My Meatless Month

Well well...it's finally done.  I went an entire month without eating ANY meat!

I've had a lot of questions regarding this decision...let me explain the biggest one.

WHY do this?
1.Well the main reason is that I'm coming more into animal rights and realize it's pretty hypocritical to fight for treatment only to nom nom on them afterwards.
2. I wanted to see if I could do it.
3. I wanted to see what it's all about (besides the animal treatment).

So...I did it!  It was an interesting experience.  I learned a lot!

PROS:
1. Less fast food and restaurant options for the places we normally go to.
2. (And because of #1) I realized how really limited those places are for vegetarians and vegans.
3. I wasn't eating meat and attempting to make a difference in animal treatment!
4. I had a lot of protein via beans and greens instead of meat.
5. My body didn't react badly.
6. (I think) some weight or inches were lost!
7. I learned about some substitutions for meat and other animal related foods (for example: you can replace eggs with applesauce for baked goods and there's NO taste difference)
8. I realized how much I (and many others) do not think about vegetarian and vegan options when making food for parties or special occasions.  I really need to be cognoscente of that!

CONS:
1. I found it really inconvenient.  (I know that sounds snotty but I'm being honest and realistic.)  Since there weren't really many options at fast food/restaurant locals (see PRO #1 and #2 above) and D and I are pretty busy...it was some times tough to figure out what to eat.  I had a lot of fruit smoothies and grilled cheeses, lol.
2. I did not research enough recipes. This was my fault.
3. I don't like (or haven't tried) enough veggies for this to be a full time option as of yet.
4. As Der was not going meatless for the month, financially and realistically I didn't really know how to plan our meals together when we actually were able to sit down.  Lucky for me-D was quick and when we could have meals together, he split a pizza without meat or assisted in helping me find something ;)

Overall I enjoyed it and plan on doing it again (further exploring other veggie options and researching more recipes), especially while I'm learning more about it (vegetarian history, movements, animal rights, etc.)

If you get the chance-DO IT!  Try it out, see what it's like from the other side and hell-maybe you'll keep it up!

Buffalo Chicken Roll

I was scrolling through my pinterest page looking for meal ideas when I came across this-the buffalo chicken roll!  The "real" name of this recipe is called Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread but I altered the title because the "garbage" part just didn't make any sense and honestly sounded completely unappetizing...So, after finding the recipe page I decided to try it out.

Buffalo Chicken Roll

Ingredients:
1-chicken breasts, cut into small pieces or shredded
2-dough (I bought pre-made pizza dough but you can make your own too)
3-1/4 cup wing sauce
4-1/3 cup ranch
5- shredded cheese
6-salt and pepper

Directions:
1-Sprinkle salt and pepper over chicken pieces.
2-Bake chicken at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked.
3-Reheat oven to 425 degrees.
4-Pull out dough and make into a rectangular shape.  The original directions say to lay floue on the counter or table before doing this...I used wax paper instead but I feel like flour would have been more beneficial here.

5-Cover dough with ranch and wing sauce. *NOTE: after we ate it I realized our personal tastes could have done with a little less wing sauce.  It's all up to preference but when I make this again, I'll be using less.

6-Next you'll layer the chicken and cheese over the sauce.

7-Next you roll it-from one side to the other.  I had to get D to hold the wax paper down while I rolled-since it was warm in the kitchen the dough was getting really soft so I had a bit of a hard time rolling...but I did it!  Stick the roll on the sprayed cookie sheet.

8-Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes. Pull out and VOILA!

It was so EASY and so GOOD!  It was the perfect size for me and D to eat so if you need bigger make bigger-it's a pretty flexible recipe.  The only thing I would change is the amount of wing sauce.  Other than that I suggest make this easy piece and eat away!

Happy cooking,

J

Oreo Truffles

I know pinterest is showing these all over the place and they are the CRAZE right now with everyone...and understandably so! They are divine and so super easy to make-great for ANY fall/winter party or get together!  If you are any kind of chocolate fan, you'll fall in love with these little bites!  I feel silly because I've made these twice in the past week and both times forgot to take pictures-oops, haha!

Check out this killer [and easy] recipe!

Oreo Truffles

Ingredients needed:
*1 pack of Oreos
*1 pack of softened cream cheese-fat free or regular works just fine.  (Make sure the cream cheese has sat out for at least 10 minutes and is soft before trying this-when it's softer it works much smoother).
*1 bag of chocolate chips (this can be any kind-I used both white chocolate and milk chocolate)
*Festive sprinkles (optional)

Supplies needed:
*1 large mixing bowl
*1 mixer-hand or automatic work just fine.  You can technically do this by hand but it would be much easier and less time consuming to use a mixer of some kind.  Call me lazy but this isn't how I like to work out my arms and spend my time, haha!
*Wax paper
*Trays (I needed 2 for this amount-both about 12"x6" baking trays)
*Rolling Pin (optional)
*1 Tablespoon (optional)
*Food processor (optional)
*Toothpicks (optional)

Directions:
Step 1-Break up entire pack of Oreos.  Using a food processor works best but you can also break them in pieces, stick the pieces in a large Ziploc baggie, and crush with a rolling pin.  The point is to get the cookies to a power like state.  Once pieces are "powder", place in a large mixing bowl (plastic bowl=not the best idea...I'll explain later).
Step 2-Place softened cream cheese in the large mixing bowl with the Oreo "powder".
Step 3-Mix Oreo "power" and cream cheese together.  You should end up with a dough like mixture.  **I say use a glass or sturdy mixing bowl because when I tried this with my flimsy plastic bowl crumbs went EVERYWHERE-on the floor, in the dog bowl, behind the counter...everywhere! So I would highly suggest using a glass or porcelain bowl to mix to avoid this mess, haha!**
Step 4- After making the "dough", pour chocolate chips into microwave safe bowl and put time on for 1 minute.  After 1 minute, stir chips and heat for 1 minute more.  After this, stir and you should have melted chocolate.  There are many other ways to melt chocolate but I find this works best when time is of the essence.  **I used both white chocolate chips and milk chocolate.  You can use whatever you want to make them taste awesome-this is the coating!**
Step 5- I used my [clean] hands but you can also use a tablespoon to scoop up/roll the dough into walnut size balls-obviously you can make these however big or small you need to but I find these are good sizes for finger desserts.
Step 6- Once balls are formed, roll/dip them into the melted chocolate.  You can utilize a toothpick, a spoon or your fingers to do this-just make sure they are completely coated in chocolate.
Step 7- Once balls are dipped in chocolate, place them on the wax paper covered trays.  Sprinkle if you wish.
Step 8- Place ball covered trays in the fridge to harden.  They need to harden or they become a gooey mess.

And that's it!  They need to chill for at least 20 minutes but they can stay overnight if you want.  Pull those puppies out, place on a serving dish and voila!  You're done! SO simple, pretty quick to make and SO SO good!  Mine came out a little messy but they more than make up for it in taste!

I hope you try this out-you'll wow your friends and not spend a lot on ingredients! Cheap and easy-why wait?!

Happy baking!
J

"Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack. We give it orders which make no sense." -Henry Miller

Have you ever put something into your body that you knew wasn't good for you and then, just to prove it, your body almost immediately rejects it?

Case in point: Sonic.

I have been eating fairly well this week and trying to eat small portions of the things that aren't so good for me.  Well last night, the husband and I decided to get something quick to eat since I didn't want to make dinner. Sonic it was and I got the worst things to eat: chicken finger sandwich, mozzarella sticks, and an Oreo blast.

Needless to say, my body, being blatantly pissed that I'd betray it with such crap, gave me about 10 minutes to savor it all before starting heavy stomach cramps and then promptly leaving my body.

10 minutes.

I should have known better.  But at least this way I didn't even have time to feel guilty for eating so horribly and my body gave me a 1 time get-out-of-jail-free-card so I can know better in the future.

Our bodies are so smart and independent.

So today: breakfast will be egg whites & 1 piece of plain toast, lunch will be fruit and a 6" sub sandwich, and dinner will be baked non-breaded chicken, peas and carrots-with a bit of dog walking and working out mixed in there.

I apologize to you body and today, I will make it up to you.

Hamburger Pie

So as part of my goal for meal planning, I made my first meal of the month based on our shopping list, budget, and meal plan!

It's called Hamburger Pie-so easy to make and yummy! This is a super quick and easy recipe though you can add to it to flavor how you like.

Basic Ingredients:
*1-1/2 lbs of lean beef
*1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
*2 cans of crescent rolls
*Shredded cheese of your choice

Suggested ingredients for extra UMPH:
*Finely chopped onions
*Green peppers
*Sour Cream

Directions:
1) Brown the beef on medium-high in large skillet
2) Once beef has browned, drain off fat and add soup into the beef. Stir together
3) Get 1 pie pan (size between 9in-12in) and layer bottom with 1 can of crescent rolls until sealed to sides.

4) Next, layer beef/soup mix over crescents and sprinkle as much cheese as you want over the beef. If you have left over meat mix, layer again.

5) Top layers with the other can of crescent rolls, sealing all sides and holes.

6) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  It should look like this once it's done:

7) It looks like a pie! How cute!? So let it cool for about 5 minutes then slice into it and serve.  We didn't make it with any sides but I think a nice cool, crisp salad served before this would make this perfect. Check out the insides!

A bit blurry but I know you're drooling! See the messy cheese and the buttery soft crescents? 

YUM.

And that's it! Quick prep and cook time and you can make 483067192 ways! Add what you think will flavor it to your tastes and go to town!

ENJOY =]

Great Date

The boy and I had a great date last night-we went to dinner at Bonefish Grille!
So yummy.
When boy said he had a surprise date for us and told me to "dress up" I got so excited!  So naturally-I went to get my nails done.

I got a muted beige/gray on the nails-perfect to go with whatever I decided to wear that night. (Fingers were done as well but I couldn't take a picture of them.)

As girly as it sounds, I LOVE getting my nails done.  I always feel a bit more chic when they're done, ya know?

So anyway: after much hustle-and-bustle through the Boro I came home and started getting ready for our little date!

Picked the perfect dress lent to me from my very best of friends, Destiny as well as her black peep-toes.  I won't lie: the dress made me feel even more confident and sexy than being asked on a date with such a stud ;]

Then-I curled my hair for the first time! I mean it's not in ringlets or big waves but flipped around a bit-showing a little sass.  I thought of taking before and after pictures but I forgot.  I guess I got so caught up in getting ready, LOL.  I REALLY like my hair curled.  Took all of 10 minutes and looked pretty good!  I paired the do with the real fresh-water pearl earrings Der got me for my big gift for Christmas-they worked wonderfully and it was the first time I wore them!

We got in the car and trekked to Bonefish Grille where we had to wait for over an hour to get seated.  Yes-a long wait BUT in comparison to some other restaurants in town it wasn't that bad.  My thought was that everyone had cabin fever and was SO glad to get out since the weather was amazing the past 2 days.

Anyway-we ate some AWESOME food (if you've never been there you're reallllllllllllllllly missing out) consisting of: bread & some of the best olive oil, bang bang shrimp-a MUST if you venture there, I got a 6 oz. filet with a small side of mashed potatoes while Der got the Imperial Longfin-which looked good and had fish, crab, scallops and shrimp combined!  Add a water, margarita, raspberry martini and a coke and you've got 2 perfectly content people enjoying one another's company!

I was starving so the smile was a bit strained, LOL.

Our waitress asked why we were dressed up-if it was a special occasion-and we just said we liked each other, LOL.  She thought that was really cool so she gave us a macadamia-nut brownie on the house! Super sweet and good! We also got chocolate Crème Brûlée and practically went in to sugar shock with how delicious it was.  (This girl loves her some Crème Brûlée.) 

We then ventured home for some one-on-one time and some snuggling before drifting away to sleep.

He's got the sass of a champion and the heart of a teddy bear.

I was really excited to show off my "new" look!

Love. Love. Love.

He's goofy...and that's why I like him =]

It. Was. Amazing.  So simple-and that was all we needed. <3

Goodbye July

As cliche as it sounds, I can't believe it's already the end of July!  This summer has flown by and I'm not even in school this coming fall!

I have been awake since 6:07 this morning-but I woke feeling rested and my allergies weren't completely kicking my face in so...not a bad start to this Friday.  I mean I've got coffee in hand, blog in lap before getting ready for work and I'm feeling alright.

Chattanooga was WONDERFUL, as it always is.  Mom's show "Brigadoon!" was sweet and I cried every time the live bagpipes were played-god they're TOO BEAUTIFUL!  We didn't get to see dad because he got called in to work but we were able to hang out with Destiny and see "Get him to the Greek" at the cheap movie theater-FUNNY movie.  I won't be back in the Noog until late August for Jen's party (see details below) but I think Destiny and Mom are going to come up here and see the new place!  =]

This weekend Tonya is coming down and we may paint and swim-totally looking forward to it!  I'm trying to convince Kelly, Wes, and the boys to come down but I don't think I'm winning, lol.  I'm going to make a big pot of what I call "Mess Chili" and corn bread that we can eat off and on all that day-and freeze what we didn't to use another time next week!

*Mess Chili is just your own chili recipe using whatever ingredients you want-following no specific "recipe" of any kind.  We're using:  green chili peppers, browned beef, black beans, chili beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, chili power, garlic, and potentially a little corn. Nothing too fancy-just yummy!  Just throw it all in a crock pot in the morning, set on low, and it should be done around mid afternoon/supper time! If you're on a time crunch-pump it to high and it should be done in a few hours.

Also my sister is graduating from University of Phoenix in Oklahoma on Saturday with her Masters in Business Administration! SO proud of her-she's been working her butt of for the past 2 years and it's paid off!  I think her and her husband (Steve) are going on a cruise at the end of august (?) to celebrate-as they should! The families are throwing her a party mid-august so she can get cards, money, gifts, etc. all while hanging out with the people she loves and eating some good grub!  I love when the family gets together.  If you haven't been able to tell, I am a HUGE family person, lol.

Derrick is officially an In-State student now-which drops his yearly tuition by almost 2/3!! He's still having to battle a bit with financial aid but it's all getting sorted out (early this time!) so he's got a month to work out the kinks before classes begin.

It's weird not going to school this semester.  I didn't last fall-but I was a fresh faced college grad who was desperately looking for work and waiting a bit before going in to Grad. School.  Now I'm aching to get back to school-I applied to MTSU for the Spring 2011 Grad. School Program.  I still haven't taken my GRE so I won't hear anything (if I do it will be: "We've got your application but before we can process anything, we need the following things...") until I do and get my scores.  I'm still aiming to take it in Late September/Early October...I think I can do it!  I'll have to start very slow until Derrick graduates because I've still got to work!  Still-I'm excited and hope things fall in to place within the next few months.  =]

Nothing too important to say, just a quick recap of the past few days to the next few days. 

Oh! I forgot to say we got a new comforter that matches the bedroom color scheme PERFECTLY for only $14.99!  Since it's a cheap comforter, I don't think we'll feel like it was a "waste of money" if we end up wanting another one, especially if we get new and bigger mattresses.  It's totally cute and when the bedroom is a bit more completed (almost there!) I'll post new pics.

The place is coming along quite well, if I may say.

I love your faces,

JeR

A great snack

Okay-I am sure all of you out there have had pizza rolls.  I made make-shift pizza rolls yesterday for a kind of afternoon snack/lunch for Derrick and I must say...they were quite good AND easy.

Yummy, huh?!

Another easy and inexpensive recipe made by yours truly-one of the best things when you're waiting on payday so you can get better ingredients and pillaging through you're pantry and fridge to find something to eat.

So-pizza rolls it was and they were delicious!  You can make 6295610 or you can make 4-it's up to you, your hunger size, and (potential?) party size.

Okay-you can use ANY assortment of the following ingredients-the point is for it to be easy, inexpensive, quick, and YUMMY!

Ingredients:

-5 Texas butter biscuit (they don't have to be butter rolls-they can be pieces of bread from the loaf, crescents, rolls, biscuits, etc. etc.-basically you need some bread-and it CAN be wheat or whole grain!)

-Pizza or pasta sauce (home made, canned, or jarred will work fine)-we used mushroom and green pepper pasta sauce from the jar.

-Assorted pizza toppings of your liking (we only had cheese). May I suggest: pepperonis, peppers, assorted cheeses JUST to name a few

Pretty much anything you'd like on a home made pizza-have at it.  Again, we were using what we had in the house (sadly enough, lol) so sauce and cheese it was.

With the bread: you can form it into a pizza like shape or you can keep flat and top accordingly.  Bake at temperature according to dough/biscuit/roll directions.  If you aren't sure-you can preheat at 350 degrees-a safe gauge when baking something for such a short amount of time.  Top the bread how you like (save the cheese!) and cook for 8-10 minutes or until dough/bread/etc. is golden or baked according to your liking (some people prefer a crispier "crust" while others like it more doughy) When you've got about 2 minutes left, pull them out, top with cheese, and place back in the oven for cheese to melt.

Pull out, cool for 1-2 minutes, and devour. That's it!

Easy enough for you?  They're delicious and easy.

Enjoy my friends.  Let me know how it goes if you venture.

XoXoXo

A surprisingly good feast

Well since my metabolism seems out of wack lately, I came home and immediately started cooking dinner for Der and me because I was soooo hungry.  I only ate 3 hours before but it seemed like it was 14 hours previous.

So, I set some chicken in the fridge last night and this morning to thaw and I wasn't sure of what I planned on doing with it...just that I was going to cook it, lol.

Okay-so I'm going to brag about something really quick. I love the frozen steamers.  I've had the peas, corn, and mix veggie medley and they all taste INCREDIBLE!  They taste fresh, take like 4-5 minutes to steam in the microwave, and they are perfect in size (depending on what you get).  We get the small one and it works just right for 2 people.

Next I got the badass mashed potatoes cooking-also takes 3-4 minutes in the microwave.  Yes: they are instant mashed potatoes but since we don't have them often and the "eyes" one potatoes creep me out, I flake out and get the flakes  ;]

So anyway-I got a few chicken cutlets out, cut them in little chunks, "soaked" them in olive oil and garlic powder salt, then threw them on the George Forman.  Man, they took like 3 minutes!  I swear, this was the quickest meal I've ever made!

When I pulled the pieces off the grill I sprinkled the chicken with some grated mozzarella and pepper...and it tasted SO SO good!

May I suggest this for dinner?!  I don't have a picture because we ate it so quickly but it's totally a meal I plan on cooking in the future.

Might I suggest some spontaneity and boldness when cooking? It really livens up the meal, the process, and the accomplishment  =]

Now: I plan on polishing off a few M&Ms for dessert.