Over and out.

I’m going to evaluating my websites over the next few weeks and really trying to figure out where my time is best spent.  I have a feeling this place, my first bloggy home, will fall to the lowest ranks.

One change that will be made is that Fab Food Friday will be moving back to it’s rightful home www.fabfoodfriday.com. It hasn’t really caught on here at Iowa Geek and I get more visits over there for recipes.

If you’re wondering how my trip to Disney went I invite you to see the food in pictures at Family Rambling.

Thanks for sticking with me!  As I know more I’ll share it with you.  Well, when I have time!

Thankfully the swag bags are all filled and loaded into my van.  The blackout bingo cards for door prizes are almost done printing.  I’ve got to make some door signs and then I’ll call it a night.

Tomorrow will be crazed; I am blessed to have family and friends to help me.  As well as some support from a couple of  Moms Nite Out national sponsors.

You know I’m exhausted and a slight bit absolutely insane right about now.  And I haven’t been grocery shopping since the middle of last week.  My cupboards are bare.  Yes, I’m practically Old Mother Hubbard.  So a big thank you goes out  to Pizza Hut for feeding my family tomorrow night!  (I’m not sure why pizza is the fallback food when mommy is gone but the family likes it, so no worries!)

And another big thank you to Little Debbie who contacted a local distributor and dropped of 10 cases of the new Petites at my door last week!  Plenty to make sure each lady at Moms Nite Out gets a box + some to snack on at the event + some to leave with my girls.

Big note: I’ll be attempting to broadcast some of tomorrow night’s fun live on MomTV.com around 7:30 central time, for about an hour.  Hoping all goes well, so if you can’t join us live be sure to join us online!  To find an event close to you, click the banner below and search the Moms Nite Out website!

Moms Nite Out Bags of Goodies

Six weeks of planning is coming to an end!  Des Moines Moms Nite Out is this Thursday and I think it’s going to be an amazing evening!

Thanks to DMACC I am able to have the event catered by In the Bag.  Thanks to Veridian Credit Union each registered attendee will have a bag to carry all the goodies donated by local and national companies.

Thanks to the terrific companies who are participating and donating their time, resources and amazing door prizes!

If you haven’t seen all the great things going on you’ll want to check out the Moms Nite Out page here on Iowa Geek.  It includes:

• Fresh fruits dipped in dark chocolate, courtesy of Godiva
• Fashion show by Dress Barn
• Seated massages
• Mobile Moms suite, courtesy of Verizon Wireless
• Comfy, cute shoes from Crocs

and so much more!

Space is limited- register to confirm your spot!

If you’re not local to Iowa check the national website to find an event close to you!

I’m making an effort to have my family eat better and add more vegetables to our diet.  Since Chinese food is always a big hit in our house I thought this recipe would be a hit- and it was!  Because it uses frozen stir-fry vegetables it’s quick, too!

Recipe from Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook.

Ingredients

1 t cornstarch
1/4 c cold water
1/2 c apricot preserves
2 T reduced sodium soy souce
1/2 t minced garlic (though I used more as we like garlic!)
1/4 t salt
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb boneless beef sirloin steak, sliced thin
1 T canola oil
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen asparagus stir fry vegetable blend

Directions

In a small bowl whisk cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir in preserves, soy sauce, garlic, salt & red pepper flakes.  Set aside.

In a large skillet or wok stir fry beef in oil until no longer pink. Remove and keep warm.  In the same pan stir fry vegetables according to package directions.  Return beef to pan.  Stir apricot mixture and add to beef mixture.  Cook and stir until slightly thickened.  Serve over rice.

1 c of beef mixture is 309 calories (not including rice)

Disclosure: I am an Amazon.com affiliate so if you click on the link and buy the book I may make a tiny (tiny) bit of money.

What about food?  Turns out Walt Disney World has quite an array of restaurants- from 5 stars to Mickey bars.  And I’ll be there this weekend, eating my way through the “happiest place on Earth”.

I’ll be taking pictures and sending out notes all weekend. If you want to follow the journey in “real time” I have a few suggestions:

We’ll be using #DisneyMedia on Twitter; you’ll be able to follow all of us attending the event. (If you aren’t following me yet I’m @iatraveler.)

If you aren’t on Twitter (and don’t want to be) become a fan of the new Family Rambling Fan Page as I’ll post photos and quick notes there, too! Click the button below to become a fan!
Family Rambling: tips and destinations from a traveling family | Promote your Page too

You can bet I’ll be trying one of these:

Mickey Mouse Waffle (photo by Kelly L)

The evening includes:

• dinner- catered by In the Bag
• shopping- with great stores like Godiva, Lillian’s, Roger’s Jewelers and more
• creativity- in the Creative Memories suite
• a bag filled with gifts from local businesses- valued at over $50!
• decadent chocolate dipped fruit from Godiva
• a fashion show by Dress Barn
• door prize drawings at the end of the night

And so much more!  Tickets are only $10!

Thomas Nelson Publishers, one of the sponsors of National Moms Nite Out, has sent 10 copies of the novel Hand of Fate.  The next 10 people to buy tickets will receive a copy of this new Triple Threat novel (it will be given to you at the event).

Be sure to register soon!  Only 100 tickets are available for this night of fun and pampering!

If you are selected Near East, the leading brand of couscous and specialty side dishes, will send you a party kit with some of the key components that you need to prepare a range of cuisines, including Italian, Indian and Middle Eastern.

The Near East In-Home Party Kit includes

· Delicious Near East couscous products to serve at the party

· Extra Near East products to send home with your guests

· Suggested party activities and agendas

· Mouth-watering 5-minute recipe cards from YouTube sensation, Chef Peter Bowen

· Coupons for free Near East products for you and your guests

· Near East trivets for you and your guests

· Important information about upcoming Near East promotions

And the fun doesn’t stop after your party is over! You and your guests will have opportunities to get more 5-minute recipe ideas and enter a sweepstakes for the chance to win fantastic prizes by visiting www.AroundtheWorldin5.com.

Visit the site to enter the Near East Around the World in 5 Minutes sweepstakes for a chance to win the grand prize-a Mediterranean Culinary Adventure Cruise! There is no purchase necessary to enter the sweepstakes, which ends August 31, 2010. See Official Rules at the website listed above for details. You’ll also find video tutorials from Chef Peter Bowen, creative meal short-cuts and more within this interactive online community.

To be a part of this delicious opportunity fill out the registration form.  Remember, you don’t have to be a mom to be part of this opportunity!

Recently my sister in law began selling Pampered Chef products and I bought the Deep Covered Baker for its versatility.  Besides, who doesn’t love Pampered Chef?  Anyway…  I got the following recipe for chicken fajitas that can be made in the microwave in 15 minutes.  Including prep time you’ve got dinner in less than 30 minutes.  And it’s really good!

Ingredients:

2 medium onions
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 T Chipotle rub (or fajita seasoning)
1 pkg fajita tortillas
8 oz sour cream
8 oz block or shredded cheese

Directions:

Place chicken on top of vegetables

Slice onions and peppers; place in bottom of deep covered baker. Sprinkle with 1 T chipotle rub.

Sprinkle remaining chipotle rub on both sides of chicken and place chicken breasts on top of vegetables.  Cover and microwave for 12-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, wrap tortillas in foil and put in oven to warm at 250° (or place on microwave safe plate with damp paper towels and heat for about a minute).

Chicken is done

When the chicken is done remove peppers and onions to a separate bowl and chop the chicken- leave it in the broth.

Serve with sour cream, cheese and your favorite fajita toppings.

*Obviously you would use the same ingredients if you want to grill your fajitas.  The vegetables will take less time, or use indirect heat on them.  I really like a BBQ grill basket for veggies.

• running kids to school
• waiting in line to pick kids up from school
• waiting while kids are at practice for (insert sport, music lesson, dance class, gymnastics lesson, etc here)
• making a “quick stop” at a store for something for dinner
• making a “quick stop” for “just one thing” that is necessary for school…  Tomorrow
• taking kids to (insert doctor, dentist, birthday party, etc here)
• taking something to your husband that he forget and must have…  since you don’t have anything to do while the kids are in school…

You get my point- moms are busy!  And if you actually have a job where they expect you to show up and be productive...  Well, I don’t know how you do it!

Earlier this week I picked up two items from Verizon to help us “mobile moms” keep it together.  I’ll be playing with utilizing these tools over the next few weeks and sharing my thoughts.

So, what did I get?

Palm Pre Plus

The Palm Pre Plus which is, to me, a lovely mix of a Blackberry and an iPhone.

And an HP Mini 311

HP Mini 311

a sweet and powerful netbook with an almost full-size keyboard (92%), 2GB RAM and a 160GB hard drive.  It comes installed with Windows 7 and a Verizon Mobile Broadband modem built in.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what these tools can do!

Disclosure:  Verizon Wireless has loaned these tools to me; all thoughts on the products are my own.