You’ll never guess what Mal and I left locked up in Vermont… our Garmins!!! GAH! 😯 We locked them in the safe in our hotel room and forgot them there. Oops! 😳 Thankfully, the nice people at Topnotch offered to mail them to us.
Without my Garmin, I decided to do my track workout on the treadmill at the gym instead of at the outdoor track this afternoon. The weather was beautiful today, but I really wanted to keep track of my pace and push myself during the workout. I guess I’m a “numbers person.” Numbers just seem to motivate me. Anyway, here’s Track Workout 4:
Track Workout 4
2 lap warm up, 6 x’s 400, 6 lap warm down
- 0.50 miles: 6.3 mph (warm-up)
- 0.25 miles: 7.0 mph
- 0.25 miles: 6.3 mph (recovery)
- 0.25 miles: 7.1 mph
- 0.25 miles: 6.3 mph
- 0.25 miles: 7.2 mph
- 0.25 miles: 6.3 mph
- 0.25 miles: 7.3 mph
- 0.25 miles: 6.3 mph
- 0.25 miles: 7.4 mph
- 0.25 miles: 6.3 mph
- 0.25 miles: 7.5 mph
- 0.25 miles: 6.3 mph
- 1.50 miles: 6.5 – 6.7 mph
- Cool down
Total: 5 miles in 46:55
Dinner
This evening’s dinner was inspired by Real Simple’s recipe for Baked Penne With Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomatoes. As you probably know, I rarely ever follow recipes and this one was no different! 😉
For some reason, I thought the directions for this recipe were too complicated. Well, ok, they were easy to understand, but it sounded like I needed to dirty a ton of dishes to make it, and I didn’t want to deal with the clean-up afterwards. I guess I’m lazy like that.
So, I did my own thing. I cooked the penne in one pot and threw all of the other ingredients (minus the mozzarella) into a big sauté pan to heat. Then, I drained the pasta and mixed everything together before slicing mozzarella for the top and baking it in the oven until the cheese started to brown. It was much easier my way! 😉 (I also halved the recipe.)
And, for dessert, I finished off the apple crisp that I baked yesterday. So good!
There are still a few hours to bid on some delicious baked goods!!! Remember, it’s for a good cause! 
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49 Comments
I love the Real Simple recipes so much. That pasta bake looks delicious.
I hate leaving stuff like that behind! So frustrating. Dinner looks great. We do a lot of pasta bakes here too! And dessert…delicious!
I love easy recipes without alot of dirty dishes!
I always leave something at hotels — usually it is my phone charger!
For some reason none of the text showed up on my google reader?
I love Real Simple as well – but you’re right, some of the recipes don’t sound so simple and DO involve a lot of washing up! Your dinner looks delicious! 🙂
I’m a numbers person for sure!!! I need to see a definite beginning and end!
Food needs to be quick and easy.
I usually get to hotel and then realize I left something at home. I’ve left behind my cell charger, medication I needed, toothbrush.
I love numbers, they’re sort of my weakness…. sometimes I find it’s really liberating to not focus on the numbers and just on how I feel. I completed exactly 45 minutes (out of 90) of P90X Yoga X yesterday, and while knowing I only got half makes me feel really bad, I’m glad I decided to listen to my body. But I think yoga isn’t really for me :S
I like using as few dishes as possible when cooking, especially because I don’t have a dishwasher. It’s annoying enough just cleaning up from breakfast, much less a larger or more-involved meal.
I once forgot my computer locked in one of those safes. Thank goodness we realized it only about 20 minutes into the drive so we could go back and get it. That would NOT have been good.
That dish looks great. I love RS recipes.
oh that pasta bake looks wonderful 🙂
Mr BBB left his HR monitor strap on a fence in Spain! We only realised when we were 3 hours away – and despite all attempts to get it back – it was lost forever 🙁
Oh my goodness! I would have FREAKED out if I had left something so expensive in a hotel! Luckily you guys stayed at a really nice place instead of a holiday in or something otherwise who knows where your Garmins would be!
What a yummy dinner and even a day later the apple crisp looks amazing.
I don’t know what is what supposed to look like but your penne looks so good!
yum i love those baked pasta dishes
I always leave something behind – almost a reverse souvenir situation 🙂
I don’t mind dirty dishes, but I tend to clean as I go so the end isn’t too catastrophic. My only complaint is that we don’t have running water – just a bucket under the sink – and so carrying up loads of water into the garden to filter is sometimes a little tiresome!
I have totally left an electronic gadget in a hotel safe! oops 🙂 I was in the south of France (Agde) and left my I-Pod in the safe when I left for Malta. Luckily, the nice owner of the hotel sent it to me (along with a pair of socks I had locked in there as well…yeeeah, not sure what possessed me to lock a pair of socks up?) Random!
That baked penne sounds delicious!!! I always modify recipes, too. Sometimes we just know better than the cooking professionals, haha.
The dish looks great. I think I’ll try it out! Thanks for the tip.
I need to make that pasta dish ASAP… some of my favorite foods!! I never follow recipes! I always do my own thing 🙂
That pasta looks soooo delicious! I have to make that soon. The apple crisp looks tasty too! 🙂
That baked penne looks delicious! Seeing all of your marathon training is making me want to run a half (I’m not quite ready for a marathon). I just ran my first 5k this past Sunday and ever since I can’t stop thinking of working my way up to another race. I need to look into finding a good training plan like yours 🙂
That pasta bake looks delicious! I’m all about keeping recipes simple – usually the simplistic ones taste the best!
i hate when recipes use 10 pots & pans, nope, not having that!
That pasta sounds SO GOOD! I haven’t had baked pasta in ages!
Ah well, people used to run without technological gadgets all the time 😛 Love the apple crisp!
I love a real simple recipe. Sometimes they so call for a lot of pots and pans. Everyday Food often will have recipes with specific instructions about how to cook with less pots and pans.
Good workout! I hope to be as fast as you are one day, Tina 🙂
I totally agree with you on not wanting to dirty up a lot of dishes. That is why most of my meals consist of only a few ingredients and only one or two dishes. Simple = good.
Hi Carrots n Cake! New to your lovely blog, great name btw and wanted to say hi! Great meals- I love Real and Simple ideas, just like you though, I kind of switch it up. I look forward to checkin back with you.:) Have a great night.
love your blog but this new layout is so difficult to read!!
That pasta looks delicious! Oh, and I am totally the same way. I always switch up recipes. ESPECIALLY if they seem to complicated. I love your blog by that way, and your eating philosophy. You are one of the major bloggers who inspired me to start my own blog.
Keep on keeping on!
I am the exact same way with recipes. Many of my recipes are “inspired by” others, but rarely follow another recipe. It’s just how I roll. 🙂
Hi Tina,
Just wanted to let you know that I made your Banana Oatmeal Chip Cookies and they turned out pretty great! I can’t believe these are low fat and so loaded with nutrition. I used Agave too and it worked out really well for me. Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Take a look… gave you credit 🙂
http://www.honeywhatscooking.com/2010/09/eggless-banana-oatmeal-chip-cookies.html
Thankssssssss!
My hubby and I forget everything- we are dangerous together, so I know how you feel!
yeah no need to dirty up extra pots!
Haha! You sound like me when I cook. I can’t follow recipes if there are more than 3 ingredients. I just make it work like Tim Gunn would.
Thank god your Garmin’s are okay!
Hi Tina, I am training for a marathon, too, and I’m enjoying reading about your training. I have a question about your speedwork on the treadmill. What do you do about the incline when you are doing speedwork? Do you keep it flat, or do you use an incline to account for the lack of wind resistance? My marathon is in less than three weeks (!) and I used a novice program that didn’t include any speedwork, but, I’m already thinking ahead to my next one, and most intermediate or novice II programs do include speedwork.
Keep up the good work!
Caroline
We left my husband’s only dress shirt in our honeymoon suite.
your a better trainer than I am. I have been running for awhile now and I have yet to get a garmin I think I may make my purchase very soon.
You dinner looks delish. I never follow recipes its to time consuming.
It’s always fun to create your own anyway.
I need to stop going out to eat and start cooking…that looks delicious!
I left my walkman (yeah, that’s how long ago this was) at a hotel once and they mailed it back to us. That turned out to be a lucky break for me, since my parents weren’t driving back to wherever-it-was (I think North Conway) to get it for me!
Argh, you must have been so hummed about leaving your Farming behind! Good idea to workout on the treadmill instead.
Argh, you must have been so bummed about leaving your Garmin behind. Good job on the workout. It was a good idea to do it on the treadmill.
Even when I follow a recipe, I usually make lots of small changes to it. I like adding my own touches! 😀
I just made that pasta recipe last weekend, I loved it…and I also made my own recipe up for it!
Yum! That dish looks very tasty! 🙂
That dinner looks awesome–but I love anything with melted cheese on it. 🙂 Recipe?
@Lisa: Just click on the link in the post! 🙂
I’ve seriously followed your blog for at least the last year and I ALWAYS love the recipes you post. Quick, easy, and healthy – perfect for a weeknight after work!