Article
January 30, 2012
by Stefanie Paulson

Chicken and Rice Bake

I have been looking out for some good casserole type meals that are quick and easy. I always like being able to throw some ingredients into a dish, pop them in the oven, and do some reading while it bakes. No one has to know the oven does all the work right?

So I found the inspiration for this meal over on Big Oven, one of my favorite cooking apps on my iPad. A simple, savory chicken and rice dish. And despite the heavy helping of broccoli inside, Tyler still liked it too.

What You Need:

2 chicken breasts, thin
3/4 cup rice (I used brown)
1 can condensed cream of broccoli soup, low fat (any other kind is fine)
1/2 package frozen broccoli
3/4 cup of water or so
fresh ground pepper
cayenne pepper
garlic powder
dried thyme
1/2 cup or so of shredded cheddar cheese

To make, mix the rice, water, and the can of soup in your baking dish. Then stir in the broccoli and add a little black pepper. I seasoned the chicken breasts on both sides with some pepper, garlic, cayenne, and thyme and then snuggled them into the dish.ready for the oven

Cover the entire dish with aluminum foil and place into a 375 degree oven (I now have a oven thermometer, so I can actually semi-monitor my oven temp and try and keep it steady). After about 30-40 minutes, it should be done. Cook until the liquid is absorbed and the chicken is cooked all the way through. Once the dish is done, top with the shredded cheddar cheese and allow to melt. For an added touch, add some breadcrumbs (or crushed cornflakes) on top and give it a quick pass under the broiler to develop a slightly crispy top layer.all done - looks great!

With a nice, fresh salad or some extra fresh steamed veggies you have a delicious dinner. Enjoy!

Article
January 27, 2012
by Stefanie Paulson

Rough Beginnings

Wind

It had been particularly windy here the last few days.  Why, I am not really sure. It is usually breezy, but the wind has been particularly strong recently. So much so, that these eerie sounds get made from the way it whips around our apartment that I can hear at night or in the early mornings.

Not much more has happened recently. It has been a week of dealing with lots of little annoying things. This school has been sending me round in circles. Wednesday I attended a training session to be a facilitator for review sessions for new term 1 students. I signed up months ago and was assured that it was a for-sure thing if you pass your classes. I go to the training and my name is not on the list. They have no record of my sign-up (even tho I have proof I submitted the application) and wrote my name down to add-in. I have yet to hear if I got scheduled and when my group will meet. They start Monday and it would be nice to know if I need to be preparing, etc. Unfortunately, I feel like I have pestered them enough today so I will have to wait until Monday and hope that I don’t have a session that starts on Monday.

Secondly, they posted grades today for my finals I took Monday and Tuesday. When I originally checked my parasitology grade, it said I failed. This seemed crazy to me, so I frantically emailed the professor and then worried ran to the office. I was thankful to see a friend of mine sitting there frantically looking through scantrons which gave me the reassurance that it was most likely an error. Fortunately it was just that, an error on their part, and my grade is supposed to be corrected to my rightly earned A. Sigh of relief there.

And thirdly this week I finally turned in my selective papers. SGU offers optional extra classes that are usually clinically oriented. I am (hopefully) taking a community health selective that will allow me to get some experience visiting the Grenada general hospital and taking patient histories, etc. I am really looking forward to it and one of my friends and I decided to sign up together. After finally finding the office we needed, the person we needed to speak with was not there so we handed our papers to a secretary to hope the class is not full. I really hope we get in, we are very excited about taking the class. It sounds like a great opportunity. I guess we will see, lets hope they can be prompt about letting us know. I think it starts in a week!

Anyways, prayers that everything will work out are much appreciated. I am looking forward to getting to do a few things outside of just class to help gain some extra experience and course review.

Tyler and I are hoping to head to St. George’s on Sunday for some Independence Day festivities. There seems to be a sort of national fair thing happening. I am sure that will warrant some stories you can look forward to!

Article
January 24, 2012
by Stefanie Paulson

Two Weeks and Two Classes Down

Today I finished final number two. Can you believe that it is only week 3 and I have already taken two finals!

We had only two classes the first two weeks which all ended today and tomorrow my other 4, much harder, classes begin. It has been nice to transition in slowly, but a super bummer that I have been so not busy and Tyler has been playing catch-up with work. He says that starting next weekend he shouldn’t have to work on the weekends anymore, just when I will be back to studying all weekend. LAME!

But anyways, we are enjoying being back to normal life here on the Island. Back to a nice sunny 85 degrees everyday with sporadic rain showers. In fact, I think that this afternoon I will hit the beach. And maybe if I am lucky, I will pull my husband away from work this evening to come join me and we can get some fun, fruity drinks at Umbrellas.

But we are actually very thankful that Tyler is now working full time for one company. God has blessed us there and he loves his job so much, so that makes me very happy. I am looking forward to time changing again so we will only be 3 hours ahead of home, then 5pm there will be only 8pm here. And you can pray for school as real classes start up. I am also leading DES review sessions for 1st termers this term for Anatomy and Biochemistry plus, which some luck, will be taking a community health selective that will allow me to round at the Grenada General Hospital a couple times a week. It will mean that I am really busy, but it should help me really solidify and integrate all that I am learning.

With love from us here in Grenada, we hope you are all enjoying your cold winters and snow storms. If you need a sunny break, come visit!

Article
January 24, 2012
by Stefanie Paulson

The Long Overdue Post about Julian

So this post is way overdue, but break sure did fly by. I just lost track of time. We spent about 18 days in the States and it was packed full of family, friends, and stocking up on American goodies.

Our first big adventure shortly after getting to California was a trip to the cold. After spending the last 5 months in continual August, cold was what we wanted. Compared to Grenada’s sunny, humid, 87 degree weather everyday – California’s chilly 50’s were quite a shock for us. But we decided that we wanted to soak as much up as possible, so we decided to make a trip to the mountains in search of snow. We rented a little cabin at the most beautiful, cozy little inn in Julian for the night. Going to Julian during the holidays is already pretty special to us because last Christmas we went for the anual tree lighting ceremony which we sadly missed this year. But it is a tradition that I wouldn’t mind keeping – and so is staying up there at this inn – so beautiful!

Anyways, we  started off our little 36 hour mini-vacation by hiking up in Mt. Laguna. Snow was everywhere – about a foot and half to two feet. That might not sound like much to our friends in the mountains or on the east coast, but that is pretty good for the San Diego county mountains.Mt. Laguna

We were able to enjoy all of the classic snow activities, snowball fights, building a snowman, snow angels, and even a relaxing bath in a tub full of ice! It was super sunny and cold, for us at least, and the best part was that not too many people had tracked through yet so all of the snow was perfect and free of footprints.

Tyler sitting on an ice toilet reading an imaginary paper Taking a bath in a tub made of ice Tyler conquering the snowy log Me jumping off of a snowy log with mad ninja skills (until I got hurt)
The trail we hiked up Us at the end of the hike View of the dessert from a lookout in Mount Laguna

After our hike, we enjoyed Julian and the awesome Cabin we got to stay in. The main lodge of the inn has the best large fireplace where we sat and drank wine and beer, ate cheese and fruit, and read travel magazines. We even read one about the Caribbean – Grenada wasn’t even mentioned. We clearly know more about the Caribbean than they do. The main lodge of the Inn in Julian

It was the most perfect trip. We loved getting some time to relax, just the two of us after a chaotic semester. It was perfect – many, many husband points to Tyler for planning a great little trip for us.