Tag Archives: goat cheese

STT; Sunday Afternoon – 3rd Anniversary

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Sunday afternoon, after a quick trip home for provisions, we headed to the movies. We saw a matinée of True Grit, which I just loved. Cowboy movies are so not my thing, but somehow I knew this one would just rock my socks. The story line was funny and touching and I loved the vocabulary.

I packed a baggie of baby carrots,

and bought some Jordan Almonds at the theatre.

We did a quick and easy dinner when we got home.

Baked okra with ketchup,

cole slaw,

and two mini buns (split), toasted and topped with leftover spinach dip.

Plus dessert.

One of our guy friends was flying out Monday afternoon, so we met him that morning for brunch.

A few other friends came along and it was great to catch up with everyone.

I ordered a mahi mahi sandwich with a side of cole slaw.

Delish!  Mahi mahi is my favorite kind of fish, so light and flakey.

I left my bun, but devoured everything else.

Dessert (clearly I’m on vacation, who really needs lunch dessert?!?) came at home in the form of 7-layer bar.

Around 4 – we are really watching our sun exposure – Adam and I got in an afternoon workout. We headed to the beach, and amid the frolicing did 30ish minutes of hard swimming.

We met up with visiting family friends for dinner. I wasn’t feeling confident about the healthiness of the meal, so I supplemented with some baby veggies before dinner.

Good thing, because pizza was dinner. I ended up with a shrimp scampi slice,

and a bbq chicken slice.

Adam and I also split a Caesar salad with extra veggies.

And I had a piece of homemade toffee when we got home.

Today (the 28th) is our 3rd wedding anniversary!!! We’ve celebrated by spending the day doing things we both love. Like starting the morning with a run… We got in an hour+ workout that included a bit of walking, 2 miles of running, and the mile uphill walk home. Between today’s run and yesterday’s swim, both of our legs are pretty sore!

Next on the agenda was lunch at our favorite restaurant.

Plus some time sipping coffee and reading.

I ordered a Vietnamese Latte (sweetened with condensed milk),

and Adam and I split the spicy sweet potato wrap (with spinach and rosemary goat cheese).

We’re unsure of the agenda tonight – there’s a party we might skip – but all I really need is an evening with the (3year’s old) husband!

Healthy BBQ Chicken Sandwich: How To

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First, you’ve got to meet a boy (or girl!).

Trick said boy into marrying you.

Put a crock-pot on your wedding registry.

Place two thawed, humanely raised, skinless, boneless chicken breasts (~1.5lbs) in the bottom of said crock-pot.

Pour in enough reduced sodium chicken broth to cover both chicken breasts.

Do some salt and pepper action.

Set your crock-pot for 8hours on low and walk away.

Meanwhile, join Foodbuzz.  Attend the 1st Blogger Festival and bring home a bottle of Maple Barbeque Sauce with Horseradish.

Join the Tastemaker Program and receive a sample of Arnold’s Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins.

Go back to your crock-pot and remove cooked chicken to a plastic container and shred using two forks.

Pour your bbq sauce (approx. 10Tbsp) over the shredded chicken.

Plate.

I recommend serving alongside a green, perhaps some roasted asparagus?

Roasted figs with goat cheese and honey for dessert.

Live happily ever after.

Of course that’s all subject to some personal interpretation, but those are my basic steps!  😉

48hours of Fun

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Aaaargh!  Two (FULL) days worth to recap?  I actually debated not writing this post but I’ve blogged every single eat since my 25th birthday and I’d like to keep that streak going.  I’m keeping this one pretty dry though.

-~-Sunday-~-   We did lots of sharing so my photos are more of a basic representation than a spot on accurate one.

We started with breakfast from Pano’s.

I ordered the Artichoke Omlette, which came with fresh spinach, artichoke hearts, and a a touch of basil pesto.  I also requested that they add broccoli and only use half cheese, pepperjack, i.e. there is cheese on the top but not the middle.

With some hasbrowns,

and a slice of sourdough.

Delicious, but I couldn’t come close to finishing; we packed up the second half for the husband. 

By the way – our leftover situation this week was ridiculous, at one point our fridge had 8 to-go boxes in it!!!

We spent a looooong time at a nearby outlet mall, which was tiring but amazing.  At some point I ate this baggie of dried fruit (kiwi, apricot, hibiscus).

And we had to at least get appetizers at Cozumel’s.

Complimentary chips and salsa,

Maryland Blue Crab and Avocado Handrolls.

I love how Cozumel’s has healthified Mexican food; the rolls were not fried, contained no creaminess or cheese, were stuffed with sprouts, and were totally tasty.

My plate –

Dinner ended up being a bit of a fiasco, everything closes on Sunday here!  We drove around for hours looking for a place and the husband’s new phone came in totally handy.  In the end we headed to Jack Astor’s, which was the perfect choice.

We shared lobster and crab dip as an appetizer.

For my meal I ordered the chicken fajitas, which came with cheese, sour cream, onions and peppers, lettuce, salsa, and smokey bbq sauce.

I never order fajitas but assembling my own meal was totally fun.  I ate two fajitas and then packed the rest up to add to our to-go boxes.

-~-Monday-~-   We had to get up super early to take my parents to the airport (boo!) so Adam and I stopped at a bagel place on the way home and got a tomato pesto bagel with salmon shmear to share.

We also split the leftovers of my omlet from Sunday.

It was actually a pretty great breakfast.

I was starving (all day, it was insanely annoying) so I also finished off the rest of my chicken fingers from the other night.

The husband headed to work and I passed out.  I didn’t wake up until around 1 and then I spent the rest of the day sneezing.  It was out of control, I sneezed at least 50times yesterday!  I don’t know what allergy flared up but I felt like death warmed over and even had to skip a friend’s birthday party last night because I couldn’t control all the snot running down my face (gross, sorry!)!

Mid sneezes and tissues I did find time to eat a bunch of crap.  Strawberry yogurt bar from Lindt.

This came from the outlet store and rocked my socks.  It was a single serving (love) and was creamy, and tangy, and crunchy, and perfect.

A piece of whatever this is –

my parents brought it; sort of tastes like a dried crepe with sesame seeds?

An entire bag of chips!

A small piece of banana bread with Smart Balance Light.

Dinner was at least healthy (and epic).

I topped a small bed of lightly dressed spinach with roasted yellow beets,

purple tomatoes,

crumbled goat cheese,

and candied pecans.

OMG!

The combo was out of this world, yellow beets are 10x better than regular ones.

Oh, and I also had a bowl of SmartPop kettle corn.

-~-Today-~-   I’m not sure what the day holds.  I have a terrible case of grumpies for some reason.  I have a dinner I’m excited about cooking and a trip to the gym is definitely in order because I haven’t worked out in 2 days.  We shall see….

48hour recap = 4 reader questions

  1. Have you ever tried beets?  Yellow beets?
  2. What is your favorite appetizer to order at a restaurant?
  3. What is your favorite flavor of Lindt truffle?
  4. Are you attending BlogHer this weekend?

No Breakfast, Recap Only

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This actually isn’t a recap AND breakfast post; in order to have eaten breakfast one would have had to gotten up before 11:30.  If it’s not obvious already, I had a bit too much to drink last night. 

We had a great time though; we went out with a couple the husband is friends with from school.  I’m going to keep this short and simple as my pictures are terrible due to the lighting (and I’d like to go eat breakfast!).  Note – I’m not using name because I don’t know them well enough to know if blog exposure is cool with them.

They suggested going to Allen Street Hardware Cafe which ended up being a fabulous idea.  I loved it there and can’t wait to go back.  The beer selection was huge.  Thinking back to a rave post about it from Kath, I ended up ordering a Tusker.

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!  Other than Abita Strawberry and Hell or High Watermelon I never really like beer.  I don’t mind it, but it’s usually not my favorite.  Tusker is now added to my top 3 favorites though, it was delicious!  I usually finish my drinks way after everyone else (actually I usually don’t finish because I take so long they get warm) but last night I was ordering a second round before the rest of the group had made a dent in their drinks!

My meal was pretty fantasmic as well.  I went with the Chef Salad which was Mixed greens, roasted beets, red onion, carmelized pecans, goat cheese, and a roasted shallot champagne vinegarette.

Fabulous!  I forgot to ask for dressing on the side but it didn’t even matter because it was so lightly dressed to begin with.  The combination of goat cheese with beets was perfect.

After dinner we moseyed down the street to another bar.  I ordered a diet coke with Cherry Three Olives Vodka.

This was the point where I maybe should have just gone with diet coke.  Actually, everyone was a bit tipsy at this point because our attempt at couples darts took for-ev-er because we all were aiming so poorly!

A good time was had by all though.

The only downfall of the evening is that in my stupor I decided I was starving and I talked Adam into letting me eat a boatload of chips.

Ugh.  Probably the reason my hunger didn’t wake me up earlier this morning.

I should get off the computer and get back to the world though, 12:30 is probably a good time to start the day 😀

Are you a beer drinker?  What are your favorites?

Just Keep Swimming, Just Keep Swimming

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Most of my laziness comes from my perfectionism.  Does that not make sense to you?  I get so obsessed with everything being “just so” that I have a hard time tackling projects if things are not perfect.  Which makes no sense at all!  Think people who are waiting until Monday to start their diet.  They’d be better off eating a bit more healthfully on not-the-start-of-a-new-week-Thursday than waiting until Monday’s magical fresh startiness and bingeing in the meantime.

It’s sort of like what happened to my studies this year.  I’d tell myself I’d be cracking down on the 20th of the month, and I’d have a glorious time fooling around until then.  Then the 20th would come and I’d oversleep, or fight with the husband, or waste too much time online and things wouldn’t be “perfect” anymore.  So I’d tell myself I’d be cracking down on the 25th (I have a thing with 0/5#s) and the cycle would begin again.

I’ve always known this was a terrible personality trait.  But recently I’ve really, really worked at changing, and it feels great!  For example, I probably could have gotten a 100% on my Anthro final, easily.  But I screwed around all week (and took care of some pressing but secret to-dos!) and didn’t study.  Last night I was so disgusted with myself I told the husband I just wanted to forget about it and watch Buffy all evening.  Instead, he offered to study a bit with me and we reviewed my old tests.

And you know what?  I’m pretty sure I got an A on my final today!  It’s not the 100% I could have earned, but an A is pretty darn good, and it’s a lot better than what I would have gotten had I not tried at all.

A similar thing happened with my workout.  Through a series of stupidity, I didn’t eat breakfast, couldn’t purchase food on campus, and was stuck in the library without food waiting for the gym to open.  By the time I got to the pool I was starving and I kind of wanted to just throw in the towel.  But I knew it was my last chance to get a swim workout so I tried to make the best of it.

In the end I did 40 lengths in 35minutes – a fabulous workout!  I pushed myself really hard and it felt amazing.

Around 3:30 I did finally get some food!  Since we studied yesterday, today we celebrated Seis de Mayo!

I know, why is he with me?  Getting dressed straight from the pool leaves me a bit ragged around the edges.  What better spot for a Mexican celebration than Cozumel?  Cheers!

I got a sweet margarita.

Chips!

I hadn’t eaten all day and I was a bit drunk so there was some concern that I would dive headfirst into the basket.  Instead, after a couple of bites I portioned out a serving onto a separate plate.

I took the same strategy with the chips I stole from Adam.

And for my meal I ordered the California Quesadilla.

WW tortilla with roasted red pepper, grilled eggplant, and goat cheese?  Yes please!

I ended up eating half of my meal and sharing the rest with the husband, the margarita was pretty filling.

I had a great time with the husband and it felt wonderful to celebrate the end of my time at UB.  Now I have one month before I start summer classes at BSC.  Although now I have a more current goal – eat some fruit today!

Do you ever find yourself putting things off until the timing feels “perfect?” 

Nibble While You Work, da da da da da da da

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It was another fabulous Spring day!  Sorry for another late post, but it was a busy day too.  I had 8am lab this morning so I packed up breakfast last night.

Cottage cheese and berries in a pre-fab to-go cup.  Last night I topped the last ~1.5serving of cottage cheese with some frozen berries and left it to defrost in the fridge.

This morning I just had to grab and go.

We did a qualitative analysis – a series of tests on an unknown sample to determine what its chemical components are – in lab today and it was actually a lot of fun.  The real fun came when the husband picked me up; we spent a fabulous afternoon exploring.

We dropped the car off for breaks/oil/tires and slowly wandered downtown on the walk home.  We saw several pretty things,

discovered an exciting candy store,

and we got a few fun things to go, like this candy bar I won’t be tasting –

and the husband bought a candy Tiffany’s box.  For $1.50 it was made of white and milk chocolate and stuffed with hazelnuts.

My bite –

(If you are wondering why MY Tiffany’s wedding ring isn’t on my damn finger in the picture it’s because I don’t wear jewelry to labs in which we use strong acids and strong bases)

Later we stopped in at Pearl Street for lunch.  Pearl Street makes microbrews in-house and is a ton of fun.  I love their glass options –

I went with a Split (10 oz) of the seasonal raspberry brew.

And for lunch I ordered the Fresh Apple and Pear Salad.

Apples and pears sautéed in rum and brown sugar served over mixed greens and topped with toasted pecans and fresh goat cheese.

I had brown sugar rum vinaigrette on the side.  However, the salad was so packed and tasty that I went with the fork dip method of adding dressing, rather than dumping it on.  So yummy!  I snagged a few of Adam’s fries and they were pretty tasty as well.

Not gonna lie though, the big diet coke we picked up on the walk home was my favorite part of lunch 😀

All total we walked ~2miles in beautiful weather and it was an absolutely perfect afternoon.

Once we got home, I spent a couple hours working on Anthropology.  I was having a major snack attack; sometimes nibbling on something helps me to keep my focus, but I’m not sure you can call these snacks brain food.  Pb M&Ms (these are gone now, thank God),

and a vegan blondie I brought home from ‘Snice.

We had gym plans but our “long” walk left my leg feeling like today was not the day to brave the gym stairs, and I’m in a bit of a funky mood so making dinner didn’t sound fun.  So now we have plans to shower, eat popcorn, and cuddle up in front of Buffy.  Sounds like the perfect evening to follow a perfect day.

Do you snack while you work?  Does it improve your focus or serve as a distraction?

Tuesday Afternoon – Thursday Afternoon

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My family’s Christmas Eve party is tonight and we’ve got lots of setting up to do so this will have to be kept quick.

Tuesday Afternoon….

After my last post Adam and I set out for some exercise.  We ran on the waterfront downtown together.  We did walk/run intervals for 40minutes.  I’m not sure exactly how far we ran but I burnt 450calories.

Adam and my parents made chili for dinner (which I’m really not a fan off, unless it’s from ED&BV) so I pieced a few things together.  Like a smoothie –

1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, 1/2 cup pineapple, 1 small banana, splash milk, squeeze honey.  Topped with nutmeg.

My mom also reheated me a slice of pizza from the freezer, Adam ate all of my half from the other day so it was just plain cheese.

We went out for drinks with some friends but I was the driver so I stuck to diet coke.  We stayed out past 1 though, so we were a little sleepy the next day! 😉

Wednesday…

Our plan was to go study at our favorite coffee shop, but due to our late start and some unexpected traffic it just didn’t work out.  I was planning on blogging too, but I forgot my camera cord, doh!  We did get tasty sandwiches to eat in the car while we ran errands with my mom though!

I got a whole wheat wrap with sweet potato, goat cheese, spinach, and spicy hummus, YUM.

I was feeling really sick later in the afternoon (NOT because of the sandwich, spicy food does NOT seem to affect my stomach) so Adam made me this yummy tasting plate.

Thankfully I rallied in time for dinner.  Adam and I cooked for my parents and grandparents, who are down visiting as well.

Adam made a Real Simple recipe for roasted red pepper turkey meatloaf,

and I roasted up some okra and green beans.

My mom provided dessert –

A teensy sliver of rum cake a parent brought her,

and a peppermint chocolate cookie.

I ate a snowball a little later too.

And a cup of Eggnog’n Tea.

And then we went out drinking way too late for the second night!  Good times were had by all, but I did stick to diet coke again.

Thursday Morning….

I think the no-booze rule saved me last night because I was able to get up this morning and go for a run!  I did ~ 45minutes/490 calories, and ~3miles.  I did my pt when I got home before I dove into this –

holy food am I glad I can find the pineapple Chiobani down here!

Although I was probably most excited about this Carebear spoon I dug up!

Now as soon as we leave the library we are heading home to prep for the party.  There won’t really be dinner or lunch today, more like lots of snacking on really tasty things.  🙂

I probably won’t be posting again until after this weekend, so to all my readers who celebrate – Merry Christmas!

Peppers and Pie

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My biggest accomplishment this afternoon was getting rid of my headache, but that’s actually a pretty big accomplishment in my book!  I finished GhostWorld and I can officially say I’m not a fan 😦

After crappy movie hour I finally did my kitchen to-do’s.  I pre-made pasta for lunches this week, made dinner, and…..I made a pie! 

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Tyler Pie to be exact.  I can’t give you the recipe, but it is from Pie, Pie, Pie; Easy Homemade Favorites by John Phillip Carroll.  I’ve made things from this book throughout the years and I highly recommend it.  Here is the description he gives in the book –

Incredible as it sounds, in the past, it was not uncommon to christen foods, particularly desserts, after political figures.  Named for the 10th president of the United States, John Tyler of Virginia, this pie has its heritage in the South.  Though the ingredients are simple, the pie has a caramel-like flavor and a smooth texture that combine to give it a soothing quality.  It is a suitable for breakfast as it is after a good meal.

More on that later though, dinner was a success!  I pulled the recipe completely from my head and it ended up being great 🙂

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Stuffed Peppers, serves 4

  • 5oz ww penne pasta
  • 1C chopped broccoli
  • 1T evoo
  • 8oz 99% lean ground turkey
  • 1/2C marinara sauce
  • 4oz log goat cheese
  • 4 peppers, any color (we used red, yellow, and orange)
  • 1/4 shredded cheese (we used 2% cheddar)
  1. Cook pasta, following box directions.  In the last 3-5minutes of cooking stir in broccoli.  Drain and set aside.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 475*.  Cut the tops off of the peppers.  Using a spoon, scoop out the pith and seeds, careful not to break the bottoms of the peppers.
  3. Put pot back on stove, turn heat down to medium and heat evoo.  Add turkey meat and cook for 2-3minutes.  Pour in marinara sauce and finish cooking meat through.  Remove from heat.
  4. Add pasta and broccoli back to pot, along with goat cheese, and stir to mix.
  5. Spoon pasta into peppers.  Split cheese ontop of the peppers.  Place peppers on a foiled cookie sheet.
  6. Bake for 15minutes.

Notes on the recipe –

* Think anti-Sir-Mix-A lot with the peppers, get ones with flat bottoms (i.e. they will stand alone)

*I did not do this, but I highly recommend preheating the peppers for 5-10minutes

* Each serving has ~400calories

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Our peppers were pretty small so I ate some filling on the side.

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I took too much though, I ended up leaving most of the extra filling.  I needed room in my belly for pie!

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It was pretty good, it had a nice eggy taste to it.  I got some free coupons for Wholly Wholesome products so I used one of their pie crusts.

We watched “The Open Window” while we ate, which was also a strange movie.  And now it is late, and bedtime.  Nighty night!

Do you bake?