lil suzy homemaker: Protein Packed Dinner Omelet (and my best attempt at running ...)

Spring is definitely springing around here, and the weather couldn't be more appropriate. I woke up this morning to pouring rain and by the time I got off the metro in Crystal City the rain subsided and the temperature was up to the low 60s. From there the weather stayed nice all day, so I enjoyed an outside walk back to the metro after work. Jesse and I worked a little late tonight, so by the time we got home I had missed my Monday night dance class and was NOT looking forward to going to the gym. I begrudgingly put on my gym clothes, knowing that I really needed to workout after such an indulgent weekend (more on that later this week). I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do - treadmill: bleh, weights: bleh, eliptical: no thanks - when Jesse said that he was going to run outside. Perfect, why didn't I think of that?! I'm not exactly a runner (not exactly = not at all), but getting outside sounded like the perfect answer to my gym blues.

Jesse took off running and I started out with a nice fast-paced walk, while listening to Adele on Pandora. After a few minutes of taking in the fresh air I decided to give jogging a try. I switched the station to B.o.B. and set out. Like I said, I'm not a runner so I didn't want to push myself too hard, but rather keep a steady pace for as long as I could. I turned on RunKeeper, my favorite pacing/tracking app for running, and after five minutes the automated voice came over my iPod announcing my running stats. I honestly didn't listen to what they were because I was just happy that I made it five minutes without feeling tired. Five more minutes went by and then another five and I was feeling strong. I started to think that I might be able to go 25 minutes without stopping! That's when it started. Drop ....... drop .... drop ... it started out slow and then out of nowhere it was POURING! I was so bummed because the cool raindrops actually felt really good, but I knew I had to get home. I took the house key with me when we left because I was just planning to go for a brisk walk around the block and planned to get home well before Jesse. On top of that, I didn't want the rain to ruin my phone! All in all, my 15 minute jog was the perfect energizer to get me going tonight and even though it got cut short, I'm much more motivated to get out running again this spring. Maybe running isn't so bad ...

Rushing back to save Jesse :)

I'd have to say that the best thing that came from my jog was an idea for dinner. After getting back in town late yesterday afternoon, I never made it to the grocery store. With Drew and Jesse's input, I came up with a surprisingly good Sunday dinner last night - pasta bake and homemade garlic bread (a post for later this week), but I really had nothing planned past that. Usually when I run, all I think about is how much further I have to go before I can walk again, but the combination of the beautiful weather and keeping a slow pace helped my brain to wander. And leave it to me to think about food while I'm working out!

For tonight's dinner I was able to use several of my leftover ingredients from last week to create a power dinner omelet. It was spot on!

Power Dinner Omelet

Serves: 2

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

4 large eggs

2 tbsp. water

dash of parsley

sliver of butter

1/4 cup mushrooms, roughly chopped

3 Tbsp. scallions, sliced thin

1/4 cup cooked chicken breast, diced

1/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup cheddar cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Start by chopping the mushrooms and sautéing them in the omelet pan with a sliver of butter over medium heat. Drain and rinse the black beans, and dice up the scallions and chicken. When the mushrooms are browned, remove the pan from the heat.

Crack four eggs into a bowl and add the water and parsley. Beat until thoroughly mixed.

Return the omelet pan to medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Once heated, pour the egg mixture into the pan. Swirl the eggs around the pan to partially coat the sides of the pan.

As the eggs cook, continue to swirl the pan. After about three or four minutes, tilt the pan while using a fork to gently pull the omelet away from the edges, allowing the uncooked egg to get underneath the cooked portion.

When the eggs are mostly cooked, add half of the cheese to one side of the omelet.

Continue by adding the chicken, mushrooms, scallions and black beans on top of the cheese, and then finish with the remaining cheese. Using a fork and spatula, close the omelet and turn the heat to low. Cover with a lid for an additional 2-5 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.

Divide the omelet down the middle and serve with toast (or leftover garlic bread!).

It was such a filling dinner and the perfect protein-packed meal after a good workout! But the best part of the meal was walking away from this mess to let Jesse clean it all up ...