Good Fuel

Tonight after dinner, Jesse will train by riding his bike and I will run. We obviously need some good fuel for our bodies to perform their best. What I'm making for dinner is delicious, easy, inexpensive (it's not expensive to eat healthy, quit with your excuses) super fast and most importantly, nutritious.

Sorry there isn't a picture of the finished product- we will eat and run.

Quinoa pilaf, baked chicken and green salad. I'll explain the pilaf since the rest is self explanatory:

Red onion, finely chopped
Mushrooms, sliced (whatever kind you have)
Carrots, finely chopped
Chopped spinach (I only had to frozen kind)
Quinoa
Chicken bouillon (I always use "Not Chick'N" because it tastes so damn good)

Slowly caramelize the onions in extra virgin olive oil. Now, I don't mean saute, I mean caramelize. Cook on medium and it could take up to 45 minutes- the key is low and slow. Add the mushrooms and carrots about halfway through and cook until everything is super soft and lovely.

As that's cooking, make your quinoa: 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water with a couple bouillon. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and cook until the water is absorbed. I live at 9,000 feet and it takes me about 20 minutes.

Defrost spinach. Combine the onion mixture, spinach, quinoa and combine and cover. Serve with a small green salad (don't screw it up by dumping Ranch all over it) and the baked chicken and you're set.

My Addiction

Okay, this is one of my biggest addictions: carne asada street tacos. So simple and delicious. I could literally live on these, dark chocolate, wine, running and asparagus for the rest of my life. We have a carniceria near our house and I've been hitting it up a few times a week for meat and seasonings. I love that place. I speak very little spanish and they speak very little english, so I never really know exactly what the butcher is giving me. These tacos are made from the skirt steak cut, as they traditionally are. I chopped them myself from the long pieces the guy gave me.

So, here is the EASIEST recipe ever:

skirt steak, chopped

a few sprinkles of "condimento de la carne de vaca" (this was a little bag of beef seasoning I found for $1.25 in their seasonings section- they all hang in baggies on the wall. I think it's chile powder, cumin, garlic, oregano, onion powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.)

corn tortillas (I got some they made in house without yucky oils or lard)

pico de gallo (I bought theirs since it's off the freaking hook)

Cook the meat over almost high heat so it's done quickly and the juices are sealed inside. I added the seasoning about halfway through. Put the meat on the tortillas, add pico and shove in your face.