An Easter wrap-up...

Morning, everyone!  Hope you had a BEAUTIFUL weekend.  I have to say ours was pretty awesome from start to finish, starting with a totally impromptu first trip to the beach this season...

I couldn't even handle the bright blue skies without a trip to see that beautiful blue water for one more day.  There was still a cold chill in the air, but who even cares?  Not these kids, that's for sure...

Sandwiched in the middle of the weekend was some Easter fun at Nona's house, where 1st Easter treats were eaten...

...and traditional Pastia was made.  98% made by Katie, which was pretty awesome to say the least.

...and of course rounding out the weekend was hunting for eggs (at, ahem, before 7am👀  That even beat Christmas morning!)...

...treat sampling...

...church going...

...and spending most of the rest of the day wrangling the kids in the yard since it was a warrrrrrrmmmm, high 80's Easter in NJ this year...

...and eating.  Oh gosh and EATING.  So much so that I barely want to talk about food this morning...buttttt we must press on.

Weekly recap:

Monday:   Sheet pan Sausage & Peppers with Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Rice 

  

More 'real life' vs awesome Internet photographer pictures comin at ya😉  And don't let my sub par photo stop you!  This dish was absolutely PHENOMENAL.  Not to mention, SUPER HEALTHY, EASY AND PHENOMENAL.  What a great combo.  

Tuesday:  Kale Chopped salad with Maple-Almond Vinegarette

  

Hahahahaha...I can't EVEN with that 'comparison photo', or LACK there of in the comparison department😉  But again, don't let that stop you from making this recipe.  We've made it a zillion times and it never fails to impress.

Wednesday:  BBQ mini meatloaves + lightly glazed roasted carrots

I didn't even get a photo of this meal given that, after wrangling 2 kids to see the Easter bunny and some playtime at the mall, we got home and made dinner and ate like starving zombies😉

Thursday:  Dinner at Chickie & Pete's

Another photo I completely forgot about, as I got swept up chatting with my fabulous cousin.  We, of course, split some of their famous fries and I spied a new menu item that I loveeeed:  Caesar salad with meatballs!  I loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee meatballs (and pizza crust!) with salad...so this was RIGHT up my alley, and quite delicious!  We also split an order of ricotta donuts, because FUN.

Friday:  Nachos + Salad + 1/2 bacon cheeseburger at Frankie's Bar & Grill 

So not only was the blue water calling me to head East on Friday, but also the prospect of visiting one of our VERYFAVORITERESTAURANTS down Point Pleasant.  We found this place a few years ago when a beach picnic plan was foiled by a rainstorm and we got drawn to this place from the INSANE aroma of charcoal grill being shared throughout the town😉  I have a sweet affinity for 'set plans' that change to be even more memorable and this night will always be one of my favorite "beach memories."

And on top of that, the food and the atmosphere of this place is always just kinda shore perfect.  Sorta loud, sorta cozy and ALL sorts of delicious.  We didn't want to go TOO crazy, so we went about splitting their nachos and their salad (even this SIMPLE SALAD is just SOOOOGOOD!)

 

...and we also split a bacon cheeseburger.

Not NORMAL "Good Friday/Lent" fair...but I kinda resided this year to the fact that there are a lot worse things I can do in life than eat meat on a Friday during Lent.  But who knows?  Maybe next year I'll want to observe, but this year I felt like it was OK to realize it's not THEMOSTIMPORTANT thing I could do for the world during Lent.  

I don't know.  Maybe I'm just explaining my Catholic-guilt away😉

ANYWAY...

We also had to make our inaugural trip to Hoffman's of the season...

...where Katie got into the fact that she & I could get 2 different flavors of ice cream and we could swap and share😉  

Sharing to get to try more??  That's my girl!

Saturday:  MORE Sausage & peppers with cauliflower rice

YEP.  THAT'S how much we loveeeeeeeed this dish!  So nice, we had it TWICE.

Sunday:  EASTER

Which was not just ONE course of homemade ravioli, meatballs, salad & fresh bread...

(here's Katie & Lils making the ravioli since I didn't get a picture of them at the table!)

...but a SECOND course of ALL this deliciousness...

A fun combo of efforts of my Mom & Mother-in-Law's traditional Easter dishes.  VERYYYYYYYY delicious!

I also held off allllll day from eating any treats to save room for dessert, but had a few bites too many (of rice pudding, pound cake with strawberries & chocolate cream pie...yum) and felt STUFFED by the end of the night.  Not surprising since everything was just plain DELICIOUS.  But definitely ready to jump back into a SUPER healthy day today!  Weeeeeeeeeeeee.  Thankfully I had gotten my 'healthy lunch food prep' done on Saturday, so we're all set for a strong week ahead.

Andddddd the exercise to wrap it all up:

Monday:   Jillian Michael's Yoga Slimdown-Level 2

Tuesday:  Taught Vinyasa yoga + 2 mile Walk  with mixed weights

Wednesday:  Taught gentle (my hip hurt this day, so I took a rest)

Thursday:  Taught Hatha + 5K Walk

I did the walk when I came home from dinner.  I was tired when we were leavin the restaurant and as I was walking in the door, realized that I had enough energy to bang something out and this particular workout was calling my name.  Felt sooooooooo good that I got that done, even when I thought I was too tired!

Friday:  Dance + weights + planks

Saturday:  Taught Hatha + an insannnnnnne amount of running around😉

Sunday:  Body slimming yoga

Had to laugh that on a rare Sunday that I had off from yoga, I STILL found myself doing it😉  This was just the one that was callin out to me.

LOTS of WORDS.  TOO many words from me, I'm sure.  So have a great week!!

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A peek in the lunchbox...

Hey, everyone!  I'm so sorry I don't get to post on here as much as I'd like...but I had a fun reason to pop on here today.  

Speaking of POP, Skinnypop was interested in my take on gluten-free lunch ideas.  And since I heart me some Skinnypop (especially the, swooon, white cheddar!), I thought I'd share what I pack for my Pre-K daughter for lunch.  And while my house is not gluten-free, after photoing a near- week's worth of lunches, I realized they were pretty much all naturally gluten-free.  So I thought I'd pop (there I go again;) on here today to give you the lay of the land for a week's worth of lunchboxes.  As always, I like to keep it quick and simple.  Momma's got NO TIME for fancy at this moment in life;)

MONDAY:  Chickpeas + grapes + a cheese stick...

...plus, um, an ice pack because it's 2016 and HOWDIDWESURVIVE our school days without ice packs back in the day?? ;)

TUESDAY:  Cucumbers + Laughing Cow cheese + yogurt

WEDNESDAY:  Cucumber & carrots + hummus + yogurt 

THURSDAY:  Yogurt + Pear + cheese stick 

I'm trying to jog my brain to think of anything different that she's eaten so far this school year and the only items that I can think of was when she was having a pepperoni & cheese moment.  Beyond that, she pretty much sticks to these few things every week.  What can I say?  My girl's a creature of habit (the apple don't fall far, folks;)  And of course Skinnypop would round out these lunch perfectly for a great snack or for a nice treat waiting afterschool.

Hope you guys liked this little peek and have a great weekend!

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Friday Favorites: Summer edition...

It has been WELL (x's infinity) documented on this blog that I am NOT a fan of summer.  In years past, I've been known to close my eyes, bow my head and pray for it to speed by till my beloved FALL rolls in.  And while I'm STILL not a huge fan of walking out of my house at 7pm and the temperature still reading 96 degrees (This actually happened last night) or standing in ONE PLACE and feeling like you're doused in sweat from the 100% humidity rating (ALSO yesterday), summer & I have been changing our tune about each other.  Well, we HAVE been since Katie's 2nd summer where we realized the beach was her absolute happy place, but now I am waving the white flag for making time STOP.  The kids are just at such fun ages, I don't wish one moment away anymore (ok, ok...SOME days are still a crawl-through-barbed-wire till bedtime, let's be realJ) and have really tried to EMBRACE ALL THE SUMMER THINGS and enjoying all it's perks as much as possible.  (I sure as hell ain't hatin' on the late sunsets...a fan of pitch-dark at 6pm, I am not)  

Not that I'm not compiling with Katie's wish to still listen to the $5 Kohl's Disney Christmas CD on the near-daily....and maybe or maybe not letting it play even if she's not in the car.  But, ya know, TOTALLY embracing the restJ

And with that said, we've also been (OF COURSE) embracing all of the good summer eats.  From cool lettuce wraps to bacon-stuffed smores (WHATTT??), it's all-day-everyday seasonal around here!  So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite recipes we've been making lately and a few more I just CAN NOT WAIT to tryJ


Favorite Burgers: (yes, plural)  Cheddar & Bacon filled burger & Cream cheese & green chili burger

Friday nights have been "summer classics" in our house since Memorial Day...where we get to have ALLTHEBURGERS&HOTDOGS and side salads in the name of summer.  I tried this tradition a few years ago and it lasted...hmmmm, 3 weeks?  This year, however, we are GETTING IT DONE (#lifegoals) and here have been 2 of our favorites thus far.  (until TONIGHT'S!  Tonight's should be EPIC!  More on that later...)

Favorite way to eat the rainbow:  Couscous Salad

A long time favorite in our house for both taste and because it's SO DARN PRETTY!  This Southwestern version is ACES too.

Favorite frozen:  Easy Strawberry Marshmallow Pops

Katie & I have been making Popsicles almost weekly since summer began and these babies are still the favorites out of the bunch (especially when we used our fresh picked strawberries...swoon!)  We also made these with blueberries, but the strawberry tops the charts for me.  Other favorites include these Cappuccino pops (Scott's favs) and these secretly healthy fudge pops.

Favorite healthy breakfast (or snack):  Tone it Up Berry Bright Chia Pudding

This is such a coooooooool way to start the day on a hot morning.  I've made this in both strawberry (for me) and blueberry (for Scott), and we both LOVE it.  Especially while blueberries are at a SEASONAL $$ LOW right now.

Favorite TOOHOTTOCOOK:  Watermelon Caprese

This isn't rocket science, but you'll forgive me once it takes .4 seconds to make dinner and your oven stays O-F-F.  PERFECT for these dog days.

Favorite FAVORITE FAVORITE:  Lettuce wraps

Lettuce wraps.  Lettuce wraps ALL DAY.  I LOVEEEEEEEE em.  I truly do and could eat them 4-5 days a week.  They're light, usually fairly healthy and pretty quick.  MY FAVORITE right now is this chicken satay variation, which we've eaten 3 times in as many weeks.  We also LOVED this Jamaican Jerk Chicken variation.  And to keep your kitchen even cooler, throw all the ingredients for these Honey garlic chicken wraps in the slow cooker in the AM and have a full cooked meal ready by dinner time (sans stove!).

Favorite sneaky way to get healthy:  "The Life Changing Magic of the Veggie Box"

I'm trying my best to keep this as a permanent fixture in our fridge.  All it takes is under-15 minutes of prep to chop up a week's worth of veggies so you have em at your disposal all week.  I can't even tell you how many times in the last few weeks that I've snacked on veggies & hummus, PURELY because they were THERE.  And they make an awesome pack & go snack for your busy days (yes, I'm the gal in the parking lot eating veggies with hummus while going from gym to gym to teachJ)  Now is as good a time as any to customize it with ALL of your favorite summer fresh produce.  Last week we had cherry tomatoes, radishes & pea pods (which I don't even LOVE, but DID like them with hummus) and this week it's rainbow carrots, celery & pepper slices.  A little prep work always goes a long way in eating healthy.

Favorite dessert:  Dirt cake

I've had Oreo dirt cake probably less than a handful of times in my life, but that didn't stop me from DYING for it last night and then proceeding to leave my house at 7pm to get all the ingredients (hence, why I noticed it was still 96 degrees) and come home to whip this up for Katie lickity split.  She actually squealed when she tasted it and yelped "I LOVE THIS STUFF!" (#worthit)  I just bought some gummy worms to add to it tonight to really make her crack upJ  PS- This was all an experiment in my 'eat what you want when you want it,' and I definitely felt satisfied and complete with my small portion.

CAN'T WAIT TO MAKE:

Brazilian Lemonade

This has been on my list to make for a couple years and what better excuse than the OLYMPICS IN RIO for finally putting that recipe to use!  Weeeeeeeeeeee....  (I'm not excited at allJ)

No-churn Sugar Roasted Peach Ice Cream

Once peach season is in full swing, IT. IS. ON!  

I also want to get on board with this homemade ice cream business with this honey ricotta version for decadence & this Tone it Up Mint chip ice cream for health (that may or may not also be breakfast one dayJ)

Let me know what you guys have been LOVING cooking and, of course, ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

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A peek at my week...

Monday:  Salad with tuna, chickpeas, beets, cucumbers + queso blanco (what we had in the fridge)

Tuesday:  2 Chicken cordon blue meatballs +...

 ...corn...

OK...so despite the wonky picture, those meatballs were glorious.  As in we almost had them twice last week.  And as for the corn in May?  Katie spied it at the Trader Joe's that day and was OBSESSED.  As in:  "Mommy, can we go home and make the corn?  Mommy, is it time to have the corn??  Mommy did you make the corn??  Mommy, I'm STARVING!  I NEED THE CORN!  Mommy, is it dinner time yet with corn??"

For hours.

This meal should have also included alcoholJ  

 Wednesday:  Quick spring pea ravioli with garlic browned butter sauce + salad 

Thursday:  Dinner at Outback for my niece's birthday

Friday:  1 square Corn & Pablano lasagna + salad  

Saturday:  Homemade ravioli at my Mom's house

Sunday:  2 Chicken Satay lettuce wraps + roasted carrots

And even though these weren't very photogenic, they were definitely in contention for best meal of the week.  Ok...this and those chicken meatballs...YUM!

Splurges:

Ugh...let's just say it was WAY more than necessary.  This was probably my 'worst week' in awhile.  It started off with little slips and then they just snowballed on top of one another by week's end.  UGH.  Here's to pulling it back together this week.

Other yummy recipes this week:

A complete obsession with sprinkling toasted quinoa on EVERYTHING.  Keeping these in a glass jar in my cabinet just reminded me to grab it all the time and put them on ALLTHETHINGS.  Salad, smoothie bowls, oatmeal, my shoes, etc.  

LOVE.  I must say.  Truly and honestly LOVE.  I heart a crunch & texture!

Oatmeal Cookie Granola 

AKA-the easiest recipe in the world to make with kidsJ  Just toss everything in a bowl and give it a mix before baking.

Exercise:

My snacky week was not helped by the fact that I felt lousy for most of it :P  I feel like it's extra hard to get back on track when you have both snacks + lack of exercise working against you.

Wednesday:  Gentle yoga

Thursday:  Dance + weights

Friday:  Power yoga

Sunday:  Power yoga

Hopefully I can formulate my thoughts enough to write a post about my 'off week.'  It was certainly more mental than any hunger.  We'll see what I come up withJ  Have a great day!

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Friday food fun...

Hey, everyone!  With the weekend on the immediate horizon (weeeeee!), I've got a fun place to share with you today that you might want to check out on one of your lazy weekend jaunts.  This one takes you up Route 29, halfway between Trenton & New Hope to this little gem...

We've driven past "It's Nutts" about a zillion times, and every time I've mentioned "hey, I want to go there one time" as we've headed onward towards New Hope.  Well, it FINALLY happened this week and I'm SOGLAD it did.  Especially because if there's anything I love more than a place with great food, it's a great unassuming, authentic atmosphere (Spike's Fish Market also comes to mind).  I just LOVE old school, rustic simplicity and this roadside little restaurant has got all those charm buttons to my heart pinging! 

The interior was quaint and sweet (complete with a hutch that you'd have in your kitchen to store all of the ketchup, garlic powder, grated cheese and such)...

...but on one of the GORGEOUS days we've been having in NJ lately, we parked it in the sweet little outdoor patio, surrounded by large bushes to help you forget you're pretty much directly on a highwayJ....

...and dotted with the prettiest little cover of colorful umbrellas...

OH yeah...and the food.  My eyes got bigger & bigger as I read through the menu since its specialties ranged from "famous pancakes, pizza & fried chicken" to Greek, Mexican and Seafood.  But Scott & I had to start off with our favorite that is just TOO hard for us to pass up on any menu:  The loaded baked nachos...

This version with pork & chorizo chili and chickpeas (??), which you didn't even NOTICE because everything all just blended in a delicious pile of cheesy goodness.  Nachos, you'll always have my heartJ 

And, even though it was tough to narrow down our main dish choices, I just knew I had to sample as much of their "famous" items as we could, starting with sneaking a few bites from Katie's "famous Trenton tomato pie"... 

I'd be bold enough to say that it's probably better than half of the country's pizza, coming from a small roadside restaurant.  Say what you want about Trenton, NJ, but we KNOW about pizzaJ  Even Lily got in on the action...

And speaking of things you wouldn't expect to be great at a roadside restaurant:  Fried chicken... 

...but OMG, just so good!  Crispy on the outside, tender & juicy on the inside, it was perfection.  And those mashed potatoes & cole slaw we're none too shabby themselvesJ  A really awesome meal. 

I also got a bite of Scott's Cuban sandwich and went to get another and it was already all gone.  That'll give you an idea of how great THAT wasJ  It'll be hard to go back and NOT get that chicken, but we did steal glimpses of awesome chopped antipasta and what I hear is an incredible seafood chowder.  See also:  We'll be back soon.

Oh...wait, but FIRST:  There was of course dessert to be had!  And while they had a small dessert case filled with blonides & brownies as big as bricks & multi versions of different 7 layer cakes...

...I had one bite of Katie's homemade vanilla ice cream and knew I had to try a flavor of my own.  A non-toppings scoop of cookie dough ice cream was just the ticket.  ULTRA creamy & smooth, you can definitely taste the homemade difference.  Ya just need to try it for yourself (and yes, you can also just stop to get ice cream from the side stand) 

We left full & happy... 

Very happyJ 

We'll be back as soon as we can...and 'famous lemon ricotta pancakes,' I'm comin for ya!  Hope this gave you guys a little 'roadtrip' worthy review.  Great for a lazy Sunday afternoon cruzzzz.  (Oh yeah...and our waitress was a DOLL.  Just had to throw that in there!)  

Have a great weekend, guys!

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