Finally Giving In to Being Sick & Pasta With Chorizo and Chickpeas

I pushed through the worst of being sick last week, so that I could finish my November running challenges. But, today is another story.  While running helped clean out my lungs, they still really hurt and I'm still coughing all the time.  Since it seems to be noticeably colder this week I'm taking today off and giving my lungs a break.  The cold wind just hurts too bad!

I don't think I have ever said this before, and will probably never say it again, but man I would love to have access to a treadmill right now!  

Sky and I will still bundle up and go for a walk at the park, so she can burn energy, but at least I won't be forcing my lungs to function at running pace.  She is still working hard to get over her cold and cough as well, in fact she took a 3 1/2 hour nap yesterday!!!

It was perfect for getting some laundry done, and a few other things around the house.  I'll be honest though, a good hour was spent playing with a new photo app I got for my phone!  I have mentioned A Beautiful Mess here before, and I'm still a big fan of everything they do!  I have been patiently waiting for the android version of their photo app, and it's finally here.  I downloaded it and played around with it for longer than I should have.  

I have already posted all these pics, but here is an example of what it can do...

You can create collages in lot's and lot's of different layouts.  Above is one of the more "normal" layouts, but there are all sorts of options.  And, you can add text and doodles, like the flowers in the below picture.  The best part is you can control the opacity so the flowers/text aren't too bold and overwhelming the picture.

I love that after your done making your photos all fancy you can then share them via Instagram, FB, Google+ etc, and it retains high resolution/quality so you can print them or post them to a blog and they won't be grainy.

I have never paid for an app before, but this one is totally worth the .99 cent price tag!!!

A side note...all the above pictures were already Instagram filtered, so any graininess is due to that.  I'm excited to take some fresh pictures the next few days and only play with them in the A Beautiful Mess app to see what it can do from scratch!

What's your favorite photo app?  


P.S. I almost forgot...remember the cooking challenge I posted HERE?  Well here is the recipe that those simple ingredients turned into (I may have lied by the way, I thought I had shared the recipe before, but I don't think I really did):

Pasta With Chorizo and Chickpeas
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 small shallots, chopped
3/4 lb fresh Mexican Chorizo or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed
12 oz small dried pasta
2 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Finely grated Parmesan and lemon zest for serving

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes.  Add chorizo and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, 5-7 minutes.

Add tomato paste and red pepper flakes to skillet and cook, stirring, until paste darkens,a bout 1 minute.  Add broth; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick-ened, 15-20 minutes.  Add chickpeas and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente.  Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking liquid.

Add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce.  Cook, stirring and adding more cooking liquid as needed, until sauce thickens and coats pasta, about 3 minutes.

Serve pasta topped with parsley, Parmesan, and lemon zest.

Enjoy!