Veggie Food is Just as Good!

Last night, I made Black Bean Cakes inspired by this month's Every Day Food by Martha Stewart. This recipe requires my best friend, the Food Processor. One of the best kitchen appliances EVER. Okay on to the recipe.

Black Bean Rice Cakes

Ingredients:

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained well
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup of cooked brown rice
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 minced seeded jalapeño
1 teaspoons ground cumin
salt and pepper
Avocado:
1 Hass Avocado
Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper
1/2 Chipotle in Adobo (I still have these babies left- you can use a jalepeno)
Yogurt Sauce
1/2 cup greek plain yogurt
lime juice
green onions
salt and pepper
Purchased salsa

Ingredients:
Preheat oven to 450. Place 3/4 of drained beans in food processor. Mix in jalapeño and cumin until chunky paste forms. Season to taste with salt and pepper. In large bowl, combine bean puree with rice and remaining beans with a spatula. Divide mixture into 3 inch patties of equal size (I got about ten). Spray baking sheet with cooking oil. Place patties on sheet and cook for 10-12 minutes. While those cook, make the sauces. I used my smaller food processor to make the guacamole. The key is to keep adding salt and pepper and lime juice until you get the taste you are looking for. I love guac smooth but I know some people like it chunky. I added storebought salsa with the guac. For the yogurt sauce, combine the ingredients together. Serve cakes over salad of arugula and add sauces.

This morning I got to the gym around 7am. I wanted to run 6 miles comfortably. I ran the first 2 miles at 6.5 mph while watching music videos and reading some trashy gossip magazine. I love reading those things while running! I think I've mastered it! Each mile after the second, I increased the pace and by the final quarter mile I was running at 8.5mph. Felt pretty good.

6 miles, 53:28, 8:54 pace

As you can tell, I'm modifying Leah's plan already. And I'm not running tomorrow either. My goal is to go to Physical Therapy in the morning and make a 12:30pm Spin Class in the afternoon. Saturday I would like to lift and run an easy 3-4. Sunday, I am going to run with Nancy for as long as my body can go- probably an hour and a half. So thats the plan.

Now on to tonight's dinner. Today was one of those crazy days where I had no chance to think about dinner until I got home from work at 7pm. I had two large chicken breasts I had to cook, along with cauliflower I wanted to use. I decided to make a sweet and spicy chicken over couscous with 'cauliflower' mashed potatoes. This was a total recipe made up on the fly, but was delicious!

Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 Jalepeno, seeded
1/4 cup Apricot Preserves
1 tablespoon of honey
3 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
1/8 cup of water
2 chicken breasts, cut through the middle to make 4 pieces
1/2 cup of broccoli
handful of pine nuts
salt and pepper

Directions:
Add oil to hot skillet and saute chicken breasts on each side for three minutes. While that cooks, add the first 4 ingredients to the food processor. Add some water to take off some of the bite of the jalepeno. Pour the mixture over the chicken and cook together until the sauce thickens. Add broccoli and pine nuts at the end. Season with salt and pepper.

I served the chicken over couscous that I made the same way as the other day.

I also made Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes which will be my new Kale Chips. I've been wanting to make these FOREVER and I finally got around to it. Cauliflower that looks like mashed potatoes but is healthy (sorta, I added cream). I had bought the microwave-in-a-bag-to-steam cauliflower from the produce department and the expiration date is tomorrow so there is no day like the present!
Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
1 pound of cauliflower (steamed in a bag until soft)
1/8 cup of light cream (you can use milk or skim milk)
salt and pepper
handful mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Steam the cauliflower in the microwave until soft. Add to food processor. Add in cream and season with salt and pepper and give it a whirl
: ). Add the mixture to two small baking dishes. Add the cheese on top and bake for 10 minutes until cheese melts. It should look exactly like REAL Mashed Potatoes! See:
YUM!
Jersey Shore is on tonight! Good night!

Tuesday=Speed

Hello! Yesterday, I went to Physical Therapy and my therapist checked me out and said that I didn't do anything serious. HE actually said I should lay off the Boot Camps/Muscle Conditioning and stick to running 3-4 days a week, PT 2X a week and a day or 2 of cross training. He says the squats and lunges are probably too much for my weak calf/achilles. And he actually encouraged me to run on Tuesday (today).

Since this week officially starts my Running Training Program made by Leah, I was excited to get to the treadmill. Here is what Leah wrote out for me for this week:

Planned Week of January 11

M: X (PT)

T: warm up 2 miles, 6X400 (1:45, 1:44, 1:43, 1:42, 1:41, 1:40), cool down 1 mile

W: X (PT)

T: 5 miles

F: 6 miles pace (run at goal pace for marathon)

S: 8 mile long run

S: Off

So today, I got to the gym around 6:45am and did a 2 mile warmup at 10 minute pace. Then I got down to business! I ran my first 400 by tracking distance on the treadmill and time on my watch. I ran it in 1:52. Then I took .15 off to walk at 4.5 , then I put the treadmill up to 8.5 and ran my second 400 in 1:56. I realized then that I needed to start running into the 400 otherwise it takes too long for the treadmill to get up to speed. For the next one, I walked at 4.5 for .10 and ran for .05 at 6.5, then cranked the treadmill up to speed. I finally ran 1:45. This technique worked. My 4th 400 I did at 1:48. 5th at 1:40. 6th at 1:40. I felt good so I added two more. 7th at 1:38. 8th at 1:38.

Workout- 6 miles 56 minutes. 2 mile warmup at 10 minute pace. 8X400s with .15 walk/jog rest. 1 mile cooldown.

I felt really good and I think aside from this being an awesome way for me to keep up my fast twitch muscles, these types of workouts will also help me lose weight! When I was training for the marathon, I lost site of all my speed. Maintaining under a 9 minute mile became nearly impossible and this from a girl who used to be a sprinter. I'm excited about Tuesdays being speed days! After I ran, I foam rolled for quite a bit and then iced when I got into work. Tomorrow I am going back to Physical Therapy. Thursday I will definitely run, but Friday I may do another type of cardio, like spinning. I think I want to stick to not running two days in a row.

Okay, now on to food!
Last night I made Turkey Lettuce Wraps! These were tasty and healthy!
Ingredients:

• 1 pound 93%-lean ground turkey
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 8-ounce can water chestnuts, rinsed and chopped
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, cumin
  
• 2 heads Boston lettuce, leaves separated
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup of diced roma tomatoes
  
• handful of slivered almonds

Instructions:
Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add turkey and ginger; cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon, until the turkey is cooked through, about 6 minutes. Stir in chestnuts, hoisin sauce and soy sauce, green onions, tomatoes, pepper and salt; cook until heated through, about 1 minute. To serve, spoon portions of the turkey mixture into lettuce leaves, top with more green onions and almonds and roll into wraps.

Tonight I made Hearty Winter Veggie Pilaf inspired by Rachael Ray.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 pound mushrooms, portobella, sliced
• 3 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound brussels sprouts, quartered lengthwise
• 1/4 cup chopped bok choy

Instructions:

Rinse the quinoa in a strainer. Transfer to a pot of boiling 3 cups of water and cook until almost tender, about 12 minutes. Once the quinoa has used all the water, remove quinoa from pot and let sit for 15 minutes. It will fluff up and look like this:

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook until lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the scallion whites, pine nuts and dried cranberries; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the nuts are light golden, about 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl. In the same skillet, heat another 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the brussels sprouts, and bok choy and 1/8 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Cook until crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Toss with the mushroom mixture, quinoa, scallion greens and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. (Like this)

I also made Poached Chicken to serve on top of the Quinoa.

Ingredients

• 4 to 5 pieces of chicken breasts
  
• 1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 2 carrots, quartered crosswise
• 2 celery, quartered crosswise
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried
• 1 lemon, slived

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in a 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cover. Cook chicken until no longer pink in center, about 15 minutes.

This was a great hearty healthy meal. I've heard so many good things about Quinoa and was excited to try it. It tasted a lot like couscous. Here is a great description of Quinoa's amazing nutritional values:

A recently rediscovered ancient "grain" native to South America, quinoa was once called "the gold of the Incas," who recognized its value in increasing the stamina of their warriors. Not only is quinoa high in protein, but the protein it supplies is complete protein, meaning that it includes all nine essential amino acids. Not only is quinoa's amino acid profile well balanced, making it a good choice for vegans concerned about adequate protein intake, but quinoa is especially well-endowed with the amino acid lysine, which is essential for tissue growth and repair. In addition to protein, quinoa features a host of other health-building nutrients. Because quinoa is a very good source of manganese as well as a good source of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, this "grain" may be especially valuable for persons with migraine headaches, diabetes and atherosclerosis. (source)

On a completely random note, I don't know why but I am so bothered by all the people at work who eat those "Lean Cuisines" or "Smart Choice" or whatever. The freezer this morning was filled with that crap and then I have to wait at the microwave forever during lunch for those meals to be cooked. I just want to scream to those people to look at the ingredients! It's amazing how many ingredients I've never heard of. Now, I'm no expert on diet, but I do love making food for the reason that you know the ingredients. I see girls all the time with Frozen meals with Chicken, Rice and Brocolli. How hard is it to make that yourself?! Okay, vent for the night is over... all I suggest is look at more than just fat and calories. Ingredient lists are just as important!

Achilles Pain... Again

Friday morning I woke up with pain in my achilles. All I could think was not again. I gotta be honest. I never took the time off I probably needed to. When my Physical Therapist said I could run, I ran. I did little things like 1 mile to 2 to three but I thought I was finally healed. I had a strong week with runnng 7 miles Sunday, a speed workout Tuesday and 3 miles on Thursday, but pain started again. I had not been to Physical Therapy in over three weeks so I honestly think it could be all the electronic stim I got. Is that possible? I went in Wed and did a wall press with stim then did my exercises. Came back to the station and got more stim while doing a step up exercise, then iced with more stim. So that was 30 minutes of Stim. Then Friday morning I felt a ton of tightness. Like it hurt to touch. I took Friday, Saturday and today off from working out. Im going to go to Physical Therapy tomorrow. I think the true key is to listen to my body. If the achilles or hips hurt, I need to take the day off. I'm really hopeful this week will be more positive.

Now fast forward to food. We went out to dinner Friday night to AltaStrada. I enjoyed it, but David did not. A little too trendy for his liking. Saturday, I woke up and made Whole Wheat Apple Oatmeal Pancakes, inspired by Ellie Kreiger.
Ingredients:
1 cup eggnog (this was the last of it- wanted to use it up!- original recipe called for buttermilk)
3/4 cup nonfat milk
2 large eggs
1 cup of oats
1 tablespoon honey
6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 medium apple, diced
1 and 1/2 cup whole-wheat four
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:Put the apple in a microwave-safe bowl and tightly cover with plastic wrap; microwave on high until softened, about 2 minutes.In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, oats and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the eggnog, nonfat milk, eggs and honey, then slowly add the dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Heat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat. Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake and sprinkle each with apple, then drizzle a little more batter over the apple. Cook until the tops are bubbly and the edges are dry, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown, 1 to 2 more minutes. Place 2 pancakes on each plate. Drizzle with the syrup.

I did typical Saturday activities minus the running. tear. Maybe someday I will meet this Running Club I signed up for. I cleaned and grocery shopped and cooked. For Saturday's dinner I made Butternut Squash Soup with Chipotle and Meatless Meatloaf from Peas and Thank You.

Meatless Meatloaf
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup quick oats
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
2 stalks of celery
1 large carrot
1/4 c. chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 T. ketchup and 1 T of Catalina Dressing
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
3 T. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 T. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non stick cooking spray. Pulse onion, carrot and celery in food processor until finely chopped. Set aside in a large mixing bowl. Grind oats in processor and add to vegetables. Pulse beans in processor, leaving some texture. Put beans in with oats and vegetables and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until well-combined and thoroughly moistened. Place evenly in loaf pan. (Like this)

Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are starting to brown. Serve with ketchup, barbecue sauce, tahini dressing or whatever other sauce you like.

I served this with an argula salad and Annie's Goddess Dressing and the soup. Saturday night we headed to Mike and Stephanie's to check out their new place. I drank lots of vodka and ate lots of chips and dip, so much for my diet. I better get healthy soon if I am going to win this competition! Here I am with some of my besties...

I've had a pretty lazy day today. I made myself 2 scrambled eggs with light cheese and banana peppers on a Joseph's 70 calorie wrap with lots of coffee. For lunch, we headed to my mom's to watch the Pats. She made us delicious Three-Bean Chili. Yum!

And like every Sunday, here is my Weekly Menu plan:
Sunday: Salmon with Hoison and Bok Choy with Cous Cous
Monday: Asian Turkey Wraps
Tuesday: Black Bean Cakes with Quinoa Risotta
Wednesday: Poached Chicken with Mango Chutney
Thursday: Hearty Winter Veggie Pilaf and Grilled Chicken
Friday: out to dinner with old roomie Lindsay and her husband!
For dinner tonight, I made Salmon with Hoisin, Orange and Bok Choy inspired from December 2009 Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:

2 heads of baby bok choy, each cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
2 5-to 6-ounce salmon fillets
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
salt and pepper
a tiny splash of soy sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Form bed of bok choy in center of each of two 12-inch square pieces of parchment paper. Top bok choy with fish. Mix orange juice, green onion, hoisin, ginger, and soy sauce in small bowl. Spoon mixture over fish, dividing equally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. (Like below)Fold up sides and pinch tightly to seal above fish and at both ends of packets, enclosing contents completely. (Like below)Place packets on baking sheet. Bake until fish is just opaque in center, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer packets to plates and serve.


I served this with Nutty Couscous. I used a trick I saw yesterday on Ellie Kreiger's show. I used my tea kettle to heat up water. I put 1 cup of couscous in a bowl. Once the water was hot, I put a cup of water in a bowl and covered the bowl with a plate and let sit for 5 minutes. Then I fluffed it with Salt/Pepper, Green Onions and slivered almonds. I ended up adding the couscous to the bowl and it sucked up all the delicious juices!

I love you, Bon Appetit!

So about 5 months ago, my friend Gretchen (remember her, she is back in action!) started receiving two copies of Bon Appetit each month. So.. she starting bringing her extra copy to ME! Each month I look forward to getting Bon Appetit. It is DEFINITELY my favorite cooking magazine and I get A LOT. (They rotate each month because I have magazine hound, but I get Cooking Light, Everyday Food, Everyday with Rachael Ray, Food Network mag...) Bon Appetit has such a variety of cooking recipes, and I've pretty much liked everything I've made from there. So my Mushroom Cakes were no exception. In the January 2010 issue, this was the first recipe. Of course I modified quite a bit, especially with the sauces, but the cakes stayed pretty true to the recipe. These cakes were inspired by Cuvee World in Tucson. Bon Appetit always recreates recipes from readers favorite dishes!

Mushroom Cakes with Guacomole and Red Pepper Coulis
Ingredients:
Red Pepper Coulis:
1 red pepper
2 tablespoons of garlic
2 tablespoons of light cream
1 tablespoon of honey
1/2 chipotles in adobo
Mushroom Cakes:
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of evoo
1 package of sliced button mushrooms
1 package of sliced portobello mushrooms
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon of dried basil
2 tablespoons of Italian parsely
2 tablespoons of mozzerela cheese
salt/pepper
1/2 cup to a cup of Panko breadcrumbs
Guacomole
2 Hass Avocadoes
Lime Juice
Salt and Pepper
1/2 of one chipotle in adobo

Directions:
Mushroom Cakes-
Melt butter with oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add all mushrooms and saute until browned and edges begin to crisp, stirring often, about 12 minutes. Add garlic, stir for a minute. Transfer mixture to large food processor. Add beaten eggs, parmesan, herbs, salt and pepper to processor. Process until mushrooms are coarsely chopped. Transfer to large bowl and mix with panko. Add more if the mixture is too wet. Divide mushrooms into 8 equal portions. Form each patty with your hands and place on baking sheet. Melt butter with 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Also preheat oven to 300 degrees. Working in batches, add mushroom cakes to skillet; cook until browned an cooked through. Transfer to baking sheet and place in oven. Red Pepper Coulis: Char pepper over gas flame or in broiler until blackened all over. Let it cool a bit and cut in half and place in small food processor with minced garlic. Add in cream, honey and chipotle and blend until smooth Guac: Process Avocados, lime juice, salt and pepper and chipotle in processor until smooth. (You can and probably SHOULD use a jalapeno if you have it- I didn't but did have chipotles in adobo!)

There really aren't enough words to describe how good these were. I wish I made a double batch. I can't wait to try them again with different kinds of mushrooms and more interesting sauces. Seriously, so delicious, these are a must try AND vegetarian! I definitely recommend making these. Don't they look like burgers? That's what Dave thought they were at first. Nope, 100% vegetarian.

That is how Bon Appetit recommended serving the. Guac as the base, mushroom cake, coulis on top. Our friend Tara stayed at our house and she really enjoyed the cakes as well!

Tonight, I made another recipe from Annie-Eats. I made her White Bean Chicken Chili. This was another delicious meal. Just really different and fun!
White Bean Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into ½ -inch cubes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. oil
1 or 2 (15.5 oz) cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed (I used one, but could have easily used two)
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1 Pureed Chipotle in Adobo (or two small cans of green chilis)
handful of pickled jalepenos
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup reduced fat sour cream
½ cup light cream
kale chips and paprika, for garnish

Directions:
In a large saucepan sauté chicken, onion and garlic powder in oil until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chipotle, jalepeno and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; let simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sour cream and whipping cream. Sprinkle with paprika and top with a kale chip or two for garnish, if desired.

Another successful dish. I quickly saved a couple scoops for my lunch tomorrow before Dave finished all of it. We both really enjoyed this meal. Just totally different!

Now on to workouts:
Monday- off
Tuesday- 4X800 (3.5 miles), Boot Camp
Wednesday- Physical Therapy
Thursday (today)- 3 miles in 25:35, then Muscle Conditioning

I really like my Muscle Conditioning class. The guy who teaches it is amazing. He picks on me a lot though which just makes me work harder! We did Biceps, Triceps, Shoulders, Back, Lunges, Squats, Butt, etc. Amazing! One more day and then it's the weekend...

Sweeeet Heat

Is it really only Tuesday? Today I set my alarm to wake up to go to the track with the new running group, but couldn't get out of bed. So... I decided to do the scheduled workout on my own, on the treadmill at the gym. The workout was as follows:
Suggested workout:
4x800 with 2 minute recoveries
For 800’s this should be about 45 seconds faster than your 10K race pace (which is about 20-30 seconds faster than your 5K race pace). Example: 7:30 10K race pace should be doing these at 6:45 pace, which is 3:21 for the interval or 34 seconds per lap.
So ...for 800s I was supposed to hit around 3:46 based on my one and only 10K time of 51:47. The group leader sent me this chart. I just wished I had asked for it before the workout. But I was pretty close anyway. See chart below:
I did a mile warmup then ran the 800s. I measured distance on the treadmill and time on my running watch (the one I had before the Garmin...)
1st 800: 3:49
(walk at 3.0 for two minutes)
2nd 800: 3:48
(walk at 3.0 for two minutes)
3rd 800: 3:49
(walk at 3.0 for two minutes)
4th 800: 3:46 (there we go!)
(walk at 3.0 for two minutes)

I did just over 3.5 miles today. It was a great workout but I didn't stop there. I also went to my normal Tuesday lunchtime Boot Camp class. This is such a great workout!

For dinner today, I made another Annie-Eats recipe: Honey Chipotle Glazed Chicken. She adapted this from Bobby Flay.

Ingredients:
¼ cup honey
1 tbsp. pureed canned chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp. canola oil
½ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. paprika
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied into halves
Sesame seeds

Directions:
Heat the grill or a grill pan to high. In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, chipotle puree, mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, and 1½ teaspoons oil. Set aside. Stir together the coriander, cumin and paprika in another medium bowl. Add the chicken breasts the remaining oil, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Place the chicken on the heated grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Flip the chicken and brush the cooked side of the chicken pieces with the honey-chipotle glaze. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes; flip the chicken again and brush the second side with the glaze. Cook for 1 minute, flip again and cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the grill and brush with more sauce as desired. Garnish with sesame seeds.

I served this with Kale Chips and Brown Rice. Delicious! This was such a great combination of SWEET Heat. I really love chipotles in adobo but I always end up with so many left. They need to make the cans smaller!!!
Last night I made Grilled Chicken with a Smokey Corn Chipotle Sauce.

Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken breasts
4 Tablespoons of EVOO
1 and 1/2 cups of frozen corn
1/2 cup shallot, diced
2 teaspoons of garlic
1/2 cup of white wine (I had none in my house so I used a little champagne- hey it was open and did the trick...)
2 Tablespoons of lemon juice
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup diced plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon of adobo sauce and 1 chipotle
2 tablespoon of butter
Directions:
Preheat chicken with salt and pepper. Heat two tablespoons of oil in skillet over high heat. Add chicken, cook for 6 minutes on both sides. Remove from heat and tent with foilto keep warm. Add corn, shallots and garlic into skillet. Add champagne (or wine, probably better with wine) and lemon juice. Boil until liquid is reduced. Add broth, tomatoes and chipotles and adobo sauce. Simmer over medium high heat until sauce thickens. Whisk in butter and add chicken back into pan to finish cooking for another 5 minutes. Serve with scallions on top.
I also made Creamy Chipotle Cauliflower. I found this recipe on RecipeZaar and I sorta followed it.
Ingredients:
1 large cauliflower

2 teaspoons of garlic
2 teaspoons of evoo
2 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of milk
a couple tablespoons of flour
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 chipotles in adobo
1 teaspoon of paprika

Instructions:
Steam the cauliflower for 5-10 minutes. I did mine in the microwave. Add milk, paprika, chipotle peppers to blender and blend till smooth. Add to hot skillet along with a rue of butter and flour. Whisk in cheese. Pour over the steamed cauliflower and serve.

This was interesting but I don't think I would EVER make this again. It wasn't memorable. It wasn't terrible but not delicious either.

Tomorrow I am making Wild Mushroom Cakes with Avocado Pesto and Red Pepper Coulis from this month's Bon Appetit! And since I missed PT on Monday I will be there tomorrow.

7 Miles!

Hi Everyone! Last night I made Chicken Gyros. This was another recipe inspired by Annie Eats. However, she made her own Tzatziki sauce and I was lazy and bought it. Here's what I did:

Chicken Gyros
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
2 heaping tbsp. tzatziki sauce
1 tbsp. dried oregano
Salt and pepper
1 1/4 lbs. chicken pieces
To assemble:
Joseph's Brand Tzatziki sauce
Pita bread (I used low-calorie, low carb, wheat Joseph's brand)
Fresh tomatoes, seeded and diced and Red onion, sliced thin

Directions: To prepare the chicken, combine the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, sauce, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl. Whisk together until mixed well. Add the chicken pieces to the bowl and mix well to coat. Cover and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes. Cook the chicken as desired, either in the skillet or with the broiler. (I cooked them on a grill pan.) Once the chicken is completely cooked through, transfer to a plate and let rest for 5 minutes. Cut into strips. Heat pitas (I put them in the toaster oven for a few minutes). Top with chicken, tzatziki sauce, diced tomatoes and sliced onions. Serve immediately.

I served this along with a salad and greek style orzo. I made the orzo by boiling chicken broth, adding in the orzo with salt, pepper and oregano. I also served the gyros with extra sauce. I know I probably should have made my own sauce, but I love this brand of Hummus and Wraps so I knew it would be good. Plus, I got dinner on the table in under 40 minutes!

This morning I woke up to another 4 inches of snow and thought will it ever end? I decided to make healthy morning muffins inspired by Martha Stewarts Everyday Food. I modified these quite a bit.
Healthy Morning Muffins
Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of ground pumpkin pie spice
1 cup of oats
1/2 cup of golden raisins
1/2 cup of craisins
1/4 cup coconut
3 T of EVOO
1 large egg
1/3 cup of skim milk and 1/3 cup of eggnog (I had it and wanted to get rid of it so why not?)
1 medium ripe banana mashed

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Put all the dry ingredients in one bowl and mix, then start adding the wet and mix thoroughly. Fill each muffin cup about 1/4 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.
This will be great for breakfast this week and for mid-morning snacks before I go to the gym. Next up I made a parchment package of straw mushrooms, spinach and eggs. This was another recipe I adapted from Everyday Food.
Eggs with Mushroom and Spinach in a Parchment Package
Ingredients:
parchment paper
8 oz of frozen spinach, defrosted and drained of excess water
1 can of straw mushrooms
4 eggs
Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Place spinach and mushrooms in middle of parchment paper. Add some soy sauce and salt and pepper. Crack two eggs in each package then fold over to close. Bake the packages on a baking sheet for 10 minutes or until egg whites are set.
This was a lovely lunch with tons of protein! Gave me good energy to FINALLY leave the house and go to the gym! I ran 7 miles in 62 minutes. Felt pretty strong. Read some trashy gossip magazines and watched Jersey Shore for the 1000th time. I also flipped back to the Pats game but totally missed how they lost. How is that possible that they lost- they were up by so much! After the run I lifted legs. I did the leg press, hamstrings, quads, calves, and hip abductors. And I used the foam roller. I felt pretty good. No real pain to note!

Tonight, I was going to make Roast Chicken with Smoky Tomato Sauce but I just wasn't in the mood to cook that. Instead, I somehow got inspired by an advertisement in EveryDay Food for Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup. Using that can, they had a recipe for Chicken with Sun Dried Tomatoes. Since I had goat cheese and sun dried tomatoes to use up, I decided to go with it! I totally modified this recipe, but I was totally in the mood to stuff my chicken with goat cheese and make a creamy sauce with sun-dried tomatoes, broccoli and the rest of my straw mushrooms. So thats what I did!

Goat Cheese Stuffed Chicken with a Creamy Sun Dried Tomato, Broccoli and Mushroom Sauce over Papparadelle Pasta

Ingredients:
2 Large Chicken Breasts
4 ounces of goat cheese
1 Can of Campbells Cream of Chicken Soup (Low Fat)
1 Small Container of Sun Dried Tomatoes with some of the oil
3/4 cup of water
1/4 cup of straw mushrooms
1/4 cup of broccoli
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes
1/2 pound of wheat pappardelle pasta, cooked
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Put water on to boil for the pasta. Put a slit in chicken and put the goat cheese inside the chicken. Saute the chicken with EVOO in a saute pan for 7 minutes on each side. Remove Chicken from pan and put in oven safe dish to finish cooking in the oven. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Empty the can of chicken soup into the same saute pan. Add the sundried tomatoes with oil, mushrooms, and broccoli. Let blend together and thicken up. After three-five minutes, add 3/4 cup of water to thin out the sauce. By the time you get a nice sauce (not too thick, not too thin), the pasta should be finished cooking as well as the chicken. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce and season up with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Serve the pasta and veggies along with the chicken.

Off to bed! 5am wakeup call for a video shoot!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Happy New Year Everyone!!!

We had a great last couple days. On New Year Eve, we went to Capital Grille with Stephanie and Mike. It was sooo good. Capital Grille is definitely one of my favorite steak houses in Boston. For drinks, we ordered the Stoli Doli signature cocktail. It was sooo smooth and easy to drink. For dinner, I ordered Seared Tenderloin with Butter Poached Lobster. This was described on the menu as: seared tenderloin served with fresh lobster, cooked slowly in butter to bring out its flavor and tenderness. Holy tastiness! Trust me, this was totally healthy. hahaha. I still have until Friday to pile on the pounds before biggest loser begins!
I know this doesn't look attractive, but trust me on this one, it was delicious. I ate one piece of meat and all of the lobster. Dave and Mike ate the rest of my steak. We went back and forth on getting dessert, but Stephanie took the reigns and ordered the Cheesecake with fresh berries. This was to. die. for. OMG. Stef and I probably ate 98% of this ourselves.
After dinner, we wanted to go out for a few more drinks so we went to Charley's Saloon for a few more cocktails. We were the last ones at the bar; it wasn't exactly bumping. I continued on my pineapple theme and ordered Pineapple Sky Vodka with Sprite and Cranberry Juice. Around 11, we headed home to enjoy the New Year at home. I was probably asleep by 12:02. I'm such a winner.

New Years Day I finally got moving around 12 and I shopped and returned my little face off. Then I got over to the gym and ran 3 miles in 26 minutes and lifted legs. They closed my local BSC so I have to go about 20 minutes from my house, but its a really nice gym! Then I grocery shopped and got home to prepare dinner for me and BFF Courtney! (Dave went out to play Poker with the guys...so we had a sleepover party)

On the menu- my second attempt at a Black Bean Tortilla Pie from Annie-Eats! I basically took her recipe, added ground lean meat, banana peppers, green chilis, a can of diced tomatoes and a bottle of beer!
Black Bean and Beef Tortilla Pie

Ingredients:

Ground Beef (90% lean)
4 flour tortillas
1 large onion, diced
handful of banana peppers/1 small can of green chilis
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. ground cumin
coarse salt and ground pepper
2 (15-oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
12 oz. beer
1/2 package frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 can of diced tomatoes with chilis

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add beef, onion, peppers, chilis, tomatoes, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, and beef is cooked through. Add beans and beer to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8-10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper. Fit a trimmed tortilla in the bottom of the springform pan; layer with ¼ of the beef and beans mixture and sprinkle evenly with some of the cheese. Repeat three times, using all of the remaining cheese on the top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20-25 minutes. Unmold pie; garnish with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

I served this along with a big salad with tons of veggies and Courtney's favorite- Chick Peas! I think she said she wishes she was a chick pea today. Weirdo!

Then I gave Court her gift! Pink powersuit! haha
She wore that and I wore this awesome outfit:
We played Wii and watched TV all night. I was supposed to wake up at 6 to meet up with the new running group, but it was snowing and I chickened out. I've done absolutely nothing today. But we're snowed in! I'm gonna try to get moving soon, but not very motivated. Happy New Year!

Oh lets also talk workouts and dinners..this is more for me to look back on, I know most of you don't care...
12/25: 2 miles outside with Dave
12/26: ran just under 6 miles outside with Mike without my Garmin
12/27: off
12/28: off
12/29: off
12/30: Ran 5 miles on treadmill, lifted legs
12/31: off
1/1: ran 3 miles on treadmill in 26 minutes, lifted legs
1/2: off (not on purpose- but it was too snowy to run)
Maybe I didn't write about workouts in awhile because I didn't workout a hell of a lot this week... oops!

Planned Workouts:
1/3: 7-8 miles on treadmill, lift legs
1/4: PT
1/5: possible track workout/Boot Camp
1/6: Run 4-5 miles, interval
1/7: Muscle Conditioning
1/8: Run 3 miles, lift legs
1/9: finally run with Running Club 8-10 miles

My friend Leah who I ran track with in college, wrote me out a training plan for the Providence Marathon. She also ran a 3:11 Boston. Yes, you read that right! Amazing! The plan starts January 11th. I haven't signed up for the race and will probably wait awhile to sign up to see how my injuries heal up. But I'm going to do the plan. I'll write more about that next week! Also on the agenda this week is the Biggest Loser weigh in on Friday! Bring it on!

Okay dinners for the week!
Saturday: Chicken Gyros (just made this, yum! will post recipe soon)
Sunday: Roast Chicken with Smoky Tomato Sauce
Monday: Honey Glazed Chipotle Chicken
Tuesday: leftovers
Wed: Mushroom cakes with Avocado pesto and Red Pepper Coulis
Thurs: White Bean Chicken Chili
Fri: leftovers

Lots of Chicken! Can you tell it was on sale this week)
Off to enjoy the snowy night. Wish it would stop so I can actually run OUTSIDE!