Chicken Tonight!

In our house, hubs does most of the cooking lately. It used to seem "fair" since he got home from work before I did...but now I get home from work before him...like, an hour before.

Usually I use the time to go for a run, or do some other work out - this keeps me off the couch and away from the kitchen!

On Monday, I used the time to go grocery shopping (usually a job we do together since I'm surprisingly useless in the grocery store...alas, I digress). I had decided on the way to the store that I would buy a chicken - a whole chicken - and I would roast it using the roasting pan I bought at Christmas.

My mom often uses this Barefoot Contessa recipe to roast chickens (and turkeys!), so I decided that I would use it too.

This recipe is a one pan wonder! You throw in potatos, carrots (I used baby - less prep!) and chop up an onion. THEN, you STUFF the chicken with a lemon, a head of garlic, some thyme, salt and pepper. Rub the chicken with butter, season with salt and pepper, and throw it in the oven.

I had it in at 425 (convection) for 53 minutes - good thing I checked it then...my meat thermometer (haha, I still find it funny that I even know what that is!) told me that the chicken was at 175 - perfect for a bird without stuffing you're going to eat!

Here's how she looked when she came out of the oven:


As we devoured this tasty bird, hubs says to me "This is the second best meal you've ever made!". I look at him, grinning, and ask "What was the first best?" - he told me lasagne (I do make a mean lasagne - gluten filled OR gluten free!). Instead of stopping there, he tells me "but I can't think of a third best meal". So in three years of marriage (six years of being together), I've only made two memorable meals (though I've made the lasagne numerous times). Wow. Not only is he a schmuck for pointing that out, but I really should be working on my cooking/baking/creative skills!

After supper we decided to make chicken broth with the carcass. So I called up my MIL, and she sweetly walked me through the directions - she started with "ok, get out a big pot". Hahaha, she knows I need all the help I can get. When I told her about her son's comment on my "two-best" meals, she asked if I smacked him. HA. She's fab.

Anyways, here's the broth - with MIL's instructions! Lets hope this turns out...


If you need a great roast chicken recipe, try this one! It is sooooo delicious!!

Feet and Fun

I combined "feet" and "fun" last night...

I went for my second-ever massage last night. Ooh la la, was that ever heaven. Well, if heaven begins with pain induced by another and is immediately followed by bliss as the muscle releases... ok, terrible analogy.

This massage concentrated on my legs. My right hip has been tensing up during my long runs, and I figured that I may as well try and be proactive about it and get a massage, rather than waiting until the discomfort turned to injury and having to react with physio.

I booked in for a massage every second week for the next two months - my last one being the week before my marathon (p.s. I'm running a marathon on May 17). Seeing those weeks on the calendar made this all very real to me. I actually have to run the race I've already paid for. Right.

My first-ever massage was a couple of years ago. It was on day one of a two-day bike tour (the MS Bike Tour - awesome cause!!). After being on my bike for hours, it felt oh so wonderful to get rubbed down.

Until...

The massage lady went after my girls. As I had never had a massage before, I didn't know if this was normal or not...and I was in the middle of a large room full of other people getting massaged - which I guess made this a little more "ok"... She attacked my booblets the way I imagine a mammogram machine attacks 'em. Squished 'em in between her hands like they were hamburger patties.

Yeah. Still not sure about that one. Obviously it traumatized me a little.

Back to the present... I'm not going to run today - my legs are feeling quite tender from the massage (I bruise really easily, so I wouldn't be surprised if my legs are black and blue already). But I'm going to run tomorrow - according to my running partner, tomorrow my legs should feel light and springy. HA. I'll take whatever I can get!

What?

I gained ten pounds.

WHAT?! GASP.

I'm training for a marathon, so I guess I've been feeling like I can indulge a bit more than I really should.

Well, that's over now. Time to reel it in and get back on the healthy train!

I've been using SparkPeople for a year and a half to track my nutrition and my exercise - it's a great site, I highly recommend it!