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I got creative all up in my kitchen tonight!  Up in here, up in here!  Who gets my DMX reference, anyone, anyone?  See # 6 from yesterday. 

I made steak tonight.  We very rarely eat red meat, but organic, grassfed beef was on sale at the grocery today.  I seasoned it with mixed up pepper and garlic expressions salad dressing then cooked it in a skillet.  In the pics below those white things are garlic bulbs. I was mad the whole time b/c I didn’t think it was going very well, the meat seemed so red and I was afraid it was either going to be raw or tough, but it actually turned out really well!  I seared it on both sides, then turned the heat down and let it cook for about 15 mins, I flipped it a few times.





We also had some roasted brussel sprouts (from the brussel sprout tree I bought last week, still good) and carrots.  I sprayed them with PAM olive oil, put them in a baggie with balsamic vinegar and this spice from TJs.  Then I gave it a good shake.  Cooked at 400 for 25 mins.  Perfectly crunchy and tasty.





Next I brought some Old College chicken broth with pistachios and orange slices to a boil and added my favorite grain blend.  You cook it for 10 mins. I was actually surprised that you could taste the oranges.  Bags of oranges were buy one get one free at the grocery today.  Anyone have a good recipe for fresh oranges?  Probably just make some juice.





All together now, yum!
Gary and I are going to watch a movie tonight, Knowing with bankrupt Nic Cage.  What are you up to this fine evening?

*Did you enter my Etsy and Nature’s Gate giveaways below!?!*

Tonight I tried a crockpot recipe for Apple Sauce chicken that I grabbed off of A Year of Slow Cooking.

–4 frozen chicken breast halves or thighs (I used 2 of each)
–1 1/2 cups of applesauce
–1 T dried onion flakes, or 1 yellow onion, chopped finely
–1 T apple cider vinegar
–1/4 tsp cinnamon
–1/2 tsp black pepper
–2 cloves garlic, minced
–1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, I used them, and added more to the adult servings)

The Directions.

A 3 or 4 quart crockpot is the best size for this, but I did use a 6 quart. If your pot cooks fast, err on the lower end of cooking time.

Put the frozen chicken pieces into your crockpot. Add the onion (if you are using the dried onion, wait and add it to the applesauce). In a bowl, mix the applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of the chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours, or on high for 3-4.

***************************************************************************************************

This recipe was nice and simple, just as I like them!  I picked up some supplies at Trader Joes this morning. I went to TJs at 8:30am, oh my, is this the time to go!  I was one of only 3 people shopping. It was like having the whole store to myself. I tend to find myself there on Saturday’s and you can’t even get near the frozen food aisles.


I didn’t have apple vinegar, so I just used white wine. I also didn’t have the chili flakes.  It smelled divine while cooking.




I was in a hurry and didn’t brown my chicken first.  I also used chicken breast with the skin on.  I cooked it for 4 hours on low.



I tired this cornbread stuffing tonight, but neither of us were very impressed. Harper liked it though! It’s pretty bland.  Stovetop is better.



The chicken fell apart coming out of the crockpot, which is just how I like it!  Great recipe, I will definitely make it again sometime. 

What is your favorite thing to make in the crockpot?

Since the weather outside is frightful I had to settle for yoga at home today.  Nothing wrong with yoga at home, it’s just that I adore the Sunday yoga class at my gym, the teacher is amazing, its very rare that you can get a real yoga workout at the gym.  I scrolled through my options from Exercise TV and ended up with this:

Hmmm…oddly enough you don’t even do the that twist during the workout!  It was a pretty good DVD, 51 mins, nothing too difficult or new to me. It breaks the workout into segments – cardio and slow burn.  During the cardio you go through various vinyasa’s quickly to get the blood flowing and heart rate up, during the slow burn you hold poses longer.  I was impressed by how well the instructor explained the moves, very descriptive.  Nowhere near as good of a workout as I would have gotten at the gym, but most of that is probably due to a 8 month old hanging on me and a dog at my feet.


After I was done I was starving and was craving some comfort food. I really wanted tuna noodle casserole, but we were out of noodles. So, I threw 1 can of Campbell’s healthy request cream of mushroom soup, 1 can of tuna, 1/2 cup of Uncle Bens Whole grain brown rice and a couple handfuls of organic frozen veggies from Costco into a bowl and microwaved for 5 mins.  It turned out wonderful.


I wanted a little something more so I had some of my favorite chips.




Have you ever tried these? They are seriously delicious.  So good you don’t even need to dip them in salsa. 

Last night Gary and I watched:
I disagree with the headline, it’s no where near funnier than Borat, but it is 115 mins of non stop laughs. Mostly in horror. Lots of penis in this movie people and many, many butt sex jokes.  We definitely laughed a lot though.  Watching Paula Abdul sit on furnitue that is really mexican dayworkers had me in stitches.

Since it was so short, we also watched
I really liked this movie.  It was the right combo of suspence and action. I love me some Denzel.  He can do no wrong in my eyes.  John Travolta is hit or miss in my opinion. You forget that he is a really good actor b/c he goes and does such shit movies like Old Dogs or Wild Hogs. He did great as the villian in this movie.  Two thumbs up.  I hear the original is much better, I will have to check it out.

I’ve only been without sugar for a day and I am already missing it.  Gary is eating peanut M&Ms, grrrrr.

Oh this weeks Somethin’ pretty is really pretty!  I love little knick knacky bowls. I buy sushi dishes a lot from places like sur la table and use them to put jewelry, etc in.  Look what I got from Elm Studio on etsy! 

I love it!  I picked it b/c it said Naturally Sweet and she surprised me by putting Harper’s name on it.  Sweet for sure.  It looks flat in the photo, but is actually a bowl.


Once I ordered something similar to this for a wedding gift and they loved it:




Erin is supremely talented and takes special orders, you should definitely check her out. 

Harper and I braved the cold for a trip to Whole Foods and TJs today!  I needed coffee from TJs and I wanted to go to Whole Foods and get some of the Amazing Grass for my Green Monster trials. I ended up buying a bunch of different single serving packets to try them out and see which I like best before I invest $40 in a canister.  I went for those 2 things, but ended up with a lot more of course!  Looking forward to roasting some of those brussel sprouts, I have never been very successful at veggie roasting, any tips? I picked up some of my fav frozen foods – Quorn Guyere patties and TJs chicken quesadillas.  Some of my fav yogurts – Liberte and Wallaby Down Unders.  And I got a bag of chicken meatballs from Whole foods, they are asiago and fennel!  Yum.

Good day bloggy friends. It’s been a hectic one today.  Well it feels that way b/c it’s been so long (a week!) since I made it out of the house and to the gym in time for my 9:15 Urban Iron class.  Doing the gym class in the a.m seems to make the first part of the day disappear and the next thing I know it’s lunch.  Today’s lunch was quick b/c I was so hungry, a nice Trader Joes Chicken Quesadilla with a little plain non fat yogurt and black bean salsa. I opened it up so you can see the guts, lots of yummy veggies (spinach, corn and peppers), chicken and cheese in there:


Doesn’t Trader Joes just have the best frozen food!  I eat way more frozen food than I should, mostly from TJs and Whole Foods, but still I know I shouldn’t.  I am the queen of sodium.

I like to use the crock pot once a week and decided to pull it out for some chicken.  We buy our chicken at Costco and I must say I am impressed.  It’s all natural and packaged in 2s so there’s not that random third piece of chicken floating around.  Today, I just browned up the chicken:


Threw it in the crock pot and made a marinade out of some yogurt and spices from Arora Creations. I love these spice packs, this one has a bunch of spices in it including, coriander, cumin, cardamom, mace, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. 


Mixed that up and dredged the chicken around in and spooned on the extra. Then I threw in a can of tomatoes.  This will be my last can of tomatoes b/c I read an article on MSN the other day about the 7 foods you should avoid b/c they are dangerous for you and canned tomatoes was on the list b/c of what is on the inside of the can, I’ll buy jars.  Some of the others to avoid were non organic apples and potatoes and microwave popcorn. 

No matter how yummy your food, it still looks like throw up when its in the crock pot.

And look what I got in the mail today, YUUMMMMMMMMM!  I love POM!

This is great b/c we have been eating a lot of pomegranates around here lately. We got a case at Costco and G has been peeling them and I am finding red everywhere in our kitchen.  I keep thinking I have it all cleaned up and then I find some more.  I like to drink POM mixed with sparkling water. I am happy I can give Harper some of this b/c it’s 100% pom juice, no added sugar or junk. You should check out their website.  Here’s some fun POM facts I learned:

*Pomegranates are one of the earliest cultivated fruits
* Many scholars think it was actually a POM depicted in the Garden of Eden
* Man first started planting pomegranates sometime around 4000 B.C.
* Pomegranates are a superior source of antioxidants when compared to red wine, grape juice, cranberry juice and green tea!

Hey did you enter my giveaway from Raw Revolution yet!  If not, check it out below.

I hit up Trader Joes this evening and here’s my booty.  I couldn’t even wait until I got home to break into the tortilla chips, I dip them in the yogurt dip!  Then this evening I had a little snack:


I hadn’t had these cookies before and they were good, but not as gingery as I would expect for something that says Triple in the name.  They were sweet and you get 9 in a serving for 140 calories, so they hit the spot.  I am one of those people who can have coffee at any time of the day and I am so in love with their soy creamer, I decided to have a cup.  Best thing about this mug:

There’s a surprise in the bottom! Love it. My dear friend Sara got this for me years ago and  I still smile everytime I drink out of it. 

I thought I had escaped Harper’s cold, but it hit me with a vengeance last night. I must have woken up every hour on the hour, I had horrible body chills and aches. I couldn’t breathe and my throat was raw.  It was an awful night.  I don’t feel quite as bad today, but still really achy and my throat hurts.  Anyone out there have any good immune system boosters? I am always sick. I take a prenatal vitamin everyday and that’s about it.  I go through phases where I take Emergen C but still get sick.  Ugh. Maybe I need to go raw, they saw raw foodies never get sick. 

So I wanted something quick and easy for lunch today. I love making one pot meals.  Just toss some items together, go about your business and come back to a meal.  The main ingredient today was a pantry staple in our house.  It’s a grain blend from my beloved TJS.  It has couscous, quinoa, orzo and garbanzo beans and is yum-o.  My favorite thing about it is that it reheats well.  It doesn’t get all sticky and gross like rice can.


Today I tossed in some craisins, pistachios and leftover salmon. It only takes 10 mins to cook (covered).



The finished product.  Voila!


Harper should be going to bed soon and I am going to give my book another go. I have been reading a book that I am not too sure about.  It’s called Castle in the Forest  and its by Norman Mailer and is a fictitious telling of Hitler’s youth.  It’s pretty far out.

I must say that today and yesterday were not the best clean it up days!  But recording is indeed making me more mindful of what I am eating.  My weight is still where I want it though. I weigh myself everyday, it keeps me on my toes. What about you, how often do you weigh yourself?

Breakfast: 2 eggs over medium (fryed w.o butter), 3 pieces of micro bacon, 1 piece of bakery bread with some brummel & brown spread
1 hour weight lifting classs (Muscle Maddness)
Snack: apple, chips and salsa
Lunch: Amys soy mac & cheese ( this was the first time I had it, didn’t love it, but not awful), Trader Joes Chili lime chicken burger on 1 piece of bread with mustard & ketchup & extra sharp 2% cheese
Snack: way too many of Harper’s gerber baby puffs!
Dinner:  small baked sweet potato, asparagus & a big garden salad w/carrots, celery, radishes, cucumbers and goat cheese

There is one thing you should know about me bloggy friends, I love pumpkins and I love pancakes, so when you combine them I am in heaven.  Put it next to a cup of Trader Joes wintry blend coffee and I am in a heaven made out of pumpkin and spice.  Goooooddddd stuff.  So, this is what I had for dinner tonight! 
. 

When I do an evening run it’s always hard to figure out what to do about dinner.  Eat too close to running and risk having rotten gut the whole time.  You can do like my friend IG did once and eat curry before she met me to run, those were some fun burps for her I am sure.  Yuck. So, I decided a pancake would be gentle enough on the stomach about 1.5 hours before the run and it worked out just fine. IG and I had 4.5 great miles with Fonzie.  During dinner prep Harper kept an eye on me and continued to perfect her skills of puff eating:


Now its time to settle in and watch the Biggest Loser finale.  Woohoooo!!!!