"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.