Tag Archives: cheese

Funtastic Friday

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Today has been the best day ever!  I mean, not running my half marathon good or getting married good, but pretty damn good.  Exploring, delicious food (seriously, seriously delicious), time with a friend, surprises for the husband…

I spent my afternoon exploring East Aurora with Holly.  It was great but getting there was a trip.  <– that’s a pun.  10 minutes into a 30 minute drive my phone (and gps) shut off.  Apparently my hour at the Sprint Store was not well spent.  The rest of the drive was like a scene from the 90’s, except I didn’t have the prerequisite skills of phone number recall and map reading.  Somehow, and I seriously don’t know how, I ended up exactly where I needed to be.  Phew!

And I was rewarded for my navigation magic with lunch at the festive Arriba Tortilla.

They had fancy lights and they let me order from the kids’ menu so they were 2-for-2.  I got a kids’ taco platter with two fish tacos.

My fish tacos had mahi mahi, corn salsa, black beans, and zesty cole slaw.

I ate 1.5 and was covered in sauce and grinning from ear to ear when I was through.

After lunch we spent a couple of hours strolling around the adorable town.  When Holly told me that EA was awesome I didn’t think that she was lying, but I didn’t actually expect it to be quite so amazing!  Tons and tons of cute local shops and great walkability.

I grabbed an iced coffee with skim milk from Taste, the local coffee institution.

And we ended our travels at Firefly, a gorgeous cupcake shop.

It was a difficult choice but I ended up ordering a key lime pie cupcake.

Yellow cake with a graham cracker crust, key lime buttercream and key lime curd filling.

Ridiculous good.  The frosting may have been the best I’ve ever had.  I definitely closed my eyes and swooned at the first bite.  I ate 90% of the cake and every last lick of the frosting and filling.

I’m glad we did lots of walking because the day’s dessert consumption wasn’t over yet.  Holly told me something very exciting about our mall.  Something very exciting that I managed to keep to myself long enough to surprise a very happy husband…

Buffalo now has self-serve froyo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m so embarrassing; when Holly told me this morning I got so excited I could actually feel my heart speed up.

I got plain tart and coconut froyo topped with some fruit and sprinkles and tons of popping bobba.

Now that I can have it every day more often I’ll need to watch the portion sizes, but I wanted to enjoy the bobba just in case it didn’t make it on the long-term menu.

Adam and I ran errands into the early evening and then settled on the couch to cry hysterically watch the “Grey’s” finale.  Dinner was pretty much identical to lunch but I had a coupon to Moe’s so I just went with it.

Two fish tacos, one hard and one soft for variety’s sake.

Plus chips with queso.

I thought the crunching would stop the crying but that was a lost cause.  If anything, screaming at the screen helped me to eat less chips.

Which show finales have you been freaking out about this season?

Mungry

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I don’t know what my deal is but lately I’ve been so freaking hungry.  Yesterday I was uncomfortable with hunger all day long.  And I wasn’t in a dessert mood at all but we don’t have much food in the house and I ended up eating sweets all afternoon.  Ugh.

I did do my best to make a healthy, filling lunch.

I sautéed ~ 1 cup of sliced okra in 1/2 Tbsp butter and a pinch of salt.  Meanwhile I whisked together 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup 2% cottage cheese, and 2 oz of Cabot’s 50% reduced-fat sharp cheddar.  Then I scrambled my mixture in with the okra.

I didn’t know how the cottage cheese would turn out in the eggs but I ended up loving it.  The end result wasn’t watery at all, just super creamy and cheesy.  I now know that cottage cheese is a tasty way to add more volume and protein to my eggs.

But sadly my filling lunch wasn’t filling at all.  Nothing is filling when your stomach is being a beast.  I also had …

A spoonful of cookie butter, x2.

A packet of Gushers.

A Magnum Double Caramel Ice Cream Bar.

And the last ~1/2 serving of Butterfingers Bites.

Not gonna lie, I was still hungry after all that too.  It was funny because I watched “Kitchen Nightmares” all afternoon and that show is a total appetite killer!

I ended up not even eating dinner because I left the house on a last-minute invite and didn’t get home until past Adam’s bedtime.  A classmate’s restaurant was running a booth at a local wine event and I volunteered to help out.

I got to chat with all sorts of people and it was a lot of fun.  Plus, I got a small plate of cookies and two tastes of wine out of the deal.

And my friend and I got our picture on a big local website.

I need to make some uglier friends!

My plans for today do include lunch with Holly this afternoon, should include cleaning, and must include catching up on the “Grey’s” and “Private Practice” finales.

Do you ever have insatiable bouts of hunger?  And more importantly – do you say “hungry mungry?”

Sandwiches

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Yesterday I was two things – hungry and tired.  So I ate a bunch of food and then passed out face-down, fully dressed, in the middle of the unmade bed.  The husband was unimpressed.

The dog was tired too.

Early in the afternoon I made myself a little snack plate.

3 oz of bread and butter pickles with a serving of pretzels and tons of yellow mustard.

I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took Webster out for a walk.  Halfway home my wallet was glad the dog was there or I totally would have bought food out.  Instead I made myself a sandwich thin with Smart Balance Light and ~1.5 oz of sharp cheddar when I got home.

Dinner was another cheese sandwich, but this one was fancy.

I put hot & sweet mustard, thin sliced turkey, and Brie on rye bread.

This would have been better as a panini but Adam wasn’t home to get down the press for me.

With roasted green beans on the side.

It was a good meal but not as filling as I would have liked.

I attempted to make s’mores for dessert but I walked away from the oven for too long and ended up with burnt soup.  I salvaged what I could in a bowl of s’mores.

And when the husband got home he served me a plate of mango.

Then five minutes later I was asleep.

When I got up this morning I made another effort to get rid of that damn milk.

2 cups of skim milk with 1 scoop of chocolate protein power, all shook up.  I’ll need something else too but it was a good breakfast start.

And I’m off!

Oddly Amazing

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Hello, again!

Did you forget what I looked like?  Yes, that’s a bathroom self-portrait; yes, I’m a bit ashamed.

I’ve been gone because it’s exam week.  I don’t like to lie to you guys, so you’ll note that I cited “exam week” and not “studying for exams” as my reason for blog bailing.  It’s possible that I read two new books yesterday.  They were murder mysteries and they were fabulous.

My first exam was at 7:40 am so a stop for Ashkers on my walk to school was a necessity.

A large coffee with skim milk and sugar.  The coffee was “Jamaican Me Crazy,” a blend I’ve been obsessed with since last spring.  Our nearest Wilson Farms became a 7-11 and I don’t like Wegman’s version of JMC so this was very exciting.

I had one exam at 7:40 and another at 3pm so most of my meals were consumed in the computer lab.  I brought baby carrots,

a Coconut Chocolate Chip Clif Bar,

and a Golden Delicious apple.

And I dug into my gift bag (some of our teachers are so nice!) for a lollipop.

During the 7-hour stretch between exams I also had a diet dr. pepper.  I considered having some Combos but I ate two tubs of popcorn in the past four days and it seemed like maybe it was time to say no.

I did do some snacking this afternoon while I packed the husband’s lunch.  A slice of Applegate Farm’s Honey and Maple Turkey,

and a pack of Gushers.

I made him a snack when he got home too and after we both digested and messed around for too long on the internet we set out on a quick run.  1 mile in 11:33.  Plus a cool down of walking after we went back to the apartment for Webster.  It was pouring out but the dog was due for a bath so we enjoyed a wet walk in the rain.

I’m short on time but I made an amazing, albeit odd, dinner.

First course was salad.

Romaine topped with peanut sauce and buckwheat groats.

Next came the protein and carbs course.

I sliced up two blocks of tofu, coated them in “green sauce” and baked at 450* for 40 minutes.

Green sauce = chopped basil, apple cider vinegar, agave syrup, and green tabasco.

Then I made ridiculously stupendous grilled cheese sandwiches.

Rye bread + (shredded parmesan and 2% mozzarella mixed with mayo and Sriracha) + a bit of butter in a skillet.  The sandwiches were super tasty to the point of almost being unsatisfying because you just wanted to keep eating!

And dessert was 2 Tbsp melted Cookie Butter with a few pretzels dipped in.

I’ve got three exams tomorrow so I’ve got to get back to it!

Cinco De Mayo Surprise

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I had big Cinco de Mayo themed plans for today but unfortunately they fell through.  It was a good day regardless, just not themed.  <–  I love a good theme, I sort of can’t believe I didn’t rush a sorority in college

Friday was good in a “day-off” sort of way.  Thursday night was ridiculous; I woke up a little bit before 4am and never went back to sleep.  I tossed and turned, got up to pee, got up to get a drink; nothing worked.  Which is how I ended up eating blondies and watching “Private Practice” at 6am.  I knew I would be cranky and unproductive so instead of trying to fight it I spent my day eating Indian food, watching dramatic tv, starting the latest Kathy Reichs book, and going to see “The Avengers.”  Sidenote – “Avengers” was great, I am thrilled that I got to see two Joss Whedon pieces in the same month!

I spent this morning finishing up Flash and Bones in bed (loved it!).  My mood threatened another day off but I knew I needed to get my butt in gear and face the world.  I set out on errands and ultimately finished most of next week’s to-do’s as well!  I was out later than expected and ended up grabbing lunch at Moe’s.

A Moo Moo Mr. Cow (kids’ burrito) with rice, black beans, grilled veggies, corn salsa, and pickled jalapeños.

I didn’t eat 90% of my chips and queso but they were nice to have after particularly spicy bites of burrito.

I had a blondie when I got home.

Adam came home from his shift at the hospital this afternoon with his black dress shoes completely spent so we headed off to the outlet mall.  It was crazy and crowded but we rewarded ourselves for our efforts with Ben and Jerry’s.

I got a small cup of Schweddy Balls and Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz.

Mmmmn!

During our travels I also had these Jalapeño Cheddar Combos.

Our evening plans included a surprise party for our friend Ethan.

The event was held at Torro, a local tapas place.  They brought us bread with oil and vinegar upon arrival.

And Adam and I split the Tempura Shrimp – “skewers with napa salad, miso dressing, and sweet Korean chili dipping sauce.”

This dish was great!  I ate two with sauce, plus all of the cabbage.

Of course there was cake.

I had half of that small piece, I’m in more of a savory than sweet mood.

We’ve had tapas before, so we were aware that one plate wouldn’t be enough for two people but there was an issue and we never got our 2nd plate.  No big deal though, the boys all came back here for an impromptu poker game so I’m cuddling up with some chips and dip.

Did you drink any margaritas today?

Healthy or Happy

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Healthy and happy.  I started my day with a run.  My day started fairly late because I skipped snoozing and went straight to turning off my alarm clock, but that’s another story.  I ran two loops around the block, 2.4 miles in 24:45.  I did a negative split (by a couple of seconds) and it damn near killed me.

Healthy.  I made myself a rehydration cocktail after my run.

Vita Coco Tropical Fruit Coconut Water and club soda.

It was pretty bad.  I think using plain coconut water would have been better.  But I was so hot that I took a cold shower so I knew I needed the fluid and electrolytes.  I drank 80% before giving up.

It was neither happy nor healthy that I didn’t eat any solid food all day but that’s what happens when you sleep until the last possible minute and then have to hustle so fast to class that you’re practically skipping.

Healthy and happy.  When I got home from school I ate a big pile of baby carrots with homemade 1000 island dressing for dipping.

I’m not sure what possessed me to make so much dressing but I used the leftovers to make Adam a sandwich so it’s all good.

I also ate a Golden Delicious apple.

Happy.  I baked a batch of blondies to celebrate tomorrow being the last day of classes.

I ate three.  Recipe should be up by noon tomorrow.

Healthy.  I ate a salad before dinner.

Romaine topped with ground flax and bbq sauce.

Healthy and happy.  We made homemade Hawaiian pizza for dinner.

We topped a Boboli Whole Wheat Crust with marinara, 2% shredded mozzarella, sliced pineapple, and “ham.”

The “ham” was actually honey turkey that I asked the deli counter to slice 1/4 inch thick.

The end result was very tasty.

Tell me one thing you did today for your health and/or happiness?

Peasy Pesto Pasta

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It’s already after 11 pm and the alarm is going off before 6 am tomorrow, yikes!  This day needs a speedy post.

Workout – 40 minutes on the stationary bike at  random level 6

Breakfast – Banana brulee yogurt.

In a small skillet I cooked a sliced banana with 1/2 Tbsp butter and 2 tsp brown sugar.  I put the gooey, caramelized banana on top of a bowl of Wegman’s 0% Plain Greek Yogurt.

The sweet and tangy tastes went perfectly together.

Lunch – a bagel sandwich.

A cinnamon raisin Bagel Thin topped with jalapeño cream cheese and two slices of Applegate Farms smoked turkey.

I ate a slice of turkey in the morning as I was assembling my sandwich, it’s great.

I also had a Golden Delicious apple.

Snack – a mini bag of kettle corn.

Dinner – 2 oz of bow tie pasta with slices of roasted zucchini and peasy pesto (see below).

I love pesto so flipping much!  Bow ties with pesto are one of my major food memories from my childhood.  My aunt makes the best pesto I’ve ever had but she’s a great cook so that’s not surprising.

Peasy Pesto, makes 4 – 8 servings

  • 10 oz frozen peas, thawed and drained
  • 2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  1. Place peas and oil in food processor and process until homogenous, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and pulse until well combined.

It was such a pretty green, I just couldn’t help taking pictures of it!

Jalapeño Popper Rolls

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As promised, here is the first of the recipes I made for book club last weekend.

These rolls are spicy and cheesy, my favorite combination!  They are a take on my favorite appetizer – Jalapeño Poppers.  Some popper aficionados prefer cheddar while the purists want cream cheese.  These rolls make cheddar and cream cheese play together nicely.

Wimps who want something cheesy with just a bit of spice may want to substitute banana peppers.  Daredevils can use fresh jalapeños.

Jalapeño Popper Rolls, makes 8 rolls

  • 8 oz package Pillsbury Crescent Seamless Dough Sheet
  • 4 oz 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese, softened
  • 2 T jarred jalapeño juice
  • 1/2 cup jarred sliced jalapeños, drained
  • 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit and prepare a cookie sheet with baking spray.
  2. In a medium bowl, use a mixer to blend together cream cheese and jalapeño juice.
  3. On a clean, flat workspace, roll out seamless dough sheet.
  4. Use a spatula to spread jalapeño cream cheese in a thin, even layer on dough.  You don’t want to leave a border, spread the cream cheese to the edges of the dough.
  5. Place jalapeños in rows on top of cream cheese.  Leave about half an inch between each row and do not overlap the jalapeños.
  6. Sprinkle cheese in an even layer on top of jalapeños.
  7. Carefully roll up the dough, as if you were rolling up a yoga mat.  Slice rolled dough into 8 pieces.
  8. Place rolls on prepared cookie sheet, leaving a bit of space between them so they have room to rise.
  9. Bake at 375* for 18 – 20 minutes until golden.