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Recipe Wednesday: Maple soy salmon

Kelly — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 16:21:50 +0000

I love fish. Sushi, salmon, tuna, grouper, snapper, you name it. I make salmon regularly, but I’m always looking for new ways to prepare it, so I was thrilled when I stumbled upon this recipe in InStyle, no less. I made it last weekend and it is definitely getting added to my recipe book. I definitely suggest using low-sodium soy sauce and low-fat syrup – I’m not a fan of overly sweet or salty foods. Pair it with broccoli and brown rice and you’re set!

2 salmon fillets

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 TBS garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 TBS onion powder

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 maple syrup

Rinse and dry each fillet, then brush olive oil on the flesh side of the salmon. In a bowl, mix together nutmeg, cinnamon, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Sprinkle each fillet with the spice mix and rub in. Let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat skillet with olive oil. When skillet is hot, place salmon, flesh side down, and cook over medium-high heat for four minutes. Turn over and cook an additional 4 minutes. In saucepan, mix together soy sauce and maple syrup over medium heat until sace is thick. Drizzle over fillets.

photo by bookchen

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Recipe Wednesday (on Thursday): Spinach-cheese bake

Kelly — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 22:25:35 +0000

Hello! Sorry for the lack of posts the last two weeks. I took a trip to the U.K. and have been trying to get caught up since my return. Good news-I’m back to blogging and I’ve got a little announcement to come next week, so stay tuned! In the meantime, I thought I’d make up for my lack of posting with a recipe, even though it’s Thursday.

I’ve never been a fan of cooked spinach, always preferring it fresh, so when my best friend had me over for dinner one night and served this casserole, I was dubious. Surprisingly, it’s one of my favorite recipes lately-full of flavor and cheesey goodness and it can be made in less than ten minutes. Pair it with fruit salad and muffins for brunch or add sweet potato fries for dinner. Guaranteed to become an immediate crowd pleaser!

1 TBS butter, melted

2 (6 oz) packages fresh baby spinach

1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1 1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cup low-fat milk

1 cup egg substitute

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp Dijon mustard

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour butter into bottom of a 13×9 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place spinach evenly in the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with cheeses.

Combine flour and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk until well blended. Pour milk mixture over spinach and cheese. Bake 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve immediately.

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Job interview warning signs

jane — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:33:20 +0000

Just like you know when to quit your job, the same intuition will inevitably tell you whether or not to accept a job opportunity after you interview. Job interviews. I’ve been to some bad ones and have observed some even worse ones. In my career I’ve witnessed or experienced enough to compile the following job interview warning signs that should steer you from accepting a position that may not be a great fit.

Your Nerves.

Frankly, I believe if you aren’t nervous about something important, then you don’t care enough. That may be the case if you stroll into a job interview without a care in the world. Be careful in that respect, because it’s likely the interviewer may view your confident, laissez-faire attitude as apathy. Nerves come into play in another way. If someone is describing the job and the responsibilities that go with it and you feel your nerves set in, then that may suggest that your skill set doesn’t match with the requirements. In either case you’re not doing anyone any favors (especially yourself!) by accepting a position you’re not passionate about or truly qualified for.

Endless List of Questions.

Just like your intuition will warn you not to accept a job opportunity, a hiring manager’s will tell him or her to hire you. If the hiring manager has an endless list of questions to ask a job candidate, that tells me that he or she may not be so confident in their hiring decisions. What makes someone unconfident in hiring decisions? Past awful decisions about hiring. I find that people will use an endless list of irrelevant questions in a job interview to compensate for a lack of instinct for hiring. Politely and thoughtfully answer each and every question, but if it starts to feel like the Spanish Inquisition, be wary.

Jumping Through Hoops.

In addition to answering a seemingly endless list of questions, a hiring manager may require you to jump through several hoops to win a position. While some testing may be acceptable for some types of positions, if it feels weird and a little unnecessary, then it probably is. This can be another crutch for an unsuccessful hiring manager.

No Next Steps.

There is nothing worse than enduring a terrible job interview only to be met with a swift handshake and, “Well, thanks so much for coming in….” and an comfortable silence before you leave. At the end of a good job interview – no matter how you performed – the hiring manager will give you some indication of the next steps. When can you expect to hear back whether or not you will have another interview? This information is crucial to your career planning and not receiving it can be a warning sign that this job prospect may not be adequately prepared to hire or manage you.

I’ve seen enough excellent hiring managers to know instantly when someone or some company doesn’t have it together. That can be really indicative of you future at a particular company. Be judgemental during job interviews. You should be interviewing the company as closely as they are interviewing you to ensure it’s a place you want to spend the next leg of your career.

Photo by: RichieC

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5 things to be happy about right now

Kelly — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 11:45:32 +0000

With the holidays over and winter in full effect (even here in the south!), it’s easy to get caught up in the blah’s of January, so I thought I’d post what was currently making me happy in the hopes you, our fabulous readers, could benefit, as well!

1. Modern Family. If you’re not watching this megahit on abc Wednesday nights at 9, you have no idea what you’re missing. This is, honestly, one of the funniest shows I’ve seen in a long time-it never fails to make me laugh out loud, and shows the downright hilarious side of marriage, parenthood and disfunctional family life, in general. Set your DVR now-I guarantee you’ll love it.

2. My furbaby. Okay, so this one isn’t exactly something that will make you happy, but for those of you with pets, you can definitely relate. There’s just nothing better than coming home at the end of a long day (or after a trip to the mailbox) and finding something so inexplicably, deliriously happy to see you that his head might explode! My little guy, Gunner (in above photo), is my constant companion and never lets me forget the beauty in the little things in life (like a game of fetch or a really good bone).

3. Homemade granola. I take mine with cottage cheese and strawberry yogurt as a mid-morning snack, but I often find myself dipping my fingers in the bag throughout the day, as well! Store-bought granola can’t hold a candle to this recipe, which I posted here. Enjoy!

4. A bottle of Malbec. Do I really need to elaborate on this one? I think not. This is my favorite Malbec-bottoms up!

5. Shop Ruche. This site has some of the most beautiful tops, dresses, sweaters and accessories at unbelievably low prices. I’m always able to find great stuff on sale, too, like this cashmere doman wrap sweater and this adorable one-shoulder romper for spring/summer. I even found a few dresses for my trip to Vegas last November.

Recipe Wednesday: Maple almond granola

Kelly — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 15:29:21 +0000

I love granola-for breakfast or a snack, on cottage cheese, yogurt or even ice cream. When I couldn’t find a store-bought version that tasted halfway decent, I decided to make my own and now I make it almost every week! This recipe is not only easy to make, but it’s also low in fat, hearty and delicious. Put it in a clear cellophane bag, tie with grosgrain ribbon and it becomes the perfect hostess or holiday gift, too!

4 cup regular oats

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS canola oil

cooking spray

1 cup dried apricots

1 cup raisins

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine first four ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. In a small pan, combine water, honey, syrup, sugar and oil; bring to a boil. Pour over oat mixture and toss to coat.

Spread mixture on a baking sheet that has been coated with cooking spray. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden, stirring every 10 minutes. Put mixture in a large bowl and let cool completely, then mix in raisins and dried apricots.

Photo by Cooking Light

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Eenie, meenie, miney, mo…picking a great business name

Kelly — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 11:33:34 +0000

If someone had told me two years ago, when I first entertained the thought of starting my own business, that one of the toughest decisions I’d make was what to name the company, I’d have laughed. As it turned out, I would have needed a glass of water to wash down my foot!

The right business name is your first chance to make a great impression on potential customers and give them an idea of what your company is all about. I’m indecisive by nature, so when it came time to brainstorm ideas, I was completely lost. Here are a few steps I took (not necessarily in the order I’ve listed below) that ultimately helped me decide on a name:

Make a list. Write down any and all keywords that relate to your business or the service/product you’re trying to sell. What do you want potential customers to think when they first hear your name?. A thesaurus was vital in helping me find synonyms for words on my list and I highly recommend picking one up if you haven’t already.

Make it memorable, but easy to spell. Originally, I went for a play on words and loved “savoir flair”, but as Kirsty quickly pointed out, not everyone would know how to spell it, which could ultimately prevent traffic from my site. It’s great to pick a name with special meaning or significance to you, but if it’s too obscure or too hard to spell, your creativity will be lost on the very people you’re trying to target.

Keep it to yourself. I made a huge mistake in asking everyone’s opinions on my top ten list of names-it wasn’t that I was unprepared for the criticism, but rather that I was so heavily influenced by their comments that I had no idea what to do next. Friends and family have the best intentions, but, if possible, pick someone with whom to share your list of names that can provide vital feedback for the success of your business. Kirsty’s infinite knowledge of social media and branding was invaluable in helping me find a name that was right on target with the people I was trying to reach.

Scour the internet. You’ve found a name that you love and want to tell everyone. Hold your horses! Go online to see if the doman name is available and if there are other companies with the same (or similar) name. Going back to my example of “Savoir Flair”, there was a fashion styling company and a wedding website with the same name. I’m in interior design, and could have still used it, but with so many other options with the same name, I opted not to.

Register your domain ASAP. There are tons of inexpensive registrars with whom you can register your domain name (as well as any variations of it). The sooner you register it, the better. The most popular is GoDaddy, but there is also Nettica, Network Solutions, Dreamhost and Dotster.

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Recipe Wednesday: Parmesan chicken and rice casserole

Kelly — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:12:55 +0000

Before my obsession with the Barefoot Contessa, I relied heavily on my monthly subscription to Cooking Light for delicious, low fat recipe options. I have to say, rarely did it ever disappoint. While I’m not the biggest fan of chicken anymore (I tend to overcook it to be on the safe side, completely draining it of any flavor or taste it might have had), my husband goes bananas for this chicken and rice casserole. I don’t know what it is with my husband and casseroles, but whenever he’s TDY or home alone and has to cook for himself, he manages to whip up a different one every time. This recipe from none other than Cooking Light is easy to prepare and, dare I say it, delicious. Serve with a salad and you’re set!

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 (3 1/2 oz) boil-in-bag brown rice

1/3 cup dry white wine

8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts or thighs

1/2 tsp thyme

salt and pepper, to taste

2 cup chicken broth (I used organic, free-range from Swanson)

3 TBS whipping cream

1/3 cup parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat skillet and spray with cooking spray. Add onion and saute two minutes. Add garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Remove rice from bags and add to pan with onions and garlic; saute 30 seconds. Stir in wine and cook additional 30 seconds or until liquid evaporates.

Spoon rice mixture in an even layer in a 13×9 casserole dish, coated with cooking spray. Season chicken with thyme, salt and pepper and arrange on top of rice. Combine broth and cream, stirring well, and pour over top of chicken. Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle with cheese and bake additional 15 minutes, or until chicken is done.

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Winter Skin Saviors Under $15

Kirsty — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:44:14 +0000

It is my first winter in a city which has seen snow in the last few months. I have to say that spending the last 10+ years living in coastal climates has not adequately prepared me for the havoc that this season is bound to wreak on my wardrobe, hair and most important, my skin. Thankfully I’m a bit of a skincare connoisseur and will enthusiastically try any lotion, moisturizer, lip balm or balancing oil that anyone has to offer, so that I can test the benefits firsthand. I’m always looking at what’s newest, more effective and most cost efficient. So far, this winter there are three skincare products I can’t live without and thankfully they have price tags that won’t freeze your budget.

Yu-be Skin Cream to Go:

The little skin cream that could. This concentrated glycerin moisturizer packs a mighty punch and can tackle any skin issue effectively – from cracked heels to split cuticles. It’s my cuticles that need the most care in cold weather so I keep this by my bedside table and apply nightly to replenish lost moisture and protect my fingers from freezing outdoor temps. If you are looking for one product that will do it all this winter – including remedy chapped lips, this is it!

Sephora by OPI Restorative Hand Moisturizer:

Almond, avocado, shea butter….have I got your attention? This moisturizer caught mine about a year ago. This hand cream is nourishing, but not oily and you can almost feel it restoring the moisture in your hands as you apply it. It’s like giving your hands a nice tall drink of water. It smells great, too. Most important, it offers the perfect midday rescue for a dry hand attach a work, fitting snugly in your desk drawer.

Mary Kay Satin Lip Mask:

My sister who went to college in Boone, NC, introduced this beauty to me. It’s an exfoliant for your lips. Buffing beads literally kill off the dead surface skin on your lips to reveal a smooth, comfortable, chapped-free smile. I use it everyday. It’s addictive! Sometimes I follow with the Mary Kay Satin Lip Balm, sometimes I follow with a dab of Yu-Be cream. Either way I’m confident that I’m effectively tackling one of the biggest skin care annoyances of the season.

All of these winter skin saviors are $15 or less – certainly a worthy investment for smooth, crack-free skin and a healthy smile. Feel free to share your favorite winter skin solutions in the comments – I welcome your recommendations and advice if I’m going to make it through my first snowy winter!

Disclosure: This review contains my own opinions. I did not receive compensation from these companies to review these products, and thought they were excellent enough to share with you anyway. For that, I hope they enjoy the free PR!

Photo by: geselfabrica

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Summer beauty secrets

Recipe Wednesday: Crockpot beef barbeque

Kelly — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 19:29:27 +0000

When my husband and I were first married we used our crockpot so much we ended up having to replace it after only a year. With both of us working long, and sometimes crazy, hours, it was the best way to eat a balanced, tasty meal at the end of a long day. If you don’t have a crockpot, GET ONE. The sky’s the limit when it comes to what you can make in it, and the best part is that even the toughest, least expensive cuts of meat become juicy, flavorful, fall-apart-on-its-own after a day of cooking.

This recipe is not only one of the easiest you will ever make, but it happens to be one of our favorites. You can use beef or pork-I happened to have a rump roast on hand (it was the only meat left in the commissary on pay day-will never do that again!). Just put it in the pot and forget about it. It’s that easy! Check it out:

1 bottom round rump roast

1 medium onion, sliced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Water

Barbeque sauce

Season roast with salt and pepper and place in the crockpot. Fill water to the top of the roast and place the onions around it. Put the lid on, turn the crockpot on low and cook for eight hours. Once done, drain the water, reserving the onions. Using two forks, pull the meat apart and then mix with your favorite barbeque sauce. Serve on wheat rolls with coleslaw and you’re set!

Photo by Evening Edge.com

New Year, New You! Job hunting tips for 2011

Kelly — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:15:54 +0000

It’s January…time to put those New Year’s resolutions to work-especially if that includes finding a new job. The economy is slowly, but surely, starting to improve, and with the upswing there will inevitably be more job openings to come. Unfortunately, with the number of Americans out of work, you won’t be the only one applying for each position as it becomes available. Don’t make one of the many mistakes so many job hunters fall victim to when searching for a new job. Here are a few things to remember when looking:

Do your research. Companies are just as interested in finding out as much about you as you are about them. Do your homework and find out everything you can about the company you are interviewing with, including benefits, history, opportunities for advancement, financial status and community involvement, to name a few.

Trade publications like Fortune, BusinessWeek, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal are excellent resources. You can also find industry blogs online for help. It may sound overwhelming, however, knowing this not only helps you make a fabulous first impression, it also gives you a leg up on the competition interviewing for the same position.

Tone down your Facebook page. Gone are the days when Facebook was just for finding long lost friends. Nowadays, employers are accessing profile pages and using them to help decide whether or not they will hire you. Have pictures of you doing body shots at last weekend’s kegger, or shots of you frolicking at the beach in that itty bitty bikini? Be prepared for a potential employer to be able to see it, as well.

Your best bet is to set your profile to private so that only friends can see. If you choose not to make it private, be wary of whatever you post on your profile: if you don’t want your potential future boss to see it, DON’T POST IT!

Create a professional email address. This should be a given, but you’d be surprised how many resumes came across my desk in years past with email addresses like “machoman5″, “sportymullet” or “babycakes1999″. It may seem trivial, but your email address should be representative of you and your professionalism. It’s perfectly fine to use email addresses like the ones mentioned above for personal use, but creating a separate, professional one (for example your first and last name @ hotmail.com) could mean the difference between getting an interview and your resume ending up in the circular file.

Janes-List.com

Recipe Wednesday: Maple soy salmon

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Recipe Wednesday (on Thursday): Spinach-cheese bake

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Job interview warning signs

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5 things to be happy about right now

Most Commented Posts

Recipe Wednesday: Maple almond granola

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Eenie, meenie, miney, mo…picking a great business name

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Recipe Wednesday: Parmesan chicken and rice casserole

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Winter Skin Saviors Under $15

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Recipe Wednesday: Crockpot beef barbeque

Most Commented Posts

New Year, New You! Job hunting tips for 2011

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