Running Mama Cooks

I told you I would be posting about this rice soon!!! OMG, So good!!! If you like pineapple, make this now!

I adapted it slightly (realized at the last minute that I didn't have any onions!!) and served it with grilled chicken marinated in soy sauce, white wine, olive oil, garlic powder and parsley. My Aunt makes it that way and its so yummy.


Thai Pineapple Rice
Adapted from Taste of Home Cooking

1 cup basmati rice, uncooked
1 tbs olive oil
1 large shallot, minced
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
20 oz can crushed pineapple
Soy sauce and cilantro to taste

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot and the jalapeno or red pepper flakes and cook until softened. Add the uncooked rice and coat with oil and shallots. Add broth and pineapple. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover. Allow to simmer for approx 20 minutes until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed. Add a few splashes of soy sauce and a handful of chopped cilantro, stir and then taste. Add more soy or cilantro until it tastes good to you. The rice can be served hot, but it's also great at room temperature.

ZACH'S RATING - ****

I love chorizo and when I saw it at Wegman's this weekend when picking up a few odds and ends, I had to grab it. I haven't done my big shopping for the week and didn't have a lot of food on hand, but I threw this together this morning and hoped for the best. The sauce was a bit thinner than I would have liked (didn't have tomato paste) but the flavor was awesome!

I made this in the morning and put it in the crockpot so that all I had to do was make the pasta when I got home, but it could just as easily simmer on the stovetop.

Chorizo Spaghetti

Ingredients:

4 Chorizo sausage links, sliced
olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 large onion, sliced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup red wine
Dried basil
Italian blend cheese

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a pan on medium heat. Add in the garlic and chorizo, cook until chorizo crisps up a bit. Place in the crockpot. Add in all the other ingredients, except the cheese. Cook on low for approx 6 hours.

Serve over pasta with a bit of Italian blend cheese.

ZACH'S RATING - ****

This morning, Zach and I ran the Quest for the Cure 5k at Echo Lake Park in Cranford. It was perfect weather for a race, a little overcast and not too warm, just like I like it. Cecily was seeing a play with my in laws, so we only had the Finny boy in tow. Zach took one for the team and ran with the stroller so I could see if I could beat my time from the 5k I ran 2 weeks ago.

I was feeling over confident and took off a bit too fast, especially since there were a few decent hills right off the bat. After about a half mile I started feeling a little crappy so I decided to back off a bit and just get throught it. I wasn't expecting a good time at all and stopped paying close attention to my garmin.

When I got to the 3 mile marker, I was surprised that my garmin didn't match up. I didn't push too hard at the end because I thought I had much further to go, but the finish was right ahead! My garmin read 2.88 and my time was 30:38. Not really sure what went wrong, but I can only assume that the course was short. So I am not going to claim that as an official time!

But regardless of the outcome, I am happy that I am still getting closer to breaking 30 minutes. I had a really nice morning racing and helping raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I ran the New Jersey Marathon 2 years ago with Team in Training, and this charity has a special place in my heart.

Splits:

Mile 1 - 10:49
Mile 2 -10:27
.88 - 10:55

Ready to race

Warm weather = perfect timing for a grilling recipe swap!! I was psyched to get this recipe for a delicious chicken marinade from Sarah and loved that it was skewers. Zach and I love preparing chicken this way on the grill and I haven't done it in a long time.

It was a really good, healthy meal. Keep an eye out for Sarah's thai rice recipe in a week or two because I am dying to try it. I opted not to make it at the last minute this week because we were eating pretty late because of my classes and I didn't want to overload on yummy carbs at that time. But we are HUGE pineapple fans so I will be trying it soon!

Like Sarah, I marinated the chicken in pineapple juice, soy sauce, oil and pepper for about 2 hours and then placed them on the skewers. I also skewered some zucchini, onions (we LOVE grilled onions) and summer squash. They were seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil.

I am looking forward to having this meal become a summer staple!

This morning I ran the Run for Rotary 5k in Montgomery, NJ. What a beautiful day for a race!! This is the first 5k I ran 3 years ago when I started this journey and it felt awesome to be back.

I haven't raced a 5k since Thanksgiving and even though I know I have been getting faster, I wasn't sure what to expect. My first goal was to beat my Turkey Trot time, second goal was to beat 35 minutes and third goal was to beat 32:58, the time that I ran this race in 3 years ago. 2 out of 3 ain't bad, right? I finished in 33:05, just shy of goal number 3. But I couldn't be happier that I was able to shave 5 minutes off my time!!!

Here are my splits:

Mile 1 - 10:25
Mile 2 - 10:32
Mile 3 - 10:40
.1 - 9:09 pace

Looks like a sub 30 5k might be in the cards for me this summer!!