Hotel room chili & some awesome bodyweight WODs

Hello!

Happy Monday!

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T-MINUS 5 DAYS UNTIL WE CLOSE ON THE HOUSE!!!!!!

So totally can’t wait!!!

Thing 2 started school today.

I’m actually a little jealous.

She has somewhere to go and will meet new people and make friends.

Not that I want to go back to high school.

Been there, done that, got the diploma and the jacket to prove it.

But, I do have some things to do to keep me busy.

Like, a kickass body weight WOD.

Yeah.

I got through 4 of the 10 rounds and really started to question my sanity.

Not sure what made me think 100 burpees on a Monday was a good idea.

I totally would have done upside down starfish as my cool down but some random, slightly creepy guy showed up in the fitness center and was trying to figure out what he should do while trying to strike up a conversation.

Um. Again –

So NOT trying to strike up a conversation with random creepy hotel guy.

Anyway, I did a google search last night for “Crossfit travel WODs” and that’s how I found that one.

In fact, I found quite a few excellent sites with all kinds of crazy hard awesome bodyweight WODs.

This is the site that I used: CrossFit Steele Creek

But, I also browsed these and will probably pull from them too:

The Traveling WOD

No Excuses CrossFit

There’s even an app  you can download to your phone!

CrossFit Travel

All really awesome stuff!

Just because you’re away from your box doesn’t mean you can’t get your WOD on. 🙂

No Excuses!!

Okay, now on to the best part!

I made some totally awesome chili last night!

In the hotel room!!

Seriously!

One pot.

A few ingredients (thanks to this wicked cool package).

Under normal circumstances, I would use my own blend of spices, etc. but, we’re in a hotel with limited space and I don’t want to buy a ton of things I’m just going to have once we get our stuff into the new house.

I checked the ingredients list before I committed and it’s all good stuff.  Nothing I didn’t know how to pronounce and all things I would add on my own.  Of course, I didn’t follow the package directions EXACTLY – where’s the adventure in that?!

It all worked out deliciously!

Hotel Room Chili
makes about 4 gigantic servings

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/4 yellow onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 package six gun chili mixin’s
1 can (14.5 ounce) fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounce) kidney beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
1/2 pound ground sirloin (use a full pound for the full package of chili mixin’s)
1/2 pound hot italian sausage (use a full pound for the full package of chili mixin’s)

1. Prepare pouches of Mixin’s according to package directions. (There are 2 pouches. I used 1/2 of each because I cut the recipe in half.)

2. Saute pepper, onion, and garlic in olive oil in a large pot/dutch oven until onion is translucent. Add ground sirloin and sausage and cook until brown. Drain fat.

3. Add diced tomatoes to meat.

4. Stir in Mixin’s and water mixture and drained beans (if desired) and bring to a boil.

5. Add desired amount of seasoning from red pepper packet and simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes or longer, adding water if necessary.

*The package comes with a Masa Flour pouch that I did not use. Directions are on the package.*

6. Put into bowls, top how you prefer and gobble it down! Don’t be surprised if the neighbors come knocking! 🙂

Question: Do you work out when you’re traveling or on vacation?

– jennifer

An injury update, then Meatballs & Spaghetti Squash

Hello!

So, I’m presently sitting in the doctor’s office hoping to finally get started on finding out what my injury actually is.

I’ve been going to physical therapy for 4 weeks now with little improvement and I still can’t run. I know the recovery process is often slow but I still have pain and not knowing exactly what needs to be treated is a problem.

fast forward an hour

Okay, I just had xrays done. Since it’s been about 2 months, it’s possible a femoral stress fracture might show up. Either way, I’ve got a consult to see an orthopedic surgeon. Hopefully, I’ll get that call soon. *fingers crossed* If the xrays don’t show anything, the next step is an MRI. I just want to run. Running makes me happy. Running is me – I AM a runner.

Tee-hee. 🙂

Okay, seriously. Cross your fingers for speedy xray results and a sooner rather than later appointment with the orthopedist. I need all the good vibes I can get!

Question: Have you ever had spaghetti squash? It’s really easy to make and super delicious. And, it’s a perfect substitute for spaghetti if you’re eating Paleo or just trying to cut back on processed carbs. I’ll never forget the first time I made it – I couldn’t believe the flesh actually twirled out like spaghetti noodles! So cool!

Anyway, you can pair spaghetti squash with your favorite marinara or even some homemade meatballs! I definitely recommend these. Healthy, chock full of protein, delicious and easy to make. Start the meatballs first and then put the squash in the oven. This gives the meatballs more time to hang out in the sauce. Om nom nom!

Meatballs & Spaghetti Squash
*note: if you aren’t a fan of spaghetti squash, use spaghetti or whatever you prefer. 🙂

1 (2-3 pound) spaghetti squash
1/2 pound lean ground sirloin
1/2 pound ground pork
1 egg
1/2 cup minced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons Mrs. Dash seasoning (I used spicy hot – use what you like!
FOR SAUCE
1 can (14.5 ounce) crushed tomatoes
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup Italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash squash exterior, then cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and place, cut side up, on baking sheet.

2. Place ground sirloin, ground pork, egg, onion, garlic, almond flour, and seasoning in a medium bowl. Using your hands, mix well. Shape into meatballs.

3. Put squash in oven and bake for 45 minutes.

4. In a medium saucepan, mix tomatoes, tomato paste, red wine & seasoning. Heat on medium-low.

5. Heat 1 to 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add meatballs and cook until brown on all sides. As meatballs finish cooking, add to the tomato sauce, stirring gently to incorporate. Don’t want them to fall apart!

6. When spaghetti squash is done, remove from oven and let cool slightly. Using a fork, remove flesh from the rind. You can either scrape or twirl – depending on how long you want the squash strands to be.

7. Top spaghetti squash with meatballs and sauce. Om nom nom!

– jennifer

Some random stuff and Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie

I was able to hit the Fresh Market this past weekend. I stocked up. Um, can you say addicted? 🙂

I may have mentioned that I have created my own cookbook from recipes found in magazines, the newspaper, and the internet. That is a project I’ve been working on for the past year or so. It’s coming along quite nicely, I think.

I grab these binders and flip through them, usually while I’m eating breakfast. I use those little sticky flags to mark my pages of the upcoming week’s recipes. Sometimes, Ginny…. aka my supervisor…

decides to remove those sticky flags for me. She’s so helpful. Anyway, one of the recipes I recently made was found in my handy dandy notebook. It came from an old Cooking Light magazine. A very old magazine. Like….1998. Did I mention I’m the wife of a sailor? Yeah, that means that magazine has moved around a lot. What? Packrat? Who, me? 🙂

A recipe from the book – no idea the year. Who doesn’t love pot pie? It’s everything that is good in the world all together in one simple dish. Make it quick, easy and healthy and you’ve achieved dinner nirvana. Pull up your chair and grab your fork. You’re definitely going to want to dig in to this one!

Beef and Vegetable Pot Pie
Yield: 6 servings

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 lb ground sirloin
2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 package (8 ounces) sliced mushrooms*
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 can (14-ounce) reduced-fat, low-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 tablespoons water
Cooking spray
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated soft breadstick dough

*mushrooms = EW
If you feel the same way, you can certainly leave them out. I substituted yellow squash.
Yellow squash = YUM

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel. Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in pan. Add zucchini and next 6 ingredients (through garlic); sauté 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return beef to pan. Stir in wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and broth. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

3. Spoon beef mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Separate breadstick dough into strips. Arrange strips in a lattice fashion over beef mixture. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until browned.

Per serving:
Calories 313; Fat 8.5g (saturated 1.7g, mono 3.0g, poly 0.7g); Protein 22g; Carb 37.6g; Fiber 2.7g; Sodium 679mg; Cholesterol 40

Recipe from Cooking Light