Better Late Than Never

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Yesterday I got productive and created two fabulous, must-share recipes … and then I feel asleep (fully dressed, on top of the covers) at 8:45pm.  I’m not going to recap blog but I will share those two important recipes; better late than never!

I was well-rested this morning, but it didn’t keep me from packing food for school that was sort of strange.  Like cooked zucchini.

I ate it, cold, at 8am and loved it.

I also packed a baggie of red grapes,

and two Oatmeal Cranberry Pecan Cookies.

Those were fabulous dish#1, but I’m actually not going to share the recipe until tomorrow (it’s been a busy day).  Adam says they are the best oatmeal cookies he’s ever had and I promise they are worth check back for tomorrow.

My packed food proved inadequate for getting me through 8:00 – 2:00, and I ended up eating these Cheez-Its.

I also ate two more cookies when I got home,

plus these candies from a birthday package Adam opened (he turns 26 on Sunday!).

He also opened some birthday $ and decided that we are going to dinner at Moe’s!  I’m not going to blog dinner because I’ve got to get some school work done, but I will share yesterday’s dinner, aka fabulous dish #2.

Pineapple Upside-down Chicken, serves 4

  • 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, divided into 4 even pieces
  • 20 oz can pineapple rings canned in pineapple juice, juice drained and reserved
  • 4 slices 2% provolone cheese
  • 4 maraschino cherries
  • 2 tsp light brown sugar
  • 2 pinches salt
  • 1 tsp tamari soy sauce
  • 2-3 dashes hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
  1. Place chicken in a large, flat container and cover with pineapple juice. Cover and place in the fridge for 2-3 hours to marinate.
  2. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Prepare a casserole dish with baking spray.
  3. Remove chicken from juice (return the juice to the fridge) and place into the casserole dish. Bake 30 minutes.
  4. Remove chicken from oven and top each piece with one slice of cheese and one pineapple ring. Place a cherry in the center of each ring. Sprinkle rings evenly with brown sugar and salt. Return to oven and continue to bake for 10 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, pour juice into a small skillet over high-heat. Add tamari sauce and hot sauce.
  6. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half. ***Because the juice was in contact with raw poultry it is essential that you keep it at a boil for at least 5 minutes!
  7. Pour sauce evenly over cooked chicken.

I’ve never actually had pineapple upside-down cake (I know!) but the flavor profile has always sounded appealing to me. So why not apply it to dinner? We learned in food chemistry that pineapple contains Bromelain, a protease that is used commercially to tenderize meat.  As soon as I heard that I spent the rest of the class brainstorming ways to cook chicken with pineapple.  I’m glad I did too, because Adam and I both loved this recipe!  The chicken was very tender and there was a good balance of flavors.  The sauce was scrumptious, but be sure to remember to boil it for at least 5 minutes.

Are you a pineapple upside-down cake fan?

I Spoke Too Soon

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My teeth may hurt, but not eating dinner just wasn’t going to fly.  I drove my friend home just after 8 and realized that not only was I hungry, I was probably going to cry if I didn’t get food immediately.  So to Wegman’s hot bar I went.

At least I stuck with soft things.  Cooked sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash, plus green beans almondine.

One of the veggies (potatoes, I think) had a thick, sweet sauce that leaked over everything and tied the whole plate together.  Yum.

Sweet potato, butternut squash, pumpkin, or carrots; what’s your favorite orange veggie?

Presenting ..

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I had an important test today (it didn’t go well, but that’s another story) so I got up early to do some studying at Starbucks.  Just as I was about to head out, Adam called.  He’d left his pager at home and needed me to wait for him.  At first I was annoyed; I needed every minute of studying I could get.  But then I realized that he had a pager because he’s going to be a doctor, and that’s amazing.  So I got over it.

When I finally did get to Starbucks at 6am I got myself a gingerbread latte.

Actually, I ordered a plain non-fat latte and added 1 Tbsp of gingerbread syrup from home.

Shhh.

When I left at 7:30 I did buy an actual fancy drink though, a short, non-fat, salted caramel hot chocolate.

The flavors in this feel very complex and gourmet for a coffee joint, but it’s pretty rich so the short size is perfect.

I also ate some leftover fruit salad.

Then I failed took my test, got myself in a tizzy applying for several jobs and internships, and did my group presentation on cultural food patterns.  Our country was Ireland so we all dressed in green.

We also brought in Irish soda bread for the class to try.

In addition to my slice I ate a Peppermint Stick Clif Bar.

This flavor was good, but not great like I was hoping it would be.

After class I had so much nervous energy I needed to burn off that I actually went to the gym!  30 minutes on the elliptical, level 6 random.

I got home at 3:30 and had to unpack, shower, change, and eat dinner before my 4:15 orthodontist appointment, so this meal was quick but good.

My amazing turkey sandwich was 2 slices of toasted rye with cranberry relish, 2 slices of Applegate Farms roasted turkey, and 1 oz of reduced fat cream cheese.

Cream cheese on a sandwich is where it’s at.

I also had a pile of roasted green beans on the side.

I had less than 8 minutes to shovel my food in and this still tasted good!  And I’m glad I did an earliest bird dinner because my teeth don’t feel like chomping with my new retainer set.

Webster and I are going to take a walk down Elmwood to pick up a friend and then she’s coming back here so we can work on yet another presentation.  Exam week won’t be fun, but I still going to be so relieved when we have our last class of the semester on Thursday!

Which “fancy drink” are you going to Starbucks for this winter?

I Was Told There’d Be Book Club

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Book club was a success!  And Adam got off of his shift early and got to spend the afternoon with me, so it was a great day all-around.

I got up early to do some final cleaning (when people come over I like to pretend that we’re not slobs) and snacked on a bag of popcorn and a slice of 2% provolone while I worked.

I also did some major 2-for-me-and-1-for-the-bowl-ing while I prepped the fruit salad.

At 10 my friends arrived and we feasted.

We may not have really talked about the book (I Was Told There’d Be Cake) but at least we had some good eats!

My plate had potatoes,

fruit salad,

cheesy baked eggs,

and a crepe (so cool!) with Biscoff spread on the inside.

We also made hibiscus mimosas.

It was all great fun.  No people pictures though because we suck at remembering to take them.  I always have my camera with me (duh) so I need to do a better job at snapping candids.

We book clubbed until after 3pm and then my cultural meal pattern group and I baked some Irish soda bread to bring to our presentation tomorrow.  By the time they left I was starving again and my study motivation was seriously waning.  But I have an important cumulative exam – spanning two semesters and material from 2 courses – tomorrow.  What to do, what to do?

Somehow the husband and I decided that the solution was to go out to dinner and study at the table while other people prepared our food!

We went to an all-you-can-eat sushi spot that has a longish wait between courses and it was actually perfect.  I’m not prepared for tomorrow by any means, but I got a lot more done than I would have at home.

I also ate a lot.  I just plain don’t have time to break the pictures down, but here’s a shot of what I ate.

Wow!  Highlights included edamame, tamago (sweet egg) sushi, and tempura zucchini.

And we stopped at Wegmans for a candy cane for dessert.

Sweet dreams!

Long Dog In A Little Coat

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Sorry I keep disappearing.  No one actually cares besides my mom, but she really cares! (Sorry, mom!)  My personal school semester seems to have ended two weeks ago, and since real school runs until December 15th it’s been sort of a problem.

But today was busy.  So busy in fact, that I woke up at 7:30 but didn’t have my first bites sips until after 10am.

A mug of White Christmas tea with 1/4 cup of eggnog.

The tea contained peppermint and ginger so all of my favorite holiday flavors were present in this mug.

My morning included dog walking, house decorating and grocery shopping.  Then I took a quick break for lunch.

This open-faced sandwich was stupendous.  I topped a thick slice of bread with cranberry relish, some shredded rotisserie chicken, and a few slices of melty sharp cheddar.

The tang from the cranberries paired really nicely with the cheddar.

Adam had to go to the mall to replace his eyeglasses (Webster) so I tagged along.  We also finished up the last of our Christmas shopping and cashed in a coupon at DQ.

I got a mini candy cane chill blizzard. There were little pieces of crunchy peppermint throughout and I loved it.

The flavor and texture actually reminded me of that great peppermint stick chocolate bar Adam and I ate last week.

We made a quick stop at home to pick up the little destructor and then we headed to Pet Smart.  Someone has been getting chilly on walks.

Oh. My. Goodness.  I don’t even have the words to describe how cute Webster looks in his new sweater (thanks, mom!).  Sidenote – every single time we go out on a walk someone/many people comment on how cute Webster is, so I always tell him that he’s “the toast of the town.”  Then today I got to ask how The Toast liked feeling toasty!

My evening included coffee cake cooking, more cleaning, and dinner.

We split a bag of Bird’s Eye garlic cauliflower,

and made a batch of Rachael Ray’s Beer-Braised Meatballs.

I subbed in turkey meat and chicken stock for the beefy bits, but otherwise followed the recipe.  We think this one’s a keeper.

And for dessert I tried a small slice of the coffee cake.

Pretty good.  I’m actually not the hugest coffee cake fan but I’m hosting book club tomorrow and I needed a brunch-appropriate cake (we read I Was Told There’d Be Cake).

Are you a pet dressed?  I’m not really into it (my mom tried to buy Webster a bandana of the month club and we staunchly put our feet down) but the dog seems kind of wimpy and I don’t want him to be unhappy on walks.

Welcome, December

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The official month of snowmen, gingerbread men, eggnog, candy canes, and good cheer is finally here!

I rung in the season with a festive oatmeal bowl.

Stovetop:  1/2 cup each water and skim milk, 1 large banana, 1/3 cup oats

Stirred in:  1/3 cup 1% cottage cheese

Topping:  1 Tbsp Biscoff Spread, 1 Tbsp light cream, a sprinkling of sprinkles

Delicious times delicious times delicious!

Gingerbread, peppermint, or eggnog; what’s your poison?

Hello, Bob

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So, this morning I looked like this –

and now I look like this –

I like it, I think!

I always sort of hate my hair whenever I get it chopped, but I’ve gone short several times now so apparently that’s not holding me back!  I ended up having 14 inches to give to Locks of Love, which is great.

A friend and I went during a long break between classes and it was fun to see people’s reactions when we got back.  “Wait, didn’t you have a pony-tail this morning?!?”  I surprised Adam too.  He picked me up from school and his mouth fell open when I walked out to the car!

BC (before the cut) I ate half of this Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar for breakfast.

And AC (after the cut) I bought a great green juice.

This was blend of spinach, kale, carrot, and cucumber; from a new spot just blocks from my apartment.

This was so good, and “only” $4.  I predict I’ll be there more often than I can afford!

Adam picked me up after school so we could make a quick grocery trip.  We each picked something from the cookie bar for funsies before we did boring stuff like toilet paper.

I chose cinnamon nut rugala and I’m now on the hunt for a rugala recipe to make at home.

While I was fixing Adam’s dinner I snacked on some canned pineapple over 1% cottage cheese.

My dinner was supposed to be some of Monday’s “leftovers,” leftover.

A heaping bowl of pasta, shredded chicken, and tons of peas, topped with parmesan, cranberry relish, and a drizzle of evoo.

I love this bowl so much more than I do anything I eat on Thanksgiving.  But I got up to do something halfway through and when I came back there was a dog face in my bowl!  Webster’s sort of an asshole.

Instead I ate this Smart Ones Brocoli and Cheddar Roasted Potatoes.

Not as good as the dinner I shared with the dog, but not as bad as it looks either.

Have you ever given to Locks of Love?  If you have long hair – how many times have you gone short?

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 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. This camera pouch from Unique Vintage.

I couldn’t find the stats on the site, but if my camera would fit in here it would just be too adorably meta.

2.  The Hey Sugar Bowl from Urban Outfitters.

I swear I would eat oatmeal out of this and not just ice cream!  I’m actually in love with pretty much all of the kitchen stuff at UO right now.

3.  Water Lilly and Herbs Moist Wipes from Motif.

I can’t even imagine how good these smell, but I know for sure that they’re adorable.

4.  The Ultimate Underwear Sports Bra from Panache.

This claims to support up to an H, so I have to figure that I’d be covered.  Plus it is so cute that I’d probably find a way to wear it peeking out from under a tank top, exercise or not.

5.  A Sticky Pad from Siconi.

Supposedly, this sticks to anything.  Which means you can stick the pad to any surface and then stick any item to the pad.  Like your cell phone to the dashboard when you’re using GPS.  Or use it to put a recipe on the wooden kitchen cabinet near the stove.

What’s on your shopping list?