Creamy Polenta

We had our mid-week steak night and I'm getting rather sick of potatoes, and I found this yummy side dish in my folder of "Recipes to Try." Sadly, I don't know where this came from. I'm pretty sure it's Women's Health, but I'm not entirely sure.

A very yummy side dish

Makes 2 servings

Polenta:

3/4 c. low sodium chicken broth

3/4 c. skim milk

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. uncooked polenta

1. Bring chicken broth, milk, and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.

2. Add polenta, mix well and reduce heat until barely bubbling.

3. Continuously stir for 10-15 minutes or until it is tender and no longer grainy.

Nutrition: 177 calories, 1 g fat, 32 g carbs, 77 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 7 g protein

Mushroom Ragout

2 t. olive oil

1/2 c. Vidalia onion

1 clove garlic, minced

3 c. sliced white mushrooms (one package 8 oz)

salt

pepper

pinch of dried thyme

1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. tomato paste

1. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium low heat. Add onion, saute for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute.

2. Add and cook mushrooms for about 5-6 minutes.

3. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme. Add broth, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste. 

4. Mix well and combine, simmer for 5 minutes

5. Add to creamy polenta.

Nutrition: 95 cal, 5 g fat, 10 g carbs, 180 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 5 g protein

This was very creamy and tasty and yet not a diet-killer. Mr. X claimed that this dish needed cheese to be complete. I disagree, but then again-- Is it ever wrong to add cheese? 

Mac and Cheese Soup

Comfort food-- mac and cheese; warm food-- soup = Mac and Cheese Soup

Now that winter is just around the bend, it's time for some warm hearty foods (of course exercise is much needed). It has been a very long time since I have made some new recipes and we decided to start this week. Mr. X and I made BLT pasta last night. It was good, but not good enough to put 45 minutes into it. Too many steps and too much prep for the result. If you're really interested, here is the link.

Cheesy, gooey-- perfect. Did I mention I now have the new iPod and can actually use instagram?

Makes 7 servings

Recipe from Cuisine At Home Magazine

Serving Size: 1 cup

1 1/2 cups of dry elbow macaroni (6 oz.)

1/2 c. minced onion 

1/4 c. minced celery

2 T. unsalted butter

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. dry white wine

2 c. low sodium chicken broth

1 t. dry mustard

1/8 t. nutmeg

1/8 t. cayenne pepper

2 c. whole milk

4 c. shredded cheese

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1/4 c. crumbled bleu cheese

2 T. minced fresh chives

Cook macaroni according to package, drain, set aside.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a deep skillet and sweat onions/celery. (5 min)

Add flour and cook one minute

Deglaze with wine and simmer until evaporated

stir in broth, mustard, nutmeg, and cayenne: simmer 5 minutes until thick. DO NOT boil

Add cheddar one cup of a time

When all cheese is melted, add lemon juice and salt

Serve garnished with bleu cheese and chives

There are, of course, ways to cut some calories: low fat cheese, half and half or 2% milk. Enjoy!

Nutrition: 475 calories; 28 g fat; 78 mg chol; 553 mg sodium; 30 g carb; 1 g fiber; 22 g protein

5 hour 5k

One way I got into running was because of my dad. He had me running 5ks with him in elementary school. One race we ran about 15 years ago was in Gladstone, MI. The only thing I remember about it was when we went for lunch afterward. We walked into a cafe and people stopped mid-eat to stare at us. Now, 15 years later, Dad called to see if I wanted to do the 5k again. It wasn't the same one, but it was in Gladstone again. Also, this is Dad's first 5k in six years. In order to run this on time, we had to leave Bessemer at 4:30 a.m.

Note to self: do not let Dad drive without making sure he has directions. When we got to Crystal Falls, he says, "Oh, I know a little short cut." This short cut added a good half hour to our already 3 1/2 hour drive.

We got to the race and it was about 30 degrees and windy. I ran 32:34, which for me is good. My last one in September was 36:01. I just want improvement. My dad tore his hamstring so he had to walk/jog. This I must add was the most unorganized event. The people were very nice, but it was strange. (Grand Slam 5k). They did all of the cleanup and then announced the awards, so we all had to stand in the windy, cold weather waiting to hear results, which were messed up. This resulted in that "chilled to the bone" feeling.

We then went to eat a sandwich at Culver's and they had cold air blowing on us. It was quite miserable. Now, this is when it gets good. As we left, I was grading papers and reading kids' essays while Dad was driving us home. He missed highway 2 and took us to Menominee, which is about 1 1/2 hours out of our way. When I saw a sign for Peshtigo/GreenBay I knew he was in the wrong. Yet, because he's a stubborn Finn, it took him some time to turn around. Also, the GPS on his phone wasn't working.

No matter what, it was an adventure. I love you so much Dad and we had fun, despite the 9 hours of driving. We could've been in North Dakota, but instead we went to Gladstone, MI, and never left the u.p. Father/Daughter bonding at its finest!

I'll have to look, but I'm pretty sure we have this same picture 15 years ago.

Mr. X's Bday Cake

This might be the best chocolate cake ever tasted by man. I found this through pinterest and it will be the only cake recipe I use from now on--- so moist (Does anyone else hate that word?). Since Mr. X is an excavator, I made this cake. Because of my awkward picture taking skills, it looks like a pile of turds with some toys on it. However, I had each appropriate toy completing its appropriate task: bulldozer pushing the cake, tractor backhoe digging, off road dump truck "dumping" frosting, and the roller "panking" the cake. Mr. X really dug this cake :)

Chocolate cake recipe:

makes 2 8” cakes
1 1/3 C flour
1 2/3 C sugar
1/2 C cocoa
1 1/3 tsp baking soda
2/3 tsp salt
2/3 C oil
2/3 C sour cream
1 C water
4 tsp vinegar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
oreos for decoration (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your pans with spray and wax paper and flour.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the oil and sour cream.
4. Gradually beat in the water.
5. Add vinegar and vanilla and blend.
6. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well-blended
7. Divide evenly into two prepared pans and bake 25-30 minutes.
8. Let cool completely before frosting---very important.

This cake was very moist and yummy. I used a buttercream frosting and it was system overload so I won't bother posting the frosting recipe. Enjoy!

Half Marathon-- Finished.

NaNa WOULD have 2 beers after the race :)

I'm turning into one of those absent bloggers, but between school, grading, two book clubs (I'm so cool), and training, I haven't had time. Well, that's not exactly true. I really just haven't felt like posting in awhile.

Here's how the half went down: I was really dreading this race and I'm soooo happy it's over. I can free up some time and stop thinking about this event. After 13 weeks of training, bruises, shin splints, animal attacks, achilles injuries, falling over many times, over 80 workouts, as well as tears, early mornings, and anxieties, I finally finished.

I was really nervous because the furthest I trained was 7 miles and that was run/walking. I ended up finishing 2:44. For me, that was exciting since there were training runs that hurt so bad in the beginning I had to turn around and come home. I ran for the first 45 minutes and the rest I did intervals and I will never, ever, ever, ever do the Whistlestop Half again. Nine miles of trail in one direction is way too monotonous. I'm glad I had my friends to keep me in check because I probably wouldn't have been up at 4:30 a.m. and riding a school bus to the starting line without their help and encouragement. NaNa came in around 2 hours, Lees around 2:15, and E$ around 2:30. We were all about 15 minutes apart from one another.

But, the best part? My dad surprised me at the finish line and suddenly, I started crying. It was a very overwhelming experience. The medic people were concerned, but I had to let them know they were tears of joy and confusion. I'm still trying to figure out how I fell over twice at mile 1 and 5. Thank Bob for my entourage of older women to pick me up. Thanks retired ladies-- for the running support and encouragement :)

Because of this commitment, I have lost 11 pounds, quit smoking, and enjoy a little 3 mile jog and can have some 5k fun.

Beauty of our Area

Fall is the best time of year for many reasons: color, pumpkins, football (for some), cool weather, warm food, hunting, and many others.

This past weekend Mr. X and I went on a little drive to hunt some birds and along the ride we stopped at Corrigan's Lookout. The view is mighty:

This looks so photoshopped, but Mr. X snapped this as I was sitting on the edge