The week in recipes...

So I picked 4 different recipes to try this week: 2 for dinner and 2 for lunch.  I chose each recipe from one of the blogs I read.
Dinner:
* Santa Fe Casserole from Caitlin at HealthyTippingPoint.com
* Roasted Chicken Vegetable Quinoa from Iowa Girl Eats

Lunch:
* Pasta Salad from Tina at CarrotsNCake.com
* Vegetable Pasta Salad from Kath at KathEats.com


Tonight I was excited to make Caitlin's Santa Fe Casserole. I had to pick up some of the ingredients, but ti doesn't take much!!  I have 2 minutes left until the buzzer goes off and then I get to dig in...which I had someone to share this great meal with...boo

I sipped on a Pom-ocktail.  Pom juice with a little sparkling water...tastes a little different but once I got used to it, I really liked it! Refreshing!!

I am learning to get all my ingredients ready BEFORE I start cooking...geez. It took me long enough to figure that out :)

I also put some fruit together...Look how HUGe those strawberries look compared to those tiny raspberries!!

WARNING: Casserole will look soupy when you take it out. Let it sit for 3-5 minutes and it will start to look normal. I topped my bowl with a little more cheese!

Success!!!

WARNING: Cheesy post ahead!!!

Happy Easter!!

I had a great day with my family. We went to Joan of Arc church, which I never realized is right down the street from my house!  The music was great, and even featured Robert Robinson! If you have never heard of him, check him out here... I have seen him many times with Lorie Line. I literally got goosebumps.  His voice just makes me want to shut my eyes and listen all day!!

My parents had some of my dad's siblings and kids over.  It was a great time! There was a TON of food!! (I don't have any pictures because my SD card has gone haywire! BOO!)  I made a French Toast Casserole.

French Toast Casserole

Virginia Willis, BON APPETIT,Y’ALL

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 loaf brioche or challah bread, sliced into 1 1/2 inch slices (I used cinnamon loaf bread)

8 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Confectioners’ sugar for accompanimen

Pure Maple Syrup

•    Combine the melted butter and sugar in the bottom of a baking dish.

•    Make a nice even layer of the mixture to cover the entire area.

•    Arrange the bread slices on top, squeezing them in place.

•    Whisk the eggs, add all the remaining ingredients except the pecans.

•    Pour over the bread, letting it soak in.

•    Top with pecans and cover with plastic wrap. (The casserole will not look real moist, don’t worry I promise it will be so when you eat it)

•    Keep refrigerated for at least 3 hours or up to 12 hours.

•    Set out at room temperature for 20 minutes before popping into a hot oven set to 350 degrees.

•    Bake until lightly browned and set, 35 to 40 minutes.

•    Remove and slightly cook if you can wait a few minutes.

•    Serve hot or warm with sorghum, cane or maple syrup.

Serves 8

It was a big hit! All the ladies wanted the recipe!!

My mom had a few egg dishes and her fabulous cheesy potatoes...YUMMY!!!

I had to spend Easter solo...because Chad left yesterday morning for a 5 day fishing trip.  

WARNING: Cheesy part coming now!!

I am fine with Chad going on a fishing trip, but I don't like being at the house alone, and I really miss him when he is gone. He makes quite a presence when he is here :)

I had to babysit Friday night, and it ended up being a late night (Like 1:30 a.m.). By the time I got home, Chad was asleep. He was getting picked up around 4 in the morning.  So my hopes of spending time with him before he left flew out the window.  

Fortunately, I came home to this:

Chad knew how sad I was that he was leaving, especially that he was going to be gone for a holiday.  So he got me flowers for Easter...I can't tell you the last time I got flowers :)

There was also a paper grocery bag stapled shut.  What could be in here??  There were 10 packets of flowers/vegetables and 10 temporary pots.  He told me later that he knew if I had a project, it would keep me busy when he was gone :)

Luckily, we had a good cuddle session before he left 3 hours later.  He showered me with kisses and hugs before he went...

I got up the next morning and was happy to find some surprises in the house...

                                 

I told you it was going to be cheesy...

Don't tell Chad I showed you this...he doesn't like people to know how sweet he is :)

I go back to work tomorrow...UGH!!!!!

Productive Spring Break

So I am sad my Spring Break is over, but I am happy that I had such a productive week.

Fri-Mon  Spent time at the cabin with Chad:  2 mile run/walk
Mon.     Had lunch at King's and a walk with cousin Kelly: 3 mile walk
Tue.      Had lunch with Shana at Broder's and dinner with Andrea at Cantina #1  
Wed.     Walked around Calhoun with Kali: 3 mile walk
Th.        Had lunch w/Chad at SmashBurger and Happy Hour at the View w/Annie: 2 mile run

                                        
Friday   went to the Firm for a Circuit Training class: 1 hr. workout
Sat.       Walked to Butter for breakfast: 1 mile walk

Here are some pictures of my walk and breakfast this morning...Enjoy the beautiful day!!

Firming up at The Firm!

My good friend, Kali works at The Firm, a gym in Minneapolis.  She sent me a text message yesterday, inviting me to take a class before I went back to work.  I am not going to lie: I was SCARED!! I know the classes there are intense and wild. I have seen the story Perk at Play did on Doug's classes.  

EEEKKK!

This is my year to try new things right??

Even as I got closer to the gym, I was still considering turning around and going home.  But I told Kali I would go so I couldn't bail. I would be fine, right??

As I climbed the stairs, I could hear the music pumping, could feel the bass throbbing! I tried to act like I knew where I was going...

There's Kali!!

I got there 25 minutes early (I didn't want to be late!!) so I got to hang out with Kali, meet some of her friends and some of the "locals." Doug, the instructor, even came over and told me to just have fun!! 

Doug came into class, strutting his stuff in a black speedo and tight white tank top.  I was thinking to myself, "This is going to be awesome!!" There were all ages and sizes in this class.  If they can do this, so can I, right??

Let's just say, I thought I was going to pass out. This class had some of the same moves of Body Works plus Abs, but on Speed.  Everything was high-energy, screaming, yelling, very dramatic moves.  

See those boxes? Yes they tried to convince me to lift that above my head...Yah right? Have you seen how clumsy I am?? I decided to just use weights...

Here is me after class. See how wet my shirt is? I look like a dying person...I told Doug he didn't need to put a shirt on...he thought otherwise.

Kali made me a smoothie and I headed home. I had a killer salad on the brain.

But first, Kali gave me my way early birthday present...I told her earlier this week I wanted a headband like hers...

Isn't it cute??

I could not WAIT to dig into my salad for lunch! I was starving!!!

But look what I found??

I just bought this bag of lettuce on Monday and it was already turning green...No fear. I just picked out the brown stuff and continued on my way.

I also picked up veggies from the salad bar on Monday to add to my monster salads.  Doesn't this look divine??

Ingredients: carrots, cucumbers, pepper jack cheese, craisins, red onion, red, yellow and green peppers, peas. SOOOOO good and fresh and wonderful and yummy!!

I also had half of this giant grapefruit...

Perfect lunch!!!

I am off to the shower and heading to our lot in Shakopee to see if any progress has been made. 

Pictures and story about lot to come later!!

Enjoy the day!!

A Special Visit

I was blessed to have my long-time friend, Andrea visit me on Tuesday.  She was in Minneapolis for work, so she extended her stay to spend the night with me...lucky me!

I picked her up at the airport and we headed to IKEA...she had never been and I wanted to get some ideas for decorating.  It is such an overwhelming place. 

I am going to have a horrible time decorating my house...I just tend to throw everything around the room and hope it looks good. I was especially interested in the fully-designed rooms. 

I was NOT feeling well this day.  When the weather changes, I tend to get really bad pressure headaches.  So I felt dizzy, pressure in my head and nauseous. I decided to get a water and a cookie to give me some fuel. I wasn't hungry but I felt I needed some energy.

After IKEA, we went to Mall of America. We were reminiscing about how often we went there when it first opened.  Anyone who lives outside Minnesota just assumes we go to MOA all the time. But it is a pain to park and there are always SOOO many people!!  So I don't go there very often.

Andrea needed to find some shoes so we started at Nordstrom. She found some really cute pumps. I really want to get a pair, but I may wait until I get my tax money.

She then suggested we go get pedicures...which is funny because that was exactly what I wanted to do. So we headed to LA Nails.

Man, these ladies were PUSHY. They asked us at least 20 times if we wanted a manicure...we kept saying no, we didn't want a manicure.

We then headed to Cantina #1, a new restaurant on the 4th floor.  I hadn't heard of it but read some reviews online...

I felt like I was back in Mexico!! Great atmosphere and location!

I knew I wanted to get something light, but that I could bring home for Chad. I was still feeling a little gross so I kept it light...

Chicken enchilada with 2 beef tacos. Yummy!

Here is the view from our booth....crazy to watch all the people.

It was great to see Andrea. Thankfully, she will be here 2-3 more times this summer!!