Round Steak with Zucchini Fritters and Tomatoes

I have to admit its been rough trying to get a recipe right.  I swore to do my own recipes by not rushing off to Google every idea that popped into my head.  Tonight's dinner was a home run in that department.
I started off with the idea of using up the two zucchini I had on the counter before I go out tomorrow to harvest more.  They were getting a little on the hard side and I knew I would need to shred them so I thought, "my not give zucchini pancakes a try?"  I ran to the computer and entered the search term, then slowly backspaced as I realized I needed to try this myself. 
The basics I knew.  Zucchini, eggs, and some kind of breading.  I wanted to avoid flour because really I wasn't looking for a "pancake".  Breaking out my trusty food processor I plucked the zucchini  from their resting place with the yellow squash waiting to be frozen and started to cut it up.  Each long piece went into the processor quickly becoming shredded green bliss (can you tell I love zucchini?) I also shredded in one very small (size of my palm) sweet onion. Now here's the hard part....waiting.  You want the zucchini to be as dry as possible to once it is all shredded you'll need to put it into a colander with about 2-3 tsp of salt.  Mix it up and let it sit for 20-30 minutes.  The salt will draw the moisture out of the zucchini.  After time as pasted put the zucchini into a large square of cheese cloth (paper towels will work too though you need quite a few) and wring the zucchini out.  Keep pressing until all the moisture is out then turn it into a bowl.  In a separate bowl combine 2 eggs, a tsp of mayo, 1/4 tsp of garlic pepper, 1/4 tsp salt and a couple dashes of pepper.  Whisk this together then pour it in with the zucchini.  Mix the zucchini and eggs together, it will be quiet moist.  In a shallow dish add 1 cup of corn meal.  Heat a skillet adding 1-2 tbsp of olive oil.  When hot (pan sizzles when sprinkled with cold water) form the zucchini mixture into a patty, this will be messy and drop on top of the corn meal.  Use your hands to pull cornmeal onto the top of the patty then carefully pick the patty up and drop into the skillet.  Depending on your patty size you could get 5-8 patties.  Let cook 2-3 minutes or until golden brown on one side, then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes.  
Now to the leftover cornmeal I added seasoning salt, stirred to combine and then dredge two round steaks.  I added these to another pan I heated with more olive oil and cooked 5-7 minutes on each side or medium rare.  You can of course cook them to your desired doneness.  I found the cornmeal added a nice crust that did not burn like flour or bread crumbs.
I decided after plating the steak and zucchini cakes that I needed a sauce.  This is a very simple sauce.  To a small bowl add about 2-3 tbsp of ranch dressing, a half tsp grated horseradish and a couple two or three dashes of hot sauce.  Mix together and spread over the cakes.  As a palette cleanser and for some color on the plate I cut up 2 small tomatoes and fanned 4 slices over each plate.

I wish I could find my camera because this was divine!  The flavor of the onions and zucchini with the horseradish married beautifully.  Each bite wasn't overpowered by one flavor or another, but yet you could pick out the onion, then the horseradish, with the sweet tint of zucchini.  The steak was just done enough to melt as I bit into it, the seasoning salt and coarseness of the cornmeal brought out flavors I had been missing before, and the tomatoes and their sweetness definitely brought that cleansing level to the dish I was looking for, as I alternated bites of zucchini with bites of steak and tomato.

When your husband makes it a point to say,  "write that recipe down" you know you have a keeper.

Pregnancy and Working Out

I am 6 months pregnant with my second child.  Today I go in for my first ultrasound and know that coming out of it I will finally know this is real.  I wasn't prepared to be having a child so soon after my first.  Sure it's been three years but in my mind I pictured having my life under control, my finances steady, my son heading off to kindergarten before I even broached the subject of another child with my husband. 
I was smack dab at the beginning of getting my life under control and getting back in shape...for me...I was doing well with  a few steps back here and there.  At the beginning of this pregnancy I weighed in at 148 or was that 158??  I'll have to check, 158 sounds right and it was where I was plateauing.  I bounced between 158 and 162 it seemed almost daily.  I wish I knew what I needed to do to get back on track and get that number going down.  I thought I was getting there until come March 7th and my monthly visitor failed to appear. 
I didn't let that get me down though surprisingly.  The first few months I maintained that 158 mark, watching what I ate more closely to make sure I was getting the nutrients I needed for my child as pre-natal vitamins make me so so sick to my stomach.  I upped my fruit intake, I crave fruit anyways and I upped my fresh vegetable intake. Makes me wonder if I wasn't pregnant what this little change could have done for my weight loss.
My problem now is exercise.  I try to stretch real good every morning and  take the dogs out for long walks before the heat explodes usually by 9am.  The afternoons are a little tougher as the heat is just obnoxious and sends me skittering inside every time I open the front door or even think about getting in my car to go anywhere.  I want to try yoga, but it is difficult in a small town to find someone that knows how to shape a program for a pregnant woman.  Everyone says just take it easy on exercise and drink plenty of fluids, which I do but I feel I could be and should be doing more to prepare my body.  I didn't do much with my son and though labor with him was not difficult, I feel it could have gone better for me  if I had prepared more physically.
 

Progress or lack of

I'm still working out, but maybe like once or twice week.  I wish I could convince myself to do more, everyday, but I always seem to fine something more important to do.  I flit from one task to the next never fully completing the one before moving on to the other.  Eating has improved but I still have issues with not eating the chocolate chips that are meant for the cookies I was suppose to bake this past Christmas.  Admitting I ate the entire bag of milk chocolate chips and the entire back of white chocolate chips *sigh* my son did help me eat a few handfuls so I guess it wasn't the ENTIRE bag....but still guilty nonetheless.  I blame it on PMSing that week (yeah that's it). 

I am looking forward to warmer weather as I plan on getting out of the house more this year than I did last.  Breaking off, but not completely, my connection to the couch and the computer and running.  I want to get in shape to do the 3K run for Susan Komen Race for a Cure.  I did it two years ago for the first time and though I did far from well I did manage to run the entire race, that was without much prep.  I'd like to improve and know the only way to do this is to work...hard.  This year the race holds special meaning as we just lost my husbands grandmother to breast cancer.  She fought for a good 3 years and I want to do this for her and all women out there.    So in a few months I'll be putting up my donation board, so if you can a contribution would be much appreciated.  All donations will go to the local cancer research hospital so if  you want to please donate to your own local Susan Komen Chapter and send me some good luck and you can do it vibes.

Time to get my shapely butt off the couch, off this computer, it's time to work out.

The Before Picture

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Before I get to ahead of myself, on day one of my quest for a "new me" I took a before picture right before my first workout.
At the time of taking the picture I weighed in at 157.8
Looking at that image makes me want to go do my workout for the evening but first I have to tell you about the fabulous pizza I made for dinner.
Sausage, Mushroom and Olive Pizza
1 box Jiffy Pizza Crust mix (hey I don't have time to watch yeast rise)
1 cup sausage ( I used lowfat sausage links, cut them up in little pieces and cooked in frying pan till done)
1 cup cut up mushrooms (fresh from the produce department)
1 cup sliced Olives (canned)
2 cups Lowfat shredded Mozzarella cheese
1 cup Lowfat, Low Sodium spaghetti sauce seasoned to taste

I just followed the package instructions on the Jiffy box for baking. Spread the dough out on a small baking sheet and once cooked cut into small squares. 2 squares was actually enough for me! Definitely something I will try again.

Now off to exercise!!

DAY 3

Today was suppose to be a day of relaxation but not of no exercise. I had wanted to do Yoga and Pilates BUT I was suppose to get my new refrigerator this morning so instead of exercising at 8am I was putting the final coat of paint of the wall as we had to move the cabinets over to put in the fridge and I was putting things away to make sure the installation went as smooth as possible. The hours ticked by and no fridge. Hubby came home at noon for the day and still nothing so I called to see what was the hold up as I had asked for a morning delivery. Needless to say and to make a long story short no fridge today and no yoga/pilates.

My entire mood and groove for the day was ruined. I reverted back to sitting on the couch and watching TV, munching on crackers and little else. Sure this morning I did vacuum and clean so I did do some work but not what I had planned. I made an early dinner (early for us) of stuffed bell peppers which was very yummy and then went to my brothers to help celebrate his wife's birthday. I was proud as I only had a very small piece of cake. Afterward I went to my sister's to help her unload a bedroom set and that is when the fun began.

Seems my sister bought a Wii. Of course we had to play it. I'm not sure if it's on the console or a game you buy but we played some sports. This included baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. Boxing was most certainly my favorite as I love how difficult it got after each level and we were only in the training mode! I think I did somewhere around 7 rounds of boxing and my arms are very sore..afraid of what tomorrow will bring. Sadly, but I say this lightly, the game says my "fitness age" is 68...OMG!! Of course this is more based on your ability to figure out how to move the contoller right than actual fitness but damn my eye hand cordination is horrible especially compared to my 50 y.o. father who scored a 34.....that's it I am getting a Wii.

New Year, New You

 (Posted from my Myspace Blog)

Yeah so the subject is corny but that is how I am feeling about 2010.  I've got a few goals I've placed before me and it's about time I actually stick to them for once.

Jan. 2009 I pledged to lose the excess weight I've been carrying for the last 6 years.  That worked for awhile but I plateau'd and here it is 2010 and I'm the same weight I was a year ago give or take a few pounds.  I never really got into working out and have decided that is going to be my golden ticket. 

I was sitting on the couch late the other night and saw an infomercial for a weight-loss program.  I was actually really interested in it because they discussed a concept called "muscle confusion".  What that means basically that is just when you think you have the work-outs figure out and are getting bored the system switches you up and jumps you to the next level.  Having the testimonals look like real people helped too.  3 payments of $39.95 seemed a bit steep for me since I also would need to buy dumbbells, a resistence band and a few other items.  So I went to ebay to see how much I could get it for there.  The lowest I found was $54.99 with free shipping.  Not bad and I could use the other $64 for supplies.  ..  What I decided on costs me no more money than I pay already for satellite TV because it is on the TV....FitTV to be exact.

Almost all the workouts aired in the morning or early afternoon....I am by no means an early riser unless need be and working out is not an need be.  So I recorded the programs I wanted to try...I LOVE DVR!  I started yesterday with two half hour shows...one was cardio dancing and the other was tai boe (sp?).....I tell you I felt great after but today my arms were killing me and I hadn't even added weights.  With feeling so sore and  not so good to my tummy I resisted working out today but eventually I got over it and at 10pm I got on my workout clothes and set out on another hour programs.  This time I tried body sculpting...one show targeted the butt, thighs and abs while the other targeted abs, legs and arms.  I feel great right now but tomorrow I know I am going to be hurting so I think I will take it a little easy and try some low impact Pilates and some yoga for a change of pace.