Sleepy Birthday Dinner

With all the exciting events from this weekend’s big engagement, Ryan and I are two sleepy people this evening.

After Ryan opened his birthday presents (he liked ’em, yay!), we nixed the idea of a nice sit down dinner in favor of a low key meal at Jimmy John’s, followed by an ice cream treat from Jeremiah’s Italian Ice.

Ryan's Gargantuan

 Ryan ordered the Gargantuan on the seven-grain bread from Jimmy John’s. Look at all that meat!

Meat Overload

I opted for a roast beef sub on their famous French bread.

Roast Beef Sub

I ate my whole sub and quite a few bites of Ryan’s. The seven-grain bread on his sandwich was doughy and so fresh! I couldn’t get enough!

Though I love the French bread from Jimmy John’s that I had on my sub, I wish they made a whole wheat sub bread.

After dinner, we headed to Jeremiah’s, a local ice cream stand and ordered cookies ‘n’ cream gelati (it’s a softer version of gelato) with vanilla soft serve.

Dessert

Mmm, Mmm Good

This dessert is one of the best in Orlando!

We’re off to relax and munch on some of the Swedish Fish Ryan’s mom sent him for his birthday before hittin’ the hay. Good night!

Lentil Lover

The last time I was visiting my family and was scrounging their pantry for goodies to take back to Orlando, I came across an unopened bag of dried lentils. I asked my mom what she makes with lentils and she said, “Nothing! They’ve been in there forever.”

I laughed because I had a bag of untouched dried lentils sitting in my pantry back at my apartment. I put my mom’s bag back and made a mental note to face my lentils at home and actually use them for something soon.

My lunch today was leftover lentil soup from Friday night’s dinner.

Lentil Soup

Leftover soup is always so tasty. I think the extra time allows the ingredients to compliment each other and the flavor to become even stronger.

To make the soup on Friday, I first I rounded up all the necessary ingredients.

The Goods

I then added a tablespoon of olive oil to a pot and tossed in diced carrots, celery, onion and two bay leaves and let the vegetables soften and sizzle a bit.

Veggies

After the amazing aroma began to fill the room, I added two diced garlic cloves and a tablespoon of tomato paste and let it cook for a minute or two.

Tomato Veggies

I then added three cups of water and a half a cup of dried lentils and let this mixture simmer on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes, until the lentils became relatively soft.

I then added approximately five cups of freshly chopped spinach, a decent squirt of dijon mustard, a large splash of red wine vinegar, a large pinch of parsley and approximately half a teaspoon of pepper to the soup and let it simmer on low for an additional 10 minutes.

Addin' Spinach to the Mix

The smell of the soup was amazing and we had a hard time waiting patiently to dig in.

Lentil Soup

The soup was very filling and full of fiber. It tasted great as a leftover Monday lunch, too! Success.

Bowl o' Soup

I condensed the recipe I found from Cooking Light and added additional spinach, but here is the original recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1 1/3  cups  finely diced onion
• 1/3  cup  finely diced celery
• 1/3  cup  finely diced carrot
• 2  bay leaves
• 2  tablespoons  tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 6  cups  water
• 1  cup  dried French dark green or other lentils
• 6  cups  chopped spinach
• 1/3  cup  chopped fresh parsley
• 2  teaspoons  red wine vinegar
• 2  teaspoons  Dijon mustard
• 1/4  teaspoon  black pepper
• 3/4  cup  (3 ounces) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion, celery, carrot, and bay leaves; saute for 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, salt, and minced garlic; sauté 1 minute. Add 6 cups water and lentils; bring mixture to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer mixture for 25 minutes. Stir in the chopped spinach, parsley, vinegar, mustard, and pepper; cook 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Ladle soup into bowls; top with cheese.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 234 (30% from fat)

Fat: 7.8g (sat 2.9g,mono 3.7g,poly 0.7g)

Protein: 16.6g

Carbohydrate: 26.6g

Fiber: 7.3g

Cholesterol: 10mg

Iron: 5.1mg

Sodium: 729mg

Calcium: 260mg

Question: What is something that always seems to go untouched in your pantry?

Key Lime Birthday

Today is my fiance‘s birthday! I can’t believe the man I’ve called my boyfriend for more than five years is now officially my fiance. 🙂

Woohoo!

After my morning workout I got down to birthday business, decorating the apartment with birthday cheer while the birthday boy was already at work. (He only checks the blog once I’m done with my evening post, so this is our lil’ secret. 😉 )

Ryan's Birthday Spread

Birthday Signs

I love celebrating birthdays and can’t wait to spend a special night celebrating Ryan’s 26th!

I was pretty darn hungry by the time I finally sat down to my breakfast. Yesterday I bought white chocolate key lime meringues and was anxious to incorporate them into my first meal of the day.

Key Lime Meringues

After eating a few straight from the box (yum!), I crumbled several of the fluffy cookies on top of my Greek yogurt and sprinkled the mixture with walnuts.

Key Lime Yogurt

Yummy

What a great way to start the day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!