Tag Archives: pasta

$2.99

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Good afternoon! Volunteering went well, and now I’m making a quick stop in at home before I head to campus.  I have materials to print, so I have to go early, and I figure if I go super early maybe I’ll get some work done.  I have a quiz this Thursday so this will be a busy week.

For lunch I decided to try the salad bar.

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I was worried about spending more than my voucher so I only took a little food.  However, the total ended up being $2.99, guess I should have gotten a little more!  I had a little bit of pasta salad,

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tuna salad with artichoke hearts,

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and spring mix lettuce with carrots, peas, black olives, hot sauce, blue cheese crumbles, and vinegarette.

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After volunteering I hit up the hospital coffee stand for a great pumpkin latte.

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Mmmn.  I love seasonal things!

I’m off to campus!

What is your favorite October food?  Mine is pumpkin lattes or my pumpkin pie smoothies.

Tastes of Fall

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Another productive day, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the streak continues!  Plus, I’ve full-force started eating “October food,” another trend I hope to continue 🙂  After my breakfast post I attempted to do a  little work, but Adam and I realized we were way too distracting to each other at home,

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so we packed up our stuff and went to a coffee shop to work!

All my diet soda talk in the last post got me craving one, so that’s what I had!

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The husband got a fancy shmancy hot chocolate.

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We were at The Spot, so you know I wanted a Mike’s Sandwich, but when I thought about all the food fun I had planned at home I decided to resist.  We studied for 4hours and I got a huge chunk of Chemistry work done. 

On the way home I had the husband drop me at the gym.  It was not so fabulous.  My foot still hurts and my calves were really really tight.  I really need to talk to a professional about strength-building/stretching exercises for my calves, knees, and hips.  In the end I did 2.83 miles on the treadmill, and tons of stretching, for 36minutes and 361 calories.

After my shower we closet swapped our summer stuff for winter duds.  Folks, we need to go shopping.  I have almost no winter wardrobe.  In NYC I dressed inappropriately and just dealt with being cold and uncomfortable, but that is not going to fly here in Buffalo (I’ll die!).  We scheduled in a big mall trip for next weekend – p.s. we budgeted for this already.

Then, the foodie fun began!  I made my first pumpkin pie through a straw of the season.

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1/2C 2C “>Stoneyfield Farms Lowfat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, 1C pumpkin puree, 1T maple syrup, 1/2C skim milk, dash cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.

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So good!

While I was drinking “pie,” I started baking pie!  I made a Maple Spice Pie from one of my favorite cookbooks, Pie, Pie, Pie: Easy Homemade Favorites, by John Phillip Carroll.  I used a Wholly Wholesome Organic Whole Wheat Pie Shell.

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Small blip, apparently you need maple syrup for a maple pie, who knew?!

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After an emergency run to the store things were back on track.  It had to set, so I started dinner before diving into dessert.  This combo came (basically) from the September issue of Health (recipe here).  Tofu and eggplant with cabbage over soba noodles.

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I swapped tamari and worchestire (sp?) for miso and sesame seeds for sesame oil, but other than that I followed the recipe.  It was wonderful, I loved the soba noodles and the texture of the tofu was great.

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I had more pumpkin alongside dinner, Wolaver’s Organic Will Steven’s Pumpkin Ale.

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And then finally it was time for dessert!

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The pie was good, but super messy.  The inside tasted like caramel apples to me!

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I took a huge slice and actually made myself a bit sick  😦  Now it is time for bed, I’ve got to get my sleep if I want another productive day!

What fall foods have you enjoyed this year?

Crossing My Fingers and Toes

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I actually got in bed before 10pm last night, but when we wake up 8bazillion times a night you kind of are tired no matter when you go to bed!  I wouldn’t have mattered when I woke up today though, I let my sadness over my foot kind of take over my whole day.  Not good, Emily, not good.

For breakfast I made 0% Fage with a heaping teaspoon TJ’s Sun Butter.

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And lunch made tasty tasty use of leftovers (and made leftovers for tomorrow!).

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I chopped up cooked lasagna noodles and stir fried them with broccoli, carrots, seitan, evoo, soy sauce, and chipotle oil.  It was super tasty, but I don’t think I like seitan as much as I once did.  I used this package from West Soy, and it just tasted a little off.

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All in all the plate was still pretty good though.

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Adam came home early from school (a class was canceled because of a big test this week) and we watched “Boogeyman” together.  It was a strange movie, but the eating of 4squares of this greatly upped my enjoyment.

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I got to school in time to print off class notes and purchase a stuffed buffalo for my niece.  We are visiting Adam’s brother in Ohio this weekend.  I also gave Jamba Juice a second chance.

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Much better.  When I got home from class I supplemented “dinner” with these pretzels.

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Tomorrow is a big day, I have my first lab, my first quiz, and hopefully my first day back at the gym.  Wish me luck!

What are you crossing your fingers for this week?

Tuna Lasagna and 3.14

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Howdy there!  I left the apartment and made it to the pharmacy (across many many a highway) unscathed 🙂  I was so proud of myself I bought a fountain diet coke from Subway as a reward!  I reached school around 4:30, which meant I had 2ish hours to study before class.  I still understand everything but I did stay for a while after class to ask a question.

When I got home I made some Chocolate Amazing Grass with skim milk.

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Adam put the dinner I prepared this afternoon into the oven and it was ready when I got home.

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(That’s a small plate portion) Tuna Salad Lasagna Stacks from Rachel Ray magazine.  Here’ s a link to the recipe.

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It was pretty good, but I saved room for dessert.

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Tyler Pie was a success, the husband has been enjoying it.  It is nice and custard-like.

I’m hoping to shower and get to bed pretty quickly because I have tons of schoolwork to do tomorrow.  I’m going to head to a coffee shop to study so I won’t be posting until lunch.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me that I can go to the gym tomorrow.

Do you ever use food as a reward?  I don’t use “food” per se (and I am strongly against doing this with children), but a diet coke?  Hells yeah!  P.S. Whenever I get a fountain soda I always add a shot of cherry coke for funsies.

Peanut Butter, Pasta, and Peace

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I’m back!  I’m still pretty pissed about my foot, but at least I am calm about it now.  It’s not just that my foot hurts, it’s mostly that the hurting is making me unable to walk normally, which is making my knee and hip really hurt.  Even if I ignore the pain I physically can’t make myself walk normally and I’m worried that once I can run again I’ll have messed up my hip or knee.  Argh!  I’m going to take one more day off and then attempt to go to the gym tomorrow. 

Moving on.  I didn’t sleep  well last night (shocking right?!) so I slept in until 9 and then got up and got organized for volunteering.  I ate a PB&J Lara Bar on the walk to the hospital.

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I love this flavor!  When I put my shoes on at home I seemed ok, but by the time I was a block away I knew it wasn’t going to happen.  My ward (dialysis) didn’t have anything seated for me to do so I offered to help in the volunteer office.  I spent an hour or so on the telephone helping people get appointments for free heart health screenings.  There wasn’t much else for me to do so I got home much earlier than usual.

I took advantage of the found time to make dinner for tonight.

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I have night class, so Adam can just throw this in the oven when it’s time for him to eat.

Then I got started on noon eats.  For lunch I made my Easy Peasy Peanut Noodles (click the link for the recipe).

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I used a Justin’s pb packet and added baby arugula and shredded carrots.

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Delish.  I love reheating pasta in a pan so it gets all nice and crispy.

I have class from 6:30-7:50 tonight but I’ve got to leave before 3:30 so I can go to the pharmacy to pick up my foot medicine.  We have our first chemistry quiz (and our first lab!) this week so I’ve got lots of studying to squeeze in today.  I’m glad dinner is done with 🙂

There are three reasons for the end of this post:  1) Caitlin’s brilliance this morning reminded me, 2) I’ve been planning on posting some inspiration ever since I found out that today is The International Day of Peace, 3) my attitude has been pretty negative lately, I would like to put out some positivity.  That said, here is a list of some of my favorite quotes –

“A man is what he thinks about all day.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”  ~Edmund Burke

“People who are sensible about love are incapable of it.”  ~Douglas Yates

“In three words I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life – it goes on.”  ~Robert Frost (I actually have part of this one engraved on the back of my i-pod)

“This one step – choosing a goal and sticking to it – changes everything.”  ~Scott Reed

“Life consists not in holding good cards, but in playing those you hold well.”  ~Josh Billings

“For all the sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are those ‘it might have been.'”  ~John Greenleaf Whittier

What is your favorite quote?

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?

Last Day of Summer

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Tomorrow I start class (and half marathon training) so this is technically the last day of summer.  It was a good end, very relaxing.

This afternoon Adam made a big bowl of Purely Decadent Nondairy Frozen Dessert Peanut Butter Zig Zag and I ate his melties.

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So tasty.  I love the melted part on ice-cream, especially Frostys, which I happened to also have!

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We did a test-drive out to my campus this afternoon so I could feel comfortable tomorrow.  We found my parking lot, and even walked into my classroom.  On the way home I was so hungry I could barely see straight so we pulled into Wendy’s for a last summer hurrah.  We might have also watched Bones while we ate 🙂

During tv time (technically online time as we don’t have cable and only watch shows on the internet) I also ate a few pieces of my new candy.

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We saw this “milk” candy at the store and we’re too intrigued not to buy it.  It was chewy but creamy, and quite good.

For dinner I went a little more grown-up.

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That’s Shallota Flavor Spaghetti, a recipe from Rachael Ray’s Big Orange Book.

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A bug-free salad.

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The salad had organic spring mix lettuce, Newman’s Own Asian Sesame Natural Salad Mist, walnuts, caraway seed cheese, and Chili Oloves.  My mom sent me the olives from San Francisco and they added a nice kick.

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It’s 10pm now and I’m hoping to do a little reading in bed so I’ve got to get going.  I’m excited but nervous about LIFE starting tomorrow.  Sweet dreams.

Do you like Rachael Ray?  I adore watching her on tv, I think she’s so cute, but I don’t cook her recipes that often.  They take longer than 30minutes (minus), but are very creative and tasty (plus).  Plus they are easy to healthify – use less/lower fat cheese, sub in ww pasta, cut the olive oil/butter…..

Balls, of Meat

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Extra to-do’s are done, dinner was made from scratch, it’s been a good day!  This morning was not much of a success.  I wanted to do chemistry review – one last ditch effort before class starts on Monday – so I rode to school with Adam to study at the South Campus library.  We got to school before it opened so I hung around the med school lobby and ate my snack.

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My baggie was about 2servings and very tasty.

Once the library did open at 8 I put in a valiant two hours of day-dreaming before I accepted that I was too cold and hungry to focus.  I trekked in search of a cafeteria, success.

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My egg/cheese bagel and coffee were just what I needed.  I studied in the cafeteria until I was halfway through with my coffee.  I should mention, the coffee machine was one of those push button thingies, and I ended up with English Toffee Cappuccino.  It was very syrupy and halfway through I basically had diabetes.

I trekked again, bought a diet soda to clear my head (don’t judge me!) and went back to the libary for some actual  studyingcompletely worthless blog reading. 

It wasn’t until 12:30 that I finally had some success!  I went for coffee with a blog reader/R.D student at UB (hi, Katie!).  I got to ask questions about the program and catch up on blog gossip, it was great.  We ended up sitting at Starbucks for hours!  While we were there I had a more successful snack.

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Unsweetened iced coffee with skim milk and a KIND bar.

I didn’t get home until after 5, and then Adam and I headed out on errands.  We spent forever at Target.  Among other things, I replaced my devious Sigg,

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and we bought a new blender, woo!

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Before we could head home we had to hit up a wine store too.

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We are having a small get-together tomorrow, the theme of which is wine and cheese.

Somehow at 9pm I managed to force myself to cook dinner.  While I worked I ate two farmers’ market plums for energy.

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We made Giada De Laurentiis’ meatballs, from her Everyday Italian cookbook.  I only had a small serving,

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but it was frickin delicious!  Hands-down the best turkey meatballs I’ve ever had, I’m sorry I can’t post the recipe.

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Dinner was great, and “My So-Called Life” was even better 🙂  We will be very busy tomorrow (in addition to our get-together set up we have to get our car registered) so I probably won’t be posting again until the evening.  See you then!

What is your favorite ground meat, for balls form?  My favorite is extra-lean turkey.