Running and Eating on the Web November 10, 2008

Two of my favorite things are running and eating.  (I run so I CAN eat!)   So, I thought I’d share a couple of websites that I visit regularly that involve these two things. 

The first one is mapmyrun.com.  You can go here and enter your address or the address where you run and actually map out your running course.  The website will tell you your mileage and if you know your time, you can find out your pace.  I love this because I enjoy running different routes.  For me, running is very mental and if I know exactly where I am and how far I have before my run is over, I get psyched out.  (Barry and Jacklynn are the opposite…they like to run a straight road, out and back).  I’ve found this website to be pretty accurate and I love that it can map ANY course in the U.S.

The other website that I visit often is allrecipes.com.  I have used the website so many times when I don’t know what to make for dinner and I only have a few ingredients on hand.  They have a handy-dandy ingredient search where you type in the ingredients you have and it will pull up all of the recipes with those ingredients.  It has also come in handy when I want to make mac n’ cheese or chicken enciladas.  I just type in what I want and I can choose from dozens of different recipes.  My all-time favorite recipe for Baked Ziti came from this website.  Super easy and always a crowd pleaser!

So, for all you runners…if you didn’t already know about mapmyrun, give it a try.  And for all you non-runners, we all like to eat, right?  So enjoy your recipe searching!

At Home With Amanda August 27, 2008

My friend Jacklynn gave me two delicious crock pot recipes that I have made in the last few days.  I love being able to throw some ingredients in a crock pot and not have to think about dinner until it’s time to eat!  I have to warn you, these recipes aren’t very low in fat or calories, so if you’re trying to be healthy, you may want to stop reading now.  But if you want to indulge, these are definitely some good comfort foods!

Bistro Chicken and Cream Sauce

10 – 12 slices dried beef

6 chicken breasts

1 c. cooking wine

1 package dry Italian dressing mix

6 oz. cream cheese

2 cans cream of chicken

Layer dried beef on bottom of crock pot, lay chicken on top.  Mix 1/2 c. cooking wine with Italian dressing mix.  Pour over chicken.  Cook on low 5 – 6 hours.

Remove chicken from crock pot.

Whisk together cream cheese, 1/2 c. cooking wine and cream of chicken soup.  Pour into crock pot, let simmer 20 minutes.  Add chicken to mixture.  Serve over egg noodles.

Triple Chocolate Mess

4 eggs

1 box devil’s food cake mix

1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix

2 c. sour cream

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1 c. water

6 oz. chocolate chips

Mix first 6 ingredients together with mixer.  Add chocolate chips.

Pour into crock pot.

Cook on low 4 – 5 hours, stirring every 30 minutes.  Serve with cool whip or ice cream.

Weekend Recap July 6, 2008

It’s been a busy and fun-filled weekend.  A few highlights from the past three days…

• Ran the Watermelon 5K with Heather, Jacklynn and Leigh Ann…matching shirts and all.  (We’re such dorks!)  Heather did great…it was her first race and she did awesome!  (I even forgave her for the death looks she shot my way every time I talked to her!)
• Spent time with family at my sister’s house Friday afternoon and ate WAY too much food!
• Spent time with friends Friday night and ate WAY too much food, again.
• Saw an amazing fireworks show.
• Worked out really hard on Saturday to try and make up for all the food I ate on Friday.  (I probably should have worked out for 10 hours straight to burn it all off!)
• Got an amazing facial at this place.
• Did about 49 loads of laundry and packed for vacation.
• Went to the benefit concert at Avalon and heard Shane and Shane and Josh Wilson perform…LOVED it!

We’re looking forward to our vacation at the beach…gotta go finish packing!

Beach Bums and Brinner May 25, 2008

Today we got to spend some quality time as a family.  In fact, this weekend we have been able to spend lots of time together.  It’s the first weekend in a VERY long time that we haven’t had anything on our calendar… NOTHING! 

We started off the day at the beach.  We got there pretty early (around 10 am) and had our expectations set pretty low as far as how long Jackson (15 months old) would last.  It was his first trip to the beach (at least the first one since he’s been mobile!) and we weren’t too sure what to expect from him.  When Emma and Ansley were little we didn’t take them to the beach much because they hated the sand and the water.  Jackson LOVED it.  He crawled (yes, he’s 15 months old and still crawling) to the water, let the waves hit him, crawl back to the shore line, roll around in the sand, taste it, decide it wasn’t that appetizing, then do it all over again.  Emma played on her boogie board and Ansley jumped the waves the whole time.  Barry and I actually got to sit and relax for a while! 

We had a relaxing afternoon then had the girls’ favorite dinner…breakfast.  (Barry calls this “brinner”)  We had pancakes, omelets, and fruit smoothies.  It was YUM-O! 

Emma and Ansley told Barry and I that we are the best parents ever because we took them to the beach and then had brinner.  Wow.  Best Parents EVER…do you think they’ll think that when they’re 14 and 16?  I think it’s going to take a lot more than the beach and brinner, but it’s good to know that our 4 and 5 year old kids enjoyed a little quality family time also!

By the way…I took some really cute pictures of the kids at the beach that I was looking forward to posting on here.  Then I realized I left the memory card in the computer at home.  Oh well…maybe next time!