I wanted to make a desktop wallpaper to share featuring my Florida Panther images.

This is sized 1600pixels by 1200pixels.

To get the FULL SIZE desktop wallpaper, you must download it at the link below the wallpaper preview.

My husband and I have started dieting.  To ease us into our first week dieting I was previously trying to cook at home.  Every night.  I’d scour recipes online and pick out the ones that sounded interesting and pick up everything at the grocery store in one trip so we’d have almost a week’s worth of dinners ready to be made.  I mentioned ‘ease us into’ dieting.  We do a lot of fast food.  Too much.  So I figured why not try to cook at home as much as I could before the diet.  Even though some of the things you cook at home are fattening, they are NOT that processed, greasy fast food.  I actually LIKE cooking.  Once upon a time when I first got married I really wasn’t into it, and I never really had my mom teach me.  She would have, but I was stubborn.  So, when I got really into cooking I basically had to teach myself…with multiple phone calls to mom asking questions about ingredients, cook times, etc.

So… here’s some of the recipes I made last week to ease us into dieting and eating at home five days a week and then allowing the weekends for ‘cheating’.

Spaghetti With Zesty Bolognese – this was a HIT.  A slam dunk.  We loved this one.  Although the recipe didn’t seem to contain enough spices to really give the sauce a kick.  I added some oregano, basil, and garlic.  It does have you cook the meat in Kraft’s Zesty Italian dressing, which is actually REALLY zesty if you haven’t tried it.  But it just didn’t hold on to that ‘zest’…hence adding a few more spices on my part.  I suggest that if you’re really used to jarred spaghetti sauce, to get some of that and just forget about the regular can of tomato sauce and just add in a jar of store bought sauce….but include everything else they list in the recipe.

Bruschetta Chicken Bake –  This was ok.  It needed something, more spices?  Definitely more chicken or at least not chicken cut into small bit size pieces like I did.  But the topping of the stuffing was really great, I loved that.  I also added extra mozzarella cheese on the top of it after it was finished cooking.  This one is a super simple, no brainer one to cook.

Chicken And Broccoli Alfredo –  this was another excellent and easy recipe!   Just like you’d get at a restaurant.  This called for 1/2 pkg. of cream cheese.  I already had that on hand from using two tablespoons of it for the Zesty Bolognese (listed above), so I just used the rest of it that was left over…I’d say maybe 3/4 pkg cream cheese.  My husband likes anything that calls for sauce to be extra saucy, and that extra cream cheese worked out well.  I wasn’t going to use it for anything else so I figured I’d just use it up.

Cheddar Macaroni Beef Casserole – this one sounded so odd that it might actually be good.  And it was!  And talk about super duper simple to make!  My husband doesn’t like the Kraft Macaroni And Cheese that comes with the ‘powdered cheese’, so we bought the other kind that comes with the actual soft cheese in the packet.  Worked out great!

Apple Cider Beef Stew – Don’t let the ‘apple cider’ in the title scare you off, this turned out FABULOUS!  I purposely didn’t tell my husband that apple cider vinegar went into this recipe because I knew he’d balk at it.  It sounded so different (than our usual stew we’d make) that I had to try this one.  First off, if you’re not a huge fan of vinegar, then I’d maybe start with adding just a 1/2 cup or 3/4 cup of the apple cider vinegar.  I added the full 1 1/4 cup that the recipe called for and it was excellent, but I was thinking for other people who aren’t crazy about vinegar that they should go easy on adding it.  I also left out the water chestnuts, we’re not fans of those.  But I added everything else and I highly recommend this one!!!

I’ll try to continue to list the recipes of the dinners we make.  I know how hard it is to find good recipes online that actually TASTE good or have someone reviewing them.

I just cook for two, we don’t have kids and our dogs don’t eat people food (much to their dismay), so we’ve always got plenty left over for another meal, which makes eating at home even easier if all you’ve got to do is re-heat!

Bon Appetit!

Well, I’m continuing my time on the ‘wrong side’ of 35 today by turning 37.  Where did the time go?  I think for my birthday I’d like a trip back in time to the 1990’s please!

If You Were Born Today, January 24
Multi-talented and diverse, you are an interesting person who can draw upon both creative and logical sides of the brain equally. Others find you funny, great for advice, and extremely perceptive. Always interested in how people tick, you are a natural psychologist. You are security-minded but although you don’t like too much change, you do require stimulation in your day to day affairs. Many of you hold more than one job. Famous people born today: Desmond Morris, Mary Lou Retton, John Belushi, Oral Roberts, Neil Diamond, Nastassja Kinski, Warren Zevon.

I had to head down south to Broward county this week so I figured I’d stay over and hit a couple of wildlife spots while I was there.  One is Green Cay Wetlands which is in Delray and there’s also Wakodahatchee Wetlands which is also right around the corner.  The day started off really cloudy and foggy but when it came to the birds I wanted (the Sora and Snipe) the weather somewhat behaved!

And this is George…he’s a Great Blue Heron with a pretty serious looking injury, there’s a hole below his beak where his tongue sticks out!  I’m told he’s still going strong despite his handicap and has been out there for several breeding seasons.  Go George!

I’m seriously considering getting the Canon 400mm f5.6 L prime lens.  I normally use the Canon zoom 100-400mm f4/5.6 USM IS L lens, but I rarely use it at anything other than 400mm.  So…I’m going to rent it next week and try it out.  If I like it, and buy one, the 100-400mm L will be for sale…which is what took all of the photos you’ve seen above