Guest "DJ" Becky
1. Today’s Recipe:
Ok. Well, for those who know me, you know that cooking (and feeding bellies) is my biggest passion. So, to choose just one meal to share with you would be completely sacrilegious. Oh! And those who know me REALLY well, know that recipes and I just don't jive - so, anytime I make something I always alter the recipe or do a spin-off and create it to be my own. I think that's why sometimes my friends get frustrated when they try something I've made and then use the "same" recipe I altered from Pinterest and theirs comes out completely different. Haha! Sorry about that. I'll share a few of my go-tos right now while surviving this craziness that we're in...
I loved these bars when I first tried them at Barre3 Bedford - I've since altered the recipe a bit to incorporate more yummy goodness. Essentially, I double the whole recipe except I use 1 cup cashews, 1 cup almonds, 1 cup walnuts, and 1 cup of pecans and THEN... I add chopped up Libby's sugar-free chocolate - super yum. My kids love these bars! Click here to view recipe!
My second big food crush right now is my pasta-free lasagna. This takes a looong time to prep - but I legit make a huge tray of it on a Sunday and eat it all week long! It has zucchini, eggplant, chicken sausage, ground beef, and my fabulous homemade secret bechamel sauce. I could give you the recipe, but I'd have to kill you! Haha.
This Greek Chicken Tray Bake is an awesome family-friendly recipe that's so easy to make. I love me some chicken thighs (as do my kids). You can legit prep this the night before or in the morning and then pop it in the oven. Once again, a great leftover meal! I omit the tomatoes and add eggplant in and extra feta because who doesn't love more cheese! Click here to view recipe!
Another family favorite is seafood. We eat it once or twice a week, Salmon is always my top pick and I have so many ways that I love to prepare it - this is one of my kiddos' favorite ways (also works really well with shrimp). I make a nice sauce with heavy cream, white wine, butter, lemon juice and pepper... let it simmer and thicken up. Then in a pan on med-hi heat, melt butter and oil. Place salmon skin-side up in a pan and let it come to a nice crisp. You should see it cook through to the middle before flipping it over. This will give it that really nice buttery crust! Cook until your liking. My kids like pasta - so I serve the salmon over pasta with chopped up roasted asparagus in it with the sauce poured on top. I don't do pasta, so I just lay my salmon over asparagus and pour the sauce on top. It is super yummy and even better the next day!
2. Top Song Picks:
My next obsession is music. I have this thing with my kids where if there isn't music playing in the house I say: "uh-oh! What am I gonna say?" and they all respond: "you need some music in your life!" haha! I have it on all the time and I love all types of music. My absolute favorite (at least in these years of my life) is Eric Church. Basically, anything by him ROCKS! I listen to a ton of country music and also love the pop music on the radio today (and my kids do too!) I like to venture into Indie Rock and Singer/Songwriter tunes as well. My Spotify is stacked with different playlists for all of my moods and for all of my activities... if you don't know how to introduce yourself to Eric Church, just start here... The entire Mr. Misunderstood album and The entire Desperate Man album and then all of his other songs. If you really want to get to know my music taste (which is all over the place) then just follow me on Spotify. If I'm forced to give you some songs... I will unite my two loves, cooking and music and share SOME of the songs on my "Dinner Prep" playlist:
- City of Black and White - Mat Kearney
- Can't Help Falling In Love - Ingrid Michaelson
- World Spins Madly On - The Weepies
- Have You Ever Seen the Rain - Willie Nelson and Paula Nelson
- Song for the Rich - Tristan Prettyman
- Hold You in My Arms - Ray LaMontagne
- And It's Still Alright - Nathaniel Rateliff
- When I Get My Hands On You - Marcus Mumford
- Green Mountain State - Trevor Hall
3. Good Kid-Friendly Activity:
Oh geez - You should ask Alexa, she's been running the house. Kidding. I am so much better with adults than with kids but since I have three and we are in isolation, I had to come up with some... we have a lot of dance parties! We choreograph dances (well, Molly does), blare the music and sing together. My kids are also really into team challenges - so we set up little obstacles (inside or out) and they have to work together to get from the starting line to the finish. It's great because Molly and Joey both work together to help Abby along.
4. Proud Moment:
Honestly, every time I take a pause from work, social media and my phone and actually BE with my kids is a proud moment for me. We're spending a lot of time together... What makes me most proud are the moments when we are creating joy and memories with each other. We've had some great little chats, dances, laughs and classic moments as a family. Each one of my kids has such a cool personality and it's been really awesome getting to really know them. Molly is the mature, old soul; Joey is the sensitive Mama's boy; and Abby is our little actress/comedian (kinda maybe like her mama haha). One of my proudest moments, if I had to choose, is probably linked to one of my "not-so-proud moments"...
5. Not-So-Proud Moment:
I had a near breakdown the other day and literally lost it on my kids right before bed. I felt the stress of work, family, isolation all at once and crashed. I just felt like I was failing everywhere. I let it all go on them - well, mainly my 3-year old, Abby. The poor girl went to bed in tears. I shut the door and cried in the hallway... feeling so defeated by all of this (feeling like I'm failing my kids, my friends, my team and myself). My oldest, Molly came out and sat with my in the hall and gave me a giant hug. She said: "Mommy, I know this is hard. You're doing a great job." I needed that. I was so incredibly proud of her at this moment. She is such an old soul and I know she knows way more than she should at this age. But, God, I was so grateful for that moment with her and will always remember it.
6. Whatcha Reading:
I don't have much energy to read right now. I just started Verity by Colleen Hoover - I love a good fiction novel to clear my head. I also just downloaded Maria Forleo's books ("Everything is Figureoutable" is in my cue). However, through this craziness - my escape has really been 1000 piece Jigsaw puzzles! haha! I tend to fall asleep while reading books but the puzzles are great for my mind and I lose track of time trying to complete them!
7. Great Adult Conversation:
Wow. This is a tough one - I've connected so much with some of my friends over FaceTime. In fact, we have had more meaningful convos during this time than we've had in the past month... I'm sure it's because we are desperate for that connection and purpose. It's been so wonderful to connect in a different way. Some of my childhood friends and I had a great birthday call the other night which was so fun - it usually takes us months to coordinate our schedules to go out to dinner, so hiding in our bedrooms and FaceTiming was the perfect solution!
8. Who was the Helper in your Community Today (Inspired by Mr. Rogers, of course!):
Okay. So, as most of you know, I'm a single mom. When this whole "stay-at-home" suggestion was put in place - I immediately clung onto my immediate next-door neighbors. I call them my family - I knew I would need help. I don't want to have to take my kids to the grocery store with me and I knew I would need the support daily, since this is no role for my parents to be in right now. Jess and Heath have been amazing. We call ourselves "Three's Company" haha! They check in on me daily and we share our pantry items with each other. It's great for the kids to have each other too! I'm beyond grateful to have neighbors who embrace our crazy and help us every day - small or not, it means so much!
9. Movie/Show Recommendation:
Well, I've never been a huge nightly TV person - but lately, I've been binge-watching "Better Call Saul" (prelude to my winter binge of "Breaking Bad"). Now that I’m all caught up there, I started Ozarks! I love me some "American Idol" too! Movie-wise... I've enjoyed introducing the kids to some of the classics from my childhood, like "Big", "Parent Trap", and "ET" - I look forward to many more of those. I feel like this is the time to delve into the past and watch some of the great movies of the 80's and 90's!
10. Excellent Outdoor Activity:
My boyfriend is a big-time hiker. We've gone to Wachusett Mountain a couple of times and it has been awesome - he's gearing me up for a big hike this summer! (God, help me!) Honestly, though, I've loved it - so good to be outdoors and get a great workout in at the same time! I'm lucky to live right on the trail in Bedford, so the kids and I have gone exploring almost every day... exploring, finding cool treasures, and listening to the sounds in nature. I love seeing all the wonderment through their eyes. It really simplifies life for me.
11. Blog or Website You Are Clicking On:
I love our Compass morning emails from Leonard Steinberg. He sends such a great message - connecting us all, not just through real estate but through the community. I look forward to them every day. My obsession with Pinterest has taken on a whole new life! I'm so cheesy but I spend most of my time on the web researching recipes and playing with Spotify (remember my obsession with music). I cannot forget to mention - Barre3 online... my lifeline to working out!!! I can't thank Natasha, Annelise and Deb enough for keeping our community together with live online classes.
12. Any Advice You Want to Share:
Laugh! Embrace the funny in your day... laughing is the best. Nothing makes me happier than crying from laughter - seeing my kids crack up immediately puts a smile on my face. Deep breaths. A lot of pauses. People handle stress in different ways. Let's be patient with each other as we go through this journey. Every morning I read my affirmations that I made at Craft.ed in Concord with the team. It's a gentle reminder that I've committed to being my best self for me and for others... this too shall pass! (Right?!)
13. What’s Going on Around Town:
I have to say that I love what I'm seeing!! All of these birthday car parades, Scavenger Hunts, driveway chalk drawings... I would be remiss if I didn't talk about the amazing project Suzanne has been spearheading! This mission to help our local restaurants by having the public buy meals for healthcare workers in our area hospitals. Wow! She has raised over $10k and the healthcare workers are so incredibly grateful for a yummy hot meal! I have no idea how she has the time to manage all of this, but she's pulling it off and it makes me so proud. Keep giving to each other, people - give smiles, laughs, cards, food, support... and wine helps too!
Would love to hear from you all as well!!! The more we engage, find humor, share encouragement and challenges, the stronger we can come out of this!!!
Stay safe and be well- signing off- "DJ' Becky…