St. Patrick's Day

It seems only fitting to post something about this very green holiday today.  So here are some facts you may not know about St. Patrick's Day.

- I just overheard that people eat Green Mashed Potatoes on this holiday, I've never heard of eating green mashed potatoes

- It is a holiday to celebrate Irish culture

- It is a traditional holiday for spiritual renewal

- Saint Patrick is credited for bringing Christianity to Ireland

- Saint Patrick is most commonly know for driving snakes from Ireland

- Below is a stained glass window from  a church in Dublin that portrays Saint Patrick

(Here is a website dedicated to St. Patrick's Day if you'd like to find out some more interesting facts http://www.st-patricks-day.com/ )

 

The Importance of Shoes

Imagine for a minute what your feet would be like without shoes. 

Did you think of much? 

Well let's start out with an easier question rather than jumping right in.  What do we use shoes for?  Well many would say to cover our feet, or to protect our feet from the outside elements.  This is true, but why do you buy shoes then?  Most women would say "Because they're really cute and I have the perfect top to match them" and most men would say "Because the pair I have on are falling apart and my mother/wife is nagging me about getting new ones", two very different answers for buying a pair of shoes, that are simply for protecting our feet. 

But where would we be without shoes?  I know I would have some pretty sore feet.  As for today they would also be very wet, as it is raining right now.  Your feet would be burnt and calloused in the summer from walking on the hot pavement and they would be blue and possibly missing a toe or two in the winter from walking in the snow. 

Sometimes we under value things that mean a great deal to our daily lives.  We kick them off when we get home not bothering to untie them and throw them to the back our closet when we are "cleaning" our rooms or houses. 

This is something to think about today, why are shoes important to you?  What do your shoes mean to you? 

Adventures in Cooking

I am really enjoying cooking right now so I decided to make some desserts yesterday.  I made eclairs and key lime cupcakes.  The cupcakes were just a mix from a box, but I made the eclairs from scratch.  So I'll tell you about that recipe. 

I had made these once before for a foods day in my french class in high school and I kind of just winged it and did my own sort of recipe, so here is my improvisation taken from a cookbook and a youtube video. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of water
3 oz butter, 6 tbsp
1 cup flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4-5 eggs
1 box Instant Vanilla Pudding, jello brand (any flavor with do)
1 conatiner chocolate icing





*Picture - two of the eclairs, and one of the cupcakes (that is a pot of gold on the cupcake for St. Patrick's Day)*
Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees (Fahrenhiet).  Bring milk, water, and butter to a roiling boil.  Add salt, sugar and flour once boiling. 
2.  Stire with a wooden spoon until the dough rolls into a ball shape. 
3.  Remove from heat.
4.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, and mix until a thick mixture.  (You may not need all 5 eggs, you may only need 4)
5.  Put mixture into a plastic bag with one corner cut out and form into "fingers" (about the length and width of a finger) on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.
6.  Put into oven at 450 for 10 minutes.
7.  Turn pan around, lower temperature to 375, put in for 15 minutes.
8.  Let cool.
9.  Make instant pudding for filling. 
10.  Add chocolate, or other desired topping, on top. 

I have a few extra tips for making these because it can be tricky, especially the first time.
1.  After the eclairs have cooled, use a straw, such as one you would get at a McDonald's. to poke a hole through one end of the eclair, but do not push the straw through the other end, this make filling the eclairs with the filling much easier.
2.  When you are ready to add the topping, if it is icing, I reccommend heating up the container of icing, without the lid, for 15 seconds.  This loosens it up just enough to make it easier to spread on, but doesn't make it too runny so that it runs off the top. 
3.  You can also add fruit to the top of the eclairs, I used strawberries this time. 
4.  You can also make substitutes for the pusing inside, you can use a jam or jelly as well as any flavor of pudding. 

If you try it out, leave a comment and let me know how it turns out!

Topic Today: Food!!!

I have decided to write about a recipe I made not too long ago and I think turned out great.  I made Chicken Parmigiana, I found this recipe on allrecipes.com I use that source a lot for recipes when I'm looking for a new one.  I made this for my boyfriend who loves chicken and he loved it.  I don't even like chicken and I liked it, which definitely says something.  This recipe is relatively cheap and while the serving is only for two you can always double it to make for the family.

The recipe:

Makes 2 servings

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour

Ingredients:

1 egg, beaten
2 ounces dry bread crumbs (I used shake and bake seasoned bread crumbs & it turned out great)
2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
3/4 (16 ounce) jar of spaghetti sauce
2 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking sheet.

2. Pour egg into a small shallow bowl. Place bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken into egg, then into the bread crumbs. Place coated chicken on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until no longer pink and juices run clear.

3. Pour 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce into a 7x11 inch baking dish. Place chicken over sauce, and cover with remaining sauce. Sprinkle mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top and return to the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

For sides, I added French cut green beans and bow tie noodles and it was very good. 

Here is what mine turned out like:

To the Readers

So I've gotten a lot of traffic on here the last couple of days and I really hope everyone is enjoying what they are reading, and if not leave me a suggestion, write a comment or email me, my email is going to be posted and I'll leave my twitter handle as well.  If you want to tweet me feel free, if that is more your style.  I am going to be trying a lot of different things on this blog until I find my niche.  My readers are what's important to me so let me know what you think.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!

The Urge to Run: Mudderella, Color Run, and Relay for Life

So my boyfriend was a cross country runner in high school and really loved it.  I ran track in high school and hated it.  He wants the two of us to start training to run a 5K.  Well that's not so bad so I figured why not, let's do it.  So I've been doing a little research online, to find some stuff out, better ways to exercise and train and such, and I have found a few things that sounds pretty interesting.  First of all, Mudderella, I follow them on Facebook and Instagram and it seems like it would be a lot of fun to do an obstacle course in an insane amount of mud.  But it also seems very hard, for someone like me, who has trouble running a mile with having an asthma attack.  But I'd really like to do it.

Has anyone ever done Mudderella or something like it?  If so feel free to share your experience in the comments. 

I have also heard about the Color Run, which sounds pretty fun as well.  How well will the paint come off though?  Haha, I've heard it can stick around for a while. 

So I'm starting my training with a friend of mine today.  We are going to the gym on our campus and hopefully work up a good sweat.  I don't know exactly how to go about training for either of these races.  I do know one thing for sure, my upper arms need some serious training, I can only do one push-up, its sad, I know.  The worst part is that I played volleyball in high school and continue to play pick-up games and my arm strength is, as I explain it to friends, the equivalent to the strength of cooked spaghetti noodles. 

Race number three is the Relay for Life, which I'm sure so many people already know about.  It is a relay for the fight against cancer that raises money for cancer research.  This one I know that I definitely want to participate in and my friends and I have already talked about being involved in the one that our campus does every year.  I think that this is a great cause and I encourage anyone to get involved with it.  Its a fantastic way to give back and help those in need who are fighting for their lives every single day and to remember those who have lost their battle with cancer. 

Valentine's Day

So I figured I should post a little something about Valentine's Day since it just happened Friday.  Firstly, the two pictures to the left are the beautiful gifts I received from my wonderful boyfriend and the pictures don't do them justice.  He also wrote me the sweetest poem in my card but that is for my eyes only.  This was our first Valentine's Day together, and my intention is not for this blog to be a record of my life, but this weekend has been such a wonderful time in my life and one that I want to remember forever, so I can't help wanting to share it.  This man, Ronnie, who has given me not only the most amazing Valentine's Day but also his love and affection, is the most wonderful man I have ever met.  I don't just say this because he is the love of my life, but because he truly is a fantastic man.  He is a little quite but extremely funny and kind, he is one of the most generous and genuine people I've ever met.  He would do anything for anyone, especially those who he cares for.  He is a little nerdy in the most adorable way and has the cutest smile and most amazing eyes.  For these reasons and so many more, he is the love of my life and he forever will be.

It is for all these reasons that it was so hard to say goodbye to him tonight when dropped me off at college after my weekend with him.  This was one of the hardest times ever to say goodbye to him, for any reason.  We have gone longer without seeing each other and we have had longer time together before saying goodbye to each other; but this one was particularly difficult.  It could have been because of the wonderful weekend we had, because it was Valentine's Day weekend, because it was a weekend filled with love and the reminder of how much love we had for each other, or because of any number of other reasons.  But all I know, is that when we were only ten minutes from my campus I turned down the radio, during my favorite song, and proceeded to cry telling him much I love him and how much I would miss him during the upcoming week.  So if you're reading this, I love you Ronnie, so very much!!!