Turkey burgers with a surprise

I would have posted last night but I fell asleep.

I did make it to yoga yesterday, felt great.  Saw a couple patients yesterday and made it over to the senior health fair to market for the office.  We had to bring Tyler, which was fine because he did great.  Lots of smiles.  Also, lots of pee.  I didn't really notice that he had peed through his diaper and then right onto my shirt.  I just kept holding him there to cover it up.

This was at the end... after he peed on me

After we got home, I finally made a recipe I had been waiting to try.  Everyone keeps talking about goat cheese, and my bff Jessie said she loved it, so I had to try it (this is the girl that doesn't like ketchup or mayonnaise).  I saw this recipe awhile ago on Iowa Girl Eats and had to try it.

I used 93% ground turkey instead, and it was pretty mushy.  Goat cheese from Fareway- they had some!

I ran into a little problem with the apricot preserves- I forgot to get some.  I was this close to using baby food (peaches), but I saw that I had a couple dried apricots left.  I chopped them up super fine and threw them in a pan with some water, trying to reconstitute them then added them to the rest of the ingredients for the glaze.  It kind of worked.

So instead of listing the recipe out, you'll have to just head over to IGE's website to read up.  I made cut-up potato and sweet potato for a side, using the Cookie's seasoning again (see my recipe for oven fries).

I thought it was all pretty tasty.  Hubby thought it was ok, he wasn't a fan of the cheese.  Liked the flavor on the turkey burger though.

I was so exhausted for some reason after dinner that I didn't make it to the volleyball game.  Heard they won in 3, good job girls.  I'll for sure hit up the district game.

Gotta run, only me in the office today, hubby is golfing all day!

Not as sore as I thought

That title is referring to my surprise reaction when waking up yesterday.  After teaching my first aerobics class on Tuesday, I thought I wouldn't be able to walk the next day.  What a nice surprise to be able to walk, pain-free even!  My legs were a little tired but not bad at all.  It's more of a bootcamp, good mix of cardio and strength training with a nice core strength session.  It felt so good to get back into it.  

So let's see.... breakfast yesterday was a pomegranate Chobani (this might be my favorite fruit flavor because of the little crunchy seeds) and a small bowl of Cheerios, bananas and coconut milk.  I don't usually do a lot of cereal for breakfast, but there was only a little bit left in the box so I finished it off for the hubby.  

Pretty crappy pictures when it's dark out

For lunch I had a couple leftover spareribs from the weekend and a small spinach side salad with slivered almonds.  I opened some new dressing to use on it, Annie's Organic Goddess dressing.  I had never heard of goddess dressings until I entered the blog world.  Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

Green goddess is a salad dressing, typically containing mayonnaise, sour cream, chervil, chives, anchovy, tarragon, lemon juice, and pepper. Before the advent of ranch dressing, green goddess was one of the most popular salad dressings on the West Coast of the United States.

Didn't know that.  Anyways, it's pretty good.  Has a nice little tang.

After a busy day, we were pretty tired, so we went with leftovers for supper.  Ate up the rest of the beef shortribs (what a day for ribs!) with some green beans on the side with some Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.

Another stellar picture- sorry

This morning after a conference call I prepared a yummy bowl of peach Chobani greek yogurt, frozen raspberries, chia seeds and unsweetened organic coconut.  So good.

At the moment, while I'm hooked up to the pump, we're watching the ESPN documentary "Catching Hell."  Holy cow.  It's a story about Steve Bartman, the fan that supposedly ruined the Cubs chances at going to the World Series in 2003.  Who wouldn't want to try to catch a foul ball?  And what is incredibly ridiculous is the idea that that one play cost them the game.  So many other things had to happen for them to lose.  Oh my gosh the more I watch, the more I feel so sorry for this guy!

As a former athlete, I remember how many times I felt like it was my fault I lost the game.  It's so hard to shake that feeling, when you know you messed up or know you could have done better.  I still remember my junior year of high school playing basketball in the regional final to go to state.  I think we lost by 4 or 5, and I was about 4 for 12 from the free throw line.  Pretty tough to get over.

Anyways, think I'll head to yoga to stretch it out today.  Have a great day!

Remember those apples?

I forgot to fill you in on what I did with that bag of honeycrisp apples I bought last week.  I made some delicious crockpot applesauce.

I'm sorry I don't really have a recipe for you, I just cut up a bunch of apples and threw some stuff in the crockpot and let it sit.  I suppose I could be a bit more specific for you.  I cut up about 10-12 apples, leaving the skin on (next time I will remove it or strain it, since the skin is weird when it's done) and putting them in a crockpot.  I added 1/2 cup of no sugar added apple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and then sprinkled some cinnamon and nutmeg in.  I would guess about 1-2 T of cinnamon and 1 tsp of nutmeg.  I originally turned it on high because I got it started later in the day, but turned it down to low after about 2-3 hours.  Let it simmer the whole day.

Hard to get a good pic because it's so hot- steamed up the lens

Pretty crazy that so many apples cook down to practically nothing.  Didn't have a ton of leftovers, shucks.  Tonight I heated a little bit up and put a couple small scoops of low fat frozen yogurt in them.... just like apple pie!

Ok, on to today.  Breakfast was a raspberry Chobani with some slivered almonds sprinkled on top for extra protein.

Lunch was the exact same salad as last night.

Supper was a waaay late for me, like almost 8:30.  After work I rushed to teach my first aerobics class since having Tyler- it went awesome by the way, feels so good to be back- then I came home showered, and headed to the high school volleyball game.

West Delaware was playing Solon, and both teams are rated in the top ten of the state in class 3A.  I was so exhausted, I left after the second game.  Guess I missed some good ones, they went 5 games.  Going to watch games always makes me miss playing so bad.

So when I got home I threw some chopped green peppers and onions in a skillet with some olive oil and sauteed them for a little bit.  Then I scrambled 3 eggs and put them in the skillet, and topped with a little colby jack.  Add a piece of Ezekial toast with yogurt spread on the side and voila.... breakfast for supper.

Over did the eggs a bit

Off to bed... man am I exhausted.

Buffalo Chicken Salad

This will be a short post tonight- working on a presentation for tomorrow morning and have a ton of other things that need to get done. 

I committed a cardinal sin today.... I skipped breakfast.  WHAT?!?!?!  Me, skip a meal??!!

I know, I can't believe it.  I had such good intentions of grabbing something after we dropped Tyler off at daycare, but kept having patients come in and things come up.  So I made up for it at lunch, of course.  Pulled pork sandwich, leftover edamame, baked beans and some potato chips.  Oh and applesauce.

Supper tonight was great, however.  I cut up some pieces of chicken into tiny pieces and heated it in a little skillet with some hot sauce.  Chopped up some celery, carrots and spinach and threw it all together and topped with some bleu cheese crumbles.  

Delish.  

Better get back to work... doing what I do best- procrastinating!!

Especially for You

Well hello there!  I survived my day, aren't you glad?

My day started bright and early, at about 4:00 AM.  Tyler decided he need to wake up.  It's cool- had to get up at 5:00 anyways.  Had to pump and get ready to drive to Cedar Rapids for the Especially for You 5K.

The race started at 8, but since I didn't register online beforehand, I wanted to get there early to register.  When I got there at 7, it was a balmy 35 degrees out.

A little apprehensive before the race

After I registered, I met up with my sister-in-law Katy, who was running with me.  We made our way to the starting line, somehow.  There was over 6000 people in the race, most of whom were wearing the purple race shirt.  It was pretty cool.  Pretty emotional too, lots of breast cancer survivors as well as "In Remembrance" signs.

I was not too excited about running this morning, since I only got a couple hours of sleep and I had woken up with a sore throat and not feeling the best.  Thank goodness Katy was there, or I probably would have slacked off.  I think the cold weather helped too, I had to keep moving or I would have frozen!!

We ended up with a time of about 28:45, which is waaay better than what I thought I'd get.  We might have even been faster because the first part of the race was basically a game of frogger, going in and out of the crowd trying to get around the walkers.  Then before you know it, we came upon the finish line.  I think our official time will be horrible though.  About 30 feet in front of the finish line, they herded you into channels so they could collect the tags from your race bib.  It took at least five minutes to walk that little bit to get rid of our tags.  Oh well.

Here are some shots of us after the race in my car, since neither of us brought a phone or camera to the race.

 

Sis-in-law

Finished.

Had to run some errands afterwards then back home.  Quick shower and it was off to volleyball camp for the afternoon.

Hubby had some friends over today so he smoked a bunch of meat.  It was so good, we're all in a kind of a meat coma right now.

I did make up a batch of crockpot applesauce today that I will discuss at a later date.

Before I sign out, I wanted to share this picture that I keep forgetting to post.  One of my patients has the craziest shoes, I just love them!  I love ASICS, and I have no idea where she found them.

Definitely can't miss 'em!

Peppercorn-crusted Rib-eye with Port Jus and Creamy Parmesan Orzo

Thank you Cooking Light.  I don't really remember who gave me my nice big Cooking Light cookbook, but I love it.  I love it because of recipes like these.  Of course, they all are online, so I'll just be copying and pasting since I didn't change too much.

Earlier in the day, hubby and I were discussing dinner plans.  Should we go out or just stay in?  We both felt like staying in tonight, so I thought it would be nice to cook a somewhat fancy din-din.

After glancing through my Cooking Light cookbook, I found a meal plan that sounded delicious.  The title of this post pretty much says it all.  There was a green bean recipe with it, but I didn't have time, and just used up a green beans steamer.

This meal was fan-frickin-tastic.  And not just because I was super hungry, since I didn't eat much for lunch and we didn't eat until after 7.  It was just really good.  When we get steak I usually only eat half.  Today I ate my whole steak.  =)

I loved the sauce, and I know it doesn't make much but you really don't need too much because it's so thin.  And the original recipe called for filet mignon, but we decided the rib-eyes looked better.

The orzo is a kind of pasta, if you've never had it.  It was my first time using pine nuts, and they added a nice little crunch to the pasta.

If I could find all these ingredients in my little hometown store, you can totally prepare this meal.  I wanted to do a rough estimate of how much this cost, and here's the breakdown of a couple ingredients- I already had some of the stuff, like green beans, butter, chicken broth and Parmesan cheese.

Rib-eyes: $13.93
red wine: $3.99 - cheaper the better!
beef broth: $2.69
pine nuts: $2.99
orzo: $0.80
fresh basil: $3.49
Total:  $27.89  or $13.95 a piece

Compared to what a similar meal would cost at a restaurant?  Much cheaper.  You could even make this meal much cheaper with a different cut of meat (and smaller cuts) and you don't really need the fresh basil, the orzo would be good without the basil.  Yes, I know, the reason you go out to eat is so you don't have to prepare food, but this was actually pretty easy, and took less than 45 minutes to make everything.


Here are the recipes courtesy of Cooking Light:

• Peppercorn-Crusted Filet Mignon with Port Jus

  YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1 steak and 1 tablespoon jus)
• COURSE: Main Dishes

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
• 4 (4-ounce) beef tenderloin steaks, trimmed (1 inch thick)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup port or other sweet red wine
• 1/2 cup fat-free less-sodium beef broth
• 1 tablespoon chilled butter, cut into small pieces

Preparation

Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Rub pepper evenly over the steaks. Sprinkle salt over bottom of pan. Add steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove steaks from pan; set aside.

Stir in port and broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Reduce heat to medium. Return steaks to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove steaks from pan. Reduce liquid to 1/4 cup. Remove pan from heat. Add butter to pan; stir with a whisk until melted. Drizzle sauce over steaks.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 257
• Calories from fat: 42%
• Fat: 12g
• Saturated fat: 5.2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 4.3g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.5g
• Protein: 24g
• Carbohydrate: 4.3g
• Fiber: 0.3g
• Cholesterol: 78mg
• Iron: 3.6mg
• Sodium: 313mg
• Calcium: 15mg

Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Living

• Creamy Parmesan Orzo

  YIELD: 4 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup)
• COURSE: Side Dishes/Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup orzo
• 1 1/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted

Preparation

Heat butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add orzo, and cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until liquid is absorbed and orzo is done (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in cheese, basil, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle with the pine nuts. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories: 236
• Calories from fat: 24%
• Fat: 6.4g
• Saturated fat: 3.2g
• Monounsaturated fat: 1.8g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 0.8g
• Protein: 9.9g
• Carbohydrate: 34.8g
• Fiber: 1.7g
• Cholesterol: 12mg
• Iron: 1.8mg
• Sodium: 412mg
• Calcium: 82mg

Nutrition Guidelines for Healthy Living

Here are a couple pictures of the process.... don't mind the dirty dishes on the stovetop.  

steak, orzo and pine nuts toasting (and dirty dishes)

creamy Parmesan orzo

As I mentioned earlier, I went back for the other half of that steak

So good!!

Forgot about this other picture from the day- yesterday I cut up a ton of green peppers and sweet peppers to freeze (thanks Janet!!).  I cut them up and put them on cookie sheets overnight and today I put them in freezer bags for use this winter- most likely in chili.  Jalapenos are next.

Thinking ahead, tomorrow will be crazy for me.  Waking up pretty early and driving to CR to run in the Especially For You 5K.  It's a run that supports free mammograms and other breast cancer related services to women in our area.  After the 5K will be a quick trip to Target.  Once I get back, the preparation begins for another smoker day- hubby has a couple friends coming into town and he wants to smoke a bunch of meat for them.  I'm also coaching volleyball camp from 1 to 4.  Somewhere in there I need finish payroll and maybe do a couple loads of laundry.  Whew.

Hope you're having a great weekend... time to hit the hay!

Downward Dog

Hola blog world.  Took a little break from blogging last night and watched some West Delaware football... online.  Tyler was asleep by 7:15, and since the game didn't start until 7:30 I thought it was best we just stay in.  Luckily KCRG was streaming the game online.  Pretty awesome.... they came out on top, and beat Decorah!


Let's see if I can remember what I ate yesterday....

Breakfast was a homemade egg muffin-  sourdough English muffin with egg and piece of pepperjack cheese

Lunch was a turkey taco using a spinach burrito tortilla.  Ran out of spinach, so it was only turkey meat, cheese and plain Greek yogurt.

It was a super dose of protein and calcium... check out this label:

If you haven't tried substituting plain Greek yogurt for sour cream, you're missing out.  I can't tell the difference, and it's way better for you.

After a busy day, came home and had some edamame for a snack, since I have 3 bags in the freezer.

Supper was a grilled chicken breast marinated in Italian dressing, and broccoli.  Pretty simple.

Today has been pretty uneventful as far as food goes, oatmeal for breakfast with some almond butter and dried cranberries, and some pulled pork for lunch.

We worked in the clinic this morning, and were lucky enough to have our old babysitter back for the morning.  Tyler loved playing with Ali.  And we loved it because we could see more patients and then hit the gym together after work.  Not a very productive workout though, since I'm still a little sore from a week ago, can you believe that?!  Still managed to crank out the chest and triceps workout, and then ran home from the gym. I'm trying to save my legs for tomorrow, when I have to run a 5K.  The very short run today (1 mile) did not feel good at all, so let's hope tomorrow isn't horrible.

That's all for now, stay tuned for a new recipe!

Did I mention Tyler has mastered crawling??  Keeping us on our toes.  He has also mastered yoga... downward dog!