texas summers! plus today we were doing 3 min/90 sec walk/5 min/2.5 min. walk. 5 minutes might not seem like a whole lot of time when you are 1) watching your favorite movie or 2) driving to get food...but 5 minutes feels like an eternity the first and second time you have to jog it. my body wanted to stop so many times, it wanted to cry and walk home, it wanted to lay in the grass at the park and take a nap. but no, that wouldn't be good now, would it? i made it home, in 1 piece - minus the gallon of sweat i exerted while getting through 16 minutes of jogging.

if you are thinking about doing this...if i can do it anyone can. if you know me, i hate to run. i hate to run because after my 2 hip surgeries i stopped really trying to do exercise that might hurt my hip or knees. i wish i would have done this 10 years ago...but better late than never and live with regrets. so get off your computer and go for a walk or walk with a little jog. you can do it!!

Couch to 5K Day 7

today was a toughy, i had given platelets yesterday at Carter Blood Care. it kicked my butt yesterday and i was so sick for the rest of the day. so todays run was a struggle. the 2nd 90 second jog started the struggle. my legs got really heavy and i started getting a side cramp. after all the jogs, i got sick a little. i just think it was because of my platelet count and blood being a little thinner than usual.

i wish i can get past the negativity and fear that i won't be able to do it. i have to keep in mind that even though i feel like i am going to die...that i am really not. goodness - have you ever heard of anyone dying because of exercising?? that is just ridiculous!

the stress is a little less this week, i have 3 interviews and hopefully will have something lined up so i can go to montana next week.

so i am trying to find ideas for my blog. i have 'cute tuesdays', but that is the only scheduled item on the blog...is there anything else you would love to see??

cute tuesday

Can we say adorable?? via my pinterest

Couch to 5K Day 7 - Week 3

i was so anxious and nervous right from when i woke up this morning. i knew i would have a 3 minute jog and not sure if i would be able to make it or not. i have to remember to take it one step at a time and if i fail, then i try again - instead of trying to give up and talk myself out of things before i even attempt them. i made it through the first run with no issues and i almost started crying because i was able to do it without too much problems. it was the first time i have been truly proud of myself for sticking with this. today wasn't as hard as i thought it would be.

lately, i have been thinking about even running when i am bored - which is so unlike me. but i think the stress and worry about trying to find a job really is wearing on me. i have this week to find a job, if i don't - then i am not going to be able to go to montana for our family reunion and for my cousins' wedding next week. it makes me really really sad. i miss my family and need a break from this summer heat. i know i need to be responsible and not go if i don't get a job, but i always worry if i will regret not taking the time to spend with my family. i haven't seen my dad or sister since november and the rest of my family for 2 years. i miss the mountains and clean air :) wish me luck this week and i promise to bring back lovely pictures!!