Southwestern Salad with a Tabasco Lime Dressing

Southwestern Salad
This salad was created on a hot Phoenix day.  The temperature got up to 113 degrees and I was didn’t want to make my kitchen any warmer than it already was.   Here is a cold salad with a tangy dressing made of olive oil, lime juice and splash of Tabasco sauce. It’s great on the taste buds!

Salad Ingredients
1 cooked corn on the cob, cooled down (cold is best) and cut off of the cob
1/2 of a red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 of a ripe avocado, cubed
1/2 cup of black beans
3 TBS of feta or cojita cheese
a handful of spinach, cut into strips

Dressing Ingredients
1 TBS extra virgin olive oliveTabasco Sauce
1 TBS  of fresh squeezed lime juice
2-3 splashes of Tabasco hot sauce
a click of sea salt

Serves 1-2 people.

Directions
1. Combine all the veggies in a bowl and stir lightly until it is mixed well.

2. Combine the ingredients for the dressing and stir well with a fork until fully combined. Pour over the veggies and stir.

This salad is best when eaten cold.

National Running Day 2013

It’s National Running Day! woohoo.

Yes, it’s been a while but I’m still here. Still running, cooking and baking. I figured National Running Day was a good time to get myself back into the groove of blogging.

I decided to wake up early and go for a morning run along Bridle Path. It’s a nice peaceful path with great views of beautiful homes in Central Phoenix.

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My run was pretty sweet. It was nice and smooth and I only stopped to tie my shoe..three times! And for two red lights. I felt great while running and still do three hours later.  I actually listened to music while I ran, which is rare. Kudos to FitRadio for having great mixes! I had a good hip hop mix going. Also it was great to see other runners out and about doing their thing. I will have to do more morning runs. I got in the rut of only running after work in the late afternoon..that will change.

After my run, I came home and to get ready for work and make breakfast . Here’s what I had
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Machaca & eggs with spinach and avocado. It totally hit the spot.

Happy National Running Day to you!
RunningCheaperthanthearapy, Quote, image

Hominy and Jalepeno Chicken Soup

Hominy & Jalepeno Chicken Soup, from the January/February 2013 issue of EveryDay with Rachel Ray Magazine.

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I pulled this recipe from Rachel Ray’s Magazine as noted above. When I was flipping through this issues, this recipe popped at me. It sort of reminded of a combination of menudo and pozole, both popular mexican soups that I love. I was pleasantly surprised by this soup.

I’m completely biased when it comes to trying mexican recipes I find online or in magazines. Sometimes I can’t help but feel like no one can make the dishes as well as my mom, nana or aunt.  But this soup was good, and don’t be scared of the jalepenos! It wasn’t spicy.   If  I was to make this soup again, I would just change one thing – I would take the skin off the chicken before cooking it.

Ingredients
2 TBS of olive oil
3 lbs of chicken thighs, bone in
1 onion, chopped
2 jalepeno chiles, stemmed seeded and thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic,  smashed and peeled
1 tbsp of chile powder
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 cup of canned hominy, drained
1 small bunch of cilantro, stems discarded
1 lime

Directions
1. In a large pot, or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over high heat. Season the chicken pieces salt and pepper. Working in batches if necessary, add the chicken pieces to the pot in a single layer. Cook, turning once, until browned on both sides about 8 minutes.  Transfer to a plate.

2. Lower the heat to medium and discard all but 1 tbsp. of fat from the pot. Add the onion, half of the jalepenos and the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the chili poweder, then stir in the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot. Add the hominy and enough water  to just cover (about 2 cups). Bring to a simmer over medium low heat, cover and cook for 40 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces and let cool slightly. Shred the meat and return it to the pot. (discard the skin and bones)

4.  Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the remaining jalepenos and the cilantro. Serve with the lime wedges, sour cream and an extra sprinlling of coarse salt and pepper.

Chocolate Banana Bread

Chocolate Banana Bread
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Using my basic banana muffin recipe, I added some cocoa and voila! Chocolate Banana bread was born. It’s perfect to mix up your morning toast with this bread, or to have as a special guest for brunch. The bread is very good straight out of the oven, and even better toasted with yummies on top. I tried it with butter, nutella, and cream cheese. Strawberries are the perfect topping as well.   I hope you like this recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of ground oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking power
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 large ripe bananas
1 large egg
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1/3 cup of cocoa powder

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Directions:
1. Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  (Flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa)
2. In a separate bowl mash up the bananas. Add brown sugar, egg and applesauce, and mix until well blended.
3.  Add the banana mixture into the dry ingredient mixture. Mix it up.
4.  Pour the mixture into a bread/loaf pan.
5.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Do the toothpick test to ensure done-ness.

Eat this bread warm with dab of butter, or dress it up. Toast it, add some cream cheese and strawberries.
Unlike regular banana bread, I found this chocolate banana bread looses its effect on the taste buds when you eat it cold. So, it’s best warm or toasted. But if you like cold, that’s fine too. :)

I hope you enjoy this bread. Be sure to let me know how you dress it up.

2013 Running Goal

I’m not a hard-core runner, but I do run and I enjoy it.  I thought it’d be cool to give myself a mileage goal to achieve by the end of the year. So here goes, my 2013 running goal is:

500mi goal image 2

That breaks down to about 10 miles a week, give or take. I’m pretty sure to some this is an easy feat, but to others it’s not. This is a milestone, and I plan to reach it by the end of the 2013. Who’s coming with me?!

Who’s in?!  I’ll post updates here and there on where I’m at with mileage, and just about my running progress in general.

To keep track and stay on-point, I’ve downloaded a couple apps on my phone. I received recommendations from friends and other folks online but I couldn’t decide which one to go with, so I’m starting with two and we’ll see how they work out.  Both apps are free and available for both Android and iPhones. In addition both apps can be used to track and map mileage, set, track and achieve fitness goals and to connect with  friends via the applications with sharing capabilities to social network sites like Facebook and Twitter. So, the apps I got are

Both are very similar and so far there are things I like and dislike about each of them. In my Running Goal Updates you’ll also hear I’m liking/disliking the apps.

Need motivation? A while back I had a blog post with a bunch of running quotes. You can find them HERE.
And my favorite running quote is:

RunningCheaperthanthearapy, Quote, image

Carrot and Ginger Soup

Carrot and Ginger Soup with Garlic and Bok Choy
Carrot Soup

Ingredients
1 lb of carrots
1 TBS of canola oil
2 large potatoes
1/2 of a yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves
4 TBS of minced ginger
3 stalks of bok choy
1 Yellow hot pepper
2 bay leaves
green onions
2 cups of broth (chicken or vegetable)

Peel and carrots and potatoes. Cut the potatoes in to 2-3 inch pieces and cut the potatoes in half. Mince the ginger and three garlic cloves.

In a medium sauce pan, add four cups of water and add the carrots and potatoes. Cook until tender. Remove the carrots and potatoes from saucepan and add to a blender, along with 1/2 cup of the water.  Blend until you have a nice puree.

In the same sauce pan, add the canola oil. Once heated, add the onion, minced garlic and ginger, and sautee for 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and add to the puree  along with the last garlic cloves. Pulse in the blender for about 30 seconds. In same saucepan, cook the bok choy for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the pan. Pour half of the puree back into the sauce pan, add the broth. Keep on a medium heat.

With the remaining half of the puree in the blender, add the bok choy and pulse until blended. Then add it to the sauce pan. Add the hot yellow pepper into the sauce pan. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes.  Remove the hot pepper before serving.

Serve with green onions on top.
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This recipes serves 4.

50 Minutes at the Gym

50 minutes at the gym.  Did a quick warm up and did the work out posted in the multi-purpose room. It took me about 30 minutes to do it then cooled off on the elliptical.

Warm up: Treadmill – walk for 3 minutes, run at a moderate pace for  3 minutes then walk at and incline of 4 or higher for 3 minutes

50 Kettle Bell Swings
Sprint 3o seconds
50 Push Ups
Sprint 20 seconds
50 Jump Squats
Sprint 20 Seconds
50 Burpees
Sprint 15 Seconds
50 Jumping Jacks
Sprint 10 Seconds

Do it one more time.

Cool off on the Elliptical for 10 minutes.

Happy Day.