Tag Archives: cheese

I’ll Mail Your Package

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You guys won’t even believe it; when I got to the post office it was closed!!!  Apparently the 1:30 closing time listed online referred to the p.o. boxes, the actual office had closed before I even left the house.  Just as I felt steam about to come out of my ears a postal worker told me about another location with longer hours.  The post office where I finally had success is actually much closer to my house, so it was a win in the end.

While I was out and about I snacked on a blueberry muffin Lara Bar,

the rest of my Arizona,

and .1 lbs of yogurt pretzels.

My stomach was growling and as I hungrily grocery shopped all I could think of was eating french fries and catching up on Grey’s.  So when I got home, that’s what I did.

If you consider my cheesy show choices, it’s almost like those were cheese fries…hyuck, hyuck.

Adam and I tried to eat this peppermint candy my mom sent us from Carnival food fair,

but we waited too long and sadly it was all squishy.

We took a nice walk around Elmwood in the evening, and worked up an appetite for dinner.

That’s tuna salad with lots of red onion,

and half a slice of buffalo chicken pizza with blue cheese dressing.

Perfect food for watching Bones, which made me cry, p.s.

With a serving of Raisin Bran Extra for dessert.

See you tomorrow for a long(ish) run!

The Best Laid Plans

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I guess Friday the 13th ended up getting the best of me after all!  The best laid plans don’t always work out.  That’s especially true if you and your husband are terrible at time management and plan to leave at a time that’s too late and then don’t even get out the door on time!

We did get our fun lunch though.

Lloyd’s Taco Truck is Buffalo’s first and only food truck, you know we had to check it out!

I ordered a chicken taco, which was pretty good.

I wish I had gone with beans instead of chicken for my protein, but whatever the white cheese was it was delicious, and the shredded cabbage was nice and crunchy.

We also ordered a churro with cinnamon sugar.

Yuck city.  It was waaaaay too fried and we ended up throwing it away after a few bites.  Lloyd’s wait-time wouldn’t have been worth it in another city, but if you are in Buffalo I’d still say give it a shot; just don’t order the churros!

The day didn’t really improve from there.  The plan was supposed to be taco truck – post office – mall/seeing Bridesmaids- crossing training at the gym – party with some school people.  We ended up running so behind that we had to see a different movie and moved the post office to the end of the day.  Of course, we got to the post office just as the doors were closing in our faces!  In the end we had to scrap the gym and the party too.  And the movie we ended up seeing (that we should have skipped all together because it’s timing is what threw off everything else) was terrible.  <– skip “Thor”

But I guess it wasn’t all bad.  We did get a free small popcorn at the movies.

Do you belong to your theatre’s loyalty program?  Adam and I have gotten so many free tickets and snack items over the years, we love it.

And since my evening was suddenly free, when Adam went to meet friends for a game of tennis I ended up going with him to take a long walk around Delaware Park.  Walking isn’t the best use of cross-training time, but it’s better than nothing.  I walked 3.5 miles around the park.  It was fun to do the loops at a slower pace; the park has done lots of landscaping for Spring and it runs along one side of the zoo so there is a lot to see.

Blooms and buffalos definitely helped to put me in a better mood.

I ate an everything-style Bagel Thin with two slices of 2% colby cheese before we left,

and I drank half of this Arizona Virgin Pina Colada while we were out.

But I couldn’t get it together for dinner.  We stayed up way too late on Thursday and I was pretty zonked out.  <– It’s possible that when Adam and his friends switched courts at the last minute and he asked me to drive myself the last 2 blocks to the park I started to sob uncontrollably  

When we got home from the park I curled up in a filthy little ball for a much-needed nap!  Thank goodness Adam backed me into the shower with a chair before we went to bed.

The plan this morning was supposed to be breakfast then a trip to the Farmer’s Market.  But the skies looked like rain so we hurried out without food.  Too bad we still didn’t beat the clouds.

There wasn’t a lot at the market yet anyways 😦 

I did grab a three-cheese and caramelized onion focaccia to split with the husband for breakfast.

We shared a grande iced America with skim milk from Starbucks so we could eat at one of their dry (and dark!) tables.

A few notes – I love going on mini-dates with my husband.  Thank goodness it’s stopped raining now; I still need to get to the darn post office!  I need more food!

So I’m off.  Assume that I successfully made it to the post office and the grocery store, otherwise tonight’s post is going to be another cranky-pants one!

Time Crunch Tuesday

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I’m not going to tell you about my day.  I’m definitely not going to tell you about how hideously unprepared I am for my two important tests tomorrow.  I am going to stick to my blog-everything-for-30-days goal.  Photo details only to follow…

An everything style Bagel Thin with a slice of 2% Colby cheese.

A small white hot chocolate made with skim milk.

Apple dippers.

A GoGo Squeez applesauce pouch.

A Chocolate Dipped Coconut Luna Bar.  (Oh God, this was good.  It tasted like a Samoa!)

A dulce de leche Skinny Cow mini ice cream.

2 mini bags of popcorn with Smart Balance Light.

Leftover Buffalo Wing Baked Pasta,

with baby carrots,

and a pickle.

A frozen coffee.

Workout = 3 mile run down Elmwood, 28:40.  No stops, yay!

Done and done.

Buffalo, Take Me To San Fransisco

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This post is my entry into a contest that will hopefully take me to San Fransisco for the 2011 Foodbuzz Blogger Festival.  The Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken was provided as a free sample via the Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program.

I moved to Buffalo after spending two years in the best place on earth.  That’s Brooklyn, NYC, if you’re not sure.  Before that I was born and raised in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, and attended college in Miami, Florida.  The places you call “destinations” I call home.  What could Buffalo have to offer me?

For one thing, my new home is the birthplace of Buffalo chicken wings.

Which have spawned Buffalo sandwiches, Buffalo shrimp, Buffalo tacos, and most importantly, Buffalo chicken dip.

When I took my first bite of Buffalo chicken dip – supremely spicy and dotted with pockets of creamy cheese – I knew I’d found my new home.

No matter how nice your home may be, it’s ok to have a little wanderlust!  When I attended the very first Foodbuzz Blogger Festival in 2009, it was one of the best weekends of my life.

I fell in love, with the bloggers, the city, and the food!  I was heartbroken when we had to tighten our purse strings this fall and financial constraints kept me from attending the festival a 2nd year.  So that’s why I’m hoping to win a trip to this year’s event.

It’s not just about winning though, not that winning’s ever bad; the winner of the contest will have an opportunity to cook their dish for the crowd at the festival.  People don’t think of Buffalo as a foodie hotspot (I know I sure didn’t!), but I’m proud of my town.  I want the opportunity to share my city’s namesake flavor.

Buffalo Wing Baked Pasta, serves 8

  • 22 oz bag Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Strips
  • 14.5 oz whole wheat rotini pasta
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 cup medium heat Buffalo wing sauce (I recommend Anchor Bar’s!)
  • 16 oz Neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese), softened
  • 1/2 cup reduced fat blue cheese dressing
  • 10 cups fresh spinach
  • 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
  1. Cook pasta al dente according to box directions.  Drain finished pasta and return it to the pot (remove from heat when pasta is finished).  Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Heat frozen chicken strips in a nonstick skillet on medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes or until warm.  Add 1/2 cup Buffalo wing sauce to chicken and continue to cook for one minute.
  3. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.  Reduce heat to medium-low.
  4. Combine cream cheese, blue cheese dressing, and remaining 1 cup Buffalo wing sauce in the pan.  Heat until melted, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.
  5. Pour sauce over pasta.  Add chicken and spinach to the pot and stir well to combine.
  6. Spread pasta mixture into a greased 9×13 inch casserole dish.  Top evenly with cheese.
  7. Bake 8 – 11 minutes, until cheese is melted and beginning to brown.

I ate my serving with carrots and celery, because that’s how we serve Buffalo chicken dip.

What dish is your town famous for?

They Can’t All Be Winners

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It wasn’t my most succesful day.  I had a crappy run, I didn’t do a lick of school work, I have not been drinking enough h2o, we’re up too late yet again…

Let’s look at some of the things that went right –

  • a crappy run is still a run, AND my knee doesn’t even hurt 😀
  • even though it’s late, I’m sticking to my 30-day blog everything goal
  • I’m feeling super fortunate about having the best mommy on the planet  <– fact

I started my morning with a we-suck-at-bedtime inspired Big Gulp.

That’s coffee from Wilson Farms with some Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.

I skipped the sweetener because this was supposed to be my pre-run fuel.  B-A-D, bad idea!  I stopped to pee not once, not twice, but three times during my 5 mile run!

My knee felt good when I woke up this morning (and all day yesterday) so I felt ready to tackle my training plan’s scheduled 5-miler.  The husband and I headed to Delaware Park to complete 3 laps around the ~1.75 mile loop.  My knee felt fine the entire time but my endurance was a horse of a different color.  Guys, I can’t even tell you how many times I had to stop during this run 😦  All total, I did 5.25 miles in 51 minutes.  I turned off my watch during all my breaks (I would just stop at stretch, not cover any distance) so I don’t know how long the entire start to finish time was, but I do know that each loop took me 17 minutes.  Yay for not slowing down!

And yay for still no knee pain; knock on wood!  I did ice my knee when I got home.

But ice water in a plastic baggie was a terrible idea so that didn’t last very long.  Some bags of frozen peas are on my grocery list for next week.

Somehow I decided that 5 miles at a 10-minute-mile pace was enough of a workout that I needed to sit on the couch the rest of the day.  Boo for being a loser!  Throughout the afternoon I ate popcorn – there are two mini bags in that bowl,

a Smart Ones Tuna Noodle Gratin frozen meal,

and a Skinny Cow Caramel Cone mini ice cream.

How on earth do they pack so much goodness into 170 calories?!?  That flavor was ridiculous good.

Our one accomplishment of the day was finally switching out our summer and winter wardrobes.  I’ve had that task on my to-do list for almost a month but Buffalo’s reluctance to enter spring kept it from feeling urgent.  Adam’s glad we put it off; the whole process took for-ev-a!  By the time we were done it was after 9pm and we ended up going out to dinner at Panos.

Sidenote 1 – we did not give up on our eat-in-more goal already, the meal was actually a gift for me from my mother-in-law, who clearly does not get the spirit of the holiday.  Sidenote 2 – not to worry, we’re not as clueless as we seem, we did buy both sets of moms nice gifts too.

I ordered the blackened chicken Caesar salad with roasted veggies and smoked gouda.

I shared 90% of my chicken with the husband, and dove into his fries in return.

‘Twas a great date night meal!

What was the best thing about your weekend?

Seis de Mayo!

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Okay, okay, so I’m a day late on my May 5th post.  Normally I hate to do long-overdue recap posts, but since my new 30 day goal is to post everything, here it is.  Quick sidenote – mad props to everyone who engages in drogging (aka drunk blogging); I wanted to share this yesterday but it was just not an option 😉

My classmates I add were touched by serendipity yesterday, when Cinco de Mayo and our last day of classes fell on the same day.  After a very long last day of classes (9:25 in the morning to 7 at night) we were able to head out for some much-needed celebration.

First, the morning.  Our last day of lab included drawer check out and a final exam.  I had a little extra time in the morning to study since I had to skip my workout (boo!), and I think I did pretty well on the exam.  I didn’t have it together for breakfast, but I did grab a medium iced coffee with skim milk from Starbucks.

And it was so good I forgot to take a picture until I was down to my last sips; clearly I needed coffee!

Our last lab let out pretty early, and we were left with a six-hour break before our final evening class.  No problem, I took my friend Rachel on a mini tour of Elmwood!  We ambled down the street from school, stopping to visit a friend at work and hit up the Spot for a study session.  I grabbed some brown rice veggie sushi from the co-op for lunch.

And actually stopped at the co-op on the way back to school for dinner as well.

During my night class I noshed on Thai cucumber and peanut salad,

and some vegan pasta salad.

Suddenly we were taking our last quiz of the semester, packing up, and we were done with our first year of school!!!  I mean, there are finals next week, but still exciting.

Cinco de Mayo plans were supposed to include a holiday appropriate trip to Cozumel Bar, but a $10 cover later we ended up at JP Bullfeathers.

That was a Jack and ginger ale, but it tasted more like dirty water.  Weak drinks aside, JP Bullfeathers ended up being a perfect spot for our end of school celebration; not too packed for good conversation, but busy enough to still be fun.

We ended up sitting at a table and ordering some food as well.

My friend Janessa and I split the turkey and gorgonzola pannini,

which was delicious.  Turkey sandwiches seem to be my go-to restaurant order.

And how to do go out on Cinco de Mayo without margaritas?!

What’s the Spanish word for sloshed?  Let’s just say I’m glad I could walk less than a minute and be home!

I did stay up to share some dessert, of course.

That’s a caramelized macadamia nut and chocolate mousse tart that Adam brought home.

Now on to today.  In true college-girl fashion, I managed to stay in bed well past 1pm!!  It helps to have the bladder of a camel and a four-day break before finals begin.  🙂

Adam and made the executive decision that we needed a day together, so we took down a full season of Scrub’s recaps and an entire pizza.

That’s a bruschetta pizza topped with extra green olives, the best pizza topper ever.

The half a pizza pretty much covered all my food groups (what?! dairy, grains, veggies…) but I did sneak in one more veggie with a slice of carrot cake from the co-op.

A few facts – Carrot cake does to count as a veggie.  I think I need to be done with the co-op for a few days.  It was a glorious day with my husband.

Did you do anything to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  What are you looking forward to this weekend?

Blah, Blah, Blah.

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Blah, blah, blah.  Today was just blah.  My mood was blah, my food was blah, my workout was blah, my photos today basically redefine the word blah…

We started our morning by pulling the pre-made chia seed and banana buttermilk pancakes out of the freezer.

I topped mine with a smear of Smart Balance Light and drizzle of maple syrup.

They were good, not boring and blurry like the picture suggests.

Adam drove me to school – a high point in the day because the wind here is ca-razy! – so I could attend my final Biochem lab, my last science lab ever in my degree!  That last lab bit would be a lot more exciting if we didn’t have a huge lab final next week that is totally throwing off my study plans for my other finals.

In the afternoon I also attended a study session for another exam that is making me want to curl up in a ball and cry.  When I take my Metabolism final two weeks from now we will have a 5minute break after the test and then we’ll be sitting for a comprehensive exam that spans the material from a course two semesters ago through now.  Yay.  <– can you see why I’m in a blah mood?!

In between test bad news #1 and test bad news #2 I did manage to go to the gym.  My half marathon training schedule (which I promise to share on Monday) had me slated for three miles, so I hopped on the treadmill.  Aaaaaand I confirmed that I can’t run three miles without having to stop for breaks.  Ugh!  I ran 3 frustrating miles, followed by a 10minute cool down for a total of 3.5 miles and 40 minutes.  With a 5-minute strength/stretch session afterward.

For lunch I packed overnight made in the morning oats.  I combined and let stew –

  • 1/3 cup raw oatmeal
  • 2/3 cup skim milk
  • a 0% Plain Stonyfield yogurt
  • 1/2 a sliced banana
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp raisins

Tasted delicious, but looked as brown and boring as my breakfast –

Plus some greens in the form of roasted green beans.

Still tasty cold, and two days later, ps.

I was feeling seriously blah when I got home, and felt myself heading toward Crankypalooza.  So I did the not-being-a-psycho-wife thing and took a long shower, scrapped our dinner plans, ordered nachos with extra black beans and sour cream, and cuddled on the couch with Adam to watch some Scrubs.

A serving (weighed out because if you don’t weigh it you’ll seriously just eat the entire bag) of mini Reeses was also consumed.

I’m not sure if it was the cheese, the cuddling, or my Zach Braff crush, but my bad mood lifted!  And I knuckled down and finished off all of my remaining work for one of my classes; which further helped to lift my mood.  Bring it on finals week!

Are you having the crazy weather and winds in your neck of the woods?  Keep dry readers!

Marys, Monkeys, and Magnums

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As the title implies, it’s been a fun day!  Also, in case the title leads to any confusion, mary = an upcoming half marathon and magnum is not referring to condoms!

Yep, I said it, I’ve got another half marathon in my sights!  I’ve been agitated ever since my 6-week illness killed my training for the Buffalo Half Marathon and I finally found one to take its place.  My goal is to run in the Presque Isle Half Marathon on July 17th.  I say goal instead of plan because I’m mindful of the fact that I have a history of injuries and pushing through pain isn’t worth the risk.  I’m going to wait until I’ve made it to at least 7 miles without incident before I put money down on entry fee.

I do however have a training plan (which I’ll share sometime soon) that had me slated for 3miles this morning.  The husband and I ran a nice loop around our neighborhood, 3miles and 30minutes.  Since I don’t have a Garmin I can’t really track my pacing, but I use MapMyRun as best I can.

When we got home I had to run through my shower since Katie was picking me up for a brunch date at Betty’s.

I’d never been before but I’ll definitely be going back to Betty’s soon, the place was adorable and the food was delicious!

I ordered off the specials menu, the Portobello Benedict –

Hashbrowns,

fruit,

and two English muffins topped with roasted Portobello mushroom, spinach, two poached eggs, and smoked gouda.

Mmmmmmn!  It shouldn’t be called a Benedict without Hollandaise (I would have gotten it on the side though so I probably shouldn’t quibble..) but this meal was not lacking for flavor.  The egg yolks melted perfectly into the bread and it was great to get some veggies into my morning.

Katie was kind enough to drive me back to school and I snagged a “mocha” (half coffee, half hot chocolate) along the way.

I don’t have classes on Tuesday but I was headed to an Anthropology-sponsored speaker on the topic of primates.  Ever since I attended the Body Farm lecture (love!) my name has been on an e-mail list and when I saw “live primates in attendance” I jumped on the opportunity!  I recruited a few friends to come with me and we all had a ton of fun –

Where else can you see a man diaper a monkey?

We’ve been putting grocery shopping off and are running out of food so Adam picked me up from the lecture for a trip to Wegmans.

I had to show off my primate pictures so we had to get hot bar for lunch.

Tons of grilled/steamed veggies with a little bit of sesame chicken,

with fruit for dessert.

Tastes like summer, the mango was definitely swoon-worthy!

While we were out, I cashed in a coupon from the Foodbuzz Tastemakers’ Program for some Magnum Ice Cream.

I grabbed a box of Double Caramel Bars.

I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to taste this for free because it’s not it’s not a product I would have bought on my own and now I might be obsessed!

Holy double layer of chocolate, Batman; this was good!  It’s (surprisingly good for vanilla) vanilla ice cream, wrapped in chocolate, wrapped in caramel, wrapped in a second chocolate shell.  The premise reminds me of this SNL skit, but the execution was perfection!

http://www.hulu.com/embed/umxmTijZLcnMhDPJjmYd5g

I also snacked on baby carrots with blue cheese,

and shared a few tastes of the husband’s new fancy cheese.

Dinner was a Cooking Light find, Quick White Bean, Asparagus and Mushroom Cassoulet.

Per usual, my changes included –

  • using baby Portobellos for half of my mushrooms
  • skipping the wine and oregano entirely
  • subbing in chicken broth for veggie broth
  • roasting the asparagus instead of boiling it
  • putting the cassoulet into the oven instead of the broiler (I don’t have a single broiler safe vessel!)

Even with my changes it was still pretty delicious though.

I ate my serving with some chips for scooping purposes.

Delicious.

Ok, this has been a very long post, time to wrap things up.  Hope everyone had a good day!