Motivation? Where did you go??

I have had next to no motivation over the last 3 weeks or so. When I had a couple of weeks off in between jobs - I was tracking every bit (almost every bit) of food that went in my mouth, going to the gym 4-5 times each week, and getting things done. That makes sense because I had a ton of time.

However, in my previous job I had a routine. I made time to track my food and I made time to hit the gym. I am still trying to find that groove and that routine in my new job. Granted, I this is only the beginning of my fourth week. I just think it's about time I get back into the gym routine.

On top of going to the gym, I need to get back on top of my eating habits. Yesterday Justin and I had Chinese buffet...and I had Chinese Tuesday and Friday last week (because work people were ordering that). And tonight he is bringing us home Chipotle. Oye, not good!!

Needless to say, my new year's resolution of running 500 miles this year has gone to the back burner until I can find my routine.

At this time I am asking everyone to keep an eye out for my motivation..it's seriously missing. Thanks! :)

Happy holidays!

I hope that everyone is enjoying their holiday season. Justin and I had a great Christmas with our families. Hopefully it is our last one that we have to drive from KC to Columbia. *fingers crossed*

We both had to work Christmas eve (2-1030 for me and 830p-7a for him). That's just the joy of being hospital employees. We drove home after Justin got off work on Friday morning. The drive was not fun - it was through a snow storm. We made it though.

The entire weekend was BUSY. We had about 6 different Christmases with different families. Unfortunately, for us, the holidays means lots of running around to different places. We never get to spend as much time with each family as we would like.

I just have a few key points from this holiday....

1. I drove about 80 miles through a snow storm down i-70 on Friday morning. For anyone that knows me or my mom - you know that is a MAJOR accomplishment. I absolutely hate driving in the snow. I freak out.

2. Oreo balls are my new favorite thing. I am trying to figure out how I made it this far in my life without discovering them.

3. Board games with the family might be my absolute favorite thing to do. Board games with anyone, really. I love them. Apples to apples, Taboo, Catch Phrase, Guestures...any of them. We had a big (12 person), 2 hour game of Guestures on Friday night. That was a blast!

Again, I hope that everyone has had a great holiday season. You may (or may not) be pleased to find out that one of my new year's resolutions is to blog at least 3 times a week. I might need anyone who reads this to hold me to it. Feel free to ask questions in the comments on topics that you might want me to talk about.

From the Foster's, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Pumpkin butterscotch cookies

Last week we went to the Mizzou v Nebraska football game. We brought a few friends so I thought I should contribute to the food of the tailgate. That and I saw this recipe and wanted to try it out.

Let me start by saying that I am NOT a baker. Typically when I attempt to bake, something goes wrong. I am happy to say that NOTHING went wrong this time. I am pretty happy about that.

These cookies went over quite nicely at the tailgate...until they got completely rained on. Apparently the container had standing water in it by the end of the night. They made for good hangover breakfast the next day for the fam anyway. :)

I didn't take any pics (remember, my iphone camera is broken??). Here is a pic from Heather's blog which is where I got the recipe in the first place.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened)

1/4 cup canola or corn oil (I used all applesauce...so 3/4 cup applesauce)

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups butterscotch chips (I am sure I used more)

Directions:

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray the cookie sheets with cooking spray.

2. Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt cinnamon, and nutmeg in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and light in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides as needed while mixing.

4. On low speed, mix the applesauce, oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.

5. Scoop approximately 1/4 cup of dough (using measuring cup or ice cream scoop) onto prepared cookie sheet, spacing the cookies approximately 2 1/2 inches apart.

6. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry, about 12-16 minutes. Cool them on a baking sheet for about 5 minutes , then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 30 cookies.

Enjoy!!

Yum.

I am always on the look out for quick and easy meals to take to work for dinner (I work the evening shift). I stumbled upon Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers and I have to say they are pretty darn good. They don't taste like cardboard like some of the frozen meals and other healthy meals that you can purchases basically pre-made.

The one I had yesterday was freaking awesome!! It was the Tuscany chicken. It was penne pasta with chicken in a creamy tomato sauce. I just checked the healthy choice website and they don't even have it listed on their website as an option. Weird. Anyway, I definitely recommend these little mixers if you are looking from something to take to work for lunch. They are about 300 calories with lots of protein and fiber.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

This is a quick and easy recipe. It's super good to boot. Yum! A coworker brought this soup to work for a lunch one day and printed the recipe out for everyone. The original recipe came from cooks.com

Ingredients:
1 can family size cream of chicken soup (I once used cream of celery, no biggie)
3 tablespoons of grated onion
2 tablespoons of butter
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 package fresh or frozen broccoli florets, steamed until very tender

-In a large pot, saute onion in the butter. Over low heat: Add can of soup (undiluted) to pot and stir.
-Add cheese and stir until thoroughly melted. Add milk and whisk until smooth. And broccoli and stir. Simmer until bubbly.

Variations:
-This can be good using a package of mixed broccoli and cauliflower, steamed.
-You may add 2 packages of broccoli if you like it really broccoli-y.
-After sauteing the onion, you can put all the ingredients into a crockpot and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbly.

Not the most flattering pic, but it was taken with my blackberry so that's what you get.

Chicken and Pasta Primavera

Justin requested that we have something "new" for dinner tonight. We rotate about 6-8 different dishes when we cook...needless to say, it was definitely time for a change.

We searched all the cookbooks that we have (which is quite a few...I was definitely sent a subtle hint from friends/family with the cookbooks as gifts for the wedding) for some new recipes to try.

We went with Chicken and Pasta Primavera from the "Quick fixes from brand name mixes" cookbook.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of margarine or butter
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup of water
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
1 package Knorr Recipe Classics Spring Vegetable Soup, dip and Recipe Mix
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 ounches linguine, cooked and drained

How to:
In large skillet, melt margarine over medium-high heat and cook chicken and garlic, stirring frequently, 5 minutes.
Stir in water, wine, recipe mix and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer 5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.
Toss chicken mixture with hot linguine.

I thought I got a picture with my phone, but somehow it did not save and/or send to my e-mail.

I thought it was pretty good. I am a big garlic fan and this definitely had a bunch of garlic. It's a good thing we didn't try to make this for Valentine's Day dinner because wow, we have some garlic breath. Justin gave it a 6/10 so I don't think it will be something that will be added into our normal rotation.