As you may remember, I set a fitness goal for myself - to be ready and able to run a 10k road race at the beginning of August. Well, I am eight weeks away (scary!) - and this is the time to really hunker down to set out a plan to at least be able to run 6.2 miles non stop.
First, I needed new shoes. We have a great running/shoe store here that is owned and operated by runners. They know about stability control and running form. They know their shoes inside and out. They also have great gadgets (watches, hats, clothes) to help you on your running quest. I have always ran in either Asics or Saucony. After a getting checked out, they say sure there is an Asics but give this style of Brooks a try. Gosh, it was great. I had never had a pair of shoes that fit like that. Happy feet make for happy running.
Second, I know I needed an app. We live in the gps phone age. I did not want to purchase a gps system for my runs. I carry my phone with me in case of emergency - so finding a gps app should do the trick. I really like the MapMyRun app. It is pretty simple to use. When I go online, I can view all my workouts for the month. It's great to see the color coding - runs, elliptical workouts, pilates - shoot I even include the marathon cleaning sessions as a workout. It also keeps count of your weekly mileage - am I having a good week, or have I not made it out of the house at all?
Third, running with a jogging stroller takes a lot of getting used too. I have managed four runs over the past week and a half. I am still not comfortable with it. I am pretty sure it has to do with how I store my energy. I store a lot of it in my arms. I use my arms to really dig deep and get going. Holding onto the stroller really tires me out and does not allow me to use the energy in my arms. I am glad I decided to start my working out early. Running a 10k without practicing with the stroller, would be a nightmare.
I am starting to feel confident about running again. I know I am nowhere near as good as I was in high school or college but I don't really care about that.
New Games
Now that JT is mobile, we are finding lots of fun new things to do. We like to listen to Mom continually say - JT, those are dog toys. Don't put those in your mouth.
JT loves exploring. He has not quite managed it yet but he is still trying to figure out the dogs' crates. I am pretty sure in a few more days I will just find him hanging out inside of one of them.
JT also enjoys crawling over to the laminate flooring with some of his toys. Then the drumming session begins.
JT loves exploring. He has not quite managed it yet but he is still trying to figure out the dogs' crates. I am pretty sure in a few more days I will just find him hanging out inside of one of them.
JT also enjoys crawling over to the laminate flooring with some of his toys. Then the drumming session begins.
Avgolemono Soup or...
How we find out that I am unable to Boil a Chicken!
So, while in Disney one of my new favorite restaurants is Kouzzina's by Cat Cora. Okay, it is not new. But compared to some of the other restaurants there it still has that new shimmer to it. I love getting a bowl of the Avgolemono. So I decided to go on a search for the recipe. I found it here on the food Network. I was a bit intimidated by the whole chicken but well, I leave the story for a later.
Avgolemono
Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) free range chicken
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 bay leaves
1 leek, cleaned and quartered
1 carrot, peeled and quartered
2/3 cup aborio rice
2 large eggs
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Steps:
1. Place the chicken in a large pot with 2 quarts cold water, enough to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low, skimming when necessary.
2. In a separate pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the onions. Sweat the onions until clear. Set aside.
3. When chicken is cooked through, remove from the broth. Let the chicken cool and pull the meat from the bones. Dice into large cubes. Set aside.
4. Add the onion, bay leaves, leek, and carrot to the broth and simmer for 1 hour. When finished, remove the carrot and leek from the broth and add the rice. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to medium high to simmer until the rice is cooked to al dente, about 30 minutes. Add the chicken back into the broth. Add more water if needed.
5. In a small bowl beat the eggs and lemon juice together. Pour 2 cups of broth slowly into the bowl of egg and lemon, whisking continuously. Once all the broth is incorporated, add the mixture into the pot of chicken soup and stir to blend well throughout. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
The Finished Product:
First, my story. I thawed out my chicken - which was closer to 4 pounds than 3. I follow step one. Between step 1 and 3, I manage to get step 2 completed along with get side tracked by JT and keeping my work area clean. All in all, I think I left the chicken in for an hour. Apparently that was not long enough. I take it out to find that while the chicken is white on the outer layers, the inside was not done. I quickly pulled out a fry pan and start tearing chicken off the bone and frying it up. For a fix it, it did not turn out to badly. I did not have fresh lemons on hand so I used Real Lemon. It was good but not quite like I remember from the restaurant.
I plan on trying it again - it's great calorie wise and still really filling with the rice and chicken. Next time I might just boil several chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken. Definitely will get a couple of fresh lemons as well.
From Crawling to Standing
Shut the Front Door! JT figured out crawling only five days ago. Today, he tried to climb out of his pack and play. First I thought it was all just innocent. JT was looking at the rails that hold the "bassinet" portion in place. I thought it was cute. JT was having the time of his life, laughing his little head off.
Not two minutes later, I hear more laughing from the other side of the pack and play. Here is what I found:
I immediately pulled him out of the dang thing and lowered the bassinet. I thought that since he figured out the crawling he would be happy with that mode of transportation. Apparently not. Oh the insanity. And now I have an unhappy child who desperately wants to pull himself up to standing.
Not two minutes later, I hear more laughing from the other side of the pack and play. Here is what I found:
I immediately pulled him out of the dang thing and lowered the bassinet. I thought that since he figured out the crawling he would be happy with that mode of transportation. Apparently not. Oh the insanity. And now I have an unhappy child who desperately wants to pull himself up to standing.
Mobility
I am calling it. This is the first day that I have seen JT put all the motions together. He is mobile. He can crawl across the room if he wants to. Now, I will admit he is not quite cruising around. But give him a few minutes and he will get to his goal. It is a good thing we had a baby gate installed for the dogs already - or we would be scrambling now. For your viewing pleasure, JT getting his crawl on:
Baja Fish Tacos
This recipe has a bit of a backstory. When I go food shopping, I am on a mission. Get only specified items on list and get the heck out of dodge. If I linger too long, the cart gets filled with all sorts of goodies. My husband on the other hand browses a bit and always, always, stops to taste the samples. It gets on my nerves a bit. This time after much cajoling he gets me to try a sample. It was really good. I pick up the last copy of the recipe to bring home. So here it is:
Ingredients:
The Finished Product:
I will give my husband his due. That sample was totally yummy. The recipe is super fast and easy to make. It is a refreshing take on tacos without all the heavy ground beef. The sauce/cream mixture you make in the first step is very tasty. Good to have as an appetizer of raw veggies. Enjoy!
Baja Fish Tacos
from Hyvee
Ingredients:
½ cup sour cream, or Greek yogurtSteps:
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
1 oz. Reduced Sodium Taco Seasoning Mix, divided in half
1 pound tilapia filets, or other firm white fish cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 package taco shells
toppings
1. Combine sour cream, mayonnaise, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon seasoning mix in a small bowl.
2. Combine tilapia, olive oil, lemon juice and remaining seasoning mix in medium bowl. Pour into large skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with fork.
3. Fill taco shells with fish mixture. Top with sour cream mixture, and your choice of other toppings.
The Finished Product:
I will give my husband his due. That sample was totally yummy. The recipe is super fast and easy to make. It is a refreshing take on tacos without all the heavy ground beef. The sauce/cream mixture you make in the first step is very tasty. Good to have as an appetizer of raw veggies. Enjoy!
Chocolate Brownie Cookies
My usual go to chocolate chip cookie might get replaced. I just made a batch of Chocolate Brownie Cookies from the Chocolate edition of The Best of Fine Cooking magazine. This is also the first time I have ever worked with baking chocolate. I was surprised at how easy it was to melt. I do however have to perfect my piping skills (all the more reason to make more of these cookies). I managed to get a little crumb from one of the cookies and I was in heaven. So hard to sit here and write this while the cookies cool. Enough of my inability to withstand temptation...
Ingredients:
3/4 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment (or butter and flour the sheets).
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Let cool. (I used the microwave - 50% power for 1 min, then 15 seconds at full power, stir, 15 seconds, stir, etc.)
3. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium high speed. After about 4 minutes, batter should fall back onto surface forming a ribbon like pattern before sinking back when beater is lifter.
4. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla to the batter. Stir to combine.
5. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture.
6. Stir in the nuts and let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
7. Spoon batter into pastry bag with #4 tip (or be cheap - use a ziploc bag and cut a 2/3 inch diagonal opening at one of the corners.) Pipe about 1 tbsp of batter onto the baking sheet. You can place them close together because the batter will not spread much.
8. Bake from 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies should be puffed and cracked. The cracks should be moist but not wet.
9. Let cool on a wire rack.
The Finished Product:
Must stop self from eating all of them. That is all!!
Chocolate Brownie Cookies
Ingredients:
3/4 lb bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 large eggs, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans
Steps:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment (or butter and flour the sheets).
2. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Let cool. (I used the microwave - 50% power for 1 min, then 15 seconds at full power, stir, 15 seconds, stir, etc.)
3. Using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar on medium high speed. After about 4 minutes, batter should fall back onto surface forming a ribbon like pattern before sinking back when beater is lifter.
4. Add the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla to the batter. Stir to combine.
5. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt into mixture.
6. Stir in the nuts and let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
7. Spoon batter into pastry bag with #4 tip (or be cheap - use a ziploc bag and cut a 2/3 inch diagonal opening at one of the corners.) Pipe about 1 tbsp of batter onto the baking sheet. You can place them close together because the batter will not spread much.
8. Bake from 8 to 10 minutes. Cookies should be puffed and cracked. The cracks should be moist but not wet.
9. Let cool on a wire rack.
The Finished Product:
Slow Cooker Yumminess
Ah, finally a foodie post. Hurrah. About a week ago, I received my copy of The Crockin' Girls Slow Cookin' Companion in the mail. Goodness, all the recipes made my mouth water. It was so hard to choose which one to try. I think I probably found the easiest/shortest ingredient listed recipe in the entire book to attempt first. Just because it is short on ingredients does not mean it is short on yumminess.
Ingredients:
4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were still a bit on the frozen side)
8 oz block of cream cheese
1 package of Italian Seasoning (I used McCormick's Italian Chicken and Pasta Bake Seasoning Mix)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 lb of spaghetti noodles
Steps (I did a little adaptation here from the book):
1. Soften the cream cheese. Mix in a bowl with the cream of chicken soup and seasoning packet. Mix until the cream cheese has smoothed out.
2. Place chicken in the slow cooker and cover with cream cheese mixture.
3. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.
4. Before serving, cook spaghetti according to it's directions.
5. Combine pasta to chicken/cream cheese mixture.
The Finished Product:
So easy and so filling. No complaints on the preparing front or the eating part. No extra seasoning needed although whenever I see pasta I add cheese. It is delicious sans cheese. Definitely a keeper. It made enough for two left over meals - one for me and one for the hubby. Thanks Crockin' Girls!!
I have a couple of more new recipes slated in my meal plan for the next couple of weeks. I am excited to make them - one for Recipe Shuffle and one for here.
White Spaghetti
Ingredients:
4 - 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (mine were still a bit on the frozen side)
8 oz block of cream cheese
1 package of Italian Seasoning (I used McCormick's Italian Chicken and Pasta Bake Seasoning Mix)
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 lb of spaghetti noodles
Steps (I did a little adaptation here from the book):
1. Soften the cream cheese. Mix in a bowl with the cream of chicken soup and seasoning packet. Mix until the cream cheese has smoothed out.
2. Place chicken in the slow cooker and cover with cream cheese mixture.
3. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.
4. Before serving, cook spaghetti according to it's directions.
5. Combine pasta to chicken/cream cheese mixture.
The Finished Product:
I have a couple of more new recipes slated in my meal plan for the next couple of weeks. I am excited to make them - one for Recipe Shuffle and one for here.
My Self Commitment
Just a little update. I think I have kept to my commitment pretty well for the past two weeks. I have been getting up early (not as early as Andy) to get on the elliptical machine. My current workout is 5 minutes on the elliptical, 3 sets of 10 pushups, 5 minutes on, 3 sets of 10 sit ups, and repeat once more. When I started, my twenty minutes on the elliptical yielded just under 1000 revolutions. Now, those same twenty minutes I get 1500 revolutions. I estimate that I am probably getting a mile to a mile and a half in each day.
This week I plan to add in a short Pilates rotation at the end of the workout. Plan to start with about 4 exercises and add one new motion a day. That is the plan. I hope it works out.
In about two weeks, I hope to add in at least 2 outdoor runs a week with JT and the stroller. I do not want to be huffing and puffing because I am not used to running with it.
My apologies if this post seems a little silly. I feel this is the best way to keep my accountable. Logging the work reinforces that I can do it and that is will get accomplished. :o)
This week I plan to add in a short Pilates rotation at the end of the workout. Plan to start with about 4 exercises and add one new motion a day. That is the plan. I hope it works out.
In about two weeks, I hope to add in at least 2 outdoor runs a week with JT and the stroller. I do not want to be huffing and puffing because I am not used to running with it.
My apologies if this post seems a little silly. I feel this is the best way to keep my accountable. Logging the work reinforces that I can do it and that is will get accomplished. :o)
What happened to all the foodie goodness?
You may have noticed that I have been lacking in new foodie recipes. It does not mean that I am being a bad foodie.
On the contrary, I consistently try one new recipe every two weeks or so over at Recipe Shuffle. I am glad my fellow foodie and good friend Suzy talked me into it. She is a fabulous cook and I have enjoyed all of the recipes she has passed along so far. Hopefully you would enjoy them as well.
I have been forcing myself into a routine of meal planning every week. It sure has helped cut down our grocery bills. Okay, we still buy some things that catch our eyes but not nearly as much. I have been trying to make sure our portion sizes are a bit better yet you won't stop me from enjoying a full plate of spaghetti. I have also tried to make a concerted effort to incorporate a fish meal once a week. Usually we are a meat and potatoes crew but I find that the light meal is refreshing. The hubby has also set a goal, now that the weather is consistently warm, to try to grill out once a week. I'm all for it - most of the time that means minimum food prep - just marinate and slap on the grill.
But I did just get the Crockin' Girls Slowcooker Companion in the mail. I am eager to test out some recipes. So, stay tuned for more attempts at once a week slow-cooker goodness. I am quite intrigued by the desserts but I can only justify doing those if we have more people around the dinner table.
On the contrary, I consistently try one new recipe every two weeks or so over at Recipe Shuffle. I am glad my fellow foodie and good friend Suzy talked me into it. She is a fabulous cook and I have enjoyed all of the recipes she has passed along so far. Hopefully you would enjoy them as well.
I have been forcing myself into a routine of meal planning every week. It sure has helped cut down our grocery bills. Okay, we still buy some things that catch our eyes but not nearly as much. I have been trying to make sure our portion sizes are a bit better yet you won't stop me from enjoying a full plate of spaghetti. I have also tried to make a concerted effort to incorporate a fish meal once a week. Usually we are a meat and potatoes crew but I find that the light meal is refreshing. The hubby has also set a goal, now that the weather is consistently warm, to try to grill out once a week. I'm all for it - most of the time that means minimum food prep - just marinate and slap on the grill.
But I did just get the Crockin' Girls Slowcooker Companion in the mail. I am eager to test out some recipes. So, stay tuned for more attempts at once a week slow-cooker goodness. I am quite intrigued by the desserts but I can only justify doing those if we have more people around the dinner table.
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