Meatless Meal: Southwest Fettuccine

Thank you once again, Betty Crocker.

Her red book has some awesome meals in the Vegetarian section. I sure have come pretty far since this post in regards to my pickiness. This recipe involves both salsa and black beans, two things I would not have touched a few years ago. It also involves chili sauce, which I didn't even know existed until I decided to make cocktail meatballs for my baby's birthday party.

But everyone in the house loved this! (Yes, even the baby!) Win win win.

I modified the recipe ever-so-slightly, so here you go.

Southwest Fettuccine
Easy! Fast! Feeds 4! (Can easily be doubled!)

Ingredients
8oz uncooked fettuccine
olive oil
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons chili sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
handful of shredded cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Cook and drain fettuccine as directed on package. Toss with some olive oil. 
2. While fettucine is cooking (or you can do it after in the same saucepan and cover the fettucine in a bowl to keep it warm), mix remaining ingredients except cilantro and cheese. Cook over medium heat 4 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender.
3. Divide fettuccine among 4 bowls. Top each with about 3/4 cup sauce mixture. Sprinkle with cilantro or cheese (or both?).

(Obviously the picture above has neither of the optional ingredients. It also looks like barf-covered noodles. But it doesn't taste like that, I promise!! Betty has a better picture over here.)

Go check out other meatless meals with Beth Anne's Best or Tales From Astoria. And for year-round meatless Friday ideas, my friend Kinsi has an awesome series called My Thursday Entrée.

Some Thoughts on My 101 in 1001 List

Way, way, wayyy back in the year 2010, I made a list. A list of stuff I wanted to do in 1001 days. Well, the final day is approaching in less than 2 months, and I am nowhere near done with this list.

And I'm mostly okay with that.

Yes, it's a sort-of arbitrary length of time. A lot of these things are on my bigger bucket list that spans my whole life. And I must admit that I was in a completely different life situation when I made the list. I was still a giddy newlywed, my husband was in the middle of a 6-month military deployment, I lived in Virginia, I had just started blogging, and I spent a lot of time reading at the beach.

I got to cross off the biggest life-changing event from this list (#11: Have a baby), and in doing so, I have greatly impeded most chances to finish this entire list by the deadline.

A few things I'm 99% sure I won't be finishing:

• performing on stage in a play or musical (I did audition for one back in Pensacola, though!)
• joining a sports league (although B and I lift weights together now, so does that count?)
• learning to do a cool trick on my boogie board (oops, moved away from the beach)
• dressing like a cow and getting Chick-Fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day (it's not until July, and I was too exhausted to deal with it last year)

HOWEVER, many of the goals on this list are still attainable! Even after having a baby! On that note, I seriously want to smack anyone who says you won't have time for anything you love after having a baby--babies grow and become more independent, sitters can be hired, and if you really want to do something, by golly, you can! The first 3 months postpartum you probably won't, but after that? Of course! What you choose to do after baby can actually show you what you really LOVE to do versus things you just did to fill time or please others. (Hey, I even did some baking during my baby's first week of life because I love it so.)

Tonight, I am very proud to say I accomplished something on my list that I had wanted to do for a while:

✔ 53. Do a Navy PRT, meeting at least Good requirements for my age/sex

For those of you non-military folks, the PRT (PFT to some) is the Physical Readiness (Fitness) Test that military members have to take (and pass) twice a year. B has one coming up in April, so he has been working hard to make sure he passes.

My final stats: 57 curl-ups (Good), 34 push-ups (Good), and the 1.5-mile run in 12:52 (Excellent)

The truth is I hadn't even looked at the requirements lately, so I had no idea what I was aiming for. (B sprung this on me today at the last minute.) I just tried my best, and this is what happened! I actually beat B on the running part, lapping him on my final lap (we were on a small indoor track where we had to do 12 laps for 1.5 miles), and hollering at him during that pass-by to give me his watch since I had no idea of my time (unprepared much?).

I am very proud of myself tonight! I think it is time for some celebratory chocolate. And if I get a 60% completion on my 101 list, I will be equally proud. I'll probably celebrate with more chocolate.

7 Quick Takes (Love and Fasting Edition)

--- 1 ---

Happy Lent everyone! Oh, and was there some lovey-dovey Hallmark holiday yesterday? There might have been . . . sure couldn't tell in our house though.

--- 2 ---

That's a lie. Sort of. Cora and I gave B a card and some gummi bears, and we picked up a pizza for dinner. She wore a cute "Daddy's Little Sweetheart" shirt. In return, we got . . . nothin'.  I'm not kidding. B said we'll get something some time this weekend. Who is the overly frugal one in this house again? (Okay okay, he did say he's taking us to a basketball game at the local college tomorrow, and I told him I wouldn't mind some half-price flowers.) This is one of the first years that one of us wasn't either sick or absent for this day, so we don't have any standing traditions.

Ever been photo-bombed by a stuffed octopus?

--- 3 ---

I figure now is a good time to make a formal declaration of my Lenten sacrifice. I am giving up the computer on Wednesdays. I can check stuff on my Kindle (hey, sometimes I need a recipe!), but no computer. I'm trying to read all of the books of the Bible I've never read before during that time. Or, y'know, clean the house, watch a movie, become an official Indiana resident, or do something other than fritter away my time in a distracted way with 20 tabs open simultaneously.

On Ash Wednesday, I read two chapters of Joshua (could. not. focus.), a few chapters of some other book, and watched the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (hadn't seen it before). We also made it to mass!

B and I also joined a small faith community (that only meets for Lent) through our church. We'll see how this goes. I married a true military man who loathes "talking about his feelings," so I had to convince him to do this. It's his Lenten sacrifice, officially.

--- 4 ---

I started weaning Cora two weeks ago. It's going well. We're down to nursing twice a day (morning and evening), with a sippy cup of milk at lunch and a little bit as an afternoon snack. I was planning to have her fully weaned by 13 months, but now I think I'm going to hang on to the morning nursing session for kicks and giggles . . . so all you toddler-nursing lactivists can drop the pitchforks already. Maybe we'll drop it at 15 months or so.

I had never really taken a picture of us nursing, but I want to remember it so I asked B to take one the other day.

Yes, yes, I still use the My Brest Friend pillow my sister gave me. That thing is the bomb dot com (do people still say that? guess so since I just did). Our couch is overly squishy with no support, so it helps a lot. It also fits in the glider really well so she doesn't bash her head on the wooden part of the armrest.

--- 5 ---

B thought it was odd I wanted a nursing picture. I retorted, "I've done this every day for the past year and have no picture of it!" He gave me a look that, without words, said, "Um, you've brushed your teeth and taken a shower every day for the past year and didn't take a picture." Since I knew what his look meant, I then said the words aloud. And he laughed.

--- 6 ---

Speaking of B, he has been addicted to "Harlem Shake" videos for over a week now. He officially introduced me to them two days before I started seeing them everywhere. Even Kelly & Michael did it on their show on Tuesday!  I'm not a big fan of the original video because it's just weird. But I love this one from my college's Swim & Dive team!

--- 7 ---

Somebody had fun on Fat Tuesday.

And she didn't even have to lift her shirt.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!