Deep Dish Pizza- Homemade Turkey Sausage

This is by far one of my favorite meals, I just love deep dish!! We had this last week and I am pretty sure we are having it again tonight!!!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb 99% lean ground turkey (not pictured)
• 2 tbsp ground sage
• 1 tsp ground red pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 water
• 15 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can Simply french bread
• 1 cup fat free shredded mozzarella cheese
• parmesan (not pictured)
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Brown turkey making sure you break it into tiny pieces while cooking.
3. Add to browning turkey, water, sage, garlic, onion, red pepper, salt & pepper
4. Take loaf out of can and find seam, unravel carefully until it is a flat squarish sheet.
5. Stretch as needed and place into sprayed/greased casserole pan (I use a glass pan that is between a 8X8 and 9X11)
6. Make sure you leave enough to cover bottom and about 1- 2 inches up the sides. Cut off any that is hanging over edge (I use these for breadsticks)
7. Place cheese on bread
8. Place any toppings you desire, I use 1 lb turkey sausage and sometimes throw some turkey pepperoni in too!
9. Bake until crust begins to slightly harden and turn from white to golden (NOT ALL THE WAY DONE)
10. While pizza is baking saute the tomatoes in the turkey skillet (to pick up extra flavor) and simmer over low heat for 5-10 mins until it is a little less watery, but not pasty!
11. Place tomatoes overtop of the pizza and finish baking until the crust is a nice done brown, not burnt brown HA HA
12. Immediately dump copious amounts of parmesan, ok so maybe not as much as I do, but if you like it, go for it!!!!!
13. Cut into sections and serve-this goes great with a nice greek salad (perhaps I should divulge my recipe for that soon)

Turkey with seasonings, I use a bamboo spatula to break it apart while browning

Finshed turkey sausage crumbles

How to 'un-roll' the bread loaf

Drape the bread over the pan and gently begin pressing down into the bottom and up the sides

Once bread is pressed down, add in cheese (I ran out of shredded mozz, so I added some fat free slices and a  string cheese I tore apart)

Dump sausage (& any other toppings) on top of cheese, NOTE...the bread should go slightly above the toppigns

Saute the tomatoes until there is a bit less water

Half baked and ready for tomatoes (notice the left over bread I made into delcious breadsticks!!)

Ready to reoven

Finished product with lots and lots of parmesan

Finished slice o' deep dish delight! 

Better n PB Chocolate Banana

Super SUPER easy snack that is delicious and packs some vital nutrition!!  I think I have found my new post run favorite snack ever!

To run alone or run with?

Today I ran a short 5K and had my husband run with me.  We run a similar pace where he really isn't much of a runner, so it was nice to not wait or be waited on.

But I think I am just a lone wolf.  Why do I prefer to run alone?  In nearly EVERY running training tip/guide/manual, they all suggest running with a partner.  I just prefer to run alone.

Although it was a special memory to run with my husband for the first time today!! Maybe I can get him to run in a race with me sometime!!!!!


What is your preferred training style? Alone or with someone, or a group?



On another note, I am still loving the Amphipod  hydration belt!! It is amazing and I use my Camelbak handheld for shorter/medium runs.

WOW...preschool is a killer

OK, so let's just say I am not a morning person. AT.ALL.

Neither is my precious yet precocious toddler.  We get along like that. Since waking up earlier is like death to us both I have come to one conclusion thanks to a fortunate finding on the first day.

Our first day consisted of waiting on her outside the building of her school to finish breakfast.  This made me grateful for 2 things.

1) That I unknowingly made a toteable breakfast
2) That she would eat it, albeit so slowly

Proof of the breakfast hold up!

Here are some of the meals we have been trying the past 2 weeks AND feel free to share you quick breakfast go tos!

• wheat bagel with cream cheese (I am a sucker for the little ones, they are just so cute)
• fruit salad
• Waffles
• one I shouldn't have here, but Bagelfuls (in the freezer section)
• Pancakes I have found are rather portable (w/o syrup) and can be made the night before or frozen ahead of time and warmed and you can use the sausage recipe below for breakfast pigs in a blanket
• frozen yogurt tubes and fruit (like a banana, apple, or grapes)
• smoothie, loaded with organic yogurt, fruit, and V-8 Splash...so good for you!
• Lazy Man's Cereal = dry cereal in a snack bowl or bag and boxed Horizon milk to drink 
• Breakfast sandwich...(you can make these ahead of time and freeze and micro before running out the door!)
• Cook egg whites in a small single egg skillet, let cool
• make turkey sausage patties, let cool
• ground turkey, sage, pepper, salt, garlic, and onion
• mash it all together and form into sausage sized patties (or sausage logs to wrap inside a pancake for breakfast pigs in a blanket)
• Make a bagel (not small one) sandwich by cutting the bagel in the middle, place egg white, sausage, and a slice of low fat cheese. You can freeze these or keep in fridge and use the next morning.

We have started reserving the oatmeal, cream of wheat, cereal, and any other not portable breakfast for non-school days and weekends. 

SO what are your tips/tricks for morning nutrition?

Marathon Monday (with a few ?s)

Ahhhhh....I am not a fan of cold weather, but I must admit I am enjoying these milder temps on my running days!!!  Last Wednesday (thanks to my husband's sweet mother and aunt  for providing childcare) I was able to do a long run of a little over 8 miles and today I ran 5.

My questions for those who have tread more miles than I...

1. I am still having trouble getting my breathing in check. The first 2 miles I feel like I have never ran before in my life, after mile 2 I seem fine and have no more issues breathing. What is my issue?
2. The front of my calves (around my shins laterally) are getting fatigued, is this shin splints, slight dehydration? I am not too sure since really there isn't a lot of muscle there.
3. With winter approaching, I have very sensitive ears to cold. What do you wear to not overheat but stay warm and what 'ear gear' do you recommend?

Wow more questions than posting today, but thanks for any insight you guys can give!! Feel free to post here or my FB page like most do!!

Happy Running everyone!

WHOLE FOODS deal on Living Social

Who says you can't eat healthy affordably?

$10 for $20 worth of food! Great deal, but can I ask a favor?

If you want this deal could you use this link so I can get reference credits?!?!?

Thank you!!

https://livingsocial.com/deals/123805?ref=personalized-link-box-26020699&rpi=26020699 

Caprese Salad

Light refreshing salad to have year round. My husband was craving a good caprese and I wanted to deliver but sadly good looking, fresh basil was unavailable so I made due with dried but it actually turned out quite yummy!!

INGREDIENTS:'

• Several Ripe Red Tomatoes
• Large Mozzerella Cheese Ball (slice it into 1/4" sections the cut the round slices into four pie shapes
• Fresh Basil leaves (w)ashed and dried) or dried Basil
• Balsalmic Vinegar

****I lined the plate with sliced cucumbers and crumbled fat free feta (this is great for fellow non-tomato eating comrades like me)****

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 1 cup Balsalmic Vinegar into small sauce pot, without lid, and heat over low heat until the liquid had reduced by half (meaning cooked and evaporated to half the liquid level you started with...so to 1/2 cup approximately). The vinegar should be a bit thicker and less tart.
2. While vinegar is reducing slice tomatoes and mozzarella into 1/4" slices and arrange by alternating them (tomato, mozz, basil, tomato, mozz, etc...). If you don't have any fresh basil leaves you can sprinkle dried basil into reducing balsalmic and on top of sliced cheese and tomato.
3. Allow reduced balsalmic to cool a bit before drizzling on top of cheese and tomato.

Balsalmic reducing.

Sliced tomato and Mozzerella sliced and the cut into quarters.

Beginning to stack and alternate the mozzerella and tomato

Adding basil to reduced balsalmic.

 

Basil Sprinkled Mozz & Tomatoes

Veggie plate Drizzled with reduced vinegar

We nearly missed eatting dinner because we just scarfed this down!! As you can see from the above pics I lined the plate with cucumber slices and fat free feta (remember I don't like tomatoes).  I did have my fair share of mozzerella though :o)

Roasted Corn Chowder

It's a rainy day here, may have to make this again!!!

You will have instant fans after serving this...it is yummmmm

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 small-medium onion (chopped & finely diced)
• 1 cup chopped carrots (or shredded)
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 orange bell pepper
• 6 small potatoes (peeled & diced)-I used red potatoes
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• milk (approximately 1/2 cup)
• 10 grilled or roasted ears of corn (cut from cob)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• GARNISH
• turkey bacon
• fat free sour cream
• cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1. Prepare onions, peppers, potatoes, and corn (see pic below for indoor grilling tips)
2. Pour all ingredients except milk, butter, and flour into crockpot.
3. Mix well and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
4. Make a roux
1. melt butter in saucepan
2. slowly whisk in flour
3. after flour is incorporated into butter add in milk slowly to make a thick broth (about 1 cup worth)
5. Remove a few cups of the chowder and blend in a blender with roux or dump in roux and use immersion blender to mix chowder and blend it until it has reached your desired consistency.
6. Serve with turkey bacon bits, fat free sour cream, cheese, salsa whatever floats your corn chowder boat!

Pouring diced veggies into crock

Mixing all ingredients together.

Roast the corn on a cast iron griddle (spray with baking spray and 'grill' until browned) season with salt and pepper.

  

Cut from cob before adding corn to chowder.

Chowder cooking.

 

Making a roux, I don't do it the correct way, but it works :o)

My roux ready to be added to chowder.

Roux added and after this pic I used an immersion blender to chop up about 1/2 the chowder

Final product after blending.

We liked a fat free sour cream, turkey bacon, cheese mix on ours.

Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
• 1/2 cup Ideal Sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped strawberries (for muffins, not jam)
• 1/4 cup egg whites
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup- 1 cup chopped strawberries & 1/2 cup Ideal sugar for jam
• 1/4 cup applesauce

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients
2. Add in egg, vanilla, milk, applesauce, and mix well
3. Fold in strawberries.
4. Bake at 350 until golden (around 20-25 mins)
5. While baking cook jam
1. Mix strawberries and sugar
2. Cook over medium heat until thick and mash if needed
6. While muffins are hot core a center hole or simply mash in a tsp or 2 of the warm strawberry jam.

If ya want to...

**over low heat melt 1/4 cup cream cheese and add in 1/4 cup Ideal sugar, drizzle over muffins

Mix Dry Ingredients for muffins

**no picture but add wet in and mix well

**fold in strawberries

Chop up more strawberries for the jam filling

Cook strawberries with a bit of sugar to make the jam

Mash Up strawberries and cook until they are thick

Make holes in muffins and place a few teaspoons of the strawberry jam

My Review of Amphipod Full-Tilt AirStretch Velocity Hydration Waistpack - 20 fl. oz.

Originally submitted at REI

The Amphipod Full-Tilt AirStretch™ Velocity hydration waistpack offers a lightweight design and a low profile that help eliminate the discomfort of traditional bottle packs.

Amphipod Full-Tilt AirStretch Velocity Hydration Waistpack - 20 fl. oz.

Finally!! No more bouncing or handhelds!

By HealthyLantern at blogspot from Richmond, VA on 9/2/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Comfortable, Stable, Highly Adjustable

Best Uses: Running

Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational

What Is Your Gear Style: Minimalist

Was this a gift?: No

I have been training for a half and I was getting really frustrated with other packs and just sick of carrying a handheld for miles and miles. This did bounce a slight bit initially but decreased as I drank. The bounce was very slight and not too annoying. Bottle was big enough to keep me hydrated on my 8 mile run and I still had some when I got home. I haven't tried out the pouch but it does seem like enough for a gel, key, maybe a smaller phone. I 'think' you can buy additional pockets that go on the belt if you need more storage. The stretchy belt made all the difference in less bouncing and comfort. I could wear the pack on my lower waist just below my naval, still higher than I would like but much lower than 4 other waist packs I have tried.

(legalese)

Everything-but-the-sink Southwest Salad

Cut a cucumber lengthwise then in half. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds.

This is a GREAT salad...you can get the gist and make your own but here is what I used. We were full to the brim and had plenty left over. This is more meal than salad, but healthy nonetheless!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large bag mixed salad green
• 8 oz corn (I used thawed frozen)
• 8 oz drained, rinsed black beans
• 1 small cucumber
• small heirloom tomatoes
• 4 strips turkey bacon
• 8 oz cooked chicken cut into strips
• Ovengold turkey breast cut up
• 2 tortillas cooked on griddle until toasted, then crumbled

Dressing:
1/4 cup ranch
1/2 cup your favorite salsa (I like Private Selections peppery corn and black bean)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground red pepper
salt & pepper to taste mix
**optional add in 4-6 oz mashed avacado (we just add some to our salads later)