Adobo Veggies and Quinoa with Hummus Sauce

I HAVE BEEN CRAVING PASTA WITH SOME KIND, ANY KIND, OF PASTA SAUCE!!! But. Today is the last day of my 7-day cleanse. So I remained true to it. And figured out a way to create a sauce out of hummus. It turned out so creamy like an Alfredo! Incredible. My students rant and rave about Abodo seasoning, so I used that while sautéing the veggies. Boiled the quinoa in water and lemon and a splash of low sodium soy sauce. Added beans and the spicy red pepper hummus at the end with an extra few squirts of lemon. WOW. It wasn't pasta, but it really packed a punch as far as flavor goes. (Getting the kids ready for the PSSAs; had to throw some alliteration in there.) You're welcome. 

Fruits & Veggies Detox 2

It's been 3 days since my vow of all nat-ur-al. I've been pretty good. Went out to eat twice. Chose veggie options both times. Here's my veggie egg scramble I whipped up for breakfast this morning:

2 whole eggs, asparagus, broccoli, spinach...at the very end I folded in ricotta cheese. Very creamy and very tasty and very filling. 

Lunch to go:

Frozen mango, frozen peaches, fresh pineapple, some yogurt for protein, splash of V8 fusion Peach & Mango, some water, and a tablespoon of chia seeds. Next time I'll probably do more yogurt than water for a different consistency but I was at the end of my yogurt container. Still deelishhh. 

Dinner:

Spinach, crumbled goat cheese (prob the best idea ever!), dried pomegranate by the same company who makes Craisins, fresh grapes and strawberries, walnuts, half an avocado, and a bit of balsamic dressing. When mixed together, the goat cheese and avocado and balsamic combine to make a sort of creamy-like dressing. Salad experiment = HUGE taste bud success. I immediately made an identical one for lunch tomorrow. And since I didn't quite get the portions right for my smoothie, I'm having the left overs now for a semi-dessert. 

Fruits & Veggies Detox

After a very chocolatey, very carby, steak & potato dinner, heavy-Oreo-intake Valentine's Day weekend, my bloated mid-section thought it best to tone it down a bit -- at least for a few days; try to get back to normal; not feel weighed down; get back to my regular belt loop, you know. I'm not one to commit to an all out detox, drinking my meals that look like mushed up grass in liquid form. So, I just vowed to eat nothing but fruits & veggies & whole grains for a week. When my mom heard this, she and her Penn State Nutrition degree were all like, "What about protein?! You need protein!" Not to worry: hummus, a variety of beans, eggs, yogurt, and [a moderate amount of] cheese were all OK'd, mom.

Breakfast:

Stoneyfield Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and chia seeds. Chia Seed Benefits
It was a first time for Chia Seeds for me. I thought they would be awkward to chew and get stuck in my teeth and leave the meal undesirable. I don't know if it was because the seeds in the other fruits masked the seediness of the Chia, but it was nothing like I imagined. #yummy

Lunch/Dinner:

Alllllllll kinds of FRESH veggies (zucchini, brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, green pepper, asparagus) sautéed with olive oil, salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste. And at the very end, mixed in beans and quinoa (not shown). Quinoa: The New Health Food Superstar

The fruit and yogurt was surprisingly filling. And when the veggie and quinoa mixture left a little craving at the end the of meal, the fruit and yogurt served as a yummy dessert option.

THANK YOU, WHOLE FOODS.

Salted Caramel & Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Gettin down & dirty with my fruity self this Valentine's Day. What better day to dip strawberries in chocolate though?! Couldn't find any sprinkles that tickled my fancy, so I rummaged through the fridge and discovered a tub of caramel dip. Heated some of that up and drizzled away. Salted caramel is all the rage these days. Mom hooked it up with the big rock salt garnish. And here you have it: #love on a plate.

My girlfriend hates fruit, naturally. So what did I get for her to dip?! Oreos. (: #genius Always thinkin. Shh. It's a surprise.

Slow Cooker Creamy Potato Soup

With a sick girlfriend and nearly a foot of snow outside, soup seemed to the best option for today. Caitlin's slow cooker pulled pork urged me to use the slow cooker again. AllRecipes.com has been my go-to source for meal motivation lately. And that's exactly where I found this one. I modified it slightly, per usual. This soup will accompany some lemon pepper pork chops tonight.

Next time I make this, I'm going to use my emersion blender and not leave the potatoes in chunks. Kinda like the sweet potato soup that I make. The flavor was there, but the potatoes didn't cook all the way and were kind of hard. Emersion blender should do the trick next time.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-creamy-potato-soup/detail.aspx

BBQ Pulled Pork

Much like any other young professionals in Philly, my friends and I have been forced to tackle some obstacles such as: instant starvation upon entering your apartment at 6pm after working since 7am and out of order stoves due to gas leaks that your landlord nanchalantly ignores and well, not having money (or patience) for GrubHub every night.

So when you find a pork roast on sale at ACME, you miraculously find a use for that Crock Pot your mom bought you 2 Christmases ago! 

Set It And Forget It before you leave for work, and all your problems disappear! Especially when it wasn't YOU who made all these discoveries...then your problems REALLY disappear! Sharing is caring. 

Microwaveable veggies are side dish life savers. And time savers. Thanks for dinner, Caitlin!

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/141678/slow-cooker-pulled-pork

Welcome to the Dip Party!

This snow day's cooking adventures are bringing to you....dips! If you know me, you know I'm a condiment junkie and therefore love dipping.

Fresh salsa with jalapeños and cream cheese! 

Guac!!!

White bean walnut dip. Thanks for the appliances, mom! #nomnom

http://www.wgbh.org/articles/White-Bean-and-Walnut-Dip-1115

Ricotta Scrambled Eggs w/ Caramelized Onions

Looked up different ways to cook with ricotta cheese because I have basically a whole tub of it left over after my Turkey Ricotta Meatballs from my last snow day cooking adventures. So soft and yum yum yummy. Just add mimosas!! #nomnom

Before this, I thought ricotta cheese was only used in Italian desserts. 

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/12-ways-to-cook-with-ricotta-cheese/?slide=3