It’s The Weekend And I’m Not Crabby

That title is a play on words referencing a tasty casserole I made this week, but real talk – I was super cranky this week and I only have a few snippets to share…

breakfast

Coffee and a watermelon Greek yogurt.

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I was hoping that the cafeteria would have fresh watermelon on hand to pair with it but honestly that flavor is pretty delicious on its own.

Iced Americano with skim milk and a splash of half and half.

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I asked for Americano with “light water” which seems to be my perfect order; mostly espresso without being just espresso.

Cherries and a cheese stick.

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Yum!

lunch

Tropical chia pudding.

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Chia seeds soaked in canned coconut milk with honey and vanilla bean paste with a smashed banana stirred in the next day.

Cafeteria sandwich.

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Tuna salad on multigrain with veggies and muenster.

Cafeteria Inception-style salad.

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Greens with oil and balsamic vinegar topped with shredded cheddar and cucumber and carrot salads.

snack

Self-explanatory…

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Most of our snacks revolved around our homemade no-churn vanilla bean ice cream. <— have you commented on the cookbook giveaway post yet??

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Topped with melted dulce de leche and Valencia peanut butter.

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And whirled into ridiculous milk shakes with Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

dinner

Last night we went on a date to the mall to buy Adam sneakers and me bras and underwear because apparently we have a serious case of the olds.  We did keep things young and fresh by getting a fancy dinner at the food court.

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That’s “Drunken Noodles” from the new Thai spot, I guess.  The veggies were tasty (there were amazing pieces of eggplant) but it was a pretty poor representation of the dish.

The rest of our nights centered around this Cheesy Crab Pasta Bake.

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You see the creeper in that photo?  That’s how you know it’s good!

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Cheesy Crab Pasta Bake; serves 6-8

  • 8 oz dry bow-tie pasta
  • 1 Tbsp salted butter
  • 1 heaping Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 cups milk
  • 4 oz shredded sharp cheddar
  • 4 oz shredded pepperjack
  • 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • juice from 1 lemon
  • 1 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 4 sliced green onions (green and white parts)
  • (2) 6 oz cans crab meat, drained and picked through if needed
  • 3 oz crab seasoned chips, crushed
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prep an 8×8 inch casserole dish with baking spray.
  2. Cook al dente pasta according to manufacture’s instructions then rinse and set aside.
  3. In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter.  Whisk flour into butter to form a roux and cook 1-2 more minutes until it has slightly darkened.  Whisk milk into roux and cook 3-4 more minutes until thickened, stirring out any lumps as needed.  Working in batches, stir cheeses into sauce.
  4. Reduce heat to low and stir Old Bay, fish sauce, lemon, and garlic into sauce.
  5. Remove pan from heat and stir in pasta, green onions, and crab, tossing until mixture is well-combined.  Pour into prepared casserole dish and top evenly with crushed chips.
  6. Bake 23 – 25 minutes.

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Served with spinach salad with champagne vinaigrette, pepitas, and roasted broccoli.

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Have a great weekend!

Easter And Onward

This post feels long, and I am le tired, so I will try to be less loquacious than usual.

Very chatty sidenote – how great are some of the words that describe how much a person does or does not talk??  Loquacious.  Taciturn.  Verbose.  Gabby.  Love them!

Real talk though: I somehow caught a springtime cold and I am cranky and sniffling and need to go to bed.  I know I’ve wasted 60+ words on an intro, but I’ll try to let the pictures speak for themselves as much as possible.

breakfast

Vanilla iced coffee with vanilla milk.

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Smoothie #1 – strawberry mint.  Chocolate mint soy milk, frozen strawberries, and plain Greek yogurt.

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Smoothie #2 – blueberry bliss.  Frozen blueberries and dates with plain almond milk, plain Greek yogurt, and a little honey.

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I made another batch of Community Coffee French Roast, this time in our coffee machine.  Traditional/hot brewing did make this a little bitter, but it was still quite drinkable.  Especially with skim milk and a splash of toasted marshmallow coffee syrup or a sprinkle of cinnamon and brown sugar.

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lunch

Subs with the in-laws for Easter.  With chips and hard-boiled Easter eggs.

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Coffee Chobani with Cocoa Coconut Renola and a Cara Cara.  I am very picky about my coffee yogurts and this stuff was on point.

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A half turkey sandwich from the cafeteria with seaweed salad and Easter candy delivered by a coworker.

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I apparently don’t have a photo to speak for itself, but another day I packed a sandwich from home.  An epic sandwich.  Sweet cheddar and extra-sharp cheddar on a toasted English muffin.  Swoon.

This mix was random, but it worked – spicy Thai chili tuna salad, brown sugar and sea salt seaweed, and a Cara Cara.

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snack

Coconut water for rehydration.

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These chips are amazing.

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Coffee, always.

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The husband and I are both obsessed with these two dessert items.

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Plain Greek yogurt with butterscotch peanut butter and chocolate-covered cocoa nibs

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I made How Sweet Eat’s Brown Butter Oatmeal Chunk Cookies for a birthday at work and they received rave reviews.  I subbed vanilla bean paste for cinnamon, subbed dark chocolate chips for chocolate chunks, and made much smaller cookies (for a yield of 40 cookies versus her 15), and I recommend all three changes if you make a batch of your own.

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I’m including two non-edibles that fed my soul.  The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman was like a grown-up version of Francesca Lia Block’s stuff.  It was hard to put down; I read on the train and one night I had to sit in my car in the parking lot for twenty minutes to keep reading.

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This lip-balm smells like my dreams.

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dinner

Easter dinner.

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Dessert was angel food cake layered with a yummy Cool Whip + vanilla pudding mix + shredded pineapple concoction.

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An easy, amazing soup.  I cooked shell pasta in chicken broth then dumped in sautéed chopped bok choy and green onions, shredded cooked chicken breast, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  My bowl was drizzled with sweet chili oil as well.  Adam absolutely raved about this dish.

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I turned the rest of my never-ending marinara sauce into a bastardized version of Jenna’s Channa Masala.  On top of brown rice and roasted broccoli.  Topped with plain Greek yogurt and sweet chili oil.

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Safe Catch sent me a can of their wild skipjack tuna.

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Please note: I was sent this product free of charge to review.  I was not provided with further compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

Seafood is a great thing to include in your diet.  It is a lean protein, a good source of iron, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.  Unfortunately, due to the fact that seafood contains mercury, it may not be a good idea to consume it daily, and some varieties are safer than others.  Canned tuna, for example, I have to tell my pregnant patients to limit to </ once per week.  Safe Catch is a new, mercury tested, tuna brand that enforces a strict limit on the amount of mercury allowable in the fish that go into its products (their standards are 90% stricter than the FDA’s mercury safety limit of 1.0 parts per million).  Also important – the fish is caught exclusively with pole and line from managed stocks.

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I wanted to be able to really taste the tuna – we give it two thumbs up – so I made it into a super simple tuna salad.

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Served on a challah roll with a side of roasted broccoli.

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Last night was my sickest, and the husband worked overnight, so I made a(n incredibly tasty!) frozen meal from Trader Joe’s and called it a night.  I also ate a bowl of cereal in bed.

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There were entirely too many photos of my hands in this post.

Last Week’s Top Five

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{1} Coffee, always.

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The Hint of Honey Almond Breeze is coffee’s perfect companion.  (note – I prefer the original to vanilla)

{2} Dates with turkey bacon.

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I agree, everything on that napkin looks like a cockroach (dates one major downfall!), but the combination was delicious.

{3} Good lunches from the cafeteria.

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A winning tuna salad sandwich and a giant burrito with chicken, cheese, sour cream, salsa, and tons of broccoli that they sweetly let me add from the salad bar.

{4} Berry yogurt bowl.

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Fresh blues / Stonyfield Strawberry Oh My Yog! / Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes.  I did not enjoy the sour, whole milk taste of the yogurt, but several coworkers tasted the cereal after I raved about it and wrote down the specs so they could buy some too!

{5} A meze plate.

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All from Trader Joe’s – dates / green and orange bell peppers / baby carrots / dolmas / olives / kalamata olive hummus.

Cookie Monster

An old-school full-day wrap-up post?  Why not!  I felt the urge.

I cannot even tell y’all how excited I was this morning that today was Friday.  Adam has the weekend off and even though he has studying to do I’ll get to sit next to him on the couch!  I still needed coffee to help me face the day though.

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Non-fat iced latte (always iced!) and an apple.

I clearly wasn’t getting up early enough to pack a lunch, so I got food from the cafeteria today.

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A half sandwich – love that my caf. offers that – of tuna salad, provolone, lettuce, red onions, and honey mustard, on whole-wheat.

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Plus baked onion rings.

Dessert was candy that my co-worker sweetly brought me.

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A thank you for the gift I brought to her baby shower on Tuesday.  I am excited for her, but also a little bummed because she’ll be out on maternity leave soon and she’s one of my favorite people at work.

We have tons of leftovers from our take-out streak the past week so we kept thing simple for dinner.

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Buffalo chicken pizza.

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And green papaya salad from a new Thai place in Great Neck.

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The salad was flavorless and disappointing but it was my only shot at produce so I ate it anyway.

And cooooookies while we watched “Bones.”  The last caramel chip plus cookie creamer in my (half-caf) iced coffee.

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Both good, obviously.

My weekend plans include a long overdue visit to the gym, Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, and a doughnut spree in Manhattan if the rain holds off.

Have a happy weekend!

Apple Picking; Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend I got to cross something major off of my fall bucket list – apple picking!

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I drove upstate to Lawrence Farms with some girlfriends and we came home with pounds and pounds of tasty apples.

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I also snagged Adam and I two pumpkins for carving next weekend.

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Check out my gorgeous haul (this is only a portion of it, the rest went into the fridge) –

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So far, my favorite variety is the Candy Crisp.

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Yum!  We had a ton of fun and I definitely want to repeat this activity next fall.

I don’t have much to share for this post, just three things.  I’m a bit under the weather and I spent almost all of Sunday tucked in bed.

Breakfast on the go.

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A smoothie  – water and meat from a Thai young coconut with canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, frozen banana, and maple syrup – and a Clif Maple Nut bar that I shared with the husband.  The bar was much better than the smoothie, which did not emulsify at all.

Getting in my green before a dinner of orange hues.

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Spinach salad with sweet and spicy pecans, dried blueberries, and buttermilk blue cheese, dressed with honey, evoo, and lavender salt.

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The oil came home from Italy with a friend and it was fantastic.

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Our main course was tuna casserole that I made and froze awhile back, so I don’t totally remember what was in it.  Definitely tuna, barley, spinach, green onions, peas, water chestnuts, roasted garlic and mushroom condensed soup, cheese, and crushed Cheez-Its on top.

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Plus carnival squash that we roasted with salt, smoked brown sugar, liquid smoke, and maple syrup.

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Dinner was delicious.  Sweet and smoky squash with cheesy casserole?  You can’t really go wrong!

Best bite of the week goes to dessert from Ample Hills.

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I got a kids’ cup of pistachio and honey and the flavors went together perfectly.

Hopefully I am over the hump with my sickness now.  The temperatures are finally dropping here and I really don’t want a cold to go with the cold!

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Weekly Wrap-Up; Under / The Weather / Is Still Too Cold

If you couldn’t guess from the title, my complaints this week are: a) it’s too cold outside and b) I’ve caught a cold.  A.1 would be holy plastic, Batman, I’ve eaten a lot of packaged foods this week!

I’ve been eating {tons of junk} but not photographing so this will be a quick recap.  Thankfully speed helps keep my complaining in check!

breakfast

And I started my Monday off so well.

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Smoothie  = Coco Café Vanilla Coconut Water Latte, frozen banana, frozen blueberries, and a scoop of peanut butter.

Tuesday went downhill.

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Bagel with {tons of} cream cheese from a truck on my way to work.

And this morning I admitted defeat and got a giant latte with an extra shot of espresso.  Sidenote – I want to try the vanilla macchiato at Starbucks ASAP.

lunch

Monday.

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GoPicnic Box.

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And a Cara Cara.

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Readers who live within a feasible distance of Trader Joe’s – go get thee a bag of Cara Cara Oranges this very minute!  They are sweet, seedless, and rocking my face off.

Tuesday.

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An herb and garlic tuna packet scooped with TJ’s popped chips.

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With more Cara Cara love.

Wednesday I felt so bad I actually called into work.  I slept for most of the day and then hit the bed hard again by 10 pm that night.  Boo.

Thursday.

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A ranch tuna packet stirred into a mac and cheese cup.

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DSC08475Tuna was good, the macaroni was disgusting.  The Cara Cara was fantastic, obviously.

junk

Please note – this post only shows a small sampling of the truly massive amount of junk I’ve been eating lately.  Speaking of which… I have these {ridiculously delicious, like seriously out of control good} pretzel bites on the train at least twice a week.

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That habit needs to die, immediately.

I’ve also developed a pretty hardcore Good & Plenty obsession this week.

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As far as candy goes, this is hardly the worst because you get a very satisfying serving for 180 calories and no fat.  But as far as being a healthy adult goes, I need to stop eating so much freaking candy.

Chocolate covered pretzels are also candy.

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I actually ate these for dinner one night, but that was too depressing so I put them under this category instead.  I am clearly struggling with being a grown-up during the weeks when Adam’s working nights and I’m left to my own devices.

dinner

I ate cereal (and/or candy) for dinner most nights this week but did get in two nights of people food.  Like leftover pizza.

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Topped with chicken, caramelized onions, and bbq sauce.

And last night Adam had business in the city so he swung by Brooklyn to pick me up from work for Date Night!  Swoon!!  We got in a freezing but enjoyable 2 mile walk, stopping along the way to split a green juice.

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Kale/collards/romaine/cucumber/celery/parsley/green apple/lime.

Then we had a wonderful dinner at Calexico.

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DSC08484We wandered into it by chance after our first choice for dinner didn’t work out and I am so glad that we found it.  We can’t wait to go back for margaritas and nachos.

For dinner last night, I did the black bean taco – guacamole, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, and “crack sauce.”

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Plus the veggie special – fried brussels sprouts in chili and peanut salsa.

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The food was fresh, inventive, and perfectly seasoned.  I know my pictures were dark and blurry, but I was afraid if I didn’t blog this meal I would forget about it and I definitely want to remember this place.  Calexico will be a repeat spot!

What bad habit do you need to start being more of a grown-up about?

Weekish Wrap-Up

The title is sort of a pun!  Because this post is pretty weak.  Get it??

I’ve been all over the place with my posting schedule lately but it just feels right.  Especially this two-day “week” because I’ve been total snack monster so I’ve eaten a full post’s worth of food.  Here we go…

Cold-brew coffee with low-fat chocolate milk.

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Oh, I noticed you admiring my nails {just go with it}, here’s a better shot –

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I know they aren’t perfect – and I cleaned up the edges a bit after that photo – but I was so flipping proud to have managed them at all.  My hands have made me happy all week.

Onto pictures you’ve actually asked for… welcome to my office at work!

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It is never as messy as my hair is in that picture {yikes!}.

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I haven’t done much decorating, but I have a few touches to make it feel like home (mostly reminders of Webster).

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But back to my mocha, that did not make me happy.  I bought a jug of chocolate milk and made a week’s worth of coffee… but I used the butter rum flavored coffee from Target and ultimately it is just too nasty to drink.  I ended up throwing out my whole batch!

I had this Dannon pecan drinkable yogurt on the train.

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I was really impressed with how creamy it was.

Work lunch.

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An apple,

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and leftover shrimp pad thai from the weekend.

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I still can’t believe we were able to make it taste so good/authentic.

Another lunch.  This one not nearly as photogenic.

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Pumpernickel with miracle whip, grape jam, banana peppers, sharp cheddar, and smoked turkey.

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A red pear.

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And a mini Honeycomb chocolate from Chuao.

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Snacks at work: Lots of tea from my Numi samples.

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Haribo liquid center fruit gummi candies.

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And a bag of Somersaults.

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Snacks at home: A packet of tuna salad.

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A ridiculous peanut butter fudge mug cake.

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And a mini Firecracker Chocolate from Chuao.

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I don’t know how they keep the pop rocks so fresh when they’re enrobed in chocolate but this bar had crackle!

Last night’s dinner was rice noodles with bean sprouts and tons of broccoli cooked in peanut sauce.

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Normally this is one of our favorite meals but this dinner felt very meh.

And that’s all she wrote! I hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week!

Weekly Wrap-Up; Lots Of Leftovers

You saw most of this week’s eats yesterday, so this post is just to fill in the gaps.  What you’re not seeing – the coffee.  I was terrible about bedtime this week and the result was constant coffee consumption.  This work week ended up being particularly busy, so it was serendipitous that I was extra-caffeinated.

snacks

Numi Cardamom Pu-erh Tea with skim milk.

DSC07413Valentine’s style Junior Mints.

DSC07375Junior Mints are my favorite chocolate candy, second only to York and Pep bars, and these were shaped like freaking hearts!  Too exciting.

Popcorn with caramel and turkey bacon.

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stuff I didn’t cook

Brunch at Biscuits and BBQ.

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DSC07303It was good, but I was expecting the meat to be pulled and smothered and I probably would have ordered differently if I’d known it wasn’t.  At least the serving was giant; Adam ate my 2nd half for lunch the next day.

We were mostly there for dessert anyway.  I read a review in the Times that said Biscuits and BBQ had some of the best key lime pie the reviewer had ever tasted.

DSC07305Yep.  Key lime pie is my favorite dessert and this was definitely one of the best slices I’ve had.  The only way it could have been better is if the traditional crust was a graham cracker crust – the way my mom makes it – because I like my extra-sweet with a side of extra-sweet!

Sushi take-out from Kisso.

DSC07327I went with two boring, cooked rolls (both with tempura!) but Adam said his chirashi was the best he’s ever had.

leftovers for lunch

Since I made a different recipe each night for my book review, I ended up with lots of leftovers for lunches.  Eating tapenade and tofu egg salad on my lunch break felt fancy!

A packaged lunch.

DSC07336Roasted seaweed.

DSC07338A Strawberry Apple Crusher.

DSC07341And some Bumblebee Spicy Thai Chili Tuna with crackers.

DSC07340I loooove that tuna, it is so flavorful.

An eggless lunch.

DSC07364Leftover eggless egg salad.

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DSC07371With a side of green grapes.

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DSC07378Leftover lentil tapenade with celery and baby carrots.

DSC07391A giant honeycrisp.

DSC07385And baby Lindt HELLO bars.

DSC07382a dinner

The night I was left to my own devices in the kitchen I made mac and cheese and trees for dinner.

DSC07428Just a box of this adorable winter shapes mac and cheese with 0% Greek yogurt, smoked paprika, a tin of Bella cayenne pepper smoked sardines, and broccoli roasted with truffle salt.

DSC07408DSC07426Gussied up box macaroni is the best easy dinner.

What’s your go-to order when you’re channeling the deep South?  Adam does chicken and waffles while I like pulled chicken and fried okra.