Tag Archives: eggs

Christmas In October

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My day took a sharp left turn mid-morning, but let’s start at the beginning, shall we?

When you have a lazy day Sunday and a test on Wednesday that makes for a busy Monday.  I got up with the husband and was showered and sitting with notecards by 5:30am.  I took a breakfast break around 6 because if I’m going to study before dawn I’m going to eat a nice meal, dammit.

And boy was this a nice meal.

I reheated some chopped, roasted zucchini in a skillet with a bit of black truffle oil, then scrambled in some garlic dill double cream chevre and 2 large eggs.

These eggs practically blew my mind!  Adam is the one who’s obsessed with truffle oil but I am absolutely loving it in scrambled eggs.

Plus two Republic of Tea Red Velvet Chocolate tea bags were steeped in some skim milk.

I actually find this tea to be pretty tasteless and sad (outside of the pink color!) but doubling up and using milk instead of water seemed to help.  My mom bought me the tea as an expensive gift last time she visited and I’m not going to waste it.

I drove to school in the rain and was feeling pretty glum about the upcoming week, especially when I remembered that we had a quiz in class #2.  But then our first class started and suddenly the clouds parted with all sorts of good news –

  • our Wednesday test was moved to Friday
  • our professor had to call in sick so both of my afternoon classes for today were cancelled

Bam; total mood turn around!  I swear you guys, I was so giddy it felt like Christmas morning.

I couldn’t even begin to take a photograph that captures how happy I am to be at home right now.  Though I will memorialize my final thin t-shirt with sandals look; it’s supposed to be snow weather on Thursday.

With my found time I’m going to try to make two nice meals for today and get caught up with my work for this week.  I’ll see y’all in a bit for a lunch at home!

Eating By Smells

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My latte oats were tasty, but sooo filling.  I ended up leaving behind more than half of my bowl.

I swear that having this candle going increased my satiety too.

Smelling pumpkin caramel latte was almost as good as tasting it!

We didn’t really do a grocery trip this week and finding lunch that sounded good from the fridge was a bit of a challenge. 

In the end I tossed a big handful of spinach,

into a pan with a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of black truffle oil.

Sautéed until wilted then tossed in paprika,

and scrambled in two eggs and the last 1oz of the amazing goat cheese.  The combination of smells while this was cooking was out of this world!

And the end product was better than any meal I could have planned.  A bit on the small side though.  I’m hoping to squeeze in a little grocery trip this afternoon and I plan on getting some fancy coffee to round out lunch.

So far today I’ve spent not enough time studying and too much time with this guy –

I’ve got to get my nose in a book if I’m going to make it through two tests and a paper in one week alive!  Especially because I’ve spent time on things like replacing this week’s planner pages that got “ruined” by an ink bomb.

Obsessive compulsive much?

In The Navy, Yes You Can Sail The Seven Seas

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October is here!

Now that it’s finally Pumpkin Month, you know that I had to start my morning off with another Wilson Farm’s pumpkin spice latte.

50% regular, 50% sweetened, 100% pumpkin-y deliciousness.

Actually, I started my morning with a fruitless trip to the BAC.  At an event last weekend (which I didn’t blog about) several friends and I all won “$450” to the Buffalo Athletic Center.  We didn’t get our hopes up too high, and sure enough, when we took the tour this morning we learned that what we won was the privilege of buying a $19/month membership.  No thanks!

The morning wasn’t a total wash though because Janessa happened to mention that she was heading to the unmarked stand at the farmers’ market, which is actually a Great Harvest.  What, what?!

Score!  I picked up a bag of granola and a loaf of sourdough.  Adam and I tore off big hunks of sourdough right in the car for breakfast.

Doughy and sour and delicious.

We were in the car because we were on our way to cash in Groupons at the Buffalo Naval and Military Park.

The weather was cold and drizzly but we trudged onward because our Groupons were set to expire soon.

I’m so glad we stuck it out; we had such a great time!

Buffalo people/visitors – be sure to plan a visit.  The self-guided tour led through (and up and down!) a missile cruiser, a destroyer, and a sub.  Adam’s parents both served in the military (his dad was in the Navy) and we loved feeling extra close to them.  You felt like you were walking though history and several exhibits made me tear up a bit with pride in being an American.  Plus squeezing through the small doors and going up and down ladders felt like a pretty good workout!

When we got home I made lunch with my new GH goodies.

A side salad of romaine with a bit of fat-free dressing and buckwheat groats.

A toasted slice of sourdough with Crofter’s Grape and a microwaved egg.

And a half cup of Wegman’s 0% Plain Greek Yogurt topped with sliced black plum and apricot, and a quarter cup of granola.

Yums!

We have plans with friends this evening so I’ve got to hit the books.  When I didn’t blog yesterday I wasn’t working either!  There are a few things happening in my department that I’m pretty upset about and I just needed to give myself the afternoon to be mad.  Mid-sulk, I came to the realization that being negative won’t help the situation any and the best thing I can do is to suck it up and keep positive.

Do you know anyone who has served their country?

Uncomfortably Full

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I love long weekends! And long weekends with trips are especially fun. It was great to visit with my grandparents, I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like.

Before we hit the road this morning we ate a final fancy breakfast.

Chicken sausage,

egg casserole leftovers, which I ate cold to my husband and grandma’s duress,

and a banana.

We were not as well provisioned for this trip as we were on Saturday. I did the best I could but still arrived home hungry. A low-fat string cheese,

and a Muscle Milk Light bar.

Yeeetch! I took two bites and decided I’d rather go hungry. At least with the dog we stop more often and I grabbed what I really wanted a bit later, candy.

I’ve been badly wanting Twizzlers for a few weeks and after a serving that craving was satisfied.

Webster slept most of our journey which meant I had time to finish the book I started on the drive over.

Hands of My Father is a memoir about a hearing boy’s childhood with two deaf parents. New addition to my top list of book favorites! I had to hold my breath to keep from crying at least once a chapter and I laughed just as often. The setting of a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn post Depression lent itself to some good stories.

When we did get home I spent my evening making chili.  And weighing chili, and pricing servings…

This was for a class assignment, and it was beef to boot so I couldn’t even taste it!  Instead Adam and I got take out for dinner.

Tuna melt on sourdough (no butter on the bread) with cheddar cheese and a side of fries.

Plus a slice of carrot cake.

Umm, plus the last two chocolates.

Can we so uncomfortably full?

Two Desserts

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I started my morning off right with a run. I didn’t pay attention to time, I forgot my heart rate monitor at home and didn’t check the clock before I left, I just ran. Thanks to the miles markers on the path behind my grandparents’ house I did learn a couple of things – 1. I can’t run a whole mile without stopping to walk (bad). 2. I ran/walked five miles this morning (good).

I came home feeling good in time for breakfast.

Cantaloupe melon,

chicken breakfast sausage,

and a delicious egg casserole with mushrooms, cheese, and bread cubes.

The fluffy texture and slightly sweet flavor were just like a souffle.

Adam and I had to run to the store for my grandma after breakfast and we spotted a Subway where I rewarded myself for my run.  (not that I don’t just drink diet soda all the time anyways but it can still feel like a reward sometimes)

They had Coke Zero and Cherry Coke and getting to mix them gives me this face –

We spent the afternoon hanging out with my grandpa and actually ate lunch at the hospital cafeteria.

I filled a plate at the salad bar with lettuce, a few kidney beans, black olives, almonds, and mushrooms, and some honey French dressing.  Not bad.

Adam and I did a few things around the house for my grandma but overall this has felt like a total relaxation vacation, right down to snacks before dinner.

In addition to a few small handfuls of nuts I had a few mini buckeyes,

and the olives from the husband’s drink.

Adam and Nana had martinis but I was drinking a more pg (and old school!) Tab.

Dinner was great, per usual.

Another small piece of foccacia (with butter after the photo),

side salad (with garlic vinaigrette ATP),

roasted glazed carrots,

and penne with tuna, feta, capers, and fresh tomato.

I like dinner but I enjoyed my two desserts better.  Peanut butter ice cream pie with heath pieces,

plus a bowl of homemade tapioca pudding.

I seriously love tapioca so much, I was moaning with joy while I ate this!  And my grandma sent me home with the dry tapioca so I can make some myself!

I’m going to hurry to get in bed, but first I’ve got to tell you guys that I totally kicked the husband and my grandma’s butts at Rummy 😉

I’ve got another long day in the car tomorrow before I’m back to a short week at school.  Thank goodness I’ve got such good travel partners.

Long Run, Long Day, Short Post

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My semester won’t be impossible but it does look like shorter posts will probably become a regular thing.  I think adding a dog and adding (back) exercise to my life at the start of a new semester was not my most stress-free idea!

Adam drove me to school this morning – his current rotation is the psychiatric facility that’s near my campus so we’ll probably be carpooling a lot the next few weeks – so I was thrilled that my teacher suggested a 10 minute walk around campus at the beginning of class.

It was fun to get moving and in a 4-hour class any minute out of the room is a godsend.

My breakfast pie held me over pretty well but I did start to dig into my packed food a couple of hours into class.

A sliced apple topped with the 90-calorie Barney Butter packet from my HLS swag bag.

I’m typically not an almond butter girl so I was expecting to be unimpressed but I actually loved the roasty flavor and smooth texture of the BB.  I guess the other bloggers have been onto something!

I also ate this snack pack of raisins,

and a chocolate from my candy box.

Fuuuuun!  I think I’m going to make chocolate boxes a more regular part of my life.

After our class ended I actually hit up the part-time job fair.  I gave a couple of resumes out so please keep your fingers crossed for me, though I’m not sure adding a job to my life is the answer right now.

I ate lunch with friends and grabbed this snack pack of hummus with pita crackers from the book store.

There isn’t a convenience store on campus (or the C Store like we called it in Miami!) but the book store does have some pretty healthy offerings.  My friend Kim was heading to the mall so I group of us ended up going for funsies.  I didn’t buy anything but it’s always fun to walk around.

When I got back to campus, it was time for the gym.  It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t pretty, but I achieved my goal.  Through a strange mix of walking and running I did 7 miles in 79 minutes.  Booyah.  I drank a fruit punch Gatorade-2 and I definitely think it helped fuel me through the longer workout.

Speaking of fueling, Adam went to Saigon Cafe for a work lunch and he brought me home his Pad See Eiw leftovers.  I pounced as soon as I walked in the door.

After a walk home and shower I was ready to face my replanned evening.  We are going to visit my grandparents for the long weekend (fun) but I just found out that I have a responsibility for class on Monday night that will be pretty time-consuming (not fun) so I needed to move around some things.  We ended up heading to the grocery store tonight which will hopefully make my weekend run more smoothly (my responsibility involves making chili).

I shared this frozen coffee with Adam while we shopped.

And made myself the quickest dinner I could think of when we got home, tacos.

I scrambled a big scoop (1/2 cup?) of corn relish into two eggs and then stuffed them into taco shells.  Topped with spicy salsa and a dollop of light sour cream.

I almost never eat tacos, especially hard tacos, but lately they’ve been rocking my socks.

We had to take Webster on a long walk, which took even longer than planned, so clearly I’m not getting up to workout tomorrow.  I’ll have to work on that goal next week. 

This wasn’t really a short post was it?  It’s possible I’m verbose.

Dip for Dinner

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I finished all of my schoolwork for this week, wrote an article for the Dietetics newsletter, and made a deeply delicious dinner.  Go me!

The first round of dinner felt oh-so-sophisticated, dip and crudities.

The dip was my newest recipe creation, Black and Blue Dip:

Yield: 14 ounces; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 0

  • 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 oz (or 1/2 cup) blue cheese crumbles
  • 4 Tbsp light sour cream
  • 3 Tbsp A-1 steak sauce
  1. Place beans into the food processor and pulse until mostly smooth.
  2. Add blue cheese, sour cream, and steak sauce and pulse until well-combined, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed.

The black beans and blue cheese are a fun flavor combo, the A-1 adds spice and depth, and the sour cream helps to smooth out the flavor.  Adam described this as meaty (and fun for all vegetables!) so I guess this had umami!  Each 2 oz serving had only 106 calories so this would be the perfect dip to bring to a party where you were hoping to keep things healthy.

I ate a 2 oz serving,

with baby carrots, green pepper, and celery dipped in.

Adam and I both agreed that this was a fabulous appetizer.

The second half of dinner was brinner.

I used 2 Tbsp of butter to saute 1 pint of sliced mushrooms, 1 sliced red bell pepper, and 1 Mayan onion.  We pulled out half of the cooked veggies for later use and scrambled the rest into 3 large eggs.

This dinner ended up being a little small but it’s bedtime so what can you do?  Meh.

What is your favorite thing to dip into blue cheese?  Baby carrots are good but pizza crusts are better!

Sabra Substitutions Cocktail Party Recipes

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This post is my entry for a chance to win a free trip to the Foodbuzz Festival.  All of the Sabra products used in this post were provided by the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.

For a chance to win a free trip to the upcoming festival, Foodbuzz tasked us with creating a cocktail party-worthy recipe using Sabra hummus.  But the zesty flavor of hummus would fit with so many dishes that I didn’t know which one to choose.  Indecisive to a fault, I just couldn’t limit hummus to one recipe; it has too much potential.  So instead I made a trio.

(Recipes to follow)

Chicks in a Curry, hummus deviled eggs.

Replacing mayonnaise with hummus in my deviled eggs base left me with a smooth but sturdy filling.  The sweet curry powder helps to brighten up the flavor.  These deviled eggs are the wiser, more exotic cousin from the East of the traditional American picnic fare.

Spinach, Chokes, and Chicks; spinach artichoke hummus dip.

It’s hard to improve on the traditional spinach and artichoke dip but this hummus-filled adaptation is just begging for a crudities.  The creamy texture and cheesy flavor are both elevated by the velvety garlic hummus.

Savory Surprise Hummus Cookie.

The love child of a cookie and a biscuit, these would be perfect for appetizers or dessert.  The texture is more cake-like than crumbly and the flavor is just a bit sweet.

All in all, I was more than pleased with hummus’ ability to adapt to these traditional dishes.  I’ve been sneaking into the kitchen for bites all day and I can’t wait to try the finished products out on my friends.

Chicks in a Curry, hummus deviled eggs

Yield: 12 servings; Prep Time: 20 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes

  • 1 dozen large eggs
  • 8 Tbsp Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus
  • 2 tsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp sweet curry powder
  • (optional) paprika and roasted chick peas
  1. Place eggs in a single layer in a large saucepan and cover completely with water.  Place over high heat and bring to a rolling boil.
  2. Remove pan from heat and cover tightly with a lid as soon as the water reaches a boil.  Set covered pan aside for 15 minutes.
  3. Immediately after 15 minutes have passed, use tongs to carefully move the boiled eggs to a bowl of ice water.  Allow to cool completely, at least 5 minutes.
  4. Dry and peel eggs, removing shells completely.
  5. Slice each egg in half lengthwise.  Scoop yolks into a medium bowl.
  6. Add remaining ingredients to the yolks and mash with a fork until well combined.
  7. Use a spatula to move filling into a piping bag or a small plastic bag with the corner cut off.  Pipe filling into whites.  These eggs have more filling than a typical recipe but that is part of what makes them so fun.
  8. Top with paprika and/or roasted chick peas if desired.

Spinach, Chokes, and Chicks; spinach artichoke hummus dip

Yield: 12 servings; Prep Time: 8 minutes; Cook Time: 20 minutes

  • 5 oz frozen chopped spinach; thawed completely
  • 14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained
  • 1 cup Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus
  • 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, 2 Tbsp reserved
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.
  2. Wring out the spinach to remove as much moisture as possible.  It may be helpful to microwave it for 20 seconds or to squeeze between two paper towels.
  3. Place spinach and artichoke hearts together in a medium bowl.  Use a fork to mash for 1 – 2 minutes; this will help to de-clump the spinach and break up any large pieces of artichoke.
  4. Stir hummus and Parmesan (minus 2 Tbsp) into the vegetables.
  5. Pour the dip into a pie pan and use a spatula to spread evenly.  Top with remaining 2 Tbsp of cheese.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes.  Serve warm with chips and/or fresh veggies.

Savory Surprise Hummus Cookie

Yield: 2 dozen; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Cook Time: 15 minutes

  • 4 Tbsp butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup Sabra Roasted Garlic Hummus
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. 
  3. Add hummus and mix until incorporated.  Add egg and continue to mix until smooth.
  4. In a side bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Fold dry ingredients into wet, mixing just until combined.
  6. Spoon Tbsp-sized balls of dough into even rows on the prepared baking sheets.
  7. Bake 13 minutes, until lightly browned and firm to the touch.