Weekend Round Up

Monday: 1 mile

Tuesday: 1 mile

Wednesday: 1.5 mile in the morning. 0.5 mile in the evening.

Thursday: 1.5 mile in the morning. 0.5 mile in the evening. 

Friday: I probably got burned out with work. I came home and took a good nap and felt like a brand new woman. Totally needed that. 

Saturday: 1 mile at noon. Increased speed by 0.5 for every 0.25 mile. I like doing stuff like that - makes me work a little harder and kinda helps distract me and makes time seem to go by faster.
1 mile in the evening. It was a little slower. 

Sunday: 1 mile. Started at 2.5 mph, increased the speed by 0.1 mph for every 1 minute. 

This Week's Total: 9 miles.

This week is the first week back to work after a wonderful, restful, easy summer break. It is all about getting back into a routine, especially the morning routine with a time constraint. So far, I think I did a fairly nice job of getting my walks done first thing in the morning. Four days out of five weekdays. Not too shabby right? 

I think I could have boost the 0.5 mile in the evenings to 1 mile. I should be doing that. So, I will be working on it this coming week.

I love it that I broke the 8-mile per week this week.  I am going to break the 9-mile mark this coming week.

I have found that 2 miles a day kinda help prevent the rub-buh-dub-dub on my thighs a little. I am going to try and do that this week.

I did some kitchen experiments from the pins I pinned over at Pinterest this week. It has been quite a delicious week.

It says it is Texas Roadhouse rolls. 

I don't know. 

But it is tasty. 

Find recipe here.

This is crockpot beef and broccoli. 

I added mushrooms and bamboo shoots and sautéed the vegetables separately instead of following the instruction to dunk it into the Crock Pot. 

I am a rebel like that. 

Find recipe here.

I also did another tasty dish too. 

Crock Pot chicken teriyaki.

The recipe for  crockpot chicken teriyaki is here.  

How was your week? 

Any new experiments with runs or meals? 

Are y'all getting back to school/work like I am too? 

Tuesday Twofer!

Fitness wise, I did a pretty good job today.

Started the day with a mile walk.

Ended the day with a 2-mile walk.

Morning one-miler

Evening two-miler with a movie.

I got Pinterest-inspired and made this peachy dessert.

Click here to get the recipe.

I also surfed the Internet a lot today.

Mostly pregnant-related stuff.

Here are some funny baby shower cakes.

I had a good chuckle!

Hope your Tuesday was good too!

 

Ode to Lulu

Lululemon on my bed.

They looked so small. So tight.
I was worried if it was going to fit right.

I squeezed myself into the capris with all my might.
And believe the Lululemon's fans were right.

I am Christina.
And I am a potential Lululemon addict.

(Please pardon those sausage link looking calves)

Ran three miles wearing that.
Not sure about it making me fast.

But it is 3 miles in the bank.
Forty miles for January. 

Cha-ching!

Dinner has me whipping out a fast and easy meal.

Sliced some kielbasa sausage thinly.
Cut 1 chicken breast into chunks.

Seasoned generously with Cajun spices and whatever I want.

Saute it 'til its almost done.

Add bell peppers, onions, sliced mushrooms to cook.
In another skillet, cook a box of Spanish rice. Add some salsa.
Let it come to a rolling boil and then toss your chicken mixture on top of the rice.
Cover and simmer.
Ready to serve when the rice is done.

Very versatile dish.
You can add a more healthful sausage (or no sausage at all).
You can throw in broccoli, frozen vegetables, or squash.

What's Cooking? Chicken Pot Pie Soup

It has been a rainy and a rather cool day.
All day long, I wanted something hot.
Hot maple brown sugar oatmeal.
Hot cocoa.
Hot milky tea.
There nothing more soothing than a comforting warm stream of yummy down your throat and into your belly.

A day like this means it is a day for soup. I decided to try and make Skinnytaste's Chicken Pot Pie Soup.
I almost followed all her instructions. I tweaked just a little. Here are my tweaks.

• I used 3 chicken bullion cubes and added a little more pepper, thyme, salt.  The bullion cubes were some cheap store-brand kind so maybe that's why it lacked some "oomph." This is the reason why I added an extra one.  
• Instead of using cooked chicken breasts toward the end, I just dumped raw chicken tenderloins (cut   into small bite-sized chunks) right after I added the vegetables and let the entire pot boil and simmer and cook.  
• Tip: Cut your vegetables into small chunks. They get cooked quicker. 

My chicken pot pie soup

Skinnytaste does a MUCH better job at photographing this dish. 

The boyfriend and I enjoyed this soup as it is, without any extra bread or crackers.  I am sure it would be really good with some lightly buttered toast/rolls.  I can probably fancied (fattened) it up by topping a bowl of the soup with some crust and heat it in the oven. 

For such a satisfying bowl of soup, the fat content is really little. You get some carbs and you get your protein. It was yummy. Boyfriend said this is a keeper. (His only suggestion was to use less peas. However, it was those frozen bag of mixed vegetables I got from Wal-Mart so, until I find mixed vegetables with fewer peas, he just might have to bear with that.) 

Monday is rest day from running for me. I will be doing some yoga or core workout later this evening. 

I Am a Pi-Czarina

The boyfriend is a happy man today. I made him pizza and that makes me a pi-czarina.
We usually order from Pizza Hut. But they are always greasy on the bottom.
So, I figured that I would just make him pizza.
Homemade (home-assembled) pizza can be nutritious.

Preheat oven to 450.

 Get a store-bought crust.
Spread some olive oil throughout.
I poured a little less than half a capful of olive oil and dumped in onto the crust.
To make it more healthful: Use whole wheat crust.

Generously spread pizza sauce.

Top it up with cheese.

I'm using a 5 Italian cheese blend and a cheddar/pepper jack blend.

 Then, you catch your puppy spying on you from the deck.

Time to do some assembling.

Top it with pepperoni.

Add sliced fresh mushrooms.

Throw in some heat. Add some jalapenos.

Add some Italian flair by tossing some olives and anchovies.

I set my pizza on parchment paper.
Bake it at 450 degrees F.
For about 8 minutes.

 You can really add a lot of vegetables and use leaner meats.
I have tried it with turkey sausage (be sure to cook the sausage first) and Canadian bacon.

Have fun assembling.



What's cooking?

It's going to be a few more days before this holiday season/Christmas break is over and kids will have to go back to school. So, this recipe is perfect for a family (too much to feed just one or two people).  I love breakfast - especially when eaten and shared with people I love. Here's an easy recipe I thought I'd share. Doesn't take up much time, you can adjust it to your liking, and it is delicious.

Sausage Mushroom Bread
Ingredients
2 things of cresent rolls (I use the Pillbury's kind)
1 lb of sausage (I like Jimmy Dean's, especially the spicy ones. But turkey sausage works really well too)
1 small can of mushroom (or a large can if you like)
1 small onion, diced into small chunks
1 stalk of celery, diced into little chunks (or omit)
1 bag of cheese (sharp cheddar, Mexican fiesta blend, low-fat Swiss, whatever tickles your bone)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a skillet, brown your sausage and kinda crumble it as you cook.
   
   At this point, you can add additional seasonings if you want. I usually throw in some worstershire sauce, some garlic powder.
3. Add your onions and mushrooms and celery and cook together with the sausage. 
4. Spray a 9x13 casserole dish with Pam. Open up 1 cresent roll thing and carefully unroll it and place it into the dish.  Sprinkle some cheese on the cresent roll. Spread the sausage mixture. Then, spread another layer of cheese. Top with another cresent roll carefully.
5. You can get really fancy and do an egg wash or something to make the top part brown and pretty. But I don't care.
6. Pop it in the oven. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
7. Eat! Eat while it hot!
8. Leftover is better when warmed in a toaster oven.