Bacon/Brussels/Sweet Potato Hash + Crossfit Total

Soooo this could probably be labeled as a "breakfast" hash, but since I've never had it for breakfast, it's not.  Plus, I could eat eggs for every meal and probably never get sick of them.  Seriously, had fried eggs for breakfast AND lunch yesterday.  Makes a great pre-workout snack, too. ;)  Oh, and don't forget the BACON!

Now I know you're going to tell me you don't like Brussels sprouts.  I thought I didn't either.  Lies.  Roast the shit out of those suckers.  Add bacon.  Delicious.

Another way to get people (yourself!) to like them is buying the bag of "shaved brussels sprouts" from Trader Joe's.  That's what I used here.  I'm sure you could chop them up yourselves, but this is just so much easier!  And add bacon.  Duh.

Without further adieu, my favorite breakfast for dinner recipe:

Bacon/Brussels/Sweet Potato Hash
source:  How Sweet it is

4-6 slices bacon  (who am I kidding, always use more)
1 small red onion, diced
2  medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 cups shredded brussels sprouts
4-6 large eggs
salt + pepper to taste

Fry bacon in skillet until crispy.  Remove and drain on paper towel.  Add chopped sweet potato and onion to bacon grease and cook until softened, 8-10 minutes.  you may need to add a little coconut oil if they start sticking.  Add brussels sprouts and stir to combine everything, cooking another 4-5 minutes until wilted, but still crunchy.  Set aside to cool a bit.

Fry up eggs in another frying pan, and place atop hash.  Stuff your face!

I always get 4 servings out of this, 2 for us for dinner, and 2 more for lunch the next day.  It's also a quick, easy meal to make when I forget to pull meat out to defrost.  (...which is more often then I'd like to admit!)

We ran out of bacon last week, and it took a few days for me to get to the store to pick some more up.  I obviously needed to make up for some lost time.
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So, let me set the scene for how our weekends go around here:
Thursday evening, checking the WOD blog last week, I'm in the kitchen, Sean's on the couch.

Sean: I'm going to tell you the warm up and after bash, guess what the WOD is.

Me: Okay... (thinking it's Murph - naturally)

Sean: Skill Warmup is "Total Skills"; After Bash: "Ring that PR Bell!"

Me: Uhhhhhh Crossfit Total?

YUP!

PR SATURDAY BABY!

I'm still not a member of the 200 club. :sadface:  I tried.  I failed. (literally dropped the weight on myself. That was fun.)  God, I want it so bad.  IT'S SO CLOSE.

I DID make significant improvements though!  +15# on back squat, +10# on strict press, +20# on my deadlift. Whoop!  Sean did well, too.  Up to 795# total from 770#.  In almost four months.  We celebrated with some beers.

We're going to need more bumper plates veeeeeeeeeeeeeerrry soon.  Or well, now.  But I don't feel like dropping $200, so OB-VEE we're waiting for a sale.  Or something like that...  :D

PR's are fun, bro.

And exhausting, apparently.

Crossfit Open 2013

Thoughts?  No?  Well, you're going to get mine anyway.

We've been doing the open workouts, but haven't registered.  It would have just been a pain in the ass to either try to get into a box every week, or attempt to videotape to send it in.

Either way, we've been having a blast with the WODs! (kind of)

I mentioned 13.1, but the rest have been just as FUN.

13.2:
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
Shoulder to overhead, 5 reps (115/75)
Deadlift, 10 reps  (115/75)
15 Box jumps, 24/20" box  

13.3:
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (14 lbs to 9' target)/(20 lbs to 10' target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups

13.4:
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps 
3 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
135/95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar...
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc. 

Not gonna lie, I've been pretty impressed with myself.  I'm not putting out any top of the line scores or anything (not even close), but we have been completing every workout as prescribed.

And we're onto Reebok Crossfit One.  Every week they've posted a WOD on Tues/Wed with something to do with the Open workout of that week.  At first I thought it was coincidence, but it does NOT appear that way.  Jerks.  I was mad for 13.2, we had just done a shitton of deadlifts on Thurs, and had to wait til Sat to recover enough for the Open WOD.  However, for the C&J, I totally PR'd the day before, and it really boosted my confidence for 13.4.  I was kind of scared of the 95#, but once I got 110 (and felt like I had more!) I was totally ready for it.  So I guess their programming isn't so mischevious after all ;)

 This week so far we've done running and power cleans.  And burpee pullups.  And thrusters.  I have a feeling some kind of jacked up Fran workout is coming for 13.5.  According to Dave Castro, "They're going to have to feel pain that they've never felt before ... It's going to be a bloodbath."

CAN'T. WAIT.  

They are having Camille Leblanc-Bazinet (vs Sam Briggs) and Rich Froning (vs Jason Khalipa) do the workout after the announcement.  The only two people I'd want to actually tune in for the live stream, but we'll be at a Green Day concert tonight.  Maybe if they aren't on yet, I'll stream from my phone :D

Are you participating in the Open?  How'd you do?
  

St Paddy's Day Pistachio Cake

I can't be the only person who, while trying a new recipe, has 14 tabs open in Google Chrome, tries to substitute everything for anything, yells to ask my husband if he thinks if I leave this out, add that, and then sub an entire different recipe in for an ingredient if it'll work (like he knows what he's talking about!).

Oh, I am?

Well that's what went down Friday night.  I asked what he wanted, and Sean requested pistachio cake for St Paddy's Day.  I knew I had a recipe one of his co-workers gave me 4 years ago at my bridal shower.  (side note: FOUR YEARS?!?! Holy crap.)  Of course I didn't check the recipe before I went food shopping (why would anyone do something like that?).

I knew it had pistachio pudding mix.  I assumed it would have flour and sugar, maybe some milk.  And pistachios, OB-vee.

Yeah.  Notsomuch.  A BOXED CAKE MIX.  Some "recipe"!

So off to google I go to find another pistachio cake recipe.  Sour cream? Nope.  Mix for 90 seconds exactly while jumping up and down, then add eggs at the same time as flour?  Sounds like a mess. Nope.

Well, at least I had the pudding mix.  I can find a yellow cake mix recipe....right?  Dry milk powder?

No dry milk powder.  DAMNNIT.

This is where I start yelling to my cooking-illiterate husband about substitutions.  This cake is happening tonight.  I'm desperate.  I throw some stuff together and hope for the best...

And THE BEST it is.  I am NOT a fan of pistachios, and I wanted to lick the entire bowl before I even put the cake in the oven.  That miiiiiiiiight have something to do with 2 cups of sugar, but we won't talk about that right now.

St Paddy's Day Pistachio Cake
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups cake flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 package (3.4 oz) instant pistachio pudding mix
4 eggs
1 cup fresca (or club soda)
1/2 cup light olive oil
1/2-1 cup shelled, roasted pistachios

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and pudding mix until combined.  Add eggs, soda, and olive oil, and mix on low until incorporated, then on medium for 1-2 minutes to combine.

Pour into a oiled/floured large bundt pan, or 9x11 dish, and bake for 40-50 min until toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool and transfer to plate.  Serve with optional glaze (below), or ganache, or powdered sugar!

Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
2-3 tbsp milk

Combine glaze ingredients in small bowl, adding milk to reach desired consistency.  Drizzle over cake.  Top with more pistachios, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc, etc.

Pretty green inside.  (Terrible photo...I kind of killed the cake when I tried to cut it!)

I need to get this cake out of my house!  Any takers?

Knockoff Chipolte Burrito Bowls (and 13.1)

Ever get in the mood for Chipolte?  Usually this coincides with "I don't want to cook tonight."   Haha.  For once, I was feeling some Mexican, but since it was a Saturday, I had no excuse not to cook.  I may or may not have also mixed up some grapefruit margaritas.  Mmmm.

I threw these burrito "bowls" together based off the Chipolte burrito bowl.  They were AMAZING.  And so simple!  A lot of steps, but VERY easy.  And if you already have leftovers, it's even easier!  I used quinoa instead of rice, and crockpot salsa chicken.  Fry up some pepper onions, heat up the black beans, and BAM!  This will definitely be happening again.

Burrito Bowls (serves 4)

Ingredients:

Cilantro Lime Quinoa:
juice of 1 lime
2 cups quinoa
4 cups water
1 tbsp EVOO
2 tsp cilantro
S&P to taste

Salsa Chicken:
5-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 jar salsa  (I used trader joe's roasted garlic)
1 (16 oz) can tomato sauce
1 4 oz can green chiles

Toppings:
1 can black beans
1 bell pepper, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
EVOO

Optional Add Ons:
Cheese (cheddar, colby jack)
Avocado
sour cream
more salsa!

Start with the chicken.  Add the chicken to the crockpot with salsa, sauce and chiles.  Mix up to coat everything, then cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Shred chicken and return to sauce for 30 minutes to incorporate everything.

Once chicken has been shredded, start on the quinoa.  Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and olive oil, and cook for 20 minutes, until water is absorbed.  Pour quinoa into a bowl and fluff with fork.  Mix in cilantro, lime juice, season with S&P

While quinoa is cooking, add some EVOO to a frying pan over medium high and fry up the peppers and onions.

Drain and rinse black beans, heat in small saucepan.

Once everything is done, it's time to assemble!  (News Team, ASSEMBLEEEEEEEE!)

Quinoa, salsa chicken, black beans, peppers and onions.  Add a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese, top with sliced avocado.  YUM!

So...last week was Workout 13.1 for the Crossfit Open.  It's 5 weeks of WODs, they announce it every Wednesday.  We didn't officially sign up for the open since we don't belong to a box...figured we'd save our money...but we are still going to be doing the WODs!  Last week was killer.  Burpees and Snatches.

Considering my 1RM before attempting this was 85# for Snatch, I was somewhat intimidated by the Female RX.  Buuuuuuuuuut I did it!  We finished the 30 burpees with 7 minutes to go, so I had 7 minutes to attempt 30 snatches at 75#.  And I got 21!  I feel like if I did it again I could have gotten more...but not really all that motivated to do it again.  ;)  I also broke our futon on the 21st rep.  Whoops.

I'm pretty impressed with our attempts.  Sean had never snatched 135# and said it was going up pretty easy at the end.  It's a scary weight, but 90% of it is a freaking head game.  Once you get past the mental block that "HOLY SHIT I'M THROWING "X" POUNDS OVER MY HEAD" and just do it, it's surprisingly easy.  Amazing.  Too bad I learned that AFTER the WOD. ;)  At least now I'm prepared for 13.2!

Somebody needs a haircut.

Things I will Never Understand

Warning:  This is a judgmental post.  If you don't like it, don't read it.  

I know you're all dying to find out what I can't stand/don't get.  Here you go! 

Fro-yo.  It's not that good.  I'll take the real shit over fake "fat-free" "yogurt" that tastes like plastic and is only exciting because you get to cover it in your own toppings aaaaaaany day.

Taking pictures of yourself after a sweaty workout.  Seriously? Ew. Why do people do this?  Just tell me you worked out, I'll believe you. 

Traffic for no fucking reason.  Enough said.  I at least want to see a body on the side of the road or a car flipped upside down if I have to sit more then an hour to get home.  #justkidding #kindof #beentheredonethat

Why people have to explain the same thing 14 times.  I'm not an idiot. I promise.  I probably got it the first time.  Definitely the second.  Now you just like to hear yourself talk.  ::cough::realtor::cough::

Politics.  Our country is falling apart and all anyone can worry about is campaigning/guncontrol/theirnextvacation.  Good priorities. #Highfive.  Budget? What's that? We need one of those?

People that document their entire lives on facebook.  Don't be that guy.  Live yo life!

Ermagerhd?  Why is this cool?  Can OMG come back at least? This is just dumb.  You sound like a 2 year old learning how to talk.

American Idol/The Voice/competition shows.  I get it.  One was enough. We don't need 15.

Nutella.  Never had it.  Don't get the appeal.  Why not just eat nuts and chocolate without all the extra crap?  (Ingredients: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (milk), lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin: an artificial flavor.)  NOTHANKYOU

Seinfeld.  It's not funny.  Like, at all.

iPhone. Yeah.  I'm an android girl.  I don't get the hype.  The headphone jack is at the bottom? Holy shit that's so new and exciting! Ineedtobuyitrightnow!1!!!!1!!!

Nail Polish.  People are OBSESSED with this shit.  Have you checked Pinterest lately?  I can't even paint my own nails without getting it everywhere.  These people are like professionals.

Soy.  Just, yuck.  This isn't good for you people.  Look it up.  Don't eat it.

Lululemon.  Why you so expensive?  $98 for YOGA PANTS?  I totally own some, but I still don't like the price tag.

People wishing their small children "Happy Birthday" on Facebook.   They can't read.  They don't have a FB.  There is no reason for this.

Taxes.  Apparently being married with no house or children means we get to pay Uncle Sam out the ass.  Fuck taxes.

Grown-ass women that are obsessed with Disney.   Just, no.

People that drink soda... before 9AM.  Haven't we learned soda is terrible for you?  And for breakfast? Ew.

What are some things/trends you just don't get?

Crossfit, brah.

So!  I haven't talked about crossfit in awhile (on here at least--IRL, that's another story).

We finally have a schedule!  We've been following Reebok Crossfit One's WODs.  They're pretty awesome.  And they throw in some strength cash outs, too.

We bought some whiteboards on Woot! a few months back, and have been recording the WODs/weights/times through that.  Time isn't an exact science, but I'm not really worried about it. ;)

We've been trying the 3 days on, 1 day off approach, but since that's not consistent every week, we've just been taking off Sunday/Wednesday.  It's close enough.  It's been a month now, and except for one week where we were sickly and had to rearrange the days, we've followed this pretty strictly.  Whoop!

Here's last week (don't act like you're not impressed):

And earlier this month:

Sean pounding out some back squats.  275# for reps.  Bro.  #hashtagcrossfit

How obnoxious are hashtags?  I love them.  Naturally.  


And OF COURSE WE HAD TO CELEBRATE  "NATIONAL #LUVYOURPETDAY"

Because he's not spoiled. At all.

Yes, I did just hashtag my blog.  What?

Paleo Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins

That title long enough for you?  I've decided that I can (if I had to decide...) label myself as Paleo plus Peanut Butter.  I don't eat it a lot, but when I do, I just can't do almond butter.  It's a pain in the ass to mix.  Don't mind the taste, but can't be bothered with mixing it and getting oil all over EV-ER-Y-THING.  Andddd I can tolerate PB, no problemo.  SO! Peanut butter it is!

This weekend I was plagued with the dreaded (sarcasm) brown banana issue.  What to DO?!?

Banana bread? Banana muffins? Banana cookies? Banana cake? Banana cupcakes? Banana pancakes (don't worry, this happened)? Freezer? Chocolate?

Decided on bread, changed it to muffins.  It's how I roll.  I also had to add peanut butter and chocolate, because, well, I'm obnoxious like that.  And how can you have one of these without the other?  They like to party.

These muffins are AWESOME.  I ate three in one day.  Sean had the rest for breakfast this week.  Make them!

*They seriously taste like regular banana bread muffins.  No weird Paleo treat sponge-y taste.  Sub almond butter or another nut butter if you don't do peanuts.

 

Nut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Muffins
(inspired by Multiply Delicious and PaleOMG)
1 cup peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 cup almond flour
3 medium ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup choc chips, plus more for topping muffins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Food process bananas with peanut butter until smooth.  If you don't have a food processor, and hand mixer/blender should work.

Whisk your eggs, then add your peanutbutter/banana mixture along with almond flour, baking soda and powder, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt. Mix to combine until you get a batter.  Fold in your chocolate chips.

Spray a muffin pan, or add liners. I used liners.  Fill 12 cups 3/4 of the way.  I used a medium cookie scooper, about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool and remove from pan.  Makes 12 muffins.

Eat!

If you have leftovers, store them in the fridge.  You can reheat when ready to eat, but they're also good cold. :)

Cookie Butter Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yes.  This sounds ridiculous.  It is delicious.  And not at all good for you.

Have you ever browned butter? You should do it.  It's tricky, but it's worth it.  And cookie butter?  Yeah, try that, too. Trader Joe's has it, but it's basically biscoff spread. I recommend you eat it by the spoonful.

For this recipe, scoop out some spoonfuls and stick them on a plate.  About 1/2-1 tsp full.  Throw that in the freezer while you prepare the rest of the cookie dough.

You're going to brown your butter next.  Heat a small saucepan over medium low heat and toss the butter in.     When butter melts, whisk constantly until tiny brown bits appear at the bottom of the pan, about 4-7 minutes.  Remove from heat immediately to prevent from burning.  Set aside and allow to cool 10 minutes or so.

Cookie Butter Stuffed Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 1/2 sticks (12 tbsp) of butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup white sugar

1 egg + 1 egg yolk @ room temp

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups + 2 tbsp AP flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1/4-1/2 cup cookie butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  

Add cooled butter to bowl/mixer.  Mix in sugars until smooth.  Add the egg + egg yolk, vanilla extract and mix.  Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until a dough forms.  It'll be a little dry, but it comes together.  Add chocolate chips.

Using scooper, spoons, or hands, roll 2 tbsp of dough into a ball, and stuff frozen cookie butter inside.  Should be a little smaller than a golf ball.  Place on a baking sheet, and bake for 12-14 minutes.  Let cool, then remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.  Try not to burn your face ;)

I made these cookies for our superbowl party.  Unfortunately, since there was OMGSOMUCHFOOD, they are still left in my kitchen.  I say unfortunately because that means I'm going to eat them. LOL  Sending them into work ASAP.  That is, if I can pry them from Sean's sticky fingers!

Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

aka, easiest meal everrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I think I need to put this on the meal plan every week.  Takes 15 minutes, is easy, delicious, cheap, and healthy.  All I do is win, win, winnnnnnnnn

Ingredients:
Sausage (duh)
Peppers (duh again)
Onions (well, yeah, duh)
EVOO or coconut oil
Worcestershire (how the hell do you say that!)
Balsamic vinegar
salt & pepper

Don't measure anything.  Open container of sausages.  Chop up into bite size pieces.  (Unless you have to cook your sausage first, if so, do that).  Brown sausages in skillet on stove top.  Or on grill if it's nice where you are.  It's too damn cold here (and no SNOW! wtf).  Might want to add a little EVOO so they don't burn.  Chop up peppers and onions.  Saute them with EVOO, S&P in another skillet on stove top (or if you're lazy and don't want to wash two, wait til sausages are done, remove them to a plate, and re-use that one).  Put sausages back in skillet with peppers and onions.  Guesstimate about 1-2 tbsps each of Worcestershire and balsamic and sprinkle over top.  Cook for 2 minutes to heat everything through.  Serve and bask in deliciousness.

BAM!

Merry (belated) Christmas!

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