I Run For: Crack Dip

Top Left: App State wins.
Right: Roxy and I enjoy the Greenway.
Bottom Left: Kev and I during pre-game festivities.

Week 3: Half Marathon Training
Goal Total Miles: 18 miles
Total Miles: 17 miles

Yeah, I'm a mile short this week. I didn't map out my long run quite right.  I'll make it up next week. Nothing more to see here.

We went to my favorite part of the world this week for a family reunion/tailgate/Appalachian State University football game. Family reunions that involve sports, alcohol and food are the only type of family reunions I want to go to.

My contribution for the event included a simple pasta salad, crappy box brownies, and my signature tailgate crack dip. Just make it - you'll find out why it's called crack dip. Be sure to have lots of crackers on hand. You'll thank me later.

Tailgate Crack Dip
16 oz sour cream
1 packet of Fiesta Ranch dressing mix
3 oz bacon bits (the real kind in the bag)
1.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 to 3 tsp hot sauce (optional if you like hot stuff)
1 green onion sliced thin (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Mix everything together and refrigerate for 24 hours. I like to serve it hot if I'm at home. Just heat in the oven at 350ºF for 30 minutes. Add a little extra shredded cheddar on top before you put it in the oven for extra yumminess. Enjoy!

Source link to original recipe that I've gussied up for my own taste.

I Run for Butter

Latest Workouts:

Brooks Pure Cadence

Wednesday: 5.34 miles/ 51:28
Thursday: 3.54 miles/33:59

I ran in my pink shoes for two days in a row. I don't know if the shoes are the issue or if my feet really hate me. Both? While my left foot (not the movie) seems to be improving in these new shoes, my right foot has gone and shown its ass. The inside arch of my that foot, especially around the ball of my foot and the joint of my big toe isn't liking something. I'm sucking it up and keeping up the ice soaks, taking Advil, and wearing compression socks. I'm not sure there's much else I can do. Eventually it will get better or I'll have to gnaw it off like that guy in 127 Hours.

Dessert of the Week: Gooey Butter Cake

I had a serious boyfriend when I was in high school and his mom baked once a week and made crazy good Tex-Mex. She called these golden bars of gooey goodness blondies, but every blondie recipe I've ever made tasted nothing like what I remember. That was until I tried this recipe for Gooey Butter Cake - bingo!

My research tells me that Gooey Butter Cake is a St. Louis, MO, delicacy. I almost don't believe this since the the over-use of butter was perfected by Southerners, but whatever. Warning: it is incredibly sweet. Make this recipe if you have company that likes sweets. While they are in a sugar-induced coma you can convince them to do anything for you - like paint your house or clean your cat litter box.

It is also important to have someone to give some of this cake to because you might eat the whole pan, no matter how sick it makes you.

Gooey Butter Cake

Ingredients:
1 Yellow Cake Mix
3 eggs
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of melted butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
8 oz cream cheese (softened)

Directions:
1. Combine the cake mix, 1 egg and 8 tbsp of melted butter. Make sure mixture is nice and smooth.
2. Press mixture into the bottom of a greased pan. I used 9x13, but 9x9 will work too.
3. Whip cream cheese until smooth
4. Add remaining 8 tbsp melted butter, 2 eggs, vanilla to the cream cheese
5. Once smooth, gradually add in powdered sugar one cup at a time
6. Pour mixture over cake mixture already in the pan
7. Bake for 40 minutes

Check the cake so it doesn't over brown. It doesn't cook all the way through, so the knife test doesn't apply here. It should be gooey. Allow cake to cool before serving or else it will fall apart on you when you attempt to cut it.

Experiment with different flavors of cake mixes or add chocolate or pumpkin to the cream cheese mixture for a different flavor.

Link to Original Source: Gooey Butter Cake Recipe

I Run for Pie

Latest Workouts:
Wednesday: 5.1 mi/ 49:17, speed work
Thursday: 2.2 mi/ 19:28, slow run

I'm still not sure what these two mile runs are supposed to be doing for me, but I almost feel like I shouldn't even bother putting on shorts and a tank top because I'll be done so quickly. I guess I could actually do something else to make the effort of putting on clothes worth it. Don't even get me started about the effort involved in showering and washing my hair.

I loved everything about my speed work on Wednesday. On the three 800m repeats, I ran a 3:52, 3:52 and 3:44 which was a pleasant surprise. I like picking up the pace a bit. That's really all there is to it. I've not mastered the long run, zone-out yet. But, I better start figuring that one out.

To celebrate my swiftness, I made my aunt's Blueberries and Cream Pie as the dessert for the week. Blueberries are a super food, right? I'm sure Dr. Oz would approve.

Just a word of warning on this one - use fresh berries and not frozen. There's just too much liquid in frozen berries and my pie never sets up correctly when I use them. If you know a trick of how to add more flour or whatever to help it set - you'll need to use it if you use the frozen fruit. This pie is good with fresh peaches or a mix of raspberries and blackberries if blueberries aren't your thing.

Blueberries & Cream Pie

Ingredients: 
1  Frozen pie crust - or you can make your own if you are BFF with Martha Stewart
1.5 to 2 cup  Blueberries or other fresh fruit (see note above about frozen fruit)
2/3 cup  Sugar
1 cup Whipping Cream (do not whip)
4 tbsp Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400ºF
Line pastry dish with pie crust
Pour berries/fruit in bottom of the pie crust
Mix together all other ingredients and pour over fruit
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes
Let cool to allow the pie to properly set up

I know you will want to dig right in as soon as you smell it, but believe me you want the pie to have time to cool so it doesn't run off of your plate. We put it back in the microwave for l0 seconds to warm it up and serve with fro-yo on top. Enjoy!

Ruby Berry Run

Latest Run:

3.36 mi/ 29:22 min

A nothing special run on Wednesday. I worked while I ran, brainstorming about a theme for a client campaign and it made the time go by faster. The humidity was horrible so just thinking about anything other than the weather was what I needed. 

Also on my run I thought about what I would cook for dinner for the next few days. It's only been about 9 months since I made the commitment to really changing my lifestyle where eating and exercise are concerned. KC and I ate out entirely too much. It is almost embarrassing to admit how frequently we went to a restaurant. I now cook dinner two times a week at a minimum, sometimes three. We eat leftovers or have a "do-it-yourself meal" the rest of the week and go out to a restaurant once or twice at the most. 

In sticking with this plan, I've found that I'm a pretty good cook. I can't do fancy meals, but I've learned how to make a number of different dishes that have become fast favorites. I like that I have control over what goes in it and how much I put on my plate at each meal. 

I've started making one dessert a week as a part of my menu planning. Cobblers and pies are popular this summer as I try to take advantage of the fresh fruit of the season, but I plan to add in cookies and brownies as the weather gets cooler.  The goal is to do everything from scratch. No box mixes. Our desserts last as long as we allow - again portion control and self-discipline come into play here. 

Yesterday, I decided I must make my favorite cobbler of all time - Ruby Berry Cobbler. Strawberries and rhubarb with an oatmeal topping and it's made in the microwave in a total of 15 minutes. I grew up eating this as it was my dad's favorite too. Served warm with some vanilla fro-yo and it might be my favorite dessert in the world. 

For the record - I know this it has sugar in it. Feel free to doctor it up as you would like with honey or agave or Splenda. I know it isn't great for me, but other than partaking in a bite or two of dessert throughout the week, I don't eat sugar in anything else. Moderation has worked for me and I'll stick to it until it doesn't. 

Ruby Berry Cobbler

3/4 cup of sugar

3 tbsp of all purpose flour

1 10 oz pkg of frozen sliced strawberries

3 cups of rhubarb, chopped 

1/3 c butter or margarine

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup unsifted all purpose flour

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional)

In a 2 qt baking dish, combine sugar and flour. Add frozen strawberries and cook uncovered 4 minutes on high (microwave), stirring once to mix in thawed berries. Stir in rhubarb. Prepare topping by melting butter in mixing bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients until crumbly, sprinkle evenly over berry mixture. Cook uncovered for 8 minutes on high or until mixture is bubbling toward center. For crisper toppings, place under broiler for a few minutes. Serve warm