From Appetizers to Breakfast

My breakfast this morning was created using leftover appetizers from yesterday’s BBQ.

A coworker of mine gave me a recipe for an appetizer called buffalo chips, and the leftovers were perfect for including in an egg scramble.

To make the buffalo chips, I cooked a roll of sage sausage, a pound of lean ground beef and half a block of the medium size 2% Velveeta cheese in a skillet, before placing the meat mixture on whole wheat mini toasts and baking it at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the buffalo chips (especially the guys), and I used the leftover meat and cheese mixture to create an egg and sausage scramble for breakfast.

Breakfast Scramble

After reheating the meat in a skillet and scrambling two eggs, I topped the bowl with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese and flanked it with whole wheat toast.

Chedda is Betta

Sausage, Egg & Cheese Scrabble

Ryan really enjoyed this breakfast and said the sausage mix reminded him of the sausage meat inside a McDonald’s sausage breakfast burrito (He meant this as a compliment 😉 ).

Breakfast Bowl

Percy Jackson

This morning I also finished reading the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I thought it was a very entertaining book and once I got over the fact that it’s written in the perspective of a  12-year-old boy I really enjoyed it. It’s no Harry Potter, but I found it interesting enough to want to read the next book in the series!

I am trying to talk Ryan into seeing the movie today (He’s already finished the first three Percy Jackson books)! It’s playing at a nearby theater where you can see  movies for $2 that are out of the big theaters, but are not available on DVD yet.

Have any of you seen the Percy Jackson movie or read any of the books? What did you think?

I’m off to take Sadie on a walk to the farmer’s market to pick up some goods for the week! I hope they have some yummy samples! 😀

Sausage Veggie Scramble

I think having fresh veggies on hand makes planning healthy meals so much easier. Plus, I want to use the veggies before they go bad, so I’m much more likely to enjoy a meal featuring the nutrient-rich goodies so I do not have to throw away food.

For today’s lunch I prepared portobello mushrooms, yellow squash and Aidells organic chicken sausage on the griddle to create a sausage veggie scramble.

Sausage and Veggies

A bed of steamed broccoli served as the base for my lunch, which I shook up to evenly distribute all the different yummy flavors.

Lunch Scramble

I loved the slight (and I mean slight) spiciness from the sausage. It took this plain and simple lunch to another level.

Do you eat more fresh or frozen produce?

I definitely eat more fresh produce. I was actually shocked to find that fresh veggies and fruit go on sale all the time. I generally buy whatever food is on sale at the moment to save money. Certain fruits like raspberries and blueberries I typically buy frozen though since they seem to cost and arm and a leg year round.

Tonight

Tonight is my company’s holiday party. I am picking Ryan up before heading out for cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres at a local trendy wine bar.

Should be fun!

Does your company have a holiday party?

I actually planned the holiday party at my first job right out of college. I loved every minute of it! I had everyone submit an unknown fact about themselves and then we read them aloud and people shouted out who they thought the fact was about.

It was really interesting and made you realize just how little you know about some of the people you work with every day. We learned one girl was in a movie with Burt Reynolds when she was younger. Neat, huh?

What’s a fun fact about you?

Paper Airplanes, Robin Williams and a Veggie Stir Fry

A Friendly Office Competition

Yesterday really felt like a Friday at work. Everyone was energetic and antsy waiting for the weekend to arrive. That, coupled with the fact that it was the last day for one employee who is moving to New York, made the office quite a-buzz.

At around 4 p.m. my boss came into the “writer’s cube” and told us there would be a paper airplane competition commencing in approximaltey five minutes. We scurried to create the fastest, most aerodynamic jets we could from scrap paper.

Paper Airplane Competition

Sadly, the only paper airlplane I ever learned how to make was the old fashioned “hot dog style” plane (Exhibit A: bottom right corner of the picture). I loved my plane and even wrote “Air Julie” in hot pink on the sides, but this affection did not motivate my little flier to fly.

I’m sad to report I actually came in last place out of the entire office in the paper airplane competition. I think Ryan was more disappointed about this news than I was. I believe his exact words were, “Oh Baby, we gotta work on that.” Apparently it’s quite a serious issue.

Dinner

When I got home from work, I quickly assembled a veggie stir fry using random veggies we had on hand.

• Eggplant
• Zucchini
• Onion

Veggierific

I chopped the veggies and sauted them in a pan sprayed with cooking spray. I also added a freshly chopped garlic clove and two sun-dried tomato and mozzarella chicken sausages.

Once the veggies softened, I added a splash of marinara sauce and topped the mix with breadcrumbs.

Cooked Stir Fry

Topped with Marinara

Topped with Italian Breadcrumbs

Ryan and I both loved this simple dinner. The flavor of the sausages really infused all the veggies. Very tasty!

Lots o’ Laughs

After dinner it was time to head toward the UCF Arena for ROBIN WILLIAMS! Yahooooo!

Simlin' before Robin Williams!

Tons and tons of people came out to see Robin perform. He was beyond hysterical. I laughed until my tummy hurt!

Unfortunately cameras were not allowed so I couldn’t snap a picture of Robin, but here’s a picture of his stage:

Robin's Stage

I love a great night filled with lots of laughter!

Cheese, Sausage and Squash… What Could Be Better?

…well, ice cream. 😉

But since I was planning dinner and not dessert, cheese, sausage and squash seemed like the makings for a delicious dish.

Before starting dinner, Ryan and I took Sadie on a walk around the lake.

Ryan and the Pup

Spooky lookin’ skies made us walk a little faster.

Menacing Skies

Despite our super-fast walking, we got caught in a downpour. Thankfully, in true Florida fashion, it was over within five minutes. We were able to hide out under a big tree that kept us mostly dry.

When we walked back to our apartment I noticed Grimace the Pumpkin’s smile has turned into a smirk with age. I still love you, Grimace!

Me, Sadie and Grimace

By the time we got home our tummies were a-grumblin’. It was tiiiiime for dinner.

I was motivated to use my acorn squash when I saw that this lil’ baby is the featured ingredient in the Blogger Secret Ingredient contest, currently hosted by Megan this week. I’m not a fancy-dancy chef or an expert photographer, so hopefully this un-glamorous dish will appeal to someone, likely a simpleton like myself. 🙂

Here are the supplies for tonight’s sausagey squash dinn-ah:

Sausage Acorn Squash Ingredients

To begin, I poked the acorn squash all over with a knife before microwaving it for five minutes (flipping it over at three minutes).

While the squash was a-cookin’, I combined sliced Aidell’s sun-dried tomato and mozzarella sausages, onion, garlic cloves and sliced mushroom in a pan coated with a bit of olive oil. I let the mixture cook until the onions were soft and slightly caramelized.

Onion, Mushrooms, Garlic

Sun-Dried Tomato and Mozzarella Sausage

Veggies and Sausage

I then added tomato basil marinara sauce over the mixture and let it simmer on low.

Sizzlin'

Once the squash was tender, I removed it from the microwave, cut it in half and removed the seeds before filling the squash-pockets with the sausage mixture.

Acorn Squash

Stuffed Squash

Since I can’t seem to eat anything tomato-based without cheese, I topped the filled squash with shredded cheese before placing it in the oven at 325 degrees. I let it bake for approximately eight minutes, until the cheese was ooey-gooey.

Sausage Squash with Cheese

Voila! Super easy sausage squash!

 

My Bowl o' Squizz-ash

 

Spectrum Sports Performance Personal Training

Last week at my friend Merri’s pumpkin carving party, she mentioned that her gym Spectrum Sports Performance is offering free personal training sessions to women this week. I’ve heard Merri rave about this gym since she joined, and her stories about the intense cardio sessions and creative weight circuits trainers have designed for her have always peaked my interest.

Picture from Spectrum Sports Performance

I jumped at the opportunity to give this gym a shot. (You guys know I love freebies!) Early tomorrow morning I am meeting with Rob who will be taking me through a cardio workout.

Check out Rob’s impressive bio:

Rob is a graduate of Hofstra University and brings a unique combination of passion and commitment to the SSP Team. After two years at the University of Louisville he transferred to Hofstra University where he was a 3 time All American kicker at the Division 1 Level. It was at Hofstra where Coach David Cohen called Rob, “The hardest worker he has ever coached.” His love of sports appears to only be surpassed by his passion for Health and Fitness and we’re confident this experience and enthusiasm will translate into great things for our clients.

In addition to his collegiate experience Rob has worked under Steve Saunders with fellow Performance Specialist Nate Caraway. at Power Train Sports one of the elite training programs in the northeast. It was at PTS that Rob gained valuable experience working with athletes at the Professional, Collegiate and High School levels. He has also coordinated and contributed to a number of Football, Soccer and Basketball training camps and is on the staff of FKS, a kicking school owned and operated by Tom Feely.

Before SSP Rob spent some time in the Cleveland Browns NFL training camp and currently is ranked in the top 5 of all active college kickers in 3 major categories including 1st in the nation in Kicks made per game. A graduate of Colonial High School he was a 4 year Letterman in Soccer and Football. He was named Captain of the Soccer team in 2001 and 2002 and lead the Grenadiers to their best record in school history in 2002.

They were kind enough to ask about my gym routine and are designing a cardio workout since Thursday is typically a cardio-only day for me, as I do total-body weights on Wednesdays.  Since I’ve never worked with a trainer before, I’m nervous and excited to see what they have in store!

I find myself falling into a workout routine lately and I think this is a great way to shock the old bod and try something new and challenging. If  I don’t post tomorrow morning, I may be passed out on the gym floor…

Question: Have you ever worked out with a personal trainer? Did you enjoy your experience?

Gettin’ Some Omega-3s in Me

We had some leftover turkey sausage from Sunday night’s creole shrimp and sausage stew, but I just wasn’t feelin’ that for dinner last night. Ryan popped open two beers and boiled the sausages in the bubbling brew before tossing them on the grill for his dinner while I opted for a salmon burger… gotta get those omega-3s!

Sea Pak Salmon Burger

SeaPak salmon burgers are phenomenal. The burgers are big, juicy and contain 18g protein in each 110-calorie patty.

I created a dill-mayo spread to add a creamy kick to the burger.

Miracle Whip, Dijon Mustard, Dill

I combined light Miracle Whip, Dijon mustard and lots of dill to make the spread.

Creamy Dill Goodness

I smothered the spread on top of a toasted whole wheat Arnold sandwich thin and topped it with sliced plum tomatoes and cucumber.

Added Veggies

While Ryan was cooking the salmon burger and turkey sausages on the grill, I chopped up some Brussels sprouts and tossed them with two teaspoons of olive oil, salt and pepper.

Brussels Sprouts

I spread them out on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray and roasted them in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes, flipping them halfway through.

Before Roasting

As the burger and sausages came off the grill, I pulled the sprouts out of the oven and popped a few in my mouth.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I know they have quite the nasty reputation, but I promise these lil’ babies are quite tasty!

All Done

I gave Ryan a lot of credit for cooking my salmon burger perfectly. It was juicy and had some pretty impressive grill marks! He’s like a real chef or something!

Check Out Those Grill Marks!

My Plate

One More Time

Just in case you’re curious, here’s a snapshot of Ryan’s turkey sausages… or what I could capture of the links before they were devoured.

All That Remained

I give him credit for eating a lot of the Brussels sprouts. He also managed to make one balance on his fork.

Houdini

Magic!

After dinner I headed over to a friend’s house for a girl’s night and decided to eat these two bad boys for “dessert”:

Chex Mix

Chips and Guacamole

Needless to say, I went to sleep with a full belly.