I fought the gym…and I won!
Well, I fought the nervous newbie feeling, anyways. 
![boxing-punch[1]](http://iowagirleats.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/boxingpunch1.jpg "boxing-punch[1]")
I don’t know what I was worried about. It was fine like my mind knew it would be, nobody was watching AND they’ve even upgraded the machines since I last had a membership!
Check this out – not only did my treadmill have it’s own tv attached to it (so I could catch up on Family Guy and the news) but it also had AIR CONDITIONING VENTS! Yeah! My own little mini AC cooling me off as I chugged along.
4.36 miles in 40 minutes at speeds ranging from 6.3 to 7.0.
I was going to lift some weights, but couldn’t find the women’s weight room and was too much of a hot mess after running to ask someone. Next time… 
In other news, it was a picture-perfect, blustery Fall day today!
I’m glad I whipped up a big pot of cozy, Chili Corn Chowder last night to re-heat for dinner this evening.
I spied the recipe on The Pioneer Woman the other day, and knew a big mug of it would be perfect to warm up with on one of these chilly evenings we’ve been having.
It looks like a standard corn chowder, but it’s spiced up with the addition of green chilies and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
If you’ve never had chipotles in adobo – you’ve GOT to give them a whirl. You get them near the diced green chilis, enchilada sauce, etc. in the grocery store. They aren’t too spicy, rather, they give the dish a nice, warm heat. SO GOOD!
I followed the recipe, except I used half & half instead of whipping cream and accidently let the soup boil while I was distracted by…something…which resulted in a different looking soup, shall we say. It tasted miiiighty fine though!
Topped with bacon & cheese – SOUPER good! Sorry I couldn’t help myself…
In other news, I keep forgetting to tell you but, unfortunately, I was axed from Project Food Blog last weekend! 
I guess my luxury-meets-cozy lunch party didn’t go over too well with the judges… At any rate, thank you x 1,000,000 for your votes throughout the first 3 challenges!
AND if you have a second, fellow Midwesterner and faboo cook, Mara @ What’s For Dinner DID make it through and needs your help to to get to Challenge 5. Check out her latest entry which describes how to make homemade Ciabatta bread & Roasted Beef Tenderloin Sandwich (I die). Vote if you can!
In more news, guess who’s in town? My Grandma (of Grandma’s Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup) and Aunt! They flew in from Ohio this afternoon and will be here all weekend. I’m excited to spend some quality time with them tomorrow on my day off and be together as a fam this weekend.
AH – isn’t she the prettiest?!
We’re all gathering tonight to watch "our shows" (The Office & 30 Rock, obvi) and hang. You know.
I have to go shower and get over there, aka skidaddle. Have a great night!
Oh, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow morning at BREAKFAST!
~~~~~
I want to bake something with my Mom, Grandma & Aunt tomorrow – fun family activity. Any suggestions as to what we should make?
What are you baking up this weekend?
The Pioneer Woman knows her stuff! And at first glance, I thought that was a link to your Grandma’s blog and was SERIOUSLY impressed! LOL
That soup looks good, I was checking it out the other day. This weekend I’m making more pecan pie! ..And possibly some of that soup too.
I’m making apple pie this weekend. First of the season. I’m excited!
Aw, your grandma is so cute.
I think you NEED to make these cupcakes and frosting, even though they aren’t technically from scratch! http://www.howsweeteats.com/2010/10/11/blog-inspired-cake-and-icing/
I was so surprised your luxury dinner post didn’t make it to the next round?! In fact, I’m still craving mac & cheese from it. My mom and dad are coming for a visit (from Ohio too!) and I’ve already got homemade mac & cheese on the ‘must-make-with-mom’ list. I see you like PW (me too, me too) and I made her Monster cookies last week. Amazing! http://dailynibbles.com/2010/10/12/in-the-kitchen-monster-cookies/
I was thinking about making some type of muffin this weekend to eat for breakfast throughout the week. I don’t bake much at all, but it’s fun once in awhile. I like the smell of cinnamon in the kitchen on fall days. There is just something cozy about it.
Wow girl, you really RAN today!! Nice job. IYou must be very good at time management to be able to get a nice workout in on a day when you worked 10 hours, cooked dinner, blogged, AND hung out with the fam!
I ran 4 miles at the gym tonight too! And I was going to lift but time got away from me and dinner called.
Aww, your grandma is adorable! Have fun this weekend!
Sorry to hear you didn’t make it to the next round. I think your blog should have won! Baking ideas: I just made apple butter with my son and he also wants to make homemade applesauce. Or you could make canned apples (aka apple pie in a jar) so they are ready when you want apple pie or crisp. I also made pumpkin muffins with cream cheese mixture in the middles… to die for! I have been wanting to tackle scones. I never have but they seem to be simple enough. Good luck and have fun wit whatever you decide!
awww grandma! have fun with the family tonight and ENJOY your day off. It’s THE BEST feeling right?! The weekend is going to feel incredibly long, ahh I’m jealous.
I saw that recipe and wanted to try it out, too! Looks great. You can bake fall-themed cookies (sugar cookies and decorate) or cupcakes, and frost with fun sprinkles… or an apple crisp, etc. is always a crowd pleaser!
I have been wanting to try the corn chowder ever since seeing it the other day too, and yours looks like it turned out mighty tasty! I hope all gyms adopt the individual TV system (I might have Jet Blue flashbacks though!), that sounds so much better…
Congrats on your new jobs and on keeping your blog fantastic through it all!
You should make pumpkin roll…this one in particular looks sooo yummy!
http://www.lanascooking.com/2010/10/12/cream-cheese-filledpumpkin-roll/
I have only ever used my grandmother’s recipe but I really might have to try this one out, it looks SOOOO good!
I don’t know how the Pioneer Woman does it–she has ah-mazing recipes!!
I can’t believe your treadmill had its personal AC fans!!
I would suggest making pumpkin bread!!!!! Email me for the recipe if you are interested. I got it six years ago and have made it a million times since. It never fails to come out moist and delicious!!
I would suggest making these pumpkin muffins filled with cream cheese – I made them last weekend, and they are suuuuuuper delicious and taste just like fall!
http://annies-eats.com/2010/10/08/pumpkin-cream-cheese-muffins/
Your grandma is a beautiful woman! Enjoy her as much as you can. I lost three of my grandparents in 27 days this summer and I miss them dearly! They are very special people!
Make pumpkin bars! Of course it’s very fall-ish, but I just read today that there’s a study that links pumpkin with good breast health. Since October is breast cancer awareness month and you’ll be baking with lovely female family members, I think it’d be perfect!
Cooking Light has a peanut butter bananna bread that we’ll be testing out tomorrow, I heard it’s delish!
Ah, enjoy your day off – hope the 10-hr days went well!
You should bake something with pumpkin! I recommend whoopie pies or shortcakes
http://littlebittybakes.blogspot.com/2010/07/spiced-pumpkin-whoopie-pies.html
http://littlebittybakes.blogspot.com/2010/09/pumpkin-apple-shortcakes.html
pumpkin whoopie pies, natch!
Thank you for the linkage friend!!! Great soup… I have to make some corn chowder soon
Your grandma is too cute! I am jonesing for cupcakes at the moment, so my vote would be for carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I am craving them terribly at the moment, but have to hold off until after I run my half-marathon on Sunday. Have fun with your family on your day off.
I just wanted to tell you that I was really sad to not see your name in the Project Food Blog anymore.
I loved all your entries for the challenges! I haven’t read too many food blogs but of all the ones I’ve read, yours is definitely the most relatable and down to earth. All of the recipes look doable and delicious (and I’ve tried quite a few!), the workouts mentioned are ones I could actually fit in my schedule and abilities, and I enjoy reading about your daily grind–just thought you should know! 
I baked something today called Rock Cakes for my cookbook challenge (on my blog). They are basically cinnamon raisin scones…amazing! I’d suggest making those…simple and fun.
And fancy that…my grandma and aunt are in town this weekend too! Mine are only four hours drive from my place though, so they can get here easily. Have a great weekend with your family!
Pumpkin muffins! Nice fall time food
Omg!!! Our Grammies are TWINS! seriously I need to find a picture bc my grandma looks just like yours! Soooo adorable! Tonight I made pumpkin cheesecake, and Sunday I’m making a huge batch of your butternut squash ravioli! I’m also going to squeeze in some more pumpkin baked goods and butters. So many on my to-bake list!
I think you should make a healthy(ier) pumpkin bread!! I can’t wait to make some, but haven’t had the time yet this fall and I don’t have a go-to recipe. Reading about your trial would be a great place to start!
This weekend I’m planning on baking corn bread! I found a great recipe involving carrots and have been wanting to try it out
I typically do my baking during the week to avoid doing my schoolwork, and this week I made pumpkin cookies! They turned out great!
I’m planning on making Pumpkin Creme Pies. I found the recipe on the Tasty Kitchen website. They are similar to Oatmeal Creme Pies. Hopefully they turn out super yummy!
The first thing I thought of was Lefse. I think it was the combination of baking and grandma.
She is the prettiest! Grandma’s are the best…
That soup looks yummy. Sorry about the project food blog thing. I hope you are having a great weekend with your family!