Baking + Birthday

Heyyyy! How was your Saturday?

Today I did a lot of baking for my Uncle Ozzie’s birthday party. I also ate some really good food and had a pretty tiring workout. I didn’t do any homework. Oh well!

Breakfast:

Grilled Cashini Sandwich on Double Cinnamon Swirl Bread

After breakfast I did some blog reading and then got to work.  I had a lot of cleaning to do in preparation for the birthday party.  I swear, cleaning the house lasts longer than the actual party!

Thankfully, once the cleaning was over, I had to do something much more enjoyable: BAKING!

I was the designated “Dessert Chef” because my family knows I am quite the baker.  (Can my head get any bigger?!)

The birthday boy requested a Funfetti cake.  I was so close to making it from boxed cake mix but then I came across Jenna‘s recipe for homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream. 

Instead of cupcakes, I doubled the recipe and made a layer cake with 2 8-inch round pans and baked at 350F for 30 minutes.

 I also made some Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies because he loved them so much last time I made them.

I couldn’t wait to dig in.  Talk about a test of self-control!

After the kitchen was cleaned (I make such a mess when I bake!)  I got out of the house and took Fluffy for a walk.  It was beautiful outside today!

70 degrees and sunny!  Spring is here!

Workout:

• 3 mile walk with Fluffy
• 15 min. Abs 101

After my workout, I was ravenous!  I made myself lunch right away.

Lunch:

Tomato, cucumber, avocado, mushroom, roasted pepper, Laughing Cow, and hummus sandwich on Rye

  

I forgot how much I loved avocado.  The sandwich was so good.  I think I’ll post a recipe soon, but I still have a bit of tweaking to do. 

Soon after lunch, the family started coming over.  We talked and caught up for a bit and then got ready for dinner. 

On the menu for tonight was:

• Mom’s Gumbo

• Make-Your-Own Pita Pizzas

• Salad

Can you see Fluffy?!

I decided to skip the gumbo tonight, but I had some pita pizza.  It was so good!

Dinner:

Salad and 1/2 pita pizza with onions, mushrooms, and olives

I made sure to keep dinner light, considering I wanted to make sure I saved enough room for dessert.  I couldn’t wait to dig into the cake!

“Happy Birthday to youuuu…”

Dessert:

Oh.My.Gosh.  The cake was so good!  Well worth the wait!  I got a bunch compliments on it – thanks Jenna!

A sweet end to a wonderful night.

* * * * * * * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. How did you spend your Saturday?
2. What is your favorite cake flavor?

Have a great Sunday! 

Are You Drooling Yet?

Hello Everyone! Thanks for all of your lovely comments on my last post!  I loved learning a few things about all of you, especially your heights. Now I don’t feel like such a shortie.

In other news, I have 3 tests that I’m supposed to be studying for tomorrow and have barely any time to write an in-depth post today.  You know what that means, right?

FOOD!

Just gonna upload some food pictures for y’all.  Try not to drool too much!

Turkey BLT on Rye with steamed green beans on the side

OOIAJ (1/2 cup oats mixed with 2/3 cup light vanilla yogurt topped with ground flax, bluberries, and shredded coconut)

Turkey & TJ’s Roasted Garlic Hummus in a whole wheat wrap with a Golden Delicious apple & Babybel on the side

Carrie’s Inside-Out Peanut Butter Cup Cake topped with Nutella

Angela’s Grilled Cashew Butter & Blueberry Sandwich

Grilled Liverwurst and Cheddar on Rye with baby carrots and ranch dip on the side

Tropical Mango Muffin with greek yogurt, Cheerios, and strawberries

High-Protein Egg Pizza topped with tomatoes and olives (Recipe Soon!)

Kelsey’s Very Vanilla Chia Pudding topped with Tropical Mango Bread, strawberries, and coconut butter

Grilled chicken topped with Franks with a baked potato and grilled asparagus on the side

Sandwich Thin topped with Mixed Nut & Chia Butter and strawberries on the side

Mixed greens, tomatoes, grilled chicken, edamame, shredded carrot, and Salsa Vinaigrette

Green Monster

Turkey Meatball Parmesan on Italian Bread with mixed veggies

* * * * * *

So, are you drooling yet?

Hope you enjoyed today’s photo-heavy post.  Now I’m going to do some geometric proofs.  I am really having a hard time with them.  Are there any math wizards out there that can help me/give me some pointers?  I would really appreciate it.  I tried asking my teacher, but sadly, she’s the type of teacher that doesn’t really like when students ask questions so she got annoyed with me. Hmph.

Questions of the Day:

1. What is the best thing you ate this week? Probably the cashew butter and blueberry sandwich!
2. Did you ever have a really bad teacher or a teacher you really didn’t like? Share your teacher stories!

Happy Almost-Friday!

Valentine’s Day Treats & Eats

Happy Valentine‘s Day! ♥

I hope you’re all enjoying your day so far.  I am!  Today has been great so far – full of Valentine’s treats from friends and everyone in a good mood.  I also got one of my Geometry tests back today and I got an 88%, which is great considering I thought I had gotten a much lower grade.

Enough about me though…I’d like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your lovely comments.  They really put a smile on my face and brighten my day.  I really appreciate  you taking time out of your day to read my blog, comment, email me, and make my recipes.  That’s what I like most about blogging:  the wonderful people and interaction.  Thanks a million!

* * * * * *

Now move on to the lovely food.  Lately my eats have been especially good!

Mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, Mexican Bean Salad, and crumbled feta topped with Faux-Fried Mozzarella Sticks

Egg, turkey bacon, and cheddar on Bran Bread

Kathleen’s Blissful Reeses Pizzert

A recipe fail: Easy Cheesy Whole Wheat Scones

Black Bean Vegetable Soup and an Easy Cheesy Whole Wheat Scone

Breakfast Yogurt Bowl inspired by Caitlin (Chobani Vanilla, diced Braeburn apple, Artisana cashew butter, wheat germ, and cinnamon)

Mixed greens, tomatoes, blueberries, and onions topped with grilled chicken breast and balsamic viniagrette

* * * * * *

Okay,  now I’m hungry.  Time to break into my Valentine’s stash.  You wouldn’t believe how much candy and baked goods were at school today.  I got candy bags  from a few of my friends and had a cookie dough brownie (brownie batter topped with cookie dough and baked) with lunch.  YUM!

♥Things to look forward to on FFF this week: ♥

• Shakeology Product Review
• Peanutty Banana Protein Pancakes (I’m still working on the name.)
• Mango Bread
• My Ab Workout

* * * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. Bloggers: What are your favorite parts of blogging?  Blog Readers: What are your favorite parts of blog-reading?
2. What did you do to celebrate Valentine’s Day?  Are you single or in a relationship?  I’m single as a Pringle and ready to mingle!

Thanks for reading! ♥

Black Bean Vegetable Soup

Hello Friends!  I hope you’ve been having an awesome Valentine’s Day weekend!

A few days ago while reading blogs, I realized that the majority of the blogs I read written by vegan/vegetarian bloggers.  This got me wondering, “Are the majority of my readers vegans/vegetarians?!”  I honestly wasn’t sure, so I made my next recipe vegan and vegetarian just in case.

“This vegetarian and vegan soup is so hearty that I almost called it a ‘stewp,’ or soup-stew hybrid.  Enjoy this on a cold winter’s day with a slice of bread or a Easy Cheesy Whole Wheat Scone.”

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cups diced carrots
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 12 ounces frozen corn (You could also use drained, canned corn, I suppose.)
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
• season to taste with black pepper

Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock, 1 can of the beans, corn, and pepper; bring to boil.
2. Meanwhile, in food processor or blender, puree* together tomatoes and remaining can of beans; add to pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Yield:  6-8 servings

*For a chunkier soup, don’t puree the black beans and tomatoes.

* * * * * * *

 We ended up having this for lunch today.  At first I was nervous about serving it to my meat-eating family because I thought they’d either a) say it wasn’t filling enough or b) say something like “Erika, this is really good, but it could really use some shredded chicken and bacon.”

Believe me, they’ve done it before.

Thankfully, there were no comments like that today.  Just comments like:

“Wow, this is really good.  Can I have more?!”  ~ Dad

“YUM!” ~ Phil

“Jeez, Erika, this is a flavor explosion.  I even like the corn!”  ~ Mom

Sometimes I think my Mom is pickier than any little kid out there.

Now that I think of it, this would be great for a Valentine’s Day dinner. 

Enjoy!

* * * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. Do follow any special diet?  (Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free, etc.
2. What is your favorite kinds of beans?  Mine are black beans and chickpeas.

Creamy Chicken & Pasta Bake

Hello Everyone! 

As you know, I’m officially done with my two days of SGW! But in honor of everyone going sugar-free for the entire week, I chose to post a savory recipe today!

Does this look familiar?

It should because I posted about it yesterday and many of you wanted the recipe.  So here you go…

Recipe courtesy of Kraft’s Food & Family Magazine – Spring 2009

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups multi-grain rotini pasta, uncooked
• 1 small bunch broccoli, cut into florets (about 3 cups)
• 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ¾ cup fat-free low-sodium chicken broth
• 3 ounces cream cheese, cubed
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (+ ¼ cup for topping)
• 2-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Cook pasta in large saucepan as directed on package, adding broccoli for the last 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat.  Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until no longer pink, stirring frequently.  Stir in broth; simmer 3 minutes or until chicken is done.  Add cream cheese; cook and stir on low heat for 1 minute or until melted.  Stir in 1 cup mozzarella.
3. Drain pasta and broccoli.  Add to chicken mixture; mix lightly.  Spoon into an 8-inch square baking dish; cover.
4. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through.  Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.  Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until melted.  Let cool for 5 minutes.  Spoon onto plates or bowls and enjoy!

Yield:  4 servings

* * * * * *

Here’s my plate. ↓

Pretty good serving size, eh?  I need my dinners to be filling!

It tasted delicious!  My Mom loved it, my Dad loved it, even Philip loved it!  The only bad thing was that my Dad came home from work late so he had to reheat some of his – this dish doesn’t reheat too well to make sure you have people to share it with right away!  He did say the taste was good though!

It was also a really Dinner is usually my biggest meal of the day, despite all the research that says it should be the smallest, it’s what works for me so it stays. 

 

Mmmmmmmmmm…

* * * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. What is your biggest meal of the day?    Dinner, but breakfast is pretty big too!
2. What is your favorite type of cheese?   Cheddar, Swiss, Mozzarella, and Brie

Have a great day!  Tomorrow I have an appointment with the Endocrinologist so wish me luck!