Belated Birthday Dinner, Water for Elephants Review, New Recipe!

THIS IS RANDOM, but I was starting a new post and found this paragraph in 'draft' form - I totally didn't publish my note about Austin's birthday dinner - oopsie. So I copied it in. hehe Sorry, Austin - you know I wouldn't want to miss documenting your birthday! :)

Wednesday (August 10! haha)  was a wonderful day! First, I got up early and ran 2.5 miles at 6.3 mph, walked 1/2 mile at 4 mph. Yessss. Then I worked. Worked through lunch (again.... grrrr). Worked more. And then headed straight home to start Austin's birthday celebration. He officially turns 31 on Friday, BUT, we went ahead and did a dinner tonight since this weekend is already shaking out to be a little busy. So we went to our favorite, Pampas Steakhouse. Two salads, filet mignons, and sides of asparagus, with a bottle of Cakebread (half off!) followed by a shared dessert (which was essentially a ramekin full of warm chocolate fabulousness, chocolate syrup, raspberries and vanilla gelato. The BOMB). 

And back to the present! lol First, I want to share a new recipe! I made it a few weeks ago but haven't shared it - eek! Yes, i'm now 0 for 2, CLEARLY off my game. :)

Spicy Chipotle Meatballs with Rice
Recipe adapted from Real Simple
Makes 4 Servings
Nutritional Information: 426 calories, 53 carbs, 8 fat grams and 31 protein grams.

We really liked these! Very filling, good nutritional values for the amount you get and a great, adobo-spiced flavor. I will say 'spicy' was RIGHT, if you're not into spice, I'd simply take out one pepper and you'd be good to go! I thought the cilantro added a lot, and I liked that it was over rice, almost like a jambalaya (but without the cajun seasonings!). Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen!

Also I MUST share a book review, Sarah Gruen's Water for Elephants. Yes, this took me forever to post. eek! This book takes place during depression-era America and focuses on a traveling circus with a mix of mystery, character study and romance. It's a major page turner, very suspenseful - I seriously couldn't put it down even though the subject matter (the big top? not for me) wasn't my style. That didn't stop me from being interested. I also liked learning about the world through the main character, Jacob's, eyes - we learned with him, which gave it a nice context. I also thought it was interesting how, even in carny life, there was a caste system and name calling - they discriminated against each other.Another interesting point - the way the story was told, parts as Jacob as a 90-year-old man, and parts in his circus life. SPOILER ALERT: I loved figuring out who the true murderer was. I love that they got to keep so many of the animals in the end. I love that the elephant wasn't really unable to learn. I didn't love how no one went back to see if Walter was okay - this depressed me. It was very eye for an eye - interesting. I had a very hard time reading through the parts about animal abuse - especially the cigarette... The jake leg was super sad, too, and of course the red lighting was just crazy. I wondered if at the end he was dreaming, thoughts? All in all, as you can probably tell, I loved it. I loved how engaged I was, truly interested in learning more about the time period and several of the subjects she covered. It was one of those books that I poured through the forums after reading.I give it a 5/5 - great novel!

And QUICK update: Monday: 2-mile run in the a.m. + 1/2 mile walk + abs, work, more work, home to the fam and dinner! Tuesday: TWO-A-DAYS! 1-hour spin class in the a.m., work, 3--mile walk during lunch, more work, then home to the fam exhausted though - worried I was coming down with something. Wednesday: Felt badly (cold/sicky/congested) so skipped workouts and just worked, worked through lunch, headed home to the poodles (Austin in Philly and then to book club to discuss Water for Elephants at Shana's. LOVED seeing the girls - always do! Tonight we had Devon, Ashley, Sharon, Emily, Shana & Me - great group and Shana made fabulous stuffed shells. Loved it! And then I got home and Austin was already back from Philly - hell of a day trip but great to have him back at the casa!

Q: Ever read Water for Elephants? Are you a fan? Have you seen the movie? I just LOVED the book and now I plan to see the movie although I worry I'll dislike it.


Q: Ever had meatballs & rice? Austin was like wha? Where's the pasta? (such an Italian) But this really went well with the rice and i'm glad we prepared it this way.


Q: Do you like Cakebread? I've only had it a couple of times but think it's a great wine, at least the Chardonnay as that's my beverage of choice in the summer!

A Healthified Tailgate is a Happy Tailgate: 15 Tailgate Recipe Ideas

Taking a break from normal programming for this tailgate idea round up! Some have been made and healthified, some are on my too-healthify list but ALL will be tested and approved this season. Ah.... yet another reason to love football season. I'm. so. ready. And yes, we will be in Auburn this weekend for the kickoff game - can't wait to see all of my buddies, bust out the orange and navy and take the poodles down for another fun season. Without further ado, here are my 15 Tailgate Recipe Ideas!

1. Football Cheese ball: I don't know if this can be healthified... but you know I'll try!  This was found on Kraft.

2. Chili Mac with Corn: Could see this in a pan over a sterno - seems 'footbally' to me. My healthified version.

3. Football Deviled Eggs: Found on Southern Living. Would use Gina's Recipe.

4. Pepperoni Pizza Cups: Found on For the Love of Cooking - my Healthified Version. Would have on a pan/sterno to keep warm.

5. Chocolate covered Strawberries: Found on eighteen25.  I make mine like this, but need to add the white frosting! And I need to dip a bit more cleanly. I probably won't have mine this covered - more on the bottom! 

6. Fiesta Sliders: Found on Healthified Kitchen;  my healthified version. I like the idea of making little football flags on toothpicks (similar to how I did here for my sister's baby shower - but with footballs). hmmmm. wheels turning.

7. Big Pigs in a  Blanket: Found on Hungry  Girl; My healthified Version. I would cut these in half and put long sticks in them - easier to eat! Like this:

I mean really - SO much easier to eat this way - love it.

8. Tiger-faced Sammie: Would display on a platter. hehe Found on  Kidfeed. And clearly this won't make sense for everyone, but we're Tigers. :) So try googling your mascot + sandiwch - I found lots of cute ones. Even one for our main competitors, Crimson Tide (elephants). 

9. Healthy Buffalo Dip: Recipe found on Skinny Taste.

10. Buffalo  Chicken Eggrolls: For tailgate, I'd put them in the smaller won-ton wrappers and keep them warm over a asterno! Here's my healthified recipe (in larger wraps though).

11. Football Whoopie Pies: Found on  Make Merry Events.  MUST find a way to healthify these.... I will!

12. Mini Football Cupcakes: Found on project domestication. I found TONS of football cupcakes, but these seemed the most easy and still cute! I think I may cheat and do reduced guilt brownies with the white frosting! 

13. Football Crackers: Love this idea - would probably do reduced-fat crackers with turkey pepperonis and reduced fat cheese. Wouldn't worry about the football shape so much (to make prep easier!) but would just add the lines! I alsosaw that someone used a red bell pepper cut into matchsticks for lines - yum! Found on gimme some ven.

14. Buffalo Chicken Chili: NO tailgate would be complete without Biz's Buffalo Chicken Chili! Here's the recipe on Healthified Ktichen - I'd just hook up a slowcooker and serve it in cute bowls!

15. Healthified Meatball Subs: Could see having the meatballs in the sauce on  a pan/sternos, then having a bag of buns on the side. Would probably put mozzarella IN the meatballs like Erica/Itzy's Kitchen did to avoid having to bring that topping with me. Picture found on laaloosh.com.

Yes, a lot of these need heat, but I can see having like two stands, two big pans with two small pans in each to give you FOUR opportunities for heat/four different recipes. I could even see doing a slider bar (lots of different sliders in the pans with matching flags) OR a taco bar. I dunno - love it all.

Q: What's your favorite tailgate recipe?

Q: Any ideas for how to healthify the ones above?!

New Art, Impromptu Road Trip, Taco Night

Hi! I hope you're having a great Sunday! I have had such a wonderful day. Woke up early, started laundry and started the slowcooker! Once that was going it was dishes, poodle baths, a trip to the grocery store  and a fro yo run. Then more cooking, blog reading, and chill time - such a great day! I also snapped a few pics of one of our new pieces of art for one of the guest rooms!

The room looks kinda halloweeny here- I swear it's not - there's a patterned chair that brings these colors together and  I now wish I'd taken its picture too! LOL Oh well - the new art is over the bed!

And a close up - without the glare in the first one! Love the little animals, especially the  middle one. Reminds  me of our little Barney, a dachshund who became a member of our family when I was 6 years old - I love and miss him!

Backing up to yesterday, it was a long one - it started out early with a trip to my hometown. I think I've mentioned on here that my mom and stepdad are getting a divorce. Part of this has involved dividing their things and my sweet mom had a list of beautiful things she wanted me and Austin to have. Some of it furniture, some jewelry - she was incredibly generous. Also generous, was Scott, who loaned us his truck. Alas, we made the 4-hour trip there, then returned - sweet Austin drove the whole way (I offered but was truly nervous - I haven't driven an F-150 gigundo truck ever!). So it was definitely a long day of travel under sad circumstances. :( While we didn't get to visit long, I'm looking forward to seeing my mom in Atlanta next weekend! Always a good time when me, her and my sis are together. :)

When we got back to Atlanta we unloaded the car, showered, whipped up my favorite guacamole then headed over for dinner with Mel and Jon! They made an awesome taco bar with grilled steak and chicken and tons of toppings - YUM. We got to see their adorable  little girl Madison, and meet Terry & Sara's new baby Samantha - so perfect and tiny! We were also very entertained by Chad & Jose. You always know you're having a good time when, before you know it, it's late! Great night - can't wait to try to replicate that steak!

Q: How has your Sunday been? Relaxing I hope - I'm really enjoying my day with Austin, my now-clean poodles, now-stocked fridge and full tummy (just had pizza muffins - I'm a happy camper). 


Q: Have you ever seen 'The Good Wife'? We got the first disc from Netflix and i'm a couple of episodes in - loving it!

Mexican Quinoa Skillet, Lunch with the Girls

Ahhh - I got so behind again! Real quick update: Thursday I just worked and worked and worked with no workouts. BOO. TOM also arrived - lovely. Friday I woke up early and took  a 1-hour spin class then worked and worked. I DID have a great lunch with Stacy & Melissa at Seasons 52! I had my favorite, chicken and garlic flatbread, and of course enjoyed hanging out with those two to celebrate (belated) Mel's birthday. No pics, boo - but a great time! After work I headed home and had a couple of beers with  Austin before going to bed - all in all, a pretty great Friday! Another reason it was great? I couldn't resist... I had to make a new recipe as I was CRAVING some quinoa!

Mexican Quinoa Skillet
Inspired by a $5 Dinners Recipe
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information: 450 calories, 59 carbs, 8 fat grams and 36 protein grams.
Awesome, healthy, filling, rainbow recipe! I was really happy with this one, especially since it's a one-pot (or skillet!) recipe - I love when you don't have to cook the carb in a separate pot! Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen!

Q: Fan of quinoa? What's your favorite grain?


Q: What are you up to this weekend? 

Tin Foil Chicken Before & After

On December 9, 2008, I made a recipe called Tin Foil Chicken. This was probably in the first 20 recipes I'd ever made! It involved putting chicken, veggies and sauce in a foil pack and baking it - we loved it! But it had some issues in that the potatoes tasted kind of raw and it was messy (sauce was too thin). I've been meaning to redo it for years. Literally. And we finally did a couple of weeks ago! Here is the before & after:

After: In a bowl to help with soupiness/mess; with rice to absorb it instead of potatoes.

Before - see what I mean about the super thin sauce? And while you can't tell, I worry the potatoes just baked a different temperature than the rest - boo.

Still a great, healthy, easy recipe - but we like the new version even better! See the recipe at Healthified Kitchen. 

Q: Do you ever re-do recipes? 

Q: Ever make tin foil packs? If so - what is your favorite?!

And real quick: today in a nutshell! 7 a.m. dentist appointment, so no a.m. workout. Worked through lunch (I know! I'm not supposed to do this - eek!), home early to the fam to cook a bit, watch Entourage and chill. It's TOM Day #1 so mis-er-a-ble - ugh. I KNOW tomorrow will be better and I plan to go for a run regardless - even if I can't - i'll walking but i'm going that's the key! I missed not working out today! And the GOOD for today: I got a lot done at work, my new tummy medicine is helping, me and Austin found another new quinoa dish we enjoyed (more on that later!), and I got in chill time tonight - yay!

Q: What was the GOOD in your day?!

'Slow Down' Progress, New Recipe: Beef & Noodle Toss

Hello! Today was another pretty good day. Let's do a report card on my 'until-things-slow-down to-dos'!

• Take a lunch break: D... didn't happen - did take about 30 minutes to do personal stuff so that's something! But still - at desk all day is not. good. So i'll take a lunch/go somewhere tomorrow for sure! (probably the gym since I have a dentist appt. at 7 a.m.
• Continue morning workouts: A... I took a 1-hour spin class and did abs!
• Establish adult bed time: A... went to bed in plenty of time last night/wound down/etc.!
• No two-a-days. C - I didn't do two-a-days, but I worked through lunch so that's not good!
• No new recipes; pre-cook Sundays: C... didn't do as much pre-cooking as needed but i'm not making new recipes. 

What is this average? Let's say B-. NOT bad - getting better, and it's a focus - so win! 

And even though I'm not making new recipes, doesn't mean I don't have a ton that I've healthified, tried, taken pics of and just haven't gotten around to posting! Here's one... :)

Beef  & Noodle Toss
Makes 4 Servings
Recipe adapted from Better Homes & Gardens

Nutritional Information: 430 calories, 46 carbs, 12 fat grams and 37 protein grams.

The steak was great, the fresh tomatoes were yummy and the sauce blended well. Great, easy recipe with common ingredients so easy to throw together at the last minute! I did note a change I would make for next time - check it and the recipe out at Healthified Kitchen!

Focus for tomorrow:

Found at Tracey's Thoughts via Pinterest

Q: How was your Tuesday? What was something GOOD in your day?


Q: For those of you who eat beef, what is your favorite cut? I'm loving cooking with top sirloin! I also cook with flank and have heard skirt (from the plank section) is good to cook with. Any advice would be great!! 

A.M. Workout, Austin & Scott's Night, More Inside Out Eggroll

Thanks you guys! I really appreciate your support and understanding. I know everyone has so much going on  but sometimes you just need to whine, and then other times you just need to make a new plan and roll with it! Thanks also for sharing your bed times. hehe I'm DEFINITELY trying to 'put myself down' earlier. Speaking of, today was much better.  I did the a.m. workout (2 miles running and 1/4 mile walk). I went to the doctor during lunch (finally got these frequent tummy problems looked at). And I ate some of our favorite recipes, including this one: Inside Out Eggroll Stirfry! Also, it's almost 9 and i'm already in bed - hoping to be asleep by 9:30 or 10 - woo!

I also got some pics from Saturday night from Mary T! On Saturday we ran some errands then headed over to Mary & Scott's before heading to The Highland's to celebrate the boys' birthdays! Andy, Monica, Andrew, LA, Teresa, Meagan and Christine joined us - SO FUN! Our bar crawl ended up being more of a bar than a crawl as we never left! We had such a good spot there was no need to move - good times. Here's a few pics - thanks for sending, Mary!!

The birthday boys!

The birthday boys with Andy & Andrew!

Love a group shot - although I look a little uncomfortable LOL Why I didn't just sit my butt down I don't konw!

Cutest couple! Thanks again for coordinating everything, Mar - such a good time!

So all in all, a good day! And i'm so glad I got to go to the doc, more on that, the new flat iron I picked up Saturday (love it!), and I still need to do my Water for Elephant book review - one day at a time, right?! :)

Q: What was your favorite thing you ate today? Mine was probably a new Supreme Pizza Lasagna I had for lunch - still need to post the recipe!


Q: How was your Monday? I really think I had a pretty good one! So glad I took the time out yesterday to think/plan - made me feel so much better today. Danielle - you're right - just breathe! :)

When Life Gets Busy, Make a New Plan!

Found on Chris Pino via Pinterest

I terribly miss reading your blogs. So dramatic. It's not like I can no longer read. And it's not like I'm SO busy and SO important that I don't have time. hehe It's true that I worry my life is unbalanced right now and I recognize it and I'm doing something about it starting today. I think for me, when things get busy I completely remove something from my plate. This time, work was taking over. I kept workouts in, cooking new recipes, blogging, and audio books (and of course spending time with my family and friends - that CAN'T fall off) but reading just fell off. And not just your blogs, my books! I've found that BOTH of these things make me very happy. I knew that. But so happy, in fact, that I was honestly  in a funk due to the lack of blog reading/reading in my life. TRUE STORY.

Yesterday I picked up Water for Elephants (book club book). I had pretty much told myself there's no way you can read Water for Elephants by book club next Wednesday so I just won't read it. Yes, all or nothing! But Shana was like Kel - just try it, you''ll love it. I trust her. I was like maybe i'll just read 3 chapters. 100 pages later I felt better! I felt relaxed! I vowed to read blogs following that  and it didn't happen... :(

Today I looked at my reader. 1,000+. Efffffff. Instead of being totally unreasonable and saying I'll read all 1,000 or not at all, I just started clicking through one. at. a. time. Each of your posts, for different reasons, made me think, smile, pin it on pinterest, copy/save into my recipe file, or exercise-move-to-try file, etc. I've been wanting to start tracking calories again to REALLY lose this extra 5 pounds and Janetha's post was just what I needed to read. I left my reader (with still a lot of unreads, mind you) but I felt BETTER. I feel better when I read your blogs, thoughts, ideas. You inspire me and motivate me to NOT let my healthy lifestyle be put on the backburner when life gets in the way. I HAVE to make it a priority - no one else is going to do that for me.

So what does this mean? There's still only 24 hours in a day. I think, for me, when I get stressed I don't sleep as much. I'm stressed because I know i'm unbalanced, I'm not reading before bed (which puts me to sleep!), I'm not taking my lunch break and/or breaks at work which is when I read blogs or read i.e., take the break! It's a cycle, friends, and it's not making me happy. SO here are things I want to remind myself of, let's call it 5 To-Dos Until Things Slow Down. 

1. Take a lunch break. It's a break for a reason. You need it. Use it to work out. Or to read. Or to read blogs. Or to run errands. Or to see a dentist/doctor. WHATEVER. But do. not. work. It makes the day somewhat miserable and I feel stressed out/exhausted. I enjoy my work, but that makes me feel burned out.

2. Continue morning workouts. Sometimes it's the only way to get one in. Instead of packing a bag every night, decide all of my work outfits and gym outfits on Sunday and load the car up to keep it simple. (WAY too much work to do this every night - that 30 minutes a night could be reading time!).

3. Pre-cook on Sundays. Yes, trying new recipes is awesome. I love it. BUT I have a ton of recipes I can pre-cook to keep it more simple (no figuring out macros, buying new ingredients, not knowing how long it's really going to take, etc.). So, back to pre-cooking my tried and true "easy" recipes on Sundays until things slow down.

4. No two-a-days. Keep the heavy cardio in the a.m., but no walking at lunch if there are other things I need to do during lunch that DON'T involve working (i.e. errands, doctor's appointments, etc.). Use a weekend workout for heavy ST. Basically, work out smarter to get things in, but still allow time for other things!

5. Establish adult bed time. hehe It's TRUE though. I'm like I need to be asleep by 10, 10:30 at latest. I just DO. This doesn't mean race around the house packing the car, doing laundry, working, etc., until 10:30 then trying to go to sleep while my brain is still active/stressed. I'm setting a 9:30 p.m. cut off time. In bed, TV off! LOL If I sleep, great. If I read, great. But no working. No, no, no.

I think this is just my way of saying, "It's okay to not do it all. BUT, it's not okay to just completely cut out things that make you happy. Fit it in. Make it work." Ideally, when things slow down I can add back in two-a-days, whip up new recipes at the pace I was before, and focus more on my other goals. But for now I'm on a 'keep the lights on' strategy FOR SURE and that means all of the lights are dim... rather than totally shutting off some!

Q: When your life gets busy, do you make a new plan? I don't know why I didn't think of this before. Instead I was driving myself crazy still trying to do it all. Time to adjust instead of feeling guilty/funky/sorry for myself. LOL


Q: What time do you go to bed? 


Q: How do you make time to do what makes you happy?


Back to normal programming tomorrow, which thanks to my new plan, involves a review of Water for Elephants. :)

I'm a Whiner who Likes my new Italian Egg Bake

My New Favorite Breakfast - recipe link below following me being a big whiner. :)

Hello! I know, I suck. I have been an absent blogger and blog-reader. BOO. I've just been working late and by the time I get home I'm either working more or with the fam or sleeping - grrrr. I know it's going to get better soon, and I'm still trying to get in my blogging, cooking, workouts, etc. - i'm kind of making it work! But it's hard. Annnndddd no more whining. Really. Promises. :)

Backing up, Thursday I just worked, worked through lunch, and worked late. No workouts, no cooking, BUT I got to work from home with my poodles and eat dinner with my husband so there you go - not a bad day! Friday started out with Austin making me breakfast. AWESOME. We seriously were like one of those only-on-TV families eating breakfast before going into the office. It was crazy awesome and I hope this becomes a tradition! Then I had some unexpected traffic, but eventually made it to the office, had lunch at P.F. Chang's with Stacy (grilled salmon, rice and egg drop soup - awesome!), worked, worked late, finally headed out at 7:30 to go straight home, change clothes, pet the poodles then head over to Lincoln & Shana's for a few drinks/catch-up time. We had such a great time! I love talking with them about everything from low-carb diets and day cares to flat irons and the debt crisis. We cover a lot of ground with those two! :) As per usual, time flies at their house and before we knew it was late and time to get back home!

So far today has been super relaxing, just reading Water For Elephants, catching up on The Big C, and eating a fabulous swiss, avocaodo, hummus and turkey sandwich on wheat. SWEET!


Now, regardless of how stressed I've felt this week, don't think for a minute I didn't still squeeze in a bit of cooking - it's my therapy. :) 

Italian Egg Bake

Makes 6 Servings

Inspired by a Pillsbury recipe

Nutritional Information: 353 calories, 24 carbs, 17 fat grams and 24 protein grams.

Winner! Tasted great and was very filling - didn't take long either which is always nice. I loved the addition of the fresh basil, it definitely made the recipe along with the sundried tomatoes. I also liked the add of the Italian bread crumbs - the crunchy topping was nice with the softer, fluffy egg/potato layer. Check out the recipe at Healthified Kitchen - it has taken over as my new favorite breakfast!

Q: What are you up to today? We have a few errands to run, then we're heading to Scott & Mary's and out Austin & Scott's birthdays!


Q: How do you take your breakfast? On the road? At work? At home? I typically eat mine at work around 9 or so, post-workout. However, I LOVE the idea of eating breakfast at home with Austin and have decided that i'm going to make an effort to do this more! And really.... now that I think about it... I'm going to do it. There - it's done! :)

100-Calorie Pesto, Sundays at Tiffany's Review

Hello! I hope you all had a good Wednesday! Mine was pretty good and i'm working from home today so i'm already PUMPED about not commuting - yesssss. And I have a few things to share!

RECIPE: Yes, a Pesto!
As you guys know, Austin brought in a gallon of basil on Sunday which led to us making (and freezing!) a lot of pesto. Instead of making all classic pestos, we mixed it up and tried different ones! Here is one of the ones we made and LOVED.

Lemon Basil Almond Pesto
Adapted from Tastespace
Makes 4 Servings

Nutritional Information (with Chicken & Pasta): 418 calories, 46 carbs, 11 fat grams and 36 protein grams.
Nutritional Information (pesto only): 94 calories, 4 carbs, 9 fat grams and 3 protein grams.

Awesome. I'm a huge fan of lemon and basil anyway, so knew this would be a favorite. I was intrigued at using the almonds instead of the pinenuts, but it gave it a sweeter, nuttier flavor. I liked it a lot! This was more of a lime green than a deep green, but of course I could have added more basil. That's kind of the beauty of making your own pesto - you can add more amounts of low-calorie or no-calorie ingredients like lemon juice and basil to make it your own. We tasted as we made it (with cooked noodles - just dipped them into the blender). So while this recipe worked for us you can always mix it up! Check out the recipe at  Healthified Kitchen!

BOOK REVIEW

So yesterday I finished James Patterson's Sundays at Tiffany's. You guys! It was so cute. I loved it. While it did have a little bit of mystery in it, it was very much a cute, chick lit story about a girl whose childhood imaginary friend revisits her later in life. It explores this girl's upbringing, relationship with her mother, occupation, etc., but of course it gets super cute/exciting when you learn about what she's been up to, what he is, and they're just so sweet together. I'm a huge fan and hope to see the Lifetime movie made from it - yes, it's that kind of book! I give it a 4.5/5 - great book for what it was - a cute chick lit book that still managed to have a few twists and enough intrigue to keep me engaged. Dare I say it was one of my favorite little books?! Great beach read, too!

Now I've started James Patterson's Cross Country - seems good so far!

Q: How was your Wednesday?!  Mine was pretty good - a trip to the gym before work, a trip to the library and Trader Joe's during lunch, and in PJs by 6 - yesssssss. We watched the King's Speech - pretty good!


Q: What are you up to today? I'm contemplating the gym, but mostly it's work, work, work, then more cooking of course. :)

Baked Turkey Egg Rolls? Absolutely!

Thanks for sharing your pesto ideas! I'm loving the new pestos and promise recipes will be up soon - at least 2 this week! For now, I've been meaning to share this yummy one - who doesn't want a meal of egg rolls???

Baked Turkey Egg Rolls
Makes 4 Servings (of 2 egg rolls each)
Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

Nutritional Information: 354 calories, 42 carbs, 5 fat grams and 34 protein grams.

 The outside was really crispy and they had a nice spicy taste. I thought the turkey added an interesting twist - I liked how much it broke up - the pieces were tiny and so every bite tasted meaty rather than cabbagey if you know what I mean! The ginger/garlic/onion mixture was a great add too, and made the turkey taste extra juicy. I also liked that the meal was two packed egg rolls, very filling and a good, light eat. It also reheated well on the George Foreman! Check out the recipe on Healthified Kitchen!

And quick back-up: Monday was another busy one! Started with a 2-mile run at 6.3 mph followed by 1/4-mile walk and abs. Then work, working through lunch, more working, and home to the fam and, of course, a pesto. LOL

Q: What's up in your world? For me the focus is working, getting in a.m. workouts and hanging with the fam - already ready for the weekend!


Q: Ever made a meal out of eggrolls? I like the idea of having the turkey/meat in the egg rolls. This way it's a filling meal, even though it seems like it's bad for you!


And I leave you with a picture from this past weekend - me and my puppers - thanks for sending, Lindsey! :)

Healthified Pesto: 5 Ways

Thanks you guys!  We had SO much fun at Saturday's BBQ! Sunday was good too, it took a turn though when Austin comes in from the garden with a gallon size bag of basil on Sunday. A GALLON. Being that I hate to waste food (hate, hate, hate it), I decided it was time to try my hand at making pestos (without pine nuts, mind you, as I've yet to find a reasonably priced bag!). Enter the following 5 Pestos:

1. First, I made one of our FAVORITE pestos, Sun-dried Tomato Pesto. I made 3 batches of 4 servings each. We had one this week, and the other two are frozen. I'll just need to add pasta, chicken and feta on top - done!

2. Then we thought about doing a classic pesto, but with the nut we had on hand, peanuts! We made a batch, loved it, so doubled it ending up with 2 batches of 4 servings each and froze it all. We call it Classic Peanut Pesto. Recipe & picture coming soon!

3. Then I was like let's do something VERY different. So we made Spicy Asian Peanut Pesto. We kept this one to 1 batch of 4 servings as it's the highest fat one (being that it was made with peanut butter & basil - crazy! Recipe & picture coming soon!

4. After attempting the different one, we went back to classic but with a new nut. Enter Classic Almond Pesto. VERY good. We made 1 batch of 4 servings.Recipe & picture coming soon!

5. From the almond batch, we branched out and made Lemon Basil Almond Pesto. Basically the same as #4, but without Parmesan but with lemon juice and lemon zest. Recipe & picture coming soon!

So friends, this is one way to use a packed, gallon-size bag of basil!

Lots of pestos ready to go - each tub is 4 to 8 servings - just add pasta & chicken!

so happy with these - we froze a lot - YAY!

And speaking of the Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto, please tell me my photography skills have improved! Yes, this is the SAME dish, just about 2 years apart...

New School

Q: Have you ever made pesto? If so, what's your favorite mix?!


Q: Have your photography skills vastly improved since blogging?! Don't get me wrong - I still have a long way to go! But WOW - i'm just horrified at some of my old pics. I'm like, hmmmm I KNOW it's a yummy recipe but I don't even want to eat it! LOL


So yes, this was my Sunday - cooking pestos with Austin, working, doing laundry, getting ready for Monday and a bit of reading - not a bad Sunday!

Impromptu Summer BBQ

Why is the weekend almost ovveerrrr??? [insert bratty whine] Grrr. I had such a great weekend and truly don't want it to end! Saturday's chill day turned into a busy, fun day that ended with an impromptu get together - pretty fab! So Josh got up early to golf, and me and Lindsey got up early and spent 4 hours out! (Austin stayed back with the pups!). Lindz and I went by the outlets, the mall, DSW, Trader Joe's, Starbuck's - you name it! Great day and of course I loved spending time with her - we didn't even turn the radio on- just talk, talk, talked! We got home around 2, and planned to have a BBQ and Andy/Mon were coming for dinner. Then Austin talked to Scott (via xBox of course) and him and Mary were in. Then Josh talked to John and Jen and they were in. Jen was bringing her baby boy Brady and I was like hmmm, wonder what Devon & Zach are doing? While Zach was working, Dev and her baby boy Dane were in! So it quickly went to 11 friends, 2 adorable babies and 3 dogs = love it. We had burgers, pasta salad, baked beans and Jen & John brought these AMAZING caramel brownies. The babies got passed around, ate, chilled, then had a sleepover in our living room in their cute little PJs - loved it.  The dogs went back and forth between besties to barking - sigh. Can't win them all! The guys stayed outside with cornhole, and us girls stayed in. SO FUN to catch up with everyone - low key, early start, early finish = awesome. Here's some pics!

Mon Bon & Reuben! He was loving on her all night!

Lindz & adorable baby Brady!

Getting the cornhole started

Girls catching up!

What happens when I try to take a candid shot of the boys LOL

This one worked out better!

My beautiful sister and her presh little Dane!

When babies meet - love this pic of these two new moms! The babies are only 1 week apart!!

SO CUTE!! He is such a perfect mix of John and Jen - love it!

Miss Reina had a BLAST outside! 

I got to use the Pottery Barn BBQ set my mom got me last year - yay!

Ze food

Austin's burgers!

Moms & Babies taking a break to get the babies settled down for the night!

Dane & Brady would just sit and smile at each other and  "talk" - make cute noises at each other!

The guys pretty much set up shop here!

Girl picture!! :) Loved seeing everyone so much - we MUST do more chill nights. I do believe if this had been planned though it wouldn't have worked out. haha

Me & Mon Bon!

Austin being silly with Devon & Dane - and wearing the new shirt I got him! 

So that was our Saturday in a nutshell - a great day! Today involved TONS of cooking - can't wait to post some new recipes this week!

Q: What was the highlight of your weekend? 


Q: What's your favorite thing to grill? I always go for kebobs, Austin goes for burgers. Truly, I was all for burgers because I was so pumped to use my BBQ set - thanks again, Mom! :)