Making the Best Of It All

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 103.2 (running: 59.3; walking: 5.1; biking: 38.8) Money Found For Food Bank: $16.35

2,015 in 2015 Change Hounds progress: Nancy: 103.2  Aaron: 88.5 (b: 75.2; w: 13.3)  Elly: 14.5 Total: 206.2

Yesterday was a day full of changing weather. From no precipitation to snow to rain back to snow again ... then came the temperature drop and winds, and we had ourselves some ice overnight into this morning!

Knowing this in advance, I already planned for today's miles to be on the bike while catching up on a wee bit of recorded tv. It was a good plan, but I decided to keep switching workout programs on the bike to keep myself more engaged. Don't get me wrong, the bike is a superior alternative to the treadmill any day, but it's still inside. So, I want to make sure I avoid all foreseeable forms of boredom. Some people can't be pleased no matter what you do; when it comes to indoor exercise, I'm a tough nut to crack!

It was also a morning of licking some wounds from last night's Super Bowl heartbreaker in what can only be described as I would have made a completely different call on that second-and-inches play and for the first time in watching football history would have probably and miraculously been right. I have to hand it to both sides; the game was exciting all the way through. That's a huge thing for me to say, too, because, last year, while everyone was all, "What a terrible Super Bowl. It shouldn't be (a blowout) like that." I was in the camp of, "It was awesome because the team I wanted to win did! Booyah!" Until next year, mighty Seahawks ...

While the action went back and forth, we hunkered down with our game day dinner! One of my favorites was this personal victory:

I know you've seen recipes for coating chicken and baking it to mimic fried. I, too, have seen and tried it, but I've always been unsatisfied with (a) buttermilk is often the ingredient used to coat the chicken to bind the crumbs -- kinda defeats the purpose a little, huh?, and (b) the bottom always stays wet as it sits on the pan. For those reasons, this is a recipe that's gone to the wayside for me ...

... UNTIL I recently saw Melissa D'Arabian on the Steve Harvey Show, and she solved both of my issues!

First, she uses the following to dredge the chicken before coating with the crumbs:

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey

1 tablespoon light mayonnaise

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon hot sauce (such as Frank’s or Tabasco)

Um, SUPER YUM.

And, what sent it all over the edge for me is that I saw she put her chicken on a rack on top of the pan to bake. Genius!! I went on a hunt for one and found a Calphalon, oven-safe rack at Bed, Bath & Beyond. I got the pan for underneath there, too, in total costing $24. And, it worked great! Here's the link to her recipe.

Ours were still a bit moist underneath but nothing like putting them directly on the pan. And, that can easily be fixed by flipping them next time. Because there will most definitely be a next time!

With that, it's time to settle in to the evening with some game playing and, you know it, Bachelor watching! I'll check in on tomorrow's Rest Day!