TGI Carb Night: Curried Butternut Squash and Lentils

TGI Carb Night is making a come-back!  Unfortunately, I didn't do much experimenting in the kitchen when I trained for the Philadelphia Marathon last fall, but I'm armed with a few new cookbooks and a pledge to fuel better before my runs.  First up:

Curried Butternut Squash and Lentils - adapted from the Athlete's Palate Cookbook

You'll need:
1 cup dry lentils
1 small butternut squash, cubed with skin-on.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
Cooked long grain rice (optional, for serving)

Pour lentils into a deep pot and cover with water.  Bring the water to a boil and add the squash pieces.  Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is soft.  Remove the pot from heat, drain, and set aside.  Separate the butternut squash chunks into a bowl and mash roughly.

Add the lentils to the bowl and mix with the olive oil, lentils, curry powder, ground ginger, salt, and pepper.

I spooned the mixture over rice, but it works well as a main dish.

TGI Carb Night – Quinoa with Shrimp and Vegetables

Cooking with my dad was one of my favorite things to do growing up.  When I was younger, it meant that I got to pretend to be his little sous-chef in a five star kitchen; when make-believe became less cool -- whoo teen angst -- Dad and I still spent many Saturdays preparing family meals and talking about anything and everything.  Well, maybe not everything – but, you get the idea.

One my favorite dishes that my dad prepared is a simple shrimp and vegetable mixture served with pasta.  I've prepared that tonight but have substituted quinoa for the pasta.

You'll need:

1 pound cooked shrimp, tails removed

2 yellow squash, cut into thick slices 

2 pounds roma tomatoes, cut into thick slices

1 ½ pounds broccoli 

1 cup quinoa 

1 stick unsalted butter

1 tbsp. dried parsley 

½ tsp. kosher salt

Soak and rinse quinoa in water before cooking.  Add 1 ¼ cup of water and quinoa to a small pot. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Cover and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.  Remove from heat.

 In a large pot, steam squash and broccoli until squash is tender.

Add tomatoes and shrimp. Cover and steam until tomatoes have softened slightly.  Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan.  Add salt and dried parsley to butter sauce; then, add to vegetable mixture.  (You may need to drain some of the water from the vegetables.)

Plate quinoa and top with vegetables. 

The National Half-Marathon is so soon! The organizers sent an e-mail with final instructions, and I was reminded about how awesome it was to get the official e-mail for the Baltimore Running Festival.  I'm excited!

TGI Carb Night: Recipe - Pasta with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes

I spent a few days in Greensboro, NC on a business trip; now, I’m back in DC and ready to start the weekend! 

This afternoon, I took a walk over to City Sports to pick up the Garmin Front Runner 110 that I’ve been eyeing.  Sometime between the marathon in October and now, my pedometer decided that it had no interest in accurately tracking my distance and speed. I thought that adjusting my stride length, weight, and sensitivity would help, but it didn't.  

Most of my runs ended with me calling it a liar. 

After debating whether or not I wanted to spend as much as I did on a GPS/heart-rate monitor, I decided that it would be a worthwhile investment since I intend to run as long as I'm physically able.

In other news – it’s carb night!

To fuel for my 12-miler tomorrow, I prepared another recipe from the good people at Cooking Light: Pasta with Chicken, Asparagus, and Tomatoes. 

You’ll Need:

8 oz pasta (I used penne tonight)

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken tenders cut into strips

1 cup sliced asparagus

2 cups cherry tomatoes

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons chopped basil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ cup crumbled goat cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Heat a large, nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. 

Add chicken and asparagus to pan. Sauté for five minutes.

 Add tomatoes, garlic, and basil to pan.  Sauté for one minute.  Remove from heat. In a large bowl, mix pasta with chicken mixture.  Stir in balsamic vinegar and oil. 

Plate and top with goat cheese.

Finally, I made the decision not to run the ¡VAMOS! 5K.   Instead...

...Jenny -- widely known for her love of party shades, delicious eats, and being a total badass -- is coming to DC next weekend. (I'm so excited!) There will be brunch.  There will be a dance party. And, there will be the St. Patrick's Day 8K. 

Time to break out the party shades! 

TGI Carb Night: Recipe - Chicken with Quinoa Tabbouleh

Pasta was nowhere to be found on my plate this evening, my dearest readers. Instead, I planned a bit of a culinary adventure (Adventure...we're going on an adventure, Charlie.) -- just me, recently purchased quinoa, a ton of vegetables, and thin-cut chicken breasts.

According to the interwebs, quinoa is something of a super food. (I’m very happy that there are entire websites dedicated to the joys of quinoa.) It’s rich in protein, low in fat and cholesterol, a great source of carbohydrates, and delicious.

Having never cooked with quinoa before, this recipe from Charlie Trotter (and featured in the Athlete’s Palate Cookbook) turned out well! However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the parsley vinaigrette dressing.  The parsley was a little overpowering even after I made a decision to reduce the amount used, but I will be experimenting in the very near future (hooray leftovers!) with a couple of things that are likely to pair well.

TGI Carb Night: Recipe - Chicken Tenderloins with Spiced Tomato Sauce

Protein is one nutrient that I’m rarely sure if I’m consuming enough during training. And, now that my Meatless Mondays have become Meatless Most of the Week, finding alternate sources of protein has become very important. (Thankfully, Fage yogurt has 15 grams of protein per serving.)

But, in the spirit of getting more protein into my belly, I decided to cook a meat-based dish and prepared a spiced tomato sauce with chicken tenders (served with rotini). This recipe comes from Cooking Light, but I omitted from and added to the recipe with delicious results.
 

TGI Carb Night - Recipe: Linguine with Shrimp and Tarragon Sauce

Ah yes, Friday. The one night that I know that I plan to put carbs on the dinner plate. When I trained for my first marathon, this dish (which I saw in Cuisine at Home) appeared often on Friday nights before my long runs. I'm not a huge fan of shallots, so I cut back on those just a bit.

You'll need:
1 shallot, minced
a handful of tarragon leaves
1 pound shrimp (the original recipe calls for medium but small shrimp increase the amount of shrimp per bite; I also use cooked shrimp if I'm in a hurry)
1 28-oz can of whole tomatoes
crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
salt (to taste)
linguine for serving
crumbled goat cheese
olive oil

Cook the pasta according to your tastes. Saute the shallots in oil until softened. Add the red pepper flakes, tomatoes (with their water), and tarragon and simmer for ten minutes. Season with salt. (If you're using raw shrimp, add and cook until pink.) Plate pasta, top with sauce and sprinkle with goat cheese.