It's Training Season.

So, barring any injuries between now and then, I am planning on running a half marathon on Dec. 3. There, it's official, no take-backs. Anyone who knows how much I've been running lately probably isn't super surprised by this, but it's a pretty big feat for me nonetheless.

You see, I was not a super athletic kid. I ran around a lot when I was really little, I played a couple of years of basketball in early junior high and... well, that was about it. I didn't have any regular activity in my life. I walked some in college but, after being married for a year and realizing that I had gained 10 pounds (maybe because I had an unreasonable obsession with baking that first Christmas?), I realized I really needed to do something more. So I started jogging a little too, and it just escalated from there.

Even though I don't always love running while I'm doing it, I love the fact that it makes me feel good, that it helps me clear my head, that I can finish out my day knowing that I accomplished something, and that I'm doing something that's good for my body. So here I am, almost 2 years from when I first started working out, finally to the point where I really consider myself a (still very slow) runner.  I will probably be bringing up the rear of this race, but I am pretty stoked that I think I'll be able to do it at all. After all, if I can do it, anyone can, right?

Anyway, I will try not to bore everyone too much with running stats, but I hope that between blogging a little bit about this and having my facebook page linked to my mapmyrun page (where I keep up with my miles), I can hopefully keep myself accountable enough that I will keep this up for the 10 weeks of "training" I have left (I even made myself a schedule out and everything). That means I will be running 4-5 days each week & 20-26 miles per week. Am I crazy? Maybe. But how awesome will it be to finish out 2011 doing something I never even THOUGHT about until a few months ago ? TOTALLY. :-) (not to mention I'll be able to get one of those cute 13.1 stickers to go on the back of my car!)

Fastest mile: 7:36
Fastest 2 mile: 16:39
Longest Run: 7.5 mi.
St. Leo 5K (March): 26:56
Ardmore 5K: October 8
Mistletoe 1/2: December 3

Pass the Mac n' Cheese

So I have been jonesing to try this "healthy" recipe for homemade mac and cheese for a couple of months now. In all honesty, I was a bit pessimistic about how it would turn out. After all, isn't a big chunk of lard-like butter what makes homemade mac and cheese so great? But the recipe has had me majorly intrigued, so I spent the last three weeks collecting ingredients (yes, I actually sprang for aged Gruyere and Pecorino Romano. I probably could have replaced it with a bag of Italian Mixed Cheese from Kraft, but where's the fun in that?) and finally took the plunge on Monday night. And I have to say... it was DeLiSh! Definitely a winner. Though next time, I probably won't spend $15 on cheese... 

• 
  
• "Light" Mac and Cheese from Cooking Light
• 3 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 [1-pound] squash)
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons fat-free Greek yogurt
• 1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 1 cup (4 ounces) grated pecorino Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1 pound uncooked macaroni noodles
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup panko (I actually skipped on this, primarily because I'm not sure where my new Harris Teeter keeps it... anyone who does know, please feel free to share..)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

We also cooked some chicken in a skillet with some Mrs. Dash and tossed that in. And I wanted to throw in some diced tomato too, but we were fresh out... 

• 1. Preheat oven to 375°.
• 2. Combine squash, broth, milk, and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.
• 3. Place the hot squash mixture in a blender. Add salt, pepper, and Greek yogurt. Remove the center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Place blended squash mixture in a bowl; stir in Gruyère, pecorino Romano, and 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano. Stir until combined.
• 4. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain well. Add pasta to squash mixture, and stir until combined. Spread mixture evenly into a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.
• 5. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add panko, and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the hot pasta mixture. Lightly coat topping with cooking spray.
• 6. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes or until bubbly. Sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately.

Making Tortillas... Spanish Style.

As you can probably tell, I'm doing my best to catch up on blogging this weekend. 

A few weeks ago I got the hankering to make something fun and foreign, but not TOO weird. What fits the bill better than a Spanish Tortilla? It's just eggs and potatoes and oil, but totally delicious and super-fun to make. 

First of all you just chop up 2 potatoes VERY thin and cook in about 1/4 c. EVOO until tender. You may want to throw in some salt, green onions, or peppers too, depending on your taste. 

Once cooked, you have to remove the potatoes and rinse the pan out. Stir in about 6 scrambled eggs to the potato mixture. Coat the pan with oil and pour about half the mixture in. Let it sit until firm.

The tricky (and fun!) part comes next. You have to flip the tortilla like a pancake! This, I found, takes quite a bit of finesse. The first time did not go so well for me:

But, with the second tortilla, I got the bright idea to use a large plate to aid in my flipping. It turned out beautifully! 

It was stinkin' delicious and way filling too. Eric and I both give it two thumbs up!

I didn't get any pictures, but I also made Chicken Turnovers last week. The recipe I used wanted me to make my own pie crust, but who has time for that? I just used crescent rolls and it was fabulous. You can also use phyllo dough, pie crust, or anything bread-like to make these tasty delights. 

Ingredients:

1/2 onion, chopped

1/2 c. butter

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

4-6 oz. cream cheese

1/4 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. poultry seasoning

2 tsp. garlic salt

pepper

1 can crescent rolls, biscuits, pie crust, etc. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat and stir in onion. Cook until tender. Stir in chicken, cream cheese, broth and seasonings. Cook until cream cheese is melted and mixture is just bubbling. Cut dough into individual pastry squares. Place a tablespoon or two of mixture on one corner of each square (depending on how big you want your turnovers to be!), and fold the other corner over. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is slightly browned. 

Last, but not least, I made a yummy Apple Crisp last night for a Sunday School potluck. Now I had a busy day yesterday, so I admittedly cheated a little bit by grabbing a can of apple pie filling from Harris Teeter. You are supposed to cut up 3-4 granny smith apples and mix them with about 1/2 c. white or brown sugar, 1 T. flour,  and a splash of lemon juice and let them sit a while to bring out that yummy apple flavor. I just added some lemon juice and maple syrup to the filling and let it go. 

The crisp, however, was the really good part that I DID home-make, taking the idea and adjusting from these two recipes: Food Network  & Betty Crocker . Here's what you need:

3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. brown sugar

6 tablespoons butter 

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 T maple syrup

1/2 c. oats

Just mix all of the ingredients up, plop it on your apples (or store-bought pie mix) and stick it in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes if the apples were pre-cooked, 35-45 if they were not. If you love fall desserts as much as I do, you definitely will NOT be disappointed!

So there's an update on recipes of late. Hopefully I will do a better job of sharing my cooking adventures (and actually having them) in the month to come!  

Hungary

Oh, Gee Whiz. Could I be a worse blogger?

Let's go back...

When: July 7-16, 2011

Where: Nagykanizsa, Hungary

Who: Me and 8 others from my parents' church association in Arkansas (including the padres)

What: A mission trip to teach at an English camp

I know, I know. You're looking at our destination and wondering where in the world THAT place is. Don't worry, I didn't know at first either!

Here is Hungary...

And the little X above marks where the lovely town of Nagykanizsa lies.

It only took 3 flights, 1 long car ride and about 28 hours or so to get there! It was exhausting, but I can't really complain. It was well worth the trip!

While we were there, I got to work with the beginners group at the camp. It was really fun and definitely fruitful, but it meant we had to communicate a LOT through motions and hugs and smiles. But those are fun too, right? Thankfully we had an awesome translator that helped out a TON!

Our week in Nagykanizsa was really full. We taught in the morning; offered afternoon activities such as resume-building classes and opportunities to introduce the town to us in English; and provided evening entertainment in the form of movies, a talent night, game night, etc. Our group also got to attend a Hungarian worship service with the missionaries there, and meet some amazing brothers and sisters in Christ from the other side of the world. :-) We finished out the week by going to Budapest, a really remarkable city. I am sad it so often gets overlooked!

There are many many more things I could say about my journey to Hungary; but isn't it far better to show you?

The view from the museum where we taught. 

Some of the things we ate for lunch there were surprisingly good...

Others, not so much! 

Hungarians do make GREAT coffee though (hot chocolate too!)

We took the students out for gelato every afternoon at this place. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. 

We ate at this place basically every night. It was soooooo good! Goulash, fried cheeses, weird pastas. They knew how to do Hungarian food the RIGHT way. 

The next few are from Budapest. I promise I'm almost done... :-) 

The Market...

The Castle...

The historic district...

And the lovely city.

We also took a dinner cruise on our last night... 

And saw this newly erected statue of Ronald Reagan. 

So there you have it, folks. A week in Hungary in a not-so-brief blog post. It was lovely, it was inspiring, it was unexpected, and it was fun. Meeting and working with such beautiful people inside and out was an honor,  and I hope I'll have the opportunity to return again sometime soon. :-)