Mmmm Cheesy Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

So yesterday was a big 6 mile walk.  Well, half of that got done, that's good, right?  We walked the 1.5 miles to the dog park in the morning and let the girls run around a bit.  Our wild child, Lucy, took off immediately to go stalk other dogs.  She's not very good with playing.  The border collie in her and takes over and she tries to herd all the dogs.  She also has this awesome way of running at you full force when you call her then veering off as soon as she gets about 3/4 of the way.  She's a sneaky one.  Miss Maddie, on the other hand, still doesn't know what to make of the dog park.  She ventures out a little, then run backs to make sure no one left her.  She's also much more concerned with the people than the dogs.  She would rather have people pet her and tell her how cute she is than play with other dogs.
Well, walking 1.5 miles there meant walking that back as well.  Then, of course, it was bath time since SOMEONE decided it was a good idea to dig in the mud.
We had good intentions of walking that last 3 miles around the neighborhood, but life got in the way, as usual.  SOMEONE else just wasn't feeling well all day, so that put the stop to any kind of activity.  What's worse?  Being sick yourself or having a sick husband?  Answer: having a sick husband!  You can tolerate your own complaining, but his?  It just gets exhausting.  So while he grumbled around the house for the day, I cleaned and got started cooking (after a much needed run to the grocery store).
Sunday's menu?  Chickpea veggie burgers, raw cookie dough bites, and cheesy chicken and wild rice casserole.
I'm still on the fence about the burgers.

http://www.livelaugheat.com/2012/02/03/chickpea-veggie-burgers/
We went to Whole Foods and got some Quinoa flour which I'm really pumped about to make the burgers.  I'm all about more protein.  There weren't a whole lot of spices in this burger and I think that was my problem.  Perhaps if I would have followed the directions and eaten it with ketchup, I would think differently.
Cheesy chicken and wild rice casserole!  This was the winner of the day.  It took a lot of prep, but so good!

http://picky-palate.com/2010/09/13/cheesy-chicken-and-wild-rice-casserole/

For anyone who knows me knows that I became a vegetarian about 3 years ago just because.  I've never been much of a meat eater, ask my parents.  Hamburger?  I've always said "yuck" and red meat has never been spectacular for me.  Chicken? Eh, I could live without it.  However, I began thinking that I really wasn't getting all the nutrients I need, so I decided to slowly start introducing meat back in.  I'm sure Andrew's happy not to be all about the veggies anymore!  I still stick to a mostly vegetarian diet with the occasional chicken thrown in.
This dish is a winner, so I highly recommend it.  I subbed half of the flour with quinoa flour to add some more protein in there and decrease the gluten.
Last but not least, "raw cookie dough bites."

http://www.adashofcompassion.com/2011/01/raw-cookie-dough-bites/

Now I'm the girl who bakes cookie solely to eat the cookie dough.  I'm an addict, I know.  The first step is admitting and recognition, right?  However, this isn't your typical cookie dough.  These little bites are made with almonds, walnuts, oats, and honey.  Healthy, right?  And pretty tasty :)  Andrew doesn't think they will last very long.  I give it til Wednesday.
So we had good intentions of walking those 6 miles, but instead did 3 and got laundry done (which reminds me that I still have a load in the dryer to fold), vacuumed, and made some meals.  Not bad for a Sunday.  And someone is feeling a little better so we're not complaining as much anymore ;)  The real trick will be getting 8 miles done on Saturday when we have a wedding in Chicago that afternoon.  Should we start taking bets now?

***I had pictures of the food from the blogs that I used, but blogger was very angry and would not let me upload them.  Sad day

Life got in the way

So this whole training thing is really hard when you have two dogs and full-time jobs.  Oh and you want to tear up the backyard to make a berry garden.  So yeah, that's what we spent our weekend doing.  So much for those 7 and 6 mile walks last week!  To say that we are a little behind is an understatement. Oh and it's raining today.  So much for that 5 miles too.


We spent last Saturday out in the sun (I had the sunburn to prove it!), digging up a nice little acute scalene triangle in the backyard for our berries.  Now you would think this would be an easy job.  It took all day.  After a full day of tilling, digging, planting, and mulching, we have 12 raspberry plants, 3 blueberry plants, and 20 some strawberry plants.  However, all that hard work is all for nothing.  I have to wait a whole year to actually eat any of the berries!  What is up with that?  LAME is what I say.  Someone has been reading way too much about how to care for his plants.  Ugh.


Then on Sunday we had to redo the veggie garden since our first attempt was an epic fail.  Andrew read up about lasagna gardening.  The weekend before someone was very grumpy because it was too windy and the newspaper kept blowing away.  We'll see if this whole "lasagna" thing works out.  Personally, I was all for tearing up the grass, but whatever.


Back to training.  Everyone has said that the fundraising is the hard part, which is totally true.  We are still pretty far from our goal.  However, finding the time to go on all these walks is difficult.  Andrew works from 7am to 5:30 on a good day.  And, you know, me as a teacher, I get to school right before the kids do and leave just after they get on the bus, HAHA.  There are days when I get home later than Andrew and usually leave school with a list of things still to do.  Although we have the best intentions in the morning, those walks get really hard after work.  But we still have time, right?


And if we still have time to train, you still have time to donate!  A big "thank you" to those who have contributed to the cause.  I cannot thank you enough!

Going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

How 'bout you, you, you?
Oh Raffy, how I love your catchy tunes.
After a 6 mile walk on the Military Ridge Trail today with the girls, the in-laws came to Verona for a pre-Easter visit.  Thankfully I had spent all week cleaning the house (phew!), so there wasn't much to do to prepare but do our Saturday morning walk.  As I sit here and write this post, it's cloudy, windy, and looking like rain, but it was a beautiful sunny morning for a walk.  It was the typical walk with the girls: lots of pulling, squirrel and bird chasing, barking at the occasional runner or biker.
Shortly after we got back from our walk, Beth and Charlie pulled in the driveway.  We decided to go to Graze on Capitol Square for lunch.

Andrew has been dying to go to this restaurant since we moved to Madison almost 2 years ago.  As we ate dinner at L'Etoille last July after our first wedding (yeah, we ended up having 2... that's a whole other post), he kept going on and on about how he wanted to eat next door at Graze.
 We started out with some fried cheese curds and beignets.

Then everyone settles in to eat some eggy dishes while I stuck to a veggie burger.
After eating, it was off to the zoo!  One thing I absolutely love about Madison is the Henry Vilas Zoo.  It is small, but so cute and FREE!  A definite must-see if you are ever in Madison.  Not surprisingly, there were quite a few people at the zoo since it was a beautiful day out.  We spent about 30 minutes walking around seeing the animals.

Walking into the zoo.  And Andrew's first picture as a baldie!

Polar bears!

Trying to see what all the fuss was about.  The otter wasn't even in the tank.

Macaw

blue macaws

Giraffe lounging inside

Rhino

Camels

I'm one of those people who just loves the zoo.  I could spend all day there.  And one of the perks of being a kindergarten teacher?  I get to go there at the end of the year!  Henry Vilas is a pretty good one.  It's no Brookfield, but I do enjoy it.  If you've ever been, or if you're just a zoo lover like me, you should consider donating.  Running a zoo isn't cheap, you know.
In other news: we are 33% of the way to our goal of $5100.  That's right, one third of the way there!  We still have 125 days left before the big walk, but I know they will fly by!  Thank you so much to everyone who has already donated.  We appreciate it so much.  If you are still thinking about it or want to learn more, please visit our team page.