Skinny Beef and Broccoli

**I updated my beef and broccoli recipe to make it even easier and lighter. I changed some of the steps and replaced the brown sugar with Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. This cuts the calories from sugar in half! I also increased the amount of broccoli. I pile as much broccoli as I can into the pan. Don't worry, the broccoli will reduce in size as it cooks.

This beef and broccoli is better than take out! It is very easy to prepare, taking only about 20 minutes total, including prep time. Serve it with rice and some sriracha!


Mongolian Beef and Broccoli

makes 4 servings
  
1/2 pound thin cut beef

1/4 cup of flour or cornstarch

2 teaspoons of canola oil

1/2 tablespoon of chopped ginger

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of low sodium soy sauce

1/2 cup Splenda brown sugar blend

4 crowns of broccoli, separated into florets

Pat the steak slices dry and then mix them with the flour/cornstarch, making sure all pieces are coated, and then shaking off any excess.
Heat a large wok or frying pan and add the oil. Add the beef and cook until browned. While the beef is browning, prepare the sauce in a small bowl. Mix together the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, water, and brown sugar. 
Pour the sauce into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Add the broccoli florets and allow sauce to slightly thicken.
Serve hot with rice.

Congrats, Jan!

“Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. 
If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

I have had this post in draft for far too long, never feeling like I could find the perfect words to describe such a momentous occasion.


This fall, Derek's wonderful mother, who is every bit a second mother to be, accomplished something truly remarkable. After years of hard work, she walked across the stage at Constitution Hall on October 1st and obtained her undergraduate degree! With grace, she had juggled her family, working full time, and a heavy course load. She showed me what it means to be determined, to have resolve, and to be brave.


So here's to Jan, to never giving up, and to running however many miles it takes to chase your dreams.


(click the play button below to see her walk across the stage!)

2011: Our Year in Review

2011 was full of incredible experiences and blessings. It was the year that we truly began building our nest!


In May, we became Virginia Tech alumni! We also moved out of our apartment that month.

In June, we celebrated both of our graduations with family and friends! Our parents planned a beautiful party. We had a margarita machine, a taco bar, and best of all, our picture on the delicious cake!

In July, Derek decided between 3 job offers. He accepted a great offer at a company in Maryland as a Structural/Architectural Engineer, and we moved to Towson! With just four days until his start date, we were incredibly lucky to find a beautiful, pet-friendly apartment just 2 miles from Derek's office. We moved in just in time to watch the 4th of July fireworks from our windows! And by "moved in", I mean we brought a suitcase and slept on a sleeping bag because we had not had time to move anything more! It was actually a lot of fun and one of my favorite memories of the year.

We spent the rest of the summer getting settled and exploring our new city. We discovered a reservoir nearby, where we go running and take Kaiah to swim! She has now been accepted to the dog park where she can swim AND play!

In September, I joined Derek on his business trip to Boston! We went shopping and drank Sam Adams in Back Bay, and we stopped at the famous Mike's Pastry for cannoli and toured the Old North Church in the North End (Little Italy).

In addition to the city of Boston, we spent time in Newport, Rhode Island! Newport was my favorite part of the trip. We walked along the cliffs in the evening, taking in the view and gawking at mansions. 

 Did I mention that we bought our first house?!?! Just kidding ;)

In October, Derek and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary! We did a lot of reflecting that day. 7 years ago we were just trying to make it home by curfew and not get in trouble for flirting in Mrs. Modugno's physics class. Look how far we have come! I have watched him grow into a wonderful, loving, hardworking man, and I am so thankful that I have him by my side every single day.


We also watched Derek's mom walk across the stage at Constitution Hall in DC to collect her degree that month! Congrats, Jan!

November and December were a whirlwind. We officially put ourselves on the waiting list for a bigger apartment in our building! It will be twice the size of the one we are in now with a guest room and a dining room! The weekend after Thanksgiving, we drove to a Christmas tree farm on the eastern shore to cut down our first real tree. Kaiah got to come with us and she enjoyed sniffing out each tree, one by one.

The next weekend, we spent the day in Baltimore and watched the holiday parade of boats and a light show!

The highlight of December was that I accepted a job offer! I will be working as a Data Architect/Ontology Engineer for a semantic technology consulting company in Hunt Valley, about a 10 minute commute! It is absolutely my dream job.


We ended the year spending a relaxing few days with our families for Christmas.

I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store! Happy New Year!!

On Resolutions, and 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions. I will, however, be reminding myself of some affirmations in the new year...

Small homes grow tight families.
I decided to stop complaining about our 700 sqft apartment while we wait to move into a bigger one. A small space forces Derek and I to continue to grow as a couple and perfect the art of compromise. I have also used it as motivation to live a simpler, less cluttered life. Instead of getting frustrated at our overflowing dresser drawers, I replaced a shelving unit that we had in our bedroom with a second dresser. I bought white dishes and fancy new flatware from Crate & Barrel to replace our hand-me-down dishes and the flatware that I remember using in my dorm room. I hate doing the dishes a little bit less now. Next up: throwing out all the socks with holes and taking down the Christmas tree. That thing takes up quite a bit of our living room!


"You is kind. You is smart. You is important." -Aibileen Clark
My mom and I watched The Help together in theaters, and ever since then we have been repeating this line to each other whenever needed. The affirmation itself is meaningful, but hearing my German mother impersonate Aibileen is what really puts a smile on my face and makes me laugh every single time.

via gatherlove.tumblr.com

I came across this article, 30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself, and it is definitely worth the long read. This is something I am going to be reading often as a personal reminder. Grab a cup of tea and get inspired...

30 Things to Stop Doing to Yourself

1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.

2. Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.

3. Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.

4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.

5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.

6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.

7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.

8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.

9. Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.

10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.

11. Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.

12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.

13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.

14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.

15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.

16. Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”

17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.

18. Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.

19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.

20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.

21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.

22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.

23. Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.

24. Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.

25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.

26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.

27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.

28. Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.

29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.

30. Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Skinny Shepherd's Pie

I made this lighter version of shepherd's pie with mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potatoes. It is perfect comfort food for a cold winter day.

1 large head of cauliflower
1 lb lean ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
3/4 lb frozen mixed vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, and green beans)
1 cup 2% milk shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place head of cauliflower in a pot of water and boil until cauliflower is soft.
In the meantime, saute onions in olive oil until tender. Add the ground beef to the onions and let it brown. Then add the Worcestershire sauce and ketchup. Remove the beef mixture from heat and stir in frozen vegetables.
When cauliflower is soft, drain most of the water and use an immersion blender or mixture until smooth.
Transfer the beef mixture to a casserole dish. Layer the mashed cauliflower, and then the cheese. Bake in 400 degree oven lightly brown.

christmas traditions

My favorite part of the holiday season is the traditions. This year Derek and I started some of our own family traditions since it was the first Christmas we were out of school and did not visit our families for the entire winter break. But our first tradition was actually started exactly 5 years ago! Time flies! In 2006, Derek gifted me with the ornament below..

This year we picked out one that would remind of us of the year we moved to Maryland! I just love that little crab!

Another tradition that we started was cutting down our own Christmas tree! Derek is a perfectionist and I am extremely indecisive, so our visit to the Christmas tree farm took about 4 hours.

Derek was so amazing to lug that cart around the entire time, and I kept an eye on our little reindeer as she checked out the trees for herself. Eventually we found one to take home, standing just a few feet from where we had parked.

On Christmas Eve-Eve, the night that we cuddle up and exchange gifts, we drove in to Baltimore's Little Italy to get cannoli from Vaccarro's. We had been looking forward to this ever since we ate cannoli at the famous Mike's Pastry in Boston!

What are your family holiday traditions? I'd love to hear them!