I've dropped the ball again

For some reason I have no time to do what I want, only what I have to. I still haven't looked into the iphoto issue and have yet to pull myself together to work on another recipe. Actually, I do have them, but no pictures which make the recipe look more appealing, literally. I've also been in a craptastic mood the past few days. Unsure why. Oh right, maybe because some little punk stole my 21-15-9 magnet off my car, it's spring and it's snowing and I can't seem to cook anything right lately. I had a massive superterrificdinnerfail the other night. Bad read: rancid chicken plus sticky mushy over cooked rice noodles lead to a garbage bag full of food and a last minute bacon and eggs dinner. Not that there's anything wrong with bacon and eggs but the wasted time and food bugs the hell out of me.

So the next open wod includes one thing I simply cannot do and other I cannot do rx'd. I don't have a 14# ball. Even went to a few stores looking for one. Nothing. And I refuse to pay $100 for a 'Rage' ball. Sorry Rage, never heard of you. And muscle ups, forget it. Looks like I'll be doing a modified scaled down version. At least I have something to shoot for, beating last years score which was 219 since I am a bit better at double unders this time around.

Other than that, taking the day off. No running walking or otherwise. Haven't had a true rest day in about 5 days so in order to give it my best tomorrow, I need to rest the shoulders which are in pretty sad shape today. With the past few days of wall walks, push jerks, hspu, push presses, muscle ups and kbs my shoulders are mad. But, I will say this, they can take more and more abuse with each passing week. This time last year I would have to take about 2-3 days rest to heal up from hspu and heavy push jerks. Hell, this time last year I couldn't really do hspu without pain let alone anything else.

Still have a ton of stuff to do for Florida. Got some packing started, things put aside and lists made. This weekend I'll probably make a bunch of food like meatballs, protein balls, salad/veggie fixins, chicken breast and banana bread and cookies for the kids. I'de really like to avoid fast food, which it doable on the way down with the exception of Dunkin Donuts or Starbucks of course. The way back may be a bit more challenging since I won't have time to prepare a ton of stuff before we leave. We'll see.

13.2 and randomness

Ok so I have a ton of things I want to mention and I'll try to make it quick... which seems to be the story of my life this past week or so.

Number one. I did 13.2 today and did pretty well. I was hoping to at least get 5 rounds and ended up getting 7+ with a total of 233 reps. Fortunately the Crossfit gods spared me on the box jump rules this time in allowing step ups. I did have to resort to them about the 4th round if for no other reason than to keep going while trying to catch my breath. They were jumping step ups, but step ups none the less. The push jerks and deads went better than expected. They were all unbroken which I think, well, I know, saved me some time to huff and puff thru the box jumps. I liked this wod and felt like I put up a pretty respectable number. Moving on.

Number 2. I apparently lost all my photos from the past 2 years when I updated my laptop. There are a few still there and some videos, but over 400 photos are not showing up in iPhoto. Son of a bitch. They are in my finder but I can't get them to transfer over to iPhoto without an error. So, with that being said, the recipes I was planning on posting will have to take a back seat for a bit until I can figure out how to fix this. Ugh.

Number 3. I've got too much on my plate. Between the stupid stuff like getting my tire fixed, shopping, prepping for painting, reading at my son's story time, workouts and regular everyday house stuff I've been maxed out. Fortunately I've been feeling great energy wise since tightening up the diet and taking my vitamins so I'm able to keep up and get everything done, but shit, I need a break. We're leaving for Florida in about 10 days and I have not one thing done in preparation. Usually I'm well ahead of the game for a big family outting like this. Oh wait, I did buy new bathing suits for myself and the kids. OK, so I have one thing done.

Number 4. At 8pm last night we got a visit from our local policeman saying hey, we chased a robbery suspect behind your house yesterday afternoon and he stole two guns which may or may not have been thrown over your fence as he was escaping, mind if we take a look? UH WHAT? It was just a precaution but still. Yikes. A guy running from the cops with stolen guns behind my house? What is this COPS? I live in yuppyville central not the hood. Anyway, he was caught and there were no guns for my kids to play with.

Well, off to hook the new kitchen tv up, start taping the trim and get some laundry done. It never ends.

13.1 and days gone by

What a week. So I did the first open wod. Eeek. Love it when two of my favorites come up and I finished about where I thought I would. 101 legit, 120 with 19 scaled snatches @65#. Took me 3 attempts to get one snatch at 75 so instead of struggling thru I lowered and banged out 19. I'm only doing this for fun anyway. Riiiight. Fun. Past couple days of wods have been ok, nothing to write home about. Keeping on a good schedule, had a good IF day, cut back on my snacking and have been taking my vitamins D and C. I've been feeling pretty good, no overly sore body parts and have been able to hold off a full blown cold so I guess the immune boosting powers are working for me.

Made a few new recipes over the past few days. One was The Domestic Man's chicken francesca. It was really good if you do dairy and fake pasta. I guess you could technically use the thick part of the coconut milk and serve it over zoodles but I was willing to take one for the team. Another good one was this pork, fennel, apple meatball recipe. I served this with regular homemade sauce over zoodles. The kids weren't crazy for them but my daughter's friend thought they were the shit. No, she did't say that, but she did eat 5 of them. Bob took the leftovers for lunch and ate them with some homemade bbq sauce and said they were great. Oh and I actually used my food grinder attachment for this recipe. No it doesn't call for it but I had a pork tenderloin out when Bob forwarded me the meatball recipe so I figured what the hell, why buy ground pork when I can grind it myself. Two things. Number one, grinding raw meat is disgusting and number two grinding raw meat is disgusting. Not that it will stop me from any future grinding or sausage making endeavors, but it was pretty gross between the sound and smell. Anyway, it was a good quick recipe. I'm always on the lookout for new meatball recipes.

Kids are doing well with the new dinner rules. Well, my daughter is, the dude is not. He's not necessarily eating a full dinner of meat and veggies but he is at least being coaxed into tasting everything. That's all I can ask for right now. My daughter is actually eating most meals including the dreaded bbq coated meatloaf which she was always afraid of.

So with 1 1/2 weeks left before we leave for Florida, what better time than to start painting. I know. Not that smart but I feel like I'm on a roll and need to get it done now before I put it off another 5 years. And besides, we have everything for once. That right there is a small miracle. I'm only painting the ceiling in the front hallway (we had a leak patched) so it's not a huge project but as any type A knows, it always turns into a huge project. We'll see what happens. My luck I'll get it done zippy skippy and while we're gone for the week the noxious paint fumes will kill the parakeet. Eh. He's had a long life already.

Recipe: Mango Pineapple Salsa

Around this time of year, well early February moreso than March, but anyway, this time of year you usually can find plenty of pineapple (or SpongeBob's house as my kids refer to it) and mango on sale at the grocery stores and even the farmer's markets. So what better to make than mango pineapple salsa. I've paired it with salmon, tilapia, tuna and pork. I'm sure it would be wonderful with seared shrimp as well. It's also good as a regular salsa, chip dippin type of salsa that is. Different, colorful, springy.

Mango Pineapple Salsa
Serves 4 or 2 very hungry adults with leftovers for eggs

3-4 slices fresh pineapple, diced
1 mango, peeled, diced
1 small green/red/orange/yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced
1 jalepeno, prepared how you like it, diced
handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
glug of extra virgin olive oil
Himalayan sea salt, pinch

Mix all together and let it sit in the fridge at least an hour if you can. You can also use lime juice and yellow onion if that's what you have on hand. For me the lime juice was a little too tangy especially if your mango wasn't terribly sweet. But, if that's all you have and it ends up being too (insert puckered lips sound here) first try to add a little more oil to even it out. If it's still too tangy add a smidge of raw honey or a pinch of your favorite sweetener. Enjoy.

I did it!

I finally found pre-made gluten free frozen meatballs. I know. I can't contain my excitement. Not that I can't make my own meatballs but on those days where I don't really feel like cooking or everything is either frozen or needs to be marinated for hours, dinner usually ends up zoodles or spaghetti squash spaghetti and meatballs or sausage. And let me tell you, it was hard to find frozen meatballs that did not have wheat flour based bread crumbs included. No, I wouldn't make a habit of eating them but it's a nice easy go to when I need it.

Anyway enough about meatballs. Been feeling good lately, back to a good schedule, taking my fish oil and vitamin D. Had a nice IF day yesterday and then loaded up on a white rice/chicken/cheese burrito bowl for dinner. Which was awesome by the way. I'm pretty sure the extra calories and starch helped me smash some high hang power clean and jerks @95 this morning. My hang clean has really improved over the last few months. 95 used to be pretty tough and was weak 1rm, now I can do a few in a row and still feel good about them. Progress. The metcon went well today too. I didn't think it would since it involved one arm kettlebell snatches and pull ups. My left arm kb snatch is pathetic and am pretty sure by the summer I'll look like Popeye with one jacked arm and one weak ass arm if I don't do something about it. Today I actually found the rhythm of the snatch swing which has eluded me in the past. Maybe it was lack of practice since I've only had the 35# bell for a little over 3 months, but something just clicked today. And even my weak ass left arm was able to get it done. No anchor tattoo for me anytime soon.

Got a few more recipes in testing phase. One needs a tweak here and there but it's about 90% yummy. Tomorrow I'll have a nice easy mango pineapple salsa recipe which is great on fish, chicken or pork.

Both kids have been sick the past few days. Thankfully they are both feeling better today and finally went back to school. They really pushed my buttons yesterday. My little guy just got home from school and has passed out in his room. Probably only the 4th or 5th time he has ever willingly turned down the chance to play xbox and crawled into bed instead. Poor Bud. My daughter went on another 6 mile mud trail bike ride with daddy this weekend. Then on Sunday she rode to the grocery store (about 3 miles or so) with dad in 40 degree weather. Think that may have put her over the edge on her cold. She's feeling better though. She took the day yesterday to relax, nap and have some broth which helped a ton. Who doesn't love a good nap? Which is exactly where I'm headed in a few. I'm back to reading The Wheel of Time books, well, the last one that just came out a few weeks ago. It's a good book but can be very sloooow which on some days is the perfect relaxation technique to get me to pass out in my favorite chair only to wake myself up snoring 20 minutes later. Yes, I snore. If you say you don't, you lie like a rug.

Sometimes I'm just not that smart

I really like to think I am but I'm woman enough to admit that I'm not. At least not all the time. The other day I had to do top load deadlifts. I'm pretty sure I mentioned them. You start with the bar at your thigh and work down then back up twice. Touch and go. Do this 7 times at 190#. Well, 190 for me, based on percentage. Yeah, it's a lot and no I've never done them before. I may have also mentioned that I knew my form wasn't great at that weight and my back will pay the price, well, two days later here I am still paying the price. Sigh. I do feel much better today and actually got a nice little wod done including a few 400m runs since it is actually sunny and somewhat warmish today. Yesterdays mental health day really helped. Bud was at school all day and I did nothing which was as awesome as it sounds.

Well my little guy is sick again thanks to his little girlfriend at school. He came home the other day and say Jackie coughed all over me. Great. Just great. I'm keeping my fingers crossed patient X keeps his little booger fingers to himself and doesn't spread the sickness to the rest of us.

I'm proud to say that Bob and I are still sticking to the 'you'll eat what we eat for dinner' or at the very least, you'll try a piece. My daughter is making progress, she's at least not fighting me about it anymore and realized she actually likes pork. My son still refuses most nights and would rather not eat at all. He'll come around eventually once he realizes he has no choice anymore. Must. Stick. With. It. They do get their 'free meals' where they can pick. Only a few times and usually when Bob will be home late or if we are eating seafood. I'm giving them a pass on trying seafood for now. At least until they realize meat, pork and turkey are good for them and they shouldn't be afraid of it. I recently read an article on MDA about getting kids to eat primal, or healthier. They say get the kids involved in the whole process. Shopping, cooking etc. I've tried that and it didn't work for me. Maybe I'll try it again now that they are a little older.

Not much else going on. Going thru a little Dexter withdraw. Tends to happen when you watch 7 years worth of shows every day for the past 3 months. Now we're back to either watching previous seasons of Breaking Bad or hoping the evil red machine (Netflix) will decide to send us good movies.

Recipe: Crock Pot Chicken Stock

Lets be honest, it's not hard to make broth, but it is hard to make it taste good. Now that I've got the bone broth recipe down, I had an idea which made the hamster wheel start turning. Why wouldn't I use the same method to make chicken broth? Duh. In the past I've always just thrown the carcass in a huge stock pot, covered it with water added some salt and pepper and boiled it to death for a few hours. Sound familiar? This time I dragged my frozen carcass and leftover legs out, threw them in the crock along with some veggies and herbs and let it simmer for about 30 hours. Wow. What an unbelievable difference. And the color was almost as dark and rich as the beef broth. What a fool I've been not to do this sooner.

Crock Pot Chicken Stock
makes approx 11 cups

1 leftover roaster chicken (bones, fat, skin, meat)
*plus 6-7 leftover frozen chicken legs or other parts
1 medium carrot or handful of baby carrots
2 celery stalks, halved
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 large onion
1/2 tsp peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried thyme
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tbsp kosher salt

Throw all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cover with water. Cook on low for at least 24 hours. Once finished strain and pour into jars or containers and refrigerate or freeze. Again as with the beef broth, I salt to taste as needed for use. Don't forget to let the broth cool for a day in the fridge then remove the fat layer BEFORE freezing.

You can see in the picture the fat that formed on top after a few days. Let it go until you need to open it. The fat keeps it 'sealed'.

Another note worth mentioning. The night I made the roaster, I picked it pretty clean of chicken for leftovers and put it in a ziploc bag, including the onion, parsley and rosemary sprigs and garlic that was still in the cavity. I did remove the lemon since I tried making stock with the lemon before and I wasn't too thrilled with the taste. The carcass ended up in the freezer for a few days until I had time err, remembered that it was in there. I also had a few leftover chicken leg bones in the freezer from a different recipe, Nom Nom's Phenomenal Green Chicken. Why am I saving half eaten food? Because MDA pointed it out. If you're a stock maker, always save bones in the freezer until you have enough. So I am. I'm a good little recycler. (that was one of my New Year's non resolutions) Although, if someone has scurvy while eating said chicken parts, I would feed them to the trash can.

If you have the time and leftover random chicken bones, I would definitely use this stock to make the Escarole soup. I would hate for the soup to turn out just OK because of tasteless store bought broth.