ewwww.

i just cleaned out our fridge.. and there was stuff that expired in 2007!  ewwww...  it's all bright and clean and shiny now though :)

jillian michaels is kicking my ass!

on a daily basis!  last week, sarah and i started a 30-day shred.  it's a 20 minute workout that you do every day but man, it's an action packed 20 minutes!  nate has started doing it as well.  for the first few days, i couldn't move!  it hurt to stand up, sit down, walk, walk up stairs ... i must not have used my legs before this!  but now it's much better :)  in fact, i'm calling today a rest day!

it does feel good to finally exercise and having several other people working on the same thing helps too :)  and since you're supposed to publicly commit to your goals so you are more motivated to meet them, my goal is to lose 15 pounds by mid-April!  it's a little late for a new year's resolution but it's either that, or buy new pants.  so i'm going with exercise and eating better :)

nate's (new) favorite chili- con carne!

so we had a thawed out chuck roast last week that i need to do something with, and even though it didn't sound like a good idea for a weekday but hey, why not?  i started at 6 pm on a wednesday and we finally ate dinner at 10 pm - oops!  so word to the wise, plan for dinner about 4 hours after you start this business, but according to nate, it's worth it :)  it's a cooking light recipe (of course!) but i made a few modifications.  the original is here.  we had it with jalapeno corn bread, recipe here.

Chili con Carne

8  poblano chiles

3  lb boneless chuck roast cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 1/2  teaspoons  salt

1/2  teaspoon  black pepper

3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour

2  tablespoons  olive oil, divided

3  cups  chopped onion

4  garlic cloves, minced

2 cans diced tomatoes, 1 drained, 1 not - I bought the ones with jalapeno chiles

1 cup beef broth

1  tablespoon dried oregano

1  tablespoon ground cumin

1  chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce (I used 5-6 -- depends on how hot you want it!)

3  tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

6  tablespoons reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.

2. Place poblanos on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 8 minutes or until charred, turning after 6 minutes. Place poblanos in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and cut chiles into 1-inch pieces.

3. Sprinkle beef with salt and black pepper; dredge in flour. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add half of beef to pan; sauté for 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and beef.

4. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently. 

5. Return beef to pan. Stir in tomato, beef broth, oregano, and cumin; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in poblanos; simmer for 45 minutes or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. 

6. Rinse, seed, and chop chipotle (I didn't rinse or seed it and I used 5-6 chipotles). Stir in chipotle(s) and cilantro. Sprinkle with cheese.

a conversation regarding valentine's day

nate:  you caught me off guard!
me:  with what?  a national holiday?