Recipes Thursday: Chicken Casserole

I, for the life of me, cant copy buttons sucessfully... I am techie- illiterate... BUT Amy is having a linkup for Superbowl foods... and today is my recipes Thursday, so I had to join in on the fun...


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...see all that mess was SUPPOSED to show this pic, with a link to Amy's page... but I am having issues...

 

 

One of my favorite things to make lately- which I will make for SuperBowl is chicken casserole:
a) because its easy
b) because you cant mess up a casserole!


Heres what you do:
1. go to grocery store and get the following:
fully cooked rotiserie chicken
one can of healthy request condensed broccoli cheese and one can of the condensed chicken
a head/two of broccoli
one onion
shredded 2% cheddar cheese- thats the healthiest I can go on cheese without giving up flavor!

2. pull apart pieces of the chicken and put in a mixing bowl with the two cans of condensed soup

3. cut up broccoli- I also sometimes add other veggies too and put in a steamer bag to steam it so its cooked as well, then mix it in with the chicken

4. cut up and add onion to the mix- add as much as you like, I use alot of onion because the hubs and I love onions

5. once all those are mixed together, put in greased pan and cover with as little or as much shredded cheddar as you like- I just lightly sprinkle

6. bake in the oven at 350 for 30 mins.... everything is cooked already, but its nice to have melty cheese!


I love this dish, and since the hubs and I hunt I add deer sausage in alot too... ALSO yummy!!!



On a totally unrelated note, I am doing 13 in 2013... its 13 races in the year and there is a button link to it too, but I obviously dont know what I am doing there... I need to go ask Hubby Jack because he is a whiz at that sort of stuff and very helpful... he is also hilarious... I love reading his blog!


Anyway, I am working on a list of the races I will be doing to hit my goal of 13 in 2013, but that will be another post in and of itself, once I finalize that... thinking of becoming a member at Active.com too because I know you get discounts and if I am doing that many races this year, it may be a good idea!

Workouts and Weigh In Wednesday!

Today was the start of the MLFC Biggest Loser Challenge... and I logged my start weight, note: I havent gotten on a scale since the week before Christmas- there are multiple reasons, but I was bad, over the holidays- I am an emotional eater... with my grandma being in the hospital, I turned to food... and when you are all over the place and everywhere but at home, most of your options are JUNK... SO after the first of the year I started eating right again, but didnt want to weigh in until I had to to start this challenge because I was scared of the damage I KNEW I had done over the holidays...

I am really glad I turned it around before the challenge, I was actually down a pound this morning from the week before Christmas... and thats with having so much going on at work that I have worked through lunch the past two days- read: NO WORKING OUT lately...

Today I am getting my butt to the gym at lunch and going to the sports conditioning class I love... and that torches calories- usually burn 600-800 cals in an hour, this trainer is SERIOUS! That's why I love it and her!!!

Workout plans:

Today- sports conditioning
Thurs- running
Friday- bike ride
Saturday- weights and a run
Sunday- rest
Monday- spin class
Tuesday- running



This year I have made some serious workout goals... one of them is the MS150- biking from Houston to Austin (150 miles).... I did a couple of training rides in October, but have been off since, so time to bike/spin more and I ALSO want to do the 13 in 2013 challenge- all 5k's, but I also want one run this year to be a half marathon... so I gotta get back to running too! Last time I was running 3/4 times a week was November!!!


I want to hit my goal weight this year and STAY there!

Sorry for the lack of pics today... I will be posting a lot of pics soon!

Favorite Running Shoes Link Up

Mel at 4KOTTEZ RUNS IT is doing a link up on running shoes... and I LOVE mine, so decided to share!!!

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1. What brand and style are your favorite running shoes?

Asics Nimbus 14













 

2. Why are they your favorite?

I LOVE the arch support and the cushion... its so easy to run in these shoes... and they have purple and blue on them- the hubs and my favorite colors! :)

3. Have you had any bad experiences with other brands? Which ones do you avoid?

I got some Mizzunos that must have been for people with NO arch... horrible arch pain for a while..

4. Do you have more than one pair of running shoes for different types of workouts?

Not anymore- I was trying to branch out without going to Luke's Locker to get fitted. BAD idea- see #3!

5. Have you ever been fit for a shoe by a specialist? Did you find this helpful?

YES, see #4! :) It is the ONLY way to go!

I havent gotten a chance to upload pics from my holidays yet, but will tonight... I fell asleep on the couch watching the National Championship last night, a. it was boring and b. I didnt want either team to win... so I guess that happens!

New Year's Resolutions

I havent done these sort of things in a while... and I know I need a BIG update post on things that have been going on, but I litterally was gone the past two weeks until last night, so I didnt get a chance to upload pics or videos from the past two weeks of family, food, and hunting.... BUT I am hoping to get to that tomorrow.

When I was in college, I made semesterly resolutions, because I felt like yearly ones were too much pressure and too long of a time frame, BUT I am doing it this year, because I feel empowered, AND because I feel I have a great support group of women to help hold me accountable, which helps a ton...

Fitness Goals for 2013:

1. Run a half marathon- the furthest I have run to date is the 5 miler I did on Thanksgiving, that was also the last time I was running regularly... I slacked off big time in December, and its time to start all over and get back to it! I CAN DO THIS!




2. Complete the MS150 without having to walk ANY!!! I did this event in 2010 and had to walk alot at the end and I sagged once because of issues with my knee due to lack of training- going to start training hard and get it all done this year... its the third weekend in April so I only have 3 months, glad I have been doing some spinnning and biking intermittently the end of last year!






3. Hold a plank for 5 minutes. I STRUGGLE to hit 1 minute and I started Merry Planksmas and then wussed out/ came up with excuses... I will hold a plank for 5 minutes by the end of this year!





Weight Loss Goals for 2013:

4. Drink more water!!



5. Eat mindfully all the time, other than one cheat MEAL a week- when I do cheat days, it gets nasty... and I feel terrible... I learned this past weekend at deer camp that you can eat mindfully, even at the easiest place to eat like crap, you just have to have self control!


6. Fit comfortably in a size 10- not just in some 10's, but be a legit 10 all around. I am tall ( 5'10") and its really unhealthy for me to get too small- aka senior year in high school when I starved myself to fit in a size 4/6... but I can eat healthy and work out to achieve this goal.


7. Tone Up. I really do want more muscle... I know cardio is important, but I want to get strong again too, I feel so weak right now!




8. WIN MLFitCamp Biggest Loser competition!!! It starts this Wednesday... and I am READY!!!


9. Spend more time keeping up with friends... I am SO bad at this, especially friends that are back home in La or who have moved away... and I miss them!!! I let work take up too much of my time!


10. Find and buy property to go relax and have fun on! Had to have a couple fun ones at the end! :)





...do you make resolutions? Yearly or shorter time frames?


I will need everyone's help staying on track! I love my fit camp ladies!!!! :)

Weekend Update

Merry Christmas Eve everyone... today is also my baby brother's golden birthday.... my sister found and posted this old pic on facebook this morning and it made me smile.. he used to be so little... now he is a 6' 7" mammoth of a dude, who just graduated college and is starting his real job in February!?! Time flies...

I am updating from the hospital in Nola, sitting by my mawmaw's side right now as she sleeps, the nurses had to give her two sleeping pills to get to bed last night and they are finally working... so I am glad she is getting rest. They put a stent in Friday and she said she felt better, but she is still needing oxygen and gets out of breath any time she sits up or has to move around too much and her BP is still really low- and fluctuating. We are hoping the doctor will come by today and give us an update on what her options are. They did tell us that she is too weak for open heart surgery and the meds didnt work, so the stent was her last option- I hate hearing that... or even accepting that. She turns 87 tomorrow, she is still so young... this woman helped raise me- she is more like a parent than a grandmother and I hate to see her suffer, but I dont want to have to deal with letting her go yet either, I wish we could fix her, but its just a waiting game to see how she does and keeping her on the meds.

 

Tonight we are having a Christmas Eve party with my cousins grandma, another lady that I respect and love, she is in her 90's- I think 95 now, and has outlived two husbands! The woman is amazing and I cant wait to see her, and although she isnt one of my grandmas technically- I have always counted her as one i see her more than my dad's mom... she is a cool lady so I am excited to see her tonight.

 

Tomorrow will be Christmas with my mom's whole side of the family - we are going to find out today if mawmaw can come home with oxygen or not for Christmas- if not, we will prolly be up here a good bit tomorrow too and then the hubs gets off the rig Wednesday morning and I get to see him again too! Thursday we leave for Maine to visit with his side of the family... and try not to freeze... I did hear we will be getting some of this though...

 

I LOVE SNOW!!! and I cant wait...

 

 

I also got the pics from my company Christmas party... they came out cute...

 

 

 

 

 

and some from the field Christmas party as well..

 

 

I hope everyone has a very....

Goals for the Weekend- 5K Trifecta!

My grandmother is still in ICU, she is having surgery today to have stents put in to open the valves in her heart, she may need it done to as many as 3 of the 4. She has had this done before and its not a major surgery, but she is also 87, so any surgery is scary... I think we are going to New Orleans this weekend to spend time with her, I was going to have my mom and brother join my sister and me at my house here, but I really want to get in some time with my grandmother as well.

My goals for this weekend are simple- I will be on the road and traveling this weekend- as well as all next week really, but I signed up for the 5k trifecta challenge through ML Fitcamp! I havent been running regularly in a few weeks, so its not going to be easy, but I want to get back into running, and what better way than 110% in!?!?




I can do this!!!! PLUS, I havent seen the scale drop since Thanksgiving week - the last time I was actually running regularly... and I did run a 5 miler on Thanksgiving day, SO 9 miles should really help!!


Another big weekend goal will be LOTS OF WATER!!!! That always helps!!!!!!

The next two weeks for me are going to be a blurr.... I over commit, I know I do, but I have problems saying no... its just something I have always had trouble with... which is why I stay pretty busy...

this weekend (my family)....

  

then next week and new years (hubs family)....




then the following weekend (hunting in SW Texas, lots of these there, glad I have snake boots)....

Recipes and More Updates

my go to breakfast drink every morning... okay so its not a recipe, but I have been lazy - read: to busy having fun with my sister who is visiting to cook up a new recipe, so for today, its my week day breakfast breakdown....

 

 

110 calories and 17g of protein?!? YES... I have this at 6am on the way to work, I even took this on my morning drive in!!! LOVE my Edge! okay so then around 9am I make oatmeal- I use the big jars of quick one minute oats- the plain boring ones that dont have all the additives that those tiny packets do... so then I add one splenda, cinnamon, fiber powder, almond slices, and pieces of walnut... its perfect and filling and good once you add in healthy additives!!! ok so splenda not so much, but no one is perfect.

 

Can you tell I am in a better mood today? I was in a funk yesterday, but the pity party is over and I am back in action...

 

 

 

I am crafy... ok well my sister is crafy and when we hang out she rubs off on me... if you remember our girls night trip to Lowes...

 

we got some wood to make race bibs!!! being the LSU fan I am... it HAD to be purple and gold... and being the dork I am, I screwed those hanger things in by hand, into wood... because the hubs took too long to text back about what tool I needed to use from his big collection... I am a resident beast, I know...

 

 

the finished products came out great... my LSU one and I made the hubs a Clemson one... because I am nice... and want him to run more with me... so I hope this is good motivation, so his board will look like mine one day!!!

 

 

 

while I finished my board my sister made jewelry!!!! I am loving these little nest deals... so I had her make one for me into a ring and want another as a necklace...

 

 

 

 

my ring, I am sporting it this morning... loves it!!! LSU colors, I know...

 

 

Harlee and my baby boy Hank... with Maddie looking on wishing she could be held that way too...

 

 

my awesome Christmas present from my friend that we had dinner with Tuesday night... LSU toms!!! Its my first pair of Toms, I love the concept of giving shoes to kids, but I usually dont wear shoes like this.... in these colors however, its on!!! :)

 

 

 

a pic of the sunrise from the hubs on the rig... cant wait til he gets home.... next Wednesday and then Thursday we go to Maine!!!

 

 

 

my baby brother graduated college!!!!

 

I am a very proud sissy!!!

 

 

took this at Lowes Sat night... my knees were a bit scuffed up from the mud run- but it was WAY worth it...

 

 

...speaking of run, I am doing the trifecta over Christmas holidays... running a 5k December 22, 23, and 24th... who else is doing it??? I am pretty excited.... I ran a 5 miler for Thanksgiving and actually lost weight over that holiday, hoping for a similar result here, I mean 9 total miles >>> 5 miles!!! :)