Eggceptional Easter

Happy Easter!

It has been an "eggceptional" Easter Sunday here in our little Texas home!

I was busy in the kitchen this morning preparing the food for our lovely Easter lunch:

Grilled Hot Dogs

Chicken Salad on English Muffins

Roasted Potatoes

Tuxedo Coconut Chippers

Mom and my sister, Hannah (aka Mrs. Fleming this time next week!)

My lovely sister contributed a delicious fruit salad, spinach salad, and some KILLER Nutella cookies.

Thanks Hannah!

My in-laws, Gary & Toni

Love them :)

Brent and his mom

This is literally 1/4 of the candy that we collected from our Easter baskets.

I just can't be trusted with such things.

This is the hubs Easter basket bowl that I surprised him with this morning. Easter baskets are like Christmas stockings in our house...filled with all of the food-items that you always want to buy at the grocery store but never do :)

 After fixing him a yummy Easter breakfast, he began his annual Easter egg hunt.

I've been hiding Easter eggs that I fill with sweet messages for him to find around the house for 5 years now. It's one of my favorite traditions :)

He's an eeegggcellent Easter egg hunter and found the 12 eggs that I hid for him in about 2 minutes flat.

Yes, I realize that we are like children. Yes, we pay our bills and vote.

I decided that three of the chocolate bunnies that I put in his Easter bowl looked like our little family, Nova included :)

My easter basket from my Momma!

Parsnip Pete surrounded by chocolate. Pretty accurate considering my food preferences. 

My eats: chicken salad sandwich, potatoes, and fruit. So yum.

For dessert, I had one of my Tuxedo Coconut Chippers (recipe to come!), one of Hannah's AMAZING Nutella cookies, and a few peanut M&Ms (my fav candy of all time).

My cookies were good but Hannah's cookies WAY better.

(I'm working on getting her permission to post her recipe. PA-LEASE!)

They made me do my "this is so good I must shake my booty" dance at the table. 

No shame here peeps.

Backing up a bit, here is breakfast - A delicious bowl of Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat (mixed with the last of our Three Sister's Honey Oaties).

I love how Kashi cereals stay super crunchy even after being doused in milk. I woke up this morning and all I wanted was a big bowl of crunchy cereal with cold milk, so this fit the bill.

I scarfed this bowl before taking Nova on a long Easter morning walk.

It is 6:30 PM and I am still full from lunch! I was thinking about going to the gym this evening, but a relaxing night at home and snacking on leftovers sounds much better.

How was your Easter? Did you receive copious amount of chocolate?

I see some Easter candy baked goods in my future :)

Happy Easter to you and your family! 

HE IS RISEN!

Reheated

I seriously cannot stop eating this SAME meal for breakfast every morning.

I'm not even going to pretend to try to change it up. I have no desire to.

I love it and will eat this for breakfast every day until grocery stores stop carrying Greek yogurt.

It's amazing, satisfying, and keeps me VERY full for at least 5 hours.

Perfect.

I am also completely obsessed with my French Press.

You have not had coffee until you have had it from a French Press. It is complete bliss.

And keeping with the "totally awesome product" theme, look what I found at Sur La Table the other day! A Reisenthel bag!

I was in search of a new lunchbox but found this instead.

It's a bag ball.

You open it up and pack your lunch (or go shopping) with it.

You eat your lunch (or dump out your new purchases).

You roll it back up into a bag ball, throw it in your purse, and no one knows that you are in your mid-twenties and still carry a lunch kit.

Done.

Money.

I ate breakfast 10:00AM after a quick 7 mile run this morning and grabbed these two snack items on my way out the door for work.

With my new job, I'm not able to take a lunch break until 2:30 or 3:00, so I have to pack things I can scarf quickly and throughout the day to keep my energy up.

Today, my lunch consisted of a Nature Valley bar, a banana, and a bunch on free miscellaneous "athlete-food" items that I found hanging around the store. Bleh.

I am also on my feet ALL DAY with this new job, so I am wiped out once I arrive home after work. I had to run by Target on my way home today to get a few Easter basket items (yes, I still buy goodies for Easter baskets) and didn't get home until 8:00 PM! 

After collapsing in my husband's arms out of pure exhaustion, I started reheating leftovers for our dinner.

I had a leftover grilled chicken breast and half of a sweet potato from last night's dinner at Saltgrass Steakhouse with the family, so I sliced up one whole zucchini, sauteed it in some olive oil with salt, pepper, and thyme, and added it to the leftovers. I ended up drizzling a little bit of Jack Daniels Brown Sugar BBQ Sauce over the top of this bowl and also ate a large slice of garlic bread on the side. 

It was super yum for leftovers!

Brent finished off the leftover "Last Minute Pasta".

Now I am eating a Cookie Dough Lil' Drum (yum!), blogging, and watching my husband chip golf balls to our golden retriever in our living room. Bed time soon. Yep we are officially an old married couple :) I kind of love it though.

Question: Do you still buy Easter basket goodies? If so, what are your favorite Easter treats?

Happy Easter!

Working Girl

This morning was my first day as a working girl since our move to The Woodlands, TX this past December!

I was planning on getting a run in this morning, but found myself making breakfast for the hubs before he left for work and then just never got out of my PJs! So no work out today.

Breakfast was toast topped with Crofters jam, Fage Greek yogurt, apple slices on the side, and caauufffeeeee.

This is BEFORE my "big as yo face" morning cuppa joe.

AFTER!!! WHEEEEEEE!!!!!

So, where am I FINALLY working, you ask? Well, this picture should give you a hint...

(excuse the husband's rack-o-ties)

I get to wear running clothes to work every day (delicious) and talk to people about running, clothing, races, shoes, fuel, etc.

Heaven? Noooo. But close! Check it out here! 

It's not the most "degree-applicable" position, but the reality is that I could either be in an office all day, pushing papers, OR make a little less moolaa and do something that I am actually interested in. 

So YAY! 

I am definitely excited about working hard for something that I believe in...running!

My lunch goes unpictured, but I downed a PBJ on whole wheat, some baby carrots, and a giant banana on my lunch break. (I have a lunch break again! Yahoo!)

I got home around 7:30 PM to find my husband crawling around on our front lawn trying to figure out if we have an underground sprinkler system in place, so I started working on dinner while he figured out that situation (along with two of our male neighbors who apparently have a great interest in sprinkler-related quests).

It was obvious that the great sprinkler mystery was solved when I looked into our backyard to find our golden retriever having the time of his life in a sprinkler system water world.

Note to self: When the sprinklers are on in the front yard, they are on in the backyard also...where your toddler golden retriever will be...creating puppy Slip & Slides for himself.

Here is the recipe for the pasta dish that, for being completely thrown together, was actually pretty tasty!

Last Minute Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1 24 oz jar Classico Four Cheese Tomato Sauce
• 2 links hot sausage, cut into rounds
• 1 cup pepperoni slices
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 large bag spinach leaves
• 1 box whole wheat Farfalle pasta
• Parmesan cheese, for topping

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package.
2. While pasta is cooking, brown sausage in skillet over medium high heat until partially cooked, then add garlic and pepperoni. Cook until garlic is tender over medium heat.
3. Pour sauce over sausage, add red pepper flakes, stir around and bring to a simmer.
4. Add spinach to sauce/sausage mixture by the handfuls until all of the spinach is mostly wilted.
5. Drain pasta and combine with spinach sausage sauce.
6. Sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan and serve with crusty, buttery garlic bread.

*I usually make my own sauce, but pre-made sauces work GREAT when you are short on time! I think Classico brand always tastes the best.

ENJOY!

More Baking & More Burgers

I just noticed that most of my post titles say "burger" in them. 

Hmmmm, obsessed much?

Anywho, it has been GORGEOUS here in Houston the past few days! This morning I woke up, immediately threw on my running shoes, and bolted out the door determined to take advantage of this weather!

I never know how bad my knees are going to hurt me during my runs, but I successfully finished 6 miles with just a tiny bit of stiffness in my knees. So..not bad!

Brent did his fair share of working out in the form of yard work this morning (he's a champ), but we were both still craving to be outside after our respective work-outs.

After some debate, we decided to grab dinner at Dry Creek Cafe in Houston.

Neither of us had ever been there before, but they are known for their burgers, so of course we had to try it out.

It's a really cute, hippie-esque restaurant with a great patio for outside dining.

Not only do they have amazing burgers but they have amazing cupcakes as well.

Burgers and...cupcakes? 

I.am.home.

I opted for the veggie burger with a side of sweet potato fries.

 I was a little turned off once I learned that this was not a homemade veggie burger (I'm thinking Morningstar...maybe Boca) but it was still very good! It was jazzed up with an amazing lemon aoli, asadero cheese, and stuffed with lettuce, sprouts, red onion, cucumbers, avocado, fresh pickles, and tomato.

I ended up removing the red onion (blah!) and a few of the cucumber slices (meh) before practically licking my plate clean.

You know what is the worst feeling? 

I will tell you...it is devouring a giant veggie burger and copious amounts of sweet potato fries and then remembering...that there were cupcakes to be had.

Ugh. I was unfortunately way too full to pound back a cupcake. 

My insides already talk to me on a daily basis, but I feel like they would have had some choice words for me if I decided to throw a cupcake at them after this meal.

I mean...I'll still probably have a scoop of ice cream later tonight...but at the time, there was no way.

So all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed Dry Creek and will be back for more burgers AND cupcakes very soon!

Ok, let's backtrack.

Can I just share that I baked from 1:00 PM to 5:20 PM on Friday?

Yes, yes I did. And it was glorious.

My sweet friend, Tara, placed one of my first official Bluebird Bakery orders to be delivered on Friday, so I was a busy baking bee on Friday!

Tara and me on her wedding day!

We have been bff's since 5th grade and now live about 30 minutes from each other...it's total bliss.

96% of my memories that make me laugh until I cry involve the crazy shenanigans that we got into between the ages of 10-24. To be continued... :)

Her order consisted of:

Chocolate Fudge White Chocolate Layer Cake with Peanut Butter White Chocolate Frosting

(she got a whole cake, not just a slice :) I just forgot to take a picture of the whole cake!)

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

and Blueberry Streusel Muffins!

Excellent choices :)

I have always wanted to own my own bakery/coffeeshop and decided to go for it after Brent and I moved from Dallas to Houston this past December.

It will be called Bluebird Bakery!

I am still in the beginning stages of getting my product out there and researching start-up costs, bakery locations, etc., but I have started taking orders through my Bluebird Bakery Facebook page.

I am planning on doing a "Bluebird Bakery" info post tomorrow, but if you would like to learn more about it, please view our page on Facebook!

-back to veggie burgers-

Do you buy pre-packaged veggie burgers or make your own? If so, what brands/recipes do you like? 

I am interested to hear your likes and dislikes on veggie burgs :) I'm a little obsessed with ordering them at restaurants but for some reason am a little disgusted at the thought of buying them pre-packaged. I feel like that would change, however, if I found a yummy pre-packed one or recipe. Thoughts?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Love

I crave some sort of food item everyday.

Today, all I wanted was a big...fat...gooey...hot...shamless...so wrong but so right chocolate chip cookie.

So here is a little tribute to the cookies that I've had in my past.

Let's start things off right with one of my best chocolate chip cookie memories at Baked in NYC...

Baked NYC Chocolate Chip Cookie

Definitely one of the best cookies ever. 

HUGE, moist, and dense. 

Sits like a rock in your tummy but is so so soooo worth it.

JD's Chippery Cookies

Next up, JD's Chippery in Dallas, TX.

These cookies taste unlike any other cookie I have ever had.

For the life of me, I can not re-create this these gems. 

Super buttery, soft, and just...perfect. 

This little cookie shop was about 7 minutes away from my work.

Priorities got a little skewed come 3:00 PM. 

Accounts payables or cookies? Hmmm...

Double Doozie from The Great American Cookie Company

Next, the classic Double Doozie from The Great American Cookie Company.

This sugary cookie-sandwich bomb will go down in history as one of my all time favorite childhood memories. Is that sad? 

Yeah, I was a little chub, so what.

These things were worth every little fat roll that jiggled as I walked around the mall...by myself...with my mom's old non-working cell phone strapped to my ear while I pretended to talk to my...friends.

And I may or may not have had head gear too. 

Extremely hot? Table for one?

Pokey O's Ice Cream Sandwich

Ok ok, let's return to Dallas and go to Pokey O's.

Oh Pokey O's. What to say about Pokey O's...

They bake all of their amazing cookies on site and pair them with your choice of Blue Bell ice cream to create a lovely little cold, but somehow still warm, ice cream sandwich.

All of their cookies are baked to perfection, so the cookies are still super soft and hug the ice cream scoop like a big bear hug. Never breaking or falling apart...just...incredible.

Jacque Torres Cookie

Now, I had to throw in a fancy smancy chocolate chip cookie - Jacque Torres' chocolate chip cookie in NYC.

There are no words. 

Just eat.

Great Harvest Cookies

Next up, Great Harvest jumba wumba cookies.

Don't let the flatness fool you, these guys are soft, rich, and bigger than your head. Fo real.

Tiny Boxwoods Cookies

Here is a picture of the hugely publicized Tiny Boxwood's chocolate chip cookies here in Houston.

I haven't ever actually eaten one because they sell out so fast! Tiny's only makes a certain number each day, and when they are gone, they're gone! Hmmmm, maybe someday :)

Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Cookie Bars

These beauts are my pride and joy: Chocolate Chip Butterscotch Cookie Bars.

I've been chowing down on these babies for about 15 years now. They never disappoint.

Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is another batch of my cookie offspring...my Fleur de Sel Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Sweet, salty, ooey, gooey greatness. NOM.

Levain Bakery Cookies

And last, but certainly not least, the cookie that I aspire to put in my face someday.

The Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie at Levain Bakery in NYC.

I CRINGE at the fact the Brent and I completely skipped over this bakery while in NYC this past September. They specialize in their 6 oz enormous, soft, warm, buttery cookies. 

Ummm, if my math is correct, that is a HALF POUND of amazing cookie goodness...and it could be mine...all mine.

Must.go.back.and.eat.cookies.

COOKIE

So there ya go. A tribute to what could be the greatest food invention of all time. 

Now go celebrate this wonderful food group. Eat cookies.

Mighty Meatball Madness & Cat Food

When we are a little low on grocery items, I somehow always have the same 3 ingredients on hand: ground venison sausage, brown rice, and frozen veggies.

I know that those foods sound a litte "bleh", but you can actually do A LOT with those ingredients!

I mean, I usually just end up making meatballs, but there are more options out there...promise.

We will review those options another day. Today, we will talk about...MEATBALLS!

Who doesn't love meatballs???

meatloaf = not fun, meatballs = way fun

I don't think I ever ate, much less made, a meatball before marrying Brent.

All of the men in our respective families are big hunters, so we ALWAYS have a freezer full of venison.

Yes, I fail miserably when it comes to any vegetarian aspirations I may have.

So I found myself making meatballs last night in the attempt to create something delicious out of our food items already on hand, and it occurred to me that I haven't ever shared my meatball recipe with you guys! 

I've been keeping the mighty meatball madness all to myself this whole time. 

Shame.

So last night's dinner consisted of Mighty Meatballs Madness with a side of Cat Food Asian Veggie Rice and a big, thick slice of buttered Great Harvest Dakota.

Not too shabby for a fridge-raiding modge-podge.

Love your life! Eat meatballs!

Mighty Meatball Madness

(4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground sausage (I use venison, but any ground protein source will do)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Meatball Glaze:

• 2 Tbsp sweet & sour sauce
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp fresh ginger root, minced
• 2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tsp Sriracha hot sauce

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the meatball glaze and set bowl aside.
3. Place all of the above meatball ingredients (just for the meatballs, not the glaze!) in a large bowl.
4. Using your hands or a large wooden spoon, mash together the meatball ingredients until well combined.
5. With your hands, grab about 2 Tbsp worth of meatball mixture and roll it into a ball shape.
6. Place meatball on an un-greased, rimmed baking sheet or casserole dish. Repeat.
7. After all of the meatballs have been formed, re-whisk the meatball glaze in the bowl and pour glaze over the top of the meatballs.
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, or until meatballs are light brown on top.
9. Using tongs, remove the meatballs from the baking sheet (or casserole dish) and place them on a large plate or shallow bowl.
10. Pour the remaining glaze from the baking sheet (or casserole dish) into a gravy boat or bowl.
11. Serve sauce with meatballs (or use as a sauce for Asian Veggie Rice) or both!

Asian Veggie Rice

(6 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups brown rice
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic power
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup frozen edamame
• 1 cup frozen broccoli florets
• 1 cup frozen sliced carrots

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized pot, mix together chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.
2. Add rice, seasonings, and butter to the pot, return to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low.
3. Simmer for 45 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
4. After rice cooks, place rice in a large bowl and cover with foil to keep warm.
5. Return pot to high heat and bring 3 cups water to a boil.
6. Place frozen veggies into boiling water and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until heated thoroughly.
7. Drain veggies and add them to the rice.
8. Mix veggies and rice around until thoroughly combined.

*To give the veggies extra flavor (and to up the whole "cat food" appearance) pour the remaining meatball glaze over the top of the veggie/rice mixture and mix thoroughly, coating the veggies and rice in the glaze. You'll die. And then come back to life to thank me for such a delicious creation.

ENJOY!

Scrounge Pizza

Brent left EARLY Saturday morning to head to Dallas for a Saturday-Sunday acupuncture seminar, so after telling him goodbye and then falling back asleep for another 3 hours, I woke up and went down to Houston to help my sister and bro-in-law move into their new home!

The move went fairly smoothly and we celebrated with burgers at The Counter for dinner. 

I ordered my usual veggie burger. 

Nom.

And the table split half sweet potato fries and half normal fries.

Heaven.

After dinner, I went home, enjoyed a scoop of ice cream, and crashed.

Sunday morning, I woke up and ate a late breakfast that consisted of my normal toast with jam and Greek yogurt, apple slices, and a giant cup of coffee.

After breakfast, I met my mom for a little bit of Sunday afternoon shopping.

Does it get any better than mother/daughter Sunday afternoon shopping trips? 

I really don't think so. Total bliss.

Since I had such a late breakfast, I really didn't get hungry again until about 3:00, so I sought out nourishment in the form of a dense and hearty granola bar.

I let my granola bar nourishment settle and then laced up my tennies at 3:00 PM for a quick 7 miles.

Around 5:30 PM, Brent returned home from his Dallas trip.

We spent about an hour talking about our weekends and Trump 2012, watching the Masters, etc., and then we started to talk about a very important subject.

Dinner.

After going back and forth on whether or not we would order a pizza or scrounge around the kitchen and make something, scrounging won.

Introducing...Scrounge Pizza.

I've made Scrounge Rice, Scrounge Pasta, and Scrounge Pitas before, but never Scrounge Pizza.

Verdcit? 

Scrounge Pizza = Party In My Mouth

It was delicious. 

We used up a bunch of random food items that would have otherwise gone to waste.

Aaaannddd, we saved $$!!!

I cut this bad boy into 10 squares and started us each off with 3 squares and a side of Ranch dressing for dipping (no other way to eat pizza).

I ended up going back for one more piece while Brent went back for the remaining 3 :)

This pizza was GOOD, but I was still wanting to eat even after 4 squares, so I satisfied my hunger with a medium-sized organic gala apple.

And then, or course, a large scoop of Breyers Waffle Cone ice cream a little later.

So, the moral of this blog post: Before spending money on restaurant/take-out food, look into your fridge, freezer, and/or pantry, review your ingredients on hand, and try to create something! 

I think you will be surprised at how delicious the outcome can be!

 Scrounge Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 tube seamless crescent dough (Pillsbury)
• 1/2 cup pizza sauce (Ragu)
• 6 slices provolone cheese, cut in half
• 1 cup pepperoni slices (or however much you like)
• 2 slices thick cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 cups spinach leaves
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp grated Asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly grease foil with cooking spray.
3. Roll out crescent dough onto lightly greased foil, and using a rolling pin (or the Pam spray can), roll out dough until thin and even in thickness.
4. Spread pizza sauce on dough.
5. Top pizza sauce with pepperoni and bacon.
6. Place provolone cheese slices on top of meat (the cheese slices won't completely cover the pizza but will spread out once it melts).
7. Sprinkle spinach leaves on top of provolone cheese.
8. In a small bowl, mix together onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, Parmesan cheese, Asiago cheese, and red pepper flakes.
9. Sprinkle cheese/seasoning mixture over spinach.
10. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until edges of pizza are golden in color.
11. Let cool for a few minutes, then slice and serve!

ENJOY!