Tag Archives: leftovers

Nightmare Before Christmas

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There was no blog post yesterday because I was so exhausted that I bumbled around all day without really doing anything!  We set our alarms for 8am and at 10:00 the husband was shaking me awake and I had no recollection of turning off the alarms.  Finally the husband remembered – after I told him I couldnt’ study because I was too tired to lift my arms – that I had such a bad nightmare on Saturday night that my moaning and flailing woke him up.  I don’t remember that either, but he told me I looked pretty pitiful.

When I got up today, the idyllic scene outside my window was like something out of one of my nightmares –

Yes, it’s gorgeous.  But – that’s the kind of snow you make cocoa and cuddle by the fireplace in, not the kind of snow you walk 30minutes through to Organic Chemistry!

But after Sunday’s #fail I was determined to make the best of today; even though I woke up at 9:30!  I started my day with some good stretching.  Not gonna lie, then I started my day with this (after brushing my teeth of course!) –

Sorry I’m not sorry (thanks, Rachel), Cherry Coke Zero is my version of the dog with a barrel around its neck.

Then I dressed for battle.

I take the dull out of bundling! (Say that out loud for me, pretty please?)

Oh yes, those are children’s snow boots.

Even my boots couldn’t fully save my trek though, it sort of sucked 😦  When I lived in Brooklyn and everyone walked it was kind of fun, but here, where I’m the only one in the snow, it’s a bit embarrassing.  At least I never really felt cold, probably because I got so sweaty; galumphing is a good workout!

I got to school early to pick up a portfolio (100%, booyah!) and then used the space before class to try to make up yesterday’s lost study time.  While I worked I snacked on a serving of Kugel.

I also drank a medium skim gingerbread latte (half pumps) and got distracted talking with a friend.

During Anatomy (87% with the curve on Friday’s test, booyah!) I slurped down a Revolution Foods Fruit Mash-Up.

As soon as classes were over, and I confirmed with the husband that he could pick me up from school, I got my study on.  I’m disappointed in myself that I screwed around so much it took me until after 7 to finish my notecards.  I’m proud of myself that when I was done at 7 I headed to the gym anyways!

I took my notecards on the elliptical – 35minutes, random, level 6.

We got home close to 9:00 and I’m pretty proud of the dinner I pulled together – fruits, veggies, and dessert!  First was a green purple monster.

This bad boy was a blend of frozen spinach, frozen blueberries, orange juice, Silk Almond Milk, and honey.

I gave the husband the extra and he loved it as well (although his did have a little extra sugar blended into it!).

Next up was a taste of the South.

I randomly picked up this can of Hoppin’ John when it was on sale a few weeks ago.  I’ve never eaten (heard of) Hoppin John before so I pretty much stuck with the directions on the can –

I did a 1/2 batch (one can) topped with Applegate Farms turkey bacon, Sriracha, and a little brown sugar.

I portioned half of it into a bowl, and tried something new.

Pretty good, who knew I liked black-eyed peas?!

Dessert was “new” as well, but there was never any question about liking it.

Oh. My. God.

This, my friends, is a (half)-batch of Jenna’s Caramel Sauce.

Well, that’s what’s left of the batch after Adam and I got to it.  It has a deep, decadent flavor and is sweet and rich.  Make it, make it, make it, make it!

Eaten drizzled (liberally) over a small bowl of vanilla ice-cream with lots of sliced strawberries.

Really it was just an excuse to eat some strawberries 😉

Yum!  Quite a pleasing dinner indeed.

Now I’ve got to hurry to shower so I can get to bed like a girl with an important test tomorrow.

Have you ever tried (heard of) Hoppin’ John?

Waiting for Harvest, Waiting for Vengence

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It’s been quite the productive Saturday; I decorated the apartment, ran a bunch of errands, made (TWO) great dinner(s), and even got some studying done for Tuesday’s Nutrition test.

Our errands – just post office, Target, Wegmans – took hours; the holiday crowds are out!  We ended up picking up lunch from the hot bar when I declared myself too hungry to shop.

Everything on that plate was delicious!

Once we were home long enough to warm up, we bundled back up and headed to Starbucks so I could get a salted caramel hot chocolate to sip while I studied.

Delicious!  But even though I gave myself a sugar headache, I still had a weird, growly hunger.  I ended up having a few random snacks while I waited for/cooked dinner.  Like a latke straight from the fridge,

and half a tortilla with melted sharp cheddar.

Dinner was quick to prepare, but the 45minute cook time is when I required my snacks.  It was worth it.

Another family recipe attempt, this time Noodle Kugel (recipe at the end of the post).

I only made a half recipe; when Adam saw cottage cheese and raisins go into the casserole dish he told me lighting the menorah would be the extent of his Jewish traditions for the day.  Hence, dinner # 2.

Did you know we have an Aero Garden in our fire-place?

I should say had.

We harvested!

And I used the basils to make Adam some tasty homemade pesto for dinner.

My dinner was better though.

Kugel is sweet in a way that still feels like dinner and the crispy noodles on the top are the best.

My side dish was pretty rocking too.  I shredded two leftover latkes, mixed them with 2/3 cup of peas, and topped with the end of the cranberry sauce and a dollop of light sour cream.

The combination was to die for and the fact that I ended up with Christmas colors was a happy accident.

Quite the fantastic dinner if I do say so myself!

Noodle Kugel

  • 12-16 oz. wide egg noodles – cook, drain, run cold water over

 Mix the following ingredients, and then mix in the noodles:

  • 8 oz. sour cream
  • 8 oz. cottage cheese
  • 1 ¼ C yellow raisins
  • 1 stick melted butter
  • 3 eggs
  • ¾ C sugar
  • 1 t vanilla
  • 1 t cinnamon

 9 x 12 greased casserole; sprinkle cinnamon/sugar on top (diagonal rows); cook 45 min. at 350*

Goodbye November

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As predicted I snacked my way through the evening.  I got all of my assignments done and now I just have to worry about Friday’s major test.

There was a little of this –

A pumpkin cheesecake muffin,

a few handfuls of Terra Exotic Harvest.

But I did make time for a respectable dinner.

Pumpkin vegan sausage pasta leftovers (they are so cheesy because the cheese container exploded all over the place when I tried to open it),

and a Hawaiian roll with a smear of Smart Balance.

Goodbye, November!

Nutella Makes it Bella

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I knew my mother-in-law was a generous lady, but when she sent us home from Thanksgiving with this mostly full (huge) jar of Nutella she sealed the deal.

Yum!  When the family was taste-testing my brother-in-law came up with the perfect description for Nutella: it’s like the inside of a Ferrero Rocher!

This morning I spread ~1T of the good stuff on a toasted Sandwich Thin.

This to-go breakfast felt pretty gosh darn decadent.

In between classes I also had a Peach Chobani.

Then after class I headed the gym.  With finals coming up my goal is to become the queen of the quick workout.  Treadmill : 25minutes: 2.45miles.  Done and done.  I’m going to do some strength training throughout the afternoon as well.

Lunch was an on the spot masterpiece.  Wondering what to do with those thanksgiving leftovers?  Ponder no more.

Leftover rigotoni pasta topped with shredded turkey, cranberry dressing, a bit of parmesan cheese, and a few chopped pecans.

This dish tasted even better than the Turkey Day meal!

I’ve got a lot of work to do today and I’m still feeling hungry so I see a lot of snacking in my future….

What is your favorite thing to do with Turkey Day leftovers?

Happy Halloween

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We haven’t done loads of studying (I have another test on Friday), but it has been a good day.  Besides, Halloween is about eating loads of crap, and I’ve done that!

Have you ever had Halloween oats?

This was actually my first attempt at making a double batch – I’m doing something very fun with the second bowl tomorrow! – and I think it went well.  For two bowls I stovetop cooked 2/3 cup oats, 1 & 1/3 cup liquids (a mix of skim milk, unsweetened Silk almond milk, and water), 1 banana, and a pinch of salt.  And then in honor of Halloween I topped today’s bowl with the last vegan pumpkin pecan blondie.

Delish!

Brunch/the first half of lunch were turkey corn dogs from Jimmy Dean.

And then I brought out of my salad leftovers from last night.

A little soggy, but still good!

I also split a bag of cheetos with the husband.

And what’s the 31st without candy?

Mmmmn!

Have you eaten any Halloween candy yet today?

Facts of Fall

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There is nothing pumpkin can’t do.

The weather in Buffalo today was beautiful!  In lieu of a formal workout, Adam and I took a long walk to soak it in.

Today included too much snacking and not enough studying.

The words in this post are lacking (just wrote “snacking,” whoops!), but I will at least show you everything I ate today; plus some “Fall” photos for funsies.

Arnold’s WW Sandwich Thin, Laughing Cow Blue Cheese, 3 slices of turkey.

Mini Vanilla Tootsie Roll, x2.

Baby carrots and ranch.

Small slice of pizza from the school food court where we were studying.

Leftover Loaded Potato Soup (make it, seriously!).

Waffle fries (more potatoes?!) doused in salt and vinegar.

Allie’s Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Blondies.  Note – I halved the oil, substituted the spices (little bit of pumpkin pie spice, lotta bit cinnamon and nutmeg), and used light brown sugar and these still came out fabulously!

What signs of fall are popping up in your area?  What’s been your favorite pumpkin goodie so far this season?

I Like the Other Kind of Shot Better

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Whoops, guess I do have time for a lunch post!  I decided that since I’m staying for lab tomorrow 12 straight hours on campus today was a bit much….so I went home!  Plus my arm was sore, but more on that in a minute.

Breakfast was the last of my samples from Zone Perfect,

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bar.  I’ll say it again, Yuuuuum!  I was not expecting to fall in love with these, but I totally did; if I see them at Wegmans more will be purchased.  The texture was very pleasing and the pb flavor was perfect.  It was just sweet enough.

I had some time after Library (I always get out early because the assignments are pretty basic) and I manged to get the Orgo notes I missed yesterday copied.  I hate missing class 😡

110’s lecture today was all about MILK.  We learned all about cooking milk, the nutrient properties of milk, and how milk is made into cheese(s), cream, buttermilk, etc.  Nothing about ice cream though now that I think about it.  The lecture was pretty fascinating; I learned a lot more about homogenization and pasteurization.

Pasteurization – or ultrapasteurization which cooks at the highest temp for the shortest time and has the least impact on flavor – is used to kill pathogenic bacteria.  Basically, it takes away all of the bacteria that can make us sick.  The bacteria that lead to spoilage are not affected, which is why you have to refrigerate milk.  Evaporated milk and dry milk powder are processed in a  different way that allows them to be stored for a longer time.

Homogenization doesn’t deal with bacteria – which is why non-homogenized milk is not illegal in most of the US like raw milk is.  Milk is ~ 87% water, and homogenization is the process that keeps the milk solids from separating out.  In the olden days milk bottles had a thicker layer of fat (cream) at the top due to the separation as they sat.  If you are making your own cheese you have to use nonhomogenized milk.

Interesting stuff!

After class I decided to be a responsible adult and get my flu shot for the season.

I think it’s also a responsible adult thing to reward yourself for a sore arm; cinnamon bun latte anyone?

This actually didn’t have a strong flavor (it wasn’t sweet at all), but the scent was delectable!  I sat in the coffee shop near my house and sipped while reading Orgo.

Then I came home and ate my final serving of pumpkin pasta leftovers for lunch.

This stuff just gets better and better as it sits!

I have to get back to Orgo, but I’m going to much on this Paula Red apple while I study –

I have my night class from 4:30 to 7:40 tonight, but I’m hoping we get out early so I can kick of Sandwich Week.

Have you gotten your seasonal flu shot yet?  Do you get a flu shot each year?

Fright Night

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This Saturday has felt very holiday-esque. Technically, it was a holiday –

but I was feeling more Haloweenie. Perhaps because this has been looping through my head all day?

The husband was right, I am now a total “Nightmare Before Christmas” addict!

The day actually started rather early for a Saturday; I signed up to volunteer at a local health fair today and my shift started at 8am. Milkshake for breakfast? Don’t mind if I do.

I made my first pumpkin pie through a straw of the season. Just look at that perfect pumpkin pudding color –

I was pretty jazzed about it, clearly.

My volunteer shift was nice and easy, mostly stuffing gift bags and greeting people.  A lot of the other volunteers bailed so I ended up getting some one on one time with the president of the club; she is a senior in the program I hope to get into so it was great to hear her advice.

Pretty soon the husband picked me up and we headed to the cafe in Wegmans to get our study on. And our lunch on.

Scoop of buffalo and curry chicken salads,

and some green beans and roasted veggies.

I was still feeling super hungry after lunch but I didn’t want to waste any more time eating so instead I bought a coffee.

Half regular and half decaf pumpkin pie with skim milk.

We got a couple solid hours of work done too. And the grocery shopping too. Get excited about my dinner posts next week – I’m doing “Sandwich Week” and it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Not so fun? Our apartment is a frigid 64*. I drank a honey vanilla chamomile tea to warm up while I studied.

We had pumpkin pasta leftovers for dinner.

I swear, this stuff is even more amazing the 2nd day.

We ate an early dinner because just after 6 we piled into the car. We had season tickets to Darien Lake Amusement Park and today was the last night of Fright Night.

Adam and I ate a Divine milk chocolate hazelnut bar during the drive.

And I snacked on a serving of Halloween jujus while we explored the “horror.”

(Please excuse the terrible cell phone photos) There wasn’t a lot to it, but Fright Night ended up being a lot of fun.

Our favorite was the haunted house; I don’t scare easily, but they definitely startled me a bunch of times.

The real fun though was the 20minutes we wasted in the parking lot looking for our car 😉

Have you been to any haunted houses this season?