Sunday Food Prep – what went down in my kitchen (10)

Hello, hello!

Welp, Monday’s back…

…and that means I get to share my Sunday food prep adventures with you!

I was feeling less than inspired – much like the Redskins offense – and only accomplished a little – much better than the Redskins offense. *sigh*

I decided that I needed to make some brownies. Because … duh … brownies.

I’ve been fiddling with my recipe a little and I like what I did this time around. I decreased the flour (gluten-free) to 3/4 cup, only used 1 egg, subbed peanut butter chips for the dark chocolate chips, and threw in some chopped pecans from the pecan tree in our backyard. We have a few so I figured why not?

I also added a couple teaspoons of this new chia, hemp, and buckwheat cereal I found at the Fresh Market.

These are definitely winners! Not overly sweet and dense but still thick and fudgy. Just the way a brownie should be! Have you tried them yet?

I roasted a chuck roast in my crockpot.

I defrosted some homemade chicken broth and used that as the liquid. I skipped all the fanciness and just went with salt and pepper and a little bit of garlic powder as my seasonings.

For a girl who doesn’t like pot roast, I was really reluctant to share!  So good!

My sailor and I had some last night for dinner with some quinoa and roasted broccoli and there’s plenty leftover for a few sandwiches or to top a sweet tater throughout the week. 🙂

This broccoli. It’s like veggie crack. Seriously, I could eat the whole pan.

Finally, I decided to make a loaf of The Lean Green Bean’s Dutch Oven bread.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m not doing that whole gluten thing right now.

Well, I’ve been gluten free for a few weeks now and I’ve been assessing my tummy situation. I’m not exactly sure that gluten is the problem (I see my doc tomorrow and we’ll discuss all the tummy things then) and I read Erin’s post about why she stopped being gluten free and it really resonated with me. I mean, I don’t eat a lot of gluten anyway (as long as I don’t eat an entire baguette in one sitting!) but I also wasn’t having any of those other, more serious issues like balance and headaches, etc.  So, unless a test comes back indicating that I need to eliminate all gluten, I figure I’ll eat it in moderation. And maybe only in homemade foods so I can control all the ingredients.

Like in this bread.

Which, incidentally, I made with 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of gluten-free flour and, while the loaf might be smaller than one that uses all gluten-y flour, it was still pretty delicious toasted and smeared with avocado this morning. And my tummy wasn’t mad. 🙂

Random Spam Comment Time!

…in response to this post

“Today, I went to the beach with my kids. I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said “You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear. She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is totally off topic but I had to tell someone!”

Talk to me: Have you ever done an “elimination” diet? What did you eliminate? What did you learn about yourself?

– jennifer

Hi, my name is Jen and I’m addicted to roasted broccoli

Hi there!

Did you get smacked by the Nor’easter that blew through last night?

We didn’t get snow 😦  but we definitely got the cold. And the wind. And the windchill factor.

source

The forecast for tomorrow is not any warmer, either. To the tune of about 19 degrees in the morning. And that’s without the potential wind chill factor.

Good thing I have lined running tights! I’m pretty sure I’ll be running my final long run kinda quick tomorrow. 🙂

So, I have a new favorite way of making vegetables, especially broccoli.

I actually think I may be addicted.

I don’t know what took me so long to try it.

Have you ever roasted broccoli in the oven?

I mean, I’ve roasted veggies with chickens, pork roasts, etc and I’ve roasted potatoes, bell peppers, tomatoes and onions but for some reason, I never did broccoli.

Oven roasted broccoli is seriously the BEST. THING. EVER.

Well, not according to Thing 2 but she’s crazy. Teenagers, sheesh!

I could seriously eat roasted broccoli every single day.

So, I picked up one of those fancy bags of precut broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.

I had big, big plans for those veggies. BIG.

And, I figured since there was cauliflower and carrots in there, Thing 2 wouldn’t fuss as much if I roasted broccoli – AGAIN.

Yeah, that didn’t work out as planned but I didn’t care.

So, here’s how you do it.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with nonstick spray.

Trust me on that. I didn’t do it once and I was peeling foil off the broccoli.

Put all your lovely cut up broccoli (and cauliflower and carrots, if you want) on that baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. How much you use is completely up to you – I used about a tablespoon for this batch.

Toss all the veggies in the oil and then sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Then, if you’re a garlic fanatic like me or really worried about vampires, slice up a few cloves of garlic and toss those on the pan.

Give the pan a final toss and get it into the oven.

Roast those babies for about 20-25 minutes.

If your smoke detector goes off, you may have roasted them a little too long.  But, it’s okay, slightly burnt broccoli is AMAZING!

If you don’t like it, call me. I’ll come eat it. Really.

Om nom nom!

 Talk to me: What’s your favorite way to serve broccoli?

– jennifer

Honoring a Hero; Moxy socks; Make your own Chinese take-out!

So, it’s a big day in my second official week of CrossFit. It’s Hero Friday! My first Hero WOD!! CrossFit Hero WODs are intense and are intended to be performed with intense effort, in honor of our fallen Heroes. The idea is to focus on what you can do, scale where needed, and think about the Hero that has given his all for our freedom. Today’s Hero is Australian Army Sergeant Brett Wood MG, 32, of Ferntree Gully, VIC, assigned to the 2nd Commando Regiment, based in Sydney, NSW, died on May 23, 2011, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, after insurgents attacked him with an improvised explosive device. He is survived by his wife Elvi, his mother Allison, and his father David.

The WOD consists of running, burpee box jumps, sumo-deadlift high pulls, and thrusters, 5 rounds for time. You can see the breakdown for each group (Rx, Scaled, and Novice) here. I, of course, did the Novice (Except for the burpee box jumps. Those I did scaled.) because, well, that’s where I’m at.  And I was skeered. But I was ready! And I think I knocked it out of the park! I finished in 30:25. Woot!! By round 3, I felt like my heart was going to explode out of my chest and my legs were like jello but I kept on. Dug deep and found more. Nothing like finishing a tough Hero WOD to make a girl feel invincible. Oh, and awesome socks help, too. Check out my new Moxy socks! Love them. 🙂

Make your own take-out!

I don’t know about you but we love us some Chinese take-out. We have a great place that we love and frequent regularly but, sometimes, the budget doesn’t have room or I want Chinese but without all the sodium and fat. So, that’s when I make my own. Takes very little time, I can control what goes in there and my Chinese food craving is quashed. Can’t argue with that!

Beef and Broccoli
Recipe from Women’s Health Magazine
Serves 4

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 can (14 1/2-ounces) beef broth
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless sirloin steak, cut into thin strips
4 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, slices
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips (optional – I added for a bright red pop of color and because I LOVE red bell pepper)

1.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, broth, soy sauce, and oyster sauce and whisk until smooth.  Set aside.

2.  Warm the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat for 1 minute.  Add the steak and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the beef is browned.

3.  Transfer to a bowl to keep warm.

4.  Add the broccoli, garlic, and onion (and bell pepper, if desired) to the skillet and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender.  Add the broth mixture and bring to a boil, stirring.  Reduce the heat, add the beef, and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

Do you have cravings, too? What’s your take-out guilty pleasure?

Words of wisdom from Dove chocolate:

Happy Friday!