Monthly Archives ⇒ December 2014

Foodie Friday – Amazing bacon chili

· Lauren

When the chili cook-off at work rolled around on Halloween I still wasn’t 100% satisfied with the recipe I had been working on. In the end I whipped up a batch that I called “When Zombie Pigs Fly Double Bacon Chili” that used a whole pound of bacon, but I wasn’t sure it would be a success. People seemed to like it (I knew the bacon would be a crowd pleaser), but I actually didn’t even taste my own concoction! I was a little afraid to considering how badly my previous batch had turned out. I’m not sure what I did differently the last time, but I threw half of that batch out because I simply didn’t like it. What a waste. I’m pretty sure the chili cook-off version was better than that since my co-workers at every last bite, but I still had a nagging feeling that it was just mediocre. So a couple of weeks ago when I decided to make a batch of chili for my weekday lunches I was nervous that it would be another flop. Fortunately I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was amazing! Here’s what I did differently: 1) I used maple-flavored bacon (the hint of sweetness made all the difference), and 2) I cooked in on the stove rather than in a Crockpot. Those tweaks turned this chili into one of the best things I’ve made all year. I even made a batch for my co-workers this week and they loved it.

Note: This chili recipe is completely customizable. If you want some heat, add a little cayenne pepper or some diced chili peppers. I can’t handle spicy food so I simply leave those kinds of ingredients out. Also, you can throw in a couple of cans of beans (drained and rinsed), like I did in the batch I made this week. Black beans and red kidney beans are my favorite. You can also use other meats or vegetables. Whatever you want! I think I’m going to try sweet potato chili next. The sky’s the limit!

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb maple-flavored bacon
1 c diced sweet onion (about 1/2 large onion)
1 c diced red bell pepper (about 1 large pepper)
1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp paprika (mine is smoked)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) tomato sauce (can use two 8 oz cans instead)

DIRECTIONS:
Cut the bacon slices into 1/2 in pieces. In a large nonstick skillet (I have an aptly named chili pot that I love), cook the bacon over medium heat. Use a splatter guard if you have one because that bacon grease is hot! Once the bacon pieces are crispy, remove them from the pan and set aside for later. Add the ground beef, diced onions, and peppers to the pan with the leftover bacon grease and cook until the beef is no longer pink. Add the chili powder, cumin, paprika, coriander, garlic powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Stir and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and reserved bacon and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover, and cook for at least an hour (longer if you want), stirring occasionally. Enjoy!

Based on Kate’s Healthy Cupboard’s Bacon Chili (Gluten Free).

Socializing

· Lauren

I have a colleague/friend that works in another city and travels out here about four times a year. Whenever he’s in town I try to organize dinner somewhere so that my close group of co-workers can get together and socialize a bit. In the past I’ve cooked a meal and served it to everyone either at my apartment or at someone else’s house, which was a blast, but I’ve been way too busy to organize that kind of event lately. I have enough trouble cooking meals for just myself! So this time I just proposed that we go to dinner at a restaurant one night after work. Easy, right? Wrong! Besides the fact that coordinating the schedules of five people is like herding cats, I should have realized that trying to plan anything this time of year is really difficult. Busy schedules are the norm in December. On top of all that, one person in our group had to be at work at 2 AM in the morning, another one was going out of town the next day, and a third person is moving away on Friday. Crazy! After trying to figure something out via instant message yesterday morning and failing miserably, we decided to call the whole thing off. To be honest, it was a bit of a relief, but I was still sad to miss out on an opportunity to hang out with my co-workers. There was a consolation prize, though. Someone suggested grabbing a spot in a conference room and eating lunch together. And it was great! This week has been pretty busy so it was nice to take a half hour to sit down, talk, and laugh together. Not only did we locals get to spend time with a couple of people from out of town, but we also got to socialize a bit with the guy who’s moving on Friday. It was a good time. These days we are all so busy that we usually just work through lunch, so yesterdays mini get together was a special treat. Stuff like that needs to happen more often.

Holiday shopping for myself

· Lauren

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! More specifically, it’s time to get great deals on presents for the people you love! And I’ve done pretty well buying Christmas gifts for my family so far this holiday season, but I must confess that the bulk of my purchases have been for myself. The combination of Black Friday and Cyber Monday led to quite a few personal acquisitions, mostly clothing. We didn’t have any internet access in our hotel room in San Francisco (because they were charging a fortune for it) so I didn’t do any online shopping on Black Friday. And despite spending some time at a mall in San Francisco the Saturday after Thanksgiving, the only new thing I took home with me was a box of chocolates from Cocoa Bella. Tasty, but not exactly notable. However, when I got back to Los Angeles on Sunday I hit the internet and started shopping. The Cyber Monday deals I found were great! I got jeans at both Old Navy and American Eagle for 40% off which allowed me to get rid of some old pairs that were either worn out or just plain uncomfortable (i.e., too tight since I can’t manage to lose any weight). I got another pair of running capris from Lucy for 40% off too. Workout clothes can be insanely expensive and I’ve been investing in some quality items lately. Luckily the sales over the weekend allowed me to stock up on pants and tops at a decent price. Speaking of which, I got two running shirts from Raw Threads (in the photo above) for less than half price! I bought them specifically for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon weekend in May – the shirt with the wings on the back for the 10K, and the shirt with “19.3” on the back for the half marathon. The “19.3” indicates that I’ll be running 19.3 miles that weekend (10K + half marathon) in the Pixie Dust Challenge. Yikes! Who knows if I’ll actually be able to do it, but at least I’ll be well dressed!

Running hiatus?

· Lauren

Except for the Avengers Half Marathon last month, I haven’t written much about running lately. This is mostly because I haven’t really done that much of it in the last three weeks. Pretty lazy, I know. With my dad’s encouragement I did manage to run 4 miles in the hotel fitness center when I was in San Francisco for Thanksgiving, but I really hate treadmill running. Even with TV to watch (Have you ever seen the “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” TV special? It’s so weird!), as well as “Back to the Future” on my iPad, I was still incredibly bored. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate treadmills, (especially after my month in Florida last year when it was just too hot and/or rainy to run outdoors), but I’d much rather be outside. But even after I got back home after Thanksgiving I haven’t been running as often as I should. I’ve got way too many half marathons in the next three months to slack off now! In my defense, I had a cold last week and it kinda knocked me on my butt for a few days. I felt the first twinge of illness when I was still in San Francisco, but I hoped it was just allergies or something innocuous. No such luck. On Monday I was sure I had a cold and I felt pretty terrible Tuesday through Thursday. Yuck. Fortunately I recovered enough to go to the Run for a Claus 5K in Irvine this morning. The bad news is that I think this was my slowest 5K ever due to a hilly route and a 9 AM start (the sun really got to me), but the good news is that I crossed the finish line. This was the first of three holiday-themed races I registered for in December and it was fun to wear a Christmas t-shirt and run with people wearing Santa hats and jingle bells. That was festive. Now I have next weekend’s race to start getting nervous about.

A while back I signed up for the Holiday Half Marathon in Pomona, which is coming up next Sunday. I definitely wanted to run a half marathon in December and the holiday theme was a plus. After my initial registration they announced the Golden Snowflake Challenge, which offered an additional medal for anyone who runs both the 5K on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday. How could I pass that up? But until today I couldn’t bring myself to pull the trigger and sign up for the 5K as well, mostly because I’d be spending the entire weekend in Pomona. But after I got home from Run for a Claus this morning something came over me and I finally signed up for the 5K. This might be overly ambitious, but I’m going to give it a try anyway. I’m not expecting to run a fast half marathon anyway since I haven’t been keeping up with my training. As long as I finish the race I’ll be happy. The good thing about these races is that I don’t have an excuse not to run on those days. I paid the registration fee and I’m going to get my medal, dang it! No more laziness!

Foodie Friday – Korean ground beef

· Lauren

I bet you thought December was just going to be a bunch of wordless posts, right? Well, as much as I’d like to keep that up (less stress and all), the pure laziness has to stop now. I can’t spend the whole of December this way! So be on the lookout for some more substantial posts in the days ahead. But for now, on to the recipe.

This Korean ground beef one of my favorite grain-free recipes to make and divide up for weekday lunches along with some roasted vegetables (broccoli and carrots are my favorite). It’s simple, doesn’t require any unusual ingredients, and tastes great. What more could you ask for? Brown the meat, add the sauce, simmer a bit, and you’re done. Delicious! Next time I make a batch of this Korean ground beef I’m going to add some diced vegetables (whatever I have on hand, really) and see how that turns out.

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/4 c + 2 Tbsp honey (I used raw honey)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I used gluten free)
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef with the garlic until the meat is no longer pink. At this point you can drain the fat if you want to, but I use such lean ground beef (7% fat) that it doesn’t seem necessary. In a small bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients (honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and pepper). At first the honey will seem like it doesn’t want to combine with the other ingredients, but keep whisking and everything will come together. Pour the sauce into the skillet and simmer over medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes to blend the flavors. The sauce will thicken a bit too. Serve with vegetables (roasted broccoli is my favorite) or over rice (if grains are in your diet). Enjoy!

Based on Six Sister’s Stuff’s Korean Beef and Rice.