"Fried" (baked) Pickles

Dave loves Fried Pickes (me: not so much...) but lets face it, they aren't healthy for you.  I told him there were ways to bake friend pickles and he has been wanting to make some, so this weekend, I looked up this recipe for him and he went to town.... They turned out well (so he says) but we used thicker pickles so next time we plan on finding the thinly sliced ones.  This post is mainly for Marley who likes fried pickles too. For those of you who like pickles (gross, a horrible way to ruin a perfectly wonderful cucumber), I hope you enjoy this recipe as well!

"FRIED" PICKLES

Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

• 1 jar pickle slices
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs

Directions

• Turn oven broiler on high.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour. Add Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning, and pepper. Mix well.
• Place panko bread crumbs in a shallow dish. Dunk each pickle slice into the egg mixture, than dredge it in the panko bread crumbs.
• Place coated pickles on a rack set above a baking sheet and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Place pan in the middle rack of the oven. Broil for about 3 minutes on each side.

Mixing it Up!!

When I dip, you dip, we dip

YUMMY!

Random updates

I recognize that I have not posted in forever... I will try to do better. I know update posts can be boring, but I decided to give you an update list before returning to "regularly scheduled programming" :)

(1) I was so stressed Friday night for tons of different reasons...and stress makes my rosecea worse and I was upset about that too which wasn't helping matters.  Dave kept craking annoying jokes and I was so annoyed...until I realized what he was doing -- trying to make me laugh and calm down. He wanted me to quit stressing out and was trying to help the only way he knew how to. I sure am crazy about him. What a good guy. 

(2) I really liked Safe Haven, surprisingly.  I wanted to see it but thought it would be one of those movies I wanted to see and then didn't like. I liked it.  Dave was a trooper and sat through it - and actually enjoyed it, I think. It kindof has a fun twist which makes it more entertaining.  Certainly not a top ten movie, but worth a cold rainy friday night for sure.

(3)Isn't it great how God sometimes knows exactly what you need? Dave and I were scheduled for a jam packed weekend - I worked all day Saturday, then we were going to the Charity Ball with my family and then spending the day in the country Sunday with his family.  Then we had car trouble and had to spend a few hours replacing a part (okay, I just held the flashlight) and missed the Ball and ended up staying in town all sunday....

........and it was glorious! literally, best weekend in awhile. We have been grumpy with eachother with the stress of his job hunt and the wedding and marriage and we both agreed that a day curled up watching tv and movie and doing laundry and grocery shopping and researching san fran and stopping by the bookstore and cooking ahead for the week was WONDERFUL.  A day not stressing was just what I needed and God reminded me how blessed I am to be marrying sweet Dave. He truly is my favorite person to do anything or nothing with....and it was nice to have a day just being us, not reading about marriage or planning a wedding or looking up jobs.

(4) Wedding planning can be stressful. I am about to the point where all the big decisions are made and I am going to hand the rest off to my wedding planner and say, have fun.  I know what I like and don't like, but as far as specifics, she can make it work right?? I don't want to stress out so much that I miss the fun times with family and friends. 

(5) ARGO- best picture. Totally agree. Daniel Day Lewis - best actor. 100 percent agree with that too.  Seriously, see argo if you haven't. LOVED it and I really liked Lincoln as well.

(6) I've been back on my diet (yuck) -- I took literally a week to ten days off with family and friends in town, Vday and Mardi Gras.  I like sticking to a routine though and planning our meals ahead (I say our meals because Dave comes over for dinner maybe 3 times a week  --- he says its to see me, but I know its for the free food :) haha)  This week's menu includes: low carb chicken tacos, spaghetti (I make mine with zuchinni instead of noodles), chicken and rice/cucumbers, breakfast for dinner with turkey sausage instead of real sausage, lowcarb pizza.

(7) Before going back on my diet, I made this recipe for Buffalo Chicken Casserole (Dave loves Buffalo Chicken so I thought it would be a good fit) I actually really liked it!

You need these ingrediants:

• 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1/3 c. hot sauce
• 5c. red potatoes, grated w/ box grater
• 1 c. light ranch dressing/ blue cheese
• 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 (10 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 c. panko

 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Grate potatoes and lay out and pat with a paper towel to try to get some of the moisture out.

In medium bowl, stir together chicken strips and buffalo sauce. Spoon into baking dish in a single layer.

In the same bowl, stir together potatoes, dressing, cheese and soup. Spread over chicken. Sprinkle panko evenly over the top.

Cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; uncover and bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until potatoes are tender and juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.

(8) I also discovered another yummy low carb lunch a couple sundays ago.  Pizza quesadillas.  I used a lowcarb wheat tortilla (4 net carbs) and spread a little low fat butter spread on one side and filled it with turkey sausage, parmeson and mozzerella and tomato sauce. If you have any fresh vegguies or chicken, you can add those as well.  Fold over like you would a quesadilla and cook in the skillet.  So good.  Like a healthy calzone

(9) My showers/parties are starting in less than a month...and confession: I am super excited about new clothes for these parties.  I am almost more excited about a few new sundresses than I am about my wedding dress.  Lets be honest, I will wear a new Lilly dress far more often than my wedding dress. I fully recognize that money may be tight the first year of marriage if we move and I have to take another bar exam and find a job, so I am fully enjoying the fact that I get new dresses now !!!

(10) My pillows for my new bedroom came in this week. I am super excited. Here is what it looks like.  I still have a ton to do - I want a white desk ( I found one that is a knockoff of the west elm parson's desk) and I want to paint my dresser gray (when we move)  I also need to add some artwork and get a headboard and this rug I am ordering from urban outfitters today. BUT atleast we have a start. Maybe I can get the room decor 50 percent there before I get married and we can do the rest later!

Can you tell the male influence?? I would never have guessed I would have a deer pillow on my bed, but since it will be our bed, I wanted a Dave pillow. (I am also considering one of those white deer heads from urban or west elm)

Weekend Recap: New restaurants and recipe!

This weekend was a lot of fun.  Dave was out of town until Sunday, so instead of having to balance BF and friends, I had a friend packed weekend starting with a girls night at the Library Lounge at the Fairview Inn.  I loved this place -- small tapas and specialty drinks (many were named after Mississippians!)  This was definitely a quieter scene than most bars. It was nice to go have a couple drinks and talk in a place that wasn't loud and crowded.

Saturday morning, I had breakfast with my "first friend" Laurie who I have known since infancy.  I loved getting to see her and her adorable daughter Finley.  Seriously, check out this cutie!

I worked Saturday and I use the term work loosely.  January seems to be a slow month in retail, understandably.  We have a couple busy times because of a few wedding showers coming up, but other than that, I spent time with one of the other employees registering me and I talked to my coworkers.

For dinner, I met my friend Chris and brother Blaise at Illegal Burrito.  QUICK FACT ABOUT ME: I LOVE MOES!! but we no longer have one in Jackson.  Illegal Burrito is fairly new and I thought it could be my fill-in for Moes. Plus one of my goals was to try new local restaurants this year (I tend to eat at my favorites all the time!) It was good. but not as good as Moe's!  However, I will eat there again! We then went to see the movie, Gangster Squad.  and I was pleasently surprised by how good it was-- and its based on a true story of a secret cop squad in LA who had the job of breaking down the LA mafia.  Actually, Dave and I went to see Silver Linings Playbook Sunday night and I expected to like that movie more than Gangster Squad but I prefered Gangster Squad more.  Sometimes you're surprised by what you like!

Sunday I got a lot done and cooked a late lowcarb lunch for Dave and me when he got home. One of my 30 by 30 resolutions was to cook new recipes....so Sunday I started towards that goal.  This was a fairly simple recipe but one that Dave and I would both eat.  Dave admits to be a fairly picky eater.  So that limits us.  I am trying to eat low carb so that limits us too. Both limitations make it hard to find foods we both eat. Dave comes over for dinner several nights a week since his school is 2 miles from where I live and we just eat a lot of staples: chicken, beef, veggies, etc. After the wedding, I'll have a bit more free range in what I make because I won't be super low carb, but until then I am craving a little variety.

Dave LOVES pizza.  I MISS pizza. You may remember my cauliflower crust recipe which is low carb and tasty BUT dave does not like cauliflower.  So, I tried a different easy lowcarb crust recipe this weekend.  Dave liked it, didn't love it, but willingly ate 3 pieces! He said the crust was a little "different" which it is...however, to someone like me who is eating lowcarb, any crust is better than none!

Here's how to make the recipe:

CRUST:
Block of cream cheese
2 eggs
1/4 c. parmeson cheese

Toppings:
marinara sauce
1/4 c parmeson cheese
1 c mozzerella cheese
turkey pepperoni
vegetables


Blend cream cheese (softened) and 2 eggs.  After its blended, add in 1/4 c parm. cheese.  spread in a 9x13 pan (sprayed with Pam) and cook for 17 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

Take crust out of oven to cool for 10 minutes. Adjust temp. to 400.  After the crust cools spread marinara sauce with a little parmeson mixed in (I think I used almost 1 c. of marinara)  Add 1 c. mozzerella cheese. The place toppings: pepperoni, turkey pepperoni, veggies, chicken, etc.  Bake for 8 minutes (although I think I left mine in a bit longer.

If you are eating lowcarb and miss pizza/bread, try this.  You will know its not real bread but it gives the impression of bread and hits the spot.  Unfortunately, the pizza is more fattening with all that cream cheese (and I think you have to use full fat cream cheese to hold better, although I will be trying this with the lowfat version)

The pizza is thin which means you eat 2-3 pieces easilly.... so I think if you want a big serving, you can split the pan 3 ways (~ 520 calories) or split it 4 ways (~390 calories).  We served it with carrot sticks and had a pretty good sunday lunch! I will definitely be making it again!

Sunday night, I also worked on a goal of mine. Dave and I tried a new restaurant for date night: Islander (oysters and poboys).  I must admit, I was dissapointed.  The service was fine, but the food was just okay.  I would certainly eat there again if invited, but I probably wouldn't suggest the restaurant.  However, it was fun to have a date night and chat.  I swee Dave many times a week for dinner but we usually cook in and watch TV.  We then went to see Silver Linings Playbook which was okay, not bad, but not as good as everyone claimed it was.  I did like the ending though.  By the way, local Jacksonians, Parkways has movies for 5 dollars on Sunday nights which is why Dave and I often go see movies on Sunday nights because its basically half off!  You know I am all about finding Cheap Date Ideas and blogging about them, but seriously, you could easilly skip dinner and get popcorn, diet coke and two movie tickets for 21.00 total which is 10 dollars cheaper than a friday or saturday night movie.  I like Sundays because the ten dollars you save can cover the overpriced popcorn! I know this is not an original idea, but it is practical to consider seeing Sunday night movies or matinees!

So as far as my goals go, I tried two new restaurants and cooked one new recipe! Not bad for a typical low key weekend!

Bacon and Rosemary Brussel Sprouts

This Christmas I discovered that I LOVE Brussel Sprouts!  My mom made a delicious recipe for Christmas so I decided to find some new ways to cook Brussel Sprouts.  Luckilly I just bought a veggie cookbook so I tried one of the recipes in there.

You will need:

• one pound of brussel sprouts
• 1/4 cup EVOO
• 2 TBSP unsalted butter
• 2 ounces of bacon, cut up -- I actually just fried up several pieces and cut them in to tiny pieces, so I have no idea if I used 2 ounces
• sprinkle of salt
• 2 sprigs of rosemary

1. Cut Brussel Sprouts into 1/4s or even 1/6s (if they are large)

2. Cook Bacon and cut it into pieces
3. Pour 1/4 c of EVOO in a skillet.
4. Add the Brussel Sprouts, 2 sprigs of Rosemary and bacon
5. Stir on lowheat, cooking the brussel sprouts for 28-32 min or until tender.
6. Pull the Rosemary sprigs out.
7. Pull skillet off the heat and add 2 TBSP of unsalted butter, cut up and a sprinkle of salt
8. Stir up Brussel Sprouts until butter is melted.


DELICIOUS.  Try it!

Thanksgiving/Apple Cream Pie

I hope everyone had a good thanksgiving. I sure did.  It has been a long hard year in many ways, but it has also been a year full of blessings -- family, friends, Dave, a stable job, and most importantly, a God who is faithful to us when others aren't and when we are undeserving, a God who blesses us with good things and carries us through tough times.

Dave's family does Thanksgiving lunch and mine does dinner so we were able to spend the holiday together and experience eachother's traditions.  I drove to Dave's hometown Wednesday after work and spent the evening with his family and woke up early Thursday to hunt -- okay, to sit with Dave while he hunted.  We didn't see anything -- too hot for deer...but dave got a buck and several ducks later in the week.

Hunting with my cutie

Then we went back to his parents house and watched some of the parade, ate breakfast and got our dishes ready to head to his grandparent's house where we had a big delicious lunch.  My contributions were a salad and an Apple Cream Pie.

Apple Cream Pie

APPLE CREAM PIE RECIPE:

INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
2 cans apple pie filling
2 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C milk
8 T flour
4 T butter
1/2 t salt
2 t vanilla
Cool whip

Beat eggs until light and fluffy add everything but vanilla cook over low heat until thick stirring constantly. Add vanilla. Let cool. Pour into cooked pastry shell. Top with cool whip
Makes 2 pies

Its best to mix flour and sugar together before adding to milk egg mixture so flour doesn't clump

After lunch, we headed to my family's house for dinner and tree decorating.  We also had a good time "planning" our black friday shopping, although none of us got up early, but we looked through the paper for all the deals!

Jack and I snuck a taste of apple cream pie (made one for my family too)...

Shhhh Don't tell!

YUMMMMMM.....

My family has two trees- a formal tree in the living room and a family tree in the den. Here is the formal tree....

The Formal Tree

Dave and me in front of the formal tree

Decorating the family tree....

Ansley

Marley

Then I spent the rest of the weekend working at my holiday job, buying a few gifts and decorating my house for our upcoming Christmas Party.  When Dave came back to Jackson, we cooked dinner and watched a CHristmas movie on TV: Home Alone 5.  It was okay for a tv movie, but seriously, can you beat the original 2 from the 90s?? Our generation's Home Alone was the best.  Actually, our generations's holiday movies in general are way better than the recent ones: Home Alone, Santa Clause,  All I want for Christmas, Christmas Vacation, etc. I saw a commercial for a Christmas movie about a dog: Christmas Paws....Seriously???? Stick to the classics and by classics I mean old school black and white or 80s/90s classics.

Sweet Potato Pie

Last night I cooked a couple pies for Thanksgiving festivities.  This sweet potato pie is for the office Thanksgiving day spread in the breakroom today.  (My mom is making one for thursday too though)  Sweet Potato Pie is a great alternative to Pumpkin Pie if you want a change but still want something fall-ish.  I also made an apple cream pie which I will share in a different post!

(1) Preheat oven to 350

(2)You will need to mix together:

• 2 c of boiled mashed sweet potatoes (2 c of canned sweet potatos, unsweetened will work too!)
• 1 c sugar
• 1/2 c butter
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 c grated coconut

(3) Pour into a pie crust (use your own recipe or buy one in the frozen foods section and roll it out)

(4) Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes (my pie took around 55 minutes though so check and see if you need to add time)

Low Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

I am trying to eat semi low carb but tonight I was craving something sweet. I discovered this recipe online.

Not as good as a gourmet dessert, but not too bad.  I love PB though, so anything made with PB wins me over.  (FYI I love PB so much that I do not keep it in the house.  There have been weeks where I eat an entire jar bc I have a couple spoonfuls a day...NOT OK)

You will need:

• Natural PB
• Splenda
• Vanilla
• Salt
• egg

Directions:

1. preheat oven to 350
2. Mix 1 c. PB, 1 c. Splenda, 1 tsp Vanilla, 1 egg, and a dash of salt together in a bowl
3. Spoon balls of the dough onto the lightly greased cookie sheets.
4. Press a fork on top of each ball.
5. Bake for approx 10 minutes.  I just watched them to know when.

I had two tonight. They were pretty good! I did the math and for 13 cookies (which is the number of cookies I made), each cookie was 108 calories and between 2 and 2.5 net carbs! If you are craving something sweet, give it a try !!

Dave's Birthday and Recipe

Yesterday, my favorite guy turned 28!   Yesterday's post was sappy and told you how good he is to me and how much I adore him (all true).  Today I will just tell y'all about our fun evening out and share a recipe!

As I said yesterday, I snuck over to his house at 5 am and out a balloon, card and sweet treats in his car for his day at school.  Yesterday evening, Dave came over and I gave him his real birthday gift, a Keurig and some K-cups. (He will be the coolest cat in studio with his own personal coffee maker)

The birthday boy wanted to go out for wings for his birthday (Who am I dating??? I would have selected Walkers or Parlor Market or Bravo's -- this kid chooses wings??)  Actually, I had intended to take him out for steaks. Buffello Wild Wings started as a joke.  We tried to get BWW when watching the Auburn game a few weeks ago and it was a 90 minute wait, so we met our friends elsewhere instead.  Dave was dissapointed and I said, dont worry you can pick wings for your birthday dinner! (BWW is on the other side of town so thats why we never go, I'm not a mean gf that won't ever go ha, its just a 20+ minute drive in a direction we rarely go!)

And so that's how we ended up at BWW. And he loves wings so it was perfect. We invited his bff, Cole and Cole's wife Whitney to join us.  I had planned on making him a fancy cake and even looked up pinterest recipes but he requested Better Than Sex cake...which is basic and from a box but he loves it.  I did add a twist though...The topping is usually Butterfinger, I put reeses cups. (oh yeah, I'm so original.... :) !!)

 My Sweet Birthday Boy

Cole, Whitney, Dave, Me

With his "Better than Sex" Cake

BETTER THAN SEX CAKE RECIPE

1 Box of Devils Food Cake

1 container of Cool Whip (8 ounces)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1 bottle of caramel syrup

a whole bunch of whatever candy you choose to use: heath bar, snickers, butterfinger, reeses, etc

1. Cook cake, poke holes in the top of the cake

2. mix caramel syrup and condensed milk and cover cake (note: more is better because it seeps into cake, I don't think I poured enough)

3. spread cool whip

4. place chopped up pieces of candy on top

5. Store in the fridge!

Despite being a box cake with whip cream topping, the cake is quite tasty. Never underestimate the deliciousness of 4 layers of unhealthiness!  My one complain is that the cake is cooked in a 9x13 pan so it doesn't present well.  Good thing, the birthday boy didn't care.

We then ended the night by curling up and watching Scandal (season 1) on netflix.  We recently found this show and its amazing. Go check it out.



It's fall Y'all: pumpkin cupcakes and s'mores mix

This weekend I am introducing my favorite guy to the grove.  We have yet to spend much time there due to a wedding, a game in starkville, 2 away games and a weekend in his hometown.... so finally I will show him the land of cotton...

I wanted to make some goodies for the tailgate (although my mom is sending some up with us and my sister is making some)  HOWEVER, I had promised to take a family friend to bible study in town since she is new in town (so fun to see her and Bible Study was really good last night, so no regrets on going)  Since I wouldn't be home til 9, I knew I needed two quick dishes. Are yall ready for 2 "3 ingredient" fall snacks??

S'Mores MIX

• Mix a big box of golden grahams (or teddy grahams), mini marshmellows, and milk chocolate chips together
• DONE.  so simple right?  Just a very BASIC trail mix!

CHOCOLATE CHIP PUMPKIN MUFFINS

• Mix 1 box of spice cake, 1 can of pumpkin and 6 ounce of semisweet choc chips together 
• pour into muffin liners in a tin, almost to the top because the dense mix doesn't expand much
• Bake at 350 for 17-22 minutes 

SO, not my fanciest cooking ever, but I was in a hurry AND still wanted to make something deliciously fall.  I've made the pumpkin muffins before and its a favorite go to for when you want something pumpkin-y but don't want to cook all day or invest in a bunch of random ingredients.  Plus no one realizes its from a b ox mix because the pumpkin hides it :)

as we say in Mississippi: HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!! enjoy your football saturdays.  I will be spending friday night at my HS reunion then skipping Saturday's festivities to go to Oxford!

Easy Chili

I got this recipe from my friend, Liz, several years ago and I cook it many times during the fall! Its so easy and its healthier than other types of chili. So, if you come to my house any time soon to watch a football game, there is a good chance I will be serving you this!

• 1 can large tomato sauce
• small (or large if you like a lot of tomatoes) can of diced tomatoes
• 1-2 cans of black beans
• 1 - 1.5 pounds of beed (or ground turkey to be healthier)
• taco seasoning

1. Cook the meat.
2. Put the cooked meat into a pot and add the seasoning, tomato sauce, tomatoes, and black beans.
3. Let it stir for 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve with 2% shredded cheese and light sour cream!! (and a little on the unhealthy side....corn ships!)

It's so good.  I made this recipe last night with 1 pound of laura's lean beef (4% fat), 1.5 cans of beans, and light Ragu sauce.  The recipe can serve 5-6 people and I calculated the calories on an online recipe calculator.  317 calories for 1/5 of recipe and 264 for 1/6! (before cheese and sour cream)  Pretty healthy! The turkey numbers were actually a little higher, not much, so splurge on the Laura's lean beef and make healthy chilly for a week's worth of lunches!

This is the first of many cool fall/winter weeks where I will be making this dish :)

Weekend Update...

Weekends are simultaneously more busy and less busy this fall.  It's hard to explain. I spend less time travelling for football but that leads to more commitments at home. I have never watched so little football in my life, but I have had weddings, parties, obligations, long runs, etc.  I usually get one football game in a weekend, maybe 2.  This weekend I saw bits and pieces of several games and that was it.  I hope this trend doesn't last forever, but for now, its good....so here is a glimpse at a busy weekend.

Friday I was lazy. Dave and I cooked in and talked to my roomies and watched tv...then I went to bed early because friday morning I had to get up at 5 am for the longest run of my life.

 I made Crescent Pizza Rolls for dinner with carrott sticks (not heathy, but Dave liked them and I had to carb up for my long run)  Plus I used the low fat crescent rolls and 2 percent cheese so they weren't horrible for you, just not great.  NOTE: if you buy turkey pepporoni, it would be even better for you.

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
20-40 slices pepperoni
4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
garlic powder
pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375.  Spread the crescents out in triangles on the greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle with garlic powder then place pepporoni and half a stick of mozz cheese in the middle and roll up.  Bake for 12-15 minutes.  Serve with pizza sauce (or I served with marinara/pasta sauce) 

SIDENOTE: who knows the difference between pizza sauce and marinara sauce? I thought they were the same thing until I saw separate jars at the store last week.

Saturday I ran 22 miles...or actually maybe 21.5 (I'll explain my uncertainty with my distance in a moment...) It was the longest run I have ever done and I survived....even after falling and skinning my knee a bit and my hand a lot on mile 2 (Yes, I am a clutz, but to my credit, it was dark when we started and I could not see, I should invest in one of those running headlamps but then when it gets bright 30 min later, I have to lug it around the rest of the run!! So for now Im just risking injury...sure that seems practical!)

SECOND SIDENOTE: is there anything more painful than skinning your hand? It hurts like H E double hockey sticks!! And our palms seem to have thick skin, so maybe it just hurts so much because we use our hands so we keep touching it and causing it to sting again?? sorry, a very ADD filled monday (but really if you have the answers to my question, fill me in!)

I have discussed before how I dislike when people brag online about their workouts. This mainly refers to facebook updates about how you did X excerises and ran x miles on a daily basis, usually accompanied by a second fb post about how you ate eggwhites and a protein shake and spinach or something crazy like that.  So, maybe I break my own rule when I post that I ran 22 miles, but I don't find it annoying when people tell me about races,etc, just their daily reminders that they are in fact better than everyone else because they got up at 430 to work out and eat negative calories, etc.  PLUS, I just explained that I am a klutz so the fact that I made it 22 miles is no small miracle. I am hoping I can also make it 26 miles in November! :) However, if you are annoyed that I posted about my workout and quit reading my blog, I won't be mad.  I understand!!

Anyways, the reason I am uncertain about my exact milage (somewhere between 21 and 22) is because I took a wrong turn (on a loop, yes I know, my directional sense is stellar too)  I couldn't see the person in front of me anymore because of a turn and I kept going a mile out of the ways. By the time I realized and turned around, I cut my route short.  Based on my math skills (which I think are more stellar than my ability to run without falling or getting lost), I ran somewhere between 21 and 22 miles.  I think closer to 22, but who knows?

I celebrated my mini accomplishment Saturday Night by eating steaks with some of Dave's cousins who live in town (and his grandmother) and  meeting a childhood friend and her husband for drinks (in town from Florida).  But, first, I spent time Saturday afternoon spoiling my favorite boy (Jack, not Dave).  Marley and I planned on taking Jack to a huge park (you know, one of those parks that looks like a castle or something...) but it started raining, so instead of doing something healthy, I bought everyone ice cream at Sal & Mookies.

Here is Jack eating his....

I do like tying my memory into ice cream and other goodies.  I think it helps insure that he thinks I'm a fun aunt :)  So maybe we are all spoiling him a bit, but I am sure Marley will pay me back by spoiling my kiddos one day.

Third Sidenote: I do spoil Jack with food and gifts and plan to keep doing that, but I don't let him get away with misbehaving. It's important to reinforce what my sister is teaching him.  I digress...

Sundaywe focused on Missions in church. Our Missions conference is in late February (I think) so this was a half year update.  I then spent the afternoon working and cooking ahead for the week.  So expect more recipes to come...  Dave came over for dinner, but quickly had to go back to the studio because he has a group master plan due today.  Bless his heart, he was up all night and stopped by my house after picking up coffee this morning as I was leaving for work.  I am not envious at all, I usually hated group projects. Too many cooks do indeed spoil the broth, or the master plan.

However, the most exciting part of my weekend is that I am learning to coupon.  I bought groceries for the next two weeks (minus all the produce I need because you cant buy that much at once, it goes bad!) and saved 25 dollars.  Its not as much as other people, but I just started researching coupons this week. I was quite proud of myself! Such a domestic goddess! :)

Anyways, I rarely do one of these weekend updates, but I had nothing planned for today and wanted to share my exciting news of couponing and running.  If you made it to this point of my post, congrats!  I promise more FUN posts to come, including a "cheap date" post.

Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken

Tonight I cooked a lovely meal for Dave and Me....I had some chicken that needed to be cooked and already had most of the ingredients to try a new recipe so I picked a couple more ingredients up and made Bacon Cheeseburger Chicken (no beef!) It was delicious, definitely something I will make again!  

Ingredients:

• Chicken breasts, cut in half to make strips
• teriyaki sauce
• ranch dressing
• cheddar cheese, shredded
• bacon (strips cut up, or prepackaged bacon pieces)

Saute the chicken in a skillet til both sides are brown (5-8 minutes)  The chicken doesn't have to be fully cooked, just beginning to brown.  Place chicken in a 9x13 pan (sprayed with Pam).  Pour 1/4 cup of Teriyaki Sauce (give or take) on top of chicken and squirt (and spread with knife) some ranch dressing on each piece  - I would guess that I put about a tablespoon on each strip.  Then pour cheddar cheese and bacon pieces on top.

Bake for 25-35 minutes on 350 degrees (until chicken is fully cooked)

I served the chicken on top of rice with italian green beans. It was great and lucky for me, I have leftovers for lunch!!

Served with rice and green beans....

Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

A deliciously easy Chocolate Chip pound cake....I've made other chocolate chip poundcakes but this one is just as good and its basically just a "doctored up box cake mix"

1 box yellow cake mix

1 3 ounce package of instant vanilla pudding

1 3 ounce package of instant chocolate pudding

8 ounces of sour cream

1 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp of vanilla

4 eggs

6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips

Mix together, pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 325 degrees for 50-60 minutes.  SO Yummy! I suggest you try it soon.

Easy Italian chicken

I made this for dinner monday night. It was great and I plan on eating leftovers tonight ! Dave enjoyed it which was great because its easy to make, could easilly be cut in half, and is healthy (minus the butter!(

4-6 chicken breasts
A couple cans of green beans (or fresh if you would like!)
New potatoes, cut up
1 packet of Italian dressing/seasoning
I stick of butter

Put all ingredients in a 9x13 pan and sprinkle the seasoning on top. Next pour the melted stick of butter. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 60 min on 350.

Pizza Casserole

This friday night, I made my favorite guy Pizza casserole.  Guys can be picky eaters and I find myself trying out recipes that are meant for kids.  I joke with him that when we want to cook, I google "family dinner recipes" or "dinners for kids"


This was very "child-like" but pretty good, and you could add veggies to make it better.


ALSO, I WOULLD LOVE ANY GOOD RECIPES Y'ALL HAVE.  I am trying to cook more often! PARTICULARLY "kid friendly" (aka picky eater friendly) recipes. :)

Ingredients:

1 bag of Egg Noodles

1 extra large can of Ragu sauce {or any tamato sauce you prefer}

3-ish cups shredded mozzarella cheese (or if you want, add ricotta cheese to)

1 1/2 lbs hamburger meat

1 package pepperonis

1. BOIL egg noodles and cook and drain meat
2. begin your layers! (1) tomato sauce (2) noodles (3) hamburger meat (4) sauce (5) noodles (6)  ricotta and mozzerella cheese (7) hamburger meat (8) sauce (9) mozzerella cheese (10)Top with pepperonis! 
3. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350
4. Remove foil and bake for 15 more minutes
5. let sit for 10-15 minutes -- to cool and to let the layers stick together
6. ENJOY!

I think it would be good if you added some spinach or mushrooms (if you eat mushrooms, I don't) -- I bet you could add almost any pizza topping! 

Reeses Pieces Peanut Butter Brownies and more

Several people in my life LOVE reeses pieces including my sister and my BF.  I have been recently researching recipes involving this candy. My latest recipe is reeses brownies!

Don't they look delicious?? My next goal is to learn to make them gluten free for my baby sis, Ansley.

Here is how you make them:

Ingredients:

• 1 box of your favorite brownie mix
• Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 16 oz container of vanilla frosting
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1-2 tsp milk
• 1 box Reese’s Pieces

Directions:

1.Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13 x 9″ baking pan with shortening or cooking spray.

2.Make brownie batter as directed on box. Spread batter in pan and with a knife, swirl peanut butter through batter.

3.Bake 25-28 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

4.In a medium bowl, mix frosting ingredients and spread frosting over brownies. Place Reese’s Pieces in a plastic Ziploc bag and lightly crush with a rolling pin, breaking candies up into pieces. (NOTE: I just poured my reeses on the top in whole pieces.)

5.Sprinkle Reese’s Pieces over brownies and serve.




Second order of business today: I saw this on a friends facebook and want to start doing this every day.  I work out most days, even if its only 20-30 minutes during lunch, but usually for longer.  However, there are those occasional days when life is hectic and I don't go. This would be a perfect mini workout at home...I bet it is about 15 minutes total.

Also, I love this funny picture I saw on facebook.  SO true!! Right Ashley???

Buttermilk Chocolate Cake (aka Delta Chocolate Sheet Cake)

I made this delicious cake for Easter Weekend/ my bf's fathers birthday.  It was delicious. Thought I would share the recipe!

Ingredients needed:
2 c sugar
2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks margarine
1 c water
1/2 c vegetable oil
5 tbsp cocoa
1/2 c buttermilk + 6 tbsp buttermilk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 box powdered sugar
1 c chopped nuts


CAKE:
1. Mix 2 c sugar, 2 c flour, 1 tsp baking soda
2. In a pan, bring to a boil 1 c water, 1 stick margarine, 1/2 c vegetable oil, and 2 Tbsp cocoa
3. Take the pan mixture off the heat quickly and add to flour mixture while it is hot and mix.
4. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 c Buttermilk and Mix.
5. When Mixture cools a bit, add 2 eggs and mix.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes in a 13x9 oiled pan.

ICING
1. Mix 1 stick of margarine (melted), 6 Tbsp Buttermilk, 1 box of powdered sugar, 3 Tbsp. cocoa, 1 tsp Vanilla, and 1 c nuts chopped (optional which kind you use and if you use nuts at all)
2. Icing needs to be ready when cake is done. Immediately pour onto cake and spread.  Then let the cake sit as the icing hardens

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

Here's a fun little cookie recipe you may want to try. 

(1) Either Make or buy chocolate chip cookie dough and buy  a packege of oreos. Its of course better with homemade dough but a few weeks ago, I was running short on time and made it with storebought and it wasnt bad!

2) put cookie dough on either side of oreo.  You then mash the dough all the way around the oreo cookie where it does not show at all.

3) Place wrapped oreos on a greased cookie sheet.  Spread them out a little but because that much cookie dough will expand....

4) Bake at 350 degrees for 13 minutes or until golden brown. ENJOY!

Ravioli Casserole

This weekend I made meals for two friends who had recently had babies. One friend has twin toddlers so I knew the meal needed to be kid friendly! I tried this new recipe from pinterest (you can find GREAT recipes on pinterest) and it was so easy that I will probably use it again. I added a bag salad and cookies and instantly had an easy, yet tasty meal.

Ingredients needed:

• one jar of tomato sauce
• one 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• Kraft 5 cheese mixture
• grated parmesan cheese
• 2 bags of frozen cheese ravioli
• frozen spinach (thawed)

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix jar of pasta sauce, can of diced tomatoes and 1/2 c. water together.

2. Pour about a cup of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan. Set the rest aside.

3. Next, place frozen ravioli on top of the sauce.

4. Place thawed spinach on top of ravioli.

5. Place one cup of cheese on top of spinach.

6. Add another layer of ravioli. Then add the remaining sauce mixture.

7. Add the remaining cheese.

8. Bake on 400 F for 45 minutes -- 30 covered and 15 uncovered. At the very end, sprinkle 2-3 tbsp of parmesan cheese on the top and let stand for 10 minutes before eating. YUM!

Cauliflower Pizza Crust

I have been eating lowcarb and its the same old food night after night, so I have recently become quite the little cook. I love discovering new recipes that are healthy yet different.









One of my new favorites is the cauliflower pizza crust.

Ingredients needed for the crust:
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower (I usually use 1.5 cups of riced cauliflower)
1 egg
1 cup mozzarella cheese
1/2 tsp fennel
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp parsley


other ingredients:
low carb pizza sauce
toppings including meat, veggies


INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.
2. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray.
3. In a medium bowl, combine cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Press evenly on the pan. Sprinkle evenly with fennel, oregano and parsley.
4. Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 minutes (15-20 minutes if you double the recipe).
5. go ahead and cook all your toppings including the meat.
6. Remove the pan from the oven. To the crust, add sauce, then toppings and cheese.
7. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted.

TIPS:

• Because the crust is cheesy, you dont need much cheese


• if you are eating low carb, you may want to cut out the tomato sauce and just put the topping


• on my pizza, I put grilled zuchinni and chicken with parmeson sprinkled on top YUM