Random Recipes and Hurty Butt

I’m gonna make this pretty short as today’s adventures include cleaning, re-organizing the DVDs, cleaning out the closet, and thrift shopping/donating.  So far, the week has been a little *meh* – I had great sprints on Monday, and then we went shopping all day to spend some Christmas moolah – but Tuesday morning… sigh.  I woke up and sat down on the couch (yes, really), and my back flipped out and I’ve been in some considerable butt pain.  Yes, my LEFT BUTT MUSCLE is pulled again.  How on earth do you look someone in the eye and complain about your butt hurting?  Seriously?

I had to skip my workout yesterday and today isn’t looking good either.  I’m probably not going to be able to make up both my runs at least at the pace they’re supposed to be at – but we’ll see.  I’m not quite as worried about the missed workouts as why this has happened TWICE in the training so far.  This time, I can definitely say that I think it was me being lazy about stretching/yoga, so that’s my smack on the wrist not to do that again.  Hopefully it’s better in the next day or 2 or I’ll go nuts!

Anyway, enough complaining, and onto the food!

Super Awesome Chili:

Note, this is not a vegetarian recipe and probably a little high in sodium for some of you, but it’s also a super quick, easy, and delicious meal that makes amazing leftovers.  And if you’re craving something hearty and warm, this is your meal.

You will need:

-1 lb ground beef.  I use 96/4, I suggest the leanest stuff you have available, it’s plenty flavorful with everything else in there.

-2 small jalepenos (or less if you fear the spicy)

-about half a large onion

-a few cloves of garlic to taste.

-chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne pepper to taste

Saute the onions, garlic, and jalapenos in a pan (I usually just use a little spray butter).  When it smells divine, throw in the beef and brown it.  Near the end, throw in your spices to taste.  You can also add them later, so err on the side of caution here.

Then, in a big pot, add:

-a 6oz can of tomato sauce

-3 cans of beans.  I chose ranch style black beans, ranch style jalapeno pinto beans, and southwest style kidney beans.  Note: this is the part that’s a bit high sodium.  You could use beans without sauce but you might need to add another can of tomato sauce and tinker with it.  I leave that to you!

-a can of corn.  Frozen works too.

-a square and a half of chocolate.  We have this fancy schmancy jalapeno chocolate we got years ago, but no need – I would say about 2 hershey kisses or a handful of chocolate chips would work just fine.

Put these together, bring to a slow bubbly boil, and then simmer until it comes together.  Honestly, it can’t really go too long but I’d suggest at least 20 mins.

Top with cilantro, green onions, and you can also add other yummies like some ranch, shredded cheese, or sour cream.

Cornbread:

Zliten used to tell me that chili and cornbread was yummy together, and I didn’t believe him.  Then, I tried it and crazy enough, it was good!  Again, going with the super easy theme, we snagged a package of Marie Calendar’s Low Fat Southwestern Cornbread from Big Lots.   It’s a little spicy, and it’s not quite as sweet as the normal cornbread, which I like, but most importantly, all you have to do is add water and mix and cook.

The first time we made it in loaf form, as you can see above, but let me suggest mini-muffins – they’re the perfect size for a bowl.

The pictures are from a few weeks ago, but we just remade it this afternoon for lunch.  I’m about to dive into a bowl of it!  Yum!

Deep thoughts return tomorrow…