New Things; Week Four

Technorati Tags: New Things,Smoothies

I found a smoothie recipe on a blog that I follow that I decided to try.

Flex on the Beach Smoothie

Makes 1 large smoothie

• 1 c. coconut water
• 1/2 c. non-dairy milk (coconut or almond recommended)
• 1/2 c.  frozen pineapple
• 1/2 c. frozen strawberries
• 1/2 c. frozen banana chunks
• 1/4 of a large avocado
• 2 t. coconut oil
• 1 T. chia seeds
• 1/4 t. vanilla extract
• 1/4 t. turmeric
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• dash of salt
• 1 T. vanilla protein powder (optional)

I assembled all of the ingredients.  (Minus the avocado, I have never done anything with avocado and I guess I could have and maybe I’ll try it next time, but for the first attempt I went without it.)

It’s pretty simple, you just throw everything in the blender.

And you let the blender do all the hard work.

Then you pour it into a cup and drink it.

Doesn’t get much simpler than that.  Although a few of the ingredients were a little hard to find.  Chia seeds, coconut oil, and the protein powder.  The biggest problem with the protein powder is that it comes in massive quantities and I wasn’t looking to spend a small fortune on something I didn’t know I would use very much of.

It made a huge smoothie and it was big enough to share with Josh.  It was very tasty and full of good things.  My new favorite thing is Chia seeds.  I have had them in yogurt, cream of wheat and eggs this week already.  I am on the lookout for other things that I can include these little seeds in.

New Things; Week Three

I didn’t make this new thing, instead we went to Cool Greens for dinner.

It was a little disappointing that Carson didn’t want to try anything on the menu.  We had to stop at Subway on the way home to get her something to eat.

I got a couple of pictures of what Camy and I had to eat.

 

tree hugger
baby spinach, marinated tofu, edamame, pickled
onion, mandarin oranges, crimini mushrooms,
pumpkin seeds, tomato, orange & basil vinaigrette

formaggio
tomato sauce, smoky cheddar, monterey jack,
parmesan cheese

I didn’t get a picture of Josh’s meal.

the bahamian jerk
mixed greens, roasted chicken, jerk seasoning,
mango salsa, cumin black beans, bacon, lime-
jalapeno vinaigrette

It was nice to have a meal that was so fresh and full of so many good things.  It was a little expensive even though only three of us ate.  I would love to go back and try something else.

New Things; Week Two

For my second new thing of 2012 I decided to go with Brussels sprouts.  I know that lots of people have horrible memories of these little green nuggets of goodness, but they were not a staple in the Morris household growing up. 

Lucky me, right?  Well have you ever had Hot Dogs Delicious or Whipped Potato Casserole?

For my first attempt at Brussels sprouts I decided to go with roasting.  I cut them in half and marinated them in a little balsamic vinegar, peanut oil and salt and pepper.  I then roasted them with my sweet potatoes and mushrooms.

I believe this could be the worst picture ever taken.

I made a balsamic reduction to go with them.  A little white and brown sugar reduced with balsamic vinegar until it’s the consistency of syrup.

In all they were not bad.  I think I’ll have to play around with them a bit before I find the best way to make them.  Maybe someone else in my house will want to try them too.

Upcoming Races for 2012

So it's 2012 and the upcoming races are starting to take shape.

First up will be The Cowtown half marathon in Fort Worth is February 25^th. One of my new running friends, Angie, is running the full so we are getting some girls together to go down and run the half and support her.

Four weeks after that we have the Rock N Roll half marathon in Dallas. We had so much fun at this race last year. I am very excited to be fundraising again for Susan G. Komen and hope to beat my total of $1,700 raised.

Then, the end of April brings the OKC Memorial Marathon. The plan is to run the marathon again, and I am so hoping for better weather this year.

So February, March and April are all accounted for. After that? There is the Capital of Texas Triathlon the end of May. I would love to do an Olympic distance tri, it just sounds so cool. I would love to run a race in Chicago again this year, either the Chicago Marathon or the Rock N Roll half marathon. Then there is always the Route 66 marathon in Tulsa in November.

So many races, so little time, and so much money, I look forward to all that 2012 has in store for me.

New Things Week One

For 2012, I decided that I would try one new thing a week and then blog about it.  Not sure if they will all be food related or not, but for week one it is.

My friend Rochelle, knowing that I love all things vegetarian gave me a recipe for Veggie Crock Pot Lasagna.  How easy is it to throw all the ingredients for lasagna into a crock pot and then wait four hours and eat?  While I do love the idea of made from scratch I just had to give it a try.

It’s nice to find a new recipe that has most ingredients that I usually keep in my pantry.  Except for the ricotta and the can of spaghetti sauce which I just happened to have, I usually keep the other items on hand.

It’s amazing, you just layer it in there and then let it cook.  Overall, it was a good recipe.  Easy to assemble, and then you don’t have to think about it.  I might use a little more sauce next time, and not try to cover every part of the lasagna noodle layers I always forget that the noodles expand.  I also cooked it for a little too long, the bottom layer of noodles were a little burnt.

I used all mushrooms this time and I didn’t put them in the food processor, I just did a rough chop.

It was very tasty though and I will make it again.  I love being able to tweak a new recipe after the first try.

Here’s the recipe:

Crock Pot Veggie Lasagna (Serves 6-8)

2 Cups Zucchini, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Mushrooms and/or Spinach
1 15 oz Container Ricotta Cheese
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 Tbsp Dried Italian Herbs
1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1 Large Egg
1 25 oz Jar Pasta Sauce
1 Box Lasagna Noodles (uncooked)
2 Cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated

1. Place the vegetables in a food processor and pulse to roughly chop.
2. Place the ricotta, parmesan cheese, herbs, garlic powder, salt and egg in a bowl and stir to combine.
3. Pour half of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a crock pot.
4. Place a layer of noodles on top of the sauce, covering the entire surface, breaking the noodles to fit the pot.
5. Layer half of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles, followed by 1 cup of the chopped vegetables and then one cup of mozzarella cheese.
6. Repeat with another layer of noodles, followed by the remaining ricotta mixture and the chopped vegetables.
7. Pour the remaining pasta sauce on top of the lasagna and top with the remaining cup of the grated cheese.
8. Cook on low for 4 hours.
9. Serve.

Next up Brussels sprouts.

Technorati Tags: New Things,Veggie Recipe

New Year’s Eve 2011

For New Year’s Eve this year we decided to be a little more low key compared to last year.  We all went over to Abby and Brian’s house for food and fun.

The girls from left to right, Abby Rochelle, me Patti and Kim.  Not all of us felt that great on Sunday.

Patti and Bob brought the game Left, Right and Center for us to play and it was so fun. We thought it was strange that Patti won the first game and Bob won the second.  Lol.

Patti and Bob

Kim and JerrodMe and AbbyBrian with the adorable Avery and Georgie.

Avery loved BrianThe girl again.

I love that the iPhone will let you take pictures of yourself so easily. 

We had such a great night.