Saying Goodbye to September

I don’t know about you but I feel like this week has dragged on. It’s finally Friday and I’m so glad.

This week was filled with fun things like baking late night chocolate chip cookies, delicious comfort food, and falling leaves that are welcoming in fall.

Although next week will be super busy with exams and other events, I’m looking forward to relaxing this weekend, recovering from my cold, eating lots of pumpkin things, and starting the Grilled Cheese Challenged (stay tuned for more)!

September has been a busy month filled with lots of changes and challenges. I returned to school, got into the swing of classes, did lots of networking, and started this blog. The month has been enjoyable but I’m ready for October. Finally, it will be acceptable to consume pumpkin flavored things 24/7 and start decorating for Halloween (not that I haven’t already been doing so). September is a good transition month but October means fall has arrived.

ahh, how time flies. Even as I wait for the leaves to fall and the weather to cool, I know it’ll go way to fast.

What will you miss about September or look forward to in October?

Comfort Food for a Cold

Lesson #1: Always make sure your camera battery is charged before you start cooking so that you don’t have to charge it for minutes at a time then snap pictures of what you are making. True Story.

Lesson #2: Feed a cold

Though I’m feeling a lot better, my nose is still stuffy (tmi?) and I feel a little hazy. All I want to do is lie on the couch and eat soup and warm bread.

Solution: Make a pot pie. This was the best idea of my day. But I didn’t have any chicken wanted to be creative so I used a Cup of Soup mix. Voila! A simple, easy, and college friendly recipe to get you back on your feet.

Oh, and the biscuit topping. Well, that doesn’t hurt either.

The topping was probably my favorite part of the pot pie and my motivation. Actually, I made a lot and had a very thick crust which worked for me. I may or may not have licked the spoon too. yum.

Easy “Pot-pie”

Makes 2-3 servings

Filling: 1/4 cup onions

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 1/2 cups peas and carrots (frozen or fresh, your choice)

2 T milk

1 T flour

1 packet of Cup of Soup

Topping:

1 1/2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup milk (or enough to make dough slightly sticky)

1 tsp butter/margarine (eyeball it)

Dash of Salt

Saute onions and celery in pan over medium heat. When onions clear, add peas and carrots and cook until softened but still firm. Add cup of soup and milk. Stir and reduce heat. Add flour and stir. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour and baking powder together. Add milk and butter and stir until well mixed. Add in salt and stir.

Pour vegetables into a greased or sprayed loaf pan. Top with the biscuit mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes or topping is golden brown and crisp.

Enjoy!

I lift things up, I put them down

Hello!

It’s Wednesday! Halfway through the week, though mine was thrown a little of schedule so I still feel like I’m climbing up the hill and not on my way down yet. But this pumpkin coffee definitely helps.

Please excuse my camera phone quality

Whether I’m at school or at home, I try to exercise once a day, 5 to 6 times a week. It depends on the week, my schedule, and a variety of other things but I’m usually pretty good about working it in. And having a set workout schedule usually helps keep me on track.

On Monday, I started training for a 15K I’ll run in about 10 weeks (more on this later). My training schedule incorporates 2 days of strength. I’m really good at getting my cardio on, but not so good about lifting weights and doing push-ups. To me, it’s not that fun. But I would love to have sleek defined muscles (in a girly feminine way) and maybe this is the way to finally stick to some weight training.

My plan as of yesterday is to do most of the weight machines at the gym excluding a couple that look complicated so I don’t get weird looks if I do it wrong. (Just a little afraid of gym judgement) I’m planning on doing arms and legs to keep everything balanced and just handling weights I’m comfortable with but push my muscles just a little. We’ll see how this works but fingers crossed.

And have you ever seen this commercial? If only.