One Month!

Only one more month until 'The Eckleys' are reunited! Kristian is due to leave Afghanistan on July 1st. From there, he will out-process in Wisconsin. After a week or so of out-processing, he will finally come home! We've waited for this day since August 29th when he left. We are so excited to finally start our married life together! It's  been a long year and we are so thankful to have such supportive family and friends! Thank you!

My Favorite Websites

Hello all! In the midst of planning our "wedding celebration", trying to become a fabulous chef (ok, so I wouldn't say fabulous chef, but I can follow a recipe), and thinking about moving back to our Virginia home, I have come across some really great and helpful websites! I wanted to share the wealth of knowledge with you!

The Knot:

www.theknot.com

This website has everything you need to plan a wedding! I have found the "to-do" checklist very helpful. I'm planning on using the seating chart planner thingy when it gets closer.

The Nest:

www.thenest.com

This website is run by the same people who created The Knot. It was originally created for newlyweds, but it's great for anyone! They have great organization ideas (perfect for moving back into our house), tips for saving money, as well as, downloadable worksheets for your home (budgets, household manual, etc.). They also have great recipes!

Gina's Skinny Recipes:
www.skinnytaste.com

I found out about this website through Facebook. She has so many great recipes! I've tried a few so far and have not been disappointed! Her recipes are all healthy and are weight watchers friendly. She even has the points listed in her nutrition facts (old points and points plus)! I check her website out daily for new recipes!

The Pioneer Woman:

www.thepioneerwoman.com

I have to thank my cousin Jen for introducing me to this website. Ree (the author of this blog) has so much more than recipes on this website. She has a blog blog (you know, where she actually sits down and writes a blog), photography, recipes, etc. I can spend hours on her website and it never ceases to amuse me. She has a great way of adding humor to all her posts (even the food ones!). I highly recommend checking out her recipes. I've tried 2 so far and have many more that I want to try. She isn't quite as weight watchers friendly (she lives on a ranch, so who can blame her?!), but they are very easy to adapt.

HungryGirl:

www.hungry-girl.com

Hungry Girl is a weight watchers friendly website. She also has her own tv show on the Cooking Channel. She offers low point alternatives to a lot of restaurant and classic food. This is where I found the amazing fried rice recipe! She also has results of taste tests on a lot of frozen foods. I like her section "Girl's Bite Out". She gives great survival tips for eating out and when you may not be able to count points exactly.

Definitely check these websites out! I look at the websites and bookmark certain items. I delete the recipes from my bookmarks once I print them off. Happy web surfing!

Another GREAT Recipe!

I have decided that www.skinnytaste.com is one of my new favorite websites! I have found so many great recipes to try! After trying out the shepard's pie, I decided to give this sauce and meatballs a try. They were great! We had them on sub buns with mozzerella cheese. I can't wait to try it with spaghetti! You should definitely give it a whirl!


http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/12/skinny-italian-meatballs-turkey-1-pt.html

**I followed the recipe exactly except I used really lean ground beef (96/4 I think) and used plain breadcrumbs because that's what I had.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Now that I'm watching what I'm eating, I decided to make my own St. Patrick's Day feast this year.  No going out for this girl. I have made Kate and Anthony my guinea pigs so that Kristian can reap all the benefits when he gets back. I have been trying different recipes out on them. Kristian will find out which ones are the winners when he comes home. I think he will love this one!

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2010/03/shepards-pie-lightened-up.html#more

I've been wanting to try a lot of recipes from this website. I finally had the chance! This shepherd's pie was awesome! I did not add the celery and I used instant mashed potatoes instead of making my own. I served it with whole wheat dinner rolls and a glass of guinness!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Vow Renewal, Wedding Part Deux, Whatever You Want to Call it.

We have been planning our wedding day since the day we got engaged Thanksgiving Day 2009. We asked our girls and guys to stand up with us on that day. We booked a reception hall, dj, etc. I even bought my wedding dress! Then, on June 13, 2010, our lives came to a complete stop. We found Kristian's orders on our doorstep after a whirlwind weekend in Michigan. After a few sleepless nights (probably mostly on my part, I couldn't imagine my main man being half way around the world), we decided to get married in an intimate ceremony knowing full well we would have some kind of celebration with our family and friends when Kristian returned. It has definitely turned into a "vow renewal and celebration". We want to recommit ourselves to each other and our life together. We want to share this with our family and friends that couldn't be there the day we legally got married. In the midst of planning this shin dig, I was looking up articles on vow renewals. I started to hyperventilate a little when I read (in almost every article) that this is not the time for a white dress, bridesmaids, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, etc. My mind started racing.."What?! I don't want people to think we are doing this just to get gifts or money. We are doing this so that we can renew our commitment to each other in front of our family and friends!" My question for all of you is: What is your take on this?

Spinach Chicken Piccata

I came across this recipe in the Detroit Free Press and decided to try it! It was SUPER easy, fast and only took a couple of dishes! **If you don't like spinach, don't use the whole bag. I would also recommend to use a little less lemon juice than it calls for. Next time I am going to add more chicken (I used about a pound).**

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tbsp. EVOO
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. chopped garlic, or to taste (I used about 3 medium cloves and used the garlic press)
1 package (12 oz) frozen leaf spinach
8 ounces sliced mushrooms (I used fresh)
2 Cups grated zucchini, optional (I did not use zucchini)
1 Cup fat free milk
1/3 Cup lemon juice
4 Cups whole wheat penne pasta (I used a whole box)
1 Tbsp. capers, drained, rinsed well (I didn't use capers, but wished I would have)
1/4 Cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1) Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse and set aside.

2) Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Set aside.

3) In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the chicken cubes and cook until lightly browned and no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle flour over the chicken, stir it in and cook about 1 minute. Add the garlic, spinach, mushrooms, and, if using, the zucchini.

 4) Continue cooking until the spinach is wilted and mushrooms are partially cooked. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, stirring periodically. Stir in the lemon juice and simmer about 5 minutes.

 5) Place 1 cup of cooked penne pasta in a serving dish and top with the chicken mixture. Sprinkle each serving with a few capers and top each with about 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese. **I tossed the pasta and spinach/chicken mixture together in a big pasta bowl, then added the cheese and tossed it again.**

 

New shoes and a foam roller

I finally got my new shoes today, the Nike Lunar Eclipse's. I've been running in Asics the past year and a half and have been pretty satisfied, but last spring I started having on and off again knee issues. This fall on a run my knee started clicking and its been like that ever since. It hasn't been painful, just an annoyance. I'm self diagnosed it as IT band syndrome which can be cause by over training, weak quadriceps, and over pronation while running. My new Nikes are suppose to help correct my pronation and have extra cushioning inside. My first run today felt good, 7 miles on the treadmill. I ended my workout using my other new toy, a foam roller. I read that these are suppose to help massage the tissue and will aid in recovery. So trying to correct my knee problem, I bought one. I have to say, for something called a foam roller, it was kind of painful to use. It did make my legs feel a lot better though and helped to stretch out my IT band. Who knows, maybe in a month my problem could be corrected, at least I hope so.