A Perfect Saturday

Yesterday was a little slice of happiness!  I went on a run in the morning with my old running group and ran 8.5 miles... It felt so good considering I haven't ran more than 5 miles since my marathon a month and a half ago.  After my run, I cruised over to Target and Walmart and scored some amazing printed turtlenecks for a Holiday party I am co-hosting next weekend.  A nice, leisurely grocery trip through Sprouts and home to beginning a fun day in the kitchen!

I started off with a little tortilla soup for lunch, minus the tortillas.
Here is what I threw together

Mexican Soup:
Chicken broth
A splash of leftover tomato soup
2 mini jalapenos from garden, chopped
1/2 white onion, chopped
1/2 can black beans
1/2 avocado, chopped
About 1 cup of leftover corn kernels
A heavy sprinkle of chili powder & cumin
Fresh ground pepper

After it simmered for a while, I used my immersion blender  because I like my soups on the "creamier" side. A perfect recovery lunch!

Next, I prepped Endive Stuffed with Goat Cheese to bring over to a friend's house before we headed to Balboa Park's December Nights.

                               here is the start of them... I forgot to take a picture of the final product

Once that was done, I started on my 3rd attempt at making Kale Chips. My friend Tammy, who has an awesome blog iEatNeat, talked about Kale a few times this summer/spring when we were running together. I asked her over and over what she did with this Kale stuff. It sounded scary to me. So she told me about Kale Chips... I figured "Sounds easy enough!" I browsed a few recipes online and then gave it a whirl. My first two attempts a few weeks ago gave me delicious results BUT then a few hours later, they would be soggy instead of crispy. I even let them cool all the way!  So I have been determined to get it right.   Yesterday, I did.

Kale Chips:
1 head of fresh kale, leaves torn off stems into big chunks
2 tsp olive oil (I used a Tbsp or so the last few times, I think that is what left them soggy)
Sprinkles of nutritional yeast (also recommended by Tammy)
Fresh sea salt
Bake for 17-20 minutes at 275 degrees.   Be sure to keep your eye on them because they can burn quickly!
YUM!

Then I took on my 3rd project for the day, Peanut Butter Caramel Corn.  I thought I'd also bring something sweet to December Nights.  All I can say is that I think I found a new holiday treat I can make for gifts. It is incredible!

 

I got to use my dutch oven for the second time this week!

 

I absolutely loved being in my tiny kitchen all day, just trying out new recipes. What a blast!!! And to finish off my Saturday, I headed to December Nights with close friends and family for some holiday cheer!