Dinners Archives - Page 6 of 36 -

What I’ve Been Eating Lately: Eggs and Veggies

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 11, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Lunch
Post comments:9 Comments

I realize I use the WIAW as an opportunity to catch you up on my eats from the past couple of weeks, so instead of calling my posts What I Ate Wednesday, I should really call them What I’ve Been Eating Lately’s (WIBEL), but I like to join in on the WIAW action so you’re just going to have to roll with my WIBEL version of the WIAW instead. Got it?

What I’ve Been Eating Lately…

More salads and a homemade honey mustard chicken Dana made which was awesome!

Leftover veggie beef soup with loads of parmesan cheese…

Brown rice pasta with marinara and parmesan…

Tilapia, sweet potato, brussels sprouts, and avocado. I want this again. This was insanely delicious and probably tasted better because it was cooked for me by someone else.

Loaded salads with whatever I can find in the house: broccoli, mixed greens, sliced almonds, cottage cheese, black beans, etc….

Breakfast out with my dad before some Christmas shopping for my mom! Talk about great shopping fuel.

Southwest salad with leftover avocado ranch…

Eggs and turkey bacon…

How’s that for a quick little WIAW WIBEL?!

Thanks again to Peas and Crayons for hosting the WIAW party!

I hope you all have a nice Wednesday. Catch up with you later.

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 10, 2013
Post category:Dinners / holidays / Recipes
Post comments:15 Comments

Hello my beauties! I hope everyone is staying nice and warm inside on these frigid days as much as possible.

How about something fun to get your mind off of the cold?

I’ve got the perfect warm holiday appetizer recipe for you! I have to give thanks to Budget Savvy Diva for coming up with this wonderful masterpiece.

They’re warm, they’re cool, crunchy and creamy and they are SO darn delicious!

I’m talking about these Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Sauce. I actually called mine Santa Fe Egg Rolls but same difference I guess.

They do call for a little bit of TLC, but the end product is totally worth it. A little mixing, wrapping and rolling….and these babies are all yours.

I served the egg rolls warm and I cut them in half so that they were more of an appetizer-size.

My only regret is that I didn’t take a picture of the egg rolls after they were cut in half, and I also didn’t take a photo of the pretty green dip! So here’s my idea, you make these for your friends and family and you can see exactly what they look like!

Thank you Budget Savvy Diva for this awesome recipe! Here is the link to her recipe: Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch and below is her recipe but with a few of my adaptations.

Southwestern Egg Rolls with Avocado Ranch

Ingredients

Egg rolls:

Egg roll wraps (15 pack)
2 cups corn
1-15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1-10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
1-4 ounce can diced green chilies
2 green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
cracked black pepper

Avocado ranch dip:

1 cup ranch salad dressing (use your favorite)
1 medium avocado
2 tablespoons cilantro
juice from 1/3 lime

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cover large baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl mix together egg roll ingredients (except the egg roll wraps).
In a small bowl mix together one egg beaten and one tablespoon water.
Place first egg roll wrapper on flat clean surface. Brush top corner of egg roll wrapper with egg wash.
Place two tablespoons of egg roll mixture onto the lower one-third of the egg roll wrapper, leaving a small border around the edges. Fold button end up, followed by the sides, then finish rolling up. Place seal side down on baking pan. Spray the top with olive oil (or brush it on).
Bake for 25-30 minutes turning halfway*. Then turn broiler on and broil for 5 minutes if further browning is necessary. They are ready when golden brown.
While egg rolls are baking, place ranch avocado ingredients into food processor and process until smooth.
Serve egg rolls warm alongside cold avocado ranch dipping sauce!

The next day, I used leftover avocado ranch to top off my salad—such a brilliant idea; absolutely delicious.

What are your favorite holiday appetizers?!

Extended Thanksgiving & Now It’s Time for Christmas

Post author:Melanie
Post published:December 3, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Family / holidays / Moose
Post comments:16 Comments

Well, hello. How’s everyone holding up after the holiday weekend? I know I’m a little late with checking in as Thanksgiving was officially last Thursday, but many of us continued to celebrate over the weekend so I’m not too far off!

The last time I checked in I was recovering from Thanksgiving food coma #1. I’ll catch you up from there as the celebrations continued over the weekend.

On Friday, I started the morning off right with a slice of homemade gluten-free almond bread with peanut butter and a touch of organic maple syrup.

Mid-morning I got a four-mile walk in on the treadmill while watching Gossip Girls, again. 🙂 For lunch, LEFTOVERS of course!

After I filled my belly with turkey, Dana and I headed out to find our Christmas tree. Every year we go out to a tree farm and chop our own tree down. This year we went to two different tree farms, trekked around for a good hour and a half, and realized we were much too picky when it came to finding our tree this year and we left with nothing.

We weren’t finding one that was full enough or fat enough, so instead of settling, we moved on….to Costco. After our long hunt all bundled up in winter gear in the tree farms, we ended up buying our tree at Costco this year. It is absolutely perfect and was half the price too! We can’t say we didn’t try.

We set it up on Friday but didn’t decorate it until Sunday because the tree needed to settle, but here is the finished product from Sunday! Da da da da………

Moose was unimpressed but I’m impressed myself. It turned out great!

On Saturday we headed over to Dana’s parents to celebrate Thanksgiving with them. They made my favorite cheesy veggie recipe which I go crazy for.

Au gratin sweet and russet potatoes…

I contributed a fruit salad made with whole cranberry sauce, crushed pineapple, grapes, walnuts, and whipped cream. This was so easy and very tasty.

I cleaned my plate and loved every bite. Apparently I didn’t snap a photo of dessert but it was a very delicious piece of homemade pumpkin pie! Num num num. I love celebrating Thanksgiving twice!!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is officially time to think about Christmas. Who am I kidding, I was already listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving. But now it is in full swing: music, shopping, treats, snow, potlucks, mint mochas, family, friends, parties! I am excited!

Happy day to you all. I hope you had a great weekend!

The Food!

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 29, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / holidays / Sweet Treats / Workouts
Post comments:5 Comments

Thanksgiving was a huge success. I had so much fun with family and friends. I don’t think I stopped smiling all day.

I started the day off with my first 5k run in goodness knows how long!!! This particular 5k is my all-time favorite and I get excited for it every year. It has probably been 4-5 months since I’ve run a 5k but I ran the whole thing alongside a great friend and it felt fabulous.

My body is aching a bit today but I am okay with that! I am ready to start running again! I am extremely motivated to get back in shape after the rollercoaster past four months or so.

I hadn’t planned on running so my pre-race fuel wasn’t exactly the most nutritious, but it sure was tasty. We started the day off with cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven! My mom would always make these for us on holidays so making these in the morning definitely brought back a lot of memories.

Not much needs to be said about the food on Thanksgiving except for OMG. My all-time favorite meal of all times.

To appetize….Kevi brought crackers with cream cheese, olives, and bacon. These little babies are wayyyyy too good. I stopped myself at three but it was a struggle to keep my paws off of them.

The glorious 20# turkey…

Dressing/Stuffing…

Sweet potatoes…

Green bean casserole (I brought this one), recipe courtesy of Alton Brown with a few changes made by moi.

I forgot a photo of the mashed potatoes—one of my favorite parts of the whole meal!

My glowing plate. Oh wait, it was me that was glowing, not the plate.

My homemade desserts: Pumpkin pie and caramel apple pecan pie!!!

I finished the holiday feeling perfectly satisfied—not so stuffed I could hardly walk, but enough to satisfy my favorite meal food quota.

I am so thankful for this meal, for my friends, for my family, and for hope and faith.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving to those who celebrated and a great Thursday to those who didn’t! Happy FRIDAY!

WIAW: Sweet Potato Nachos & Five a Day

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 27, 2013
Post category:Breakfast / Dinners / Home Life / Lunch / Moose
Post comments:10 Comments

Tomorrow is THANKSGIVING (to those of you who are unaware) and I am just a tad excited!!!!! Tomorrow I will be walking and possibly jogging in the best ever 5K and then I will be going to mom and dad’s for family time and crazy good food!

I am bringing two pies: one homemade pumpkin and one homemade caramel apple. I’m also bringing green bean casserole. I happen to be a huge green bean casserole fan. I know it can be pretty hit or miss for most. I’m trying a new recipe too.

Enough about tomorrow, let’s talk about yesterday. I actually took off my lazy pants and made myself some pretty awesome meals. I’m going to join in on the What I Ate Wednesday fun!

To start the day, a cup of decaf vanilla bean creme brulee coffee with coconut creamer and stevia in my adorable owl cup that makes me very happy.

For breakfast, a fruit and yogurt bowl: FAGE Greek yogurt, agave, raspberries, blueberries, banana, raisins, cacao nibs, and pecan pieces.

A walk/jog on the treadmill happened mid-morning while watching Gossip Girl! I am getting back into running and I’m hoping to write about this soon. 🙂 Lunch: one of my favorite ol’ salads. In the mix is romaine lettuce (we ran out of dark greens), peas, avocado, red bell pepper, olives, broccoli, sunflower seeds, cottage cheese, and honey mustard dressing.

Dessert: dates with peanut butter!

Afternoon snack: crunchy juicy grapes, a handful of Crunchmaster’s Multi-Seed gluten-free crackers and a cup of tea.

Dinner: sweet potato nachos. Crispy sweet potato “chips” with cheddar cheese, black beans, corn, tomato, avocado, and salsa. So satisfying!

I rounded out the day with some Fiber One 80 calorie chocolate squares. Those babies are dangerous! They taste like candy but they are loaded with fiber so you need to be careful with your intake or you could face some major bloating and other issues.

The remainder of the night was spent on the couch hanging with my boys in my warm home and of course, in my sweatpants.

I’d say it was a pretty healthy day! I’m working towards redeeming my 5-9 daily servings of fruits and veggies. I used to be so good about it but lately have been sliding. I feel so much better when I reach the 5-9 mark and it’s something I am continuing to be mindful of and you should too!

As always, thank you Jenn for hosting the WIAW!

Are you celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow? Are you cooking up anything tasty? How do you make sure to get your five servings of fruits and veggies daily?

I’ve Been Cooking!

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 25, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Gluten-Free / Lunch
Post comments:12 Comments

Hello, hello! Did everyone have a fabulous weekend? Mine was incredibly low-key which is always fine by me. We got a lot done around the house: deep cleaned, took down fall decorations and put up Christmas decorations :smile:, and spent the majority of the day on Sunday putting up Christmas lights. I listened to Christmas music this weekend too which made me very happy.

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned how badly I wanted to get back into the groove of meal prep and cooking actual nice meals versus waiting until the last-minute and then throwing something completely random together. This past week, I got to work on that.

For lunch on Wednesday, I made myself an open-face egg and cheese sandwich (heavy on the mustard) which tasted absolutely perfect.

On Thursday I made eggplant lasagna with spinach and ground beef.

It was good, but not something I would make again. As much as I try to love eggplant, I just don’t.

On Friday I made us buffalo chicken salad with romaine lettuce, red onion, feta cheese, buffalo chicken, and buttermilk ranch dressing. SOOOO good! I love this salad.

On Saturday I took a break from cooking, mostly because I wasn’t super hungry once dinner time rolled around because I spoiled my dinner with ice cream. Whoops. #yolo #saystheRD

On Sunday I made a batch of cauliflower gratin based off of this recipe: Cauliflower Gratin by Good Dinner Mom. I didn’t have regular milk so I subbed in almond milk and I only had mild cheddar not sharp. This turned out pretty well still. On the side I had some leftover chicken (from the freezer) on top of spinach. Easy peasy dinner.

Later I snacked on some homemade air-popped popcorn while watching a couple of episodes of Breaking Bad with my guys! Later I grabbed some raisins and some other snacks too.

So there’s the proof. I’ve been cooking! I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.

Who’s excited for Thanksgiving?! Only three days to go!

Question of the day: Have you been cooking up anything tasty lately? Please share!

Treat Yourself Tuesday: Birthday Edition

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 19, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Family / Home Life / Sweet Treats
Post comments:15 Comments

This weekend was so wonderfully relaxing and family-filled; the perfect birthday weekend. There was a whole lot of tasty food, cozy time watching Breaking Bad, sweet treats, and more. Wanna hear about it?

I thought this would be the perfect time to take part in my blend Becky’s Treat Yourself Tuesday link up. It only took me a good 11 weeks to get in on the fun, but better late than never, right?

Becky’s Treat Yourself Tuesday…

“Between now and Tuesday, do something nice for yourself. Wake up a few minutes early and enjoy a nice, hot cup of coffee before your hectic day begins. Take a bubble bath when you get home from work Monday evening. Spend some extra time stretching after your workout this weekend. Treat yourself to a cookie or some froyo this afternoon. Or maybe head out on a girls’ night this weekend.

Do whatever feels best for you. Do something that will make you feel relaxed and loved and happy. Remember this is about treating YOURSELF – not your friends, not your family, not your spouse, not your dog – so make sure you really focus on you. Treat yourself well and treat yourself often so that you will become the best you possible and in turn be your best for others in your life!” source

So here is my treat myself Tuesday, birthday edition.

Starting on Friday night….

I haven’t been feeling too well so Dana and I had a quiet night in complete with a snack platter—Havarti cheese (my fav), salami (not a fan), shrimp, hummus, olives, and some Byerly’s chicken pasta salad. We enjoyed these little nibbles while watching at least two more episodes of Breaking Bad.

Dana made homemade chocolate chip cookies that evening as well. 🙂 K, really he made the dough. The cookies weren’t made until the next day. The dough is my favorite part!

Saturday was my actual birthday and it began with a free cup of Caribou Coffee—Lite Caramel Mocha. Yes.

The day was full of lots of sweet surprises…

XoXo to my blends Becky, Katie, and Caroline…

A bunch of birthday cards!

Lunch at Muffuletta Cafe in St. Paul. I got the mini muffuletta which is New Orleans style sandwich of ham, spicy capicolla, pistacio mortadella, and genoa salami piled high with provolone, smothered in our olive relish and served warm on fresh focaccia. Sweet potato fries on the side. Holy moly this was delicious! I was a little too excited to sink my teeth into this bad boy–sorry for the blurry photo.

Lunch was finished off with a free bowl of Sebastian Joe’s salted caramel ice cream with two spoons. I shared. 🙂

After lunch we headed over to the Como conservatory which features amazing plants and flowers. It was the perfect thing to do on a rainy cool November day.

After the conservatory we walked over to the Como Zoo and checked out the animals! I loved this part! I could watch the primates for hours.

Later in the evening we went to my brother’s for my birthday dinner with the family. I requested mom’s baked ziti with spinach and meat sauce. She even used gluten-free brown rice noodles!

Dessert was per my request as well—-homemade banana cake with chocolate frosting. There were lots of sweet treats happening this weekend!

We spent the rest of the evening at Comedy Sportz, which is an improv comedy club in Minneapolis. It felt GREAT to laugh and to be with my amazing family.

Of course I was spoiled with lots of presents too.

On Sunday Dana and I did our usual Sunday morning gig: newspaper, coupon cutting, and coffee.

For lunch we headed over to my in-law’s for a Greek dinner from Mediterranean Cruise Cafe.

And DQ ice cream cake!

And more presents. Seriously I am so spoiled!

I felt so much love this weekend and I thank you all for making my birthday so special. I don’t know what I would do without you all. You are my world.

My Foodie To-Do List

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 15, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Gluten-Free / Recipes
Post comments:10 Comments

It’s time for me to quit making excuses about getting busy in the kitchen. I miss being creative with my food, eating loads of veggies, and sharing recipes with you all. I’m going to work on getting back into the groove.

With the help of Pinterest and some of my previous blog posts, I have been inspired. I am adding the following food items to my foodie to-do list. My hope is that I can try to make something fun at least once a week, until I get back into the groove, then maybe more often than that.

Here’s what inspired me!

Portobello pizzas with tons of marinara sauce, veggies, and mozzarella cheese.

My Veggie Nut Pizza again with lots of sauce, cheese, and veggies.

My Thai Chicken Salad with Amazing Peanut Sauce

Broccoli and Cheese Soup from Peas and Crayons

Creamy cauliflower sauce over gluten-free brown rice or quinoa pasta and some broccoli and other veggies perhaps.

Polenta with Bolognese sauce

Buffalo chicken quesadillas

Spinach Quinoa Scramble

How’s that for a start? This lady needs to get back on track.

I need your advice: how do you get out of a cooking slump?

What’s on your foodie/recipe to-do list?

Weekend Update: Clean It Up

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 11, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Lunch / Misc. / Restaurants / Sweet Treats
Post comments:8 Comments

Happy Monday my friends. Yes, we are going to make Monday happy today. Think of one thing you are thankful for and make that your happy thought for the day. My happy thought: it’s my birthday month! What’s yours?

It’s going to be a real quick weekend update for you all today. Friday night, Dana and I were feeling so super creative and motivated in the kitchen that we ordered ourselves a Domino’s veggie pizza. 🙂

I whipped up a batch of Julie’s raw brownie bites in the Ninja Ultima. Holy cow you guys. If you haven’t made these yet you absolutely must. They taste like a fudgy brownie. SO GOOD!

Dana and I actually went out to eat this weekend. For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know this just doesn’t happen very often. I ordered chicken fajitas and they did not disappoint. Although, my favorite part of the whole meal was probably the beans on that side plate.

We spent the day on Saturday with friends and it was such a great time. It was very much of an impromptu hangout, and sometimes those are the best! We grilled up burgers and hung out with the kiddos and the babies! Loved it.

On Sunday I got cozy in the kitchen and made a batch of beef and veggie soup. I am realizing I need more zinc in my diet and the best way to get that is through meat. This soup was completely amazing! I may or may not share the recipe.

My body wasn’t too thrilled with me and my not-so-healthy weekend. I am going to do my best to get back on the clean eating track as best as I can within reason. It starts with that soup; mostly clean and veggie-packed! My body will thank me.

It was a quiet weekend once again which ends our quiet weekend marathon for a little while. We have lots of birthday celebrations coming up and I am obviously super excited!

One more thing before I leave you. My girlfriend Jen who blogs over at Brunette Anthem, is going to be featuring me and some of my healthy recipes over the next two weeks! Go check out her site. She is my fashion inspiration.

Happy Veteran’s Day to all. Today and always, we honor our nation’s veterans and those who are currently serving.

Anticipating Thanksgiving

Post author:Melanie
Post published:November 6, 2013
Post category:Dinners / Events / Family
Post comments:24 Comments

Before I go into the planned post, I just have to say…we got snow last night!

The reason I’m excited about this is because 1. It’s really pretty and 2. I know it isn’t going to stick around. I’m not really ready for permanent snow yet. It was kind of fun seeing that first thing this morning.

Anyway, I know Thanksgiving is still a few weeks away but if you’re anything like me, I go NUTS over Thanksgiving. We do the same thing almost every year. In the morning we participate in a 5K run/walk with a bunch of friends which is a blast, then we shower up and head over to either mine or Dana’s parents for a big Thanksgiving feast. Last year we actually hosted at our house and it went really well (minus the fact it took wayyyyyy too long to cook the turkey due to a fritzy oven), but I’m leaving it to the parents this year. 🙂

I love the intimacy of Thanksgiving; being with family, not stressing about presents, but just being together and enjoying each other’s company. It’s the best.

And don’t get me started on the food. Okay, get me started. I really want to talk about the food. Ever since I was little this has been on my top five of favorite meals. I only wish I could grow a second stomach just temporarily for the day so I could enjoy more of my favorite meal on the actual holiday. I know there’s always leftovers, but they aren’t the same.

My mom and I always discuss our Thanksgiving menu when the time rolls around and we joke about how I never want to deviate away from our standard spread. It’s just so darn good—why change a good thing?!

1. The turkey: my favorite part is the turkey breast.

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2. Mashed potatoes with gravy with some extra gravy over the turkey.

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3. Green bean casserole

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4. Stuffing

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5. Whipped sweet potatoes

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6. Cranberries

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7. Relish tray: pickles and olives (they are a must in our household!)

8. Some type of warm roll—I usually skip on this to save more room in my belly for other foods but the rolls are really good for leftover turkey sandwiches.

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9. Pie, usually pumpkin

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Don’t these lil babies look good?!

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For years, I would end Thanksgiving with a trip to my cousin Betsy’s house where we would get cozy in our sweats, eat leftover turkey sandwiches and watch White Christmas. It was always something I looked forward to to end out the wonderful loved one-filled day. This tradition still continues but I can’t always make it over there! I’m always there in spirit. 😉

The day after Thanksgiving Dana and I always go pick out our Christmas tree. I can’t believe in three weeks we will be putting a Christmas tree up in our house! Eeeeeee! I love this time of year.

My mouth is officially watering for some Thanksgiving food. Let the countdown begin to one of my favorite holidays!

Do you love Thanksgiving? Why?

What are your favorite Thanksgiving foods?

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions?