Sunday, February 24, 2013

For The Foodies: Greek-Style Salad



Ingredients 


12 ounces boneless lamb leg center slice or beef top round steak, cut 1 inch thick
1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
1/4 cup lemon juice 
1 tablespoon olive oil or salad oil
1 tablespoon water 
1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
6 cups torn fresh spinach and/or romaine leaves
1 medium cucumber, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
4 ripe olives, halved
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 small pita bread rounds, cut in wedges and toasted

Step 1


Trim fat from meat. Place on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat for 12 to 15 minutes or to desired doneness, turning meat once. 

Step 2


Meanwhile, for the dressing, in a screw-top jar combine the lemon peel, lemon juice, oil, water oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover and shake well. Set aside.

Step 3


Divide spinach and/or romaine leaves among 4 plates. Cut the broiled meat across the grain into thin, bite-size strips. Arrange warm sliced meat, cucumber, red onion, olives, and feta cheese on top of greens. Drizzle dressing over salads. Serve with toasted pita bread wedges. Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Facts Per Serving


269 calories, 11 g total fat (4 g saturated fat), 40 mg cholesterol, 504 mg sodium, 25 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 21 g protein



Source: Better Homes and Garden New Dieter's Cookbook

Sunday, February 10, 2013

For the Foodies: Tortellini-Vegetable Salad



Ingredients 


1 9-ounce package refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini
1 10-ounce package frozen peas and carrots
1/2 cup fat-free mayonnaise dressing or salad dressing
2 tablespoons skim milk
1 to 2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard or Dijon-style mustard

Step 1


In a saucepan cook tortellini according to package directions, except stir in frozen peas and carrots along with tortellini. Drain.

Step 2


In a mixing bowl comobine mayonnaise dressing or salad dressing, milk, and mustard. Add cooked tortellini and vegetables, stirring to coat.

Step 3


Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

To tote for lunch, place 1 serving in an airtight container. Place in an insulated lunch box with a frozen ice pack.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving


259 calories, 5 g total fat (2 g saturated fat), 30 mg cholesterol, 714 mg sodium, 43 carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 12 g protein

The Lowdown


Just coming back from church, this dish was so quick and easy to make. Take some packaged noodles, frozen vegetables, and you have a delicious lunch that's good for you.

For the kids, they clearly loved the noodles. As a parent, I'm just looking to find new foods that will keep their tiny little palates confused.

The next time I make this dish, I would definitely cook it the night before and store it in the refrigerator for the following day. While the meal I served was cold, it would have been even better had I stored it overnight.

I hope you enjoy!

Source: Better Homes and Garden New Dieter's Cookbook 

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Smithfield Alumni's NUPES Night Out Was A Success


It was long overdue. Blame it on the job, family, or just the growing list of obligations, whatever the reason, getting together last night was important for many of us.

The idea for a NUPES night out event came from a conversation I had with my fraternity brother, Kevin Richards. As the Membership Services chairman, he always keeps his eye on the tone of the chapter. What are the brothers talking about? What do they need? How can WE provide it?

Over a hot cup of coffee, Kevin explained to me that we needed to do something for the brothers. It had been a while since we last spent some real one-on-one time together as a chapter. Sure, a few members went to the Durham Alumni Super Bowl Party and others attended various Founder's Day celebrations around the Triangle. Unfortunately, we needed something of our own. NUPES Night Out was born.

On the Friday, February 8, 2013, members of the Smithfield Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. gathered together at the Champps Americana restaurant in Raleigh, North Carolina. For many of us, we arrived immediately after work. Although, I noticed some were a little extra fresh and clean, which leads me to believe that they went home first and changed clothes. Leave it to the pretty boys.

For the first hour or so, the guys gathered around the bar and entered into conversations about the recent Duke and NC State basketball game. Others talked about video games, the Super Bowl power outage, and upcoming vacations.

Once the table was ready, all ten members in attendance migrated over to the group seating. We later found out that this particular table was perfect for watching local singers test their skills on the Karaoke microphone. This seemed to be a popular attraction as multitudes of people soon entered the establishment. It was packed!

Over the next two hours, the brothers enjoyed a good meal, tons of laughter, and a healthy reminder that in order to work hard, we have to also play hard. As the Middle Eastern Province Polemarch Carlos Watson would say, "We need to remember and promote BROTHERHOOD whenever possible." I concur.

In the final moments, everyone in attendance agreed that NUPES Night Out was a success. The question on everyone's mind was this...what's next?

According to many, a family oriented event would be in order. Therefore, the next event will take place in March and we'll call it "NUPES On Wheels." No, not motorcycles, bicycles, but roller skates. Next month, Smithfield Alumni will organize a family friendly event where wives, kids, and friends can come out to enjoy a fun-filled afternoon around the skating rink. Details on the event will be announced soon.

I personally would like to give a shout out to all the brothers that attended the event and look forward to our next get together. Yo Yo!

Until next time...


If you are unable to view the photo gallery, click here.



If you are unable to see the video, click here.

Thursday, February 7, 2013

For the Foodies: Southwest-Style Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients


2 large green sweet peppers
8 ounces lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 14.5-ounce can low-sodium tomatoes, undrained and cut up
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup long grain rice
1 4.5-ounce can diced green chili peppers, drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup loose-pack frozen whole kernel corn
2 tablespoons shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Step 1


Halve sweet peppers lengthwise, removing stem ends seeds, and membranes. Immerse sweet peppers into boiling water for 3 minutes. Invert on paper towels to drain well.



Step 2 


In a large skillet cook ground beef and onion until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, water, uncooked rice, chili peppers, chili powder, garlic salt, and cumin. Bring to boiling. Stir in corn. Return to boiling; or until rice and corn is tender.








Step 3


Place pepper halves in a 2-quart square baking dish. Spoon meat mixture into peppers. Spoon any remaining meat mixture into the dish around the peppers. Bake peppers, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes or until heated through. Uncover; sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake 2 minutes more. Makes 4 servings.





Nutrition Facts Per Serving


238 calories, 7 g total fat (3 g saturated fat), 38 mg cholesterol, 406 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 15 g protein

The Lowdown

Tonight's dish was a real treat, at least for me it was. As a kid, my mother used to cook a similar dish and I wasn't a fan of the green pepper. It seems my kids took that trait from my childhood. Today, I enjoyed the green pepper and all the goodness it offered.

Quick note, I made a few modifications from the list above. For some reason, I forgot to buy two cans of tomatoes, green chilies, and cumin. No worries, I found a few jars of salsa in the refrigerator and kept it moving. Perfect!

Even before I put the meat mixture in the green pepper bowls, I knew it was going to be good. The aroma had a distinct southwestern twang, which I enjoyed. The green from the sweet pepper contrasted nicely with the red tone tomato-based rice. Together, it made for an interesting, and quite hearty, dish.

For the kids, they thought the meal was a bit spicy. They managed to make a nice dent in the rice, but left the green pepper to die alone. For the adults, it was a pleasant meal that quickly fills you up. I wouldn't need a second serving.

Should I make this meal again, which I would thoroughly enjoy, it would be exactly as I prepared it, salsa and all. The kids, like yesterday, would prefer I pile the rice with cheddar cheese. I disagree.

Overall, an enjoyable meal that pleases the eyes as well as the palate. Enjoy!

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cookbook

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

For the Foodies: Taco Salad


Ingredients


6 ounces boneless beef top round steak
4 7- or 8-inch flour tortillas
Nonstick spray coating
1 cup frozen corn
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup salsa
1 8-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
6 cups shredded lettuce
1/4 cup light dairy sour cream
Thinly sliced green onion (optional)

Step 1


Trim fat from beef. Partially freeze beef (about 30 minutes). Cut into thin bite-size strips.

Step 2 


Meanwhile, cut each tortilla into 8 wedges. Place in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown; set aside to cool.




Step 3


Spray an unheated large skillet with nonstick coating. Preheat over medium heat. Add corn and garlic. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Push to side. Add beef. Cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until beef is of desired doneness. Stir in salsa and kidney beans Heat through. Divide lettuce among 4 places or large bowls. Spoon meat mixture atop lettuce. Place several tortilla wedges to side of each salad. Top salads with sour cream and, if desired, sprinkle with green onion. Makes 4 servings.







Nutrition Facts Per Serving


279 calories, 8 g total fat (2 g saturated fat), 29 mg cholesterol, 495 mg sodium, 39 g carbohydrates, 5 g fiber, 20 g protein.

The Lowdown

Surprising, this meal was simple to make and used very few spices. For some reason, I kept thinking I needed to add chili seasoning, but it never called for it.

There are two things I would have changed about my execution of this recipe. The first thing I would have done differently was actually SHRED the lettuce. Thinking it would be far to challenging to shred lettuce, I decided to CUT it. While the taste was the same, I felt shredded lettuce would have provided a more pleasant dining experience. We're talking fewer chunks if I had.

The second thing I would have changed would have been pulling the tortillas out of the oven sooner. While the taste really didn't suffer, the "chips" were a little too crunchy. For me, I left them in for about 10 minutes but could have taken them out around 7 or 8 minutes.

When I asked the family what they would do differently, they responded with, "CHEESE!" For them, cheddar cheese was the one missing ingredient that would have made this dish superb!

Finally, similar to the lasagna of last night, I could have benefited from doubling the meat sauce. It's not necessary, but I like my meat.

If you try this dish, please let me know how it tastes for you.

Enjoy!

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cookbook

For the Foodies: Lasagna


Ingredients


8 ounces lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 16-ounce can low-sodium tomatoes, undrained and cut up
1 6-ounce can low-sodium tomato paste
1.5 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
1.5 teaspoons dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
9 packaged dried lasagna noodles
1 12-ounce carton low-fat cottage cheese, drained
1.5 cups shredded reduced-fat mozzarella cheese (6 ounces)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
1 egg
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley

Step 1


In a saucepan cook beef, onion, and garlic until meet is brown. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano, fennel seed, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes; stir occasionally.


Step 2


Meanwhile, cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain; rinse with cold water. Drain well.

Step 3


For filling, combine cottage cheese, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, the Parmesan cheese, egg, parsely, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.


Step 4




Layer one-third of the cooked noodles in a 2-quart rectangular baking dish, trimming ends to fit. Spread with half of the filling. Top with one-third of saunce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles and sauce. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella.







Step 5


Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 servings.


Nutrition Facts Per Serving


281 callories, 8 g total fat (5 g saturated fat), 60 mg cholesterol, 491 mg sodium, 27 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 23 g protein.

The Lowdown


I am a fan of lasagna. In my mind, the lasagna was saved for special occasions. Maybe I thought it took too long to make or maybe because it seemed complicated. Whatever the reason, this dish was a cinch.

While making it, especially while layering the lasagna, I kept thinking I should have doubled the filling and meat sauce. While the first layer was fine, the second and third layers needed more of both. When my son and I dug in, we both agreed in unison, "More Filling!"

Nevertheless, the dish was tasty. I could smell and taste the herbs and spices. My favorite was the garlic. Probably not great for socializing up close, but it makes for a yummy dish.

I ended up cooking it for 35 minutes exactly, but could have cooked it for a little less time. The meat, cheese, and exposed noodles appeared a bit dry and touch. Fortunately, it didn't effect the final taste test.

As far as sides, something green would have been nice. Maybe some green beans or broccoli would do just right.

In the end, it was easy to make, tasty, and a hit within the house. I'm definitely adding this to my list of future recipes.

Enjoy!

Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cookbook

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Think Of Blog Posts Like Meeting Minutes

The other day, while walking back to the office from lunch, an idea hit me...blogs are like notes from a meeting (minutes). For many of us, we attend meetings for work, church, and clubs. Meetings are where people gather around a table, conference over a telephone, or gather in virtual rooms to discuss agenda items.

During those meetings, someone is tasked with taking notes. This person focuses on capturing decisions, ideas, and to-do items. Once complete, the note-taker makes the meeting notes available to all persons in attendance. If your meeting functions like this, than you're in good shape.

Unfortunately, few people know what to do with meeting notes. How do I know? Well, based on my experience, I've seen minutes end up in trash cans, desk drawers, or the information black hole of nothingness. Effort is spent creating meeting documents, but it seems nothing ever becomes of the information. How do we fix this dilemma? We help find those items a new home.

Finding A New Home


With a beautifully created set of meeting minutes, it is time to transfer relevant items from the notes and place them somewhere that makes sense. In this section, I recommend a few options.

To-Do Items
One of the first things we can do is remove the assigned tasks and place them on a task sheet. Maybe we already have a list within Outlook, Google Calendar, Any.Do, or some other to-do application. However you have them stored, make sure assignments go into the same place every time.

Decisions
Depending on the type of meeting, decisions may come in the form of bylaw changes, policy updates, or a change in the standard operating procedures. Whatever the type, there needs to be a place to store final decisions so that people can begin acting upon them.

Remember, people have short memories and unless it is written down promptly, people tend to forget the details of the decision. Additionally, any new member to the group, team, or club, may not have the historical context to remember the final decision or the discussions surrounding the issue. Therefore, placing decisions in a document that is accessible by all is a very good thing.

Ideas
Unlike to-do items and decisions, ideas are little less immediate. To me, ideas are like seeds that are often planted but rarely germinate. Why? Because ideas, like seeds, need attention.

If you're like me, ideas come all the time. Unfortunately, one does not have time to execute on every idea that reveals itself. This doesn't mean an idea is not valuable. On the contrary, I think ideas are probably one of the most valuable things that come out of a meeting. Often, like tasks, ideas need to be prioritized and worked on.

Nevertheless, capture ideas in a notebook, spreadsheet, or document so that it can be reviewed often and reintroduced when the time is right. It's better to have a bunch of ideas that you never use than to have no ideas when you need some.

Tying It All Together


To bring the point of this article together, let me write that blogs posts are like meeting minutes. Bloggers capture ideas, share opinions, and offer information on a variety of subjects, but what happens to all of these articles over time?

I don't know about everyone else, but I have about 888 posts on DamondNollan.com. Outside of writing articles and sharing them online, I haven't done much else with them. On occasion I may refer back to an article, but I could be doing so much more.

In 2012, I wrote a couple of articles that begin to address the idea of blogging as a way to capture ideas and then transferring those ideas into something more substantial. The two posts are "Leveraging The Blog To Improve Career Readiness" and "A Four-Step Plan To Blogging A Long-Form Piece Of Work."

What I appreciate about those two posts are their contribution to the idea of writing toward a long-form piece of work that is easily organized and, most importantly, referenced. In my mind, the first stage is in creating helpful documents like small eBooks, white papers, and reports. Together, these first stage documents would contribute toward a more comprehensive work like dissertations, books, and manuals.

Once a first or second stage document has been created and shared, the most important step of all is executing the plans, best practices, and procedures outlined in the resource. By keeping a single copy of a manual online, for example, all employees, teams, or club members are empowered to work together in concert. Awesome, huh?

Closing Thought


As I prepare to end this article, let me share what I have done in my life as a result of this post. On my web site (DamondNollan.com), I have created a new "Library" tab. Don't get too excited because the only document on the page is a very early version of my "Knowledge Book," which is still a work-in-progress.

What I am excited about is that I'm writing the book in Google Drive and then sharing the link publicly. Google Drive allows me to create a document, share it, and then update the document on the fly. Anyone reading the book online will automatically receive updates. Additionally, I can receive comments from readers and get basic level analytics on the number of views from Bit.ly. Cool, right?

Feedback


Thanks for reading. Should you have any comments or questions on the article, I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Saturday, February 2, 2013

DreamTrips: Nashville, Tennessee (January 2013)

In January 2013, I visited Nashville, TN. Here are the pictures to document my travels.

If you cannot see the images above, click here.

Damond L. Nollan, M.B.A.

Toll-free: (919) 912-9121
E-mail: Contact Me

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