Into the Freezer...again...

So, last night we delved back into our freezer to make some space (real estate is HOT in our freezer!:) and to get rid of some leftovers that have been hanging out in there.  Simple night, right???

Well, explain to me how we ended up with MORE pots on the stove then if we had cooked an ENTIRE meal???? 

We even had a bowl in the MICROWAVE!!!!  Simple dinner...loooooong clean up! :)

But it was worth it, cause dinner was lovely...for Scott:  Garlic sauteed homemade Ravioli's....

And for me...leftover Crab gravy with spaghetti:)  Hence why there were so many pots...Scott did NOT want any of the gravy touching his precious raviolis:)  Never shall the 2 meet:) ...

Buttttttttttttttt....despite the 'leftovers' dinner, I still have a few new things to show you!  Around Tuesday morning was when I noticed my Vitatop stash was dwindling down...which was JUST in time for another "stock up sale" from Hungry Girl!  Can't start off my week with any less than FIVE Vitatops in the freezer for breakfasts!! :) 

And even though I said I wasn't going to get these until FALL....along with this pack came the new Apple Crumb tops!

And I could NOT wait until Fall to test them out!:)  I promptly heated one in the microwave for 10 seconds, topped it with a scoop of light vanilla ice cream and made myself a 150-ish calorie Apple Pie Ala mode!

Mmmmmmm....SOOOOOOO spicy and so good!  I did NOT expect to see WHOLE APPLE chunks throughout the 'Tops...and yet, Vita squeezed them in there! :)  You can NOT beat these buggers!  100 calories of FILLING deliciousness:)  Keep up the great work, Vitalicious!:)

Andddd...after both Jillian Michael's kicked my ass with her 30-day shred this morning (I swear, I block out how hard this workout is EVERY time I do it!!!)  and a stop to get blood work done on the way to work, I figured I'd grab something 'on the go'...and today, I chose a Vivanno Strawberry Banana Smoothie from the Starbucks...

Did I love, love it?  No.  But was it pretty good & filling for under 300 calories?  Yes!  This is certainly a meal-replacement...don't kid yourself that this a 'snack' by any means, but it made for a good 'on-the-go' Friday breakfast sub:)

YEAH!!  Did I just say Friday???  Wohoooooooo!  We made it, folks!!!!  And I am sooooooooooo excited for tonight!  It involves Atlantic City & a certain spiky haired celebrity chef! 

Stay Tuned & Enjoy your weekend!! :)

"Short ride to Flavortown"...

Last night's dinner was ANOTHER lesson in FLAVOR!!  Lots and lots of Flavor!!!!!  We made Walnut & Rosemary Oven Fried Chicken with Broccoli & cheese couscous and sweet peas:)

While Scott was busy butterflying the chicken (and he did a MOST excellent job!), I was busy mixing up the panko, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, salt & rosemary.  How flavorful does THAT sound?????

And, since it's STILL summer after all...we popped the chicken right into the toaster oven for 40 minutes (they were thick pieces).  The aromas wafting from the oven were SUCH a tease!  You could even smell the mustard from the 'dredge'!!...

Every bite had flavors just oozing out of it!!  Nutty walnuts, tangy mustard, herby rosemary, salty cheese...YUM!!!!  It was AMAZINGLY delicious!!!  AND CRUNCHYYYYY!!!  The key was browning the panko BEFORE coating the chicken...it knocked it out of the park!  I'm going to try that everytime I use panko now! ...

Oh, it had been TOO long since we had couscous!!...

...And it was a blissful reunion:)

And of course, 'silver can' peas are the bestest!  (You know which ones I'm talkin about;)

A great, great, GREAT dinner all around!  Even Scott, who is not a fan of walnuts OR broccoli & cheese items (I know, I know) LOVED this dinner!  And here he was afraid all he was going to like was the peas:)  Surprise, suprise:)  I'm excited to try Almond chicken next, since it's been on my 'radar' for awhile...but have always gotten the 'thumbs down' when I suggested it...not anymore! :)  hahahahahha....

Sighhhhhhhh...one day closer!  I'm sooooo excited for our plans for tomorrow night!  It is going to be ULTRA blog-worthy!!!  Have a good Thursday!

"The Best Thing I ever ate...In a Bowl..."

Didn't I say we had a humidity break and it was now 89 outside???  So dinner last night was COMPLETELY appropriate, right? :)  hahahahhahahaha....we had an AWESOME Summer Squash & Corn Chowder...

And even though I wasn't bundled up on my couch, this was still a perfect summer meal using all of the fresh veggies!  The best part of this chowder was that it was thick and creamy...BUT, it was not because of cream!  But rather....blended up sweet CORN!!  Nice, right??  Low cal AND a sweet flavor throughout!  Not too shabby!  We lovvvveeeed this!

And it was just ironic that THIS was what we watched last night! :)

And whilst I LOVED the soup...I can't say its been the BEST thing I've eaten in a bowl this week:)  That honor goes to the dessert I've had the last 3 nights because I'm COMPLETELY obsessed with it! :)

I've been taking 2 tablespoons of marshmallow fluff (I've never liked marshmallows...now, I can't get enough of this stuff!) and a tablespoon of peanut butter chips and microwaving it for 30 seconds to get all melty.  Then I mix it all up...

And top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (and maybe a dash of sea salt;)

It's like a melty, nougat-y Reeses pieces!!!  LOVEEEE and all for under 200 calories!  Can't beat that, right?:)

Sighhhh...is it Friday yet??  Seriously, I've lost track of the days of the week!  I usually only know it's Wednesday because it's normally the morning I've hit the wall and it's terribly hard to get out of bed to work out!  Quick, 20 minute 'circle pilates' for THIS girl this morning! :)  hahahahahha...

Happy....whatever ;)

Salad Redemption...

Last night's salad couldn't have been MORE heads or tails, above and beyond BETTER than last week's. (bleh...still bitter about that one:)  We had a Seashell Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing...

The only change we made to the recipe was to double up on the arugula to add more 'low cal. bulk'...and oh my, oh my...was this DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!  The sweet peas, mixed with the cool dressing (with a MASSIVE KICK of fresh garlic!), salty prosciutto and chewy pasta = PERFECTION!! 

I was never a huge arugula fan, but it is SERIOUSLY growing on me!  It just has such a full-bodied taste that really made this salad EXPLODE with flavor.  You must-must-must try this one!  No, for real!  It's THAT good...and simple! :)  I could have had 3 more bowls worth! :)

And in MORE "new exercise" news...this morning I broke out this DVD for the second time.  But rather than the 25 minute session, I snuck in the brand new (to me) 45 minute section...

WOOOOOSHHHH...I was SHAKIN in the AM!  THIS was GREAT, but some parts of it were SUPPERRR tough!!!  To the tune of one looonnnnnnnng "chair pose" and one looonnnnnnnngggggg ''yoga prayer squat'' (yes, that's the 'techinical' name...not very pretty, I know:)  I was shaking like crazy...although it could have been remnants of my head-to-toe-DRENCHING pilates class last night!  My legs won't recover for days!! :)  Score one for the DCC for kickin my ass! :) hahahhahahahahah

We have a nice humidity BREAK here in Jersey the last 2 days.  It's sad when the weather report is 89 degrees and you feel like you need a jacket! hahahahahhahahah....thank goodness the summer is ALMOST OVER!! :)  I can't WAIT! :)

Happy Tuesday! 

Surprising Weekend Wrap-Up!

So Friday night was pretty challenging...no, not because of the tornado...buttttt because I had to keep my mouth shut THE WHOLE NIGHT about...

My Mom's surprise birthday get together!!!

And it was particularly awesome that we didn't get home until 2:45am and I had to get up SUPER early to cook:) ...but I don't care!  It was all worth it! :)  (just amusing:)

So I'm happy to say my apps were a pretty bit hit!  I started with Watermelon Cups with Honey Goat Cheese, Mint & Shallots, based on this recipe.  My Aunt could not stop raving over them (thanks Aunt Pat!)...they were perfect for a HOT, HOT, HOT day...like Saturday...

And another super quick and yummy app:  Cheese & Garlic Roasted Chickpeas...

These are so simple!!  You just dry roast 2 drained & rinsed cans of chickpeas in a skillet (no oil), stirring occasionally.  Then I seasoned them with salt, pepper & garlic powder.  Allow them to roast until they are dry and slightly crunchy, about 20 minutes.  The last 2 minutes, add a few handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese and stir to melt.  Boom-Done!  So easy and totally addicting! :)

For my main course, I spent weeks saying I was going to get pizza and make it easy.  But me being me, changed that Wednesday night when I thought: Lasagna!  My Mom's favorite 'flavor' is pumpkin, so I knew she would loveeeee this lasagna, with the star ingredient being:

Pumpkin/Sausage Lasagna with a nice layer of zucchini stuck in there for good measure:)  I added a few dashes of nutmeg to the pumpkin layer to give it a little more of a spice kick!  Just something a little different from your norm...   (and oh-so perfect for FALL:)

I also decided to make a Garden-Style Lasagna with lots...

....and lots...

...and LOTS of vegetables!!!

This one is VERY time consuming, but SOOOOOOOOOOOO worth it!  It tastes even better as it sits!  Plus, if you make this on a Sunday night, you could probably stretch it for a few meals & lunches during the week!  (or 1 party on a Saturday;)

And finally, the most important part: THE CAKE!  I combined my Mom's 2 favorite things and made her a signature dessert:  Pumpkin Angel Food Cake with Maple Whipped Cream :) 

The cake recipe I got from here (healthy) and then I made the yummy (unhealthy) frosting:)  I whipped 1 quart of heavy cream until stiff peaks formed.  Once the whipped cream was almost ready, I mixed in 4 tablespoons of maple syrup, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg and a teaspoon of vanilla.  It was a nice touch to the cake...and NOT too shabby by the spoonful either;)  Did I say that?  I didn't say that...

And the other cake I made used LOTS of fresh summer fruit!!

And this pictures does this cake no justice, as I was SOOOOOOOOOO pleased to flip this over and it actually turned out quite beautifully!

It was a Summer Fruit Upside Down Cornmeal Cake!  I was so excited to make this since it was sooo 'seasonally approptiate', but was worried it was going to be dry from the cornmeal.  Ut-uh!  It came sooo good...crisp from the cornmeal, but sweet with a tart berry kiss!  AMAZING! AND SUUUPER EASY!!  You MUST try this, as it will get lots of ooooohhhsss and ahhhsss:)

So like I said, despite the HOT stove and a short night of sleep, everything turned out perfect.  Except for the boundless energy of Penny...who managed to almost knock down my Aunt, knocked over a drink and even blocked the guest of honor from her family portrait... :)  But "Nona" wouldn't want it any other way:)

Hahahahahhaha...so after Friday & Saturday's whirlwind...Sunday was STRICTLY for RELAXING!  EXCEPT for one treat for Scott, who was SUCHHHH a huge help in cleaning the house and entertaining everyone and their Mother (literally:) on Saturday  So for him, I did something I've never, ever, EVER done....I deep fried some homemade onion rings:)

In Canola oil...so that's better, right???  RIGHT??? :)

And if I'm gonna make "Man Food"...I figured Guy Fieri would be the authority:)  I followed his recipe for Beer Battered 'Rings using good 'ol Vermont Harpoon Beer...

I let the sliced rings sit in buttermilk for one hour.  I also mixed the beer & flour batter and let that sit in the fridge for an hour to get super cold.  Next, we dredged the rings in flour and then in the batter and laid them in a single layer on the cookie sheet.  I popped them BACK in the fridge for ANOTHER hour to let the batter set...(quite a process...I know:)

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But oh-my-heavens!  Was it WORTH it!!!!!  They came out light, crispy, CRUNCHY and flavorful!!!!  I double dipped a few and the crunch-meter hit a TEN!  But the 'single dipped' ones had a niceeee flavor of sweet onion.  They were just about the world's most perfect rings if I do say so myself:)

For our burger, we took a page (literally) from Bobby Flay...

And made these...

Bacon, BBQ and cheddar Turkey Burgers.  Could these even BE bad??

And I told you it wouldn't be long before we had these babies again:)  Our "fast/slow cooked baked beans" :)

So overall, a perfect Sunday meal...esp. to thank Scott for bein such a peach:)

Annnnddd...to counter all of that cake & fried goodness, I broke out my new DVD last night and tried the yoga portion of this:

It. was. AWESOME!  I LOVED IT!!!  And it must have done SOMETHING, because my legs were shaking for a good 15-20 minutes AFTER the workout!  Loved it!  Not to mention I had to toss my 8 pound weights on the '3 mile walk' this morning, in favor of the 4 pounders.  It was either switch to the 4 pounds or I quit walking...so I went with the earlier (smarter) option:)

Phewww..that was a lot for the day!  I hope you all had as much fun (and good eats) as we did this weekend!  Happy Monday! 

A night out with the Yankees...

So my Mom & I had a wonderful, and certainly MEMORABLE, night at Yankee stadium on Friday night.  Wonderful since the night started out GORGEOUS...MEMORABLE because we ended up in the middle of a near TORNADO (think lightening streaking across the field, SOAKING rain & winds!).  It was INSANE! 

But before the twister blew through the Bronx...we were having quite a pleasant evening!  Nice view, nice breeze...just a picture perfect night...

I surprised my Mom with tickets that gave us access to the "Jim Bean Suite Lounge," so we headed there for our eats before the game...

With a "Food Network" influence...apparently...;)

We started with the "New Stadium" CLASSIC...and split the garlic fries....

Oh, we smelled AMAZING after these babies, as you can imagine!;) These are like HEAVEN and PACKKKKKED with GARLIC! :)  Yummmmmmm....

They got swept away as quickly as we almost did in those tornado winds:) hhahahahahaha...

Andddddd although my Mom opted for the baseball classic: The hot dog...I thought I'd take advantage of the yummy looking cheeseburger, topped with a fried pickle, in the lounge...

And I'm happy to report that it was seriously one of the best burgers I've had in AWHILE!  (And that fried pickle was a PERFECT addition!  Crispy salty goodness:)  However,  I almost must report that it damn well SHOULD HAVE BEEN given it's "game day" price tag...but it really was so so good, so I'll overlook that and not even mention it;) hahahahhaa....

After our dinner we headed to our seats and promptly began to ask the very important question....No, not who was going to win the game...but rather, what were we going to have for dessert?!! :)  We were tempted by popcorn, soft pretzels (one of my favs!), PINTS, YES, PINTS of Italian Ice and Ice Cream being served (seriously???  Is a PINT of ice cream really necessary???  It's not like you can eat half and take it home!)  But as soon as we heard "ice cream bars" being called out...our hands couldn't go up fast enough:)

This was a TOTAL treat that we don't often indulge in at the stadium...which could have been the reason it tasted like a million bucks! :) hahahahahahha....Happy Birthday, Mom! :)  A dark chocolate & vanilla ice cream toast to you!

And even though A-Rod did NOT hit his 600th home run, we at least got to see Jorge hit his 1,000 RBI!

Hip Hip Jor-ge!! :)

And shortly after that, our picturesque evening turned into a scene from "Wizard of Oz" :)  And our night continued with an hour of watching the blessed grounds crew clean up the field rather than visiting a colorful land of lions, tigers and a cool new pair of ruby shoes:) 

Hahahhahaahha....although a little tornado wasn't gonna get my Mom out of that stadium!  I think she'd take the Bronx over OZ anyday;) hahahahahhaha....

So minus a FEW snags, we STILL managed to have a fun night and one I don't think we'll EVER forget...for many reason:)  hahahhahaha...I still had a few surprised up my sleeve at this point and since I had a completely exhausting (but WONDERFUL) Saturday, I'll fill you in tomorrow after I spend the rest of my day lounging today:) hahahhaahhaa...Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!