Wow! 8 months since my last post!

I'm seeing a trend. I post 5 times a year on my blog. Pretty pathetic if you ask me. I'm at work and a friend needed a recipe that I remembered was on my blog. So...I signed in to get it instead of waiting until I get home to get it out of my recipe box. Yep, I haven't posted anything since September 2010.

Today is the last day of school!! Yippee!! I plan on doing a lot more cooking this summer since we don't have sports practices, piano lessons, girl scouts, etc. I only work about 1 day a week in the summer so it leaves more time for going to the pool, I mean cooking! My goal is to post more on my blog. Claire and I already have big plans to make homemade bread and some other things we've never made.

This past weekend, Memorial Day, I made cake balls. They were Red Velvet with white coating and blue sprinkles. Get it?? Red, White and Blue!! Here's the recipe:

Cake Balls

1 cake mix (any flavor) prepared and baked in a 9x13 pan

1 tub frosting (any flavor)

1 block almond bark (white or chocolate)

Make the cake like the box says. Cool completely (I mean completely!). Crumble cake in a large bowl and stir in frosting. Shape mixture into balls (I use a cookie scoop) and place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (they did better leaving them overnight). Melt almond bark in a measuring cup. Dip balls one at a time and place on wax paper to harden. It might be necessary to zap the almond bark again if it cools off to much and gets thick. Yields: 52 balls

As you can see, the possibilities are endless. Next time, I will use chocolate almond bark as it's hard to keep every crumb out and red velvet really shows up in white. I'm thinking German Chocolate Cake...hmmm, sounds yummy. These can also be made into cake pops by putting them on a sucker stick (Let dry in a block of Styrofoam so all sides are pretty). I think I'll try using sucker sticks next time.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...blog more often!

Poor Folk Food

Dan and I both grew up in modest homes (ie: the moolah wasn't flowing). So our mothers were creative on putting food on the table. My mom taught me how to cook less expensive cuts of meat and still make it fabulous. Dan's mom can stretch any meal to feed extra guests (being missionaries, they never knew who might drop by around dinner time). And both of our moms could cook a mean pot of beans, the ultimate cheap food!

Tonight... it was 5:30 and I had no idea what to fix and didn't have any meat thawed out. I did have some staples: milk, flour, butter, eggs, and a couple of cans of salmon. So I made one of Dan's childhood dishes. Creamed Tuna - did I mention I never follow a recipe completely - I didn't have tuna, but I did have salmon...close enough! There's no recipe card with this recipe written down, so I'll just tell you how I made it, with the new name of course.

Creamed Salmon over Biscuits
5 Tbs. butter (the real stuff)
5 Tbs. flour
4 hard boiled eggs
1 - 6oz. can boneless, skinless salmon
Milk
salt
pepper
Biscuits - I make them from scratch, it's almost as fast as popping a can and much better :) (the recipe to Stir & Roll Biscuits are in one of my previous blogs)

Melt the butter in a skillet and then add the flour. Stir and let bubble for a couple of minutes (if you don't cook the flour it will taste bad). This is also called a roux, like you make gravy. Add milk and stir, stir, stir until all of the roux is mixed into the milk. Sorry, but I never measure the milk. You can always add more if it turns out too thick. Heat until bubbly and thickened. Add salt, pepper, chopped eggs, and drained salmon. Serve over biscuits.

**you can add more milk if it's too thick, you cannot add more butter or flour if it's to thin - it doesn't work that way.

I made a double recipe of biscuits, good thing. Our family likes to have some with honey after dinner. I also cooked some frozen cauliflower (white broccoli as Claire calls it) and peas. The kids loved it and I have to say, I liked the salmon better than doing it with tuna.

You might be saying this is the grossest thing you have ever heard of, but don't knock it till you try it. I was a little skeptical when Dan told me about it when we first got married, but I really like it.

To keep it fair, here's one of my mom's cheap-oh no-I don't know what we're having for dinner recipes.

Chili Mac
1 pkg. angel hair pasta
1 large can Wolf Brand Chili (I use 2 cans of Wolf Brand Turkey Chili to keep calories/fat down)

Cook pasta. Drain and return to pot. Stir in chili and heat thoroughly.

The best part of tonight - besides a cheap, quick dinner...we sat at the table together and talked about the day. Dane told us a couple of riddles he heard at school today and Claire made some up which were hilarious!

Summer Storms

Sometimes you need a rainy day in the summer...so you can stay inside and get things done. That's what I'm doing today! If it had been 100 degrees and sunny, we probably would have packed up and gone to the pool. But, since it's cloudy and on/off rain (although it is sunny now~Texas weather!) we stayed home and I'm doing some much needed laundry. I also took the time to put dinner in the crockpot (red beans for red beans and rice) and I have a loaf of banana bread in the oven. On another day, I would have just thrown those over ripe bananas in the trash. Since I had some time between loads of laundry we will now get to enjoy some banana bread this evening after dinner.

You know it's summer when:

1. You have 5 kids at your house (when you only birthed 2)

2. There is more time to cook

3. No worries about bedtime and if the kids bathed (heck, we'll probably go to the pool tomorrow so forget the shower!)

4. Family time

5. You get more sleep! That's one of my favorites.

Here's the recipe for the Banana Bread, in case you were interested. It's from Mom Rasmussen. I'll give her exact recipe, although I add chocolate chips instead of nuts and also add a little vanilla.

Banana Bread

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

5 Tbs. sour milk (that's milk with a little vinegar added)

3 mashed bananas

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nuts

350 for 60 min. (Check it at 50 minutes) Makes 1 large loaf pan or 2 small

Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, milk and bananas and mix well. Add flour, baking soda and salt a little at a time stirring after each addition. When combined, stir in nuts (or chocolate chips). Pour into well greased loaf pan and bake. Cool in pan a little and then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Great for breakfast if it lasts that long!

Couch to 5K

It is a 9 week program to help you start to run, but it does it slowly. A few of the key things to the program are: 1. don't start too fast 2. repeat weeks if needed. You only do it 3 days a week, even if you feel like you could do more. That way, you allow your body to rest and you don't burn out. It gives you the option to run for time, or run for distance. I decided to run for time. When I started, I could probably walk faster than I was running, but at least I was running. Here is the workout plan (found on http://www.coolrunning.com/).

Week 1 Day 1 - 5 min. warm-up walk; alternate 60 s jog/90 s walk for a total of 20 min.

Week 1 Day 2 - 5 min. warm-up walk; alternate 60 s jog/90 s walk for a total of 20 min.

Week 1 Day 3 - 5 min. warm-up walk; alternate 60 s jog/90 s walk for a total of 20 min.

Week 2 Day 1 - 5 min. warm-up walk; 90 s jog/2 m walk for a total of 20 min.

Week 2 Day 2 - 5 min. warm-up walk; 90 s jog/2 m walk for a total of 20 min.

Week 2 Day 3 - 5 min. warm-up walk; 90 s jog/2 m walk for a total of 20 min.

Week 3 Day 1 - 5 min. warm-up walk; 90 s jog; 90 s walk; 3 m jog; 3 m walk; repeat

Week 3 Day 2 - 5 min. warm-up walk; 90 s jog; 90 s walk; 3 m jog; 3 m walk; repeat

Week 3 Day 3 - 5 min. warm-up walk; 90 s jog; 90 s walk; 3 m jog; 3 m walk; repeat

Week 4 Day 1 - 5 m walk; 3 m jog; 90 s walk; 5 m jog; 2 1/2 m walk; 3 m jog; 90 s walk; 5 m jog

Week 4 Day 2 - 5 m walk; 3 m jog; 90 s walk; 5 m jog; 2 1/2 m walk; 3 m jog; 90 s walk; 5 m jog

Week 4 Day 3 - 5 m walk; 3 m jog; 90 s walk; 5 m jog; 2 1/2 m walk; 3 m jog; 90 s walk; 5 m jog

Week 5 Day 1 - 5 m walk; 5 m jog; 3 m walk; 5 m jog; 3 m walk; 5 m jog

Week 5 Day 2 - 5 m walk; 8 m jog; 5 m walk; 8 m jog

Week 5 Day 3 - 5 m walk; 20 m jog (no walking)

Week 6 Day 1 - 5 m walk; 5 m jog; 3 m walk; 8 m jog; 3 m walk; 5 m jog

Week 6 Day 2 - 5 m walk; 10 m jog; 3 m walk; 10 m jog

Week 6 Day 3 - 5 m walk; 25 m jog (no walking)

Week 7 Day 1 - 5 m walk; 25 m jog (no walking)

Week 7 Day 2 - 5 m walk; 25 m jog (no walking)

Week 7 Day 3 - 5 m walk; 25 m jog (no walking)

Week 8 Day 1 - 5 m walk; 28 m jog (no walking)

Week 8 Day 2 - 5 m walk; 28 m jog (no walking)

Week 8 Day 3 - 5 m walk; 28 m jog (no walking)

Week 9 Day 1 - 5 m walk; 30 m jog (no walking)

Week 9 Day 2 - 5 m walk; 30 m jog (no walking)

Week 9 Day 3 - 5 m walk; 30 m jog (no walking)

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look at my previous post for ways to make this easier, like Robert Ullery's FREE podcast.

Running Like the Wind

Several people have asked me how I started running, followed with several excuses of how they can't run because of time, knees, pain in the side, etc, etc, etc...

First, let me explain that I have never been a runner. Even in elementary school running the mile was not an easy thing. I've gone in spurts during my life where I would walk to exercise, but never kept it up. I get bored and you have to walk for so long to really make it count.

After going to a wedding in September where we saw a bunch of old friends, I was embarrassed at gaining so much weight since I saw them last. That weekend I did an Internet search 'how to start running.' I found several websites, but the one that stuck out was the Couch to 5K Program. I thought that's really where I am...the couch! So that Monday, September 21, 2009, I started Day 1.

See next post for the Couch to 5K Program.

Now, if it seems too complicated...here are some tricks. There is a FREE podcast from iTunes called Couch 2 5K by Robert Ullrey. It's music (sort of techno) with Robert telling you when to walk and run so you don't have to look at your watch every second. The podcast is a MUST HAVE. Don't pay for the Couch 2 5K app., the podcast is free!

I also use Runkeeper. It is a FREE app for iPhones that keeps track of your distance and uses the GPS to do a map of where you went.

It is very easy to use the podcast and Runkeeper together. If you want to know how, send me a message.

Here is how it worked for me: I did the 9 week program (which took me 11 weeks to complete). I had to repeat week 3 because of knee issues and week 9 because of foot pain. I watched what I ate. I set a goal (www.coolrunning.com lists races all over the country) In 6 months, I've lost 50 lbs, run two 5Ks and one 10K. After finishing the program, I now run 5-6 days a week (usually 3 miles each day with 1 long run a week '4-6 miles'). My next goal is to run a Half Marathon in the fall.

The ONLY things you need are tennis shoes and some music or the podcast!

I guess I can call myself a runner now. I look at the weather to see if I can squeeze in a run before a storm, I run in the rain, I run in below freezing temps, I run in my neighborhood and I LOVE it!

Time Flies

Wow, how time flies!! I can't believe it's been 4 months since I posted something. Well, one of my co-workers started a blog and it inspired me to update mine. Thanks Cathy!! Since it's after midnight of the very last day of Spring Break...I'll keep it brief.

Spring Break Recap:
One of Dane's friends from Mansfield spent 3 nights with us. It's always fun for Toby to come visit - and for Dane to go visit him!! We went to Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glenrose (for the 5th Spring Break in a row). The weather was beautiful. We had a picnic lunch and waded through the Paluxy River - very quickly because it was FREEZING.
Dan took one day off from work and we went to the Kimball Art Museum and the Amon Carter Art Museum (those were Dane's choice). Then we went to the mall (Claire's choice - she's such a girl!).
I ran my first 10K on Saturday! I'll post more about that and my running at a later date.

So...in 6 1/2 hours the alarm will go off and Spring Break will officially be over :(

Tomorrow we hit the ground running. Getting kids up, dressed, fed and to school; delivering Meals on Wheels; back to work for me; pick kids up; Girl Scouts, and it's our turn to take snacks for GS.

Now it's count down till SUMMER!!

Bruschetta Recipe

Ok, so here it is...the Bruschetta recipe from the movie Julie & Julia. It is a GREAT movie, a must see if you like to cook!




Bruschetta
1 loaf Italian bread
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
8 ripe roma tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
2 Tbs. fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced (this cannot be omitted)
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, slice bread diagonally into scant 1/2-inch-thick slices; reserve ends for making bread crumbs another day. Place bread slices on 2 cookie sheets.
2.Toast bread on 2 oven racks 15 minutes or until crusty and dry, turning slices over once and rotating cookie sheets between upper and lower racks halfway through baking. Transfer bread to wire racks to cool slightly. When bread is cool enough to handle, rub 1 side of each toast slice with cut side of garlic. Discard garlic.
3.Meanwhile, in small bowl, gently toss tomatoes, basil, oil, salt, and pepper until combined.
4.To serve, spoon 1 heaping tablespoon tomato mixture on garlic-rubbed side of each toast slice.