3 Dinners and a little Half-Marathon before Work!

FOOD:

Sundays dinner was used with almost all CSA produce- summer squash, zucchini, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, spring onions and blueberries.  So what did I make? Summer Squash, Zucchini, Goat Cheese Ricotta Mini Pizzas and a delicious salad.  And of course, I made Gretchen's Blueberry Clofoutis.  And maybe there was some beers thrown into the mix.

All I did to make these mini pizzas was saute zucchini and summer squash with olive oil, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes.  I used store bought pizza dough and I divided it into 4.  Then I flattened it out, added some goat cheese, the veggies and then added some ricotta on top.  And because I made 4 that meant instant lunch for Monday. I love leftovers! And for dessert, no other than the Blueberry Doug Flutie (See Gretchen's page, link above for the reference).

Monday night I made Chicken Salad Tostadas. They were delicious and this was another wicked easy recipe. I love the crunch of the tortillas with the nice bite of the chicken salad- of course with half the fat, and no mayo!

Ingredients:

2 Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas

2 Chicken Breasts, cooked in a pan with salt and pepper then diced

Romaine Lettuce

Red Onions

Cucumber

1 Plum Tomato

1 Small Container of Plain Greek Yogurt

a few dashes of hot sauce

salt and pepper

1 chopped celery stick

1 clove of garlic

1/8 cup of EVOO

1 lemon

a couple dashes of vinegar

Instructions:

Mix Yogurt and next 7 ingredients together.  Add in chicken pieces.  Toast tortillas. Make Salad with lettuce, onions, cucumber and tomatoes.  Add Chicken on top.

Quick, easy and a nice twist on Chicken Salad sans Mayo!

Last night Pineapple Glazed Chicken with Salsa inspired by Bon Appetit.

Ingredients   
1/4 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
  1 tablespoon yellow mustard
3/4 cup 1/4-inch cubes fresh or canned pineapple
3 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
pre-made guacomole (I had it on hand, if you don't you can leave this out)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 1/2 tablespoons canned sliced jalapeño chiles, drained, coarsely chopped
2 boneless chicken breast
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bring pineapple juice, brown sugar, and mustard to boil in small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until glaze has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Mix pineapple, red pepper, guac, onion, and chiles in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Line baking sheet with foil. Place chicken on sheet and brush with glaze. Bake 15 minutes. Brush again with glaze, then broil until cooked through and golden, watching closely to avoid burning, about 5 minutes longer. Let rest 5 minutes. Spoon salsa over chicken and serve.

 This was quite tasty! But I did make a rookie mistake.  See how the recipe says the glaze will thicken ABOUT 1 MINUTE?  Yeah, that didn't happen for me.  I don't really measure anything and I just "eyeballed it" so maybe I had too much pineapple juice? Oh I also just used the juice from the can.  Anyway, when it didn't thicken, I cranked the heat and then did other things and well, the glaze DID get thick and STICKY and kinda stuck on to my chicken and the plate.  But hey it tasted good so who cares!

RUNNING

This morning I woke up at 4:30AM to drive my mom to the airport (what a nice daughter I am).  Being up that early and in the city, I decided I might as well try to get my long run done with so I don't have to do it over the weekend.  I wanted to run outside, but cheated instead and ran on the treadmill.  Anyone else out there think treadmill running is SO MUCH easier? I was nervous about running by myself so early in the morning (we're talking 5:45am here).  I got to the gym nice and early and got MY treadmill.  There are only two of MY treadmills left at my gym and one wasn't working! (My treadmills have fans built in and have a oval shaped like a track so you can see how far you go in .25 miles). There were probably only three people on the treadmills when I started.  I got into a nice rythym and started off very slow.  Probably close to ten minute pace.  I just read trashy magazines and watched music videos and did mental calculations with the clock that was right in front of me.  I started my run at 6:11 and ran until 8:09. And finished a half-marathon, on the treadmill in 1:58:28.  I had to start my treadmill over at the 10 mile mark and I cranked my last 3.1 miles in 26 minutes.  Pretty happy with that!

I did go through 2 pretty large water bottles and half pack of Sport Beans. I think people probably thought I was crazy running on the treadmill that long.  And to think this is only the beginning of my training!  There is a long road ahead to the race on November 7th! Stay tuned...