"Can I Get 500 Dollars In Ones?"

C and I worked at Limited Too together back in the day. I mean like freshman in college back in the day. It was a hot mess at first sight. We have the most RANDOM things happen to us and very entertaining stories that only are written when our powers combine. Our powers are so strong that we have come to expect the unusual in every day situations when we are together. After we moved back home with our parents (separate parents although we are both adopted - separated at birth obviously) we hung out a ton until I moved to Texas. She was the first guest I saw when I turned the corner to walk down the aisle for my wedding. But, almost every time I visited Georgia we were able to meet up for dinner, drinks or both! So it would be no surprise that she was offered a promotion here in Columbus where J and I moved to - literally about a month after we moved here.  I would like to say that she was somewhat inspired by my running so last week we made the search for a 5K in the near future. It was a humid Wednesday night and we found one for that Saturday. Yup - it was literally in the next few days. C works out and runs, but hasn't done distances yet. I assured her that I thought she would be fine. We put on our brave faces and decided to run!

Car ride over to the race.

Now that you are enjoying my novel, let me continue. That Saturday's race was at 8 PM. Around 6 PM it began to storm! I was excited for the excuse - until the weather cleared up. However, if you know anything about Georgia in the summer time you are more than familiar with humidity - well guess what? It's 100 times worse after a rainstorm. Regardless, the race went on as planned (minus the fence obstacles we had to climb through 4 times again, when our powers combine....). My goal was to finish before my time (38:40 ish) from my first 5K. Once the race started I could not catch my breath. I have never felt such a lack of oxygen from running as I did with that humidity. It felt like weights were sitting on my chest. Along with that came the "rolling hills" that were in the course description. Rolling hills are lies. Rolling mountains is WAY more realistic.

Before the race.

But, in the end I finished with a time of 36:15. I was proud of my time because I shaved over 2 minutes off of my last 5K time. And then all I could think about was how much faster it would have been minus the humidity, mountains, obstacle courses......Regardless, I completed my goal! C did excellent as well for not have trained at all for it. She finished about a minute before me so we both completed our goals time wise!

The back of her shirt is lacey and see through. HAHA.

I should have started a blog about all of our random stories. Another time, another time.

Beef Stroganof

Beef Stroganof

EVOO
Garlic
Mushrooms - small can or 2 hand fulls if fresh
Ground beef - 1 lb
Flour
S & P

Cream of mushroom soup - fat free
3T dijon mustard
Broth - a splash
8 oz Sour Cream - light 
16 oz Egg Noodles 



Start a large pot of boiling water. Once boiling, add egg noodles and boil for 11 minutes. Heat oil in a big pan and brown mushrooms and garlic (I cut up the mushrooms real small since J is not a fan). Add beef and season with S & P (if too much grease is produced, throw a few T of flour in). Add soup, mustard and mix well. Add sour cream and bring to a boil. Throw in a splash of broth if needed to thin. Mix very well. Once the noodles are soft and the beef substance is mixed, toss ingredients together and serve!


I know this is not one of the prettiest meals to look at. In fact, I have only cooked it once in the past few years. J loves it, but I tend to think of it as a "manly meal." Since I am trying to cook meals for J that are large and can be frozen so that I don't cheat on my diet, I thought I should try this again. It tasted super yummy and was so easy to make. Plus, it makes a TON! I would say it easily will serve 6-8 people. I was able to divide into 5 medium to large containers to store away in the fridge and freezer. SCORE!

BLT Dip

I am a huge foodie when it comes to fun, appetizer type food. I would probably crash a baby shower or wedding shower just for the food. In reality I am not that classless, but that should give you an idea of how passionate I am about shower food! My mouth is watering just thinking about it. This is another reason I love BBQ with friends. Back in Texas we would have people over all the time - I severely miss those days. These past few weekends we have socialized with new friends which gave me the chance to taste new dishes and make some new recipes to bring. Please allow me to introduce you to my new love, BLT dip.

BLT Dip
1 C light mayo
1 C light sour cream
1 package Ranch seasoning
1 package bacon pieces
Shredded lettuce
Chopped Tomatoes

Mix mayo, sour cream and ranch seasoning. Add bacon pieces and stir. Cover and place in fridge until ready to serve. Before serving, garnish with lettuce and tomatoes. Or you can garnish with tomatoes and place dip on top of lettuce for a prettier picture. Serve with wheat thins, club crackers or whatever you desire.

Like most dips this is great because it can almost be fully prepared a day before. I am obsessed with this dip and hope we have more BBQs to attend so I can make it again. And yes it may look like a hot mess - it's old news that my recipes taste A LOT better than I make them look. Serving it on top of lettuce looks way better.

Beef & Mushroom Lasagna

Beef & Mushroom Lasagna:

1 can cream of mushroom soup - fat free

1/4 C skim milk

1 lb. ground beef

Jar of Prego fresh mushroom Italian sauce - you can use any kind

8 cooked wheat lasagna noodles

1 C shredded Italian cheese blend

Stir soup and milk in a small bowl until smooth. Cook beef in skillet over medium high heat until browned. Stir often and season (I seasoned with pepper and garlic). Drain fat and stir in Prego sauce. In a greased 13x9 dish, layer half of the beef mixture and top with 4 noodles. Use half of the soup mixture to top the noodles and repeat. Top with cheese and cover dish. Back for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove cover and heat broiler. Broiler dish uncovered about 4 inches away from heat for 2 minutes or until cheese is lightly brown.

My awesome mother sent me this recipe. This lasagna is SO good. It's very easy to make especially if you are not into creating your own sauces. J hates mushrooms and really, really likes this recipe. So if you are also scared of shrooms have no fear. I also changed the sauces I use so that it does not get too shroomy. This is also another excellent dinner that can be frozen for a later date.

Company Chicken Casserole

I cannot remember if I have posted this before. This is one of my favorite "go to" recipes. It's quick, easy, yummy AND I have it memorized from making it so many times. As I had mentioned before, I am becoming a fan of foods that freeze well. Since I am only cooking for one person thanks to this torture diet, it's important that the leftovers will not go to waste, but will taste like it just came out of the oven.With that being said, this casserole freezes very well.

Company Chicken Casserole

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts - cubed and cooked

1 C light sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup - fat free                                       

1/4 C chicken broth 

Bread Crumbs - wheat

Melted Butter - ICBINB

S & P

Cook and cube chicken. Mix SC, soup and broth. Season with S&P. Place chicken in greased 9x13 dish and cover with sauce. Mix melted butter and bread crumbs. Top casserole  with bread crumbs. Cook for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chicken with Spinach & Pasta

Chicken with Spinach & Pasta:

8 oz. penne pasta - I used colorful penne since it is summer time

10 oz. fresh spinach

2 T flour

1/4t salt

1/4t paprika

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in strips

2 T EVOO

1/2 C Italian dressing fat free

1/2 C chicken broth

1/2 C chopped onion

2 T lemon juice

2 T dry sherry

1/4 C Parmesan cheese

1 C  mozzarella cheese

Cook the  pasta and stir in spinach for about a minute. Drain pasta & spinach then set aside. Combine flour, salt and paprika in a plastic bag then shake to coat the chicken evenly. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat; add chicken strips, reserving any flour mixture in the bag. Cook chicken until no longer pink and add dressing, broth, onion, lemon juice, sherry, and remaining flour. Cook and stir over medium heat for about 5 minutes or till bubbly. Add drained pasta mixture to skillet; toss well to heat. Turn down heat and stir in Parmesan cheese and mozzarella. Serve!


My sister emailed this recipe to me - it was AMAZING. It's a great, filling dinner choice. Very easy to make, but extremely tasty in your mouth. It was cheesy - what isn't good with cheese?! The mixture for the chicken and the "dressing" that the chicken was cooked in was the best part. Enjoy!

"I Wanna Go"

Ohhhh Miss Britney Spears' video premiered today. Woo hoo! I just heart her.

I definitely have a few recipes to share. It feels like it has been forever since I have really cooked - this diet is really hard to stick to if I am cooking for J. So I have decided to make a few casseroles, divide them up and freeze them. It has been interesting to see what freezes well. 

I hardly have anything to update - there has been nothing too significantly life changing!

A pic from FB at the BBBS movie event from an earlier post - From left to right it is M, M, Myself and M!

Gnomeo & Juliet

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of taking the triplets (M and her sisters) to an event set up by Big Brothers Big Sisters. They were showing the movie Gnomeo & Juliet. Along with the movie they served a ton of pizza, popcorn and sweets. Being the great role model I am, I had the triplets get jacked up on sugar and returned them to their mother. Hehe. Here are some pics of the girls from this weekend.

Hello Peyton Manning.

If you know me well enough, you know that I heart Peyton Manning. I love to watch him play football. A few of my sorority family members (S & F) and I decided to head to Indy for another sister (and my former roomie) wedding. Girls trip!

Yes the rehearsal dinner was the Colt's stadium in the quaterback club AND their video played on the jumbo tron.

F, M, S and me.

Drinks at the hotel.

The wedding in the backyard.

Not a good picture, but the reception was beautiful.

Vera Wang. Perfect dress for M.

Cheers!