Running in circles.

Since Monday's dinner was such a disaster, I am going to try again. Not with the stuffed mushrooms...never again with the stuffed mushrooms. But I've found a pretty simple recipe for Parmesan polenta that I've been dying to try for a while. While I was researching polenta, I found that most of the foods its served with are meat. Since I am meatless (poultry and red meat), I decided that I would serve it with a salmon burger. Its a delicious protein that I can eat so I think it will be a good idea. I wish I had more money so I could actually purchase the salmon and other things to make the salmon burgers by scratch but I don't. I am going to cheat and just grill up some salmon burgers from Costco. They are SO good. So its fine. I am, however, going to make a nice honey mustard sauce to go on the salmon burgers. And I think I will cook some broccoli because it sounds damn good right now. I think this meal will go a lot better than the last one did. Well...I can only hope. Here are the recipes for the polenta and the honey mustard sauce:

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 cup instant polenta
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmesan
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Bring 4 cups of water and the salt to a boil in a saucepan. Stirring constantly, add in the polenta. Cook, still stirring constantly, until the polenta thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the Parmesan and butter. Cover and set aside until the butter melts, about 2 minutes. Stir again before serving.

SOOOO easy. :)

Honey Mustard Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint leaves
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pound fillet salmon, skin on
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 bunch watercress, coarsely chopped
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

Whisk together the mustards, honey, horseradish, mint and 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl. Let sit for at least 15 minutes before using. Can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated but do not add the mint until just before using. Bring to room temperature before using.

Heat the grill to high.

Brush the salmon with the oil and season with salt and pepper. Place the salmon on the grill, skin side down, and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, about 3 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking, place the watercress and onion in a medium bowl, add the vinegar and oil and salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer the salad to a platter, top with the salmon fillet and drizzle each fillet with the mustard sauce.

I feel confident today. And it sounds really good.

2011 is going very well so far. Only 12 days in but so far so good.

One part of 2011 I'm excited for is getting back into running. I haven't run much since April of last year for several reasons, none of which are valid. I have the type of running personality where it is so much easier for me to run if I am running FOR something. I like to have goals, which usually come in the form of races. I LOVE training for races. They are a huge motivation for me. If I don't have a race, its hard for me to just run. Which is weird because of how much I love running. Who knows. BUT I registered for my first race since my marathon (one year later). I am REALLY excited about it. I love the SLC half marathon. It has a special place in my heart (and legs). I've been running it since it started and I would feel awful if I let a year go by that I didn't run it. I have hopes of running a second race at maybe the end of the summer. This will help me continue my running over the summer and hopefully stay in shape. Running helps me in so many ways, I cannot believe I have neglected it for so long. Never again, I promise. I have a feeling I'm going to need running a lot in the next year or so. Just to stay sane. I'm going to make a true effort to do it at least 3 times a week.

At the end of this blog, I'd just like to say how blessed I am. I have the most wonderful life. I have my best friend home from her mission, several other close friends who are home as well and a wonderful group of other friends. I don't know how I got so lucky to have them all but I know that they are in my life for a reason. I've also been really lucky to find Aaron (again, I suppose). At the risk of sounding super mush-ville, I just want to say that I know he was meant to be in my life. There are things I can't do without him. I love him. Sigh. I am finding more and more that being in love means losing control. It isn't a bad thing, just something I have to get used to. I'm thankful for the love and support of my family. I haven't always been the easiest child, but they've put up with me and I couldn't ask for more. I'm so grateful that I was given the opportunity to get an amazing education. There are so many people in the world who will never have the opportunities that I do, and I hope I can take advantage of them.

The end.