Tofu Potato Salad Review

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Review:

The time that I tried this recipe it was very good and something different from the things that I normally eat. I thought the steps were easy to follow and relatively easy to prepare. I'm not a big fan of Tofu and that's why this meal surprised me on how good it was. You can do all the other steps while the potatoes are cooking.

With the version that I made I substituted the Spicy Brown Mustard with Dijon Mustard (mainly because I already had some in the fridge), I would recommend sticking with the Spicy Mustard. One more thing, be careful with the lemon, I added a little too much due to not measuring, but nothing too bad.

I like my food a little spicy so I added ground cayenne pepper to give it a kick. I also used grocery store garlic bread, turned out awesome overall. I will definitely be making this again.

Items blended

Pan Fried Tofu

All the items together and ready to be chilled

Tofu Potato Salad ready to be Enjoyed

Weekly Running Update

This past week of 2/13 – 19/2012 I logged 32.50 miles. I finally put in my longest run that I’ve ever done which was 14.5 miles. I’m not going to say that I ran the whole way, I can say that I walked no more than 2.5 miles. The run started off pretty good, the weather was a little cold and drizzling a little. The rain picked up really hard around mile 13 and that’s what really forced me to call it a day.

I went to the same park that I started running 2 years ago, it had been around 8 months since I've been back. I felt pretty good, I wished that I was a little more hydrated and had a snack, I wasn’t really planning on going that long. I guess that’s when your able to put in your best workouts when your not expecting it.

The route that I ran was in a loop, I got a good 8 or 9 miles at a decent pace until I decided to stop and get some water and some oranges that I had. My concentration was thrown off after that stop, I just felt that I needed to get a little something in my system to keep me going . Hopefully next time I can be better prepared with some type of running gels or something.

The next day I felt surprisingly well and I did get in a dumbbell workout and went out for a 5 mile recovery walk/jog.


If you have any questions please feel free to leave it in the comment section.

Chicken Noodle Soup

What you will need:

*I like a ton of vegetables and broth so I use more, the recipe below is the starting point. Adjust vegetables or broths to your taste.

1 Tablespoon Butter(I use less)

1 Chopped Onion

Chopped Celery

Sliced Carrots

4 Cans if Chicken Broth

1 Can of Vegetable Broth

1 Pound of chopped cooked Chicken

1.5 Cups of Egg Noodles

Dried Basil to taste

Dried Oregano to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

Make It:

In a large pot on medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until tender. Pour in both of the broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes

Chopped Chicken

Some Veggies washed and chopped

Everything is mixed in and simmering

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Cherry Tomatoes with Toasted Bread

What you will need:

2 pints Cherry Tomatoes

3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Oil

A good bunch of chopped Basil

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Garlic Glove

4 slices of French Bread or you can use Garlic Bread(if using garlic bread, omit the garlic clove)

Parmesan Cheese

Make It:

Wash the tomatoes and cut them in half. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes with the olive oil, basil, salt and pepper. Set aside and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes.

Turn on oven, if using french bread, give the bread a good rub with the garlic clove. Then place into the warm oven until toasted. If using the garlic bread, place bread in oven until toasted. 

Allow bread to cool slightly and tear into bite-sized pieces and mix with the tomatoes. Finish it off with shaved Parmesan cheese(can also use shredded Parmesan)

Washing the Tomatoes

Oil with salt and pepper

Marinating Tomato Mixture

Cherry Tomatoes with Toasted Bread ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Weekly Running Update

I can’t quite figure out what try of content I want to post, I decided that at least once a week and post some updates about my running. I always wonder how many miles or how many times a week do you have to run to consider yourself a runner. I average around 30 miles a week, but I would like to average somewhere around 35-40 miles a week. I would like to try to get in a long run at least once a week of 10+ miles. I'm still working on getting myself out there and setting a block of time so I can do it. This past week of 2/6 – 2/12/12 I put in 33 miles.

On Sunday I went to the Lake Pflugerville and ran with a friend once around the lake. This is maybe the second time I’ve ever run with another person. I usually like to run by myself because I don’t usually make plans or like to stick to someone else’s plans. I have to say it wasn’t that bad and made the time seem to go by faster. I was thinking I would like to try to with a partner or a group of my friends maybe once or twice a month.

On another note, I’ve run through my first pair of shoes for 2012, it doesn’t seem like a big deal for a lot of people, but it’s exciting to know that you can go out and get another pair and take them out for a run as soon as you get home. It takes me back to when I was a kid and it was the night before the first day of school and I would lay out my clothes on the floor, I would even put my socks into my shoes. I was so excited then and I’m excited now knowing that I’m going to be shoe shopping soon.


If you have any questions please feel free to leave it in the comment section.

Chili Macaroni

What you will need:

1 pound of Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

1 chopped medium Onion

1 14.5 oz can of Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies

1.25 cups of Tomato Juice

2 teaspoons Chili Powder

1/2 teaspoon Garlic Salt

1 cup of your favorite type of Macaroni

1 package of frozen cut Green Beans

1 cup of shredded Cheddar Cheese(optional)

Make It:

In a large pan, cook meat and onion. Stir in the can of tomatoes, tomato juice, chili powder, and garlic salt into mixture. Bring to a boil. Stir in pasta and green beans, cover and let it simmer for about 15 minutes. You can top with cheese if you are using 

Ground Beef with Onion

Green Beans put in

Covered and simmering

Chili Macaroni ready to be Enjoyed

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I made these stuffed bell peppers for meatless Monday.


What you will need:


1 package of Meatless Ground Crumbles
1 package of Frozen Corn
1.5 cups of Your favorite Chunky Salsa
1.5 cups Cooked Brown Rice
1 cup of Your favorite Shredded Cheese(I prefer cheddar)
4-6 Bell Peppers(the green ones are usually cheaper and easier to stuff)
1 cup of water


Make It:


Heat the oven to 400 degrees


Cook the crumbles, corn, and salsa until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in rice and your cheese. Spoon the mixture into the peppers (you can cut the peppers in half if you like, i find it easier to keep them whole)


Put them into a baking dish and pour water into the bottom, Bake for 30 - 35 minutes

My peppers are washed and ready to go

Mixed together some corn, salsa, rice, and meatless ground crumbles

The peppers are stuffed and ready to be put into the oven

Stuffed Pepper Ready to be enjoyed 

Feel free to play around with the ingredients and make it your own