Tag Archives: potato

Roasty, Cheesy

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We have a 6am flight tomorrow, I should already be in bed!  But since I still plan on showering, nail painting, and watching Castle before bed I guess I shouldn’t worry about it 😉

Taking the dog this afternoon was hard!  I definitely dropped him off with a bag of stuff like a crazy person.  And the husband and I have both said at least twice this evening that we miss him.

I had to go pick up Adam after taking the dog and I stopped at the Co-op in between for a soda.

Orange cream just sounded right.  I also snagged a sample of their pecan pie.

Ah-mazing!  It was all I could do not to buy a whole pie.  And way to go on the gigantic sample sizes, Co-op.

Dinner was a roasty, cheesy, winner.

Baked potato topped with butter, sharp cheddar, and roasted broccoli (with truffle oil!), plus more broccoli with cheese on the side.

‘Twas very good.  And reminded us both that we love baked potatoes and should make them more often.

We also split this bar.

There were little bits of crunchy peppermint embedded throughout; awesome.  Normally I couldn’t stand to open something this Christmas-y before December, but I really wanted dessert!

If I don’t get to blog, I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving Tomorrow!

No Sleep Makes Strange Cravings

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Hello, hello. It’s been a long time (48+ hours!) since I’ve posted and it’s felt even longer. It’s been a crazy couple of days. My meals since I last blogged have been anything but impressive, but it kind of made me want to post all the more since I’m trying to put it all out there. I will add the disclaimer though that this is a *do not as I do* post 😉

I didn’t tell y’all last time, for obvious security reasons, but Monday was Adam’s 1st 24-hour shift at the hospital. It went very well, but I’m still glad that he’ll get to sleep at home most nights this year! I was tired, he was tired, the dog was tired.

<– That’s the scene I walked in on Tuesday afternoon. Swoon.

I had a ton of schoolwork to catch up on and was worried about sleeping without Adam so I pulled a bit of a 24-hour shift myself and only slept 2 hours on Tuesday night. <– this was a terrible idea, but more on that in a minute. I studied mostly standing at the mantle, which was lovely, and had a civilized midnight snack of tea with skim milk and dark chocolates.

Since I packed lunch before my all-nighter, Tuesday’s meals got off to a good start. I mixed together a Stonyfield 0% Chocolate Underground Yogurt with pumpkin puree and the end result was pretty amazing.

I also packed some citrus.

I ended up eating just the tangerine and giving away the orange.

And I bought a coffee – with tons of skim milk and a sprinkle of cinnamon – during a break in class.

Brunch was tasty, but not very filling, so when I came home to my sleeping family I stole a slice of Adam’s Newman’s Own White Pizza.

I also ate this fruit packet.

Wednesday (today) involved a major test and a major paper, so working on practically zero sleep Adam and I knew to grab hot bar for dinner Tuesday night.

An Indian dish and some tofu,

veggies,

which included some “Asian” Brussels sprouts that we so wildly good I almost drove back to Wegman’s to buy more!

I also snacked on a bowl of pretzels and coffee & cream malted milk balls.

And then the evening took a turn South. It’s possible I had a full-scale meltdown and confirmed that I’m now too old to pull all-nighters. Writing my paper involved such dramatic sobbing that I had to reprint a copy of my article because I got it wet with tears. Pathetic, I know.

When I did wrap things up, around 2am, we both celebrated with bowls of Lucky Charms.

Thanks for the cereal, husband, and for loving me in spite of me!

Tuesday I was too tired to be tired (if that makes sense) but today I felt every single missed hour of sleep. Meet breakfast –

And lunch –

Why, yes, classmate wondering why I’m photographing two bags of combos at 10am, I do write a healthy living blog.

But my paper was turned in and my test was at least passed, so today wasn’t a total fail. All I wanted to do at 4:30 when class finished was go home and sleep, but instead I headed to work. Tonight was my final shift which was actually sort of sad. I suppose I won’t miss random strangers calling me an asshole and hanging up, but the whole getting paid thing was nice.

When I got out at 9, I picked up Adam so we could fulfill the strangest food craving I’ll ever have – a McDonald’s Fillet-O-Fish Sandwich.

I hate McDonald’s. I’ve never even tasted this sandwich before. But for some reason I was smelling it all afternoon and it was driving me crazy.

This wasn’t even good (I was right, McDonald’s is gross) but at least I can move forward now.

P.S. I still have to shower (it’s after midnight) and tomorrow I have to *start* studying for Friday’s giant test so if you think tonight’s post was whiney and/or incoherent you probably should wait to read again until this weekend!

Have you ever craved a food that you’ve never tasted before?

Tasty/Slow

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Hello there.  Long time no see.

Between going to work on Friday night and eating an unphotographable lunch via food lab, it was just too difficult to blog yesterday.  But apparently it was quite easy for me to stay up until 1:30 am watching tv with the husband.  (Sidenote – how freaking off-the-charts fabulous was the newest “Bones” episode?!?!)  I was the walking dead all day today.

My morning actually had an early start because I had an 8:30 am volunteering commitment.  I had to pick up a friend on the way there, and shower before I faced the public, so my alarm felt super early.  But I was done and picking the husband up for a fun lunch date before I knew it.

Necessary back story ahead:  A classmate’s family owns a great local restaurant (Romeo and Juliet’s).  Their restaurant generously provided the cookies and bread that we sold as sides during the Chili Sale.  The bread was mini rolls made of panettone dough and it was completely fabulous.  The taste was like a very elevated King’s Hawaiian Roll.  Adam loves Hawaiian Rolls.  After we all raved about the rolls, our classmate told us that R&J’s also makes them for a local restaurant that centers their sandwiches around that bread.  There were leftovers after the sale and we all were thrilled to take some home.  On Thursday I brought home 10 mini rolls.  Adam got home around 4pm that day.  By 5pm all 10 rolls were gone.  Last night, when Adam picked me up from work he brought me a cannoli.  “Because [he] knew [I] wanted to try one.”  Upon further pressing, I found out that the cannoli was from R&J’s.  Because he went to see if they had more rolls.  (They did not.)

So long story long, today we dined at the restaurant that centers its sandwiches around R&J’s epic buns.

SoHo Bar had this funky, industrial vibe to it that we loved.

I took Adam as a surprise and while he was excited to be getting a lunch date, he had no idea why we were there.

(e) Read the menu.

(a) The salads look good.

(e) Look at the burgers.

(a) The meat is provided by Johnny’s Meats?

Sometime I think it’s a good thing he’s so book smart!  But once I pointed out the only sentence on the menu he had yet to read aloud, he was thrilled.

Adam went with a classic burger on an amazing bun, and I got a #4 combo so we could try multiple menu categories.

I had the turkey burger, with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and red onion.

Plus I requested some cranberry chutney to add on too.

The sour of the chutney and pickles went so well with the sweetness of the bun.

Adam and I split my fries, which came in an adorable mini fryer basket.

And finally we split a spiked shake (2/3 to 1/3, his favor).

We went with a Kentucky Caramel, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, vanilla ice cream, caramel ice cream, caramel sauce.

The bourbon-caramel combo was pairing perfection.

We continued our date with a long walk around the mall and it was the perfect afternoon.  At 2:30 I had to go to work but it was a short 2-hour shift that flew by quickly.  Plus, I was the ‘top earner’ yesterday and I went home today with a $5 gift card! 

My $ was promptly spent on snacks for the husband.  I carried a jumbo tub of movie-butter popcorn for many aisles through Target before I decided I’d probably ultimately be happier not consuming 5-bazillion calories before dinner.  Instead I ate the 2nd serving of Chia “Rice” Pudding.

Still tasty, but calorically dwarfed by the popcorn and packed with omega-3 fatty acids.

It was delicious straight out of the fridge, topped with cinnamon, and I highly recommend trying it yourself.

I don’t recommend dinner.

Don’t get me wrong, the flavors were amazing. 

But not 60+ minutes in the kitchen amazing.

for 2, quickly written but slowly cooked

  1. Place 3 oz prepared whole-wheat spaghetti in the bottom of two bowls (6oz total, 3oz each).
  2. In a large pan, working in three separate batches, use chicken broth to steam 6 oz fresh spinach, 1 small graffiti eggplant, and 22 large frozen shrimp.  Split between bowls.  Use the same pan for every step in the recipe to allow the flavors to build.
  3. Cook 2 slices Applegate Farms Turkey Bacon.  Chop and set aside.
  4. Heat 2 tsp evoo in the pan over medium heat.  Add 2 chopped shallots and 3 chopped cloves of garlic.  Cook until translucent.
  5. Add 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour and cook 1 minute.
  6. Stir in 1/4 cup chicken broth.  Add 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup light cream and continue to stir.
  7. Return chopped bacon to pan.  Add 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese and cook until melted.  Pour sauce on top of veggies and pasta.

The sauce was fantasmic but I needed a bigger pan because cooking each layer separately took up waaaaay too much time.  My favorite part was the bacon, which I stole a slice of during prep.

Yum.

And I must smell like bacon, because look at how the dog has insisted on sitting all evening –

It’s sort of making my life.  Plus we watched “Crazy/Beautiful” while we ate and it’s one of my favorite movies so I’m pretty blissed out in general.  Hope everyone else is having a good weekend!

You Want S’more Puppy Pictures

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What a beeee-U-tea-full day for a walk!

I met blog reader/friend Katy for a walk down Bird Island Pier.  We walked for an hour and a half and covered somewhere around 4 miles.  We even got to go under the Peace Bridge!

So fun; I highly recommend heading out there if you’re in Buffalo.

Afterwards I came home for a quick walk with my boys; my tootsies are a little tired now!  Before I met up with Katy this afternoon I opened up this bag of Lays Garden Tomato and Basil chips from my HLS swag bag.

I love the Caroline BBQ variety that is part of the same line but I wasn’t really a fan of this flavor, too much tomato.  I knew I could get something better later so I abandoned the bag 5 chips in.  I’m glad I waited because my stomach started growling after my walks, but too early for dinner, and I split a slice of buffalo chicken pizza with Adam.

The picture is just of my half a slice, by the way; Zetti’s gives you a sort of ridiculous good deal with their ginormous slices.

I did have a swag bag win this afternoon too though, I drank this Lavender Mint Water during our walk.

Yum!  I couldn’t really taste the lavender but there was the slightest hint of mint (not overwhelming at all)  and it was amazing.

Insert several hours of blog browsing (me) and napping (husband) and then it was time for dinner.

Kielbasa, sautéed cabbage, hash browned potatoes; it’s like my Polish ancestors were right at the table with us!

First I cooked sliced Tofurkey Kielbasa Polish-Style Meatless Sausage in a skillet until it was nice and toasty,

then I used the same skillet to saute some cole slaw mix with a little bit of butter and apple cider vinegar,

then finally I sautéed some sliced potatoes (which I precooked a bit in the microwave first) with garlic, onions, and a lotta bit of butter.

This meal was so hearty and satisfying. 

The combo was maybe a little strange for a summer night, but I will have to bookmark this post for the long winter. 

more puppy pictures

I think Webster is a great name for a little brown dachshund – particularly when we get him a Frenchie friend named Miriam in the future – but lately Adam’s been saying we should have called Webs S’more.  He has a chocolate-brown back, a graham cracker tan belly, and this spot on his chest that we call his marshmallow.

Adorable!

Fit For A Dog

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Going back a few hours…  We did go get Webster that toy.

Actually we got him a few, but we started with Mouse who he loves.

Dinner wasn’t quite as easy.  Adam and I had things to do and it got later and later until suddenly it was just late.  We set out in search of sustenance but got sidetracked at Blue Monk, where one of our good friend bartends.  She was in, and she was on break, and they did have Brooklyn Brewery’s Concoction on draft, and we could get it for free….

And before you knew it, it was really late and dinner was bought at Jim’s Steak Out at 1 am.

That plate was a 6inch buffalo chicken sub with a side of fries.  Exactly the kind of food you should just go to bed without eating and exactly the kind of food that is perfect for 1 am dinners.

I tried to stay in bed as late as I could this morning, but that basically meant getting up to do something for Webster every 10 minutes from 7 – 9. 

That’s his ears-back look.  When I did get up, I made myself some Lean Cuisine Thai-Style Chicken Spring Rolls.

They were good, but not life changing obviously.  I liked the chew and the veggies but I needed a lot more spice.

I ate the entire box (2 servings) for 400 calories, which – with the addition of roasted green beans – made for a perfect brunch.

I also had a yellow plucot, I think it was called a dapple, for dessert.

This was my first time trying the yellow variety but I loved it.  I couldn’t taste the difference between this and other plucots, but it was sweeter than regular plums are.  I’ve got to cop to the fact that I let Webster eat a few bites of plucot while I was still eating it; apparently I’m that dog owner.  But you know what, dogs’ mouths are only disgusting because they eat their own poop and we don’t let him do that!

The Elmwood Art Festival is happening today but Adam’s at the hospital all day so I’m going to wait it out until tomorrow.  I do have plans for a long walk with a friend this afternoon though.

What’s your stance on dog mouths?  Share some food, lick your face, or stay the hell away?

Birds Eye Take Two

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Tonight for dinner we tried the second half of the Birds Eye Chef’s Favorites sample I was sent as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program.  To read my thoughts on the line as a whole (convenience, nutrition, etc) please read this post.

On the left is Lightly Sauced Primavera Vegetable Risotto.

Sadly, this was the one variety I didn’t love.  The white rice/carrot/pea combo reminded me too much of fried rice and it was a bit gummy.  I should note, however, that the husband thought it was pretty good, better than the other risotto in fact.  I only ate half of my serving and he happily finished it off.  Each serving contains 180 calories, 4 grams of protein and 14% of your daily sodium.

On the right is Lightly Sauced Roasted Red Potatoes and Green Beans with a Parmesan Olive Oil Sauce.

I was a bigger fan of this one.  The potatoes were neither mushy nor too firm and the sauce was good without being heaving.  120 calories, 3 grams of protein, and 12% of your daily sodium per serving.

To enlarge our meal Adam and I also split a thing of spicy lump crab roll.

The sushi from Wegmans is shockingly good.

My facial appointment went well this afternoon; definitely not something I would pay a full price for but fun to use a Groupon on.  I’m pretty sure the lotion she used with end up making me break out but the shoulder massage was greatly appreciated.

I had to stop by the co-op this afternoon and I was so hungry I ended up buying a small box of hot bar and inhaling it on the walk home.

Adam confirmed my suspicions that walking whilst eating does make you a fatty but it was totally worth it.  I got waldorf chicken salad and a few tortellini.

I’m going to wrap this post up now because (surprise, surprise) I still haven’t packed.  I’ve got to go figure out what I’m going to wear this weekend!

Are you going to the Healthy Living Summit?  If you see me there pretty please say hello; I’m terrible with faces and I’m afraid I’m just going to be stuck in a corner by myself!

This Is A Morning

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I said I’d blog in the morning, I just didn’t say which morning.

As promised, Adam came home Saturday night with a feast.

We split some waffle fries,

and I ate half of this spicy bean enchillada.

In the morning we took a long walk (he pooped!),

and picked up an iced tea from Starbucks.

Then came home and made breakfast.

I had turkey bacon,

two eggs with spicy corn relish scrambled in,

and a Bagel Thin with Smart Balance Lite and Crofters Organic Grape Spread.

My plan for the afternoon was supposed to be a 3 mile run.  But then this happened –

So then this happened –

Webster makes spending the afternoon at home so much more exciting.  As do brownies.

These S’mores Brownies are definitely in the top ten list of things I’ve baked!

I think I actually like them better than traditional s’mores!

We did take a few walks, which turned into mud baths, which turned into Webster’s first real bath.  Eeee, wet dachshunds are so cute; I will have to remember to take a picture next time.

I had dinner/drinks plans at 8:00 which felt late so I did some afternoon snacking.  Baby carrots dipped in blue cheese dressing.

Half a matzoh sheet with extra sharp cheddar melted on top.

A mug of Candy Cane Lane with skim milk.

And 1 serving of Trolli Soda Poppers.

The snacking did the trick and before I knew it I was at Bar Louie with my friends.  I know it’s sort of a breakfast drink, but the extra spicy bloody mary was calling my name.

It was spicy and delicious, but I was a little put off by the freaking sandwich Bar Louie stuck in the top of it –

I don’t eat meat!  I did eat a small plate of the appetizers we shared.

I’m so happy that I ended up with such a great group in my year for Dietetics.  I didn’t get home until after 12 and I will admit to feeling a bit cranky this morning.

I’m starving and I assume Webster’s chewing on my bookshelves to tell me that he’s bored, so we’re off to take a long walk.  This will be my first day home alone with the puppy, wish me luck!

I Made Coq Au Vin!

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What a day; I’ve been a busy bee since literally the minute I got out of bed!  I realize I didn’t do anything major – and most of you have jobs – but lots of little things added up and I feel accomplished and exhausted.  I don’t loving doing one long post a day but that will probably have to be the schedule once school starts anyway.

I had a scary doctor’s appointment across town this morning which meant I got to drive along the water.

I also got to eat breakfast in the car, in the form of an 18 Rabbits Cheeky Cherry Chocolate Granola Bar.

This was awesome; the perfect amount of chew with a little bit of tang from the cherries and a little bit of sweet from the chocolate.  Plus for 240 calories this was very filling.  I know I live for Cookie Dough Balance Bars and Chocolate Coconut Covered Lara Bars, but when it comes to straight up granola bars 18 Rabbits takes the cake oat.

My doctor’s appointment wasn’t fun, but it wasn’t as scary as it could have been.  I had a bump on my hand that needed a biopsy so 2 needles, 1 scalpel, and a band-aid later I was done.

It hurts a bit, but felt a little better once I could get home and pretty it up.

Did you know we only have children’s band-aids in our apartment?  I’m going to hit up a drug store tomorrow but Adam’s going to have to wash my hair tonight because those cuties are not water-tight.

On the way home I stopped at the gym to complete a workout session for the study I’m participating in.  We fuel with three different drinks and then walk on the treadmill for and hour at our heart rate range and take some notes on exertion levels.  Today I fueled with this 24 oz mystery beverage that I believe was water and apple juice.

I walked on the treadmill at a 5% incline for an hour and 2.9 miles.

I had to hurry to shower when I got home because I was meeting friends, but I was heading back to the gym after lunch.  It was the perfect time to try out the Champion tank every blogger’s been raving about.

I picked this up at Target the other day and I’m in love.  You know I’m all about the blouse-tank.

This may be my new favorite top for play and workouts; it was so comfy.  Plus, two different homeless guys stopped me to tell me I looked hot, so I’m giving this two thumbs up.

For lunch I met up with a few school friends at Coles.  It was so great getting a chance to catch up with a few people I haven’t seen all summer.  I ordered off of the specials menu.

A sandwich of grilled salmon in a sweet glaze with pickled veggies, and french fries.

This was okay, but the sauce was oddly sweet.  The best part was actually the spicy mayo which wasn’t even mentioned on the menu.  I ate about 2/3 of everything.

After lunch I headed back to the gym for my real workout: a running session on the treadmill.  It was pretty hard (being fat isn’t fun!) but I made myself stick to the same goal as Sunday of minimum 5 minutes running, maximum 2 minutes walking.  I did 4 miles in 42 minutes, 22 seconds.  Seven miles in one day probably wasn’t my best idea though, my back is killing me.

I was starving when I got home and dinner took for-ev-a so I ate a few snacks while I cooked.  Watermelon chunks stolen straight from the big container.

And two servings of Trolli Soda Poppers.

P.S. These aren’t bad, but they’re no gummi cola bottles.

1.5 hours later – seriously – it was time for dinner.  I made Coq au Vin!

Casey (who I had an obsessive girl crush on) made this during Top Chef and I’ve wanted to try it ever since.  I used Cooking Light’s Easy Coq au Vin recipe and my only changes were subbing in turkey bacon and using chicken breast instead of thighs and drums.

This was very good, but I’m not sure it was quite good enough to excuse the long cooking time; we’ll have to see how it does as leftovers.  At least the multiple sessions of simmering gave me time to handle my to-do’s around the house.

For my greens I made a tasty side salad.

A romaine base with Newman’s Own Light Cesar, roasted edamame, and roasted buckwheat groats.

The groats might be too savory for yogurt but I think they’re my new favorite salad topper.

I’d like to say I’m going to bed now but Adam’s still not home and I can’t wash my own hair.  But since my husband’s been at the hospital for upwards of 12 hours I guess it’s hard to complain about my day!