Fettuccine Paolo

This recipe is high in carbs and great for runners before a race. Not too surprisingly, I found this recipe in Runner’s World Magazine. It was very tasty and a definite redo. I cooked the chicken on the stove top, you could also broil or grill it, depending on how ambitious you are.

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Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups Red Bell Peppers, thinly sliced
4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
6 oz. fettuccine
1 1/3 cups chicken stock
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts with liquid
1 1/2 cups grilled chicken sliced (~1/2 lb)
2 tablespoons fresh basil, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper

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Directions:
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add red pepper and cook until soft (~ 3 mins). Add garlic, saute for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock and vinegar, bring to a boil, and simmer until reduced by half. Add sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and liquid, chicken, and basil. Salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm.
–Pasta–
Follow the directions on the pasta to box to cook al dente.

After everything is prepared, add the fettuccine to the saute pan and mix. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Beef Taco

This is not really a recipe, but more of a suggestion. When I make tacos for the popular Taco Night! I use the premixed taco seasoning packets. First of all, it’s convenient as heck. Secondly, uh tasty, but to increase the tastiness of the taco I add one thing…

The juice of one lime!

Yes, that is all it takes to make some great tacos for taco night! By the way, don’t forget the toppings!

• Cilantro
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Pepper Jack Cheese
• Grilled Onions and Peppers
• Sour Cream
• Red Taco Hot Sauce (El Paso)

My official time (2:07:38) for the Atlanta ING Half Marathon. I am pretty excited about it. This was my first ever half marathon! My next goal is to break below the two hour mark. Now it’s time to make some dinner, I am hungry.

Craig’s Engagement Dinner

I have a perfect excuse as to why the blog hasn’t been updated as often as I wanted. Main reason, on March 1st, 2008 I proposed to my beautiful girlfriend Alexis. She said yes and we couldn’t be happier. Now it’s time to get some wedding plans started. Oh yeah, this picture is the dinner I had at the Sundial Westin (the restaurant of that night) but I didn’t really eat all too much of it. I was too nervous. Click on the photo to see my Flickr account and more photos from that night.

Tortilla Soup

The other day my girlfriend and I were sitting around the house after a hard day of work–I had to teach a class of 50 kids, which can get out of control sometimes. It was the perfect time to call it quits and go out to eat. I’m proud to say that we got a second wind and cooked one of our favorite soups. Very tasty, it has a nice southwestern Texas flavor to it. Click on the photo to get the recipe! It’s healthy, too. For everyone on weight watchers (Alexis is on it, so I guess I am unofficially on it as well) the soup is 3 points per cup.

Now there is nothing wrong about eating out, but if you are constantly doing it isn’t fun anymore. Not to mention, it can also start to get pretty expensive. Work and your personal life tend to get in the way of cooking at home. You have to remember to have fun, try new meals, and keep a list of staples (like this recipe) for those tough days. Remember the more you cook at home, the better eating out will be. It should be something of an adventure or treating yourself to a must-have dish at your favorite restaurant.