I spend the "summer" (who really considers September summer?) doing my own little challenge. It was called the Sans Soda Summer. I went three months without soda. This was one of my 101 in 1001, though according to the list, I was not required to make the three months consecutive, so I feel even cooler that I did make them consecutive. So... this was a good challenge. Most of the time, I didn't really feel the desire to have soda, but there were a few times when I could have really enjoyed a good ol' Boylan Black Cherry soda. I mean, I like soda, it's good, but I've never been "addicted" to it. Before I did this, I had a soda maybe every 10 days or so. I plan on keeping the habit up, but I will probably indulge in sodas like Boylan or Curiosity Cola, not Coke or Barq's.
So... the eats.
Flank Steak Rollup, Clean Eating Magazine
Ingredients:
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 1/4 cups whole-wheat panko
- 1 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes
- 1 flank steak about a pound, trimmed of visible fat
- 3 oz spinach leaves
- kitchen string or skewers
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Arrange a rack in a baking dish and coat with cooking spray
- In a small bowl, combine panko, nuts, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes. Set aside.
- Place steak on a work surface. Holding a sharp knife, parallel to the work surface and positioned along 1 of the longer sides, cut the steak almost in half horizontally so it opens like a book. Spread steak open with “spine of book” parallel to you.
- Sprinkle panko mixture over steak leaving a one inch border along the farthest edge. Arrange spinach on top. Beginning with the closest edge roll steak up, gently pressing down on the spinach. Tie up with kitchen string at 1-inch intervals. Place steak in prepared pan and bake unto the meat thermometer reads 150 for medium and 130 for rare. Remove from oven, transfer to a cutting board and cover loosely with foil to rest 10 mins.
- Remove foil and string and carefully cut steak crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Serve drizzled with any juices that accumulated on the cutting board.
Homemade Pizza
I used my normal pizza dough recipe, and then I added red and green peppers, onions, mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and some Jennie-O's Hot Italian Turkey Sausage that I removed from the casings and then cooked in my cast iron skillet.
Chicken Parmesan Burgers, Elly Says Opa
Ingredients:
Burgers:
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup chopped flatleaf parsley
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
- 1 shallot, finely diced
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup pasta sauce
- 4 slices mozzarella or provolone (or 1/2 cup shredded)
- sauteed mushrooms (optional)
- 4 buns (brushed with a little garlic butter, they are even better)
- Lightly mix together all the ingredients for the burgers. Form into 4 patties. I like to make them about 30-40 minutes ahead of time, to let the flavors meld a little bit.
- Preheat & spray the broiler with a little oil (or use the grill, or a pan). Broil the burgers for about 4 minutes on the first side, then flip and broil for 3 minutes. Top each chicken burger with 2 Tbsp. pasta sauce and a slice (or about 2T) of cheese. Place back under the broiler for 30-60 seconds, until cheese in melted and burger is cooked through. Top with mushrooms, if desired. Place the buns in the broiler for about 10 seconds, just until toasted.
In other news, I tried my first green monster. It looked gross (thus no photos), but tasted delicious.
The recipe I used:
- 2 tbsp cocoa
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- Two handfuls of spinach
- Ice to make smoothie of good consistency (10 for me)
I enjoyed it thoroughly! :-) Well, I think I am going to go off to the gym... time to get some running done. It's September and it's time to run!
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