WIAW, Not Really Feeling It...

I haven't been blogging much for the last week. Sometimes life just gets in the way. Today has left me feeling pretty blue. With all the sadness of Boston, I have a few friends dealing with medical issues involving their loved ones, and it has all left me really wanting some good news.

The good news I was hoping for didn't happen so overall my day has been blah. Watching the endless weather coverages of storms and tornados seems to be making it worse.

There was also a suspicious truck that caused a scare not too far from my office this morning, and I drove by as they were blocking off another street downtown because of a suspicious package as I was leaving work this afternoon. I am kinda feeling like the whole world has gone crazy.

Even my treadmill sprints and rowing this morning haven't been enough to pull me out of my Wednesday funk. So, lets try distraction, shall we?

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How about a little WIAW? Honestly, I have no idea what I ate this week.

First up we have lunch from Friday. I took a break from all the cookie baking and we got some takeout from O Asian Fusion. Veggie lo mein and spring rolls. Yum. Is made a repeat on Sunday for lunch when I ate the other half.

If you bake 700 cookies for a charity event, you might have leftovers. That being said, I think I have eaten about 500 cookies since Friday. Sparkly sugar cookies with dark chocolate almond milk. This looks so good I might have to walk into the kitchen for a repeat now.

I will wait until I finish my post.

I was browsing around on Pinterest and came across a new recipe that looked simple so I decided to give it a try. No one at my house eats broccoli so this was all for me.

One cup quinoa, two cups broccoli and 1 3/4 cup of veggie stock. Brought it to a boil and simmered for 15 minutes until all the liquid was absorbed. Then stirred in a cup of white extra sharp cheddar and some salt and pepper.

Couldn't be easier, and it's full of good stuff.

So there you have it. Nothing earth shattering, but I actually ate some new things this week.

For now I will leave you with this.

Josh and the crazy dogs. Rocky is terrified and Penny is interested in the storm as it comes in. About two seconds after I took this she laid down on Josh's legs and now has her eye on the tv. I think she is hoping that Gary England is going to turn into a dog, a horse or maybe a swimming event. She really loves to watch those sorts of things. Crazy dog.

We could be spending some time in the storm shelter as the storms move in. That will sure help my mood.

Here is to tomorrow being a new day. Breathe in. Breathe out.

 

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Navy Beans, Navy Beans, Meatloaf Sandwich...

Sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe...

Sorry I had an Adam Sandler moment there.

I decided to actually plan a meal today. I know, I am becoming a mom that cooks and bakes again, it's crazy.

There is nothing easier than making a crock pot of beans, and your house will smell so good when you get home. The hardest part is that you have to remember to soak the beans, so it does take a little bit of planning ahead.

I soaked the beans, and then threw them in the crock pot this morning with a container of vegetable broth, one onion and some garlic. Seriously, it could not be easier.

When I got home from work all I had to do was whip up a batch of cornbread to go with the beans. I have yet to find a recipe for cornbread that tastes better than Jiffy cornbread. In 20 minutes dinner was ready.

Yes, I put ketchup on my navy beans. What can I say? I have been eating them this way for as long as I can remember. I topped it all off with some cornbread.

Then I had to hve a solo piece of cornbread.

When I was a kid I remember my grandpa eating cornbread with syrup, I like to have mine with butter and honey.

Because I believe all meals should end in dessert, I will have one of these...

Yum.

 

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Breakfast that Tastes Like Cookies...

The secret to being able to find yourself in race pictures of a race that was so cold and wind you couldn't see your race number?

Wear purple when everyone else is wearing green.

Race pictures are usually terribly expensive and they usually look terrible. Imagine my surprise when I ran across this picture when I was glancing through the race pictures from yesterday. I was even smiling at the camera. I had just ran downhill with a tail wind, no wonder I was smiling.

I discovered overnight oats last year, but I just didn't like them that much. I love the idea of them. Last week I saw a post for peanut butter oatmeal cookie dough overnight oats. Man that is a mouthful! I took the recipe and made a few changes and this is what I came up with.

3/4 C old fashioned oats

1/2 C almond milk

Big spoonful peanut butter

1 Tbsp Chia seeds

spoonful brown sugar

I put the oats in the food processor to grind them up, and then mixed all the ingredients and put it in a mason jar overnight. In the morning I added more almond milk to make it stir-able, put it in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm it up a little, and then stirred in a chopped up banana. Yum.

The texture of the oats were much better this way for me. I was always a bigger fan of cream of wheat than I was of oatmeal, by grinding up the oats it made it much less chewy. I think that was part of why I liked them much more this time.

Plus I didn't feel hungry all morning. I have a second batch in the fridge for breakfast tomorrow. It's like I baked without turning on the oven.

 

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Mexican Pizza Lasagna, a Cold Run and a Good Book...

Our Thursday morning run that happened on Wednesday was one thing. Brutal. 7.3 miles in an hour and five minutes in 30ish temps with 20 mph winds. It was funny that we were all amazed that no one had wanted to cancel because of the weather. Oh yeah, did I say that we started early because we were going to run more than our usual six miles? Yep, because I am about four weeks away from Cowtown, I wanted to do a longish run and everyone that said they would show up at 5 am did. That is true friendship, or craziness, I can't decide.

I was actually in the mood to do a little cooking when I got home tonight. I decided to see what I had pinned on my Pinterest account to see if there was anything that looked good. I settled on Mexican Pizza Lasagna from Peas & Crayons. I changed it a little bit...

I gathered all my ingrediets.

I started by sautéing half an onion and a jalapeño, then I added a can of black beans that had been rinsed. Then I added in a few spices and lime juice.

The flour and suger just happen to be in the background, I did not add either of those. This is how I make black beans for any Mexican dish. Tacos, enchilladas, burritos, if you need black beans you can't go wrong making them like this.

Then I layered them with corn tortillas, corn, refried beans, enchillada sauce and pepper jack cheese.

Popped it in the oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees and that was all she wrote. Served with some taco flavored rice and my current favorite veggie, the Brussels sprouts.

And there are leftovers.

I finished the Stephen King book 11/22/63 last week and was looking for something new to read. (We bought the book for my father-in-law for his birthday, which happens to be today, and rumor has it he is 300 pages in and LOVING it.) My girls had been talking about the latest young adult trilogy they have been reading.

I am a sucker for a trilogy. Lord of the Rings, Twilight (don't get me started on those crappy movies), The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (seriously, why are they not making the 2nd and 3rd movies?), The Hunger Games. I love that Camy and Carson both read The Hunger Games. What is better than reading a good book, than talking about that good book with other people that have read it? I seriously need to be in a book club. Someone, please invite me.

Have you heard of the Divergent trilogy?

Here is a summary:

From the brink of apocalypse, humanity has reorganized itself into five factions, each of which uphold and live by a single core value. Those who believe society fell apart because of greed formed the faction of Abnegation (the Selfless), sworn off of practices considered self-indulgent and pledged to act selflessly. Those who believe the collapse was due to ignorance pledged themselves to the Erudite (the Intelligent), sworn to a never-ending path of complete knowledge acquisition. Those who feel that human duplicity wreaked havoc in the world took the banner of Candor (the Honest), pledging to always speak their minds and the truth. Those who feel that aggression was the root of society’s collapse became the members of Amity (the Peaceful), taking the mantle of peace at all costs. And finally, those who feel that the root of all their problems stemmed from cowardice formed the tribe of theDauntless (the Brave), the faction of the courageous and strong.

Born into a Abnegation family, Beatrice has lived her life trying to uphold the ideals of her parents. Outfitted in modest grey clothing, the required style of her faction, Beatrice strives to be as selfless as the rest of her family, but faction beliefs, like giving your seat to others on public transit, do not come naturally to her. Caught between her love of her family and following her heart, Beatrice struggles in her Abnegation role. Wistfully observing the daredevil chaos of the Dauntless-born children as they crow and leap from running trains on the way to school, Beatrice feels conflicted. Society mandates that each year, all sixteen-year-olds must take an aptitude test, which determines the faction each is most suited for. The test is followed by a Choosing Ceremony, in which each person must decide which faction they would reside in for the rest of their lives, living under the guideline of "Faction Before Blood."

I finished the first book and have moved onto the second one.

They have both been entertaining, and I love that Camy and Carson are excited about it and we have been talking about it alot. Looks like I have a wait for the third book as it won't be out until the fall. Having a mini book club with my girl is so fun, I think I will have to see what we can all read together next.

 

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Tangent Tuesday...

Here is some randomness from my Tuesday:

• I fell asleep before 9:30 last night and forgot to set my alarm. I woke up at 5:11, four minutes before I was schedule to meet my friends for our chilly morning run. I got up, got dressed, brushed my teeth, grabbed a granola bar and a water bottle and was out the door in about 9 minutes. I ended up being 10 minutes late.
• Because I was running so late I didn't have time to be worried that it was only 22 degrees out. I felt pretty good, even if the run felt hard, and we did our six miles in under 54 minutes.
• I am a bit sick of the cold weather.
• I put dinner in the crock pot last night and I got to come up to this.

• Black beans and sweet potatoes = my favorite food combination. You should try it. This or this or this would be a good start.
• I am super excited that Shameless is back on Showtime. Sunday's episode was probably the most disgusting episode ever, but it was so good.
• I love listening to the podcast of This American Life. This week's episode was all about Doppelgängers. Fred Armisen was so funny with his Ira Glass impersonation, and the story about fake calamari was enough to keep me vegetarian.
• I ordered Rocky a sweater last night. He is always shivering and I have my layers on so I am not cold, so I think this will help him. Plus it is super cute. It will be here tomorrow.

• I have got to go see Silver Linings Playbook this weekend. Bradley Cooper. Do I need another excuse?

 

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Saturday Hills and Veggie Stew...

I love Saturdays, I love getting up and getting ready for a long run.

Today the plan was hills from Craig's house, I initially thought I was doing 12 hilly miles. I was a bit overdressed. Temps in the 30s, winds about 10, felt like it was in the 20s, but the sun was coming up when we started. My Underarmour and Brooks running tights made my legs feel good, but the long sleeve cold weather top I snagged from Target last night, with a short sleeved top and my Brooks half zip were a bit much on top. I shed the half zip and ear warmers at the first pit stop. It is nice to have someone driving around providing water, GU, fig newtons, and tissues on a long run.

I was a little behind the pack today, but I am working on it not getting me down mentally. I felt good running today and that is what I am going to start focusing on. I tried to clear my head of the negative thoughts and it worked.

My foot felt better today. I had a blister band-aid to cover this up.

And my favorite running shoe expert made me an extra insert to put in my right shoe. It did feel better so once this is healed up I am hoping it will not return.

The plan was to have a route for 12 miles, but I decided that 8 hilly miles was enough for me. I am not really working with a marathon plan for my Maybe Cowtown Marathon next month. My non-plan consists of running whatever Craig tells me to run, and he said it was okay to just do 8. I think I needed a run that didn't feel bad physically or mentally, and even though another 4 miles might have felt the same as the first 8, I am okay with calling it a day.

The advantages of an 8 mile run are that there was no ice bath, and there will be no compression socks today. I might even get in a nap. The longer our Saturday runs, the less I am able to nap after. I think I just get too tired to take a nap, and I don't think that will be a problem today.

I got home, made some green tea and decided to throw a veggie stew in the crock pot. It's been pretty cold and this should make my house smell really good. I might even make some homemade honey butter rolls to go with them.

So here's what I threw in the crock pot.

Onion

Potatoes

Mushrooms

Carrots

Red Lentils (I had regular lentils, but I got these at Whole Foods and it makes them seem fancier somehow)

V8

Assorted spices, oregano, basil, salt, McCormick grill seasoning, garlic

Here's what it looked like.

It was all very scientific. I guess in about 8 hours or so we will see how it all turns out. If it doesn't then it'll be PB&J for dinner.

I'll keep you posted.

 

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