FALL kiss...

Thursday Recap:

Breakfast- 1 1/2 biscuits with gravy + turkey sausage from Cracker Barrel

...where I usually get a workout thrown in the mix since Katie LOVEEESSS to run around the Cracker Barrel store and see (and play!) with 'all the stuff' (and EXTRA running when she heads for anything made of GLASS...eekkkkkk!)...

And after a visit to the mall...

...and a visit to the little play area...

...we had a rather UNconventional lunch, since my Mom & I had been DYING to try the ice cream from the Godiva store at the mall..

We split a small cup of vanilla and a twist cone among the three of us and, aside being surprisingly a little icy, this was some of the most flavorful ice cream EVER.  The vanilla almost tasted like it was made with browned butter from its deep flavor and was speckled with vanilla beans (which I LURV!).  While the chocolate, well, I didn't expect Godiva to mess THAT up.  Creamy, smooth and decadent, it tasted like melted chocolate.  Every flavor was a winner here, I must say.

Dinner- FALL nachos with caramelized apples, smoked gouda & warm maple drizzle

Ooooooooohhhhhhh yes...I've had this variety of nachos on the brain for nearly a YEAR and I finally was able to make them come to life last night.  

First, into a heated pan went some onions to caramelize.  This was probably the 'hardest' part of the whole dish because you have to let them cook on medium-low for nearly 30 minutes.  Ya just gotta give em a quick stir ever so often, but caramelized onions are definitely a labor of love.

Once the onions had about 5 more minutes, I tossed in a diced apple...

...and then went in 3 diced links of this...

Let everything cook together while you crisp up the 'chips...'

Slice 2 burrito sized tortillas into 8 chips and place on a sprayed cookie sheet and pop in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes or until they begin to lightly brown.  Once they are done, load each chip with a pile of the onion/apple/sausage mix...

...and top with your cheese de jour.  For me, it was this smoked gouda, but feel free to use whatever you have on hand/or feels FALL-Y to you!

Pop em back into the oven to let the cheese melt.  Meanwhile, I poured about 1/4 cup of maple syrup into a small pot and brought it to a boil for a few minutes to warm & reduce a bit.

Once the melty nachos come out of the oven, give em a little maple drizzle for the ultimate FALL kiss...

Sweet & salty, crunchy & creamy....you get it all in these pretty little nachos.  Not to mention all of the yumminess of FALL.  You MUST give these a try this season!

Hope you guys have a great weekend.  Mine is going to be ALL-CONSUMING and OVERWHELMING!  I'll share on MondayJ

Workout:  Hatha Yoga

Until then...have a great weekend!

That's another story...

Morning, folks!  So I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say that I'm probabaly gonna skip blog posting on Wednesday mornings since it never seems I make it very easily to the ole computer to type away.  So I'll probably just give you a 'double dinner' cap on Thursday mornings unless I have something really uniqueamazinganddelicious for breakfast & lunch on Tuesday or Wednesday, k??

Wednesday Recap:

Breakfast- Apple with slice of cheddar cheese (eaten while FLYING out the door, so no picJ)

Lunch- Paneer Tikka Masala

I really need to go to Trader Joe's and just stock up on 7000 of these, cause I'm definetly having a moment for them.  Warm & cozy, these hit the spot for lunch everytime.

Snack- Handful of cashews  (again, no picture)

Tuesday Dinner- Apple Sage Meatloaf Muffins with mashed butternut squash & steamed broccoli

I tried to get fancy and use some of the butternut squash as 'frosting,' but ummmm...it didn't work out that well.  At allJ

Either way, this was definetly one of the first 'turn on the oven' dinners of the season.  As soon as you walked in the kitchen, it smelled so warm & cozy from all of the fresh herb scents.  

Apple Sage Meatloaf Muffins

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1/4 cup panko
• 1/2 shredded onion
• 1 shredded apple
• 1 tablespoon diced fresh sage
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (next time I'm going to cube it so you can taste it MORE)
• salt & pepper

Mix everything together, form dough in muffin tin and bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes, or until cooked through.  PS- I also gave the shredded apple & onion a little drain before adding to the meat mix, just to drain off any excess water.

And after giving the butternut squash a boil, I gave em a quick mash with a little butter, maple syrup & brown sugar.  This entire dinner was FALL: 101!

Wednesday Dinner-  Cabbage & Straw pasta

One of our favorite ONE pot wonders....ummmm, so much so that we made this for our Saturday night dinner too this past weekendJ

Tuesday Dessert- Quinn Popcorn

I had found this all-organic brand of microwave popcorn at Target this past weekend....where I had to run into to go buy a yoga mat before showing up at a strangers house for an advertised class, only to be met with an entire family, who I practiced yoga with and then ended up in the house with said  entire family afterward for cider and cookies....

Ummmm...where was I??  Since THAT'S a whole 'nother storyJ

I digress.

So back to that popcorn.  Not only are the bags free of all those chemicals in traditional microwave popcorn, but it comes with packets to mix up your own batch of freshly flavored 'corn.

DELICIOUS!  And now I'm on a MISSION to find thier MAPLE SYRUP & sea salt variety.

And in the rest of the day's news:

Tuesday Workout:  Ummmmm...noneJ

Wednesday Workout:  Power Yoga + Body Jam = SO FUN.

Alright, now I'm already behind schedule for the day so I better run out of here.  Have a great Thursday!

Loads of apples...

Morning, everyone!  I feel like it's been a minute & a day since I did a 'recap' post.  You may notice a running theme through today's (and this week's) posts, given that were trying to use up all of our bounty from apple picking a couple weeks ago...

Since last year was a bust on the apple department, we thought we'd get an earlier jump this year and head out in late September.  The only problem THIS time?  The BEES were out in FULL SPLENDOR.  I don't think I'd seen a bee all summer, but they are making a grand appearance in the FALL...BOO!  I'm still kinda shocked we all somehow made it outta that orchard un-stung.  Guess they were more interested in the apples then us, THANKFULLY.

So anyway...back to that recap, shall we??

Monday Recap:

Breakfast- APPLE with peanut butter

+ ACV shot

So I think the stevia, rather than the ACV, was the cause of my migraines last time I tried these.  I've had a few in the last few weeks and thankfully, all seemed fine going into the evening...soooooo, we're back to incorporating these into the day.  (even if I wouldn't have minded the excuse to skip themJ)

Lunch- "Happy salad"

...oh yeah, and I did add some leftover diced apple from one Katie was noshing on.  Cause...well...APPLES!

Snack #1-  

OK, I am OBSESSED with these things!  They are Greek yogurt crafted to taste like cheesecake.  I was COMPLETELY skeptical at first, but found the consistency (and the lack of 'yogurt tang') to be pretty spot on.  Not the healthiest of yogurt options out there, but if you want something sweet in the afternoon, this isn't a bad place to spend your 180 calories.

Snack #2-

I didn't want to do it, but I was STARVING by 4pm.  So I reached for HALF of one of these delicious Pumpkin 'poptarts.'  They are crumbly, filled with spiced pumpkin filling and just a kiss of icing.  ONE clocks in at 200 calories, so I usually try to stick to 1/2.  (I remember the days when I used to eat a 2-pack and call that breakfast back in the day...ekkkkk!)

Dinner- Autumn Salad

In the mix:

• Dressing (makes enough for 2+ salads...the + being KatieJ)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vineger
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
• salt
• Salad
• Lettuce (obv)
• diced apples (there I go again)
• shredded cheddar cheese
• broccoli slaw
• crumbled bacon
• crispy sage

Crispy sage is having a well-deserved moment, especially in THIS house, since we LOVEEEEE it.  All ya do is toast up some torn sage leaves in a tiny pat of butter or olive oil and allow them to crisp up.  They. are. awesome. and perfectly FALL-y.  (especially in THIS recipe)

Workout:  Beginner's Power Yoga

Dessert-

Ummmmm...and as GIDDY as I was to find these and finally try them last night was as UN-impressed as I was when I bit into them.  The chocolate was thick and glossy, the sea salt was flavorful and well...saltyJ, and the caramel broke through in the perfect pool of gooey deliciousness...except that it wasn't.  The caramel flavor is barely detectable over the spice, which was WAY too heavy and didn't really blend with the caramel taste at all.  I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do with the rest of the box since I don't know if they're worth any more of the calories.  Sorry, Trader Joe's.  Ya lost me on this one...

But maybe the caramels were 'OFF' since I ate them while trying to prevent myself from bashing my head into the wall while listening to Teresa & Joe Guidice on their post-sentencing interview on WWHL last night.  Oy, those two.  But I still watched, so who's really the foolJ

Alright food AND NJ Housewives chatter concluding.  Hope you guys have a great Tuesday!

Welcome, October...

Morning, folks...and ummmm, HAPPY OCTOBER!

Oh...and by the way:  HI!  Sorry I've been MIA for a few weeks.  But I knew I had to get back here soon before the FALL got swept away in a blink.  I can't even believe Halloween is none too far away...even if I think this month is gonna be torturous for Katie, who asks me every day if it's time to go Trick-or-treating yetJ  I'm sure I'm not the only parent in THIS boat...but I'm SUPEREXCITED she's getting so into it allJ  So crazy since 3 seconds ago we were at this moment in life:

WILD.

ANYWAY...Throwback Monday aside, I was so excited to get back here since I had a GREAT meal to share with you guys for my first post of October.  It's not very SEASONAL, but it was DEF TOO DIE FOR!  And thanks to a Living Social coupon, we were able to enjoy one of our VERY favorite restaurants for a great price...even betterJ

You just can't say enough great things about El Tule in Lambertville, NJ.  The food is exquisite, creative, original & delicious, the service is EXCELLENT and top notch and the outdoor dining area  makes you feel like you're on vacation.  We showed up on the first legit VERY CHILLY day/night in NJ (I even busted out my ole winter coat!), but the outdoor heating lamps provided enough warmth to be comfortable and let's not even discuss my LURV for dinner by pretty lights...J

ANYWAY, I should probably get back to that food, huh?  We chose from the Mexican side of the menu and started with nachos...cause, well, Scott & I just can never get enough nachos in lifeJ

And what put these on FABULOUSNACHO status:  They were layered with chips, melted cheese, refried black beans, sour cream, guacamole and CHIRIZO!  Ohhhh....that made them just soooooooooooo tasty, not to mention savory & warm.  LOVED this variation.  (beef & chicken is also offered, fyi)

And then after MUCH deliberation (including a moment of sadness given that my FAVORITE DISH from our last visit was not offered for dinner), I grilled our poor waiter to help me narrow down my entree selectionJ  And in the end, these flautas won out...

After the nachos, I can't say these fried rolls were the WISEST of choices, but I hope they 'balanced' out a bit by being LOADED with grilled tilapia & spinach.  I'm NOT a fan when you order something, especially with fish, and you get mere flecks throughout.  Not here.  These were STUFFED to the brim with tilapia.  And how can you argue with all of those glorious toppings?  I'm such a sucker for shredded lettuceJ  It's sad, really.

And even though we were BEYONDSTUFFED, we just HAD to dip into the dessert menu given these unique options.  I regretted not ordering Scott's CHOCOLATE Tre Leche cake (never seen that variation, made with chocolate MILKS, not just chocolate cake) for a sec since the bite I got was DIVINE...but changed my mind quick once I sampled the....ok, I have no clue what it was called, but it was a traditional Peruvian dessert of DULCE DE LECHE TOPPED WITH MERINGUE!  OMG...

The crunchy & crumbly meringue broke through to blend with the smooooooooooth and DIVINE dulce de leche making for a delicious and multi-textured dessert.  Not to mention, sweet x 1029340293420834.  I mean...

Did I say unique???  LOVEEEEE THIS PLACE.  If you are in the area, it's a MUST try.  And not to mention, it has that extra 'glow' of being family-owned where you can feel the love.  FEEL THE LOVE, peeps???  Isn't that what it's all about??J

OK...I think that's enough gushing & exclamation point usage for the day.  Hope you enjoyed this first post back.  I'll have more SEASONAL eats to share with you guys tomorrow.

Have a good Monday!J