January at the Gym

I really didn't think there would be that many new faces at the gym. I mean, sure New Year's resolutions and all, but how much of that is really real... 

Turns out, I was wrong. We actually had to share bags in kickboxing last night, and Zumba looked pretty full.

I say Zumba "looked" full because it's TOO COLD OUTSIDE for my car to start!!!! (The battery freezes up when it gets to be, oh, you know NEGATIVE WIND CHILLS!) So I sent Steve off to the store and said, "I'll see you at 7," then called him 15 minutes later to say, "No go!" He was at the farmers market, buying sweet potatoes, and I told him to finish shopping first, so I missed the whole hour of Zumba. I was so excited to get to work out ... and then so bummed when I didn't get to go!!! At least I got to kickbox. Sigh. I'll have to try again tonight, but again, my car is just sitting in the driveway, like a really expensive lawn ornament that's almost as ugly as a gnome.

You have to check out Civilized Caveman for an easy shrimp recipe today. It looks yummy, and it's seriously the type of recipe that I could come up with! Saute shrimp. Put them over sweet potatoes that you mash up and add yummy things to. Done! 

We made this soup last night. Actually, Steve made it, and I just helped brown the meat! We subbed ground turkey and turkey broth and added some tomato sauce for flavor. 

Revised Recipe:

2 pounds ground turkey
1 large onion
2 celery stalks
3 cloves garlic (or 1 1/2 tea. minced garlic)
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
4 C (or 1 carton) chicken or veggie broth
3 bell peppers, diced
4 carrots, sliced
3 T tomato paste
1 C tomato sauce
1/2 tea oregano
1 tea chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Brown the meat with the onions, garlic and celery
2. Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and stir to combine
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft.

The original recipe said to do everything in a large saucepan, but we browned the meat in a frying pan and then transferred it to our soup pot (which also allowed us to skim off the grease). The original recipe also said simmer 15-20 minutes, but I think it took closer to 30 or 45 for the sweet potatoes and other veggies to be soft. It just depends how big you make the pieces and if you want more of a soup or a stew. I need to go bake some sweet potatoes to mash up as part of dinner tonight!