Back at it

Ever since I got back from Florida, I’ve been trying to get to back to some kind of normalcy. At first my cooking mojo was not there. Thankfully, I had a freezer stocked full of food waiting to be used

This pizza tasted so good but the weird thing is it tasted like sushi. I’m not joking. I could take a bite, be taken aback by the flavor, take a sip of water, take another bite and yep-sushi tasting. It was very weird but oddly enough, I would buy it again.

Instead of going to Starbucks and ordering a shaken iced green tea/lemonade, I’ve been making my own at home and it’s been surprisingly Buckies-like!

If you have a Publix near you and dig green tea, you must try this tea. I got two gallons before I left Florida and am kinda sad it will be gone soon. A trip to Greenville or Columbua, South Carolina may be in store.

I’ve gotten back into my cooking routine, as much as I didn’t want to. Having someone cook for you almost all the time is pretty nice. A girl could get used to that….note to self, troll culinary school for men who can cook. Thank God I have my standbys such as quesadillas

And pasta salad of course since that seems to be my latest obsession. I put a new spin on it by adding  Great Northern Beans, Parmesan & Peppercorn dressing and using Wacki Mac pasta.

I cooked the pasta then added chopped orange pepper, red onion, black olives and feta cheese then mixing in the dressing and a quick, creamy meal.

The point that it made four servings only helped since I’ve been a little lazy this week.

 

One thing I haven’t been able to get back into? Working out. I went to the gym on Saturday and Sunday and struggled to do just 30 minutes of cardio. When I was on the machine, time just dragged and I wanted to get off and do strength training, which I could do all day long.

I’m going back today and will conquer 30 minutes of some type of cardio! Maybe I just need to concentrate on what I am doing, challenge myself more or new music? And that will be right after I stop by Time Warner and cancel my cable. God help me…..

Are you cable-less?

Have you ever had a food that tasted good but like something else like my sushi tasting pizza?

The only routine with me is no routine at all

Even though I’m on vacation, I feel like I’ve been getting a routine of my own while down in Florida. I know, I shouldn’t have a routine when I’m supposed to be relaxing and enjoying my time but it’s been working out well and not a stressful one at all. It seems like each day I’ve been meeting up with one of my friends for a meal, coffee or get together. I went to a bbq the other night and made a creamy Greek pasta salad as opposed to a Tysonlicious pasta salad.

The star of the pasta salad was gorgonzola cheese. I rarely buy the gorg because I love it so much and can make a container disappear within 12 hours. Yeah, I don’t even say 24 hours because it really doesn’t last that long in my house. So when I saw it on sale, I bought it as a perfect add in to the pasta salad along with artichokes, black olives, zucchini, parsley, red pepper and Light Greek dressing.

This turned out awesome! I don’t like to make creamy pasta salads too often because hello, creamy isn’t too good for you but it was a perfect dish to bring to a bbq for all to share!

I met up with my friend for breakfast on Monday morning. She is a writer so she tends to be busy at night and on the weekends so when she suggested breakfast, I immediately jumped since you know, the most important meal of the day thing. Plus hello, I love seeing my friends! We went to First Watch, a breakfast and lunch spot in Boca.

I ordered coffee as I waited for her and when they brought out a vat of it, I couldn’t have been happier. Well until I saw these beautiful babies that is

Don’t think I didn’t swipe a few for the road!

I liked how they had traditional breakfast and lunch fare and also a good selection of healthy options.

I should have gotten something off that menu but the meal was going to be both breakfast and lunch for me so I went with something hearty and savory to fill my belly-Key West Crepegg-A thin, sweet crepe combined with fluffy whipped eggs filled with Turkey, avocado, bacon, tomatoes and Monterey Jack cheese with a side of potatoes and an english muffin

A delicious meal (as is anything that involves avocado!) add that to catching up with an old friend and that is priceless.

I’ve been getting some good gym time in also. There are a number of gyms to go to here so I don’t think a lot of people patron the YMCA which is fine with me—more machines for me! On the downside, most of the machines are older versions of ellipticals and treadmills. They don’t even have my beloved Precor there, it’s a brand called Star Trac which I’ve never heard of.

Of course, I’ve been hanging out with a couple of handsome fellas as well.

Mickey and Lincoln are getting along terrifically! Lincoln is still a little protective of me but he has to realize that Mickey is the OB (Original Baby) I have a feeling I’m going to end up with two pups soon.

I’ve been spending my afternoon’s laying by the pool reading and swimming.

Thanks to all who recommended this book—I can’t put it down! It’s such a page turner and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

Lincoln has done some swimming too and was all too happy to get out of the pool and sun bathe with me.

The parentals have been providing dinner and entertainment we went to see Bridesmaids on Monday afternoon. This movie? Holy effballs of fire, it was hilarious! However, I really wish I could skip over the sex scene parts when I’m sitting right next to my parents. It’s a bit awkward. But on the other side, I don’t want to live in a world where I don’t get to see Jon Hamm naked. Seriously, how is he so handsome?  We  went to dinner at Kyojin Sushi Buffet in Fort Lauderdale right after. I was starving by the time I got there since I really only had the big breakfast and a few snacks.

The first plate of sushi was fantastic. However right after eating it, I didn’t feel right. I felt like there was a brick in my stomach so I switched over to soup while my dad helped me with the rest of the sushi. I’ve never had a bad sushi experience at a restaurant but I felt like I was going to throw up on the way home. We’ve been going to Kyojin for the past three years and it just seems like the quality of their sushi is going down the drain.

For the first time ever, South Florida is growing on me. I was born in Indiana then we moved here when I was seven. I resented my parents that we would move somewhere that’s a completely 180 from Indiana and just wanted out. And you know what?  The first chance I got to leave here, I did. I picked out WVU on a map and moved 18 hours away. Now that I have lived there, Phoenix and Charlotte, I’m not so much if I like it up north of not. I always thought I was a cold weather girl but I am quite enjoying the warm weather for the past week and a half. I know a lot of people down here and my friends have already told me I could them my resume so a move to Florida may be in the future.     

 Random question–Who the hell names a business Hair on Fire?

As someone who has had their hair caught on fire, this disturbs me. I won’t get into the story but it involves freshman year in college, a cigarette, Bon Jovi and Natty Light.

How many places have you lived?

Anyone else have any fun, hair catching on fire stories?? Crickets, crickets….

Tysonlicious Pasta Salad

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I recently received a coupon to try Tyson’s Grilled and Ready Chicken for free.

Tyson offers a number of Grilled & Ready products such as Chicken Breast Fillets, Fajita Chicken Strips, Roasted Diced Chicken Breast, Seasoned Beef Strips and more!

Being a girl who likes a little convenience in her life, I bought a bag of the Grilled & Ready Chicken Breast Strips

If you microwave the chicken strips, you only have to nuke it for three to four minutes-now that’s what I’m talking about! I’ve been using these all week from wraps to quesadillas to salads but my favorite creation has been my pasta salad I made using their chicken.

Ingredients:

*Sea Shell pasta, cooked (this was leftovers of pasta cooked the night before so I don’t have an exact amount but I would say around 60g if I have to guess)

*Four pieces Tysons Grilled & Ready Chicken Strips, chopped

*1/4 cup red onion, chopped

*1/3 cup red pepper, chopped

*1/3 cup zucchini, peeled and chopped

*1/4 cup feta cheese

*3 tbsp cilantro, chopped finely

*2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

*1 tbsp lime juice

*black pepper, salt, garlic to taste

Heat the chicken up for three and a half minutes then cut into little pieces

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy a flavorful pasta salad! I love the sea shell pasta because the add in’s get stuck in there so when you take a bite it’s packed with all kinds of flavor.

Delicious and so refreshing on a hot day! My only regret is that I didn’t make more of it. Thanks Foodbuzz and Tyson for letting me try the Grilled & Ready Chicken!

What’s your favorite way to make pasta salad?

Slap me on the butt and call me Miss Productive

For many people, Sunday is a day of rest but for me, it never is. I feel like it’s a day to get everything that needs to be done, done and I prefer to have my Saturdays as my rest day. On Sunday, I started the day with a cup of coffee and went to work for three hours. I hate going into the office because I am already working a good 45+ hours week but sometimes I just need to go without any distractions and knock out a bunch of stuff. Plus the fact that I can listen to The Killers Pandora station and do yoga poses in between files printing out doesn’t hurt.

I met up with a friend at the Y afterwards and did 35 minutes on the elliptical then did lateral pull downs (70 lbs, 13 reps x  3 sets), row (80 lbs  13 reps x  3 sets),  chest press (35 lbs  13 reps x  3 sets), overhead shoulder press (40 lbs  13 reps x  3 sets)

Great workout! No sign of douchey men who can’t handle when they get spray on them either-score!

I got home and was ready to get my grub on!

I had a late lunch of mini pizzas with vodka sauce, feta cheese, black olives and mozzarella cheese

 

Then, it was time to get to some real cooking!

First thing on the agenda was 3 Ingredient Muffins I saw on Will Jog For Food and again on Peas and Crayons. Many of you know, I am not a baker so I try to stay away from adventures in baking but three ingredients and none of them are eggs, water or oil? This has to be fool Tiffany proof! The cake that was supposed to be used was Devil’s Food Cake mix but I didn’t see any at the store and wasn’t sure if Angel’s Food Cake would do so I just stuck to the standard yellow cake mix and also added 1/2 cup of shredded coconut that I wanted to use up and used peanut butter & milk chocolate morsels.

I filled up the cups and still had a good portion left of batter so I went ahead and stuck that in the freezer to use at a later time

Baked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees and came back to these beauties!

So, they didn’t out the color that were supposed to thanks to the Devils Food Cake mess up but I love my Oompa Loompa muffins–they were absolutely fantastic! I really like the pumpkin flavored, it was overpowering but it kept the muffins moist (eww, sounds so naughty) and the coconut was a great addition to give it a little texture. A perfect snack and food to take on the go for breakfast!

The next recipe on the list was supposed to be Pizza Pasta Salad but those plans soon diminished after I got home from Wal-Mart and realized the deli guy didn’t give me salami, he gave me pastrami and no–I’m not adding pastrami slices to a pizza pasta salad. That’s just nasty and too salty for my taste. I also forgot to get mozzarella, basil and sun-dried tomatoes and realized this as I was checking out. Since it was a Sunday at Wal-Mart, I  wasn’t in the mood to go back and fight the masses. Wal-Mart is horrible but they are cheap and a one stop shop and they also offer wonderful people watching. I saw a 40 something year old woman sucking on a pacifier–wtf? If she would’ve had glow sticks in hand I could understand but a pacifier, really?

But back to the pasta salad, I improvised when starting to prepare it. I cooked a package of mini shells and let cool in the fridge. Then I chopped up some onion, black olives, parsley and mushrooms

Added the shells and feta cheese to the mix

Then added slices artichokes, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, black pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano then let chill in the fridge

Apparently, I was thinking of summer because I made bbq chicken with a side of pasta salad for dinner

After that I cleaned, did laundry and felt like I had a very productive Sunday.

Do you rest on Sunday or do you go crazy getting stuff done?