Yesterday was a great day! Delicious dinner and an outside, successful run. I couldn't ask for much more.
I've been running inside on the treadmill at the gym since January. I had to stop for about a month in April because my IT Band was messed up.
Now that we've moved, I no longer have a gym membership. That might change come winter with all the snow, we'll have to see.
This was the first time I've run outside in close to a year. I was worried. I was worried that my pace would be terrible without a treadmill to tell me how fast to go. I'm on week 5 of the Couch to 5K program and just decided to go for it.
It was hot, sweaty, and a struggle. But, in the end I was really happy with my two miles.
It was a slow run but right in my usual zone. I am so grateful that I can run at all with no pain in my knee since I finished PT. I can train to get faster and that's all I need!
When I told my little brother (he's 8) about this meal, he rolled over on the ground and faked dead. Then, he opened his eyes and said, "Can we please have that when I come visit?"
Why yes we can. I plan on this becoming a part if the regular meal rotation for me!
I was inspired by Budget Bytes Roasted Vegetable French Bread Pizza. (I'll post the link at the bottom of the page). Her blog is amazing! I am always looking there for new, inexpensive ideas. She also has great suggestions for what basics to get in a new kitchen.
I rarely change her recipes, but this one got a little pricey. The BF and I are really trying to keep our grocery bills as low as we can. We tend to ball out a little to hard at the grocery store. What can I say? We love ourselves some good eats.
Here it is, the best French bread pizza I have ever had.
Ingredients:
1 loaf French bread
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 large carrot, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 small head broccoli, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
2 cans fire roasted tomato
2 cloves garlic
Olive oil spray
2 tsp basil and oregano, each
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Roast your veggies. Chop all those bad boys up, spray them with oil (I use my Misto), a toss them around with 1 teaspoon (or more) or basil, oregano, salt and pepper. You could also add some thyme. If I had it in my kitchen, I would have. You could even go garlic-crazy like me and add some here too. Put the on a baking sheet or in a glass pan. You want them in a single layer as much as possible.
3. Keep them in for about 45 minutes. Stir them every 15 minutes.
4. While those are in the oven start making your sauce. You could buy some if you wanted to. Mince and sauté a clove of garlic in olive oil. Add the tomatoes, the rest of the spices, and the brown sugar. Salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer while the veggies roast.
5. Cut the bread the long way to create two long, flat pieces that will be your pizzas.
6. Spray the bread with olive oil and spread the rest of the minced garlic over that. Add your sauce, veggies, and cheese. I only assembled half of the loaf with half the toppings so that I could make the other half for lunch the next day.
7. Pop that bad boy into the oven for about 10 minutes or until your cheese is melty goodness.
8. Eat way more than you planned 😉
