Week 19: A Breakfast/Brunch for Champions

February 28th...the day of my first 5K race.  And as promised, this week's menu is a (post race) Sunday breakfast/brunch.  The certainty of today's race (and brunch for that matter) were called into question due to the continued snow and ice.  Up until the very last minute, I was expecting that the race might be cancelled which in turn could've left me with quite a bit of food and no guests.  For that reason, I decided to keep it really simple.

Menu:

Warm Cinnamon Apples
Cinnamon Rolls
Ham & Cheese Omelets Scrambled Eggs

So the recipe that I'll share this week is just for the apples. 

Warm Cinnamon Apples (modified from chef "356" at allrecipes.com)

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon butter
4 large tart apples - peeled, cored and sliced 1/4 inch thick (I used Granny Smith apples)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1.In a large skillet or saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; add apples. Cook, stirring constantly, until apples are almost tender, about 8-10 minutes (a few minutes longer if you prefer the apples softer).

2.Dissolve cornstarch in water; add to skillet. Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and serve warm.
 
The great thing about this recipe is that I made it the night before.  I stored it in a pyrex dish with a lid, and just popped it in the oven for a bit to warm it back up before serving.  I can admit the cinnamon rolls were not home-made, but they were still delicious and wonderfully warm after running in the cold.  Jason was in charge of the omelets, which actually ended up as something I'd like to call "Scrambled Egg Style Omelets" (aka, flipping them wasn't as easy as he expected...I told him we should've practiced the night before.)  Now that I'm typing this, I realize that I intended to make hash browns too, but apparently that completely slipped my mind after all that running.  :)   
 
All in all, I'm feeling good today.  Finishing the 5K in a pretty decent time (34:10) and catching up with some old friends during the run was a great way to start my Sunday.  On top of that, I won a (randomly drawn, totally unrelated to actual running skill) $100 prize at the 5K.  Hooray! 
 

 

 
 

   

So I've come to the end of this week's post, and  I leave you with a finish of a different kind below. 

That's me, by the way! :) Until next week!

Week 18 (Better late than never?)

February 21, 2010 - Week 18

Oooppss...I'm a tad late with this post.  After more than a month gap in posting, I'm starting up again.  But allow me to digress for a moment to ask your opinion.  Do you feel that as an adult, it is more difficult to stick with hobbies (in my case, like this lovely cooking project/blog)?  I have no problem being committed to people (my husband, family and friends) or my profession...but this hobby thing seems much trickier.  I have never considered myself a "quitter"(and never quit anything as a kid or in college) but I was a bit disappointed in myself that I let keeping up with the blog get away from me.  Does this happen to you? I look back and try to figure out where I got off track.  I think the holidays were hectic, combined with crazy weather over the last several weeks where grocery store trips to get the special ingredient of the week were not always conducive.  And of course, my ADD kicks in and I decided to take up another hobby (I'm currently in training for a half-marathon.)  I suppose I feel like a serial-hobbiest.  I need to commit!  So that's something I'll be working on.  :)

So to ease back into the cooking and the blog, I made a super-easy dinner.  At the store, Sirloin Tip Roast was buy one get one free, so of course I took advantage.  I'll be trying to think of something a bit more creative to do with the second roast.   

Menu:
Sirloin Tip Roast in Mushroom Sauce
Mashed Potatoes
Green Peas

I decided to roast the meat very simply.  I used one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup with an equal amount of water.  I covered the meat with foil to help keep the moisture in and roasted it on low heat over several hours.  The result was a tender, moist cut of meat with nice subtle flavor.  Nothing out of the ordinary for the potatoes and veggies.  Just a simple, good-old fashioned meat and potatoes kind of family dinner.

Next Sunday's post should be much more interesting.  I'll be making a brunch for several people that will be coming to my house after a 5K that we are running.  I have a few recipes in mind already, but if anyone has a great brunch recipe, send it my way.   

Stay warm, eat well, and stick to it (whatever your it may be) until next week. 

(Really....next week....I promise!)