Out of Nothing at All....

I've never claimed to be the best blogger in the world, hence the week I apparently took off. Trust me it was completely un-intentional. I have so many ideas rolling around in my crazy little brain to blog about. However, this morning you are getting none of those "good" ideas. Nope, I have decided to give you a re-cap of what I've been up to this week, because I know you are very, very interested. (OK, just go with it...)

First of all, I want to show you guys what I am so proud of....


I made scones!! These are "Vanilla Bean Mini Scones" from Sarah over at Peas and Thank You! They were so easy and so good! My two youngest helped and they ate 2 a piece as soon as they were cool! I have been a little afraid of baking in the past, but recently I have done more and more and have discovered its not as hard as it looks!

All day yesterday I was craving enchiladas big time! (Mexican food seems to be a staple in my diet) My friend Jana makes the best enchiladas and I've made her recipe many times, but didn't have all the ingredients on hand and was in no mood to go to the store! After standing in front of the pantry and fridge for what seemed like forever, I discovered the leftover Black Bean Soup that I froze a couple of days ago. As I thought of the ingredients, I realized they very closely mirrored the ingredients of the filling for Jana's enchiladas! That's when complete and total genius hit. (OK, maybe it was hunger) I thawed the soup, rinsed it in a colander, and threw it into the food processor,

Then I added one tablespoon plus one teaspoon of tomato paste.

Here's a quick little tip on tomato paste. Buy it in the tube form, if you can find it. Many recipes call for just a little and then you are stuck with over half a can and have nothing else to use it for. With the tube, you can measure out just what you need and then stick the rest in the fridge!

After adding the paste, I gave it a little whirl and came out with this:

Perfection!

Next up was the enchilada sauce. I know you can buy a can or jar of enchilada sauce that is very good. However, homemade is delicious, you know what is in it, and it is so very easy!

Easy Enchilada Sauce (makes 2.5 cups)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 onion, minced fine
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tablespoons chili powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
1/2 c. water
pepper

Heat oil, add onion and salt and cook until onion is soft. Stir in next 4 ingredients, and cook for about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato sauce and water, simmer until thickened, around 5 minutes. Season with pepper to taste.

Easy, quick! I didn't have tomato sauce on hand so I subbed a can of diced tomatoes that I pureed in the food processor and omitted the water. A can of crushed tomatoes can be subbed as well, just be sure to leave out the water.

Here is the finished product!

Just so you know, your Hubby and kids may run into the kitchen while this is cooking because the smell will draw them in, neighbors may knock on the door and beg for a sample. It smells that good!

While the sauce was simmering, I took the pureed soup and spread it on tortillas, rolled them up and placed them seam side down in a baking dish I had coated with cooking spray. Then I spread a little sauce on top.

I topped them with shredded cheddar cheese (although you don't have to, but I was thinking I needed some extra protein in my diet, haha), placed them in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes and they came out looking like this:

I can't tell you how good and easy these are and everyone in my family loves them! I only made 3 because Big Sister is at church camp (but will be home today, good thing because I miss her!) and The Golden Boy had a client dinner.
I was hankering for something sweet after I did a full on kung-fu punch on my enchilada.

Enter two cut up peaches, strawberries and Rainier cherries! I love cherry season! My favorite is the Bing, but I like the Rainier as well. Our local farm stand also had peaches and the smell was amazing and drew me in! They were so good and juicy!

This little guy thought so too and requested a bowl just like mine!


Just in case you were wondering (and you are probably not) here is my work-out re-cap for the week:

Saturday: 16 mile long run with Jennifer
Sunday: Off day that was needed ,fo sho!
Monday: 3 mile easy run (9 minute pace)
Tuesday: 30 minutes on the elliptical and lower body strength workout
Wednesday: 9 mile run
Thursday: 1 hour on the spin bike, 2 mi run at 8:24 pace
Today: Upper body workout only (a good friend that runs marathons (hello 3:20!) says that she does absolutely nothing on her lower body the day before a long run, so I'm taking that advice!)

Tomorrow is our long run and I'm doing 18 (yikes)! Hopefully I won't be in the hospital or dead and can come back here and let you know how it went!

Have a wonderful weekend! Remember, Sunday is the Lord's Day, so do yourself a favor and find a place of worship and fellowship with His own!

~Carie

Everybody's Working for the Weekend....

Today started out as a little of a let down. We woke up to this:


This is the view out my back door, and as you see, its raining. Not only did it rain last night, but the wet stuff decided to settle in a stay for a while. Like until 3pm! Jennifer and I had big plans to take the kiddos to the pool today (Friday is her day off work)so that we could layout and have a gab session (and eat ruebens and swedish fish!). I was a little bummed and so were my children at first, but they made the most of a free day at home and did some of this:

"Just Dance 2" Cardio and fun? Yes, please. After dancing with them for a bit (little brother joined the group as well, but he's not into dancing like the girls :), I decided to get productive! I started the laundry and set about prepping some food for the weekend.

I pulled out some veg and prepped them so I could make this:

Jana's Most Delicious Salsa!
Then I made some of this:

Mama Peas White Bean Guacamole! Its a favorite at our house!
Then, it was lunch time, so I made these:

Pineapple Chicken Quesidillas! I found the recipe over at Hungry Mom on the Run and have been drooling over them ever since!

Here's the finished product! They were excellent!
Next, I decided that supper needed to be tended to, so I started this:

This is a picture of the second step. The first was just a bunch of black beans floating in water in a black crockpot. Somehow, the picture turned out a little boring..... haha! After a couple of hours bubbling away, this is the result:
Vegatarian Black Bean Soup! Oh my yall! This was so good! I am so glad we have a crockpot full to eat the rest of the weekend. I even added a dollop of White Bean Guacamole, HIT. THE. SPOT.! I have been searching for a good black bean soup recipe ever since Jennifer and I had a Cuban version at a local sandwich shop. This is the best I have come up with and it definately made the cut!

We also have a guest tonight,

This is Jennifer's youngest with Big Sister and Little Sister. Big Sister and R are Besties, just like their moms!

Workout Re-cap:
Wednesday - 35 minutes total body strength training
Thursday - 6.5mi run
Friday - 45 minute upper body strength training (I try not to workout my lower body at all on Fridays since I do long runs on Saturdays!)

Tomorrow Jennifer and I have our long run! I'm excited, we've not been able to run together in some time! Yay!

Since I've worked hard to prep for the weekend I think I deserve a little of this,


And look, the sun has come to say hello!

Happy Friday! ~Carie

Creature of Habit (or boring eater)

You know those diet/healthy living blogs where the blog author chronicles every single thing she/he eats in a day? I like those blogs, I really do. However, sometimes I get tired of seeing 20 pictures of their oatmeal every single morning. I do get a lot of ideas for meals from those blogs but I have a confession to make. You won't see that from me. Here is the main reason, and I am almost embarrassed to show you all this, but here goes. I am an extreme creature of habit.
I'll allow you to check the evidence and make a ruling on your own:


This is a salad with a cut up chicken burger (purchased at Sam's, they are sooo good). I have eaten this exact same salad at least 3 times this week.

Next up, we have something that looks like breakfast, and probably was on at least one occasion,

but I'm not too proud to eat eggs, toast and salad for lunch, two days in a row.

Even when I am with Jennifer, I usually can get her to eat the same thing,

Here we have our normal Country Club Grill lunch. A vegetarian Reuben, sweet potato fries and a Greek salad (shared of course). I think we've had this three times since the summer started!

I also eat lots of frozen yogurt! I ALWAYS get the tart flavors and load my cup with fruit.

And I am a little ashamed to admit that this has been my lunch (and lunch for my kids) on more than one occasion. (OK, maybe like 6 times...)

Here is a salad I tend to repeat like crazy.

Spinach, tomatoes, cottage cheese and tuna. I love it. It loves me.

Breakfast is so predictable,

This is a bowl of mixed up cereals. Kashi Heart to Heart, Natures Path Pumpkin Flax Granola and Grape Nuts. I pour vanilla almond milk on it. Its good. I eat it a lot. I know, boring.

A big bowl of veggies for lunch.

Is anyone still reading this post?

Yogurt pancakes.

I am totally in love with them. I could eat them daily. I have eaten them every day for a week before.

Here is a twist on scrambled eggs.

And it would be exciting except I probably ate this every morning for breakfast back in April because I was on my "Jana's best Salsa" kick. Oh, that sounds good, maybe I'll make some today!

Oh, wait, this is different,

No, just another bowl of veggies.

Question of the day:

Are you a creature of habit? If so, what foods/meals do you turn to often?
Yes, I am. The evidence speaks for itself, however, this proves that I am loyal! I eat eggs and salad, a lot!

Do you like eggs? What is your favorite way to eat them? Do you put anything on them? I love eggs, and I like to cook them any way possible. I love to top scrambled eggs with salsa.

Do you like frozen yogurt? What are your favorite flavors/toppings?
I adore it. My favorite flavors are the tart ones. Currently its Original Tart swirled with Pomegranate! I am a fan of our local yogurt place on Face book so I can see the menu daily, lets just say if they have Pomegranate that day I may or may not arrange my day to be somewhere near! My favorite toppings are fruit and granola. I am not a fan of candy as toppings nor am I a fan of frozen yogurt that tastes like ice cream!

Have a wonderful day. I have big plans. To lay out at the pool and read, ALL. BY. MYSELF.!

See Ya, Carie

Did I Forget To Tell You Something???

Ok, so being forgetful is a serious downfall of mine these days...well, actually it always has been but more so now for some reason...I can't remember why. After my daughter's dance class I got a letter saying I forgot to pay April's dance fees. I thought surely this isn't true...me? Forget to pay dance? Why I'm always on top of things like that! After seaching through my checkbook determined to prove someone wrong, there was March dues, a lot made out to the girls school, Pizza Hut, violin dues (HA!...I paid that one!!!) and May dues for dance but no April... Ok, so I forget sometimes. Dance recital is around the corner so now is not the time to forget! So I make a mental note to pay that next time we go to dance practice. Don't forget!!!

Another thing I forgot to do is post a picture (and super simple) recipe for that awesome Reuben I made. I told you I would post it and well, I don't forget. This sandwhich is like ooey-gooey good, dressing dripping down your hands, you need several napkins just to wipe your hands off before you can pick up your water to take a drink, don't fix this if you're trying to look all cute in front of your husband kind of good. I'm serious about this! You may not have the same love thoughts as I do about this sandwhich after you make it but then you probably made it wrong. Haha!

Legendary Reuben
Pumpernickel Bread, Sourkraut, Baby Swiss Cheese, Thousand Island Dressing
Butter bread, layer all the goods (I use a bit extra cheese) and toast in a skillet. Yep, that's it. Told you it was simple...cause that's how I roll.

Some recents eats:

THE BEST fish tacos you will EVER eat in your life!!! This is serious stuff folks! These are from a local restaurant in Key West. Wish I could remember the name...the goodness that is fish tacos caused me to have some memory loss. As you can tell, I couldnt even wait to take a bite after the picture...one is half gone already.

Bear Naked Granola (with dried cranberries), skim milk, and coffee (lots of hazelnut cream).

Yogurt Mountain!!! LOVE! Original tart with blueberries, stawberries and blackberries.

Stuffed Mushrooms from The Cheesecake Factory. Oh My Word.... :)

The wonderful bread that I ate too much of at said restaurant.

Some kind of cheesey, shrimpy goodness with toast pieces that is glorious to say the least. I can't remember the name but it's soooo good. (Do I say that about everything?)

Do you forget things often? Does it bother you or are you pretty laid back about it?

Any legendary eats lately? Or are they all legendary like mine have been?

Menu Plan Monday

Whew! Its finally time to get back into the swing of things! I must say though, that I am not looking forward to the kids going back to school tomorrow! We've had a lot of fun and I have to admit that I have enjoyed sleeping late. But its back to the daily grind starting in the morning. Now that the holidays are over I am also looking forward to getting back to menu planning and eating better! I had panic attacks over the amount of sugar my kids have been ingesting! If you are a regular visitor to Grocery Cart Challenge you will see that I am copy-catting a lot this week. Gayle has 4 kids so I figure that its a good bet that my kids will like some of their favorites too.

Monday - Today I am making split pea soup with buttery bread machine rolls. I have never had split pea soup before so this might be a total flop, but judging by the reviews on this recipe I think it might be good. I'm excited to try it. As far as the rolls go...I'm not a bread maker. I've tried and tried to make bread. I dream of one day spending time in my kitchen kneading dough, popping it in the oven and coming out with a gorgeous loaf of bread. So far all of my bread has come out horrible. However, I did purchase a bread machine at a yard sale this past summer. The ingredients are in the machine as we speak. I am very nervous. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Tuesday - Roast Sticky Chicken with Lentil and Brown rice Casserole. We love Roast Chicken around here. This one sounded pretty easy and good. The Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole is also one I'm borrowing from Gayle. I have tried several lentil recipes lately, all with great results. Have you added lentils to your diet yet? You really should.

Wednesday - Baked Potatoes topped with chili with salad. My kids LOVE baked potatoes. Hubs and I will top ours with canned chili and the kids will have theirs with butter, sour cream and shredded cheese.

Thursday - Leftover night!

Friday - If all goes well, I will have enough chicken left from Tuesday to make Fried Rice with egg rolls. My kids love fried rice from the local Chinese restaurant so I hope this one will be just as good.

Saturday - Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and carrots. I use Christels recipe. There's a joke in there somewhere that I will let the rest of you in on some day (right Christel ;). But lets just say that Hubs LOVES meatloaf and I think he may have fallen in love with Christel about five years ago when they had us over to eat one night. So that he would love me more, I got her recipe...and have been making it that way since. (Christel, I know it was five years ago, because A was tiny and in her carrier and it was a couple of weeks into January and you still had your Christmas tree up! Oh and I won't be making a Chocolate Pie, Ha!)

Sunday - Leftovers

By the way I just finished New Moon. I do have to say that I didn't like it as much as I liked Twilight, but it was still good. Stop reading right now if you haven't read it yet, because I am about to spoil things. You can start reading again in the next paragraph..... Am I the only one who really sort of wanted Bella to kiss Jacob in the kitchen? Of course I knew she would be reunited with Edward someday and kissing Jacob would have made things complicated but I can't help but really like Jacob. Poor guy. Don't tell me any details from Eclipse or Breaking Dawn. I'm sure all of that will be cleared up. Does Jacob turn bad? Does Bella get changed? Will Jacob find someone to love him like he loves Bella? So many questions. I will be at the store today purchasing Eclipse. Oh and Hubs was going to take me see Twilight Saturday night and when we got there it was sold out...I couldn't believe it! It's been out for over a month! So instead we went to see.....

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. SO GOOD! I cried. It reminded me a lot of Forrest Gump though, which is not bad because I liked that movie too. I think this is the first time that I have truly appreciated how beautiful Cate Blanchett is. Her skin is simply gorgeous. I would definitely rank the movie as a must see!

Alrighty! That's all I have for now. I'll let you guys know how the pea soup and the rolls turn out! Whats on your menu this week?