New Mexican Recipe, Book Review, 10K Training

Happy Friday! Going to kick off this post with a new recipe and book review - yay!! First up - New Recipe I found on Real Mom Kitchen.

Skillet Tacos
Makes 4 Servings

1 pound 96/4 ground beef
1 small red onion, chopped
1 can corn, rinsed drained
10 corn tortillas (6 inches),cut into 1-inch pieces with pizza cutter
1 8-oz. bottle taco sauce
1 cup cabot 75% cheese, divided

In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
Add drained corn, taco sauce, and ¾ cup cheese to meat until well mixed. Mix in tortilla pieces and heat through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Nutritional Information: 426 calories, 44 carbs, 10 fat grams and 38 protein grams.

Review: Great! I thought it was just the right amount of beef/tortillas and cheese. It may have had too much corn for me (not a huge fan) but I can deal with it! Or switch it out for black beans or something - could be fun! This recipe was super easy to make and easy to portion out/reheat/etc. You can definitely make it your own too by topping it with salsa or fat-free sour cream, even lettuce! Skillet tacos will be made again at my house - thanks Real Mom Kitchen!

Now it's book review time! Here is my book review for James Patterson’s The 5^th Horseman. This book was part of the Women’s Murder Club series, meaning it focused on the same group of strong female characters, a cop, a lawyer, a reporter and a mortician. As usual it was fast-paced, full of twists and told from multiple perspectives. The plot centered around mysterious deaths at a hospital – patients going in with broken arms and never coming out… is someone at the hospital murdering them? Is it just malpractice? There was also a side mystery that was really interesting, as well as a court case centered around a class action suit against the hospital. Great mystery that I really enjoyed listening to – very Law & Order meets Crossing Jordan. I give it a 4 out of 5. Would have been a 5 if the end had been a bit more compelling and if the side mystery had fit in better – felt a bit like a tack on? Either way – good read, and I’m excited to read another Patterson book, 4^th of July (yes, technically came first in the series but I’ve heard it doesn’t matter!).

To Answer Your book-related questions: Nope, not really reading more than normal - just so happened they all kind of ended around the same time. Really, the bulk of the 5th Horseman was read in August! And as far as print vs. audio - I always have one audio book going at a time for my commutes, and 1-2 print books too (small-print books for home and larger-print books for treadmill - for instance, Jodi Picoult's font is too small to read while i'm working out!). :)

To sum up Wednesday: Just worked, walked 4 miles during lunch, worked more, then after work walked 1/4 mile and ran 3 miles straight at 6.3 mph. Woo! Then hit up Macy's for baby Emma's birthday gift, then home to shower and chill with the family! I ended up at 1,869 calories, 139 carbs, 65 fat grams and 109 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

To sum up yesterday/Thursday: Just worked, took my lunch to buy the car... it wasn't ready and I was LIVID. So we swung by the grocery store for next week's meal plan. GRRR. Then I worked more and went back after work (skipping yet another workout) and it still wasn't ready. I was furious, ready to walk out, high drama, then they fixed it/made it work and we left at 6:30 - the new owners of a 2007 Black Lexus RX 400H!!! Love it! We swung by the house to pick up dinner/drinks - then headed over to Katie and Cush's to watch Auburn's turnover-heavy football game against Mississippi State. WE WON! But really, we just made fewer mistakes than they did. We handed them the first TD. GRRR. Oh well - it's only the first game - we'll get better and our defense will get stronger for sure!! We had a few drinks and caught up with them, then headed home, finished packing and called it a night. I ended up a little high at 2,058 calories, 266 carbs, 35 fat grams and 91 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Q: Do you hate buying cars? I do. I really hated this process. It was downright painful. I'm such a whine-baby.

Q: Whatcha doing this weekend? We're back to Birmingham, Ala., tonight for Austin's brother's high school football game tonight, then over to the Velotas's tomorrow for baby Emma's tailgate birthday! So excited to wear my orange and blue, tailgate with my college besties and watch some football/day drink!