Half Marathons, Recipes, and Life OH MY!

So, I started half training yesterday. 2.5 miles in 26 minutes. I was mentally preparing for that run all day- making myself get out there. The hardest step is the one out the door.

Well, I've made some pretty yummy things lately.

Spicy Shrimp Fettuccine

Ingredients

• 9 ounces uncooked whole wheat fettuccine
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1-1/2 pounds uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
•  2 cups reduced-sodium tomato juice
•  1/2 cup tomato sauce
•  1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
•  1/4 teaspoon salt
•  1/4 teaspoon pepper
•  4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup white wine or Reduced-Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Directions

1. Cook fettuccine according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute garlic in oil until tender. Stir in the shrimp, tomato juice, tomato sauce, pepper flakes, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and wine until smooth; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and sauce is thickened.
3. Drain fettuccine; stir into skillet. Sprinkle with basil just before serving. 

Review: Mr. Discovery was not a fan the first night, but he liked it the second time around. I think the sauce was too thin the first night, but for lunch the next day, it was thicker. I loved it both times.

Favourite Skillet Lasagna

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound Italian turkey sausage links, casings removed (I used Italian seasoned ground turkey)
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 jar (14 ounces) spaghetti sauce (I used about 16 oz because that's what I had left in the jar)
• 2 cups uncooked whole wheat egg noodles (I used about 2.5)
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup chopped zucchini
• 1/2 cup fat-free ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. In a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce, egg noodles, water and zucchini. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.
2. Combine the ricotta, Parmesan and parsley. Drop by tablespoonfuls over pasta mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; cover and cook 3-5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 5 servings.

Review: I licked the plate. It was that good.

Grilled Tilapia with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh basil, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons capers, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 4 tilapia fillets (6 ounces each)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. For vinaigrette, in a small bowl, whisk the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons basil, olive oil, garlic, capers and lemon peel; set aside 2 tablespoons for sauce. Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper. Brush both sides of fillets with remaining vinaigrette.
2. Using long-handled tongs, moisten a paper towel with cooking oil and lightly coat the grill rack. Grill, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from the heat for 3-4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Brush with reserved vinaigrette and sprinkle with remaining basil.

Review: Very good. Next time, I might make a little more of the vinaigrette, because it just didn't feel like there was quite enough of it to go around.



Well, there you go! I hope you find something in there! All of those recipes were from Taste of Home Healthy Cooking.

I've had a lot of subbing lately, which has been lovely. Big paychecks before Christmas! :-) I have today off, so I am finishing up Christmas decorating today before I have an Art class tomorrow and Band classes on Thurs/Fri. And of course HARRY POTTER comes out on Thursday night!!!!!!!! Totally going to the midnight showing.

Hope everyone has a great week!!

FOOD!

I know you've all been waiting for a FOOD update! Well, here we go!

Wednesday night I made Asian Burgers. I foolishly did not photograph them, but I do have an artist's representation of their deliciosity.

Hahaha. Gotta love Paint!

I'll try to break it down. Unfortunately, when I make up a recipe, I don't really measure things. Haha.

1 lb leanest ground beef

1 tsp EVOO

1ish tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp powdered ginger

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp Sucanat (needed some sweetness!)

Mix the aforementioned ingredients thoroughly and form into 4 evenly distributed patties.

While grilling burgers, saute some mushrooms with low sodium soy sauce and red wine vinegar. When burgers are almost done, top with mushrooms and a slice of cheese (I used pepper jack because it's what we had). Let the cheese melt a bit. Yum.

Place assembled burgers on Arnold's Sandwich Thins (stole this idea from Whitney) and enjoy with your fave preperation of oven fries! I choose these lovelies (no picture, just recipe). I <3 me some parmesan oven fries!

Last night we had... what to call this dish... well, maybe you can leave me a name for it as a comment... I'm drawing a blank. I will warn you that there is a lot of multitasking in this recipe!

8 oz (when dry) cooked whole wheat penne pasta

1 package Jennie-O's hot italian sausage

Grape Tomatoes (3/4-1 cup)

Spinach (maybe 2 cups? I think I did 2-3 handfulls)

2 tbsp butter (or marg)

2 tbsp whole wheat flour

1.5 cups skim milk

2 cloves garlic

Dried herbs of choice

1 tbsp EVOO

Remove casing from sausage and cut into bite sized pieces. Cook in cast iron skillet until browned on both sides.

Heat EVOO and one clove sliced garlic in another skillet. Remove garlic and add tomatoes. Break town tomatoes, smashing them as they get hot. add to cooked sausage. Turn heat off sausage pan and add the spinach, letting it wilt when mixed into sausage/tomato mixture.

Meanwhile, make a white sauce by melting butter in a small sauce pan. Add flour and whisk to make a roux, then add the milk, whisking to combine. Add finely chopped garlic and a couple of pinches of dried herbs. I used Italian Herbs. When the sauce has thickened, combine the pasta, sausage mixture, and sauce in a large serving bowl. I added all the sauce, which was not necessary, but at the end, I drained the extra sauce out to use in a recipe later this week. You can also just add as much as you'd like (about half the recipe is enough) and save the rest if you want it to be more versatile for a later recipe.

It was.... DELICIOUS. SO SO SO good. I have leftovers that I am about to consume. I know that my "recipe writing skills" for these recipes kind of stink, but oh well. The food is good, so if you want to make it, you'll have to put up with it! :-)

If you wish to name the recipe, the key ingredients would be: Penne, a white garlic herb sauce, hot turkey sausage, tomatoes and spinach. Maybe I'll think of something!

I love me some Tuesday...

Good evening, blog readers! I have been MIA from my blog for the weekend, but I am back, never fear!

I have two meals from Clean Eating Magazine for you, so look forward to that! :-) I officially started P90x for reals last night, now that I have all the DVDs. I'm excited about transforming my body... haha, that sounds super cheesy! Today, I subbed in 1st grade and tomorrow I have my health assessment at DH's work for insurance purposes. I have a feeling I'll get another 100%!

My meals for the day...

B: Mini Wheats (yes... the frosted kind... I couldn't get into my regular breakfast of...

Trader Joe's Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, Honey we got on vacay in SC, Whole Wheat toast! 

L: Leftover Chicken Pomodoro
D: Salmon Patties with Zucchini and Squash
S: Banana with PB
S: Dark Chocolate
Things I shouldn't have eaten: 1/4 of a small DQ blizzard (leftovers from Thursday), Two packages of smarties

And now... I'll give you the photos for my lunch today and dinner tonight.

Chicken Pomodoro Angel Hair Pasta

I made my own sauce for the first time and bought FRESH feta from Tom Leonard's... YUM

and...

Salmon Patties with Sauteed Squash and Zucchini

The patties were more like... crumbles... but still tasty. Also... I bought the wrong kind (and size) of canned salmon. There was a spine. In my can. Ew. I don't think we ate too many pin bones. ;-)

Well, I'd better get to the dishes... yay. Then P90x Day 2: Plyometrics!

What to do with yesterday's leftovers...

So. You roasted a chicken, you made the green beans and the potatoes. You consumed these dishes last night and now, tonight, you are still lovin' the idea of the dishes, but you aren't so sure you want a plate of the exact same meal you had last night. Have I got the fix for you!

Roasted Chicken and Penne

Sorry, it's not terribly photogenic...

Ingredients:
10oz cooked whole wheat pasta (I used thin Whole Wheat Spaghetti, but the magazine calls for penne)
Reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water
1 cup of the potatoes from last night
1 3/4 cup of the green beans from last night
2 cups of shredded chicken
4 tbsp (mag called for 2, but it was NOT enough) of balsamic vinegar
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Combine pasta, potatoes, beans, chicken, vinegar, pepper, and 1/4 cup of the pasta water over heat
2. If the pasta seems dry, add more of the reserved water until it reaches desired consistency (whatever that means!)
3. Serve on pretty plates to your very hungry husband. :-)

I subbed for a third grade teacher today, which was fun. Just a half day in the afternoon, which I love- I get to sleep in! :-)

DH and I have decided to put the house hunt on hold until we know more about our futures. Jobs are up in the air right now, so we both want to make sure we have the resources to pay for what we want and not be house poor. It was a hard decision, especially since we fell in love with one last week. Oh well.

I'm going to be starting P90X soon, so check back for info on that. Hope everyone has a lovely evening!

Mexican Pasta Bake

I didn't grocery shop for recipes this week... I challenged myself to come up with recipes to fit what I had. This is what happened tonight:

Mexican Pasta Bake

1.44 lbs 93% lean ground beef (It would take a small army to keep me away from red meat)
1 box whole wheat rotini
1/2 cup onion chopped
1/2 cup red onion chopped
1/2 cup green onion chopped
1 can white sweet corn
1 can green enchilada sauce
1 1/2 cups salsa
1 1/2 cups shredded part skim mozzarella cheese (I would have used mexican blend as I thought I had that in my fridge... but yeah... I didn't)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
Black pepper to taste

Directions: Brown the meat with the spices. Meanwhile, boil water for pasta and cook pasta. Add the peppers and onion. Cook for 2 minutes, add corn. cook 2 minutes, add enchilada sauce and salsa. Let simmer for a few minutes.
Combine pasta and meat mixture in a greased 13x9 pan. Add half the cheese and combine well.
Bake covered for 15 minutes at 350*, uncover, spread the remaining cheese on top and bake for an additional 10 minutes, uncovered. Enjoy!!!

Slacker

I am one. OK. Now that we've established that, we can move on.

Yesterday was a good day. I ran W7(holy halibut! W7 already?) D1 of c25k (25 minutes of running, 2.42 miles; getting closer to 6 min mile pace!), we had an old college friend over for dinner and a movie since he was in town on business, and I made a pretty spectacular dinner.

CLEAN Spaghetti Carbonara

Story: My mom was really sick (before I was born) and my dad had to do a lot of cooking, so his boss gave him a recipe for a very simple pasta dish that has stayed with the family for many years now.

1 lb Whole Wheat Pasta
6 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided 4, and 2)
4 tsp salt
3 eggs (or whites)
1 package of Turkey Kielbasa Sausage plus any seasonings you'd like to add (I use black pepper and oregano)
1/2 cup-1 cup parmesan cheese

Bring 4 tbsp EVOO and salt to boil. While water gets to boil, cut sausage into small, bite-sized chunks.
Add pasta to boiling water and cook to desired softness. While the pasta cooks, brown the sausage with seasonings (I use EVOO to do this, but cooking spray works).
Drain, place back in pot, and add the eggs, tossing with HOT pasta to cook the eggs. Add 2 tbsp EVOO, sausage, and Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste if desired.

As of week 1 of the HFNHC, I am winning. That's because I'm awesome. :-)

I contacted HR of the county schools for the county I live in and she said that my name should come up for orientation for subbing in the next few weeks. That'd be wonderful, really wonderful.