Cheesy & Easy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole

On Sunday night, we wanted something quick, tasty, and cheesy for dinner.  I found the perfect recipe on Eating Well and we whipped it up.

I've never made a casserole before because honestly I didn't think people still made casseroles.  I put casseroles in the same category as fruitcakes and jello molds; something people make, and no one really likes, but someone always brings it to the party anyway.  But that's just me...

The Kitchen Table. Complete with Gurgle Pot!

For my first casserole, I think it came out pretty good, but I must say the directions are pretty fool-proof.

Cheesy & Easy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole (adapted from Eating Well Stovetop Chicken & Broccoli Casserole)

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces egg noodles
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 3 chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/3 head Broccoli
• 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
• 1/2 cup low fat Miracle Whip
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups shredded low fat Cheddar cheese

Step one: put uncooked egg noodles in skillet, pour chicken broth over them, put raw chicken over that, and then top with broccoli.
Step two:  Whisk together flour, mayo, milk, mustard, and pepper.  Pour mixture over ingredients in skillet.
Step three:  Simmer in pan. 
Step four:  Sprinkle top of casserole with shredded cheddar and bake for 3 more minutes. How easy!

CJ and I were pretty skeptical of the directions,  I've never thrown a bunch of raw ingredients in a pan like that before and just let it simmer.  I guess that's just how casseroles roll.

 I think I just might have a new found respect for casseroles.

What a Crazy Week It's Been...

The moving has begun!
I got a call on Tuesday from our landlord saying that we could pick up the keys, and move in as early as Wednesday night, and that's exactly what we did.

I wasn't expecting to move in until this weekend so I didn't have everything ready.  My dad has been super helpful, and he brought a lot of the furniture over on Thursday (while CJ and I were at work) with the help of my brother.  We brought over the rest of the stuff gradually, a few boxes each night, so it wasn't as overwhelming as doing it all in one day.

I can't believe how fast this is all happening! Here's a sneak peak at the place:

I love this bedding! I got it at Marshalls for $40.  I haven't taken many pictures yet because it's not all set up.  More pics to come!

I've only had time to squeeze in a few workouts this week, :(,  but I've definitely been active with all the moving.

Monday: I went for a nice 5 mile run around my (old) neighborhood.
Time: 47:07
Pace: 9:25

On Tuesday I went to a free weights class at my gym.  I've been a cardio junkie for so long, it's nice to try something different to add to my workout routine.

On Wednesday I moved some heavy furniture and went up and down stairs a lot so I'm counting that as my exercise.

On Thursday, I was too exhausted to do any type of exercise.  Moving, packing, unpacking, setting up, and getting used to a new environment is sensory overload!

On Friday I went for a 2.5 mile run around my new neighborhood! Can't wait to find new running routes.  I finished the run in about 23 minutes.

On Saturday I went to my hour long pump class, which I love! I really look forward to it now.

Saturday night was pizza night.  We picked up some pizza dough, sauce, cheese, and broccoli.  I bought a pizza pan at the dollar store (my new favorite place!).  We also had some leftover meatballs so we threw those on the pizza, too.

I haven't been able to blog to much because a.  I've been super busy, and b. we don't have internet at the new place yet, (I'm blogging now from my parents house). 

The internet is being hooked up on Monday, so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon!

BIG news!

I have some big news to share!

Hint: It has to do with my 2012 goals...

and no I haven't mastered the crane pose in yoga...

I'm moving out!
Yup, that's right, I'm leaving the nest!  Baby bird is going out on her own!  But not all alone...CJ is coming too!

source

We have just a week left before we move in!

Luckily, I already have most of the furniture we need.  We have a couch, bed, table, dresser, etc. and we also have very generous family members and friends to donate kitchen essentials and other odds and ends. 

I know this is a big step for me, personally, and a very big step for us as a couple.  We have been together for a little over 3 years, and at this point, we both really want to have our own place.

So, we found a cute and spacious one bedroom, and signed a lease!

A few months ago, I was planning on staying at home for another year, but circumstances changed, and we are taking a leap of faith.  The timing has been great so far, CJ just got a promotion at work, and I just got a raise.

Hopefully I'll be able to make our space look and feel like home.  I plan on sharing all my DIY home improvement projects on this blog.  Remember the table I refinished?  You can expect to see more of that sort of thing.

I'm really excited/nervous, and I wanted to wait until I told most of my close friends and family before sharing it on the blog.

Cauliflower Overload

I've eaten more cauliflower in the past 2 days than I have in the past 10 years.
 
On Friday night, CJ and I made Cauliflower Mac n Cheese (sadly, no peas)!
It was really delicious and filling. The recipe I used was from Real Simple.  We altered it a little bit just because of what we had on hand for ingredients. My only complaint was that I wished it was a little cheesier.  I'll remember to add more cheese next time.

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces elbow macaroni
• 1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
• 4 slices wheat bread bread, torn
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and black pepper
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese mix
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup 1 percent milk
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

We boiled water for the pasta, and cooked it following the directions on the package.  In the last three minutes of cooking, we added the chopped up cauliflower.

In a pan, we sauteed the onions.  In a food processor, we put the torn-up bread slices, and processed until crumbs were formed.  To the bread crumbs, I added the olive oil and salt and pepper.
As the pasta and cauliflower were cooking, I mixed together the sour cream, cheese, mustard, and milk.

After we drained the pasta and cauliflower, we added in the cheese mixture, and topped it with breadcrumbs.  We baked that for about 20 minutes.

The finished product!

It was a very satisfying dinner.  I know I've made a good dinner when I don't crave a dessert right after eating.

Tonight we're making turkey burgers, roasted cauliflower, and sweet potato fries.  Yumm yumm yumm.

To roast the cauliflower, I preheated the oven to 450*.  I put the cauliflower in a bowl and coated them with olive oil  Then we laid them on a baking sheet along with the sweet potato fries.

To make the turkey burgers we mixed lean ground turkey with garlic, onions, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.  CJ has A LOT of grilling experience so I let him handle cooking them.  He even has a special method for shaping them: first he makes the patty and then he makes an indent in the middle of the burger so it doesn't puff up when cooking and the result is a flat and even burger.

We cooked the burgers in a cast iron pan while the fries and cauliflower were baking in the oven.  I made a special trip out to pick up my favorite wine, Cupcake Malbec.  Mmmm. Another satisfying dinner!

table for 2

I'm off to enjoy another glass of wine.  See ya!

Right Brained or Left Brained?

When I first saw this Mercedes Benz ad (random, right?)  I had to check and see which one I am.

If you can't read it:

I obviously wanted to be the colorful fun-looking side, not the boring, bland side! They make the right brain side look way better, right? (or is that my right brain talking?)

Maybe this ad is a little bit biased towards right brained people.  Who wants to be boring left-brain, when you can be colorful awesome right brain? (again, is this my right brain talking?)

Then I wondered: What does this ad have to do with their brand?  Are they trying to sell more Mercedes to right brained people? Who knows!

So, I tried to figure out which side I belong on.

Left brain:
I like science, I definitely like the familiar, I'm in control, I'm practical, and I'm realistic.  Playing with numbers is part of my job, and I am addicted to Sudoku.

Right brain:
I am taste, I guess.  I like food, if that's what they mean.
I'm definitely movement!  I love to walk, run, and dance.  Love the feeling of sand beneath my feet.  I sense, and I feel.

Conclusion:
Since I couldn't strictly go by the above illustration, I took an online quiz to find out more. Try it for yourself!
The results:  I'm 35% left brained and 65% right brained.  How accurate is this?  No idea. Do I agree with it?  I guess so.

It makes sense to me that I wouldn't be 100% right or left brained.  I'm not sure if I actually do lean more to the right than the left.  It could be that I want to be more right brained, because I happen to find those qualities appealing.  I don't know much about the psychology of "right brained" and "left brained" idea, but I think it's pretty interesting.  

I tried to think of how this idea applies to my close friends and family.  Some people I know definitely lean more towards one side (my friend Shiloh fits the above right brained description perfectly, and my brother is definitely mostly left brained), but the majority of people are a balance of both.

What do you think?  Are you right brained, left brained, mixture of both, or is this all a bunch of hooey?

Dreams Don't Always Come True...

The night before the B.A.A. 5k, I dreamt that I ran the race in 16 minutes...and then my alarm went off, and I realized it was only dream.  Imagine my disappointment!

I hopped out of bed, skipped the shower (what's the point?) and made some coffee.  I have been cutting back on my coffee consumption lately, so I only had half a cup.

On my way out the door, I toasted a sesame bagel and smeared it with whipped cream cheese.  I don't know if it was my nerves, the coffee, or the food, but my stomach wasn't very happy with me.  I'm still trying to perfect my "race day" routine. 

I met up with my friend Stacey (who kicked my butt in the Black cat Race) and her friend Sydney. They also brought along a personal coat rack, Stacey's boyfriend, Alex. He was such a champ to wake up that early on a Sunday just to hold our stuff, cheer us on, and take our picture.

This race had 6000 participants, so it was really crowded.  We made the mistake of getting into the line up pretty late, so we were at the end of the pack.  I lost Stacey and Sydney almost right away.  I spent the rest of the race weaving in and out of people, and trying not to trample all the 10 year olds.

My goal was to PR and finish in 26 minutes.  Sadly, It didn't happen! :(

Official time: 27:17
Nike+ Pace: 8:23

I liked this race a lot, and I plan to do it again next year.  They gave out sweet medals (Yay for Unicorns!), nice tech shirts, and little food bags with bagels, Gatorade, a cup of fruit, sparkling grape juice(?), and a Powerbar. 

Another awesome thing about this race is that the finish line is the same for the Boston Marathon, so when you cross the finish line, you can pretend you ran the marathon instead of the 5k, which is exactly what I did. :)

My Trusty Taste-Tester

Hope you all had a nice Saturday! (I almost just typed "Ya'll" ...ew)

The weather has been crazy, 70 degrees yesterday and 75 degrees today, and 88 degrees on Monday.  I hope all the people running the Boston Marathon tomorrow can handle the heat!

Today, I ran the B.A.A 5k, and since it started at 8 am, I wasn't too hot yet.  More on that later though...

My training for this week has consisted of 3 runs: 2 tabata runs, and a 3 mile run, and Saturday morning I took the "Pump" class at my gym again to get some strength training in.  In retrospect, not sure if this was a good idea the day before a race....my legs were super sore!

I wish my gym offered this class more than once a week! I stayed with the same amount of weight as last class, I'm still trying to figure out how much I can handle.


Now let's talk about my favorite thing: Food!

Friday night's dinner wasn't the healthiest, but it was one of the tastiest I've had in a while.  CJ and I made chicken parm.

We dipped the chicken breasts in an egg and milk mixture, then rolled them in bread crumbs.  Then we fried them in olive oil. 

Once the chicken was cooked through, we baked it in the oven with low-fat mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, we were boiling the whole wheat linguini.  Since I am the Queen of under cooking things (I'm very impatient),  I had my trusty taste-tester make sure the pasta was done.

<3 him

After taking the chicken out of the oven, the pasta was ready too, so we layered the chicken breasts on the pasta.  Voila!

It was delicious! Comfort food is always worth the calories.

(B.A.A 5k race recap and review to come! still waiting for my official results)

My Fi(r)st Pump Class

Hey everyone!  Did you notice anything new about my blog? Look up!
Do you see the new logo? What do you think about it? 
Personally, I love it :)

Hope you had a great Easter!
Mine was filled with family, food, and egg-hiding fun.

But, I did more than egg hunt this weekend, I tried a new workout!

I took my first "Pump" class at the gym.  "Body Pump" is a trademarked Les Mills group fitness class, but my gym does a generic copycat version.  It was just the kind of workout I've been wanting to try.  Like a lot of girls, strength training intimidates me, and I feel uncomfortable in the free weight section of my gym.  I took this class because I wanted to learn some basic strength training moves.

I loved the class so much, I can't wait to go again this weekend.  The class is done with a weight bar, and adjustable weights.  I took 2.5 lb weights and 5 lb weights, so my bar never held more than 15lbs for any exercise.  Since It was my first class, I didn't want to over do it.

We started with a warm-up that went through all the moves we would be doing throughout the class.  After the warm-up, each song focused on a different part of the body.  There was a squat song, a biceps song, and so on.  Before each song, there is a short break so you can change the amount of weights on your bar.  By the end of the class, I felt like I had worked most major muscles in my body.  I'm excited to add this class to my workout schedule.

The B.A.A 5k is this Sunday, so I've been doing some Tabata runs to try to improve my speed.  Tonight after work, I hopped on the treadmill and did one.  I love them because they only take 17-18 minutes, but they are super effective.

My goal for this 5k is to beat my previous time of 26:34.  I'd love to get a PR.

Spelt Pancakes with Carmelized Bananas

Sometimes breakfast for dinner just feels right, and when it does, I make pancakes!

Last night, when I got home from work, I was craving something sweet and filling.  I found a bag of spelt flour in my kitchen and decided to look up a recipe for spelt pancakes.  I halved that recipe since we only needed enough pancakes for two.

Adapted from Whole grain council recipe:

1 cup whole spelt flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups 1% milk(we added a little more milk than the recipe called for)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

What is so special about Spelt?
Spelt is an ancient grain with a nut-like and slightly sweet flavor.  Spelt is popular due to it's high protein and nutrient composition.  Spelt is a good source of calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, iron, and manganese. It also has vitamin E and B-complex vitamins, especially niacin.
Spelt can be used in place of whole wheat flour in most recipes.


As I made the pancake batter, CJ looked up a simple carmelized banana recipe, and whipped those up too.

Once the pancakes were done, we topped them with the bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  They really hit the spot!

Not Inclined to Incline

Today after work, I had planned to go take a class at my gym.  Instead, I decided to stay home and go for a run on my treadmill.  Even though it was sunny outside, I whimped out and went for a run on the old hamster wheel.  After a long winter of many outdoor runs, I just can't handle any more.  Where is the warm spring weather?  I'm getting impatient!

I ran 3 miles, 5 min warm-up, usual pace(9:30-9:03), and 1.0 incline.

I haven't been running much lately so this was tougher than I expected, especially since you know I never do an incline.  I got to get back into the swing of things!

This is my scenery while running.  What, you didn't think people my age read Woman's Day?  It has good recipes, and I like to read about Valerie Bertinelli's attempts to stay relevant, and how she named her son Wolfie.  Poor Kid.

After my run, I cooled down, stretched, did a few planks, and headed upstairs for dinner.

On the menu:  Chicken Caesar Salads:

Weekly Workouts:
Mon- 3 mile run (Check!)
Tuesday:  Pump or Cardio Kick Boxing
Wednesday:  Yoga or possibly off
Thursday: 3 mile run
Friday: Off
Sat: Pump
Sunday:  Elliptical Workout + Abs

In Other News....
A friend of mine is designing a logo for Mac&Cheese&Peas, so you can expect to see that soon! I'm really excited about it.

As promised, here are some photos of the completed table.  I love how it came out.  I picked up the hardware from Anthropologie for $6, making the total cost of this project only $6.  I used leftover paint and brushes.  How's that for design on a dime??

 Are you working on any DIY projects at home? I'd love to hear!