Tonight's Dinner

I just made and ate a perfect summer Sunday dinner!

First up was a salad. I used to be an anti-salad kind of person, until I realized there was a lot more to it than iceberg lettuce and fatty ranch dressing. Tonight's consisted of an organic spring mix, organic strawberries, walnuts, feta cheese, and Newman's Own Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette.

A few notes:

1. I think "organic" is viewed as a yuppie term and scares people off. We've been buying organic for a few months now, and I definitely notice a difference in quality. The strawberries have a nice rich color, and they actually seem to last longer. If anything, seeing the word on a package of food is really comforting to me and I'm willing to pay a tiny bit more for it (I seriously mean tiny, you can barely tell the price difference).

2. A trick I learned with walnuts - transfer the walnuts to a zip-top bag and throw it in the freezer after you buy them. Walnuts don't freeze, but it keeps them super fresh. All I need to do is reach in and grab a handful, and they're ready to eat.

3. Feta cheese is bomb.


The partner for the delicious salad was a bad-ass panini. It was super simple - oven roasted turkey breast and provolone cheese on a guacamole-smeared ciabatta roll. I've made it a point to stock up on Wholley Guacamole's 100 calorie guac packs- they're excellent for snacking, and come in handy for sandwiches. This bad boy was grilled on my panini maker. I think I probably make delicious sandwiches once a week with it. The options are endless, and it's incredibly quick and easy. Some of our other favorite paninis are honey ham + swiss + honey mustard, chicken breast + southwest dressing + american cheese, and (my favorite) - using leftover Chinese-style chicken + vegetables or fruit as a filling. So good!

The breakfast that started it all.

I feel like the more I cook, the better I'm getting at cooking on the fly. This morning, I got to fully utilize my creative skills to whip up a nice 1:15 PM meal.

2 leftover flatbreads (I forget the brand..Flat Out rings a bell?)
small handful of leftover shredded cheddar cheese
5 eggs
bean and corn salsa - Newman's Own

Usually I would have added bacon to the eggs and call it a day, but we didn't have any. I saw the salsa in the fridge and thought a nice southwest breakfast burrito would be a nice change of pace.

1) I whisked the eggs with a tiny bit of milk for fluff, and scrambled them in my electric skillet. Dash of pepper, dash of salt. I always make us 5 medium eggs, it just seems like the perfect amount for two people.

2) The flatbreads hit the microwave for 1 minute. When they were done warming, I spread 2 heaping tablespoons of the salsa onto each evenly.

3) I placed the scrambled eggs on one side of the flatbread, then sprinkled on the cheese. I tucked in the long ends burrito-style, then rolled it all up. They were pretty thick when it was all said and done- less of a burrito, more of a brick.

Once I bit into mine I didn't like how the salsa was chilled, so I microwaved mine for 30 seconds. Delicious! Mike like his as-is, so no microwaving.

The fun didn't stop there - I eyed up two single servings of fat free blueberry yogurt and a small fist full of leftover blueberries in the fridge, and I combined them with a dollop of fat free Cool Whip. SO GOOD!

What I loved about this meal was that it involved no more than 30 seconds of thinking, and I didn't have to buy anything extra. I find myself going to the grocery store three times a week for odds and ends, and I end up spending a fortune on things I didn't want or need.

Seriously, this was a kick ass breakfast.


I did take a couple of pictures, but (of course) my camera cord is MIA. I'll upload them when I can!
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We went grocery shopping today, and this weeks menu consists of : chicken & broccoli stir fry (made by Mike!!! First timer!), taco salad (nothing special here, but it brings the noms HARD), meatballs in organic sauce with asiago cheese rolls, and honey teriyaki chicken. Sounds like a delicious week.

Firsts Things First.

This morning I made a delicious and quick lunch/brunch/hangovermealat1:15pm on the fly, and it made me realize that I should document most of what I cook and share it with the public! I am also a chronic over-sharer and I have had about 146 blog ideas. This is only the second one that's actually come to fruition.

I think this will actually work because I cook a lot, and I cook well. I would say 90-95% of our meals are cooked by me. I also like to talk about what I cook. I love food and I want to share it with everyone!

We try to buy organic when possible. We usually shop at Walmart for convenience/budgetary reasons, and we can find a nice variety. Off the top of my head I know we buy Newman's Own products (salsa, salad dressings, snacks), Annie's (chocolate bunny grahams and cheddar bunny crackers), and some brand of organic humane chicken. It's all a little more expensive than "regular" stuff, but after we went to a free screening of Food Inc., we knew we had to change the way we were eating.

I think even more than buying organic or local, we are focused on healthy eating. I am far from perfect in this category, but it is a total work in progress. I'm always trying to read up on nutrition and healthy recipes. On the flip side, I will not hesitate to make a delicious (sometimes maybe a little unhealthy) dish to savor. Keeping health in mind, we buy the leanest ground beef we can (98/2 I think), and fat free/reduced fat everything else. It's working for us, and combined with moderate exercise, my fiance and I are really seeing results inside and out.

With that said, our meals are pretty eclectic. Organic/fat free/not so fat free/ processed/etc. I think the most important thing is that I cook, and we sit down and enjoy our meals together. And that he does all of the dishes.

Thanks for joining me for the ride!