2 New Recipes, C25K Challenge, Night Out

Thursday was a great work from home day – had a ton to do but got it done – woo! After work I walked/ran 5 miles - My goal was to do C25K (25 minutes)… but I could only do 18 minutes. Sad! I’m regressing! All I can do is try again next time and work back up to the 25 – and then further! I did the 5 miles in 68 minutes, burning 328 calories. Other than work and working out – I made two new recipes – one for lunch and one for dinner:

Adapted from My Once a Month Cooking
Bacon Ranch Slowcooker Chicken
4 Servings

2 butterball turkey bacon strips, cooked and shredded
1 tsp minced garlic
1 package ranch dressing mix
1 10.75 oz can condensed cream of chicken soup (98% fat free)
1 cup fat-free sour cream
16 oz. chicken breasts
8 oz. pasta (I used rigatoni)

Combine the first five ingredients. Place chicken in slowcooker and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high for 3.5 hours. Serve over hot noodles.



Nutritional Information: 456 calories, 61 carbs, 5 fat grams and 36 protein grams.

Review: This tasted like it was SO bad for me! I loved how creamy it came out - it almost tasted cheesy even though I didn't have cheese. I'm going to make this again immediately - wonderful comfort food!

Adapted from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Taco Pasta
4 Servings

1 pound 96/4 ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 8-oz package small pasta of your choice (I combined penne and farfalle)
1 4-oz can diced green chiles
1 cup fat-free shredded cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni per instructions. In a skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat. Add taco seasoning, tomato sauce, and green chilies. Stir in cooked macaroni. Place in a 9×13 pan. Top with cheese. Cover in foil. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes or until heated through.

Before the oven!

Nutritional Information: 451 calories, 56 carbs, 5 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

Review: Yummy, yum! I had never thought to do a mexican-inspired pasta! It was spicy (thank you green chiles!) and had lots of flavor. It was also really filling and reheated well - definitely going to make this again. Austin loved it too - maybe even more than me!

Yay! I love cooking!! I ended up at 1,726 calories, 207 carbs, 25 fat grams and 103 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Friday I had SUCH a busy workday – crazy! I only stopped for a 4-mile work during lunch (burned 185 calories) then was back to it! After work Stacy followed me home and we let Reuben out/hung out with him and then I grabbed my stuff – time to go to Stacy’s and get ready and go out! I made Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti for the group then headed out with Stacy, Shane and two of Stacy’s besties/bridesmaids-to-be Mandy and Jenny, in town from Charleston! We all went to Frontpage News and had such a blast hanging out, having a few drinkies and dancing around to Block Party – SO fun! Austin came to meet us later (he was out of town for work!) – so much fun!
Me and Austin

Austin ruined our pic! LOL

Stacy & Jenny!

Austin still being silly

4 of 6 of Stacy's BM's - Danielle, me, Stacy, Jenny and Mandy

Austin & Shane and the boys being silly

Me and Austin!

yes, we got silly!

When we got ready to go though we realized one of our purses was missing – lovely –someone stole it. L Sad!! I felt so bad for Mandy! We ended up cabbing it home and calling it a night. Stats: 2,246 calories, 210 carbs, 37 fat grams and 114 protein grams. Here’s what I ate and drank.

Saturday I woke up early – way too early! I just couldn’t wait to get back to Stephenie Meyer’s The Host, so I read all morning, only breaking to have spicy Thai linguine! I ended up finishing it around noon! I'll have to post the review tomorrow - just loved it!! After the amazing book I showered and headed to Wedding Angels to meet Stacy and Jenny, then down to Buckhead to get Austin’s car. Also, I test drove some FJ Cruisers! I had started getting nervous that they were too big for me… but it felt really comfortable and I liked it! I’m not 100% sold on this car yet, but definitely like it if I decide to get another car! After car shopping we hit up our favorite – Fellini’s – for mushroom pizzas and salads. I had this for lunch and dinner, and me and Austin just hung out and watched movies: Monsters vs. Aliens (cute and funny – kind of sad though) and then You Kill Me (dark humor – pretty funny; love Tea Leoni). Great, relaxing day – just wish my allergies weren’t bothering me so much. Boo! I ended up at 1,773 calories, 206 carbs, 55 fat grams and 60 protein grams. Here’s what I ate.

Today I want to do lots of things, but feel a. w. f. u.l. We’ll see – maybe I’ll at least make it to the gym or grocery store – it’s not looking good though.