Fanciness, ice cream cones, and spinach, bacon & sweet tater salad

Hello, hello!

Happy Monday!

Did you have a fantastic weekend? Did you do anything fun?

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, you probably know I had a decent weekend. 🙂

There was definitely not enough sleeping this weekend. 🙂

Although, honestly, I made up for it yesterday by sitting on my couch and watching CrossFit Regionals all day long. Like, literally, All. Day.

Plugged my sailor’s phone into the TV (mine, for some reason, does not have an HDMI out slot) and watched the live streaming action on the big screen.

It was awesome!

Two words – Julie. Foucher.

Badassery.

Anywho, we also ate pretty well this weekend. I promise there was more than just ice cream – um, hello, MOOSE TRACKS! – and coffee.

Thing 1 gave me the best gift ever for Mother’s Day – the Runner’s World Cookbook!

You know I was bookmarking recipes in there!

First up – spinach, bacon, and sweet potato salad.

Oh. Em. Gee.

I sauteed some shrimp in garlic and olive oil as an accompaniment. So delicious!

As you can tell by more than just spinach leaves in that picture, I changed up the recipe a little (hey, I can’t help it! It’s what I do.).

But honestly, it doesn’t really  need it. There’s not really anything more perfect than sweet potatoes and bacon and this recipe has them BOTH!

Spinach, Bacon, and Sweet Potato Salad
makes 4 servings

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 slices thick-cut bacon (or 3-4 slices regular bacon)
1 red bell pepper, cored and chopped
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice from 1 orange (or about 1/4-1/3 cup OJ)
1 pound fresh spinach (or use a spinach blend, if you prefer, which is what I did)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put the taters on a baking sheet, drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Roast, turning occasionally, for 25 minutes, or until crisp and brown on the outside and tender inside. Remove from oven and keep on the pan until ready to use.

2. While the taters are roasting, place the bacon in a skillet (cast iron, if you got it!) over medium heat. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until crisp. Drain on paper towels. **Now, the recipe says to pour off the fat but I chose to keep it for the veggies. Do what you want.** When bacon is cooled, break into pieces.

3. Return the pan to medium heat and, if not using bacon fat, add remaining 2 tablespoons oil (I added a couple of teaspoons because there was only about a tablespoon of bacon fat). When it’s hot, add the bell pepper, onion, and ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until just softened.

Stir in the cumin and the orange juice and turn off the heat. (The recipe can be made up to an hour or so ahead to this point. Gently warm the dressing again before proceeding.)

freshly ground cumin smells so amazing!

4. Put the spinach in a bowl large enough so you can toss the ingredients together without them ending up all over the counter or floor (although, 5 second rule on the bacon!). Add the sweet taters, bacon, and the warm dressing. Toss to combine. Try to remember that it makes 4 servings and you should share.

Nutrition per serving (according to the exact recipe):
262 calories, 22g carbs, 6g fiber, 8g protein, 18g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 409mg sodium

Talk to me: Did you watch any of the CrossFit Regionals this weekend? Were you lucky enough to actually BE there? Do you know anyone who’s never had a sweet potato?

– jennifer

Nancy with burpees? Gotta be a Monday! :)

Hello!

Happy Monday!

You know, it’s really difficult to get back to a normal routine after a mini-vacation.

Thank goodness for coffee! In my awesome new coffee mug! 🙂

Navy Mom – that’s right!

That’s not the only awesome thing I got while we were in Great Lakes.

I look pretty awake for 5 a.m. on a Monday!

Rocked my new Navy workout top this morning at Crossfit!

And yes, I went for the patriotic headband accompaniment. 🙂

I knew we were going to be in for a tough workout this morning, too. The 2013 Crossfit Games were held this past weekend (actually, Thursday through Sunday) out in California and some amazing athletes did some amazing things. Seriously. ESPN2 is going to be re-airing the games tonight and I can’t wait to watch what I missed!

Anyway, I was right about a tough workout being on the board.

I think my shadow really makes this picture. 🙂

Ah, Nancy.  With burpees.  Because she’s not hard enough on her own. *sigh*

I’m happy to say that the only thing I didn’t Rx on this WOD was the overhead squats.  That means I ran the 400s!   Woot!

Of course, I was moving slowly but I ran them. 🙂

My overhead squats were with the 35# bar.  One day I’ll get up to 65#.  One day.

Then, because we weren’t all disgusting and sucking wind (oh, maybe that was just me), we did 75 weighted butterfly sit ups.  As a cool down.  You know.  For fun!

I love Mondays.

Questions:  Coffee – black or with cream and sugar?  If you weren’t able to catch the Games, will you be tuning in tonight?  ESPN2 at 8 p.m. PDT.

– jennifer

Lightning bolts. Making new friends. Coffee-Rubbed Steak.

Hello! Happy Thursday!

So, at about 6:00 p.m. last night, I had a stroke of genius. Seriously. It was like a lightning bolt from the sky. I may have been inspired by the RAGING thunderstorms and sideways rain yesterday.

Anyway, I came up with a PERFECT title for my blog post! Well, yesterday’s blog post. After I’d already posted it. *sigh*

Why can’t I think of these things BEFORE I post them?

Is it too late to change the title?

Think anyone would notice?

From now on, yesterday’s blog is “Hop, Pop, Stop, W(h)ine.”

See?! Creative genius! 🙂

Speaking of pop, my foot is feeling much better than it did. I’ve been faithfully icing it and stretching it and my water bottle has two new friends.

Thank goodness I have a box of Kleenex handy because using the golf ball to get rid of the scar tissue makes me want to cry a little.

And, because protein has been known to help aid the process of injury recovery, I decided some steak was in order. 🙂

Here’s a great article on Food for Injury Recovery.

Seriously, the damage to the body is important. Treat your body right and heal and then, go running!

I know, I know. I need to listen to myself a little more. I think the Pop! on Tuesday was a warning shot. It really could have been so much worse but it isn’t. So, I’m doing what I should have been doing all along. Hey, better late than never, right?!

Anywho, steak. With a coffee rub. Stay with me. I promise it’s delicious. The coffee plus some chili powder really works and totally enhances the flavor of the beef. It’s smokey, robust, and kinda crusty on the outside and the steak retains it’s juiciness (um, seriously, make sure you let it rest otherwise you will let all the juices escape).

And, topped with the pico de gallo (make your own or buy some pre-made – Walmart carries premade in the produce section and it’s pretty good!) and a squirt of lime, the flavors just Pop! But, this time, in a good way.

And, sorry, I forgot to take a picture with the pico de gallo. I was hungry. Sue me.

Om nom nom!

Coffee-Rubbed Steak
makes 4 servings

1/2 tablespoon finely ground coffee or espresso
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 pound flank or skirt steak
Pico de Gallo
1 lime, quartered

1. Preheat a grill, grill pan, or cast iron skillet. Combine the coffee grounds with the chili powder plus a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Rub the spice mixture all over the steak. Cook the steak for 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on the thickness, until slight firm by still yielding.

2. Let the steak rest for at least 5 minutes, then slice thinly against the grain of the meat. Serve with a big scoop of the pico de gallo and a wedge of lime.

Per serving:
Calories 270; Fat 15g (saturated 6g); Sodium 600mg

Recipe from Cook This, Not That!

– jennifer