cauliflower mash – Movin' it with Michelle

This year has started out a little rough for me. While I had talked about Self-love last week on the blog, with intentions of making more time for the things I love AND me in general, I instead continued to battle this wretched cough/cold. This weekend I finally felt better enough to venture out of the house with my daughter, and we got our nails done, ran errands, had lunch with a great friend and did a little shopping. I was a little worn out this afternoon, but was determined to get back to my Sunday supper ritual.

Today’s menu consisted of Blue cheese beef meatballs, mushroom gravy, and cauliflower mash with a side of sautéed asparagus.

Blue Cheese Beef meatballs

One pound of ground beef

1 cup of blue cheese crumbles

1 egg

Salt and pepper to taste (about 1-2 tsps. of salt, 1 tsp pepper

1 tsp of dried oregano

Combine and let chill for an hour. Bring to room temperature while the oven is pre-heating to 350 degrees. Bake for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked.

Cauliflower mash

1 head of fresh cauliflower

1/4 cup of low fat cream cheese

2 tsps. of unsalted butter

1-2 tsps. of salt, 1 tsp of white pepper, 1 tsp of garlic powder

Cup up cauliflower and cook in boiling water until soft.

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process on high for around 2-3 minutes.

Mushroom gravy

1 tsp of unsalted butter

6-8 portabella mushrooms, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 package of Lipton Onion soup mix

4 cups of unsalted/low sodium beef stock

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 tsps. of corn starch and cold water, mixed well (this is called a slurry, you’ll add it to thicken the gravy)

In a sauce pan melt the butter and add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook until lightly browned. Add in the beef stock, and onion soup mix until combined thoroughly. Add in the heavy cream and the corn starch slurry and bring to a boil. Reduce down, and let simmer for 20 minutes. Puree or leave chunky! Your call!

I rounded the dish out with some simple sautéed asparagus with a little salt, pepper, and a pat of butter.

cauliflower massh

Enjoy!!!

Overall week 4 of training went off without a hitch. Despite little sleep, I managed to get in my weekday runs, strength training, and even a shake out walk today. I also finished my week off with a couple hours of yard work, which included glimpses of spring!

Green little sproutlings made me SOOOO excited today!

But back it up a little…sorry, I am getting ahead of myself-LOL! Yesterday was my scheduled long run, and I had 11 miles on deck. I hadn’t run long outside since November, and my nerves were pretty high. My friend D offered to meet up with me at 8 a.m. as she was starting at 7 a.m. and I could sleep in a little while she started out since she needed 18 miles.

Despite saying we would both wear our FVM jackets, the rest of the outfit was NOT planned, LOL!!

It worked out PERFECTLY. The sun was out, the temps were nearly perfect and I couldn’t have asked for a better morning. Despite being much faster than I am, D offered to slow it down so we could just run, chat, and leave it all on the trails for a couple hours. And that’s exactly what we did…we kept it a 10mm pace, which is my ‘sweet spot’ to run in where I am pushing myself yet can still glide along easily while holding a conversation.

My ITB is starting to feel the miles, so I did have to stop at stretch it out several times. A quick stretch though, was what seemed to do the trick and I tried to ensure we weren’t stopped for more than a minute each time. The run was amazing, but I am guessing this is greatly due to the company I was in. ❤

Since the hubby is working all weekend, I decided to take the girls to see the new Cinderella movie. I LOVED it. They did, too! I highly recommend seeing this film.

Today was a busy day of Fox Valley Marathon planning and my fellow Co-Directors of Volunteers and I met up with the Race Directors for a an overview of the new online tools we will be using. Can’t wait!

I finished the day, as said previously, by working on my yard, raking, walking, pulling up dead stuff and yes…scooping a winter’s worth of dog poo. Gross is all I can say.

Tonight’s Sunday Supper was Red snapper that I pan fried, served with a broccoli slaw with pancetta along with a cauliflower and leek mash. Delish indeed!!!

I’ve posted how I prepare Cauliflower mash previously here and just added a chopped leek to the mix. YUM!

Broccoli Slaw

One bag of pre-chopped broccoli slaw

2 teaspoons of Mayo with olive oil

A splash or two of rice wine vinegar

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of pancetta that has been browned with garlic and chopped mushrooms (drain on a paper towel)

Mix well and let chill for an hour before serving

Red Snapper

Dry your fillets with a paper towel and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat a non stick pan with cooking spray and just a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to medium/high heat. Cook skin side down first, add a pat of unsalted butter and flip about 4-5 minutes and brown the other side for just a minute or two until the fish is completely cooked. Finish with a light sprinkle of kosher salt.

As the weekend draws to a close, I am counting my blessings. I truly couldn’t and SHOULDN’T ever ask or want for more in my life, than what I have today.

Did you all get your long runs in? Were you able to get outside this weekend? What’s your favorite healthy meal?

Have a great week, y’all!

❤ Michelle

Tag: cauliflower mash

Blue cheese beef meatballs, mushroom gravy and cauliflower mash

Week 4 of training, complete!

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