Day 88 - Quiet Sunday

Sunday turned out very relaxing after an otherwise crazy weekend.   I did make a version of Lasanga though

 Notice the use of non-Lasagna noodles.  These are Rigatoni, and yes they have a wikipedia page!

And the finished product ... after we took a few bites.

And here is what it looks like in our dish!  Huzbun and I love to eat food from bowls when we can.  I'm not sure what is so fun about it, but there's a charm to it.

I'm starting something where I look at what I have in the freezer then think of what I can make with the least amount of purchases.  Well I like to do this anyway, but the challenge has brought it to a new level.  So, at any rate, I'm calling this:

Empty the Freezer Lasagna
-1 lb Ground Turkey (browned) - seasoned with basil. 
-1 box Rotini
-1 cup chopped Spinach (frozen)
-1 jar Spaghetti Sauce
-Cottage Cheese
-Shredded Mozzarella

Just layer everything in - the order is not very particular here, but it is best if the noodles are well incubated in sauce otherwise they will remain crunchy.  Also, I prefer the mozzarella on top, but that is strictly preference.  Then cook everything at 350 degrees F in a water-tight pan, when they have reached temperature, drop the heat let them simmer for about 30 mins.  Simple.

UPDATE:  In case you are interested the Lasagna is Cole's... Huzbun's verdict = not as good as homemade. 

Day 87 - an impromptu 5K

or the way a 5K should be - I guess

So if you haven't already gathered I said yes... to an impromptu 5K

Maybe it was peer pressure... or the deluded, fat and alcohol induced mental state, but at 9pm on the eve of the race - I said sure, why not run a 5K.  I really didn't see a good reason not to... but I did make a point to chide people about not telling me in advance.

Maybe one good reason not to is that I was currently located no where close to - my running wear...and umm... Tennis Shoes!  Luckily (or unluckily), I was able to borrow some shoes, a pair of shorts, and a T-shirt.  As it turns out, I had a pair of socks with me.  Thanks to Becca's dad, I was also provided with a band-aid in case of blisters!

Well - as I'm sure you already gathered - I was surrounded by crazy people -

So the video is not the best quality, but I'll recap the important segment.

JACALYN:  We are going to run 9 minute miles!

RUBY LEIGH:  *rolls eyes in background*

So here's the starting line-up.

352 - Becca - Ran a half-marathon 2 months after giving birth to her first child.  - CRAZY!

448 - Jacalyn - Cross-country runner in highschool - PR of 22 minutes!  - CRAZY!

449 - Ruby Leigh - Decides to run second 5K with less than 7 hours of sleep and borrowed tennis shoes. - CRAZY!

Also, 450 and 347 - thanks for letting us know about the race!
(P.S. - I did not get permission to use their info)

Ok - Here we come!

.. wait .... wait

wait some more...

My mom, always conversational, says:  "How are you feeling?  Are you warm?"

Indeed, I was warm.  I blurted out something that sounded like "YEAHGH"

Then my dad, who was a runner for much of his life, starts yelling "Heel Toe, Heel Toe." That made me laugh - my dad is super hard core.     

 
 Well in the end I finished... with my best time!!! 35:41,  Becca came in at 28:12 and Jacalyn at 30:20... Some fast women!

 Oh and my parents plus Huzbun came to watch. 

Also Huzbun and Jacalyn's BF are responsible for all of the great photos. 

Running this 5K was a lot of fun!  So I love coffee after a run, and my friends do too apparently, afterward we treated ourselves to Caribou Coffee... I got my favorite over 500 calorie drink (Berry White Mocha).  It also used up $4.37 of the remaining $5.22.

While I'd consider running an impromptu 5K a win! ... there was much impromptu eating (that was for the record not less than $5) for the rest of this day.  This is why the amount left says $0.

Day 86 - Delicious-ness

My girlfriend from out of town invited us over to her parents house... for a pool party and delious-ness.  Her dad has one of those wonderful outdoor deep-fryer machine... Oh such a joy!  We had deep-fried wings, but the most wonderful part was deep fried fries.

First they sliced potatoes...

Isn't that the coolest kitchen gadgetry thing you've ever thought you needed?

Then they throw them into a vat of oil (a large vat.... and I'm guessing this wasn't olive oil either -not that it even matters at this point).  Also, I was informed here that the temperature matters.  You want to have an oil temp of at least 375 degrees F.

Then you let them sizzle away.


Here they are looking.... gorgeous!

Of course (for added health value), you then sprinkle them with salt... (nom), then you dip them in ketchup (nom)....

So not only did I eat a number of fries, a bunch of chicken wings...

I had some of this

and of course some kahlua brownies...

oh, and an interesting watermelon drink

My friend Jacalyn has the best facial expressions!

At some point in the middle of all this, someone, who will remain nameless... but she has red-hair and her name begins with a B and ends in an -ecca, asked me if I would wanted to run a 5K the next day... 


..... tune in to find out!

Day 85 - Eating gets Lame

Today I had 4 cheesaritos.

Coffee for breakfast! (yes, I know)

2 Cheesaritos for Lunch

2 Cheesaritos for Dinner

Now that I have tortillas around the house... I guess I am back to this habit again.

The current recipe (measurements are very approximate):

Tortilla
Refried Beans (2 Tbs)
Rotel (2 Tbs)
Shredded Colby Cheese (1.5 Tbs)
packet of mild sauce (from Taco Bell)

Microwave for 30 secs to 1 min, depending on your microwaves power.

While I always feel that my rampant cheesarito eating isn't very impressive.  This meal is still uber cheap, rather filling and super duper easy.  I am not sure I'd call this healthy, but to be fair - there are plenty of worse options.

Day 84 - FAKE FOOD

Ok -I am not really sure what fake food is, but well this is probably similar.  I liked this idea for dinner, because notice where it says - "ready in 6 minutes" - mmm... sounds great!

Here's what our plates looked like: 

So conclusion - fakish meat, fake mash potatoes, and REAL broccoli. 

FYI - 6 days left!

Day 83 - A semi-fail food experiment

Remember - my fancy shmance pan? I have made this and this with it. 

It generally works wonder.  I throw everything in - and let her go. 

This time I tried it with rice noodles - no go.  Some noodles were crispy fried, others were mush.  The chicken and green beans cooked really well with it though - and there were enough noodles that cooked okay such that the meal was not ruined.  In the future I might just choose to prepare this the "old fashioned" way.  I also think adding additional water, not opening it as many times, and putting the noodles in first could help too.  Huzbun says that rice noodles take a little longer to cook too, so maybe this plays a roll as well.

 

Day 82 - Hurrah for Frozen Food

After the extra long weekend, we were feeling pretty lazy about food.  It was tough, but we managed to bypass the many restaurant options on the way home, that would have been oh so convenient.

We got home - and managed to stay awake enough to make convenient food at home.  Bourbon Chicken from a bag.  Tater Tots (from a bag - where else?), and Microwave Corn.

Although this wasn't insanely healthy, or insanely impressive...but sometimes it's really nice to have these options.