Preparation

It's amazing how much preparation can go into something...like a wedding...or a marathon... Try preparing for both at the same time! Actually, it hasn't been that bad! I'm enjoying both! Tomorrow is the big day. No, not the wedding day - although our countdown is at three weeks!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow is the big marathon day!! We will wake up at 3am to eat our oatmeal with strawberries and an egg. At 5am we will head to the start in Frenchtown. At 6am we will be running... And hopefully by 10am we will have crossed the finish line on the Higgins Street bridge! My "good" goal is to finish in under 4 hours. My "best" goal is to finish with my dad, who hopes to clock a 3hr30min or less to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

This is the dinner my mom and I made to help prep our bodies with a bunch of carbs: Caesar Salad Pasta with chicken, diced potatoes (my potatoes have Caesar dressing and Parmesan on them) and garlic bread. (We were gonna make green beans but ran out of time). It was a new recipe and it was yummy!!


I spend the rest of the evening prepping for my other big day---THE WEDDING!! My mom and I worked on our table names! They're coming along great! Jason did the first half of them when he helped get them started the other day, and he did an awesome job!!

Chicken and Artichoke Pizza

This is what I made for dinner tonight (New Year's Eve). The recipe is again from our nutrition class's "recipe makeover". Here it is:

Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust*
1 packet of yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 TBS honey
3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup cool water
1 TBS olive oil
pinch salt

Sauce**
2 TBS olive oil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 clove minced garlic

Toppings
2 chicken breast fillets, grilled & sliced
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup nonfat ricotta
1 cup rinsed & drained canned artichoke hearts, halved
3 medium plum tomatoes, diced
2 TBS grated Parmesan
pine nuts

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the honey and let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy.
2. Put the flour in a food processor fitted with a stainless-steel blade. Mix the 1 cup cool water with the olive oil and salt. With the motor running, pour the olive oil mixture and the yeast slowly in through the feed tube. Process until the dough forms a ball that rides around on the blade.
3. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double in bulk. Punch down the dough and knead it on a lightly floured surface for 1 minute. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and roll into tight balls. Place on tray, cover with damp towel, and let rest for several hours or overnight in the fridge before use.
4. Roll or stretch each ball of dough into a 7-8" circle. Place the circles, on at a rime, on a wooden peel or baking sheet and build the pizza as desired.
5. Preheat oven to 450. Brush the pizza dough with olive oil, garlic, and oregano. Add desired toppings and bake 7-8 minutes per pizza or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

*You can buy your own pre-made crust or use a bread maker to make the crust-making easier! I would highly recommend a pre-made crust, it's less complicated! I used the bread maker way but for some reason it was kinda doughy and I had to cook it almost double the time! It was also kind of dry tasting. We need to perfect it.

**I think this pizza would actually be better with a pesto sauce. I'm gonna try that next time. It needs more flavor, or something different. I'm trying to figure it out. Lemme know if you try it and figure what the "something different" is.

Tasty Tuesday

Tuesdays will be the days when I post pictures about the meals I'm cooking (if I take pictures!) Feel free to comment and ask for recipes! I'd post them...but considering only 3 people read my blog...it'll save time typing them! Here's what I made for my "second-birthday" on the 19th:

the poppy seed chicken casserole (a lot yummier than it probably looks!!)

and the "summer fruit pizza cookie"

my handsome kitchen help =)