What's for Dinner?

Today is going to be a busy day and tonight will be even busier, so I made dinner this morning after breakfast. We're having Taco Soup...except it's probably more of a taco chili. Anyways, here's the recipe.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:
4 cups of beef broth
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce
1 jar of salsa (I usually use about a pint)
1 bag of frozen corn (or you can use a can of corn)
1 can of black beans
1 can of chili beans (I use the medium spicy ones)
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
1 can of green chilies
1 t. basil
1 t. oregano
1 package of taco seasoning
1 lb of lean ground beef
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped

Directions:
1. While hamburger is browning, I add the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot. I also salt and pepper the hamburger while its cooking and I'll usually add garlic powder and chili powder to the beef as well. When the hamburger is brown, I add it to the pot.
2. Cook on low for 6 or so hours.
3. Serve with tortilla chips, shredded cheese and sour cream.

**This recipe also makes ALOT of soup, so we freeze a couple of containers to eat later. It is definitely tasty. We like it spicy, but you can adjust your seasoning to your taste. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Weekly Workouts

1/24/2011 ~ 43 minutes of yoga. I was definitely sore in my arms and core after this workout. Yikes!

1/26/2011 ~ Today, I wasn't really feeling like working out, but I decided to just start a workout and see how it went. I did Hi-Def Sculpt and burned 405 calories. Then I decided to play Just Dance 2 for a few minutes which turned into an hour and I burned 520 calories. I'll take it...especially since I felt so crappy yesterday.

What's for Dinner?

Tonight's dinner is one of my favorites. I call it "Asian Noodle Bowls." Here's the recipe if you'd like to try it!

Ingredients:
1 bag frozen stir fry vegetables
1 T. oil
4-5 chicken cutlets
1 med. onion, sliced
1 t. garlic (or more if you like garlic...we do)
3 c. chicken broth and water (I use all chicken broth)
8 oz. whole wheat angel hair pasta
2 T. lite soy sauce and cilantro (I usually don't have cilantro)
1-2 T. Sriracha (hot chili sauce)

Directions:
1. Microwave vegetables as directed.
2. Heat oil in pot over med-high heat. Add chicken to pot and cook 4-6 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. I usually add salt, pepper, and garlic to my chicken. Remove and slice.
3. Add onion to pot. Saute 3 minutes. Add garlic. Add broth and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes.
4. Add chicken to pot, with vegetables, soy sauce, cilantro, and chili sauce.

**This makes ALOT so we will be eating it tomorrow and maybe even Wednesday. I did add some fresh asparagus to the dish tonight since I had some on hand.

Kona and the Stuffed Dog

While I was watching my new favorite reality tv show, "The Worst Cooks in America," my cute dog decided it was time to "gut" another one of his stuffed animals. This was after he had his bath and vacuuming. There were approximately 167 pieces of "stuffing" on the floor that I was lucky enough to get to pick up. Needless to say, the stuffed dog or less stuffed dog is put away.

Sunday Naptime

We're watching football today. It's very exciting! Can you tell?!

P.S. Did anyone else notice the awkward position of Kona's weiner dog toy?! Apparently he was feeling modest today and covered up the no no place with his toy...

A Not so Great Friday

Today was supposed to be a great day! We all slept in until 8am and then Tim decided we were going shooting, so we headed to Angie's and got some scones to go.

Yes, that is a big piece of fried dough with some delicious honey butter on the side. We proceeded to enjoy them on our way out to the shooting range at Newton Dam.

When we arrived, we had to put the Xterra in 4 wheel drive to get up the icy hill and we started loading clips while Kona ran around and took care of some business. I got to shoot the new Russian SKS that Tim bought last week. It had a little bit of a kick and I realized that next time I shoot it, I'll have to hug it into my shoulder a bit tighter.

After I shot the SKS, the shooting experience proceeded to go downhill. The GSG kept jamming, which was highly frustrating. Tim tried to teach me how to deal with a jammed gun, but I didn't have enough patience to learn. He shot his other new .22 and really enjoyed it.

We tried to get the GSG to work, but mostly we just got frustrated. Kona's feet got cold so we had to rearrange the car so he could lie in it. We definitely didn't shoot long enough, but since the day wasn't going great, we decided to head back home to get on with our day...which proceeded to head downwards...

I'm hoping today didn't set the tone for the weekend, but we'll see...

The Growing Dog

Our dog is growing like crazy! He's almost 9 months old and he's still got another 15 months to grow. At dog school on Saturday, I weighed him. He now weighs 106 lbs. The Saturday before Christmas, he weighed 91 lbs. His head is right at my waist so he's also a tall boy. His favorite thing to do lately is to "gut" his stuffed animals. At least 3 times a day I get to walk around the house and pick up stuffing from the stuffed animals he's shredded. At this moment, he's playing with his armadillo that has no stuffing left in it. Oh, and he particularly enjoys removing the "squeakers." He's eating 8 cups of food a day and he gets to eat first thing in the morning, around noon, around 4pm, and then before bed. He is STARVING all of the time. I learned that great danes have super high metabolisms. It's absolutely true.

Kona has been struggling with cabin fever lately. A couple of weeks ago, Tim tied a birthday balloon to Kona's collar and let him out the front door. This was the result!

So yep, we're having a blast with our cute dog! Oh and I'll keep updating everyone on Kona's super fast growth.