Fitness Challenges: 10,000 sit ups in 25 days

If you're in need of a good challenge join me! Let's do 10,000 sit ups in 25 days! That is 400 a day! I know that sounds like a lot, but you can do it... and you won't regret doing it when you see how nice your core looks and feels!

So, come on what are you waiting for? Let's get started! Start today finish October 31. See you at the finish line :)



Let me know if you plan to join me! We can keep each other accountable!

This was Fitness Challenges: 10,000 sit ups in 25 days. Join in and find out what the next challenge might be!

All About Baking: Mini Maddies

A few weeks ago I bought a mini Madeleine sheet, and I am very excited to tell you that I used it today!

I made chocolate Madeleines rather than your basic lemon, but I am sure it won't be long before I try the traditional type too!

Today I want to first go over how to adjust when you realize that they recipe you chose was not the best recipe.

I made the first round of my mini Maddies thinking that the batter was too think, but because I followed a recipe I stuck with it. Sadly, the first set (while still tasting great) did not form those cute little shells on the front like they should. I attributed this to it's thickness and inability to really cover the sheet properly. What did I do you ask? Well, I added a little bit of milk at a time until I came up with a thin enough consistency to fill the sheet without having to spread the batter myself.

The original recipe is as follows:

1/4 c. flour

1/4 c. cocoa

1/2 t. baking powder

2 oz butter (1/4 cup)

1/2 t. vanilla

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

2 egg yolks

375 degrees

cream sugar, vanilla and butter

add eggs one at a time

mix dry ingredients together

add dry ingredients to batter

So I ended up adding probably about 2 Tablespoons of milk, maybe 3 to a half batter. Which would me to adjust this recipe it would be best to add 1/4 c. milk. OR it would be good to test it and melt the butter originally to see how that affects the consistency.

But, since I didn't foresee the problem I had to adjust accordingly during the recipe. Here's a picture between the two.

To the left are the thicker battered maddies and to the right are the adjusted ones. Excuse the bright flash

But, end result: tasty tasty tasty and fun! So, never be afraid of adjusting while baking. If you ever have a baking question, please ask away and I would be happy to answer you as best I can!

Decorate with powdered sugar!

pretty little shell shape!

This was All About Baking: Mini Maddies. Please stay tuned for more baking tips!

In the Pantry: Tomatillos

I bet you're wondering what is a tomatillo? A tomatillo is a Mexican fruit that I like to think of as a Mexican tomato, but in reality it is a cousin to the gooseberry. I saw these lovely fruits at the farmers market and decided I had to try them out. They come in a green husk that covers their smooth green skin.

Now you might be wondering, okay so I now know what a tomatillo is, but what they heck do you do with one? I'll tell you: make Salsa Verde

Step one:

Boil the tomatillo until soft.

Step two:

Blend the tomatillos in a food processor, add fresh garlic cloves, green chiles, half onion, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt.

Step three: Enjoy 

But, since I do not really like eating chips I added my salsa verde to soups.

The first week I made Caldo con Queso - a cheesey tomato potato Mexican soup. The salsa verde is used to add some extra spice.

Recipe: 

cubed potatoes (about 5 - leave the skins on if red potatoes)

olive oil 

[in large pot heat oil and add potatoes, cook until tender]

1 14 oz can of tomato sauce

[add to potatoes, then add same amount of water]

[simmer]

4 oz salsa verde

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 cup Mexican blended cheese

[stir into the soup, serve with sour cream and avocado]

The second week I made up a spicy, yummy soup. Here's what I did:

almost 1/4 cup dried black beans

almost 1/4 cup dried pinto beans

almost 1/4 cup brown rice

~5 cups water

[heat until boiled, then place lid on and simmer]

[once the beans and rice were cooked]

[add] 2 cups salsa verde

4 chicken tenderloins

sea salt

pepper

cayenne 

[all spices to taste]

[once chicken is cooked through, cut into pieces]

serve hot with cheese and sour cream

I tell you what I love creating recipes. If you've never done it you should try it. And, if you have done it you should share what creations you've made! Maybe we can recreate them too! If you ever try making one of my recipes let me know! I would love to hear about how it worked out for you!

This was In the Pantry: Tomatillos. Please stay tuned for more fun with items in your pantry :)