DIY Taco Seasonings

I make my own taco seasoning instead of buying those convenient packets. I don't want to have all the other "stuff" in my food.

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Mix it up.

I usually double this when I do 1 pound of ground beef or in my chicken tortilla soup because we like flavor.
So, for a milder taste, just stick to one recipe.
For more punch, double it. :)

Enjoy!!

Weekend Round-Up: Long Run and Good Food

I wished I have pictures to show you of my run Saturday morning. But they were blurry like this.

We ran out to the neighborhood I used to live. And out again to this highway. That was about 3 miles.

Along this highway, I counted at least 10 beer cans in less than a span of 1 mile.  Littering is bad.

But drinking and driving and littering?
Oh no!

Running Friend had it at 5 miles so we cut short our run and walked/jog back.
He said his insoles or shoes are giving him trouble.
It was a timely call anyway because it started to sprinkle.
I headed home and ran the remaining miles.
At 11 miles, I thought, well, I can do 12.

At 12 miles, I thought, well, I can do 13.
At 13 miles, I thought, well, I can do a little bit more to finish this movie I was watching.

That's it.
13.22 miles in the bag. 

I am proud of myself.

Sunday, I went to church to see this little sweet baby cousin get christened.
She had fallen several days ago because her 2-year sister tried to be helpful and picked her up the steps and dropped her. 

 

 I was just glad to be part of this sweet baby's milestone in life. 

I love my family. 

I went to the grocery store again to pick up not-good-stuff but rather yummy stuff.

There is reason for this madness.

Well, they are mostly for the boyfriend.

I usually just get one of those mini cones and will be plenty satisfied.

 

I came home and got busy with bread.

I made stromboli - kinda. 

This is made with home-made bread. 

Roll out the dough.  Place cheese, Canadian bacon, olives, mushrooms and a little pizza sauce.

Roll it up and let it rise a little more. 

Bake. 

Yummy mess!

For the rest of the dough,
I rolled it and made a hearth-kinda bread (whatever that means).
I like bread that looks like this instead of loaf.
Sprinkle some cheese, Italian herbs and seasoning.
Pop it in the oven...

Sheer delish!
I am about to open a bottle of wine and just read a book and enjoy the rest of my Sunday night.
I LOVE MY FABULOUS WEEKEND!

Push-Ups: 15 (graduated from counter push-ups to girly knee on floor pushup and 1 real push-up)
Push-ups for This Month: 185
Push-ups Left:215
 



You Want To Eat What?

Tomorrow calls for a double-digit run.
Eleven. Maybe twelve.

So naturally, I scarfed down some serious energy into my body. 

I asked Boyfriend: What would you like for supper? Shrimp? Chicken? Fish? Pizza?

Boyfriend: Chicken briyani.

Me: Really?

Love it that Boyfriend doesn't just eat the traditional standard American fare and would request
for curries, Vietnamese spring rolls, and wantons/dumplings for dinner.

I went grocery shopping again today.
Second time this week.
(not shown: milk)

Those pretzel chips are quite tasty - especially with hummus.
I go between the Fage Greek yogurt and Chobani. But it has to be PLAIN.
I also bought an 8lb medicine ball and two 5-lb dumbells.

All right, gonna go sleep early tonight.



Monday in bullets

1. The 2 miles I planned on running yesterday never did happened.  We had Mother's Day lunch at my boyfriend's mom's and we ended up spending the entire afternoon there.  When we got back to our place, his dad and stepmom and brothers were there and we ended up spending time with them.  I had a good time with family. But the 2-miles hung over my head like you can never believe.  Guilt is not a good feeling!
   
2. At lunch today, I decided to get my shoes on and ran a quick one mile.  It was a fast one without pain. It took a little over 10 minutes but under 10:30 minutes. It left me breathless. While it was a good run, it was a sucky run too.  I hadn't had breakfast or lunch.  All I had was coffee and I really could use some fuel - like half a banana or something.
   
3. I also swam at least 20 minutes non-stop.  I am not a good swimmer. So I stayed on the shallow end of the pool and just kept going back and forth and back and forth. I did the froggie stroke. That's the only way I know how to swim.  My arms got a nice workout.Of course, it also made me realize that my arms are weak!
   
4. Tomorrow, I have 2 miles on tap.  I am hoping to get it in early in the a.m. so it won't hang over me like a dark cloud.  Will report my activities for tomorrow. 
   
5. I am also determined to cook at least 3x this week.  It's all a plan to save money and to eat healthfully. 
   
6. In fact, I already have tomorrow's food all prepped and ready to go into the Crock-Pot tomorrow.  All I'll need to do is to pop that pot into the Crock-Pot base and  have it set to "8 hours slow" and I will be home to a good meal with minimal clean-up.
   
7. For May, I am hoping I will run at least 20 miles.  That will be a doable challenge.  I'm far far far behind my 82-mile/month goal in order to reach 1000 miles. 
   
8. I'm working on a serious post. 
   
9. I am going to get to go home to Singapore this summer. 
   
10. #8 and #9 are kinda related and stressing me out just a tad.