Skinny Portobello Sausage Pizzas

Man, today was my day as far as productivity goes! This morning, after my all-too-necessary cup (or two) of coffee, I knocked out an easy 8 mile run. As soon as I got home, I made a big bowl of oatmeal with strawberries, cottage cheese stirred in at the end and topped with peanut butter before showering, getting ready and heading to the grocery store. I needed to pick up a few last necessary items for the lasagna dinner and cupcakes that I was planning on making for friends of our who just had a baby girl. 

After spending the morning in the kitchen and before spending the afternoon studying, I had a late and totally delicious lunch! 

I have been wanted to make these babies for a long time, but I knew I had to do it at a time when Jason wouldn't be around....he is disgusted by mushrooms!

Skinny Portobello Sausage Pizzas

Ingredients

2 Portobello Mushrooms (stems removed)

2 spoonfulls of Marinara sauce

1 chicken sausage, chopped

1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 clove garlic, minced

Fresh basil, to taste

Directions

-Preheat oven to 350*

-Add a spoonful of Marinara to each cap

-Mix all remaining ingredients

-Put half of mixture into each cap

-Place on baking sheet and cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender

While I had the mushrooms cooking away, I took advantage of the oven being on and threw in some broccoli, which I had on the side for a little green power.

Off to deliver of baby treats!

Why Would Jessica Eat This?: Many people (my husband included!!) are totally disgusted by mushrooms and wouldn't touch them with a ten-foot pole....they don't know what a nutritional powerhouse they are missing out on! Mushrooms are a great source of many essential nutrients, such as niacin, selenium and riboflavin, but the biggest benefit you get from eating them is there outrageous vitamin D content! 

St. Patrick's Day

Welcome back to another week! Has everyone recovered from the holiday weekend?

I had a great St. Patrick's Day! My day started at 7 a.m. when I met a number of people from my running group to head down to the L.A. Marathon.

We knew a number of people competing, so we wanted to go down there to give them our support! We parked at the Santa Monica pier where the race ended, ran through some side streets, and eventually made our way to the 21 mile mark. We waited there for a while waiting for our friends to come by, and had the chance to watch all the elite runners past by. They were all so amazing! Eventually, our friends ran by, and we jumped in and ran with for the last 5.2 miles. Overall, we covered about 10. 5 miles. It was such a fun experience, I can't wait to run the full marathon next year!

After all the morning excitement, I finally got back home in the early afternoon, and hunkered down to get some school work done. Then, it was time to continue the weekend's festivies at my parent's house for a fantastic St. Partick's Day dinner!

 

 What else we would have besides corned beef and cabbage??

Served with roasted potatoes and veggies

 

My mom went all out and even made a traditional Irish fruit cake made with Guinness Stout.

 

I had a slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Back to the grind!

Pesto Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus

Take a deep breath in....exhale....it's Friday!!!

I usually work on Friday nights, but I was lucky enough to have today off, so I made sure to take full advantage! My day started with a 7 mile at an easy pace, followed by a delicious breakfast consisting of a (cold) baked sweet potato, cottage cheese, lots of peanut butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon. 

I used my time productively and got a few solid hours of school work in before it was time to make dinner and start winding down for the day. 

Speaking of dinner, tonight's was awesome!

Pesto Gnocchi with Shrimp and Asparagus

Ingredients

1 c. basil leaves

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

2 tsp. lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

 1 (16 oz.) package of gnocchi

4 c. asparagus

1 lb. shrimp

Directions

-In a food processor, combine basil, cheese, lemon juice, and garlic until smooth

-Add olive oil and process until well combined

-Cook gnocchi as instructed on package

-Once fully cooked, remove gnocchi from water with a slotted spoon and place into a separate bowl

-Add asparagus and shrimp to water and boil until shrimp is thoroughly cooked

-Drain shrimp/asparagus mixture

-Add gnocchi and pesto sauce with shrimp and asparagus and mix, making sure to evenly coat everything in pesto

-Top with a sprinkle of extra cheese and enjoy!

Even though this meal involved making your own pesto, it was surprisingly easy to make! Start to finish, this dinner took less than half an hour to create. 

Happy weekend!