Happy Halloween

This morning was very cold when I got up at 4:45 to go meet my Back on my Feet team for our morning run. Since it was Halloween I stopped at Dunkin Donuts on my way to the run and got some muffins and munchkins to have after our run.

Munchkins

Once I arrived another volunteer had some glow sticks, leis and funny noses for us to wear. We put on our festive gear then headed out for a short 2 mile run.

We got back to Father Bills slightly warmer and hungry for some munchkins, muffins and photos.

My BOMF Quincy Team, we are a fun group!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Question: What is your favorite thing about Halloween?

Chipotle Shrimp Quesadilla

Last night was another night where I would be home late since I had a pilates session scheduled for after work. Joe had the great idea of trying to create shrimp quesadillas. I was totally up for the challenge and if you can't tell we just love Mexican food. I think I could survive off Mexican food, fro yo and pizza, I know real healthy!
I started off the meal with caramelizing some onions in a pan. Once the onions were a nice golden brown I added the shrimp and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the pan. I added the whole can of chipotle peppers which may not have been necessary since they were a little spicy.

This mixture alone over some brown rice would be delicious.

Once everything was cooked I spread some guacamole (I guess I didn't get my fix the other night) onto a whole wheat tortilla then added some of the shrimp mixture and topped it with reduced fat Mexican cheese. 

Once I got everything on to the Foreman grill I added the top tortilla and cooked for about 5 minutes until the tortillas were crispy.

I had some refried beans as a side dish to this delicious meal. The quesdaillas were a little messy but for a first try with this recipe they were very tasty!

 Question: What is your favorite Mexican dish?



I Just Can't Get Enough Guac!

Last night for dinner I decided to make some chicken fajitas because I was craving guacamole. Since I was going to be home a little later last night it was a quick and easy meal that I could throw together. PLus since I was meeting wiht my trainer I knew I would be starving after my workout.

I started off with cooking the chicken which Joe cut up in small pieces in a nonstick pan. I quickly added peppers and onions to the same pan.

Once the chicken was cooked I added a packet of the Old El Paso fajita seasoning mix, this is by far my favorite fajita mix. I added about 1/2 cup of water with the seasoning and let that cook together and thicken for about five minutes. Once the consistency of the sauce was good it was time to create our fajitas.

 

On my fajitas I layered some guacamole onto the heated tortilla then topped them with the chicken and veggie mixture and finished them off by adding a little reduced fat Mexican cheese. This dinner was delicious and satisfied my guacamole craving.

Question: What is your favorite way to eat guacamole?

Newburyport Half Marathon Recap

Yesterday my sister and I ran the Newburyport Half Marathon and we couldn't have asked for better weather. The air was nice and crisp with little wind and it was slightly overcast and since the race didn't start until 10:00am it had warmed up just enough for perfect fall running weather. The course was very scenic and went throughout the City of Newburyport in neighborhoods, around the center and near the water. The course was gorgeous and it was marketed as a flat course but there was a few steady inclines and hills that you felt but overall it was relatively flat.


My sister and I right around the finish line, this was her first half marathon!

Since this was my sister's first half marathon and I helped train her I decided to run the whole race with her. She did an awesome job and in the picture above it looks like she is doing better than me. We crossed the finish line in 2:02 which was awesome since Kristina's goal was to finish under 2:05. She kicked it at the very end of the race and beat me but I figured I would let her :) since it was her first and my seventh half marathon.

After race party

Once we finished the race we headed to the car to change then met up with my parents, Joe and Abigail to enjoy some after race beers. They had Peak Organic Brewing Company there as the beer sponsor and it was delicious. I had never tried their beer before but I will be in search for it next time I am at the store because it was delicious.


 

Kristina, Abigail and I post race

Proudly wearing our yo yo medals and enjoying our well deserved beers

The closest my dad will get to finishing a race

After we enjoyed the post race party we headed over to the center and found a cute diner to have lunch.  The service was a little slow but it was worth the wait because my wrap was delicious.

Abigail wearing nonno's hat (that is what she will call my dad)

Turkey bacon ranch wrap on a spinach tortilla

Question: What is the best part of a race for you?

Breast Cancer Cook Off

Last night I attended a cook off which was benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure which is a foundation for seeking to cure Breast cancer. The cook off theme was fall or comfort foods so you needed to base your dish off of those themes. I went with making Rachael Ray's Enchil-lasagna. I made the turkey meatloaf Friday night so that yesterday all i would have to do is assemble the Echil-lasagna at my sisters house before heading to the fundraiser.

Celery, onion, bay leaf, stuffing cubes and chicken stock

Stuffing cubes - a key ingredient in this dish

Mixing all ingredients to form the turkey meatloaf

Finished product of the turkey meatloaf, this is a delicious recipe by itself

Since I had cooked the turkey meatloaf which is a key ingredient for the Enchil-lasagna it was easy and quick to put it together. Sorry I didn't take pictures while I was assembling it, I forgot but here is the finished product.

Once everything was cooked we headed over to the fundraiser which was at my sister's cousins house. My sister made Rachael Ray's Apple and Onion Stuffin' Muffins, which were delicious and would be a great side for Thanksgiving. If you haven't noticed by now my family loves Rachael Ray and her recipes.

Once we got to the party we brought in our cook off items.  They had the garage decorated so cute and everything was pink for breast cancer.

Dessert table, everything had pink involved somehow



My brother-in-law and Abigail

There was a lot of different types of food yesterday which was very good and a few things I didn't care for too much but overall the food was delicious. No one in my family won but we still had a great time and the event raised over $1,300 which was a huge success.

My sister and I left the party on the earlier side so we could go home and get a good night sleep before our half marathon today, the recap will be coming shortly. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend.

Question: What is the best type of fundraising event you have attended?

White Pepperoni Pizza

After a week of traveling I was looking forward to cooking dinner tonight but I caught some sort of a cold while I was away so I wanted to make dinner quick and simple. Joe and I headed to the store and we were able to find Portland Pie garlic pizza dough so we knew what we were having for dinner.

I haven't made a white pizza for awhile so we figured a white pizza would be great with the garlic dough, which it was! I seasoned the dough with a little olive oil, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and italian seasoning.

Once I put my seasonings on I topped the pizza with some reduced fat pizza cheese and half of the pizza with turkey pepperoni.

The pizza was delicious and I absolutely loved the dough, I would highly recommend this brand and flavor if you can find it in your local grocery store. t tastes delicious and rises very well.

 

Question: What is your favorite quick and easy dinner to make?

Kansas Bound

I am blogging from the airport right now as I wait for my flight to Kansas City. I am on my way to a conference for work and had some time to kill before my flight so I decided to grab a glass of wine and dinner. I was able to find a Fox Sports Bar & Grill which was actually decent.

I went with a glass of Pinot Grigio (sorry no picture) and a chipotle quesadilla which was surprisingly tasty. I am obsessed with anything that involves guacamole lately so I had to go with this.

I am off to board my flight now so hopefully I will be able to get a few posts in while I am away.

Question: Where are some fun places you have gone for work?

The last conference I had to go to for work was in Chicago which is my favorite city so I am not too sure Kansas will live up to that.

Firefighters 10K

Yesterday morning I ran the Boston Firefighters 10k road race. It was a beautiful crisp sunny morning in the Boston area with the wind whipping.

The course is pretty flat but the wind was brutal. It was in your face no matter which direction you were running. My goal was to finish under 50 minutes and set a PR and I did it!  I finished in 48:57 so I was very happy with this especially since I was crazy and took a 30 minute cycle class before the race.

My form looks awful here but it was at the very end

My sister and brother-in-law also ran the race and finished with great times. We had some great fans cheering us on, Abigail, my parents and Joe were there to watch and take pictures of us.

Abigail sporting her "my auntie is awesome" shirt

After the race we had a few beers then headed to The Fours in Quincy to grab some lunch. I went with the Joan Benoit, which is a delicious turkey burger, on wheat toast with onion rings. I only ate half but this is by far my favorite sandwich there. Alongside my sandwich I enjoyed a Shipyard Pumpkin Ale, my favorite fall beer.

Question: What is your favorite fall beverage?

Race Calendar

Since it is Fitness Friday I figured I should I let you all know that I am crazy and am running in 4 races within the next five weeks. I don't know what is so addicting to running and races but whatever it is I am completely hooked.

My race schedule for the next five weeks looks like this:

Sunday October 16, 2011: Firefighters 10K

Sunday October 23, 2011: Newburyport Half Marathon

Sunday October 30, 2011: Canton Fall Classic 5K

 Sunday November 13, 2011: Chilly Half Marathon

Question: What does your fall race schedule look like?

**Don't forget to hop on over to the Fitness Friday blog hop**

Turkey Avocado Burgers

Last night I left work and headed to the gym for a 30 minute Pilates session. My legs were still a little sore from my 5 mile run that morning but Pilates actually made them feel better. During my session we did a lot of reformer 3 exercise which were very challenging but lots of fun!

I headed home after my session to make dinner which was turkey burgers and sweet potato fries. Since the frozen fries always take forever Joe threw them.in the oven while I was on my way home. In the mix for the burgers was 99% lean ground turkey, garlic, cumin, chili powder and some fiesta lime seasoning. I formed four parties and put them on the foreman to cook.

Once they were fully cooked I topped them with raw onion, avocado and sharp cheddar cheese.
They were a little messy to get off the grill but they were so delicious.

I dipped my fries in a little of Frank's Thick Hot Sauce which added just the right kick to this meal.

Question: What are your favorite burger toppings?