Emotional

After work today I got a hair cut (nothin’ fancy, just a trim), but since I didn’t get home until later than usual, I wanted dinner to be ready in a flash! 

Thank goodness for the grill. 

Ryan got to work grillin’ up some chicken breasts that we marinated in Asian sesame salad dressing while we were at work today. 

Asian Sesame Chicken

I tended to the veggies and roasted some Brussels sprouts after tossing them in olive oil and garlic salt. 

My Plate

Chicken 'n' Veggies

 Ryan cooked the chicken perfectly and the leaves of the Brussels sprouts were perfectly singed. 

Emotional 

When it comes to emotions, I feel like I am a pretty consistent person. On occasion though, I feel oddly emotional. I think it happens when something sets me off… a sappy song, a loving email… something like that. 

Well, my mom has her final surgery related to her breast cancer treatment scheduled for the end of the month and after watching Robert ‘s dance to Coldplay’s “Fix You” on So You Think You Can Dance last night, I couldn’t help but feel moved. (If you liked that dance you must watch Melissa and Ade’s breast cancer dance from a past season. Tear jerker!) 

Seeing Robert’s dance reminded me of a gorgeous rendition of Coldplay’s “Fix You” by the a cappella group Straight No Chaser that I heard a couple of months ago when Ryan and I saw them in concert. 

With the help of Grooveshark, I played the song on repeat for the last hour or so of my workday to help me get through some monotonous tasks (think Excel spreadsheet fun). (If you click the link to listen to the song, keep listening for a while. It really picks up and gets super intense! LOVE it.) 

As if I wasn’t in an emotional state as it was because of listening to this amazingly beautiful song over and over again, I received an email from Ryan that completely set me off. 

As part of our wedding ceremony, our pastor has asked each of us to write down the three things we love most about each other for him to read before we exchange our vows. Well, around 4:30 this afternoon, Ryan emailed me his three things. I was so moved. 

Ryan and I have joked back and forth about our three things for a couple months now and I half expected to see something like “I love Julie’s butt” as one of his three things. After reading his amazingly thoughtful list, I can assure you that my butt did not make the list… but three wonderfully romantic statements did, and I feel so lucky to be engaged to such a wonderful man. 

Me & My Hubby-to-Be

I apologize for being so mushy-gushy, but if you listen to that song on repeat for an hour, I assure you that you’ll be professing your love and emotions to anyone who will listen, too! 😉 

Question of the Evening

What song always makes you tear up?

Sandwiches > Salads

To me, sandwiches > salads.

Though you can cram a bunch of stuff into a salad, I still prefer lots of veggies smooshed between doughy bread smeared with whatever condiment is calling to me that day.

Chicken Sandwich

Today I made myself a simple chicken sandwich on a Pepperidge Farm whole wheat deli flat. I topped the bread with roasted red pepper hummus, spinach and plum tomato slices.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

On the side I enjoyed a cup of perfectly ripe grape tomatoes.

Grape Tomatoes

Lunch is Served

Even though it’s hotter than Hades outside, I am grateful for this season because of all the extremely fresh and inexpensive produce. 😀

Question of the Afternoon

What do you prefer: sandwiches or salads?

Reader’s Recipe: Rosemary Chicken

Thank you to Kelly for submitting a recipe for rosemary chicken from Real Simple magazine, which I selected as my first Reader’s Recipe!

*Don’t forget to comment on this post with a recipe or key ingredient you think I should try next week!*

I was intrigued by all the yummy veggies in Kelly’s  recipe, but what sealed the deal for me was the ease of the recipe. You guys know I love easy, peasy dinners!

After work, I swung by the grocery store to pick up the necessary ingredients as well as my weekly essentials.

I arrived home to my sick fiancé and crazy dog. Poor Ryan stayed home from work today because he’s not feeling so hot. This dinner seemed like the perfect dish of comfort food for a sick boy and I figured it was  good night to try out this warm and nutritious meal. Let’s hope it helps him get healthy fast!

Dinner came together quickly, and after a few minutes of slicing and dicing, the chicken and veggies were a-roastin’!

Rosemary Chicken + Roasted Veggies

Rosemary Sprigs

My favorite part of this dish was the roasted zucchini. The combination of the veggie with the olive oil and sweetness of the rosemary made it taste phenomenal.

Chicken

My Plate

Ryan and I both enjoyed second helpings of this dinner. Ryan said we should make thie recipe again if only for the smell. The rosemary made our whole apartment smell fantastic!

I also enjoyed a small bottle of POM Wonderful pomegranate juice with dinner for some added sweetness.

POM Juice

I’m off to unpack from our weekend in St. Pete before climbing in bed early. I’m tiiiired.

Rosemary Chicken with Zucchini

Serves 4, Hands-On Time: 15m Total Time: 1hr 15m

Ingredients

• 1 pound new potatoes
• 2 carrots
• 2 small zucchini
• olive oil
• whole-grain mustard
• 1 bunch rosemary
• kosher salt and pepper
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 1-quart resealable plastic freezer bags

Directions

1.  Heat oven to 400° F. Quarter the potatoes. Peel the carrots. Cut the carrots and zucchini into 2-inch sticks. Mix them in a bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons mustard, 1 tablespoon rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
2.  Roast for 25 minutes. Toss the vegetables, turn the chicken, and continue roasting until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes more. Divide among individual plates.

Daycation

After a relaxing Sunday morning and a yummy breakfast, my family and I headed to church and enjoyed an uplifting service before heading out to see manatees at Tampa Electric’s Manatee Viewing Center.

Manatee Viewing Center

With Mom and Dad

Mom and Sister in the Mangroves

The viewing center was located in Apollo Beach near the Big Bend Power Station.

Big Bend Power Station

The manatees gather near the power station during the colder months because the waters are warm due to discharge from the station. There were literally hundreds of manatees in the canal.

Lots o' Manatees

Sea Cows

Mama and Baby Manatee

The manatees were so neat! We were really surprised how many people came out to see them. The viewing center was slammed!

Lunch

After a family fun day with the manatees, we headed over to Kojack’s, a BBQ restaurant in South Tampa.

Kojak's

I love hole-in-the-wall restaurants that serve the best food… Kojak’s is that kinda place!

I ordered the quarter chicken with cole slaw and baked beans.

BBQ Chicken Plate

It was moist and delicious. My mom also gave me a couple nubbles off her rib plate, which was also delicious.

My family and I joked that today felt like a daycation. It felt nice to get out and do a touristy activity together and enjoy quality, local food!

Reader’s Recipes

I arrived home today to one of my favorite things in the entire world: packages!

One of my packages was a big ol’ box from POM Wonderful.

Me 'n' Pom

I’m a lucky lil’ blogger! Though I am excited to enjoy several bottles of this 100% pure pomegranate juice, I think Ryan was even more excited. He’s been quite the POM fan for several years.

Juicy Julie

The bottle shape is quite funky and inspired Ryan to do some POM presses and POM curls.

POM Workout

Clearly our entire family had a little extra energy today, so we leashed Sadie up for a romp at the dog park.

Funky Sadie

 I took what may be one of my top five favorite pictures of Sadie as she was spitting out leaves and dirt. Her jowls got all caught up in her mouth and she looked like such a goof.

My Lil' Goofball

We could not stop laughing at this picture! She looks ridiculous! 😀

Dinner

Tonight’s dinner was another simply delicious simple meal!

Chicken prepared in the ol’ crocker with BBQ sauce and roasted veggies on the side. Mmm, mmm good!

My Plate

BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich

 I also had a small bowl of artichokes on the side.

Artichokes

Reader’s Recipes!!!

I think one day you guys are gonna find me and throw all the meals I make week after week in my face. I hope you’re not too sick of them(!!!)… Buuut, just in case you are…

I’d like to reach out to all of you for your help! I’m going to try out a new READER’S RECIPE each week in March.

I’ll make a recipe based on a recipe submitted by one of you, or I’ll create a new recipe using key ingredients you guys suggest. Fun, huh?

Please comment on this post with a recipe (or a link to a recipe) you think I should try. If you don’t have a specific recipe in mind, simply comment with a key ingredient you think I should incorporate into a meal.

Feel free to submit recipes for any meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) and baked goods as well! I don’t discriminate.

(Please do not suggest catfish or any catfish-based recipe because I can 100 percent guarantee your suggestion will not be selected… I have my reasons. 🙂 )

Woohoo! I’m already excited to try out some new delicious dishes!!!

I’ll select a recipe to try tomorrow and then after I make the recipe and post about it, you can comment with more recipes for me to select from for the next round. Sound good?

Let’s get cookin’!!!