A little of this, a little of that, a little Nightmare Before Christmas!

So today has been a whirlwind of one thing to another!  Yes, it is the last week of classes so yes I am cramming work and studying into every spare moment.  This afternoon was my astronomy test, so this morning was studying for said astronomy test - along with a breakfast of corn tortillas, topped with chopped hardboiled egg, topped with white beans, topped with cheese, topped with hot sauce, topped with salt and pepper and nuked.  Random, but it was what I had in my fridge that sounded decent together...kind of a bastardized huevos rancheros.

Breakfast and Astronomy - a great combo!

It was actually pretty tasty, except the beans weren't very flavorful.  I am still getting used to cooking the beans from dry instead of using a can, and the texture is good but since I didn't put any salt in while cooking I DEFINITELY need to season them before using.  And that means season the beans themselves and not just the food around them.  But it worked, and it fueled me through the test and a 30 minutes run afterwards!

I actually wore my workout clothes TO the test because my plan was to head out the door and hit the road for my run...that was foiled when I walked out the door to POURING rain.  Oh well, to the gym I went.  Considering the gym membership is included in tuition I really should use it more often, I will miss having a free state of the art gym available to me when I graduate.  I am on Week 3 of the Couch to 5K program and it definitely kicked my butt, but felt good.  It's funny...when I run on a treadmill it feels like I am pushing harder and more consistent, but if I compare the distance I run on the treadmill to the distance I run on the road in the same time it is actually less on the treadmill.  Oh well, still felt good to get a workout in!

Then I hosted our monthly sing-a-long movie musical night at school - our holiday movie was The Nightmare Before Christmas and it was a fabulous little break in the study day.

I brought candy canes to pass out, and made myself a pumpkin spice latte :-) I cannot justify spending $4+ on Starbucks coffee drinks (that are generally waaaaaaaaaay too sweet anyway) when I can make this at home for pennies!

Pumpkin spice latte
- brewed coffee
- 2 T condensed milk
- 4-6 dashes pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

* combine, mix well, drink, feel very smug that you didn't spend a fortune on yummy holiday coffee!

Candy canes for the masses, pumpkin pie latte for me!

Came home, donned the housewifely apron, cleaned the kitchen, made some dinner, and then made some homemade-ish salsa to have on hand.

Dinner was another crazy combo using some of my roommates food and some of mine, and we will split the yummies - her chipotle sausage, her carrots, my leftover cooked lentils, my canned tomatoes, my white wine, my onions, all sauteed up together with some garlic powder, oregano and cumin, then simmered until the liquid was mostly absorbed.  Topped with some cheddar cheese and accompanied by a Magic Hat...delicious, hearty, peasant food.  Tomorrow will add some greens to the leftovers and continue to enjoy!

Salsa is one of those things that is so easy to make, it is tough to justify spending $3-$5 on a single jar when I can spend that much and make 3 jars that taste a lot better anyway.  This is another one I kind of play by ear depending on what I have on hand...I have added corn, black beans, mango, pineapple, garlic, roasted red peppers, jalepenos, or whatever else sounds tasty in salsa, to this before, or left out whatever I didn't have on hand if necessary, but tonight I kept it pretty basic.

Salsa
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cans diced green chilis
- 1/2 bunch chopped cilantro
- 2-3 T lime juice
- 1/2 diced onion
- salt (to taste)
- crushed red peppers (to taste)

* Mix everything in a big bowl and spoon into jars to keep in the fridge

Ingredients (except for the chilis, they went in the salsa they were just being camera shy)

I got 3 big jars full of salsa from this (all jars saved from previously purchased salsa!) and it tastes so fresh and yummy, I just love it.  As it sits in the fridge the flavors really meld together too and it just gets better.

Now back to studying!  Countdown to break - 1 1/2 weeks to go :-)