Recipe Wednesday: Mexi-Filled Sweet Potato Skins

So my recipe today as stolen from pinterest, came from the blog pinch of yum and let me tell you, I was stoked to try it!

The way she did while I’m sure was delicious had to be adapted as my electric mixer is broken and I had to just skip it.

Mexi-Filled Sweet Potato Skins

2 Sweet Potatoes

1 can Black Beans, rinsed, and drained

1 can corn, drained and patted dry

1 tablespoon butter

1 pepper (I used yellow) diced

Salt and Chili Powder to taste

Mexi-Blend Cheese

1) Preheat oven to 350 and bake the potatoes for an hour or until fork tender.

2) Add corn to a large skillet seasoning with salt and chili powder, let roast only stirring every couple minutes, for about ten minutes (until the corn is browned up). Set aside in a bowl with the black beans.

3) Saute the yellow pepper in the butter until soft, add to the black bean and corn mix.

4) When the potatoes are done take them out and let cool for 5-10 minutes.  Cut in half and scoop out inside, leaving a little bit of potato for structure.  This is where the original directions mashed up the inside of the potato with sour cream and cream cheese to add back to the skins BUT is quite difficult sans mixer so I skipped it completely and will happily eat the insides at another time.

5) Add the mixture from above to the potato skins and add cheese to the tops… I heaped because I love cheese… broil for up to 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Blurry but delicious.

Ready to go in to the oven.

I left them in for a little too long but still good!

I have to say this is my favorite dish I’ve made yet.

❤ Kari

HMT: Day 36 and Big News!

Just under two months to go!

After completing a very flat 4 miles yesterday I’ve decided I have to force myself to break out and do things I don’t want to do… like hills, lunges, and eating less.

The course I’m running (Mad Marathon) is in a mountain town thus cut into mountains and if I continue to just run flats I will NEVER feel comfortable come race day.  Which brings me back to the days of track and how I never felt prepared to do anything (because I never really tried) but not this time.  I am determined to feel confident the day of the race and that means I have to kick these next two months in the ass… so to speak;)

Day: 36

Distance: 4 miles

Time:  52:00/13min/m

Temperature: Mid 60s but rainy… thankfully it only sprinkled towards the end.

Injuries: None that weren’t directly related to the huge meal I ate way too close to run time… oops!

Anyway, on to the big news!

In 3 months I will be moving to beautiful, mountainous, and oh so lovely, Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

The idea of living in a little mountain town and being a snowboarding bum (bum = working full time and taking classes at the local mountain school to get that elusive degree) has been on my to do list for as long as I can remember but now I have actually put the plan in motion.  After high school I lived in Greeley (never again, no offense) and Westminster (loved being so close to Denver) and have been spending every family vacation visiting my parent’s house in Silverthorne, I’ve always thought I would love the life style but never had enough drive to do it.   Following a serious pro-con list I decided that this was the time to venture out solo and see where it takes me.

So come August I will be hanging my hat in the great state of Colorado yet again and I could not be more excited about it!

The Steamboat Grand

❤ Kari

My 365 Project: Week 2

Week Two

May 8th-14th

May 8: Sometimes my job means laundry… lots of laundry.

May 9: It is after this one that I will try to not overlap photos from other blog posts… mushroom pizzas yum!

May 10: Spilled something on my shirt, this is what the boy gave me to wear instead… so sweet.

May 11: Night out with friends, diet coke and rum:)

May 12: Out to dinner at the Windjammer, my delicious martini!

May 13: My favorite jewelry (and the ones I wear daily)

Vermont necklace I got from etsy.

Peace ring I picked up at Bonnaroo.

Claddagh ring I got in Ireland when I was 8.

Leaf ring I got at Zinnia… my favorite downtown Burlington jewelry store!

May 14: Missing southern sweet tea majorly so I go to Dunkin Donuts more often than I should to fill the void.

So there is a taste of my week in photos! Thanks for stopping by, have a great week!

❤ Kari

My Mom is like Woah!

I am so very happy to be writing this post about my wicked awesome mom. Here are some fun facts about the woman who so graciously raised  me.

1. After growing up in Lake Placid, NY she is an AMAZING ice skater… a trait she passed on to my older siblings, the two little ones are not so coordinated… she is also a ballin’ bowler. Kicks all of our butts.

(Ma and I at my high school graduation party.)

2. She is no frills. I mean this in the best way but the woman would never pay a dime for something in a clothing store that she couldn’t find at the thrift store she works at.  She rocks (and I mean rocks) sweatshirts like they are her uniform and I love her for it!

(Us in downtown Nashville last Thanksgiving)

3.  She is the most easy going person I have ever met, I can’t think of anyone who gets along with people like she does. I wish I could be as genuine and sweet as she is.

(Us at Breckenridge for St. Patty’s this last year)

4. She is well traveled and believes we should be as well, this is something I will always appreciate about her, no matter where one of the kids moves she will be there helping us move in and painting the rooms for us.

(Us at her first lady vol game while Pat Summitt was still there, she loved it!)

5. She is an INSANE sports fan! For as long as I can remember she has been cutting out the “Sports on tv” section of our local newspaper so that she can watch them that evening. That is dedication.

 So that is my darling mother, I can’t even describe how much I love her.

Happy Mother’s day to everyone celebrating:)

❤ Kari

HMT: Day 33

Not really a training day but as I put on my running shoes and put a mile in the books, I’ll call it one!

Day: 33

Distance: 1 mile

Time: 11:29 minutes

Temperature: Straight up gorgeous! 70s and no wind, beautiful.

Injuries: Don’t think I ran long enough to feel hurt haha

In other news today after work I walked downtown to grab some lunch.  If you have never been to Vermont there is a place in Burlington called Church St which is a quaint little pedestrian mall with all the best restaurants and shops.  One day soon I’ll do a real post just about it (because it is amazing and I believe everyone should come visit at least once in their life) but today is more about the fact that I walked by a sidewalk sale for Outdoor Gear Exchange (my paradise) and stumbled on 3 for $10 wool socks!

Ask anyone who knows me, there is nothing I love more than wool socks, nothing. 

After seriously debating buying 15 pairs, I went to the register with just 3 in hand (practicing moderation) and the nice hippie cashier asked me if I needed a bag and when I said yes he gave me a compostable shopping bag… I freaking love hippies and hippie stores.

Who has a whole drawer of these puppies? This girl.

❤ Kari

HMT: Day 32

I did not run this last week.  I went for quite a few walks and kept up with insanity but I just didn’t have the bug for running.  That all changed this morning when I woke up and was dying to get outside and hit the pavement! It was like out of nowhere I got my runners legs back and couldn’t wait to log a few miles.

Some things about me as a runner.

1. I stick my tongue out when I go up hills… I actually stick my tongue out whenever I’m doing anything that involves concentration. It is super dorky but I can’t help it.

2. I hate the smell of fresh cut grass… It reminds me of field hockey preseason and how much I HATED running because I was so out of shape.

3. I listen to mostly Michael Jackson when running… I could literally listen to his greatest hits album on repeat.

4. I brush my teeth before I run, I don’t know why but I like the feeling of feeling fresh and ready to go.

5. I do a combination of the head nod, smile, or little wave when I pass another runner/walker but I rarely speak.  Not because I don’t want to but because for some reason when I open my mouth to say hi, nothing comes out.  I don’t know what it is but I always feel like a jerk if someone speaks to me so I just make really ridiculous hand motions to acknowledge their hellos. I’m not cool haha.

Day: 32

Distance: 2.5 miles

Time: 32.09 minutes/ 12.8 min/mi

Temperature: 70s and sunny but very windy!

Injuries: None, just feeling out of shape from a week of no running… won’t do that again.

So the run itself was a bit of a walk run, I only ran two miles and then I walked for a bit just to stay out in the sun. I loved it. So happy:)

Now I’m off to get ready for some drinks with one of my best friends who is home for a month.  It is starting to feel like summer and oh man am I excited!

Throwback of Heather and I, yes we went to Disney, and yes we were 18 taking photos with the Incredibles!

H and I all grown up at Boston Beer Works last summer! (For some reason we only take blurry photos together)

Happy Weekend Friends!

❤ Kari

Recipe Wednesday: Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

I basically am doing a WIAW post because all I did today was eat… and watch movies… it was my day off and I enjoyed the heck out of it!  I found this recipe from my pinterest via the blog ournote2self and immediately had to try it! I have to say I was very excited about the result and it only took about 20 minutes to pull together.

Portobello Mushroom Pizzas

2 Mushroom Caps

1/2 c Diced Onion

1 c Diced Tomatoes (I love tomatoes so I used more than most people may want)

1 tbsp Minced Garlic

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

Pinch of Salt

4-5 Chopped Basil Leaves

Handful of Parmesan Cheese

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and dice the veggies.  Add the olive oil to a pan and saute the onion until golden brown.  Add tomatoes, garlic, lemon juice and salt then saute.  Add basil and stir until everything is combined well.

2) Spray a baking sheet, place the mushroom caps and add the filling.  Sprinkle (or in my case heap) the cheese on and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Devour;)

(I really like tomatoes so I added some cherry tomatoes to the top)

YUM!

Keep it real folks:)

❤ Kari

My 365 Project: Week 1

Thanks to the inspiration of countless blogs for giving me different ideas on how to do this, I have embarked on my own photo a day for a year challenge.  I have NO idea what shape it is going to take but I am excited and thought I would keep track on here.

Week One

May 1st-7th

May 1: Insanity Work Outs

May 2: A running photo!

May 3rd: Tennessee Orange Scarf, Go Vols!

May 4th: Cupcakes for Cinco De Mayo

May 5th: Cinco Celebrations with Classy Friends!

May 6th: If this doesn’t say America I don’t know what does.

May 7th: Starbucks Frappuccino Happy Hour 3-5 Half Priced! (til the 14th, you have time)

First week complete, on to the next one!

❤ Kari

Cinco De Mayo Cupcakes!

Hola Friends! I’m sure you all know it was Cinco De Mayo this weekend and I couldn’t think of a better reason to bust out my dusty, haven’t been used since I moved, cupcake supplies!

I looked online (pinterest, lets be real) and found this recipe from recipe girl and then adapted it (by adding more booze, lets be real again) and boom here we have some semi-potent and wickedly delicious cupcakes that were a very fun treat to celebrate with!

A few notes: The alcohol had kinda baked out and I was going for flavor so I added a shot of tequila to the frosting, which made it only the slightest bit noticeable.  The lime flavor and margarita mix were what really shined! Also, the frosting was so hard to work with, I am assuming it was something I missed but thought I would point it out. I ended up adding more butter because I could not for the life of me get it to spread.  I think I will add heavy cream next time to make it more of a traditional buttercream.

Enjoy:)

I was pretty happy with how they turned out and even the skeptic friends enjoyed them!

That is all for now, hopefully these cupcake posts become a little more frequent;)

❤ Kari

HMT: Day 26 and My Sister the Champ.

Day: 26

Distance: 3 miles

Time: 36 minutes/12 min/m

Temperature: 50s and rain

Injuries: my calves are so sore from Insanity it isn’t even funny.

So the run went pretty well, I am getting used to the three mile “short runs” and the loop around my house is nice.  This next week I move up to 5 miles and I’m excited but super nervous…. we shall see how it goes.  Insanity is LITERALLY killing me, but in a really good way.  I did the “recovery” video yesterday which just meant slowly squat a billion times in 33 minutes.  I can’t say that I feel recovered but I feel good and isn’t that why I am doing it?

Anyway today’s post is more about a very special person to me.  As I have briefly mentioned before my family is amazing and I love them oh so much.  This particular post is about my older sister Katie, who in her 34 (I think) short years of life has accomplished so much to be proud of.  While teaching middle school in Vermont she became the teacher of the year for our hometown middle school and then for the state of Vermont.  She represented the state as a James Madison Fellow, a scholarship program for the most outstanding teachers of the Constitution.  Now, after only 2 years of teaching at her current middle school in Tennessee I am proud to say that she was named the Teacher of the Year!

While I joke that she is in it for the “Teacher of the Year” parking spot and that she bribes her way to the title everywhere she goes… I know that there is nobody that deserves each award more than her.

For as long as I can remember I have been compared to her, and there is nobody in the world I would rather be compared to.  She is first person I call when I have made a mistake that I don’t know how to fix (which happens quite often)… or when I’ve done something I am proud of.  She listens to me ramble and always finds a way to make me feel like no matter what I can get through it.  She has gone out of her way to help me in every major decision I have made so far in life and with every decision I always hope my outcomes will make her proud.

My sister” is the best” as she would say and I hope everyone has someone in their life as awesome as her.

Congratulations big sis!  You show off;)

Katie and I at my high school graduation.

We can’t play tennis like normal people… we use or alter egos “Buffy and Victoria”

Katie drove over to Knoxville to come one of my Field Hockey games.

I got her to run her first 5k! She did it like a boss.  (Sweetwater 420 in Atlanta, GA)

She is a far better ice skater than I.

Favorite picture of us!

Thanks for reading guys:)

❤ Kari