Cheese and Spinach Stuffed Portabellos

Tonight I made cheese and spinach portabellos for dinner and a lovely salad.  I added ground turkey to Will's for a meat option.  The below recipe is for two people with left over sauce for later.

Step One:
Make pasta sauce to your liking.  Here's what I used to make mine:
. 2 cloves garlic, minced
. quarter of an onion, minced
. chopped fresh basil, oregano and parsley
. handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
. 1 can tomato sauce, 1/2 can tomato paste

Saute your garlic and onion then add the rest of the ingredients and simmer slow and low for a few hours (or as long as you have).  I added salt and pepper and stirred occasionally.

Step Two:
Pre-heat oven to 450.  Wash and dab-dry portabello tops.  Place them gill-side up on a baking pan and salt and pepper them.  Roast for 20-25 minutes.

Step Three:
Make filling.  Mix the below ingredients in a bowl.
. 1/2 cup skim ricotta
. 1/4 cup skim, shredded mozzarella
. 1/4 cup shredded peccorino romano, or any other cheese you like
. salt and pepper to taste
. 1 cup chopped fresh spinach

Step Four: (optional)
. brown turkey meat with tomato sauce in a pan

*Note: I did not touch any meat during the making of these mushrooms.

Lastly, layer your portabellos.  Mushroom, some sauce, (meat), cheese topping.  Bake for 10 more minutes at 450.  Broil at 500 for 3 minutes.

Serve with extra, warm tomato sauce for dipping. Enjoy!

This is the version with ground turkey.

Served with a simple salad.

 Salad ingredients for those interested: bibb lettuce, baby spinach, blueberries, cherries, almonds (optional).  I mixed a sweet and tangy dressing as well.

Quit Complaining

You heard me... quit complaining that you're hot.  Or that you need rain.  Am I a bit grouchy, yes, but it's validated. See below.

It only makes sense that my birthday is the hottest day of the year.  I seem to gravitate towards record setting weather days for things like my birthday, our wedding (hottest and most humid day in AL in like 100 years) etc...  Oh well, when there's snow on the ground for months and winds below zero in the north, I'll be laughing, warm in Texas.

Topic Number Two: Book Review: One Fifth Avenue  by: Candace Bushnell

A summary: bad. As in, not good at all.  As in, don't read this book, it's a waste of time. I had high expectations for this book since I love the Sex and the City series, written by Bushnell.  I'm not sure if it was the plot line or the characters or what, but it took all I had to finish the 400+ page book.  I'm not a quitter, especially with books, so I had to finish it for my own satisfaction.  If I was the type of person to give up on books easily, then I would have put it down after about ten minutes.  The only plus is that I borrowed this book from the library so I didn't waste my own money on it.

Sorry, Candace...I expected more from you.

Dallas Rocks!

I'm not saying literally that Dallas rocks, I'm saying we went to Dallas Rocks today.  It's an indoor rock climbing gym off of Forest Lane.  Will is in great shape and I'm in pretty good shape, but let me just tell you... it's not easy to boulder (free-style rock climb).  But, it's so fun!

We started out doing rock climbing on the wall and were harnessed in with ropes.  That was pretty easy to start with.  Then we tried bouldering.  That's basically, no ropes, just using brute strength and agility to climb up a wall with different levels/types of rocks to grab onto.  It exercises your muscles, gets your heart rate going, and makes you think about how to move up the wall.  The 'serious' climbers who were there were so fit and quite impressive.

My hands are tender and body is tired, but we'll definitely go again.  Give it a try for yourself.
www.dallasrocks.com

*Tip: Wear work-out capri's or long pants...not shorts.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II

Movie Review

Will and I went to the movies this weekend and saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II.  You probably don't know (unless you are my college roommate, Brittany... who gave me a light-up wand for the first Harry Potter movie) that I am a huge Harry Potter fan.  Again... I know this makes me kind of a dork... BUT...it's such a fabulous and creative series.  I've read, and own, all the books and have seen all the movies.  I even own one British version copy because when we were in London on our study abroad trip in 2003 a new book came out and I had to have it right away, so sweet Will, trying to court me and win me as his wife, hunted down a copy hot off the press.

Almost ten years after reading the first book and getting 'hooked,' the series comes to a close with this final movie.  It was a fabulous journey and makes me reminisce on the past years of my life, and how Harry Potter was a part of it ;)  haha...

Go see the movie, it's great.

Credit: WakeyWakeyNews

Credit: News in US

Credit: Richard Corkery/News

Champagne Bridal Tea

Last year I had the pleasure of meeting Katherine G. (name with held for privacy!).  We met in a commercial real estate organization for women and instantly became friends. Ironically, my husband and her fiance, work at the same place and didn't even know each other until we introduced them.  Boys...

I was invited to a champagne bridal tea at Maudee's and it was lovely.  The invitation said to wear our 'favorite tea party hat'...hum, the only hats in my repertoire are dry-wick running hats - don't exactly go with a dress.  So, I ran over to Target and picked up a white hat to go with my ensemble.  While my hat wasn't exactly daring, I hope to wear it again.  Some of the other ladies' hats were fabulous -- and of course -- Katherine's was the star of the show.  A friend of hers made it to wear to the Derby and lent it to her for the tea.  Fabulous!  Everything was so nice and well put together and I think the idea of serving champagne at a tea is one of the best idea's I've heard of in a while ;)

Thanks for a wonderful time, Katherine!

Katherine's is on the right - isn't her hat great?!

Coeur d'Alene, Idaho: Part Two

Are you thirsty for more?  You're in luck because I have more photos from CDA for you.

Welcome Dinner
Two nights before the race we attended the 'Welcome dinner' where the MC gets up on a podium and gets all the athletes psyched up about the race.  They play a video and loud music while everyone loads up on pasta, salad and cannolis and then they have all the athletes stand up for various categories such as: oldest racer, youngest racer, first time racers and finally, number of Ironmans completed.  The winner for 'most Ironmans completed' was a Canadian gentleman, around 55 or 60 years old, who had completed 120.  Not to mention, his wife, also about 55 or 60, had completed over 50.  Crazy Canadians! Very impressive.  They even had the mayor of Coeur d'Alene, who wears a Harley Davidson vest, give a speech.

Did I mention yet that Will's parents came? Here they are!

CDA mayor

 

Sure sign of a triathlete -- wears a visor.


Day Before Race
1. Buy extra cartridges: check.
2. Buy aero-bottle cage: check.
3. Buy new tire for bike: check.
4. Buy neoprene booties: check.
5. Buy extra socks: check.

See a pattern?  It takes a lot to get ready for this huge event, but once we finally got all the necessary racing items, we checked Will's Kuota into transition and said a little prayer.

Pre-race ride.

Note vest: please see below.



Driving the bike route.

It takes a lot to be an athlete in this race, but it also takes a lot to be a supporter!  Mr & Mrs E and I had a lot of cheering items to make and take around the course including, but not limited to: a maraca, cow bell, multiple signs, whistle and air-horn.  Luckily Will's dad had taken a liking to wearing a vest when he travels because it has lots of pockets (see above photo).  It's kind of like wearing a giant fanny pack...I think he might be on to something.

Note: Will's nickname is 'Poop' and for the record,
he did not poop himself.

Race Morning: 140.6...Here we come!
We woke up at 4:00 am on Sunday morning to 60 degree weather, sunny skies and smooth water! The prayers worked...we had the warmest day and smoothest water of all week.  Will got body-marked with his numbers then we headed back to the resort to relax before the race started.

The swim start was the craziest, scariest (for me) part of the race.  Over 2,600 athletes crowded on the beach in matching wet-suits and green and pink swim caps, making it virtually impossible to tell them apart.  Once the cannon went off, they dove into the water to start their 2.4 mile swim.  They all start at once and just swim all over each other to find their own space, then after 1.2 miles, they exit the water, run around a timing mat, and get back in for lap number two.  I was able to relax a bit after I saw Will run around the timing mat after his first lap, thanks to the binoculars Mr E had in his handy vest.

First pro out of the water, under 50 minute swim.

View of the swim from our room.

After Will finished the swim and ran through transition, we cheered for him on his way out for his 112 mile bike ride.  The course was two loops so we got to see him multiple times on the bike.  We'd scream, ring our cow bells, wave signs at him, then schlep to the next place on the course to wait for him to come by again.  Providing encouragement is a full-time job.  Mr E named me 'Lead Sherpa' because I would lead us from place to place, then pick him out on the course as he came by.

Lookin' good!



Mr E's vest...I spy a water bottle,
 whistle and a rain jacket in the back!

On to the marathon.  It was also two loops, so we got to see Will quite a few times.


Looks like Mr E had some money in one of those pockets and
bought some ice cream on a 'sherpa' break.

 

Starting loop two, still looking great! 
Will is the guy running on the right.

And....the finish!  We were in the bleachers set up by the finish line, but it's so crowded that you can't really see who's coming down the shoot until they are almost at the line.  It was just under 13 hours, and we hear the MC yell 'We have two athletes coming, last ones trying to make it under the thirteen hour mark.  Will Eidson from Dallas, Texas...come on down!'  So we start screaming as loud as we can and there comes Will, last one to make it across the finish still in the 12's.  We bolt down the bleachers and go find Will, who is having his medal put on and photo taken as an Ironman finisher!

Congratulations, Wil!

Will is an Iron-Man!

I'm exhausted!  This post is getting to be very lengthy, hope you are still reading.

Farragut State Park
We took a nice sight-seeing ride in northern Idaho the day after the race.  Mr E used to take a train across the country from, Georgias absolutely beautiful.

Where's the vest???!!!

Farragut!

I spotted two deer!

I should note that we saw a deer and a baby deer (fawn) in town one day and the baby was so cute!  Then when we were at Farragut State Park we saw two more.  Plus, Will said on the run course he saw a deer run out of the woods and jump OVER a woman running the race!

The final stop on our trip north was a visit to a town called Sandpoint.  It's about 35 miles south of Canada. Very quaint and cute.

That's it...next day, packed up and headed back to Dallas.  It's depressing to go from 70 degrees to 100 degrees but it's always nice to be home.