Weekly Wrap-Up; Have A Hoppy Easter

by Emily

Who else has been hitting the chocolate eggs this week? Easter candy abounds! We are spending the holiday with my in-laws – all three of our nieces! – so I’m going radio-silent on the blog front this weekend to focus on family time. I’m planning on skipping my weekend post, I’m not even packing a camera, and I’ll be back with a weekly wrap-up next Friday.

breakfast

Iced Americano with chocolate milk.

I tried the cafeteria breakfast.

Scrambled eggs with turkey and veggie sausage. The coffee cup held wonderful Cisse milk chocolate vanilla bean hot chocolate.

lunch

Oatmeal.

Quaker Honey and Almonds with Justin’s Chocolate Hazelnut Butter.

And an apple.

Plus I snagged this delicious, thick!, strawberry lemonade from the cafeteria.

Egg salad.

We made awesome egg salad for lunches this week; medium-boiled eggs, finely chopped celery and green and red pepper, miracle whip, pickle relish, mustard, and dill. Packed in a whole wheat pocket thin.

Plus wasabi seaweed and grapes.

The next day was chicken salad. A whole wheat bagel thin with chicken salad, fontina cheese, and pickled jalopeños.

Plus an apple to take away some of the heat. Peppers were the perfect addition to that sandwich.

I packed cookies, but I put them aside for a treat my coworker brought it, an Easter bun with cheese.

snack

Easter candy, duh.

Juicy bears.

Cafe Dada iced coffee that the husband sweetly delivered when he picked me up from work one day.

Cookies.

Cereal bowl.

This was a sample of Graham Crunch from Cascadian Farm with vanilla almond milk.

Very tasty. This stuff is just begging to be made into cereal s’mores bars.

I made my new favorite milkshake for Adam and myself.

Coffee frozen Greek yogurt with chocolate milk and toasted coconut.

Bubble teas from Kung Fu Tea. Coffee milk tea for me.

dinner

Dinner at a diner.

I got an eggplant parm panini.

It was yummy but ridiculously filling.

And then we had pie!

Cream pie! My slice was banana cream.

It was flipping fantastic.

Chicken salad.

Big piles of Nana’s chicken salad.

With roasted green beans.

On Wednesday we went to Williamsburg for dinner with a girlfriend. She took us to Snacky.

It was fantabulous. The space was adorable and the menu was all my favorite things. Adam and I split a salad with seaweed and sesame dressing.

And I got a rice bowl with spicy bbq miso chicken, plus kimchi and a fried egg.

I swooned my way through that bowl. It was perfect, exactly my favorite meal.

And we made similar(ish) bowls for dinner at home the next day.

A hash of chopped sweet potato, browned mushrooms, sliced spinach, green onions, and smoked trout with rosemary and smoked paprika. Topped with a fried egg.

Put an egg on it!

Have a great weekend!

24Mar2014

Weekend Wrap-Up; Snoozy Saturday

by Emily

My predicted “hours in the kitchen” did not end up coming to fruition this weekend. Instead, I got the tail end of Adam’s cold and spent almost all of Saturday and Sunday in bed. Saturday I got up twice to pee and once to eat a huge bowl of cereal and other than that I was under the covers until the husband got home for dinner! I don’t have a ton to share in this post, but at least I got to snuggle with Webster!

Dinner from the Trader Joe’s frozen aisle.

Pad See Ew with veggies and tofu.

And frozen asparagus cooked with lime juice and honey roasted almonds.

The asparagus was pretty mushy, but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the noodles. Sidenote – I impulse bought TJ’s “Inner Peas” at the store this weekend and was impressed with them as well.

My very last peppermint divinity candy.

I’m sure my parents won’t mind sending me more next December, right guys??

Sushi take-out from Kisso on Saturday.

I got the vegetarian special,

and an order of vegetable goyza.

The dumplings were great. I shared with Adam because they reminded me of the dumplings we were obsessed with from Wegman’s hot bar. Then we shared a bag of Juicy Bears 🙂

Sunday I made it out of bed and off to the store – with very necessary pit stops to shower and caffeinate – so I could make dinner at home. My Turkey Reuben Mac and Cheese.

I subbed in Orecchiette for macaroni and added broccoli and truffle salt.

We had a round of creamy pink grapefruit spritzers for drinks/dessert.

Yum!

Outside of your college years, when is the latest you’ve ever slept in?

13Dec2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; Burritos And A Birthday

by Emily

I’m (almost) through my 2nd week! How long do you think I’ll have to be back at work before I stop counting? My guess is at least a month.

About the title… The birthday was Adam’s. My husband turned 28 on Wednesday so for the next 6 months I’ll stop being the older woman.

That picture is from BDL; i.e the years Before Doctor Life. He is on a very busy rotation now so unfortunately we didn’t have time for anything too festive. He got a disgusting amount of Taco Bell and we watched “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

The burritos were from Red’s All Natural.

They recently sent me some free-product coupons so that I could try out the goods. All Red’s products are 100% all-natural, preservative-free and made with antibiotic-free and hormone-free meat and rBGH-free cheese. I love the company’s philosophy and practices and I liked the burritos too (though admittedly not quite as much as their ideals).

So far I’ve tried two varieties. I microwaved one burrito and baked the other. The nuked one was a little mushy, but not at all chewy like some lower-quality tortillas tend to get in the microwave. The one I baked got perfectly crispy and nice. Both had good ingredient combinations but sadly I found the flavors to be a bit one-note. It is also worth pointing out that the burritos are giant, more than 500 calories each which is a lot for one meal component. However, they are also very, very filling – I shared both of mine with Adam because I could not finish. If you have someone to split with they are a great option but if you are purchasing them to eat alone just be mindful. <– they also have 5 oz burritos available in some varieties!

Overall, I am giving the two I tried a positive review (just not glowing). I am looking forward to trying some of the other varieties and I will definitely be sharing them on the blog when I do.

Fashion Friday

A new polka dot dress, from the Gap.

I tilted my head funny in the picture, but I actually got several compliments on my bun piled high on my head.

I usually don’t button my cardigans, but I liked it here.

Another new dress. It’s cuter in person than in the picture. The husband loved it and bought it for me with some of his birthday money ❤

The Gap sales rack has been very kind to me this season. Even with my newbies, however, I’ve pretty much gone through my entire closet in the two weeks, so we’ll see how long “Fashion Friday” continues to last.

Breakfast

Cookie Dough Balance Bar.

I think they changed the recipe again. It’s not quite as glorious as my old memories, but a big improvement over the really gross ones I was finding a year or so ago.

Giant coffee.

I was cashing in on a freebie so I went all out. Venti, non-fat, iced latte with 2 shots each gingerbread, white chocolate, and (extra) espresso.

Chocolate Peppermint Stick Luna Bar.

I never eat this flavor because it feels so seasonal, but it is one of the best. The mint is nice and cool.

Lunch

Monday. Looks like breakfast but was actually lunch. Quaker Cherry Pistachio Oatmeal.

And ~~the big apple~~ a big apple.

I’ve got to buy more oat go-cups; this was super portable and easy to just fill up with hot water in the cafeteria.

Tuesday.

Pizza with mushrooms and black olives.

And grapes.

These grapes are HUGE. They’re a seedless “holiday” variety.

Wednesday.

More leftovers.

Tangerines.

I promise, that cabbage was so much better than it looks.

Thursday.

More grapes.

And an everything bagel thin with leftover smoked tofu and light havarti.

I left this “raw” and the thins are definitely much, much better when toasted.

Snacks

Just like last week, picture lots of lunch assembly bites. This first one was an after dinner treat though. Looks like a root beer float…

But actually it’s Vanilla Porter with French vanilla ice cream.

I was pretty proud of this idea but it probably would have been a little better in milkshake form with a mix of beer and milk.

An Andes tree.

This was weirdly exciting. I’ve really been craving mint lately.

These gorgonzola cracker crisps have been a favorite for munching.

I love how big the serving size is here.

Dinner

Best dinner of the week, hands down.

Soy Boy organic Smoked Tofu that I sautéed in evoo.

With shredded (frozen) cabbage that we cooked in canola oil with salty peanuts and fresh edamame. We dumped in a bunch of miso orange dressing at the end and let it reduce, and the whole thing was heavenly.

I never seem to repeat meals any more but I do really want to make this again.

Salad and a burrito.

Romaine with groats and maple tarragon dressing.

Red’s Turkey Burrito.

This was the one I microwaved.

Cereal night on Adam’s birthday.

Two servings of Love Crunch Gingerbread Granola with vanilla almond milk and sliced banana.

Plus a big glass of eggnog during “The Grinch.”

This meal was missing vegetables, but that just didn’t feel festive! Thankfully this was the day I had my veggie-heavy lunch.

Chicken Burrito.

Apparently that was the only picture I have from last night?! I meant to eat it with salad but ended up having cheese and crackers instead.

Do you have any exciting plans for this upcoming weekend?

25Oct2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; Over The Bridge And Through The City

by Emily

I don’t have a ton to share, but I’ve got to do it in reverse because lunches were leftovers. It was a boring week, but I’ve got some news to share coming up soon and the next three weekends are slated to be fun.

dessert

My mom sent us the Haribo Smurfs.

I thought they were cuter than the were tasty, but Adam was crazy for them.

This ice cream was more my speed.

Coffee, Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz! is one of my B&J favorites that recently moved from scoop shop only to pints. I normally hate chocolate chunks in ice cream but instead of being teeth crushingly frozen these are melty and crunchy with espresso.

I ate this bowl with a giant diet soda while we watched “Teen Witch” and was in total heaven.

dinner

Green Curry Fritters from Cooking Light.

We love this recipe. I substituted ground turkey for chicken, skipped the sesame oil, and increased the portion size a bit, but otherwise followed the recipe.

With a dipping sauce of ketchup, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sriracha, and brown sugar,

and carrots on the side when my planned vegetable failed.

Apparently spaghetti squash season is over.

Two bowls.

My Turkey Reuben Mac & Cheese was a total recipe winner.

And the greens we ate on the side weren’t half bad either.

Frozen spinach and kale cooked in chicken broth with lemon juice and feta.

lunch

“Burger and fries.”

Green beans roasted with pink salt and smoked paprika,

plus an absolutely amazing sandwich.

A green curry fritter on half a TJ’s soft pretzel stick with brie and pumpkin butter.

The mix of flavors was out of this world.

Lunch to go – eaten on the subway in Manhattan.

A sandwich repeat.

A honeycrisp apple.

And a serving of Dutch Cocoa Somersaults.

The somersaults were my favorite component; they have a great roasty chocolate flavor without being sweet.

breakfast

Adam and I split a pumpkin pie bagel with NY cheesecake cream cheese from Panera.

Just look at that streusel –

This was delightful.

other

I bought the dog new food and water bowls.

Such a silly thing, but they make me so happy!

A girlfriend and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge on Wednesday.

I love this city.

24Oct2013

Turkey Reuben Mac & Cheese

by Emily

Is there nowhere that my love of turkey reubens won’t take me?

This recipe is basically a turkey reuben sandwich in a bowl, except that it’s better than a sandwich because instead of bread you have a big bowl of pasta and you still get the rye bread taste thanks to the caraway seeds.

You might notice that the ratio of ingredients seems a little different from most mac & cheese recipes – that’s because the sauce is less of a sauce and more of a big, gooey pile of melted cheese. <– oh yeah!

I know I haven’t been posting single meals much because of the weekly recaps (one’s coming tomorrow!) but this dinner was too good not to share immediately.

Turkey Reuben Mac & Cheese; serves 4 – 6

7 oz macaroni noodles
1 Tbsp dried caraway seeds
5 oz thin sliced roasted turkey deli meat
1 cup sauerkraut
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup fat-free milk
6 oz shredded swiss cheese
6 oz shredded gruyere

Cook pasta according to package directions, then drain and set aside.
While pasta is boiling, prep the rest of your ingredients. Toast the caraway seeds, 1 – 2 minutes in a dry skillet over medium heat. Dice the turkey into 1/2 inch squares; it’s easiest to stack the slices and cut them all at once. Squeeze as much liquid as you can out of the sauerkraut.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Whisk flour into melted butter, then cook an additional 2 -3 minutes to get rid of the “raw” taste. You are looking for the roux to take on a slightly brown color and start to smell amazing.
Working in 4 batches, whisk the milk into the roux, whisking out all of the lumps. Raise the heat slightly and bring the sauce to a simmer.
Stir the swiss and gruyere into the sauce. When the cheese has melted remove the pan from the heat.
Fold cooked macaroni, sauerkraut, toasted caraway seeds, and diced turkey into the cheese.

Potential Alterations:

If your family eats beef, you couldn’t go wrong subbing out the turkey for some corned beef like the original reuben
As it’s written, this recipe is very thick and gooey; you can add up to an additional cup of skim milk if you like your sauce a little looser
I didn’t want to squeeze any more calories into this, but stirring a little thousand island dressing into the sauce definitely wouldn’t be a bad thing

21Oct2013

Weekend Wrap-Up; Vampire Weekend

by Emily

It’s 2 in the afternoon, so allow me to say “good morning!” Does that sound strange to anyone? Adam worked nights Friday through Sunday so we’ve been keeping a vampire’s schedule. There’s been a lot of this –

I don’t like it when he’s gone, my sleep pattern is all out of whack and I definitely live like a teenager when he’s not around. Case in point – Saturday night I watched terrible movies (“One for the Money” and “Abduction”) and ate candy (Sour Patch Kids and chocolate-covered gummi bears) for dinner.

I ate a lot (a lot) of junk this weekend, but I did manage to throw some pretty gourmet meals in there as well. If last week was all about the jalapeño, this was the weekend of bacon!

breakfasts

On the go.

We had to eat on the way while running errands so I made us something portable. A terrible, god-awful smoothie.

Pumpkin, frozen kale, frozen banana, Silk Vanilla Almond Milk, and a bit of maple. This had such potential but the kale didn’t fully blend and chewing threw it was horrifying. I forced down 90% for the nutrients, but did not enjoy it.

My TJ’s pumpkin cereal bar was much better.

I thought the filling was great; sweet and spicy. And how cute is the labeling?!

We bought these when we were a little loopy from sleeplessness and Adam thought the pun was seriously the funniest thing ever. We spent the rest of the evening making variations on this joke – “A strawberry asks a pumpkin on a date… what happens next?”

Another kale fail.

I just could not win on the kale front this week. Again, these eggs had potential, but there just seemed to be sooooo much kale and we both hated them.

Offending eggs.

Delicious turkey bacon.

Side of grapes.

At least the other components were good. And I shared many bites of egg with the dog, who was such a good boy about eating his greens!

lunches

On Saturday two of our good friends from Buffalo (who are now living in Rochester for medical residency) came up to visit. We met up for a lovely lunch at Bareburger.

I got the Western Burger, with a turkey burger, sans bun. Smoked mozzarella / ~~country~~ turkey bacon / house-made Carolina slaw / smokehouse sauce / topped with a crispy, spicy pickle spear.

So fricking good! That hunk on the side was my pickle, which blew my mind.

A sandwich at home.

A whole-wheat bagel thin with turkey bacon, brie, and pumpkin butter.

This combo was ridiculous.

Plus the last of the grapes.

I have not been eating enough fruit this fall and it was nice to have something other than apples in the house.

dinners

More greens, more grapes.

A big pile of chicken salad.

Kale chips.

This was the only iteration of kale that I actually enjoyed this weekend.

The carb portion of dinner was consumed in the car on the way home from the store.

Adam and I split a TJ’s soft pretzel stick and loved it. Great chew!

I even whipped myself up a drink while I made dinner.

October is National Caramel Month and Sobieski sent me some samples of their Karamel Vodka to celebrate.

Note – I received the vodka samples free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Here was my attempt at a Caramel Apple Cocktail –

2 oz Sobieski Karamel Vodka
2 oz Sour Apple Pucker
splash Polar Granny Smith Apple Seltzer

The vodka was good, but next time I’d go with a 2:1 ratio of vodka to Pucker, the sour apple flavor was a little strong!

Soup’s up.

Last night we ate big bowls of my Loaded Potato Soup.

Truffles for dessert.

I’ve raved about Alter Eco’s Silk chocolate line in the past and they sweetly sent me some of their newest product – Dark Velvet Truffles.

Note – I received the truffles free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

The truffles, which are also available in Black, are organic, fair trade, and non-GMO. They are made with coconut oil, a more sustainable option than palm kernel oil (I didn’t taste any coconut flavor).

I thought that the truffles were great; nice and creamy! The husband hates dark chocolate as a rule, but loved the Silk bars so I will have him try one of the truffles and report back.

Have a great week!

1Oct2013

Weekend Wrap-Up; October Is Here!

by Emily

It’s possible I’m a little excited about the arrival of Pumpkin Month. Check out my stash –

So much squashy goodness!

Now a little bit about the end of September…

breakfast

I’ve only got one meal to share here, in contrast with the full “dessert” section (whoops!). Adam had a “golden weekend,” aka both Saturday and Sunday off, so we spent our mornings catching up on sleep.

This breakfast was more of a brunch, but either way it was a winner.

Müller Greek Corner Pineapple Passion Fruit Yogurt (former freebie) topped with sliced starfruit and a packet of Crispy Green Pineapples.

Isn’t starfruit (also known as Carambola) gorgeous?

Did you know that I used to sell starfruit when I was a kid? We had a tree in our backyard and I would take the harvests to the local grocery stores.

The freeze-dried pineapples were part of a sample box from Crispy Green.

I received these samples free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Crispy Green is a company that sells freeze-dried fruits. They are vegan and certified kosher and the ingredient list is nice and simple – just fruit. What really sold me was the texture, I swear that the apples and pears were almost juicy! More on them in a minute though.

lunch

Veggies.

Acorn squash. I baked half of my squash for 30 minutes at 350*, cut side down, then flipped it over and filled the cavity with pistachios, raisins, and maple syrup, and baked for another 20 minutes.

Plus broccoli that I roasted alongside the squash.

And a red pear.

So nice to have a mid-day meal that’s so packed with nutrients.

Less nutritious but still delicious, Taco Bell.

I got a vegetarian Cantina Bell burrito and was actually very impressed. The burrito had fresh corn and great guacamole.

The greatest sandwich.

Sweet and savory, for the win. Caramel apple swirl bread topped with Applegate Farms Smoked Turkey, TJ’s Lite Havarti, and pickled banana peppers.

The husband got and identical ‘wich and he raved about it. Plus we shared more Crispy Green fruits on the side. Asian Pear,

and Apple.

They both were packed with flavor but so far Asian Pear is my favorite.

dinner

Mac remix.

A box of Annie’s Shells and Aged Real Cheddar gussied up with TJ’s smoked trout, frozen edamame and a greens mix, and 1 oz of Chevre.

I have pantry back-ups of all of the ingredients and a see a redo in our future.

A cider soaked meal.

I marinated some extra-firm tofu in TJ’s Spiced Apple cider (plus honey and hot sauce) before ~~burning~~ baking in the oven.

Shredded cabbage was sautéed in the tofu marinade and then topped with salty peanuts.

And this lovely squash was sprinkled with salt and cinnamon and roasted alongside the tofu.

I filled in the space in the center of the plate with Dinosaur Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ Sauce for dipping.

A meal out on the town.

We finished our two-day weekend with a dinner out on the town at Luigi’s.

We were brought an amazing basket of fresh bread.

And we shared a Tuscan salad to start.

baby spinach / breaded artichoke hearts / roasted peppers / gorgonzola dolce / pignoli nuts / balsamic vinaigrette

I got handmade Papardelle with shrimp and lobster in a fresh plum tomato cognac cream sauce from the specials menu for my meal.

It was delicious! The homemade pasta had great bite and the seafood was juicy and perfect. Plus the portions were huge; I shared many tastes with Adam and still came home with a full serving of leftovers. {Mom and Dad, we want to take you here when you visit!}

dessert

Adam went out to celebrate a birthday with his fellow interns and he brought me home cake.

I’m not a huge chocolate fan but I’m a sucker for jam in the middle.

I brought him home vegan ice cream sandwiches.

Tofutti is currently celebrating their 30^th anniversary and they sent me some coupons.

I received these samples free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for this post. All opinions are my own.

Ice cream sandwiches are Adam’s favorite and he was very impressed with how close to the original this (minty) version came.

I thought the Cuties had great flavor and texture – and I’m not even an ice cream sandwich lover – but 180 calories for the small size seemed a little steep.

I will definitely buy them again for the husband though.

To finish the post – the best thing ever.

Adam and I split an ice the other day to celebrate the first day of fall. Dulce de leche topped with pumpkin pie.

Oh. My. God. The pumpkin pie ice was ridiculous! The best tasting ice I’ve ever had and those brown areas were crunchy streusel that was just over the top. We were both swooning!

What pumpkin goodies are you excited for this month?

20Sep2013

Weekly Wrap-Up; Mid-September

by Emily

I feel like I don’t have anything to say here so I’ll just get to it. You saw how clever my title was.

^breakfasts^*

Amazing oatmeal.

In the bowl were unsweetened almond milk, banana hunks, oats, chia seeds, tons of cottage cheese, and the very last of the sweetened condensed milk.

Food Emporium Trading Company Vanilla Granola with Almonds and Pecans in skim milk.

Berry yogurt bowl.

Wallaby low-fat vanilla bean yogurt with blueberries.

This Wallaby was one of the best yogurts I’ve ever tasted! The flecks of vanilla bean throughout felt quite fancy.

^lunches^*

Chinese food.

Cheese and greens eggs.

Eggs scrambled with cottage cheese, greens (a frozen blend from Whole Foods), and 2% provolone.

Carrot salad.

Matzo crackers.

A sheet of Egg and Onion Matzo with Cabot Light Sharp Cheddar melted on top,

and a sliced Jazz apple.

Adam doesn’t like matzo prepared with egg (he’s crazy!) so we eat it as crackers in our house.

^snacks^*

Organic India is promoting their gift baskets for the upcoming holiday season and they offered to send me some products from their Tulsi Tea Line to review.

Please note – these teas were sent to me free of charge. I was not provided further compensation for writing this post. All opinions are my own.

So far I’ve tried the Green Tea, which cold-brewed beautifully. Usually I’m not a green girl (it’s Adam’s favorite) but I loved this one. The flavor is completely devoid of the acridness that I usually taste in green teas. I used it in tasty tea spritzers.

Green tea + Polar Mandarin Seltzer.

Hot beer bread, straight from the oven, with Smart Balance Light.

Cola hard candies.

These guys have the best fizz!

^dinners^*

Different Chinese food.

Pasta toss.

Bow ties with corn and broccoli, tossed in browned butter.

Thai crunch salad.

Romaine topped with sliced chicken (marinated in TJ’s spicy peanut vinaigrette, then baked), edamame, shredded cabbage, salted peanuts, and more spicy peanut vinaigrette.