Tag Archives: carrots

We’re A Crock Pot Family

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I spent a lot of time today on my binder project and I’ve barely made a dent in it; I had a backlog of more than a year!

I’m super excited to get down and dirty cutting and pasting this weekend.

I spent time on other housewifey endeavours too, isn’t she beautiful?

Yes, I am finally a crockpot kitchen kind of lady!  The Cuisinart Slow Cooker CSN Stores kindly sent me to review finally came.  As I mentioned yesterday, I pre-prepped everything so all I had to do today was turn her on.  I felt so 1950’s organizing magazine clippings at the table while dinner simmered away on the countertop.

But before dinner, what about breakfast and lunch?  Breakfast was 1cup of Total with skim milk and blueberries.

And lunch was a roasted veggie bonanza.

Roasted green/wax beans are one of the husband’s favorites now and prior to last month he thought he hated them.  Behold the power of roasting!

He also ended up being a fan of the nut-butter crusted parsnip and carrot fries.

But really, who wouldn’t be?

I also snacked on a random baggie of trail mix,

and handful of dried apricots for dessert.

And then we headed out on a glorious walk!  Since my running sessions have to be so short they are a lot more enjoyable if I incorporate them into other activities.  We walked for 10minutes, ran for 7minutes, and then spent another 25 or so ambling home.  All total we covered 3.43miles.

Dinner, of course, came from the crock pot.

I figured for my first go I’d use a recipe from the booklet that came with it.  Sausage & Lentil Soup with Tortellini, makes 8cups

  • 3/4T evoo
  • 1lb chicken Italian sausage links
  • 8oz mushrooms, cleaned and quartered (we went with sliced)
  • 3/4 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed and drained
  • 8oz chopped yellow onions
  • 8oz carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (skipped)
  • 3/4t basil (skipped)
  • 1 1/2t thyme (skipped)
  • 3/4oz sun-dried tomatoes, slivered (I used extra here, along with s&p to make up for the skipped spices)
  • 4 1/2cups low sodium chicken stock or broth
  • 6oz cheese-filled tortellini, refrigerated

Heat the olive oil in a Cuisinart 12inch Nonstick Skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the sausage in a single layer and brown evenly on all sides, about 10minutes.  Remove and let cool.  Add the mushrooms to the same pan and cook until brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.  When the sausage is cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2inch slices.

Place the lentils in the ceramic pot of the Cuisinart Slow Cooker.  Add the chopped onions, carrots, garlic, browned mushrooms, basil, and thyme; stir to combine.  Sprinkle the mixture with the slivered sun-dried tomatoes and top with the slices sausages and any accumulated juices.  Add the chicken stock.

Cover and press the On/Off button to turn the unit on.  Set time to 3 hours and press High; once Slow Cooker switches to Warm, set time for 5 hours and press Simmer.  Slow Cooker will automatically switch to Warm when cooking time has elapsed.

Forty-five minutes before serving, reset the temperature to High – if soup is every thick, add up to 2 cups of water.  After 15minutes, add the tortellini.  Cover and cook for an additional 30minutes, until tortellini are tender and cooked. 

Nutritional information per cup:  Calories 312 (31% from fat) – carb. 30g – pro. 24g – fat 11g – sat. fat 3g – chol. 51mg – sod 1015mg – calc 96mg – fiber 6g

My thoughts?  The recipe was good, but certainly not socks rocking; my favorite part was the tortellini.  I do think the nutritional info was pretty stellar though, and I like things with leftovers.  I didn’t really understand having to go back to reset the damn thing multiple times, isn’t the whole point of a slow cooker that you can set it in the morning and walk away?  If I wasn’t a bum I wouldn’t have been able to make this.

Tomorrow I’m going to school with the husband in the morning because my bat wings have a date with the pool and the gossip-center of my brain has a lunch date with Katie 😀 

Do you have a crock pot?  Any major fails you’d like to share from it?

Choose Your Own Adventure

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Hi there!  I’m in such a fabulous mood right now that it’s like I’m dancing on a cloud!  Or rolling in a field of puppies!  Or walking on sunshine.  You can choose your own adventure metaphor.

[LOVED those books as a kid]  I’m only an itsy bitsy bit superstitious, but I’m wary enough that I’m going to have to make you wait to few days before I share the cause of my good mood with you.  The fantasticness is only about 80% complete and I’d like to make sure it’s in the bag.

Lunch was eaten in 3ish parts.  Course 1 was 5 saltines spread with fat free cream cheese and hot pepper peach preserves.

A very tasty way to use the jar indeed.  Per my fridge traffic JAM, I need to make sure I’m incorporating some fruit spread into pretty much every meal over the next month.

Course 2 was a big minneola.

She was pregnant!

Eat More Fruit Tip # 3 – Citrus is a great snack, but can be sticky and annoying to peel, especially on the go.  However, pre-peeled and put in a baggie or tupperware, it can be a great made in advance snack.

Course 3 was supposed to be roasted brussels sprouts.

Don’t they look good?

Well they weren’t; more like yetch!  I was running late at that point so I substituted a handful of baby carrots.

I was late heading to the pool, and lateness was only one of the reasons why my workout was sub-stellar.  The toe nail I injured in the half marathon was finally falling off and it was flapping (gross!) as I swam and hurt like heck!  I ended up doing 20 laps in 20 minutes.  You know what though, even a “bad” workout felt pretty darn good.

This Thursday will be my last day as a UB student which means it will also be my last opportunity to use their pool.  I don’t have access to a gym with a pool and I won’t have access to the BSC gym (they have a pool but I’m not sure yet about hours or size) until August.  I will hopefully be able to run again next week and it shouldn’t be a big issue.  I have really enjoyed my swim work outs though, discovering my pool love was the only plus to my stress fracture!  Hopefully I’ll be able to run and swim this fall.

My toe nail didn’t fare so well in the work out though; after I got dressed I officially had to lose it.  I’ll spare you the picture but I’m very squeamish about nail loss and suffice to say I was pretty sad.  The husband felt sorry for me while we ran our mystery errand and he got me a fountain soda for being such a trooper.

Fountain diet coke + a shot of cherry coke + ice + straw = one very happy Emily!

The plan for the evening is cooking dinner and eating some more fruit, I’ve still got 1cup to go!  Fruit eaten so far today: 1cup.

I’m stealing my question from Janetha – What was your favorite thing to “play” as a kid? 

My answer was so embarrassing I figured once I put it out there in her comments I should just go ahead and tell the world the ten people who read my blog.  My favorite thing was to pretend I was Laura Ingalls Wilder; I was obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie books.  Specifically I’d play Laura in the covered wagon heading West.  Well apparently I thought that covered wagons were hot……. So I’d turn off the fan, put on at least four layers of long-sleeved shirts and long skirts, and get into my bed under 2-3 quilts.  Then I’d sit there and sweat and sort through a big box of buttons.  It’s a wonder I made it to middle school!

Dessert Before Dinner

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When I talked about my great grocery buys earlier I didn’t even mention the most exciting one –

Turkey Hill Southern Lemon Pie Frozen Yogurt!  I was dying to try it but we were headed out to run more errands so I portioned 1.5servings into a go cup.

I also grabbed a big handful of baby carrots.

And thank goodness, because there was nary a veggie to be found on my dinner plate.

In the most random move on Earth, at 8:30pm we headed to I-HOP for dinner.

I ate 1.5 of my NY cheesecake pancakes, 1 of my eggs, and both slices of turkey bacon.  The husband was more than happy to polish off the rest of my meal.  I eat pancakes maybe twice a year but I’d been craving them for the last month so it was nice to fulfil the urge.

What is your favorite breakfast order (from a restaurant, no yogurt messes!); pancakes, waffles, or french toast?  If I had to choose I’d go with french toast, but I generally prefer to order eggs.

Slept Through Breakfast but Ate Brinner

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We pulled into Buffalo from NYC at 4am this morning, which meant the whole day has felt a little ‘off.’  [A trip recap is coming tomorrow, I swear!]  I got out of the car and into bed, and slept until 11 to get my 7hours.  I have a ton to do this week, and we can’t pick up groceries until Thursday, so I’ll warn in advance that my meals might be a little bit, ahem, interesting.

One of the items on our monster to-do list is switching out our summer and winter wardrobes.  That means I’m trying to wear all my fun sweaters this week before they get washed and stored.

I adore the ruffling on this one!

Although my favorite outfit detail is the little yellow crystals in the pearl necklace my mommy made me.

I needed to do lunch on the go so I grabbed an orange twist Mix1 drink.

I also snacked on a White Chocolate Chip ThinkThin bar during Anthropology.

I bought this because I read a really good review of it (Chelsea Handler, in one of the health/fitness magazines) but it didn’t really take care of my hunger.  I practically ran to buy a snack before my next class.

Hot chocolate and a carrots, celery, and ranch cup.

I had to unpack from this weekend after Chemistry so dinner didn’t happen until after 9o’clock.  I snacked on a handful of dried fruits while I worked.

And then the husband was a total superstar and took care of breakfast for dinner brinner.

He made me two sunny side up eggs,

and we split a cinnamon raisin bagel (from NY!).

I ate my bagel dry because I used it to sop up the yolks, yummy!

I was feeling a bit empty (I really didn’t eat enough today) so I made myself a little sundae.

Cyclops Greek Style Frozen Yogurt topped with Crofters Superfruit Spread and Suzanne’s Vegan Ricemellow.

Tomorrow is another crazy day, with an 8am lab, so it’ll probably be another late post.  I promise to get up a nyc recap though.

Are you good at making eggs?  I cannot do sunny side up, and it’s my favorite.  Thankfully the husband is great at it.

Achoo, Achoo!

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I’m feeling sick so I’ll keep this quick.  (I’m a poet and I don’t even know it, ha!)  My s-i-l has cats that I’m super allergic to I’ve been sneezing my head off.  So I’ve got showering, packing, and sneezing 8bazillion times still on the agenda before bed.

This morning I made a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch with skim milk.

I’m not gonna lie, Adam was getting some seriously whining about my inability to make a Green Monster.  Sometimes (like all day today) the food situation with my in-laws is frustrating because I eat so differently than they do.

When Adam and I went to gas up the car around noon I spotted a ‘make-your-own’ milkshake machine and squealed with glee.

I’m not sure why these are so exciting to me but they really are.  Adam and split a mint chocolate chip.

And then we came home for a real lunch.

Celery and carrots with a little bit of ranch,

part of a Cara Cara Orange,

and a turkey sandwich.

I also had a few of these throughout the afternoon.

My m-i-l made an adorable bunny cake –

But it was box cake with can icing and there was no way that was worth the trans fat ingestion.

Dinner was a Mexican affair.

Turkey nachos,

and chicken, peppers, and black bean quesadillas.

Adam and I were in charge of making the quesadillas but I only ended up eating half of one.  I did go back for nachos seconds though.

My b-i-l made a plate with nachos just for the two of us and I was in heaven.

My favorite part of dinner was my beverage though.  Diet cola with Strawberry Crush, hell yeah!

I ate way too much crap this weekend, but I know that that streak will be continued tomorrow because we have a foodie day planned……..in New York City!!!!!

Do y’all have any idea how excited I am to back to the city?!  Oh man!  We are getting there around 11 and staying until around 7pm.  It’s obviously not the trip we had planned originally, because our favorite thing to do in NYC is walk, but we wanted to go in spite of my injury.  Even a low-key day will be a lot of fun.

We have an 8+hour drive back to Buffalo and I have classes Tuesday afternoon so I’m not sure when I’ll be able to post a recap.  I hope everyone else had a great weekend.

What is your favorite US city?

It Must Be the Jalopenos

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I’ve come to the conclusion that a month spent eating nachos on the couch somehow turned me into a certifiable bad-ass.  I’m probably really a dumb-ass but for now I’ll keep feeling cool.  Why am I a dumbbad-ass?

  • the biggie – I quit a job I hated to persue hapiness
  • I ran a half marathon without training
  • I finished said stupid idea in two and half hours
  • I’m going to lose a couple toenails before all is said and done
  • I got a 2nd tattoo
  • I spent the last 5 days walking around on a semi-broken leg!

That last one came from my doctor’s appointment.  The x-ray was inconclusive and I’ll know more after tomorrow’s bone scan but she’s pretty certain its a stress fracture.  I’m not even going to address what that might mean as far as when I can start running again (bad-asses don’t cry!) but for the time being I’m rocking crutches.

Before I headed to my appointment I ate a Nonfat Peach Chiobani for breakfast.

And once I got back I had lunch.

A baggie of baby carrots,

and the other half of yesterday’s airport chicken sandwich.

Then I spent the afternoon reading blogs, whoops!  I have a TON of make-up work to do for school this week and I have got to get on it.

What have you done lately that made you feel like a bad-ass?

Pan Panic

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Whew, it feels like a while since I’ve been here!  I was in a terrible mood yesterday, I’m glad I was too busy to post because I’m not sure how chipper I could have been.  I was out of control hungry all day and in a god-awful mood and I ended up eating all sorts of junk.  On the plus side – I didn’t break my vegan challenge, my house is much much cleaner, and reading all your wonderful comments on my running post put me in a better mood! 

I will show off my newest layer-tastic outfit though  🙂  This vest is one of my favorite items of clothing.

And you better believe I’ve got another layered look planned for Thursday!

Today is going to be pretty crazy as well.  I had lab this morning and the husband has an observation this afternoon so I’m stuck on campus all day.  Once he’s all done and picked me up we are heading straight to Target – our nonstick pans are peeling and I’m pretty sure we are cooking our way to cancer!!!  😮

This morning I got up a bit early to pack a lunch and whipped up some smoothies for Adam and I.

~2cups frozen strawberries + 2cups Silk Light Chocolate Soy Milk + 1scoop chocolate Amazing Grass = tasty smoothie x 2

Lab went well, we had a substitute and we got out super quickly.  I’ve made good use of my campus time thus far.  I finished all of my post-lab calculations and I am officially 2 weeks ahead on my pre-lab work!  Then I started some reading and cracked open my lunch box 🙂

These leftover roasted veggies were soooo good, even better than the first night!

I ate half of this bag of baby carrots.

And I’m about to drink this Naked Blue Machine I picked up at volunteering.

The juice is pretty concentratedly caloric (340 per bottle) but I planned on it being the “bulk” of my lunch so it works out well.

I’ve got to get back to work!  When you ‘see’ me again I’ll be the proud owner of a new set of pans!

What kind of pans do you have?  Any recommendations or horror stories?  I’ve been pretty pleased with our pans but now that they are peeling in little flakes I’m a little freaked out.  Our selection will definitely be informed by our budget, but I want to make sure we get something that will allow us to cook healthfully.

When Life Hands You Lemons

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It’s been a packed (but great) day and I have to leave the house in exactly 15minutes to pick up the husband from a hospital shift so I’ll make this speedy.

Our last night of family time was a lot of fun.  We watched “Zombieland” which was actually pretty fantastic.  I did some pretty serious damage on these chips and salsa (2-2.5servings) before I told the husband to take them away from me.

Then I switched to a much more munchable baby carrots.

For breakfast the boys hit up McDonalds, I want to call their food greasy but it’s hard to judge when you ask for a diet coke before 10am.

I was starving so I made up 2packets of oats.

Mmmn!

We streeeeeeetched out our goodbyes but finally got on the road around 11, our trip was an easy 4hours.  When it was my turn to drive I ate a medium french fry from Wendys.

Really quick – the point of the vegan challenge is sooo not to eat french fries but my only options were fast food that I could eat while driving and I was starving.

I can’t even tell you how proud I am of the dinner I pulled together with our empty fridge.

It was so healthy and tasty, rocked my socks!

Quick quick – while the husband cooked some balsmatti rice I marinated 1/2 a package of chopped tempeh in apple cider vinegar and tamari.  Then I sautéed an onion on the stove, and added in a can of collard greens.  Finally I poured the tempeh and marinade into the skillet, added a pinch of cornstarch and cooked.  The bowls were rice, greens, tempeh, + your choice of seasonings.  I did a big dollop of chilli garlic paste.

Perfection!

I had to drop off the husband at his shift and then I did some restocking at the grocery store.  On my drive home I grabbed a  Simply Lemonade.

For $1.50 I was pretty darn impressed with this.

And it was the perfect match with the baking I did when I got home!

Lemon Poppyseed Cookies from Eat Drink and Be Vegan.

I had two and was, as usual, blown away by the awesomeness of the recipes in that book.  Sweet and tangy and yummy.

Now I’ve got to split, I hope y’all had a great weekend!!!