Category Archives: Uncategorized

S’mores Monster Cookies

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This post was pre-written.  Emily is not here right now, she’s at summer school.  She’ll be at summer school from 8:00 – 4:30, five days a week, for the next four weeks.

Let’s think about something more pleasant, shall we?  Like s’mores.

Or better yet, s’mores cookies.  S’mores Monster Cookies.

You can never go wrong with s’mores!  And here the peanut butter, oats, marshmallow combination works like a dream.

I took these to the bbq yesterday and got rave reviews.  I asked the husband to help me describe them and got – “the best f**king cookies ever.”  Not helpful, but thank you!

I used these neat Jet Puffed Vanilla Mallow Bits for my cookies.  But I imagine that mini marshmallows would work as well.

S’mores Monster Cookies, yields 12 monster-sized cookies

  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
  • 1 cup rolled oats
  • 3 sheets graham crackers, roughly crumbled
  • 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup Jet Puffed Vanilla Mallow Bits
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Line ungreased baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat mats.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the egg.  In order – add sugars, vanilla, baking soda, butter, and peanut butter, mixing well.
  3. Use a spatula to fold in oats, graham cracker crumbs, chocolate chips, and mallow bits.
  4. Scoop dough with a 1/4 cup measuring cup and roll into balls.  Evenly space four balls per baking sheet.
  5. Bake 13 – 15 minutes until browned.

Memorial Day BBQ And Tropical Fruit White Sangria

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Happy Memorial Day!

We started our day with a workout.  We also started our day late because I was up until 4 am writing my Canada recap, but that’s another story.  Once we were out of bed we did 10 sets of 1:30 running/3:30 walking.  The same route as the other day, but this time I sprinted for the last 20 – 40 seconds of each run.  My sprint is the husband’s jog, but what can you do?  50 minutes and 4.2 miles.  I covered .3 miles more than the last time I did this workout!

I didn’t have time for breakfast because I was frantically baking, but that’s not a bad problem to have.  We went to a bbq this afternoon and came bearing gifts of Tropical Fruit White Sangria and S’mores Monster Cookies.  I’m typing the cookie recipe up to post tomorrow and the sangria recipe is at the end of this post.

I will mention now that the sangria was damn delicious.

I had two big glasses over the course of the afternoon.

It went down like water but it really packed a wallop; Michelle ended up having to lie down!

Our friends Ethan and Hannah invited us and another couple over for a backyard bbq.

The weather was perfect!  We got hot and sweaty playing badminton.

And Ethan was a master behind the grill.  I followed Patrick’s lead and topped my chicken sausage with bbq chips.

Plus onions and ketchup.

I also had a skewer of pineapple, green pepper, and chicken that Michelle marinated with some Asian flavors.

Watermelon balls.

And a S’mores Monster Cookie.

Mmmn!  Everyone gave the cookies two thumbs up and Adam and I came home with an empty container.

When the fun was over I finally got down to business and set up my binders from last semester.

That has been on my to-do list since the first day of vacation!  Better late than never?

Dinner was a veggie affair.

Roasted green beans.

Plus a hash of sorts.  Made with 1 Tbsp butter, 1 yellow onion, ~ 1 cup of sliced okra, a 6 oz potato, several glugs of apple cider vinegar, a few dashes of Green Tabasco, and ~ 1 tsp each brown sugar and smoked paprika.

The “hash” ended up tasting exactly like I wanted it to!  I love the tang of vinegar with potatoes.

And I had a tiny bowl of mint chip for dessert.

Summer school starts tomorrow and I’m meeting a friend to workout beforehand (at 6am!) so I’ve got to get to bed.  Hope everyone else had a good day.

Tropical Fruit White Sangria, serves 6 – 8

  • 4 cups sliced fresh pineapple
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 750 mL bottle Riesling
  • 1 cup Cruzan Guava Rum
  • 20 oz lemon lime soda
  1. Place pineapple in a large pitcher.  Pour in sugar and muddle with a large wooden spoon.
  2. Add wine and rum and let sit for 24 hours.
  3. Pour in soda just before serving.

Our Trip To Toronto

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The past weekend was so much fun!  We’ve decided it was our best couple vacation to date.  We weren’t expecting to get to go on a trip this summer but a Living Social deal popped up and it was just too good to turn down.  Our voucher included a one night hotel stay, dinner, and tickets to a movie.  We filled in the rest of our time with lots of exploring.  It was fabulous!

Our Saturday did get off to a bit of a late start; we had a tragedy Friday night.

We were cutting Webster’s nails and Adam did two of them too short and he bled.  The worst part was that he is such a good boy – and was so focused on the treat in my hand – that he just sat there and we didn’t know there was a problem until there was blood dripping down my leg.

He mostly seemed fine, but I cried.  Thank goodness we board him at the vet so he was well looked after while we were gone.  He was due for a stool sample and vaccine too so the timing was great.

But we did miss him like crazy!

Once we were on the road I snacked on a Cara Cara orange.

Plus a Rockstar Relax I bought along the way.

I’ll just warn you in advance, my allergies make my throat hurt and I basically did nothing but drink all weekend.  I think the final count was eight beverages, not including the giant water bottle I carried around in my purse.

Before we knew it, we had reached Toronto!

We settled in at our hotel.

Then we spent hours exploring the Asian section of town.

We saw so many neat things and we walked for-ev-er.  Plus we ate tons of good food.  The first order of business was bubble tea.

Adam and I split this taro milk tea with boba.

Mmmmn!

Then we split a sugar cane juice.

We both grew up with sugar cane – me in St. Thomas and Adam on vacations in Hawaii – so this was familiar and fun.

Totally new to us was this cool shop where you went around with tongs and picked out items to put on a tray.  Then you paid and they packaged your selection to go.

We got a chicken bun and a pork bun.  I ate half of mine.

And Adam and I split this taro pastry.

So pretty!

We split these gummi moo cows from a candy shop.

We stopped in at a David’s Tea.

I got an iced (unsweetened) Cream of Earl Grey and it was very tasty.

I’ve wanted to order some of their flavors for forever (birthday cake! ice cream cake! buttered rum!) so it was great to try it out.

Our lunch spot was selected because I liked the windows.

It ended up being a pho restaurant.

We went all out and ordered two milkshakes.

Jackfruit and durian!!

Trying durian is on my life list so this was super exciting.  The shakes ended up being made with powder instead of the real deal but it was fun to get an idea of the flavor.  I only drank a quarter or so of each but they were nice to have when my meal got spicy.

My order was sautéed mixed vegetables with tofu and vermicelli.

Which I proceeded to douse in Sriracha.

I mean douse.  I covered the dish just like this twice more and I didn’t even eat the whole meal.

Gaaaaah; it was so flipping good!

Our exploration took us almost 5 miles.  When we went to shower we both needed thirty minutes to lay on the bed with our feet up!

Our evening plans were decided by our Living Social deal, which included dinner and a movie.  Dinner was from a pre-fixe menu at the hotel’s restaurant.  We were not expecting it to be very good and we were not surprised.  But you can’t beat free.

The complimentary bread was wonderful.

But it went downhill from there.

I ordered the Caesar salad to start.

The menu said that it came with shaved parmigiano reggiano and authentic anchovy dressing but it was definitely canned cheese and bottled dressing.  The one plus was that the dressing came on the side.  I ate 3/4.

My main meal was pasta.  “Smoked chicken/charred sweet bell peppers/black olives/toasted pine nuts/shaved parmigiano reggiano/extra virgin olive oil and basil pesto.”

I ate 1/3.

We were fairly disenchanted at that point so we took dessert to go.

Meyer lemon cheesecake with huckleberry jam, chantilly cream, and seasonal berries.  That I finished.

For our movie we selected “The Five Year Engagement.”  It was pretty cute.  I stole a few handfuls of Adam’s Crazy Core Skittles while we watched.

It was fun to walk to and from the movie but by the time we were back at the hotel I was done with exploring and more than ready for bed!

After a good night’s sleep we woke up on Sunday raring to go.

Our 2nd day was a shorter version of our first; walking and eating.  This time we explored Bloor Street.

We were planning on going to Menchies (duh!) when we spotted a new froyo spot further down the street.

Yogurty’s was fantabulous!

I got espresso and coconut frozen yogurts topped candy bits, coconut, cocoa syrup, sprinkles and a cherry.

We both thought it was the best self-serve froyo we’ve ever had.

I also had a final bubble tea.

A black milk tea with boba.

And when we spotted one of these fancy machines you know we had to try it out.

My diet cherry coke was only ok but the process was cool.  And diet pop is always a good way to end a vacation.  After a bit more exploring we drove back home.  You already saw the rest of the day.

Self-serve froyo?  Bubble tea?  Lots of walking?  Trying new foods?  Check, check, check, and check; it was a wonderful trip!

We’re Home From Toronto!

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Did you know we were away?  I hope not, I tried to keep that under my hat.  We found a great deal for hotel/dinner/a movie on Living Social so we took a quick trip.  After two glorious days of mini-vacation now we’re home again!

We actually got back to Buffalo this afternoon but the day’s been packed and I’m just now sitting down.  I’m going to do a mega vacation recap tomorrow, so for today I’ll stick with things consumed on US soil.

Like the medium Americano with skim milk and two sugars that Adam and I split just minutes after crossing the border.

For some reason I’d been craving milk and coffee all weekend and this hit the spot.

We also split a pack of Snyder’s Bacon Cheddar Pretzel Pieces.

They were okay, but basically tasteless compared with the honey mustard ones.

On a healthier note, I drank this sludge.

It was actually delicious.  I mixed this pack of Amazing Grass GREENSuperFood into orange juice and a bit of Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.

I got the idea from the way Jamba Juice used to sell wheatgrass.

Most of the afternoon was spent on errands but I did sneak in a stroll.  We did a ton of walking this weekend but my legs wanted to stretch out after ride home.  Plus, I spotted this from the car and I really needed to check it out –

Awesome.

Our late lunch was stir-fried rice.

Into the pan went varying amounts of –

  • evoo
  • sliced carrots
  • frozen peas
  • leftover rice
  • eggs
  • tomato
  • pineapple
  • rice vinegar

Topped with Sriracha.

It was quite good.

With two gummi bottle candies for dessert.

The red and blue was disgusting but the cola one was great.

We weren’t ready for the fun to end so we headed out to dinner.

Adam opened up my “Buffalo to Try” bookmarks and picked at random.  We ended up at Black Rock Kitchen and Bar.

It was fun but the final consensus is that we won’t be back.  Everything was good-ish but somehow not quite right.

We started with a cheese plate.

And I ordered the shrimp po’ boy.

I traded half of my sandwich for Adam’s eggplant panini with tomato, pesto, and marscapone.

All total I ate the equivalent of 3/4 of a sandwich.  Nothing was bad but the flavors were all slightly too strong; lots of pepper.

We split a bowl of mint chip when we got home.

This wasn’t quite right either.  You can’t win them all!

My Last Weekend Before Summer School

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It’s Saturday!  My last Saturday before summer school, in fact.  I know I’ve been a blogging blow-by these past few days but by Sunday you’ll understand why.  You haven’t missed much.  Here are the highlights –

The husband and I got in a fight and the next day he brought me flowers.

And more importantly he brought me green juice.

We found another new froyo place!!

Also this happened –

I didn’t cave but I really wanted to.  It’s funny because pork is the thing I feel most strongly about not eating but it’s also the meat I’d probably enjoy the most!

And I started my Saturday with a “run.”  1:30 running/3:30 walking, x8.  Plus 5 minutes to cool down and finish my loop = 45 minutes and 1.78 miles.

We have really fun plans for today and I can’t wait to tell y’all all about it!

AC Would Equal Aleviates Cranky

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Hi there.  It’s hot and I’m cranky so I’ll keep this cursory.  Husband, if you’re reading – no, I don’t think we should turn the ac on yet, it costs too much money.  Bite me.  <– see, cranky

Breakfast was a cereal bowl.

A serving each of Honey Nut Shredded Wheat and All Bran Bran Buds with skim milk.

Plus a green pear eaten on the walk to school.

First I went to the gym.  20 minutes on the elliptical at random level 6.  Then 10 minutes of strength and stretch moves.  Between two days of machines at the gym and tennis, my right arm is killing me!

Then I went to get my PPD read.  Surprise… I don’t have TB!  Were you holding your breath?

Lunch was snacky.  First, apple dippers.

A sliced Honeycrisp,

with 2 Tbsp each peanut butter and Heath crumbles.

Then a slice of cheddar.

Finally, two mini bags of popcorn.

And yes, I realize that completely defeats the purpose of mini bags.

My dinner plate looked sort of silly but I just didn’t have the energy for carbs or veggies.  There were veggies in the sauce!

The chicken was tasty though.  It was my version of the Coconut-Tomatillo Pork Chops recipe from Shape.

My changes –

  • 1 lb of chicken subbed for the pork
  • cumin, banana leaves, and bay leaves were skipped
  • 3 Tbsp pickled jalapeños and 1 Tbsp Green Tabasco were subbed for the peppers
  • I only used two cans of coconut milk and 1 of them was light
  • chicken stock was skipped

Part of the reason I’m cranky is because I’ve been hungry all day.  Adam and I have to run to Tops in a bit (he’s bringing breakfast for his team tomorrow) and I’m definitely going to buy a snack while I’m out.  I’ll update later.

Window Shopping Wednesday

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I am not much of a shopper, much to my mother’s chagrin. The woman can spend days at the mall, while I start to feel itchy after just a few hours. It’s not that I’m not materialistic, I totally am, it’s just that the thought of adding more stuff to my life makes it hard to breathe. But I like the idea of things. So I’m an avid window shopper. I browse catalogs I’ll never buy from and hold my breathe when I pass the window at J.Crew. So while I’m stuck at school on Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Here’s what I’m wishing I was cool enough for this week –

1.  Black Smudge Crayon Waterproof Eye Color from Stilla.

I adore the smoky eye look but I kind of suck at recreating it.  I’m terrible with eye liner, and passable with black shadow and a q-tip, and I think a crayon might be the answer.  I love Stilla products in general too; that is always the section I stand and moon at in Sephora.  The crayon would also be fun in smoke or kitten.

2.  Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Baby Bare.

Another crayon!  This one’s for lips.  I don’t really do lipstick – usually I’m wearing Lip Smackers – but a lip crayon I can manage.  Baby Bare is described as a peachy nude.  I’d rock this with my new smoky eye.

3.  OPI Nail Lacquer in Dulce de Leche.

I’ll cop to wanting this polish just the eensiest bit more because of the name.  Sweet tooth aside, I really do like the peachy look of this nude color.  It seems very job interview appropriate.

4.   Long Sleeve Scoop Neck Sequin Sweatshirt from DKNY Jeans.

Not at all job interview appropriate, this one’s for the weekends.  It feels a little Flash Dance-y but I think with dark jeans and black flats this sweatshirt would work.  I like the waterfall look of the sequins and the silver/grey combo.

5.  Bubbles Mint Necklace from Elli.

This one’s actually more of a nudge.  You see, I rarely buy earrings and necklaces because my mom’s a great jewelry maker.  I’ll just mention, cough cough, that I think the mint color and bubbly look, cough cough, are very cool.

How do you tend to do your eyes?

Double Day, Double Shower, Double Shot

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The two-days-in-one post is because I passed out – on the couch, fully dressed – before I could blog last night.

Backing up to yesterday afternoon… I decided to eat a snack at home before I went on my errands.  A mini bag of popcorn; I believe it was butter flavored because it didn’t taste like kettle corn but I got a big pack with both and the bags aren’t labeled and it drives me crazy.

I started a book while I munched and that meant that errands never happened because once you pick up the last book of the HungerGames trilogy you don’t put it down until it’s done.  <– true story  After love-love-loving the first book I was actually pretty disappointed by the ending of the series.  I don’t want to give anything away here, but I would love to discuss it more in the comments.  I personally was very surprised by some of the choices the author made toward the end.

People who read the Hunger Games trilogy – what did you think of the last book????

While I read I also took alternating bites of a Honeycrisp apple and the last of the Cookie Butter (~1 Tbsp?).

So good.  I prefer the original Biscoff spread to the TJ’s stuff but I was sad to see it go since I won’t be able to purchase it again for a long time.

Dinner was supposed to be quick and easy.

I made an attempt at mozzarella sticks by cutting up string cheese, dipping the pieces in egg white and panko, and baking at 400*.

Nothing like the original (which I actually don’t really care for) but tasty in their own way.

The main dinner component was supposed to be soup.  I served Adam and myself each 2 servings of Imagine’s Organic Creamy Brocoli Soup.

Not a fan.  I want to mention that Adam liked it and ate his whole bowl.  I took two bites and the 2nd bite was only because I really hate to waste food.  When I bought it I thought the texture was going to be thick.  Thin soups, outside of broth with stuff in it, totally set off my gag reflex.

I ended up going to Mezza for take-out for dinner.

It was frustrating to waste the money but my meal was quite tasty.

I got the Chicken Shawarma.

Grilled chicken on a grilled pita with garlic spread, cole slaw, tomatoes, pickles, and tahini sauce.  It was great, especially the cole slaw and pickles, but I’d ask for it without garlic sauce next time because my breath was ridiculous.

My sandwich came with a side of fries.

I ate them all but really I should have skipped them; I already ate cheese sticks!  Then I passed out on the couch.

Today started with a run.  I did ten sets of 1:30 running and 3:30 walking for 50 minutes and 3.9 miles.  Then I took shower #1.

I didn’t have time between my workout and my first errand to make food which sucked because once I left the house I was gone for hours.  I had an appointment to get the oil changed on Adam’s car and then I had to go to the tailor and the Sprint store (Monday’s errands).

I dropped off the car and spent the 40-minute wait taking a great walk.

I made a pit stop for coffee and then kept moving.  A Vietnamese latte from Sweetness_7 Cafe.

After the tailor (I need to learn how to hem my own pants!) I headed back to the Sprint store.  I had to leave my phone with them for another hour but I think that it is finally officially fixed.

While I waited for my phone I grabbed lunch at Cheeburger Cheeburger.

I felt a little strange all by myself but I had a book in my purse to keep me company.

I ordered a turkey burger with cole slaw, pickles, onions, and jalopeños.

It was a good combination of toppings, if I do say so myself!  I moved the bun to the side right away but other than that I ate every last bite.

Shot of espresso #2 (not literally but just go with it) was consumed when the husband got home and we shared a frozen coffee.  I blended up a packet of Starbucks Caramel Via, a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder, 2 cups of skim milk, ~2 Tbsp English Toffee syrup, and lots of ice.

So darn good.  We split it but both kept yanking the cup back from one another.  The English Toffee syrup is something I’ve been trying to get Adam to taste for forever (like the wakame) and he loved it!

Shower #2 was due to workout #2; the husband and I headed to the tennis courts.  I’m pretty good at serving and pretty terrible volleying but he’s hoping to get me to playing shape by the end of the summer.  Right now it’s an extra good workout with all of the running for lost balls.  We “played” for one hour.

We were very hungry for dinner and thankfully it ended up being delicious.

Pretty too!  When I make an especially beautiful plate of food I’m so sad not to have the photography skills to properly capture it.

Roasted zucchini.

~ 2/3 cup cooked brown rice.

An egg.

But not just any egg.

A soft-boiled egg!  (Thanks for the recipe, Jenna!)

And then I smothered the whole bowl in Sriracha.

The end.

Plus two small cookies from Romeo and Juliet’s Cafe for dessert.

A thumbprint and a fig cookie.  I brought Adam home a box from the event last Thursday and apparently he won’t eat the fig ones so they’re mine.

Whew, that was a long post!