Portobello Pizzas

Since Ryan had jury duty downtown today, when he got off in the late afternoon we were able to meet up for a super-speedy date at Mochi.

Mochi!!!

Looks like frozen yogurt Friday came a bit early!

I knew we had to go today because word on the street was that they had red velvet *my favorite* fro yo on tap today. Who could say no?

Ryan and I shared a small cup of a swirl of red velvet and cheesecake soft serve with rainbow sprinkles, naturally. 😉

I was still a little full from lunch, so when we were making our bowl I kept our portion on the smaller side. Since the bowl was polished off in approximately 2.5 seconds, I think I could’ve handled a little more. We are seriously ice cream machines.

I get my love for ice cream from my dad. The two of us can do some serious damage to a carton of chocolate marshmallow ice cream. (That flavor is hard to find, by the way). Ryan is the only other person I’ve met that can hold a candle to our ice cream-eating abilities. And that is why I’m marrying him. 😉

Dinner

At the farmer’s market on Sunday, I nabbed several fresh portobello mushroom caps. I wanted to use them before they got all slimy and gross in the fridge so I decided to get a little creative in the kitchen.

Gooey cheese and savory marinara sauce sounded like a great combination to me tonight, so I figured I could incorporate both of them into my evening meal in a personal portobello pizza.

I used the mushroom caps as the pizza crust, and let them bake at 350 for 8 minutes or so after spraying them lightly with cooking spray.

I then topped the caps with sauce, cheese and olives and threw them back in the oven until the cheese was melted and slightly browned.

Portobello Pizza

I paired the portobello pizzas with a side of roasted zucchini.

Zucc

All Together Now

Dessert

After dinner, Ryan, Ross and I were in the mood for something sweet, so I whipped up a batch of flourless peanut butter cookies for us to nibble on while watching Jeopardy!

Three Ingredients... That's It!

Guess who had which cookie?

R + J + R

Just FYI

I added a link on my Q & A page for those of you who would like to ask me a question but are feeling a little bashful about emailing me directly. I know I love learning more about you guys, though I sometimes feel a little shy asking the questions I have for ya!

The link on the Q & A page will take you to a form that you can fill out anonymously. I’ll try to address your questions in a comprehensive post once a month or so… That is if there’s anything you guys want to ask that you don’t already know about me. 🙂

For those of you who are new to the ol’ blog, I did a series of Ask Me Anything posts a couple of months ago (You know, when everyone else was doing it? I’m such a bandwagon-rider. 😉 )… Anyway, here are links to those posts:

• Round 1
• Round 2
• Round 3
• Round 4
• Round 5
• Round 6
• Round 7
• Round 8
• Round 9
• Round 10
• Round 11
• Round 12

Of course, if you’re hoping for a fast or personal response to any of your questions, email (pbfingers@gmail.com) is always the best way to go!

Takes Me Back…

Today’s lunch took me back in time to the first year of my life in the “real world” after I graduated from college.

I’ve always loved food, but I haven’t always loved cooking. Baking, on the other hand, has always been near and dear to my heart (maybe it’s because of my enormous sweet tooth?).

When I graduated college, my meals were typically confined to Lean Cuisines, quesadillas, oatmeal, eggs and Lean Pockets… basically foods that were simple and fast… and nutritious, no? 😉 During this time Ryan subsisted on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Once I realized that preparing my own meals could be really easy as well (it takes less than four minutes to steam veggies!), my meal options opened dramatically and I began to really enjoy creating healthy and tasty meals for myself and Ryan.

I enjoy knowing what I am putting into my body rather than crossing my fingers and hoping that there’s nothing too harmful in the long list of ingredients on the back of frozen meals.

With that said, I do enjoy a frozen entree every now and then. Since I’m making an effort to avoid the grocery store this week, I relied on a frozen Lean Cuisine to get me through lunchtime.

Lean Cuisine Pot Roast

Meat and Veggies

I beefed up the beef pot roast by adding bunch of fresh portobello mushrooms.

Frozen Meal Feast

I am amazed at how much the addition of my mushrooms enhanced this meal!

Do you eat frozen meals? Any favorites?

Though I don’t eat them often, my favorite frozen meals are the Kashi entrees. The Southwest Chicken is delish!

BBQ Chicken Pizza = Great Use of Leftovers

I love it when leftovers lend themselves to the creation of a delicious meal that tastes completely different than the original dish.

The grilled BBQ chicken we had for dinner last night was great on its own and the remaining meat can be used in many different ways. I used a leftover BBQ chicken breast to create a flavorful BBQ chicken pizza for lunch today.

Leftovers in the Limelight

I first smeared a Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese wedge on top of a Joseph’s whole wheat pita. I added about a tablespoon of BBQ sauce on top of the cheese before topping the pizza with the sliced red onion and portobello mushrooms I sauteed last night.

After adding chopped spinach and the chicken, my pizza was ready for some heat! I microwaved it for 45 seconds and dug in.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

I love regular pizza with marinara sauce and lots o’ cheese, but this BBQ chicken pizza did not disappoint. I will definitely be making this bad boy again. Hooray for leftovers!

Examiner

If you find yourself in the fast food drive through in the morning or think you don’t have time to make a nutritious breakfast, click here to read my latest Examiner article for ideas on breakfasts that take less than five minutes to prepare.

 

Rave Reviews for Lobster Ravioli

When Ryan was off being a wild man of nature on his hiking adventure last week, I took my time browsing around the grocery store. I can spend shockingly long amounts of time in grocery store aisles and without Ryan rushing me encouraging me along, I often stumble upon fun foodie finds.

Last week the lobster ravioli caught my eye. At less than $5 a pack, I figured this would be a great way to enjoy a dinner that tasted gourmet on a poor writer’s budget.

Lobster Ravioli

YUM

Before boiling the ravioli, I sauteed yellow squash, onion and portobello mushrooms to add to the marinara sauce I used to top the pasta.

Veggies!

I wanted to incorporate extra veggies into this meal since the only vegetables I seemed to ingest this weekend were the ones on my burger. Oops!

Ravioli Bowl

My Bowl

Ryan said this dinner was a great way to carbo-load before our run tomorrow. 🙂 (Anyone else remember that episode of The Office where Michael carbo-loads on fettuccine Alfredo for the 5K Rabies Awareness Run? Hilarious!)  Ryan is joining me and Sadie on our morning run as we resurrect Family Fun Run now that his hamstring injury is healed.

With big full bellies we’re poppin’ The Proposal in the DVD player to enjoy a movie and relax for the rest of the night. See you in the morning!