Tag Archives: veggies

Butter And Pepper

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Things from the week…

Still not tired of yogurt bowls. This one was plain Greek with granola, cereal, blueberries and pomegranate.

Nuts Factory released new versions of their viral Dubai chocolate bar and I obviously bought them. S’mores was a 10/10; almost as good as the pistachio flavor.

Mediterranean-ish rice bowls. Brown rice and black rice slow cooked congee-style with chicken broth / ground turkey sauteed with garlic, smoked paprika, harissa, and tomato paste / roasted zucchini / topped with local Za’atar chili crisp.

Pepper beef inspired tofu. Super-firm tofu and onions sauteed in this sauce and served on garlic sauteed cabbage.

Butter chicken inspired slow cooker meal. In the crock pot – chicken breast, sweet onion, serrano pepper, black pepper, celery seed, smoked paprika, curry powder, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and butter. I stirred in some half and half after the heat was off. Served with riced cauliflower and roasted zuccini.

Girl Dinner

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Five things from the weekend…

Iced espresso with maple cinnamon cold foam at Wired Coffee House.

Pumpkin croissant from Buttercooky Bakery.

These Pop Daddy dill pickle pretzel sticks are delightful; savory but not too sour.

Dinner at Mekelburg’s. I ordered girl dinner – kale salad (with carrots, green apple, and candied sesame croutons) and curly fries with honey mustard.

Plus I stole half of Adam’s giant, wonderful tuna melt.

And had a spicy passionfruit mezcal margarita.

Baked buffalo chicken meatballs. Ground chicken with salt, pepper, smoked paprika, panko, Franks, half and half, green onions, sharp cheddar, and cream cheese. Plus roasted cauliflower.

Stuffed

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Things from the week…

This Target brand stuffing-seasoned popcorn had a great flavor but the texture was a bit stale.

I was also left luke-warm by the cinnamon roll Noosa (Adam loved it though).

Spinach and artichoke dip-inspired salad. Spinach / chopped pickled artichoke hearts / Trader Joe’s 4 cheese blend / shredded chicken breast / homemade dressing – Greek yogurt, mayo, Dijon mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, evoo, salt and pepper, and a sprinkle of sugar / panko bread crumbs crisped in a skillet with evvo, garlic, and gochugaru.

Peanut sauce chicken pizza. This was great! Homemade 2 ingredient dough / peanut sauce – peanut butter, water, white sugar, Sriracha, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar / shredded chicken breast / sauteed broccoli slaw / green onion / sharp cheddar / sesame seed crust with egg wash. Plus roasted broccoli.

Cabbage salad. Sauteed with green onion and broccoli slaw / shredded chicken breast / dry roasted peanuts / sauce – rice vinegar, lime juice, fish sauce, Sriracha, and brown sugar.

Cranberry, Gravy, Stuffing, Pumpkin, Cinnamon, Maple

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I – of course – have a stash of Thanksgiving Month themed foods.

I didn’t try any of those this weekend but I did have pie cookies from Whole Foods – pumpkin and pecan (6/10 and 10/10).

Another amazing Whole Food’s snack – salt and pepper kettle chips and caramelized onion dip.

The snack I will never tire of – plain Greek yogurt with cereal and blueberries.

We made the best grilled cheese sandwich I’ve ever eaten this weekend. With sharp cheddar, cream cheese, blueberry jam, and gochujang. Plus honey mustard sauteed green beans.

All Hallows’ Eats

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It was a yummy Halloween week!

Highlights…

You already know I had a cache of on-theme snacks.

Dunkin Donuts’ potion macchiato is marshmallow and ube flavored; obviously a great idea but unfortunately it was fairly underwhelming.

Skyr bowl with Cara Cara orange and double chocolate granola.

Pumpkin smoothie. Pumpkin puree, cottage cheese, frozen banana, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla bean powder, and water and ice.

I saved my best pumpkin beers for last. Blue Point Big Mother Pumpkin (10/10) / Fat Orange Cat Pumpkin Patch Kittens (9.5/10) / Abomination Forbidden Pumpkin (10/10).

Served with a brown sugar cinnamon rim!

Veggie rice bowls. Jasberry rice and riced cauliflower / Whole Food’s sesame seaweed cashews / avocado / chopped kimchi crisped up with a bit of butter and sugar.

Mac and three cheese muffins with baked chicken and roasted brussels sprouts.

Pumpkin pasta. Whole-wheat rotini topped with ground turkey sauteed with pumpkin puree, chili crisp, and cream cheese. Plus roasted orange cauliflower.

Black and orange big salads! Local lettuce / cucumber / homemade dressing – pumpkin butter, brown sugar, evoo, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and fish sauce / roasted kabocha squash / crispy rice – leftover rice tossed with chili crisp and black sesame paste and baked. We loved this.

Bars And Bowls

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Things from a yummy week…

Butterscotch instant coffee! I liked this better than their maple flavor but still wanted it to have more roasty oomph.

It was perfect in my fluffernutter coffee shake. With ice, skim milk, additional cold brew powder, vanilla protein powder, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and frozen banana.

I know I’m repetitive but this combination is perfect – plain skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and chocolate cookie granola.

Pumpkin pie Perfect Bar. I prefer the chocolate flavors but these are always good.

This minty chocolate Barebells bar was a 10/10. I love the layer of gooey mint; this is fully like eating a candy bar (with zero grams of added sugar).

Spinach and artichoke casserole. Sauteed frozen artichokes and chopped spinach with garlic and gochugaru, eggs, plain Greek yogurt, shredded chicken breast, lemon juice, cheese, and Trader Joe’s cauliflower gnocchi.

Chicken congee. Brown rice slow-cooked with vegetable broth, white pepper, ginger, fish sauce, and shredded chicken. Topped with chopped boy choy and Trader Joe’s Cruciferous Crunch veggies sauteed with garlic, dark soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Plus tons of chili crisp. The veggie broth (which gave this its orange hue) worked great in here and I would use it again.

King

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Highlights from the weekend…

Homemade breakfast. A sandwich with scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar, and Trader Joe’s pumpkin butter. Plus wonderful berries and a Vietnamese iced latte.

Trader Joe’s jalopeno and cream cheese wontons. These are good, better and spicier than I was expecting.

Pumpkin beers! Southern Tier Caramel Pumpking (9.5/10 – this was so sweet and creamy, my favorite so far this year) and Schlafly vanilla pumpkin ale (8/10 – very nice for a pumpkin beer but not something I would reach for year round).

I got bar food take-out on Friday. Popcorn chicken bites with Memphis bbq dry rub and Cajun fries. Plus roasted broccoli from home. <– yes, we accidentally made too much broccoli last week

So that Saturday I had leftover fries available for chili cheese fries! Fries topped with leftover pumpkin turkey chili and tons of Trader Joe’s unexpected cheddar. Plus pickled jalopenos on top and Trader Joe’s buffalo chicken dip on the side. Plus more broccoli.

I am showing you Sunday’s dinner both to prove that I occasionally eat grown-up food and to remind me of how wonderfully this salad kept. Leftover kale salad with leftover roasted squash that I sauteed with a peanut butter gochujang sauce.

Falling For Fall

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Things from the week, mostly pumpkin…

Yummy, on-theme coffees. Vanilla cardamom cold brew with salted caramel and pumpkin butter.

Phin brew with pumpkin butter and marshmallow cream.

Siggi’s pumpkin skyr with blueberries, blackberries, and Nature’s Path blueberry cinnamon flax cereal.

Plan skyr with berries, Purely Elizabeth double chocolate cookie granola, and butter mochi.

Whole Food’s prepared foods section is nice for snack options. This week I bought kimchi dumplings and their Sonoma chicken salad.

Crunchy snacks. Everything bagel protein pretzels and Korean BBQ crunchy chickpeas.

These gummy bears from Buck Naked Bears are the perfect consistency, so firm without being overly chewy.

Hummingbird High’s pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are the best cookies – pumpkin, chocolate chip, or otherwise – you’ll ever make. They are chewy – NOT cakey or crispy – and almost taste like butterscotch.

Open face chicken sandwich melts. Toasted bread with pumpkin butter and sharp cheddar / baked chicken marinated with Greek yogurt and tons of garlic / homemade chicken gravy. Plus roasted broccoli.

Pumpkin chili. With ground turkey, pinto beans, canned pumpkin, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, chicken stock, yellow onion, poblano pepper, zucchini, spices, and one tablespoon of dark soy sauce. Topped with plain skyr, extra-sharp cheddar, and Caribbean hot sauce and served with Trader Joe’s pumpkin tortilla chips.

Big salads. Kale massaged with evoo, lemon juice, and salt and pepper / homemade dressing with tahini, pumpkin butter, maple syrup, evoo, and vinegar / crispy roasted chickpeas with Sichuan pepper salt, smoked paprika, cinnamon, and sugar / extra-sharp cheddar / dried cherries. Plus roasted honeynut squash and carnival squash, both of which were delicious!