What's Cookin': Sausage & Potato Casserole

The plan for last night was Dirty Rice with sausage in it, but I changed my mind. Since I'm the cook, I can do that. ;) I have a surplus of potatoes that need to be used, so I came up with this and it turned out deliciously. However, Ben said he liked it but would prefer it if it was made with breakfast sausage, rather than Italian. So next time I will do that.

Sausage & Potato Casserole - serves 6-8

1 package mild Italian sausage (the 5 sausage pack*)

5-6 medium potatoes, chopped to bite size pieces (I left skins on)

1 onion, chopped

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 tsp garlic pepper

Salt & Pepper

1/2 tsp sugar

1 cup cheese, shredded (I used half cheddar and half mozzarella) 

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 x 13" baking dish.

In a large skillet, cook sausage. Place cooked sausage in baking dish and set aside. Return pan to heat (with sausage grease in it). Add potatoes and onions, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook, about 2 minutes, until onion starts to soften and potatoes get some color. Stir in tomato sauce and sugar. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until potatoes are starting to soften. Pour into dish with sausage and mix together. Top with cheese and bread crumbs. Bake about 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are done. (I went for 30 and they were a little too soft, so I would start with 20 and go from there.)

*You can either cook up the links and chop them, or take the meat out of the casing and brown it as crumbles. I took mine out of the casing. If you can find just a pack of ground sausage you can do that as well, it would be about 20 oz.

Notes & Variations:  It would probably be good with bell peppers, but we don't really like the taste of them in casseroles. When Ben asked for breakfast sausage next time, he said it was one ingredient away from the perfect breakfast dish. If I were to make it for breakfast I would do the same, but add scrambled eggs to it as well.

Ben Rating: 3 (4 if it had breakfast sausage).

C25K - Week One, Day 3

I figured I should do updates every now and then, to keep myself going. So today you get a lame update since it's only day 3.

I ran Monday and it went fairly smoothly. I was justifiably sore yesterday, but nothing too terribly bad. Then this morning when I tried to get out of bed I almost fell over. My legs had decided to stop working. They were revolting. In fact, I am firmly convinced that they were trying to detach themselves and leave me stranded. Making myself run today was tough, but I did. My legs were not happy at all (still aren't), but it did seem to be just a little bit easier as far as stamina goes. I wasn't quit as burned out by the end as I was Monday. I really do like this program. The walking intervals make it much easier since I can say "Ok, just keep going until you get the walk cue."

I am currently 28.5" around my high hip area (where my fluff is). I think a good goal right now would be to lose 3". The people who know me will probably tell me I'm being ridiculous because I'm already so small. But I really am unhappy with the bit of baby fat I have left, so I think 3 inches isn't a bad goal. Like I said, my goal isn't to lose weight, just fat.

Also, for anyone who is doing this with me - I just found a fitness blog that said NOT to run every day. You need time in between for your muscles to heal. So start with 2 or 3 days a week for the first month, then add more once you are comfortable.

The Couch to 5k Challenge

I am ridiculously out of shape. I have a pretty decent body, I'm fairly slim and for the most part I look about the same as I did before babies (aside from my hips being about a mile wider now). But I have no stamina and little tone. I never really got into a steady exercise routine after poppin' out Duder and I've been a little unhappy with my body for it.

I've been hearing about the Couch to 5k (c25k) program for awhile from various places - the main one being knitting forums and podcasts (go figure. I guess we're all bad about sitting around and knitting rather than exercising). So I decided to look into it and see what it's all about. There are various sources of information, but the one I found was iTunes. I just searched for c25k and found the podcasts put out by Christian Indie Broadcast. Those were the only free ones I found, but their may be others. You can also find sources on the internet if you search for it.

It's a serious of 30 minute podcasts, one for each week, set to music and filled with audio cues telling you when to run or walk. The first week starts out with short running intervals and longer walking ones and the program builds you up slowly over time.

So I tried it out yesterday, running around my back yard and I have to be honest and tell you that it kicked my butt. Boy can I tell that I've been sitting on my butt for almost a year. But I got through it and I decided I'm going to stick with it. I think it's just what I need to lose that little bit of extra "fluff" and tone up. So, here I want to post my goals and plans, in order for you all to hold me accountable. And maybe you would be willing to join in!

Goals:
- Lose inches, not necessarily weight (I weight 116 lbs for goodness sake). Get rid of the baby fluff that I can't seem to shake.
- Tone my legs and hopefully get my dancers legs back. Or runners legs, I suppose.
- Get my nice butt back.
-Be bikini ready by the time the season comes (if it ever does... Cold in May? Really??)
- Build up stamina so I don't get winded by getting out of bed. (Ok, it's not that bad, but you know what I mean.)

Motivation:
- Ben. He seems to be my motivation for everything I do, but especially keeping myself looking good for him.
- Previously mentioned bikini season.
- Keeping up with my kids.
- Feeling less guilty about eating pasta and southern food (You know, the exercise would balance it out. ;P)

Timeline:
- Oh I don't know. As long as I need. The nice part is you can repeat each week's program as long as you need. But I am hoping to be up to the last one, week 9, in 9 weeks. Which would be around July 12th.
- I plan on running 3 times a week - Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Once I start getting used to it, I might add in another day or two.

My legs are killing me, but that means it's working. And I have to say I felt really good last night after I was done (once the stitch in my side went away.) So...

Who's with me?

Random On a Monday

My man's latest project for a customer. Rework store-bought doors to fit, and enclose the rest of the porch. It turned out beautifully.

1. Hey, look! I'm still here. I've have spent the last week going "I really need to post something... But I don't have anything to post." So today you get random.

2. I tried something new this month in that I did menu and shopping for the whole month. I used to do that, but it never went well because we wound up going to the store for odds and ends during the rest of the month and went over budget. But I did so well last month - only $25 over budget!!! - that I decided to give it a try again. Plus we are really sticking to our numbers on everything now, it should be easier. I guess I'm just tired of going to the store every week. Plus it drains my gas. So we'll try this. I will have to get things like milk and creamer, but I think I can do it without going over much, if at all. We did awesomely on our budget last month, just the food was over.

3. Remember the sweater? Welp. I tried it on, when it was just long enough to cover my shoulders, to see how the gauge was working out and it was a little too loose for my tastes. So I ripped back to the ribbing... three pattern repeats... and started over with smaller needles. Then I got stuck on my secret project and haven't picked it up since last Wednesday. I'm thinking I won't finish by our trip. But we shall see. And the Mystery shawl... Well the latest clue was Saturday but I have to finish this project before I can do anything else. Looks like I'll be getting behind on that.

4. OMG! Duder just walked like three feet. That's the most I've seen from him! That was so exciting! It makes my mama's heart swell. Then I tremble in fear when I realize that walking means getting into more things...

5. I wish I were June Cleaver. Only in a more rural, farmy sort of way. I was born a few generations too late. I love cooking for my husband, and caring for my family. I love old stuff, old ways, and if it weren't for the fact that Ben would laugh at me, I would totally greet him at the door in a dress and heels. But I guess I'll just have to get my fix with the H family farm where I can dream of days gone by and the simplicity of plants growing in the dirt. I might make that dress though...

6. You know you're knit-stressed when you have nightmares about having to frog and restart the same project over and over and over...

7. Ben has plans to eventually start his own welding business and working from out of the house. He does side work right now, when it comes around and I just have to say that I really hope he keeps up with that dream and it comes to fruition. I love having him home and being able to hang out with him while he works. I love how I can just walk into the garage and tell him lunch is ready, then he comes in, washes his hands, and sits down to eat. It's so nice. 

8. This is a spider that Ben found in our wind chime (that he made) when he was rehanging it. It came out lookin' to fight. The amazing part is I took this picture. I don't "do" spiders. I hate them. I believe the only good spider is a dead one. So for me to be on the ground, 2 inches from the stupid thing to get this picture was crazy. 

9. Happy Monday! Time to eat!

What's Cookin': Crazy-Good Waffles

This morning we were down to our last 4 eggs. Store day is not til tomorrow, so that means I had to figure out breakfast for 4 people while still preserving one egg for Ben's breakfast in the morning. So what does that mean? Waffles!

A few months ago I threw out the last of our Bisquick. I realized that I hate it, Ben hates it, and the only thing we used it for was waffles, which I can make from scratch - cheaper and tastier. I had been using the recipe from my Betty Crocker book, with my usual additions of vanilla and cinnamon. Today, though, I used the recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens cook book I got from my Grandmother. I have to say I think I like this one much better. And apparently so do the kids - Duder ate 2, Goofy ate 3.5, and Bubba ate 4. It made 12 and they're all gone...


OMG Waffles - Makes about 12
1 C white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 C butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside. Lightly beat eggs, then mix in the milk, butter and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened (there will be lumps, that's OK). Pour into waffle iron and cook until done (about 6 minutes for our Belgian waffle maker.)

Notes & Variations - The recipe calls for all white flour, but I only had one cup's worth so I used the wheat flour for the rest. It made them a little more filling and they had more body. You could use more or less of either.

I added the cinnamon because I like the taste. Also, the recipe called for veg oil or butter. I chose butter because it makes everything better, but if you're trying to be good you can use the oil. There was a recipe variation to use buttermilk and I think next time I will do that by using a sour milk substitute for richer waffles. (You can make sour milk by putting 1 tablespoon of vinegar in a one cup measure and filling the rest with milk. Let sit 5 minutes. Same effect as buttermilk, I use it for biscuits all the time.)

Kid Rating: 5, Judging by the way they inhaled them...