Baked Manicotti Bundles

Courtesy of Clean Eating Magazine March 2011

I already took out my two to eat... so you could see the inside of the manicotti... riiiight...

Ingredients

olive oil or cooking spray
3 to 4 green onions
10 whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 carrot peeled
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
12 oz tilapia filets
4 oz light cream cheese (I used light ricotta instead)
1/2 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp dried dill (I think I used about 2 tbsps!)
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 oz. reduced fat mozzarella (I used pepper jack for the sauce... I was out of mozzarella, so I ran to the store while it was in the oven and then sprinkled the top with the mozzarella... that's why it's not browned on top... that and I had to leave sooner than I thought)
fresh dill for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a glass pan with olive oil cooking spray and set aside.

2. Rinse onions well trim off white tops and discard. Carefully score the connected layers so that you have strands, set aside.

3. Prepare lasagna noodles according to instructions, rinse, set aside. During the last 90 seconds of cooking, add strands of onions to soften then set aside.

4. Grade carrot, set aside.

5. In a large non stick pan, over medium heat, add oil, heat and add tilapia. Shake pan so fish does not stick. Cover and cook for 3 minutes then flip and cook for a minute more or until fish is no longer opaque. Remove from heat.

6. Mix cream cheese, together with milk, dill and salt (I forgot! No wonder it felt like it was lacking!) in a medium saucepan. Whisk constantly until mixture is melted and creamy. Add half of mozzarella in. Stir in carrots and tilapia and remove from heat.

7. Lay lasagna noodles out on a cutting board, place 2 tbsp of the mixture at the bottom of the noodle and roll away from you. Make a bundle that stays together without squeezing out the filling. Tie each bundle with an onion layer and place in the pan.

8. Place remaining mozzarella over bundles and top with dill and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serves: 4


The Verdict: Tasty. It needed salt, but then I realized I didn't put it in. Haha. I would make this again with a few changes. More dill, for sure. :-)

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Quesadillas

I know! Two posts in one day! CRAZY!

Well, here's another recipe from Clean Eating Magazine, June 2011!

Again, my plating skills stink... haha.

Ingredients:
Tomatillo Sauce:

- olive oil cooking spray
- 1/2 pound fresh tomatillos, husked, cleaned and halved
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- juice from 1 lime or lemon
- 1 tsp minced jalapeno pepper
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- pinch salt

Quesadillas:

- 1 tbdp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- Pinch sea salt
- 1 red onion, sliced into thin rings
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
- 1 zucchini, washed and sliced into thin rounds
- 1 6 (or 8) oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
- colby jack or mexican blend cheese (or cheddar if you run out of both!)
- Whole wheat tortillas

Directions:
For the tomatillo sauce:
1. Preheat grill to high and coat with cooking spray.
2. Place tomatillos cut side down and grill 10-12 minutes or until softened. This seemed long... which is evidenced by the color of my tomatillo sauce. I would cut in half almost.
3. Remove from grill and pulse in food processor with cilantro and lime until pureed. Season with salt and garlic powder and set aside.

For the quesadillas...
4. Combine cumin, chili powder, and salt  in a small bowl.
5. Toss in a bowl with prepared vegetables to coat completely.
6. Arrange vegetables in a single layer on the grill and cook until softened, 10-15 minutes.
7. Grill the chickn until cooked through and grill marks appear, 10-15 minutes.
8. Assemble quesadillas by layering cheese, vegetables, and cheese on one half of the tortilla.
9. Place on grill and grill until cheese melts, flip over and grill until browned and cheese melts
10. Cut in quarters and serve with the yummy tomatillo sauce.

Serves 4.

The verdict: Delish! I accidentally burned the bottom of my quesadillas. I thought my panini press would brown the tops, but it didn't. Oh well. I loved the tomatillo sauce, even though mine turned out a different color. Haha. Definitely will make again!
One of my favourite blogs, Branny Boils Over, did this recipe a few days ago, but sans chicken. You can check it out here.

Back in Action!

Well, I have officially begun summer vacation and that means... NEW RECIPES! :-) Last night's winner...

Baked Pecan-Crusted Flounder with Squash Saute
Modified from April/May 2011 Clean Eating Magazine recipe

Not the prettiest plating, but I promise it was DELICIOUS!

Ingredients:

Fish

- Olive oil cooking spray
- 4 4 oz boneless skinless Pacific flounder fillets, rinsed and patted dry
- 1 1/2 tsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp mustard
- 1 packet stevia
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup unsalted pecan pieces, toasted and finely chopped

Squash

- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 medium yellow squash, sliced
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425*. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat foil with cooking spray. Place fillets on foil.
2. In a small bowl, combine honey, mustard, stevia, salt, and cayenne. Brush tops of fillets with mixture, dividing evenly. Sprinkle pecan over top, dividing evenly, and coat tops of fillets with cooking spray. Bake for 12 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.
3. Meanwhile, prepare squash: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until begins to richly brown, stirring frequently. Add squash and cook for 4 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Add salt and black pepper, stir gently.
4. To serve, place equal amounts of squash mixture on each of 4 dinner plates, then top with 1fillet. Or, serve family-style on a platter.

The verdict: I loved the fish, but flounder was REALLY expensive, so I think I'll use a cheaper fish next time. Also, I think I would have used zucchini instead of squash. The plate was boring-looking with all the same colored food.

Only a few more days!

Well, the school year is winding down and the kids are winding up. As we say at MHS, the natives are restless... and that includes the teachers. I am looking forward to several things that will come along with the summer such as early morning runs, scrapbooking with my Cricut, reading the GIANT stack of magazines on my coffee table, cleaning this dump up, cooking new recipes and old, and NOT driving an hour one way to work several times a week.

I promise that when the summer comes in just a few short weeks, I'll have plenty to say. :-) Enjoy the ever-warming weather and a few pictures from my last race, Run For Their Lives 5k. The race proceeds went to Freedom 4/24, which is an organization that is fighting to stop sex slavery in Thailand and other countries. I got a great new PR of 28.22, which I was thrilled about! I was 63/218 and 35/149 for women. They didn't do age groups.

My BFF at school- a total lifesaver!

One Chicken... Three Different Meals

Sunday night I roasted a chicken with some great veggies.

From Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook

Ingredients:
- 1/2 turnip, peeled and diced (I omitted because I forgot to buy)
- 2 parsnips, peeled and diced
- 2 cooking potatoes (I used Yukon Gold), unpeeled and diced
- 4 stalks celery, trimmed and chopped
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced (I omitted because I hate sweet potatoes)
- 2 large carrots
- 2 large yellow onions
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp coconut butter or olive oil (I used Land O Lakes light butter because I love it)
- 3 garlic cloves, passed through a garlic press
- 3 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
- 3 Tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 good-sized roasting chicken, washed, drained, and dried (don't forget the giblets!) Mine was 5 lbs
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Toss all chopped veggies and olive oil in a large roasting pan.
3. In a small mixing bowl, place the coconut butter or oil, garlic, and chopped fresh herbs. Mix into a paste. Set the chicken on top of the diced veggies in the roasting pan.
4. Using your clean hands, scoop some of the herb mixture and rub in onto the chicken. Repeat until the mixture is used up and the bird has been coated all over. Season with salt and paprika.
5. Place roasting pan in hot oven and let roast at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue roasting for an hour to an hour and a half. You can check the temp of the meat by inserting a meat thermometer into the thigh. If the temp reads 165 degrees the chicken is properly roasted.
6. Remove from head and let sit, covered, for about 10 minutes. Carve and serve.

Monday night I took the leftover meat and made fajitas. Not a special recipe, but I find it to be tasty, as does the hubs.

Ingredients:
- 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
- 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin (guestimate)
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (guestimate)
- Black Pepper to taste
- 1/8 tsp cayenne (guestimate)
- Chopped chicken (however much you feel like having in your fajitas... I eyeballed it to probably about 8 oz for four servings) I really need to measure things...

Directions:
1. Heat oil in pan
2. Add peppers, onions, and spices until they start to caramelize
3. Add chopped, cooked chicken and heat through
4. Serve with salsa, cheese, and any of your other favourite fajita fixin's. :-)

Tomorrow night I plan to make a stock from the carcass. I will post that process later. :-)

I just finished up my Spring Break, which was depressing... but... only 9 weeks of school left till SWEET SUMMERTIME!! :-) I'm still waiting to hear about my job for next year, but I'm just hoping and praying that I have a job in my county again next year. It's a great job and I am so blessed to have it this year. I really hope I can continue on there.

Y'all have a good night!

2011 Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10k

Well, I did it. I ran the 10k in 59.35. Unfortunately, I felt like I was going to puke the whole time... I am proud of the time accomplishment, but it's been a rough day. I ran with my girl Julia for the first 5 miles, but she was too fast for me for that last mile. I'm so proud of her for powering through that race!

I have learned that this race is not a race in which I should aim to PR ever again. There are too. Many. People. I was bobbing and weaving the whole time, which is not fun... I still feel a little puke-y, so I've been sitting on the couch watching... Austin Powers. I forgot how terrible these movies are. I'll leave you with a few pictures. :-)





Julia and me in the corral




Aaaand... we're off!




Here I come



So close!



Wavin' to the hubs




Headed to the finish!




Almost there!!

 Have a great day! I am on Spring Break now! No students for 8.5 more days!!!

I came, I saw, I shamROCKED!

The big race was just a few days ago, and I am definitely basking in post-13.1 glory. :-)

We got to VA Beach around 2.30ish on Saturday. The expo was EXTREMELY crowded. I ended up buying two stickers for my car and two shirts. One says "Will Run for Ice Cream" and the other says "13.1 miles 'cause I'm only HALF crazy!" I love them both. We also got a free tech tee, which I wore on my run yesterday. It's nice. :-)

We drove around a little because our hotel check-in wasn't until 4. After we checked in, we went for a gorgeous walk on the boardwalk. It was divine to be at the beach again. We then got groceries for my breakfast the next day. The Harris Teeter was really close to the hotel, so we just walked there. We got Applebee's for dinner, which was super tasty. That night, we watched Despicable Me! It was so cute. I really enjoyed it. It was lights out around 10 pm, which meant it was "Battle Sleep" starting around 10.15.

I did not sleep. I was waaaay too nervous. The alarm went off at 4.45 and I slathered some PB and honey on a piece of bread (NOT TOAST), which was pretty gross. I almost puked in the sink after brushing my teeth. :-/

We left the hotel around 6.10... and about 5 minutes later, I realised I had left my watch in the hotel. Mr. Discovery was kind enough to run back to get it. We met back up and I got to the corrals. I ended up starting with a different corral than I meant to, but it didn't matter. Shortly after 7 AM, we were off. It was REALLY windy, which I was NOT happy about, but luckily it died down once we started.

Chillin' before the race

I must have peed about 12,000 time between lunch the day before and the race, but it still wasn't enough. I had to pee around mile 2, but every single porta-potty had a line and I wasn't going to risk my time by waiting in line for the potty.

Mr. Discovery snapped shots of the sunrise while I ran

Neptune palming the sea turtle

I felt really strong for the first seven miles. No aches, no blisters, no bad thoughts. I would have to say that throughout the race, I felt very mentally strong. I was just really happy the entire race. We got to run through a Naval fort, which was slightly interesting, but overall the race was really boring. There were two D.J.s and one band along the way and nothing to look at... at all. I saw the beach a few times, but really it was so far away.

Around mile 7 or 8, I got an aching feeling in my right leg and knee, but it wasn't that bad. I think it was from just being so darn tired from tossing and turning all night. I ran through it and everything ended up being fine. It never got worse, though it didn't really get better, either.

At mile 12, I called the hubs so he could look out for me at the finish line and so I would know which side to run on so he could snap my picture best. :-) I really picked up the pace the last 5k because I was pretty sure that I could beat two hours and fifteen minutes if I pushed hard. It paid off. I crossed the finish line right on the boardwalk at 2.14.23.

After we finished we had to walk FOREVER as they handed us water, t-shirts, hats, pretzels, bananas, and cookies. All of which I ate gratefully (well, except for the t-shirt and hat). :-)

I can honestly say there is little else that I am as proud of as I am of this race. I am hooked!