Excitement & Italian Food!

So I had grand plans of making a healthy dinner.. All of that went out the window when I got a call this afternoon. I currently am employed at a political firm which I love, but like alot of political jobs, it is seasonal work. I have been searching for jobs for a few months and finally one came through at a comminucations firm! My healthy dinner went out the window and in came delicious carb and cheese loaded italian food :)

Jake wanted to take me out but once I got comfy on the couch I decided delivery was the way to go.

Carbonara with gnocchi.. probably the most unhealthy thing you can get at an italian restraunt but it was delicious and hey, it was a celebration dinner :)

Movie/Wii Night = Spiced Popcorn

Last night Jake and I had some friends over for a movie/Wii night. Dinner for Shmucks was hilarious as was watching Jake get beat in all the Wii games he thought he "owned" :) I found a recipe for Spiced Popcorn  and tweaked it slightly. It was pretty tasty and easy to make.

Recipe:

2 bags of popcorn popped

1 stick of butter

4 tbs brown sugar

2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp salt

Place popped popcorn in a large bowl or pot that has some sort of top. Melt butter in sauce pan over medium heat. Add the rest of ingredients (excluding popcorn) until well combined. Pour butter mixture over popcorn some what evenly. Place top over bowl and shake gently until mixture has coated all popcorn. Transfer popcorn mixture to a tin foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes and serve.

Jake's Take: Thinks sprinkling Seasoning Salt over popcorn is easier and quicker... But still liked the final result and thought it was a good spin on movie popcorn.

1/8/11 Run

Jake and I spend ALL of last night with more bedroom organization and furniture moving. I didn't think I was going to be able to move today after all the heavy lifting..

However, Jake woke up motivated to go to his boxing class and I decided to go for an easy run. I was not feeling the treadmill so I braved the cold and headed off for a scenic run through cute neighborhoods and parks. I didn't time myself or even really know how far I ran (probably 2-2.5 miles).

My NikePulse has completely given out on me so I am investing in a used Garmin Forerunner which I'm so excited about! Hopefully I will be picking it up tomorrow and giving an update on its cool functions and such.

In other news, my 10K Richmond run is coming up in 12 weeks! I will be posting my 10 week training plan later on this week which will begin January 22... I'm nervous about the amount of running I'll need to do but hopefully I can stay committed and this blog will help me keep to the schedule.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Kind Of Night

Our neighbors are moving out soon and they gave us their bedroom set! We are so excited and matching Ikea  furniture is a definite upgrade from our college "set" :) I'll post some pics once the bedroom make over is done.

I knew tonight we would be busy assembling dressers and moving furniture upstairs so I wanted an easy and tasty dinner to make tonight. I came across a Chicken Cordon Bleu recipe and since I've never made this before, thought it would be a good opportunity.

I came across a recipe which looked awesome especially since it included a white wine sauce.

I served it with some brown rice and called it dinner :)

Recipe from http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-cordon-bleu-ii/Detail.aspx

Ingredients

• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 6 slices Swiss cheese
• 6 slices ham
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions

1. Pound chicken breasts if they are too thick. Place a cheese and ham slice on each breast within 1/2 inch of the edges. Fold the edges of the chicken over the filling, and secure with toothpicks. Mix the flour and paprika in a small bowl, and coat the chicken pieces.
2. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and cook the chicken until browned on all sides. Add the wine and bouillon. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes, until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
3. Remove the toothpicks, and transfer the breasts to a warm platter. Blend the cornstarch with the cream in a small bowl, and whisk slowly into the skillet. Cook, stirring until thickened, and pour over the chicken. Serve warm.

Jake's Take: Liked it a lot but want to add a bread crumb crust next time. I agree with that as well.

01/05/11 Run

Due to cold weather and lack of sunshine at 6PM, I hit the treadmill to get in a run. The treadmill actually gave me a good chance to work on my running time since I was able to control my pace. I ran the first 16 1/2 minutes at a 6.5mph pace and then ran the remaining 2 mile distance at a 7.3mph pace.

Miles: 2

Time: 18:12

Time per mile: 9:06

After I hit the two mile mark, I slowed down to 3.5mph and increased the incline to its highest height for 2 1/2 minutes. Here's what my finished run looked like including my inclined walk.

 After my run I did some leg and chest presses, ab crunches, and stretched. I am happy with my 9:06 per mile time but I know I will have to work hard to maintain a pace like that for the entire 10K.

Treadmill Tips (because it's January and freezing outside...)

The treadmill is never my first choice when it comes to running but since it's January (i.e. freezing outside and dark by the time I get home from work) it often becomes a must if I want to run at all. The treadmill is good for three things:

1.) It can be safer then running outside.

2.) You can run on it no matter the weather.

3.) It can improve your pace and running time.

There are a few things that can make your time on the treadmill more enjoyable.

• Entertainment. Listening to music, watching a TV show, or looking through a magazine will make your treadmill time go by so much faster and make the run easier.
• Vary your pace. Changing your pace every few minutes will help mix up and break up your run. It's a lot easier to tackle 2 or 3 minutes at a time then run at a steady pace for a long period of time.
• Don't look down! Or cover your time panel with a magazine or towel. Watching your time go by while running is a death sentence to your run. I'm convinced time as we know it actually slows down when I look at the treadmill timer... 
• Run next to someone. Ok this maybe awkward and unadvisable if your gym is empty. BUT if your gym is semi full and it wouldn't be weird to grab the treadmill next to one of the other runners - DO IT. I don't know why, but running near others sometimes helps keep you motivated. If you get bored you can also try to outrun or "race" the person next to you.

I will leave you with one safety tip I learned the hard way. Last winter I was walking towards an empty treadmill while staring down at my ipod. I proceeded to step on the treadmill unaware that someone had left the machine on full speed. I went flying across the gym and was lucky enough to have the cutest trainer there witness my utube worthy tumble and help me up... After receiving pity looks from everyone in the gym for the remainder of my work out, I learned that it is important to be aware of your surroundings and be alert while in the gym. That means not staring down at your ipod while walking around the gym and and getting on machines.

Enjoy your next treadmill run!

Pepper Jelly On A Mission

Like I said yesterday, my goal was to incorporate delicious pepper jelly into dinner this week. Well tonight was the night :)  The pepper jelly was awesome with the turkey sausage and green beans. It added a nice sweet and spicy flavor that wasn't too strong.

Pepper Jelly Green Beans

Recipe:

Steamed green beans

Salt

Pepper

1 tbs of pepper jelly

1 tsp olive oil

Steam green beans and then toss with remaining ingredients.

Turkey Sausage Pepper Jelly Stuffing

Recipe:

1 package of italian turkey sausage

3 tbs pepper jelly

2 cups of stuffing prepared as directed on package

Remove skin from turkey and place in cooking pan over medium heat.  Add pepper jelly and mix until combined. Break up turkey into bite size peices as it cooks. Remove from heat when turkey is fully cooked. Add turkey mixture to stuffing, toss, and serve.

Jake's Take: Added a sweet taste to dinner and would eat it again.

An Ode to Pepper Jelly

Best things in the world that start with "P":

Peace

Puppies

and Pepper Jelly

I am averaging one jar of pepper jelly a week.. no joke. I seriously have a problem. Something about the sweet/spicy combo has me hooked. Here is what I've been eating for the past week and as we speak:

Yum. Cracker with pepper jack cheese and pepper jelly. I am determined to incorporate this jelly into a full on dinner this week.... Wish me luck!

01/02/11 Run

Well my first run of 2011 wasn't exactly great.. We just returned home from skiing last night and my legs are still trying to recover. I however wanted to get in one more run before the work week so I decided to do my 2.3 mile lap. I was about a mile in when it started pouring. I continued on but hated every wet cold minute of it..
Miles: 2.3
Time: My Nike timer died on me so my time was around 22 min.

This puts me at just below 10 minutes per mile. I'm not so happy with my time, but considering the rain and having jello legs from skiing, I'm just glad I got through it.

Happy New Years!

Jake and I returned late last night from an awesome weekend of skiing in Pennsylvania. We have had bad New Years experiences in the past so we decided to do a weekend get away this year to celebrate. Besides having to change hotel rooms at 3AM due to a party going on right above us on New Years night, the trip was a success and we were able to get in some warm up runs before our trip to Colorado in two weeks.

Jake and I at Round Top :)

On the way back to the hotel we stopped by a frozen lake and took a walk on it to check it out. The person behind us is the park ranger who was taking a measurement of how deep the ice was. It was 7 1/2 inches thick so we were good to go.

We also stopped by a beer store to pick up some champagne for the night and found this:

I really thought Four Loko had been banned? We bought some to try :o)

You can't tell me this is a natural color:

We split one can... Tasted like green jello with a hint of battery acid.