TargetStyle

At long last - the day I've been waiting for!

We've launched phase 1 of Target's Style social media presence -- you can like us on facebook and follow us on Twitter, and make sure you stay tuned for the August launch of the Style Boutique, our online magazine!

We went live a few hours ago and already have over 100 fans... tomorrow we'll be mentioned on Rachael Ray's show, and by Lucky Magazine...

It is 11:15 PM, I"ve been working since 7:45 and I'm exhausted.

(But very very happy.)

Off and running sleeping,
~Jessica

It IS What Your Eating

I'm a huge believer in the phrase "It's not what you're eating, it's what's eating you."

Well, at this point in my life, it IS what I'm eating -- life is good.  Happy.  Stable relationship.  Job I love.  I'm not eating my feelings.  I am, perhaps, eating my stress, but mostly I'm pounding that out at the gym -- but over the past week, I fell into a pattern of mindlessness.

So today we're back to midnfulness and accountability:

B: Atkin's Bar*
S: apple, string cheese
L: big salad w/ chicken breast, avocado, almonds, fat free feta, Newman's Own Lite Balsamic, and tons o' vegetables; dove dark chocolate square
S: chobani pineapple, crackers w/ hummus
D: parmesan dijon chicken; yukon gold potatos, steamed green beans, dove dark chocolate square

• Water water water water water.
• Exercise = skyway walk or MAYBE I will hit the gym tonight to get one more session towards my monthly goal
• Protein - awesome
• Dairy - 2 servings
• Lean protein - chicken, yogurt, and more chicken
• Grains - I'm low on this today
• Oil - 2 tsp
• Fruit / Veg: 5+ servings
• I'll have to take my multi-vitamin with dinner.

I journaled it in my notebook, eTools, and Sparkpeople (I am nothing if not thorough), and the totals are perfect -- 35 delicious points, and about 1600 calories -- according to Sparkpeople, I am within my range for everything except carbs, which -- amazingly -- I am about 50 grams short on.  Go figure.

This sounds obsessive, but in reality, I just like to cross-check calories vs. points once in a while to make sure I'm keeping in the right range.  Even though fruits and vegetables are "free" on Weight Watchers, they do still have calories, so I think it is important to keep it in check, vs. binging on bananas. ;-)

 Off and running,
~jessica

*I discovered these bars and keep them on hand for mornings when I don't have time for breakfast -- they have about 15 grams of protein, 160-or-so calories, and net out at 4 pts.  Plus, they're like eating a candy bar.  Not bad!  I favor the chocolate peanut butter crisp variety!

PS: Somebody was -- and I swear I am not making this up - pumicing their heels in the sauna at the gym on Sunday.  Who DOES this stuff!?  And she didn't even STOP out of shame and embarrassment when I entered the sauna.  I was horrified. 

Bang

Determined not to let February go out with a whimper, but with at least a meek bang, I hit up the gym super early this morning -- I just wasn't in the mood to lift.  It seemed too detailed for me.  So I parked it on the elliptical, and didn't get off. 

For an hour.

Then came home and made a giant salad and took myself to see The King's Speech, which was super outstanding, and I kinda hope it wins the Oscar!

Lasagna + garlic bread + salad for dinner at the Manfriends house... can't believe this weekend is over. 

I've prepped breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the remainder of the week.


HOLLA!

Off and running,
~Jessica

In For A Penny; In For A Pound

I don't do anything in my life half-way. 

If I'm in it, I'm in it to win it.  

This translates into many positive things in my life -- when a job needs to get done, you can rest assured that I won't quit until it is perfect, no matter how long it takes.  I don't just clean the sink, I scour the house.  Sure, I'll go for a run or two, but ultimately, I want to run the marathon.  Similarly (since we're already using weird expressions), I often throw the baby out with the bathwater.  One missed breakfast turns into chinese food for lunch and pizza for dinner.  A day of dehydration turns into an evening of wine.  My week-long absence from the gym could be blamed on many things (cold, snow, work stress, a bad headache last weekend), and many of those are good excuses, but last night when I found myself driving through Wendy's for dinner (albeit for a grilled chicken sandwich and a baked potato), I knew it was time to pull myself together and do some "retracking." 

I've never been one of those people who shrugs and says, "Well, I already ate over my points for the day, might as well go for broke."  To me, that's like stumbling down a couple of steps and then throwing yourself down the rest of the staircase.  Every bite you take is an opportunity to make a better choice -- but somehow, this week, it was just easier not to try.

I'd worked late -- weird for a Friday -- and after I went home and ate my crappy dinner, I packed a small bag and went to the Manfriends house, where we watched a silly movie -- I could barely keep my eyes open.  I drank water all night, and we were in bed before midnight.  I didn't sleep very well, but this morning when he left to go meet a friend at the gym for racquetball, I headed my own way -- I was clad in workout clothes, so my first instinct was to hit MY gym -- but I realized that going straight to the gym on an empty stomach was not only a bad idea, but was going to lead to many more bad ideas throughout the course of the weekend.  I diverted, hit the empty grocery store (It was only 8:30.  And -- shocker -- it's snowing again in Minneapolis), and after spending an atrocious amount of money, headed home for a few hours with a solid agenda in mind.  I'd stopped in with the intention of picking up smoothie ingredients and some salad fixings for lunch -- but once I was there, I knew I needed to take advantage of my quiet mind and clear schedule.

Those who know me know that there are three universal truths about Jessica:

1) My fridge is always stocked with healthy food.
2) My bed is always made.
3) I am never -- NEVER -- late (and if I'm going to be, I call).

So imagine my OWN shock when I realized I was coming home to this:

Granted, I had thrown away a few things before taking this picture -- almost spoiled milk, past-their-prime vegetables, and a sad little bag of withered grapes -- but my condiment-to-food ratio rivaled that of any bachelor pad kitchen I've ever met. 

It's pretty bad when the only thing in your vegetable crisper is your chillable eye mask.

Not only was my fridge EMPTY, but the lack of actual food product made it pretty obvious that it was also in desperate need of a good scrub-down.  So I got to work.

What's that I said about not doing anything half-assed?

Things started to take shape.  Within an hour and a half, the crisper was filled with vegetables...

...Greek yogurt as far as the eye can see (Fage 2% for morning smoothies; Chobani pineapple for afternoon snacks)...

Precooked chicken breasts for easy lunch-time salads... polenta to have with eggs...

And that lonely clove of garlic on my vacant produce platter was suddenly surrounded with new friends!

Much better!

I threw out some unnecessary snacks...

Arranged the pantry...

And got to work prepping my week's vegetables.

Breaking my favorite knife* in the process, and ruining every perfectly polished fingernail.

All of this while sipping a smoothie, running the dishwasher, and doing a load of laundry.

I'm drinking water like it's my job while I type and catch up on TiVo -- next up is a giant salad for lunch, and perhaps a later-than-planned trip to the gym before heading back to Manfriends for dinner. 

Goal for the week is 3 workouts + preparing every meal myself**. 

I'm not going to meet my February workout goal -- in fact, even if I work out today, tomorrow, and Monday, I'll still be two workouts short. 

Thank goodness March is the start of a new month. 

Spring can't be far behind.

Off and running,
~Jessica

*I STILL don't understand quite how this happened -- I dropped the knife, and thank God jumped out of the way as to not lose a toe, but it simply snapped in half when it hit the floor.  Weird, because I have wood floors, and also because it is a really high quality knife-- calphalon.  Guess I'll be picking up a new one, since that one is the perfect size for slicing and chopping.

**I have dinner plans on Wednesday, so that is the only exception.  But it is dinner at my parents house, and my mom is a healthy cook, so I'm not worried.

Done and Done

Up at 5:10 and out the door at 5:25, coffee in one hand, smoothie in another, work bag, gym bag, and purse looped over my shoulders.

Minor snafu with my locker, but once all was said and done, I was on the elliptical just before 6 AM.

20 minutes elliptical
20 minutes treadmill
20 minutes lifting / BOSU / abs / stretching

Shower, dress, dry hair, hit the road, drinking said smoothie on the way.

Butt at desk at 8:12 AM.

About 300 calories burned.

"You always have time for the first thing you do every day."
Off and running,
~Jessica

The Early Bird Gets The Worm

And gets the dishes done, the laundry put away, the house tidied, the bills paid, the eye exam appointment scheduled, the trash taken out, the shower cleaned, lunch packed, gym bag packed, dinner prepped, and…. About 3 bazillion cups of coffee consumed.

I went to bed at 9:30 last night, and woke up at 5:10 – ten minutes BEFORE my “gym alarm” was set to go off in the other room. Although I was quite rested and feeling good, I opted NOT to go to the gym… not because I didn’t want to work out or was feeling sluggish, but because after staying at the Manfriends since Saturday morning (and being way too busy all of last week), I knew I needed a little time to get things done around the house in order to have a successful next few days – and it worked beautifully. I left the house around 7:50 AM, having accomplished all of the above – AND looking pretty cute in a sweater-dress and boots, a good hair day, and “power lipstick” firmly shellacked in place. I feel so good this morning, that I’m contemplating starting to get up around 5 AM EVERY week day, just to see what I can accomplish.

The hardest habit for me to break, after working at home for all those years, was my love of my morning quiet time – which isn’t even very quiet, but involves me and some coffee, catching up on email, writing, tasks, etc… uninterrupted “me” time where I got my day and week and life sorted out. The new job with Target comes with a much shorter commute, which gives me more time in the mornings, but still not as much as I’d like. So perhaps this is my solution: get up earlier.

And once again, it all starts with a good night’s sleep.

(And a third cup of coffee obviously didn’t hurt).

Spring is in the air in Minneapolis, and I cannot wait – I’m jonesing for spring running season, for pre-work walks with a cup of coffee, and MAYBE even walking or biking to work once in a while (4.2 miles – it is a long workout, but if I walked TO work, I could bus home, or vice versa). I’m sure we’ll have another cold snap – perhaps even a little more snow – but it is supposed to be 45 degrees by noon today, the sun is out, and downtown Minneapolis is FILLED with energy, optimism, and good cheer.  I'm ready for tulips, light nights and mornings, and the smell of fresh cut grass in the air. 

Here’s to coming home to a clean house, a healthy dinner, clean laundry and fresh sheets on the bed… and doing it all over again tomorrow (but this time, with a trip to the gym instead of 2 hours of housework!)

Off and running,
~Jessica

Socialitis

I woke up Friday morning feel like I'd been hit by a bus -- headachey, nauseated, tired, and just altogether "off."  I wasn't sure what was going on -- at first I was nervous I was getting one of those crazy migraines, but it never materialized.  I pulled myself together and headed into the office, tummy rocking the whole way.


Annnnnnnnd 75 minutes later I was on my way home again.  

I spent most of Friday on the sofa -- working, napping... I ate some soup and crackers; drank lots of sprite and juice, and skipped out on a party with the Manfriend that I'd really been looking forward to.  I was dead asleep by 10:30.  I mean, I flipped on the 10 o'clock news for the last few minutes and I don't think I heard a single word (God bless you, sleep timer).  I was OUT... and barely moved all night.

Today, I feel better, but still "off."  My head doesn't hurt and I don't feel nauseated, but I'm sniffling like crazy, my eyes will NOT stop itching, and I feel like somebody must have released a herd of cats into my basement, and they're all shedding into my eyeballs. 

We've had a huge swing of temps in Minneapolis this week -- last week at 7 AM it was about -15 degrees... this morning, at 8:27, it is 25 degrees.  So even though 25 still sounds cold, in MN-speak, it is a heat wave.  That's a swing of 40 degrees in just a few days.  It is overcast, the air is damp, and things are melting like crazy.

Cue the itchy and scratchy show!

I'm thinking, based on a recommendation from a doctor, that it might be time to get some allergy testing.  I've never really had that done, and I remember reading (when I was in college) that adult-onset allergies are not only possible, but very common. 

The other part of this ailment?  A case of Socialitis!  I have been way too busy for the past week -- normally I try not to have many (or any) plans on weeknights, and I stay fairly devoted to my "wine-free weeknights."  It helps me to stay centered, make better food choices, save money, and most importantly, get up on time and with ENERGY in the mornings.  This past week was a massive FAIL on all accounts:  I did get up and go to the gym on Tuesday morning, which was great, but that was my only workout this week.  I had plans on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night, and thankfully just as I was about to cancel out of my Thursday plans, she canceled out on me.  But that cumulative exhaustion led to a delivery dinner of Papa John's, diet coke instead of water, and a night of unrest, before waking up Friday feeling like crud.

SO!  This Saturday morning -- I've poured a cup of coffee, thrown in a load of laundry, and tossed myself in the shower... and sent off an email or two canceling my social plans for next week.  Monday is Valentine's Day, so I'll stay at Manfriends, but I canceled both my Tuesday and Thursday night plans -- I'm actually disappointed to do so.  Tuesday night's dinner was going to be with a friend I haven't seen in well over a year, but it is times likes these where the true meaning of "self care" becomes evident -- I know that this is what I need to do to keep myself healthy and happy.  I'm coming up on a very intense month at work in terms of launching programs and projects, and now is no time to falter.

So it is back to my routine -- early to bed, early to rise... trips to the gym, lunches packed with care... healthily planned and prepped dinners, and enough water to drown a goat (What??? I have no idea where that came from but I'm going with it).



Off and running,
~Jessica

Born of Fire in the Frozen Tundra

After Kenneth Cole's embarrasing PR flub on Twitter last week, pretentious snotty car commercials from Audi and Mercedes, Groupon's insensitive ads (mocking Tibet (insensitive) and "brazillian" deforrestation (gross)), multiple ads where the whole "plot" was somebody getting hit in the face with a can or bottle, and the grand finale of Christina Aguilera messing up the lyrics to the NATIONAL ANTHEM during what is arguably the biggest American media event of the year, I cannot think of ANYTHING more refreshing, authentic, and chills-inducing than the Chrysler "Born of Fire" commercial featuring Eminem.

I mean, really?  I'm saying "refreshing and authentic" about Eminem? 

A controversy-sparking punk from the Detroit ghetto?  (A punk whom I happen to think is one of the most brillian lyricists / rhymic geniuses of our time, but a punk nonetheless)?  Yep.  The ad was brilliant.  ESPECIALLY when set against those nausea-inducing Audi commercials about "old vs. new money." 

Really?  Is that the message American needs to be hearing as we pull out of recession? 

"Oh silly old money you and your out-of-style $80,000 car." 

COME ON.

Let me just ask -- has American advertising gone COMPLETELY MAD?  Bat-shit crazy?  Because in an industry that I love, I don't think I've EVER been more disgusted and disappointed in the tone and tenure of these messages.  Which is why little ol' Eminem -- previously considered a troublemaker -- was so darn refreshing.

From the auto industry bailout to the American-pride of the Superbowl... from our troops overseas watching and the integrated backdrop of the movie 8 Mile, and the song Lose Yourself... to the gospel choir, belting sounds of hope and thanks... it was a story of the underdog's return to glory, and I can say with full confidence:

This is the best ad of the year.

Packers shmackers*; Steelers Shmeelers...THIS** is what the Superbowl ads should be all about.(Produced by Weiden + Kennedy, who I'm also proud to say is Target's agency of record).

I have a soft spot in my heart for Eminem -- the power behind his lyrics always pushes me just when I need it.  "Lose Yourself" was the theme song of my journey to marathon, and these days, I find myself pounding it out to his song, "Till I Collapse***."  This morning was no exception -- I had set my blackberry alarm in the other room, just like I do on a normal workout morning, but rather than springing out of bed at 5:15, this morning, all I could think was, "What the hell is that chirping and how do I make it stop?!"

I got out of bed and stumbled to the kitchen (cue Dolly Parton), just as the coffee pot was clicking on.  I turned it off, and thought to myself, "this is insane - I'm going back to bed... nobody will ever know!" 

And then as soon as I turned OFF the coffee pot, I turned it back on, thinking “you’re already up. Just be up.”

Remember yesterday when I blogged that I was excited to hit the gym this morning?

Not so much when the harsh reality of 5:15 AM and -10 degrees smacked me in the face.

But I did it --

20 minutes elliptical; 20 minutes treadmill.
30 minutes of lifting, BOSU, and stretching.
Showered, dressed, hit the road, and got here with time to spare.

If you missed the Chrysler ad, here it is.  I cannot stop watching it, and every time I do, it gives me the chills.



It wasn't the best workout of my career -- I ran my tights, my smoothie froze while waiting in the car for my tired, hungry return... I didn't get enough coffee, and I had to park too far away.

But I did it.

Three down, seven to go.

(Thanks dude).
Off and running,
~Jessica

*I went to school in Wisconsin, about 30 minutes from Green Bay, and I'm a little bit worried they might revoke my degree for that comment, but oh well...

**Scroll down to read the article specific to Chrysler / Eminem

***Lyrics:
'Cause sometimes you feel tired,
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse.

Going Greek

The Greeks did a lot of amazing things:

Marathon.
Olympics.
Discovery of Money
Maps
Thermometer
Steam engine
Hippocratic medicine / oath
Pythagorean theorem

Dairy.

What?

Last week I promised you a post on the virtues of Greek yogurt, and then I got SUPER busy and didn’t have time to write it. Sorry about that, ya’ll. I hate to build up and not deliver, but life was crazy! And then when I wanted to write, I didn’t have any yogurt with me to write the kind of post I wanted to write – the kind that talks about the nutrition value and natural and minimal ingredients in greek yogurt vs. the fat free chemical-stuffed crap that I ate for years before discovering my love of Fage and Chobani and Oikos.

I still don’t have time or proper facts in front of me, but I’ll sum it up like this:

You should eat Greek yogurt.

YES, the taste and texture are different than your average yogurt cup, but within it you’ll find 13-17 grams of protein, all-natural ingredients, and a rich and creamy taste and texture that will keep you satisfied much longer than “diet” yogurt.

My faves? I make smoothies for breakfast most mornings (frozen mixed berries, banana, yogurt, nonfat milk), and I love to use Fage 2% plain yogurt in them – it is 3 WW points per 7 oz*, for those counting at home – whereas most other 2% yogurts that I’ve found are 4 points.

Hey, every point counts! It packs a whopping 17 grams of protein and 4.5 grams of fat. I do not care for unflavored Fage on its own, but whirled with ½ cup of nonfat milk, 1 cup of frozen mixed berries, and 1 banana**, it takes on a new form – DELICIOUS. When all is said and done, the meal costs me 4 WW points, and packs about 24 grams of protein… the same as is found in 3+ eggs!

Sometimes, if I’m feeling particularly needy, I’ll add 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil***, and/or 2 TBSP of ground flax… but that adds points, so on a normal day, I take my 4 point smoothie and run!

More yogurt love? Chobani 2% pineapple. Normally I am NOT a fan of eating yogurt of any variety by itself – I want to put cereal in it, or mix it in a smoothie… but I randomly picked up some of this 2% pineapple and fell in LOVE – first in my smoothie, and then one day when I was starving and needed a snack, I picked one up in the office café. It is delicious – thick and creamy, and the right combination of sweet and tart, with little pineapple chunks mixed in. I’ve been eating it daily as a snack ever since – 4 points, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 grams of protein. Many of the 0% Chobanis (pomegranate, lemon) are 4 WW points, so I consider this a bargain – you get a little more fat (I think a small amount of fat keeps me fuller longer), for the same number of points.
______________________________

My weekend in a nutshell: lots of sofa time, lots of football, mucho vino on Friday night, and fantastic choices for the rest of the weekend. I woke up super early on Sunday and hit the gym for a very quiet workout (8 AM and not a soul was around), during which I did some BOSU exercises that I hadn’t done in a while – my abs were sore mere hours later, and today my pants feel loose. Gotta love that, even if it is all in my head.

I made a semi-healthy taco dinner and watched the Superbowl with the Manfriend, before collapsing into bed, sore abs and all, at exactly 10:30… popped up at 6:15 and managed to get myself fed, caffeinated, showered, dressed, and out the door (with time to spare!), having packed myself a healthy lunch, and also made a week’s worth of burritos out of last night’s leftovers.

Not bad… not bad at all.

Tomorrow is another gym workout day.

And I’m actually really looking forward to it.
Off and running,
~Jessica

*Confusing, because the online points tracker actually registers it as 4 points for an 8 oz serving, but the single-serve containers are 7 oz… if you go to Fage’s website, it lists nutrition information for a 5.3 oz serving… so as always, best to read the label that is actually ON the food, and make your calculations based on that)


**Okay, bananas are 0 points now – and after about 8 years of counting 2 points for each banana, every morning I think to myself “this is the best damn banana I’ve ever had.”


***No, you can’t taste it, but it fills an oil serving for the day

"I'll give you a winter prediction: It's gonna be cold, it's gonna be grey, and it's gonna last you for the rest of your life"

Good moooooooooooooooorning Gobler’s Grove!
I am proud to tell you that I woke up at 5:20 AM this morning and was at the gym by 6 – after throwing on clothes, chugging some coffee, warming up the car for 10 minutes, the drive THERE didn’t seem quite so bad… however, my workout was less than stellar. I banged out 30 minutes on the elliptical + some strength work for legs + arms + BOSU, but it didn’t quite have the same OOMPH that my Sunday workout did.

Maybe that had something to do with the fact that it was -5 degrees with a windchill of -20 when I left the house.

(Maybe).

But I still managed to get the workout done, burning about 300 calories, and feed and dress myself and get to work on time.  Not bad. 

For the first time in my life, I found FOX news useful today – because while staring, bleary-eyed, at the screen in front of me at Lifetime, I noticed that they were doing a feature about Groundhog Day (A far cry from last week’s horrifying story about cosmetic surgeons who created “the perfect woman” by piecing together the best features of women that none of us will ever resemble, but I digress).

Anyway, I’ve kissed a lot of frogs in my life, but this morning I wanted to make out with that little varmint – because Punxhatawney Phil did not see his shadow, thus is predicting an early spring.

Thanks, P!

When I first saw the movie Groundhog Day, I hated it – I was on a plane to Amsterdam to visit my then-love, and I’d taken some Dramamine to make me sleepy… The movie was showing, and I kept falling asleep and waking up to the same scene.

Over, and over, and over again.

I was sleepy, drugged,a nd jet-lagged, and could NOT figure out why the same situation kept replaying itself. It felt kind of like a glitch in technology, like nothing could possibly be this ill conceived, so something must be wrong. Later, when I saw the movie sans airplanes and Dramamine, I thought it was pretty good.

It has been a treacherous winter for everybody – and I can’t help but draw the analogy to the movie. I keep waking up to the same scene over and over again, confused about why it keeps fricking snowing, and why the city can’t plow correctly, and everything else that goes along with this ridiculous weather. But in the end, once it is over, we all look back on it fondly, with a story to tell and the pride of being a Minnesotan. The snow and ice storms ravaging the country right now are intense, and for once it ISN’T hitting Minneapolis, which is weird. But while my friends in other locations have my deepest sympathies, I also hope that it gives them a newfound understanding of just what we Minnesotans deal with.

All. Winter. Long.

Ever year.

And in Minneapolis, we don’t even have it as bad as many – up in International Falls, I believe the actual AIR TEMP (not including wind chill) was -34 one morning this year. I mean, that’s just insane. Not livable.

But it is a way of life for those of us born and raised here, and I like to think it makes us tough.

So tough (stupid?) that we go out in boots and a bathrobe to start the car before getting dressed.


So tough (Stupid?) that we run around without jackets when it hits 32 degrees or higher, because it feels “like spring.”


So tough (Stupid?) that we do things like sledding, ice skating, skiing, ice fishing… when it is far too cold to be safe ourdoors. Ice fishing is the only one of these activities that isn’t totally moronic, and that is only because of the “required addition” of booze to the event.


Anyway, just wanted to give you a little taste of life here in the Mini-Apple – and also brag about my 6 AM workout. You’ll note that I’ve changed my ticker above – instead of 12 gym workouts this month, my goal is 10. Not because I want to let myself work out LESS, but because I want to be realistic about the fact that I might not make it to the gym 3X / week, but instead might go for a power walk one day or hit the Rollerdome or something like that.

Check back tomorrow when I tell you all about why I am obsessed with greek yogurt, and why you should love it too.

Off and running,
~Jessica


Editor's Notes: Although it is friggin' freezing here today, I am pleased to say that it ISN'T grey for once -- the sun is shining brightly, the sky is blue, and downtown looks magical... I LOVE days like this, cold air and all!

Title of the post is credited to Bill Murray's character in the movie Groundhog Day, when he is asked to give a weather prediction.

Recipe RX

When we last saw our heroine, she looked something like this -- doughy, uncooked, and with some rock hard, raw potatoes inside, and not enough "gravy."

I wanted this fun little recipe to work SO BADLY that I probably spent about 30 minutes throughout the day yesterday, brain storming and day dreaming about how to repair my mistakes.  I wanted the insides to match the outsides -- in other words, I wanted it to be delicious!  I'd been planning on these for Monday dinner, so they were defrosting in my fridge, just waiting for me to get home.  I had two more in the freezer, and I figured that if my solution worked, I would "repair" the other two and make them for dinner on Tuesday night as well.  When I got home from work -- hungry and cold -- I REALLY got to work.

First, I removed the "crust" from the pot pie -- since it was defrosted, this was easy to do -- above, you can see how the chicken filling sort of stuck to the top of the pie.  Pictured below is the pot pie without it's hat -- filled with goodies -- and the coating on the top is the "roux," which obviously didn't drip down into the filling like I wanted it to.

I dumped the filling onto the baking sheet... I roasted the vegetables and potatoes for a few minutes, hoping to cook the potatoes through,  but in the end, the potatoes were still kind of mealy (probably from being frozen and defrosted), so I picked them out and tossed 'em. 

While the filling was roasting, I mixed up a delicious salad.

 Next up -- I mixed the filling with a trusty can of 98% fat free Cream of Chicken Soup.  I figured this would give the filling the desired thick-but-soupy consistency.

Then I put the filling back in the little bowls...

...and put their little hats back on -- after all, it's COLD and snowy out there! 

Back into the oven they went -- 375 for about 20 minutes.

The result?  Perfection.  Crusty and savory on the outside, warm and comforting on the inside.

Since they were so fantastic, I quickly set about "fixing" the remaining two in my freezer...  this time by adding some shredded Simply Potatoes, and a little more chicken. 

You can read my full recipe here, but obviously it needs to be modified to account for the changes I made above.  My recommendation is that you roast the potatoes BEFORE you create the pies, and perhaps just skip the roux altogether and replace with 98% ff cream of chicken soup -- much healthier, say nothing of easier.  OR, instead of roasting the potatoes, just use shredded potatoes because they'll cook through much quicker when you bake your pie. 


Basic ingredients / instructions (this is based on how I would "do it all over again"):
Pillsbury crescent rolls (amount needed depends on the size of your pies --)
98% ff cream of chicken soup
Simply Potatoes shredded potatoes
Filling -- chicken, potatoes, and vegetables (I used carrots, roasted cauliflower, celery, mushrooms)
1 egg, whisked
Spices & herbs to taste (I used salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley)
PAM or other non-stick cooking spray

Chop vegetables and chicken in a food processor
Mix w/ cream of chicken soup
Spray ramekins with cooking spray
Spoon filling into ramekins
Cover with pillsbury crescent roll dough
Brush with egg
Sprinkle with parsley, paprika, salt and pepper

Bake at 375 -- again, timing will depend on the size of ramekins you use.  I put mine in for 10 minutes and then another 10 because they weren't done.  So keep an eye on it - the pies are done when the top looks like my pies above.

Off and running,
~Jessica


PS: As to yesterday's "Will she or won't she" question -- she won't!  Er, she didn't.  I was sore, tired, cold, cranky and just wanted to come home and relax.  It was snowing, and the roads were a mess.  So I came home, made dinner, and gave myself the gift of a 9 PM bedtime.  In fact, I went to bed so early that when my grandmother called me at 9 PM, I didn't answer, because I was asleep!  After sleeping from 9 to 6, I feel amazing and ready to conquer the gym tomorrow.