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!

No Flashback Friday?

Alright.  I know I promised you an “action-packed Flashback Friday” post today, but it’s not working out.  When I sat down tonight to start writing it I got major writer’s block and the post did not look good.  At all.  So instead of leaving you with a boring and ugly-looking post I decided to suck it up and post something else.  A recipe for those Chewy Nutella Cookies I was raving about the other day. 

Chewy Nutella Cookies

Slightly adapted from The Recipe Goldmine

“A decadent chewy chocolate hazelnut cookie.  You know you want one…and then another and another and another.”

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 ½ cups), melted
• ¾ cup brown sugar, packed
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup Nutella
• 1 egg + 1 additional egg yolk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-2 cups dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325ºF and spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.
2. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl.  Set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended.  Mix in Nutella, egg, yolk, and vanilla extract.  Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined.  Stir in chips to taste.
4. Form cookie dough into golf ball-sized balls and place on the baking sheet. Bake until cookies are a light golden brown and edges begin to harden, while the centers are still soft and puffy, 13-18 minutes (depending on your oven.) Let cool.  Serve immediately or store for up to 4 days in an airtight container. (Not that they’ll last that long!)

Yield:  ~2 dozen cookies

* * * * *

I wish I took more pictures of these cookies, but sadly they never found their way back home after the party.  They were all gone within the first 15 minutes!  I guess I can’t complain though.  It’s better than bringing them all home!

One thing that caught my attention at the party was that half of the class didn’t know what Nutella was!  Are these kids living under a rock?!  Someone tell me I’m not the only one obsessed with the stuff.  Please?

Went a little off-topic there for a moment.  Oh well.  Story of my life suppose.  Today I was in the middle of telling my friend about my shovelling experience when I randomly asked her how she liked English and if she was a good writer.  Weird.

OKAY ERIKA!  Back to the cookies!  Oh yeah, the cookies, how could I forget?  Here’s the recipe for the optional, yet highly recommended glaze.

* * * * *

Nutella Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ½ stick of butter, melted
• ¼ cup Nutella
• ¼ cup milk (add more milk for a runnier glaze and less for frosting)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  Using an electric mixer (or a wire wisk) combine ingredients until they come to a creamy consistency.  Add more milk as needed. 
2. Heat in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and drizzle over cookies.  Enjoy!

* * * * *

Once again, sorry for the lack of pictures.  I really should have planned this out better.  Instead I will share a few pictures of the RAW wrestling match Phil and I saw last Friday. 

Because nothing makes you crave Nutella more than a bunch of sweaty wrestlers?  Just roll with it…

* * * * *

Question of the Day:

1. Have you ever tried Nutella?  What’s your favorite way to enjoy it?  I’m a big fan of the spoon to mouth method.
2. What’s your favorite spectator sport?  Baseball first, wrestling second.  I watch RAW on TV every Monday!

Have an awesome weekend!  Thanks for reading! 

Ode To OIAJ

Oh, how I love OIAJ (and OOIAJ!) ♥

*For those of you that don’t know what OIAJ or OOIAJ are that’s perfectly fine! I didn’t know what either of them were before Blog World either! 

• OIAJ – Oats in a Jar
• OOIAJ – Overnight Oats in a Jar

I seriously don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t discovered Blog World!  I wouldn’t be enjoying the delicacy that is OIAJ that’s for sure!

This past week I had a lot of empty nut butter jars so I had OIAJ almost everyday!  Let’s take a look at the creations…

* * * * *

Elvis-Inspired OIAJ*

* Yeah, I know it’s not a natural peanut butter jar.  The store was out and we needed peanut butter.

Oatmeal topped with a crushed Adora Calcium disk

Overnight Oats topped with the last slice of Cranberry Orange Bread

Chia Overnight Oats and fresh strawberries

* * * * *

I’d say that it a good week of breakfasts!

Unfortunately the winner of my Jay Robb Protein Powder Giveaway has not responded to my emails yet.  So the new winner is #37 edmomtomjb!  Congratulations! You will be receiving an email from me shortly.

* * * * *

Questions of the Day:

1. Have you ever had OIAJ or OOIAJ? 
2. What is your favorite nut butter?

Have a happy and safe weekend!

Classic Pairings

Hello Friends!

Lately I have been trying to get away from “Food Journal” type posts, but what I can I say, I like seeing what others eat!  Seeing what other people eat not only gives me new meal ideas, but also gives me an idea of what two flavors work well with each other.

I’ll use today’s breakfast as proof.

Breakfast:

The usual Overnight Oats [1/2 cup oatmeal mixed with 2/3 cup vanilla yogurt] topped with sliced banana and a spoonful of Nutella

Yeah, I’ll admit it, before Blog World I never knew about the genius combination that is Nutella and Banana.

Criminal.  [Insert gasps of outrage/shock here.]

*****

Another classic pairing was evident in today’s lunch…

Lunch:

Turkey and Tabasco Sandwich, Pomegranate Berry Dannon Light & Fit, and Coco-Nutty Granola mixed with Sensible Foods Cherry Berry

Obviously the classic pairing here was Turkey and Tabasco.  I mean, who doesn’t put hot sauce on their sandwiches?!

Oh…most people don’t?

Just kidding.  The classic pairing here was yogurt and granola.  They even have entire companies dedicated to this combination. [Hello, YoCrunch!]  Speaking of YoCrunch, they recently came out with a lighter version of their Cookies N’ Cream variety.  It has minimal fat and only 120 calories! YUM! ♥

*****

Back on topic…

…classic pairings.

 None of my other eats included classic pairings, but I will list a few of my favorites below.

• Chocolate & Peanut Butter
• Honey & Almond Butter
• Fries & Ketchup
• Veggies & Hummus
• Turkey/Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

Mmmm…that last one got me thinking about Thanksgiving.  I love Thanksgiving. ♥

What are some of your favorite food pairings?

*****

P.S.  I just wanted to let you know that I cut into my first pomegranate of the season today.

I enjoyed the pomegranate arils mixed in with some Greek yogurt and chopped almonds.

Deeeeelicious!

*****

Questions of the Day:

1. What are your favorite food pairings? [In case you forgot about it.]
2. What are your Thanksgiving plans? Where are you celebrating?  What are you making?  What’s your favorite Thanksgiving tradition? What’s your favorite Thanksgiving food?

[Can you tell I looooove Thanksgiving?!]

Come back tomorrow for my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and Thanksgiving Prep Day #1.

Goodnight!

Sick As A Dog

Sorry I’ve been MIA for the past couple of days.  I have been sick as a dog and I have no idea why! 

 [Actually, I have a hunch that it had something to do with the Domino's Pizza I had for dinner on Saturday night.  Ugh.]

Anyways…After running a 101°F fever for the past 2 days it finally went down and I was able to go to school.  I think the fact that I had 2 major tests that I could not miss was a big motivator.

*****

Breakfast this morning was the only thing that sounded good to me: Chia Overnight Oats.

Breakfast:

Chia Overnight Oats topped with shredded coconut and Nutella

 

I’m not sure if chocolate was a good choice on an empty [sick] stomach.

I ended up regretting it later. [You'll find out why in a few minutes.]

*****

In the morning I felt fine.  I took my History test [on the Roman Republic] without a problem.  I went to lunch.  And then took a Proofreading [Yeah, it's a class] test on state abbreviations.  It wasn’t until after my Proofreading test that I started to feel crappy again.

But first, let me rewind back to lunch.  ↓

Lunch:

BBQ Turkey Sandwich with a Honeycrisp apple and a Babybel

BBQ sauce instead of hot sauce because of my stomach.  It was a nice change-of-pace. 

[*Fast-forward to after the completion of my Keyboarding test*]

About 10 minutes after my Keyboarding test is when I started to feel sick again.  [I won't go into details.]  But I did have to go to the nurse, get my temperature taken [no fever?!], lie down, and eventually go home with my Mom.  I felt terrible.

However, as suspicious as it may sound, I felt 90% better once I got home!  I didn’t feel the need to lie down and fall asleep [or um...throw up] so I got started on my homework and started studying for my Black Belt written exam. 

Eventually, I got hungry [surprising because this weekend I had no appetite] and made myself one of Katie’s Single Lady Cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting.

I prepared it using the microwave method and topped the muffin with cream cheese frosting.  My make-shift, single-serve, cream cheese frosting is as follows:  1 tablespoon cream cheese + 1 tablespoon powdered sugar + a few drops of vanilla extract.  Microwave for 10-15 seconds and BAM you have a delicious frosting for one.

Why didn’t I think of a muffin for one? 

*****

After my snack I did a mix of homework, internet surfing, and Karate.  Tonight’s dinner was nothing special [store-bought rotisserie chicken] and therefore went without being photographed. 

School tomorrow.

Goodnight!