Wednesday, April 27, 2011

What I'm loving Wednesday!

1. I'm loving that my baby brother Adam is here in Nashville visiting on his Spring Break! He's a senior in High School and is running the Country Music Half Marathon with me this weekend!
2. I'm loving that my parents are coming down Thursday night to watch all of us run!

3. I'm loving that the Country Music Half Marathon is this coming weekend! I will have completed 3 Half Marathon's in 1 year this weekend!
 4. I'm loving NUTELLA! My brother convinced me to get it at the store. I've never tried it and now I LOVE IT!
5. I'm loving that we only have 18 1/2 days of school left! LET SUMMER BEGIN!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Friday's Four New Recipes

Better late than never, right?


First off, I want to feature a recipe from my college friend, Emily. We made this recipe during our time together in Columbus for breakfast! They were sooo yummy!

"Monkey Brains"


I also tried 4 new recipes this week.


Texas-Style Cinnamon French Toast
3 eggs
6 tablespoons half and half
1 tablespoon sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 3/4-inch-thick slices soft-crusted French bread or egg bread

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/4 cup powdered sugar
Warm maple syrup (optional)

Beat eggs, half and half, sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon and vanilla extract in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish to blend. Add bread and turn to coat. Cover and chill until bread absorbs egg mixture, at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day.
Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add bread and cook until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Combine powdered sugar with remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sift over toast. Serve with maple syrup, if desired.

We also tried this breakfast recipe for dinner.
Ham'n Taters Breakfast Casserole in the Crock pot.
ngredients:

1 lb. frozen tater tots
1/2 lb. ham diced
1/2 cup Onions chopped
1/2 cup green pepper diced
3/4 cup cheddar shredded
6 md EGGS
1/2 cup milk

Preparation:
Wake up to a hearty breakfast fit for a king (or queen).

In crockpot, layer ingredients in order: tater tots, ham, onions, green pepper and cheese. Repeat two more times, ending with cheese.
In a bowl, beat eggs and milk. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour mixture over layers in crockpot. Cover and cook on LOW for 10-12 hours. Serves six.
 
It was strange and I won't ever make it again....but for those of you who want to try something different, go ahead! I thought it would be good because I love tater tots and ham, egg and cheese...but something just wasn't right.

I also tried this Chicken Enchiladas with a twist recipe! DELISH!
Ingredients:

2 Chicken breast halves shredded
1 can Cream of mushroom soup , cream of chicken or celery can be used
1 cup Mild Pace salsa mild
3 cups Cheese shredded
1/2 cup Enchilada sauce mild
8 Flour tortillas
2 tablespoons Salt

Preparation:
Cover chicken with water, add salt and boil until cooked. Shred once cooled.  Save broth.

Prepare cream of mushroom as indicated using broth. Add the salsa and chicken and stirr. Remove from heat and add 1 cups of cheese. Taste for salt, but you probably won't need any.

Fill the tortillas with about 2 spoons of the chicken mixture and roll. Place in pan. Top with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted.




P.S. THE CHEESE GRATER IS NOT MY FRIEND! I have cut chunks out of my fingers because of this wretched thing! Maybe it's the user but it happens every time...I should be banned from using the grater.

And last but not least....Hibachi Chicken!

Click here for the recipe!

It was so yummy!




 Next week, I will feature my mother-in-law's Eclair Cake!!!!

Happy Easter Everyone! He is Risen, He is Risen indeed!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Columbus Girls Weekend!

It's about time that I posted about my wonderful girls weekend in Columbus, Oh that happened two weeks ago...






We had such a great weekend! From late night hot tub chats, to Arbonne party, cooking together, Easton shopping, Cheesecake Factory and Jenny's Ice cream. It was a great catch up.

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On another note, I was trying to figure out what to do with my hair one day last week. It was going to be raining and my hair is long and gets big and wild when it's humid and rainy. So I wore it up in a messy bun but my bangs are not short enough to leave down but not long enough to stay put in my ponytail or otherwise. SO......
TA DA...I just braided it. not french braid or anything. Just braided it and bobby pinned it back. And I loved it! I've done it several times since then. I know it may seem like...duh...that's silly, but I have a hard time finding cute hairstyles I like and that I can do.


Anyways...I hope to have my MAJOR recipe post up soon this week. Until then...you can read about my miserable 9 mile run on Saturday.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

So much to blog about...

And I will have to wait to really post because I'm using hubby's iPad.... Which is awesome but all my pictures are on my laptop at home and I have a recipe post to write, my girls weekend in Columbus to write about, runs to post about, and random things, like "how to wear your hair if it's rainy and you want your side bangs to stay back?" We also purchased a bed yesterday!!

Ashley furniture was having a liquidation sale and we did some fine negotiation!! Dave Ramsey would be proud of me (since I am the "free spirit" in our relationship)!

It will take 3-8 weeks for it to be in for pick up. I'm hoping for sooner than later!

Well it is a beautiful sunny Sunday here in nashville and I will hopefully be back on here for more excitement tomorrow or Tuesday!

Friday, April 8, 2011

I'm a slacker...

Double Whammy today, folks!





Except you will only be getting ONE today....Our grill is broken or you would've had more. I had to improvise this week. UGH

Derek's Birthday (March 25th) Peanut Butter Pie



1 c. Powdered sugar
1 c. Creamy peanut butter
1 (8oz) block of cream cheese
1 (14 oz) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
12 ounces frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 graham cracker crusts
Chocolate syrup

Combine powdered sugar, peanut butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add milk; beat until combined. Fold in whipped topping. Divide mixture evenly between crusts; chill 8 hours or until pie is set. Drizzle with chocolate syrup.

And I'm terrible for not taking pictures. BUT....I'm also adding:
 Chicken Cordon Bleu
1 egg
1/2 c. whipping cream or milk
4 Chicken Breasts
4 Pieces of Ham
4 Pieces of Swiss Cheese
Approx. 1/2-1 c. flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp caynne pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning

In 1 shallow dish, mix egg and milk/cream. In another shallow dish, mix dry ingredients. Fillet chicken breasts 1/3 of the way through (pouch). In pouch, place slice of ham and cheese repeat for each chicken breast. Dip chicken in egg mixture and then coat in flour mixture. Brown each side in skillet. Bake @ 375 for 30 minutes.








We also have made this wonderful recipe for Chocolate Cinnamon Babka Recipe from this awesome website.













And there ya have it....3 recipes on 4 recipes Friday. I hope next week will be better!!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

What I'm loving Wednesday!

I thought I'd jump in a link up with Jamie for What I'm Loving Wednesday.

1. I'm loving that I get to see some of my best college girls this weekend for a Girls weekend in Columbus! So excited to spend time with Shiloh, Brooke, Emily and Katie! It's been WAY too long since I've moved to the south. I will be hitting up this wonderful place.
EASTON TOWNCENTER! Oh how I have missed you!

2. I'm loving that I have been sticking to my half marathon training so far this week. I'm such a slacker during the week and then that affects my long weekend runs.

3. I'm loving the field trip we went on yesterday! We went to Gentry Farms in Franklin and it was BEAUTIFUL! It was quite chilly but sunny and clear blue skies. We saw cows up close and personal during our hay ride. Mr. Gentry fed the cows close to the trailer we were riding on. We saw a bald eagle and another huge bird. My firsties and I had a blast!

4. Lastly, I'm loving this wonderful guy who took me to one of my favorite places last night for two punch Tuesday.
And I didn't feel bad because I ran 4 miles last night :)

HAPPY WEDNESDAY! (ALMOST FRIDAY!)