Moo Shu Pork

Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo. I heard people all weekend gearing up for the celebration. One of our CrossFit gym's sister locations shares a parking lot with a well known Mexican restaurant, so a fun partner WOD was created, both to entertain the patrons and to encourage us all to celebrate afterwards. This is how it went:

400m partner run with med ball
25 handshake push-ups
25 wall ball tosses
25 sit-up med ball passes
200m partner carry

5 Rounds. 30 minute time limit. 

It was a nasty little workout. Definitely challenging! But in truth, the worst part was the heat. Yesterday was in the mid 90s, which hasn't happened all year! There were only two other girls in my 3:30 class, so we just did a triple team and made it 30 reps. I ended up running with the med ball for most of the rounds because I got carried every time during the partner carry. Out of the three of us, I was the smallest...but not by much, lol. I had two great teammates! In any event, it was a lot of fun, just super hot! Then I trained 4:30 and 5:30 and got to watch some really awesome people workout. I just love my CrossFit family!

Last night's dinner was a quasi mash-up of a dish I love to make (pork chow mien) with a marinade/dressing from another dish I've made. It's funny how you can just alter a few ingredients and the dish is totally different. I love making these kinds of meals because you end up eating a ton of veggies, which I love, and there isn't a lot of effort involved. I really enjoyed it and hope you do too! My Chinese food craving was 100% satisfied. 

Moo Shu Pork

Marinate Time: 2+ hours
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2+ hours, 50 minutes
Serves: 3

Special Tools:
Storage container with lid (for marinating pork)
Large non-stick sauté pan
Large bowl

Ingredients:
1 tbsp of ghee
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp of shallots, minced
1 tbsp of ginger, grated
3 tbsp of coconut aminos
1 tbsp of toasted sesame oil (make sure it's toasted!)
1 tbsp of rice vinegar
1/2 tsp of fish sauce
1 lb of thin cut boneless pork chops
2 eggs, beaten
2 tsp of coconut oil + more if needed
1 large carrot, shredded
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
4 oz of shiitaki mushrooms, sliced
3 cups of green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 cup of red cabbage, thinly sliced
1/4 cup of scallions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley, to garnish
1 tbsp of toasted sesame seeds, to garnish
*Note: Prep your veggies before you start cooking. The cooking part goes by pretty quickly and you won't have time to cut and cook at the same time.

Instructions:
1. Cut your pork into quarter inch thick strips. Mine were still partially frozen, making it super easy to slice. 
2. Place the strips in a container and mix in the first eight ingredients. Let it marinate in the refrigerator for two hours or up to overnight. 
3. Place the large non-stick sauté pan over medium high heat. Once it's hot, add 2 tsp of coconut oil and let it melt completely. 
4. Add in the beaten eggs and let them spread out like a pancake. Let it cook for 3-4 minutes until it's firm enough to flip. Then cook the other side for a minute or two.
5. Add the egg to a large bowl and slice the egg into strips.
6. Add another tsp of coconut oil if needed and allow to melt. Put half of the pork strips into the hot pan with some of the marinade and begin to sauté for 3-5 minutes. Scoop out the pork and add to the bowl with the eggs. Then put the rest of the pork strips into the pan and cook again for another 3-5 minutes. (You don't want to add them all at once, because this causes overcrowding, leading to steaming the pork rather than sautéing)
7. Pour any remaining juice from the marinade into the pan and turn the heat up a little for about 20-30 seconds. 
8. Add the carrots and celery and move around the pan until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Remove them from the pan and add to the bowl. 
9. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute and then move the mushrooms to the bowl. 
10. Place the remaining cabbages and scallions to the pan. Saute until they begin to wilt slightly, turning constantly. You might want to put a splash or two of coconut aminos in the pan with these guys, but it's totally optional. But I did. And it was delicious. 
11. Remove from heat and add everything back into the sauté pan, mixing well to combine all the ingredients.
12. Top with sesame seeds and fresh parsley. 

Danny's Breakfast Casserole

If there is one thing that has remained true for as long as I have been able to cook for myself, it would be that waking up extra early to make sure I have time to cook my own breakfast in the morning is something I loathe! I'm sure I'm not alone in this, because there are big food companies making tons of money off people who buy easy "on the go" food items: eggo waffles, pop-tarts, cereal bars, etc. What do they all have in common? They are all loaded with sugar and processed carbohydrates that will help you feel full for a short time before you have that morning crash after your insulin spikes, because your body is trying to process the garbage you just gave it. Sugar man, it's a monster of an addiction! I know. I lived that life, day in and day out for a good majority of my life. Cereal was usually my go-to breakfast item. I could crush a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Apple Jacks, Lucky Charms, or Reece's Peanut Butter Puffs in just a few days. As I got older, I knew those things weren't exactly good for me, so I switched to try and include more "healthy" cereals, Multi-grain Cherrios, Raisin Bran, Frosted Mini Wheats, and Honey Bunches of Oats. Haha! What a joke. 

When I finally started to realize a high carb breakfast was doing more harm than good, finding ways to get a healthy breakfast became a struggle. Whenever I participated in nutritional challenges with our gym, I made it a point to wake up and make eggs for breakfast (my competitive nature wouldn't allow me to lose points for my team by skipping breakfast), but as soon as the challenge was over, extra sleep in the morning always won out. It wasn't until this past year that I started cooking breakfast casseroles for my husband and I on Sunday nights so we could just pop them in the microwave in the morning before work. 

This particular breakfast casserole I dub as "Danny's" because it's got most of his favorite ingredients. He's a fan of cheese in his casserole, so I add shredded sharp cheddar and mozzarella, but for anyone with an issue processing dairy, you could definitely leave it out. 

Danny's Breakfast Casserole

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes 
Serves: 8

Special Tools:
Food processor w/ shredder attachment
Medium saute pan
9x13 glass baking dish
1 large bowl
Whisk

Ingredients:
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 medium sweet potato, washed, peeled, and shredded
1 small green pepper, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
3 strips of nitrate free bacon, chopped (I like Trader Joe's Uncured Applewood Smoked)
1 cup of diced ham or pancetta
12 eggs
1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: 
1.Prep your veggies and meats by washings, chopping, dicing, and/or shredding. 
2. Preheat your oven to 375. 
3. Place the saute pan over medium heat and add the bacon. Allow to cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add the onion, pepper, and ham or pancetta. Saute for about 7 minutes to allow the savory flavors to meld. 
5. While that's cooking, crack you eggs into a bowl and whisk. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Place the melted coconut oil in the baking dish and spread it over the bottom and up the sides. *This will be the difference of the egg sticking to the dish or not!
7. Put the shredded sweet potato down first. Pour half the eggs overtop and make sure it gets down into the bottom of the dish.
8. Spread the meat and veggies on top. Add the remaining eggs. 
9. Sprinkle on the top with cheese (if you can have dairy) and the parsley.
10. Put in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. The center should be set before removing it from the oven. 

Twice Baked and Stuffed Squash

Today is going to be a busy Saturday! I went to bed so early last night, which was amazing! Don't laugh at me. I was laying in bed catching up on shows I missed while I was visiting my family in Chicago last week. I don't think I made it a full half hour in before I was out! It couldn't have been later than 10:30. I can't remember the last time I fell asleep that early on a Friday night! Ah, the joys of being an adult. And I don't even have kids yet! Anyway, back to my day today. I guess because I went to bed so early, that explains why I was waking up at 6:45. My husband and I had a 9:00 AM appointment to get our cars serviced, so it wasn't like we could sleep in anyway. So here I sit, in the lounge, waiting on my car to finish getting her yearly check-up. From here, I'll be heading straight to the gym to tackle the final Open WOD, 14.5. I watched several of my friends struggle through it yesterday, and I'm not going to lie, I'm a little stressed about it. This, by far, seems like it's going to be the worst one! But I'm going to do it and then will be ready to celebrate finishing that bear!

How will I celebrate you ask? Well my girlfriend Lyndsey and I are going to have a girls night out. There's a local restaurant called Miccosuke Root Cellar that has amazing food! It's all locally grown and farmed. The place itself is really tiny, but the atmosphere is stellar, and the wine is even better! Then we're going to let out our inner teenage girl and go see Divergent! Don't know anything about that movie? Well all you need to know is that Theo James is in it. Two hours of eye candy. Yes, please! 

Oh, today is also my nephew's 4th birthday! He lives is Chicago with his parents and grandparents. So sadly, I won't be there to celebrate. But, like I mentioned earlier, I did travel up to there to see them last week. I wish they weren't so far away! Ah well, I guess that's what vacations are for.

Enjoy this recipe guys. I love it because it is super hearty and looks like a lot of work, but is actually pretty simple!

Twice Baked and Stuffed Squash

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4

Special Tools:
Baking tray
Tin foil
Large frying pan
Large mixing bowl

Ingredients:
2 small-medium acorn squashes
1 lb of ground beef (or pork)
4 strips of nitrate-free bacon
1 medium onion, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
4 eggs
1/2 cup of shredded cheese (optional)
1 and 1/2 tsp of garlic powder, divided
1/2 tsp of onion powder
1/2 tsp of paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp of sea salt + a pinch for each egg
1/2 tsp of fresh ground pepper + a pinch for each egg

Instructions:
1. Preheat your oven to 425. Cut your squashes in half. You can scoop out the seeds now or wait until its soft, which is what I do. 
2. Line a baking tray with foil. Place the squash halves face down on the baking tray and put in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the outer skin gives when you press it. Remove from the oven, turn them over, scoop out the seeds and let it cool for a few minutes. Turn the oven heat down to 375.
3. While your squash is baking though, place the bacon in a large frying pan and cook on medium until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove the strips and let them drain on a paper towel, then chop them up.
4. With the rendered fat in the pan, add the ground beef and let it begin to brown for about 10 minutes. As you break up the beef, add in the onion, pepper, garlic (1 tsp) and onion powders, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper. If there is a lot of juice in the pan after about 10 minutes, turn up the heat and let it evaporate, or you can drain it.
5. Scoop out the squash into a large mixing bowl (be sure not to pierce or tear the skin or putting it back together will be tricky), and smash the heck out of it with a fork. You could also use a hand blender, but that's up to you!
6.Add in the beef mixture, chopped bacon, and the remaining 1/2 tsp of garlic powder and stir to combine.
7. Spoon the stuffing back into the squash and press down gently in the middle to create a little bowl. 
8. Crack an egg into each of the acorn squash halves, sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper over each egg and then top with shredded cheese (optional). I like mozzarella!
9. Place the halves back on the baking tray and put in the oven for about 20 minutes or until your eggs have reached desired doneness. I prefer the white cooked through, but the yolk somewhat runny.
10. Serve immediately. I sliced up half an avocado with mine.