It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Well, the Christmas tree is up, the presents are bought and wrapped (all but a few), and I think I'm going to go crazy! But first...

I made my first Thanksgiving meal this year, and that was really fun.



The Bird



The Feast

 I made: Mashed Potatoes (olive oil, skim milk, herbs, salt and pepper), Turkey, Broccoli and Cauliflower Casserole (recipe), Baked Apples (the one utterly sinful thing I made), and Green Bean Casserole (Mr. Discovery's favourite). My mom made sweet potatoes (she's the only one who eats them), stuffing (her mother's recipe), and the pumpkin pie. :-) It was a great little afternoon of gluttony all around.

So back to the crazy.

Friday morning, Mr. Discovery and I leave for The Greenbrier because he's second shooting on a wedding there, in addition to an engagement session and the rehearsal/dinner. I get to hang around the resort/casino for some amazing times with a girlfriend of mine. SO excited!

We will depart the resort on Sunday for the Lower School Christmas Party! This is pretty much the most fun you can have in a single night!

Thursday, we are co-hosting the Christmas Party for our Sunday School class. I say co-hosting because I'm making the arrangements, but someone else's house is the location. Our class has doubled in the past year, so I just can't accomodate the group at our tiny little apartment. What would I do without wonderful friends who will loan their house out for the evening and let me plan (I LOVE to plan things)!!!

Friday (17th) we head to Baltimore where I will assist Mr. Discovery in photographing a wedding for one of his co-workers. We will spend the whole weekend up there, including our anniversary, which is Monday, the 20th.

From there, we go to Lynchburg to be with Mr. D's family through Christmas, then we'll depart bright and early on the 26th for Charlottesville where I'll FINALLY get to see my precious, precious niece!!!!! :-) I can't wait to see that little one! She's be 21 months old in three days; the time flies too quickly! We'll finally get back into Richmond for the New Year, and then, it's back to reality.

O I say all that to say: If you don't hear from me, I'm terribly sorry. Not that I've been the best blogger in the world, but still... I do like to have a reason for my bad blogging habits!

Half training is going well, but I've had to rearrange a lot of runs because of all the Holiday festivities. I feel guilty for skipping runs early on, and I hope that doesn't come back to bite me in the butt. :-) I've had to do a lot of runs on the treadmill because it's been in the teens and twenties here with the wind chill this week. I hate the treadmill, but I really prefer running after dinner because I feel completely fueled and ready to go.

If I don't post between now and Christmas, a merry, merry Christmas to you all.

Half Marathons, Recipes, and Life OH MY!

So, I started half training yesterday. 2.5 miles in 26 minutes. I was mentally preparing for that run all day- making myself get out there. The hardest step is the one out the door.

Well, I've made some pretty yummy things lately.

Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine

Ingredients

• 9 ounces uncooked whole wheat fettuccine
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1-1/2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
•  2 cups reduced-sodium tomato juice
•  1/2 cup tomato sauce
•  1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon pepper
•  4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup white wine or Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Directions

1. Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the shrimp, tomato juice, tomato sauce, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and wine until smooth; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and sauce is thickened.
3. Drain fettuccine; stir into skillet. Sprinkle with basil just before serving. 

Review: Mr. Discovery was not a fan the first night, but he liked it the second time around. I think the sauce was too thin the first night, but for lunch the next day, it was thicker. I loved it both times.

Favourite Skillet Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed (I used Italian seasoned ground turkey)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce (I used about 16 oz because that's what I had left in the jar)
• 2 cups uncooked whole wheat egg noodles (I used about 2.5)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, egg noodles, water and zucchini. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Combine the ricotta, Parmesan and parsley. Drop by tablespoonfuls over pasta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; cover and cook 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 5 servings.

Review: I licked the plate. It was that good.

Grilled Tilapia with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons capers, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 4 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. For vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons basil, olive oil, garlic, capers and lemon peel; set aside 2 tablespoons for sauce. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of fillets with remaining vinaigrette.
2. Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Brush with reserved vinaigrette and sprinkle with remaining basil.

Review: Very good. Next time, I might make a little more of the vinaigrette, because it just didn't feel like there was quite enough of it to go around.



Well, there you go! I hope you find something in there! All of those recipes were from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking.

I've had a lot of subbing lately, which has been lovely. Big paychecks before Christmas! :-) I have today off, so I am finishing up Christmas decorating today before I have an Art class tomorrow and Band classes on Thurs/Fri. And of course HARRY POTTER comes out on Thursday night!!!!!!!! Totally going to the midnight showing.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

Good day to you!

Hello everyone out there in blogland! So sorry for my absence. I'm just not feeling the blog thing lately- I've not been eating well, I've not been running, and I've just come from the doctor to find that I now weigh the most I have in three years. Awesome. In the past two years, I've gained about 10 pounds. That's not cool. I keep telling myself "After my birthday, I'll start eating better," "After the weekend, I'll start eating better," "After I start training for my half..." and so on. You get the picture. Ugh.

I do start training for my half in two and a half weeks. I still can't believe I am going to try to run 13.1 miles. YIKES. We'll see what happens.

Lately, we've been working with the children at church for the upcoming Christmas musical. Can you believe Christmas is not even two months away? I can't. Haha. It's a crazy time, but they are so cute and we have a lot of fun with the little ones. I've also started helping a great lady with the organization of Operation Christmas Child at my church. Instead of having people fill boxes and then bring them in, we are having people bring in a lot of stuff and then the women of our church are having a salad dinner and box packing party in November to get the presents ready for the kids overseas!

No recipes today... Like I said, I've not been on my game lately... It's been pretty bad around the Discovery household. Sorry blogland!

OH MY GOSH

You'll never guess what I did.



I registered for my first HALF MARATHON!!!

Three Weeks!?!?!?

This is my life as I now know it (and LOVE it):

Crossley and me!

JCREW! (Some of us)

Our group of kids at the Middle School Retreat

Danielle and me at the Middle School retreat!

Change Matters!

Rebi and me at Homecoming!

This girl is awesome! She was one of my brother's youth way out in Texas! :-)

Friends! So good to see Mark and John!

Clean Eating Mag's Country Fried Steak with Rustic Mashed Potatoes

Mexican Casserole

Chicken Chili

As you can see, the Discovery household has been pretty busy! This past weekend, we went on a Middle School Retreat with 20-something of the best 6th, 7th, and 8th graders EVER! It was a great weekend. Mr. Discovery and I were able to sneak away on Saturday afternoon to go to our Alma Mater's homecoming football game, which was really fun. I mean, what could be better than lunch at Macado's, touring all the new and cool stuff they've put on campus, and seeing friends who we haven't seen in forever?

This weekend, Mr. Discovery (you like my new names for our little family unit?) will be photographing a wedding at the Greenbrier. Oh, but it's not just ANYONE'S wedding. It's the CEO of the Greenbrier. Um... yeah. That's pretty stinking amazing. Haha.

Now that work is back in full swing (well as "full swing" as I can manage), I have a new-found love for slowcooker recipes and casseroles. Actually, I've always loved casseroles, but I have only recently discovered the glory of the slowcooker. :-) I might have to create a new tradition, like "Slow Cooker Sundays" or something. :-) The mexican casserole above was really, really good, even though I accidently left out an ingredient! Haha. The chicken-fried steak was a remake, but I still am not thrilled with this recipe. I mean, it's good, but nothing beats the deep fried goodness that is Texas Roadhouse's chicken fried steak. The chicken chili was OK yesterday straight out of the crockpot, but it was great reheated. It thickened up overnight and really improved, though the chicken was a little dry. I feel like this recipe emulates Bruswick Stew, which is my favourite, but it just wasn't quite the same... Perhaps that's why I didn't care for it as much the first night.

I took TWO weeks off from running, which was a big mistake. I ran 2.75 miles yesterday, but I'm so ashamed of my time that I will not be sharing that with you. I took a 2 minute walk break halfway through, but yeah... It was abyssmal. I felt newly motivated by all the Nesties who just finished their MARATHONS!

"'Sup?" "Not Much..."

Any particular reason why I haven't posted many recipes lately? Well, I'm going to pass blame on to someone else. Actually, something else.

The dishwasher in our apartment.

And, what, you may ask, does the dishwasher have to do with my cooking lull? Well, I'll not only tell you, I'll show you.

Okay, so maybe you can't tell, but our cheap dishwasher stops working (right where the knob is stopped in the first picture) and a bunch of stinky, dirty dishwater is left in the bottom of my dishwasher. It also likes to emit a scent that is reminiscent of despair. Also known as a burned out motor.

We have asked maintenance to correct this problem three times now. They have finally decided to replace the dishwasher. NEXT WEEK. I. hate. dishes. HATE. Like, I even hate loading and unloading the dishes, but now I have to hand wash my dishes, which I have done enough in my lifetime. Ugh. I'd rather vacuum, dust, make the bed, wash the floors, and do laundry than hand wash ALL of our dishes.

Anyway, all these dirty dishes that seem to be constantly piled up on my counter because maintenance has failed to correct the problem three times now have kind of put a damper on my desire to cook in my kitchen. So there you have it. Tonight I am making a delicious little Disney World Recipe from the Polynesian Resort that you'll have to look for, but don't be surprised if you see it plated on paper plates... so I don't have to do as many dishes later.

I am ashamed...

I've been a bad blogger. Really when have I been a good blogger? ;-) I've been cooking a lot of fun meals lately, but I've been apathetic about photographing my meals. I do have a few recipes for you all, though.

Not a whole lot has been happening around the house lately. DH hasn't had as many weddings to photograph this fall, which has been nice because it means we can spend more lazy weekends around the apartment. One miracle is that I've been a little better about staying on top of the chores around the house, which is nice. Now our dishwasher's being annoying, so we'll have to get one of the maintenance people out here to fix it. I cook too much not to have a working dishwasher.

We recently had the fall kickoff for our Youth Ministry at church, which was awesome. I am so looking forward to the things that God will do this year in our Lower (and Upper) School Ministry! A few favourite photos...

One of my favourite friends ever!

Two beautiful girls in my lifegroup!

Gonna miss these girls! (They are going up to Upper School) :-(

Two more girls in my lifegroup doing motions for Mercy is Falling

Worship led by Aaron and Jordan (and others)

I haven't been able to get in much substitute teaching so far this year, so I spend most of my days watching country music videos, Desperate Housewives, and Grey's Anatomy, planning meals, and playing games on the internet. Oh what an exciting life I lead. I made a commitment to start running for real when September hit and I've been good so far about getting to the gym or on the road (it all depends on the weather). I've run just over 13 miles so far this month, which is not amazing by any stretch of the imagination, but it's pretty darn good for me just starting out again. I plan on doing at least 3 miles tonight on the treadmill (it's a hot one today).

Anyway... Some eats...

Basil Chicken in a Coconut-Curry Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 16 oz chicken breast
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1/2 of a large red onion, cut into thin wedges (1 cup)
• 2 fresh jalapeno chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 13.5- or 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk, low fat fine
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons snipped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 4 servings hot cooked rice

Directions

1. In a medium bowl combine curry powder, black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the chili powder. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Add to spice mixture in bowl; toss to coat. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours to allow spices to penetrate meat. 
2. Spray oil into a wok or large nonstick skillet; heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, jalapeno peppers, and garlic to wok; cook and stir about 8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove onion mixture from wok. Add half of the chicken to wok. Cook and stir for 4 to 6 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove from wok. Repeat with remaining chicken. (I have a huge wok, so I cooked it all at once)
3. Stir together coconut milk, cornstarch, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt until smooth. Carefully add to wok. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Return chicken and the onion mixture to wok. Stir in basil and ginger. Cook and stir about 2 minutes or until heated through. Serve over hot rice. Makes 4 servings.

Review: More like Curry Chicken in Coconut-Basil Sauce, but you can't taste the sweetness of the coconut... or the basil. Maybe my curry is too spicy. I still LOVED the recipe though. It was DELICIOUS. I can't wait to eat the leftovers in a couple of minutes.

Beef and Chipotle Burritos

no photo available

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless beef round steak, cut 3/4 inch thick
• 1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/3 cup chopped onion (1 small)
• 1 to 2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 6 9- to 10-inch tomato-flavored or plain flour tortillas, warmed
• 3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (3 ounces)
• 1 recipe Pico de Gallo Salsa
• Shredded jicama or radishes (optional)
• Dairy sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Trim fat from meat. Cut meat into 6 pieces. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker place meat, undrained tomatoes, onion, chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin, and garlic.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 8 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4 to 5 hours. Remove meat from cooker. Using 2 forks, pull meat apart into shreds. Place meat in a large bowl. Stir in enough cooking liquid to reach desired consistency. Divide meat among warm tortillas, spooning it just below the centers. Top with cheese, Pico de Gallo Salsa, and, if desired, jicama and sour cream. Roll up tortillas. Makes 6 servings.

Pico de Gallo Salsa: In a medium bowl combine 2 finely chopped medium tomatoes; 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion; 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro; 1 fresh serrano chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped (see tip); and dash sugar. Cover; chill several hours.

Review: This was my second attempt at a slow-cooker meal after a miserable fail about a year ago. I LOVE this recipe. This will have to be a regular recipe. It was SO good. Very spicy, but not too spicy. We didn't use the jicama or the sour cream. It was sooooooooo good though. Yum.