A New Yummy Recipe

It's been a little while since my last post. Not too much is new, I started my new job this week and Mike is busy with school. It's great to be back at work and not sitting around studying! It's a little scary being a new nurse, but I'm still in classroom training and there is plenty more class to come among my 40 shifts of orientation.

Anyways, the whole reason I wanted to post was that I tried a great recipe tonight. I found it on the Cooking Light website. I absolutely love this website. They have so many delicious recipes that don't taste lightened up at all. Not all of the recipes are super low calorie but they are definitely better than doing it the "Non-Cooking Light" way. This recipe is called Chicken Tamale Casserole and it's so delish! If you love cornbread and enchiladas, you'll love this one!

Chicken Tamale Casserole
Serves 8

• 1 cup shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
• 1/3 cup fat-free milk (I used 1%)
  
• 1/4 cup egg beaters
  
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
• 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (I used the Jiffy Brand)
• 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
• Cooking spray
• 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, mild)
  
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream (I used light sour cream because I think it tastes better and has a better texture)

Preheat oven to 400. Start by putting 1/4 cup of your cheese in a bowl. Add the milk, Egg Beaters, cumin, red pepper, cream corn, muffin mix, and green chiles. Mix until combined and moist. It is important not to over mix cornbread because it can get tough. Spray a 9x13 inch glass pan with cooking spray and pour in the corn bread mixture. Spread evenly in the pan. Bake this in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it is set. Remove the cornbread from the oven and pierce the bread liberally with a fork. Pour over the enchilada sauce and spread evenly. Top with shredded chicken and the remaining 3/4 cup of cheese. Put back in the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Cut it into 8 pieces and serve with a dollop of the sour cream.

For Weight Watchers points, 1 serving is 8 points. (357 calories, 14.1 grams of fat)

This was such a warm plate of comfort food! Not really filling, but serve it up with a side salad and some steamed veggies and you've got yourself a pretty good meal.

The Boards!

So it's been a while since my last post. But, I have a good reason...I was studying like a mad-woman for my state nursing boards. I took a review class and did over 4,500 questions to prepare for the dreaded day. I've been a nervous wreck for the past month and so worried I wouldn't pass. I was scheduled to take them yesterday, February 5 at 8:00am. My mom took the day off work and drove me up to Bloomington. I got there about 7:15 am. They told us to be there 1/2 hour early. I waited and waited. There were 2 other girls from my program taking it there too. It was terrifying! To top it all off, they were having technical problems and we had to wait until shortly after 8:00 to get started. For those of you who don't know about the NCLEX-RN test, it is a computerized test and a passing standard is set. You can be tested on ANYTHING! I had diseases and medications on my test I had never heard of. The questions throughout the test get easier or more difficult based on if you answered the previous question right or wrong. The minimum number of questions is 75 and the maximum is 265. The computer turns off when it is 95% sure whether you are at, above, or below the passing standard. So, if you take 75 questions and pass you either did really great or you did really poorly. You have a total of 6 hours to take the test. So, I get in there and sit down and say a pray...I actually think I prayed about every 3 questions or so. I was going really fast. But, I'm never one to sit and dwell on questions that I don't know. The whole point of the test is to critically think through the questions. It felt like every question I didn't know the answer to. My computer turned off at 75 questions after only about 50 minutes of testing. When I saw I was on question 75, I answered it and clicked the "Next" button and winced waiting to see if it would turn off...and it did. I was the first person done in the room. And then I bawled at my computer. When it is over, the computer just turns off. There is no "Thank you for taking the test" or "You are now done" message, it just turns off and then about 2 minutes later a short survey pops up. I just cried and cried because I thought for sure I had failed since I didn't know any of the answers. When the computer turned off, I just wanted to shake it and yell, "NO! I need more time! I know I can do this!! Just give me a few more questions!" It is such an empty feeling afterwards. No feelings of accomplishment at all. I raised my hand and the test administrator came and escorted me out and checked me out of the testing center. Then, I had to spend the whole day waiting for my test results. My mom and I went shopping and then met my dad at Taste of Scandinavia for some good food and even better cake. Believe me, I needed a piece of cake. I slept horribly last night, I woke up about every 45 minutes to look at the clock and see how much longer I had to wait to get my results at 8:00am this morning. Then I sat at my computer from 7:30 until 8:00 this morning waiting to be able to check my results. That was the scariest part...but I PASSED!! I'm so excited. It feels so wonderful to be done and it feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. All that hard work of nursing school and studying has paid off. I am now Andrea Moldstad, RN, BSN! What a great feeling! I owe it all to the Lord who granted me the patience, wisdom, and stamina to keep studying and preparing and to not lose my sanity waiting for results. It is so wonderful...I am a Registered Nurse!