Chop & drop + a 4th of July Roundup!

Tuesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon

9:30am: Breakfast- Wheat toast with sunflower butter

And about 3 minutes after I scarfed down my last crumbs of toast, the doorbell rang and my replacement lens arrived!  Which you just might be able to tell from the rest of the picsJ  (ahhh...bright color!)

12:30pm:  Lunch- Strawberry salad 

So, you can call this a hodge podge of everything that sounded SO good to me at that moment lunch had arrivedJ  

• Sliced strawberries
• Torn basil leaves
• Handful of trail mix  (walnuts/sunflower seeds/craisins)
• Sprinkle of Gorgonzola

Totally hit the spot since it was everything I was wishing forJ

3:00pm:  Snack- Handful of peanut butter pretzel nuggets 

6:00pm:  Dinner- Farmer's Market Pasta (based on this recipe)

So you KNOW I love a dinner that goes from this:

To THIS:

To me, this is the perfect sign of a healthy dinner:

And by that I mean that dinner was made from nearly 95% of fresh and fabulous farmer's market ingredietsJ  You can use whatever vegetables you have on hand and just chop & drop everything into the pan as you go along, starting with the veggies that need the longest time to soften.  Here's how our dinner went down:

#1- 1 green onion & 3 diced cloves of garlic sauteed in a drizzle of olive oil & a tablespoon of butter

#2- 1 diced head of broccoli

(right about now was when I also dropped the pasta in boiling water to cook for 7 minutes)

 #3- 1 pint of diced cherry tomatoes

#4- 1 cup of corn

(which, excitedly, was my first ear of FRESH JERSEY corn this season!)

#5- 1 diced zucchini

 And finally, a quick little sauce of 1/4 cup half & half and a few sprinkles of grated cheese....

Toss in the cooked pasta... 

...and a added a few cubes of fresh, chopped mozzarella since I had it on hand. 

Stir it up and let everything cook together for a few minutes to really get the sauce into those noodles and

 WALLAH!

Another tip is to make sure you season the pan every time you add a vegetable.  I alternated adding salt, black pepper, garlic powder & onion powder just to make sure the fresh flavors really packed a punch.

And who could deny a little hidden string-y cheese??J

Katie shoveled it in... 

...by any means necessaryJ

Super healthy & quick, this is the perfect way to sneak in TONS on veggies in one meal.  I only used about 1/2 pound of pasta, which means the dish was about 2/3 veggies to pasta.  Can't beat that!  

9:00-10:00pm:  Advanced Pilates

Hahahahaha...I really waited till the last minute to get my workout in yesterday, huh??  But I'm REALLLLY trying to sneak pilates back into my weekly routine.  I've done it 4 times in about 2 weeks and my lower body really does feel a bit more toned.  Even the simple 20 minute "circle pilates" is SUPER effective.

JULY 4th Recipe Roundup!

And if you're like me and have yet to make it to the grocery story for tomorrow's picnic extravaganza, here's some recipes you might want to try out for the big day!  All summer, patriotic & picnic approvedJ

Triple Onion Burgers:

Burgers topped with Red Ranch & sour cream buttermilk onion rings:

Guacamole Potato Salad:

Couscous Salad:

Roasted Corn Salad:

Grilled Creamed Corn:

Watermelon cups:

Red, White & Blue cupcakes with cinnamon whipped cream:

Blueberry pie with crumbled topping:

Frozen Lemonade Pie:

Frozen Strawberry Pie:

Grilled sea salt apple crisp:

Coconut "Frushi":

Grilled pound cake with berries & nutella:

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!  And in case I don't get a chance to chat with you until after:  HAPPY 4th of JULY!

Recipes shared on:

Bit the bullet...

Morning everyone!  Sooooo...despite my best attempts the Youtube tutorial did NOT work on my ole camera and I finally just had to bite the bullet and order a new lens.  And when I say 'new' I mean 'refurbished' to keep the cost below the quote the camera company sent just to LOOK at the camera.  Hopefully, it's a worth-it purchase and I'll be back up to 'normal' running in no time (thanks to the quick shipping, it's scheduled to arrive today!)

Until then, here's my (dark & blurry) Monday recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon (my latest 'FAVORITETHINGEVER')

9:30am:  Breakfast- Whipped banana oatmeal with sunflower butter

I've been obsessed with all things sunflower butter lately.  Give me your shoe, and I'll slather it with sunflower butter and chow downJ  And since it melts soooooo well over oatmeal, the amount in that bowl in LESS than 2 tablespoons...it just drizzles THAT well.

12:30pm:  Lunch- Tuna & avocado on a lettuce wrap 

2:30pm:  Snack- 2% cheese stick 

 5:30pm:  Dinner- Grilled Chicken Tacos

OK, so confession:  Maybe you won't feel like you missed out on too much last week when I tell you this was our THIRD taco night in less than a week.  

I KNOW.  We just can't get enough!!!  How very un-Monday of us.

Taco-seasoned grilled chicken, cool guacamole, crispy lettuce, smooth cheese & crunchy taco shells.  Despite SIX of these bad bears inhaled within a few days, I STILL could have had JUST ONE MORE EXTRA last nightJ 

And yes, to add to carb-overload, I just can't deny my blatant love for yellow rice mixed with black beans.  I'm blaming Scott for this, since he loves them as much as me and encourages this nonsense....

J

6:30-7:45pm:  Beginner's Power Yoga

Done in a 400% humidity and 700 degree room HAS to be MAX calorie burn.  I mean, AMIRIGHT??  (and no, it wasn't bikram yoga...it was just DAMN HOT in the room!)

8:30pm:  Dessert- Thomas Sweet's Ice cream

And while we're on the subject of being very "Un-MONDAY," an impromtu ice cream date with a friend led us to Thomas Sweet's for some IRRESISTIBLE Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice cream and lots of chatter.  Yes, that's in ice cream that taste like cookie dough rather than studded with cookie dough.  It's HEAVEN and NOT to be missed when visiting TS!

Here's hoping chatter ALSO burns MAX caloriesJ

In non-food news, my life feels semi-back to normal now that I've just finished reading my latest book:

If you want a LIGHTENING fast read that is a positive page turner, GO READ THIS BOOK ASAP!!!  I seriously COULD NOT put it down, even with my frustration of having to put down the equally intoxicating "Inferno" to get this one back to the library ASAP.  It was an obsessive read...and that's all I'm gonna say about THAT...except thanks for the recommendation, Miss Aimee!J

ANYWAYS, have a good Tuesday everyone...and make sure to stop at the bookstore on your way homeJ

Devil/Angel...

Hey everyone!  Sorry for my week-long hiatus.  My 'good' camera has been out of commission all week, until finally I dusted off my old one and tried to snap some photos for the blog.  I'm gonna try a Youtube tutorial today to try to get my better camera up & functional.  Fingers crossed that works...because I'm not really lookin forward to send it to a repair shop (= $$$!)  

Until then, I'll share a little of what we've been up to, starting pretty much where I left you LAST week: at the Farmer's Market, where Katie's becoming quite the full-out 'market stroller'J

...and where Jersey tomatoes popping up left & right.  THAT is a true sign of summer right there!

And speaking of summer....can anyone else believe it's already JULY 4th????  As much as I like summer to pass in a blink, even I feel like this one is FLYING by exceptionally quick!

Anyway...back to a little angel/devil here.  The devil comes of Sunday morning breakfast care of a pit stop we made on the way to the market to McMillian's bakery in Westmont for some "doughnut tacos"...

Even I, a cream doughnut enthusiast, couldn't finish ALL of the glorious cream piped into these bad bears.  But they were certainly delicious non-the less.  And for the record, as excited as I knew Scott would be to see the CHOCOLATE-GLAZED stuffed doughnut, the plain sugar one was MOREEEEEEEE than enough sweetness.  You couldn't even really taste the chocolate amongst the mounds of sweet cream.

And between an INTENSE boxing-class and an afternoon spent at my little cousin's 5th birthday party, I SOMEHOW managed to keep my hunger at bay yesterday until dinnertime rolled around at 6pm.  OK...this is momentous here folks!  That NEVER happens!J  hahahahhahahaha

And for dinner, we had a nice angel to balance out that devil!  A new favorite with nearly 90% of the ingredients coming direct from the farmer's market:  Squash & Sausage stir fry!  (adapted from this recipe)

First up was the zucchini & summer squash that I sliced in half...

...and tossed on the grill... (we used our indoor one that day since it was raining...as it apparently does at least once a day in Jersey anymore!)

Along with the zucchini, I also grilled up a pack of these chicken sausages that I found at Shop-Rite...

While everything was grilling up, I made the quick "mix-ins"... 

• 3 tablespoons capers
• 4 diced green onions
• 1/4 cup diced kalamata olives
• Juice of 1 lemon
• A couple handfuls of whatever herbs you have on hand...I used chives, basil & parsley here
• A couple handfuls of torn spinach

The spinach was just a last minute add-in since I had a gaggle of spinach courtesy of this monster bag Scott picked up for me from BJ's.  (what better way to FORCE yourself to eat spinach constantly than a HUMONGO bag looming in your fridge!) 

OK...back to dinner!  After everything is grilled up, give everything a quick chop... 

...and then toss it all together with the caper/herb mix, a drizzle of olive oil and a couple sprinkles of Parmesan cheese.

Seriously, how good does this look???

Regular ingredients turned AWESOMELY extraordinary by the vibrant and flavor-packed punch of the caper/herb mix.  It's as simple as it is delicious and a perfect way to get in plenty of veggies & enough filling protein from the lean-chicken sausage.  Perfect for summer or anytime (thanks, again, to that indoor grillJ)

It was a hit all around...

...especially since Katie LOVES herself some zucchini.  And capers.

Yep.  Capers.

Well, here's hoping I can get ye ole camera fixed at some point today and get you guys some better pics!!  Hopefully I'll be back tomorrow with some good news.

Until then, have a good Monday!