Yes, Please, and MORE!

Whew!! One more day 'til Friday!! I know you're probably feeling as happy about that as I am!

I'm also stoked about the new recipe I found via Justin's Health and Fitness page on Facebook (that he reposted from here: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/black-bean-and-quinoa-enchilada-bake/ .

I'll tell you what caught my eye about the recipe before even opening it, then you can decide if it sounds enticing to you as well:

• Black Beans are a main ingredient: Oh, how I love to find new ways to incorporate black beans into things, but I have to be honest that I don't try very hard to find such ways. So, when they're put in my lap, I'm all over it! They're so stinkin' good for you!!
• Quinoa is also on the main stage: See the above re: black beans, and you'll know how I feel about quinoa! Bring on the protein!
• It's a Mexican dish: Mama looooooves a tasty Mexican dish that's also healthy! I mean, who doesn't love a yummy Mexican meal? But, who can run the next day after ingesting such a meal? Not this girl.

I'll tell you what totally turned me off of the recipe even though I decided to forge on: peppers. Both red and orange peppers are called for. And, I cannot stand peppers. However, I decided that, perhaps, dicing them to oblivion might make them better-than-tolerable ...

Aaron hand-diced them until I asked him to use the chopper so
I wouldn't have to bite into a piece. It totally worked and was a
good way to put a smidge of sweet into the dish.

The recipe reports the prep time for this bad boy as 10 minutes. Ummm ... not in this house. It took us at least 20 minutes. It takes 15 minutes alone to cook the quinoa, so I'm not getting the math. You can do almost everything else while the quinoa is doing its thing, so don't let that scare you. There were plenty of things to do like the pepper chopping and the lime squeezing:

My hair looks about that good after most runs ...

However long it actually took us to get this together (which is certain to decrease as we make it more), it was totally worth it:

By the way, there was a half cup of cheese in the bake itself, and then we used about two-thirds of a cup over the top. It came out all gooey (and, awesome) on top because you cover it almost the entire time it bakes. From now on, though, I'm eliminating the cheese within; it just kind of disappears, and, for me, if I'm not going to actually taste or otherwise get enjoyment out of cheese, then I don't want it at all.

This dish is tasty as-is, but it is on the mild side. So, our other future adjustments include doubling the cumin, the cilantro and the lime juice. Mmmmm ...

This dish is so yummy that you can just stick a fork or spoon right on in there and devour!! Or, you can be more civilized ... my plate looked like this:

Topped with Greek yogurt and accompanied by some diced
tomato, avocado, spinach and some blue chips ... yes, please,
and thank you for some more!!

It was like a deconstructed taco salad. At one point, I mushed almost all of it together and ate it with some chips. Suuuuuhhh-weeeeeeeeet !!!

I totally give credit to this dish for my having a solid level of energy from which to draw for yesterday's didn't-want-to-do-it run! I just had the final portion of it for lunch with fingers crossed for an awesome fuel for tomorrow's 12-miles! Because of the high fiber content of this dish, it was a lunch choice for me today, not a dinner. 'Gotta watch it on the double-digit runs. Just sayin' that's how my body works.

Oh, by the way, this recipe makes a TON. I wouldn't really hesitate to cut it in half unless you have four very willing participants in the eating. Even then, you're going to have leftovers!

With that, I have a run to map for tomorrow! By the way, the most notable thing about tomorrow's run isn't the distance -- it's that it's supposed to be cold. For. Real. (Seriously, next Saturday? I think we should just plan on melting in a heat wave ...)

Enjoy your slide into Friday, and I'll see you after the morning run!