Run Anna Run

This morning, the alarm went off and I did not want to get out of bed.  But then I remembered that I have never regretted a workout...so I got my butt out of bed and went to the gym!  And the best part was, I had an awesome run.  I watched the Bethany Frankel gets Married show or whatever that is on Bravo and the time flew by!  I also did some strength training....to feel a bit more toned.  A summary of the workout went something like this:

Tomorrow morning I am going to a spin class with Ellen and Amanda...should be a rockin good time at 6am!  :)

Two Easy Dessert Recipies

I think the easiest dessert recipe to make is pudding...simply pour two cups of milk in a package of pudding mix and stir for two mintues.  Five minutes later you have something that looks...delicious  not so appealing...but tastes good!  :)

Another easy dessert recipe is Apple Crisp...its fun, refreshing, but also tastes AND looks delicious!  :)
We made apple crisp last night using this recipe from allrecipes.com:

Apple Oatmeal Crisp

Rated: Submitted By: Dave Behnke Photo By: chocoluvs Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Ready In: 1 Hour Servings: 8

"Apples are baked with a crunchy oat crust on the top and bottom."

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar 1 cup rolled oats 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup butter, melted

3 cups apples - peeled, cored and chopped 1/2 cup white sugar 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Lightly grease an 8 inch square pan.
2.	In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, oats, flour and butter. Mix until crumbly. Place half of crumb mixture in pan. Spread the apples evenly over crumb mixture. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and top with remaining crumb mixture.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. It was super easy and so good to eat!  First you have to peel, core and cut the apples.  Having one of these nifty machines makes it so much more fun!  I picked one up the last time I was at an apple orchard, and let me tell you it is well worth it.  So easy and when you are done, you have a spiral apple with no skin!  Awesome! Then cut the apples into bite size pieces.  (Super simple after they are already in the spiral shape!) Then layer the crumbly brown sugar, flour and oatmeal mix with the apples.  With some sprinkles of cinnamon!  Pour some more of the crumbly mix on top and pop it in the oven!  And its done! Thumbs up for apples!  Two thumbs up for apple crisp!

Running Returns....

I mentioned a few days ago that running has been missing in my life.  Well it's back!  :)

I decided that I am just going to run 3 miles a day.  At the least.  That is what I have to do.  No excuses.  Wish me luck!  :)  I think we all have experienced how hard it is to stay in a routine...but I figure the first two weeks are the worst, and I dont have big travel plans in the next two weeks, so there shouldn't be any reason why I can run for 30 minutes a day!  I started yesterday, and ran this morning already, so we are 2/2! 

And for extra inspiration, here are a few of my favorite running quotes:

And my favorite running quotes:

Wild Game and Apples

It's beginning to feel like fall!  Some highlights from the past few days include -

The Wild Game - Thursday night...love complimentary tickets!  :)

 Apple Orchard!

 And Caramel Apples! 

Hope you are enjoying the fall days as well!  :)

Best Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

On this dreary day in Minnesota, I decided the best thing to do was....bake cookies!

I searched online for a good cookie recipe and found this one for Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.  With a name like that, I figured I couldn't go wrong!  :)

Here is the recipe:

Big, Fat, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.  

First the dough was made....             

Then the cookies were baked....

And the cookies were done...

(Notice the bottom right corner...there's a cookie missing! 

Thanks to the roommates for taste testing!  ;)

They were delicious!  The name says it all! 

There has been lots of laughing and living going on with this blog...and not so much running! 

Oh well, maybe in the next few days, that part of the blog will be highlighted!  Until then...chocolate chip cookies and diet coke for a bedtime snack!  :)

Long time - no blogging!

It has been over a week since I have made my presence known and updated you on my CRAZY life on here!  Well here is a quick recap:

• Nails Done
• Dress Bought
• Dress Altered
• Hair Done
• Worked Lots
• One of my closest friends got married!  :)  Woo hoo!

It was a crazy weekend, but SO much fun!  My calves STILL hurt today from dancing all night!  Looks like I will have to strengthen those calves hardcore before Ellen's wedding next June! 

Tonight I went on a fantastic walk with Kristin.  Its so fun to talk, crunch leaves, and watch Joey sniff everything he can find!  :)

Then, Ellen called and said she found a new FRO-YO (Frozen Yogurt for those not in the loop yet) place near Ford Pkwy, so Laura and I went with her to check out MENCHIES!  It was a pretty standard frozen yogurt place - lots of flavors, lots of toppings, but this place just made you want to SMILE.  Yes, they told me to have a "smiley day" when I paid.  I also joined the "Smile" club, fit with its own passport:

When I asked the (clearly new) employee what benefits the smile club had, she said oh you get $5 off for every 50 smiles you get.  I said, "how do you get smiles?  She says, "you get one smile for every cup of yogurt you buy."  I looked at her with a crazy face....are you telling me that it is going to take me coming here 50 times before I get $5 off....geez!  At almost $4 per cup thats $200 spent and $5 off...AWESOME rewards program.  She looked at the crazy look I was giving her and her co-worker confirmed that you get 1 smile, for every dollar you spend there.  Now that sounds more reasonable!  Greatest relief of my life!  :)

Hope you had a smiley day!  If not, try MENCHIES near Ford Pkwy!  :)

Guess who is 25???

Guess who has joined the quarter of a century club???  Laura!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAURA!!

In honor of the big day, we finished making the cake balls and also made one of the greatest and "healthiest" dips around.  Its healthy, only because it has dairy and protein.  I mixed cream cheese, mozzorella cheese, Franks hot sauce, chicken, ranch dressing and bleu cheese dressing and dumped it all in a crock pot - and you have BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP!  :)

Next - we finished the cake balls.  If you missed the first part to this recipe, Click Here!

After the cake balls are frozen, you need to dip them in chocolate.  They are actually good without the chocolate but I think at least a little chocolate makes every recipe better!  To melt chocolate I learned to add a little Crisco shortening....it worked quite well.  I still have some work to do until they are magazine worthy, but for only my third attempt...I'll take it!  (The first two attempts were disasters, and resulted in very few cake balls with chocolate on them!)  

I used toothpicks to help with the dipping and then take the toothpicks after the chocolate has hardended.  I picked out a few of the best cake balls to take a close up picture of.  After dipping the cake balls, I keep them in the refridgerator, and just take one (or two or three) out at a time to eat!  I would highly recommend this recipe.  It takes some time...but is definitely worth it! 

Today was a good Monday!  Can't say that every week!  :)

A Productive Sunday!

I think today can go down in the record books for my most productive Sunday to date...and I loved it!  This morning I did laundry, cleaning and put some chicken in the crock pot for dinner.  This afternoon I went all over town!  Southdale mall, Crate and Barrel, Kohls, Car wash, Target, and MOA.  I purchased lots of things I needed, some I didn't but all in all it was a success!  I got a new dress, shoes, wedding gifts, birthday gifts, and groceries. 

After my afternoon extravaganza, I came home and made CAKE BALLS.  If you haven't heard of this phenomenon yet, listen close!  There arent many ingredients needed and they are delicious.  First, make a cake from a box.  Let it cool and mix half a tub of frosting in the cake.  Then roll into balls and you'll get something that looks like this....

Then, place the cake balls in the freezer.  I'll post Part 2 of this recipe tomorrow (if there are any cake balls left!  :)

Well, that's all I got for now.  Sorry for the lapse in blogging...it was a busy couple of days!  Happy Sunday!

Just Call Me Betty - Homecky!

Sidenote: Have you ever spelled Betty Homecky??  Much harder than it looks. And, you can't google it.

Tonight Ellen and I were Betty - Homecky(s).  Seriously.  First, Ellen made a delicious crock pot meal with chicken, sweet potatoes, onions, carrots and spices.  It was SO nice to come home to a warm meal made for me!  I tried to take a picture of it, but it really wasn't looking good through the camera, so you can just imagine how good it tasted instead! 

Then - I made Pumpkin Protein Pancakes.  This was inspired by the half can of pumpkin I had left after making some muffins this weekend.  I had to use it up and found this awesome recipe (on another blog of course!) to help me out.  Check out the Recipe Here!  And here is the process...in pictures!  Mix - Blend - Fry! 

Laura thought Chocolate Chips would make this better....

Finally, Ellen made some Chocolate Cookies for dessert.  I haven't tried them yet, but they look delicious!  Actually they kind of look chunks of chocolate - but they could still taste good!

And the best part is we have leftovers of everything!  No cooking for me tomorrow!!   :)

Little Things that Make Your Day

So I don't have any cool photos today - but a good story! 

I am a firm believer that small things can make your day.  Today small things were making my day. 
Examples:

1. When you get to work and there are chocolates on your desk.
2. When you push the up button for the elevator with 8 bags hanging from your arms, and the doors open right away.
3. When you make every green light driving somewhere.
4. When you turn the radio on and your favorite song just started.
5. And when you can be the coolest person around for a little kid.

The last one I need to explain (if I need to explain the others, please email me  :) -
I went to eat at Don Pablos for dinner tonight and of course had to use the bathroom after the margarita I drank.  As I was entering the bathroom there was a guy standing outside the bathroom, someone asked if he was waiting and he said, "No, I am just waiting for my daughter."  Then I walk in and there is an adorable little girl about six years old who is struggling to close the very heavy door to the bathroom stall.  I asked if I could help her close the door and also told her I would help her open it too.  They were heavy and very tough to close and I didn't want her to think that she was going to be stuck in the stall!!  I then helped her open the door too (after making sure she was completely finished in the stall!) and then lifted her up to get some soap and paper towel to dry her hands.  We walked out of the bathroom together, and the first thing she said to her dad was, "She helped me", and pointed right at me.  Not a big deal at all, but just made my day to be able to help that girl out.

Hope you had an excellent day as well!  Night!

Tandoori Naan

Now to the real star of the show - Tandoori Naan

Have you ever tried this stuff???  DE-LISH-US.  I stopped at TJs (Trader Joes for those not in the know) on my way home work and picked up some Tandoori Garlic Topped Naan.  Its a bread of some sort - but is super soft, moist and just all around a winner.  I topped it with a little marinara and popped it in the oven to warm it up.  About five minutes later some "Pizza Parlor Worthy" marinara bread is ready.  I was so excited to eat it, I picked off some of it and then remembered that I should take a picture for the blog (rookie mistake!)

Now all of you will be making a trip to TJ (Trader Joe's, remember??) tomorrow wont you?  I think I need to work on taking food photography - that picture doesn't do it justice.

Anyway - that's all I have for tonight.   I am exhausted, and its only Monday!  

Good Start!

This morning I was hoping to sleep in...but was awake by 6:30am so decided to go to the gym around 7:30.  I needed a new workout so looked in the many SHAPE and FITNESS magazines I have laying around, and found this 30 minute run - it really didn't look that bad, I could get done in 30 min and go on my merrie way.  However, I realized quickly this run is much harder than it looks!  I finished but didn't run some of the segments at the end and walked them instead.  It was tough!  I will be doing this one again though, and hopefully will be able to complete it in its original form! 

Here is the original version and my modified version:





































After the workout it was time to eat one of my favorite breakfasts:  Southwest Eggs! 
I know all of you are just dieing to know what Southwest Eggs are...so here it is!

First you start with eggs, chopped onions, chopped green pepper and cheddar cheese -

 
Scramble the eggs, place in a bowl (or plate - it will taste the same  :) and then add the secret ingredient...........

ORTEGA TACO SAUCE!

Drizzle taco sauce over the egg combo and you have Southwest Eggs! So delicious! 

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!! 

P.S.  This post was suppossed be on here this morning, but being a first time blogger I am learning how long it takes to put one of these things together....thus it is posted at 7pm tonight!  :)

First Post!

Referencing the great movie, Sound of Music (sing with me) - "Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start..."

I have thought of starting a blog for quite some time now.  About a year ago a friend of mine said, "Anna, you should read this blog.   You would really like it.  It has posts about fitness and recipies."  At first I thought - I don't even understand blogs and I don't need one more thing to look at on the internet on a daily basis, so I resisted.  But then one night I thought I would just check it out and see what its all about.  And then very quickly I became addicited and it has been a part of my almost daily reading material.  I have now helped my sister and other friends jump on the blog train as well!  The love is spreading!  :)

I am going to begin this blog as my own way of documenting the foods I eat and the excercise I do on a daily basis.  I am sure it will include my own opinions on lifes events as well, but they may be more sporadic until I feel comfortable enough to get it going.

Welcome to laughliverun.blogspot.com!  I hope this is a long lasting idea that will help both of us enjoy our days even more than we already do.  My goal is to make each day the best it can be!