"Fatterday"

For whatever reason I'm pretty sure Drew only knows two days of the week. Well he only talks about two days. They are, Tuesday and Fatterday. Clearly he's trying to say Saturday, but the way it comes out is so much better and accurate! I know I have to go for a long run on Saturday mornings because after that, Saturday morphs into Fatterday. I think I'm going to go tomorrow this week since there is expected to be some serious snow accumulation by Saturday morning and I will be doing some equally serious eating given the weather forecast and the Superbowl!

I pulled from my archives for some great, snowy Fatterday food. Perfect for cozying up for the Superbowl this weekend or just to have something smelling good in the house while we get hit with another blizzard.

While I enjoyed this, I would like to say that I did not think the amount of effort was in proportion to the meal. You know what I mean? Sometimes if a recipe is super easy and quick and tastes good-enough, well, then I love it and its going in the rotation. But if it tastes good- enough but was a decent amount of work, then it's just so-so in my mind. There were a few key changes I would make to see that it is better next time and I will share these with you so that hopefully all your hard work pays off at the end!

Also, this dish was even better as leftovers - probably because the memory of making it was long gone and I could enjoy it without having to labor over it first! I had it heated with some tortilla chips like nachos. I know, so healthy. Such is Fatterday!

Chile Con Carne

6 poblano chiles
2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 tbl flour
3 cups chopped onion
4 cloves minced garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 cup beef broth
1 tbl dried oregano
1 tbl ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste
3 chipotle chiles (canned in adobo sauce) - in the mex section
cilantro and cheddar cheese for toppings

Preheat the broiler to high for poblanos.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper, and then dredge in the 3 tablespoons of flour. Shake off the excess, and then add it to the pan. Sautee 5 minutes or until browned on all sides. You don't need to cook it to death, just brown it - it will cook more in the sauce later! Remove with a slotted spoon and let excess fat drain while you cook onions.






Add onions and garlic to pan and cook for 3 minutes or so before adding beef back in. Stir in the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin, and beef broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes to an hour.


While thats simmering, throw the poblanos on a foil lined baking sheet. Put them in your preheated broiler for 8-10 minutes or until charred. When you take them out of the oven put them in a plastic bag and let them steam and soften. Let it stand for 15 minutes before you take them out, peel and chop them.


I thought the peel was a little difficult to remove (probably because I didnt let them good and charred enough) but in any case, I left the peel mostly on and rough chopped them. Add them in after the stew has been simmering for about half an hour, and then let it simmer another half hour (minimum).


After simmering and before serving, add in the 3 chopped chipotles. Scale back if you like less heat, but I thought the recipe lacked big flavor and really needed at least 3 chiles.

Garnish with cilantro and cheddar!

Hope everyone has a great time in the snow and that your superbowl plans are not ruined! I could care less who wins, I'm just celebrating the end of football season and the return of my husband!! :)

Some Days its Just Not Happening

Its true with everything... some days the house just isn't getting clean no matter how hard you try. Your kids will terrorize one room while you clean another. Sometimes dinner just isn't happening. Usually it doesn't happen for me on Thursdays. After Sunday-Wednesday of being on top of my meal plans for the week, I'm done on Thursday. And even though I had something planned on the menu I pull out the box of mac n cheese or just skip dinner and go straight to ice cream. Because some days... it is just not happening.

And for me this week, it seems that running/exercise is just not happening. The lovely snow storm has blocked all paths out of my neighborhood. Unless I want to run circles around my street or into headfirst traffic on a busy two lane road at 5 am in the dark, there will be no running outside. Weather is calling for 4 more inches tonight and 18, 18!!!! more this weekend. Damn you groundhog.

This morning I dropped Drew at preschool and then rushed over to Lifetime for the 9:30 spin class I try and do on Tuesdays with my friend Keri. I knew when I was winded from walking up the stairs to the spin room that this was going to be a tough class. Let me just say... spin is freaking hard. I would rather run 10 miles than spin for 1 hour.

So 10 minutes into class my legs still felt like bricks. I told myself that if I still felt that way at 30 minutes then maybe today just wasn't my day. I hate hate hate hate hate quitting. I've felt this way before in class but always stuck it out til the end. But today I just felt defeated. I ended up getting off the bike 35 minutes in to trade off for the treadmill. Its pretty embarrassing to quit... the only way out is right in front of the instructor and everyone in the class has to watch you leave.

I put the treadmill on a low level hill workout and started to run. At about 15 minutes in I feel a tap on my shoulder. A woman I didn't know was standing there.

"Did you know you have a rip in your pants on your butt?"
"Are you kidding me. Is it bad?"
"Umm. I can see your pink underwear?"

Awesome. I ran to the bathroom to check it out and sure enough there was a rather large, very embarrassingly placed hole in the buttocks of my favorite, and only, pair of Capri pants that my fat pregnant butt had now split in two. A hole that had been exposed for 15 minutes to all of Lifetime Fitness and, even better, to the entire spin class and the instructor. A hole that would continue to be exposed to the parents and teachers at preschool when I went to pick up Drew because I didn't have time to go home and change.

Yes, some days it is just not happening. But in the famous words of one of my favorite ladies, Ms. Scarlet O'Hara, tomorrow is another day!

Italian Festa Part I

This past weekend we loaded up the kids and two pounds of fried meatballs for my mom's annual "Italian Festa." For the past few years she has gotten us all together to cook and eat Italian food all day long in honor of her mom's mom and dad (so my great grandparents), Maria and Antonio DiGregorio. Originally from Abruzzi in South Central Italy, Nana's mom and dad came over to Ellis Island to give my Nana, her sister Olga and her two brothers, Nino and Gino, a better life in America.

Here is the whole family and my dad holding up a picture of Mary and Tony:

Even though I was dead tired from a week of getting up early and braving the cold, and then some very long days with the kiddos while Kevin worked late, I knew there was no way I could truly enjoy Festa without a good long run in the morning! Its kind of like Italian Thanksgiving... you just have to fit in a workout in order to lay on your butt for the rest of the day and stuff your face and justify it. I was so happy to run with my two friends Meredith and Becca. They always keep the conversation flowing so it was easy to keep up a good clip for a nice 6+ mile run, all before the snow started falling.

Kevin wanted to get a workout in too so he went to the gym when I got home. By the time we finally got on the road around 11 the snow was COMING DOWN. I think I had one giant contraction the entire way to Winchester. I've never seen so many cars crashed on the side of the road before, and even worse I've never actually seen accidents HAPPEN right infront of my eyes. It is the most helpless feeling!! I prayed pretty much the entire way there that we would arrive safely, as well as every other car on the road, and thankfully we did.

The day was filled with food and family, my two favorite things. I especially love being silly with my sisters, because thats what sisters are for! Laura was responsible for making an app and she made these super tasty Spinach and Prosciutto Cups. They were pretty easy and I love that there was filling leftover, so it could be used in other recipes (stuffed in chicken breast, layered in a lasagna) for later in the week (she did double the recipe below though). I thought these might be something to try if you're going to a Superbowl Party this weekend and wanted to bring something different.

Spinach and Prosciutto Cups

1 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach

8 oz ricotta cheese

1/2 cups freshly grated parm cheese

1 cup chopped mushrooms

1 small minced onion (I'd recommend a red onion)

1/4 tsp oregano

1 egg slightly beaten

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

12 thin slices prosciutto (fresh cut from the deli is best because it will be easier to fill the cups)

maybe some PAM

preheat oven to 375 degrees

Fill the cups with a thin layer of prosciutto, enough to cover the bottom and sides. Press it onto the sides so it forms a cup. If you aren't using a sweet baking sheet like this one, then make sure you spray some PAM first.

Cook and drain the spinach according to package directions, and then combine it in a bowl with parmesan, mushrooms, onion, oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and egg.

Fill the cups about 2/3 full with ricotta mixture...

Sprinkle with a touch of extra parm...

Bake 20-25 minutes in a 375 degree oven and then remove from muffin tins. YUM!!

The chef holding her masterpiece (sideways) :)

More recipes to come!

The Best Meal Is...

...the one someone else makes for you!!

Two weeks ago my mom called out of the blue and offered to drive out for the afternoon to spend time with the boys so that I could rest or get some errands done. How awesome!! I went out to certain places that just stink to go to with kids (went to the bike shop and had the tires replaced on my double stroller, leisurely browsed around Barnes and Noble with a Starbucks cup, and lost myself in the two floors of Forever 21).

The greatest part of all is that my mom brought dinner with her!! There is nothing better in my mind than a home cooked meal you didn't have to make. I didn't have to plan it, buy stuff for it, make it, clean it up, or pay for someone else to make it. Therefore it could have been anything, and it would have been delicious!

But my mom is an excellent cook and we have the exact same "taste" when it comes to food so this really WAS delicious!

Two things. 1 - This is a great recipe to experiment with new flavors in your house. Although Biryani is traditionally an Indian dish, I think this recipe tones it down for the American palate so you get some bold new flavors, but not too spicy or overwhelming. Just different. Batman even loved it!

2 - Take the opportunity to build your spice cabinet!!! I always hate when a recipe calls for a spice I don't have, because I know that's an extra $5 on my grocery bill. But then its awesome the next time I make something and the spices are already in my cabinet.

Easy Chicken Biryani (from Cooking Light)

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced ...removing the seeds makes the jalapeno a lot less spicy. Just don't scratch your eye or nose until you've washed your hands :)
• a 1 inch piece of fresh minced ginger, a few cloves chopped garlic (or don't forget the Dorot cubes if raw ginger/garlic scares you!)
• Spices: 1 1/2 tsp garam masala, 3/4 tsp ground cumin, salt to taste
• About 2 plum tomatoes chopped (I'm sure you could sub 1 can diced tomatoes here)
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 14 oz chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds and lime wedges for garnish

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Add chicken and saute 3 minutes before adding onion and jalapeno. After three more minutes add the ginger, garlic, and spices. Let cook through a few more minutes then add in tomatoes, rice, raisins and broth. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender! Stir in the cilantro, sprinkle with almonds and serve with lime wedges.

My mom also said she sometimes makes everything without the rice, and then spoons the chicken over separately cooked rice. Just a thought! I enjoy having only one pot to clean up myself :) Enjoy!

Stop Before you Shop

I hope everyone set their Tivo's to record today's Oprah. It is on a subject I have been passionate about for some time, and I am so happy to see her talking about it to such a wide, attentive audience! WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM! Especially since I've had kids, I've given a lot more thought about what we put in our bodies in relation to antibiotics, hormones and distance from the source as opposed to just calories, carbs and fat. I wholeheartedly believe so many of the problems in our country related to health are directly resulting from the effect of capitalism on our food supply.

I beg you to read the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. It really changed my idea about HOW we eat. I would like to point out that I am not a vegetarian at all, but I do pay attention to where my meat comes from. It's a tough trade off... because I'm still a very busy mom who is not rolling in money so that I could buy the best of everything. If my kids want grapes in the dead of winter, I buy them. I buy bananas 52 weeks out of the year and eat fruit flown in from who-knows-where all winter long. We eat hot dogs and mac n cheese like every other family. I am no where near the poster child for this cause!! But I do try and make as many small changes as I can!

I love that Michael Pollan says "eat all the junk food you want but cook it yourself." This is so true!! It is so easy to make your kids chicken nuggets, and I rather deep fry it myself with controlled ingredients then the ones from the frozen section. Don't misunderstand me... we go to McDonalds and I have a bag of frozen nuggets in the freezer for when I'm in a pinch... but I've realized how easy and cheap it is to make things like this.

If you live in the area here are some local resources to think about.

• Join your local CSA!! Great Country Farms offers a great one and the sign up starts NOW! I split a half share with a girlfriend last year and that kept it affordable. Local, fresh vegetables AND fruits were delivered to our doorstep weekly. The best part is the CSA includes membership to the farm so that you can bring your kids for FREE to pick the local produce and really show them that strawberries grow outside on vines and are actually no bigger than my thumb unless they are stuffed with hormones!! And of course GCF is a great place to take the kids to play!

• There is a fantastic butcher in Middleburg that sells LOCAL organic, hormone-free, vegetarian or grass fed MEAT! It is called the Home Farm Store. You can buy your chicken, beef and pork fresh or FROZEN (I do this and stock up). They also sell eggs there!

• Fields of Athenry, off Snickersville Turnpike is a great place to take your kids and buy your meat locally when the weather changes. They have Open Farm Fridays where you can walk among the roaming chickens and pigs with your kids and pick out your eggs or meat for the week. I thought it was really cool to teach the kids that this is where our meat comes from... not magically appearing boneless in cellophane wrap at the grocery store.

• Fields of Athenry provides the local meat for our very own Leesburg/South Riding establishments, Vintage 50 and 51! American Flatbread in Ashburn is a local pizza place that serves meat from local farms as well.

• Grow your own garden! It is so much simpler than I ever thought. I literally threw seeds in the ground last year and watered them about once every two weeks and reaped enough of a harvest that I had enough to keep us fed on a night when the fridge was empty. People prepare their gardens around here in April, so keep that in mind in the upcoming months!

Not soup, Not vegetarian!

This morning Kate and I were joined by our neighbor Leslie (hi Leslie!) on our morning run! It was fun to add another person to the mix. In the summertime I see my neighbors every single day. We go outside and play for hours on end - I mean the kids play for hours on end ;) Then in the winter we go into hibernation mode and we don't see each other from about late November until April. Basically, I told my neighbors I was pregnant in the fall and they probably won't see me again until I've delivered. So I love that Leslie runs because its the best way to catch up, especially during hibernation time.

On our run she mentioned she's not a soup person (I know, shocking) and I realized how many soups I've been posting and how many vegetarian ones at that! So I thought I'd switch gears. Very fast and easy and not too much chopping required (for you, Angela!)

Also... be warned that my camera officially died this weekend. I'm pulling from old recipes for a while and then either we pull the plug and buy a newer nicer camera or I'm a pictureless food blog... that would be so sad.

from this month's Cooking Light (with some adjustments):

Steak Tips with Peppered Mushroom Gravy

2 cups uncooked egg noodles
1 pound top sirloin steak, cut into 3/4 inch strips
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallot (I just used half a yellow onion)
1 8 oz package presliced baby bella mushrooms
3 cloves minced garlic or 2 cubes Dorot garlic
2 tbl soy sauce (recipe calls for 1, I call for 2)
3 tbl flour
1 1/4 cups beef broth
1/4 cup red wine
1 tbl Worcestershire
1 tablespoon dried thyme
S&P



While cooking your noodles, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan. Add steak tips, toss to coat in oil, add salt and pepper and let brown on all sides. Don't worry about cooking all the way through because it goes back in the sauce later. Remove from pan and cover.



Now melt the 1 tbl of butter in the same pan and add mushrooms, garlic and onion (or shallot). Saute for about 4 or 5 minutes then stir in the soy sauce and Worcestershire (not in the original recipe but it was needed).


The recipe says to sprinkle flour on top but I hate the potential for clumps so instead whisk the flour in with the beef broth, and then add that to the pan. I also added 1/4 cup of red wine because a lot of Cooking Light's recipes are fairly bland. The red wine helped - or maybe I'm just pregnant and take alcohol where I can get it :)

Stir constantly while sauce thickens and then add the thyme leaves (fresh thyme leaves would be prettier but I didn't have any and didn't feel like spending $3 on some), salt and a generous amount of pepper. Bring to a boil, return beef to pan, cook two minutes until thickened and then reduce heat and cook another minute or two before serving.



There are egg noodles hiding under all that steak. Kevin was so happy to not be eating shrimp and tofu again. :)

Tuscan Bread Soup

The best thing about running is definitely the way you feel when you're done. I had such a great run this morning and it was so rejuventaing after some not-so-great ones this week. Last Saturday I definitely went way too fast for my body and was paying for it for the next few days. It was discouraging. I only ran twice with Kate this week because I was being lazy and they were slow slow runs - she's a saint for sticking with me :)

Then I went to the gym last night and wanted to hop on the treadmill for a little bit. I ran TWO miles. TWO. And they were so painful and terrible. I hate the treadmill!! Its so much harder than running outside, mentally at least. I think the hardest part is that you can get off at any time. And its boring. Dead boring.

So I was so thankful that my two good friends stuck with me this morning and went nice and slow with me for a longer run. Such a great way to start out the weekend.

Here's some great weekend food, perfect for a cold day like today. Kate gave me this amazing cookbook for Christmas called the Daily Soup Cookbook and everything in it looks delicious. This recipe did NOT disappoint. It was a hearty "peasant dish" that was pretty inexpensive and fast. My favorite things about it are 1) that its vegetarian but still very filling, 2) I got to use leeks (had to you-tube how to cut and prepare leeks because I forgot), and 3) I loved the bread in the soup. It won't disappoint!!

Tuscan Bread Soup

1/2 sourdough baguette cut into 1 inch cubes (mmm I love sourdough!!)
1 tsp garlic powder
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Spread the bread cubes out on a baking sheet, place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes at 300 degrees until crisp. I did this part earlier in the day when the kids were occupied just so I could throw the soup together faster before dinner. You could do it the night before if you wanted. Took 2 minutes, and you could even reserve some of the cubes for croutons for salads through the week!

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large spanish onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 leeks, rinsed and well chopped (how to prepare leeks)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
6 cups Veggie Broth
1 28 ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and diced
1 bunch of basil STEMS tied together (will discard before serving)
shaved parm and chopped parsely for garnish

Heat the olive oil over medium heat and add the onion, celery, leeks, and garlic. Let it "sweat" for about 5 minutes until tender, then stir in the dry spices (salt, pepper, cayenne and thyme). Toss to coat.



Add the stock, diced tomatoes and basil stems tied together and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes. I loved doing this with the stems - it really infused the basil flavor without actually adding basil. It was a cool method to try - but if all you have is dried basil I'm sure thats fine too!




Now remove from heat, remove those basil stems, stir in the bread cubes and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Here's where I would do it differently next time - this made PLENTY of soup, and I wish I put the bread cubes in each individual bowl and ladled soup over it. The second you add the bread cubes it starts absorbing liquid. Kevin was about an hour later then he said he would be and I was calling him going "HOW FAR AWAY ARE YOU??!! My soup is being ruined by the second!!" Also we didnt finish it all and its sat in tupperware in the fridge for about 1 week now (about to move on to the trashcan) because its straight up soaked bread now. I HATE wasting leftovers. It really has to be eaten right away so I would recommend doing it bowl by bowl. Its easier to save it that way too.



Top with the chopped parsley and shredded parm... it really was a pretty bowl!

Oh and Batman gobbled it up! So its kid friendly too. He liked the pieces of bread just cut up! It goes without saying Superman wouldn't get near it... kid doesn't know what he's missin!