Cheese is My Crack

If last week was sushi fest, this week is cheese fest. I have a love/hate relationship with cheese. Some weeks I will eat cheese like there is no tomorrow, other weeks I am kinda meh towards it. It started last night with dinner–homemade pizza made with Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat Pizza Dough and topped with baby bellas.

So much cheese, so little time.

Then there was dinner tonight. I love quick meals. And I love quick meals which I can prepare in advance. Inspired by Janetha’s Chicken Puff recipe, I made Chicken Puffs but with phyllo dough.  I made the chicken last night on the stovetop with a new seasoning-Spike. I get so tired of my stand by’s I usually use like garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes this was a welcomed alternative. And the fact that I got it for free doesn’t hurt either.

 I used Trader Joe’s Chive and Onion cream cheese, red onions and mixed together with the chicken.

I then spread on a few thin pieces of phyllo dough, and rolled it into pieces….in no particular style mind you then brushed with extra virgin olive oil and topped with Spike seasoning. I let bake for 15 minutes or until brown.

Such a pretty puff

Not to be confused with Such a Pretty Fat, one of my fave Jen Lancaster books that I am re-reading for the umpteenth time.

 

I digress…..

I paired up with a baked potato topped with cheese since I can’t control myself

These were absolutely amazing! I didn’t want it this meal to ever end and will be making these again when I am looking for a quick, comforting meal. The cream cheese was obviously the star but I liked the extra red onions that I mixed it. I wonder how it would be with tuna and shredded cheese like a tuna melt?

Next on the cheese list was dessert. Many of you know I am not a huge baker but I am trying to expand my horizons. We have a Thanksgiving potluck at work tomorrow and I wasn’t going to participate. But then I was assigned dessert duty for Thanksgiving day and wanted to try out a recipe before I brought something rancid over for Thanksgiving. So, why not try it on people who I see 40+ hours or week? I had to make something good, yummy and something that would make them adore me. I went with my girl Paula Deen on this one because who doesn’t love Paula? I went to Food Network and looked up her Thanksgiving dessert recipes and finally settled on Pumpkin Cheesecake. Being a lover of pumpkin and cheesecake, it can’t be bad right? Bad for you maybe but taste bad? No ma’am. One problem though–I’ve never made cheesecake. And when I went to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients, I forgot the cream cheese…..for CHEESECAKE! Argh, this was going to be an interested experience. Surely if I followed the directions, it would turn out ok though. With a text and call to Miss Mo, I was on my way! Seriously, I need to start paying her for baking advice.

First thought- “That’s a lot of effin cheese

Pretty orange. I was a bit worried it was going to turn out the color of Oompa Loompas but all was well on the home front.

Soon enough, it was ready to go into the oven for an hour. Two hours of Family Guy was calling my name so this was a perfect way to occupy my time.

So I waited…..and waited….and waited and then the smell of pumpkin and cinnamon worked its way over to the living room and the buzzer went off shortly after.

I went to the kitchen to take it out. Half of me was nervous, another part was excited and the other part of me was hungry and bummed I wouldn’t get to try a piece since I’ve never met a cheesecake I didn’t like and I guess it would be a bit tacky for me to take into work with one hunk of it missing.

But then I noticed something….it was cracked, wtf? Another text to Miss Mo and she assured me it was ok and that hers does that sometimes. Phew! I was in my comfy clothes and not in the mood to go to the supermarket and buy a pie.

So I let cool and popped it in the fridge. Let’s hope the troops are happy with it. And yes, I will be say saying y’all all day tomorrow. Hopefully people will get it since I made a Paula Deen recipe…..or they will think I’m Britney.

I got a nice surprise in the mail today:

Should be as cheesy as the rest of my day, yes?

Anyone else working tomorrow and Wednesday? I feel like I’m the only one out there. Word on the street is after the luncheon we will be able to skedaddle (yes I just used that word) out of there and go home to enjoy the rest of my day. Since I have to go in at my normal time on Friday I am not going to even venture out for Black Friday which used to be one of my favorite days of the year. I have half of my Christmas shopping done already and the other half should be easy to find.

Sweet Tooth

Hi all–hope everyone had a terrific weekend! I can’t believe it’s over already 😦 I’m not even going to talk about the WVU-UConn game on Friday night because WVU didn’t even show up. We so need to get rid of Coach Stew and start over because after two Big East losses in a row, this is embarssing.

Oh–Happy Halloween! And I’ve only gotten two sets of trick or treaters-wtf? I didn’t buy any candy because it escaped my mind but scrounged some random pieces of candy that I collected from my office and had a bag of raspberry filled Hershey’s Kisses sitting in my cupboard so that was going to be it. The first trick or treated I got, I let them reach into the bowl and forgot what a big mistake that was. One of the boys grabbed two big handful—greedy anklebiter! So when the next ones came, I was prepared to hand it out. I had to lock Lincoln in the bedroom since he was going batsh** crazy each time they knocked and since I’ve put him away, no knocking. I want to let him out but I think if I do, they will come a knocking again. What time do trick or treaters stay out until anyways?  So I wait. But I’m in good company

 A new cupcake/froyo place opened in my neighborhood–Divine Cupcakes and Yogurt. I read a review of it on Yelp and had to go there right away.  I looked at the menu and they had a number of cupcakes that fit various dietary needs-diabetic, gluten free and vegan which I found very cool. I got the Chocolate Espresso cupcake and either a Vegan or Gluten Free Blueberry cupcake (can’t remember!)

The Chocolate Espresso was a bit too dry for me and it was hard on the outside. The chocolate covered espresso bean was the best part but besides that it was lackluster. The Blueberry tasted healthy but was still yummy. I don’t know why it looks all mangled though. They were decent but I don’t think I will be heading back there for the cupcakes. Very rarely will I admit that a baked good that I paid for and didn’t make were a disappointment but they were. They were around $3 each and a box of Duncan Hines costs $2 so yeah, you do the math.

But Tiffany you’re not a baker you say?

Au contraire

I gave the cookies one last shot at redemption. Thanks for everyones tips about letting the batter settle some more. I mixed it yesterday and let cook overnight and this afternoon, it was rock hard

They turned out fabulous! Yes, they were still giant cookies but with more substance and not crumbly

So my co-workers will be getting these tomorrow and then I will be the most popular girl on my floor!

I had a pretty awesome strength training workout this afternoon:

Kettlebell-20 lbs

Upright Deltoid Rows (13 reps, 3 sets)

Side Bends (20 reps, 3 sets)

Halos (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shrugs (13 reps, 3 sets)

Lateral Bench Press (13 reps, 2 sets)

Dumbbell-15 lbs

Benchpress (13 reps, 2 sets)

Front Lateral Raise (13 reps, 3 sets)

Shoulder press (13 reps, 3 sets)

Curls (13 reps, 3 sets)

Tricep Extensions (13 reps, 1 set)

For dinner tonight, I tried Baked Orzo with Fontina and Peas from Giada. My co-worker who isn’t a huge cook passed this recipe onto me and I’ve been wanting to try it for a few months. I halfed the recipe and added more peas.

After

I halved the recipe since it makes six to eight servings and added more peas. I forgot to pick up some marsala sauce and didn’t have how to make it but I imagine it would have been tasty with it. Between the mozzarella, fontina, salt, pepper and thyme it was very flavorful though. I never cooked with fontina before so I was psyched for it and now have a surplus. Anyone know of anything I can do with the extra? I hate to see things go to waste…..especially cheese. All in all, it was a good meal. Some protein would’ve been nice with it, maybe some chicken or tuna next time?

Beef, it is NOT what’s for dinner

You know what’s not fun? Waking up at 445A for no reason whatsoever. ARGHHH! I was planning to wake up at 6A but kept tossing and turning and finally surrendered to the day. I made some pumpkin oats topped with cinnamon and almond butter. My motor skills weren’t in tact yet so I went with quick oats in the microwave. And wow—I can taste such a difference after eating rolled oats yesterday. These tasted like mush and was just blah. I picture that they serve this kind of stuff in an old folk home since I really don’t have to chew at all, I could’ve just slurped it up. 

 

Oats fail. 

Even Lincoln was unhappy with the final product. Or maybe he just didn’t want to be up at 515A doing nothing, me either Linx, me either. 

 

I met up with Brittney for lunch and we went to Blynk Organic. I’ve been wanting to check out this place for a while and am happy I finally was getting the opportunity to do so.They have a variety of sandwiches, salads coffee, tea and smoothies that you can nosh on in the seating area to the side of it (pretty retro-esque too, I like) We decided to dine al fresco since it was absolutely perfect out. Brittney showed me a secret patio on top of the Dean and Deluca building. I like secret places. Ok, maybe it wasn’t so secret but I never knew about it so it was secret to me! 

 

Brittney!

I got the Saladena sandwich—roasted red peppers, artichokes, mozzarella, balsamic and spinach on a tomato basil roll. It was absolutely fantastic and fresh! I love when I actually get away from my desk, it’s such a nice way to break out the day. 

I really had nothing to look forward to for the rest of the day. My workload was pretty light but I snuck in a mile walk in there so yay for productivity! 

But then I had a dilemma . I started contemplating things in my life and the main thing I was thinking about I couldn’t settle on. What was it you ask? Well, it’s a very deep and important question that I am sure many of us have had to face at one point or another in life—should I buy cheese for dinner? I was planning on making a rice bowl with black beans, red onions and peppers for dinner but no cheese. Cheese makes everything better but do I really need cheese? Answer-No.  But then again, would I be eating this for dinner and think to myself “Yeah, this is good but it would have been great with some cheese”. I mulled over this for a good 30 minutes and went to my co-workers asking what I should do about my situation. I thought one of them was going to throw a stapler at my head since this was the biggest issue I was having today while some of them are dealing quarter end issues like interest being paid out and libors. 

And you know what? I ended up getting my cheese……and it was everything I dreamed of and more. 

Rice bowl sounded good but surely, I could make something better and a tad more creative right? Then I remembered Mo’s post on making Skinny Chimichanga’s and felt compelled to make a baked chimichanga/burrito hybrid of sorts 

I made boil in bag brown rice last night to save some time today then mixed half the bag with black beans (half can), shredded cheese (1/3 cup), Habanero peppers, red onion and chile powder then filled the tortillas 

 

 

I sprayed with canola oil spray and baked at 400 degrees for 15 minutes 

 

 

This was terrific and a nice alternative to tacos or a rice and black bean bowl. Now looking at everything I noticed that I was a vegetarian today, rock on with my bad self. Thanks Mo for sharing!! 

I got home thinking I was going to have dinner and fit a nice nap in afterwards. I was going to draw the drapes, turn the lights off and snooze while watching Family Guy. I forgot that there were men working on my roof today so constant banging and yelling for a good two hours I got home. Ugh. Good thing I was so tired that I ended up zonking out anyways and woke back up at 730P but felt like I slept for so long thought it was 730A, I hate when that happens! 

When I finally realized what time it was, Starbucks was the first thing on my mind. I wasnt  in the mood for coffee but for cold tea and seeing I don’t have anything here but coffee, water and hot chocolate, off to Starbucks I went! 

I got a Venti Shaken Iced Green Tea.Lemonade with two splendas–so tasty. 

 

 And for my coffee lovers out there–tomorrow is National Coffee Day—hooray! Check out this link for specials to see if any places in your hood are giving out free stuff. I don’t recognize some of the coffee places 

And with that, I feel like I need to go run to tire myself out again.

Tofu Win. Egg Fail

 Monday was meh Monday. Blech. Another Monday where I just couldn’t wake up, it was too humid out and my stomach was cramping. Suffice to say, not a good way to start the week. Plus the new guy on our team started today and I am helping with training so trying to be patient, enthusiastic and oh yeah, nice was stretching it a bit for me.

I thought breakfast would be rocking—I made an egg scramble with egg whites and one brown egg with avocado and tabasco.

To be honest, the eggs kinda sucked. I am used to eggs with ketchup and for some reason, don’t have any on hand. In my old apartment, I would have bottles of ketchup in the cupboard for this kind of situation. But now? None. Maybe someone decided to do their own intervention o’ ketchup since they know I love it so much but I honestly have no clue who that would be. And it’s not like I don’t go to the supermarket twice a week and live within walking distance of one that I can’t buy it, I just haven’t. End of ketchup rant. The avocado looked like it was ready to go on the outside and was tender but when I sliced it open, it totally wasn’t. I hate when that happens.

I had leftover  Linguine Pescatore for lunch

Now looking back, I was totally that obnoxious person stinking up the break room with my seafood. Oh well, sucks for them—it was worth it!!

Snacks for the day

There was a surprise anniversary party for one of the managers on my floor. And we all know what that means—cake. Lots of it. But I was surprised they had stuff besides cake like cheese, crackers and nuts.

I was quite proud of myself for passing on the cake but I would be lying if I said this plate was my only plate of cheese. I can’t resist the siren calls of dairy!

I bought some tofu awhile ago and needed to use it soon. Most of the tofu dishes I’ve made have been stir fry and to be honest, that gets a tad boring after awhile. I thought it would be fun and something different to try tofu tacos.

I got creative with getting the liquid out from my tofu instead of just pressing with a plate or paper towel. Who needs a tofu press when you have this? Actually, a tofu press would be pretty sweet but still I can save some money in the meantime by doing this.

I seasoned the tofu with salt and pepper then cooked with these two

The tofu was great-I’ve only made it one other time without breading or not fried and it turned out horrendous (on another note, that was one of my favorite posts to write). But this meal was fabulous, tasty and fresh, what more could you ask for?

As always, my little guy was right near me waiting for something to drop. Something tells me he wouldn’t discriminate against the tofu

I got my free drink coupon from Starbucks in the mail–now to think of what I will get and when!

If you’re like me thinking a peach and pomegranate smoothie would be a fun RSVP party in your mouth, you’re wrong. I made this concoction last night with almond milk, ice, xanthan gum and it was horrid. So horrid I didn’t even take a picture of it so yeah, chew on that (or should I say sip on that?) for awhile. Sometimes pairings that seem magical to you don’t turn out to be so magical.

Kinda like Crystal Pepsi

I used to not care for Tuesdays just like Amy but ever since I started going to zumba on Tuesday nights I have something forward to and am diggin that. I convinced one of my co-workers ( who has started to eat healthier and lost a ton of weight already!) to go with me and she seemed interested but I didn’t think she would actually go. She mentioned to me the other day that she will see me there tonight and I can’t wait to see her at zumba.

I also found out a restaurant near my place that has $2.50 fish tacos on Tuesday nights which could totally get in the way of my zumba time. But then I guess it all comes down to priorities right? Happy Tuesday all!