I wouldn't turn it away....

Thursday Recap:

6:45-7:15am:  30 minutes dance + weights

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

9:15am:  Breakfast- Protein Pancakes

12:30pm:  Lunch- "Chicken salad patties" 

I could not decide WHAT I wanted for lunch yesterday, but it was certainly a moment of "a fridge full of food & nothing to eat." 

OK...I lied.  I DID know what I wanted: chicken nuggetsJ.  But since I didn't really have any interest in packing up Katie & hitting a drive-through, I did the next best thing and whipped up some crispy chicken salad patties!

I just took the last serving of my Autumn Chicken Salad, formed em into patties, rolled em in some breadcrumb, gave em a quick spritz of olive oil and tossed em on the pan until they were crisp on each side.

Emphasis on CRISP... 

These REALLY hit the 'chicken nugget' spot minus a visit to Wendy's & a deep fryer.  Win/win.

3:00pm: Snack- Salad with arugula, raspberry vinaigrette & gouda cheese 

6:00pm:  Dinner- Vegetable lasagna 

I knew around 9am yesterday, with a bunch of errands on the horizon and not a whole lot of motivation to cook, that dinner was probably NOT going to happen.  So instead of waiting till 5:30, all while pretending that that "surprise dinner for Scott" was going to happen only to end in a call to the pizza man, I pulled this veggie filled lasagna that I had made over the summer (for moments just like this!) from the freezer.

An hour in the oven and we had a fresh dinner with minimal effort.  Not bad for 'freezer lasagna,' no??  This recipe never fails to be a winner! 

Dessert- Pumpkin pie doughnut 

And let's just say yesterday was ALSO one of those days where a text was sent to Scott on his way home claiming "if you were to come home with a cupcake or doughnut, I wouldn't turn it away.  Just saying."  

Hence how this crumb-topped & pumpkin pie filled lovely from Dunkin Donuts arrived on our dessert tableJ 

I let Katie help me keep my portion in check by sharing some with her, so I had JUST enough to satisfy my sweet tooth...and it was SOOOOOOOOOOOO WORTH IT!  Tis the seasonJ

Well this weekend is forecast to be a funnnnnnnnnnnn one with a little trip down the shore to embrace the unseasonably warm weather we're having today (I'll tolerate it if Katie can enjoy chasing seagulls in the sandJ), and my BFF's Bachelorette party.  The location, of which, I can not disclose at the moment since we're keeping it a SURPRISE from her...MWAHAHAHAHA!  Let's just say it should be a BLASSSTT.  I'll fill ya in Monday!

Until then...ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!!!!!!

Greasy take-out, but not...

Wednesday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer & unsweetened cocoa powder

9:30am:  Breakfast- 5 mini pita pockets with 2 tablespoons olive hummus

Not the norm, but I just wanted something QUICK and savory (not feelin anything sweet yesterday morning).  I added one more pita to that picture & didn't finish all of the hummus, my eyes ended up being bigger than my stomach when I doled it outJ.  

10:30-11:45am:  Power Yoga

I wait for this class every week.  Love it so much!

1:00pm:  Lunch- Tropical Mango Smoothie

• 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 scoop protein powder
• Pineapple Chobani yogurt
• 1/2 cup frozen mango
• dash of coconut extract

This was silky & smooth like sorbet.  SOOO GOOD!

3:00pm:  Snack- 5 Dark Chocolate Almonds 

From not 1, but TWO of the new containers I picked up from my Trader Joe's 'stock up' on Monday...weeeeeeee!

5:00pm:  Dinner- Kale Fried Rice with Chicken

Kale fried rice had been on my MUST MAKE list for the last month and I'm SOO glad I finally pulled it together & whipped it up...and it took only about 20 minutes.  THANK GOD, because despite the RIDICULOUSLY early dinner time, I was STARVING by the time we sat down to eat.  Not good...but didn't really think I'd need a snack when we were planning on eating at 5:00!J  (guess those pitas & hummus weren't as filling as I had hopedJ)

Dinner went a little quicker because I used "boil in a bag" brown rice that cooked up in 10 minutes AND I had 4 cups of sliced & diced kale already in the freezer and ready to roll.  Once it boiled for the required 5 minutes, it was both defrosted and ready to eat.

1 pouch brown rice, 4 minced cloves of garlic, 4 cups cooked kale and a sauce made of cooking sherry (I couldn't find mirin at the store), soy sauce, sesame oil & maple syrup all cooked together in mere minutes... 

And since I mentioned that I was STARVING, I figured to kick this recipe up a notch in the 'filling' department, I also had a pan of diced chicken sauteing in a little peanut & sesame oil on the side... 

Toss everything together and WALLAH! 

I spent most of last night saying "I just can't believe it was THAT good!"  It had ALL the taste of greasy take-out without ANY of the grease OR the take-out.  SUCH a great recipe.  I have a feeling we'll be having this again VERY SOON.  (Katie dug it too!)

5:30-6:30:  Body Jam Class

And I REALLY need to start changing into my gym clothes AFTER I cook dinner.  I had JUST taken the exit to the gym when I realized my clothes smelled faintly of garlic & Chinese food.  Yay.  Sorry folks who were jammin besides me!J

8:00pm:  Dessert-  Rice to Riches! 

Told ya I had ONE more treat from NY to show you, as no trip downtown is complete without a trip to the RICE PUDDING STORE "Rice to Riches."  I mean, how many stores do you come across in life that ONLY sell rice pudding?  I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume not manyJ

I had brought some French Toast & Marscapone back for my Mom to try, and since she decided to share, I got myself a little dessert treat tooJ  Scott meanwhile enjoyed the caramel & chocolate hazelnut.  

Let's just say I sampled ALL of the above and ALL of them were delicious...but I think French Toast still wins my heartJ  And sorry I couldn't get a more attractive photo...we were just excited for RICE AND SURVIVOR...hehehehehehehe

Well, I have a few options but am still up in the air about what to have for dinner tonight.  Usually we have a set "menu plan" for the week, but today somehow ended up with a question mark.  At least I have plenty of ingredients to make a bunch of meals...and I think I have onnneee in mindJ  Might be a little decadent for a Thursday night, but it's one of Scott's all-time favsJ  We'll see how the day goesJ

Have a great Thursday everyone!  (YOU'RE ALMOST TO THE WEEKEND!J)

Missions: *mostly* accomplished...

Tuesday Recap:

6:45-7:15am:  2 mile Walk Away the Pounds with weights

8:00am:  Coffee with creamer

...starting off October 1st PROPER with my new Jack O' Lantern mug from Christmas Tree Shop...MWAHAHAHAHA!!

9:30am:   Breakfast- Apple with almond butter

12:00pm:  Lunch- Autumn Chicken Salad:  Round 2! 

 2:30pm:  Snack #1- Pumpkin Spice Bread & butter

Well, I told ya my day of 'no snacks/no desserts' would be short lived, because yesterday was totally back to normal!  Snack numero uno was a slice of this bread that I had picked up in my grocery errands from the morning.

80 calories for FALL & cinnamon spiced bread?  WORTH IT! 

(I also spied some caramel apple bread!  May have to try that before the season is out tooJ)

Katie gives it a thumbs up tooJ

4:00pm:  Snack #2-Laughing Cow Wedge

6:00pm:  Dinner- Pumpkin Quesadilla & small bowl of salad

Well, Mission #1 in "Welcome October" of  'making a festive dinner' went off without a hitchJ  And this one was sooooooooo simple.

I just grabbed some tortillas...in this case, these 100 calorie Honey Wheat Flatout wraps... 

...caramelized some onions... 

...mixed 3/4 cup of pumpkin with about 2 teaspoons of cumin & a dash of nutmeg...

...gathered up some cheese...(cheddar for Scott & Katie and for mine I used this great cranberry cinnamon goat cheese that I had found at Shop Rite)... 

Layered everything on 1/2 the flatout wrap along with some drained & rinsed black beans...

(the greenery comes from some spinach I had to "use or lose"...so I tossed it in thereJ)

Give em a quick press in a skillet or grill for about 4 minutes or until the cheese melts...

And WALLAH!  Festive dinnerJ  We all inhaled these and I thought the flavors of spiced pumpkin, creamy black beans, sweet caramelized onions & tangy goat cheese really worked well together.  I liked the cranberry so much that I would even suggest tossing in a small handful of craisins for extra texture and sweetness.

After dinner, we made a QUICK spin through the park since it's starting to get dark earlier.  We left at 6:15 and had to HUSTLE to get back before dark.  But in HAPPY news, the leaves are starting to take on those glorious shades of FALL color...weeeeeeeeeee!

8:00pm:  Dessert- CANDY CORN POPSICLE!!! 

Mission #2 of 'make a festive treat' was also checked off the list!  And since the forecast for today is suppose to be a high of 86 (UGHHHHHH!) I, at least, figured that it was good Popsicle weather (even if it's good for NOTHING ELSE!  Bleh!) 

These look tricky, but they are seriously SO EASY!  I scaled back this recipe and made enough for 4 popicles and a little less calories using 1% milk & some sugar free/fat free pudding mix...

I put 3/4 cup milk in each bowl and added 1/2 box of white chocolate mix to one bowl, and split the box of vanilla between the 2 other bowls.   Next, add in 1/4 teaspoon of honey to each flavor and enough food coloring to the vanilla pudding to make orange & yellow layers....

Next, add each color to a small bag and snip off the end to make a quick 'pastry bag'...

Add a little of each layer to each Popsicle mold, being sure to even them out by tapping the molds on the counter to release any air (from my picture, I obviously didn't master that partJ oh well!)

Freeze 3 hours or overnight and enjoy one of the cutest desserts I ever did seeJ

The honey really DOES give it a candy corn taste, especially in the white chocolate.  And using the 1% milk & 'less' pudding still made for a creamy & yummy popsicle.  Try these out while we sort through this little *gasp* heatwave we are having.  Now THAT is a TRUE horror of OctoberJ  hahahaha

Well...Mission #1 & 2 were a success, but Mission #3 of decking the halls with boughs of spiderwebs & witches brooms did NOT quite pan out for the dayJ  I got as far as breaking out all of Katie's orange & black clothes...

...and turning her 8-month old BIRTHDAY TREE into a proper HALLOWEEEEEN oneJ hahahahahha

We'll see if I get any farther in my decorating mission todayJ  This year consists of finding lots of HIGH places to put everything...as someones hands tend to just ZONE IN on anything made with GLASS. (even plastic is not safe from her clutchesJ) hahahahha

Have a great Wednesday!

Oktoberfest-ish...

Monday Recap:

8:00am:  Coffee with unsweetened cocoa powder & creamer

10:00am:  Breakfast- Baked Spiced Butternut Squash Oatmeal

What to do with a leftover container of butternut squash + a Fall morning??

Whip up a new baked oatmeal, of course!

Just mix together:

• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or whatever you have on hand!)
• 1/4 cup cooked & mashed butternut squash (they also sell this in the freezer section at the grocery store)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• Lots of cinnamon 
• Dash of nutmeg & cloves

Pour into a greased ramekin & bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  While the oatmeal is baking mix together:

• 2 tablespoons pecans (or almonds)
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon butter
• Pinch of cardamon (or cinnamon)

Top the oatmeal with the pecan mix and bake another 10 minutes, or until the sugar is melted.

The recipe above makes 1 serving, but you can easily double it.  It reheats easily...just pop it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and WALLAH:  Breakfast for not one, but TWO days! 

("Mom FYI"- Since the oatmeal is pretty firm after it's baked, this morning I actually took a scoop of the cooled 'extra' oatmeal, gave it a quick, rough chop with a spoon and gave it to Katie.  She was easily able to pick it up with her fingers and nibble away.  MUCH easier than having to cool down each spoonful of hot oatmeal IMO, ya know what I mean??)

1:30pm:  Lunch- Autumn Chicken Salad over lettuce

Yet another meal made from leftovers!  (I was on a roll yesterday, apparentlyJ)  I took the 1 cup of leftover shredded chicken from my Sunday Chicken & Dumpling soup...

And mixed in:

• 1 1/2 tablespoons mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
• 1 1/2 tablespoons craisins
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt & pepper to taste

I BELIEVE this is suppose to make 1 serving, but I had MORE than enough for at least 3.  Especially being served over the lettuce.

This stuff is SOOOOOOOOOO good and even better?  It was FILLINGGGGG!  I managed to stay full right until dinner, which is a RARE FEAT, TRUST!

5:30pm:  Dinner- Sausage with Smashed Potatoes & Roasted Kale Chips

Keeping with the hodge podge theme of throwing together whatever I already had in the house, this dinner was inspired from THIS book...aka- the ONE thing I asked for for Christmas last yearJ

Even though most of the recipe seem WAYYYYYYYYY too complicated for a normal weeknight (not sure how you do it with your 17 jobs there, Rachael Ray!), but this one seemed easy enough to toss together...

(sans the potato cake!  That's for some other daysJ)

First I pulled out this sausage that I had in the freezer & gave em a quick boil...

Once they cooked enough to defrost, I tossed the sausages onto a cookie sheet along with some small red potatoes & diced kale which was tossed with olive oil, sea salt & garlic powder (that was 1 of the 2 pans of kale, FYI!)... 

I let that all roast together at 400 for about 30 minutes before realizing the potatoes were NOT going to cook as fast as the kale, so I tossed em in the microwave for about 6 minutes to get them to cook in a hurryJ

Once they were cooked through, I flattened em with a glass and topped em with a tiny pat of butter, a sprinkle of Parmesan, cheddar cheese & salt.  Toss em back in the oven for about 15-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted & the skin is crisp.... 

The kale chips came out...ahem...a little well done, but besides that this dinner was super easy & delicious...and a little Oktoberfest-ish, no??  (so says the Italian girl, right??J)

I thought even Katie's plate was kinda cuteJ 

And what was her favorite part??  

The Kale ChipsJ  Ohhhhh...I'm soaking up these days while I can because I'm SURE they will end sooner than laterJ

6:30-9:15:  Beginners Power & Gentle Yoga

Well, after my lack of exercise over the weekend, I was ready to get to it yesterday!  The beginners yoga was a tough mix of balancing and power moves, while the gentle makes me focus on alignment & proper technique...win/win.  (plus it's easier since Scott works out at after he puts Katie to bed on Mondays, so it's a little more motivation to stick around for both classesJ)

Well...a day without snacks OR dessert is a rare bird indeed, but I really was FULL & satisfied most of the day (even while chugging my 2 bottles of water)  Enjoy it folks, I doubt you'll see the likes of this day in awhileJ

Soooooo...let's get the inevitable "I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT'S OCTOBER" comment out of the way.  But seriously, September, where did ya go????  I'm hoping to break out my ghost & jack o' lantern decorations today...andddd make a 'festive' type meal for dinner AND dessert!  Tossed in with a Trader Joe's trip & a busy Katie...we'll see how much I actually get doneJ

Stay tuned and have a good Tuesday!J