A few of my favorite things

1.My pink Camelbak Water bottle..cannot live without it : )


2.Target has these wonderful boyfriend tshirts for $8...and if you find them on the clearance rack they're only like $4/5. I have them in 6 different colors....

3.Black flats: Now don't get me wrong, I love heels as much as the next girl, but teaching kindergarten requires comfortable shoes

4. Map My Run: It allows you to map out a run of a certain distance and then log it afterwards to see how many minute miles. I've also heard of Run Tracker for the Iphone that does all of this as you run..I would take advantage of this if I took better care of my own phone, but I really shouldn't run with my phone : )

5. GLEE! So glad its back!

Hair today, gone tomorrow

So I decided it was time for a change..
I went from this

to this

Going through the Big D and do mean Dallas

So I'll admit it, I'm hooked on running... This past Sunday, I got to run my second half marathon with some of my sweet friends! This was so much more fun than running by myself! We had a blast!
We headed up to Dallas on Saturday morning and stopped by to see Danee. We went out on the porch to enjoy the beautiful day and managed to get locked outside : ) We did get back in the house though by jumping the fence. What a fun experience!

Once we got to Beth's we made the Marathon Cookies mentioned in a previous post.


On Saturday night we headed over to Luigi's in Rockwall to carb-up pre-race day. As always, the combination of all of the girls made for a fun, very giggly night.


On Sunday morning we got up bright and early to head to the Cotton Bowl for the Big D half marathon. We were all nervous! Carolina and I wanted to run the 13.1 miles in under 2 hours and Kelly and Beth were running their first half wanting to finish in under 2:20. So to ease our nerves we took lots of pictures.

At 8 am the race started. Carolina and I finished in 1:57! Woohoo!! Kel and Beth finished in 2:12! Woohoo! We all met our goals and were super excited to say the least.

Afterwards, we went to the Dallas Athletic Club for a yummy brunch.

Now onto the next half...probably sometime in the fall seeing as how running in the heat already seems miserable : )

1+1=2

My sweet little niece, Erin Grace, had her second birthday party the day before Easter. What a blessing it is to watch her grow. She has developed such a sweet yet spunky personality and loves to entertain : )




We went out with some fun friends Friday of that week!

Easter Sugar Cookies

Yummy Easter Sugar CookiesFrom The Little Kitchen That Could
(The technical term for this icing that goes on liquid and dries hard is royal icing. It allows you to get that smooth glossy look. )
Start with the ingredients below, but then make adjustments according to how your icing looks. You want a liquid substance, but not thick enough to hold when you outline the cookies. You can easily change the consistency by either adding a few drop of water to make it more runny or more powdered sugar to thicken it up.
Equipment
small squeeze bottles or a piping bag fitted with a small tip
small bowls or tupperware, one for each color icing you would like
Ingredients for dough
Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Dough
+ Ingredients listed on the back of the bag under Directions for Cutout Cookies
Ingredients for Icing
3 cups confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
3 tablespoons meringue powder
4 tablespoons water or milk
a pinch of salt
Step by Step
Follow directions on back of bagged cookie dough and allow to cool completely.
*A note about the cookies... when these cool, they will actually be on the crispy side. Do not throw them away! They magically become soft again when you ice them and let the icing soak into the cookie.
Mix all icing ingredients on low speed for 5 to 7 minutes or until the icing loses its shine. To test the consistency, pick up some icing with a spoon and let it drizzle back intot he bowl. The drizzle should disappear back into the bowl in about 6 seconds. If icing is too stiff, add a few drops of water. If icing is too liquid, add a bit of powdered sugar. Optional: If using different colors, divide icing into separate bowls. Add color to icing and cover until ready to use.
*If you will be using a lot of different colors or will be icing for a long time, make sure and cover any icing that is not being used because royal icing dries and hardens when exposed to air.
Icing A Sugar Cookie
-Outline the cookie with a piping bag fitted with a thin tip or a small squeeze bottle.
-Allow the border to dry slightly.
-Flood the cookine by spooning icing into the middle and smoothing it out with a spoon or knife.

Banana Bread

Banana Bread
Ingredients
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter
* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Easy Key Lime Pie

 This recipe is a quick go to dessert at our house.

Easy Key Lime Pie
Ingredients:
5 egg yolks, beaten
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed
milk
1/2 cup key lime juice
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well. Pour into unbaked graham cracker shell.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool. Top with whipped topping and garnish with lime slices if desired.

Baked Donuts

Baked DonutsFrom Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook

Ingredients
2 packages active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1-1/2 cups warm milk
1/3 cup shortening
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground nutmet
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter, melted
Glaze
½ cup butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
5 tsp water
2 tsp vanilla
Directions
*In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the milk and shortening; stir for 1 minute. Add the sugar, eggs, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and 2 cups flour; beat on low speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (do no knead). Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
*Punch dough down. Turn onto a floured surface; roll out to ½ in. thickness. Cut with a 2-3/4 in. doughnut cutter; place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Brush with butter. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes.
*Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Meanwhile, for glaze, melt butter in a saucepan. Add the confectioners’ sugar, water and vanilla; cover over low heat until smooth (do not boil). Keep warm. Dip warm doughnuts, one at a time, into glaze and turn to coat. Drain on a wire rack. Serve immediately.

Marathon Cookies

Marathon Cookies

Now don't let the ingredients deter you from making these. We made these on Saturday to eat after the half marathon. They're supposed to put some of the foods back in your body that you lose while running 13+ miles.
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/marathon-cookies-recipe.html

Better Cheddar Chicken

Better Cheddar ChickenIngredients
1 cup crushed cornflakes cereal (I used Italian bread crumbs)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 tablespoon Creole-style seasoning (I used Tony Chachere's)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup butter, melted
8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix together the cornflake crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, garlic salt, Creole seasoning, and cayenne pepper. Pour melted butter into a shallow dish. Coat each chicken breast with melted butter, and then roll in the crumb mixture. Place coated chicken into the prepared baking dish.
Bake uncovered for 40 minutes in the preheated oven, until chicken is no longer pink, and the juices run clear.

Vegetable Soup

Vegetable SoupIngredients
1 pound(s) carrots, sliced
3 medium (1 1/2 pounds) onions, chopped
4 stalk(s) celery, sliced
2 large cloves garlic, crushed with press
2 can(s) (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in juice
1/2 small (1-pound) head green cabbage, thinly sliced
3/4 pound(s) green beans, trimmed and each cut into thirds
1 can(s) (48-ounce) chicken broth
6 cup(s) water
1 teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 teaspoon(s) ground black pepper
3 medium (1 1/4 pounds) zucchini, sliced into half-moons
2 bag(s) (6 ounces each) baby spinach leaves
1 lb beef or venison
Directions
1.Coat 12-quart stockpot (or 2 large saucepans) with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until vegetables soften, stirring occasionally.
2.Add tomatoes with their liquid, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Add cabbage, green beans, broth, water, salt, and pepper; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.
3.Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to high; stir in zucchini and spinach and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.
*I followed all steps except for 3 and allowed it to cook all day in the crockpot. I then added everything in step 3 as well as 1 lb of ground venison that I had browned and allowed it to cook a little bit longer.

King Ranch Chicken

King Ranch ChickenIngredients:
* 1/4 cup margarine
* 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed cream of chicken soup
* 1 can (10 oz.) RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies
* 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
* 12 corn tortillas, torn into bite-sized pieces
* 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large saucepan, cook pepper and
onion in melted margarine until tender, about 5 minutes. Add soups,
RO*TEL and chicken, stirring until well blended. In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch
baking pan, alternately layer tortillas, soup mixture and cheese, repeating
for three layers. Bake 40 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Serves 8.
*I put everything except for the tortillas and cheese in a crockpot all day, then layered it in a pyrex dish and put it in the oven until bubbling.