Mac and Goat Cheese…

Good evening!!!    Well I am back at home…YET AGAIN.  This time it is for Easter Break.  It’s a nice size break, too… Thursday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday.  This semester is FLYING by…before you know it spring semester will come to an end and summer will be here!  And then I will be a senior…AH! anyways… I have been wanting to try Sweet Cheek’s in the Kitchen’s recipe for Goat Mac and Cheese for awhile now and tonight I finally got around to making it.

This recipe is so easy to make and tastes great!! My whole family loved it…even my daddio…a hard man to please to say the least 😉

Yield: 4 servings

3/4 pound macaroni pasta
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
One 9-ounce bag spinach
Salt and pepper
6 ounces goat cheese, broken into chunks
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1.In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and return to the pot.

2.Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, spinach and the reserved pasta water and cook until heated through, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir into the pasta along with the goat cheese. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the walnuts on top.

blah…I am beyond stuffed right now. well worth it though…Enjoy the rest of your night!!

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sloppy joe… sloppy sloppy joe…

Today I decided to try to make a sloppy joe (I’ve actually never had one before)— but not a real sloppy joe….a vegetarian version (still going strong on No Meat March… holla!).  I present to you… Lentil Sloppy Joes (from Veganomicon).

makes 4-6 sloppy joes

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
1 green pepper, diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
8 oz can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon yellow mustard (wet mustard)

4 to 6 kaiser rolls or sesame buns (I used sandwich thins)

Directions
Put the lentils in a small sauce pot and pour in 4 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

About 10 minutes before the lentils are done boiling, preheat a medium soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute a minute more.

Add the cooked lentils, the chili powder, oregano and salt and mix. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.

Turn the heat off and let sit for about 10 minutes, so that the flavors can meld, or go ahead and eat immediately if you can’t wait. I like to serve these open faced, with a scoop of snobby joe on each slice of the bun.

not beautiful pictures but can a sloppy joe really make for a good picture? Maybe If I snapped a picture of me shoving it in my face that would have been better. hahaha…considering that I do not have anything to compare this to (since this is my first “sloppy joe”) its hard to say how it compares to others….but all I know is that I really really enjoyed this.  and it was alot of fun to eat 😉 ….  I made extras so I can have another one for lunch one day, too!!! woohooo

Today was a very productive day…I do not think I have sat down to relax and do nothing once all day (maybe Ill do that after I post this up?).  I went to bed last night at 9 PM… no that is not a typo.  This weekend pretty much killed me…I went out a lot and didnt sleep very much…Im a loser and am not used to going out all of the time okay? hahah… I couldnt even function by the time night rolled around…so instead of trying to fight through fatigue— I went to bed.

I woke up at the crack of dawn and went to a spinning class at the gym (sometimes it is nice to GO to a spinning class rather than TEACH it.  I dont have to worry about anything or anyone…and I am able to truly enjoy the ride).  When I got home from classes today I threw three loads of laundry in and cleaned the apartment from top to bottom…..while singing along to my ipod.  at one point our neighbor walked in on me softscrubbing the kitchen counter and singing along to an Eminem song (no im not a gangsta yo…my ipod was on shuffle! haha) pretty funny.  anyway- now I am doing some homework for tomorrow and then off to bed early again (a little later than 9pm tonight I think! haha).

Hope you all had a nice start to your week…looking forward to this 80 degree weather coming our way at the end of the week 😉

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Teavolve cafe

This afternoon I finally made it to teavolve cafe!!!  Teavolve is a cafe in downtown baltimore (fells point)- that Ashley always raves about.   It has has been on my “to-try” list for quite some time now and so my best friend, Lauren, and I decided to go there for a late lunch today!  It was so cute inside… Lauren described it as “swanky” hahah love her

We started off with some drinks- I got loose leaf Jasmine Green tea in an awesome green pot and Lauren got pomegranate cold tea latte.  both were awesome!

For lunch Lauren ordered the Apple cinnamon stuffed french toast (Topped With House Made Chantilly Cream, Shaved Semi Sweet Chocolate).

lauren posing with her french toast hahah

I got the grilled veggie panini (grilled eggplant, portabella and zucchini, roasted red peppers, artichoke hearts, tomato/garlic pesto)

We both LOVED what our meals…I will definitely be going back here again!  Everything on the menu just sounded SO GOOD!  Thanks for the suggestion, Ashley!

well…time to start up some homework…Ive been a lazy bum for too long now and it must come to an end!!!!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!!   😉

p.s. just an FYI- my sister and I have decided to combine our blogs and create a whole new one together (with its own domain name).  We probably will not do it until the summer (once things with school settle down a bit)…but I am very excited!! now we just have to think of a name for it….

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sammy adams

I am using this playlist for tonight’s class. I entitled it “sammy adams”…after track numero dos.  I have a good feeling about this playlist… I will recap later on how the class went!

total workout time: 50.5 minutes (not counting the last two tracks…they are for cooldown)

My friend drew introduced me to the song “driving me crazy” by Sammy Adams.  I thought it was a really awesome song…good beat…perfect for spinning… Check it out!!

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stepping it up a notch

I’ve being doing treadmill intervals for awhile now and have kept the speeds/incline relatively the same. Today,  I decided to step it up a notch and challenge myself to increase the speed.  I used the basic 3 and 5’s interval but increased each speed by 2.

*since this was my first time doing 3 and 5’s at this speed I kept the incline at only  0.5

3 minute warm up at 6.5

Part 1

3 minutes 7.0

3 intervals 8.2, 7.0,8.2

3 minutes 7.0

3 minutes 6.5 (should have been 6.7 but I was tired, okay?)

Part 2

5 minutes 7.0

5 intervals 8.2,7.0,8.2, 7.0, 8.2

5 minutes 7.0

5 minutes 6.5

Part 3

3 minutes 7.4

3 minutes 8.8, 7.4,8.8

3 minutes 7.4

cooldown

this kicked my buttocks.  I was dripping in sweat by the end…I wonder if anyone at the gym noticed my disgusting self? haha  But I was glad I challenged myself…I felt so great afterwards!  I did the same thing in Body Pump last week and it really made all the difference. I feel much stronger now and now I know what I am capable of! anyone out there dabble in body pump classes?

in other news… Meatless March is going really well!  I dont find myself craving meat very much at all…except for bison burgers…dont ask why haha (I feel like im preggo or something haha).  I dont see myself ever turning completely veg but I will save that for another post…

hope you all had a nice start to the week!

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Congratulations Bill & Megan!

This weekend my cousin, Billy (well I guess it is “bill” now haha) got married to his beautiful bride, Megan!  The weather could not have been more perfect!!  The reception was at the Borgata (a casino in Atlantic City)….such a pretty/fun reception!  Here are some photos of the day/night:

megan and bill at the alter

my sisters with our mommom and poppop outside of the church

did some gambling before the reception...my dad and my sister's boyfriend, todd, almost one 4000! close...but no cigar haha

my familia 😉

sisters

the main table. dance floor was on top of the pool!!

cake yummm

the bride and groom dancing together

sisters

my daddio and I

me, mary, and my mom

What was the highlight of your weekend?

have a great start to the week…see you soon!

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checking in….

remember way back in december/january when we all made our new years resolutions?  I was thinking about mine the other day and I decided to check in with them to see how I been doing!

• Learn how to deal with stress in a better way- when I am faced with difficult circumstances such as a loved one passing away or a tough school load- I would like to learn how to deal with the situation in a better way instead of keeping it bottled up.

I must say that I have been doing muchhhh better with this….but always room to improve!

• Have a bit more fun this semester (which should be a bit easier since I lightened up my course load a little bit- stil wont be a walk in the park though!)

definitely can check off this one… I am having so much fun this semester- while studying hard at the same time of course

• Do well in my classes

ehhh…I am doing very well in all of my classes except one!  but Ive been really working hard in the class- so I guess we will see how i do on the next exam?

• floss everyday!!!!

everyday? no. but almost everyday? yeppers.

• if I do not end up getting in a charity for the Boston Marathon- train for another race- 10 miler or half-marathon

I didnt get into a charity for the boston marathon (sigh*)…buttt ill be watching my sister run it. andddd in may I signed up for a 10 miler in philly!

• find time each day for myself- whether it is going on a run outside, writing in my diary, praying at night, just sitting in silence for a bit, or practicing yoga

i do find time for myself- but I wouldnt say each day.  I do yoga alot, write in my journal (but not as much as I would like to), go running, pray at night etc. but not everyday.  Id like to start doing yoga every morning (even if it’s just 20 minutes)… definitely a good way to relax before starting the day!

• be a better person

how broad is this one? haha I think I am a good person (or I hope) and I feel like no one will never truly achieve this one– there is always room for improvement. but I try to be the best person I can be everyday so I guess I am doing well on this eh?

• wear real clothes…AKA not workout clothes everyday

okay this one is hard for me.  my new roommates are very into fashion so that does help. but every so often I cannot resist the urge to wear my running shoes, running shorts/yoga pants/etc.  and then people ask me…”are you going to the gym?” no..just to class. haha.  but I will say that I get dressed for class about 3 days a week? sometimes 2.  much better than last year. but maybe i should step it up a notch haha

• work on my cooking skills!!!!!

this is another thing that is ongoing…I know a lot about cooking now but still have tonsss to learn.

• While I would normally put…FIND SOMEONE (as in a guy haha) I honestly dont care about this anymore!  Over christmas my mommom (grandmom) told me to find someone who loves me more than I love him and someone that would die for me.  haha…those are some pretty tough standards I must say.  But I think she is right in a way!  Anyway… I feel like I do not need to worry about finding anyone at this point.  Why not just have fun with people and be myself?  I mean I would love to find someone obviously…who doesnt?  But where is the fire people!?  Eventually I will find someone…but for now Im just going to be myself and have some fun, okay? okay.

doing very well with this….holla!  Throughout this school year I have become much more comfortable with “me”.  Made some mistakes, sure…. but I dont regret mistakes I make in life (for the most part anyway)…just gives you something to learn from for the next time.  anyways…hopefully things will work out one day but I am going to just enjoy life right now!!!

• never lose sight of how lucky I am.  Sometimes I take what I have for granted.  I have an awesome life, a great family, amazing parents and two awesome sisters (plus two pups ).  Sometimes its easy to overlook the gifts you have in your life.  and you honestly never know when these things will be gone forever.

well i do realize how lucky I am. but sometimes when I fight with my parents/sisters I feel like I am being selfish and being disrespectful and that maybe I should step back and realize how stupid the argument is and instead realize that they are the people that i love the most in this world and that I Should not be fighting with them. but I guess we all fight with loved ones? I dunno.. hmmm…

• be more careful with my moola!

I hands down suck at this!  someone help me…I am broke!!

• become a good golfer…okay maybe a decent golfer…orrr just a good enough that I can finish 18 (or close to it) holes with my daddio haha

I wont be able to work on this one until the summer.  anddd I am now an official member at a golf resort near my house- since my dad is a member so am I.  so hopefully this summer Ill be able to get out there and work on my “Game” haha (or lack there of

well there you have it!

how are you doing with your new years resolutions???

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Spinach Fettuccine with Yogurt Cream Sauce

Last night I made Spinach Fettuccine with Yogurt Cream Sauce from Self Magazine

INGREDIENTS

• spinach fettuccine
• Vegetable oil cooking spray (not alot…just enough to coat pan)
• little bit of EVOO
• zucchini, thinly sliced
• yellow squash, thinly sliced
• red bell pepper, cored, seeded and sliced
• garlic, thinly sliced
• little bit of low-sodium chicken broth
• little bit of nonfat Greek yogurt
• fresh basil, chopped
• reduced-fat Parmesan
• little bit of light cream
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta as directed on package; drain. Set aside. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat; add oil. Add zucchini, squash, bell pepper and garlic. Reduce heat to low; cook until pepper begins to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Add broth; cook until all vegetables are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat; add pasta, yogurt, basil, cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Toss and serve immediately. (if you click the link I have at the top of this post- it will direct you to the self magazine webpage- with exact measurements of ingredients with nutritional stats as well…I didnt really measure anything out…)

even though I forgot the greek yogurt (how did I forget this important ingredient– dummy dummy!) this was still really good.  I liked how it tasted like a version of a classic italian dish- fettuccine alfredo 😉  Definitely recommend making this…and this was still creamy WITHOUT the yogurt so I could only imagine how much more awesome it would be with the yogurt!  (more awesome…is that correct? haha)

question: do you have any recipes that are a “lighter version” of classic favorites?

enjoy…have a great day!!

WAIT!!! dont you X out my blog just yet…head over to Holly’s blog– she is doing a rachel ray pan giveaway!! hollaaaa

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whipped ricotta banana oatmeal

Good morning!  This morning I decided to try a new oatmeal concoction that my sister found on Iowa Girl Eat’s Blog.  It looked pretty awesome so I decided to give it a try for myself.

• 1/3 C oats
• 2/3 C water
• 1/2 T chia seeds
• sliced banana (added at the beginning- and whipped with a wooden spoon while cooking)
• 1/4 c ricotta cheese (added in at the end)
• cinnamon
• vanilla
• Almond Butter to top

verdict?

LOVED IT!!  this was so creamy, fluffy, and delicioussss.  Definitely going to making this again. and this is a perfect way to use up some extra ricotta that I always seem to have lying around!

Next up…my trip to NYC for the workout DVD!  My 2 sisters, my sister’s boyfriend, and I went to nyc to shoot a workout dvd for a guy by the name of Joel Harper (he is a personal trainer for a lot of celebrities including Dr. Oz…and i believe Oprah as well).  The workout dvd is called Fit pack.  (oh and we got the “gig” (haha) through my sister’s boyfriend- who is friends with Joel).  There are different sections to the dvd. My sister and I did the cardio section and my other sister (danielle) and her boyfriend did the core part.   It was sooo much fun!

When we got there they did our hair and put a little makeup on us.  Then Joel went through some of the moves that Mary and I had to do with him.  It was so hot once we got on stage (with all of the lights and such) and we taped the cardio part in sections- and the great part about it was if you messed up at all it really didnt matter because they would just cut that portion out.  When we did certain moves Joel would have one of us to the advanced version and the other do the beginner version. the advanced versions were not very easy!  I was sweating so much at the end and joel was sitting there screaming “COME ON CHRISTINA HIGHER HIGHER!” hahaha.  but don’t worry- I didnt have to do all the advanced moves- mary and I took turns- thank goodness for that.  They would hold up signs telling us to “smile” but it was weird- I didnt want to grin for ear to ear and it was hard to when you were doing a certain move…. I feel like I must have looked so stupid!! haha anyway- the whole experience was awesome.  I hope I dont look like a dummy in the dvd though.  Hopefully they will cut out the bad parts hahah

Here are a few pictures from the day:

Mary and I

mar, me, and danielle

thought this one was kind of funny haha

Afterwards we ventured across the street to Chelsea Market….has anyone ever been there before (its where Rachel Ray shoots her 30 minute meal show and where she buys all of her ingredients!)? Its basically a huge market with private venders selling a bunch of different things- really cool! Mary and I grabbed a veggie sandwich, sweet potato fries, and gelato (we were hungry- we hadnt eaten since breakfast! ahh!)- all of which were AWESOME- Im still dreaming about it in fact hahah- and then I got back on the train for home sweet home (baltimore!).

the weekend was great but I am still exhaustedddd…and to top it off I have a cold now!  hopefully it goes away soon! and hopefully I can manage to catch up on some lost sleep soon!

okay- well that is the update on my life- I have to go to class now!! have a wonderful day!

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TGIF

Hey everyone!

I am so happy this week is finally over.  It is has been a stressful week- between spring break and easter break we have three weeks of school- and in those three weeks they hit you pretty hard.

But what really topped off my week was what happened in my spinning class last night.  A girl (she comes to my classes pretty regularly) had a seizure.  We were climbing out of the saddle and at then someone screamed  “CHRISTINA!” and I look up and the girl was completely unconscious, feet still strapped in, chin hitting the handle bars.  I immediately threw off my microphone and ran over to her bike and screamed for people to go get help and to call 9-1-1.  I unstrapped her feet and lead her to the ground.  Before getting her on the ground she was completely unresponsive- eyes rolled back,etc- but once we got her on the ground she started to become more aware of what was going on.  A little while later- once the ambulance, etc arrived- she told us she had a history of seizures and had medicine in her bag (supposedly she had not had a seizure in a long time).    I am just relieved that she was okay.  She is lucky she fell forward versus sideways- she really could have hurt herself otherwise.

But the entire thing just shocked me.  You obviously are trained for situations like this but who ever thinks that something will actually happen? And when did I become a responsible adult? seems like just yesterday I was 6 years old without a worry in the whole world and now Im responsible for the lives of each person who attends my classes.  I was shaking for about an hour and half after the whole thing happened.  absolutely unreal.  I cannot stop thinking about it.  It’s things like this that make you mature pretty damn quickly.

Some brigher news- Im going home to philly today to my sisters’ apartment.  On Sunday my sisters and I (plus my sister’s boyfriend) are shooting a workout dvd!  It’s Dr. Oz’s personal trainer (named Joel) who is shootting the dvd- and Dr. Oz will be staring in it, too! I am so excited.  My sister and I will be  doing the Cardio part and my other sister and her boyfriend are doing Abs.  I am a little nervous though- I feel like everyone will be super skinny and jacked and then there will be me in the corner- the normal one. haha.  It could be a good thing, though…maybe the people who buy the DVD will be think hey if that normal girl can do it…so can I! hahaha  It will be a fun time though- definitely something different to say the least- and they do your hair for you and I believe your makeup as well.  Im bringing my camera along so I can snap photos of the day (and perhaps of Dr.Oz? haha).  I will update you on how everything goes when I get home!

Well I have to go to class now and then catch the train for philly…have a nice weekend

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