Brie Fit

Ninety-six degrees today.  The hell?

We went straight from winter to summer this year and I don’t like it.

Anyway, for as much fun as the conference was, it was really nice to have a day off today.  I got up early with Tim to go pick my car up from the shop before he left for work, and wound up unintentionally skipping breakfast.

So, I had it for lunch.

Eggs and cheese, a pretzel roll, and cantaloupe and cherries.  I am so glad summer fruits are finally here and on sale!  I was getting desperately tired of apples and oranges and bananas.

Seriously…I bought a two-pound bag of cherries at the grocery store last night and it’s almost gone already.  I blame Milhouse.

(That electric white in the upper right hand corner is totally my leg.)

Milhouse has been too funny lately.  He’s appointed himself Southie’s guardian and spent all afternoon trying to protect her from Buckley.  This involved not leaving my side, as she spent her day on the back of my chair gazing out the window.

She’s doing much better today.  She hogged down a whole lot of raw ground beef, so I think we’re going to switch her right into raw feeding since she seems to prefer that to canned wet food.  I also caught her grooming one of her paws and kneading a bit, which are both good signs that she’s feeling more like herself.

She wants you to know that reverse legwarmers are in style this summer, too.

This afternoon, I mostly accomplished stuff around the house.  I steam-mopped, and did laundry, and cleaned our microwave for the first time in a very long time.  Notably, I did NOT work out, as my knee is still bothering me, and most of my options for working out at home (running, workout DVDs) aren’t very knee-friendly.  I think I’ll swim tomorrow.

I also prepped a roast to cook in the crockpot tomorrow, and made a very delicious dinner!

Since we went to dinner at Portobello at Downtown Disney, I’ve been dying to try my hand at a good Bolognese sauce but kept, you know, forgetting.  I used this Molto Mario recipe as a guide, but adjusted it based on what I could find in the grocery store, halved it, upped the veggies, and reduced the amount of oil.

• 2 T. butter
• 2 T. olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped fine
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 24 pepperoni slices, chopped fine
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup white wine (I used pinot grigio)
• 2 t. salt
• freshly ground pepper, to taste

Melt the butter and olive oil in a large stock pot, and cook the carrots, onion, and garlic over medium heat until transparent (about 10-15 minutes).  Add the ground beef and brown.  Once the beef is cooked, add the tomato paste, pepperoni, 1/2 c. milk, and 1/2 c. white wine.  Simmer on low for as long as possible, slowly adding in the milk and wine as the sauce reduces.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve over pasta.

This was really good!  Tim and I both liked it, but if I made it again, I would reduce the amount of oil even more, since it seemed a little greasy with the pepperoni added in.  I’d also like to try a healthier version with just olive oil and no pepperoni.  We had it alongside spinach salads with a simple balsamic vinaigrette.  (Spinach was BOGO at the grocery store this week, so expect to see a lot of it.)

Anyway, I’ve kind of slipped off course with my eating and working out lately.  I haven’t counted calories in a few weeks, and it’s been a nice break, but I’m ready to rein things in again.   I’ve already tracked my eats for tomorrow, and it should be a good day.  I’m looking forward to being back in the old routine!

Also…12 days till my birthday.  Just sayin’. 

What’s your favorite Italian dish?