Continued

Okay so here's the recipe for the last dinner pictured, for some reason I couldn't write what I wanted to on the last post.

Roasted Potato and Turkey Salad
12 whole tiny new potatoes (about 1 pound)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp dijon-style mustard
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
1 pound cooked turkey, cut into bite-size strips (3 cups)
4 slices turkey bacon, crisp-cooked, drained and crumbled
1 small red onion, sliced and separated into rings (i used a sweet onion, red are too strong for me)
1/4 cup snipped fresh Italian Parsley
6 cups torn mixed greens (such as romaine, spinach and leaf lettuce)

Scrub potatoes; prick each potato 2 or 3 times with a fork. Place potatoes in a shallow baking pan, drizzle with the 2 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender; stirring twice. Cool completely. Cut cooled potatoes into quarters.

For dressing, in a small bown whisk together the 1/3 cup olive oil, mustard, garlic and 1/2 tsp pepper.

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, turkey, bacon, red onion, and Italian parsley. Add the dressing, tossing gently to coat. Arrange the mixed greens on six dinner plates, spoon turkey mixture over greens. Makes 6 servings.

Like I said, I REALLY enjoyed this recipe and can't wait to have it again soon. Now, on to SELF IMAGE....I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Probably because I have been lacking in this area. Why do women, or myself, have such a problem with liking OURSELVES. Liking myself and my body how it is RiGhT NoW....having self confidence in myself and the way that I look. I don't watch TV, or see the "stars" often...so I don't ever COMPARE myself with them, or want my body to even look like them. I don't feel like I'm hounded with seeing the "perfectness" of hollywood so I would think that I'd have better feelings about myself in general. But sometimes, that just IS NOT THE WAY. I can admit, I have a pretty good body, and I am proud of myself for the things that I have accomplished and the things I have done to get my body where it is today. But what is it, that creeps into my mind, that makes me doubt that? What is it, that makes me look in the mirror and think that it's not good enough? What is it, after working SO hard, makes me shy away from my husband? What is it that makes me feel not good enough for even him? I like feeling confident in myself, and being able to look in the mirror and say, Hell Yeah! I look amazing!!!! I am happy with myself, I am happy in my own skin...but there are those times where I doubt it---and that SUCKS.

Yummy Dinners and Self Image

Both of these recipes I got from a cook book that I've had for a long time, but never tried anything from it. The cookbook was from Better Homes and Gardens. The first recipe is called Grecian-Style Chicken. We really liked it, but all felt like it was missing some seasoning. I'd make it again, if I knew what to season it with. We just added some salt to it, but it could be really good with something else. It calls for Feta cheese and I forgot that part, so that could have added some more flavor to it as well.

Grecian-Style Chicken
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or fine dry bread crumbs (I used raw wheat germ)
4 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1/2 of a medium green sweet pepper, chopped
1/2 of a medium onion, sliced and separated into rings
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 tsp salt
dash ground black pepper
2 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
2 tablespoons water
4 tsp lime juice or lemon juice
3 cups hot cooked orzo, couscous, or rice (I used brown rice)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 ounces)

Place wheat germ or bread crumbs in a shallow bowl; coat chicken with the wheat germ or bread crubms. In a large skillet heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat; add chicken and cook for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender and no longer pink, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

In same skillet heat remaining oil; add zucchini, sweet pepper, onion, garlic, salt, and black pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Add tomato wedges, water, and lime or lemon juice; cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat.

To serve, divide orzo, couscous, or rice among four dinner plates. Spoon vegetable mixture over; place chicken on top of vegetables. Sprinkle feta cheese over chicken. Makes 4 servings.

Tonights dinner was this:

And it was SO GOOD. Nathan and I absolutely LOVED it...I will definitely be making it again. The kids really liked it too. The mixture of flavors was delightful to my tongue!!! I think the best part was the potatoes...mmmmm...

One Good Thing About Summer

The FRUIT!!!! Ahhhh, I love summer fruit!!! It makes for WONDERFUL snacks during the day. My little Walker-man LOVES the pineapple already!!! I have to MAKE him stop eating it!!! He's not too hip on the strawberries yet for some reason! But he also LOVES watermelon, just like my girls!

I have started my training again. I took ALL of last week off from running, it felt good to have a bit of a break, but I'm ready to get back on the train!!! I did 4 miles yesterday and Saturday and it felt pretty good. Saturday my shins were hurting pretty bad the first mile, but were okay after that. Yesterday I did the 4 miles while pushing Walker in the jogging stroller, I much prefer running ON MY OWN!!! But, you do what you gotta do I guess!!

Fajitas and YOGA

Todays workout: POWER YOGA which was much needed! I really deserved a good stretch and it felt SO good. It's been a while since I've done my yoga and I enjoyed it very much!

For dinner tonight I made fajitas...super EASY fajitas...I got this idea from my sister in law Leah a few years ago when we visited her in Texas. They are very easy and very yummy:) I LOVE the yellow bell pepper in them! So tasty!!!

Slice up 1-2 yellow(or orange) bell peppers and one onion. Put about 1/2 tbsp butter in your pan and sautee the veggies for about 3-5 minutes or so on medium heat...just until the onions are transparent.
Then I add a can of shredded chicken and add the spices. Salt and Pepper, chili powder, garlic salt, and onion powder..I don't measure, just do whatever looks good!
Put some sour cream on your tortilla (I use wheat), the chicken mixture, little cheese and salsa and your good to go! Then just roll it up like a burrito, or however you want!

Dinner & Workouts

This was tonights dinner...thanks to Heather over at Downright Delish. Nathan and I really liked it! Very light and healthy, yet filling! Unfortunately, NONE of the kids agreed with us. I think it was the vinegar flavor that they didn't like. I'm pretty sure they all went to bed hungry tonight, because I don't make something else when they don't like it! (yes, i'm mean) Dinner is dinner, take it or leave it!! Anyway....I really liked the cherry tomatoes and the added flavor of the bacon. The only thing I did differently with the recipe was used Turkey Bacon instead of regular. (I use turkey bacon for everything)

As for workouts this week, I am taking a week off of my running schedule...give myself a little time to recover from the race. However, I am doing my P90X workouts this week, so that's not much time off!!! Yesterday I did back and chest...and today I did Plyometrics (jump training). Holy sheesh...that was a rough one. It's been a while since I've done that one and I was DEFINITELY feeling it. Pretty darn sure my legs will be sore from that one! It's a great feeling!!!

1/2 Marathon Results

Completion time: 2 hours, 19 minutes, 11 seconds
Pace per mile: 10:37
Out of 37 women my age, I came in at #26
Out of 220 women overall, I came in at #109

I am really happy with my results. It was a REALLY tough race...I struggled with a lot of things on this race. Elevation being a main one, the amount of hills, and on about mile 8 I was doubled over on the side of the road in tears because of a HORRIBLE side cramp....I knew I had to get my head where it needed to be if I was going to finish the race....so I just kept going...plugging along...and finished pretty well. I beat my time from my last race and I am really happy with my Pace per mile. As I was running I realized that the race was all about me, nobody else. I didn't know ANYBODY else on that race (except Christine of course) and I wasn't running it for them. It was all about me and what I wanted to accomplish.....GO ME!!! :)

Dinners and Excessive SNACKING!

This is last nights dinner...it's called 3 Bean Avocado Dip...I really LOVE it and so does the hubby. Kids like it, I think only because they get to each Tortilla Chips with it! It reminds me kind of like a Chili recipe, but without meat.
I just LOVE all the beans in it...Black, Kidney and Pinto...YUM I'll post the recipe at another time!
THIS is tonights dinner (sorry for the bad picture) I was SO not in the mood to cook dinner tonight for some reason...and what I was going to make, I couldn't becuase my yellow peppers that were in the fridge, went bad on me. So, Nathan had the idea of doing breakfast burritos...and it was so very good!!!
Just eggs, sausage and whatever spices he put in there...little cheese on top, wrapped up in a nice wheat tortilla! I paired it w/a side of apples on the side too...I think the best part was that I didn't have to make it!!!

Now, on to the SNACKING...I don't know what my deal is this week...but I feel like I'm CONSTANTLY snacking on stuff! Today was actually the first day I didn't do a lot of snacking, and I was actually surprised at myself! Because the last few days have been retarded!! ha! I've been 100% with my NO sugar/sweets this week which I'm very happy with...(especially since my 1/2 marathon is THIS SATURDAY!) but I'm sure my calorie intake has been pretty high because of the constant eating!! Oh well, next week is a new week!!! Wish me luck on my big race!!! :) I'm totally ready for it and SO excited!! Woohoo!