Cheesy Peasy

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This afternoon I got my Great Fundraising Act contribution ready for mailing tomorrow.

Would you like to see what hand-rolling 30+ sugar cookie balls does to your palms?

Ouch!  But at least it makes it ok for me to get caught red-handed having a reward for my hard work.

Sugar cookie frosting sandwich, x2.

My snack embodied sweet, so dinner was savory.

Cheesy Peasy Garlic Pasta (recipe available here and included at the end of this post).

Plus a side of roasted asparagus.

I was so excited about the creation of this recipe – which totally achieved the thick, cheesy sauce I was shooting for – but unfortunately it didn’t really fill me up.  I wasn’t sure if I was really hungry or residually hungry though, so I decided to wait a bit before refilling my plate.  Adam had a volunteering commitment in our neighborhood so I walked with him to deliver a cookie sandwich to the friend he was meeting (hi, Patrick!).

When my stomach was still grumbly mid-walk I decided to stop by the co-op for some protein.  Waldorf chicken salad fit the bill.

It filled me up and pleased my taste buds, yum!  If you haven’t tried grapes in chicken salad yet you don’t know what you’re missing.

Cheesy Peasy Garlic Pasta, serves 4

  • 8 oz uncooked rigatoni
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tbsp reduced fat cream cheese
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 4 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 2 Tbsp fat-free ricotta
  1. Cook pasta al dente according to box directions.  In the last three minutes of cooking time, add frozen peas to the boiling water.  Drain peas and pasta and set aside.
  2. While pasta is cooking, heat evoo in a large pan over medium-high heat.
  3. Add garlic to the oil and saute for 2 minutes; remove from pan and set aside.
  4. Add flour and cream cheese to the pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  5. Add milk to the roux mixture and cook 3 more minutes, stirring constantly until thickened.  Don’t worry if your mixture still is lumpy at this stage.
  6. Reduce heat to low and stir in cheddar cheese and ricotta.  When the sauce has fully mixed and achieved a smooth texture, remove the pan from the heat.
  7. Add pasta, peas, and cooked garlic to the sauce in the pan; toss to combine.
  8. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with a vegetable.

Courageous

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Hello, hello!  I’m not sure how it’s become Thursday, but it all feels very sudden.  Probably because I haven’t had a whole lot on my agenda this week.  I’m excited to have a bunch of to-do’s to tackle in the remaining month before school.

I didn’t make dinner (or blog) last night because I got hit with another migraine.  I don’t get them all the often any more but when I am struck it seems to happen in sets.  I took medicine in time to still have an evening, but our dinner plans were ruined.  Instead we got take-out.

That’s a buffalo chicken sub and french fries from Jim’s Steak-Out.

I also ate half of a Rollo McFlurry, but the pic is on Adam’s cell phone and he’s not home.  I’ve been obsessing over these ever since I saw them advertised last month, but it ended up only being ok.  I love caramel, but vanilla ice cream just doesn’t do it for me.

Fast-forward to this morning when I enjoyed a bowl of Fiber Plus Caramel Pecan Crunch with skim milk.

For lunch I decided to try these Soy Boy Okra Courage Burgers I’ve had in my freezer for months.

I tried mine toasted, on a bun with a slice of sharp cheddar and a drizzle of ketchup.

I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either.  The nutrition stats (130 calories and 13 grams of protein per patty) are great but the flavor didn’t blow my mind.  I think I’d like to try one on something less bready before I make an official decision.

I did love pile of roasted green beans I had on the side.

It’s official: roasted green beans win the Emily’s Favorite Veggie award.  I’m also in love this new plate I got at Anthropologie on my birthday.

I’m keeping the afternoon low-key (ie watching tons of “Charmed”), but at some point I am going to finish making my #tgfa cookie balls so I can mail them out to the winner tomorrow.  I’d also like to make that dinner, but let’s not write anything in stone! 😀

What is your favorite veggie?  Roasted green beans top my list, but eaten straight-up I’m obsessed with baby carrots.

Bed Time Bungle

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I’ve been slathering sunscreen and popping my vitamins ever since I turned 26, but I’m still figuring out that whole bedtime thing.  Last night I stayed up way too late watching Charmed.  Like, way, way too late.  And my ability to control my popcorn consumption suffered as a result.

I was too tired for proper photography, but not too hungry to force me to eat a proper meal.  My eats for the day so far include – Wasabi peas.

Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus with Pretzels.

A lemonade that sadly tasted like dirty syrup.

And two packs of Shark Bites.

Guess I should go gourmet for dinner, huh?

Easy Eats

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I accomplished so much yesterday that today was actually a bit boring.  I’ll take it though.  And I’ll definitely take the fact that I had to skip today’s workout because my abs were so sore from yesterday’s 90 minute hot yoga session.  Whoop!

Breakfast was easy and summer-y.

1.5 servings of cinnamon Puffins, .5 serving of oats and honey Bear Naked Granola (which is like a Tbsp, seriously?!), chopped plum and white apricot, and skim milk.

For a mid-morning snack I measured out 2 servings of the peanut brittle popcorn my in-laws gave me for my birthday.

This stuff might be dangerous.

Lunch looked borning.

But looks can be deciving.  That’s not pb & j.

That’s a mini kaiser roll topped with Nutty Guys honey roasted peanut butter, crushed up honey wheat pretzels, and a drizzle of honey.

And what goes with a peanut butter (pretzel, honey) sandwich better than milk?

In my fabulous new glass from Anthropologie.

Milk also goes well with cookies.

But those aren’t for me (though I did eat a few cookie’s worth of dough!), I baked them up for The Great Fundraising Act.

Instead of cookies, Adam and I snacked on hummus this afternoon.

Not just any hummus though, Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus that I got to try for free as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program.

Usually I’m too cheap to buy hummus because you can make it easily at home, but I think it’s time to update my policy!  Adam and I both thought this was delicious; creamy with a great roasted flavor.  The pine nut was a great new twist, though Adam thought it wasn’t as zesty as the garlic variety we used to buy.  Plus at 80 calories per 2 Tbsp serving it’s a nutritional steal.

I ate my serving(s) with some baby carrots.

Keeping up the easy eats theme of the day, dinner was leftovers.

I piled the steamed collard greens, millet, and baingan bharta into one bowl, topped with tons of Sriracha.

Easy, like your mother.  Ba dum ching!

I Did What I Curd

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Go me; I accomplished so much today!  I would say I crossed 95% of our household to-do’s off of the list this afternoon.  I’m not sure what exactly got into me, but I’ll take it.

One errand took me to the grocery store where I kept my energy levels up with an iced coffee with skim milk.

Sidenote – can I just tell you how much I adore the Wegman’s mini carts with the drink holders?!

I’m definitely choosing my future stroller by the amount of cup holders.

One big accomplishment was making this tasty, healthy dinner.

Can you guess who we are?

I made a batch of Jenna’s Baingan Bharta,

some millet,

and steamed collard greens cooked with maple dill dressing.

This was my first time trying millet and I found it a little dry, but I’m excited to try it again tomorrow with a little plain yogurt stirred in.  The Baingan Bharta – basically pureed eggplant, tomato, and spices – was also new to me and I think I’m a fan.  I thought it was a little bit sweet but I did extra eggplant so I probably should have done extra jalopeno as well.

For dessert I dug into this afternoon’s baking project.

Key lime curd!  Basically key lime pie without the crust.

I dipped a serving of Biscoff cookies into it after dinner.

The ginger and lime combo is a force to be reckoned with.

As soon as I hit publish I’m heading out on a short walk with Adam.  What a good day indeed.

Don’t forget – you have until 10:40 EST to bid on my sugar cookie balls.

The Great Fundraising Act – Get Your Bid On

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I know yesterday was an important day (my 26th birthday, ha) but today’s date was the one starred on my calendar.  It’s time for the bidding to begin on The Great Fundraising Act.  If you haven’t heard, TGFA was started by Janetha at Meals and Moves to help raise money for Susan, a fellow blogger, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  It’s an amazing cause, set up for one awesome blogger by another, and there are lots of great deals available.  Please head over to the live auction today to check it out.

I’m doing my part by baking up a batch of sugar cookie balls.

If you’d like a chance to try my balls for yourself, you can bid here until 10:40 EST today!

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I made a couple of mistakes this morning, as is fitting for a Monday.  I made a mistake when I hit my snooze button because it made me late.  I made a mistake when I slammed this white chocolate macadamia Luna Bar on the walk to yoga because it made me nauseas.

Good flavor though.

I made a mistake when I thought the 9:30 class this morning was my typical warm yoga because what I was really rushing to was the (harder, hotter, longer) 90 minute, 105* class.

That wasn’t really a mistake though, more like a helpful push from the universe.  I was too afraid to try the hot yoga class on my own, but once I was there I loved it.  I probably spent a third of the class in child’s pose but I still got in a great workout.  I’m not going to give up the warm 60 minute class entirely, but I will be back.

After yoga I had to shower and clean the house, but then I finally sat down for lunch.

I dressed my leftovers from yesterday’s salad with Newman’s Own Light Caesar.

The beets made everything a little pink, but since I kept the dressing off until today my salad was still nice and crispy.

On the side I enjoyed some local cherries in a new birthday gift bowl.

This lunch and breakfast set was on the small side for me but after I run some errands I’ve got my eye on an afternoon baking project and I’m sure I’ll make up the calories.

Birthday Benefits

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There are a lot of benefits to having a birthday.  For one, you exist; yay!  For another, free Starbucks.

I got a tall, iced, skinny caramel macchiato and loved every dollar-free sip of it.

When it’s your birthday your in-laws might drive up to take you and the husband out to lunch.

We chose Cheesecake Factory.  I ate one of the avocado egg rolls, but they were mostly Adam’s reward for putting up with me.

For lunch I got the Fresh Vegetable Salad, my favorite salad of all time.

If you’ve read my how to post, you know that I ordered my salad with dressing on the side and a to-go box.

Once I packed half of my salad away for lunch tomorrow I dressed it with the spicy peanut cilantro vinaigrette I requested on the side.

Delicious.  And nutritious; I checked several sites and I am fairly certain that this salad (before the split) contained less than 300 calories.

After we ate I had to do a lot of blowing.  (<– and wasn’t even a first date; ba dum cha!) 

The CF employees heard it was my birthday and sweetly brought me a sundae.

I made a wish, but passed the ice cream off to Adam.  I had my eye on bigger and better things.

We split the Chocolate Coconut Cream Cheesecake four ways and were all swooning.  I told you I hated cake.

Another birthday benefit is getting to set the day’s agenda, because I totally don’t wear the pants every other day of the week.  Adam walked around the mall with me for hours, cashing in birthday coupons without a complaint.  P.S. Sephora will give you free Philosophy birthday cake body wash – no purchase necessary! – if you create an account online.

Where else could we do a birthday dinner if not Wegman’s hot bar.

I served myself two kinds of Asian chicken, heavy on the veggies.

I kept dinner on the smaller side (about half the weight of usual) because we were heading to a movie and I was looking forward to this –

“This” is the container of pretzel bites I split with Adam and forgot to photograph until after the lights were turned down.

We saw “Friends with Benefits” and looooooved it.  Mila Kunis is hot, Justin Timberlake is hilarious, and it was just raunchy enough to not be a total chick flick.  I declared it my new favorite movie!

Let’s recap – freebies, coconut cream, mall-walking, Wegman’s, pretzels, and a movie.  <– best birthday ever (until next year!)

6 for 26

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  1. Really work at getting myself on a more grown-up sleep schedule
  2. Wear sunblock on my face every day.
  3. Continue to work on being more positive.
  4. Reclaim my love for blogging, starting with a goal to blog everything for the next 30 days.
  5. Take my vitamins (ideally a multi-vit, calcium chew, and fish oil supplement) at least 4 days a week.
  6. Go to school with purpose.  I don’t have to score an A+ on everything, but I want to be able to be proud of the work I put in, no matter what grade I get.

Do you set goals for yourself on New Year’s Eve or your birthday?  Or both!?