No weight loss this week. I'm not surprised because of this weekend's pretty damn close to binge eating. This week's plan is to really focus back on the fruits and veggies and cook some healthy meals.
So side effects, other than no weight loss, of my poor diet this week has been some super dry skin. My face is coming off in chunks. Not really, but it is really flaky and gross. All the salt and grease has me retaining fluid. So while I'm trying to get rehydrated by drinking more water, I'm getting really bloated too. More incentive for a healthy lifestyle!
Have you ever noticed how being dehydrated affects your skin? How do you get it back in shape?
Friday, November 8, 2013
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Chicken Meatballs and Marcella Hazan's Tomato Sauce
This week I decided to do all of the cooking in one day! It was refreshing to know that I didn't have to cook every night of the week. I can't wait to get my deep freezer so I can prep meals in advance and actually have a place to store them.
On the menu this week:
Bucatini with chicken meatballs
Chicken meatball subs
Beef Barley Soup
Ree Drummond's Banana Bread Bundt Cake
I started off my marathon cooking session with the tomato sauce that is going to be used for the bucatini and subs. Marcella Hazan was an Italian chef and cookbook author. Her focus was on simple, authentic Italian recipes. Marcella passed away this past September. In her honor I decided to try her simple tomato sauce recipe. It only has 3 ingredients. It was either going to be awesome, or very disappointing. In the end the sauce was pretty mediocre.
Tomato sauce
28oz can Italian whole tomatoes, undrained
1 onion, cut in halfa
5 Tbsp butter
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add can of tomatoes and onion halves. Add a pinch of salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mash any large tomatoes with the back of your spoon. Discard your onion before tossing with pasta.
Voila! Doesn't get more simple than that. I just want to throw out there that I love tomatoes. The promise of this sauce is the clear tomato flavor. Well that is definitely a true statement. I found the sauce to be very acidic and I missed the traditional flavors of layered herbs and garlic. It was also a bit runny for my taste. While I wouldn't make it again, it was definitely worth making once!
On the menu this week:
Bucatini with chicken meatballs
Chicken meatball subs
Beef Barley Soup
Ree Drummond's Banana Bread Bundt Cake
I started off my marathon cooking session with the tomato sauce that is going to be used for the bucatini and subs. Marcella Hazan was an Italian chef and cookbook author. Her focus was on simple, authentic Italian recipes. Marcella passed away this past September. In her honor I decided to try her simple tomato sauce recipe. It only has 3 ingredients. It was either going to be awesome, or very disappointing. In the end the sauce was pretty mediocre.
Tomato sauce
28oz can Italian whole tomatoes, undrained
1 onion, cut in halfa
5 Tbsp butter
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Add can of tomatoes and onion halves. Add a pinch of salt. Simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally, mash any large tomatoes with the back of your spoon. Discard your onion before tossing with pasta.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Tummy Aches
I did not make the best diet choices this weekend. We had company this weekend, and we had to take them out to all the best Pittsburgh restaurants. Obvi. I ate a lot of cheese and grease, and now my tummy hurts. Obvi.
It's a shame that Primanti's kielbasa and cheese, little donuts, movie popcorn, Hofbrauhaus pretzels and beer cheese and German sausage is so bad for you, BECAUSE IT TASTES SO GOOD.
In the words of Jennifer Lawrence, "I can name a lot of things that taste better than skinny feels."
It's a shame that Primanti's kielbasa and cheese, little donuts, movie popcorn, Hofbrauhaus pretzels and beer cheese and German sausage is so bad for you, BECAUSE IT TASTES SO GOOD.
In the words of Jennifer Lawrence, "I can name a lot of things that taste better than skinny feels."
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Almost 10
Just a quick update cuz I'm at work and shouldn't be writing a blog post! I'm 0.8lbs away from losing my first 10lbs. It's taken me about 6 weeks, that's about 1 and 1/2 lbs per week. I'm subtracting the week I was on vacation, since I didn't actively diet that week.
This is the song I'm listening to right now, thinking that I'm pretty much a badass (and that I really need a pedicure!!)
Friday, November 1, 2013
Oktoberfest....Or Halloween?
September and October were two very busy months! I missed a third of October while I was traveling. This week I felt like I had to make up for lost time by indulging in all things Oktoberfest.
We had dinner at this wonderful little family restaurant called Hoover's. They specialize in traditional German food and every October they host an Oktoberfest buffet. They have red cabbage and regular sauerkraut, sauerbraten (a vinegary beef dish), hot German potato salad, knockwurst, traditional bratwurst, kartoffelpfannkuchen (potato pancakes), spatzle, and a whole mess of other delicious things. Of course I had one of everything, and topped my meal off with a slice of homemade German chocolate cake. This is one of the hubs and my yearly traditions. Usually we manage to go more than once!
Halloween was Thursday. I spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen making treats for my family! On the menu was beer bread, Oktoberfest stew, and gooey eyeball cookies. My parents only live two roads down from our house, and it's where I grew up. But we never get any trick or treaters! Our road doesn't have any street lights, and the houses are more spread out. So my parents were just as excited as we were to pass out candy! Unfortunately, it was really windy and it started raining an hour before trick or treat started, so we didn't get that many kids. Oh well, because dinner was delicious!
I used this artisinal kielbasa (pronounced keel-boss-ee), mostly because it looked delicious, and also because my husband begged for it like a kid in the candy store.
In a frying pan I added the kielbasa and cooked it til both sides had a nice brown going on. I removed the sausage, and added the olive oil to that same pan and caramelized my onions.
Let your mixture come to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover your soup at this point and allow it to simmer for 45 minutes. You want your potatoes to be nice and soft. At this point you can add in your apple cider vinegar. Now I know that my dad doesn't care much for vinegar. So I skipped this step, but let everyone add about a teaspoon to their bowl before we ate. I think it adds to the soup and shouldn't be left out!
Our first Halloween in our new house!
Of course Faith had to dress up!
We had dinner at this wonderful little family restaurant called Hoover's. They specialize in traditional German food and every October they host an Oktoberfest buffet. They have red cabbage and regular sauerkraut, sauerbraten (a vinegary beef dish), hot German potato salad, knockwurst, traditional bratwurst, kartoffelpfannkuchen (potato pancakes), spatzle, and a whole mess of other delicious things. Of course I had one of everything, and topped my meal off with a slice of homemade German chocolate cake. This is one of the hubs and my yearly traditions. Usually we manage to go more than once!
Halloween was Thursday. I spent the whole afternoon in the kitchen making treats for my family! On the menu was beer bread, Oktoberfest stew, and gooey eyeball cookies. My parents only live two roads down from our house, and it's where I grew up. But we never get any trick or treaters! Our road doesn't have any street lights, and the houses are more spread out. So my parents were just as excited as we were to pass out candy! Unfortunately, it was really windy and it started raining an hour before trick or treat started, so we didn't get that many kids. Oh well, because dinner was delicious!
Oktoberfest Stew
1 Tbsp olive oil
14oz package of Kielbasa (beef or turkey), cut into slices
2 medium yellow onions, cut into slices
1/2 head of small cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp whole caraway seeds
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 cup Oktoberfest beer (lager)
2 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 1/2 cups hot chicken stock
1 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or more for taste)
I used this artisinal kielbasa (pronounced keel-boss-ee), mostly because it looked delicious, and also because my husband begged for it like a kid in the candy store.
In a frying pan I added the kielbasa and cooked it til both sides had a nice brown going on. I removed the sausage, and added the olive oil to that same pan and caramelized my onions.
I transferred my onions to my stock pot and added my sliced cabbage. I let the cabbage cook down until it was soft and had no bite left to it. Think halushki or sauerkraut consistency. I then added the spices, including the caraway seeds. A little bit goes a long way with those, btw. Then add your beer. I used Yuengling, but any lager will do. I let the beer come to a simmer, then added in my diced potatoes. I then poured my hot stock on top. You want to heat your stock before you add it so it doesn't drastically drop the heat of your pan.
Our first Halloween in our new house!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Creepin'
I forgot to post my weekly weigh in yesterday. I also forgot to take a picture. Sorry! However, I am down to 283.2lbs. Woop! Almost back down to pre-vacation weight.
Halloween is coming up next week. I'm going to have my parents over for trick-or treating and a yummy October dinner. I'm gonna leave you with Eric Church "Creepin." It's got a creepy Halloween vibe, and the title reminds me that November is just creepin' right around the corner!
Halloween is coming up next week. I'm going to have my parents over for trick-or treating and a yummy October dinner. I'm gonna leave you with Eric Church "Creepin." It's got a creepy Halloween vibe, and the title reminds me that November is just creepin' right around the corner!
Friday, October 25, 2013
I Love You Pinterest
I love you Pinterest. I would be such a boring cook without you. When planning my weekly menu the first step is almost always to go peruse my Pinterest boards and pick out things that sound yummy and are fairly healthy. Since we're finally home, settled from vacation, and it is really finally October we're committing ourselves to making one soup dish per week. My Soups On! board has 42 different soup recipes. 10 more and I could make soup once a week for the entire year! Any suggestions?
Sorry, but I didn't take any pictures of the soup I made this week. It was Black Bean and Red Pepper Stew. I made it more soup-like than stew-like, and it was spicy and delicious. One serving is about a cup and a half and I calculated out to be 4 WW points. You can find the recipe for it here.
What I did make and take pictures of was this Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole. What attracted me to this recipe was the fact that it used only fresh ingredients, no canned and processed soups (aka Cream of Chicken, Celery, etc).
I've been crunched for time this week, so I used meat from a rotisserie chicken I bought at Costco. Use whatever kind of chicken you have on hand.
A 6oz box of wild rice was going to cost me about $4. However, I bought my wild rice in the bulk section of my grocery store. It is $3.99/lb. So 16oz of bulk wild rice cost me the same amount but I more than doubled the amount of rice it got! See if your store has a bulk foods section. If not, Whole Foods has a great selection of bulk grains.
This recipe calls for 1cup of white rice and 16oz of wild rice. I didn't know how much rice that would be cooked. When I googled it later I was shocked to see that each cup of rice will yield 3-4 cups cooked! There's no way that this recipe needed that much rice. So I completely cut out the white rice that's listed in the original and cooked a cup and half of the wild rice. It yielded about 4 cups total.
To cook the rice, I boiled 3 1/2 cups water, added my 1 1/2 cups of rice and let it simmer for 45 minutes. When the kernels seem to pop or elongate they're done. Another way to tell that the rice is done is when the kernels are soft and chewy, not brittle, you know it's done.
Don't let the picture fool you. The scale is off. This bowl is huge! That is really 4 cups of rice.
While my rice was cooking, I started slicing up my veggies. I don't use fresh carrots that often, nor am I very good at chopping them into uniform pieces. I bought baby carrots, cut them in half, then diced the halves for a uniform size. It was easy peasy, and I will use the leftover carrots to make roasted baby carrots. Win-win. I'm also not a very big fan of crunchy celery. I wanted to make sure that the celery was totally cooked through before I put the casserole into the oven. It took about 15 minutes for the celery and carrots to get soft. The texture of the onions kind of disappeared, but their flavor was still there, so I wasn't that concerned. If you were, you could add the onions when the celery and carrots are about halfway cooked.
Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 1/2 cup baby carrots, diced
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 1/2 cup wild rice, cooked
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sorry, but I didn't take any pictures of the soup I made this week. It was Black Bean and Red Pepper Stew. I made it more soup-like than stew-like, and it was spicy and delicious. One serving is about a cup and a half and I calculated out to be 4 WW points. You can find the recipe for it here.
What I did make and take pictures of was this Cheesy Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole. What attracted me to this recipe was the fact that it used only fresh ingredients, no canned and processed soups (aka Cream of Chicken, Celery, etc).
I've been crunched for time this week, so I used meat from a rotisserie chicken I bought at Costco. Use whatever kind of chicken you have on hand.
A 6oz box of wild rice was going to cost me about $4. However, I bought my wild rice in the bulk section of my grocery store. It is $3.99/lb. So 16oz of bulk wild rice cost me the same amount but I more than doubled the amount of rice it got! See if your store has a bulk foods section. If not, Whole Foods has a great selection of bulk grains.
This recipe calls for 1cup of white rice and 16oz of wild rice. I didn't know how much rice that would be cooked. When I googled it later I was shocked to see that each cup of rice will yield 3-4 cups cooked! There's no way that this recipe needed that much rice. So I completely cut out the white rice that's listed in the original and cooked a cup and half of the wild rice. It yielded about 4 cups total.
To cook the rice, I boiled 3 1/2 cups water, added my 1 1/2 cups of rice and let it simmer for 45 minutes. When the kernels seem to pop or elongate they're done. Another way to tell that the rice is done is when the kernels are soft and chewy, not brittle, you know it's done.
Don't let the picture fool you. The scale is off. This bowl is huge! That is really 4 cups of rice.
While my rice was cooking, I started slicing up my veggies. I don't use fresh carrots that often, nor am I very good at chopping them into uniform pieces. I bought baby carrots, cut them in half, then diced the halves for a uniform size. It was easy peasy, and I will use the leftover carrots to make roasted baby carrots. Win-win. I'm also not a very big fan of crunchy celery. I wanted to make sure that the celery was totally cooked through before I put the casserole into the oven. It took about 15 minutes for the celery and carrots to get soft. The texture of the onions kind of disappeared, but their flavor was still there, so I wasn't that concerned. If you were, you could add the onions when the celery and carrots are about halfway cooked.
The cheese sauce is super simple to make and is really yummy. Melt your butter. Whisk in the flour, broth, and your salt and pepper. Continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil. Add 2 cups of your shredded cheddar and continue to stir until everything is all combined and your cheese is melted into gooey awesomeness.
Next step is to mix the veggies, rice, and chicken together. The original recipe calls for pouring the cheese sauce on top of the rest of the ingredients. I thought it might not permeate the rice adequately, and the bottom wouldn't be cheesy enough. So I mixed everything together in my big ass bowl, then poured it into my casserole dish.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes, covered in foil. Remove your foil, top with your leftover 2 cups of cheddar cheese. Put the dish back in the oven, with the heat off, until your cheesy top melts. If you find your cheese isn't melting fast enough, you can turn your broiler on low and melt it that way. Just be careful not to burn it!
All that's left is to enjoy your dinner! It's hard to not go back for thirds and fourths, it is literally that good! This recipe is 10 servings, and each serving I calculated out to be 10 WW points.
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 1/2 cup baby carrots, diced
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 1/2 cup wild rice, cooked
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup vegetable or chicken broth
4 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp garlic salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
Monday, October 21, 2013
Oh Crepes
While we were relaxing on the gorgeous, secluded, absolutely relaxing Serenity Beach the hubs and I got hungry for a snack.
We popped into the beach snack shack, Coconut Grill, and were surprised to find a little creperie attached called Oh Crepes. Obvi that is what I wanted for a snack. If you've never been to the Caribbean it's a good thing to know that their chocolate is nothing like ours. Milk chocolate is hard to find, and theirs isn't even like dark chocolate. It's hard to describe if you've never had it. Also, peanut butter isn't really a thing down there. Right there my list of favorite crepe toppings has been severely diminished (top 5 are Nutella, bananas, strawberries, melted chocolate, and peanut butter). But to my surprise they had peanut butter! Not only that, they made an Elvis crepe (peanut butter and bananas in a crepe). That's what the hubs had, and it was awesome. I opted for the tropical crepe. Mine was filled with pineapple, nuts, and a caramel sauce. It was ok.
Now that we're home, I have been CRAVING crepes made the true French way (thanks French food Fridays!). I like savory crepes, and the Americanized sweet crepe (aka: nutella!!). So for dinner that's what I did. I made a roasted mushroom and onion crepe, ham and cheese crepe, and nutella and banana crepe. Can you believe that in 4 years of being together, I've never made Ethan crepes? Preposterous I know.
The recipe is pretty simple. I've been using Alton Brown's version for years without fail. It consists of:
2 large eggs
3/4 c of milk
1/2 c water
1 c flour
3 Tbsp melted butter
Plus some additional butter for coating the pan.
Do crepes seem scary to you? They shouldn't. The recipe consists of things you have in your pantry right now. Do you think you need some special pan and an oddly shaped wooden thing to thin it out? I've never used either of those things and my crepes turn out amazing. If you've never tried them, you definitely should!
So anywho. You take the above listed ingredients and put them all in a blender. Pulse the blender for about 10 seconds. My blender's automatic setting is 12 seconds. Since I don't want to fuck with changing that around, I just go with it and everything turns out fine. Alton recommends chilling the batter in the fridge for an hour. This helps the bubbles work themselves out, theoretically making your crepes less likely to tear. If you have an hour, great. Go for it. I'm typically so excited for crepes that I go balls to the walls and just start cooking them.
I just use a regular skillet to make mine. I turn the heat up on high and let my pan get really hot before I get started. Then before I grease the pan I turn the heat down to medium. I just swirl my stick of butter on the surface of the pan, about how large I want my crepe to be. Then I pour about a 1/4c of the batter into the pan, then immediately swirl it around until I have about a 6in circle.
WARNING! Your first crepe will not turn out. Not your first crepe you've ever made. The first crepe of every batch will not turn out. They never, ever do. I'm sure you're sitting here reading thinking "I'm prepared. I'm going to prove you wrong. I chilled my batter for an hour, and my first crepe is going to be perfect." Let me save you the time and tell you that you are wrong. Madame Slomkowski taught me that it was good luck to feed the dog your first bad crepe. That's what I've been doing for years! The dogs love it.
Crepes are not like pancakes, in the sense that pancakes bubble when they're ready to be flipped. You will be able to see the crepe cooking. When the middle is almost completely cooked, it's time to flip. I like to spray my spatula with a little Pam to help it from sticking. Cook on the other side for about a minute. The crepe should be tan, with little spots of brown.
This recipe will make approximately 8-10 crepes, depending on how thin you make them. Once they're all cooked, it's time to fill them. Crepes basically taste like an unlevened pancake-ish. They don't really taste like much on their own. Which is great, cuz then you can fill them with all sorts of delicious things. Play around, sweet or savory. The world is your oyster.
Ps: Sorry for no pictures of the Nutella banana crepes. We ate them before I could whip the camera back out.
We popped into the beach snack shack, Coconut Grill, and were surprised to find a little creperie attached called Oh Crepes. Obvi that is what I wanted for a snack. If you've never been to the Caribbean it's a good thing to know that their chocolate is nothing like ours. Milk chocolate is hard to find, and theirs isn't even like dark chocolate. It's hard to describe if you've never had it. Also, peanut butter isn't really a thing down there. Right there my list of favorite crepe toppings has been severely diminished (top 5 are Nutella, bananas, strawberries, melted chocolate, and peanut butter). But to my surprise they had peanut butter! Not only that, they made an Elvis crepe (peanut butter and bananas in a crepe). That's what the hubs had, and it was awesome. I opted for the tropical crepe. Mine was filled with pineapple, nuts, and a caramel sauce. It was ok.
Now that we're home, I have been CRAVING crepes made the true French way (thanks French food Fridays!). I like savory crepes, and the Americanized sweet crepe (aka: nutella!!). So for dinner that's what I did. I made a roasted mushroom and onion crepe, ham and cheese crepe, and nutella and banana crepe. Can you believe that in 4 years of being together, I've never made Ethan crepes? Preposterous I know.
The recipe is pretty simple. I've been using Alton Brown's version for years without fail. It consists of:
2 large eggs
3/4 c of milk
1/2 c water
1 c flour
3 Tbsp melted butter
Plus some additional butter for coating the pan.
Do crepes seem scary to you? They shouldn't. The recipe consists of things you have in your pantry right now. Do you think you need some special pan and an oddly shaped wooden thing to thin it out? I've never used either of those things and my crepes turn out amazing. If you've never tried them, you definitely should!
So anywho. You take the above listed ingredients and put them all in a blender. Pulse the blender for about 10 seconds. My blender's automatic setting is 12 seconds. Since I don't want to fuck with changing that around, I just go with it and everything turns out fine. Alton recommends chilling the batter in the fridge for an hour. This helps the bubbles work themselves out, theoretically making your crepes less likely to tear. If you have an hour, great. Go for it. I'm typically so excited for crepes that I go balls to the walls and just start cooking them.
I just use a regular skillet to make mine. I turn the heat up on high and let my pan get really hot before I get started. Then before I grease the pan I turn the heat down to medium. I just swirl my stick of butter on the surface of the pan, about how large I want my crepe to be. Then I pour about a 1/4c of the batter into the pan, then immediately swirl it around until I have about a 6in circle.
WARNING! Your first crepe will not turn out. Not your first crepe you've ever made. The first crepe of every batch will not turn out. They never, ever do. I'm sure you're sitting here reading thinking "I'm prepared. I'm going to prove you wrong. I chilled my batter for an hour, and my first crepe is going to be perfect." Let me save you the time and tell you that you are wrong. Madame Slomkowski taught me that it was good luck to feed the dog your first bad crepe. That's what I've been doing for years! The dogs love it.
Ps: Sorry for no pictures of the Nutella banana crepes. We ate them before I could whip the camera back out.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Tampa Tacos
I want to write a little foodie post about the great tacos we had in Tampa. When we go on vacation, anywhere, I like to do a little research into the food in the area we're going. I like to use TVfoodmaps.com to help with my search. By no means is this the end-all of finding good food, but it's a nice place to start. One of the hubs and my favorite dinner shows is Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. If you're not familiar with the show, Guy Fieri travels across the nation searching for delicious food. It's like a visual nugget of where to eat when you're in town. There's no way that I'm going to remember what towns were featured on what episodes, so that's where my favorite little website comes into play. So we typed in Tampa into the map search, and came up with a list of restaurants that have been on TV. We were looking for somewhere to eat while we waited for Jim to be done with work and AJ to get home from pre-school on Thursday. There were 2 recommended taco places; The Taco Bus and California Tacos. Obvi we needed to go to both of them. Conveniently, they were on the way to Jim and Michele's.
We went to The Taco Bus first. By the name of it, I totes thought it was a food truck. I was wrong. It's a cute little place in downtown Tampa that is shaped like a bus that serves bomb ass tacos. We shared a total of 4 tacos:
COCHINITA PIBIL - Shredded pork marinated in achiote and bitter orange, then wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted in a smoker
CARNE ASADA - Diced steak marinated in Mexican seasonings and grilled to perfection
BARBACOA - Braised beef shredded and seasoned.
BISTEC RANCHERO - Beef Steak, Poblano peppers (MILD), onions, tomatoes and potatoes.
Totally awesome tacos. I would recommend this place to anyone going to Tampa. Definitely worth a trip out of your way. These were very authentic Mexican recipes. The tortillas were soft and fresh. And there's a little patio that you can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. My favorite was the Carne Asada, and the hubs favorite was the daily special of the Bistec Ranchero.
If I had to rate the 2 restaurants on food alone, the Taco Bus is the clear winner. California Tacos was absolutely delicious, don't get me wrong. Taco Bus just did a better job of developing their flavors. If you're looking for a chill place to hang out and eat some delicious food, California Tacos is your place to be.
We went to The Taco Bus first. By the name of it, I totes thought it was a food truck. I was wrong. It's a cute little place in downtown Tampa that is shaped like a bus that serves bomb ass tacos. We shared a total of 4 tacos:
COCHINITA PIBIL - Shredded pork marinated in achiote and bitter orange, then wrapped in banana leaves and slow roasted in a smoker
CARNE ASADA - Diced steak marinated in Mexican seasonings and grilled to perfection
BARBACOA - Braised beef shredded and seasoned.
BISTEC RANCHERO - Beef Steak, Poblano peppers (MILD), onions, tomatoes and potatoes.
Totally awesome tacos. I would recommend this place to anyone going to Tampa. Definitely worth a trip out of your way. These were very authentic Mexican recipes. The tortillas were soft and fresh. And there's a little patio that you can sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. My favorite was the Carne Asada, and the hubs favorite was the daily special of the Bistec Ranchero.
Next on our taco trip was California Tacos. This place was like home to me. I instantly felt comfortable at this place, definitely had a great vibe. The staff was super friendly and welcoming. There's just something about sitting outside in the shade of an old oak tree dripping in Spanish moss, listening to chill music (Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz, a little Marley), near a body of water, eating some fresh seafood. Here we tried the seafood ceviche, fish tacos, and a breakfast chorizo taco. Everything was fresh and delicious.
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Bienvenidos a Miami
Welcome back to the United States! Vacation was a blast. While it's always nice to get away, there's something about landing back in your own country and feeling back at home. Maybe it's just me, but I always get this sense of calm whenever I drive back into PA or land back on US soil.
I'm writing this post while in the Miami airport, sipping a Cuban coffee, waiting for our connection back to Pittsburgh.
So far all of our travels have gone super smoothly. We had no issues getting to the Pittsburgh airport last Thursday. We had a direct flight into Tampa, so we had an extra couple of hours to be with our family.
While we were in Tampa, we knew we didn't want to rely on borrowing Michele or Jim's car, so we rented on for the couple days we were there. I've only ever used Enterprise to rent a car, but my work had a discount with National. I was able to sign up for their Emerald Club for free. Basically what that means is that any time I want to rent a car, I reserve a mid-size vehicle, then when I pick it up I can choose from any car available in the Emerald Aisle. There were different SUVs, compact cars, a good range of mid-size, and minivans. I've never had an SUV before, so I picked a Chevy Equinox. It was super cool and easy. The keys were already in the ignition, we just had to load up our stuff, and drive away. There is a kiosk where they verify your reservation, drivers license, and credit card, then you're good to go. The whole process took us less than 5 minutes.
The only hiccup on our trip was hitting traffic on the way to the Tampa airport and not being able to eat the breakfast we wanted to. What should have taken us 25-30 minutes took us 1 hour and 15 minutes. Our flight to POP (Puerto Plata) was a quick jump over some ocean to our final island destination. We got a taxi driver pretty much as soon as we landed. I did some research and was expecting a $45 per person charge to get to our resort. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the whole thing was only $50. We landed a little after 1pm, and by 3 we were in our bathing suits relaxing on the beach.
The only bummer was that we had to come back to reality. I'll be updating the details of the rest of our trip later this week. Time to fly back to chilly Pittsburgh. Goodbye 85 degrees: Hello 43!
I'm writing this post while in the Miami airport, sipping a Cuban coffee, waiting for our connection back to Pittsburgh.
So far all of our travels have gone super smoothly. We had no issues getting to the Pittsburgh airport last Thursday. We had a direct flight into Tampa, so we had an extra couple of hours to be with our family.
While we were in Tampa, we knew we didn't want to rely on borrowing Michele or Jim's car, so we rented on for the couple days we were there. I've only ever used Enterprise to rent a car, but my work had a discount with National. I was able to sign up for their Emerald Club for free. Basically what that means is that any time I want to rent a car, I reserve a mid-size vehicle, then when I pick it up I can choose from any car available in the Emerald Aisle. There were different SUVs, compact cars, a good range of mid-size, and minivans. I've never had an SUV before, so I picked a Chevy Equinox. It was super cool and easy. The keys were already in the ignition, we just had to load up our stuff, and drive away. There is a kiosk where they verify your reservation, drivers license, and credit card, then you're good to go. The whole process took us less than 5 minutes.
The only hiccup on our trip was hitting traffic on the way to the Tampa airport and not being able to eat the breakfast we wanted to. What should have taken us 25-30 minutes took us 1 hour and 15 minutes. Our flight to POP (Puerto Plata) was a quick jump over some ocean to our final island destination. We got a taxi driver pretty much as soon as we landed. I did some research and was expecting a $45 per person charge to get to our resort. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the whole thing was only $50. We landed a little after 1pm, and by 3 we were in our bathing suits relaxing on the beach.
The only bummer was that we had to come back to reality. I'll be updating the details of the rest of our trip later this week. Time to fly back to chilly Pittsburgh. Goodbye 85 degrees: Hello 43!
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Adios!
Time is just moving past way too quickly. It seems like the other day summer was getting underway, I was opening up the pool, and planning for a vacation to visit my family in Florida after Michele had her baby girl. Well today I closed our pool, and tomorrow morning we fly to FL to meet our niece!
I'm so excited to hang out with our nephew, AJ, who's 3 and into anything Disney or trains. We haven't seen the little dude in months! And our niece, Alana, was born July 22 (same day as Prince George, fyi). We will be staying with my sister and brother in law in Tampa for 5 days, then flying to the Dominican Republic for another 5 days.
My friend who is doing WW with me suggested that I don't follow the plan while I'm on vacation. I was worried about how I was going to keep track of points with no internet while I was out of the country and I didn't want the stress of thinking about every bite I took and maybe missing out on some of my vacation. So for the next 10 days I'm taking a break from WW. I don't really have a "food plan" for this trip per se, but part of a good vacation for me is eating good local food. I'm going to be surrounded by water, so there's bound to be delicious seafood. Definitely planning on eating plenty of that. Also, I tend to get GI upset while traveling so I'll be sure to eat plenty of fruits and veggies. Those are my positive food goals. I'm also including negative goals, haha. I <3 Checkers, or Rally's, whatev they call it in your part of the country. Here in Pittsburgh, it doesn't exist :( I could live on their seasoned fries and banana milkshakes for the entire vacation. There will be as many trips to Checkers as I can manage to squeeze in. I'm driving the rental car, so I shouldn't have to beg too much! Secondly, I'm going to an all inclusive resort. I'm going to get my drink on. Seriously though, what is better than lying on a beach and having someone serve you whatever your heart desires?
I'll leave you with a song that sums up this week in a nutshell for me. Enjoy Joe Nichols - Sunny and 75
I'll see you all when I get back! Expect lots of pictures!
I'm so excited to hang out with our nephew, AJ, who's 3 and into anything Disney or trains. We haven't seen the little dude in months! And our niece, Alana, was born July 22 (same day as Prince George, fyi). We will be staying with my sister and brother in law in Tampa for 5 days, then flying to the Dominican Republic for another 5 days.
My friend who is doing WW with me suggested that I don't follow the plan while I'm on vacation. I was worried about how I was going to keep track of points with no internet while I was out of the country and I didn't want the stress of thinking about every bite I took and maybe missing out on some of my vacation. So for the next 10 days I'm taking a break from WW. I don't really have a "food plan" for this trip per se, but part of a good vacation for me is eating good local food. I'm going to be surrounded by water, so there's bound to be delicious seafood. Definitely planning on eating plenty of that. Also, I tend to get GI upset while traveling so I'll be sure to eat plenty of fruits and veggies. Those are my positive food goals. I'm also including negative goals, haha. I <3 Checkers, or Rally's, whatev they call it in your part of the country. Here in Pittsburgh, it doesn't exist :( I could live on their seasoned fries and banana milkshakes for the entire vacation. There will be as many trips to Checkers as I can manage to squeeze in. I'm driving the rental car, so I shouldn't have to beg too much! Secondly, I'm going to an all inclusive resort. I'm going to get my drink on. Seriously though, what is better than lying on a beach and having someone serve you whatever your heart desires?
I'll leave you with a song that sums up this week in a nutshell for me. Enjoy Joe Nichols - Sunny and 75
I'll see you all when I get back! Expect lots of pictures!
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Chick'n Little
Any sandwich that has the ability to stick a full size knife nearly all the way through it has earned the right to be called a headwich.
Annnndddd this was my lunch and dinner. AMAZEBALLZ! This little gem, aptly called the Chick'n Little headwich has two chicken tenders dunked in homemade wing sauce, black forest ham, 2 fried eggs, hot pepper may, lettuce, tomato, onion, american cheese, and provolone. It was quite literally the size of my head.
I liked the light shining from behind. It was my artsy fartsy way of saying this is a sandwich made by Jesus himself.
Oh and btw, Bucs are up 2-1 over the Cardinals. They play tomorrow to clinch the series. LET'S GO BUCS!!
Friday, October 4, 2013
The Fat Doctor
Ugh...So happy to finally be home! What a rough night. It seems like the last couple shifts I've worked all I've done is ran and ran all night long, but never seeming to accomplish anything. After my long 12hr shift, I was super thrilled that I had a mandatory class scheduled for 10am. That's not enough time to go home, but it's too much time to just go grab something to eat. Thank God someone told me that there was an 8am class, and I was able to sneak my way into it instead!
We had a short break before the class got underway, so a co-worker and I had breakfast together. She bought breakfast, and I had packed breakfast. She asked what wierdo packs a breakfast? And I explained that I was trying to eat vegan for breakfast based on VB6. That led into a convo about weight loss. She told me about a friend who saw a "fat doctor." Basically, it's a medical weight loss clinic that encourages quick weightloss with B12 shots, pills, and a diet/exercise plan. She said that the weight just melts off.
As enticing as quick weightloss is, I'm not doing this to just lose weight. I want to be a healthier person, and part of that is losing a significant amount of weight. I want my kids to be naturally healthy eaters, and they need to learn that from their parents. I want to intuitively make smarter food choices, but still enjoy the culture surrounding food. I want to learn to enjoy exercise. Has anyone out there tried one of these fat doctors? It sounds like another too good to be true deal.
In other news, it's weigh in Friday. I'm down about 2lbs from last week. Woop woop!
We had a short break before the class got underway, so a co-worker and I had breakfast together. She bought breakfast, and I had packed breakfast. She asked what wierdo packs a breakfast? And I explained that I was trying to eat vegan for breakfast based on VB6. That led into a convo about weight loss. She told me about a friend who saw a "fat doctor." Basically, it's a medical weight loss clinic that encourages quick weightloss with B12 shots, pills, and a diet/exercise plan. She said that the weight just melts off.
As enticing as quick weightloss is, I'm not doing this to just lose weight. I want to be a healthier person, and part of that is losing a significant amount of weight. I want my kids to be naturally healthy eaters, and they need to learn that from their parents. I want to intuitively make smarter food choices, but still enjoy the culture surrounding food. I want to learn to enjoy exercise. Has anyone out there tried one of these fat doctors? It sounds like another too good to be true deal.
In other news, it's weigh in Friday. I'm down about 2lbs from last week. Woop woop!
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Bucs and Ducks
Pretty exciting stuff going on in the 'Burgh right now! We beat the Reds in the wild card game, so the Buccos are officially in post season baseball!! Next game is 10/3 at 5pm in St. Louis.
Tuesday was such an exciting night in our city! Not only are the Pirates just killin' it, we have a 40ft inflatable duck floating around our rivers. I have only driven past the duck so far, but we have a date on Friday.
In other news I cooked fish at home for the first time ever! I'm a pretty experienced cook, I'm not usually afraid of trying a new recipe. I have just always thought that fish tastes better in restaurants and that it's probably difficult to do at home. I can remember my mom trying to cook fish and it was always super dry and flavorless. I've made plenty of shellfish dishes, but I've never attempted fish, not even salmon. Well tonight I put my big girl panties on and made Baked Parmesan Tilapia. This recipe is definitely a winner. It was quick and easy, but big on flavor. My fish came out perfectly seasoned and cooked. I suggest trying this one for yourselves!
Here's what my ingredients consisted of:
I used fresh tilapia, because it was on sale this week and the same price as the frozen fillets The recipe calls to generously season your fillets before baking. Here's before and after. I used reduced sodium Old Bay and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Honestly, the tilapia would be delicious served this way, without the parm crust.
While the fish was baking in the oven, I mixed up the ingredients for the Parmesan topping. Next time I may cut out the butter. I think the mayo did a fine job of binding the ingredients together, and I didn't really need the extra moisture. I'm all for "butter makes it better," but I'm looking to cut calories anywhere I can. I honestly don't think it'd be missed.
Hubs thought the fish was awesome. And when I told him what was in it he was sure that I left salt out of the list of ingredients because he said it tasted salty. The only salty product I used was the Lawry's to season the fillets before putting the topping on. This does come out tasting pretty salty, so do not add any extra! I served the fish with a side of mixed veggies (green beans, wax beans, and carrots).
I'm not doing so great this week with the healthful eating. I've been waking up late cuz of my stupid work schedule. Tuesday was the pizza/beer blowout. And then I was CRAVING McDonald's for lunch today. AND pizza. So I had a bad lunch. I told myself while waiting in the drive thru I'd order a McChicken and a small fry. Well, when I ordered the words "medium fry" came flying out of my mouth. So then I told myself, it's ok, just eat half. Well I had half eaten by the time I got to Pizza Daddies (one light down the road) to pick up my small pizza. I ate the other half of the fries on the drive home.
I should also mention that I ordered 2 small pizzas with every intent on eating all the food I had ordered. I was full after McDonalds and the first small pizza, so I did save the other one for midnight dinner tonight. And in my defense, the small pizza is thin crust and equivalent to 2 actual slices of pizza. And then I took a nap. There is definitely room for improvement here! But every day is a new day. I ate what I ate. If I don't lose again this week, there is only myself to blame. I would like to state the positive though, that I did have a very healthful fish and veggies for dinner. One baby step at a time!
Tuesday was such an exciting night in our city! Not only are the Pirates just killin' it, we have a 40ft inflatable duck floating around our rivers. I have only driven past the duck so far, but we have a date on Friday.
In other news I cooked fish at home for the first time ever! I'm a pretty experienced cook, I'm not usually afraid of trying a new recipe. I have just always thought that fish tastes better in restaurants and that it's probably difficult to do at home. I can remember my mom trying to cook fish and it was always super dry and flavorless. I've made plenty of shellfish dishes, but I've never attempted fish, not even salmon. Well tonight I put my big girl panties on and made Baked Parmesan Tilapia. This recipe is definitely a winner. It was quick and easy, but big on flavor. My fish came out perfectly seasoned and cooked. I suggest trying this one for yourselves!
Here's what my ingredients consisted of:
I used fresh tilapia, because it was on sale this week and the same price as the frozen fillets The recipe calls to generously season your fillets before baking. Here's before and after. I used reduced sodium Old Bay and Lawry's Seasoned Salt. Honestly, the tilapia would be delicious served this way, without the parm crust.
While the fish was baking in the oven, I mixed up the ingredients for the Parmesan topping. Next time I may cut out the butter. I think the mayo did a fine job of binding the ingredients together, and I didn't really need the extra moisture. I'm all for "butter makes it better," but I'm looking to cut calories anywhere I can. I honestly don't think it'd be missed.
Hubs thought the fish was awesome. And when I told him what was in it he was sure that I left salt out of the list of ingredients because he said it tasted salty. The only salty product I used was the Lawry's to season the fillets before putting the topping on. This does come out tasting pretty salty, so do not add any extra! I served the fish with a side of mixed veggies (green beans, wax beans, and carrots).
I'm not doing so great this week with the healthful eating. I've been waking up late cuz of my stupid work schedule. Tuesday was the pizza/beer blowout. And then I was CRAVING McDonald's for lunch today. AND pizza. So I had a bad lunch. I told myself while waiting in the drive thru I'd order a McChicken and a small fry. Well, when I ordered the words "medium fry" came flying out of my mouth. So then I told myself, it's ok, just eat half. Well I had half eaten by the time I got to Pizza Daddies (one light down the road) to pick up my small pizza. I ate the other half of the fries on the drive home.
I should also mention that I ordered 2 small pizzas with every intent on eating all the food I had ordered. I was full after McDonalds and the first small pizza, so I did save the other one for midnight dinner tonight. And in my defense, the small pizza is thin crust and equivalent to 2 actual slices of pizza. And then I took a nap. There is definitely room for improvement here! But every day is a new day. I ate what I ate. If I don't lose again this week, there is only myself to blame. I would like to state the positive though, that I did have a very healthful fish and veggies for dinner. One baby step at a time!
Monday, September 30, 2013
Buctober is Upon Us
I weighed myself yesterday and it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I just didn't lose any weight last week. I stayed at 284.2. After that pretty bad binge, I was sure that I had gained at least 3lbs back, and probably all that I had lost. I guess there wasn't any reason to stress as much as I was. I'm feeling a lot better about tomorrow's pizza, Pirates, and beer outing. I can just go and enjoy myself and not stress about what exactly is going in my mouth. Let's go Bucs!
Dinner tonight was Spinach and Artichoke Baked Pasta. I did all the prep in advance, and just let it sit in the fridge overnight. When I was ready to bake it, I poured my mix into a 13x9 baking dish (sprayed with Pam), covered it with foil, then baked it for 25min at 400F. I then removed the foil, put the remaining cheese on top, and put it back under the broiler on high for 2 minutes. The only ingredient I added was 1tsp of cayenne pepper. I like a little spice in my spinach artichoke dip, so I figured it would go well with this too. And it did. It didn't make it spicy, just added a hint of spice that lingered in your mouth after a bite. This recipe was easy to make and pretty yummy. I'll definitely be putting it on the make again list.
Please observe the cheesy, ooey goodness!
Dinner tonight was Spinach and Artichoke Baked Pasta. I did all the prep in advance, and just let it sit in the fridge overnight. When I was ready to bake it, I poured my mix into a 13x9 baking dish (sprayed with Pam), covered it with foil, then baked it for 25min at 400F. I then removed the foil, put the remaining cheese on top, and put it back under the broiler on high for 2 minutes. The only ingredient I added was 1tsp of cayenne pepper. I like a little spice in my spinach artichoke dip, so I figured it would go well with this too. And it did. It didn't make it spicy, just added a hint of spice that lingered in your mouth after a bite. This recipe was easy to make and pretty yummy. I'll definitely be putting it on the make again list.
Please observe the cheesy, ooey goodness!
Weekend Shenanigans
This weekend is finally over. Thank God! Absolutely nothing went as planned. Yesterday was a blast at the final concert of the year though. Florida Georgia Line, Thompson Square, and Luke Bryan did an awesome job. It's crazy to think about the venue we go to being sold out. There were over 30,000 people there Saturday night. That number is just mind blowing to me. 30,000 is also the amount of calories I consumed emotional eating/drinking from not getting my way. Not really, but damn does it feel close.
I had fun, I made good memories with my friends. Those are the important things. But I really do feel like crap. My body doesn't feel good, and my psyche doesn't feel good for failing on my diet this week. I won't let one bad day break me down, but it's been 3 bad days. I'm beating myself up mentally for all the poor food choices I made. And my uncle is in town from NC, so we'll be going out and making more poor decisions. I don't want to go out with my family to a pizza place, watch the Pirates win their first post season game since October 13, 1992, and order a water and a salad. Fuck that. I'm going to have a Southern Tier Pumpking, probably an Oktoberfest, and I'm going to eat fucking pizza. I'm upset that all the fun is happening in like a 4 day window. If it were spaced out over 4 weeks this wouldn't be a problem. Ugh!
Right now the gameplan for the week is to make as many good food choices as possible. Get as much activity in as I can, and hopefully this week is not as much of a disaster as last week. Definitely liking the vegan, vegetarian, omnomnomivore plan I've got going on. You can find my dinners for the week on Pinterest under username Msc120687. I'll be taking pictures of what I'm cooking and do a little recipe review for at least one of the meals we cook. No crockpot usage this week though. None of my recipes jumped out at me while grocery planning. Wish me luck!
I had fun, I made good memories with my friends. Those are the important things. But I really do feel like crap. My body doesn't feel good, and my psyche doesn't feel good for failing on my diet this week. I won't let one bad day break me down, but it's been 3 bad days. I'm beating myself up mentally for all the poor food choices I made. And my uncle is in town from NC, so we'll be going out and making more poor decisions. I don't want to go out with my family to a pizza place, watch the Pirates win their first post season game since October 13, 1992, and order a water and a salad. Fuck that. I'm going to have a Southern Tier Pumpking, probably an Oktoberfest, and I'm going to eat fucking pizza. I'm upset that all the fun is happening in like a 4 day window. If it were spaced out over 4 weeks this wouldn't be a problem. Ugh!
Right now the gameplan for the week is to make as many good food choices as possible. Get as much activity in as I can, and hopefully this week is not as much of a disaster as last week. Definitely liking the vegan, vegetarian, omnomnomivore plan I've got going on. You can find my dinners for the week on Pinterest under username Msc120687. I'll be taking pictures of what I'm cooking and do a little recipe review for at least one of the meals we cook. No crockpot usage this week though. None of my recipes jumped out at me while grocery planning. Wish me luck!
Saturday, September 28, 2013
Poorly Planned Again
Whelp. Yesterday did not go as planned either. Hubs did not want to stay in the city and went into work at 7 this morning. We still went out, but only I drank the amber nectar of Oktoberfest.
Booze equals some serious points my friends. I had a shot of Jagermeister, a bottle of Sam Adam's Oktoberfest, and the equivalent of 3 16oz beers. Bye bye all my points for the day. That right there is 46 points worth of beer. I don't even want to talk about what I ate for dinner. All points are definitely gone. I forgot to weigh in yesterday too. I think this week is probably not going to be pretty. Not. Pretty. At. All.
Booze equals some serious points my friends. I had a shot of Jagermeister, a bottle of Sam Adam's Oktoberfest, and the equivalent of 3 16oz beers. Bye bye all my points for the day. That right there is 46 points worth of beer. I don't even want to talk about what I ate for dinner. All points are definitely gone. I forgot to weigh in yesterday too. I think this week is probably not going to be pretty. Not. Pretty. At. All.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Plans
I should have had a dinner plan before I fell asleep yesterday. I didn't sleep very well because both dogs decided they wanted to play all day and barked at each other for hours. I was up at least every hour. Awesome. I made great food choices by begging my husband to bring home Chick-Fil-A, which he so graciously agreed to. I was so hungry I was convinced that I was going to eat 2 sandwiches. I also had a large fry, and dipped those fries into 3 packets of mayo. I basically ate an entire days worth of points in 15 minutes.
As soon as I was done eating it was time to rush off to work, and on the commute I started to get really sick to my stomach. And of course, last night was just as much of a doozy as the night before. I didn't feel sympathetic to other people's wants. I felt like yelling, "This is not a Hilton, and I am not room service. Stop calling me! Be a decent human being and say fucking please and thank you. Do not just demand me to wait on you hand and foot!!" At least I got to sit and eat my dinner, but it was probably interrupted about 15 times. My Santa Fe Rice and Beans was so hard after being microwaved a dozen times. Yay, I love my job today...not so much.
BUT, tonight holds the great promise of the greatness that is Oktoberfest! I plan on surprising the hubs with a hotel room downtown so we both can get shitty at Penn Brew. The official plan is to check into the hotel, eat dinner at Atrias for their amaze-balls Oktoberfest specials, then walk off our dinner by walking over to Penn Brew. For Oktoberfest they hitch a huge tent, have an Oompa Band, serve German snacks, and most importantly, sell beer in half gallon milk jugs. Hell yes! I pretty much figure that I will use all of my daily points and all of my weekly points as well. It will entirely be worth it.
Bring on the dreams of sausage, pretzels, and sexy German men in Lederhosen (does that exist?)
PS: Just googled sexy men in lederhosen, this is apparently not a thing. This should be a thing!
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Indian Master, Not Quite
Crock pot Chicken Tikka Masala. Not my best. Made this during the day yesterday. Love the fact that it cooked while I was sleeping. Didn't fall in love with the flavor. One of my co-workers is Indian, and she cooks the most amazing food. I have no idea why I thought I could cook Indian food as good as her on my first try. It was absolutely not on her level. However, it was 100% edible, unlike the cauliflower and peas I made as a side dish. I did however make some banging Basmati rice though. I'm a slacker and didn't take any pictures of this process, sorry!
The problem with the Tikka is the chicken either completely disappeared or the chunks that did exist were too dry. The recipe calls for yogurt, and I thought that would make the dish creamy and delicious. Nope. That tangy flavor didn't exactly cook out or mesh with the other flavors. It was also oddly sweet. I say odd because I didn't add any sugar to the dish. I'm game for trying another Chicken Tikka recipe soon. Maybe I can get a personal cooking lesson from my coworker!
So the cauliflower. I have never in my life cooked cauliflower raw in a skillet. That should have been my first red flag. The recipe called for a minimal amount of oil, and no liquid whatsoever. Second red flag is that most of the spices are in quantities of tsp, except for the ground coriander. Now I've never cooked with it before, and it didn't have an overwhelmingly strong odor, so I assumed that 2tBsp was reasonable to make up for a mild flavor. That has to be a typo in the recipe! The whole thing literally tasted like sawdust, completely inedible. The cauliflower was sooo dry. I have no idea how I managed to make a vegetable taste dry. That's a first for me! Hubs and I each had a bite then threw the rest out.
Last night was a rough night. I honestly ran from 1945 (7:45pm) to 0330 (3:30am). I didn't drink anything, I didn't eat anything, I didn't pee. I never left my patient's room. I finally just had to sit down, get some charting done, and eat dinner at the same time. I had a Smart Ones Fettuccine Alfredo. One of those little frozen meals is absolutely not enough to fill me up. I saw a tip from Hungry Girl that to bulk up the frozen meal, just add more veggies. So I added a bag of SteamFresh Broccoli and had a very satisfying vegetarian dinner that I probably ate in 4 minutes.
I'm super excited to be home right now and about to crawl into my bed. No idea what dinner is going to be tonight, but I'm too tired to care! Hope everyone enjoys the sunshine, I'll be sound asleep!
The problem with the Tikka is the chicken either completely disappeared or the chunks that did exist were too dry. The recipe calls for yogurt, and I thought that would make the dish creamy and delicious. Nope. That tangy flavor didn't exactly cook out or mesh with the other flavors. It was also oddly sweet. I say odd because I didn't add any sugar to the dish. I'm game for trying another Chicken Tikka recipe soon. Maybe I can get a personal cooking lesson from my coworker!
So the cauliflower. I have never in my life cooked cauliflower raw in a skillet. That should have been my first red flag. The recipe called for a minimal amount of oil, and no liquid whatsoever. Second red flag is that most of the spices are in quantities of tsp, except for the ground coriander. Now I've never cooked with it before, and it didn't have an overwhelmingly strong odor, so I assumed that 2tBsp was reasonable to make up for a mild flavor. That has to be a typo in the recipe! The whole thing literally tasted like sawdust, completely inedible. The cauliflower was sooo dry. I have no idea how I managed to make a vegetable taste dry. That's a first for me! Hubs and I each had a bite then threw the rest out.
Last night was a rough night. I honestly ran from 1945 (7:45pm) to 0330 (3:30am). I didn't drink anything, I didn't eat anything, I didn't pee. I never left my patient's room. I finally just had to sit down, get some charting done, and eat dinner at the same time. I had a Smart Ones Fettuccine Alfredo. One of those little frozen meals is absolutely not enough to fill me up. I saw a tip from Hungry Girl that to bulk up the frozen meal, just add more veggies. So I added a bag of SteamFresh Broccoli and had a very satisfying vegetarian dinner that I probably ate in 4 minutes.
I'm super excited to be home right now and about to crawl into my bed. No idea what dinner is going to be tonight, but I'm too tired to care! Hope everyone enjoys the sunshine, I'll be sound asleep!
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Blur
I worked all weekend. At this point everything is a blur. I should have blogged yesterday, but I had a busy morning and then slept for most of the day! I can say that I had a 100% vegan breakfast week. And vegetarian lunches were going well, until Sunday night I ate beef and broccoli without even thinking about it. Oops!
I also walked 11,000 steps at work Sunday night. I first bought the pedometer after I started this job. I was going home and feeling completely exhausted. I had a feeling I was doing more activity than I thought I was. And it was true. On a typical 12hr shift I will easily walk 10,000 steps.
Last night I was waaayyy too tired to cook anything, so we went out to Emiliano's, one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants. The staff is always so kind, and the manager always stops by to tell us some story about the food his mom used to make in Mexico. Almost all of the menu is her recipes! I love their arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), and I get it nearly every time we go. They also have banging margaritas. My game plan was to not eat the chips and salsa that come out at the beginning of the meal. Well that plan was quickly bust when hubs wanted their queso con chorizo (also phenomenal). I went in with about 30pts for dinner. I probably ate that many with the cheeze dip. I'm not the kind of person to beat myself up over a mistake. I overate a fattening food. I've moved on. We'll see what the scale says on Friday.
Tonight's dinner was so simple and easy to make, I cannot believe how good it tasted. It satisfied all of my tastebuds. I made Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers. The roasted peppers had just the right amount of crunch and caramelized sweetness. The black beans satisfied the meat portion of the meal, and do not even get me started on how amaze-balls roasted corn is. Oh and onions, have I mentioned that garlic and onions sustain me?
First step was to roast the peppers. I figured, well I'm already turning the oven on. I might as well roast the corn too. I tossed the corn in 1tsp of EVOO, seasoned with some Lawry's Seasoned Salt (probably has some crack in it, too good not to have a little crack sprinkle in there) and some pepper. I roasted both for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. The peppers weren't quite done yet, so I took the corn off the pan and put the peppers back in for another 5 minutes.
While the veggies were roasting I opened and rinsed a can of black beans. I put them in a sauce pan with a 1/4c of H20. I seasoned them liberally with paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, and a little adobo. Simultaneously, I sauteed up some onions. I added a heaping 2 tablespoons of minced garlic for the last minute of cooking. Here's one of my secrets. I hate mincing garlic. It's so damn sticky! I'm a bad chef and buy the garlic pre-minced that comes in a ketchup-like squeeze bottle. It works for me.
Once the peppers were done roasting, I mixed all the other veggies together. Then spooned them into the peppers. I sprinkled them with about 2tbsp each of shredded colby jack cheese and stuck them under the broiler just until the cheese melted. I do not have a picture of the completed meal, because the one pepper was inhaled before I could take one! I said that this recipe was 4 servings, and each serving is 6 points.
So I know it's Tuesday, and I'm a day late but I want to state my goals for this week.
1. Vegan breakfasts for 7 days!
2. Vegetarian for 50% of lunches (I already broke the rule today with my Mexican leftovers)
3. Wear my pedometer to work. Get up and walk for at least 5 minutes every hour.
4. Do not stress about Oktoberfest. It is a once a year event.
5. Luke Bryan is Saturday. Try to stay on point.
Tomorrow we're having crock-pot Chicken Tikka Masala, Indian spiced cauliflower and peas, basmati rice, and fresh naan. I started the dish tonight, and in my it's 0300 why am I cooking stupor, I forgot to take pictures. Reviews to follow!
I also walked 11,000 steps at work Sunday night. I first bought the pedometer after I started this job. I was going home and feeling completely exhausted. I had a feeling I was doing more activity than I thought I was. And it was true. On a typical 12hr shift I will easily walk 10,000 steps.
Last night I was waaayyy too tired to cook anything, so we went out to Emiliano's, one of our favorite local Mexican restaurants. The staff is always so kind, and the manager always stops by to tell us some story about the food his mom used to make in Mexico. Almost all of the menu is her recipes! I love their arroz con pollo (rice with chicken), and I get it nearly every time we go. They also have banging margaritas. My game plan was to not eat the chips and salsa that come out at the beginning of the meal. Well that plan was quickly bust when hubs wanted their queso con chorizo (also phenomenal). I went in with about 30pts for dinner. I probably ate that many with the cheeze dip. I'm not the kind of person to beat myself up over a mistake. I overate a fattening food. I've moved on. We'll see what the scale says on Friday.
Tonight's dinner was so simple and easy to make, I cannot believe how good it tasted. It satisfied all of my tastebuds. I made Spicy Black Bean Stuffed Peppers. The roasted peppers had just the right amount of crunch and caramelized sweetness. The black beans satisfied the meat portion of the meal, and do not even get me started on how amaze-balls roasted corn is. Oh and onions, have I mentioned that garlic and onions sustain me?
First step was to roast the peppers. I figured, well I'm already turning the oven on. I might as well roast the corn too. I tossed the corn in 1tsp of EVOO, seasoned with some Lawry's Seasoned Salt (probably has some crack in it, too good not to have a little crack sprinkle in there) and some pepper. I roasted both for 15 minutes at 400 degrees. The peppers weren't quite done yet, so I took the corn off the pan and put the peppers back in for another 5 minutes.
While the veggies were roasting I opened and rinsed a can of black beans. I put them in a sauce pan with a 1/4c of H20. I seasoned them liberally with paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, and a little adobo. Simultaneously, I sauteed up some onions. I added a heaping 2 tablespoons of minced garlic for the last minute of cooking. Here's one of my secrets. I hate mincing garlic. It's so damn sticky! I'm a bad chef and buy the garlic pre-minced that comes in a ketchup-like squeeze bottle. It works for me.
Once the peppers were done roasting, I mixed all the other veggies together. Then spooned them into the peppers. I sprinkled them with about 2tbsp each of shredded colby jack cheese and stuck them under the broiler just until the cheese melted. I do not have a picture of the completed meal, because the one pepper was inhaled before I could take one! I said that this recipe was 4 servings, and each serving is 6 points.
So I know it's Tuesday, and I'm a day late but I want to state my goals for this week.
1. Vegan breakfasts for 7 days!
2. Vegetarian for 50% of lunches (I already broke the rule today with my Mexican leftovers)
3. Wear my pedometer to work. Get up and walk for at least 5 minutes every hour.
4. Do not stress about Oktoberfest. It is a once a year event.
5. Luke Bryan is Saturday. Try to stay on point.
Tomorrow we're having crock-pot Chicken Tikka Masala, Indian spiced cauliflower and peas, basmati rice, and fresh naan. I started the dish tonight, and in my it's 0300 why am I cooking stupor, I forgot to take pictures. Reviews to follow!
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