Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

  • I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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Enchilada Chicken

Posted by terrepruitt on August 12, 2019

If you have read my blog or seen any of my tweets within the last month or so you know that I made Taco Pie again. Oh my I love it, and this last time with the flour tortillas, I really loved it. When I make it I cannot find the size of enchilada sauce I need so I end up with a lot of leftover sauce. The time before last, the unused sauce sat in my refrigerator until it went bad because I didn’t know what to do with it. This time I was determined to use it and thought I could use it with chicken like I do with other sauces.

This is just chicken baked in the left over enchilada sauce. It was very good. I can see this dish following Taco Pie every time now.  I will be using up that extra enchilada sauce. YUM.

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Enchilada Chicken

~Four boneless skinless chicken breast
~Taco Seasoning (click for homemade recipe)
~20 ounces (or so) of Enchilada sauce
~about 2-3 cups shredded cheese (I used the 4 Cheese Mexican mix)
~Cilantro

~Rice (optional)

Place the chicken in a baking dish. Sprinkle half of the Taco Seasoning over the chicken. Let it set for an hour or two (in the refrigerator). Then flip over each piece and sprinkle the rest of seasoning over the chicken. Let it set for an hour or two (in the refrigerator).

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Pour the enchilada sauce over the chicken, sprinkle in some chopped cilantro, then top it with the shredded cheese. Bake. I baked this about 50 minutes . . . depending on the size of the chicken breasts . . . bake the chicken until thoroughly cooked.

Then serve over rice . . . or in tortillas, or on its own . . . topping it with chopped cilantro.

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Easy. Yummy. A great way for me to use the left over enchilada sauce.  I know this is just a different take on both Italian Chicken and Chicken Salsa.  Pouring sauces over chicken and baking, it is so easy and so many different types of sauces gives us such a variety of flavors!

What do you think? Don’t you love easy recipes?

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More Colorful Bottles

Posted by terrepruitt on August 9, 2019

Here is another way to display the pretty bottles you have.  This is in the same yard as the Colorful Bottle Tree.

There was so much to look at in this yard.  I was enjoying looking at it and taking pictures.  So there will be more Friday Photos of this fun yard in Santa Cruz/Capitola!  I really loved these bottles because they are blue!

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This is bamboo, right?

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Taco Seasoning

Posted by terrepruitt on August 7, 2019

My husband and I aren’t big taco fans. I mean, we like them, but we don’t make them at home and we don’t order them when we go out. This past February we were in Anaheim staying at a hotel across the street from Disneyland and right outside our motel was a Jimboy’s Tacos – and I did fall in love with that greasy mess. And then once home finding out we didn’t have one close, I did try a few different tacos while I’ve been out, but nothing compares. But regardless of not making tacos, I do find myself wanting taco seasoning.

We eat “taco seasoned” meat with our taco salad. We usually buy the packaged kind, but sometimes we like to try out own. This is what we use when making it ourselves.

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Taco Seasoning

–2 tbsp cumin
–2 tbsp garlic salt
–1 tbsp paprika
–1 tbsp garlic powder
–1 tbsp minced onions
–1 tsp oregano
–sprinkle of pepper

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You may know that I don’t like anything spicy hot so I only use a sprinkle of pepper if any at all.  I don’t put in any chili powder or cayenne pepper.  It is a nice mild mix of spices.

Do you like tacos?  Do you have an occasion to use taco seasoning?

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May Flowers

Posted by terrepruitt on August 2, 2019

Here are some roses that we brought in from our yard roses. I am always so happy with our roses because they are just miracles that grow on their own. I love to bring them in, but I also love to look out and see the bushes full of roses.

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Do you cut your roses and bring them in or leave them outside?

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Nia Fundamentals

Posted by terrepruitt on July 31, 2019

So Nia has a few fundamental ideas, this post is a brief summary of the information that can be found in The Nia Technique book. The book is by Debbie Rosas and Carlos Rosas. It was first published in 2004. This information is on pages 16 through 19.

The Joy of Movement Is the Secret of Fitness. The idea is to not exercise. For many people exercising is not enjoyable. So stop, don’t exercise . . . MOVE. Move in a joyful way, not in a mechanical way that doesn’t bring any pleasure.

Fitness Must Address thev Human Being, Not Just the Body. Exercise that is done just to exercise is not fun and will probably be put aside after a little while. But movement that is fun and engages the mind, emotions, and spirit in addition to the body is something that one might stick with for a long time. Your body will benefit from exercise, but if you like the movement you are doing and if it is created to affect more than just the physical you can get more benefit from it. If you walk away from the activity with a clearer head, a happier and/or satisfied disposition, and a lighter spirit it is something you will want to do. Your health will be better overall.

Movement Must Be Conscious, Not Habitual. Haven’t there been studies that prove thinking about what you are doing, focusing on the movement results in greater gains? Being aware of your movement and the sensations of the body makes for a more fulfilling workout. Just hopping on the treadmill and turning on the TV is less satisfying. You also don’t affect the BMES.

Use Your Body the Way It Was Designed to Be Used. Replace the linear exercise with full range of motion movement. Vary the speed and intensity of movements. Move to improve your FAMSS!

Take the Path of Least Resistance. Move the way your body is. Not to say you cannot improve in areas that you want to improve in, but recognize that everyone cannot be a contortionist or run a mile in three minutes.

The chart is from page 19. I redacted some of it so that you would be encouraged to read it for yourself and have the opportunity to get new/additional information. 🙂

Remember that this was written in 2004 and it is really great to see that this type of information and way of thinking is becoming much more common.  Yay!

What is your favorite type of movement?

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Bruschetta Orzo

Posted by terrepruitt on July 29, 2019

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCDSo this is pretty very much like the Five-Vegetable Pasta I made and I posted about in the post titled Bruschetta Pasta. Basically the only difference is the way I cut and cooked the zucchini and the pasta itself. I used that recipe to make this. I didn’t realize when I decided to make it that it was going to be such a hot day. My original plan was to cook all the vegetables in the oven, but I decided while I was waiting for one batch to cook I might as well cook the mushrooms on the stove.

 

 

 

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—1 medium or large eggplant, cubed (very small)
—4 medium sized tomatoes, cubed
—2 zucchinis, cubed (tiny)
—1 lb of mushrooms, chopped (tiny)
—1/2 of a large onion, chopped (tiny)
—olive oil
—two tablespoons of butter
—garlic powder
—garlic salt
—pepper
—sweet basil
—balsamic vinegar

—1 1/4 cup orzo
—2 1/2 cup water
—2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon

—Parmesan cheese, grated, as desired

Heat the oven to 450°F.

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Put the cubed eggplant on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt. Mix it up, then spread the eggplant evenly over the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then take the pan out of the oven and stir the eggplant adding more garlic salt. Bake for another 15 minutes, then take the pan out of the oven and stir the eggplant adding more garlic salt. Bake for an additional 15 minutes. Stirring or tossing if necessary to ensure even roasting.

Put the cubed zucchini on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt. Mix it up, then spread the zucchini evenly over the baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then take the pan out of the oven and stir the zucchini adding more garlic salt. Push the zucchini over to one half of the baking sheet to make room for the tomatoes. Put three of the tomatoes on the other half of the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake for another 10 minutes, then take the pan out of the oven and stir the zucchini adding more garlic salt. Check on the tomatoes. Toss them gently. Bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCDWhile the veggies are cooking in the oven you can begin cooking the mushrooms. Heat some olive oil in a pan, then add the onions. Cook the onions until translucent or caramelizing – depends on how you like them, then add the mushrooms and garlic salt. Cook the mushrooms.

When you have about 15 to 20 minutes left of cooking for the veggies heat the butter in a pan. Add the orzo to the melted butter. Toast the orzo – just giving it a little color. Then add the water and bouillon to the pan. Stir until the bouillon is incorporated. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer – or even lower. Let all the water evaporate. Stirring every once in a while.

After the orzo and the veggies are all cooked add half of the orzo to a large bowl/dish then half of the eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt (if you even need to), pepper, and basil. Then stir. Then add half of the cooked tomatoes and half of the raw tomatoes. On top of the tomatoes add the rest of the orzo and vegetables. Add more salt (if need be), pepper, and basil. Stir gently.

Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

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So, I have discovered that I love orzo. I cook it in broth and it is amazing on its own. I thought it would make this dish amazing too, but I liked this dish better with linguine. My husband is loving this and I like it too, I just think I like the veggies with the other pasta better.

What about you? Linguine or orzo for this?

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Six, Five, Three . . . Let’s Just Keep On Going!

Posted by terrepruitt on July 22, 2019

Last Thursday while I was teaching the Thursday evening yoga class I realized that I had been teaching at the Willow Glen Community for six years. Then I looked at my How Long Have You Been Teaching Here? post and realized it was six years to the day! I started teaching gentle yoga at that community center on July 18 in 2013. It was supposed to be a temporary gig.

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCDI am happy to say that they kept asking me back.  Hopefully we can keep the class going for many more years to come. It has grown in attendance, which is nice. It started out with maybe five people and now we are cutting off the sign up at 22 (I think). Usually, not all the people that sign up show up at the same time so we end up with 12 to 15 people.

I’ll also have been teaching Nia on Thursdays for six years this year, but in September. The original time we started back in 2013 was 8:45. I understand the necessity for classes starting on the quarter hour, but sometimes that is not as standard as on the hour or half hour so we were able to change it to a 9:00 am start time in 2015.

Then we even changed locations in January of 2019. The program under which Nia was offered with the City of San Jose was cancelled. The feedback I received from the participants was that they wanted a class that they could drop into – which was not going to be allowed under the new program. So I found a new place to have Nia on Thursdays. We were so lucky that it happens to be right down the street from the community center AND it is on the same day AND it is at the same time. I am so happy that I was able to keep it so close to the same as to make it very convenient for the students. So, as I said, come September 2019, I will have been teaching Nia on Thursday for six years!

In February it had been five years that I have been teaching gentle yoga at the Cypress Community Center. At the time I was teaching Nia before the yoga class so I wasn’t able to step into the original class time when they called to ask me to teach it, but the students that had been signed up for that session agreed to move the class to 10:30. So the class has been at 10:30 on Tuesdays since February 2014.

Our stretch class has been going on for three years. This one is the one that have changed the most. First of all before I started teaching the class it was held at noon. But when I took over we moved it to 10:15 (that weird start time) because I was teaching Nia from 9:00 to 10:00 and when I took over teaching stretch we had to relocate from one room to the next so we needed time to do that. Plus it is always nice to have at least 10 minutes in between classes so that students can exit and enter and those wanting to take both classes can take care of any needs they might have (the instructor too!). Stretch was at the community center, but again, when the city changed programs the students wanted to have class passes and drop-ins so we moved stretch to the same place we moved Nia. Not enough people attended the stretch class though, so the studio could not support it.

So, we moved stretch to the park. The park is great. It is a very nice park. It suits our needs just in fine. There is a huge tree under which we can put our mats. Most of the time the students start off with their mats in the sun and after about 15 minutes they move into the shade. But even though we have great weather in California, we will not be able to stay outside through the winter so we are moving back to the community center. If you want to join us for stretch at the community center, please register. Here is a link to my site that will have the links to register. I don’t want to put the links here as they will die eventually and I rather not have dead links on my blog. (I try not to.)

When we moved stretch to the park we adjusted the start time so that we would have time to get from the studio to the park. It starts at 10:30. When it moves to the community center it will start at 10:30 because I will still need the time to get from the studio to the community center. It actually only takes about 5 minutes to get to either place from the studio, but I can’t guarantee that I can leave right after class. Sometimes I have to talk to students and/or attend to other things so it is safest to start class when I can guarantee for the most part that I can be there.

Well, this post just start out because I was excited that I had been teaching gentle yoga at the Willow Glen Community center for six years to the day and wanted to share . . . the other info just seemed a logical follow.

Do you take any group exercise classes?

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Colorful Bottle Tree

Posted by terrepruitt on July 19, 2019

Some friends visited from out of town and stayed in Santa Cruz not far from the ocean. I have many photos from the delightful yard that I will be posting. It was a colorful and very fun yard!

Here is a bottle tree for the Friday Photo.

 

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Trackball Or Mouse?

Posted by terrepruitt on July 17, 2019

Dance Exercise, Nia, Nia in the City of San Jose, Nia classes in the South Bay, Nia Teacher, Nia Class, San Jose Nia, Nia San Jose, Nia workout, Nia, Gentle Yoga, Group Ex classes, YMCA, Zumba, Nia Technique, SJ City Fit, SJCityFit, City of San Jose Exercise Classes, Cambrian Yoga & Cardio Dance, CYCDThe way I remember it, a long time ago I got a new computer and my husband said they didn’t make trackballs that worked with it. So for many, many, many years I have been using a mouse. My mouse was wireless. It has a base that it sits in to get charged. Sometimes I wouldn’t put it in correctly and it wouldn’t get charged so I couldn’t use it. About a year or so ago it started not working. It would work, then not work, then work, then not work. I got tired of that so I just used a mouse that was just lying around, but it had a cord. The way my computer is set up I had to have the cord across my keyboard or my lap. It would interfere with my typing. When it wasn’t on the desk interfering with my typing it would be on my lap interfering with my chair. It was so annoying. Finally I decided to get a mouse. I looked online really quick one day and saw one for less than $10.00. Cool. But when I investigated further I saw trackballs. Oh, be still my heart. I love trackballs. And to really make my heart soar the ball itself was blue. So I set my sights on a trackball.

Even though I can read and it said it worked with Macs or PCs, just to be sure my hubby wanted to research it. He also was looking to see if there was something better out there. But the one I chose not only was blue (squeee!) it was a Logitech so I was pretty confident it was a good one.

The space in which I have to use a mouse/trackball is very small. With a mouse I was always having to pick it up and move it over lest it fall right off the desk.  This device does not have to be “charged” like my previous mouse.  It just runs on its own batteries.  No more of the not-working-because-I-didn’t-sit-it-in-its-base-correctly! So I am so happy to say that I now have a trackball and I love it. I haven’t had a trackball for over twenty years and I really missed having one. They are so awesome.

While I am sure you are all riveted by this story, the reason I am posting it is because I am curious:

What do you think? Have you ever used a trackball? Do you prefer a mouse or a trackball?

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White Sangria

Posted by terrepruitt on July 15, 2019

For some reason around the time of Fourth of July I was craving Sangria, but I didn’t know how to make it. I was craving red sangria, but I also wanted white sangria. I thought that I would make the red for my hubby and me prior to the fourth.  Then make the white for our company on the fourth. I thought it would be ok to have left over red, but not left over white because I was going to use champagne and it would have gone flat by the time we had company.

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3 nectarines
1 small container of raspberries
1 bottle rosé
1 cup white rum
4 cups peach juice
1 bottle of champagne – note only 1 cup goes into the Sangria
lime juice

Cut the nectarines into chunks. In a large pitcher or bowl, combine the nectarines, raspberries, rosé, rum, and peach juice. Stir until mixed. Add a bit of lime juice to taste. Add 1 cup of champagne. Stir again.

You can serve over ice and even top it off with a bit more champagne.

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I am not a fan of peaches, so this – without the champagne topper, was too peachy for me. I think I will opt for a different juice. The original recipe I had seen says to use peach nectar, but the store I went to had a very limited juice selection and no nectar.

This was good . . . with the champagne topper. It was very refreshing. It was pretty much what I was looking for . . . . once I figured out I need to add a bit more champagne.

I think I will keep experimenting.

Do any of you have a good Sangria recipe? Red or white?

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