Sports & Shrimp

Have you guys been enjoying the Olympics?  We have been glued to the TV all day and have enjoyed every single second of it immensely.

We started the morning watching all six hours of the cycling road race.  Yes, six hours.  We recorded the live feed at 3am, so while NBC was on a major delay, we tuned into what we recorded to catch the action.  I actually really enjoyed watching the cycling, and I hate that NBC is choosing to show the big stuff in primetime.  We’ve been peeking into certain events online because we just don’t want to wait for the syndicated version.

I know this is the worst quality picture, ever, (that’s what happens when you take a picture of your TV), but omg, this made us laugh:

Speaking of laughing, this list of the best names in the Olympics had us crying with laughter last night.  Please read the list – it’s the best.

The rest of our day today was spent watching fencing (the Italians were so animated and entertaining), volleyball, swimming, archery, rowing, table tennis, badminton, handball, and mens doubles tennis.  I’m sure I’m forgetting about six other things – we’re on overload. One big thing I’ve noticed today?  At at lot of the events with spectator stands, there are a lot of empty seats.  What’s up with that?

I finally pulled myself off the couch to try a new recipe for dinner this evening.   Because what’s more American than a big plate of cooked spinach and Shrimp in Hoisin sauce?  ;)

The meal was meh, but that’s because I’m weird about texture.  My husband loved it and inhaled it, so trust me when I say it was me, and not the recipe.  When I cooked the shrimp, they got a lot smaller than I expected, and I’m not the type to usually plow through a plate of shrimp for my meal.  I like it, just in small quantities.  Also, I usually love spinach like it’s my job, but I struggled to choke it down.  It was too strong for me tonight.  The strawberries were delicious, though.

 

Recipe is here.

Simple Spaghetti Squash

Growing up, I was a picky eater.  If you know me in real life, this should come as no surprise to you.  So you shouldn’t be shocked when I say that I have never enjoyed any sort of squash.  My dad loves to sauté butternut squash with zucchini and onions, and I always give him a sour face when he fills his plate.

My husband has been begging me for years to make spaghetti squash.  Years.  Every time, I give him the sour face and promise to add it to the menu “next time.”  Right, remember I’ve been promising to add it for years, so I’ve been able to avoid it for a while.

After our trip to Whole Foods this weekend, I came home with a giant spaghetti squash, ready to make it for my husband, and try it myself.  I found a really good recipe and I have to say, I actually enjoyed the meal.  It was really easy to make and pretty tasty.  Chris was actually so excited about it that he got off his bad knee to help me cut it in half and scoop out the seeds.  I was surprised that the squash didn’t have a strong taste and I really liked that it was a little crunch with the spaghetti sauce (we used ground chicken to make it a smidge more healthy).

Have you guys tried spaghetti squash?  If you’re a picky eater, I really encourage you to try this recipe.  It’s yummy, healthy and easy.  Open your mind and you just might find new things to like!

Prepping.

The finished product!

 

Whole Foods Yumminess

My parents are in town this weekend and we’ve laid low and done a whole lot of relaxing, cooking, going to a few restaurants, and just catching up.  It’s been way low-key which has been great.

We kicked off the weekend at Char Grill in Raleigh for some cheap and yummy local burgers.  I love their old-fashioned style of ordering, and the food is so good!

We had some bad storms on Friday night, so we just hung out at home catching up on DVR and lying low.

Saturday, we went to Another Broken Egg Cafe for breakfast and had another great experience.  My parents especially loved it, so we’re glad it was a hit.  Earlier in the week, we bought tickets to see The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX on Saturday morning, but with the news of the shooting in Denver on Thursday night/Friday morning, it wasn’t nearly as exciting.  We weighed whether we were still in the mood to actually go to the movie (not out of fear, but out of it just not being as exciting anymore), and ultimately, we decided to go.  We went to the first show of the day and I’m glad we went.  While I think everyone was a little hyper aware of the exits and movement of people, overall, it was fine.  The movie itself was really good, but I would still say The Dark Knight is my favorite Batman of all time.

After the movie, my dad split and went to Golfsmith, Chris went home to rest his knee, and my mom and I headed off to do some grocery shopping.  What’s the best thing you can do when you’re in a stage of complete and utter uncertainty?  Drop everything and start life anew at Whole Foods, obviously.  My parents were nice enough to treat us to a plethora of some pretty amazing groceries, which was such a treat.  THANKS FOR LETTING US RAID WHOLE FOODS, MOM & DAD!!!  I don’t think I’ve ever done 100% of my grocery shopping at Whole Foods, but OMG.  It was heaven and hell in one place.  I love how there was a ton of local and organic produce, and I loved the variety of fresh meat as well.  But I was completely overwhelmed with the prices and just almost feeling like I was in a foreign country.

We’re trying to get better about our food choices (eating more organic, less processed, more “caveman” style) and Whole Foods is simply where it’s at.  I learned all about Wild vs Farm Raised Salmon (the color difference alone made up for the cost difference) and the different filets and sirloin of beef.  It sounds stupid because I know on paper what’s best and better, but seeing the difference in food color, understanding farm raised, grass-fed, etc just really clicked with me.  We bought wild salmon, flounder, sirloin, shrimp, chicken, a ton of amazing produce and a bunch of other stuff.  It’s all riveting, I know.

Saturday, we splurged and cooked filet mignon and roasted broccoli.  I seriously have a mega love affair with the roasted broccoli.  SO. GOOD.  NOM. NOM. NOM.

Tonight, we made the salmon with cauliflower rice (omg, amazeballs, I want this everyday), and a salad.  I’m not a big fish eater, in fact, I never eat fish, but I’m making an effort.  I was happy with the salmon, though.  It was easy to make and it was really tasty.  Did I mentioned the cauliflower rice was the greatest thing ever?  We have flounder and shrimp on the menu in the next week, so we’ll see how that pans out.

Another first for me this weekend?  Cooking with this stuff:

The cauliflower rice called for the coconut oil and I was surprised to see that it wasn’t a liquid like olive or vegetable oil.  It was like wax or really cold butter.  Also, it didn’t taste like coconut at all or even have any flavor (I don’t like coconut and expected there to be some kind of coconut taste/smell going on) and was really easy to use.  Sigh.  Sometimes, I feel like it’s my first day on earth with the things I talk about.

It was a good weekend.  I’m so grateful that my parents enjoy coming here every few weeks to see us.  It’s nice to spend a few days together in our new little life.  :)

Happy Weekend!

I’m not sure what to think of this weekend.  We had plans to go to the coast to celebrate my cousins daugher, Carly’s birthday, but the stupid weather interfered and we stayed in Raleigh instead.  With an anxious dog and bad storms in the area, we were’t comfortable leaving Hunter, even just for the day.  He tends to go nuts during thunderstorms, fireworks, or any other loud noises, so a day trip to the shore was just out of the picture.  Whomp, whomp.

When there was a break in the storms, we decided to go see the Hunger Games (like everyone else in the country), and I have to say that it was pretty good.  I only read the first book in the past month, so everything was super fresh for me but I enjoyed the movie.  It was a little slow in the beginning (the book is always better, right), but it really did stay true to the story in the book which I could appreciate.  I was a little nervous that Chris wouldn’t like it because he didn’t read the books (or have any interest), but he enjoyed it and said he’d probably go to the next two movies with me.  I should be done reading the second book tonight and will jump into the third to finish the series.  I’m excited to see where the story goes – I’ve heard big things are on the horizon.

For dinner, I sacrificed my own taste buds and made something I knew Chris would love (he did go see Hunger Games with me after all)!  I threw a package of chicken breast in the crock pot and then tossed in a bottle of bbq sauce and a can of drained pineapple, let it cook for six hours, and BBQ Hawaiian Chicken was created.  We served it over brown rice and it was a hit (for Chris at least, I’m not really a BBQ fan).

I got my car back yesterday.  It’s as good as new and all is right in the world again.  :)

Happy weekend!

Otherwise Known As Heaven in Your Mouth

You guys!  Remember when I was the domestic girl who cooked every night and planned a menu every week?  Remember when I was learning all sorts of new recipes and getting creative in the kitchen?   Remember those days?

Right!?!  So, those days are back!!  We finally went grocery shopping (two weeks after moving in, OMG we are laaaaazy we have been so busy) and have a fully stocked fridge with an entire week of dinner all planned out.  Cue the applause, the domestic gal (and the sous chef huzby) is back!

Anyway, we kicked off cooking in our North Carolina apartment for the first time with a bang.  I mean, like, dinner was so good I wanted to just eat straight out of the pot in which it was cooked.    Also, it was pretty easy to make.  Then again, when you have a Kitchen-Aid mini chopper, everything in life is easier.  Promise.

BEHOLD!!  Chicken Enchillada Pasta!

A little bit of onion...

...some red bell pepper.

Chicken, green chilies, red enchillada sauce, cumin, chili powder, and garlic!

Add in the bad stuff...sour cream + shredded cheese! We used skim versions of both for a less guilty feeling. :)

Mix everything with some whole wheat penne pasta and you've got a bowl of yummmmmaaaaaaayyyyy.

You may find the amazingness that is the recipe here.  And yes, I did find that recipe on Pinterest, but I actually clicked on the picture and ended up at the source, so don’t sue me.  K, thanks.

YOU’RE WELCOME!

:)