A Running Slump

But risotto makes it all better, right? 

Almost.  I’ll get to this delicious recipe in a bit.  😉

So.  I’ve been in a bit of a slump.  I haven’t been blogging about running or hot yoga.  Well, I haven’t really been running or going to hot yoga.  In fact, the last hot yoga class I attended was on January 27th.  I used to attend four to five classes a week.  I’ve been running, albeit not as much as I used to.  A trip to the doctor last week confirmed that I cannot run farther than five miles nor can I attend hot yoga.  I’ve been having some health “things” going on so I can’t really say I’m surprised.   Here’s to hoping that the doctor clears me for hot yoga and running longer distances soon!

In the meantime, this restriction on running has really hampered my race schedule.  I was supposed to run the ten mile leg of the HMRRC marathon relay tomorrow.  Thankfully, Amanda knows an itload of people and was able to grab not one, but two replacement runners for my team!  Melissa was originally running the 11 miler but she tore up both of her heels in a snowshoe race.  Ow.  So, thank you Amanda!  No relay for me this year. 

Before the doc gave me the five mile limit, one of the to-do’s on my list was to create a half-marathon training plan, to begin March 1.  After looking at races, I decided that the Long Island half fit perfectly with my schedule, AND I could stay with a bestie (for freeeee) to boot.  I don’t think that is happening anymore.  On a brighter note, Heather forwarded us CDNYers info about a 10k that is happening in late April.  I’m hoping that I will be good for that!

Until I am cleared for longer distances, I will continue running 3-5 miles a few times a week.  I ran four with Melissa the other day and my pace was a full TWO minutes slower than it typically is.  I can’t complain, because I am able to get out there and run.  I guess I am just feeling uninspired.  I purchased the Runner’s World magazine yesterday and for the first time since I started reading it over a year ago, I did not feel anxious to get out there and run.  I just felt tired.  I think my body is telling me to ease up, and I’m going to listen. 

Have you ever been in a running slump?  How did you get out of it?

Onto fun stuff!  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again- the weather in upstate NY is straight up schizo.  Yesterday it was approaching the 60s (in February!) and today it was so cold I had to turn on the fireplace.  On the plus side, Bails got to enjoy one of his favorite spots:

Nothing like sitting by the fire and enjoying a good book.  I’ve been reading The Hunger Games series, which Rachael recommended last week at our blogger meet up at New World Bistro.  Rachael, thank you so much for suggesting this series- I am SO addicted!  It is very Harry Potter-esque on its level of addictivity.  If you are looking for a good read, I highly recommend this series!

Speaking of New World Bistro, last week I had the pleasure of meeting up with some fabulous ladies for one of the best blogger meetups yet.  Heather sure knows what she is doing when it comes to coordinating awesome get togethers.   I had been to New World once before- for an amazing brunch after my half-marathon last October.  I have to say that I am even more impressed with the restaurant now than I was originally (and I was very impressed before!).  The server, Mike (captain awesome) was probably one of the best waiters I’ve ever had, which is saying a lot because 1) it was a table of 14 and 2) I am no stranger to dining out.  The ambiance was great and the food was even better.  I will definitely be back 🙂

Front Row, Left to Right: Rachael, Cynthia, Emily, Alicia. Middle Row, Left to Right: Lauren, Katie, Julie, Heather, Jen, Courtney. Back Row, Left to Right: Emily, Melissa, Kelly, Erica

For a proper review of New World Bistro, head over to Heather’s great post.

And finally, onto a most excellent recipe.  I’ve made risotto before and yes, it is high-maintenance and needs a little bit of coddling to come to fruition.  However, I promise that your efforts will be worth it.

Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto (serves four)

Ingredients

• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1 T butter
• 1/2 cup chopped white onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 cup arborio rice
• 3/4 dry white wine (I used pinot grigio)
• 4 T olive oil
• 6 ounces mushrooms (I used button), sliced
• 1 pound of cooked medium shrimp, tails removed
• Thyme (I used dried) and parsley (dried) to taste
• 1/4 freshly grated parmesan
• Optional- peas.  I love peas so I threw them in there.

Directions

1. It’s going to be a little tricky.  You will need a large sautee pan, a sauce pan, a smaller sautee pan and a bowl to place the cooked mushrooms in.
2. To start, bring the vegetable stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan.  Reduce heat to low.
3. Melt the butter in the large skillet.  Sautee the onion about three minutes.  Add in 1 T of garlic and sautee for thrity seconds.  Stir in arborio rice and add a half cup of the wine (reserving a quarter cup), stirring until absorbed.
4. Once wine is absorbed, add a hald a cup of stock to the rice mixture and stir until it is absorbed- it should be about two minutes.  Repeat until the stock is gone.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, saute 2 T of olive oil, adding mushrooms and cooking over medium high heat until golden.  Add 1 T of garlic to mushrooms and cook for another minute, then transfer the garlic mushroom mixture into a bowl.
6.  Lots of pans up in this piece.
7. Using the same pan that cooked the mushrooms, add the remaining two T of olive oil to pan with shrimp, sauteeing over medium heat.  Add the last T of garlic and cook for another minute.  Add the peas and the remaining 1/4 cup of wine.  Simmer for another minute or two and remove from heat.
8. Shrimp pan mid-cookery:
9. Combine the mushroom bowl and shrimp pan into the large (fully cooked) risotto pan and stir together.  Add in a bit of thyme, parsley and grated parmesan.
10. Enjoy!  It is damn good, I’ll tell ya that 😉

I guess I really do like shrimp, huh?  Enjoy the rest of your weekend, friends!

Feature Friday & Shrimp Caprese

Hi guys!  TGIEF 😉  I am so excited for the weekend- it couldn’t come soon enough.  Last weekend was a whirlwind and super fun.  The first thing I did was hit up Saratoga Chowderfest with some awesome ladies: 

Julie, Kristin, Me, Kara and Laura

It was awesome, if a bit snowy and freezing!  My favorite chowders were a mango chipotle crab chowder from Cantina and a sweet potato crab chowder from Classe catering (who catered my wedding!).  Amazing.  I ended up sampling about five chowders along with some bomb hot chocolate.  I wish I tried more!

A bit of housekeeping- if you have a blogger/blogspot blog, I have been having a really hard time trying to comment.  I usually give up after the third try 😉  So I am still reading, just unable to comment!

So, Feature Friday.  Each week (let’s be honest, we’ll see how well I keep up with this) I’m going to feature one of my favorite blogs that I read and that I think you need to read, too 😉  This week’s fave blogger is Tiffany, who blogs over at Simply Shaka.

Why do I love Tiffany’s blog?  Well, for starters, homegirl is straight hilarious.  I can’t get through one of her blog posts without laughing out loud.   Seriously.  She always has photos of her adorable dog, Lincoln and lots of easy, fun recipes.  Go check her blog out!

Seriously, how awesome is Linc?

Okay, on to an awesome recipe.  How many times can I say awesome in this post?  Seriously, I cook with shrimp so much I feel like Forrest Gump.  Pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp stew, shrimp salad…

Moving on.  I really like caprese salad (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil) so I figured why not incorporate that into a recipe with the “fruit of the sea” ? 😉  I’m happy to say that this recipe is easy to make and tastes awesome. 

Shrimp Caprese

Ingredients

• One box of whole grain/whole wheat pasta
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 6-8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 pound of cooked medium shrimp, tails removed
• about 3/4 carton cherry tomatoes, tomatoes cut in half
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 2 T olive oil
• Half of a yellow onion, diced
• Basil- I used about five leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook pasta according to directions, set aside
2. Add olive oil to large saute pan, add onions and garlic- sautee for about two minutes
3. Add shrimp and sautee for an additional two minutes
4. Add white wine and tomatoes, sautee until wine starts to absorb and tomatoes cook through (a few minutes)
5. Stir in cooked pasta, fresh mozzarella and basil.  Remove from heat and stir some more.  Add salt and pepper to your liking
6. Enjoy!

Easy, right?  It is sooo good.  It didn’t last very long in my house 😉 

Do you like shrimp?  It is one of my diet staples!  It is a great source of protein and so easy to cook with and incorporate into dishes. 

Any fun plans for the weekend?  Heather coordinated a fun blogger dinner tonight and I am super stoked!

Snow Day!

Hi friends!  Thank you for all of your sweet comments on the reunion.  It really did feel kind of like a movie 😀

(wine tasting at Belhurst Castle)

So, after a disastrous THREE hour commute to work yesterday and an additional foot of snow predicted today, I declared a self-imposed snow day today.  My car (Rav4) is fantastic in the snow aside from the problematic feature of the windshield wipers freezing up, which is an issue when I thereby can’t see.  Yeah.  Didn’t want to do that again. 

After sleeping in until a leisurely 10:00 A.M., I sat down at the kitchen table with my coffee and oatmeal and got to schemin’ about lunch.  This is the easiest “recipe” (really, you’re just throwing things together) and it is so so delicious.  In fact, I think it may be my new default lunch!

First, gather your ingredients.  You can get creative- this is my third time having this wrap this week (and it’s only Wednesday!) and each wrap has been different). 

Assemble the veggies.

 Spread on the “spreadables” (goat cheese, mango salsa, garlic hummus and artichoke tapenade) and pile on the veggies.

Fold the wrap (yes, I had to google “how to fold a wrap”) and enjoy!

Veggie Packed Lunch (or dinner!) Wrap

Ingredients:

• handful of button mushrooms, chopped
• handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped
• handful of baby spinach
• goat cheese (enough for one wrap)
• hummus
• salsa
• artichokes, chopped
• Delicious artichoke tapenade from Trader Joe’s
• wrap of your choice (I like the sun-dried tomato wraps)

Directions

1. Lay wrap flat and spread on hummus, goat cheese and salsa
2. Add veggies
3. To wrap, fold the top and bottom of wrap first.  Then, cover the middle with the sides and you should be good to go!

Easy, delicious and filling!

What else does a snow day entail?

A form of cross-training that I think a lot of us are familiar with these days:

Shoveling!  Poor Mr. B- he so desperately wants to be outside with me but as soon as his little body hits the snow, he starts shaking uncontrollably!  I haven’t shoveled in a while- man, it is a really good workout!

After that, I still wanted to get a run in.  Unfortunately, my gym was closed because of the weather.  My brother’s wasn’t though and they just gave me a free seven-day pass!  Awesome!  It probably has something to do with the fact that my brother pretty much lives there 😉

I got a nice quick three miles in doing what is becoming my favorite interval workout:

• Quarter mile @ 5.4
• Quarter mile @ 5.7
• Quarter mile @ 6.0
• Quarter mile @ 7.1
• Repeat!

I also got to try out some of my new lululemon duds.  Bri, sweet husband that he is, got me these pants and this top for Christmas.

Honestly, I really like this ensemble. It took me almost a mile to get to that point though.  The pants kept riding down, which was really frustrating.  However, after a little sweat they fit perfectly!  I’m glad too because I want to get a lot of wear out of these pants!  Has anyone else had this happen with a lululemon crop?  I have a few other pairs of pants from them that fit perfectly so I was surprised by the riding down issue.

I have some pretty exciting blog stuff coming up- Julie is going to be doing some design/transitioning work for me and I am stoked!  I added a recipe tab (though I still have a lot to add!) and am looking forward to some fun changes!

So, was today a snow day for you?  I am ready for winter to be overrrrrr.  On a bright note, Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow, which means early spring!  Woo!  I don’t really buy it but I’ll take what I can get :p.

Some Vegetarian Options

Alternative title- keen on the quinoa 😉

After reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Matt of No Meat Athlete‘s Vegetarian Advantage series, I decided to become vegetarian during the month of December.  I’m still eating fish (though no farm raised fish) so I don’t think that qualifies me as full vegetarian.  Whatever though- I’m setting my own rules 😀 

This brings me to two new recipes, including one food that I have never tried before.  The first recipe is one that I created all by myself.  I must say, I’m quite proud 😉 

Tropical Tofu- Serves 2

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 block firm tofu, drained for approximately 15 minutes
• 2 T oil (I used sesame oil, you can use whatever is on hand)
• 1 small can diced pineapple
• Tropical-y marinade    

Directions

1. Cook rice according to directions (boil one cup water, add rice, simmer for five minutes)
2. After tofu is drained, cut into 1/2 inch squares.  Pour marinade of choice into freezer size bag and coat tofu inside of bag.  I used this delicious marinade:

3. In a large pan, heat up 2 T oil on medium high heat.  Add marinated tofu, reduce heat to medium and saute for 2-3 minutes on each side, until tofu is lightly browned.  Remove from heat.

4. Stir rice and add a dash of marinade plus the can of pineapple.  Add in cooked tofu and stir. 

5.  Eat!

Easy!  It may look a little bland but I promise you, it tastes delicious!

My next cooking adventure brought me this:

Red quinoa!  Why red quinoa, you ask?  Well, it is a complete plant-based protein, meaning that it contains all nine of the essential amino acids our body requires.  Pretty nifty from a ball looking thing, eh?  First thing’s first, though- how the eff do you say quinoa?  After looking it up, I’m fairly certain it is pronounced keen-wah.  Although if you call it quin-noah I wouldn’t judge you.  😉 

To cook quinoa:

Boil 2 cups of water.  Add one cup of quinoa, reduce heat and let simmer for around fifteen minutes.  Once the little balls (that’s what she saiddd) appear translucent and the ring of wheat germ (or whatever it is) separates, you’re good to go. 

Confession: I’ve been eating pretty well for around a year or two now.  I never felt like a weirdo until I opened the lid to stir the finished quinoa.  It looks really weird, different and just plain healthy.  😉  Dare to be different, friends!

I added some pre-made, cooked tofu (thank you Trader Joe’s, I love you) to the quinoa and added the mixture over a huge bed of greens (along with feta and tomatoes) in order to make some headway in the 20 salads in December challenge.

The verdict:  quinoa is pretty dang good!  It adds a nice healthy crunch and although it looks weird, I like it!

So, tell me- what is the weirdest healthy food you have tried?  Did you like it?  Are you a fan of the keen-wah? 😉

Have a good one friends!

A Productive Day and a Delicious Recipe

Hello everyone!  I hope that you enjoyed Veteran’s Day and took some time to reflect on those who served and are currently serving.  I know I have 😉  Today has been incredibly productive- I wish I could have every Thursday off!  The day started with a vet appointment for Mr. B- he had his annual checkup.  The poor little guy is such a champ.  I held him when he got a shot and he didn’t even whimper!  I had to stop and get him special treats afterwards, of course! 

After the vet I headed out to get a 4 3.3 mile run in. It was a gorgeous day out today!  The weather has been a little schizo, seeing as how it was snowing buckets on Monday and I had to go back inside today to change out of my cold gear and into a long sleeved tech tee and shorts without gloves!  Although, taking off the gloves was a bad idea since I had to cut the run short- my hands were FREEZING and I was back at my house 😉  It was a great day to run though- it is cheesy but the cold air really made me feel alive! 

After the run I got to making one of the most delicious recipes I think I’ve ever made, courtesy of my friend Nicole.  I’m kind of obsessed.  Then I accompanied my dad to Fleet Feet to get him fitted for a pair of running shoes.  I am running his first 5k with him in two weeks, yippee!  I should have known better than to think I would come out of Fleet Feet empty-handed.  Nope, I walked out with this:

A Brooks running jacket!  She is gorgeous.  I justified it because I had a $25 gift card from the store (love the loyalty points) and it fit like a glove .

Look, it even has a special spot inside for your ipod! 

Okay, I’ll be honest.  What really sold me was the thumbhole!

Yes, I’m obsessed!  I can’t wait to run in it!!

After coming home from the store I hurried over to a glorious hot yoga class.  Today’s class was much better than yesterday’s if only for the fact that the creepy guy wearing only tiny shorts that gyrates his hips in circles while staring at himself in the mirror to “warm up” before class  (seriously.  I wish I was joking) wasn’t present.  It was awkward last night, to say the least!   Did you have today off?  If so, what’d ya do? 😀

Okay, so on to one of the best recipes ever.  It is a little intensive but I promise you it is worth it, especially if you like risotto and cheese.  I had it for dinner tonight and it is one of the best risotto dishes I’ve ever had, if I do say so myself 😉

Risotto Caprese

Ingredients:

• 7-8 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 cups arborio rice
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 3/4 pound fresh mozzarella
• 3 heirloom tomatoes, diced
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the stock to a gentle simmer and maintain over low heat
2. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and sautee until soft, approximately two minutes.  Add the arborio rice and stir until each grain is well-coated, approximately three minutes.  Add the wine and stir until completely absorbed.
3. Add the simmering stock to the rice a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly.  Once the liquid is completely absorbed (but never completely dry on top), add the next ladleful and stir, repeating until only 1/4 cup of stock is left.  Reserve the stock.
4. Cut the fresh mozzarella into 1/2 inch pieces.  When the rice is tender to the bite but slightly firm in the center and creamy looking, remove from heat and stir in reserved stock, the mozzarella, tomatoes and basil.  Season with salt and pepper and enjoy.

This is so cheesy and delicious.  This recipe is definitely a keeper (even if your arm is sore from all of that stirring) ;).  Do you like risotto?  Have you ever made it?

Have a great evening friends- it’s almost the weekend! 😀

Early Morning & A Fun Recipe!

I woke up this morning thinking that it was going to be an odd day.  Different, at least.  Why?  Those that know me well know that I love to sleep.  I will hit the snooze button even if I am not tired out of sheer principle.  My husband is a wee bit different (what I like to refer to as a jumping bean- once the sun is up he is ready to get the day started!) so we’ve managed to find a common ground- 9:00 on the weekends!  Yesss.  He is probably reading this thinking yeah right (hi honey!) but I swear it is true, unless there is a crossfit workout or something.  Then it all goes out the window.  Anyway.  During the work week I set my alarm for 7:27 and hit snooze until around 7:45, leaving my house at 8:10 for my lovely commute.  I have never ever voluntarily gotten out of bed before the alarm before.  Today, I was up at 5:50 A.M.  I figured I should just roll with it and get out of bed.  It was like a whole new world opened up!  I made some delicious oatmeal (first time not eating breakfast at work during the workweek ever) and drank coffee from a mug as opposed to a to-go cup.  I boxed up a pair of boots I’m returning.  I played with Bailey.  I even had time to blow dry my hair!  Craziness.  Maybe this whole getting up early thing isn’t so bad.  😀  Are you an early riser or a sleeper-inner like me?  Normally I would blame it on the time change but even assuming the time change didn’t occur, I would still never voluntarily get up before my alarm!

So, on to a delicious, easy recipe.  I took a night off from yoga last night to curse bitterly at the snow get some cooking done.  After perusing Real Simple I found a vegetarian recipe that would work perfectly for meatless Monday (although, not yesterday, as last night was a grilled cheese and tomato soup kind of night.  It made me feel better about all of the snow).   I had it for lunch today and it is really delicious!  Original recipe can be found here.

Tortellini with Eggplant and Peppers

Ingredients:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into half inch pieces
• 2 1 bell pepper, cut into half inch pieces
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 4 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 1 pound fresh tortellini
• Fresh parsley basil

Directions

1.  Chop up the veggies into 1/2 inch cubes, like so:

2.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the eggplant and red peppers, along with salt and pepper to taste.  Heat for about 8 minutes, stirring. 

3.  Add garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and cook for approximately one minute.

4.  Add in the vegetable stock and the tortellini.  It should look like this:  

5.  Let the mixture simmer, covered, until the pasta is cooked through and the stock is absorbed (approximately 14 minutes).

6.  Add fresh basil, stir and enjoy!

This recipe was really easy to make (aside from peeling the eggplant.  I hate doing that!) and tastes awesome the next day!  You don’t need much to fill you up and you get a few servings of veggies to boot!  The crushed red pepper gives the dish a very mild bite that really worked with all of the flavors.  Overall, I definitely recommend this dish!

Lastly, Lily tagged me to answer a few questions about myself:

1) What was/is the name of your first pet?  Aw, a mean little calico cat named Nikita when I was five.  My mom named her. 

2) What is your favorite form of exercise?  Eek, that’s a tough one.  I feel like I’m cheating on running if I say yoga, so I’ll go with running 😉

3) Why did you start blogging?  As a way to hold myself accountable to living healthily and to connect with other awesome bloggers!

4) What’s your favorite store to shop for clothes?  Banana Republic, no doubt.  Practically every item in my closet is from there.

5) Favorite grocery store?  Wegman’s.  Oh sweet Wegman’s.  Pleassse come to the capital district.  I don’t think a better grocery store exists. 

6) What is your current profession?  Attorney. 

7) Favorite kind of muffin?  Ohh, I love the pumpkin cream cheese ones at starbux.  Good stuff!!

Now, I tag Lindsey, Jen, Linzi, Wendy, Jaclyn, Alicia and Michelle to answer these questions:

1. If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
2. What has surprised you the most about blogging?
3. What food could you not live without?
4. You have a Saturday all to yourself.  How would you spend it?
5. What is/was your major in undergrad? 
6. Are you in the field that you thought you would be when you were younger?
7. How often do you blog?  Why?

Have a good one, friends!

Meatless Monday, Blends & BCE

Hi friends!  I have to say I’m dragging today.  I stayed up WAY too late last night reading a Nicholas Sparks novel.  They are so predictable but still manage to suck me in every time!   Today is definitely an extra coffee kind of day 😉

Yesterday was super fun.  I met up with a bunch of local blends at one of my favorite cafes for breakfast.  It is so awesome to have met so many amazing people through blogging! 

Emily,  Rebecca, me, Julie, Heather, Cory, Alicia, Nicole (thanks for the photo Rebecca!)

After we parted ways I headed home to be productive take the pup and my nephew for a long walk.  Then it was time for the BCE, or BEST CLASS EVA!  Seriously.  Yesterday was my first experience with silent bikram yoga and it was AWESOME!  In a standard Bikram class the lights are on and the instructor talks the entire time, guiding you through the poses and the like.  Sometimes they remind me of an announcer at the horse races.  Anyway.  To take silent Bikram, you must have taken at least ten classes (which I have).  It coincided with my schedule so I figured I should check it out.  Amazing!  There were only ten people, the lights were dimmed and the instructor played awesome music.  We still did the traditional 26 postures times two, but instead of talking us through the entire thing the instructor just told us when to change positions. 

My stepmom took the class with me (she is a yoga rock star) and I remember looking over to her at various points during the class exclaiming (silently, haha) how awesome the class was.  It might sounds cheesy but the music really enhanced the poses.  It wasn’t traditional yoga music either- Black Eyed Peas, P!nk, IZ, Jay-Z and other random songs.  So relaxing.  That was a great way to end the weekend and start the week off on the right foot 😀

Since today is Meatless Monday, last night I made a dish to eat for lunch and dinner.  It was actually super easy to make and quite tasty!  The nutritional stats are pretty decent too: 477 calories, 21 g fat (5g saturated), 26 g protein, 13.1 g fiber and 56 g carbs.  Here’s the dish:

Whole Wheat Pasta with Edamame, Arugula and Herbs

Ingredients

• 8 oz uncooked whole wheat penne (I used the whole box [14 oz] of multi grain pasta)
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T butter
• 2 cups frozen shelled edamame (I used 3 cups)
• 2 cups arugula (they didn’t have arugula at the grocery store so I used an herb mix)
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (I omitted)
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 3 T chopped basil (omitted)
• 1 T chopped fresh thyme (I used dried thyme)
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 ounces fresh parmigano-romano cheese, shaved
• 1 garlic clove, minced (I added this, original recipe doesn’t call for it)

Directions

1. Cook pasta and drain, set aside
2. Heat oil and butter in large skillet over medium heat.  Add edamame and garlic to pan, cook through until edamame are thoroughly heated and butter is melted, stirring occasionally.  Combine with pasta.
3. Add lemon juice, tomatoes, herb mix or arugula, fresh herbs and salt.  Mix everything together
4. Cover Sprinkle with cheese and enjoy!

I have to say, I had it for lunch today and it is pretty dang good. 

I like the fact that there is a lot of color in the dish- I feel like I’m doing my part in eating a rainbow of veggies 🙂  Have you tried edamame?  I love it!  It is packed with protein and makes a fantastic snack or addition to a meal (I love to add it into mac ‘n cheese 🙂 )

Do you have any meatless recipes to share?  I’m always on the lookout!  How was the weekend? 

See ya lata!

A Sweet Surprise and Easy Shrimp Quesadillas

Hello friends!  Thank you so SO much for all of your congratulations on my half-marathon 😀 😀 😀  My body feels (almost) 100% back to normal!  I can’t wait to hit up hot yoga tomorrow.  Again, thank you so much for your kind words.  Y’all are too sweet 🙂

Speaking of sweet, I came home to a nice surprise in the mail yesterday:

A good luck card from Linzi!  How sweet is she?!?! 

She is busy getting ready for her first marathon (!!!!) this weekend but took time out of her schedule to send me some encouragement.  Linzi, you are so sweet and amazing and one of these days we will step up from having a virtual glass of wine together to having an actual glass of wine together 😀  I love the sticker and I am going to put it in a shadow box that I put together.  Yay! Make sure to stop by Linzi’s blog to wish her well as she conquers 26.2 this weekend!!! 😀

During the month of October, my friend and race photog/cheerleader extraordinaire challenged her friends and family to a “30 recipes in 30 days” challenge, where all of the participants cook their little hearts out and share the recipes.  Naturally I jumped at the chance to participate, as it would force me to try new recipes and introduce me to the other recipes submitted by the participants.  When Nicole emailed the recipe for Easy Shrimp Quesadillas, I knew what my next cooking adventure would be.  I modified Nicole’s ingredients with what I had on hand and it was still delicious!  My brother and father said the quesadillas were delicious and I can attest to the fact that they reheat well, since I had them for lunch today. 

Easy Shrimp Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 4 eight inch tortillas (I used whole wheat)
• Non-stick cooking spray
• 1/2 of a 7 oz carton of garlic hummus
• 6 oz peeled, cooked and deveined shrimp
• 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup onion, diced
• 1 t olive oil
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium high heat in a skillet and cook onion and garlic until translucent, set aside
2. Assemble working station for four quesadillas by placing filling into four piles, like so:

Shrimp, peppers, garlic, onion and tomatoes

3. Then, coat one side of tortilla with cooking spray. Placing spray side down, cover tortilla in hummus and sprinkle feta cheese over one half.  Place filling on one side of tortilla:

4.  Fold tortilla in half gently and place aside.  Repeat with second tortilla. 

5.  Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Cook two tortillas at a time:

6.  Flip over after about three minutes or when browned.  In the 4-6 minutes it takes the tortillas to cook completely, assemble the other two quesadillas and place them on skillet to cook when the first two are done. 

7.  Eat and enjoy!!

The thing that I love about this recipe is that you can do so many flavor combinations with it!  Try a different flavor of hummus, add in marinated artichoke hearts (like Nicole’s original recipe calls for) and so on. 

Do you have any fun new recipes I can try for the 30 recipe challenge?  If so, please post a link to your blog post in the comments 🙂  I’ll take appetizers, desserts, breakfast recipes… anything! 🙂

Have a great evening friends!

A Meatless Monday Recipe (on a Wednesday)

Hi friends!  Welcome to a meatless Monday recipe.  No matter that it is Wednesday.  I’m a rebel, what can I say?  😉  Actually, I really did make this meal on Monday but I’m a wee bit behind in posting.   So what exactly is meatless Monday?  It is an initiative that was started to reduce meat consumption and increase our health and well-being.  I’m down with that.  Well, at the very least, I’m down with not eating meat produced in the horrifying factory conditions that has become of the meat industry. 

I follow a mainly pescetarian diet with the occasional red meat thrown in once a week or so.  My personal belief is that we are meant to eat meat (I think- I’m still struggling with this), just not the meat produced in the conditions big industry puts forth.  Ultimately, I would like to only eat grass-fed, local beef.   Are you a vegetarian/vegan?  If so, what pushed you in that direction?  Do you feel better/healthier?

That was my long-winded way of saying that I am going to be participating in meatless Mondays from here on out (unless I uh, forget that it is Monday or something).  So without further adieu, here is my first meatless Monday meal (oh alliteration, I heart thee):

Penne with Eggplant, Tomatoes and Mozzarella

• 1 box whole wheat penne
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant (approximately 1 1/4 pound), cut into half inch pieces
• 1 carton cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 in pieces
• 1/4 cup torn fresh mint basil leaves (the original recipe calls for mint; I had fresh basil on hand and it worked well)

Directions

1. Cook the pasta and reserve 1/4 cup of the water.  Drain the pasta and return to pot
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
   Add eggplant to oil.  Cook, stirring occasionally until golden brown and tender- ~ 8-10 minutes.  Tip- I read this after the fact in a magazine- to make the eggplant less absorbent, pour salt over it and then rinse off.  Once water beads on eggplant, pat eggplant dry.  This makes the eggplant less spongey and it won’t soak up the oil as quickly.
3. Add tomatoes, garlic, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper.  Stir until tomatoes soften- ~ 3 minutes
4. Add tomato mixture to pasta, along with fresh mozzarella and basil.  Stir and enjoy.

This recipe was yummy and fairly easy to make.   I really enjoyed it.  My parents and brother were also big fans.  I was hesitant to include the red pepper, but it adds a nice bite to the dish.  I will definitely be making it again!  You can find the original recipe here.   Do you have a vegetarian dish that you can share?  If so, hook a girl up!  😀

Okay friends, I’m out.  Stay tuned for a posts involving my Girls on the Run involvement and my adventures in meal planning (hint: it is very scientific and looks a little something like this):

 Enjoy the rest of your day! 🙂

Cookies!! & Wardrobe Challenge Day 3

Hey y’all!  I’m not Southern but I really wish I was, just so I could get away with saying y’all.  Anyway.  I’m so stoked that tomorrow is Friday!  I have a busy weekend planned, with lots of running, yoga and friend time.  Good stuff 😀  Yesterday I got in a two mile training run in 18:39.  That is REALLY fast for me!  Granted it is two miles but if I can keep up that pace I should be able to shatter my 5k PR (30:35 I think) next Tuesday.  Woop! 

Hot yoga challenge last night was bombtastic, as always.  I think I’m really getting used to bikram (room is heated to 105 degrees) versus the hot yoga challenge (95 degrees) because yesterday the temperature of the room was quite bearable.  I’ll take it!

Today marks day three of the challenge.  Oy.  It is going to be a lonnnng month.  On the bright side, I am wearing shoes and jewelery that has just been sitting there unused.  Today’s clothing and accessories:

Closeup of the detailing on the top/pearls:

Let’s be honest though- I don’t wear my suit jacket around the office.  Unless I have a meeting or something.  In the mix:

• Wool blend suit jacket- Banana Republic (purchased 2005)
• Black wool blend suit pants- Express (purchased 2004)- yes, the same ones as yesterday.  Repeat!
• Teal-ish cotton dressy tee- Banana Republic (purchased Spring 2010)
• Pearls- gift from my mother and grandmother
• Black pearl bracelet- gift from Brian
• Peep toe pumps- Aldo (purchased sometime in 2006?)- I love these shoes.  Unlike the other peep toes, they are actually quite comfortable.  I’m still not sold on peep toes with long pants but hey, that’s what the challenge is for, right?  Mixing it up yo!

Okay, on to more delicious items.  Specifically, Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookies, courtesy of Sweet Tooth Court! Seriously, this girl is my go-to recipe person for sweets.  I’ve met her in real life and she’s just as “sweet” (ha) in person as she is on her blog.   I’ve been sending Bri care packages but hadn’t yet baked him anything.  After perusing Courtney’s recipes, I settled on her Chocolate Butterscotch Cheesecake Cookie recipe, which I adjusted to Peanut Butter Cheesecake Cookies (I didn’t want the chocolate to melt when being shipped!)  Don’t worry, I altered the recipe on Tuesday to make chocolate chip cheesecake cookies too 😉  The beauty of this recipe is that you can alter it to make tons of flavors!  Here’s what you’ll need:

• 1 + 1/2 sticks of butter
• 1/4 apple sauce
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup regular sugar
• 1 package of jello cheesecake pie filling (or any other flavor- customize to your heart’s content!)
• 1 t vanilla
• 4 egg whites
• 2 & 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 12 oz peanut butter chips (or chocolate chips, or butterscotch chips…)

• Preheat the oven to 375
• In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugars, dry pudding mix and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended
• Add the egg whites and applesauce, mix until well blended.
• Add in flour, baking soda, baking powder.  Mix until completely blended.
• Stir in chips!
• Using an ice cream scooper, place on baking sheet and bake for around fifteen minutes (I like my cookies large!) or until they turn a goldish brown. 
• Let cool, and enjoy!

These are the finished peanut butter cheesecake cookies.  Note that I individually wrapped some of them- my friend Melissa sent me a link on how to keep cookies for soldiers overseas fresh, and apparently the key is individually wrapping them.  I placed the individually wrapped cookies into a larger tupperware container.  Here’s to hoping they arrive in Afghanistan fresh and delicious!

The reason I love this recipe is that there are so many combinations of cookies you could come up with.  Why not combine lemon jello pie filling mix with white chocolate chips?  I made chocolate chip cheesecake cookies for my family and they were huge fans.  So, Courtney, thanks for the recipe! 😀

Have a great Thursday!