I did a 7 mile run on a MONDAY. Woah. I gave Jeff Galloway’s Run/Walk/Run method a try, and I am 100% sold. My legs don’t even feel like I ran this morning, let alone ran seven miles. I used a 4:1 ratio, and my overall pace was 11:23, which is nearly 20secs faster than my normal long run pace. Mind blown! This makes my goal of a half marathon at 2:30 completely, totally, and 100% possible! BRING IT ON!
I forgot to write my look ahead post yesterday. Oops. It turns out that was a good thing because the phone rang at 5:30 with a recording letting me know that Brown didn’t have school, which threw my whole week off track. The trace to two inches of snow we were supposed to get turned out to be closer to four inches. It only took me four tries to get out of my driveway to go to the gym this morning, after calling Blue in “hookie.” Brown and Blue love that word. The roads weren’t too bad though. I’m getting good at snow driving. As long as we have snow and no ice, I’m good.
Anyway, my “How do I do it?” post today will be to share a recipe. I cook from scratch whenever I can. And I LOVE meatballs. I used to buy frozen meatballs, but have you ever looked at what is in those suckers? MSG. Lots of sodium. And who knows where they get the meat for them? Ick. So I make my own meatballs and freeze them. Viola…meatballs whenever I want!
I adapted this recipe from the “Everday Italian Meatballs” from Eat What You Love by Marlene Koch. Awesome book. I should really own a personal copy because I check it out from work at least four times a year. I love this recipe because I always have all of the ingredients on hand.
My Meatballs
1 lbs lean ground beef
8 Ritz crackers (put in a ziplock bag and smash them with your hands, or let the kids do it!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1.5 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 large egg
2 Tbsp water
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Preheat oven to 400.
Using a stand mixer, combine all ingredients together. If you don’t have a stand mixer, get one and mix your meatballs in it. It will blow your mind. Or use a bowl and spoon/hands, and dream of using a stand mixer.
Form into 1-ish-inch balls. I use a food scale and make 1.1oz meatballs. I’m a bit OCD about them. I usually get around 20-22 meatballs.
Place meatballs in an 8×11-inch baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until tops are browned and the meat is cooked through.
Ok…so you made meatballs, now what do you do with them? Most people probably think spaghetti and meatballs. Yes, we do this with them quite often. But what else can you do with them?
This is my current favorite thing in the world. I have eaten it for lunch at least 50% of the time for the last month. I wonder what I ate before I discovered the joy of quinoa and broccoli. I cook my quinoa in just chicken broth, and I steam my broccoli in my waterless cookware. Hello, lunch!ou could also make BBQ meatball sliders. Think cheddar cheese and King’s Hawaiian rolls. Or meatball subs with jarred pizza sauce and hoagie rolls. Or Swedish-style meatballs by making a simple beef gravy (remember, I’m dairy free) and serving it over egg noddles.
So how do I do it? I keep homemade meatballs ready to go in the freezer at all times. š
Neon Runner Girl 