Keep Running!

This week marks the start of training for the Disneyland Half Marathon.  I am very very excited about this.  What better way to start things off then by having this happen:

A good friend, who ran the Big Sur Marathon, which happened today, let me tag along to hear Jeff Galloway speak at marathon expo.  Jeff Galloway ran on the US Olympic team in 1972 - in the 10K event.  He is infectious to listen to.  He is almost 70 - just completed the Boston Marathon last Monday, flew cross country, and ran the Big Sur Marathon today.  Talk about energy.

He went on to explain his method of running these long races called the Run-Walk-Run method.  Since I started running in high school, I have only really ever known running all out.  What is this "walking breaks" nonsense?  But after listening to him speak, I am pretty convinced that this will help keep me running (bum knee and all) for a long time.  I also got a chance to ask him about running with two boys in a stroller.  He said wow! His wife was the one who got that lucky job.  He said to keep at it and if possible try to do the long runs with them if they stay happy in the stroller.  "It will make your half marathon seem really easy if you run it without them". ::wink::

So I have picked out my training schedule - "just finish" and not for time.  I think I can do pretty well time wise even if I don't try to go for speed.  I know it won't be anywhere near as fast a high school (not that I was exactly fast) but I would be happy with a 10 minute pace.  On the "off" days I hope to get in some sort of abs/arms routine, pilates, or a light walk with the dogs.  This way maybe I can improve my fitness level.

Hey, maybe this training will knock the last of the baby weight?!?!

Easter Eggs

I have read the past year or so about how easy it is to make hard boiled eggs in the oven.  I have kept off actually trying it because I did not believe that you could get the same results in the oven as on the stove top.  I don't know why I waited so long to try it - this made my easter egg making a lot easier.

Hard Boiled Eggs

Ingredients

eggs - however many you need to make
muffin pan

Steps

1.  Preheat oven to 325.
2.  In the mean time, place your eggs in the muffin pan.  This will help the eggs from rolling all over the place.
3.  Cook eggs for 30 minutes.
4.  Just a few minutes before you remove the pan from the oven.  Make an ice water bath.
5.  Remove eggs from oven.  Using tongs, place eggs in ice water bath for 10 minutes to stop the cooking process.

I used my first batch for our Easter eggs.  I thought it was so much easier than watching my pots for when they began boiling.

Crispy Cheddar-Ranch Chicken

I will be honest I was very hesitant to try this recipe.  It just seemed way to simple to come out well.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It is a quick and a great alternative to just have chicken for dinner.  I have reposted it below.  Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures so that you could see just how nice and crispy the chicken got.  My apologies!

Crispy Cheddar-Ranch Chicken

from Hyvee

Ingredients

4 (3 oz each) boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used a package of chicken tenderloins)
1/2 c. Hy-Vee light ranch dressing (I didn't have light - so we went with regular)
4 c. Hy-Vee cheddar harvest chips, crushed (I just used Sun Chips harvest cheddar)

Steps

1.  Place chicken and ranch dressing in a resealable plastic bag; shake to coat. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours.
2.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
3.  Remove chicken breasts from marinade and discard marinade. Coat chicken with crushed chips. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

Employed!

I have been doing a bit of a happy jig for the past week or so.  All of my job searching has paid off!  I have a job that I am very happy for.  It fulfills my goals of being able to stay at home with my boys when necessary and it gives me some personal purpose.

I am very excited to get started.  I will be working through orientation/training materials for a while so I may not post as frequently (but I do have a few new recipes slated for the end of the month and next month).

Excitement abounds!

Job Search

I hit the breaking point.  I love my boys.  I love how Thomas is beginning his exploration of the world and how JT is becoming his own little man - having likes and dislikes (I do not however enjoy the fact that it comes with "end of the world" meltdowns - but that could be a post of another day).  

I have reached a point where mommy wants - needs - space and activities that engage and entertain my brain.  So I decided I would like to get back into the work force.  Below are a few of things that I did to help my searching:

1.  I signed up at the base Civilian Personnel Advisory Center for a military spouse preference.  It essentially bumps your name to the top of the hiring list if (and it is a big if) you can be termed "Best Qualified" for a government position.

2.  Dusted off the old resume and gave it a bit of a facelift.  I included all of my volunteering time while at Fort Riley to compensate for time gaps.

3.  I joined LinkedIn.  *I'll be honest - I don't really like having a bunch of social media outlets to have to deal with - but this one is worth it if you are job searching.*  I added my now rejuvenated resume to the site and it provides me with job openings that match some of the positions I have previously held.

4.  I joined flexjobs.com for one month.  Why one month you ask?  Because I had managed to get membership discounted to $5.  Why flexjobs.com?  Because I still have a desire to "be at home" with my boys.  I want to have the flexibility and freedom to deal with the little things or - in JT's case - catastrophes as they arise.  I do not want to have all of my earnings go straight to a daycare service.  So flexjobs.com provides a lot of positions that give you the freedom to work remotely.

I hope some of these tips can help you out if you are looking to re-enter the workforce.

Updating!

As you may have noticed, I did a little updating to the blog.  While I liked the background of the previous layout, I did not like how the dynamic template loaded.  So as you can see, I went with something a little simpler.

I also said goodbye to our family website, which I almost always forget to update.  Most of my favorite recipes are already up here and I post pictures in the posts, so there is no need to have photo albums up on the site.  The only thing I did save was the page that listed our favorite haunts at each of the places we have been assigned too.  This way I can keep it updated a little bit easier.

A little less hassle makes life easier, don't you think?

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

Aha - new Indian recipe.  This one is not too overpowering - also it is a short slow cooker recipe.

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

adapted from The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tbsp Penzey's Tandoori Seasoning
1/2 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tilapia fillets (any white or oily fish will do)
olive oil

Steps

1.  In a bowl mix together the first six ingredients.
2.  Rub the spice mix on both sides of each fish fillet.  Brush the fillet with a little oil.
3.  Wrap each fillet in aluminum foil.
4.  Line the fish packets inside the slow cooker. (If they all do not touch the surface, make sure to rotate the packets halfway through cooking time.)  Cover and cook on LOW from 1.5 - 2 hours. 

The Finished Product

Make sure your fillets are thawed - we had to let it go a bit longer because they were still very frozen.  The spice mix is fragrant but does not overwhelm your tastebuds.

Edible Playdough

Sometimes you just need a recipe that will entertain the kiddos.

 

  

 

Edible Playdough

adjusted from cooks.com

Ingredients

1/2 c. water 

1 tbsp. oil 

1 and a 1/2 c. flour 

1/2 c. sugar 

1 pkg Kool-aid, any flavor

Steps

1.  Mix together water and oil. Microwave on HIGH for about 2 minutes.
2.  Mix flour, sugar, and kool-aid in a bowl.  (I did not have any kool-aid packets so this was just dough colored.)
3.  Add water/oil to dry mixture in stages and mix well with wooden spoon.
4.  Add extra flour to get to desired stickiness.

License and Registration Please!

Life in the military means moving...a lot!  One aspect that we have luckily avoided is relocating vehicles.  This past move - no such luck.  Since we will be here in Cali for quite an extended period of time, we recently replaced our Kansas plates with shiny white California ones.

The DMV process was a little bit of over kill.  We had to fill out registration paperwork containing all of the pertinent information about the cars.  Then 20 minutes later a dmv worker "verified" our vehicles using another form that contained essentially the same information.   Seems redundant, does it not?

But after an hour and fifteen minutes, we walked out of the DMV to our vehicles and attached the new license plates.  The final vestiges of Kansas are now stored away and it seems like we may not see them for a very long time.

Slow Cooker Chianti-Braised Short Ribs

I have been hanging on to this particular recipe for what seems like a lifetime.  This week the fancy struck me to actually make the recipe.  Below is the original recipe and I will discuss my additions/subtractions at the end.

Slow Cooker Chianti Braised Short Ribs

from Rachel Ray

Ingredients

8 beef short ribs on the bone (4 to 5 pounds)
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups chianti wine
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste

Steps

1.  Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the ribs and cook, turning often, until browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large slow cooker.
2.  Pour off all but about 1 tablespoon fat from the skillet. Add the onion and garlic and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until slightly softened, about 4 minutes.
3.  Stir in the wine and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker and cook on low heat until tender, about 6 hours.
4.  Transfer the ribs to a platter and cover to keep warm. Strain the cooking liquid into a large measuring cup and skim as much fat as possible from the surface. Transfer to a saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until reduced to about 1 cup. Whisk in the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the ribs.

The Final Product

The ribs turned out quite tender.  It was a tasty dish.  I was unable to find bone in short ribs so I used boneless.  I had about 6 ribs that amounted to about 2.5 pounds.  To cut down on chopping, I threw in a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes.  I also started this late, so in the rush of hunger I forgot to add in the tomato paste to the cooking liquid.  I don't think it was a major detractor.  It was quite a yummy au jus instead.  I paired it with some fried polenta - simple to make.  Get a prepared roll of polenta.  Slice into 1/2 inch pieces and fry in a pan with a little bit of butter.  Delish!