One for the road...

I know in my previous post I discussed my trip to France, but I cooked a new meal tonight and wanted to write about it before my trip.

Although I have not been consistent lately, I love to run. It helps to calm me, see things in perspective, and also importantly it is great exercise. I enjoy running in races: 5K, 10K, 10 milers, even Half Marathons. I will never win any of these races, nor will I receive any medals for fastest, strongest, etc. I never used to call myself a runner for these reasons; I don't compete against others in any of these races. Honestly, I have no desire to win or receive medals; I set a PR (personal record) for myself for each race and try my best to train and achieve that goal. I would love to be able to continue running for the rest of my life.

That being said, I don't have the stereotypic running "look"; I am a curvy, average height woman, who loves to eat. Several years ago though, when reading my Runner's World magazine, I read something that was so simplistically awesome, I never forgot it. To paraphrase, the article was discussing that if you are someone who loves to run and does so, then you are a runner. Period. End of story. I love that! Now, I can acknowledge that I am a runner.

I also can find amazing recipes in my Runner's World magazine - this is one subscription I won't give up; there are too many great running tips, advertisements for upcoming races (I am always on the outlook for something fun and new), and great healthy recipes/life tips.

The following recipe I found out of said magazine: Naan Pizza with Asparagus.

Rating: 4/5 stars

 

 

In this recipe, I had to substitue naan bread for whole wheat pre-made pizza dough. Definitely not the route I wanted to take, but I did not have time to go to the grocery store which is farther away. I do love naan though and am excited to try this pizza with that someday. On top of the dough is a pesto/ricotta cheese mix; the pesto is also premade, but again, I would like to try this recipe making my own pesto next time in my awesome food processor.

 

On top of the pesto/ricotta cheese mix, you place asparagus and canadian bacon (um, yum!). Heat this in the oven for about 10 minutes, then add some Fontina cheese on top (yum again!). Once you have done this, about 5 more minutes in the oven or until the cheese is melted. Super easy recipe and it was delicious!

 



 Well, that's the last post until I come back from my trip and blog about my adventures! As always, stay tuned for more!

Vόστιμα - Greek for "delicious"!

First and foremost, Happy Mother's Day to all those mamas out there!
I have an awesome Mama and we actually both get to celebrate today  -- for her, it is mother's day and for me, it's my birthday! I have had an amazing day watching Grif play football this morning, going to Church, and then playing a softball double header. Perfect way to celebrate my birthday.

After a long, busy day, I came home to cook a new meal. This was a Greek stuffed chicken (with spinach and feta cheese) and it was delicious!!! I also served Uncle Ben's Vegetable Harvest rice for our carb; I love that all I have to do is steam it in the bag for 90 seconds!  The only setbacks tonight were that I had to bake the chicken longer than I thought because they were very thick chicken breasts. Also, I had two kitchen mishaps: cut my thumb with a knife and burned my arm when taking the dish out of the oven. My Sito, which means grandmother in Arabic, always says to put Greek yogurt on burns to prevent scars and help it heal. Although I know this and was making a Greek dish tonight, I did not have any on hand... oops!

Lazy Baked Greek Chicken stuffed
with spinach and feta cheese

This was a delicious meal; apparently "delicious" in Greek is νόστιμα. Wish I knew how to say that - anyone know Greek? I love to travel, learn about new cultures, and new phrases/languages. I am extremely lucky in my traveling opportunities; I have been to England, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and some islands: Bahamas and Jamaica.

Speaking of, I am heading to France on Friday! When I get back, be prepared for pictures and descriptions of where I went and what I did. I will also have to post about some other explorations and places I traveled previously. Stay tuned for more on my travels to France, along with food I ate, drinks I drank and places I visited!