HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!
Today I’m coming at you with some more Thursday Thoughts and, of course, I’m joining Amanda‘s link-up party!
It may not come as a surprise that my thoughts today are mostly about – what else – CHRISTMAS!
Tag: recipes
Chili on a Hot Day… (Plus a COLD Smoothie Recipe)
Last night, my mom and I cooked up a nice big pot of chili. Perfect way to ‘chill’ out on a 95 degree day, no?
Yeah…not exactly.
Luckily, we’re fortunate enough to have central air, so we can still make hot meals during the hot summer months.
As promised, here is the chili recipe (from a Taste of Home cookbook) that I love to make any time of year!
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Hunter’s Chili
- Prep: 20 min. Cook: 1-1/2 hours
- Yield: 18 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked bratwurst links (*I use kielbasa)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 1 large green pepper, chopped
- 4 cups water
- 1 to 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
- 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
- 2 cans (16 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cans (4 ounces each) mushroom stems and pieces, drained
- 3 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 bay leaves
Directions
- In a 6-qt. Dutch oven or soup kettle over medium heat, brown bratwurst; drain. Remove and thinly slice; return to pan along with beef, onion and green pepper.
- Cook over medium heat until beef is browned and onion is tender; drain. Add all remaining ingredients. Cover and simmer for 1-2 hours. Discard bay leaves before serving.
- Yield: 14-18 servings (4-1/2 quarts).
Nutritional Facts 1 serving (1 cup) equals 212 calories
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The final product! It was a tad more liquid-y than normal because we halved the recipe and didn’t include some of the ingredients (pinto beans, mushrooms, some of the tomato sauce).
I actually liked it a bit more broth-y because it was perfect for dipping my beloved rolls into!
I finished a superb day of eats with an ice cream cone at my friend’s house. Nothing says summertime quite like a belly full of chili and ice cream! Well, maybe not the chili part…
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This morning was a whirlwind. From the moment I woke up, it was go, go go!
It was one of those days where there’s no time to waste making a meal, but you need the fuel more than ever, so I took 5 minutes out of the chaos to blend up a quick smoothie:
Strawberry Banana Protein Smoothie
-1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
-1/2 cup cold water (more or less depending on what thickness you like)
-1/2 frozen banana
-4 or 5 frozen strawberries
-small handful frozen spinach
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I also snacked on a hardboiled egg for some additional protein to power me through my morning.
I worked from 8:30-2:30 without taking a break for lunch (I ate my egg around 9 and sipped on my smoothie as slowly as possible until I finished it around 10). Going that long was rough to say the least, and by the time I got home I was famished.
I practically sprinted into my house and reached for whatever I could get my hands on fast enough and lunch ended up being quite a hodgepodge of things.
I’m usually a slow, savor-every-bite kind of eater, but today I managed to scarf down a wheat wrap with almond butter, cinnamon, and banana slices, way more than a normal serving size of BBQ pop chips, a glass of vanilla almond milk, and a white nectarine in possibly less time than it just took me to write that.
After ‘lunch’, I got right to work on some internship stuff, then did a quick workout, and then ate a few large handfuls of almonds and an apple.
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Finalllllly, I was able to relax, take a nice long shower, and sit down to eat dinner with the fam.
The steamed broccoli looks pretty lame, but that was only half of the side order and I went back for the second half after I wolfed down the wrap (filled with grilled chicken, avocado, hummus, veggies, and raspberry vinaigrette).
I guess I was am a hungry girl today…
Now it’s time to hang with some of my friends who I haven’t seen in quite some time since we’ve all been so darn busy. Not sure what exactly we’re going to do, but I can quite confidently predict that ice cream is on the agenda! 😉
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Hope your Friday is going well, and that you have an amazing weekend!! 🙂
Lately
As I keep saying, I’ve been super busy lately but through all the work and craziness, I’ve had one thing on my mind – this blog!
I’ve been attempting to take lots of (discreet) pictures of my meals lately, because 1) they’ve been delish and 2) I want to share them with you!
So, here are some of the things I’ve been nommin’ lately.
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On Monday night, my mom and I made Julie‘s Healthy Italian Meatloaf. We had never made this recipe before, but we love her BBQ Meatloaf, so we figured this one would be just as tasty!
Once again, another one of Julie’s recipes did not disappoint!
*Side note: The rolls that are basically always pictured on my plate are Multi-Grain Pepperidge Farm Stone Baked Artisan Dinner Rolls.
(source)
I know “multigrain” is not always the best choice for bread products, and I generally choose whole grain/wheat, but these are so good I just can’t resist. I probably have one for dinner about three times a week! Basically all my other grains are whole, which is what I recommend.
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While watching The Bachelorette on Monday night, I sampled a few scoops of the Cookies N Cream SO Delicious Coconut Milk Non-Dairy Frozen Dessert that my friend had in her freezer.
I wasn’t expecting it to taste so coconut-y, but I was pleasantly surprised! It certainly doesn’t taste like normal dairy ice cream, but it’s light and refreshing! I would definitely have it again!
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Last night, the boy and I went to California Pizza Kitchen! We love all their food, especially their pizza and salads! I especially love the Waldorf Chicken salad, which is “A right-coast classic with a left-coast makeover. Grapes, green apples, candied walnuts, crisp celery, field greens and Gorgonzola tossed with housemade Dijon balsamic vinaigrette”.
I also am obsessed with this bad boy.
That would be the California Veggie, “Decked out with fresh vegetables! Baby broccoli, eggplant, corn, red onions, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, Mozzarella and tomato sauce”. I always get it on the honey-wheat with whole grain crust, and I finish it all by myself every single time. I’m telling you, I can really put it away ;).
After digesting for a few hours, my stomach began to growl. Around 10:00, I scoped out his freezer and found this little guy.
(source)
Oh my gosh. The perfect size, the perfect flavor, the perfect nighttime treat. LOVE it.
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Lately for breakfast I’ve been whipping up microwave mug eggs with salsa, and a smoothie. I love the warm, savory eggs paired with the cold, sweet smoothie! The perfect combo on a summer morning.
They may not be the most pleasing to the eye, but they sure do please my grumbling belly!
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I know I keep saying it, but I really want to start posting some recipes and workouts (I’ve done a lot of good ones lately!!). I also realize I’ve been slacking in the fashion posts department :(, mostly because I’ve been lazy with my outfits and just wearing running shorts and tanks. Once my internship/work schedule becomes more regular, I’m hoping I can find the time to make this blog everything I want it to be… and more!
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I just ate dinner (an awesome chili recipe I will share probably in my next post), and now I’m off to walk my neighbor’s golden retrievers and then head to my friend’s house to hang out!
Hope your week is going well! It’s almost the weekend!! 🙂
Cookin’ Up a Storm
So, lately I’ve been cookin’ up a storm over here! During the summer, I absolutely love to help my mom make dinner for the family. I email her recipes I find and we make them together, or she teaches me some of her ‘classics’. I try to be home for dinner just about every week night during summer vacay so I can help her cook and have some fam time. Friday and Saturday are takeout/ out to dinner nights at our house, so that’s when I tend to go out to eat with my friends (although I do eat out with the fam a lot too).
I love experimenting and making things like turkey burgers with avocado or mango salsa, salmon with all sorts of different toppings, different types of chilies and meat loafs, quesadillas, homemade pizzas, and yummy side dishes. It’s so fun when my family tries what we make and guesses what the ‘secret ingredient’ is and gives us feedback. Cooking is definitely a hobby of mine and something I look forward to doing more of in the future.
Tonight I made flatbreads and quesadillas with Flatout Healthy Grain Flatbreads, salsa, mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken, black beans, all sorts of veggies, and The Laughing Cow Light Mozzarella, Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil.
Last night, my mom and I made stuffed peppers using one of her old recipes. I don’t know the exact ingredients/measurements but I know we used lean ground beef, tomato sauce, onion, tomato, half a cup of brown rice, a little mozzarella cheese and some spices. We ate them with fresh whole grain rolls and Olivio spread. They were scrumptious and super pretty, but I forgot to take a photo until after I started eating mine. Whoopsies.
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Some Thoughts to Share
I really want to start posting recipes for breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, and desserts, as well as more workouts and outfits of the day! As soon as I’m all settled into my internship/ work schedule, I’m hoping I can find the time to fix up this blog and make it all I want it to be.
I hate how unprofessional it looks with no organized categories, low quality photos, and no rhyme or reason to anything. I’m obsessed with the whole blog world and I want so badly to be a part of it, so it frustrates me that mine is looking so crappy when I know exactly the direction I want to take it. I just don’t have the time, experience, or means to really get there right now. (I am not making excuses at all here – more just justifying to myself why it’s okay this isn’t ‘perfect’).
That is NOT at all to say that I’m not proud of what I’ve done so far because, in all actuality, just the fact that I even have a blog is surreal to me.
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So anyway, now that my little confessional rant is over, I just want to share a few things I’ve been up to in the past couple days.
Yesterday, the boy was off from work so he and I got some Subway sandwiches (um hello, Turkey & Avocado on 9 Grain Wheat, where have you been all my life?) and had a little picnic outside in a local park and then swung on swings at a playground. It was fun to run around in the bright summer sun and just be young. Sometimes us young adults are so focused on our futures that we forget that we can still let our inner child out every now and again. Carefree days like that remind me how the little things – a sunny day, a completely free afternoon and laughter – are really what life is all about.
Speaking of the little things, we also enjoyed soft serve vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles – a summertime classic. So simple. So, so good. (I enjoyed mine so much that I realized I wanted to take a picture of it’s perfection the second I finished. Typical.)
On that tasty note, I’m out!
Hope your week is going well! Catch y’all latahhh!