Registered for the Half Marathon! & some AWESOME recipes!!

Well, I am officially registered for the OKC Half-Marathon in April! 

I have been kind of putting it off, thinking about the full marathon, not really sure, going back and forth...  and finally I decided to just go for another half.  I am very confident that I could run a full marathon if I decided and committed to do it.  But right now in my life, I just don't think I am ready for that kind of time commitment.  I am a VERY busy mama, after all!  Maybe when all the kids are in school?  I'm not sure...  I definitely want to accomplish the 26.2 miles at least once in my life.  

If anyone is feeling so brave, join me!!!  It's so much more fun if I know someone else that is going to be there.  There is still time to start training now if you're already able to run 3 miles or so.  Here is my training schedule:

Half-Marathon Training Schedule:

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thur	Fri	Sat	Sun
Feb 27-4	3 m run	rest	6	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	3 m run
Mar 5-11	3 m run	rest	7 m run	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	3 m run
Mar 12-18	3 m run	rest	5 m	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	4 m run
Mar 19-25	3 m run	rest	9 m	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	4 m run
Mar 26-1	3 m run	rest	10 m	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	5 m run
Apr 2-8	3 m run	rest	7 m	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	5 m run
Apr 9-15	3 m run	Rest	12 m	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	6 m run
Apr 16-22	3 m run	rest	13 m	Rst/crs	3 m run	rest	6 m run
Apr 23-29	3 m run	rest	5 m	Rest/crs	3 m run	rest	HALF MARATHON

So I'm gonna start getting back on track week of the 27th.  I have really enjoyed just running for funsies, not having anything to train for.  But, I have also really yearned to race again.  So, this is a good excuse to take the kiddos to OKC for a weekend in April! 

I have a couple great recipes to share on this blog post too!  Dinner last night was Skinny fried chicken with scalloped cheesy potatoes.  I got the fried chicken recipe from Skinny Ms.  And the recipe was off.  It called to cook the chicken on a skillet on each side for 8 minutes then into the oven for 30.  I never thought about the fact that this is a very long cook time....needless to say, the chicken was OVERDONE.  It was like impossible to chew. 

Looks pretty good from here..but it was so gross.  However, with that being said, the potatoes turned out fabulous!  Here is the recipe:

Skinny Scalloped Potato Gratin (adapted from skinnytaste)
Ingredients:

• olive oil spray
• 6 medium peeled yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/8-inch-thick (2 lb 4 oz peeled)
• 2 tbsp butter, melted
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 3 oz (3/4 cup) shredded organic Cheddar
• 1 cup organic plain soy milk
• 1 bay leaf
• pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp thyme

Directions:

**My potatoes I sliced in the food processor**

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray an 11 x 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, butter, salt, garlic powder and fresh cracked pepper.

Arrange half of the potato slices in the baking dish; top with 1/4 cup cheese. Add the remaining potatoes.
In a small saucepan, bring milk, thyme, bay leaf and nutmeg to a boil; pour over potatoes. 

Top with remaining cheese 

 

and bake uncovered, for 45 - 50 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

 

Oh yes, these were delish.  I highly recommend them as a side dish with your next meal!  Very easy to make and so yummy.

Tonight, I made crock pot veggie lasagna.  It was very good and if I know my slow cooker lasagnas, this one will be even better re-heated tomorrow night!  Here is the recipe

Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna (adapted from Eating Well)

• 1 large egg
• 1 15- to 16-ounce container part-skim ricotta
• 1 5-ounce package baby spinach, coarsely chopped
• 1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 whole-wheat lasagna noodles (about 12 ounces), uncooked
• 3 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella, divided

1. Combine egg, ricotta, spinach, mushrooms and zucchini in a large bowl.
2. Combine crushed and diced tomatoes and their juice, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) in a medium bowl.
3. Generously coat a 6-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the tomato mixture in the slow cooker. Arrange 5 noodles over the sauce, overlapping them slightly and breaking into pieces to cover as much of the sauce as possible. Spread half of the ricotta-vegetable mixture over the noodles and firmly pat down, then spoon on 1 1/2 cups sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat the layering one more time, starting with noodles. Top with a third layer of noodles. Evenly spread the remaining tomato sauce over the noodles. Set aside the remaining 1 cup mozzarella in the refrigerator.
4. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on High for 2 hours or on Low for 4 hours. Turn off the slow cooker, sprinkle the reserved mozzarella on the lasagna, cover and let stand for 10 minutes to melt the cheese.

This was very good and well received by the whole family!  I put the leftovers in a glass container so that it will be ready to pop in the oven tomorrow night. 

I got these glass containers at Walmart and I like them because they're clear so I can see through them to know what I've got and they are freezer proof!

I served the veggie lasagna with a loaf of artisan bread I made with the dough I prepared a couple days ago.  Here is before I stuck the bread in the oven:

 And after it was done cooking:

I put garlic salt, fresh cracked pepper, and organic parmesan cheese.  See the make your own bread and pizza blog for a short video on how to make the dough and a loaf just like this.  It is SO EASY!!!  Oh, and it doesn't hurt that my family loves when I make it. 

 

Well, I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day!  Thanks for reading!!!