Chicken salsa casserole

Bam! The chicken salsa casserole dish was finger-lickin' good. Healthy? Nope (it requires 4 cups of cheese!). But good? Heck yes.

Why you should try it:
1. It's good for a family dinner. If you're dining as a couple, you can trust you'll have leftovers. Make sure to freeze about half since there's likely no way you'll get through all the leftovers right away.
2. It has the perfect blend of spice and sweetness.
3. Fairly simple to make. I was a little perplexed by cooking the chicken in water. I'd never done it before. But it worked out.

Tips if you try it:
1. Prep time, at least for me, took about 25 minutes. Baking took 40 minutes. Prepare ahead of time (in the morning or the night before) and pop it in the oven when you get home. That way, you're not spending an hour-plus in the kitchen after work.
2. I read in the reviews that a dollop of sour cream or tortilla chips add a nice touch. Ben turned his into a salad.

New Recipe Monday II and III

As pledged, I've been trying a new recipe on Mondays that I don't work due to the new Tuesday-Saturday schedule.

Last week, I tried a new twist on mashed potatoes. For recipe, click here. Ben has asked that I make them again.

Tonight, I'm making salsa chicken rice casserole. Stay tuned for how it went.

Bad luck loves my car

Someone hit my car in the parking ramp on Friday -- and left a note.

He scraped the rear panel when he was backing out.

He left a note with his contact, insurance and license information. He wrote: "I'm so sorry!" and "Please call me."

So I called him, told him my car was a magnet for bad luck (so don't feel badly) and said I'd get back to him after I talked with my insurance company.

A rant

My mom turns 58 on Sunday.

She plans on celebrating her birthday by pulling a 12-hour shift at her second job. At a time when she should be relaxing more and enjoying life, she works two jobs. On top of her 40-hour-a-week job, she works about 20 hours a week caring for adults with special needs.

Oh how I wish I could win the lottery so she could go into retirement with her only job being enjoying her future grandbabies.

Roatan

Life's a beach.

Ben and I spent seven glorious days at the beach in Roatan. I read on the beach. I almost drifted off to sleep on the beach. I dined on the beach. I stayed in a bungalow a few feet from the beach.

We stayed in West Bay, which was about a half-mile long stretch of beach. The Italians dominated their strip. There were Speedos and topless women galore!

I woke up around 6:30 a.m. and ran up and down the beach four of the days we were there. It was hot, so I never made it more than 3 miles.

We met up in Roatan with Ben's parents, his brother and his brother's girlfriend. We went out one evening on our own. How romantic. We dined at Bite on the Beach, which had these giant, neon eels out front. Pretty cool.


We stayed in a basic bungalow. We had a bed, a fridge and air conditioner. Oh, and on the last few nights, we had a lizard. I'll call him -- or her -- thethingthatkeptmeupatnight.

Ben and I had a good time. But we missed our dog and were ready to come home.

A dolphin tried to make out with me.

Home.

I'm home. Will post photos and an update on the trip this weekend.

Couldn't blog in Roatan. Internet was spotty.

Twenty hours to paradise

Greetings from Chicago.

Ben and I are spending a quick two days here before we leave for Roatan, Honduras. We're here for admit weekend at the University of Chicago. It's meant for prospective students who've been admitted but have yet to make a decision whether to attend the school.

I wish we had more time here to explore. But it's been raining today. I only ventured out to a crepe shop to meet a friend I haven't seen in four years.

We fly out in 12 hours to Honduras. Twenty hours from now, we'll be on the beach. Two words: Can't Wait.

If we have a good Internet connection, I'll try posting from there.

Only in Minnesota

Training for the Fargo Marathon hasn't gone as well as planned. And I'm making a mental note of not running a spring marathon as long as I live in a cold-climate state.

This morning, though, I had a good day. even in sub-zero weather.

My diehard friend Naomi and I went out at 8 a.m. to run 15.5 miles. Our average pace was 9:42 per mile, which isn't bad when you're dealing with ice and snow, and no liquids. The water fountains weren't operating, and the Powerade I brought froze.