Weekly Running Rundown: January 21–January 27

by Heather on January 27, 2012

A snowy start to my running week…I guess winter is really here.

Saturday, January 21: 6 miles on the treadmill
It is no secret that I LOATHE the treadmill.  Running for me is a time to relax and enjoy the scenery – get a breath of fresh air.  Not feel like a hamster running on a stationary object.  Alas, the white stuff falling from the sky changed my plans for today so I spent some of my Saturday afternoon on the treadmill in my apartment gym.  I do have a 10 mile race in about a month. 

I played some “games” on my treadmill increasing the speed and incline during commercials.  That plus the TV kept me entertained.  In June we quit cable so it was interesting to watch TV not on Hulu.  There were new commercials.  My 6 miles felt like forever – especially when CNN switched to a show about money.  Boring.  Oh well – I can at least cross 6 miles off my list.

Monday, January 23: 3 miles on the treadmill
The wet mess left from our snowstorm on Saturday pushed me to the treadmill again this morning.  Fortunately I had the gym to myself and was able to enjoy some of the Today show (which interestingly has no commercials for the first twenty minutes)…unfortunately the novelty of TV has worn off.  I struggled through my 3 miles and am glad I was able to finish.  Hopefully the warmer weather coming our way means no more of this:

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Tuesday, January 24: 3 miles OUTSIDE with Matt
Check out the temperature today.

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Hello?  On Saturday it snowed 7 inches.  Today 50 degrees.  Welcome to New England.

Matt and I set out and were VERY disappointed to find that although most of the snow was gone, the sidewalks were still a disaster.  Because we live on a pretty busy street and were running in the morning before people had enough coffee, we decided to run ONLY down two side streets – I’m not a fan of running on the road on a busy street.  In order to get to our 3 miles, we had to run these side streets multiple times.  It got boring real fast.   We did manage to run a full 3 miles but I was hoping for 4. 

I would appreciate if this temperature stuck around until the middle of February – my runs would be so much more pleasant!

I am headed to New Jersey this weekend – where I hope to do my 7 mile run.  10 miles is in my reach!

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Spinach and Artichoke Mac ‘n’ Cheese

by Heather on January 26, 2012

In case you haven’t noticed, I’m obsessed with Pinterest.  I have been finding recipes left, right and center that I want to make.  Now. 

Like this one

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Spinach and Artichoke Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from The View from Great Island and Cabot Cheese

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked whole wheat pasta (spirals, penne, shells, etc)
1 can artichoke hearts
3/4 box frozen chopped spinach
1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
3 tablespoons Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups low-fat 1% milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
2 ounces Neufchatel Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese
6 ounces cheddar cheese grated

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Cook the pasta in well salted water for a couple of minutes shy of the package directions – drain and place in a large bowl.
  3. Thaw the spinach and ring out in an old dish towel or paper towels.  Drain the artichoke hearts and ring them out as well – you don’t want them to be wet.  Break up the spinach as best you can and rough chop the artichoke hearts to the size you like.  Add both to the bowl with the pasta along with the lemon juice and garlic cloves.  Stir as best you can – I ended up using my hands and tossing the pasta. 
  4. Add pasta mixture to a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray – I used an 8×8 glass dish.
  5. Start on the cheese sauce: Place flour in a large saucepan over medium heat, gradually whisking in milk. Add garlic powder, salt, black pepper,  and Worcestershire. Continue cooking until sauce thickens, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to low. Stir in cream cheese until well blended; add shredded cheese and stir until melted.  Pour over the pasta mixture.
  6. Top pasta with shredded parmesan cheese and bread crumbs if desired – of course I did.
  7. Bake for about 35 minutes and broil for a minute or two to get a crisp crust.

This dish is heavenly.

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So creamy and tastes exactly like a spinach and artichoke dip – yet you don’t need the dippers. 

As Matt said – this was the perfect merger of spinach and artichoke dip and macaroni and cheese – one does not over power the others. 

Agreed completely.

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Fast Tomato Soup

by Heather on January 25, 2012

A few weeks ago I had an unexpected and totally fantastic friend stop by for dinner.  I had not planned anything and was very thankful my apartment was at least presentable. 

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After examining the contents of my pantry and consulting with my internal cooking memory, I recalled a recipe I had seen a few weeks ago for a homemade tomato soup on Stephanie’s blog.  I knew I had the ingredients for a grilled cheese as well.  Not the most gourmet of meals but we were operating on a fast turnaround time.

Tomato Basil Pesto Soup

Tomato Basil Pesto Soup
Serves 2-3

  • 1/2 onion, diced small
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 29oz. can plain tomato sauce (I used a box of Pomi Strained Tomatoes)
  • 1 cup milk (at least 1%)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp basil pesto (I used Classico Basil Pesto)
  • salt & pepper, olive oil

1. Sauté the onion in 1/2 tbsp. olive oil for about 5 minutes, adding the minced garlic during the last minute.  Season w/ salt and pepper.
2. Add the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Turn down to a simmer, cover and cook 10-15 minutes. 
3. Stir in the milk, H20 and pesto.  Season with additional salt and pepper as necessary.
4. Cover and let simmer to warm for another 5 minutes before serving.

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This was a decent, fast tomato soup.  Next time Matt said he would have added more garlic and perhaps some dried garlic, dried basil and dried parley.  I would also recommend blending the soup once done in the blender or with an immersion blender to make the soup smooth.  The onion and garlic chunks were a little odd.

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All in all an decent soup – I will probably make this instead of buying a canned soup because it was a lot cheaper and did not take long at all to make. 

Thanks Stephanie for a great recipe. 

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Chocolate Banana Muffins

January 24, 2012

Last weekend, while having our normal debate of “what to have to breakfast,” I stared at the bananas on my counter and then went to my guilty pleasure, Pinterest, to seek out some options.  I sought out a recipe that was Peanut Butter Soynut Butter and Banana but then after some deeper consideration, realized it [...]

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Grown Up Chicken Club

January 23, 2012

Growing up, a Club Sandwich was probably in my top 3 meals.  Typically I got it whenever we went out to dinner and for my birthday I always requested a turkey club sandwich for my special meal.  Primarily a vegetarian now, instead of missing one of my favorites, I decided to take matters into my [...]

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Weekly Running Rundown: January 14–January 20

January 20, 2012

We made it half way to 10! Saturday, January 14: 5 miles with Matt: This run will be called “the half way to 10 miles run.”  It was a little chilly out – pretty windy too.  We went our new route that we found last Saturday and enjoyed some new neighborhoods as well.  Both Matt [...]

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Breakfast Dessert Hummus

January 19, 2012

I have recently fallen into a breakfast slump.  I have started to drink coffee (and join the adult world) and part of my morning routine has been to enjoy my not quite coffee yet mocha.  My morning mocha has cut into my crap is it really 8:30 am already morning routine, so I have made [...]

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