sweet potato soup

It has been very fall like here in Iowa for the past few days - except today. So don't ask my why I decided to whip up my all-time favorite soup for dinner, but you know what? I am so glad I did! I created this soup last winter and was instantly addicted. I think Nic and I ate it at least once a week for a few months!

This soup is so versatile - last year I used roasted acorn squash from my grandparents farm for the base, but today a ginormous sweet potato was the star of the show. And I actually wrote down what I used - to the "T!" Maddie - are you proud of me, or what?

Sweet Potato Soup with Pepper Jack Croutons & Grilled Shrimp



I used::
1 T olive oil
1 large sweet potato - peeled and chopped
2 carrots - peeled and chopped
1 small apple - cored and chopped
2 very small jalapenos - chopped (seeds included!)
1/2 yellow pepper - chopped
2.5 cups water (chicken stock or veggie stock could be used)
5 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 t salt
1/2 t white pepper
1 t curry powder

In a medium stockpot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté jalapenos, sweet potato and carrots for about 10 minutes. Add water (or stock), yellow pepper, apple & garlic. Simmer 30 minutes or until veggies are fork tender.

With an immersion blender, puree until smooth. Add salt, pepper and curry powder. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Heat over low heat while you grill your shrimp.



I lightly coated my shrimp with olive oil, garlic powder & red pepper flakes. I cooked them on a very hot grill pan for about 90 seconds on each side.

The pepper jack croutons were just 2 slices of bread - one side coated with olive oil and garlic powder and the other with pepper jack cheese.  I cooked these in the oven at 300 until the cheese was brown and bubbly.



The soup was fabulous topped with the shrimp and the croutons. I must have done something right when grilling the shrimp - it was the best I've had!



The soup is just as great plain with a side of cheese toast, you know, to scrape up every last drop? :)



If you really want to take this soup to the next level, you could stir in some heavy cream right before serving. I've done it and it is really divine. But try it without first, you might just like it as is!

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Nic did some cooking while I was out running last weekend and snapped a few photos of his creation. When he told me he took a few photos, I flat-out told him that his dish was not photogenic. Well, while uploading these soup photos I saw his and gasped! I told him he must share his creation on here ASAP.

sneaking in workouts

111 friggin degrees. Oh yes - today.was.hot.real.hot.  Maia was even struggling on our 3 mile walk at 5:20 this morning.  5:20! Hot.hot.hot.

I even managed to break into a sweat during Core at the air conditioned Y this morning. OKay, maybe it wasn't due to the high temps, but the difficulty of the class!  So excited for this class - the instructor rocks, and actually makes sure you are doing moves correctly, so there is definitely no slacking!

I was hoping to get in a tempo run after Core, but that didn't happen. So I thought I would be way hardcore and bring some workout gear to my meeting tonight and planned to hit up the Y in that town for a run afterwards. I actually went to the Y, changed, walked into their cardio room and was soo unimpressed and thus unmotivated. Their treadmills must have been at least 10 years old and I was pretty sure running at speeds faster than 6 mph would cause it to collapse. 1.5 miles later I decided to call it quits and just hit the road. Huge waste of time!

Today's eats::



Finally going to have a full day in the office tomorrow - so much work to do!

Oh and in case you were thinking, "Wouldn't it be fun to take a road trip this weekend?!" Have I got the perfect destination for you!  Located in the heart of America, the PS Bed & Breakfast is offering a one-time-only night full of delicious food, sexy drinks and entertaining games! And if you book in the next 48 hours, a warm bed and breakfast will be thrown in at no cost to you! Don't wait, book today! Only 5.5 hours from the Twin Cities, the PS Bed & Breakfast is the perfect weekend destination.

colorful dinner

Whew! Today was a long one - up at 4:50AM and not home until 9PM. I was able to get in a solid 4.8 mile run and a 3 mile walk with the pup before the temps got out of control - feels good to get workouts out of the way and hammer them out in the morning. I look forward to making this a routine (for more than a week this time!)

Tomorrow my morning starts off with Core, a new class at the Y. So excited to focus some of time working out on my abs, I have been neglecting them for quite some time now.

Anywho...much of my day was spent on the road and in meetings. My last one did not get done until after 7:30 - so by the time I walked out of there I was ravenous!!  A quick stop at the Hy-Vee salad bar was just what my stomach was craving.  I considered something quicker (drive through McDonalds perhaps) but quickly pushed that idea out of my mind as I knew I would instantly regret the decision.

Look how colorful dinner was!



I loaded up on veggies, fruit, some cottage cheese for protein and splurged on a mini lemon poppy seed muffin.

The rest of today's eats::

Lots and lots of coffee got me through the day - until 1:00 when I crashed hard and had to sneak in a nap before I got on the road!  Lunch was the same as last night, but beefed up with zuchinni - delicious!

It rained quite a bit while Nic and I were on vacation (enough to warrent a call from our friends informing us that we had water in the basement...great!  Seems to happen every time we take off for an extended period of time). Although the rain did no good for the basement, it did wonders for the seriously neglected flowers in our yard!



We made a promise to ourselves that this fall we are finally going to take care of the grading issue in our yard.  It helps that one of Nic's {hot farmer} friends offered the use of his time, skid steer and help in locating a dumptruck full of black dirt! (er, I really hope this friend does not read my blog!!)

Off to get in a few minutes of reading before my eyelids get too heavy!

bruschetta pasta

The first day back to work after a week long vacation is always hard, no?  Even after getting home much later than we were hoping to yesterday, I did manage to wake up around 5:20 this morning to take Maia for a walk. I love being back to our normal routine!

After the walk I headed to the Y with intentions to sign up for "Core" a pilates style class to help with my flexibility and core strength. While signing up I was told that I could pick and choose my days, so I decided to sign up for just Wednesday and Friday mornings from 6:45-7:30.  This will allow me to get to Burlington early on Mondays - which means I can leave early! :)

I plowed through a ton of emails and have a very productive day.  I really had no choice but to jump right back in as I have three meetings tomorrow, a bank night on Wednesday and a Relay in less than 2 weeks.  Lots to do!

A random downpour changed my running plans for the night and instead Nic and I did a quick (actually quite lame) weight session at the Y. I think we are both still tired from vacation...

I decided to do some cleaning while jamming out to Ingrid Michaelson - my way of getting in a workout since I didn't get my run in.  Fun fun!



For dinner, I envisioned a bruschetta pasta made with a bunch of items from our CSA.  Oh my - I will be making this again and again this week!  It was so good.  Nic will be jealous his missed it.

• In a saucepan heat 1T olive oil with a pinch of red pepper flakes and 3 small cloves of minced garlic
• Add a bunch of sweet cherry tomatoes and saute until warm
• Add about 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and reduce
• Fold in some fresh basil and mozzarella
• Toss with cooked pasta
• Enjoy!

After devouring dinner and catching up on some blogs, I decided it was too nice not to run and headed out. A short 2.5 miles later, my dinner was not sitting well and I was out running another downpour.

Today's eats::



Rewind to vacation - this is going to take many posts to share everything that we did!  I think I'll start with our last day of vacation.

Yesterday, Maddie and Mom hosted a bridal shower for Gretchen.  I feel so old now that my sister's friends are getting married!  As long as Maddie doesn't get married for a while, I think I will be okay. But still!  Maddie and I were talking the other day and realized that I was already married at her age now.  Isn't that crazy?  I think Nic and I got married way too young - and wish we would have waited a while. Not that I would change anything...just saying.

Maddie made some gerogous cakes! Everyone asked where she bought them at.  Yet again, my little sister out does me! First - xc skiing, 2nd - running, 3rd - baking.  What a biatch.







"MBGH" - how beautiful is my sister and her friends??







The spread - Mom made scones, I made a very cheesy egg bake, Brenna brought fruit and not pictured are the multiple mimosas I drank. So delish!



The beautiful bride.



Next vacation recap - Basilica Block Party!!

love me some dunkin

Thanks to the wonderful Leah, I was up at at 'em early this morning and got in a quick 3.75 mile run, followed by a 1 mile run/pulling war with Maia before I had to head out early to our interviews.

Maia isn't quite sure of this running business...and I got quite the evil eye when we got home. :)



I was glad I was able to get out with Maia in the morning, but I knew it wasn't enough - so Nic and I dragged her out again this evening. Our walk with full of cooling off breaks and a nice dunk in her mini pool afterwards.



Today's workout::


mile 1 - 7:47
mile 2 - 8:07
mile 3 - 8:05
mile 4 - 8:36
mile 5ish - 10:33

Our evening walk with Maia was about 2.5 miles.

Love me some dunkin'::
Dunkin' dark blend coffee + soy milk = the best iced coffee ever.



Today's eats::



It seems like today's theme when it came to meals was "dunkin'" (not just for coffee!) For lunch, we dunked veggies into hummus and cheese toast into pasta sauce, my snack was apple slices dunked into peanut butter, and I did a little bit of dunking at dinner with my veggies and fabulous chana masala! I followed this recipe and will for sure be making again!

{and just for the record - McDonald's coffee sucks and we were forced to do our first interview there [classy, I know!] because the owners of the local coffee shop are on vacation. Gotta love small town living!}

Body Image::
Fact - I have lost a lot of weight in the past year. I am much healthier than I used to be and I eat much much better. {see the post below with the photos!}

So - why do I still think that I am fat? My love handles jump out at me whenever I look in the mirror and I don't have the flat stomach that I think I should have.

Granted - I've been taking it easier these past few weeks because work has just been crazy, but still...

I clearly have poor body image, not all days, but enough days to annoy the crap out of Nic.  Need to work on that - I LOOK DAMN GOOD.  :)