Tofu tacos

This is another recipe that I got from Buzzfeed (like the butternut squash mac n cheese) in an article about The Vegan Stoner that has easy, few ingredient, meatless recipes. I was intrigued.

Needed:
-firm tofu
-Soy sauce
-bread crumbs
-taco shells
-tomato and onions (or whatever you want for your inside fixin's)
-sour cream

1. Slice up the tofu so that it's slender enough to fit in the taco shell. I was able to get 8 slices out of a 12 ounce pack of tofu.

2. Cut up the tomato and onion and get those sautéing in the pan with a little oil.

3. While those cook, take your sliced tofu and dip it in soy sauce on both sides.

4. Then cover it in bread crumbs all over.

5. Push the veggies to the side if the pan and add the tofu.

6. Cook it for a couple minutes on each side, then put it in a taco shell along with a scoop of veggies and some sour cream.

So easy a stoner could make them!

They were delish. The tofu is so creamy and balances nice with the crunchy shell and sautéed veggies. I had them for dinner two nights in a row while the hubs was away at training and I know I'll be making them again. Very filling.

For now, I'm in St. Louis hanging out with the family till we mosey on toward Ohio for the Air Force Marathon, which is only 5 days away! In case you don't hear from me again, wish me luck.

And just for your viewing pleasure, here's some pics of me and the fam goofing off:

Falling for butternut squash mac n cheese

Falling, get it? Get it? For Fall. Haha! Anyways...

So I found this recipe from Buzzfeed (one of my favorite ways to pass time). They linked to a blog, that had made changes from an original recipe, and I have made changes to theirs. So, does that make this my own recipe? Here's where I got the idea.

Needed:
-butternut squash
-2 cups milk
-bag of shredded cheddar
-pasta

1. I cooked the squash before I cut it up, primarily because it was hard to cut. So, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and toss them and lay it on a pan in shallow water and cook it over medium heat until tender, about 20 minutes.

2. Once my squash was tender, I used a spoon and scooped out the insides and put it in a pot.

3. Add 1 and 1/2 cup milk and let it cook over medium heat until the squash is so soft, it's practically liquid. Give it a stir every so often.

4. About this time, I started making my noodles, just as directed. Once they were done, I added a little butter and set them aside for the sauce.

5. Once you squash has made it to the next property state (get it? Solid to liquid? Nothing? Okay), slowly mix in 1/4 cup of flour and 1/4 cup milk. This will thicken it up.

6. Let it cook a couple more minutes, give it a stir and remove it from the heat. Stir in an 8oz bag of shredded cheddar and keep stirring till completely melted and fused together into a creamy, yummy sauce.

7. Pour those noodles into the mixture and stir it all up.

Oh my goodness. It's creamy, savory, with just a little touch of sweet from the squash. Good thing it's tasty because it made a huge batch so it looks like I'll be eating on it for a couple days.

She continued on to bake hers in the oven and add bacon to it, but I'm happy with leaving it straight out of the pot.

I had my dinner with a salad where the lettuce and basil were picked straight out of our own garden. How wonderful is this meal!

Oh, yea, one week till the Air Force Marathon! Start carbo loading like you just don't care what the scale says, woohoo!

"Caprese" Fish

I put Caprese in quotation marks because the original recipe had the traditional ingredients for caprese, but of course, I used what I had on hand and it wasn't actually caprese after that.

The original recipe also used chicken, so this is obviously a loosely based adaptation, but still so tasty! I will DEFINITELY be making this again.

Needed:
-2 tilapia fillets
-salt and pepper
-Olive oil
-1 large tomato, diced up
-green onions (or basil if you have it on hand)
-fresh mozzarella

1. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on each side of the fillets.

2. Heat up a little oil in a pan over medium heat and add the fish to the pan. Let it cook about 10 minutes on each side, or until completely cooked.

3. While the fish is cooking, heat up some more olive oil in another pan and sautee the diced up tomato with whatever other goodies you decide to throw in - green onions, garlic. If you have basil, wait till the end to add it, otherwise it'll get really soggy.

4. Once the fish is done, put it on a plate and pour the tomato mixture over the top. Add a couple slices of mozzarella and enjoy!

We had ours with some asparagus

Oh my goodness, tasty! This was the first time I had cooked fish in a pan myself and I like how it makes it crispy on the outside, but still juicy on the inside. And really, anything with mozzarella cheese is going to be good. Mouth watering!

Hot tamale!

My mom has been making tamales for a year or two now and gave me the recipe. I haven't had the need to make them yet though because when she came to visit, she made a big batch and put them in my freezer. Well the other day I decided to attempt making them myself and I have a disclaimer - you need to have time dedicated to this process and you need to have a lot of patience. I do not have a lot of patience. I got very angry at my tamales.

The original recipe is here. The only thing I really changed was what goes inside. It's really whatever veggies you have on hand.

Need:

-1 package Corn Husks

FOR THE DOUGH:

-2 cups Masa
-1 teaspoon Baking Powder
-¾ teaspoons Salt
-2 teaspoons Cumin
-2 teaspoons Chili Powder
-2-¼ cups Veggie Broth
-1/2 cup butter

FOR THE FILLING: (this is what I used. Look at the original post to see what she used, or just mix a bunch of veggies together and call it a day.)

-1 frozen bag of tomatoes and onions
-1 frozen bag of peas and carrots
-1 small can of corn

My mom found corn husks at Walmart, but I had to go to a specialty grocery store to find mine. You may have to do a little research to get them

1. Start off by soaking your corn husks in water for at least 30 minutes.

2. Grab a bowl and add in the masa, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1 teaspoon of both the cumin, and chili powder.

3. Now add 2 cups of the veggie broth to your mixture and form a dough.

4.Whip up the butter and add the masa dough in and mix it up well again. Set your finished dough aside and make the filling.

5. Add a little oil to a pan and sautee up those veggies. Add the last 1/4 cup of veggie broth and any additional spices you'd like.

My husband has a really weird habit of buying random frozen veggies, then never using them. So, I always seem to have a stockpile of mixed veggies in the freezer

6. Now, it's time to make the tamales. This is where I had issues - Grab one of your soaked corn husks and smooth some of your Masa mixture on it. Don't get too close to the edge because you'll have the dough spilling out when you wrap them.

7. Now, take a spoonful of your veggie filling and place it down the middle third of your tamale. Again, make sure to leave a bit of space at the ends.

8. This is the second place I had issues, wrapping them. The original post says, "Wrap it up like you would a burrito and tie off the husk. I used another corn husk to tie it up." This was not as easy as she says. I had dough everywhere.

9. Grab a steamer pot, add about 2 quarts of water and steam the for about 90 minutes on medium high heat then check them. They may need some more time. The dough should be firm. If you don't have a steamer pot, you can do like the original post and I use a large stock pot and place a noodle strainer inside of it with the pot cover over the top. Make sure that your tamales aren’t touching the water. Periodically check your water level to ensure you don't boil it away and burn your pot.

Once they're done you have a couple options - 1. Throw some lettuce on a plate, unwrap a couple tamales, throw on some hot sauce and sour cream and dig in! 2. Let them cool and then freeze them. When you're ready to eat them, just steam them again till they're cooked. I ate on mine for a week.

An apple a day!

I recently made some apple chips from some apples that were about to go bad. They turned out pretty tasty, but they could be dangerous because I easily ate two apples worth without realizing it.

Need:
-As many apples as you'd like
-lemon juice
-parchment paper

1. Slice the apples as thin as you can. The thinner they are, the less time they take to cook.

2. Soak the apples in water with half a cup of lemon juice for half an hour. The lemon juice is to keep them from turning brown. I didn't have any, so I just soaked them in plain water. I don't know if I could have just skipped this step.

3. Preheat the oven to 200°. Pat the apples as dry as possible and lay them out on parchment paper lined baking sheets.

4. Cook them for 1 hour, flip the apples, then cook them for another 1-2 hours based on how crispy you want them. Let them cool for another hour in the oven - turn it off and crack the oven door.

Watch out. They're addictive!

Now on the running front, I logged a 25-miler last Friday. Time to taper! It was hard. I had to take walk breaks, but I was actually very happy with my performance overall. Aaaand I wasn't even sore the next day! I think my body is ready for the Air Force Marathon!

I think this Zero Degrees Bengay has a lot to do with how good I felt the day after. I had the hubs apply this to my legs and back and it was amazing. You keep it in the freezer, so be ready for an extreme chill!

Obviously, after this run, I needed a really good meal and I got it from Pawley's Front Porch in Columbia, SC. We went there because we saw it on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives and it was fantastic. We had fried green tomatoes for an appetizer, but it wasn't just fried green tomatoes. Oh, it was a tower, layered with crab and cheese and sweet chipotle mayo on top. Mind blown. We devoured that thing in about a minute flat. Then moved on to burgers. The best part about this place is that they'll do any of their burger toppings with their veggie patty, and it was one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had. It was so hearty and filling, my mind thought it was eating an actual burger. I was sold on the patty alone, then came the toppings - grilled pineapple, guacamole, citrus jalapeño mayo, and pepper jack cheese all on a pretzel bun. This is why I run 25 miles.

This week, I have a 10- and 15-miler scheduled, which seems like nothing after a 25-miler. And, to top it all off, registration for the St. Louis Marathon should be opening soon. Woohoo!

Eat what you want to

People ask me (and my momma) how we don't eat meat, if we get enough protein, if we feel weak while running. Short answers - easy, yes and no.

Long answers - I really feel like it makes a difference not eating red meat and chicken. I just feel healthier, I save calories and money not buying meat. Win-win-win!

Trust me, we get enough protein. I've talked about this before and Runner's World has even covered it in great detail. It comes down to not needing meat-based protein. Plant protein does the job, and I do still eat fish.

And I don't feel any weaker during my runs as long as I fuel properly. Lately, I like to eat a bowl of oatmeal with a scoop of PB2 in it (protein!) and a banana before I run and I have plenty of GUs on hand in case I need a pick-me-up midrun. Bam!

Now for the big question - is there anything I miss eating? I will admit, that a big, juicy burger with cheese does look appealing (or how about a sourdough jack from jack n the box!) But besides that, I don't really crave meat anymore. It could be because I still eat fish (I know- traitor!) But there are also a lot of really great meat substitutes out there. Morningstar Farms, Gardein and Tofurkey are my favorites and they make everything from bacon and sausage to meatballs, chicken tenders, beef tips and lunch meat. Anything you could possibly crave. And with that, I present to you my dinner - Chinese food!

Fried rice, vegetable potstickers and sesame garlic tempeh. And without the disgusting, sluggish feeling that usually comes after eating Chinese food. 

On the workout front, I've logged an 8 and 7-miler this week and I've still been rockin out with the crossfit. Runner's World also posted a 'how-to' for using a foam roller, so I've also been incorporating that so my muscles get a good massage. 25-miler on Friday! Woohoo!

Cross training

Less than a month till the Air Force Marathon! Almost time to see if all this training will pay off. I'm hoping for a 4:45, cutting 4 minutes of my previous PR. If not, I have the Marine Corps Marathon 2 months later.

And speaking of all this training, I added a little cross training this week with crossfit. I'm sure you've heard all the hype about this hot trend, but I want to incorporate it a bit so I can build a little muscle. It was definitely hard. Each day we did some weight lifting - bench press, dead lift and front squats, along with a warmup and a workout that carried each day. It lasts about an hour and between that and a run in the morning, I've been beat! But it's getting a little better, and I'm enjoying it so I'm gonna stick it out for a little. At least until I get a full-time job here.

Now because of all this extra working out, I've also been extra hungry. My new addiction are these handmade popsicles here that are so tasty! In just over a week that I've been here, I've had 3 - blood orange basil, chocolate pluff mud porter and peaches n cream. Yum! And of course me and the hubs hit up Sunday brunch. Huevos Rancheros from The Rarebit. *drool* crispy tortillas, black bean puree, salsa, avocado, and eggs. Okay, I need the extra workouts to balance out this delish South Carolina food!

And we're still chugging along with our new found gardening hobby. It's only been a week, so I don't know yet if we're any good at it, but here's to hoping!