Tag Archives: cheese

Pizza Powered

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As planned, we ordered a pie from Just Pizza last night and it was fabulous.

We got a Laura’s Old Fashioned – “The way our Mother used to make it. Made with Extra Thick Dough, a special Sweet Pizza Sauce (fresh sliced Onions in the sauce), Mozzarella & Romano Cheese, topped with Mushrooms.”

Not so fabulous was the way I felt after eating 5 slices this size.

Fat, ill, and irritated with myself for noting getting up an eating a salad.  On the plus side though, it’s sort of like Adam and I were carbo-loading for our run this morning!  If nothing else, our glycogen stores were nice and prepared.

Actually we were prepped all around, this is the run I got to test out my new shoes on.

I’m 90% sure I like them, but I’m going to run in them once more to be sure since my most recent pair sucked so badly.

I also tested out my new favorite shirt;

handmade by ME at last week’s tie dye party.

I think it’s pretty darn cute.

It was a good run to feel cute on, because I was mostly feeling like a jackass that I haven’t worked out all summer.  My planned 3.5 miles were tough.  We had two 1.75 mile loops around Delaware Park and I’m just glad I finished.  I had to take a few walking breaks, but I made sure to run for a least five minutes each time and walk for no more than 2 minutes at a time.  3.5 miles in 40 minutes and 20 seconds.  Followed by a 10 minute walk.

The rest of the agenda was shower ~ ice ~ grocery ~ clean the dirty apartment ~ dinner.  Thankfully our grocery trip was made much more exciting by our plan to sit in the cafe for a few hours so Adam could study.  I got cozy reading Nancy.

Sidenote – I am completely and utterly obsessed with the Nancy Drew books.

And got exciting lunch from the hot bar.

In an effort to save a bit of money, we also supplemented with salads from home.

In the end my meal ended up being arugula topped with carrots, 2 Tbsp of wheat germ, 1/4 cup of roasted chick peas, and 2 Tbsp of tarragon vinaigrette.

Plus roasted veggies, chili garlic eggplant, and veggies picked out of the cashew chicken,

and a few pieces of pineapple and berries.

Delish.  I read my first Nancy and munched and was in absolute bliss.

Unfortunately, the grocery took longer than anticipated and once I added in a last-minute walk to the co-op and the task of packing Adam’s lunches, I plain ran out of time to clean the house.  Tomorrow.  And at least I’m a good wife.

Adam has one rice bowl for each day of the work week.  And I took a good many nibbles that escaped the camera while I cooked.

I also made dinner.

Polenta that turned into a fairly intimidating, but tasty solid,

and huevos rancheros inspired tacos.

I scrambled 5 eggs (with skim milk, salt, and pepper) into sautéed chopped onions and green pepper, and then stuffed them into blue corn taco shells with a bit of sharp cheddar.  I served Adam and myself 3/5 and 2/5 accordingly.

Dessert was 2/3 to 1/3 in my favor though.

A gigantic cowboy cookie I picked up at the co-op.

My entire right side of my body has ached ever since yesterday’s tennis game, so I’m going to go curl up with a book.

What You Should Be Watching This Summer

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Good morning!  Did anyone else have pizza for breakfast this morning too?

Well, I had a version of my pizza eggs.  I sautéed a few tablespoons of black olives in a bit of butter, then scrambled in 2 eggs, 1 oz of Cabot 50% reduced fat white cheddar, and 1/4 cup of marinara sauce.

These were ridiculous good.  The olives made the eggs almost meaty and the dish as a whole really does taste like pizza.  Actually, it tastes even better than pizza!

I had a mug of Candy Cane Lane as well.  I added a splash of skim milk after I snapped this shot.

Not quite the iced tea I’ve been pining after, but still good.  Using two tea bags in 1.5 cups of water seemed to give me the perfect flavor, though my tea bags are pretty old.

It was a lovely meal, enjoyed while catching up on tv.

I don’t have cable (we watch online, most everything is available on Hulu) so when the internet gave me problems earlier this week I was cut off from my entertainment.

What You Should Be Watching This Summer

Even without cable, I think my summer spent unemployed and on the couch makes me uniquely qualified to recommend some summer programming to you guys.  Here are the summer shows I can’t get enough of:

Rizzoli and Isles

Starring Angie Harmon as a police detective and Sasha Alexander as her medical examiner.  Think Dr. Sayron from “Bones” with Catherine Willows from “CSI.”  This show, while a bit cheesy at times, is totally addictive.  It probably helps that both police detective and medical examiner have both been on my “maybe jobs” list for years.

Covert Affairs

Piper Perabo (of “Coyote Wild” fame) stars as a new CIA agent.  Think Booth from “Bones” but in the competing agency and with a vagina.  Plus Christopher Gorham plays a very (very, very) cute agent who happens to be blind.

Rookie Blue

Another cop show, but this time the focus is on the rookies.  I know it sounds like it’s been done before, but this version is pretty darn funny.  I originally started watching because one of the main characters was the star of “Stick It” (what?), but the plot line is funny and sweet enough that I’ve kept with it.

Yes I have a thing for cop dramas, why do you ask?

What shows can’t you get enough of this summer?

Stick The Finish

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I stuck the finish!  I continued my first day in weeks as a healthy, productive human being by whipping up a tasty, nutritious dinner.  Back off, Martha.

Earlier in the afternoon Adam and I took a quick walk down Elmwood.  We were both feeling twitchy and needed a chance to stretch our legs.  Walking was good for our extra energy, and splitting a Java Twix Bar was good for our souls.

It’s been years since I’ve eaten a traditional Twix, but man this was good.  The coffee undertones totally made it.

When we got home it was time to slave over a hot stove whirring food processor.  Just kidding, this recipe came together in a flash.  Meet your new go-to pesto:

Healthy Spinach Pesto, yields 11 ounces

  • 8 cups fresh baby spinach
  • 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
  • 2/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
  1. Working in small batches, pulse spinach and oil in a food processor until.  Be sure to process until smooth, don’t stop when you’ve reached the grass cuttings consistency.
  2. Add parmesan and pine nuts and continue to process until well-combined.
  3. Can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

I love pesto, but store-bought varieties are anything but low-calorie and basil is so darn expensive that it’s not exactly cheap to make at home.  I’ve been curious about trying a spinach based pesto for a while and I think this totally worked.  The flavor is rich and nutty and not at all “healthy.”  Tastes can be deceiving though, here are the nutrition stats I calculated for a 1 oz serving –

I wanted to test the recipe in a dish I already knew was good so I turned to my Pesto Pasta Casserole.

I doubled the recipe, and switched penne for spirals but other than I stuck with the original.

And it’s official, we love this new pesto!

If when you make it yourself I recommend trying out my Pesto Pasta Casserole too.  It’s about the simplest recipe ever – just bake together pasta, pesto, arugula, and mushrooms – and it tastes delicious.  Make it, make it, make it!

What’s your favorite way to eat pesto?  I’m a big fan of cheeseless pizza with pesto and chicken.

Pizza Party

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We had a mini pizza party for dinner but the rest of the day was sort of … strange.  I had a teaching nightmare last night and it left me feeling funky.  I basically never have nightmares, like ever, unless they are about teaching.  In fact, other than night-terrors that I had as a really young child, I had never even had a nightmare before I became a teacher.  I don’t get them often now, but when I do I’m always in a rowdy classroom (or fighting with Adam!).

I have no idea where my nightmare came from, maybe anxiety about going back to school or churning thoughts from not being that busy recently.  I’d like to pin it on “No Strings Attached,” but I guess being the worst movie ever (seriously) still doesn’t make it to blame for my bad dreams.

Breakfast was mocha(ish) smoothies.

For two, I blended – 2 packets of instant coffee, 2 scoops of chocolate whey protein powder, 1 frozen banana, 7 ice cubes, and 1.5 cups of skim milk.

Bleck; I’m not sure what was off about these but something sure was!  I drank about half and then passed the rest to Adam, the human trash compactor.

My snack to make up for breakfast was trail mix.

That bag was actually half spicy mix and half sweet mix; I like to mix things up.

Lunch was veggies from the hot bar,

and a buffalo chicken slice from Zettis.

Dinner was actually more pizza, ie (or ige!) Iowa Girl Eats Homemade Pizza Rolls.

Kristen wrote another recipe winner!  For our filling we chopped together spinach, mushrooms, extra sharp cheddar, black olives, and marinara sauce.

Pizza perfection.

Plus a side of roasted green beans.

At least I won’t be having nightmares about dinner.

Do you ever get nightmares about your job (or jobs past)?

Goodbye, Katie

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Today was bittersweet.  I did fun things, but I had to say goodbye to my friend Katie.  This goodbye was doubly sad because it stinks that friends keep leaving and because Katie was the very first friend I made in Buffalo!

I started my morning with a delicious sounding yogurt bowl.

  • 1/4 cup Stonyfield Plain Fat-Free Yogurt
  • 1/4 cup fat-free ricotta
  • 1/8 cup roasted buckwheat groats
  • 1 Tbsp key lime curd

Sadly, in spite of the decadent sounding ingredients, the components of this bowl didn’t come together very well.  I didn’t realize that the roasted buckwheat would taste quite so roasty.

Since it was Katie’s last day in Buffalo we met up for a final lunch date.

I’ve been dying to try Romeo and Juliet’s and I’m glad I got to go with Katie.

I’m also glad that our meal was delicious, since the cafe is owned by a girl I go to school with and I’d hate to have to say bad things.  We ate outside and the lighting sort of killed my pictures, but I promise this was one of the best meals I’ve eaten in Buffalo!

The complementary bread was nice and doughy.

And the eggplant parmigiana was the best I’ve ever had (seriously).

It was baked instead of fried and you could totally tell.  The eggplant was perfectly velvety and the sauce was rich and slightly sweet.  I was pretty much in heaven.

I brought Adam the 2nd half of my meal and he agreed that Romeo and Juliet’s must be one of the very best spots in Buffalo.

For dessert, Katie and I hit up new spot #2, Grumpy’s Ice Cream.

I got a cookie dough and heath bar flurry with chocolate custard.

Meh.  It was nice to spend time with Katie, but I won’t be going back.

Once I got dropped off back home, I spent the rest of the day with Adam.  By foot and by car we ran several errands, including two loops up and down Elmwood.  My afternoon snacks included an unsweetened lemonade iced tea from Starbucks,

and some Nerds.

Sometime during our 2nd trip down Elmwood we decided to stop at Blockbusters and make it a movie night.

“How To Train Your Dragon” is one of our very favorite movies and “No Strings Attached” is one I’ve been curious about for months.

I kept dinner simple while we started our first movie.  Roasted green beans and an everything bagel with Smart Balance Light.

Dinner was on the small side because I’m going to dig into a HUGE bowl of popcorn as soon as I hit publish.  Have a great night!

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.

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!)

Teddy Bear Tie Dye

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My last day as a 25-year-old has been a good one; though after yoga our morning got off to an ironic and frustrating start.  I heard a rumor about a Teddy Bear Picnic so I strapped my bears into the car and headed out.

Sidenote – I hate stuffed animals (always have) but I spotted this guy on sale my sophmore year in college and just had to buy him for Adam.  The husband (who also hates stuffed animals) named him Rutherford and fell in love.  Our obsession with bears has bloomed from there.

We did not develop an obsession with Old Falls Street today though, since after 20 fruitless minutes of searching we never located our picnic.  Instead we drove back to the city to cash in a Living Social deal at Tea Leaf Cafe.

I’m so glad we were forced here instead; adorable set-up, cheap prices, and delicious food.  We’ll be back soon.

Our deal was for two drinks and two small plates.  Adam went with an avocado milk tea.

He doesn’t know the joy that is boba.

I, on the other hand, am obsessed with all things tapioca and requested extra bubbles in my taro milk tea.

It can’t quite compare to China Town in Boston where they mash real strawberries into your tea, but this was the best boba I’ve had in recent years!  The tea wasn’t too sweet and the boba were the perfect texture.

Adam and I split the two side plates equally.

Chicken and fresh mushroom pan-seared dumplings.

Vegetarian shiitake spring rolls.

Again, the best version of these foods I’ve had since moving to Buffalo.  Locals – get thee to Tea Leaf Cafe!

Rutherford was stuffed,

but Adam and I decided to round out our meal with some fruits and veggies.

Roasted mushroom, squash, and the world’s bitterist eggplant that I ate only because it was healthy,

blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, and watermelon so juicy I’d eat it even if I was stuffed.

I dropped my boys at home and then headed out to partay.  My friend Mary-Kate actually had her birthday this week too and she hosted a tie dye fest.  It was tons of fun but I wasn’t sure how the guests I didn’t know would feel about their photos on the internet so I don’t have any pictures.  I will show you my shirt when it finishes drying tomorrow.  And I will also show you the amazing rainbow cake that Emily made –

Eeek!  I was seriously impressed.  I don’t actually like the taste of cake that much though (no matter how cute it is) so I ate half of this piece plus a glass of Blueberry Lemonade Stoli and called it a day.

Adam and I took a walk down Elmwood and ran a few errands, and before I knew it dinner time had arrived.  I can’t think of a more fitting way to end my 25th year than this –

See you from 26!