The Athlete's Palate cookbook

Sometimes I feel like I get stuck in a cooking rut, where I'm making the same 8-10 meals all the time. And its either too much effort or takes too much time or energy or whatever, to try something new. But, a few months ago, in an effort to find some new meals that were designed to give you the energy you need while training, but still be relatively low-calories, I bought the cookbook that Runner's World published, called The Athlete's Palate cookbook. Basically, a bunch of well-known chefs who are also athlete's sent in their favorite recipes to make before or after races/training sessions. So far, I've only made two, but they've both been really easy and really good. SO, in case you get stuck in a cooking rut sometimes, I thought I'd share--

Penne Arrabbiata (excpet we made it with angel hair pasta, because that's all I had...)

makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
28 ounces diced or petite cut tomatoes
pinch of sugar
salt and freshly ground pepper
12 ounces penne (or whatever pasta you have)
4 ounces of pancetta or bacon (optional)
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated (optional)

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until pancetta just begins to turn pink and onions are golden, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and cook until the pancetta starts to brown. Add the tomatoes with their juices and sugar. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and cook, partially covered, until the sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook pasta in plenty of salted water, until al dente, about 7-9 minutes. Drain and return to the pot. Add half of the sauce and cook, stirring, for one minute. Spoon the pasta into bowls, serving the remaining sauce and grated cheese on top.


Tortilla Pie

makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 can (15 oz) yellow corn, drained
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
1 can (15 oz) white beans, drained
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
5 soft tortillas (10-12" each)--I used corn tortillas and ended up using 12 of them, layered side by side
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add the onions, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes until the onions are golden. Add the corn, kidney beans, black beans, white beans, tomato paste and seasoning, and heat thoroughly. Set two tablespoons of the bean mixture aside. Place 1 tortilla on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray and spoon a few tablespoons of the bean mixture onto it. Spread evenly. Place a tortilla on top of the beans, top with mix again and repeat until the pie is 5-6 layers high. Add two tablespoons of water to the remaining mix and spread it over the top of the tortilla (this will prevent it from drying out during baking). Bake for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Let sit for 15 minutes and then serve.

And, in case you're needing a fun dessert to go with your meal, I thought I'd toss this recipe in (though it most definitely was not from the Athlete's Palate cookbook! :))


Cannoli
makes 6 servings

Though you can make the shells yourself, we just bought ours at a little Italian market we found by our house...

Ingredients:
1 package of store bought cannoli shells
1 15 ounce carton of whole milk ricotta
1-2 cups of confectioners sugar (depending upon how sweet you want it)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 bag of mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Drain ricotta in a colander. Set the colander over a large bowl, cover ricotta loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate over-night. Beat ricotta in large bowl for 1 minute. Add confectioners’ sugar and beat until light and creamy 2 minutes. Add vanilla extract and blend well. Place mixture in the refrigerator to chill at least 2 hours. (You will want to fill the shells just before serving so that the shells don't lose their crispness.) Transfer cream to a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip and pipe mixture into the shells. Or, if you're like us and you don't have a pastry bag handy, put the filling into a quart size plastic bag, snip off one corner and squeeze the fillng out into the pastry shells. Then, simply squeeze the filling into the cannoli shells. To serve, dip the ends of the filled cannolis into the mini chocolate chips and dust the tops with confectioners’ sugar, using a sieve. Serve chilled.

Enjoy!