Adorable x 2....

Wednesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon

9:30am:  Breakfast- Berry smoothie (so pretty!)

• Raspberry 0% Oikos yogurt
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• blueberries

10:30-11:45am:  Power Yoga

A HAPPY, but SWEATY return J

1:30pm:  Lunch- Cherries & 2% cheese 

Random, I know...but it was what I wanted & it tasted SO GOOD!  Cherries are like pistachios, they take awhile to eat which always makes them a little bit more satisfying than other things.  ANYTHING that can help me eat a little slower is a good thingJ

6:00pm:  Dinner- Mini peppers!

So yesterday's dinner consisted of one of THE CUTEST vegetables of the summer:  Mini Peppers!

Aren't they just ADORABLE?????

They are SO adorable, in fact, that I had a recipe saved in my draft box for mini peppers from a YEAR ago!  (I would have SWORN on my life I published it alreadyJ)  Still adorable 365 days laterJ  So now I present not one, but TWO, recipes for turning these little gems into a delicious main course. 

Herb & Cheese Peppers
First up, you need to open & remove any of the seeds & membranes from the pepper...

...and toss on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Once the peppers are ready to go, you can work on the filling...

In this case, I used:

• 1 brick 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• Handful of diced basil & chives (or whatever herbs you can on hand!)
• 1 clove shaved (or minced) garlic
• salt & pepper to taste

Fill peppers with herb cheese mix & bake at 350 for about 15 minutes...

Now these were REALLY good, but they were NO MATCH for LAST NIGHT'S DINNER...

MINI PEPPERS NACHOS!

Which start out the same as herb cheese peppers, by slicing in half & cleaning out the centers...

While you're working on the peppers, you can have a pound of trimmed chicken breast poaching on the stove.  Once it's cooked through, shred the chicken & toss with taco seasoning...

Fill the peppers with the shredded chicken... 

And top with diced green onions and shredded cheese (and a little cotija, if you have it on handJ)

Toss in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is melty and gooey... 

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how many times I said "THESE ARE SOOOOOO FREAKIN GOOD!" while we chowed down on this dinner!  The peppers gave the perfect crunch with an awesome added boost of 'southwestern' flavor.  I am VERY much a 'chip girl' but I didn't miss them AT ALL in this recipe. 

A great slimmed-down/carb-less swap that you just MUST try! 

And we each had our own way of chowing down.  I was a grab & slam,J  Scott was knife & fork (as usualJ), while Katie snacked on the filling first... 

...and then polished off the pepper 'chips'J  These need to made again ASAP! 

And ironically, we sided both of the pepper recipes with some fresh corn on the cob.  It IS the summer way after allJ

9:30pm:  Circle pilates

Now that I realized I can do this whole routine from memory rather than popping in the video (and let's be honest, popping in that video is half the battle!), I'm going to try to sneak this in every night while watching TVJ  Why watch Rookie Blue on the couch when I can watch it while gettin my abs toned??  HAHAHAHAHAJ

Well, I'm off to make yet ANOTHER cake to celebrate Scott's birthday with his family tonight.  This time he chose 'coffee' and I'm getting a little help from my buddy, the Pioneer WomanJ  Stay tuned...

Have a great Thursday!

Sharin snacks...

Tuesday Recap

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon

11:00am:  Whole Hearts cereal with almond milk

I waited way WAY too long to eat breakfast and was STARVING by the time I stole from Katie's breakfast stash and slammed some Whole Hearts down my throatJ

12:30pm:  Celery with peanut butter  (too much pb, I didn't finish it all)

Definitely one of those lunches I always WANT to eat when I'm browsing the grocery store...and then the one I DREAD having when it's time to actually MAKE lunch.  And yet, I'm always happy AFTER I have it.  One of life's great conundrumsJ  

3:00pm:  Snack #1- Cherries

They are absolutely PERFECT this time of year...ripe and oh-so-sweet!  So I thought it would be a good time for Katie to try them out tooJ  I love sharin snacks with herJ

She liked them....but not as much as she likes playing 'let's drive Momma crazy and climb up & OVER the high chair'....

Yes...she WAS strapped in.  And yes, I was an arms-length away.  This happens at least 3 times a dayJ 

4:00pm:  Snack #2-  2% Cheese Stick 

Definitely a 2-snack kinda day.  I would have been CRAZY HUNGRY by dinner, so I thought I'd take off the edge a bit.

6:30pm:  Dinner- Taco Salad 

Simple & Classic:

• Lettuce
• Ground turkey mixed with taco seasoning
• black beans
• corn
• sprinkle of grated Monterrey jack cheese

9:00pm:  20-minute "Circle Pilates"

Last night I realized I know this 20-minute routine by heart, so instead of having to deciding between pilates OR Dance Mom's...last night I just did pilates WHILE watching Dance Moms.  A TRUE WIN/WINJ hahahahhahaha

And speaking of exercise, after a 2-week hiatus from Beyond Expectations busyness, I'm THISEXCITED to head back to my favorite, favorite, favorite yoga class this morning!  The teacher always has some crazy and unique combinations up his sleeve and the class almost flows like a dance.  SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!

It's the little things.

ALRIGHT, well let me start to get ready!  Have a good Wednesday!J

Second-plate worthy...

Hey, everyone!  How are you doin??  It was a wild whirlwind weekend around these partsJ  I think I'm still recoveringJ hehehehehhee....

It started with a playdate with 4 peanuts on Thursday...

Celebrating Scott's birthday Saturday night...(with someone who stayed up late enough to have cake & sing Happy Birthday to Daddy...J)

And every minute in between was a flurry of last minute prep for my best friend's wedding shower on Sunday! 

Breakfast at Tiffany's themed, complete with pearls & sunglasses and a room full of ladies in their black dress finestJ

...well, except for the flower girlJ

Phew...to say it was busy was an understatementJ  But I just had to show you 2 of the dishes we had over the weekend that are "second plate worthy."  First up was the salad I RAVED about last Monday that I had served to my 'playdate friends':  Kristin's Kale Salad with Maple-Almond Vinaigrette....

Here's why it's wonderful:

1.-  Bacon

2.-Caramelized shallots that give a mellow tangy bite...

3.- Bacon

4.- Shaved brussel sprout, which you would be amazed at what a unique crunch this brings

5.- The Maple-Almond Vinaigrette made from creamy almond butter and sweet maple syrup

6.- All the extra bites of salty sliced almonds and chewy craisins

Everything together made for ONE. AWESOME. SALAD.  Even Scott flipped for it...he commented how great the ingredients all worked together.  It was the perfect mix.

Side note:  I had made this with a head of kale on Sunday night, but for the sake of time & convenience I used this spinach & kale on Thursday...

For this salad, I would suggest using fresh diced kale.  The spinach blend wilted a bit after I mixed the salad with the heavier almond butter-based dressing and tossed in the fridge about 20 minutes.  Kale is just a bit more sturdy to hold up to the dressing.  End side noteJ

Not that we had too much time to dissect kale & spinachJ  These little bees kept us busy.  As you can tell...

Getting a photo of them together is challenging at bestJ  Those little feet just want to go, go, go!

And in 'dinner worthy of seconds' corner #2:  Scott's birthday dinner request- Bove's meatball lasagna...

I REALLLLLLY wanted to stop at one serving of this 3-layer MONSTER, I REALLY did...

But it was JUST. TOO. GOOD...

And it was Scott's birthday.  Calories don't count on birthdays, right??  RIGHT???

Katie enjoyed her own double-serving...

Which is pretty ironic since the last time I made this was when I was pregnant and let's just say, at the time, Katie didn't like this AT ALLJ

So it was EXTRA hilarious to see her tearin' this up nearly 2 years later...hahahahahahJ

And speaking of '3-layer monsters,' the same can also be said for Scott's birthday cake request: Southern Butter Cake with Salted Caramel frosting (which, PS, that frosting took over an HOUR to makeJ)

So after all that butter/caramel madness, needless to say I am DONE with cake today!  Bring on the LESS calories TODAY.   

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

A double 'cap ;)

Hey, everyone!  Hope you're having a good week.  Mine is whipping by, and in true Wednesday fashion, my day was such a whirlwind that I didn't even get to post yesterday.  So here's a double feature for youJ...

Tuesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon

9:30am:  Breakfast- Strawberry Chobani with blueberries & almonds  (with a cameo by PennyJ)

This used to be one of my favorite summertime lunches that I ALWAYS forget about!  It's so good & refreshing this time of year.

12:30pm:  Lunch- Salmon Burger

These little burgers (WAY smaller than that photo would suggest!) were easy to cook and perfect over top of a bed of spinach & avocado.  Only problem?  They broke up a bit when you cooked them, so the 'end result' was non-too pretty for a pictureJ  I'll try to make a prettier burger/salad next time for your viewing pleasureJ

2:30pm:  Snack #1- Watermelon 

3:30pm:  Snack #2- Healthy cinnamon toast

6:00pm:  Dinner- Caprese Zucchini Noodles

So I promised you a new 'zucchini noodle' recipe, and thanks to some leftover basil, tomatoes & mozzarella in my fridge, I whipped up this newest creationJ

I started with not one...but TWO bags of spinach.  Not necessary at all, but I had to put mine to use after both bags that I just bought ON SUNDAY started to rapidly wilt in the fridge...even despite my 'trick' to add paper towels to the bags to soak up any excess moisture... 

BEFORE SAUTE: 

AFTER:

Yep, that's TWO BAGS.  Cooked spinach really does NOT go a long way.

Next, I threw in 2 julienne sliced zucchini and enough salt, pepper & garlic powder to flavor up the layer...

If you're using spinach, my HUGE tip here is to use another pan to saute the zucchini.  The spinach ended up producing a LOT of water and I should have drained it before adding the zucchini.  Just trust me on this oneJ

Next, I added in some tomatoes.  You can either roast them (as I did here), saute em in a pan for a few minutes until they burst or just toss em in raw.  Whatever your preference. 

Next into the pot went some diced basil, a sprinkle of grated cheese & the chopped mozzarella... 

A quick stir & a melt of the cheese and this meal goes from fridge to plate in about 20 minutes! 

Even Katie HOUSED this... 

...all while practicing her 'spaghetti slurping' skillsJ 

9:00pm:  Advanced Pilates

Tuesday's workouts always seem to wait until the last minute...all while fighting myself to workout rather than throw myself on the couch & watch Dance MomsJ (But isn't that just a LIFE daily struggle?? heheheheheheJ)

Wednesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & cinnamon

9:00am:  Breakfast-Green Monster

Thankfully, I was able to savage my LAST bag of spinach to make a decent green monster....which was why I had originally purchased ALL of those bagsJ

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• frozen banana
• 1/4 cup oats

And since I knew I was going to be busy all-day, dinner was whipped up in the crock-pot by 9:00am.  Katie liked helping out with thatJ 

My girl lovesss to stirJ

Lunch- A few handfuls of peanut butter pretzels

My lunch was a little sporadic yesterday since I spent most of the day in a TV studioJ  I volunteer for an AMAZING organization called "Beyond Expectations," which teaches life skills to teens through film making.  And on 'film days,' it is NON-STOP go, go go from beginning to end! J  This session we worked with a group of kids (ages 11-13) from the local Trenton YMCA.  And despite their young ages, they rose to the occasion of a professional TV shoot within a week's time of prep.  So proud!

But to say I was starving by the time I got home was an understatementJ hahahahahhaaha  Thankfully that crock-pot prep paid off and we were sitting down to BBQ pulled chicken sandwiches topped with cole slaw within minutes of walking in the doorJ 

I had planned on taking another photo of this open-faced sandwich once I cut into it...but once I started eating, I completely forgot about it until my plate was mere crumbs & flecks of purple cabbageJ  Sorry!!  I think we're having these again next week, so I'll try to be more photogenicJ

Well, that wraps it up for today!  I'm headed off to the grocery store today to start getting ready for Scott's upcoming birthday!  After texting him another 'category list' this morning, he requested his cake come from the CARAMEL familyJ  I already have a great one in mindJ teheheheheJ

Have a great Thursday, guys!