Cross Country

I really love the fall weather.
Jerry and I enjoyed the lovely weather yesterday afternoon at a high school cross country meet.

Jess is the girl's cross country coach at New Hartford High School (her and Jerry's Alma mater).
We went to cheer on her girls at their league championship meet at a local town park.

Ready to run

They're off!

Sadie helped cheer the girls on

It was a muddy course

Victorious Coach Jess

Congratulations to Jess and her girl's for their big win!

Jerry and I both ran cross country in high school, and it was kind of neat to watch a meet, 10 years removed.

When we got home we made a tasty beef and noodle stir fry.

I always have the same two problems when making stir fry; watery sauce, and making way too much food.

I managed to remedy one of those problems with the help of Food and Wine Magazine.
I used this recipe for their homemade General Tso's sauce.
They Tweeted this recipe yesterday, and I was excited to try it, since i had just bought a bottle of Chinese chili garlic sauce.
I just made the sauce this time, but I am excited to try out the whole recipe soon.

Chinese garlic chili paste, soy sauce, stock agave nectar

The secret to the F&W sauce is cornstarch. When you add the sauce mixture to the sauteed ginger and garlic, it gets all thick and glossy, thanks to the cornstarch. 
I also liked that you cooked the sauce separate, and then added it to your stir fry.
It coated all noodles and veggies nicely.

Our stir fry had broccoli, red and green peppers, onions, water chestnuts and Tylutki beef, on top of rice noodles.
I added peanuts to the top of mine and it gave it the perfect crunch.

I still ended up with enough food to feed a small army.
Or maybe a girl's cross country team.

Fat Required

I've been struggling to eat vegetables this week.
Its probably because I ran out of pumpkin.
Or more likely because I ate way too many roasted beets on Monday.
That is a mistake I won't make twice.

Last night I was more than happy to get my serving of vegetables from another batch of Naked Tomato Sauce.

I also had some leftover ground beef from Monday's burgers hanging out in the fridge.
It seemed like the perfect reason to make meatballs.

I also baked some eggplant slices, and then topped them with sauce and provolone cheese. Super easy and I felt better that I was eating another serving of vegetables.
Although, it was probably negated by all the provolone I snacked on. What is with me and cheese lately?

The meatballs tasted great, but the texture was a little off.

Tylutki Beef if is always very lean. Even this ground chuck didn't have much fat. It is probably because their cows are grass fed. Which basically means they walk around all day in a pasture, instead of standing still and munching on corn. 

Normally this is a quality of the beef I appreciate.
Except when it comes to meatballs. 
With meatballs, you need the fat!

I usually use a pork and beef combo when I make meatballs. The pork is high in fat and the beef gives great flavor.
When you are making meatballs from a leaner meat, try adding a glug of olive oil to the meat mixture.
I know it seems counter-intuitive to add fat to lean meat. But, you are still avoiding the saturated fat and cholesterol from the meat. And the oil will add moisture and your meatballs will have a nice soft texture. 

Lauren used this trick with her turkey meatballs last weekend. They were delicious, moist, and had an amazing delicate texture.

My test for a good meatball is whether or not you can cut it with a fork. You should never need a knife to cut a meatball!


Have you ever had a really good/awful meatball?

The Happy Burger

My body is feeling much better than yesterday. My left knee and right foot are still sore, but on their way to getting better.
I'm going to take it easy on the workout front this week.
Maybe a core workout or yoga and then maybe something low impact like the elliptical machine later in the week.
My legs could definitely use the break.

It was nice to get back into the Monday routine after being away.

I had a delicious meatless lunch yesterday.

Mama Pea's Spicy African Peanut Stew

And played with Sadie after work.

When Sadie wants you to come out and play stands on the deck and barks. 

Then when you get outside, she runs away. She loves to be chased around the yard. 

Crazy dog.

Since it was so gorgeous out Jerry and I decided to grill for dinner.

We defrosted a chuck roast (Tylutki beef) and ground it up for burgers. 

Everything on the plate was from my in-law's farm except the bun and cheese!

Served with a side of roasted carrots and beets. 

We ate these outside by the fire pit and shared a bottle of wine. 

2008 Cabernet Sauvignon The Crusher from Wilson Vineyard. It was light for a Cab, which is probably why I enjoyed it. Fruity but bold with a nice bite at the end. Not bad for $12.

This burger made me very happy.

I haven't been eating a lot of meat lately, so maybe that is why this tasted so good. Burgers always taste so juicy and beefy when we grind the meat ourselves. The giant slice of homegrown tomato didn't hurt the juiciness, either. 

The key to a good burger is to form the patties and then put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes so they are nice and cold. That way they won't fall apart on the grill.  It has something to do with the fat not melting too quickly. (Thank you, Bobby Flay).

I guess I'll have to make up our Meatless Monday meal another day this week!

Grilling Recap

What a busy weekend!
But so far it has been full of healthy food and activities. Spinning class, hardwood floor installation, Savicki's Farm Market, and lots of grilling!
Speaking of grilling, here is a recap of some stuff we threw on the grill this week:
Wednesday- London broil and zucchini
Thursday- pizza
Sunday- burgers
I am awful lucky that my in-laws raise grass fed Angus cattle. Last year they had a couple of cows butchered and our freezer has been stocked ever since. Not only do I feel better knowing where the beef is coming (no hormones, etc) but is 10 times tastier than any other beef I've had. I refer to it as "Tylutki Beef".
So on Wednesday morning I marinated the world's largest London broil in a combination of Dinosaur BBQ Creole Honey Mustard and Wango Tango Sauce.
First, Jerry's grilling essentials:

Meat thermometer, timer, Magic Hat seasonal brew

Alongside the massive hunk of beef we had grilled zucchini:

Sprinkled with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, and a little olive oil.

It was delicious. The paprika gave the zucchini a nice smoky taste without heat. We used some leftover beef in a stir fry on Saturday night, with lots of vegetables I got at Savicki's earlier in the day.

Thursday's dinner was grilled pizza. I wanted to use up a pineapple that had been sitting on my counter, so we grilled that along with some scallions.

 I wish we had more scallions, I really liked them grilled.
Next step was the dough. I usually just buy uncooked kind you get in the refrigerated aisle by the mozzarella cheese. I have made my own pizza dough, but that takes quite a bit of time for rising, and I got home from the gym close to 8pm, so we stuck with store bought.
We just stretch out the dough into any old shape with a little flour and the help of a rolling pin. And then just throw it on a hot grill!

We never end up with round pizzas!

Once you put the dough on, turn the grill to low and shut the lid. Wait just a couple of minutes and flip them over and repeat. We usually top the pizzas when we flip the dough, but I was waiting for Jerry to run out and pick up some wings so I topped them inside and let them sit in a warm oven until the cheese melted.

Mine is on the left and included a thin layer of Boursin cheese, baby spinach, grilled pineapple and scallions, tomatoes, and a little mozzarella. Jerry's had Boursin, bacon, pineapple, scallions, red onion, lotsa mozz, and fresh basil. I wished I had added the basil to mine after I saw his! I was also jealous of his side of wings and sneaked a bite when I thought he wasn't' looking.
I love grilled pizza. It has a nice crispy outside and a chewy inside. And we can both top them differently, so I can make mine a little healthier. We made another version on Sunday night with ricotta cheese that I had mixed fresh herbs in that was also great. We also grilled some Tylutki Beef burgers on the Weber that night, too. Nothing better than a burger on a charcoal grill!

I am looking forward to a long summer of grilling!