Like it was my job...

Hey, all.  Hope you're doing well.  I didn't have too much to share with you from Monday since I was taking care of a sick Katie all day and our dinner ended up being 2 dueling bowls of cerealJ  

It happensJ  

But yesterday turned out to be a little more fun & balanced.

Tuesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:15am:  Breakfast- Multigrain waffle with butter & flax

12:00pm:  Lunch- Salad with 1/4 diced avocado, feta & 2 diced slices of turkey bacon

 2:30pm:  Snack- Grapes & cheese

That's probably definitely more cheese than necessary, but I was pretty hungry by that point and that Cracker Barrel cheese is just SOGOOD.

6:00pm:  Dinner- Kenji Fusion Sushi

Yep, that was all mine.

Hahahahahaha...just kiddingJ  I split that with 2 of my gals last night, even though I think I ate like it was my job last night.  That damn sushi is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD.  I could pretend to tell you I know what was in all of them, but that would be liez.  Let's just say anything you order from the specialty roll menu is going to be delish!

And now I'm sitting here typing with the beginnings of a stuffy nose thanks to Miss K.  Hopefully I'm able to hold it off...but the combo of feeling a little 'eh,' coupled with Katie still not being 100% AND the howling WIND that I don't really want either of us to face, it feels like I'm gonna have to 86 my beloved "Wednesday morning yoga" today...bleh.  Oh well, if it's better for the BOTH of us, than it's A-OK for the day.  We'll see how I'm feelin when Body Jam time rolls aroundJ

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!J

Body Jam, Ben & Jerry's and BACON...

Morning, everyone!  Hope you guys had a GREAT weekend.  Mine was definitly on the 'pretty perfect' end of the spectrum including a great night with friends (that ended at 1:30am...ummmm, who are we??J), time with my Beyond Expectations family and lots & LOTS of DANCE TIME!

As I mentioned on Friday, my weekend was sandwiched between an AWESOME Zumbathon on Saturday morning (Oh MAN, did we sweat or WHAT, ladies???) and a Body Jam/Bokwa combo class with some HIGH ENERGY and AMAZING instructors!  I'm a little stiff from head to toe this morning, but it feels phenomenalJ

But have no fear, that doesn't mean the weekend wasn't without some yummy treats, including dinner on Saturday night at one of my favs: Molto Bene.  It was Scott's first trip and had to laugh that KATIE had made it there before he didJ hahahahahaha

Since Molto Bene serves options for both small AND large plates, you have the opportunity to taste a lot without having too much of anything (which I HEARTTT!).  We started with house made potato chips with fontina cream to dip...

We liked those, but not as much as the MEATBALL TRIO!

A chicken meatball in roasted red pepper sauce, a meatball in tangy tomato sauce & a rice ball in pesto...all of these were absolute perfect bites and each of the sauces really put them over the top.  I can't say which was the best cause we loved them all (although I think the chicken/red pepper sauce combo was the most surprisingly delicious!)

And we didn't love THAT as much as our absolute FAVORITE app that we were STILL talking about yesterday:  The chickpea fritters with lemon aioli dipping sauce...

They were light, yet super crunchy on the outside and creamy hummus on the inside.  DIVINE!

And even though it PAINED ME not to order the PERFECT ITALIAN CHILI Saturday night (already have it in my plan for our next night there!), we were sooooo happy with our 'small plate entree' choice of ricotta gnocchi with crumbled sausage in a sage/brown butter/cheese sauce...

This reminded me so much of the ragu from JNA Culinary Institute...as to say:  It was PERFECT.  Slightly spiced sausage, tender veggies in a flavor PACKED sauce all surrounding the pillow-y gnocchi.  We were only SLIGHTLY regretting we didn't order the LARGE PORTION!J

And for some reason I was just wishing for CLASSIC PIZZA, and even though they had a great offering of lots of toppings, I was happy to just go with the old standard...

Sometimes the classics are just the bestJ

And ready for one more thing that was COMPLETELY off the charts???  We were handed their menu of homemade desserts, and while the WARM bread pudding (not to mention zeppoles & 'gelato bombs') always sound delicious, my eyes just went STRAIGHT to the olive oil cake with mixed berries & ricotta mousse...

Maybe it was the SPRING-like weather on Saturday, since I would not normally order the 'berry dessert,'  but this cake did not disappoint ONE BITE (trust, cause there wasn't a bite leftover).  The cake was SWEET, super dense yet still tender and the fresh, chopped berries on top added just enough extra sweetness.  It was happy, happy, happyJ

And we kept the Italian theme going on Sunday night when it was TIME to break out my good ole recipe for BACON SAUCE!!!

Which is as DROP DEAD AWESOME as it soundsJ

I feel like I try to keep everything I need for it on hand...

...just in case the mood ever strikes me to whip this up... 

...or, in the normal case, until I have enough bacon that needs to be used up for this quick sauce. 

We are talking a THICK and luscious sauce where EVERY bite is punctuated with BACON!  Does life get any better??

No.  It really does notJ  

And the hardest part REALLY was waiting for the bacon to crisp up, the rest is smooooooth sailing.  Try this the next time you want to give your Sunday gravy a BOOST!J

 And since my weekend included a lot of THIS:  (can you find me??)

...I had to make one more stop on my way home yesterday to pick up THIS: 

Ben & Jerry's "Core" is their new line of ice cream, each with a CORE of either chocolate, NUTELLA, caramel or raspberry jam.  I KNOW!

 We had the other 2 flavors last week...

...and while I'd say they're ALL FABULOUS, a tie for #1 between the Peanut butter FUDGE and SALTED CARAMEL CORE were just too tough to beat.  If you find these: TRY THEM!  That is all the endorsement they needJ

OK...that's enough from me for one day!  Have a great Monday, everyone!J

Don't forget the cheese...

Thursday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:30am:  Breakfast- Butterfinger Protein Smoothie

Made a littleeeee bit healthier once I tossed it back in the blender with a handful of spinachJ  Anytime you can "Go Green,"  why not??J

12:30pm:  Lunch- 1/2 French Toast Bagel with butter  (unpictured...ate it too fastJ)

2:30pm:  Snack- Small ramekin Goldfish

I NEVER was a fan of these little buggers till Katie went bonkers for them.  And since we have these HUGE BAGS of em layin around from her birthday party, they are just TOOTEMPTING to grab a handful here and there.  The ramekin was my attempt to keep my portion in check....which doesn't always workJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Enchilada Sloppy Joes

Dinner came together when I had these little beauties to use up... 

Not enough to make our favorite "Pepper Nachos", but enough to dice em up along with half an onion and saute for 10 minutes on medium heat... 

Next I tossed in 3/4 pounds of ground turkey and chopped that up as it cooked before tossing in a can of enchilada sauce & 1 tablespoon of tomato paste... 

Let that all cook on medium high for about 5-10 minutes or until it thickens up a bit and you're ALMOST THERE... 

Oh yeah...let's add a scoop of the enchilada meat on top of the open-faced hamburger buns, top em with Monterrey Jack cheese and pop em in the toaster oven till the cheese melts! 

OH YES!

Loved the enchilada and gooey cheese flavors in these...and if I'm being honest, they were even better once you chucked that top half of the bread.  Open-faced was LESS carbs & calories + MORE flavor = WIN! 

And Scott & I both wanted steamed broccoli tonight as a side, which was random & weird...but I'll go with itJ 

7:00-8:15- Hatha Yoga

Alright...well, this is the ONE WEEKEND I don't have to worry about 'too much food' since this weekend is going to have WAY more emphasis on working out!  2 hours of Zumba on Saturday morning + 2 hours of Body Jam/Bokwa on Sunday + an hour of gentle yoga.  Wohooooooooooo!!!  

That said...I hope I surviveJ

Have a great weekend!!

Mission: Undetected Brussels...

Hey, all!  I've had a few busy mornings around here the last few days and this one is no exception.  I only have enough time to show you our dinner from Tuesday night that was a HIT!  (last night's dinner, for the record, was Stuffed sweet potatoes)  But Tuesday night's dinner deserved some love because it was an EASY way to sneak one of those dreaded veggies in your meal with hardly any notice...

BRUSSEL SPROUTS!

Now I LOVE me some baked or pan roasted sprouts, but sliced sprouts are the new 'ish.  They are great raw in this salad and provide an awesome crunch, but for those sprout haters out there, they are easily undetectable in this pasta dinner once sauteed along with some minced garlic and diced sausage...

2 & 1/2 links of this chicken sausage to be exact (used the rest of this pack for those stuffed sweet potatoes from last night)... 

Allow the brussel sprout to saute about 5-6 minutes before tossing in the (fully cooked) sausage to brown up for about 7 minutes....

...which was about as long as it took to boil the pasta.  And by pasta I mean a hodge podge of leftover boxes & bags that I found in our cabinet.

#pastahoarders

Once the pasta was cooked, I reserved a ladle of the starchy cooking water, drained the pasta and added the water back in, along with a generous scoop of... 

(ya know...that jar I had leftover from the FOUR MEAT LASAGNA...oh!)

Toss in the sausage & sprout, a sprinkle of Parmesan, give everything a good mix and dinner was SERVED.

Scott is NOT a real fan of brussels, but even he couldn't get enough of this dinner.  Neither could someone else... 

She ate 2 plates. 

Operation:  Undetected Brussels = success!

This one was another super quick/toss together/GREAT results kinda dinner that I hope you'll try for an easy weeknight meal!  Hope you like it!

Alright, well I already have to run!  Have a great Thursday, everyone!!

Full for DAYS...

Hey, all!  Hope you guys had a great weekend.  I think I might be STILL full from the weekend, hence why I didn't even FEEL like talking about food yesterdayJ  

I know.  It was bad.

But the highlight of the weekend meals came from my 'final' birthday celebration dinner at one of my favs: "That's Amore," which just so happened to be the last night of 'Comfort Food Month."  I mean...

We started with not 1, not 2, but THREE appetizer around the table (at least these were split by 6 people!)  Including the goat cheese 'pillows' on crostini...

...That's Amore's perfect rice balls...

...and Comfort food menu and everyone's favorite:  The pulled pork frites...

Meat + Fries = My heart.

Oh yeah, and I followed that all up with the award winning SEVEN Cheese Mac & Cheese...

Perfectly cooked cavatappi (even the reheated leftovers were still al dente!), smothered in creamy 7 cheese sauce, bacon cracker crumbs & baby garlic shrimp.  How can you pass THAT up???

Oh, and did I mention the bowl was almost as big as my head??

This boat was enough for three meals (it was Scott, Katie & my dinner Sunday night too!)...and in the end, not a DROP went to waste.  It was just too good!

And as if THAT already wasn't an insane enough amount of food, our table ended up ordering nearly every item on the dessert menu, including the marscapone stuffed french toast sundae & thin mint mousse...

...but my favorite was the BUTTER CAKE.  Oh heaven, I nearly sunk in my seat after the first bite, it was creamy.  (Not that you could handle many more bites after THAT.  It was sooooooooo rich!) 

We should have ran 8 marathons after this meal, but instead, we all slunk into a carb coma and headed home for the night.  It was definitely a 'celebration meal' to the MAX!  

Sunday was balanced a LITTLLLLLE bit better with (oh God, more!) doughnuts for breakfast, some intense boxing and a green smoothie.  (oh yeah, and that leftover mac & cheese.)  

I think I need to put myself on a carb & sugar ban for about 7 months after this weekend!  (or at least no more doughnuts for a Loooooooooonnngggg time!!!!)

But I tried to pull it all back together yesterday, all while keeping it festively GREEN for St. Patrick's Day...

10:00am:  Breakfast- 1/2 Apple with peanut butter

Sorry...that picture was SUPS unattractive, but as usual, I was flying out the door to...

10:30-11:30am:  Body Flow class

12:00pm:  Lunch- GREEN SMOOTHIE

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/2 banana
• 1 scoop protein powder
• 1 tablespoon flax seed
• cinnamon & nutmeg

2:30pm:  Snack- Coffee with creamer   (ya know...MondaysJ)

5:30pm:  Dinner- Kale Salad with Maple Almond Vinaigrette 

When I was tossing around ideas for a GREEN dinner for St. Pat's, it's almost sad how quickly I forgot that SALAD was the ultimate green.  To that I say: Ummmm...duh!

So to keep cravings of Shepard's pie & Irish potatoes away, I busted out one of our FAVORITE recipes:

• Diced Kale
• Sliced brussel sprouts
• craisins
• chopped almonds
• sauteed shallots
• diced turkey bacon
• Parmesan cheese
• Maple/balsamic/olive oil/almond butter dressing 

How's that for keeping it GREEN??

And finally:

6:30-8:00pm:  Beginner's Power Yoga

Only one class last night since I had to pick up my little leprechaun from Nona's houseJ  After a class ending in headstands, handstands and elbow balances...I didn't mind taking a 'yin pass' for the night.

So hopeyou liked my 'double cap.'  I think I STILL didn't feel like talking about food today but knew this blog post would just keep growing the more I waitedJ  Here's to another 'lean & green' day today!

Have a great Tuesday!