Hard Cooked Eggs - Baked, not Boiled!

Have you searched for years to find the perfect technique to hard boil your eggs?
I have.


I've used egg prickers, egg timers, and this awesome plastic indicator thing that turns from red to black from the outside in as the temperature increases...
It sits in the water with your eggs while they boil. And it works really well!


...But you still have to remember to check on it while your water boils...


When you struggle with ADD, like I do, you know how unreliable that can be... I walk out of the room, then remember 20 MINUTES LATER that I was cooking something!! Oops!!


#thestruggleisreal


So, I ran across directions for baked eggs...
Let me tell you.
 My life has never been the same!


This is what I do.

Step one: Gather the eggs from the chicken coop where the hens are happily laying practically every day! I store mine on the counter. You can do that with farm-fresh eggs. The chickens put "a natural bloom" on the eggs when they lay that seals and protects them. This makes it easier to tell which ones are cooked, too, since the cooked ones will go in the fridge! Besides, it's just nice to look at them, sometimes!

Step two: Preheat the oven to 320 degrees.

I know, it seems kind of random...

Step three: On baking day, wash your eggs! So, there is always some sand or dirt or..... other stuff..... on the eggs. They have not been washed prior to this because we want to leave the protective bloom on them. However, we are now going to cook them. I always clean my eggs just before cooking. If you wash your eggs as soon as you gather them, it would be prudent to store them in the fridge until you use them. Something about the porous nature of the eggshell after you remove the bloom.

Step four: Place eggs in a muffin pan. I love my mini-muffin pan (from The Pampered Chef, of course) because I can bake a full 2-dozen eggs at once!

You can use a regular sized muffin pan, but I just really love this one!

It's so beautiful!

Step five: Place the pan in the oven and set a timer for 30 minutes. Walk away without worrying that you will forget you are cooking something because YOU SET A TIMER!! Yay!

What would I do without timers?

Step six: (optional) For even easier to peel eggs, as soon as they come out of the oven, drop them into a bowl of ice water. Once they have cooled enough to handle, store in the fridge.

Was there ever a more convenient on-the-go snack?

A complete protein serving is 2 eggs.

Not up for eating your eggs alone?

Just slice them up and add them to your salad!

Which reminds me...  I have an amazing recipe for Spinach Salad that I need to share...

Stay tuned!

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"How are you not sore after falling off?"

 

“How are you not sore after falling off??” MK asks me incredulously…

 

This was the actual question posed to me.

Yes, I fell off.  At the horse show.  In my class.  And I was disqualified.

Round 1 - Fence 3

 

My flippant answer to “How are you not sore?” was, “I work out.”

While it was initially spoken in jest, I think there’s some truth in there.

 

I put in a gajillion braids...

Because I’m following a complete workout program, my core is regularly and thoroughly worked and challenged.  Therefore, when the Fancy Pony slammed on the brakes, my core was available to hold me in the middle (for an extra second, anyway).  That extra second allowed me to slow my forward trajectory to better match my pony’s lack of trajectory so that I sort of fell onto her neck and just rolled on around until I landed in the dirt.  I wasn’t grabbing with out-of-shape muscles to stay on, so they were fully available to do the job.  It’s not like you use those muscles when riding is going well…  Thanks to my integrated cardio-weights workouts, they were available just how I needed them!

 

The story gets better though!

I like this one!

 

While I was eliminated from my first round, I still had a second round to ride.

We made it a little further this time…

I sat all my refusals without falling off.

I had a few nice jumping efforts.

I had a few not-so-pretty jumping efforts…

You would think we hadn't practiced at home...

 

I had this incredible save!!

Stay in the middle...

 

Just call me Karen?

Now, what you may find difficult so see here, is that I’m hanging off of the left side of my horse by my right knee and elbow…  Somehow, I was able to channel my inner Karen O’Connor and sit right back up!

…And re-approach the offending jump…

 

I’m pretty sure I just straight up choked in my first 3’ hunter class, but I learned.  I learned more than I imagined I could in those few short minutes.  And, now, I’m back home to implement the lessons learned while pushing just a little further out of my comfort zone.

after my second refusal...

Because if we don’t push something, we won’t grow.

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How Working Out Impacts My Riding

(cross-posted to http://equestriansnob.blogspot.com/)

As you work your way up the levels of your chosen riding discipline, you may find the your body becomes less and less cooperative...  The parts just don't seem to do what you told them to do...  Or what you *thought* you told them to...

Do you follow a workout program, or do you just stick to one thing all the time?

(such as running, biking, walking, whatever)

I've been following my programs that:

 - change up the muscle groups that get worked each day

 - include cardio components

 - schedule in stretching and flexibility

 - establish core strength and stability

You wouldn't think that any of that really affects my riding one way or another...

But, when it comes down to upping the ante, I'm realizing it *is* my own solid foundation!

Working out increases my confidence!

Now, I don't fully understand why breaking a sweat each day should make any difference in my confidence, but I still notice a difference.  I think body language has much to do with it.

Check out this TED Talks Life Hack by Amy Cuddy!  If you get a chance to watch the video, I highly recommend it!

I think exercise puts me in power poses (and for more than 2 minutes at a time) and contributes to my increased confidence.  I don't have any other science to back this up.  It's just a hunch.

confidence to stick with my horse when she puts in an extra push!

Working out heightens my body awareness at all levels!

Are my heels down?  Are my hips even?  Am I sitting up straight or collapsing forward?

These questions get easier to answer by feel when I'm working out.  Out of the saddle, I'm finding all of these tiny muscles between the big muscles and slowly becoming aware of all my body parts in relation to the rest of me.

In triangle pose, I feel squished between 2 panes of glass, but when I look up, my right shoulder is a bit forward.  So, I figure out how to bring it back in line.  That translates to square shoulders in the saddle.  Because I work on it every day.  At home.  Out of the saddle.

awareness of my position so that I stay centered and out of the way when we take off from a bad spot!
(I can't see that expression without cracking up!!  LOLOL)

Working out improves my posture!

Whether I'm lifting weights or stretching into a yoga pose, I must put my body into alignment.  The actions themselves slowly install a muscle memory of balanced body parts.  Squats, especially with weights, push my weight into my heels, helping them stay DOWN when I'm in the saddle.

Resistance training teaches me to keep my chest and chin UP.

Yoga and Pilates help me keep my spine and pelvis aligned.

Because I'm training every day.

Bonus - it improves my posture OUT of the saddle, as well!

Working out solidifies my balance!

Oh, the crazy things I do at home! Yoga balance poses.  One-legged squats.  Side plank.  Chair pose!!

The better my balance is, the easier it gets to stay out of my horse's way when we work.  And when I can get out of her way, she truly becomes brilliant!

As the muscles get fatigued, my ability to balance declines.  By pushing my limits out of the saddle, my muscles gain endurance.  If I fall out of a pose at home, it's not going to impact my horse.  I can push harder and harder - all the way to my limits!  Then, I can push those limits farther!

When I get back in the saddle, I have more to offer my horse.  More stability.  More balance.  More quiet allowance.  More partnership.

I'm putting as much effort into our performance as my horse is!

Working out manages my pain.

I am a rider with a chronic back injury.  Bulged discs never completely heal.  By maintaining my core strength and flexibility on a daily basis, acute flare-ups are shorter and less painful.  It helps me build what I call "coping muscles".

Recently, my back was so tied up, I couldn't sit the canter.  I had a performance to give. Since I couldn't sit the canter, I cantered in half-seat.  I had the strength to do that much, at least.  The flexibility comes and goes, but I continue to train it anyway.  I learn how to work in a way that protects my injury while still being effective.  The hurt goes away faster.  The muscles remain more pliable.  I remain functional!!

That doesn't mean I never have bad pain days...  I still have occasions where some outside force that I have yet to identify lays me low and all I can do is take NSAIDS and lay on the couch and wait for the spasms and ache to pass.  But it's no longer taking DAYS to pass.  It seems to only take 24 hours or less.  Then, I can step right back into my routine.

It doesn't mean we're perfect, but it does mean we are both doing our best!!

Shameless Plug

I'm not at my ideal weight, yet.  I don't have a 6-pack.  I modify and work around chronic injury and pain.  I like bread and chocolate and ice cream...

Despite all of that, I am succeeding at a pace that works for me.  I am sustaining small, consistent improvements.  And I am helping others do the same thing!!

Learn more about what I do at http://dynamicwithjacq.blogspot.com/p/services.html