Mexican | Luv What You Do

Tex Mex Shredded Chicken February 26, 2013

Filed under: Chicken,Clean Eating,Crock Pot — Luv What You Do @ 9:19 am
Tags: chicken, crock pot, meal planning, Mexican, Recipes

It’s a simple week of meal planning here…

Monday: Slow Cooker Shredded Tex Mex Chicken (recipe below)

Tuesday: Shrimp Stirfry

Wednesday: Chicken Sausage and Veggies

Thursday: Out to Eat

For lunch this week, I have Curried Red Lentil Soup with Kale. Yum!

The best and easiest crockpot recipe that I know is this Two Ingredient Crockpot Chicken. I share it with everyone who is looking to use their crockpot more often. When I found this recipe for Shredded Tex Mex Chicken on Fearless Homemaker, it reminded me of a fancier, more complex version of my favorite.

This recipe takes just a few minutes longer to prep, but is worth the effort.

The addition of the jalapeno and lime are fantastic and give this dish robust flavor.

Instead of dicing my chicken, I got lazy and cooked them whole, which is another easy option.

When dinner was ready, the BOY made an overflowing Tex Mex sandwich with cheese and sour cream.

I opted for lettuce wraps (although I probably should have bought bigger lettuce leaves).

We were both big fans of Mexican flavor (in case you couldn’t tell by all the Fiesta posts this summer) and this dinner got thumbs up all around. We also got a good laugh out of my mini lettuce wraps.

I ate my lettuce wraps with a side of broccoli, not because it actually goes with the meal, but because we had broccoli that needed to be cooked and topped with avocado.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is how versatile it is! I have plenty of leftovers to eat during the week on a salad or wrapped up as a taco. Meal planning this week is weather dependent. We have a big storm blowing in and there is a chance that I will be staying at my parents. Not to worry, I have left the BOY with plenty of healthy options to fend for himself!

Slow Cooker Shredded Tex Mex Chicken

From Fearless Homemaker

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 jalapeno, seeded + minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-2″ pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup (packed) cilantro leaves, chopped (I did not use these)
the juice of 2 limes

Directions

-Heat the oil in a medium-sized sauté pan. add the onion, sauté for 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder, coriander, paprika, jalapeño, and garlic. Sauté two more minutes. Transfer this mixture to the slow-cooker sprayed with cooking spray.

-Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt + pepper. Add it to the pan where you cooked the onion and spices. Sear chicken on all sides. Then transfer to the slow cooker. Add I lime juice and cilantro and stir.

-Cook on low for 3-4 hours or if you have the time cook on high for 6-8 hours until chicken is cooked through. The chicken pieces will be fall-apart tender at this point . You can either leave them as is or shred them with two forks before returning them to the crockpot for another 30-60 minutes.

-Serve as tacos, in a sandwich, with lettuce wraps, or with rice.

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Dinner Tonight-Turkey Taco Meatloaf December 5, 2012

Filed under: Dinner,Turkey — Luv What You Do @ 9:21 pm
Tags: Mexican, Recipes

Here is the next post in what seems to be a now forming DINNER TONIGHT series. This is one of the first recipes that I started ‘cooking’. It is from Hungry Girl’s first book, and I used to make this recipe so often that I had the ingredient list memorized. I made a few changes to the original recipe and for tonight, I didn’t take the time to sauté the onions and peppers for time’s sake.

You can prechop your veggies to save even more time! The meatloaf comes together quickly and has the best Mexican flavor!

The recipe calls for a middle layer of cheese, but I subbed in extra salsa instead. I had the perfect chipotle flavored salsa to give the meatloaf a kick!

Then smothered the BOY’s half with cheesy deliciousness!

I had a slight issue with my cooking time, but luckily everything turned out (although it took a little longer than I expected)!

Although the meatloaf doesn’t picture well, I promise it tastes fantastic!

Speaking of fantastic, check out what arrived in the mail today!

I did a little pre-holiday shopping!

What recipe do you make so often that you have it memorized?

I haven’t made this in a long time, and I am thrilled to add it back into our weeknight rotation.

Turkey Taco Meatloaf

From Hungry Girl

Ingredients

1 lb 98% lean ground turkey

2 slices fat free cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese

1/2 cup canned sweet corn kernels (I usually omit this)

1/4 cup chopped bell peppers

1/4 cup chopped onions

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 packet of dry taco seasoning mix

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook peppers and onions for 3 minutes over medium heat in a pan sprayed with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine onions and peppers with turkey, corn and seasoning mix. Spread half the mixture evenly into the bottom of a loaf pan sprayed with nonstick spray.

Layer the two slices of fat-free cheese on top of the mixture (try to keep if away from the pan’s edges) Evenly top with the remaining meat mixture.

Pour the salsa over the top of the load. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes.

Top loaf with shredded cheese. Return loaf to the oven and cook for another 15 minutes.

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Cheating on Chili and I Owe You a Plank November 26, 2012

Filed under: Chicken,Exercise,Life,Soup — Luv What You Do @ 9:59 am
Tags: Bears, chicken, meal planning, Mexican, plank challenge

So I owe you all a plank! I didn’t forget about the plank challenge but I was so tired after Saturday’s race that I wanted to rest a day in order to give this 4 minute plank a fighting chance.

My longest plank to date was 3:45 and it was brutally tough…everything hurt. I knew there was no way I’d make it to 4 minutes with a tired body. I wasn’t even sure if I could do it with a totally fresh body, but knew I needed to try. So after dropping by aunt off at the airport this morning (so sad to see her go, but super excited to see her again in 3 weeks!), I came home for my last plank trial.

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And…success! Somehow, I just did a 4 minute plank. I think that day off of really helped! And now I can call that my exercise for the day as I am off to get my full body massage and don’t plan on moving much after that : )

Yesterday, I tried to convince the BOY to go to the grocery store with me. He was having none of it, and didn’t have much to add to this week’s meal planning. When he headed off to the library, I took some time to flip through cookbooks, blogs, and my recipe binder to come up with some new ideas. It’s no surprise that we make chili, like every fall weekend. I was thinking it would be fun to try something different but just as warm and comforting. I decided on Chicken Tortilla Soup, which is so thick and hearty it is a meal on its own. This recipe had so many amazing spices that I knew it had to be awesome!

I have been having some chicken issues lately. I spoiled myself all summer by buying my chicken at Costco. I spent a little more than at the grocery, but the quality was well worth it. Recently, I haven’t been making it to Costco as often. I picked up chicken at a local grocery store last week for my Chicken Parmesan and the BOY and I both noticed a difference. For today’s soup, I purchased an organic brand at a different supermarket. I liked it, but it just doesn’t compare to Costco. Does this happen to anyone else?

Luckily, the vegetables in this soup are so fresh and delicious that the chicken is just a compliment. Another easy compliment is home made tortilla strips. You can buy corn tortillas for about 30 cents, and they are the perfect final touch to your meal.

I had some issues with lighting last night, so I’m not sure that the photos will do this soup any justice.

The BOY made a 3 layer bowl, complete with cheese, sour cream, scallions, and topped with tortilla strips. He was moving so quickly, it was tough to get a clean shot!

I poured myself a huge bowl for dinner to settle in and watch the Bear’s game. In case you are concerned with my timing, we DVRed the noon game so the BOY could go to the library and watched it Sunday night.

It was a super exciting game, but nothing compared to this incredible soup!

I really enjoyed this recipe and wouldn’t change a thing EXCEPT, I might attempt to make it in the crockpot. It would have been a little easier to shred up the chicken and taken less time in the kitchen. I’m definitely adding Chicken Tortilla Soup into our weekend chili rotation. This recipe earned a spot on the team! Can you tell I’m in a good sporty mood after the Bear’s victory?!

Last week was so short (I worked a day and a half) so this week feels really long. Here is a tentative plan for the week’s meals (although I stress the word tentative because I thin it’s already changed 3 times…ha ha!)

Sunday Night: Chicken Tortilla Soup (see recipe below)

For a similar vegetarian soup, I recommend this Taco Soup.

Monday Night: Coconut Shrimp

Tuesday Night: Leftovers

Wednesday Night: Chicken Marsala

Thursday Night: Pork Tenderloin

Friday Night: Surprise! Which basically means it’s a game time decision : )

So I almost didn’t have room for last night’s dinner of Chicken Tortilla Soup because I totally chowed down on Maple Banana Bread. This might be one of the tastiest versions of banana bread that I have made in awhile. The maple syrup adds the perfect amount of sweetness and flavor and the texture is divine. I highly recommend trying this recipe. It will make for wonderful holiday gifts! And this morning, I turned it into French toast. All I can say is…Yum!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

From Bake Your Day

Ingredients

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. oregano

1/4 tsp. paprika

1 Tbs. olive oil, divided

1 large red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced

1 lime, juiced and zested

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (10-ounce) can green chiles

1 (14.5) ounce can diced tomatoes

1 cup fresh corn

1Tbs. tomato paste

32 ounces low-sodium chicken stock

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, mix the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, kosher salt, oregano and paprika. Brush both sides of each chicken breast with a light coating of olive oil. Sprinkle a small amount of the spice mixture onto both sides of each chicken breast and transfer to a non-stick baking sheet. Roast the chicken in the oven for 20-25 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through. Allow the chicken to cool for about 10 minutes, and then shred.

While the chicken cooks, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Add the onion and garlic, along with a pinch of salt, and saute for 3-4 minutes until the onions are very fragrant and they begin to soften. Add the bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, lime juice and cilantro and stir well. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the peppers begin to soften. Add the remaining spice mixture, black beans, green chiles, diced tomatoes and the corn and stir well. Cook for about 6 minutes until all of the vegetables are tender. Add the tomato paste and stir to combine.

Slowly stir in the chicken stock and add the cooked & shredded chicken and bring the soup to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt & pepper to taste.

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Making the Most of Leftovers August 28, 2012

Filed under: Clean Eating,Dinner,Vegetarian — Luv What You Do @ 10:13 pm
Tags: BBQ, birthday, Cheese, Chocolate, Mexican, Recipes, Shopping, Starbucks

My morning started off quite nice with a complimentary beverage of my choice from Starbucks. Well, actually when my alarm went off, I had no idea what the noise was. After a 4 day weekend, I guess I forgot the sound of my alarm : ) I did get myself up and out for a 5 mile run. The weather was perfect for a cool morning jog, and my toe held up just fine. I’m still not particularly fast, but running feels good! I’m ready for my toe to heal and get back to building up my miles, but I will just have to be patient.

After the run…came the free venti cinnamon dolce birthday latte!

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It was a sweet way to start the day, but even sweeter was this cool sign and these adorable gift bags waiting for me at my desk!

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It’s people doing yoga in the shapes of the letters. I loved it! My birthday buddy (who decorated my desk) got me the cutest pair of Lululemon socks (one says RUN and one says FAST) and homemade granola, which is the best granola I’ve EVER eaten. I’ll have to ask her to anonymously leave me the recipe soon, since I won’t find out who it is until December.

After a happy day at work, I whizzed home to pick up the BOY and head out for the Mariano’s Grand Opening!

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The store was jam packed with fresh and colorful produce and people. It was late, but we explored all of the aisles impressed with the selection…especially in the bakery and bulk bins!

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By the time we got home, it was after 8:30pm, which is why I won’t take too long for the rest and the real purpose of this post. As I’ve mentioned when I described this incredible salad, we had a whole bunch of leftovers from this weekend’s BBQ. Yesterday, I decided to turn everything into enchiladas. In the past, I’ve only made enchiladas with red sauce, but I got it in my head that I wanted to try making a Mole Sauce. I looked online for a few different recipes. The catch…I didn’t want to have to run out to the store. I found a few recipes and chose one from Positively Vegan. I had everything in the house that I needed to make a quick sauce, and all my leftovers to turn into enchiladas.

Instead of carob, I used cacao, and then threw everything into the blender.

I was dong well until the last ingredient…diced tomatoes. How is it possible that I didn’t have a can of diced tomatoes in my house??? I did have some farm share tomatoes, so I added those instead. My mixture was thick and brown.

However, here was only one problem…I had no idea what mole was supposed to taste like.

I proceeded forward making the enchiladas…beef, rice, and cheese for the BOY and chicken and leftover veggies for me.

I poured the sauce over the top and loaded the BOY up with cheese.

The BOY walked in the door from school just before I pulled dinner out of the oven.

I was nervous to serve my first mole, but it actually turned out REALLY good. The BOY ran off with his plate before I could get a good pictures, but once he tasted the enchiladas, he was surprised (that I had made the sauce) and impressed with my effort.

I think a full can of tomatoes would have balanced out the chocolate flavor a bit, and I picked up 3 cans at Mariano’s this evening…just to have in the house for the next time!

Typically, I am happy to eat leftovers for a few days, and I don’t think about spicing them up. This was a creative way for me to use all of our meat, tortillas, and cheese, and it was a HUGE success! I was so proud of my dinner, that I had to share the mole sauce with ya’ll tonight! It is so easy to fill tortillas with whatever leftovers you have in the house, cover them in this delicious sauce, and bake with cheese. Enjoy!

What is your favorite way to use leftovers???

Easy Mole Sauce

From Positively Vegan

In your blender, place, but don’t blend:

1/2 cup raw cashews
1 cup vegetable broth
The broth will soak the cashews for a few minutes while you add everything else.

Next add all of the following to the blender:
3/4 cup carob powder (carob is a legume, and contains protein)
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
3 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
3 T agave syrup or nectar
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (the tomatoes go on top to keep all the powders from "poofing" out the top of the blender)

Blend until very smooth. Pour as much as possible into a saucepan or bowl.
Add 1/2 cup water to the blender, put the lid on, and shake it up to loosen all the last bits of sauce. Stir the water/sauce into the rest of the sauce, and you won’t waste a bit.

Note: If making enchiladas, spread sauce on bottom of pan, place stuffed tortillas over the top, cover with mole sauce and cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

In the mood for Mexican, these are my two favorite enchilada recipes!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Unbelievably Delicious Low Fat Enchiladas

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Celebration August 26, 2012

Filed under: Dessert,Holidays — Luv What You Do @ 7:33 pm
Tags: BBQ, birthday, Mexican, Recipes

It’s been a fun week of Birthday celebrations beginning with a special Birthday/Graduation party on Tuesday.

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Then on Thursday, a coworker who happens to have the same birthday as me, brought me these beautiful flowers from her garden!

Friday, we got to spend the day with my brother and his girlfriend (who has the same birthday as me) including a fun nice dinner out at Cooper’s Hawk. Yesterday, we hosted my friends and their adorable kids over for a Fiesta BBQ. It was a team effort as my friends brought lots of delicious food, including a homemade guacamole. I made some of my summer favorites including this cream cheese corn dip and Wendi’s zesty black eyed pea salad.

My best friend helped me chop up some veggies for this fresh green salad.

And the BOY was in charge of the meat.

Everything turned out incredible! The BOY marinated the meat for a day and it was so flavorful and juicy in the fajitas. I love the DIY set up for a fiesta BBQ because it is so casual and easy.

Even with such a filling dinner, we all saved room for dessert!

We had everyone’s favorite Cookie Cake with extra frosting!

And I made an Oreo Peanut Butter Pie.

And these Triple Chip Blondies from Our Best Bites.

They turned out soft and sweet, and I highly recommend that you make them!

I’m such a huge fan that I’m gong to share the recipe with you RIGHT now, so here it goes…

They come together quickly and are full of your favorite chips!

Tell me you don’t want to dive right into that pan of dough!

The bars are the perfect combination of crispy on the edges, but soft and chewy on the inside, with tons of wonderful flavors (I used white chocolate, milk chocolate, and butterscotch). You could even add some nuts if you’d like, but they certainly don’t need them.

I skipped the chocolate glaze due to time, but I would recommend giving it a try!

These bars are totally birthday worthy and they freeze well so preheat your oven and whip up a big batch!

Your friends will be thrilled with the results. And you will thank me!

Triple Chip Blondies
From Our Best Bites

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
2 cups light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour, lightly spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with the back of a knife
2/3 cup chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup for drizzling on top
2/3 cup white chocolate chips
2/3 cup peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips
1 teaspoon coconut oil or shortening

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Melt the butter. Combine in a large mixing bowl with the brown sugar. Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat on medium speed until combined. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips (excluding the 1/3 cup reserved chips), white chocolate chips, and peanut butter or butterscotch chips and mix until combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool completely. When cool, combine the reserved chips and the coconut oil or shortening in a small freezer zip-top bag, seal it, and heat it in the microwave in 15-second increments, mashing the bag with your hands until the chocolate and oil are smooth (repeat as long as necessary). Cut a small corner out of the bag and squeeze the melted chocolate over the baked blondies. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

What dessert do you always have for our birthday?

I got to have two of my favorites this week…chocolate chip cookie cake and angel food cake.

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1 Week To Go July 22, 2012

Filed under: Dinner,Triathlon — Luv What You Do @ 10:34 pm
Tags: BBQ, Mexican, shrimp, Tour de France

The TOUR is over, but sadly my class is not : (

Even though I’m back in class tomorrow, I stayed up a little later than expected tonight to watch the exciting finish to the Tour de France. It was fun to view this impressive race over the past three weeks, and I have a whole new knowledge and appreciation for this international spectacle. I am all hyped up for the Olympics and more importantly, my first (and most likely only) triathlon of the summer next Sunday!

Although this weekend has not been ideal for training (or blogging), I have been able to get in some bike rides (Hello Bike Commuter!) and runs. I am slacking on the swimming (story of my life), but since there is no expectations or pressure for this race, I’m not stressed, just excited!

Speaking of stressed, spending 6 days in class (instead of my usual 3 day weekend) has been rough on me. Luckily, the BOY was in charge of dinner tonight, and he prepared us an amazing dinner or shrimp fajitas. He made one spicy version using a salsa pepper from my friend’s garden and one less spicy.

Both were incredible! We combined them with grilled veggies…

And added in the fixin’s needed for a tasty dinner!

We even had enough leftovers for me to take for lunch tomorrow. For dessert, we had a special treat. The red, white, and blue bottle was awesome looking and the champagne even better!

Since I’m in charge of the course breakfast tomorrow, I made a fruit salsa and by request, some fig and date bars tonight before settling in to fold some laundry and finish the tour.

The fig bars also made a great dessert tonight!

I apologize for post of random thoughts, but that is just where my brain is at right now. I think they call that fried! Only two more days of class and then two more days of work and then we are off to Wisconsin for the triathlon weekend. Hooray!

Race Countdown: 1 week to Triathlon Time!!!

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Quick and Easy Empanadas?! May 30, 2012

Filed under: Appetizers — Luv What You Do @ 6:08 am
Tags: BBQ, Cheese, Corn, Mexican, Recipes

When I knew that we were having a Memorial Day fiesta, I got to work on my menu. Because I knew this weekend would be busy with the Soldier Field 10 Miler and Bike the Drive, I wanted some easy and tasty foods that went along with our Mexican theme. However, the BOY had a different idea. On Thursday night, he decided that we needed to have empanadas at our BBQ. Empanadas???

I don’t typically eat them and I have NO IDEA how to make them. When I mentioned this to a coworker on Friday, she found me this recipe for Quick and Easy Empanadas. After an exciting and exhausting morning of biking and shopping, I finally made it back to our house at 2PM. This left me 2 hours to get cleaned up and finish prepping for the BBQ. This would have been fine except that I had these crazy empanadas to make.

The outside breading is easy enough if you use premade refrigerated biscuits.

I initially tried to flatten them out with my hands, but ended up pulling out my rolling pin.

I used the recipe as a guide, but adapted some of the measurements based on what was available in our house and what I had the patience to go searching for. I ended up stirring together the corn, cheese, salsa, onion, and garlic in a big bowl.

I made the first batch of empanadas without meat. Immediately, I was having trouble closing the biscuit!

With time running out, I was slightly frustrated, but I kept moving along until I had 8 empanadas. I baked them for about 15 minutes until the edges were brown and toasty.

Yikes! These do not look like empanadas! Although the warm, gooey inside tasted fantastic!

I stirred in some browned fajita meat for batch #2. I was able to learn a few things from my first attempt to help this second round go more smoothly. I rolled out my dough much thinner and used less filling. This made it easier for me to pinch the sides together sealing in the filling. The dough was still too thick (note to the reader…dough will expand when baking so roll it extremely thin…even thinner than you think you should). But, they looked much better than the first try.

I don’t know that my empanadas were exactly what the BOY had in mind, especially when I saw these beautiful pastries at Whole Foods the next day.

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I have a little ways to go when it comes to the looks of my final product.

When guests arrived, I told them that they would have to just pull some of the extra dough off of the empanadas because there was not enough filling inside. When everyone started raving about the filling, I pulled the leftovers out of the tupperware that I had stashed in the fridge. Everyone loved it as a dip and dug right in. My plan was to use the leftovers with cream cheese as a warm appetizer, but when it was time to clean up, there was barely any left. I guess that is a success!

For dinner the next night, we pulled out a variety of delicious leftovers. I created this salad complete with everything that we had leftover in one bowl. It was incredible. The BOY used the empanada filling as a salsa on his fajitas. Yummy!

I’m sharing this recipe because I think with a little more time and TLC, these empanadas can be great. But if you don’t have time and patience to make them, you can use this filling as a dip or salsa. Or…spread a layer of softened cream cheese (and refried beans if you want) on the bottom of an oven proof dish, top with the filling (recipe below), and biscuits if desired. Then bake until the top is brown and the inside is warm and bubbly.

Quick and Easy Empanadas (or cheese, tomato and corn dip)

From Food.com

1 lb ground beef (optional)

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 (15 ounce) can fresh cut corn, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup chopped onion

8 ounces grated cheddar cheese

1 cup salsa (I recommend a black bean salsa)

2 (16 ounce) cans large refrigerated biscuits

Directions:

Brown the ground beef in a frying pan adding the salt and pepper just before done.

Let the beef cool.

In a large bowl mix the corn, onions, cheese, and salsa, then add the cooled beef mixing carefully so not to break up all the cheese.

Roll the biscuits out flat to about 2-1/2 times their size. (I found it easier to make more of an oval shape).

Place approximately 1/3 cup filling on one side of the center of the circle lengthwise.

Fold the dough over the filling like a turn over and crimp the edges like a pie crust. Be careful not to tear the dough, and to seal the edges completely or your filling will come out! depending on how much filling is used will determine how many biscuits you will use.

Place on slightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 till lightly browned (about 15 minutes).

***Note: I would suggest layering cream cheese, filling, and pastry as described above and making it into a dip!

OPTIONS: These turnovers would be easy to fill with sauce and cheese for pizza puffs or fruit, cinnamon and sugar for dessert empanadas.

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2 Miler May 29, 2012

Filed under: Clean Eating,Running,Salad — Luv What You Do @ 9:29 pm
Tags: BBQ, Corn, Mexican, Recipes, shoes

With a weekend as active as this one, it would have been okay to take the day off from exercise today and sleep in. However, these shoes were calling my name.

Not literally calling my name, but these beautiful new runners were just quietly hanging out in their box waiting to get outside and hit the pavement.

The salesman at the running store suggested breaking into this shoes lightly, starting with low miles and alternating them with another pair of shoes. With the 10 Miler on Saturday, I didn’t have time this past week for low miles, so this morning was my first chance.

Plus, it was a gorgeous spring day (the kind that makes you want to call in sick and play outside all day).

So, I worked out an compromise…I would do an Active Recovery! This way I could sleep in before getting up and running a short 2 mile run in my new shoes. I didn’t know exactly what to expect from a light weight shoe as I have been wearing the same Brooks Adrenaline style for 8 years! I definitely felt a difference wearing a lighter shoe (this is 8.3 oz compared with the Adrenaline which is 9.4 oz). Although my legs were tired and not so fast, I could tell that they shoes were fast. They had a strong spring to them, which made them feel like they’d be more efficient on a longer run. The Pure Cadence is the more supportive of the Brooks Pure Project line and therefore a great place to start. I took a little time to stretch out my tight calves after my run and enjoy the beautiful day.

And then headed inside for breakfast. In honor of our Fiesta weekend, I made a simple egg wrap with avocado. Crazy though…we are all out of salsa which I LOVE on my eggs. If I had more time, I thought about making a Mexican style breakfast pizza, but this wrap totally hit the spot!

We still have a few things leftover from this weekend’s BBQ which I took for lunch today. One thing was this salad from Allyson Kramer’s book Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats.

I thought that Wendi’s Black Eyed Pea Salad (picture on the cover) would be a healthy salad to support our Mexican themed BBQ. Per the book, this salad is potluck friendly and I was able to throw together the salad ingredients on Saturday. I used canned corn and black eyed peas along with a frozen bag of steamed rice for ease, but you could always use fresher ingredients if you wanted. I also omitted the jalapeno. Why…you ask? Because I forgot that I had two in the fridge.

On Saturday, I was able to whisk together my salad dressing, add it to the salad to chill a few hours before serving.

I will tell you that I LOVED this combination of textures and flavors even before adding the dressing. The celery adds the right amount of crunch and the corn creates a little bit of sweetness. With whole grain brown rice, this salad is very filling and can be eaten as a side or a meal of its own. Today, I had it atop leafy greens with a few multigrain tortilla chips sprinkled across the top.

I did feel that there was a little too much dressing for this fresh tasting salad. Now, this could have been because of my lack of detail when measuring out salad ingredients, but the next time I make this, I will go lighter on the dressing.

On another note, I find this cookbook to be jam packed with bright and colorful pictures. The recipes are creative and many of them are practical. They give you measurements in cups and in grams which I always like for easy measuring on my food scale. You don’t have to eat gluten-free or vegan to appreciate the recipes! However, if you are baking gluten-free (like with any gluten-free cookbook), you will need to have some unique and different flours on hand.

This salad recipe is a good find and a compliment to any BBQ!

Wendi’s Zesty Black Eyed Pea Salad

From Great Gluten-Free Vegan Eats by Allyson Kramer

For Salad:

2 1/2 cups cooked black eyed peas (I used one can rinsed and drained)

2 cups cooked brown rice

2 cups thinly sliced celery

1 3/4 cups cooked sweet corn (I used one can rinsed and drained)

1 cup diced red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped cliantro

1 tbsp minced jalapeno (remove seeds if you want less heat)

1/2 cup chopped scallions

For Dressing:

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbs sugar or agave nectar

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

To Make the Salad:

Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and chill until cold, at least 1 hour.

To Make the Dressing:

In separate smaller bowl, whisk together all the dressing ingredients.

Toss salad with dressing until well combined. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors meld. Serve cold or at room temperature.

***Note: I would consider using half of the agave and less olive oil for a lighter dressing.

You can prepare the salad up to two days in advance and store in the fridge. Just toss before serving.

Comments (2)

Every Year It Gets Hotter May 28, 2012

Filed under: Appetizers,Dinner,Drinks,Holidays — Luv What You Do @ 7:22 pm
Tags: BBQ, lime, Mexican, Recipes

This is what our friends said to us when they arrived yesterday for our third annual Memorial Day BBQ. Since we were hosting two BBQ’s in row, we thought it would be fun to change things up a bit with a themed event. And this lunch inspired us make fajitas! We had a lot of leftover limes, which was a good place to start.

After my run on Saturday morning, the BOY and I headed out to the Mexican grocery store for supplies.

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The BOY prepped the meat with fajita seasoning and lime and let it marinate overnight.

Meanwhile, I got to work on some white wine sangria. Here is an easy recipe for this classic summer drink. Trust me, you will want to memorize this one!

Combine a bottle of white wine with 1 cup of fruit juice.

Add in some fresh fruit. I recommend berries, peaches, and oranges.

Stir well and refrigerate over night.

Just before serving, stir in 1/2 cup of sparking water, sprite, or gingerale.

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I LOVE sangria, and this crisp and refreshing drink was a big hit at the BBQ.

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I also made a pitcher of margarita with this mix that I picked up at Trader Joe’s, but the sangria was much more popular.

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Here are a few other fresh, fruity, and fun summer drinks…

Hungry Girl Sangria

Sunny White Sangria

Fresh Cherry Mojito

Strawberry Coconut Margaritas

Peach Mango Pineapple White Sangria

We served salsas, guacamole, and bean dip as appetizers. The BOY also insisted on empanadas, which is a story for a whole another blog post…

For sides, we served red beans and rice (from a box mix) and black eyed pea salad from this cookbook (recipe to come!).

Despite the 90 degree weather, we we did spend some time sitting around outside. The BOY was worried that nobody would want to brave the heat, but we did. The sad news was that we lost the plugs for our baby pool (often used for soaking our feet on hot summer days), so we didn’t have any thing to cool us off. That is where the beer and sangria came in : )

For dinner, w set up a DIY fajita bar with beef, chicken, veggies, and all of the fixings. One of our friends made a delicious guacamole and everyone dug right in. I know I’ve said it before, but the BOY is a true grill master!

By the time dinner was over, it had started to cool off and we were happy to sit out back and hang out, playing with the kids. We had a nice variety of desserts. I made banana bread and cookies (more recipes to come). One friend made a frozen peanut butter chocolate chip pie and the other friend showed up with everyone’s favorite Slutty Brownies!.

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I also made Fruit Salsa, served with cinnamon sugar pita chips.

Even though the sun was blazing and the humidity was thick, our Fiesta Memorial Day BBQ was a huge success!!! The BOY even commented that he would love to do another one again soon.

I will post the new recipes throughout the week, but first I have to go heat up some leftovers for dinner tonight.

Check out last year’s Memorial Day menu for more summer BBQ ideas!

Comments (3)

No Alarm Saturday May 5, 2012

Filed under: Breakfast,Holidays,Races — Luv What You Do @ 10:02 am
Tags: Geneva, Mexican, Recipes, Spices

Today began with 9 incredible uninterrupted hours of sleep! For me, one of the benefits of a Sunday race, is a Saturday DAY OFF from training. The BOY is right in the middle of second semester finals, and I am typically up bright and early for long runs, so we both appreciated the extra time in bed. It was a treat to sleep in and not jump right out of bed. The day before a race, I like to eat a carby breakfast, so I offered to make the BOY and I pancakes or french toast (I was dreaming about these pancakes). But, he wanted a bowl of cereal.

PB+ Cheerios = I can’t say that I blame him!

I went with a breakfast stirfry.

And inspired by a South Beach omelet that I had last weekend, I added in some avocado. It added a warm and gooey element to the eggs, which I topped with salsa.

What a great breakfast! (Even with today’s To-Do list in the background).

The bad thing about not starting my day with a long run is that I don’t really know what to do with myself. Since the BOY will be spending his entire day at the library, I’m on my own. My plan…go pick up my packet for tomorrow (which is near Geneva) and play in this fun city. It doesn’t look like it will be as nice of a day as the last time I was there, but I do need to stock up at The Spice House.

Not the most traditional Cinco De Mayo, but I am looking forward to it!

How are you spending your day? Are you celebrating Cinco De Mayo?

If you are, I definitely recommend these Grilled Fajitas.

And this Black Bean and Corn Dip or Cream Cheese Corn Dip.

Are you watching the Derby? This Fruit Salsa is a healthy and refreshing appetizer for the early races!

And for dessert, I recommend this Elegant Chocolate Mousse or a crowd pleasing Kahlua Cake.

If you are having a no alarm Saturday like me, then there will be tons of time to get working in the kitchen. And, all of these recipes are super quick and easy to make!

One last suggestion for you Chicagoans out there. Check out the Green Festival at Navy Pier this weekend!!!

Enjoy your Saturday!!!

Luv What You Do

Balancing a Busy Life with a Healthy Lifestyle

Tex Mex Shredded Chicken February 26, 2013

Dinner Tonight-Turkey Taco Meatloaf December 5, 2012

Cheating on Chili and I Owe You a Plank November 26, 2012

Making the Most of Leftovers August 28, 2012

Celebration August 26, 2012

1 Week To Go July 22, 2012

Quick and Easy Empanadas?! May 30, 2012

2 Miler May 29, 2012

Every Year It Gets Hotter May 28, 2012

No Alarm Saturday May 5, 2012

Being Me

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Luv What You Do

Balancing a Busy Life with a Healthy Lifestyle

Tex Mex Shredded Chicken February 26, 2013

Dinner Tonight-Turkey Taco Meatloaf December 5, 2012

Cheating on Chili and I Owe You a Plank November 26, 2012

Making the Most of Leftovers August 28, 2012

Celebration August 26, 2012

1 Week To Go July 22, 2012

Quick and Easy Empanadas?! May 30, 2012

2 Miler May 29, 2012

Every Year It Gets Hotter May 28, 2012

No Alarm Saturday May 5, 2012

Being Me

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