After a long week of late nights at work, even later nights out to start the long weekend and early mornings with the pup, B and I needed some rest and relaxation by Sunday night. After his basketball game we stopped by Whole Foods to grab some snow peas and tomato sauce to compliment the mixed seafood and whole wheat pasta we already had. We decided to make our own “seafood fra diavolo” and were very successful! We followed this recipe loosely but adjusted for our own personal tastes (hot!) and using an awesome spice B had on hand. I had never cooked with snow peas before so we can add another to the list of new vegetables I have tried. Checking new ones off is so fulfilling, especially when they’re as tasty as these snow peas were. They did a nice job of balancing the spice of the dish and in the end it was a colorful and healthy dinner for two tired kids.  

My new year’s goal to cook more has been going great. Sunday, when Brian got home from his basketball game we were both excited to try one of the two recipes we had chosen for the week. Unfortunately we were both starving and the two recipes took over 1.5 hours. This is where having staples comes in handy! We were able to put together a pizza using leftover dough and pizza sauce from our pizzas a few weeks ago, cooked and chopped artichoke hearts I had frozen and threw on some cheese we had for an upcoming recipe. The result was tasty, quick and much healthier and cheaper than purchasing a pizza!

After the success of my corn chowder a little while ago, I decided to tackle another soup - french onion. I really wanted to try a recipe using a slow cooker, but was after working out in the morning, I was jammed for time and then worried it would get bad if I left it in for more than the recommended 8 hours, definitely less than my work day. Because of that, I resorted to this recipe and decided to pair it with a perfect recipe for french onion soup grilled cheese. I knew the soup wouldn’t be enough to fill us, and each having a grilled cheese on the side really helped. I used the baguette that I cut on top o the soup so it all worked very well together. I was amazed at how easy it was to prepare the two at the same time and both components of the meal really came together just in time for B to come by. It was the perfect meal for a rainy Tuesday evening. 

After we had finished eating and digested a little, B and I peeled and cut up apples for a little apple crisp. I wanted to make a slightly healthier version, so after finding this recipe, I was pleased to see various comments on the bottom with tips on how to make it healthier. One that I employed was replacing the white flour with whole wheat flour and using 1/4 cup oatmeal in place of 1/4 cup of the flour. The oatmeal added a nice texture and we both had seconds of another simple, yet very comforting dessert.

Unfortunately for the last two days I’ve been experiencing some cold symptoms. Though I don’t feel sick, I can’t stop coughing and my nose is like a faucet. It’s attractive. Anyway, I was fortunate to get a workout in last night and stopped at the grocery store on my way home. I still have tons of apples leftover from when B + I went apple picking last weekend so I decided to incorporate them into this week’s lunch. I found this Crunchy Apple Salad recipe on pinterest. The only change I made was substituting goat cheese for the gorgonzola, I’m just not a gorgonzola fan. Despite my cold symptoms and inability to taste most of my foods, the flavors of this salad really stood out. It was so great I’m really looking forward to enjoying it the rest of the week. The sweet, crunchy apples and walnuts balanced nicely with the salty, smooth cheese and the spinach/spring mix gave it a fresh taste too. 

I had been seeing acorn squash at Trader Joe’s for a while and one day I just couldn’t pass by them anymore! I grabbed one and proceeded to look up a recipe on Epicurious while I was still in the store. I didn’t find one that really spoke to me so I decided to use just use it as inspiration. In the end, I roasted the squash upside down in water in the oven, flipped them right-side-up and filled with instant brown rice, onions, jalapeno chicken sausage and cheddar cheese and continued to cook them. The result was a delicious bowl of autumnal goodness. Yup, I said it. This squash was under $2 and is very healthy and delicious, a winning combo. I can’t wait to cook up some more fall foods!

Monday night B and I decided to use his Eating Well iphone app to choose what to make for dinner. This app is awesome, you can enter in different categories and it will suggest easy-to-make meals. You can also email them directly from the app, which is how B shared ideas with me while I was at work. After looking at a few options, we settled on Grilled Rosemary-Salmon Skewers. Whole Foods was out of skewers and B’s roof with the grill was closed but we improvised by cooking the tomatoes and salmon in a sauté pan. Paired with Ithaca Apricot Wheat beers, it was a lovely end of summer meal. 

This morning, my spinning instructor didn’t show up, so I was forced to improvise. While most people left the classroom, I decided to stay on the bike for a half hour, mixing up some sprints and hills. I wasn’t sweating as much as I usually do in a spinning class, but it was still a good workout. Afterwards, I tackled a thigh workout I found on the Fit2Flex blog. I was familiar with most of the exercises, but pairing them together really helped me feel the burn. Looking forward to sore legs tomorrow!

For this week’s lunch, I made a nice Greek salad that consisted of the following things - 
tomatoes
green pepper
red onion
mushroom
cucumber 
black beans 

I drizzled olive oil and some seasoned feta over this and paired it with pita bread and hummus. A nice, refreshing and filling lunch!

Last night I did a big cardio mix up, starting with 15 minutes of running intervals on the treadmill (2 min at 6mph, 1 min of 8mph), 15 minutes on the elliptical doing a hill interval and then 15 minute intervals on the treadmill at a 14% incline of walking and then running. The runs were on the hill were hard and not fast, but hopefully are helping me get ready for Falmouth in just over two weeks! I left the gym and walked through Grand Central rather than going outside into the heat. I love stumbling upon little plaques and pieces of history that I usually fly by on my way to one location or another. Sometimes it’s nice to stop and smell the roses.

After my workout, B and I decided to cook a celebratory meal. We wandered around Whole Foods for a few minutes before deciding upon grilled chicken with a delicious maple chipotle glaze from the Stonewall Kitchen. I love all of their jams so I was psyched to see sauces, and then was even more psyched when B reached for the one I had been eying! For a veggie side, we made eggplant caprese stacks. While I sliced everything, B grilled the chicken in some of the marinade and then lightly sauteed slices of the eggplants. We then stacked the eggplant slices with a slice of mozarella, slice of tomato, a few pieces of basil and then drizzled with olive oil and vinegar. The combination of the warm eggplant slices with the cold moz and tomatoes was sooo refreshing. The chicken was cooked perfectly and we may or may not have dipped into more of the maple chipotle sauce. I’m glad we have a bit left in the bottle, can’t wait to make more with it! Maybe fish next time? 

Sorry I have fallen off the blog map in the last month. Work, preparing for my friend’s wedding, exercising and a bunch of other things have gotten in the way of blogging. I won’t backtrack on all my workouts but I will try to note a few of the more interesting ones and some new recipes I’ve tried. 

Let’s start it off with Martha Stewart’s Gazpacho in Cucumber Cups! My aunt made these last summer and I thought they were delish and the cutest thing. I made them for my dear friend’s bridal shower and they were a huge hit! The gazpacho itself was incredibly easy to make and with the help of another bridesmaid we were able to make the cucumber cups quite easily as well. A melon baller made the process significantly easier. This is a delicious, healthy meal for a hot summer night.

I’ve been hoping to make Kale chips for a while now and I finally got the opportunity. I followed the recipe on Smitten Kitchen and it could not have been more simple! The crunch of the leaves really surprised me and they were perfect to quench a salty craving! Definitely worth trying.