Sunday Ratatouille

I've always wanted to make Ratatouille and today just happened to be the day!  This recipe was beyond delicious and easy to make.  I used this recipe from Smitten Kitchen--absolutely delectable!

Happy Sunday!

Chicago Marathon

Last weekend Luke and I were able to meet in Chicago for the weekend to sight see, eat and most importantly cheer on Audrey as she ran the Chicago Marathon.  The weekend was really enjoyable, the weather felt like summer and we had fun exploring downtown.  You can see all of our photos from the weekend here: Photo Link

My favorite part of the weekend was cheering on Audrey as she ran the marathon.  Watching her was inspiring and I am so impressed by her dedication to training for this amazing event.  It was such an amazing setting for the marathon (despite the warm temperatures).  I guess if you're going to run 26.2 miles it might as well be in a cool city!  It was surreal seeing 45,000 runners pass through the city, underneath the 'L', over the river and up Michigan Avenue.

Can you spot her?  At mile 12.

With the marathon finished it was time for some post-race celebration at Kuma's Corner--best burgers I've ever had.  In Luke's words, "I spent the whole drive home thinking about how good those burgers were."  I think he's already planning a return trip back to Kuma's.

Congrats to Audrey and thanks for a great weekend Chicago!

Aluminum Foil

Well hey ya'll!  OK so I haven't really started saying ya'll...yet :) Check back in a few months.  I'm still getting comments on my Minnesooootan accent down here.

It's been a while! I've been busy busy busy.  Traveled home to Minneapolis for a very long week of training with many pleasant visits sprinkled on top of long days at headquarters.  It was so nice to be home and I'm very lucky to have caught a glimpse of the beautiful Minnesota fall.  Here's one of my favorite photos from my parent's backyard. 

Fall certainly doesn't look like that down here in Austin!  Glad I was able to catch it last week.  Since I've been back in Austin I've been busy too.  I'm now working on my own, and getting calls and appointments set up along with picking up samples, following up on leads and getting all of the necessary tools and equipment ready, and in my apartment has been quite an ordeal.  It's going well though and certainly keeping me on my toes.

I also found a great group of women to play tennis with each Monday night (we can play all year round here!), went to a concert sponsored by Pacifica beer (yum) and my apartment complex, and attended group bible study at the new church I've been going to.

So why the title aluminum foil? Well, it just so happens that every night this week I've made dinners that bake or grill in aluminum foil packs.  They're healthier because I don't have to use oil or butter to cook with, quick, amazingly easy to clean up and are super flavorful!  Here's my favorite recipe that I had this week:

• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 large mango, peeled and diced
• 1 medium avocado, diced
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/2 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Heat grill. Fold four 18-inch-long pieces of foil in half; unfold and coat inside with cooking spray. Place 2 cups spinach in center of 1 half of each piece of foil. Combine couscous with 1/4 cup water; divide evenly among packets, placing on top of spinach. Combine shrimp, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl. Divide shrimp evenly among packets, placing next to couscous. Fold foil to close and crimp edges to seal; place on grill; close lid; cook until packets are fully puffed, 10 minutes. Combine remaining 1/4 cup cilantro with remaining 1/4 tsp salt, mango, avocado, tomato, onion, jalapeño and lime juice in a bowl. Carefully cut foil to open; stir contents; garnish with salsa before serving.

This recipe is SOOOO GOOD! I highly recommend it.  Tonight I'm just doing a spinach/tilapia/lime/asparagus pack and trying out Kalyn's Kitchen recipe for Roasted Butternut Squash with Balsalmic Vinegar and Rosemary.

Have to run to the store to get some Rosemary!  Love ya'll!