Back at it!

Nicole has her grooove back! 😉

What a relaxing, wonderful weekend! Mr. Prevention and I spent the long, holiday weekend in Lincoln, Nebraska visiting his side of the family. We got to visit, eat, sleep, read, walk, and run…a perfect weekend in my book! We stayed with Mark’s aunt (thanks again for everything!) and she was quite the hostess with the mostess. She lives near to a walking path that we were able to utilize over the weekend. I did a combination of walking & talking with the gang and running on my own. Saturday ended up being 4.3 miles (3 miles of running) and Sunday was 5.05 miles (3 miles of running) according to my Garmin.

I loved the change of pace, flexibility to get my workout in during the morning hours, and the new scenery and company 🙂 I guess you could say I’m feeling up to my 101 Days of Summer Challenge to run AT LEAST 1 mile 70 out of the next 101 days. Last night started the challenge off with a 2 mile run + 1 mile walk. I’m also participating in Heather’s 100 Push-Up Challenge. I did 5 sets: 10-12-7-7-13. I hope to see these numbers climb through the challenge!

It’s going to be a busy summer!

In addition to burning off some calories over the weekend, I came back craving healthy, homemade meals. It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been in the kitchen!! I paged through and ripped out most of the recipes in June’s issue of Cooking Light somewhere between Topeka, Kansas and Nowata, Oklahoma. I’ve got some exciting stuff on the menu this week, starting with last night’s supper: Grilled Salmon with Chorizo and Fingerlings.

Grilled Salmon with Chorizo and Fingerlings by Cooking Light June 2010

Cooking spray
1/4 cup minced shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth, divided
3/4 pound fingerling potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ounces Spanish chorizo sausage, diced
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
2 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Prepare grill to medium-high heat.

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shallots and garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup chicken broth. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 3 minutes or until shallots are tender. Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups broth, potatoes, and chorizo; bring to a simmer. Simmer 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender; stir in 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add spinach to pan; cover. Remove from heat; stir to combine. Keep warm.

Sprinkle remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and paprika evenly over fillets. Lightly coat fillets with cooking spray; arrange fillets in a single layer, skin side up, on grill rack. Grill 2 minutes. Rotate fillets a quarter turn on the same side; grill 3 minutes or until well marked. Turn fillets over; grill 5 minutes or until desired degree of doneness.

Place 1 fillet in each of 4 shallow bowls; ladle 3/4 cup potato mixture over fish. Drizzle 3/4 teaspoon oil over each serving. Yield: 4 servings.

Nutritional Information (per serving): 462 calories; 25.5 g. fat (5.5 g. saturated, 10.8 g. monounsaturated, 7.7 g. polyunsaturated); 39.9 g. protein; 17.7 g. carbohydrate; 3 g. fiber; 100 mg. cholesterol; 543 mg. sodium

Result: Wowza! This gets 5 starts in my book! Mr. Prevention’s, too! The spinach was so flavorful and the dish was rich with the flavor of paprika and chorizo. I especially loved the 5-minute prep and 20-minute cook time. Oh, and only one pan used…easy clean up! If you love salmon, this is a must-make recipe!

Speaking of paprika…

I am hosting this week’s Blogger Secret Ingredient Challenge. If you didn’t check-in yesterday, be sure to get all the details here. Basically, make a recipe that includes paprika and submit it to me by Sunday, June 6th for a chance to win a fun prize!!

Question: Did you eat anything “special” for Memorial Day? Any grilling going on?

Have a great (short!) week! I have to work this Friday because we had off yesterday, BUT I only work 8-5 this week! It’ll be nice to sleep in a bit! 😉 I have lots planned blog-wise this week…keep an eye out!

Be well,