Crockpots Save Lives

March 15, 2016Leave a comment

I love the ease of using a crockpot to prepare meals. Talk about a time saver.

Just set it and forget it.

Yesterday morning I put a roast in the crockpot with baby carrots and chunks of onion. When I got home last night, the roast was so tender it fell apart, and the carrots and onion were caramelized.

So I whipped up a batch of mashed baby red potatoes with a little Kerrygold butter and a splash of heavy whipping cream.

Too much goodness in this bowl. And so easy.

What you need:

Roast
Onion soup mix
Red wine
Beef consume
Onion
Carrots
Baby red potatoes
Heavy whipping cream
Kerrygold butter
Salt and pepper

Start by seasoning the roast with salt and pepper. Seer it in a hot pan until a crust forms on all the sides. Deglaze the pan with red wine.

Put roast and all the wine from the pan in the crockpot. Add in the onion soup mix, carrots, onions and beef consume.

Turn crockpot on to low and cook for 8-10 hours.

For the mashed potatoes, cut up the baby red potatoes into chunks. Leave the skin on. Boil for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Drain off excess water. Return potatoes back to warm pan. Add in a generous pat of butter and a splash of whipping cream. Mash them up. Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually add a little more butter and cream to make the potatoes extra tasty.

Layer the potatoes with the roast, carrots and onion. Be sure to spoon over lots of the juice because it has all the flavor goodness.
So easy. Super delicious. Always a crowd pleaser.

This is Supper

February 25, 20161 Comment

I’ve been eating a ton of junk food. The more junk food I eat, the more I want junk food. They should call it funk food.

Let me just tell you about the past couple days. Chick-Fil-A. Chinese food. Tropical Smoothie…twice.

This has been going on for at least three weeks. And I can totally tell. I’m lethargic. And cranky. And all I want to do is stuff my face full of Oreos. It’s stupid.

In my defense, it’s been a really busy week. But that’s no excuse. I can do better. My priorities are out of whack.

So I tried to fix it with supper tonight. I channeled the mantra my mom preached to me while sitting at the dinner table when I was a little girl.

This. Is. Supper.

She’d say this because I had a tendency to not eat whatever she cooked for supper, and then I’d ask for cereal or scrambled eggs or little green peas at 10’o clock at night.

I made a turkey sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin. I topped it with cheese, greens and a bit of ranch dressing. There was also a side of baby carrots.

And that is supper.

Not fast food. Not junk food. Just a light meal to help get me on the right track.

Stir Fry Sunday

October 11, 2015Leave a comment

I’ve had a hankering for Asian food. Specifically sushi. But I’m not even going to attempt making my own sushi. I figure that’s one thing I should just leave to the pros.

But I do make a pretty tasty stir fry. And this batch from today is quite delicious.

What you need:

Broccoli
Yellow bell pepper
Shallot
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup of brown rice
Teriyaki sauce
Ginger garlic stir fry oil (optional)
1 tablespoon chia seeds

Boil some water to cook the brown rice. Brown rice takes longer to cook than white rice so give yourself at least 45 minutes. You can prep everything else while that cooks.

Heat up a skillet on medium high with the ginger garlic stir fry oil. If you don’t have any of that, just use olive oil.

Slice up the shallots and bell pepper into thin strips. Mince up the garlic. Throw all of that into the ginger oil. Steam your broccoli. (I cheated today and used broccoli you steam in the microwave because it cuts down on the cooking time and it doesn’t dirty another dish.)

Chop up the steamed broccoli florets and add the the veggies. Add teriyaki sauce to taste. I like to have enough so it cooks down and creates a sauce. Just be careful because teriyaki is salty.

When the rice is cooked, add it to the teriyaki vegetables. Combine and let cook a few minutes if you aren’t overcome with the delicious smell.

I’m trying a new thing this week with meal planning. Usually I just make whatever sounds good. But I’ve been wasting a lot of ingredients, and without a plan, I’ve been eating out more. So I’m excited to see how this week goes with creating a loose menu.

Saturday Escapades in Life and in Running

October 10, 2015October 10, 2015Leave a comment

While Sundays are my favorite day, I adore Saturdays.

I’m in a pretty set routine for Saturdays right now. I am mentoring two amazing ladies through a 10K training program. So every Saturday I’ve been getting up well before the sun to run with them. And it has been the most wonderful experience.

I’ve trained people for 5Ks before, but never a 10K. It’s completely different. I’ve found myself less focused on myself during long runs, and more focused on them working through any issues. Or just reminding them they have ran 45 minutes without stopping or complaining or death.

This morning after our four mile run they both looked at me and said they have finally experienced the feeling of losing themselves during the run. Being in the zone. Shutting their minds off. I have told them about this moment many times, but to be there when they experience, it is the most fulfilling feeling.

Because that’s why I run.

To shut off my thoughts. To experience what my body can do that day. To push myself. To feel truly alive.

It is hedonic.

And now they know.

I’ve finally mentored them to the place I try to take myself every time I go on a run. And that is truly something special. And it couldn’t have been a better morning to do so. Arkansas is a pure place to run and experience nature. An outdoor enthusiast’s dream. Miles and miles of paved and unpaved trails at your leisure. I’m lucky to call this my backyard.

After my Saturday morning run, I always make breakfast. But this morning I got a little overzealous. My eyes were a little bigger than my stomach.

Coffee and a huge egg scramble full of Black Forest ham, eggs, Parmesan cheese, yellow bell pepper, shallots and topped with more cheese, fresh tomatoes and ripe avocado. I also had a side of chocolate milk to aid in muscle recovery.

And now I sit at my favorite coffee shop with a The Head and The Heart playlist in my ears, a pot of green tea and my Series 7 study materials, and I feel utterly content.

The first day in the past month where I’ve felt completely at ease.

Present.

It’s a good feeling.

Portobellos with Balsamic Wilted Kale and Mash Sweet Potatoes

October 10, 2015October 10, 2015Leave a comment

My creativity has been seriously lacking. I’ve spent more time and money eating out than cooking at home.

Today was the first day I felt inspired to cook. And it all stemmed from a guy blocking my view at the meat counter in the grocery store. All I wanted to do was look to see what they had. See if something jumped out and caught my attention. But he just kept jabbering with the associate, and I’m not that patient when I’m hungry and tired.

So I ventured to the produce section feeling slightly bereft, but hope surged when I thought of mushrooms. Big mushrooms. Portobellos, to be exact. Then I saw the prettiest bunch of dinosaur kale, and I grabbed that.

And it turned out to be some of my best work yet.

What you need:

Two portobello mushrooms
A bunch of dinosaur kale
Sweet Potato
1 shallot
1 clove of garlic
Splash of Balsamic vinegar
Homemade ranch mix
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry your sweet potatoes. I always bake more than one sweet potato at a time, or I feel like it’s a waste of time. Bake them for 1 hour or longer until they are cooked through.

For the mushrooms:

Remove the stem and the gills. The stem is hard, and the gills will hold too much moisture when baking. Cut a shallow X in the tops of the mushrooms.

Prepare the homemade ranch: Mix up dried dill, dried parsley, a smidgen of dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper to taste. I use more dill and garlic than the others.

Drizzle both sides of the mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with the homemade ranch mixture. Bake for 10 minutes in a 400 degree oven, and flip them over to bake for 10 more minutes. That’s a total of 20 minutes.

For the kale:

Heat up a saute pan with olive oil. Slice up the shallot, and mince the garlic. Throw them in the pan. Remove the stem ends of the kale, and chop the kale up into pieces that seems a tad bit too big. The kale will wilt down when you cook it. Throw in a tablespoon or so of Balsamic vinegar. And let it do it’s thing. Don’t forget the salt and pepper. The kale will wilt down, but still be slightly crunchy. The Balsamic vinegar will give it a zingy sweetness.

I can already tell you this will be one of my go-to meals. It’s more steps than I’d usually like to have, especially on a week night when I’ve been out for a run. But for a weekend or a lazy evening in, it’s perfect. And it’s healthy without lacking flavor. Because believe it or not, you can have healthy food that tastes good.