Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas

Such a yummy snack, full of fiber and protein!  Better for you than S&V chips ;)


Salt and Vinegar Roasted Chickpeas

Recipe from “Oh She Glows”

• 1 can chickpeas
• 2(ish) cups white vinegar
• sea salt
• Non-stick spray (canola or olive oil)

Rinse chickpeas, then place in a pot and add enough vinegar to submerge well.  Add about 1t of sea salt.  Bring to a boil, then remove from heat.  Let sit for 30 minutes.  Heat oven to 425F.  Drain chickpeas, then place in a tinfoil lined baking dish.  Give them a quick spray with the oil, then sprinkle more sea salt all over, stirring to cover well.  Bake for 45 minutes, making sure to watch carefully after the 35 minute mark (they can burn quickly!).  Roast until browned and crunchy.  

Ranch Cream Cheese Veggie “Pizza”

Ranch Cream Cheese Veggie “Pizza”
(courtesy of Pillsbury :)

makes 4 servings, 325 calories/serving

• 1 can reduced fat crescent rolls
• 4oz (1/2 a block) fat free cream cheese
• 1/2c low fat sour cream
• 1/2 pkg ranch dressing mix
• Chopped veggies (cucumber, broccoli, peppers, carrots...)

Preheat oven to 375F.  Unroll dough and separate into 4 rectangle.  Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Let cool.

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, and ranch mix.  Spread on cooled dough.  Place chopped veggies on top and enjoy!

Gun ho!

I have this tendency to get really, really excited about a project and it will be the only thing I want to do.
What homework?
You mean I have to eat today?  I just did that yesterday!
Oh right, work...
Well, right now my arms are spattered with primer and I've got big plans in the works!
The only thing is that with my quick excitement can come quick distraction with other things.  I hope I get this deal done before I move on to the next project ;)

Cupcakes for 2!

Sometimes you just really need a cupcake, but what are you going to do, make 12 of 'em? You know you'll either have the leftovers go stale and have to throw a bunch of cupcakes away or eat waaaay more than you should (probably the latter).  However, on pinterest there was a recipe for cupcakes for two! Perfect.
I followed the recipe, except I used half butter flavouring and half almond extract instead of vanilla.  For the frosting I used a bit of whipped cream cheese, icing sugar, and some fresh raspberries.  Then I topped 'er off with some straight whipped cream cheese and some raspberries.

Homeland

During the semester break, I got to go up to Canada to hang out with my family for a few days.  Then Sam, Chris, and Jamie came up and we went to Waterton.  Here are just a few pics of the trip:

Hanging out at Grandma's

Petting zoo/corn maze (feeding Maggie to the pig)

Hiking in Waterton

Eating awesome ice cream

I'm excited to go back!  I seriously had such a great time-- especially seeing and visiting with some of my favourite people.  It's nice going back to where you came from.  It's a feeling that I don't get just anywhere.

Less than a month to go...

There are 25 days until the St. George Marathon!  Holy smokes.
I'm a little anxious, but I know I can do it.  This week is my last week of real training.  After that, it will be tapering down the load and maintaining what I have gained all summer.  As of today, I have logged 1022 miles of running for 2011! I feel ready, especially after the run I had today!

oh yeah.

This afternoon I did my last super long run before the race.  I was getting ready to go out running, and Sam asked me how far I was going to go. "Either 10 or 20 miles, I haven't decided".  Well, I got to mile 8 and I had a lot left in me, so I figured I would carry on. (Getting long training runs out of the way early in the week is the best, especially since we have a fun weekend away in the works!) At mile 18 I ended up back at the house (we were with Mom and Dad White in Alpine), and I could have easily just stopped there, but instead I dropped off my stuff in the garage and kept on going without the iPod and other stuff.  At this point I knew that every step was a new distance record for me, which pushed me along at a great pace.  My watch beeped 20 miles, and I felt like I could just keep going.  I probably could have, but I made myself walk the rest of the way back.  Oh man, my legs started burning so badly on the walk home.  Was that ever a good thing to find out!  Come marathon time, after mile 20, I can't start walking or I won't be able to start running again!  The best part, though, is that I maintained my race pace the entire time, even with the hills and wind.  I think I'll make my marathon time goal in October!

So there you have it.  I probably won't make it up the campus hill tomorrow, but I think I have a good reason.

LaboUr Day Weekend!

I have never liked that we get a long weekend right after school starts-- I'm not exhausted from school yet, I don't need it now!  But still, it was a good time!

On Saturday Sam and I went to the temple to do sealings.  I love doing sealings because it is always such a small group, and you are all working together to do something wonderful.  It just feels so intimate and special!

After the temple, we hit up Seven Peaks!  We just bought the Pass of All Passes, and I highly recommend getting it!  For $30 you get unlimited entrance to Seven Peaks, Trafalaga, the ice arena, and all that jazz.  You go and do something two or three times and it's paid off!  I'm stoked to go skating!  It's also nice because you can just go do something for a couple of hours and not feel like you have to stay all day to make it "worth it".  We just stayed for a short time and explored, since it was our first time going.  It was terrifying going on the slides for the first time when you have no idea what to expect!  Oh hello there, drop of doom freefall and massive wedgie.  I don't think some of the girls there do anything at the park, because there is no way some of their clothes would stay on on some of those slides!

We then hit up Smiths to get some supplies to make lasagna, garlic bread, and salad.  After dinner we just lazied around and enjoyed the evening!

Sunday and Monday we went to Mom and Dad White's house to hang out.  If you haven't seen the movie RED-- I enjoyed it!  Monday afternoon I needed to get my run in... a 20 mile run.  Oh my.  I have another post in the works about my running excursions, so I'll get into that later.  This post is already too long, and I've probably lost most people by now ;)

Butternut Squash Risotto and Roasted Veggies

As sad as I am to see most of my favourite fruits and veggies going out of season, I'm excited for all of the yummy squashes that will be coming around!  The other night I made "Butternut Squash Risotto and Roasted Veggies", and let me tell ya, it was DANG good!  Even better, we have a ton of leftover squash so I'm going to make some butternut squash soup this week too!

Butternut Risotto

1 cup cubed butternut squash

1 tablespoon Smart Balance

1/4 onion, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup Arborio rice

2 1/2 cups hot chicken stock

1/3 cup almond milk

seasoning salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Place squash cubes into a steamer basket in a saucepan. Add water, cover, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to steam until the squash is tender (10 to 15 minutes), then drain, and mash in a bowl with a fork.

Melt smart balance in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; cook and stir for 2 minutes until the onion begins to soften, then stir in the rice. Continue cooking and stirring until the rice is glossy from the butter, and the onion begins to brown on the edges, about 5 minutes more.

Stir in the mashed squash and 1/3 of the hot chicken stock; reduce heat to medium. Cook and stir until the chicken stock has been absorbed by the rice, 5 to 7 minutes. Add half of the remaining chicken stock, and continue stirring until it has been absorbed. Finally, pour in the remaining stock and almond milk, and continue stirring until the risotto is creamy. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

NOTE: You can use regular rice (which I did) by adding all of the ingredients after sautéing the onion and cooking at a low boil until done.

Roasted Veggies

• 2 cups butternut squash, cubed
• 1 zucchini, sliced
• several red potatoes (or other) halved
• 1 sweet potato, cubed
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 1T thyme
• 1T rosemary
• 3T EVOO
• 2T balsamic vinegar
• Seasoning salt and pepper to taste

Put all veggies in a bowl.  Combine spices, EVOO, and vinegar.  Pour over veggies and stir to cover.