Fabulous Friday!

Note: I totally wrote this post last night and then got so caught up watching the season 2 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Netflix that I forgot to post it (I am a total nerd, I know)! Anyhow, here's a rundown of my fabulous Friday!

To quote my husband (which I do frequently), "today was a nice-ass day!"

Indeed, it was.

We woke up around 7, made breakfast (Bob's Red Mill 10-Grain Hot Cereal with mashed banana and maple cinnamon almond butter), and morning beverages (coffee for me, tea for him), then snuggled in our PJs and watched this week's Top Chef!

Does anyone else love Top Chef as much as we do? We have been totally addicted for multiple seasons. I'm not sure who I have pegged for the finals yet, but I do know that I do not like Angelo. He rubs me the wrong way. Any other opinions?

After getting our foodie fix, we went for a short hike at St. Joseph's Hill. This hike is always a super excuse for Brian to convince me to get lunch at his favorite cafe, The Purple Onion. 

We had a yummy lunch (B got the Norcal Nicoise Salad with seared Ahi tuna and I got a Thai Turkey Sandwich with basil and thai mayo - just a little, on the side!) and then headed home to putter around and pretend to get a lot of stuff done, when in reality I just laid out by the pool for a while. But hey, it's summer!

For dinner, I made a pasta bake, in an attempt to eat down the fridge before we leave on Sunday. 

Meg's Veggie Pasta Bake
Ingredients

• 3 cups veggies (I used 2 cups bell peppers, 1 cup yellow onion)
• 16oz dried pasta
• 2 jars pasta sauce
• several handfuls fresh spinach
• shredded cheese (I like mozzarella)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Dump your veggies in the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish (I usually put my baking dish on top of a cookie sheet to avoid spillage on the bottom of my oven)
3. Top with pasta (I used a combo of spinach pasta and enriched pasta because I was trying to use up some leftovers).
4. Top pasta with spinach and pour pasta sauce over top
5. Cover with tinfoil and bake for 35-45 minutes. Stir at 20 minutes and then again at 10 minutes.
6. Remove foil and top with cheese. Crank up the heat to 500 (or turn on your broiler). Cook for another few minutes until cheese is bubbly.

Brian had just gotten back from mountain biking with his dad. I think he liked it...

What a goober!

For dessert I enjoyed a handful of dark chocolate, dried cherry, almond, cashew, and pistachio trail mix. The perfect small bite!

 

My Life-Saver: TJ's Melange a Trois

I always try to have a bag or two of these frozen peppers in my freezer. Makes getting dinner on the table on a busy night (or a night when you don't have much in the way of groceries), so much easier! And they are super cheap - it costs less to buy one of these bags than it does to buy a fresh bell pepper!

What is your favorite time-saver in the kitchen? Bottled pasta sauce? Precut carrots? Frozen corn?

Feed the Warrior!

I was scheduled for a 3-mile run yesterday, but took the day off to rest my legs after Sunday's race (Tuesday is normally my rest day). Since I have been a little inconsistent with my training lately, I decided to do 4 miles today instead. I waited a little late to head out and it was getting pretty warm. I also had a hard time finding my breathing rhythm again. Does anyone else have this problem? My legs feel fine, but I just can't seem to get into a comfortable breathing pattern and it just throws off the whole run. I completed the run, but it was not as easy as it normally is. I hate having a frustrating workout. To redeem the morning, I did Polly's Yoga for Runners. Good for the body and the soul!

Here are my run stats:

• Total Mileage: 4mi
• Total Time: 36:01
• Average Pace: 9min/mi

I enjoyed this simple lunch while watching the Spain v. Portugal game:

¡Viva Espanã!

The white bean pasta salad was left over from dinner last night and consisted of: spinach fusili, tuna, cannelini beans, artichoke hearts, capers, red onion, parsley and a red wine vinegar dressing. I had a hard-boiled egg on the side along with a smoothie made with frozen peaches, fresh strawberries, plain yogurt and a little agave nectar. That smoothie was enormous! I saved half in the fridge for later.

Also, how cute is that straw? I found a package of them in drawer and was so excited to see they are reusable! I must have received them with a gift and completely forgotten about them.

For dinner I made Emily's black bean burgers (recipe here):

WOW. These were so flavorful and delicious! The recipe made 6 patties, but I was eating alone tonight, so I cooked half and froze the rest for a quick dinner later on. I can tell that these are going to be a big hit with the husband!

Has anyone else tried these Oroweat Sandwich Thins ? I am completely addicted to them! I don't like sandwich bread/hamburger buns much to begin with (I'm more interested in what's inside!), so these are perfect! I like them toasted in the morning as well. In fact, I'm planning to have one tomorrow morning before my 5 mile run with a little Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter that I whipped up this afternoon and half a banana. Feed the warrior!

Jacked Up Pasta Sauce

I got the idea from this sauce from two places. First, a tomato soup recipe from Ellie Krieger’s “The Food You Crave” that called for pureed carrots in addition to tomatoes and second, from Angela over at Oh She Glows who uses a similar method to add extra vegetable servings to regular jarred pasta sauce. I love this recipe because it’s great for A) clearing out your veggie crisper and B) jacking up your veggie intake for the day. Since Brian and I are leaving for Oregon tomorrow, it was the perfect way to get rid of some extra produce I had lying around (and compensate for the amount of eating out we will be doing!).

I started with Krieger’s Easy Tomato Sauce recipe (I use an immersion blender to smooth it out – I don’t like chunks!). I had used half of it on pizza last week and it was languishing away in my fridge. I knew it wouldn’t be enough for pasta on its own, so I pureed 1 carrot, 1 red bell pepper, and ½ can of garbanzo beans left over from last night’s salad. I added the puree to the sauce and heated it over the stove top with about ½ lb of chopped crimini mushrooms and a little water to thin it out. Meanwhile, I crumbled and then sautéed two spicy Italian sausages.

I divided the sauce and added the sausages to Brian’s half. We ate it on top of whole wheat spaghetti with some warm ciabatta bread out on the patio. Quick, easy, and healthy!

I'll be back later tonight with some of the baking and other prep I've been doing today to get us ready to road trip up to Oregon tomorrow AM!