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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Winner, winner, chicken dinner....

Tuesday Recap:

Breakfast:  Apple with 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Lunch:  1/2 can of tuna with mayo & capers on sprouted grain wheat bread

 Snack:  Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Brownie & Oat Bars

These little babies are soooooo yummy.  Much more brownie than granola bar and studded with chocolate chips.  Perfect for a mid-afternoon chocolate fix for 120 calories.

Dinner:  Slow Cooker Italian Pulled Chicken + broccoli

Talk about a yummy dinner with MINIMAL EFFORT.  Into the slow cooker went:

• 1 pound chicken breast
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• Oregano
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder
• Dried Basil  (didn't measure any of those, just sprinkled em on top)

Let that cook on low about 5 hours and then add:

• 1 cup shredded kale (mine went in frozen and cooked up fine)
• 3 diced roasted red peppers

Let everything cook up for another hour and you're good to go.

Well, sort ofJ These were supposed to be sandwiches topped with melted mozzarella, but since we were plum out of sandwich rolls, I just laid the chicken out on non-stick sprayed foil and topped it with a sprinkle of parm and lots of mozz and popped it in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese was melty.

Extra step = WORTH IT!  The cheese made it extra gooey and all of the flavors of the chicken just powered on through. All the flavors, and who can't use an excuse to cut back on carbs for dinner here and there.  Try this one out.  It was def a winner, winner, chicken dinnerJ

Dessert:  1 Smore  (not pictured)

Not pictured cause I was JUST TOO EXCITED to eat it to stop and take a pictureJ  Made with Trader Joe Grahams and pieces of one of the THREE Lindts chocolate bunnies that Katie got for EasterJ  Poor bunnyJ

And sigh...another day and no workout.  As excited as I was to get to movin, I actually had a doc appointment yesterday morning and after a few 'signs,' she suggested it I take certain 'strenuous' exercises a little easier ....and that I need to drink a LITER of water for every HALF HOUR of exercise???  (even though I admittedly HAVE been really thirsty this time around) So in an attempt to give my body one extra day to heal an ache I had had, I rested for another day and am going to try to get on a regular/not so strenuous routine....which means:  probably more walks/less zumba/and paying more attention in power yoga (cause I'm NOT givin up that one yet!).  We'll see how this goesJ  Just gotta pay more attention to the 'signs' at this momentJ

Alright...that was a lot of yammeringJ  Have a good Wednesday!

Snow Day Specials...

 Thursday Recap:

Well, the snow came down almost until sunset yesterday...and since we had no place to go, I was OK with "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...."  (sorry, I know I'm the minority hereJ)

And since Scott was home, we knew it was going to be a breakfast of: 

Katie is OBSESSED with making pancakes.  NOT necessarily eating them, but just "helping" Scott make themJ  She gets really excited about it and we think SOMEDAY it will mean she'll eat more than four bites.  ...somedayJ  Although she probably did eat a big FIVE bites yesterday since these were made with corn (and flax) and she thought that was pretty coolJ

Lunch:  Leftover Double Dumpling Soup 

Felt under the weather AGAIN yesterday (and again-knock on wood, so far feel better today!), it must be some quirky Thursday thing!  So rest & SOUP were on the menu again for the day.

And soup by sight of the snow made it even better...

That and watching "Gone Girl" with Scott....which, I swear, somehow took about 4 hours.  I mean, I know the movie is long to begin with and we had to entertain Katie here & there, but we went from morning to afternoon in a beat.

Afterwards, I hung inside and rested while Scott, Katie & Penny all went out to play in the snow...BOO.  An hour and many trips in the snowtube later, Katie came back inside...looking like, ummmmm, she had a good time...J

...and I busted out one of my MUSTHAVEAPPLIANCES from when Scott & I moved in together about 8 years ago to help warm them up...that ummmmm....I'm not sure if this thing has seen the light of day in at least SEVEN of those years.  Ya know:  MUST HAVESJ 

But it came in perfect handy to whip up some Hot Vanilla Milk for a fun twist on Hot ChocolateJ

• 3 cups milk (used 2%)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Cinnamon

Our little machine whirled, heated & frothed it up a bit...

And it was a hit all-around, especially since Katie loved making milk mustaches...

J

Dinner:  Creamy Parmesan white bean stew + Jim Lahey Bread

OR, if we're being more accurate, it was really more like BREAD + STEW since the fresh out of the oven beauty was the main star of the show...

I'm not sure how many bites of the stew really made it past my lips without the help of that beautiful bread in lieu of a spoon...J

As for the stew, it may have stayed in the slow cooker just a bit too long since the beans REALLLY broke down quite a bit.  Maybe 6 hours on low would have been sufficientJ 

FYI-I just used the above recipe and tossed everything, sans the anchovies, in the slow cooker.  (Used only the 4 cups of chicken broth and skipped the water since I had soaked the beans overnight.  Just keep an eye that they don't dry out.  Ours didn't even come close to doing so.)  When we had about an hour left for dinner, I added the greens and they wilted perfectly.  Smooth, creamy & very filling, it definitely succeeded in warming the bones on such a cold night.

And that brings us to the big FRIDAY!  Weeeeeee!  Gearin up for another weekend of yoga school...and what, I'm sure, will be a lot of good eats to share with you on MondayJ  Never thought those 2 things would converge when I started school back in OctoberJ hahahhahha

Have a great weekend!!J

And by fun, I mean horrifying...

Morning, all!  Hope you guys had a great weekendJ  I had the best one I could think of in a long while since it was PACKED with fun stuff from beginning to end, including...

...dinner with family on Friday night, complete with homemade cupcakes by Katie...

...followed by seeing my niece's band play at half-time (oh, those ole high school days)...

...Saturday brought some dancing school for Katie...

...and some Halloween fun at my friend's party on Saturday night.  (this costume's more appropriate than you'll ever knowJ)

And by fun, I mean completely horrifying since THIS happened all night...EKKKKKK!

And we rounded out Sunday with a little Harvest Festival...

...and a visit with friendsJ

...oh yeah, and teaching my FIRST EVER Yoga practice 'class' with 2 friends!  Oh, was I terrified before it started but very proud when it was OVAJ

Oh yeah, we also had some good eats mixed in there too, starting with our traditional German Apple Pancake for breakfast on Sunday morning...

...Pre-flip...

...POST flip...

This one may have been one of my favorites of all-time since it spent a LITTLE less time in the oven, leaving the center more custard-like.  Mmmmm...just divine.

And COLD FALL OFFICIALLY came to Jersey Sunday morning, as the weather went from mid- 70's to LOW 50's!  Brrrrrrrrr...that was a quick change, but not an unwelcome one after that mid-80 degree day last week.  And with that change, we knew WARM & COZY was on the menu in the form of chili cooked low & slow all day in the crockpot...

Scott created this Chipotle-laced variation and I hope he remembers the recipe for next time since it was sooooooooo delicious.  PACKED with lots of goodies with just a little kick of spice at the end, definitely one of our favs.

And, oh yes, cornbread also came to the party in the form of...

Mmmmm...I finally found the TJ's Pumpkin cornbread mix and I'm so glad I did.  It was moist and dense with just an extra little flavor kick from the pumpkin.  It was sooooooooooooooo hard to resist another piece.  The only thing that stopped me was knowing THIS was in my future...

Browned butter apple cutard pie?  Ummm...yes, please!  Still trying to use up ALL our apple pickin and pie just HAD to happen this weekend and this recipe was a pretty damn good one.  Give it a try!

And not long after my final bite of pie, I hit the hay for an EARLY bedtime after alllllll that busy-ness this weekend.  Hope you guys had a great one and are ready to start the week.  Me thinks SOUPS gonna be hittin the table quite a few times this week since it's going to be a BRISK one.

Have a good Monday!J

Aces without a whole lotta effort...

Tuesday Recap:

Workout:  20 Minute Tone it Up HIIT routine

10:00am:  Breakfast- Waffle with butter & roasted flax

+Watermelon

12:00pm:  Lunch-  1/2 flax wrap with peanut butter, 1/2 banana, honey & granola

Mmmmmmmmm...after realizing I had ZERO protein for breakfast and that I was HANGRY by high noon, this peanut butter wrap hit the spot.  Plus I loved the added texture from the small sprinkle of granola.

2:30pm:  Snack- Banana Smoothie

• 1 cup almond milk
• (leftover) 1/2 banana
• 1 scoop protein powder
• Cinnamon & nutmeg

5:30pm:  Dinner- Coffee & Garlic Pork with Roasted Garlic Potatoes

I can't even THINK of the last time we had a 'meat & potatoes' dinner, but this felt very OLD SCHOOL & super cozy...even in the heat of summerJ  Although I managed to keep the kitchen on the cool side with the help of my slow cooker AND toaster oven!  Weeeeeee!

This dinner all came together after I spied this at Trader Joe's...

Coffee & Garlic??  That's like Scott's favorite foods on earth so I knew I had to get it and try it out SOON!

I gave the pork roast a GENEROUS coating, added the pork and about a cup of water to the slow cooker and cooked on low for about 7 hours.  You didn't even need a knife to slice up this bad bear.  

I also made a QUICK BBQ sauce...

1. Add a good amount of the pork drippings to the sauce pan and add an equal amount of water.  Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes, or until reduced in half.  Skip as much fat off the top as you can.
2. Add:
1. 1 cup ketchup
2. 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3. A generous shake of the seasoning/rub you used
3. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes.

YUM!  ACES without a whole lotta effort!  My favorite kinda dinnerJ

And on the side, I had a bag of mini potatoes sliced in half and coated with olive oil and a good handful of fresh thyme... 

While the potatoes were roasted for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees, I also added a couple bulbs of garlic to roast right along with it... 

I squeezed 1 bulb of garlic into a bowl (saving the other for ANOTHER idea...MWAHAHA!), before mixing in the roasted potatoes... 

...so that every few bites, you got a nice hit of roasted garlic to go along with the fresh thyme.  Ummmm...yum!J 

8:00pm:  Dessert- Coconut Macaroon Brownie from Emery's 

And after one bite, I knew it was going to be FAR too rich (and tempting) to polish off the whole thing, so I promptly wrapped up the second half and tossed it back in the fridge for another night.  As I've said before, out of sight/out of mind has always worked really well for me.  (At least SOMETHING does!  Hallelujah!J) 

Alrighty, well I better get ready for my WEDNESDAY YOGA!  I never fail to get REALLYEXCITED for this class for some reasonJ  Probably has a lot to do with breakin up the middle of the week with some much-needed OMJ

Have a great Wednesday!