Neighboors

by

Last night was all-around pathetic.  I stayed home alone watching Grey’s (pathetic) and crying (pathetic) while Adam was on his night rotation. I ate this pathetic plate of chips and melted cheese for dinner.

x2 (pathetic).

I had an alarm set for hot yoga, but then my neighbors were so incredibly loud that I figured it was time to get up.  After turning off my phone and brushing my teeth, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was actually 1:30 am.  I missed my yoga class and I hate my neighbors, aka my neighBOORS.  Seriously.  Adam and I lived off-campus when we were in undergrad too, but we weren’t complete assholes to coexist with.

When Adam got home this morning we spent hours (hours!) online looking through residency options.  Between trying to balance program lengths, locations, childcare possibilities, and more; it’s a fairly frustrating process.  But it is fun to think about the future.

We ate breakfast while we worked.

I had a pear,

and a cinnamon raisin bagel with strawberry cream cheese.

Strawberry cream cheese is too amazing.  Though I might have picked a different breakfast topper if I’d remembered that my lunch leftovers contained cream cheese too.

I gave my 5 Jalapeño Popper Won Tons a 5 minute spin in 400* oven and they were good to go.

Adam devoured the rest of the leftovers during his hospital shift.  We both agreed that they were one of my better creations.

Many (many, many, many) hours of residency research later … It was time for dinner.

The main attraction was butter chicken.

I followed a recipe from Kath’s blog, minus most of the spices because we didn’t have them.  It was still good.

This small pile of kale was actually a huge mountain before it cooked down.

Cooked in chicken stock and dressed with lemon juice and brown sugar.

And finally baked potato fries.

I cut them extra thin, before baking at 450*, and they were nice and crispy.

One more day until I go back to school,  So much to do still!

Do you live within hearing distance of your neighbors?  Have you ever had a horrible neighbor?

Once You Pop…

by

TGIF!  Now that I’m heading back to the real world next week, this upcoming weekend actually seems like a weekend.  And today we had a fun Friday lunch.

Jalopeno Popper Won Tons, yields 24 won tons

These won tons are a fun twist on jalapeño poppers.  The filling is creamy with a little bit of crunch and  just enough kick.  If you don’t have a food processor, you can mince the jalapeños by hand and make the filling using a mixer.  Each won ton has ~ 90 calories.

  • 2 oz jarred jalapeños, drained
  • 1 Tbsp juice from jalapeño jar
  • 8 oz Neufchâtel cheese (1/3 reduced-fat cream cheese)
  • 1/4 cup Panko style bread crumbs
  • 24 won ton wraps
  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit.  Prepare two baking sheets with cooking spray.
  2. Use a food processor to pulse jalapeños until minced.  Add jalapeño juice, cream cheese, and bread crumbs to processor and pulse until well combined.
  3. Lay out won ton wraps in a flat area, with a small bowl of water set nearby.
  4. Spoon a half Tbsp or so of filling into the center of each wrap.
  5. Wet a finger and run it along the edges of a wrap.  Fold the wrap over diagonally, forming a triangle with filling in the center.  Firmly press around the edges to seal.  Repeat with the remaining won tons.
  6. Place on prepared sheets and give the tops a spritz of cooking spray.  Bake for 10 – 12 minutes, until crispy.

Course 1 was a simple salad.  Romaine lettuce, yogurt Casear dressing, and buckwheat groats.

Course 2 was 6 jalapeño won tons.

So freaking good!  I ate mine with duck sauce.

But sweet and sour sauce would be nice too.  And dipping them into a cheddar fondue would be epic!

How you do like your jalapeño poppers, with cream cheese or cheddar?  I’m obsessed with cream cheese poppers but won’t even glance at the other kind.

It Ain’t Easy Being Green

by

Physical activity is a funny thing.  I went to a 60 minute hot yoga class today.  I was dreading it all morning, and sure enough, when I got there it sucked.  I felt like I was going to pass out the entire time and spent most of the class in child’s pose.  It was my worst practice to date.  But by the time I was done, I was so happy that I went.

When I got home from the yoga class that was both frightful and fantastic, I made a smoothie for breakfast.

1 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese, 1 frozen banana, 7 oz frozen soursop pulp, and nutmeg (for garnish).

The flavor wasn’t quite right but the texture was luscious.

And nutmeg on creamy drinks, especially piña coladas!, is the best.

Adam and I ran a few errands in the snow and then it was time for a double-decker lunch.

On a hamburger bun with schmear of sour cream, 2 nacho turkey burgers topped with 1 oz of melted sharp cheddar.

It was totally swoon-worthy.  The burgers are nice and juicy but have this great chew from the chips too.

I’m glad I made the patties small and stackable.

For dessert, Adam and I each had a mug cake.

I followed the basic recipe, with the inclusion of a handful of chocolate chips.

Dinner was one of my older recipes that I decided to revisit.

Green Tuna Enchiladas!  I updated the recipe page too.

I had two enchiladas and some roasted brocoli on my plate.

It was a good, green meal.

But I wasn’t feeling satisfied.  In fact, I’ve had a gnawing hunger all day, and I know it’s not thirst in hunger’s clothing because this pitcher and I have been fast friends all day.

That h2o is spiked with limes and sugar cane, fyi.

So I honored my hunger and  finished up my dinner with some leftover beans and rice with sour cream and cheddar cheese.

Now I’m done.

What do you do when you’re hungry when you “shouldn’t be?”

Not Yo Mama’s Turkey Burgers

by

Three posts in one day?!?  I’m on a roll!  And since I didn’t have it together to eat before late afternoon, this is actually everything I ate today.  Sidenote – my #2 goal for the next 30 days is to blog every single day/eat.  My #1 goal?  Involves my ass and the gym.

Since I waited too long to eat I was absolutely starving.  I ended up eating a 6-inch tuna sub, with vinegar and red onions, while I cooked dinner.

It was tasty, and it kept me from gnawing my own arm off.

Dinner was a good’un.  Quick, delicious, and it involved two brand-spanking-new recipes.

Emily- and husband-approved.

New recipe 1 was Nacho Turkey Burgers, makes 8 small burgers

  • 1 lb 94% fat-free ground turkey
  • 1 large egg
  • 60 grams crushed tortilla chips
  • 1/4 cup medium, chunky style salsa
  • 3/4 cup Mexican shredded cheese blend
  • 1 tsp evoo
  • 8 hamburger buns
  • guacamole (optional)
  • sliced cheddar (optional)
  • hot sauce (optional)
  1. In a large bowl, combine turkey, egg, chips, salsa, and cheese until a homogenous mixture is achieved.  Use your hands to shape into 8 equal-sized patties.
  2. Heat evoo in a grill-pan over medium-high heat.  Working in small enough batches as to not overcrowd the pan add patties to pan.
  3. Cook burgers until browned and fully cooked through; 5-8 minutes on each side.
  4. Serve cooked burgers and top as desired.

New recipe 2 was served atop the burgers, Citrus Guacamole.

  • 2 medium-sized ripe avocados
  • 1 tomatillo, minced
  • 1 small lemon, juiced
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  1. Place avocados in a medium bowl and mash with a fork, leaving some chunks.
  2. Stir in tomatillo, lemon juice, and salt.  Serve immediately.

Both recipes ended up turning out really well!

I love it when my kitchen experiments work out.

I had one nacho turkey burger, on a bun with citrus guacamole,

a serving of rice and beans (just rice with a can of black beans stirred in during the final minutes of cooking) topped with another dollop of guac,

and some roasted asparagus.

The citrus-salt theme was carried nicely throughout the entire meal.

For dessert I nibbled on a few chocolate covered pretzels.

We’re currently making our way through the “Aliens” movies, so “Aliens, 2” was our dinner entertainment.  Webster thought it was thrilling.

He’s such a cutie.

So, about that hair cut.  A month or so ago, this exchange took place on Yes I Want Cake –

Katie got her cut soon after, and it looked fantastic.  I’d just given to Locks of Love, but after some time enjoying my new hair, I was ready.  What do you think?

I love it!

Hello, Farewell

by

The hello is from me to you.

I know I’ve been neglecting the blog like crazy lately, and I’m sorry.  My mom sent me the next seven books in the Temperance Brennan series and that’s been occupying my time.  Seriously, I’ve done little else.  Though I have gotten a lot of time with the husband lately and it’s involved a lot of pizza.  I do better when I have a schedule, and I predict that blogging will be a lot easier once I have more to do when school starts next week.  Sounds backwards, but the busier I am the more I get done.  And the less I have to do the less I get done.

The farewell is to this ‘do.

I’m off to get them all cut.  I will admit that I’m dreading the appointment and am already sure I won’t look cute when it’s all said and done.  But I’m feeling brave, so why not go for it?

Can you thrive with a free schedule or do you need lots of to-do’s to get anything done?

Window Shopping Wednesdays

by

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 all day Wednesdays, I thought we could have some fun via blog. Let’s window shop!

Here’s what I’m coveting this week –

1.  The floral cook and serve casseroles from Patina.

I love the idea of stove-to-table casserole dishes and the look of these is right up my alley.  The flowers somehow aren’t too sweet or girly, a good thing since the only dinner parties I’ll be throwing are with my male husband.  My only complaint is that the sizing is a little strange, 8 x 5.5 and 7 x 4.5.

2.  The equal tea towel from Studio Patro.

This towel is cute and useful.  I know I should know most of the exchanges (the RD exam actually tests you on some of them!) but I still get stuck on the whole pints, quarts, gallons thing.  The “cook” and “bake” towels are equally adorable.

3.  The kangaroo water bottle from Contigo.

The little flip-open compartment would be perfect for placing keys, id, and $ if I was on an outside run.  And for trips to the gym we have to carry a school id that I’m never quite sure where to put.

4.  The pretty plies ivory tulle skirt from Lulu’s.

I need this.  Preferably with an ivory, ballet pink, or black tee on top.  Or a racerback.  I’m not picky.  But definitely not with the shoes shown in the picture.  Yuck.

5.  Do Ya Think I’m Sexy by Deborah Lippmann.

I’ve decided that I’m all about the sparkle nail polish this year.  Sure, it’s a bitch to remove, but not as bad when you layer it on top of another color.  This would top pink for Valentine’s, blue and white for the 4th, and green for Christmas.

What’s on your shopping list this week?

I. C. U. P.

by

Today has been (and is going to be, it’s only 2:00 for gosh sake) a good day.  But this morning did not have the most promising start.  More embarrassing than promising really.

I had planned to go to an 8am yoga class but as I flip-flopped around the idea in bed it got later and later.  At 7:40 I decided I did want to go, which meant I had to scurry to make it on time.  I got dressed, gathered my stuff, and was halfway down the block when it hit me … I hadn’t gone to the bathroom!  I knew that I could neither a) use the bathroom at the studio and still make it to class before the cut-off time, nor b) hold it for the next hour+.  So I sadly went home.  It sucks to miss a planned day within my unlimited month, but even a Groupon’s not worth risking having an accident on the floor like a dog during my downward dogs!

Since the school gym doesn’t open until 10am on weekends I had to replan my day a bit, but I think it all worked out.  I went home (and peed!), did the dishes, made my grocery list, and ate a wonderful breakfast.

This oatmeal bowl had the best mix of textures.

I brought 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup skim milk, and 1 small thinly sliced banana to a simmer in a small pot.  Then I added 1/4 cup oats, a pinch of salt, 1 Tbsp chia seeds, and 2 Tbsp raisins and stirred, stirred, stirred.  When the oats were cooked I took the pot off of the heat and stirred in 1/4 cup reduced-fat cottage cheese.

It  was delicious.  Though you can barely call it oatmeal, of the bowl’s ~ 375 calories only 75 calories actually came from oats!

After breakfast I finally got to workout.  A bit later than planned though because this was happening in my lap and I couldn’t bear to move him.

I actually waited so long (11:30) that I ended up getting hungry again.

That’s 3/4 of a Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte LaraBar topped with a schmear of Justin’s Maple Almond Butter.

Once I digested for the 2nd time, I set out for the gym on foot.

Trudging through the snow was basically a workout in and of itself, but I did 40 minutes on the elliptical, random level 6 too.

My multiple layers and shoe changes made the whole process take forever.  Now that I’m finally home, I’m putting off the grocery store for later so that I can get some lunch!

Do you have to use the bathroom the minute you wake up or can you hold it?  I normally can wait, so I get up and deal with the dog before I even think about the bathroom, but holding it through a yoga class would have been too much for me.