Oh my goodness, has it been a year already? I can’t believe it! I logged in today with the intent of giving you guys an update on the Ryan and I’s wedding body progress and found a “Happy Anniversary!” notification from WordPress. Wow!
Granted, I’ve sort of fallen off the radar with school, wedding planning, and now a baby shower to plan!!! 😀 Huzzah (no not for me, but for the Ryan’s best woman! EEEK!)! But I still love this blog and I am really hoping that once things settle down a bit in the 2nd half of the summer I can do a little more for you guys! For those of you that still read – THANK YOU! 🙂
I feel like for this one year anniversary I should make something special! But tonight I was just going to make spaghetti because I’m lazy like that and in the process of writing two 20 page research papers…I know! How about Honey Lime Shrimp (it has been a LONG time since I fed the Ryan shrimp!) and Cupcakes for Two? Courtesy of Pinterest, of course! This gives me a chance to make something new and less boring (the Ryan likes less boring) but still within acceptable calorie limits. Except the cupcakes…hehe! I will just hold off on icing, since that is where the majority of cupcake calories come from – it’s pure sugar and butter! SO FATTENING! Actually, they’re not that bad. Maybe 100 calories each.
Woot!
In other news, the Ryan and I have continued to progress. 🙂 I have lost 5 more pounds since my last entry for a grand total of 15 lbs. I believe the Ryan has lost the same, if not slightly more. He has begun doing sit ups, push ups and squats in his office during the day while his code compiles (oh, to have an office with a door!) and bought a pull up bar that mounts in the doorway for our house. His goal is to get in shape so that he could pass the military PT tests if he wanted to. ^_^ I am proud of him, his arms and shoulders are getting more delicious every day!
Myself, on the other hand, I am not going for military PT test excellence. Instead, I’ve been working (as you know) on toning. Apparently I have been using weights that are too light! Luckily for me, the Ryan’s pull up bar came with resistance bands and yesterday he taught me how to use them. I can do 10 lbs of resistance for triceps and 20 for biceps. No wonder those dinky 3 lb weights weren’t working! On top of that, he showed me how to use his pull up bar on the ground to do push ups. Sadly, I am a wuss and can only do about 12. 😦 Total. SOMEDAY!! I also downloaded the “Just Do It” app (more like the Ryan downloaded it on my phone for me) which is an app that helps you reach a goal of 100 sit ups, push ups, squats and pull ups in 6 weeks or so (with the option to repeat weeks if you need to). You input what you can currently do (it assumes you can do zero otherwise) and then gives you sets/reps and rest times. Do your sets every other day, and it will build you up as you go. When you can do more, you can change your numbers, and it will work you even higher. Tomorrow evening, I intend to start doing squats with the resistance bands and with the assistance of the app. I hope I don’t break my legs!!
So, how bout that dinner and dessert?
Shameless plug here – this rice maker is the best use of Amazon gift cards and Cash Rewards…..ever! 😀 I came home and put in brown rice and walked away. And when it’s finished, I’ll get perfectly cooked rice! This thing has fuzzy logic to monitor the internal temp of the rice to make sure it cooks evenly! Fancy schmancy amazingness. Just saying. Get one.
So, for the shrimp. Mix together 1/4 cup olive oil, 3 cloves garlic (smashed), 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 2 tbls honey, the zest and juice of one small lime and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes.
Pour that marinade in the ziplock bag with your shrimp, mix em up well and stick that bad boy in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, turning 2-3 times.
When they are good and marinaded, drop them into a nice, hot skillet. The oil in the marinade is enough to prevent them from sticking, so you don’t need to add more oil. In other news, I love my Lodge skillet. Best $20 at Target EVER!
Mmmm, will ya look at that? They were sweet, tangy and hot. Perfect with the brown rice! And psst – I didn’t realize until I went to cook them – they weren’t peeled! XD And by then it was too late (in my defense, they were de-veined so I ass-umed they had also been peeled. DERP)! It was a messy dinner, but delicious nonetheless! The Ryan was excited to have shrimp.
Now, for the cupcakes. Preheat the oven to 350. Mix together in a bowl 1 egg white, 2 tbls sugar (I used the equivalent of Stevia), 1 tsp vanilla, a pinch of salt, a heaping 1/4 tsp of baking powder, 2 tbls butter (melted), 1/4 cup flour, and 1 1/2 tbls milk (I used fat free cuz that’s all we have).
Meanwhile, I didn’t have any cupcake liners (sad face!!) so I sprayed two of the cups with Pam and put water around the other 10 cups, as you should do when you bake things with empty cups. The steam also encourages even baking. Or so Cupcake Wars says.
Here is your finished batter. Isn’t the stove lovely? The Ryan cleaned it yesterday until it was squeaky, brilliant white. Excellent job, don’t you think?
Pour the batter into the individual cupcake cups and then stick in the oven. Bake 10-12 minutes.
Let cool completely. Aren’t they cute? I wonder how they will taste. 🙂
Okay, so they’re not the most lovely thing in the world…but they were delish! The Ryan was surprised, and we both enjoyed them!
So, there you have it, an anniversary dinner and dessert! Now, off to homework land!
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One final word: My thoughts and prayers are with those in Boston this evening, I heard the news on my drive home in the car and recently watched the President’s address. May everyone you know be safe and blessed, and may all of the first responders and those who are helping stay safe tonight.
Learn 2 [use the] Kitchen 