Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Made from Scratch Cake, NEW CAR and Pasta Dinners


So on Sunday, I made this Lemony Chocolate Cake from scratch. Lemon and Chocolate you say? Yes it seems weird, but tasted pretty good! And it was my first cake I ever made FROM SCRATCH!
We went to dinner with Dave's family on Sunday evening and then I said goodbye to my Sentra. On Monday, Dave picked up our new car! I seem sad to see the Sentra go in this picture, but trust me, I am so much better off! Our new car is amazing!

After picking me up in our new car Monday night, I got home to cook Chicken Picatta with Artichokes, and Capers in a Buttermilk sauce with Linguini.

On Tuesday night, I made Thai Chicken Pasta with Peanut Satay Sauce. I used this box:

While this pasta cooked, I sauteed chicken in one pan and in another, I sauteed shallots, carrots, baby corn, mushrooms, peanuts and green onions with the spicy sauce that came in the box. On the side, I also made satay sauce by combining PB- Peanut Butter, Soy Sauce, Rice Wine Vinegar and Chicken Broth to thin it out.




On Tuesday around lunch time, I ran a fast 5 miles. Faster then I've ever ran 5 miles!

Run - 06/30/2009 AM
Type:Interval run
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 0 hr 39 min 44 secs
Pace: 7:57 min/miles
Route: treadmill

Today was a busy work day. Around 11:30, I went to the gym and wanted to do an easy 6 but struggled a bit and wanted to stop after 5.5.

Run - 07/01/2009 11:30 AM
Type:Just for fun
Distance: 5.5 miles
Time: 0 hr 46 min 54 secs
Pace: 8:32 min/miles
Route: treadmill

I've also been seriously considering running the NYC Marathon. I'm still trying to figure out if I can actually do it, but I'm definitely thinking about it. After the gym, I got a surprise visit from my friend Doug from college. I had no idea he was in Boston (he lives in Miami) so I was so excited to meet him for lunch! Because I already went to the gym and had lots of work to do, we just had a quick lunch at Cosi. But it was great to catch up!

For dinner, I made Bacon Wrapped Cod with Kale Chips. Sounds healthy right? Well at least the Kale was healthy! There isn't much of a recipe here. Just Bacon wrapped around Cod. The Kale, I made spicy with red pepper flakes, EVOO and Salt and Pepper.


Sunday, June 28, 2009

Running & Races, Commuter Hell & Sushi!


Thursday night, we ran the Corporate Challenge after work. This is a pic of some of the broadcast girls. And here's the back of our t-shirts. I love this pic!

I ran this race pretty good. I still want to get faster! The race was 3.5 miles. Here are my stats:

Mile 1: 7:44
Mile 2: 7:57
Mile 3: 8:09
Last 1/2 Mile: 3:34 (7:26min/mile pace)

Total Time: 27:25 (7:50 pace)

Then after work, we went for drinks and some appetizers. Friday was a busy working day. Friday night, I planned on making pork tenderloin with more kale. However, my express 6pm train didn't cooperate. Right outside Back Bay Station, the train stopped due to a switch failure. We sat on that train for 3.5 hours waiting for the signal! I didn't get home until almost 10 and I was frustrated and tired. Dave had made the Pork Tenderloin with spices and mustard and some Kale Chips. He does know how to cook! I would have taken pictures of his work, but I was so tired and hungry that I just ate it right away!

Saturday morning, I picked up my friend Nancy at 7am and we drove to the group run. We ran 6ish miles with the group and then added on 5 more. The pace with the group was slow, but we picked it up on the last 5 miles. This run felt great and we even added in some stairs!


Run - 06/27/2009 7:30 AM

Type:Easy
Distance: 11.08 miles
Time: 1 hr 49 min 12 secs
Pace: 9:51 min/miles
Route: Wellesley



Saturday night, Dave and I, my brother and my sister in law, and our friends Laura and Pete went out for Sushi! Before we left, we enjoyed some Sangria that I made. I'm loving Sangria! Then we went to our local sushi restuarant. Laura and I shared a Scorpian Bowl. yum!

We ordered 11 rolls to spilt between 6 people along with Seaweed Salad and Crab Rangoons.


This was my favorite! Shaped as a heart!

Yesterday afternoon, before I went grocery shopping, I went through a bunch of my cooking magazines I've gotten over the last couple months to search for dinner ideas for the week.


Since chicken was on sale at Shaws this week, I bought tons of it and am going to make a couple chicken dinners inspired by these pictures and recipes...

I always think its funny that I'm constantly drawn to the advertisements in cooking magazines. I had bought this brand of thai food a couple weeks ago, so I am going to make spicy peanut pasta with chicken and probably make my own satay sauce on the side. I also want to make Chicken Picatta with Capers and Artichokes.

I also want to make Bacon Wrapped Cod (not the healthiest, but it looks so good!)

I'm also determined to bake a cake (from scratch) today. I bought cake pans last week so why not? It's Dave's mothers birthday and we are going out to dinner late so I might as well try it! I'm leaning towards the Lemon Cake.

I was a bit hungover this morning, so Dave cooked for me! This is the hungover breakfast of champions. Over easy eggs, bacon with toast and butter and Coffee! I'm off to get this day started. Dave may buy us a new car! Fingers crossed.

Oh, Gretchen and I also got into the Blog Summit thats going on later this summer. I can't wait and I'm so excited we got in!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Burger Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! Breakfast was a Breakfast Cookie, then I went to the gym at 11:30 and ran. I totally was not in the mood.

Run - 06/24/2009 11:45 AM

Type:Easy
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 0 hr 24 min 50 secs
Pace: 8:17 min/miles
Route: treadmill

For dinner, I decided to make Chicken Burgers with Creamy Avocado, Maple Bacon, Portobello Mushrooms, Cheddar Cheese and Tomato on an Arnold Wheat Thin. These were some HUGE BURGERS! I served this along with some corn on the cob and extra Avocado Spread!


Closeups!

Chicken Burgers with Creamy Avocado, Maple Bacon, Portobello Mushrooms, Cheddar Cheese and Tomato

Ingredients for the Burger:
1lb of Ground Chicken
1 Jalepeno, Diced
2 Shallots, Diced
1/2 Red Pepper, Diced
1/4 Cup of Eggbeaters
1/4 Cup of Breadcrumbs
Handfull of Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
1 Tablespoon of Worcestorshire Sauce

Mix together and form 4-5 small-medium sized patties. Saute in a pan with EVOO for 5-7 minutes on each side.

Creamy Avocado Spread

Ingredients:
2 Avocados
2 Limes
1.5 Jalepenos

Throw these 3 ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.

I think my David liked it!

Tomorrow is the Corporate Challenge! 3.5 Miles around Boston!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Healthy Fish Sticks

What a day! Is this weather ever going to get better?!? I started the day with coffee and a breakfast cookie, then for lunch I had some pasta from last night and a naan pizza that I made on Sunday. Then for dinner, I cooked some Crispy Fish Fingers. This recipe was modified from Ellie Krieger.

Ingredients:
-3 Slices of Whole Wheat Bread
-1/2 Cup of Flour
-1 pound of Cod fillets
-1 egg and 1/4 cup of egg beaters, beaten
-S&P and Paprika to season flour

Directions:
In a food processor, pulse the bread until it forms bread crumbs. Then cook the crumbs in a non-stick dry pan on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then place on a plate. Put the flour on another plate and mix with paprika and salt and pepper. Beat the one egg and add the eggbeaters to a third plate. Form an assembly with the plates, putting the fish in the flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. Then place the fish sticks on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 15 minutes.

While that was baking, I made some homemade tartar sauce with
greek yogurt, a tiny bit of mayonnaise, dijon mustard, gerkins, and salt and pepper.


Before I left work today, I asked Gretchen what she was making for dinner. She sent me a link to these pancakes. I had some Zucchini so I decided to make these Zucchini Pancakes on the side to go along with the fish sticks. I didn't have the herbs so I modified this as well. I had two zucchinis so I grated those then squeezed the excess water. Then I combined the zucchini with 1/4 cup of eggbeaters, thyme and feta cheese. Then I formed patties and sauted them in a hot pan with EVOO. These were easily some of the tastiest cakes I've ever made and I can't wait to make an even bigger batch next week! With only 1.5 Zucchinis, I only made four small patties.

And here's dinner!




I also ate a salad with my homemade dressing of EVOO, Chipotles in Adobe, Lime Juice, and Honey. I may have also had another piece of my birthday cookie cake! Now off to bed... no workout today, but hopefully will run 5 tomorrow.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Intense Workouts + Delicious Food= Happy Monday!

I woke up early this morning and hit the road to get to the gym by 7:15AM! At the gym, I ran 8 miles. I started off at an easy pace 6.8 MPH. At mile 3, I went up to 7.0MPH and slowly increased from there. By the end of the run, I was running at 6:30min/mile pace! Felt good to get a solid 8 in!

Run - 06/22/2009 7:30 AM
Type:Training run
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1 hr 06 min 32 secs
Pace: 8:19 min/miles
Route: Treadmill

When I got into work, I enjoyed a breakfast cookie that I made on Sunday night. In this mix was Oats, Almond Milk, Almond Butter, some PB2 that Gretchen got me, dried cranberries, golden raisins, coconut, brown sugar and vanilla extract.

Around 11, I had half a Luna Bar. Then I headed back to the gym for workout #2. I took Muscle Conditioning again. The same instructor teaches it Mondays and Thursdays and it is an AWESOME class and just what I need. I'm going to try to take it at least once a week if not twice.

For dinner, I had planned quite the feast. When Dave was at his Bachelor Party this weekend, I spent hours watching Food Network. This particular menu was a Rachael Ray. I don't love her show, but I do think her recipes are some of the tastiest out there! I made her Spring Chicken Roll-Ups with Dijon Pan Sauce along with Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne. In case this recipe disappears from this link... here it is!

Spring Chicken Roll-Ups with Dijon Pan Sauce (Rachael Ray)

Ingredients

  • 2 (6-ounce) pieces boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • 4 thin slices provolone cheese
  • 4 thin slices prosciutto
  • 12 thin spears asparagus, trimmed of tough stems and blanched in salted water 2 minutes, drained
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock or vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Halve the chicken breasts horizontally separating each into 2 cutlets.Use a meat mallet to thin the chicken breasts.
Arrange the 4 cutlets on work surface. Season cutlets with salt and pepper on the side facing up. Cover each piece of chicken with 1 slice cheese and 1 slice ham. Starting on 1 side of the breast, place a small bundle of 3 asparagus spears. Wrap and roll the chicken around the asparagus. Wash hands.
Heat about 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, a turn of the pan, in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. When hot, using tongs, add the chicken roll-ups to skillet with seam side down. Season the roll-ups with salt and pepper. Cover the pan loosely with tin foil and cook 4 to 5 minutes, turn roll-ups over and cook and other 4 to 5 minutes. Remove cooked roll ups to a serving plate. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2 tablespoons flour Stir in the chicken stock and Dijon mustard, scraping up any drippings from the bottom of the pan, and simmer 1 minute. Remove from the heat and spoon over chicken.

I modified this recipe a bit but it was basically the same. And delicious! I also served it with Spinach Artichoke Whole-Wheat Penne.
Ingredients
  • 1 pound whole-wheat penne pasta
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 (15-ounce) can or 1 (10-ounce) box frozen artichoke hearts, defrosted, drained and quartered
  • 2-3 cups of baby spinach
  • 1 shallot, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock, just eyeball the amount
  • A handful lightly toasted slivered almonds
  • Kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 large clove garlic - peeled
  • A handful grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring up it up to a boil to cook the pasta, season with some salt and cook to al dente, according to package directions. Drain and reserve about 1 cup of the cooking water.
Heat 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil in medium nonstick skillet. Add artichokes to heat through and lightly brown at edges.
In the bowl of a food processor add the shallot, 1/2 cup chicken stock, spinach leaves, almonds and salt and pepper, to taste. If you have a hand held small-holed grater or a zester, grate garlic into the food processor. Adding a whole clove can result in stray big pieces of raw garlic, too bitter to bite down on. If you do not have a hand held grater, mince garlic and mash up into paste with a little salt. Turn processor on and add in about 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil.
Scrape the spinach pesto into the artichoke pan and loosely cover with foil. Bring mixture to a simmer over low to medium-low heat and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the reserved pasta cooking water, the pasta and the cheese. Toss to coat the pasta with the sauce and heat for 1 minute. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter, season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.
And my plate:
I also made Robin Millers Honey-Jalapeno Chicken with the leftover chicken I had. It was on sale this week so I bought 3 pounds! The sauce was made with honey, spinach and fresh jalapenos. She used cilantro, but I don't really like the taste of cilantro so I replaced it with spinach. To loosen it up in the food processor, I also used some water. Well, when the sauce was done, it was DEFINITELY GREEN! We'll have to wait until later in the week to see how it tastes!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

What a Weekend...

Back tracking a bit, Thursday I took a new class at the gym called Total Body Muscle Conditioning. This was one of the best classes I've ever taken and I definitely want to try to go every week. Squats, lunges, bicep curls, triceps, shoulders, abs, leg lunges, etc. It was great!! Can't wait to go back! Thursday night Dave and I went to La Cantina for Lobster night. It was delicious!! Friday was a SLOW SLOW day at work. I had a breakfast cookie in the morning, sushi for lunch and went out for drinks and apps after work. Saturday morning, I got up at 5:45 and met Nancy for a run around Natick at 6:30 AM! We did 7.55 miles and it was pretty nice. It feels good to get it out of the way so early.

Then after, I decided to make my own GREEN MONSTER!!! I've been reading about these on the blogs and although I'm not a huge smoothie fan, this was great! I had some extra kale left so I mixed a couple handfulls, strawberry yogurt, blueberries and Almond Milk along with Ice. It was really tasty!

And here I am!

I also ate a big breakfast... what can I say, I was hungry after the run. I made a sunnyside up egg with an Arnold wheat thin and jalepeno cheese.


Saturday night, I went to a sleepover party at my friend Erins. All the guys were at a Bachelor Party so we figured why not? Before I left, I decided to make Cupcakes stuffed with Strawberry Jelly and Chocolate Frosting. I definitely cheated and used a box mix and chocolate frosting, but they were tasty!


On Sunday, I met Dave at home around 12 and made us a great lunch with these naan wheat flatbread. I found these at Trader Joes.

On top of this I added some spicy cheese, spinach, prosciotto, red onion and tomatoes. I made one and we spilt it in two.

I made these for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this weeks lunches too! Although, I used goat Cheese instead. I just put these under the broiler for 8 minutes. Yum!

We went out to dinner with Dave's parents for Fathers Day tonight and I got stuffed sole with crab meat and a lobster sauce. I'm wicked full and am looking forward to a LONG run in the morning! Night everyone!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Boring Day

Today was pretty uneventful. I did a lot of organizing at work and that's about it... lets discuss yesterdays eats and workout. I had a breakfast cookie to start the day and then I ate the salad you saw on Sunday's post. For dinner, we ate the Chicken Rollatini's that I made on Sunday.

I also made some Annie's Mac and Cheese, some Guac, Corn on the Cob and Salad with a homemade dressing. As you can see, this was way too much food. I ate half the chicken and none of the corn. The rest I had no problem finishing. I decided to cut the corn off the cob and dice the chicken for a salad for lunch for today!

I also made a homemade dressing of chipotles in adobe, honey, Lime Juice and EVOO.

I'm jumping around, but yesterday (Tuesday), my co-worker and I decided to run during lunch. We ran 5 miles around the Charles and it was really nice.


Date6 /16/2009
RouteWork-Around Charles
Distance5.00 mi
Time45:00
Pace09:00/mile

Today, I had a breakfast cookie for breakfast and you saw what I ate for lunch. At 11:30ish, I went to the gym and wanted to run fast. I ended up running a treadmill 5K. I started running at 7.2 and ran my last 1.5 mile going up and down with my pace for each .25 mile (400 meters). I got all the way up to 9.6 MPH pace which I think is 6:30 pace! Wahoo!!



Date6 /17/2009
RouteTreadmill
Distance3.10 mi
Time24:20
Pace07:50/mile

For dinner, I had Swordfish to cook so I decided to make a marinade of 1 Tablespoon of Melted Butter, 3 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar, a squeeze of honey and lime juice. I let the fish hang out in the marinade while I made the Veggie Salad to go along with it.



Fresh Veggie Salad

Half an English Cucumber, Diced
1/2 a Red Onion, Diced
1/2 a Jalepeno, Diced
1/2 Red Pepper, Diced
10 Chives, cut in pieces
2 Fresh Corn on the Cob, cut of the cob

Dressing
Mustard
Apple Cider Vinegar
Honey
EVOO
S&P

Mix all together and serve!

After I finished the salad, I put the swordfish on my grill pan. 6 minutes on each side and it was perfect!

I also decided to make some guac on the side. I've been making guac in the food processor and it gets a lot smoother. Just mix the avocado, lime juice, S&P and Jalepeno together and this is what you get:

In addition, I made Spicy Kale Chips:

Rip Kale off from core in small bunches, place on baking sheet. Mix with EVOO, S&P and Red Pepper Flakes and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Then I plated all the deliciousness.


Lots of veggies, but I wouldn't want it any other way! The Kale chips were easily the star!