Tortilla Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Hello! I have been cooking some freeze for later meals for my brother and sister-in-law because they are days (maybe hours?) away from having a baby!! And all I know about birthing babies is that you’re supposed to bring people food.

What to do when someone has a baby (I think?): 

1. Bring food.

2. Drop it off and leave.

3. That’s it.

I don’t know this for a fact, but a friend who’s had two babies told me that would be her preference. Noted!

Anyway.

I made them a chicken and stuffing casserole. That’s already frozen and on the way to their home thanks to my mom.

And yesterday I made this Tortilla Breakfast Casserole Recipe. It’s super easy and a great way to use up corn tortillas if you don’ t happen to plow through a 50 pack before they get stale.

Tortilla Breakfast Casserole Recipe

Ingredients:

• 7 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 16 oz. ground sausage
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup mushrooms, cleaned & chopped
• 2 cups frozen spinach, heat in microwave & squeeze out excess water
• 8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
• corn tortillas
• Salt / Pepper / Garlic powder / Chili powder

 

Directions: Pre-heat over to 350 degrees. Heat skillet with olive oil, cook onions until translucent. Add sausage and cook through. Drain excess fat from pan. Add mushrooms & spinach. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chili powder to your taste.

Microwave frozen spinach until warm, squeeze out excess water. Add to sausage mixture.

Grease 9×9 baking pan. Cover bottom of pan with a layer of tortillas, overlapping slightly. Place half sausage mixture on tortillas. Sprinkle with 1/3 shredded cheese. Place another layer of tortillas. Cover with remaining sausage mix and 1/3 of cheese.

Mix eggs and milk thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Carefully pour eggs in pan on top of sausage & tortillas. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until almost set. Top with remaining cheese and place back in over for another 5 to 10 minutes or until cook through and cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

Here are the steps broken down in case ya like to save this graphic to your Pinterest….

Question: What did you have for breakfast today?

Me: A smoothie with protein powder , ice, almond milk, nuts and other random toppings.

The post Tortilla Breakfast Casserole Recipe appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/31/tortilla-breakfast-casserole-recipe/

New Race Discounts and Weekend Updates

Hello! How’s it going? Over here it’s slowly starting to feel back to normal, whatever that means.

I had an event over the weekend, which was a good way to keep me busy and get me to a happier place. My Grams loved gambling and it was at the Pala Casino (more on this later). Even though I didn’t gamble, I knew she would have loved it.

Minutes after Grams passed my Nina and Nino got there. (My Nina is my aunt > my mom’s sister and Grams’ oldest daughter.) My Nina was talking to Grams…this is the very special conversation that followed:

Nina: Hey mom… How’s Heaven? Who do you see up there? Who’s up there with you?

My mom: She sees dad…

Nina: He’s probably hiding from her!!

Ha!

That made us laugh and was a nice little moment of my Nina being my Nina and remembering that Grams was a handful.

And I found this picture as we were going through stuff this weekend… Classic.

Okay… there’s no easy way to transition from that so let’s roll with it.

I’ve been running and eating (but it’s been LESS running and MORE eating).

Running:  I ran most days last week but haven’t done much strength work (and still kept my usual rest day). After crossing ‘Run’ off my To Do list I usually just want to head to my mom’s or start work. I feel behind on everything right now. I’ll get back to cross training this week.

Food: I’ve been eating a lot of pizza. It’s delicious and easy. I didn’t want to cook last week. Then, ordered it again at an event this weekend. I’m kinda happy about all the pizza that’s been in my life lately.

Random: Spotted these light-up watermelon decorations at Marshall’s and talked myself out of getting one. I might go back for it though. That’s what I do! If I see something I like but don’t love or if it’s expensive I don’t get it right then. If I’m still thinking about it the next day I’ll go back.

And I have some new race discount codes for ya! REVEL Race series added a new race in Arizona! There are tons of race discounts for the Elite Races – they’re small races around SoCal.

Check out my Race Discounts page and sign up for my RER Discounts Email list to stay up to date on the latest coupons and discount codes!

REVEL Race Series Race Discount Codes:

REVEL Canyon City – Azusa, CA Nov 4, 2017

REVEL Canyon City Half / Full Marathon Discount Code: https://www.runrevel.com/rcc/register?team=1467947

 

REVEL Mt. Lemmon – Date: Nov. 12, 2017 Location: Mt Lemmon, Tucson, AZ

REVEL Mt. Lemmon Half / Full Marathon Discount Code : https://www.runrevel.com/rml/register?team=1467946

Add REVEL Mt Lemmon to your fall running schedule and register by August 4 to save up to $20. Use code REVEL at checkout to save $10 and combine that with the Facebook and team discounts to get a total of $20 off your registration!

 

REVEL Big Cottonwod – Salt Lake City, UT  Sept. 9, 2017

REVEL Big Cottonwood Half / Full Marathon Discount Code: https://www.runrevel.com/bcm/register?team=1467948

 

REVEL Mt. Charleston – April 28, 2018 Location: Las Vegas, NV

REVEL Mt. Charleston Half / Full Marathon Discount Code: https://www.runrevel.com/rmc/register?team=1467949

 

REVEL Rockies – Date: June 3, 2018 Location: Denver, CO

REVEL Rockies Half / Full Marathon Discount Code: https://www.runrevel.com/rdv/register?team=1467950

 

Elite Sports SoCal Races Discount Code:

Save 30% off  ALL Elite Sports CA events

Register for one or all Elite Sports CA events listed below.

Use code:WERUN71

Sale ends August 1st at midnight, please spread the word!

August 13 http://www.arroyocreekhalf.com/

Sept 24 http://www.harvesthalf.com/

Oct 15 http://www.fosterparkhalf.com/

Nov 12 https://secure.elitesportsca.com/event/Surfers-Point-Marathon-2017

Dec 3  http://www.hollyjollyhalf.com/

 

Question: What’s your next race? Do you have a big race on the calendar this year?

The post New Race Discounts and Weekend Updates appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/31/new-race-discounts-and-weekend-updates/

RER 002 – Running & Eating Q & A 1

Run Eat Repeat Podcast Episode 2

I’m answering your latest questions on running and eating (and repeating)….

1. What BeachBody workouts do you do? How to do incorporate it in a running plan or training for a race??

Notes: You can check out BeachBody on Demand here (for US) it’s $99 for the full year. There’s a free trial for 30 days. BeachBody on Demand offers all the workouts or you can just buy a certain workout series like 21 Day Fix

 

2. How do you do the Advocare 24 Day Challenge or 10 Day Clean Eating Challenge without triggering disordered eating?

Notes: Info on the 24 Day Challenge is here and Info on the 10 Day Clean Eating Challenge

 

3.  How do you know if you’re running too much? How do you avoid over-training?

Notes: Listen to your body and consider keeping a training journal to record your recovery and any signals your body is trying to send.

 

4. Can you share an average day of food? I am trying to do intuitive eating but feel like I’m eating A LOT.

Notes: Check out Run Eat Repeat on Instagram and my Instagram Stories for pictures of my food.

The post RER 002 – Running & Eating Q & A 1 appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/28/running-eating-q-1/

Random Updates and Confessions…

Hello! Thank you. Thank you so much for all your love and support for me and my family. My Grams is up in Heaven (where I’m pretty sure whiskey is calorie free). I really appreciate it. I’m still processing everything but feel okay right now. I’m going to help my mom pack her stuff on Friday. I’m very grateful I can be there for her.

Now let’s talk about all the random thoughts and confessions bouncing around my head right now… should I say running around my head? Anyway… this is what is on my mind right now.

1. I do push-ups with my knees on the ground. I don’t apologize for this. But it didn’t occur to me until I fell last week and went to do a BeachBody workout the next day. Yeah, my knee was NOT having it.

2. I’m currently waiting for my car to be serviced and sipping delicious free Starbucks coffee. This is good, but I wish I had fruit punch Spark right now. So refreshing. I definitely drink more in the summer.

3. I started to write the post about my Grams on Monday night when she was still alive so some of it is written like she’s still alive. And there are some typos, but I can’t re-read it right now to edit them. It just makes me too sad right this second.

4. The only reason I don’t eat a whole watermelon in one day is because I stop myself. I want to though.

5. I really love my ‘upside down machine’ aka inversion table. I’ve had it for a few months now. My brother had one for a while and I would use it over there.

6. My nighttime eating is out of control right now. I’m not hungry, just gotten into the habit of full on eating a 2nd dinner at 10pm. WTF Monican. I end up eating leftovers from dinner that I packed up for the next day. It’s mostly because I’m super tired and instead of going to sleep I go to the kitchen. Busted.

7. I think I might finally need more friends.

8. I’m really trying to be kind to everyone. EV. Er. EEE. ONE. It’s easy to be nice to people who are nice to me. But the Bible doesn’t say “Treat your neighbor as yourself – but you can be mean to jerks”. Unless I didn’t get to that part yet? For now I’m working on being kind to everyone. And when I fail I’ll try again.

9. I’m going to an event at the Pala Casino today. I was invited a long time ago and almost canceled since this week has been so sad and hard. But I’m going to rally and go. My Grams was a big gambler – she would have thought it was awesome that I got invited to something like this.

10. I don’t want to make this a full on commercial but these Spark / Rehydrate flavor combinations sound amazing! I want all of them!!

Rehydrate Orange Canister  // Rehydrate Orange Stick Pack // Spark Mango Canister  // Spark Mango Stick pack

 

Rehydrate Red Raspberry Canister  // Rehydrate Red Raspberry Stick Pack // Spark Pink Lemonade Canister  // Spark Pink Lemonade Stick pack

Rehydrate Key Lime Canister  // Rehydrate Key Lime Stick Pack // Spark Cherry Canister  // Spark Cherry Stick pack

 

Question: How’s your week going? Any random updates or confessions??

The post Random Updates and Confessions… appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/27/random-updates-and-confessions/

Overhead Lat Stretch, An Essential Cure for Kyphosis

If you want to eliminate your neck, shoulder and upper back pain one of the first steps you must take is to stop schlumping. Many people suffer from kyphosis, a.k.a. schlumping, which is technically defined as an upper back curvature greater than 35 degrees. When you schlump on a regular basis, your head has no place […]
from Unlimited Energy Now http://unlimitedenergynow.com/overhead-lat-stretch-an-essential-cure-for-kyphosis/

source https://unlimitedenergynow.tumblr.com/post/163453053590

Grams.

So I got unexpected message yesterday that my grandma seemed very sick and  might pass that afternoon.

It was unexpected because even though she’s 92, she hasn’t been very sick. She had a nurse with her because she’s been having back pain and we’re trying to figure out her pain management situation.

I immediately went to see her and be with my family. It was very sad, but I’m grateful we had that time.

She passed away this afternoon. It was very peaceful and more than anything I’m glad for the timing that I a was there with my mom right then.

I want to share some random facts about my Grams and my relationship with her. I love her very very much.

I don’t think there is one right or normal way to have a family. So I’ll just say that my relationship with my Grams was very special because I grew up living with her and my mom from birth till some point in high school. She played a big part in taking care of me and my brother growing up.

She always yelled. This is probably why I’m so loud.

She love whiskey. She’s to drink it with water but in her later years she switched to scotch and soy milk to be healthy. Ha!

Her favorite Mariachi song is Volver and I don’t think anyone in my family can hear it without thinking of her. It’s my favorite too.

Her husband (my mom’s dad) died when my mom was only 18. So, I never met my grandpa. She dated when I was a kid but never remarried.

One of my favorite childhood videos is of Grams  asking my brother to give a blow-up Easter bunny a  kiss. He takes a couple steps back and runs toward it and completely tackles it like a football player. Ha! Classic.

She played the piano. Come to think about it, I really don’t know how she learned.

She was fully bilingual but didn’t raise my mom speaking Spanish… then my mom didn’t raise me speaking it either. This makes me sad and I really want to learn it.

But she would get mad at us in Spanish, so we know some of those words…

She’d go to Vegas a lot when I was a kid and bring my brother and I cute little souvenirs…. tiny toy slot machines, fun key chains, random glittery dice… my favorite was a pair of nail clippers that I had for years.

She was a good cook. I remember her making tacos and enchiladas a lot. I think any kind of meat ended up in a taco!

She loved fancy Persian cats and had two while I was growing up. One was Tiffany and the other was Cubby, but his official name was Sir Winston the III or something.

And because this post needs a little comic relief here is a picture of me as the chubby lil cat dressing weirdo I was and still am…

I’m going to miss her.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support on Instagram and Facebook. I really appreciate it.

Love,

Monican

 

 

I also want to note…  my  podcast came out today. I recorded that first episode over a month ago. In it I talk about how I started running – for the longest time I would go visit her and walk on her treadmill. It’s a coincidence that I mention her in it since I don’t talk about her that often and it launched today and she passed away today.

The podcast is available on RER to download but it takes some time to get on iTunes and Stitcher. It will be available there in the next two days. Thanks for your patience on this. I’ll follow up as soon as it’s available there.

The post Grams. appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/25/grams/

Fast Friday – Tips from the 1st Place RER Marathon Team

It’s Fast Friday on the Run Eat Repeat podcast! Want to run faster? Want a quick tip on eating healthy? Well, you came to the right place!

The Run Eat Repeat Marathon Team won FIRST PLACE at Revel Rockies and the Run Eat Repeat Half Marathon Team got Third Place!! So awesome!!

The Revel Race Director sent me an email asking for my address so they could send me this trophy…

But I don’t feel right keeping it – so I had the top team RER marathon finishers pick a number and the closest will get it. Well, Luke was the closest and I’m sending it to him. Congratulations!!

Since I had their attention I also asked them to share a tip on how they got faster.

Tips from the Revel Rockies Marathon Team Division Winners

>>>Stephanie Armstrong is @purposefulrunner on Instagram.

She shared that she doesn’t do speed work, but runs for a reason.

>>> Luke Snoddy said he ran less mileage, but more at marathon goal pace.

He used this Runner’s World Marathon Plan Less is More.

>>> And Phil Kilpatrick did downhill mile repeats to get ready for the Revel course.

Boom! Those are great marathon tips to get faster –  speed work and course simulation. Go get ‘em!

The post Fast Friday – Tips from the 1st Place RER Marathon Team appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/25/fast-friday-tips-1st-place-rer-marathon-team/

How This Whole Running and Eating Thing Started…

Hello! Today the Run Eat Repeat podcast is launching!! Are you ready to run and eat while listening to me talk about all things running, eating and random?! I’m excited because I’ve wanted to start a podcast for a really long time but was super intimidated by the whole process.

Well, I finally went for it and have episode #1 of the Run Eat Repeat podcast for ya today!!

I want to talk about running, food, fitness, health and any other hot topics or random things that pop in my head movies – on the podcast. But for the first episode I just want to share how I got started with running and how that contributed to the brand RER is today.

It’s partially my running story, partially my weight loss story, partially my blog story…

 

Run Eat Repeat Podcast Episode #1

Meet your local Monican

Hello! Welcome to the Run Eat Repeat podcast. We’re talking running, eating and whatever other random topic pops in my head movies.

Meet Monica, the creator of Run Eat Repeat. I wasn’t always a runner. I found running by accident. Here’s how I went from overweight non-runner to finishing 30+ marathons and 50+ half marathons.

Running changed my life. I never set out to be a runner. I just wanted to lose weight. But after a lot of walking I got bored and slowly started to run. I kept going. I fell in love with it. I decided to run a race. I started a blog to document my training. And the rest is history.

Subscribe and share this podcast with your friends (or enemies).

Thanks!

 

How To Listen to a Podcast

In case this is your first time checking out a podcast here is how ya do it. (Read as: My mom is going to ask me how she can listen to my podcast and in case anyone else needs the steps.)

>>>You can listen to the RER podcast either here on RunEatRepeat.com OR on an app on your phone. Do whatever’s easier for you – it’s the same either way. If you want to listen to it here – come back every Tuesday and Friday to check out new episodes. If you want to use an app…

1. Open iTunes (iphone) OR Go to the Play Store on your android and download Stitcher. This is your podcast app!

2. Use the magnifying / search bar on the top to search “Run Eat Repeat” to find this lil ol’ podcast.

3. Click on this podcast – the logo is a green circle with “Run Eat Repeat” in the middle.

4. Subscribe. This will keep ya updated on new episodes.

5. Download the current (or any past) episodes while you’re on wifi and it won’t use up any of your data.

6. Listen! Repeat.

 

Thank you for checking out my new podcast!! I really appreciate your support.

If you have any questions or comments leave a comment below or email me at RunEatRepeat@gmail.com with ‘podcast’ in the subject line.

 

Question: Do you listen to podcast regularly? How often?

The post How This Whole Running and Eating Thing Started… appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/25/whole-running-eating-thing-started/

Sriracha Factory Tour

Hello! How’s it going? Is it HOT where you are? It’s HOT here – in 2 ways… 1.) the weather and B.) with Sriracha on everything.

I went on a tour of the Sriracha factory on Friday!! No, this wasn’t for a blog event… Recently I heard you can take a tour at the Sriracha headquarters! And I already knew it was fairly close to my parents’ house so I was all about it. I looked it up and asked my little brother to come with me.

The Sriracha Factory is located in Irwindale, CA. (Your local Monican is from Pico Rivera, CA.)

Reason #102 why California is the BEST: The Sriracha Factory.

You can find out more about Sriracha Factory Tours here.

Sriracha Factory Tour Notes:

1. It’s a free tour offered most weekdays. You must make reservations in advance.

2. The tour is about 30 to 45 minutes long and takes you inside the huge factory.

3. The company moved to this new state-of-the-art facility in 2010.

4. They make the Sriracha bottles here too!

5. The tour starts in a welcome room covered in Sriracha memorabilia. They play videos about Sriracha on a loop in the room while you wait for everyone to arrive.

6. The creator of Sriracha, David Tran is over 70 years old and still works full time at the company.

7. The tour leaders pass out hair nets and take you to Sriracha-mobiles to go inside the factory. You have to wear a hair net over your facial hair if you have any too. I’m glad I shaved my beard that morning!

8. I don’t know this guy who is perfectly smiling at the camera, but I appreciate his enthusiasm.

9. You are driven into the warehouse section of the factory. They make all these blue barrels that hold the sauce on site too.

10. The warehouse section of the factory is HUGE and mostly lit with skylights! They only turn on lights in there if it’s really necessary.

11. Sriracha makes 3 kinds of hot sauce: Sriracha, Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek

Each sauce starts with a base of chili – salt, vinegar and 2 preservatives added. That’s what is in these barrels.

12. We saw the Sriracha bottles being made and filled.

13. Yes, you can take pictures and video.

14. It smells very garlic-y and slightly like chili in the factory. It’s not a very strong odor and doesn’t burn your eyes, nose or throat to smell.

BUT – it is not chili grinding season right now. The tour guides said the smell is a little stronger during that 3 month time period. Even then, it’s not super offensive.

I’m noting this because there was a big new story a while back that local residents claimed the factory smelled very strong and it was unbearable. This is odd because the factory has been there since 2010 and was in Rosemead (a near-by city) for years before that.

I toured the Sabra factory twice in the past and would say the smells were a little similar – a mild, warm garlic smell. I liked it. I do want to go back during chili grinding season to see that happen and sniff it out.

15. The tour is fairly short and sweet. At the end you can check out the Rooster Room, basically the gift shop.

Everyone who takes the tour gets a free small bottle of one of their three sauces. I picked the chili garlic and Matt picked the mini Sriracha bottle. Then, we went kinda crazy buying up all the Sriracha stuff!

16. I got a Sriracha tank , Sriracha to go keychain, Sriracha ketchup and Sriracha salsa…

17. Overall it was fun but I don’t think I’d recommend for someone to check out unless you were a HUGE Sriracha fan or lived pretty close by. It’s short and sweet and there’s no other real points of interest nearby so if you’re just traveling to Los Angeles or Anaheim for other reasons I wouldn’t automatically add this to the list of things to do.

18. After the tour I went back to my parents’ house and ate ice cream because it’s summer and that’s what you do. The end.

More information on the Sriracha Factory Tour is available here.

This wasn’t a blog related invite or partnership… I’m just a girl who loves the Rooster Sauce.

Question: What is your favorite hot sauce or condiment?

Me: Sriracha!

The post Sriracha Factory Tour appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/24/sriracha-factory-tour/

How to Cut a Watermelon Easy and Fast

Watermelon is my FAVORITE food in the world. I love it. I created a video years ago super randomly in my boyfriend’s kitchen. It was after a run or something, I look a little sweaty and random… but it got tons of views. And it made me super happy to share my super easy tutorial on how to cut watermelon.

I updated the video this week with another quick and easy ‘how to cut watermelon’ video. All you need is a watermelon and a knife.

Okay, maybe a bowl and some napkins. But that’s it! Check out my watermelon cutting method and then go out and buy one.

How to Cut a Watermelon Video

National Watermelon Day is coming soon!

Do you have a favorite way to eat watermelon or watermelon recipe??

The post How to Cut a Watermelon Easy and Fast appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/22/how-to-cut-a-watermelon-easy-and-fast/

Operation Microwave FAIL

Hello!! How’s it going? Over here it’s going good! I’m very busy eating all the watermelon in America and trying to get my life together. The usual.

But before we get into another love letter to watermelon I have a BIG CONFESSION…

Remember last week I was painting my kitchen and said I would be living without a microwave for 10 Days? I called it Operation: Live without a Microwave because I am extremely lazy both with naming things and obviously with heating food.

Anyway.

I failed.

The old microwave was on the patio and I ended up plugging it in and using it several times. One time I made popcorn on my patio at 11pm at night while on the phone… so my neighbors probably heard both the popcorn popping and me explain to my friend that my micro was on the patio and there was a June bug near it… then, hear me scream as that June bug tries to jump into the microwave!!!!

Note to you: Be glad you’re not my neighbor and/or my friend who has to pretend like this behavior is normal because you still need me to cut your watermelon.

I’m super excited about a few food things right now and wanted to share…

First – I found this granola at the 99 Cent store. It is amazing and um… only 99 cents!! I’ve been putting it on smoothies, eating the big chunks whenever and now it’s pretty much gone. The end.

The bulk bins at any/all stores that have bulk bins are still my favorite. I love being able to get a few delicious candies. If I buy a whole container they will be gone within 24 hours no matter how big the package.

Avocado on all the things!

I feel like I’m choosing what to eat lately based on what I can put avocado on (which is basically everything except cereal).

I went over to my mom’s yesterday and proceeded to eat all her food. She makes the BEST tuna. Is that weird?

Does that kinda say she isn’t the best cook because I feel like this is noteworthy??

This just occurred to me. Oh well, I already wrote it so I’m gonna roll with it.

In addition to the above average tuna, she had a watermelon just waiting for me to cut. I offer watermelon cutting services to all my family and one friend.

And watermelon cutting isn’t my only skill – I’m also good at eating and knowing what to order at restaurants!

First… always get a margarita.

For me. Then, order yourself whatever you want, thanks.

Second….

If you are at a place that makes handmade tortillas – order a side of them to eat with salsa or guacamole (with the chips/salsa you get when you sit down). Trust.

The rest is less important, but this salad was actually amazing and packed with tons of veggies and pepitas and cotija cheese.

Dessert was a warm brownie with ice cream  made with abuelita chocolate. It was so amazing I didn’t take a picture.

But I did manage a picture of the Pacific Ocean minutes before a big wave came and wet my dress…

Note the Band-Aid I’m sporting on my knee… my scraped knee is still healing and looks kinda gross right now.

Question: Are you good at any random / house / cooking / craft thing?

Me: Cutting watermelon!

The post Operation Microwave FAIL appeared first on Run Eat Repeat.

source http://runeatrepeat.com/2017/07/21/operation-microwave-fail/