Po(tay)to, Po(tah)to

It’s been quite some time since I’ve shared any recipes with you, so to make up for lost time, here are two mouth-watering food formulas for you to try!

Pizza Potatoes

I snagged this recipe from Whole Foods and made some changes to speed up the process.

Bottom dish was delish

Sunday lunch

• 4 medium russet, red or yellow potatoes 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided 
• 1 zucchini, sliced 
• 1 yellow summer squash, sliced 
• 1/2 pound sliced mushrooms 
• 1 small yellow onion, sliced 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 cup marinara sauce 
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

Slice potatoes in half length-wise and boil for 30 minutes or until tender.

When the potatoes are almost tender, heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add mushrooms, zucchini, squash, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until just tender and golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes.

Preheat broiler. Split open potatoes, transfer to a baking dish and top with zucchini mixture. Pour marinara over potatoes then top with mozzarella. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes, then transfer to plates and serve.

This is a fairly easy dish and cooks quickly. Next time, I think I would like to play with the toppings, maybe using more “pizza-like” things such as pepperoni, red onions, and olives. It was a major hit! Go try it and enjoy!

Potato, Spinach, and Feta Lasagna

I had two servings of this stuff. It's that good...

Ooey gooey goodness

• 2 yellow onions, chopped
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 2 bags fresh spinach
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½  cup feta cheese, crumbled
• White Sauce:
• 2 tbsp butter
• 6 tbsp cake flour (GF)
• Pinch mustard powder
• 4 cups milk
• Assembly
• 2 lbs yellow potatoes, peeled and sliced thin
• ½ lb ground beef (you can double this for an extra layer of meat)
• 1 cup grated cheese of choice

Preheat oven to 350 F and spray dish with nonstick spray.

Heat butter and oil in a saucepan, add onions, and fry until translucent. Add thyme and spinach until wilted. Stir in feta cheese and set mixture to the side.

Brown meat and add salt and pepper.

In another saucepan, mix milk, cake flour, mustard, and milk VERY well. Bring to simmer and remove from heat. If the mixture is too thin, add corn starch to desired thickness.

Make a double layer of sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Spread half of the spinach mixture on top. Use all of the meat to make another layer on top. Cover with a layer of white sauce. Put another layer of potatoes, spinach, and white sauce. Top with grated cheese and bake for 40 minutes or until cheese is golden brown. Enjoy!!!

Hello, Boredom. I Haven't Missed You.

Boredom and I hardly ever make acquaintances, but today, I had the pleasure of greeting my long-lost, unwelcome friend. The fact that I am writing this post mid-day should signify something. This morning, I was awakened at 5 AM by the pitter-patter of little paws on my floor. I managed to go back to sleep until 7, when claws tapping around outside my door could no longer be tolerated. I opened it to find 6 dogs, waiting rather impatiently for me to start my day. Reluctantly, I crawled out of bed, got my coffee, and chatter with my madre before she left for work.

Then I noshed on some breakfast, my favorite meal of the day.

Almond craisin tea cookies, egg puff with hot sauce, and a cuppa de strawbeezies.

 The tea cookies, or whatever you want to call them, were amazing. Just as Mama said.

Almond Craisin Tea Cookies

•  2 cups GF Bisquick
• 5 1/3 tbsp butter
• 2/3 cup milk of choice
• ½ cup almonds, chopped
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 4 tbsp brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the butter into the Bisquick until you have pea-sized bits of floury butter. Then mix in the almonds, craisins, and brown sugar. Pour in the milk and mix well.  Pour into heading tablespoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet and flatten just a little (so you don’t have dough balls rolling around on your sheet). Cook for 13 minutes or until golden brown on top. Makes 20 tea cookies. Enjoy!! For making larger ones, use the same recipe, but cook for 16 minutes.

After breakfast, I got straight to work on a term paper for one of my classes. And I finished it. Ka-Bam! By 10:30, I was done-zo.

What to do, what to do? I cleaned out all of the clothes in my closet that I no longer wear in an attempt to make my upcoming packing a little easier.

Afterward, I made lunch and sat outside in the lovely Florida sun.

Tuna salad in lettuce boats with a crap load of carrots and a pickle.

 After that, boredom started to creep over me. I napped to cure it. When I woke up, the realization that I had the same lack of things to do as I did when I went to sleep made me feel a little restless. So, I had third meal:

Yes, that is a 20 oz. vanilla, banana, peanut butter, cinnamon shake. Complete with green nutrients.

 Confession time: I eat regular, hydrogenated oil-filled peanut butter. This is one of the few unnatural, (somewhat) unhealthy thing I eat, so I am totally ok with it. The fact is, I like it, and I don’t care to change it. And, it makes for one mean protein shake. As does this protein powder.

Take a look at those stats! Perfection! That would be my unnatural peanut butter covering the word "organic." Oh, the irony.

I just made my mother’s bed so that I don’t feel like a complete waste of space. The plan for the rest of the day is: doing Women’s Health workout, walking it out like a stunna with Mama, and finding something to do.

The possibilities are, well, limited. I have a feeling Netflix and I are going to be seeing each other again tonight.

Life is a Highway

During this blogging adventure that I have been on for the past 7 months (I can’t believe it’s been that long), I have realized a lot of things about myself. Having your life documented every day has definitely given me a new perspective on things.

One thing that has really stood out to me is the fact that my life is a constant ebb and flow. I don’t want to say up and down, because that implies happiness and sadness, which is not always the case. It’s just a waxing and waning of, well, life.

Let’s take food, for example. I felt like my food choices the past week had been mediocre, and that I was sometimes eating just to eat instead of eating to enjoy (an act I’m not very fond of). But on Sunday and Monday, I got back on track with my deliciously nutritious meals. Who says health has to be boring? Quite the contrary!!

Sunday eats:

Oatmeal with cooked apples and a spoonful of peanut butta on top.

Turkey pickle sammich with left-over roasted veggies. The sandwich= bomb diggity.

Chocolate peanut butter shake with greens.

 My first thought was, This is interesting... Second thoughts? None. I got over it.

Banana bread "cake."

 I used Better Batter's Yellow Cake mix to make this cake. It was so easy because I didn't have to worry about adding sugar or anything to the mixture. It was so light and fluffy, and oh-so-decadent. Here's what I did:

 Banana Bread "Cake"

• 4 bananas, mashed
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix up all the ingredients and pour into a 11x9 grease baking dish. cook for 15 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil, turn the heat down to 325 and cook for another 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Voila! Enjoy!

Holy amazing. There is less than half the cake left. Special thanks to Better Batter for sending me their awesome GF mixes! I can't wait to try them all out!

French toast with strawbeezies OTS.

 It was clear that my eye was bigger than my stomach and I couldn't eat the last piece of toast. Luckily, Gigantor packed it away for me.

New favorite tea.

 Everyone who has tried  this tea agrees that it's basically liquid Red Hots. It's pretty much the most unbelievable thing ever.

Monday munchies:

Mexican Quinoa Egg Bake with a pear OTS.

Mexican Quinoa Egg Bake

Seriously, this one's so easy. Almost too easy for how delicious it is.

• 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp salsa (plus more for the topping)
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix quinoa, eggs, and tbsp of salsa and put the mixture into a greased (w/ olive oil) microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 5-6 minutes, or until there is no more liquid on the surface. For those of you who are microwave-aphobics (like my mother), bake this at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes. Top with your favorite salsa and/or sour cream. Enjoy!

Tuna salad, GF crackers, sweet peppers, and a pickle.

Banana bread "cake." Yum-O!

Chicken salad beast: spinach, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radish, red pepper, garbanzo beans, and a whole chicken breast topped with raspberry walnut vinaigrette. Exquisite.

Let’s discuss the home life. On both days, I’ve taken my nap outside in my bathing suit instead of inside under the covers. This Florida weather has been rocking my world as of late.

Lovin' the neck strain.

I'll never get over the gorgeous view.

Looking over my history in the blog world, another trait of mine that has come to my attention is how quickly I become unhappy when things aren’t on the up and up. I think the most important thing for me is to recognize the really great moments, but also acknowledge the “ho-hum” ones. Life can’t be perfect and wonderful all the time and you have to just be able to recognize, live in, and appreciate those awesome, warm, happy, joy-filled times when they come. (Here's the cheese and the cliché . Are you ready for it?) Instead of thinking about life as a roller coaster with ups and downs, I want to think of it as a winding road, if you will, with twists and turns (it makes me feel better). If life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long...