And the Week Flew By!

Again this week has seemed to catch my by surprise and it's already Friday. Easter came and went (sometimes I feel that holidays are such a blur when you are running from one place to the other). And then I jumped right into the work week.

For my meal this week I ended up cooking Easter lunch here at home for the family. I made my first turkey! I sure didn't think it could be that simple. I mean all I really did was put it in the pan!

Did you know they have bags you can cook it in too? (A tip from the future Mother-in-law)

All the buzz about the Royal Wedding hit on Monday. No I didn't get up at 5am to see the wedding, but boy did she look beautiful! All I have to say is my own wedding can't come soon enough, especially since we hit the 6 month mark yesterday! I just can Not WAIT! All the little details are starting to come together and I am falling in love with it all.

16 days until I lace up my shoes and run 26.2 miles. I found myself procrastinating with the whole training process, but this week I finally ventured out and did about an 18 mile run. 3 hours of running. Not to mention I did my Zumba class and also tried kickboxing. Please say a little prayer for me on Sunday May 15th, that God grant me to strength and perseverance to finish. (Looking to do a 20 mile run next Wednesday and then I will be all done with my long runs.)

Speaking of running, my Dad and I will be participating in the Paper Discovery Duathlon this Sunday. I will run 2 miles, he will bike about 20 miles, and then I will finish us up and run another 2 miles. Check here Sunday night to see how we did!

Happy Friday and hope you the week didn't catch you by surprise!

Easter.

Between all the commotion of today I just wanted to wish everyone a HAPPY EASTER! I have home made muffins in the oven, getting ready for church, and making my FIRST turkey today! Lets not look past the real reason we gather with family and friends today. It's not about the Easter bunny, baskets, or eggs. Toys or candy. It is about sacrifice and being thankful for what Christ did for us so long ago. It's about celebration. The celebration that He was right when he told the discliples that on the third day he would rise and join the Father. So just remember what today is really about as you gather with your loved ones and are enjoying delicious food.

HAPPY EASTER!

Late again, Tastefull Tuesday!

Just when I feel caught up in life I realize I am so not. Laundry is to the brim (I am all out of running clothes), my room is a mess, and my select "chores" that I have here at home still have not been done. I didn't get to cook dinner on Monday as I had a women's potluck with some of the people that I reconnected with. I will also be posting the recipe for the dessert that I brought!

So I cooked dinner yesterday. I saw this recipe on the Rachael Ray show last week and it looked yummy yet it was different. It is an India chicken recipe and it wasn't anything spectacular . Not sure if I messed somethingup but it tasted like normal chicken to me! You can find the recipe for that here. It is called Sanjeev Kapoor's Quick Jeera Chicken.

My version of Quick Jeera Chicken

Dessert for Women's Potluck! Does the recipe look formilar Aunt Brenda? :) Got lots of good comments on it!

Toffee Brownie Trifle

1 package brownie mix (13x9 pan)

2 1/2 cups of milk

1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla or cheesecake pudding

1 package (3.4oz) instant white chocolate pudding

1 carton (8oz) whipped topping

2-3 heath bars, chopped (I sometimes just do chocolate chips)

1. prepare and bake brownies according to the package, follow directions for cake-like brownies (13x9). Cool completely.

2. In a mixing bowl beat the milk and pudding mixes on low speed for 2 mins. Fold in the whipped topping. 

3. Cut the brownies into small cubes and place half in a 3qt glass trifle bowl or serving dish. Cover with half of the pudding. Repeat  layers.

4. Sprinkle with chopped candy bars, etc.

5. Refrigerate leftovers

 

Tasteful Tuesday

Sorry the post is late, I got caught up in the nice weather outside! Monday night I made a super simple dinner of chicken teriyaki.

Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken (as many breasts you need)

Teriyaki marinade or here is a recipe to make your own

Rice

Veggies

1. Marinade chicken. The bottle of marinade that I had said to marinade for a minimum of 30 mins. I let mine sit for about 5 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken in baking pan. Brush with marinade.
3. Place chicken in oven and bake for 1 hour. After 30 mins pull out of oven and flip chicken and brush with marinade. Bake for the remaining 30 mins.
4. Cook up some rice (follow directions on package)
5. You can also stir fry some veggies up to add to the dish!

Enjoy!

Don't forget to leave a comment here for a chance to win Cold Tangerines! You have till Friday!

Friends, Love, and Everything in Between

I have been so MIA besides my Tasteful Tuesday blog posts. I have been telling myself to find the words to write more.

Recently my bedtime book has been Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist. I have become very fond of this author and her thoughts on life.She also wrote Bittersweet which I also love. A read a chapter the other night which really opened my eyes to everything happening in my life recently. It touched on the subject of friends and she really hit the true meaning of a true friend.

"Friendship is acting out God's love for people in tangible ways. We were made to represent the love of God in each other's lives, so that each person we walk through life with has a more profound sense of God's love for them. Friendship is the opportunity to act on God's behalf in the lives of the people  that we're close to, reminding each other who God is. When we do the hard, intimate work of friendship, we bring a little more of the divine into daily life. We get to remind one another about the bigger, more beautiful picture that we can't always see from where we are."

This weekend was Relay for Life and I am so glad I got to experience and participate with loved ones for loved ones.

We spent Saturday walking in honor of those who lost their battle to cancer, to those fighting their battle with cancer, and to those we survived cancer. Cancer is such a touchy subject. The word is scary because you never know what it will bring. It brings emotions to the surface and it helps show us friendship, love and everything in between.

"True friendship is a sacred, important thing, and it happens when we drop down into that deeper level of who we are, when we cross over into the broken, fragile parts of ourselves."

 Leave a comment of what friendship means to you and a drawing will be done to win this book on Friday, April 15.

Disclaimer: I bought this book and am holding the drawing on my own terms.

Tasteful Tuesday: Germany!

This week I found a delicious yet different meal from Germany followed by a yummy German dessert. Don't ask me how to pronounce the name...

Schweinsrouladen

6 boneless pork chops

2 tablespoons flour 1 onion, minced 4 slices bacon, diced 1/4 cup parsley, minced 1/2 cup raisins 1/2 cup pineapple, diced 4 tablespoons butter 1 cup beer

1. Cook onions and diced bacon until bacon is crispy.
2.  Pound pork chops until thin. While pounding, work in flour as well as salt and pepper.
3.  When bacon is crispy, add parsley, raisins, and pineapple. Remove from heat.
4.  Spoon bacon mixture onto pork chops, roll up the meat, and fasten with toothpicks or string.
5. Heat butter in a large frying pan with a lid. Brown the rolled pork chops on all sides in butter. Add beer (or chicken, pork, or beef stock) and simmer on low for 15 to 20 minutes.
6.  Serve hot.

Apple Cranberry Strudel

6 cups apples, peeled, sliced, tart (Northern Spy, Macintosh, Courtland or Granny Smith)
1/2 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon lemon rind, grated
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
8 ounces phyllo pastry sheets, thawed (half of a box, found in the frozen desserts section of your grocery store)
2 cups butter, melted
1 cup breadcrumbs, plain, finely crushed 

1.  Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl, mix together apples, cranberries, lemon rind, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, flour and walnuts; set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt 1 1/2 cups butter. In a medium skillet, melt 1/2 cup butter. Stir and cook bread crumbs with butter until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
4. Place one phyllo leaf on a dry kitchen towel and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with bread crumb mixture.
5. Place a second leaf on top of first phyllo leaf, brush with butter and sprinkle with crumb mixture. Repeat until five leaves have been used.
6. Mound approximately 1 cup of the filling in a 3-inch strip along the narrow end of the phyllo, leaving a 2-inch border. Do not mound too thick, as the filling will spill out the ends of the phyllo once rolled up.
7.  Lift towel, using it to roll leaves over apples in a jelly roll fashion.
8. Carefully place strudel on a large cookie sheet with raised sides, allowing space for five more strudels.
9. Brush top of strudel with butter and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
10.  Repeat entire procedure for remaining five strudels.
11.  Bake strudels for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned.
12. Allow to cool for at least two hours. Cut each strudel into halves or thirds and serve. 

In other cooking news I was in a cupcake contest with Josh's family this past Sunday and tied for second! I made Chocolate Mint Surprise Cupcakes. A vanilla cupcake with mint buttercream filling and dark chocolate ganache frosting topped with Andes mints!