Bueller?

Posted on July 11, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

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Anyone ever have one of those days where you are physically present, but wonder where in the world your mind went? Well, I seem to be having one of those summers…apparently my brain is chilling poolside at some resort in Cabo while I’m stuck in this 100 degree 500% humidity we call Hades Tennessee.

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Seriously?!

Today, I took a look around and realized that my “absence” is starting to catch up with me. Behold the following evidence.

Exhibit A: The GINORMOUS eggplant I just had to have from the farmers market over a week ago

…sad little bugger…

I totally forgot about him! 🙁

Exhibit B: Remember this guy?

Tell me something, how is it that it’s already July and I have failed to even open the box?!

Exhibit C: The icing on the cake if you will.

This would be the salad that I made for lunch the other day. The salad that I placed in the FREEZER after taking 10 minutes to chop all the frickin vegetables for!

Exhibit D: Google Reader Overload!

Hey bloggies, I promise I haven’t forgotten about you guys!

Miss you!

Exhibit E: The fact that the dishwasher has been full of dirty dishes for TWO days and I have yet to put soap in it and start it…and I’m out of spoons…and forks…

Is it running right now?

Of course not!

SO WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING?

I.have.no.clue!

Well, other than finding even MORE ways to incorporate my BBQ PB&J addiction?…wait, no I had that right

ADDICTION!

{Peanut butter pancakes layered with BBQ spice spike cottage cheese and topped with FROG preserves}

Hmm, why do I have an Amy Winehouse song in my head now?

No…no…noooooo!

😉

Where has the time gone? How in the world did I use to work full time, go to school full time, AND have a life? Who can I pay to come over and make me ice cream? Just what exactly can’t I put BBQ seasoning on?

These are the questions I ask myself on a somewhat daily basis

Well, while I may be mentally check out on many things, there is one thing I don’t have question…

For those of you in blogworld who haven’t heard, the beautiful and talented Susan of The Great Balancing Act was recently diagnosed with lymphoma. As a health care provider, I understand the high costs of medical treatment which is why it warms my heart so much to see our community of bloggers banding together for such a great cause.

Mark your calendars and prepare to bid!

The Great Fundraising Act
July 25, 2011

Now, the only question that is truly important:

What goodies to donate?

Everything-But-Sugar Oatmeal Cookies?

orrrrrrrrr

PB&J Hummus Balls and a jar of the infamous FROG?

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

Lasagna Pancakes

Posted on July 10, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

I know what you’re thinking.

What in the world? Has this girl bumped her head?

Please, allow me to explain…

Remember last night’s dinner inspiration ala whole foods sampling man?

Well, even though he is probably old enough to be my grandfather, I’ve decided that we’re going to marry and have little half-Italian babies together.

Or I guess I could take the easier (and more sensible) route and just buy more of this pasta sauce!

Dinner REALLY hit the spot last night…

So much so that, when I woke up this morning, it was all I could think about.

Hmm, so how exactly do you incorporate a pasta sauce into a Pancake Sunday celebration?

Lasagna, meet your pancake cousin!

Spinach Lasagna Pancakes: (serves 1)

  • 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic
  • 1/8 teaspoon each salt & pepper
  • 1 teaspoon grated (or finely minced) onion
  • 1 whole egg
  • 1 handful of spinach
  • 1 tablespoon fresh basil
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
  • ~ 1/8 cup water
  • 1/2 cup cottage cheese (I processed mine in my Magic Bullet to make it creamy)
  • 1/4 cup marinara sauce

1. Preheat a non-stick skillet to medium heat and coat with cooking spray.
2. Combine flour and spices in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
3. Whisk together egg and onion and set aside.
4. Combine spinach, basil, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of water in a blender 0r Magic       Bullet and process until thin.
5. Add spinach “juice” to egg and onion mixture and stir to combine.
6. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, adding just enough water to thin batter as needed (I used about 1/8 cup).

This is the consistency you’re going for
(not too thin or you’ll flatten your cakes)

7. Ladle batter into skillet (I made 2 medium-sized cakes) and allow to cook approximately 3-5 minutes per side.
8. Top/layer cakes with cottage cheese (or ricotta) and prepared marinara.

So colorful.

So delicious.

So gone.

So going to be my dinner tonight! 😉

What’s your favorite Italian dish?
I’m a total sucker for manicotti…or really anything with a super creamy cheesy sauce/filling!

Posted in Breakfast, Entree, Pancake Sunday | Tagged , , , , , | 28 Comments

Fueled by the Coffee

Posted on July 9, 2011 by kissmybroccoli

Hey guys and gals! Hope you are all having a great weekend so far! After reading all the comments on yesterday’s post, I see I’m not the only one who’s so easily amused by things…so, I thought y’all would enjoy this spam message I found in my comment inbox today:

 

Spam messages kill me, but this one tops them all!
Bahaha!

Anywho! I had quite a workout earlier today…I’ve been trying hard to strengthen my upper body, so today I incorporated something new…weighted grocery bag bicep curls!

Grr!

This afternoon, I headed to Nashville to meet a good friend for lunch. Annnnd well, you know how it is…

Trip to Nashville = Grocery Shopping Extravaganza!*

*otherwise known as a Whole Food’s and Trader Joe’s run, but you guys no I can’t contain my excitement! 😉 

So I packed the necessities, and made my way to the land of milk and honey wild-caught fish and organic coffee!

My super sexy insulated tote bag!
Found this baby at Sam’s Club for less than 10 bucks!

Annnd an iced cawfee for the road!

First: Trader Joe’s!

  • Horseradish Hummus*
  • Bread ‘n Buttah Pickles
  • Coconut Milk
  • Sweet & Spicy Mustard
  • Big ol’ Pretzels (I totally bought the pretzels to go with the mustard…not the other way around!) 😉
  • Olive Oil Cooking Spray
  • Organic Fair Trade Coffee
  • Instant De-caf Coffee
  • 100% Pure Maple Syrup (the only syrup that should EVER touch a pancake!)
  • Roasted Crunchy Almond Butter with Flax
  • Extra Firm Tofu
  • Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
  • Dried Turkish Figs
  • Tempeh x 2
  • 2 Pure Bars (new to me)
  • and my favorite (chocolate peppermint stick) Luna Bar!
*Hilarious that after I saw this post of Sarah’s and decided I was going to make my own horsey hummus, that I broke down and bought it instead! Hey, what can I say…I’m all for instant gratification! And for the record: it’s DEElicious!

I also found a single girl-sized watermelon (I hate buying a huge one just for myself) and a basil plant forrrrrr 3 bucks!!

I shall call him “Guido”!

Hmm, now that I have Frankie G. and Guido, maybe I should look into a pet cow so I can make my own mozzarella! Everybody come over to Heather’s for a Margherita pizza party!

Next up: Whole Foods:

  • Mucho Macho Pasta Sauce (proof that sampling really does work!)
  • Organic Canned Pumpkin (I am fully aware that this is not going to even hold a candle to good ol’ Libby’s but I can’t take the pumpkin deprivation any longer!)
  • Organic Figs
  • Semolina Linguine
  • Kashi Go Lean (on sale for $2.99!)
  • Tri-color Shells
  • Bulk Nooch and Whole Wheat Pastry Flour hiding in the back
  • Raw Sugar
  • Organic Unsweetened Apple Sauce
  • Purple Sweet Potato (Eeee! So excited to try this!)
  • Frozen Raspberries for more crack sauce!
  • 2% Chobani (free with coupon…score!)
  • Maple Flavoring (I’m seriously in love with this stuff!)
  • Pavino Cheese (another sampling seduction)
  • Super duper fresh (as in came in TODAY) wild-caught jumbo shrimpies!*

*And I totally paid the extra 2 bucks to have them deveined and cleaned! Haha!

Never be afraid to speak up at that cash register! I thought these babies were $3.99 (5 minute internal battle ensued before placing them in the buggy), but they scanned for $4.99. When I kindly asked the cashier to void them out since I thought they were cheaper than that, she said, “oh, they’re on me!”

I think this goes without saying: the best things figs in life are

FREE!

Thank you Pasta Sauce Sample Man for the inspiration for dinner for tonight!

Last Stop: Starbucks!

Another one of my new-found addictions
De-caffeinated to justify the habit!

Whew! It’s been a long and busy day! On top of all this, I actually got up early this morning and met my running buddy for a 3 miler and a yoga class AND ran to the farmer’s market in town to pick up my pre-ordered grass fed finished beef (woot woot!)

I think I need another iced coffee!

I joke, I joke!
😉

What did you do today?

Are you a sucker for buying something once you “sample” it?

Posted in Shopping | Tagged , , | 18 Comments