5...4...3...2...1

I saw some of these questions on a blog and am adding a few of my own, I just thought it was a great way to step back and look at your life. 

Five Things I Am Thankful For:

1. My husband. He is the bomb. I can't express how lucky I was that he came into my life. 
2. Our family, we are so loved by both sides of our family and I am so lucky to have both!
3. My friends. The support system I have with my friends is unbelievable. We all have such different personalities and bring something different to the table. I love you girls :-) 
4. My job. It came along at exactly the right time, with exactly the right people. 
5. My health, I may not be the healthiest person as far as exercise/eating, but that's just something for me to work towards.

Four Things I Can't Stop Thinking About:

1.  How badly I need to run. 
2. How much I want to eat the rest of these Girl Scout cookies.
3. How did I get so lucky?!
4. I wish I had a 3 day weekend coming up, this house could use an overhaul!

Three Things I Want To Accomplish This Week:

1. Exercise at least 3 days. 
2. Clean this danged house! 
3. Spoil my husband--he deserves it, he is working so hard on his school work! :-)

Two Things I Am Working To Be Positive About:

1. The fact that I cry about everything. I think I should probably just accept it--I'm not about to change. 
2. Exercising--It's definitely a love/hate relationship. I love to hate it. Sooo...I'm going to change that a smidge. 

One Random Thing: 

1. I feel so strange blogging. I mean seriously, who cares what I have to say?! 

I Interrupt This Regularly Scheduled Program...

Whaaaaat?! No recipe?! 

 Wow. 

My one follower {who already cooks every meal I've posted and most likely more creatively than me...not that I'm complaining, I get to eat her food!} will be quite upset I'm not blogging a recipe. So what gives?

Here's the deallio. 

Last year I worked my booty off. Quite literally. I worked my booty off...to...well...work my booty off. And by booty I mean double chin. Folks, {or should I say, folk?} I don't gain weight where most people do. My legs, thighs and rear end have stayed fairly slim my whole life. My stomach and my chin? Heh...that's a bit of a difference. 

See? 

That's Me and my bomb-diggity Bro. Yeah, I know we don't look anything alike...

So what's a newlywed to do? Get movin. Thankfully, I work with a group of women who are on the track of better health as well! I started running last spring, after a really rough time with shin splints I quit running. Life got in the way of my goals and here I am back at square one. Tonight was Day One. 

My goals:

{1} Run my first 5k this year 

{2} Feel good about myself.

Nope. I'm not worried about the number on the scale {thaaaat much}. I want to feel good. I'm not worried about impressing anyone, shoot, Ross asked me to marry him when I was at my heaviest! :-P I just want to feel better about myself. So here we go. I did 3 miles with Lucy tonight...sometimes she's a great running buddy...sometimes she sucks. Tonight? She sucked. Such is life! 

There are two 5k races here this year, one the last Friday in April and the other is the Sunday of my birthday weekend. I'm going to try and be physically ready by April but I will not push it. If I have to wait until August until I can run 3.1 miles without stopping, I will consider that worth the wait.

I can't say enjoy so much on this one...so...PEACE! :-)

<3 Ali

Chicken and Noodles...YUM!

I never make a meal the same way twice. Why? Mainly because I never remember how I made it the last time. I promised Aaron that I would write everything down for him this time (after a tense phone conversation in the grocery store...eeks!). :)

What you'll need:
2 tbsp. Butter
2 tbsp. Flour
1 1/2 c. Milk
1 14.5oz Can of Chicken Broth
1 Can of Cream of Chicken
1 1/2 c. Cooked/Shredded Chicken
Salt/Pepper to taste
Herbed Poultry {I have a pre-mix, use whatever you've got!}

Serve with: Egg noodles mixed in over mashed potatoes

Real cooks/chefs {whatever} will tell you to boil a whole chicken. Yeah, I'm way too lazy for that biznass. Honestly with just two of us in the house we never use a full package of chicken on one meal. The chicken tender slices were on sale so we bought those and split it up for two meals. Anywhodiddle. Boil your chicken until it's completely cooked, remove it from the water and let it cool.

Real purdy...eh?

When the chicken is completely cooled give it a rough chop then you can shred it with two forks or use your fingers to break it apart to look like this:

Pre-shredding...apparently I forgot to get a post-shredding picture but you get the idea...right?

In a sauce pan melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk it in, add the milk and cook on a medium-high heat until the mixture thickens. Whisk in the chicken stock, cream of chicken soup and seasonings. Add the shredded chicken and let it cook for a together. I will sometimes put this in my small crock pot to cook for a few hours if I want time to clean up the mess before company comes over. :)

What the sauce will look like...ish.

Perfecto!

Enjoy!

<3 Ali

Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Need I say more? Just make it, you won't regret it.

What you'll need:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 c. chocolate chips
1 Graham cracker crust {I made my own--you can buy one at the store if that's easier, saying "I made my own" means I have to show you how to do that and it's 9:30 on Sunday...maybe another day, eh?!}

Beat the softened cream cheese, sugar, cocoa and vanilla until smooth.

{In this bowl there is cream cheese, cocoa and sugar. Love, Love, LOVE}

{Sidenote: If your husband JUST finished cleaning your kitchen top to bottom, don't let him see the mess you created with the cocoa powder...maybe be a wee bit more careful...kay?}

 Add the eggs and beat until blended.

Stir in the chocolate chips. If a few extra fall in....I won't judge. I mean, seriously. Pour over graham cracker crust.

{Sweet, sweet chocolatey yummyness}

Bake for 20 minutes at 375* then increase the temperature to 425* and bake another 10 minutes. Let cool until you can touch the side of the pan, run a knife or flat spatula around the edges of the pan so the cheesecake doesn't stick to the pan. Loosen the edges of the pan and let cool completely then refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

{Really, don't hesitate. Just make this now.}

I wish I could show you what a slice of the cheesecake looked like...we ate it too fast. :) For the record, this recipe was given to me by an old co-worker, you all must know the back of the card said "For each piece run 2 miles"....HA yeah that doesn't happen.

Enjoy...<3

Ali & Phyllis

Valentine's Day Supper, Part Deux

Moving right along, time to get down to business. By that I mean, I had gotten pretty deep into my bottle of wine and might have forgotten to take a lot of pictures. You'll get the idea.

As with everything I make, I can't take the credit. All credit for this meal goes to my amazing mother-in-law. This was the meal she made the first time I met her and can I just say I still joke that this was the reason the hubs and I continued to date. I should also tell you, I should probably just take pictures of her putting it together sometime as I could never hold a candle to her unbelievable cooking. Seriously she's uh-may-zing. (No-I'm not kissing her bum, she doesn't even know I blog!)

Anywhodiddle. Where was I? Oh. FOOD. My favorite!

Baked Cheesy Potatoes

What you'll need:

• A 5lb bag of Yukon Gold Potatoes (peeled and cubed in bite sized pieces)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp crushed/dried rosemary
• salt & pepper to taste
• Velveeta (we'll get to measurements...sort of)

Boil your bite sized pieces of potatoes until you can easily put a fork through them, however they keep their shape.
Make a white sauce. Begin by melting butter in a saucepan, whisk the flour in and cook (continue whisking) for about a minute on a medium-low heat. Whisk in milk, salt, pepper and rosemary. Now it is time to add your Velveeta, I didn't give you an exact measurement as it all depends on how cheesy you are (heh..heh I'm pretty cheesy). I use around a quarter or a third of a block. Mix the cheese in until it has all melted. Place your potatoes in a 9x13 baking dish and pour the sauce over the potatoes. Use a spoon to make sure all of the potatoes are coated. Bake at 350* 30-45 minutes or until the sauce bubbles.

Y.u.m.

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

(Disclaimer: This recipe is coming straight from the lady herself!)

What you'll need: 

• 1 Choice beef tenderloin (seriously, splurge for the Choice, it's worth it!)
• Penzey's Chicago Steak Seasoning (find it here)
  
• Fresh ground black pepper

Trim the fat and silver ligament off roast. Form the roast back together, tie with twine if necessary.

Obviously that needs to be tied together...the hubs butchered that sucker!

Coat roast with a thin layer of olive oil (I just rub it on with my hands)

Take a piece of wax paper a little longer than the roast and sprinkle the seasoning and pepper on the paper. 

Roll the roast over seasonings to coat it. Obviously, depending on how spicy you like things adjust how much you use. 

Insert meat thermometer in the thickest part of the roast.

Roast in a 425* oven for 15 minutes

Turn heat down to 350* and cook until the meat is to your desired level of doneness. Do check the roast before turning the oven off, by cutting it open (whoops, is someone speaking from a personal experience?)

When out of the oven, cover roast with foil and let rest for 10-15 minutes. 

Cut meat into 1/2" or 1" slices

This is not my roast (source) but it is what it looked like had I remembered to take a picture (okay so maybe a little fancier, but whatever)

Seriously if you don't enjoy this meal I will come to your house and hurt you. 

...Just kidding...kind of. :) 

Enjoy...or else.

<3

Ali

Valentine's Day Supper

Two of our best friends wanted to get together the Saturday before Valentine's Day and...well...the hubs? Not exactly the most romantic guy in the world. So, I decided to dub this our Valentine's Day and make a nice supper. I am breaking this meal into three posts as I don't want to overload you.

On the menu: 

Cheese & Crackers

Green Bean Bundles

Roasted Beef Tenderloin

Baked Cheesy Potatoes

Salad

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

I can't take credit for the divine green bean bundles. Miss Kara (check out her hi-larious blog) made these for a get-together and I was sold.

Here's what you'll need:

• Green Beans (this will depend on how many guests you have, 4-6 green beans per bundle, 3-4 bundles per guest)
• Bacon, uncooked and slices cut in half
• Sauce:
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of garlic powder (depending on how much you like garlic)
• Combine sauce ingredients in saucepan on medium heat until smooth
  

Wash your green beans

Dry beans and remove any stems

Wrap beans (4-6 at a time) with your half strip of bacon

Drizzle bundles with sauce

Bake at 375* for 45 minutes
Eat until your stomach hurts.

So...I can't blame not having a picture of them after they bake on the wine, that is merely because I couldn't stop eating them long enough to clean my fingers and take a picture. Whoops. I guess I'll have to make them again soon...eh? :)

Next up: The main course!

<3 Ali

Sick of Leftovers?

It's winter. After a long day at work and driving home in a blizzard I decided not to stop at the grocery store to get anything for supper. Looking in the fridge I found nothing I wanted to make. Ladies and gents, it was time to get creative. I found a couple of pieces of thick cut ham, lots of milk and eggs. I wasn't really in the mood for an omelet but then I thought about making a quiche! 

First, I made my crust: 

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cold butter, cubed

2 tbsp. cold water

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. salt

I don't use my food processor. There, I said it. I get too excited about the 'pulse' button and I always over-mix. 

• Sift flour and salt
• Add cubed butter to the flour mixture. It should look like this:

Tiny cubes of butter, dare I say that they're...cute? Paula Deen wouldn't judge me.

• Use your fork to coat the butter with the flour, using your {clean} hands work the butter through the flour until it looks like this:

You're ready for your egg and water!

• Add the egg and water, mix it all thoroughly, form a ball. 
• Chill the dough
• Roll the dough and form it into a 9" pie/quiche pan
• Blind bake at 350* for 20 minutes

 Second, I mixed my quiche:

1 c. milk

1 c. shredded cheese {any kind in your fridge, I used extra sharp cheddar}

1 tbsp. chopped onion {or whatever you have, dried/minced onion will work--use what you have on hand!}

1/4 c. cubes of ham {or bacon, we had leftover lunch meat}

Salt and pepper to taste

I added some broccoli florets, we had a bag of them in the freezer. {If you use these just make sure you defrost them as they will create too much liquid as you bake}

• Whisk together egg and milk
• Add the rest of your ingredients and pour into pie crust, it will look like this:

She's ready to bake!

• Bake at 350* for 45 minutes-1 hour
• EAT

Mmmmmm....hot ham and cheesy goodness.

For real you can use whatever you have leftover in your fridge. Quiche is delicious with bacon, ham, tomatoes, spinach...the list goes on and on! This is just a great option for a night you don't want to 

a} grocery shop

b} eat leftovers

c} refuse to eat tuna noodle for the 87th time since last February. 

Eat up! 

<3 Ali