Day 1 of Boot Camp

Yes, you read the title right. Today was the first day of this fitness boot camp that my loving friend Tara thought would be fun for us to do together. And by fun, I mean torture. Haha. Well, I was hanging out at Tara's house and here is the gist of our conversation....

Tara- Hey Lindsay, do you want to go work out with me in the morning?
Me- Sure, why not, I have been wanting to work out anyways.
Tara - ok, well it is 5:30 AM, and it's for like an hour and it is just a bunch of ladies and it's really great.
Me- Well I will be at your house at 5:10.

The End.

So, I was pretty optimistic because of several reasons. One is that (sorry Tara) she is like 30, and I am well 21, so I am thinking to myself .....How intense could it really be for a bunch of 30 year old moms? .....Two, I have been wanting a work out partner since my previous work out buddy graduated (what was she thinking?) and then moved to Denver to go to grad school. And three, this was kind of my week that I was going to get motivated, start working out, have my quiet time, and get stuff done. So I can't really say anymore that I don't have a work out buddy, because I do.

This morning getting up was not that difficult because I pretty excited about it and not thinking that it was going to be the hardest workout I have had since my freshman year of high school. We did running, push ups, crab crawls, push ups, v sits, crunches, push ups, running with weights over our heads, push ups, up downs, and push ups. Oh and did I mention push ups and crab crawls? Yea, I haven't done a crab crawl since like elementary school when it was like a relay race and it was "fun" to walk like a crab. Yea, not so fun anymore, I heard my muscles literally screaming at me for making them come out of retirement. They had been on vacation for YEARS! and all of a sudden I got this wild hair that it would be fun to go to a work out that was called boot camp....and let me just be real honest, I was shown up by a bunch of 30 something moms. Yes, that was a huge piece of humble pie at 6 AM this morning. A little early for pie in my opinion, but God has a great and wonderful sense of humor and thought that was what I needed this morning for breakfast. I am starting to believe that it is the breakfast of champions however.

Afterwards, Tara was telling me that I can't hate hate her, and I quickly corrected her that I would hate her tomorrow, and that I would hate hate her on Wednesday because the third day is always the worst. But I also let her know that I would get over it at some point but not to expect me to be very talkative in the morning when I showed up. Yes that is correct, even after all that torture I am going back tomorrow because I would rather suffer for only a few days and work the soreness out(because let's be honest, soreness will occur and be excruciating) rather than be sore forever because I just lay in bed because I can't move.

This is a new beginning for me, and I will let you know tomorrow how it is starting out. However, tomorrows post may be a whole lot shorter just due to the fact that it will hurt so bad to type.

Until next time....

Ready for the races....

So, I was slightly making fun of my mom when she had this on because I thought she looked like she was going to the rodeo or to ride horses or something. I think it is a cute outfit, but I was just surprised that she got that dressed up to go see the Spurs. Oh, did I mention that we went to the Spurs game? Well, we did, and by we I mean me, my mom, Stephanie, and Alysse. We had a really good time and they kicked butt! Which was kind of bitter-sweet for my mom, because it was her first NBA game in 30 years, and so she would have liked to have seen the starters more, but still it was fun and we are glad they won! Tomorrow we are going to have lunch with some friends, and then going to check out the CIA campus in downtown San Antonio. Well, since I am out of town I have no recipes, and I am exhausted! Sooooo, goodnight world!

Heat.....

So, today is a totally gorgeous day! I am hoping that it is a sign of many days to come that are not freezing....Since when is it still in the 50's or lower in March in Central/South Texas? I am with everyone else that is asking the same question...."Where is Al Gore and his global warming theory now?" Not only does today bring some heat, it is also almost one week since my dog has been in heat. That was an experience that I am not too excited about repeating! I have never in my 21 years had an animal that has not be fixed, until Sadie. And I have to say, Sadie may be my one and only pet that is not fixed. That was the most disgusting 2 weeks of my life, ok, I might be exaggerating a little, but not much. People sugar coat it quite a bit, or they don't warn you enough. Everyone always wants their dogs fixed because they don't want it to get pregnant....Nobody says it is so they avoid the nastiness that occurs for 2 or more weeks 2-3 times a year! From now on, I am going to say that I want a dog fixed because I don't want to deal with her in heat. However, I must say that I probably had it pretty easy this first time around (which terrifies me to say), because I didn't have the male dogs to fight off....But Sadie was also on a pretty tight leash for about 3 weeks, so maybe I am just awesome...haha.

Ok, on to less disgusting things....this week is spring break! whoop! I actually might get to leave college station for a couple days and just relax! I am so excited. This is the longest time that I have been in College Station consistently, and also therefore the longest time between visits back home. So this week, it is either a beach house with a couple families from Living Hope, or San Antonio with my mom.....Still up in the air, because I don't know my mom's schedule for the week yet.

This week, I am going to be cooking and baking! :) I am going to bake a cake for a birthday, and cook dinner for a family. I am thinking a chocolate torte cake maybe? I also might try cupcakes because I have this amazing cupcake book that shows you all sorts of neat ways to decorate them, so I need to get practicing on that if I am going to ever attempt "Starry Night". As far as the meal goes, I am either going to do some kind of lasagna, or a remake of Christopher's chicken Mazitlan. Maybe I will do both...who knows.

Well it is back to working around the house for me....until next time....(which will hopefully be sooner rather than later)

Let Valentine's Weekend Begin.....

This weekend is a weekend that is very bittersweet in the restaurant biz. It is probably one of the busiest weekends of the entire year if not THE busiest, and therefore one of the most profitable ones. However, this means lots of long long hours and running around like a mad woman! I am excited about this weekend, but at the same time, I am very much looking forward to Monday morning and being off work and having a break!

As of now, I am roughly in debt about $30,000. I realize that getting into debt is my own fault, but it is insane to think that at the age of 21 I can already have that much debt! Something is very wrong with this picture, and it is no wonder that the majority of America is up to their eyeballs in debt when at this young age, I can already have that much! It is only by the grace of God that he has allowed me to start to view debt in a different light, and has placed wiser people in my life to help point me in the direction of being completely debt free! When that day comes, I cannot even begin to imagine the joy that I will feel, and how loud I will scream because let's face it....financial stress is like no other stress. It will wear you down and completely break you.

There is a new series coming out on Tuesday nights, starting March 1, and it has Lauren Graham in it, and that is pretty much the reason I am going to start watching it. If you don't know who that is....I will have to dig deep and try to find a way to forgive you and remain your friend, but it is the mom from Gilmore Girls, Lorelai Gilmore to more specific. Anyways, I really have no specific details on what the series is about, other than the obvious being parenthood, but with her in it, it is given the benefit of the doubt from the get go.

No new recipes today.....but hopefully cooking will begin soon! Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Valentine's weekend! I think I am going to watch "Couple's Retreat" tonight. Have a wonderful night!!!

Back Again.....

Well, it has been a while since I last blogged. I was sick for a week and didn't get out of bed for 4 days straight. I still have a lingering cough, but it is slowly going away. Today has been a long long day, getting up at 7am and not having a nap is hard work! I don't know how you moms do it! So today started at 7am, I followed Emily to get her car worked on and then we had a magnificent breakfast at IHOP. It was absolutely delicious! Then as I dropped her off at class, I was checking my facebook (when the car was stopped at a light obviously) on my phone, and saw a post by my very dear friend Bekah who said that her cat was dying. So I ran home, got my clothes for work, and went to help out. The cat is now at the vet in the hospital getting all better. So then I went to work, got off of work because it was SUPER slow! I had lunch with an old friend from Catering, and now I just enjoyed a fantastic dinner with Bekah....and that is the recipe that will be on tonight's blog.

Baked Caesar Chicken

4 chicken breasts (boneless)
1 bottle of caesar dressing
2 cups of mozzerella

Pound the chicken breasts to 1/4 inch, spray the bottom of a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in a bowl with 1/2 the caesar dressing and marinate for 4 hours.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken in the 9x13 pan, cover with remaining dressing. Top the entire dish with the mozzerella. Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Remove from the oven and ENJOY!!!

This was delicious!! I am working alot this week, so don't know how many recipes I will get this week....

ENJOY!!!!

Sick!

So I went to have dessert at my favorite restaurant (it could not have anything to do with the fact that I work there), and had dessert with some of my favorite girls in the whole world. We have been trying to have a girls night and since the semester is not in full swing yet, I figured last night would be good, and it worked out for a few of us. So dessert was good, coffee was good, catching up with these ladies was amazing! And then I woke up this morning.....and couldn't talk....And since I was supposed to work a double today at work, that wasn't a very good thing. I don't feel sick, I just cant talk. I mean my throat is killing me, but other than that I feel fine. So I got sent home from work this morning, and am hoping that this is like a 12 hour virus or something so that I can go to work tonight. I can not afford to just be randomly voiceless.

Enough about being sick....Enchiladas last night were soooo good! There were no leftovers at all, which is always a good sign in my book. People can be polite and eat the first helping and then use the "I'm full" excuse to get out of suffering through a second helping. But when they willingly go back for more and don't leave any behind, I think you know you have had a successful evening in the kitchen. Even the kids of the family I live with were telling me that they really liked it.

If you know me, then you know that I am very nervous and quite anal when it comes to other people besides my mom trying my food. I always want constructive criticism about my cooking, but typically the response I get is...."It's really good". Don't get me wrong, I love getting that response, but that doesn't really help me when trying to improve the dish, nor does it tell me if it is a repeatable dish. I am always terrified that people will tell me that something is good and that they like it, and then I keep making it because I think it was a success, and then you know about the 10th time or so that you make someone finally can't take it anymore and just tells you flat out that they hate it. That has never happened to me, but nonetheless I am afraid of it happening because all of my friends are so kind.

I love my job, I love the people I work with, and I am absolutely in love with the Tomato Basil soup that they make. My mission is to replicate that recipe exactly. It is without a doubt the best tomato basil soup I have ever had in my life! Eat the soup with the Jalepeno Cheddar rolls that are homemade there as well, and it is like heaven in a bowl. This is another thing you will quickly learn about me, I love bread! I really wish that there was a way to get all of the nutrients you need on a daily basis out of bread and potatoes. I could eat those everyday and never get tired of them. Throw in Mexican food and Chinese every once in a while and I could be happy forever!

Well I probably won't cook tonight, but the next thing on my list is cheese straws. Phyllo dough is one of my favorite things to work with in the kitchen. I got this recipe from Semi-homemade with Sandra Lee. I really like her show, and she always has the cutest table setups and is always so color coordinated. If you have never worked with Phyllo dough before, you need to be very relaxed the first time you try it, because it is such a thin dough that it can get very frustrating very quickly. So go into it expecting to mess up a few times when trying to separate the sheets of dough.

Phyllo Cheese Straws:
8oz of cream cheese softened
1/4 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese
a pinch of salt
1 egg
1 pkg of phyllo dough (in the box there are 2 pkgs)
1/2 cup of melted butter
1 gallon freezer ziploc bag
Store bought Pesto (I use the regular basil pesto, and a sundried tomato pesto)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium size bowl with a fork mix together the cream cheese, parmesan chees, salt, and the egg. Once it is well mixed, transfer mixture into the ziploc bag and push towards one corner. Cut the tip off the corner of the ziploc bag to make a pastry bag, and set aside. On a flat lightly floured surface, lay out one sheet of phyllo dough, and brush on a light coat of melted butter. Pipe a thin strip of the mixture down the middle of the dough (top to bottom on the width of the dough). Fold in half lengthwise, and roll into a straw. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining mixture and dough. Coat the tops of the straws with the remaining melted butter right before you put it into the oven so the tops get a nice golden color. Bake at 425 for about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and enjoy! To make more manageable straws, before you bake them, cut the straws in half.

These are one of my sister's favorites that I cook, and I hope that you enjoy them as well.

Until next time, happy cooking!

A New Beginning

My very first blog! Hello world!!

Well today has been a pretty good day thus far. I worked this morning and got home just in time to see the Cowboys get their butts kicked by the Vikings. Is Brett Favre ever going to retire? I feel like he is one of the very few athletes that seems to continue to get better and has yet to reach is peak, or if he has reached his peak, he is maintaining it.

Enough about sports, I promise this will not turn into a sports blog, however, if sports is brought up on a fairly regular basis, who am I to complain? But seriously, on to the cooking part of this blog. My very amazing and talented friend Emily introduced me to probably the best enchiladas I have ever eaten....ever. My family pretty much agrees and anyone who I have made them for also concurs. So I am making them again tonight, but as I was in the grocery store I kept trying to come up with some variations for them, don't get me wrong, they are pretty much perfection as they are, but I like trying new things. I was thinking maybe adding fresh spinach, or perhaps trying a different cheese in the filling.

Here is the recipe...

Emily's Enchiladas:
8oz of cream cheese cubed
1/2 a rotisserie chicken shredded (depending on how much chicken you want)
1 small onion
1-2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
About 1 tsp of cumin
2 Tbsp of finely chopped cilantro
parsley flakes
salt and pepper
Shredded cheese
1 pkg of tortillas (I use the Southwestern Tortillas from HEB)
1 can of enchilada sauce (I use the Old Elpaso Green Chili Enchilada Sauce)
9x13 lightly greased oven safe dish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

So basically what you do is saute the garlic and onion together until the onions are translucent. Then add the chicken and cream cheese. Add chili powder, cumin, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. You can add more chili powder if you want more spice. Mix until cream cheese has melted and you have a thick mixture. Put one large spoonful of the mixture in the center of the tortilla, roll up, and place in the lightly grease pan. Repeat until mixture is gone. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over all enchiladas and top with shredded cheese. Leave uncovered and put in the oven until the cheese is melted. Pull out, garnish with parsley and chopped cilantro if desired. Plate and enjoy!





These are really amazing enchiladas as I said before and are super simple to make! If you want to make them in advance, just don't add the sauce or shredded cheese until right before you put them in the oven. Let me know what you think, if you haven't had them before, and if you have any suggestions as to some new ideas for them. I hope you enjoy!!!