My First Tough Mudder

At some point during the summer, I decided it would be a great idea to take on a Tough Mudder race. I was at a point with my workouts where I needed a new goal, something to work for. Tough Mudder had been suggested to me previously, so I figured why not? Also, I like to prove that I can do things people wouldn't expect me to do. And most people know me as someone who would NEVER voluntarily play in mud (like, I would not even finger paint as a child…it's too messy). But I signed up. Recruited a couple friends. And had the best time ever!! Seriously, I'm already looking forward to another one in May. 














I think the biggest thing in training is running. Get comfortable running at least 12 miles. And do hill running. I was unfortunately having troubles with an ankle and knee, so I didn't run at all the whole month before. Obviously, I could not walk the next day. But it was worth it. 

Obstacle wise, people are going to help you out. There's a ton of teamwork that goes on. The hardest one for me was probably Mt. Everest. It's not easy running fast up a steep, slick ramp when your legs are already quite wasted. Electro shock therapy? I recommend sliding under, if you're thin enough. And the Arctic Enema is actually kind of refreshing (once you're out…). 

Seriously, I had so much fun! It's a blast, despite all the scratches and bruises. I got dirty and thoroughly enjoyed it. And I also challenged myself a couple other ways: (1) I like to know what to expect, to have a plan in place. I really had no idea what I was getting into. And you can't slow down at the obstacles to strategize. You just have to go. No thinking. Just do it. And trust those around you to help. Which brings me to (2) I do not like having to rely on others. You can definitely be the crazy fit person who completes a Tough Mudder alone. But I'm not that person. And I think you lose the integrity and camaraderie of the experience by doing so. 

I definitely recommend Tough Mudder, if you're looking for a fun challenge. If the 10-12 miles is too overwhelming, there are several shorter races that are similar in nature…Off the top of my head Conquer the Gauntlet, Mudderella, Savage Race, Super Hero Scramble… I encourage you to push yourself. You can do the things you thought you couldn't. Train dirty. Have fun!

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Thanksgiving dinner came a little early this year. I really can't complain. Now I get to go ahead and start listening to Christmas music. And decorate…although I still need to get a tree…Anyways, I made our pie. I did some Pinterest-ing and Google-ing, and somewhere I came along this Pumpkin Pecan Pie with, what I'm calling, an Egg Nog sauce. It's completely perfect. My most favorite holiday flavors all in one bite. Bonus: I physically cannot digest it, so the absurd amount of calories don't count. Perks of not having a gallbladder? 

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Filling:

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 TBSP granulated sugar

1 large egg, beaten

1 TBSP unsalted butter, softened

1 TBSP vanilla 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp all spice

Pecan Filling:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup corn syrup

2 large eggs, beaten

1 1/2 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp vanilla

1 pinch salt

1 pinch cinnamon

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 325*F.
• Prepare your favorite pie crust or use a pre-made pie crust dough. Grease an 8-inch springform pan. Place the dough inside, pressing it up the sides. Place in the fridge to chill while you make the filling.
• In a medium mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the pumpkin filling. Mix and set aside.
• In another medium bowl, combine all the ingredients for the pecan filling. Mix and set aside.
• Pull your crust out of the fridge. Pour the pumpkin mixture in, spreading evenly across the bottom. Pour the pecan mixture over that. 
• Place in the oven and bake for about 2 hours or until set.

Egg Nog Sauce

4 TBSP unsalted butter

1 large egg

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 TBSP very hot water

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup bourbon or whiskey

Nutmeg & cinnamon to taste

Directions:

• Melt the butter in the top of a double broiler set over gently simmering water.
• Beat the sugar, egg and vanilla in a small bowl until blended. Add to the melted butter.
• Add the hot water and stir until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 7-8 minutes).
• Remove from double broiler and cool to room temperature.
• Mix in the cream, bourbon, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

If you want to avoid the alcohol, but like egg nog, I'd recommend serving this pie up with some egg nog ice cream. Yum! 

Chai Spice Buttercream Frosting

The mother's birthday is tomorrow, so we celebrated this afternoon. I decided to put a fall twist on The Best White Cake Ever by making a chai spice buttercream frosting. It was heavenly. I mean, anything with 4 sticks of butter tastes amazing, but it was rich and creamy with a perfect hint of chai. The brother said it tasted exactly like a chai tea latte he had the other day. Yum…

I'd imagine this frosting would be just as wonderful on say a spice cake, or even a pumpkin cake. I just opted for white because I'd actually had the cake in my freezer for the past several months. Thankfully, this particular cake freezes very well. It was still perfect. 

Chai Spice Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

Pinch of salt

3 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

5 cups powdered sugar

1 TBSP milk

Directions:

Beat the butter, salt and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the spices and mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add about a TBSP of milk. Beat for about 5 minutes on high or until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Apply a thin layer of frosting to your cake (crumb coat). Put it in the fridge for about 15 minutes. Finish frosting your cake and decorate as desired. I simply sprinkled a little extra cinnamon on top!

Enjoy!

Salsa Tuna Skillet

It's not much to look at (and it doesn't help that I'm currently using an iPhone 4 to take pictures…) but this salsa tuna skillet is super tasty and super fast and easy to make. It's become a go-to for me.

I tried this one night after a work friend suggested it. I was skeptical. Tuna is not generally my thing. But this girl always brings food that looks and smells good, so I went for it. 

What you need:

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

A little butter or EVOO for sautéing 

2 cans of tuna, drained

Salsa

Salt

Pepper

Cumin

How to do it:

Heat up a large skillet with some butter or EVOO. Place the onions and garlic in the pan and sauté to your heart's desire. Add the tuna, salsa, and spices (to taste). Sauté until everything is warm. Serve over brown rice, couscous, or quinoa. 

Easy, cheap, and delicious. It's about 2-3 servings…although, you could probably make it 4. I just eat a lot!

Human Again

I can hardly believe that just over a year ago I was heading in for my first night shift. Last week, I worked my last. That year was an adventure to say the least. It was challenging in ways I didn't imagine. It made me grow a lot as a person. I went from being the newbie to the "experienced" one, even charging a few nights. I learned a lot about nursing. There were things about night shift that I really liked. But something's gotta give when you stop sleeping. And while I will miss my amazing team of night-shifters, I'm thankful to be back in the land of the living…and writing. 

It's been a long time since I've written. And a lot has happened. A lot I intended to share, but never got around to. I've literally been at work, at the gym, or trying to sleep. Seriously. That has been my existence. Like I'm so far behind on my TV shows, it's embarrassing  Occasionally, I've gone out to catch up with friends who'd wondered if I was still alive. And somewhere in there, I managed to go on vacation, buy a house, and complete a Tough Mudder race. I have been in the kitchen a little bit. Today, I got extremely domestic and hemmed curtain panels and made roman shades. Thank goodness for hemming tape. Life saver.

I should be getting more posts up (including one of my favorite new go-tos for dinner), so check back soon! 



  

Oatmeal Breakfast Cupcakes

Bananas have this habit of going from green to black. There is no in between. Maybe like a 5-minute window when I can handle the taste of a fresh banana. So, I find myself baking things that call for very ripe bananas. The oatmeal breakfast cupcakes are one of those things. 

These were a pretty great find from Chocolate Covered Katie (via Pinterest, of course). You can do a lot with them as far as add-ins go (I opted for raisins and cinnamon). They're easy to make ahead and freeze. Great to grab on your way out the door.  No processed sugar (unless you're the person who adds chocolate chips). Easy to make gluten-free and/or vegan.

I was actually kind of surprised by how they turned out. The outside texture is more of a cupcake/muffin, but the inside is like oatmeal. Not runny, but like sticky, gummy oatmeal. It was weird. Good, but weird. And I was shocked that the brother loved them. Seriously. He usually disses my healthy "chick" food. 

Oatmeal Breakfast Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups Rolled Oats

3-4 Bananas, mashed (overripe) 

1 tsp Salt

5 TBSP Pure Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar

1 cup Water

1/8 cup + 1 TBSP Coconut Oil

1 1/4 Pure Vanilla Extract

Optional add-ins: Cinnamon, Raisins (or any other dried fruit), Shredded Coconut, Chopped Walnuts, Ground Flax or Wheat Germ, Chocolate Chips, etc.

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 380*F and line a 12-cup muffin pan. I personally recommend spraying your liners with a non-stick spray as well…
• In a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and stir well. 
• In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients.
• Mix the wet into dry.
• Pour the batter evenly into your prepared muffin cups. 
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done. 

They're really good warm with butter…or peanut butter! Enjoy!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

Is it really June?! Time flies. It's crazy to think that I've been out of school for a little over a year and been working as a pediatric nurse for 8 months. It's amazing how much has changed. 

The brother has one year left as a teen. We had to celebrate a little early since he'll be off at camp on his real birthday. This year, he opted for a lemon poppyseed cake. I swear, the kid picks the weirdest things for me to make. Every other guy I know likes chocolate. But for the brother, I've done strawberry, white chocolate with raspberry, and now this. Gotta love him. 

The recipe is from Apple & Spice via Pinterest. I didn't change much, other than using whole eggs instead of just whites. And the brother vetoed the flaked almonds for decorating, so I used some extra lemon zest. Also, the original is all in metric units, so I'll give you the converted version. You're welcome. 

Basically, it tastes just like a lemon poppyseed muffin with frosting. It's pretty delicious if you're into that. It's moist, sweet, lemony, not too heavy. The brother was pleased with it, so I think that makes it a winner! 

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups AP flour
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 TBSP poppy seeds
3/4 cup unsalted butter
zest of 1 lemon
275ml buttermilk
5 large eggs

For the sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
75ml water
juice of 1 lemon

For the frosting:
8oz cream cheese
3/4 cup butter
5-6 cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP almond extract

• Heat the oven to 350*F and prepared 3 8-9" cake pans. 
• Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Gently mix to combine.
• Add the butter, lemon zest, and 200ml of the buttermilk. Beat on low until completely mixed. Raise the speed to medium and beat for an additional 1-2 minutes.
• In another bowl, combine the remaining buttermilk with the eggs. Whisk to blend thoroughly. 
• Add the egg mixture to the batter in 2-3 additions. Beat only enough to incorporate.
• Divide the batter between the three pans (it may seem a little thick).
• Bake for 20-30 minutes (depending on the size of your pans), until a toothpick comes out of the center clean. 
• Let the cakes cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning out.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the lemon sauce:
• In a small sauce pan, combine sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
•  Generously brush the cakes with the lemon sauce while they are still warm. 
• Allow the cakes to completely cool before frosting.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter & cream cheese until light and fluffy.
• Gradually add the powdered sugar, scraping down the sides & beating well between each addition.
• Add the almond extract and continue to beat well for 3-4 minutes, until light & fluffy.
• I trust you can figure out how to assemble the cake!

Enjoy!

I seriously need to get back to cooking more. I've been eating like an unchaperoned 5-year-old at a birthday party. However, I've actually made some breakfast sandwiches and oatmeal cupcakes recently. They were pretty good... I'll TRY to get those posts up soon!

Strawberry Coconut Chia Seed Banana Bread

I had last night off from work, so I went running, washed my scrubs & got out the KitchenAid for some baking fun. I had some ripe bananas and a bunch of strawberries, so I decided to make some yummy bread inspired by the Ambitious Kitchen. I replaced some of the all purpose flour in the original recipe with whole wheat and eliminated the processed sugar. It turned out delicious! Great for breakfast or a snack. Of course, I think it's even better with some peanut or almond butter…mmm...

Strawberry Coconut Chia Seed Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup AP flour

3/4 cup WW flour

1 tsp baking powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 ripe bananas, mashed

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 TBSP coconut oil, melted and cooled

1 TBSP sorghum 

2 TBSP unsweetened almond or coconut milk

1 cup strawberries, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

2 TBSP chia seeds

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a 9-inch bread pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder & salt.
• In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, egg, vanilla, yogurt, oil, sorghum & milk.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just combined. 
• Gently fold the strawberries, coconut & chia seeds into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Top with some extra coconut flakes & sliced strawberries.
• Bake for about 50 minutes or until done.
• Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Enjoy! 

Blueberry Avocado Muffins

I'm over halfway through my spring stay-cation. And while, I'm disappointed it wasn't safe to go to Aquiles and sad I didn't get to see my kids in La Union, it's been nice. (Although I now have a really big tent for no reason, and I refuse to take it back…because that would involve going inside WalMart… So, anyone up for a camping trip?)

I've gotten to sleep at night. Like go to bed by 10 or 11 and sleep until 7ish. Actually get things done during the day. I have missed that life. I've gotten to hangout with lots of different friends. I got caught up on TV & Netflix…and started into some new shows… I'm going to FINALLY finish a project that I started forever ago. I've made dinner a couple times (nothing epic…last night was literally, "there is all this stuff I need to use, let's make something out of it" night). 

But I needed to share my muffins from this morning. Totally delicious. Like seriously. And pretty healthy as far as muffins go. The original recipe is from Gimme Some Oven via Pinterest. But I changed it up a bit. I took out 1 cup of AP flour & replaced it with WW (you could replace the flour totally with a GF mix…more power to you). I took out all the processed sugar (3/4 cup) & replaced it with 2 TBSP raw honey. I added a little extra cinnamon. Between using WW flour & the extra cinnamon, my muffins turned out not looking so green, which I think is kind of nice. They look more normal.

Blueberry Avocado Muffins

For the muffins:

1 cup WW flour

1 cup AP flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 ripe avocado, seeded & peeled

2 TBSP raw honey

1 tsp vanilla 

1 egg

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Streusel topping:

2 TBSP melted butter, slightly cooled

2 TBSP AP flour

1/4 cup raw sugar 

• Preheat the oven to 375*F and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon.
• In your KitchenAid stand mixer bowl, add the avocado and beat until relatively smooth. Add the egg & beat until completely combined. Add the honey, vanilla & yogurt, beating until just combined. Add half of the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Then repeat with the other half. Gently fold in the blueberries by hand. The batter will be very thick & sticky. No worries. 
• Spoon the batter (or I prefer to use a cookie scoop) into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with streusel topping (optional). Bake for 25-ish minutes or until done. Just keep an eye on them!

Enjoy!

{Workout Review} P90X-3

Known fact: I'm a huge fan of P90X. Probably a bigger fan of P90X-2. So, when I found out that P90X-3 was coming out, I was pretty excited. Like, this excited:

P90X-3 is all about training accelerated. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my long workouts. I enjoy days when I can workout more than once. However, the days I work, I need something fast and effective. P90X-3 is where it's at--just 30 minutes. I was kind of concerned that it would be just a watered-down version. However, it's still challenging. It still breaks a sweat. You can modify to make it easier…and you can modify to make it harder.

If you have done P90X or X2, you will recognize several of the moves and several of the people. If you haven't done any P90X before, who are you? Go do it. Now, I haven't done the 90 days of X3. I typically hit up P90X, X2, Insanity &/or Zumba when I have the time. I also like to run now…which is weird. Anyways, I don't doubt that if you really only had 30 minutes a day, and committed to follow the X3 program for 90 days, you'd have great results. Seriously, 30 minutes a day was really my gateway with getting into fitness. 

The base kit comes with 16 workouts plus "Cold Start" (if you're wanting/have time for a longer warmup). You can get another disc with 3 more workouts, including X3 Ab Ripper…which I haven't gotten yet. Shocking, I know. But here's a quick breakdown of what I've done:

Total Synergistics
Upper body, lower body & core all together. Excellent resistance training. I remember HATING Synergistics when I first started with P90X…glad I got over that.  

CVX
Probably my favorite. It's my go-to. Killer cardio with a weight. I typically grab my 6 lb dumbbell or 8 lb med ball because the adjustable dumbbells are kind of loud/annoying with the jumping.

Agility X
Decent cardio. But it's not my favorite…because I'm horrible at it. Agility = not my strong suite. That's why I'm horrible at things like soccer. A certain amount of coordination/foot work (that I do not have) is necessary. Something for me to work on!

Triometrics
If you thought it would be like plyometrics, you thought wrong. You do 1 move for 1 minute at 3 different levels of intensity. There's some jumping involved with some of the moves, but it's not solely plyo by any means. It's most definitely a leg and butt killer. I've done this one several times now…and I'm always sore. Great stuff.

Pilates X
Whoever thinks Pilates is easy, has not tried it. This is one for me to work on. There's a lot of emphasis on core and flexibility, but also breathing…and Pilates breathing is different from yoga breathing…and I have not figured it out yet.

X3 Yoga
Ahhh, yoga. I love it. This is a quick yoga burnout. It moves quickly through several different yoga poses…most of which you've seen before in Yoga-X &/or X2. But there is a new crazy move, courtesy of Ted. While I like it, my favorite is still the original Yoga-X (I find it actually calms me down…clears my mind). 

Incinerator
The goal with this one is muscle failure. Mostly upper body. It burns. And I don't recommend doing it and "The Challenge" in two consecutive days…bad plan.

The Challenge
Push-ups. Pull-ups. Again. And again. Not my wheelhouse at all. I was pretty wasted. It was like P90X Chest & Back on crack.  

MMX
Mixed Martial Arts, X style. Great Cardio. Lots of level changing. Sprawling. Fun, sweaty times.

The Warrior
Body weight training at its finest. You circuit upper- and lower-body resistance with core & cardio. Full body blast that you can do anywhere. No excuses.  

Isometrix
If you're a yoga fan, this is a good challenge. Working the muscles isometrically for 45 seconds/move. I've been doing a decent amount of yoga for a while, and this stuff is HARD…except for "Tree"…I could stay there all day. It's core city too. Wow. If you're not sweating, you're not engaged…you're doing it wrong.

Dynamix
This is like 30 minutes of sweaty dynamic stretching. It's a great way to prepare the body for bigger things. It's the way athletes get ready. It's good stuff. It's technically "down time." But it has a nice little cardio effect. 

Decelerator
This one hits on all the big muscles. You'll go back and forth between a push-up/pull-up move & plyo/legs. Gets the job done.  

Accelerator
A great full-body cardio blast with lots of plank work. It's body weight training. It's cardio. I love it. It's extra challenging if your abs are already sore…not that I know from experience or anything. But seriously.

Eccentric Upper
Another upper body blowout. It's basically a push-up move, followed by a pull-up move, then an arm move. Obviously, you're focusing on the eccentric part of the movement. Example: If I'm doing a pull-up, I go up fast, then do a slow 3-count down…and repeat for 10 reps.

Eccentric Lower
Another workout that focuses on the negative part of the movement…except it's obviously for the lower half of your body. Plan on bringing your core to the party too, though. There's weights involved & a balance component. If your core isn't engaged & working, you will be falling all over the place. 

Key Points:

• Engage you core
• Quality over quantity
• Wear the right shoes
• Time, patience, practice
• You can always make it harder
• Use the right weight
• Bring It!

…And I think that sums it up...

Oreo Crumble Cake with Mocha Frosting

It was someone's birthday today…so I made cake! I honestly haven't made anything else in like the last month. It's pretty sad. If it wasn't for peanut butter, and other people who will feed me, I would starve. I'm really only kind of kidding.

I took a couple of different recipes and came up with an Oreo Crumble Cake topped with mocha frosting…there is also like a cookies & cream filling involved. The father (it's his birthday) is a fan of Oreos, chocolate cake, and coffee…so it was kind of a perfect combination.   

The cake itself has a fantastic texture. Super moist. The frosting is divine. Perfect touch of coffee flavor. The filling is great too…and I think next time I would double the recipe on the filling…or maybe just 1 1/2 it. It's a pretty fantastic cake. Really rich. Like, rich for me, rich. So for those of you who do not handle sweets well, beware. I recommend having a glass of milk. 

I will say that slicing it evenly & getting it out is a little challenging with the layer of Oreos in the center. But, hey, it's still delicious.

Oreo Crumble Cake

About 10-15 Oreos

2 cups AP flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 packet Starbucks Via Italian Roast (or other EXTRA BOLD roast)

1 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup boiling water

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare 2 9" pans appropriately. Twist apart enough Oreos to line the bottom of one of the pans, cream side up.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through instant coffee). Add the milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until combined. (I use my KitchenAid stand mixer because it's fantastic.) Reduce the speed & carefully add the boiling water so you don't slosh batter everywhere. Then beat on high for about a minute to add some air & fluff. 
• Distribute the cake batter evenly between the pans. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
• Remove from the oven & let cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Then, remove the cake from the pans onto a wire rack & let cool completely.

Filling:

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 tsp powdered sugar

1/8 tsp vanilla

5-6 Oreos, well crumbled (I recommend using the "pulse" button on a food processor a couple times)

• In your stand mixer (with whisk attachment), whip the cream, sugar & vanilla until stiff.
• Fold in the Oreo crumbles
• Keep chilled until you're ready to use it!

Mocha Frosting

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 cup cocoa

5 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

1 packet Starbucks Via Italian Roast (or other EXTRA BOLD roast)

• Add the cocoa to a large bowl or stand mixer. Whisk through to remove any lumps.
• Cream together the cocoa and butter until well combined.
• Add the powdered sugar and milk to the mixture by adding 1 cup of sugar, followed by 1 TBSP of milk. After each addition has been combined, beat on high for about a minute. It will get nice & fluffy.
• Add the vanilla & instant coffee & mix until well combined.

I feel like putting this all together is fairly self-explanatory. And there's really no art to decorating it. I piped a little frosting around the bottom edge to finish it off a little. I crumbled the spare naked Oreos that went unused from the one with cream that were baked into the the cake…sprinkled them on top. Then I just broke a few more apart & put them on. Pretty simple. Super yummy. Enjoy!

Apple & Sausage Pie

Here is another recipe inspired by the need to use up some apples! It took me a while to find something I liked. I finally settled on a recipe from Peaches Please because I figured it'd be easy enough to work with. If you follow the link and compare it to my recipe, you will notice several differences. One of the more obvious being that I made one pie in a normal sized springform pan vs. four mini ones. I did this (1) because the mini pans come in sets of three…at least at Target… and (2) I really don't like rolling out pie dough that much. However, if you've got the supplies and time, the four mini pies are so much cuter. 

This pie smells divine. And it tastes amazing. Definitely a winner. It's perfect for fall or winter. Mine is obviously not that pretty. I was kind of pressed for time so I didn't even actually weave the lattice top or make the edges pretty. Luckily, its looks have nothing to do with the taste. Have I mentioned? The taste is fantastic.  

Apple & Sausage Pie

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups WW flour

1 tsp Salt

3/4 cup Butter, very cold & cut into small pieces

1/4 cup Plain Greek yogurt

10-ish TBSP Ice water

• Whisk together the flour & salt. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or fork until you get an almost sandy texture. Stir in the yogurt and 3 TBSP water. Slowly add the rest of the water until the dough comes together. You may use more or less than 10 TBSP. Make sure it doesn't get too wet. Cover and put the dough in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes. 

For the filling:

1 1/4 lb Italian sausage (I like spicy chicken) 

3 Apples, peeled, cored & roughly chopped

1/2 cup Yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup Celery, sliced

1 heaping tsp Sage

1 oz Apple cider vinegar 

1/4 cup Hard apple cider

Salt & pepper to taste

•  Remove the sausage from their casings and cook in a nonstick skillet on the stovetop until cooked through & browning. Remove the sausage from the pan and place in a large bowl. Make sure to leave some of the grease for sautéing the onions & celery.
• Saute the onions & celery in the sausage fat until they soften. Add the chopped apples, sage, ACV, and your salt & pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened. You may want to cover your pan for a couple minutes.
• Add the apple mixture in with the sausage & stir. Be sure to leave the juices in the pan. Deglaze the pan with your hard apple cider (I used "The Saint" variety from Crispin). Reduce the pan juices & cider until thickened & pour them in the bowl with the apples & sausage. 
• Preheat the oven to 350*F. Prepare your springform pan(s).
• Separate the dough appropriately & roll it out to fit your pan(s). Trim the excess off the edges…you will need it!
• Fill your pan(s) with the sausage & apple mixture.
• Roll out the remaining dough & cut into strips to cover the pie. You can do a real lattice top & weave or do a faux one like me. You can just squish the edges together or make them look pretty, whatever you like/have time for.
• Bake for about 40 minutes, ideally until the pastry has slightly browned. If it doesn't seem to be getting brown enough, you can crank up the oven to 400*F for a few minutes. If it's getting too brown too quick, cover the edges with foil.
• Remove from the oven & let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, you can release the springform. Continue to cool until your mouth & hands won't get burned. 

Enjoy!

Birthday Week Adventures

It's been a great birthday week! I've had a few nights off to recover from the crazy amount of hours I put in last week. Yea for sleep! I FINALLY went to see "Frozen." It's pretty fantastic. Very musical. Good storyline. Hilarious. Literally laughing out loud, hilarious. I was like, "I'm 23, I should not be this captivated by an animated film." It's that good. If you haven't seen it, you definitely should. This will obviously be added to my movie collection.

On Monday, I ran around Mitch Park a couple times. I think that's like 5.6 miles. It was nice and sunny, and I finished up right before the wind got really bad. It was a great way to enjoy a pretty day! And because it's fun for me, I also got in some X2-Core before cleaning up & heading out to dinner. 

I polled my Facebook friends for a good place to go for birthday dinner. I always try to pick somewhere I haven't been. All the suggestions were great! In the end, I went with Inca Trail (partly because I couldn't talk the family into going downtown and partly because it was the most different...I've NEVER had Peruvian food before). It was delicious! It looks a little sketchy, and it seems like one guy does everything. But the food is good. I make it a point to get the sampler app platter (above) when I go someplace new, especially if it's a new kind of cuisine. I'm a huge fan of the calamari. I ordered the ceviche mixto (below), which was recommended to me by a work friend. Excellent. I was kind of nervous about the raw, chopped fish thing...which is weird since I like sushi...but anyways it was fantastic. Served up with yucca, corn, onions and a clam. Yum!

That was followed up with the perfect birthday cake. I went back to the basics with this one. White cake, buttercream frosting, and sprinkles. You can see my full post with links to the recipes by clicking here. This is the first time the smoke alarm has gone off when I blew out my candles...

Yesterday, I got a massage and partied at Zumba. I've also managed to catch up on all the errands I've been needing to run this month...like getting a new driver's license. And I've finally finished up the P90X-3 workouts, so at some point I will have a post up on those. I've already repeated some, but I was holding out on a couple because they're mostly chest and back, which isn't really my favorite thing. It's been a nice and relaxing time! And I'm so thankful for all the birthday wishes I've received! 

The Best White Birthday Cake…SERIOUSLY!

It has been a great birthday week! I will have to share the details with you later. The birthday cake is the priority here. And while some people may take issue with baking their own cake, I'm not one of them. I love making cake...I'm also a fan of eating it. I guess I have a tendency to choose more extravagant cakes to make. You know, the kinds with filling, frosting, and ganache. More than one flavor. That kind of thing. But I also think there's something quite lovely about a simple white cake with buttercream frosting. And I wanted a really classic birthday cake-cake. I found the perfect recipe from Add a Pinch.

I cannot tell you how good this cake is. It's seriously amazing. I wish there was enough to share with you! It has a great texture. Perfectly moist. Excellent white cake flavor. The buttercream frosting compliments it beautifully. Although, white-cake-purists be warned: this recipe uses whole eggs (not just whites) and regular vanilla (not clear). Still, it's the best white cake EVER. Seriously. 

I jazzed it up a little by adding sprinkles! I mean, nothing says 'birthday cake' more than sprinkles, right? There's probably a better way of doing it, but I made my own stencil of sorts to get the numbers on the cake and leave space for the candles on the edge. It makes for a pretty fun cake. But sprinkles are to baking as glitter is to crafting, and I'm pretty sure I will be finding sprinkles in the kitchen for the rest of my life.

• To get the recipe for the cake, click here.
• To get the recipe for the frosting, click here. (I made 1 1/2 times the recipe and had just enough)

Grilled Apple, Bacon & Cheddar Sandwich

Here is another attempt to use up some of the mass amount of apples I have. It only got rid of one, but these sandwiches are SO GOOD. Grown-up grilled cheese perfection. With a side of Sprouts Organic Baby Kale mix to make it healthy…kind of. 

There's really not a science to putting these together. And you just use as much bread, cheese, bacon, & apple slices as you want for however many sandwiches you're making. But here's what I used for two:

• 1 small gala apple, cored & thinly sliced
• 4 slices hickory smoked bacon (like real bacon)
• Sprouts white sandwich bread (I usually get their wheat, but they were out last time I needed bread. I really like Sprouts bread. It tastes way less processed. No artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives.)
• Velata cheddar cheese
• Butter (If you're one of those people that use mayo when making a grilled cheese, consider yourself judged. Butter is better.)

Now, there are plenty of ways you can go about putting everything together. This would be my recommendation:

• Cook your bacon in a fry pan as directed on the package. Use a paper towel to soak up the majority of the grease (or pour it in a jar). But make sure to leave a bit of grease in the pan--it will add a lot of flavor to you sandwich.
• I spread butter on the "outside" part of the bread slices.
• I slathered Velata on the "inside" part of the bread slices, so that there would be a layer of cheese, then bacon, then apple, then another layer of cheese. 
• Grill it up until it's warmed through & your cheese is melty. 

Things at work have been crazy lately. Respiratory season has definitely hit, and so my floor is having to take the overflow of sick kids in addition to our surgical kids. I'm totally good with like blood & gore, CSF, chest tubes, and JP drains…but I. hate. mucus. so. much. It was also challenging working Monday night, and then staying over on Tuesday until noon for education stuff. I was awake for almost 24 hours. Took a 3 hour nap & went to Zumba. And then crashed for another 10 1/2. I will (probably) go back tomorrow night & then I've got Friday & Saturday before a 4-day break. Happy Birthday to me. I'm so looking forward to Mexico in March… Hope everyone else's week is wonderful!

{Slow Cooker} Italian Chicken with Potatoes & Carrots

I made real food! I came across this recipe from Crock-a-doodle-do on Pinterest. I was pretty excited about it because I had everything on hand. I mean, it probably would've been better with red potatoes. But it was still pretty tasty. The chicken was perfectly juicy and tender. It's a great one-pot meal. The only bad thing is that it has already disappeared. So much for having leftovers. 

Italian Chicken with Potatoes & Carrots

4 chicken breasts (mine had been frozen)

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

6 small potatoes, scrubbed & cut into wedges or cubes

1/2-1 pound baby carrots (I used almost a full bag)

16 oz Italian dressing 

Italian seasoning to taste

• Pour a little bit of the dressing into the bottom of your slow cooker. 
• Place 2 chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Top with a little dressing, 1/2 of the cheese & sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
• Place the other 2 chicken breasts on top of those, topping them off with the rest of the cheese.
• Pour in the carrots. Add a little more dressing & seasoning.
• Add the potatoes. Pour the remainder of the dressing over the top. Add seasoning to taste.
• Cook on low for 8 hours (adjust the time if your chicken is not frozen). 

Enjoy! 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

I'm SO excited that I'm feeling better after getting kicked by the flu. It was bad. Like, I had to force myself to drink coffee so I wouldn't also have a caffeine headache. And I didn't workout for three days and did not care. Bad. But, I was finally able to drag myself into the chiropractor, which made a huge difference. Shout out to Family Tree Chiropractic. And I started taking apple cider vinegar, which strangely seems to be helping. 

My work week began on Wednesday night, so I stayed up Tuesday night. I got in a couple X3 workouts, did a little laundry and cleaning, and whipped up these muffins. Somehow we ended up with a million apples. And I'm VERY picky when it comes to eating apples raw. They have to have the perfect texture and crunch. Of course, the apples we have are ones I don't like. So I made muffins. And you can probably expect several other apple-related recipes in the near future.

While they're not super pretty, these apple cinnamon muffins are super yummy! Also pretty healthy. I snagged the recipe from Butter Baking via Pinterest. It calls for plain yogurt, but oddly enough I only had Stonyfield Fat Free French Vanilla. It worked well! I would, of course, recommend plain Greek yogurt. Keep in mind that the texture & the way the muffins bake may vary by which yogurt you choose. You could also add about 1/4 cup of raisins, if you're into that. 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup pain yogurt

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 TBSP brown sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

1 large apple, peeled, cored, and diced

1/4 cup raisins (optional)

• Preheat the oven to 350*F and prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray or use the little muffin/cupcake liners…I also recommend spraying those too so they don't stick. 
• In a medium bowl, stir together the oats and yogurt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter & sugar. Beat in the egg. Stir in the applesauce. Add the oat & yogurt mixture; stir to combine. Stir in the flours, cinnamon, powder, soda, and salt until just incorporated. Do not over mix! Mix the apples and raisins through gently. 
• Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups.
• Bake for about 20 minutes or until done.

Enjoy!