an admission of guilt

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welp, it was bound to happen sometime. things were going so smoothly. this saturday, i was supposed to jump on the elliptical for six miles (my furthest to date). this saturday, i did not do that. i sclathed around my apartment, napped, and stayed in with the kitty to watch olympics for a rare weekend night in. it was glorious, but there was the looming guilt cloud over me. the "i'll just do it tomorrow" guilt cloud. oh, how it loomed.

i woke up on sunday full of energy and driven by a decent-sized to-do list. step one: clean out my closets. check. one of my favorite things to do. i'm kind of an organizational freak. i make my bed every day before work. if i don't make my bed, something is wrong with me. i hang my towels after every shower. i never have clothes on the floor. i fold blankets when i'm done using them. just how i am. anywho, after cleaning out my closets, step two was to take my unwanted items to buffalo exchange. this is another favorite thing to do. it is a win/win/win. they pay me for the clothes they take, they donate the rest to charity (their charities vary by day), and my closet smiles at me. step one and step two complete. step three, head to the gym.

then i got the call. the call every austinite waits for each saturday and sunday. the, "want to go on the boat?" call. i struggled. i wrestled with the idea in my mind. i knew if i got on the boat that there would be no elliptical for me, and then i would be REALLY behind. so i turned it down. straight up said no to going to the lake on a gorgeous sunday. i cried. not really. THEN i got the text. the text from a friend who had also been invited to the lake. "boatingg?!?" the one word i needed from my friend that sent me over the edge. i immediately called the boat-owner back. "i'm in," i said.

pretty long-winded way of saying i'm behind on training and feeling like crap about it. the part of me that compulsively organizes, folds towels, and makes perfect creases in sheets wants to stick to a schedule. the part of me that moved to austin to be able to do things like jump on a boat with my friends on a sunday doesn't feel that bad about it. i'm having a real natalie imbruglia moment about it.

lake austin. i wish i knew how to quit you. but not really. but kind of. I'M TORN!

i know everyone slips up every now and then. i think it's fine as long as i don't let things like this become a regular occurrence. would you agree? what would you have done? what do you do to keep yourself on track?

recipe round-up

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little late on this- what else is new? last week some girlfriends of mine came over for a little mid-week potluck dinner. tell ya what. if there's one thing we do well, it's potlucks. also, vacations. also, birthdays. also, daily life. i digress. i'm including all the recipes from our wonderful little dinner. make one! make none! make them all! whatever.

i made chicken tamale casserole. it's less tamale and more cornbread, but it's delicious.


as you can see, i topped it with sour cream and chives. the chives give it a nice cool crunch on top of the warm, cornbready goodness on the bottom. recipe below.


Chicken Tamale Casserole: 


Ingredients


  • 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese, divided
  • 1/3 cup fat-free milk 
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
  • 1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn i used frozen sweet corn. not a huge fan of creamed corn.
  • 1 (8.5-ounce) box corn muffin mix (such as Martha White) i use jiffy. i always. use. jiffy. 
  • 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
  • Cooking spray
  • 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce (such as Old El Paso)
  • 2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
  • 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream


Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. 2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9–inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
  3. 3. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.

Cilantro Lime Rice: 

alyssa made cilantro lime rice. mmm-mmm good. tastes just like chipotle's, but it's from skinnytaste, so nowhere near as guilt-inducing. 


Ingredients


  • 1 cup extra long grain rice or basmati rice
  • 1/2 lime, juice of
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
  • 3 tsp vegetable oil

Preparation


In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt. Boil on high until most of the water evaporates. When the water just skims the top of the rice, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes. Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.

In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.

Elote (Warm Mexican Corn Salad):

tessie made this amazing side, elote. elotes? elote. you be the judge of the spelling. but seriously, if you know what the spelling is, let me know. also brought to you by skinnytaste! love huh!

Ingredients


  • 4 large fresh cobs of corn 
  • 2 tbsp light mayonnaise 
  • 2 tbsp fat-free Greek yogurt 
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder (more or less to taste) 
  • 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (from half a lime) 
  • 1 tbsp minced cilantro 
  • 2 tbsp scallions, minced 
  • 1/2 cup (40 g) cotija cheese, grated 
  • 5 lime wedges for serving 

Preparation


Boil corn in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove from heat. When cool enough to handle, cut corn off the cobb. (makes 4 cups)

In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, yogurt, chili powder, and lime juice; mix well. Add corn, cilantro, scallions and cheese and toss. Serve with lime wedges.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies:

shelley made these insanely delicious and (somewhat?) guilt-free cookies. they're flourless! and butterless! and they are so. so good. no link for this recipe. guess you'll have to keep dragging your butt to my blog when you want to make them. HA!

Ingredients


  • Nonstick vegetable oil spray
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter chips (can use dark chocolate chips also if you want full-on dark chocolate goodness)
  • 3 large egg whites, room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided (I used 2 cups)
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation


Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 (I halved the sugar here) cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme.

Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup peanut butter chips (dough will become very stiff).

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tablespoon dough into ball; roll in sugar, coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool.


there was also fresh homemade salsa via my roommate tracee who forgot to share her recipe with me, and some yummy queso served with falafel chips by mere. not a well-balanced meal, per se, but certainly a delicious one. did i mention shelley also made us skinny margs with fresh lime juice and agave? i didn't? i guess i thought it was a given. what's a good tex-mex meal without some margaritas to wash it down?

also, i forgot to take any pictures. i mentioned the margaritas, si?

movin on up!

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hi all, molly here, basically just FREAKING OUT because a good thing has come to this girl who waited. and waited. then took a break from waiting, and waited some more. i moved to austin after accepting a job i liked, but didn't love. i found out last week that the right job has found its way to me- i've been hired as a marketing coordinator, which is something i have wanted for a very long time. weee! i start tomorrow and i'm nervous, excited, etc. yeh know. all those things.

i had a five day break in between my old and new jobs (including the weekend). my five day summer has been filled with some crazy fun times. i'll always have the fond memories of waiting for the plumber to come figure out why our toilets weren't flushing. oh...and i can't forget getting my state inspection. such a special time. also, there were the errands. oh, errands and i got so close over the last five days. and of course there's me and my girl elliptical. so far we've hung out every day this week! which is my subtle way of saying that i'm completely up to date with training and i am loving it! i've even had a couple days recently where i don't want to stop running. that's new and different.

but it hasn't all been errands and gym-ing. there's also been happy hours, boat times on lake travis, and hanging with kitty. photographic evidence below. 

 beginning the celebration immediately following receiving my news. love ya, dos. there were people there too, i promise.

 i love when i have time to make breakfast. these are corn cakes. litchrully could do a whole post on these suckers. they are pancakes made with cornbread batter, and topped with apple butter. like pancakes? like cornbread? if you answered yes to both of these questions, congratulations- you have a beating human heart. also, you'll like these. i grew up eating these and let's just say they made a lasting impression. the recipe can be found on the side of the Jiffy cornbread mix box.

 lake travis. meh. it was alright.

 
i mean, on the whole i guess you could say i "enjoyed" my time on the boat.

can't even be sarcastic. dusk on the lake is too great. 

 
i'll end this post with our classy kitty's crossed legs. hoping they are cute enough to distract from my pink, white, un-tan flesh.

see ya later, interwebz.

week one: done.

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so, i'm a week behind schedule, but i'm here to say i completed my first week of training and i'm one day into week two. first week was not bad, minus going to the gym on sunday. that was a miracle. my roommate can attest to that. sundays are our day to respect the day of rest. typically there is some laughably bad television, some playing with the kitten, and some laundry so i can feel like a contributing citizen. but...going...in public? venturing into the free world? that is the road less travelled for she and i. training on sunday will be part of my schedule for at least the next twelve weeks, so i hope the world is ready to hang out with me on a day usually reserved to sclathe around.

in other news, our kickball team went to the championship game, our nation had a birthday, and austin is still the best place on the planet.


sheer joy after we won the finals game that would send us to the championship game. we lost the championship game...real bad. but it was fun getting there.


all america'd up for our july 4th eve celebration. nothing says america like ostentatious red, white, and blue apparel! also: beer.


typical sunday activity, as referenced earlier. kitten can be pretty nuts but when he naps he does it right. we can all learn a lesson from ollie. 

in closing of this evening's gripping RIC report, i'd like to admit to everyone that i may have killed a succulent i recently purchased on the sole basis of it being a plant that is nearly impossible to kill. is something wrong with me? why can i not keep plants alive? the kitten is thriving, which is nice. but the poor, poor wee cactus. i repotted it in a last ditch effort to save it, and will keep you posted on its status. i'd post a picture, but its pretty sad, and i don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. 

until next time.