tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32866767410248062122024-03-13T04:44:51.751-07:00Kate's Cure for the Common CuisineKatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.comBlogger294125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-78926360961782073852015-09-08T05:17:00.001-07:002015-09-09T17:02:13.182-07:00Domestikated.<div class="MsoNormal">
I used to blog.<br />
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I used to blog a lot.<br />
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I started this blog in 2010 where I documented my adventures learning to cook and
sharing those recipes with you for three years. After getting
married to my favorite sous chef, Mr. Max, I found I had more I wanted to write about. In our first two years of marriage, we developed a strong love of travel, we bought a house, we got pregnant with our first baby. I wanted to write about our travels, becoming home owners, remodeling, DIY projects, restaurant reviews, life
hacks, bringing up baby and more. Writing has always been my creative outlet
of expression through every phase and emotion of life. I created a new blog, <i>domestikated</i>, to serve as my new creative outlet. However,
it's been sitting dormant in the world wide webisphere. I hadn't had the drive to do anything with it yet.
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Until now. </div>
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On May 27, my husband and I suffered the greatest loss – at 33 weeks, our baby was born sleeping. Sorting through grief, I decided it was time to
give myself an outlet for release again. It is my intention to use writing to create a platform around expressing grief that surrounds stillbirth and loss. A chance to share my soul while navigating a life post-loss. </div>
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Right now I am
trying to create beauty from ashes and find purpose. Life after loss -
that is our new road. Grief is a journey that I wish I could put a time
frame on but I can't, the emotions of it are all over the map in no sequential order. There is sadness, there is anger, there is jealousy, there is
resentment, there is self-loathing, there is shame, there is fear. There is gratitude,
there is humility, there is acceptance. There is joy again, and this is
the road to it. <br />
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I have officially retired Kate's Cure for the Common Cuisine and invite you to follow <i><a href="http://adomestikatedlife.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">domestikated</a></i>. </div>
Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-15590463327143098262013-05-22T15:02:00.000-07:002013-05-24T09:06:50.066-07:00Szechuan Chicken and Veggie Bowl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aggY_qD02hU/UZ0dbwuB39I/AAAAAAAAFVY/s4gON8I8Rrw/s1600/szechuan+chicken.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aggY_qD02hU/UZ0dbwuB39I/AAAAAAAAFVY/s4gON8I8Rrw/s640/szechuan+chicken.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I recently gave a tour of the hospital campus and it followed with lunch in the cafeteria to continue discussion. Let me add that this cafeteria is amazing, it is not your average hospital food. The special of the day was a Szechuan chicken and I remember thinking to myself that I don't think I've ever <i>actually</i> opted for Szechuan anything, always choosing the sweet and sour, or teriyaki version. I didn't know anything about Szechuan sauce so I asked what it was, the answer? It's spicy. I decided to try it and I found that I really loved the savory heat of the sauce. My mouth was on fire and I<i> loved</i> it. <br />
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In forecasting the meal plan for the week, I thought about trying my own version at home for Mr. Max. I took to FoodNetwork.com and came across a few recipes that provided some good base ingredients, then continued with an inventory of our pantry/fridge to create my own recipe based on what I had and combinations I already knew we liked. <br />
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The nutrition facts for this meal are found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=5062,11090,11821,11282,11124,4511,16124,6175,33298230,64950638,1145,34029068,&amounts=25436,28298,29243,28601,28368,25147,32128,26226,33325083,64977805,24009,34055769,&qtys=1,2,.5,.5,1,4,4,2,2,1,2,4,&servings=5&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com. If you want to try the sauce alone on your own creation, the nutrition facts for the full serving (5 servings worth) of the sauce can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=16124,6175,33298230,64950638,1145,&amounts=32128,26226,33325083,64977805,24009,&qtys=4,2,2,1,2,&servings=1&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>. <br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Yields 5 servings</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 lb. chicken, cubed (about 2 chicken breasts)</li>
<li>2 cups broccoli florets</li>
<li>1 red bell pepper, chopped</li>
<li>1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped</li>
<li>2 large carrots, julienned (roughly 3/4 cup of carrot shreds)</li>
<li>4 tbsp. Safflower oil, divided (or olive oil)</li>
<li>1/4 cup tamari</li>
<li>2 tbsp. hoisin</li>
<li>1-2 tbsp. Sriracha</li>
<li>1 tbsp. agave nectar </li>
<li>1 green onion, finely chopped</li>
<li>2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted</li>
<li>2 cloves garlic, minced<i> </i></li>
<li>3/4 pack of whole wheat Udon noodles<i> </i></li>
<li>1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes</li>
</ul>
To begin, start by cooking your chicken in a large saute pan or wok. Everything will end up in the same pot so make sure you have something large enough to put it all in. Using about 2 tbsp. of safflower oil, heat to medium high and then add the chicken chunks to start cooking.<br />
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In a pot, boil water and then add the udon noodles. Cook until al dente (about 7 minutes), then drain in colander and set aside. <br />
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Once the chicken is almost cooked through, drain the skillet and then add the additional 2 tbsp. of oil. Add your onions, broccoli and bell pepper. Cover and let cook for about 5-6 minutes, allowing the veggies to soften and the chicken to finish cooking, then add the julienned carrot and cover again for an addition 3-4 minutes.<br />
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As you wait on your veggies to cook, begin the Szechuan sauce. Combine the tamari, hoisin, sriracha, agave, green onion, garlic and the melted butter in a dish. I rarely ever cook with butter but I needed an agent that would enrich the sauce, providing another dimension of flavor while also thickening it, clearly butter was the answer! When veggies and chicken are done, add the noodles to the pan and toss together with the sauce. Sprinkle with red pepper flakes, I lightly dusted the pan, the sriracha was already working in the sauce but it just needed one more punch. <br />
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Plate and serve, using additional green onions as garnish if you prefer. Enjoy!<br />
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<i> </i><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RBP3Zrcu-08/UZ0dcQaPBhI/AAAAAAAAFVg/JdFGKrRzVpI/s1600/szechuan+chicken2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-RBP3Zrcu-08/UZ0dcQaPBhI/AAAAAAAAFVg/JdFGKrRzVpI/s400/szechuan+chicken2.jpg" width="357" /></a></div>
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-88811863273428312782013-05-21T10:11:00.000-07:002013-05-21T10:11:31.848-07:00Best Salad Dressing, Ever.<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUZXrkY8sj8/UAmLKwEXgbI/AAAAAAAAFAo/7uN_mFatANI/s320/Summer+cooking+451.JPG" class="decoded" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUZXrkY8sj8/UAmLKwEXgbI/AAAAAAAAFAo/7uN_mFatANI/s400/Summer+cooking+451.JPG" width="400" /></div>
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<i>I realize this title is a very bold claim. </i></div>
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Let me rephrase this: if you like a hint of sweet and a punch of heat, if you are trying to get away from consuming fatty oils, if you are looking for a fat-free, sugar-free, practically carb-free salad dressing that you can make yourself... then yes, this is <i>the</i> <i>best salad dressing ever</i>. </div>
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I came across the<span style="color: #cc0000;"> <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/07/make-meal-grilled-chicken-kabobs-with.html" target="_blank">recipe</a></b></span> last summer from <b><a href="http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/08/sweet-and-spicy-cucumber-slices/" target="_blank">Our Best Bites blog</a></b>. It was a water-vinegar based marinade tossed with cucumbers, red pepper flakes and red onion. I made it as such, then put it on a bed of spinach leaves and paired it with simple chicken kabobs. It made for a wonderfully simple, delicious and nutritious dish! <br />
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Fast forward to now and I have my monthly girls-night-in cooking group. With swim suit season officially here, we decided to go with some light favorites with leafy greens and grilled lean proteins. I volunteered to contribute the salad and thought I would use this marinade as a salad dressing. Making a small edit to the original, I nixed the sugar and added a splash of red wine vinegar to the mix instead. Combining a plethora of baby greens, I added this cucumber and sweet/spicy "dressing" with avocado and feta cheese. We served it with chicken and shrimp skewers, the result was fantastic.<br />
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This week, I wanted to re-make that salad for Mr. Max in our weekly meal plan, but planned to take another past recipe that we loved and do a little recipe mash-up. For this dish I re-did the skinny Bangin' Good Shrimp originally acquired from Gina over at <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/05/bangin-grilled-shrimp-skewers.html" target="_blank">Skinnytaste</a></b></span>. I made some very slight adjustments to her recipe the first time, mainly subbing the mayonnaise for Greek Yogurt to cut down on excess calories and fats, a <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2013/04/make-meal-bang-bang-shrimp-with-edamame.html" target="_blank">wonderful result</a></b></span>. <br />
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The two together were fantastic, it was perfect for a light week night meal, but definitely have a glass of water handy. The nutritional facts for the dressing alone can be found <span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=65541855,20170156,14429,2031,11282,&amounts=65569021,20198933,31390,24138,28601,&qtys=1,1,2,1,.25,&servings=1&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank"><b></b></a><b><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" target="_blank">here</a></b></span>; this is for a full 4 servings of the dressing, 1 serving would look more like <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=65541855,20170156,14429,2031,11282,&amounts=65569021,20198933,31390,24138,28601,&qtys=1,1,2,1,.25,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">this</a></b></span>! The nutrition facts for the whole meal can be found <b><span style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=65541855,20170156,14429,2031,11282,11206,64950697,9038,1019,15151,33298230,6423633,16837236,&amounts=65569021,20198933,31390,24138,28601,28479,64977864,27315,23682,31765,33325083,6452583,16866455,&qtys=1,1,2,1,.25,1,4,1,.25,12,1,2,1,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></span>,</b> both calculated by SparkRecipes.com.The meal combo is low in fat, calories, carbs, high in protein and fiber! Try this salad combo out, or make the dressing alone for your next summer salad and let me know how you like it! <br />
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<b>Grocery List:</b><br />
<i>Recipe amount yields 3-4 servings</i><br />
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For Salad<i> </i><br />
<i>*denotes ingredients used for dressing only</i><br />
<ul>
<li><i>*1/4 cup rice wine vinegar</i></li>
<li><i>*1/4 cup water</i></li>
<li><i>*1 tbsp. red wine vinegar</i></li>
<li><i>*1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes</i></li>
<li><i>*1/4 cup red onion</i></li>
<li>1 large cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, chopped (about 1.5 cups cucumber)</li>
<li>3-4 cups mixed greens</li>
<li>1 small avocado, chopped into small cubes</li>
<li>1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled</li>
</ul>
For Shrimp<br />
<ul>
<li>1/2 lb. cooked shrimp, tail removed</li>
<li>2 tbsp. plain, non-fat Greek yogurt (I used Oikos)</li>
<li>1 tbsp. green onion, diced (start chopping from white tips for most flavorful part of the bulb)</li>
<li>1 tsp. Sriracha</li>
<li>1 tsp. <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><a href="http://www.thaikitchen.com/products/sauces-and-pastes/sweet-red-chili-sauce.aspx" target="_blank">Sweet Red Chili Paste</a> </b></span></li>
</ul>
Start by making the dressing by combining all italicized ingredients into a small sauce pan, minus the red onion. Bring to a boil and allow to reduce by almost 1/3 cup. This allows the liquids to thicken slightly and become a little more <i>syrupy</i>.<br />
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Once reduced, take off the heat and add the red onions. This time around, because I was adding a shrimp with some spice to them, I drained the liquid and discarded of the chili pepper flakes and seeds before adding the red onion. Let sit and cool for about 15 minutes or until room temperature.<br />
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<img alt="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GujJmxqThSw/UAmLJmke6-I/AAAAAAAAFAY/E_uJEbcJ9zA/s320/Summer+cooking+449.JPG" class="decoded" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GujJmxqThSw/UAmLJmke6-I/AAAAAAAAFAY/E_uJEbcJ9zA/s320/Summer+cooking+449.JPG" /> </div>
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I chose to get already cooked shrimp on this grocery run. Okay, maybe it was not a cognitive decision, it was done on accident, but it worked to my benefit. It decreased the time to prep the meal, which is always nice! I simply took the cooked shrimp, removed the tails and combined them with the mixture of the greek yogurt, green onions, sriracha and sweet red chili sauce. </div>
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<img alt="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLbIvv1Bggs/UWA0nPihgeI/AAAAAAAAFOk/L6amGszQfAM/s400/march+2013+011.JPG" class="decoded" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLbIvv1Bggs/UWA0nPihgeI/AAAAAAAAFOk/L6amGszQfAM/s400/march+2013+011.JPG" /> </div>
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I decided to heat this in the microwave for a mere 30 seconds to warm up the already cooked shrimp just a tad. Adding the lettuce, feta, cucumber and avocado to the bowl, I poured in the dressing and mixed the contents well. Plated the result and topped with the shrimp (5 for me, 7-8 for Mr. Max). </div>
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-78104135777343865902013-05-09T08:22:00.000-07:002013-05-09T08:32:40.653-07:00Mother's Day Gifts: Special Edition for the Expecting Mama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As soon as we finished a year of weddings, the next thing we know it's babies, babies, babies! I have four sweet friends all expecting little ones this fall and what a start to it all it has been! Recently attending my college roommate's gender reveal party, I returned home wanting to send her something special with Mother's Day around the corner and now that she knows she is seeing PINK. <br />
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Check out these gift ideas to love on an expecting mama to celebrate their exciting news! <br />
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<img height="190" id="irc_mi" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H09CBThe_1Q/TfN61NyuILI/AAAAAAAABn0/5jxSAiohdUo/s400/sugarandspice.png" style="margin-top: 72px;" width="400" /></div>
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You can go to Kendra Scott, in-store or online, to design jewelry at the Color Bar with four shades of pink to choose from and more than twenty jewelry piece options depending on your price range. Here are a few examples of designs to get your mind flowing: top left, Genny pendant necklace in Rose for $45; top right, Jayna bracelet in Coral $80; bottom left, Dayla earrings in Coral $65; bottom right, Rena earrings in Rose $85. They can wear this special jewelry to showers, baby events and more! The mama could even pass it down to that little girl someday as something special she wore during that time.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img align="" alt="OPI Soft Shades Nail Polish - It's a Girl! NL-H39" border="0" class="" height="317" hspace="0" itemprop="image" src="http://site.sleekhair.com/yswimages/opi10-its-a-girl.jpg" style="margin: 5px auto;" title="OPI Soft Shades Nail Polish - It's a Girl! NL-H39" vspace="0" width="217" /></td></tr>
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You could send her a gift certificate to have a little maternity pampering with a nail appointment or simply gift this OPI color, <i>It's a Girl,</i> for $8. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Baby Headband, Girl Headband, Peach Coral Lace Headband, Baby girl Headband, newborn headband, vintage headband toddler fabric headband" height="320" src="http://img0.etsystatic.com/007/1/6919702/il_570xN.399347600_fj1j.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="213" /></td></tr>
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And what baby girl doesn't need enough bows! As seen on <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/115995840/baby-headband-girl-headband-peach-coral?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank">Etsy</a> for $8. </div>
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<img height="166" id="irc_mi" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQWfX0E4eCZ84kVoVgIQpjXOKQ_B9mHN-ITriTHJ7YAhi0j8NvD" style="margin-top: 104px;" width="400" /></div>
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Again, some of my Kendra Scott jewelry favorites. Choose from the hues ranging from cobalt to baby blue, or head to their Color Bar to create your own piece within your budget. Special tip, if you shop on a Wednesday night, their Ladies Night, there is a 15% discount off either a certain style in any color or off your entire purchase. From left to right we have: top left, Tavi stud earring for $50; top right, Carissa pendant in light blue for $45; bottom right, Genny pendant in Iolite for $45; bottom right is the Elle earring in turquoise for $52. </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LlgkKQQgmtY/UYu02eO6qQI/AAAAAAAAFTc/kNo8FGmAEIg/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LlgkKQQgmtY/UYu02eO6qQI/AAAAAAAAFTc/kNo8FGmAEIg/s400/PicMonkey+Collage3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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For little boy mommies, here are two colors they may love, Essie <i>Baby's Breath</i> for $8 or<br />
<i>Baby Blue</i> from Sephora by OPI for $9.50</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="MUSTACHE PACIFIER" border="0" height="320" src="http://edgecastcdn.net/800034/www.perpetualkid.com/productimages/lg3/PACI-1944-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="" width="320" /></td></tr>
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And a baby with a mustache is always funny, found <a href="http://www.perpetualkid.com/moustache-pacifier.aspx?gclid=CKe3ud_3h7cCFQsy4AodjDEA4g" target="_blank">here</a> for $10</div>
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<img alt="http://www.weddingandpartynetwork.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/gender-reveal.jpg" class="decoded" height="400" src="http://www.weddingandpartynetwork.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/gender-reveal.jpg" width="394" /></div>
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But what about those that don't know yet OR want to find out to find out when the little one arrives? Some special gift ideas for the surprise-loving mama include... </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BVSzpMCQEY/UYu74YIALNI/AAAAAAAAFTs/0BMjR6mZ7rs/s1600/elle-earrings-ivory-pearl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4BVSzpMCQEY/UYu74YIALNI/AAAAAAAAFTs/0BMjR6mZ7rs/s320/elle-earrings-ivory-pearl.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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You could give <i>mother</i> of pearl jewelry, like these Kendra Scott Elle earrings for $52.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IDu2TDBSiag/UYu9-ent8xI/AAAAAAAAFUA/0gp_eZuVkHA/s1600/4592d71b21516cb69bbaa0583e191eb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IDu2TDBSiag/UYu9-ent8xI/AAAAAAAAFUA/0gp_eZuVkHA/s320/4592d71b21516cb69bbaa0583e191eb2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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My good friend has created a side business for paintings called <b><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/MerewilDesigns?ref=seller_info" target="_blank">MereWil Designs</a></b>. I had her take this phrase and paint it for me on a pale yellow background for an expecting mom who does not know the gender. Click on her link to check out her store and contact her for your own custom 10x10 canvas for just $25! Or, for a quick fix, you can print it and frame it yourself. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xNja5bVfk5U/UYu9enXhLhI/AAAAAAAAFT4/LfVnnyY0sQ0/s1600/P13494877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xNja5bVfk5U/UYu9enXhLhI/AAAAAAAAFT4/LfVnnyY0sQ0/s1600/P13494877.jpg" /></a></div>
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Regardless of boy or girl, this is funny and fitting at the same time. Find it <b><a href="http://www.overstock.com/Baby/Personalized-Pacifiers-Mute-Button-Pacifier/5767767/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&ef_id=UOW7QAAAGAwOwZSj:20130509151434:s" target="_blank">here</a></b> for $8. </div>
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-91781262816294147502013-04-09T20:10:00.000-07:002013-04-09T20:10:14.261-07:00Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl<br />
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Thai food. This is not something I can say we are very familiar with over here. </div>
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I guess the only time we have made anything that could be considered Thai is when Mr. Max and I first started cooking together. One of our favorite dishes was a delicious chicken curry recipe that I had received in a random junk email from one of the many online subscriptions I had signed up for. The substance of the dish consisted of chicken chunks, red bell pepper, onions and sweet potatoes. Then, there were the combined spices of cumin, chili powder, and yellow curry powder all blended together in coconut milk to create a sauce. When all tossed together it was a tasty treat I served over brown rice. So that was one Thai recipe. Tonight we add number two. <br />
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This dish comes from inspiration over on the <b><a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/2013/02/thai-chicken-quinoa-bowl/" target="_blank">How Sweet It Is</a></b> blog. I was looking for a chicken dish that would be easy to whip up after a Tuesday evening workout, and one that would be more fun to make than a chicken breast with veggies. This dish certainly did not disappoint!<b> <a href="http://www.howsweeteats.com/" target="_blank">How Sweet It Is</a> </b>raves about this Thai sauce, one she uses in various recipes, and I can see why. Girlfriend did <i>goooood</i>. I adapted her original recipe just a bit by excluding the peanuts and the cilantro. I also substituted PB2 for the peanut butter in order to reduce fat and calories where I could. <br />
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You can find the nutritional facts for this dish <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=5062,65562474,11124,508015,334987,508273,540770,19334,64950669,11215,11216,&amounts=503521,65589640,28358,520565,345543,520825,553720,34587,64977836,28496,28498,&qtys=16,.75,1,1,2,1,0.25,1,1,1,1,&servings=5&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 5 servings</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 lb. cooked chicken, shredded </li>
<li>1 cup quinoa </li>
<li>1 cup carrots, chopped thin</li>
<li>1 cup edamame, shelled</li>
<li>2 tbsp. sweet chili sauce</li>
<li>1 tbsp. rice vinegar</li>
<li>1/4 cup lite coconut milk</li>
<li>1/2 tbsp. brown sugar</li>
<li>1 tsp. <b><a href="http://www.bellplantation.com/" target="_blank">PB2</a></b> (powdered peanut butter, squeezed of all fatty oils)</li>
<li>1 clove garlic, minced</li>
<li>1 tbsp. lime juice</li>
<li>1/8 tsp. fresh ground ginger root</li>
<li>1/4 cup green onion, chopped </li>
</ul>
To start, cook your quinoa according to package. While that cooks, combine the sweet chili sauce, rice
vinegar, coconut milk, brown sugar, PB2, garlic, lime juice and ginger
in a bowl. Set aside. <br />
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In a large saute pan, heat the frozen edamame and chopped carrots on low-medium heat to begin to cook and soften. Cook for about 5-8 minutes. When the quinoa is ready, add to the saute pan, followed by the chicken.
Take the sauce and toss the contents of the pan to coat well. <br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8DmB6yXaI2E/UWTR7xDglkI/AAAAAAAAFR4/yUazj_g36nA/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8DmB6yXaI2E/UWTR7xDglkI/AAAAAAAAFR4/yUazj_g36nA/s640/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg" width="640" /></a> <br />
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Spoon into a bowl, garnish with green onion and enjoy!<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Tastefully yours,</i></span></div>
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-82928440115655376002013-04-09T10:22:00.003-07:002013-04-09T10:26:30.701-07:00Make a Meal: Hoisin Grilled Salmon and Garlic-Ginger Bok Choy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One thing you will not find a lack of around here is salmon recipes. </div>
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Alas, here we go again with yet another fish dish starring the freshwater swimmer that inspired its very own color...the salmon. This is a tasty combination that I found in perusing <b><a href="http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/hoisin_glazed_salmon/" target="_blank">Simply Recipes</a></b> and seemed like a perfectly easy Monday night meal that also had a little "umph" to it. In this sense of "umph," I'm referring to <i>pizazz</i> - that's a fun word, <i>pizazz</i> - because each 8th of the month, I try to make sure I do something special for Mr. Max in honor of our wedding date. Okay, settle the gag reflexes. As we hit month four, he took my car in for me to find it had three nails in a single tire so in return, I got a bottle of our favorite Malbec that we discovered on our honeymoon, and made him dinner using his new favorite vegetable (bok choy) and a grilled salmon.<br />
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I took this Hoisin Salmon recipe and followed it exactly, but added some of my own...<i>pizazz</i>....to the bok choy. When we've bought bok choy prior to this, we've only been able to find the big momma kind, but this time, the baby bok bunches were on display so I grabbed two thinking one bunch would be enough for each of us. Note to self and to you: get more than that for two people. I forgot they wilt down, much like spinach, but not <i>as</i> volume decreasing. Try four and if you have leftovers, that's fantastic.<br />
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Nutritional facts can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=15209,6175,16124,11216,11215,2031,517153,3075126,19334,15572444,15209,&amounts=31884,26226,32128,28498,28496,24139,529829,3104012,34587,15601873,31884,&qtys=4,2,2,1,2,1,2,2,1,2,6,&servings=2&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 2 servings</i><br />
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For the salmon: <i><br /></i><br />
<ul>
<li>2 salmon fillets (nutritional facts were based on a 4oz salmon fillet and an 6 oz salmon fillet)</li>
<li>2 tbsp. Hoisin</li>
<li>2 tsp. Tamari (low-sodium, organic soy sauce)</li>
<li>1-2 tsp. brown sugar</li>
<li>1 tsp. Mirin (sweet rice wine - an adaption from original recipe) </li>
<li>1 large garlic clove, smashed then minced (<i>smashing allows the garlic to release oils, creating a stronger flavor. Also by spreading it out and smashing before mincing, you are creating more of a minced paste, rather than minced bits, helping it to permeate into the sauce, rather than remain in chunks and burn - learned this at a Central Market cooking class and</i> <i>wanted to share that tidbit with you!</i>)</li>
</ul>
For the bok choy:<br />
<ul>
<li> 2 tbsp. olive oil</li>
<li>1/2 cup green onions, chopped finely</li>
<li>2 cloves garlic, chopped</li>
<li>1-2 tbsp. of freshly grated ginger root</li>
<li>4 baby bok choy bunches, rinsed and leaves separated from the base, trimmed</li>
<li>1 tsp. red pepper flakes</li>
</ul>
We start be prepping the salmon. I felt compelled to take advantage of the nicer weather and use the grill for that nice, smokey taste. First, start your grill and let it get nice and hot. Next, we make the marinade/sauce for the salmon fillets. In a small bowl, combined the hoisin, tamari, Mirin, brown sugar and garlic. <br />
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Place the fillets skin up in a dish and cover in the sauce, reserving about 3 tbsp worth of sauce for later, then flip over to skin side down. Marinate for 15-20 minutes to allow the fish oils in the skin to seem down into the meat of the fillet for those omega 3s. By removing the skin prior to cooking, you do not reap the full health benefits of the fish. That one I learned from the meat counter man at Central Market. <i>I looked it up, he is correct. </i>Once it has marinated, set it on a grill pan and grill for 10-12 minutes. <br />
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Finally, take a saute pan, wok or large skillet and heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the green onion and cook for about 3 minutes, followed by the garlic. Add the bok choy, followed by the ginger and sprinkle with the red pepper flakes. Add a little more olive oil if needed. Place a lid over top and let wilt down for about 3 minutes.<br />
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Finally, we take the salmon, apply the left over glaze and turn on the broiler to low. Stick the salmon in for 2 minutes and broil to finish caramelizing the sauce onto the fish and adding a nice, crisp top. Dish the fish on a plate and pair with your greens, dinner is served!<br />
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<i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Tastefully yours,</span></i></div>
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-23776985266004435632013-04-08T08:35:00.000-07:002013-04-08T09:02:16.512-07:00Wedding Gifts: Bridesmaids!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Your bridesmaids. </div>
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They are your Xanax throughout the wedding process. </div>
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They are your sounding boards when you have yet <i>another</i> idea for escort cards or "action stations" that may or may not be a good one. They are there to listen as you freak out about, well, anything. They will laugh with you and cry with you when you pick your dress. They plan with you and for you, they sacrifice their time to do things to help you and attend your events. They spend money on your behalf and they go out of their way to throw you an amazing Bachelorette party or come into town to be with you at a shower. This is so much to be thankful for and certainly something to give thanks about! <br />
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One of my favorite parts of the wedding planning process was planning on the gift giving. It was a different way to express creativity and also dote on others that are doing so much for you. I wanted my girls to feel special each month as they planned showers and attended special events for me, this was the time that they should be feeling appreciated, not just the weekend of the wedding. So, I sat down and thought out what I wanted to give them and started sending them little packages in the mail beginning four months out from the wedding, each small gift was something they would use for and after the wedding. Here are some ideas of gifts and where to find them!<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Gift 1</span> </span></i><br />
I decided to start with something cutesy and simple. I found a nail polish color that I thought they would love to receive, but also the color I wanted them to wear. It is the perfect natural shade of pinky-nude, Ballet Slipper by Essie. I ordered it off Amazon.com and then bought 3 packs of mini emory boards at Ulta. I found small, beautiful cards at a local paper store, Needle in a Haystack, and bundled it all together in ivory sachets from Michael's. I wrote a thank you poem and sent it in a personalized card to each girl.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Gift<span style="font-size: large;"> 2</span></span></i></span><br />
Three months out, I found a perfect bracelet on one of those Facebook Accessory Auction sites. My favorite one, <b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Accessory-Dash/273646386038992?fref=ts" target="_blank">Accessory Dash</a></b> (seriously, check it out - Hilary is wonderful!), had a pearl bracelet with a diamond pave encrusted gold ball. It was classy and the perfect look for the day of. I knew this would be something the girls would be able to wear for and far after the wedding - heck, I got one for myself and wear it to work, LBD's and even little red crop pants and peplum top! Thinking about the "pearl," I wrote each girl a special message talking about the symbolism of a pearl and how that relates to our friendship then asked that she wear this on the wedding day. I got one for myself too and we all wore them together, as shown below!<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Gift<span style="font-size: large;"> 3</span></span></i></span><br />
Two months out, I was searching for the perfect earring. I wanted something to compliment the dress and the bracelet when I stumbled across a pair of earrings at Target. They matched the bracelet perfectly and again, would be a classy and timeless look the girls could wear not only for the wedding, but long after. I put them on red ribbon and then in a sachet. I sent them with a simple message to dress up their lobes on December 8!<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Gift<span style="font-size: large;"> 4</span></span></i></span><br />
One of my 'maids lives in New Jersey and frequently goes into NYC for work and fun. I casually asked her if she happened to be going before the end of October and if so, could she get me 6 ivory paschminas. I had bought a blue one earlier in the year when up there and the size and weight of the fabric was perfect. I had planned to buy the girls faux fur stoles that I had found, they looked classy and I thought they would be beautiful in pictures for a winter wedding. However, they were not practical and they would be solely for picture prop purposes, not really something that could be re-used. I wrote them a little note about how it was beginning to get colder and to wrap themselves up in warmth and love with this gift on the wedding day.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Gift<span style="font-size: large;"> 5</span></span></i></span><br />
Finally, December came and it was wedding time! For their final gift, I went back and forth on a few options but in the end, I decided to go with over-sized, monogrammed buttoned down shirts to get ready in. After borrowing one of Max's button downs for the hair and makeup trials, it was so comfortable and I started wearing it around the apartment to clean or even to just lounge around in. I realized just how much I loved it, and it may be something the girls would use again and again. I ordered them at Lands End a few months before when they were having a "Friends and Family" deal so they were 30% off and only an additional $6 for monogramming. I decided to go with different shades of blue shirts for them, with me in white, and they were my <i>somethings blue</i>! I gave them their shirts at the bridal luncheon so they could arrive for hair and makeup the next morning with their "get ready" top.<br />
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<i>It's been four months to the day, thank you ladies for being so special and such wonderful friends to Mr. Max and me. I love you each dearly!</i><br />
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-76128191520800121532013-04-06T08:00:00.001-07:002013-04-06T08:00:59.381-07:00Make a Meal: Bang Bang Shrimp with Edamame "Fried" Quinoa<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9QoVclBKh-s/UWAuhig771I/AAAAAAAAFN0/lAPDo2x9BC8/s1600/march+2013+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9QoVclBKh-s/UWAuhig771I/AAAAAAAAFN0/lAPDo2x9BC8/s400/march+2013+017.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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In my weekly pinterest perusing, I saw a shrimp recipe floating around from <b><a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/05/bangin-good-shrimp.html" target="_blank">SkinnyTaste</a></b>. Gina's blog was one of my initial inspirations when I was starting my adventure into the blogosphere and her recipes have met our top two criteria: delicious <i>and</i> nutritious. There is something about spring weather that strikes my fancy for seafood, particularly shrimp, so I added this into the meal plan for the week. When I clicked thru to her recipe, she had recommended an <b><a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/04/asian-edamame-fried-rice.html" target="_blank">Edamame Fried Rice</a></b> to pair with it, so I took that recommendation and adapted it just a bit, subbing quinoa for rice.<br />
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Here is my adaptation of her fantastic recipes! They are quick and easy to make with little prep time needs if you can get some of the ingredients pre-chopped at the store, like the onion and the carrots. I lightened the shrimp sauce by replacing the mayonaise with plain greek yogurt and kicked up the heat with a little more Sriracha. <br />
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My version nutrition facts were calculated at SparkRecipes.com and can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=15151,6423633,11291,16837236,17017858,&amounts=31765,6452583,28629,16866455,17047104,&qtys=12,2,1.5,3,1,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b> for the shrimp, and <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=2434196,1123,20035,517153,11282,11215,11291,11124,508015,16124,&amounts=2463053,23968,34798,529829,28601,28497,28628,28358,520565,32128,&qtys=2,1,1,2,1,2,.25,.5,1,3,&servings=5&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b> for the edamame "fried" quinoa.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Yields 4 servings</i><br />
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For the Shrimp <i><br /></i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 lb peeled, deveined shrimp <i> </i></li>
<li>2 tbsp. plain Greek Yogurt (my modification from her 2.5 tbsp of mayonnaise) </li>
<li>1.5 tbsp. green scallions, finely chopped</li>
<li>1 tbsp. <a href="http://www.thaikitchen.com/products/sauces-and-pastes/sweet-red-chili-sauce.aspx" target="_blank">Sweet Red Chili Sauce</a> </li>
<li>1 tbsp. Sriracha (and maybe a little more if you want to up the heat)</li>
</ul>
For the "Fried" Quinoa <br />
<ul>
<li>2 egg whites + 1 whole egg scrambled</li>
<li>1 cup quinoa </li>
<li>2 tbsp. olive oil </li>
<li>1/2 cup onion, diced</li>
<li>2 cloves garlic, minced</li>
<li>1/4 cup scallions, finely chopped, including white part</li>
<li>1/2 cup carrot, shredded or julienned</li>
<li>1 cup ready to eat, shelled <b><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ko95SAiH6ac/TAfKZ370ahI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/DxPurt0sJAQ/s1600/DSC_0019.JPG" target="_blank">edamame </a></b></li>
<li>2-3 tbsp. Tamari (low-sodium, organic soy sauce)</li>
</ul>
Start by preparing the shrimp. I used a griddle but feel free to use a grill and cook these kabob style! Go ahead and heat your grilling/cooking surface in preparation for the shrimp. In a bowl, mix together the greek yogurt, scallions, chili sauce and sriracha. Coat and toss the shrimp in it and let marinate for about 15 minutes.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLbIvv1Bggs/UWA0nPihgeI/AAAAAAAAFOk/L6amGszQfAM/s1600/march+2013+011.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NLbIvv1Bggs/UWA0nPihgeI/AAAAAAAAFOk/L6amGszQfAM/s400/march+2013+011.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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In a pot, cook the quinoa according to the package. Make sure you rinse the grains first to remove any residue or film from the seeds. I then like to toast them for about 5 minutes on medium heat until it starts to smell a little like popcorn! The quinoa will take between 10-15 minutes to fully cook. <br />
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As your quinoa cooks, take a large skillet, wok or chef's pan and begin to heat the olive oil. Saute your onions until translucent, then add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Turn the heat down to medium low so you don't burn the garlic then add the scallions and carrot. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the edamame once the carrots have softened. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j7m0hTsjwZk/UWA0XCGwrQI/AAAAAAAAFOE/kGJQzB-8S58/s1600/march+2013+013.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j7m0hTsjwZk/UWA0XCGwrQI/AAAAAAAAFOE/kGJQzB-8S58/s400/march+2013+013.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Now it's time to cook the shrimp! Place them on the heat and let cook for about 8 minutes, then flip them to cook for another 5 minutes.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NiX1BM3MBo4/UWA0adWaNfI/AAAAAAAAFOU/RoaNhZupadg/s1600/march+2013+016.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NiX1BM3MBo4/UWA0adWaNfI/AAAAAAAAFOU/RoaNhZupadg/s400/march+2013+016.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Once the quinoa is ready, add in with the vegetables, then add the cooked scrambled eggs and finally the tamari. Combine all contents well to create a nice blend in the pan. <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-obSGigQW0Dc/UWA0YzXoB4I/AAAAAAAAFOM/Y1phGbmbqMI/s1600/march+2013+014.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-obSGigQW0Dc/UWA0YzXoB4I/AAAAAAAAFOM/Y1phGbmbqMI/s400/march+2013+014.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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To serve, create a nice bed of the edamame fried quinoa, then top with the shrimp! Garnish with some additional scallions if you prefer and enjoy. <br />
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<i><span style="color: #990000;">Tastefully yours,</span></i></div>
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-40485526289455229152013-04-04T14:43:00.000-07:002013-04-04T14:50:18.286-07:00Quinoa Pasta with Spinach-Avocado "Pesto" <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have you heard of quinoa pasta?!? If not, then let me tell you a story.</div>
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In January, I was sitting at a brunch with new people after we all just finished a yoga class. One of the girls was talking about this pasta and I found myself very intrigued! After nearly 30 minutes of talking about that, kale smoothies, kombucha drinks and yoga inversions, we realized we had just made perfect sound bytes for a Sh*t Yogis Say video parody. While I do not fancy myself as "a yogi" I did have to agree that just happened and we sounded ridiculous. But I learned about a fantastic little secret nugget and I couldn't wait to try it for myself!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKQhRHofeFc/UV3sd1VT71I/AAAAAAAAFNU/EWzVh5ZTwnk/s1600/1108908538_640.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KKQhRHofeFc/UV3sd1VT71I/AAAAAAAAFNU/EWzVh5ZTwnk/s320/1108908538_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The next day when Mr. Max and I were doing our weekly grocery shopping, I decided to find it and put it on the meal plan for the week. Since then, we have made it probably a dozen times and let me tell you, this stuff is legit! It tastes like any other given pasta but it contains less fat and much higher in fiber and protein than even whole wheat/grain pasta. You can find it in any grocery store, it is located with the gluten-free and special dietary needs. My one complaint? They don't have a penne version. <br />
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Now, onto sharing a recipe for it. I've made a few that are noteworthy and ones I do plan to share, I thought I'd start with this one. It's like, a super food party on a plate. You've got avocado, spinach, and a quinoa based pasta; pair that with a nice, lean protein and that's a delicious and nutritious dish my friends. Okay, I guess I have one more complaint, but that's all, I promise. I do feel the need to provide warning that this cooks much faster than regular pasta, especially the smaller shapes. Pay attention to it and don't let it overcook because it will get mushy. <br />
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Nutritional facts were calculated at SparkRecipes.com and can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=49633519,17633296,517153,11457,49497895,5062,&amounts=49661242,17662484,529829,28810,49525618,503521,&qtys=2,1,2,1,3,12,&servings=3&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a> </b>(includes 4 oz. grilled chicken breast). <br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe Yields 4 servings</i> <br />
<ul>
<li>1 ripe avocado, cut in cubes</li>
<li>1 cup spinach</li>
<li>1 tsp. + 3 tbsp. olive oil </li>
<li>2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice</li>
<li>3 cloves garlic</li>
<li>1 box of Ancient Grains spiral quinoa pasta </li>
</ul>
To start, take a pot and will with water. The box tells you to use 4 QUARTS of water, but that is just wasteful when 1 quart (4 cups) of water is more than enough. Add just a little olive oil (about 1 tsp.) into the water to keep the noodles from sticking together. Bring the water to a boil and add the pasta, turning down the heat on the stove to about medium-low. Watch it closely, it will cook in about 4-6 minutes depending on the size and shape. Once al dente, drain and set aside in a bowl.<br />
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In a food processor, take the avocado cubes, add spinach, olive oil (3 tbsp.) and garlic cloves. Process until creamy and smooth. If it is too thick for your liking, you can think out with additional olive oil. <br />
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Toss the "pesto" with the pasta and serve! It is great on its own or pairs wonderfully with a simple grilled herb chicken breast.<br />
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Tastefully yours,</i></span></div>
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-41661331178510271692013-03-07T08:10:00.002-08:002013-03-07T13:21:12.574-08:00Butternut Squash and Kale Hash<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was the meal that brought me out of my blog sabbatical because I just had to share! One of the fun things about cooking is after you do it long enough, you start to just know how certain tastes are going to meld and blend together. I love how you know you can combine the savory of Worcestershire, tang of champagne vinegar, sweet of agave and the piquant of dijon mustard to create an incredibly tasty glaze, and know that it will all work together. When you can look around your pantry or fridge, then just start mixing, that is when magic happens. And friends, that is the most fun part to reach in your kitchen adventures! <br />
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This meal was inspired by a <b><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/132574782752975726/" target="_blank">pinterest post</a></b> for a sweet potato and kale hash, it was a breakfast dish with a fried egg on top. I have nothing against sweet potatoes, but I do have a <i>love</i> <i>a-ffair</i> with butternut squash so I decided to swap one orange veggie for another, just the way I like it. Mr. Max has been on a big kale kick ever since we did a cooking class in January with a crispy kale dish. I wanted to be able to take his new favorite veggie with my favorite veggie, then add some<i> other stuff </i>and make it a meal. Sounds pretty technical, huh?<br />
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I was shooting from the hip with this dish but wrote it down as I went a long so I could remember and hopefully get around to posting.... ta-da! I actually did this time. Nutritional fact breakdown can be found <a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=11234,11866,4053,11677,11215,2031,2036,2014,2009,41483802,&amounts=28519,29306,25011,29056,28497,24139,24149,24103,24094,41510612,&qtys=2,2,3,2,3,1,1,.25,.25,2,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com. <br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Yields 4 servings</i> <br />
<ul>
<li>10 large Kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped into large chunks (we operate by, the darker the better! Grab some <b><a href="http://www.onlyfoods.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Kale.jpg" target="_blank">dino kale</a></b> to try it out)</li>
<li>1.5 - 2 cups Butternut squash, cubed</li>
<li>3 tbsp. olive oil, divided</li>
<li>1 shallot, minced (about 2 tbsp. worth)</li>
<li>3 cloves garlic, minded </li>
<li>1 tsp. red pepper flakes</li>
<li>1/2 tsp. rosemary </li>
<li>1/4 tsp. cumin</li>
<li>1/4 tsp. chili powder</li>
<li>2 tbsp. shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (approximately)</li>
</ul>
Start by pre-heating your oven to 450 degrees to roast your butternut squash cubes. Toss with 1 tbsp. of olive oil to coat then sprinkle with the red pepper flakes and rosemary. Set on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil (easy clean up process and assists in the crisping), then pop in the oven to roast for 20 minutes. We want these babies to have some brown on them, some color.<br />
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When you have about 10 minutes left on the timer for the roasting squash, take 1 tbsp of olive oil and begin to saute your shallots in a large saute pan over medium heat. Once frangrant, add the garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.<br />
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Add the kale and the final tbsp of olive oil, tossing in the pan to coat, which will help it cook and crisp. Let it sit for about 2 minutes on medium heat, then move it around the pan again. Right about now, the squash should be ready to take out of the oven. Add it to the pan and combine the two, adding the cumin and chili powder. Turn up the heat to about medium-high (6 or 7 on the dial) and let that kale crisp a little more in all the flavors.<br />
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Finally, you will add two large pinches of Parmigiano Reggiano. Give it a stir, fold it together, do what feels right.<br />
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Dish it out and serve for a deliciously nutritious, easy weeknight meal!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_aZWpM8ZomQ/UTi4OYcaLHI/AAAAAAAAFMs/qs3NqBtoKWU/s1600/IMG_20130306_203331.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_aZWpM8ZomQ/UTi4OYcaLHI/AAAAAAAAFMs/qs3NqBtoKWU/s320/IMG_20130306_203331.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Served with petite Pork Tenderloin Medallions in a Cider-Dijon glaze</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Directions:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Slice a pork tenderloin into 1 inch discs. In a small skillet, mist with cooking oil and set 4-5 slices, not touching one another, on the hot surface. Cover with a lid and let cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-high heat, then flip and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Both sides should have a nice brown marks, medium heat should register to 145 degrees. </i></div>
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<i>As the medallions cook, time to whip up an easy glaze. I combined some of my favorite tastes mentioned in the opening paragraph: 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard, 1.5 tbsp. Worcestershire, 1 cup apple cider, 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar, 1 tbsp. agave nectar, 1 tsp. shallots, 1 tsp. rosemary. Place all of this in a sauce pan over medium heat, when it begins to simmer, bring the heat down to low to allow it to thicken, about 10 minutes total. To serve, spoon over top pork medallions. </i></div>
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<i>Nutritional fact breakdown for pork and sauce can be found <a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=10061,6211976,486494,25683905,2048,64950638,11677,2036,&amounts=27906,6240919,498731,25711924,24173,64977805,29056,24149,&qtys=16,0.5,3,8,1,1,1,1,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com</i>. </div>
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<i>One serving yields four small or three large medallions and 1 tbsp. of sauce. </i></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;">Tastefully yours, </span></div>
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-28492981826158744182013-01-07T11:13:00.000-08:002013-03-07T13:31:32.917-08:00Happy New Year!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Hi foodie friends, Happy New Year!<br />
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I know it's been quiet over here for a few months but I hope you have had a wonderful holiday season. After a bit of a sabbatical, I wanted to surface again and to give a little update. <br />
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So, Mr. Max and I said <i>I Do</i> in December and we have been slowly but surely settling back into a normal routine after wedding, honeymoon and holiday travels. Cooking new meals and using all of the fun kitchen-related wedding gifts has certainly been a treat! Last year was truly wonderful for us and we are thankful for the blessings bestowed, we are very excited to see what 2013 has in store for us.<br />
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As the new year is now in full swing, so are many new beginnings and goal-setting opportunities. Instead of making resolutions each year, I look at the facets of life that make me whole: physical, emotional, spiritual, educational, professional, financial, recreational, etc. I like to try to create a goal that will challenge me on all of these levels to help me continue to grow and thrive.<br />
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This year, my goals include:<br />
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<b>Physical:</b> I dabbled in yoga since 2010, hoarding Groupons to try a place for a month, then go on to the next place. In the spring of 2012, both Mr. Max and I made a commitment to the practice by joining a yoga studio. I hit 50 classes after 5 months but then tapered off of it. This year, and with 12 months ahead of me, I'd like to do 200 classes for the year and complete one of the monthly challenges my studio offers. <br />
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<b>Spiritual:</b> Mr. Max and I both grew up with church as a large focus. We both participated in youth group, youth choir, mission trips, sunday school, confirmation classes and at some point, we both attended parochial school. We happened to fall into the same pattern once we left for college where we didn't stay disciplined to continue that on our own. Since college, we have gone to church here and there, but in our marriage counseling, we both identified that as the #1 area for growth that we feel we need as a couple. My aunt gave us a daily devotional book for the year and my goal is for us to complete that book, and to get involved in our church whether it is a bible study or a Sunday school class. Our schedules vary, I end up working a lot of weekends and we sometimes miss church, but I would like to actively strengthen my spirituality through prayer, fellowship and devotion in this new year.<br />
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<b>Emotional:</b> This goal is one that goes hand-in-hand with my spiritual goal. I would like to become more emotionally self-disciplined, learning to focus my thought process on God's perspective. I want to challenge myself to think more before I react and pray for patience so that I can be a better wife, daughter, sister, friend, and colleague. I will use my spiritual goal through our daily devotions to hear His word, praying for patience and perspective in all areas of life. I will also choose affirmations for myself and for my husband to repeat often. For myself, they will be phrases that I can focus on to get back on track if I start to feel overwhelmed or impatient. One I have said for years is Let Go and Let God; I tend to have a need to plan and take control of a situation, but this year my challenge is to <i>let go</i> of those urges and listen for His direction to anchor me again. For my husband, I want to affirm him daily in some way. Whether it is in action or speech, I want him to feel affirmed in love, support, guidance, trust, and decision-making.<br />
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<b>Educational:</b> This year, Mr. Max and I have a travel goal. Since that one is categorically ambiguous, I thought I could just classify it here. There are some places that we want to go, see and experience together. I hope to become educated on foods, wines, history, culture and more through our travels.<br />
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<b>Financial: </b>I didn't do a very good job at learning to live within my means as a single girl with a non-profit job in a fun city and this inherent want for pretty things. Mr. Max had a sit down with me last May and we've been working together on this little by little. In 2013, I would like a full year of paying of my credit card in full each month while also putting away a certain percentage into savings. This will be a challenge for me but something I should have learned a long time ago.<br />
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<b>Professional:</b> I would like to challenge myself this year to grow and become a more well-rounded professional to help achieve the vocational ambition that I seek. This one is short and sweet, a little vague, but not something I am not ready to expand on fully because I'm still working to grasp exactly what it means for me. <br />
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Finally, we come to <b>Recreational</b>: This is the area of life that makes up whatever I do when I'm not working. The part of life that helps give balance by way of a hobby. Well, for the past four years, cooking and keeping up this blog has been a big hobby for me. However, this year Kate's Cure for the Common Cuisine will re-brand and be a little different going forward to grow <i>with</i> me, as a writer and as a person. In the next month or so, you will be introduced to a new site focusing on more domesti<i>kate</i>d posts (see what I did there?!) that will not solely focus on food. I started this blog in 2010 as a way to share health<i>ier</i> recipe alternatives on my journey to better nutrition and learning to cook with my favorite sous chef. While there is still much more to come out of our kitchen, there is other content I'd like to be able to share with the help of some fantastic guest-blogger friends. <br />
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Whew! Well, that about sums it all up! Starting this year, I will post my monthly F&F (fitness & food) calendar. This is a tool I started using in February of 2012 when I took part in a healthy living challenge. By mapping it all out, it helped keep me on track. I took the Microsoft Word calendar template and just filled it all in, noting days I had events or meetings that I would need to be conscious of. You can see my January calendar below! Note, I usually don't plan out Fridays and Saturday meals, leaving those flexible. <br />
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<br />
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<td style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 8.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Sunday</span></b></div>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 8.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Monday</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Tuesday</span></b></div>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 8.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Wednesday</span></b></div>
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<td style="border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 8.95pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Thursday</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Friday</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Saturday</span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 32.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 32.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">2</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM - Metal/Fire Progression</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
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<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Work meeting - Chinese</span></div>
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<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turkey Chili Taco Soup</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">3</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00 AM – <span style="color: #8db3e2;">Wood 60</span> OR </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #e36c0a;">Cardio and Weights</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turkey Chili Taco Soup</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Quinoa/Shrimp Lettuce Wraps</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 32.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">4</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #e36c0a; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and weights</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Cotton Bowl
Game</span></b></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 32.35pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.85pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">9:15
AM – Yoga Earth Class</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 69.7pt; mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #e36c0a;">Cardio and Weights</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Eggs,
wheat toast</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein
Smoothie</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bnut Squash Chicken Spaghetti bake</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">7</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM Metal-Earth Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">OR
6:20 Metal 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chicken spaghetti</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Blackned salmon/veggies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">8</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Earth 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Meeting PM</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Spaghetti squash with chicken</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fiesta flank steak salad </span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">9</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and abs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Meeting PM</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fiesta flank steak Salad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meeting - Italian food</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">10</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Wood 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chicken/spinach wrap</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Skinny Chckn Parm with spaghetti squash</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">11</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM –</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #f79646;"> Cardio and weights</span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: purple;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00 PM –
Central Market Cooking Class</span></b></span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 69.7pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.85pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">12</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">12:00
PM – Metal 60</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 83.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">13</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #e36c0a;">Cardio and Weights</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Eggs, wheat toast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Tortilla Soup</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">14</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Meeting PM</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Tortilla Soup and salad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Pot roast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">15</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Earth 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #632423; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> –</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <span style="color: #943634;">Body Works </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Pot roast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turkey Lettuce Wraps</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">16</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and abs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM - Metal/Fire Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turkey Lettuce Wraps</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Veggie Ribbons/ Salmon</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">17</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Wood 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chicken/Spinach wrap</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Lasagna roll ups</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">18</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and weights</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM – Wood-Metal Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.85pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">19</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">9:15
AM – Yoga Earth Class</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 83.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">20</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #e36c0a;">Cardio and Weights</span></span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Eggs, wheat toast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turkey Chili</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">21</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #7030a0; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM Metal-Earth Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">OR
6:20 Metal 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Turkey Chili </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chicken Caprese with Spaghetti squash</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">22<span style="color: red;"></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Earth 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM –</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <span style="color: #943634;">Body
Works </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chicken/spag squash</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Brisket/veggies</span></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">23<span style="color: red;"></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and abs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM - Metal/Fire Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Brisket/veggies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Butternut squash penne</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">25</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Wood 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Butternut squash penne</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Black bean enchiladas</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">25</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and weights</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM – Wood-Metal Progression</span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.85pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">26</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">12:00
PM – Metal 60</span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 83.25pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">27</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><span style="color: #e36c0a;">Cardio and Weights</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Eggs, wheat toast</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Butternut Squash Soup and fig/gouda grilled cheese</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">28</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM Metal-Earth Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">OR
6:20 Metal 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Bnut squash soup/ salad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Quinoa/black bean bowl</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">29</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Earth 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #943634; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM –</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <span style="color: #943634;">Body
Works </span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Quinoa/black bean bowl</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Asian stir-fry & salmon</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">30</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #f79646; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Cardio and abs</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">5:45
PM - Metal/Fire Progression</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Protein Smoothie</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Salad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Beef Kabobs & Veggies</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 83.25pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 103.8pt;" valign="top" width="138"><div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">31</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">6:00
AM – Wood 60</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Meals:</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Whole Grain Cereal</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Salad</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #9bbb59; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Chicken pesto pasta</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #8db3e2; font-family: "Arial Narrow","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #990000;"><i>Tastefully yours, </i></span><br />
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<img class="CSS_LIGHTBOX_SCALED_IMAGE_IMG" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h5Ii3rG_564/UH3a0vgPP8I/AAAAAAAAFMA/PwplIw4f2oI/s1600/signature.png" style="height: 74px; width: 112px;" /><br />
<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-23032154576938676152012-11-18T12:32:00.002-08:002012-11-18T12:32:46.078-08:00Wedding Gifts: Shower Hosts!The whole process of getting married is just so special! From the time you get engaged to when you say <i>I Do</i>, you are surrounded by love. We are so blessed to have some wonderful friends in our lives and while they were working hard on our behalf, I wanted to make sure I worked equally as hard to make sure they felt loved and appreciated for their efforts. This post is dedicated to those people and an ability to share some fun gift giving ideas for others looking for them. <br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Engagement Party Hosts - "Date Night" Recipe Basket</b></div>
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<img height="300" id="il_fi" src="http://www.giftbasketdesignsgallery.com/280_210_csupload_18662013.jpg?u=2852092143" style="padding-bottom: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px;" width="400" /></div>
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<i>I cannot believe I didn't get a picture of this gift but I found a graphic on the wonderful world wide web that was similar enough to the gift basket created.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> </i></div>
For our Engagement Party, we had some wonderful family friends offer to throw this celebration. These families have been apart of my life for as long as I can remember. I've cooked many meals in the Fulton kitchen and they know what foodies Max and I are so to make this extra special for us, they wanted to hand prepare all of the food for the event. They spent hours getting ready and creating a menu that served so many of our favorite things from pesto hummus and caprese skewers, to a crab remoulade and pork sliders. To thank them, I wanted to make something for them that was from our hearts, share something with them that is special to us. I had years of practice creating baskets of goodies for silent auctions, so I took that concept and applied it to their gift. I wanted to make each of the three host couples a "date night" basket with our <a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2010/10/pasta-la-vodka.html" target="_blank"><b>favorite pasta recipe</b></a> and everything they would need to make it. I filled the wicker basket with pasta noodles, ingedients for the sauce (including a mini vodka bottle), baguette bread, chianti wine and gadgets, such as a salad dressing emulsifier and cheese grater, stuffed it with crinkle paper and then wrapped with cellophane. I created a recipe card to attach, then used the back space to write a heartfelt message of thanks and affixed that as the gift tag.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Ladies Shower Host Gifts</b></div>
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<img alt="http://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=bcb74a1afd&view=att&th=13acc350bcbd4e7e&attid=0.0&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_aR6tesyhwKRd7JxixPSF2&sadet=1352045911989&sads=oSuKfpivDg-AA7Xd6qpCiqthrYc" class="decoded" height="300" src="http://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=bcb74a1afd&view=att&th=13acc350bcbd4e7e&attid=0.0&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_aR6tesyhwKRd7JxixPSF2&sadet=1352045911989&sads=oSuKfpivDg-AA7Xd6qpCiqthrYc" width="400" /> <img alt="Linnea's Lights Vanilla Noir Scented Soy Candle at CandlesOffMain.com" class="photo" height="200" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets.svpply.com/large/2041248.jpg?1351763996" width="200" /></div>
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For my Ladies Shower, I had four hosts that again I have known as long as I can remember. These sweet ladies have been dear friends of my mom and have watched me grow up. Having met all of them while growing up at University Park United Methodist Church, I wanted to gift them something that would reflect that. They led my Disciple Now weekends, taught me in Vacation Bible School and Sunday School, were chaperones on mission trips... these ladies each impacted my faith journey and were extensions of our own family for over 25 years. In Dallas we have the most fantastic store for home goodies and gifts called Sample House, where I found beautiful crosses and then paired with a candle for each host. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Couples Shower Host Gift</b></div>
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<img alt="http://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=bcb74a1afd&view=att&th=13ac87174b9165a9&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_aR6tesyhwKRd7JxixPSF2&sadet=1352044575557&sads=gR1E8mZMg3Z1QYRx_K9AHtKrQ4k&sadssc=1" class="decoded" height="300" src="http://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=bcb74a1afd&view=att&th=13ac87174b9165a9&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_aR6tesyhwKRd7JxixPSF2&sadet=1352044575557&sads=gR1E8mZMg3Z1QYRx_K9AHtKrQ4k&sadssc=1" width="400" /> </div>
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Mr. Max and I have some very special friends, the Rumplers. They have been a couple that has been apart of our relationship from very early on and they are apart of our wedding party. The Rumps gave us a lovely couples shower and we wanted to give them something fun in return. The store we purchased our wedding invitations through, Paper Affair, had a line of fun decorative cutting board platters that you could personalize. I was able to pick out a pattern and color that matched their home and have their name added to it. Liddy is a natural hostess so I thought this would be a gift I know she would appreciate. The week of that shower, I had a luncheon through work featuring the Pioneer Woman herself, Ree Drummond. I got to meet and talk with her, as well as the chance to buy her newest cook book and have it personalized. I put it all together in a basket with a floral arrangement.<br />
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Thanks again to our wonderful hosts, we hope you know how much we appreciate you! <br />
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-64330318160283741122012-10-16T15:19:00.001-07:002012-10-16T15:21:47.909-07:00Wedding Gifts: Bachelorette Favors!<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="spotlight" height="78" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/9220_10152184068775591_1960341101_n.jpg" style="height: 151px; width: 612px;" width="320" /></div>
<br />
I have been lagging on food posts because all of my creative energy the past two months have been spent on wedding planning and work event planning. It has left little room to stay creative in the kitchen but I thought I'd post about a prominent and favorite part of the planning process right now - the gift giving! I wanted to share some of the fun things in the world of gifts for shower hosts, bridesmaids, the groom and more. <br />
<br />
To start off this series of posts over the next few months, we have bachelorette party favors. My bachelorette party was this past weekend and my MOH's planned an incredible weekend in the Texas Wine Country! Two of the attendees are fellow hobby-bloggers and did their own recaps so I'll let their work over at <a href="http://kittensandpitbulls.blogspot.com/2012/10/katies-bachelorette-weekend.html" target="_blank"><b><i>Kitten and Pitbulls</i></b></a> and <a href="http://merewil.blogspot.com/2012/10/weekend-review-twin-boar-ranch.html?spref=fb" target="_blank"><i><b>Average Insanity</b></i></a> give you a little peak into our fun. It was more special than I could have <i>ever</i> dreamed and I feel very blessed to have each of those girls in my life!<br />
<br />
In preparation for the weekend, I wanted to create a fun little favor to thank my guests for coming and spending their weekend with me. I had a lot of fun brainstorming different options and this box of goodies was born. I was really lucky to find some great deals to help me do this on a budget, while still being able to make the most out of it for each girl. Each box consisted of a bottle of wine with personalized wine label, a personalized wine glass, a wine yoke, and a sleep mask. The grand total for this? Roughly $8.11 a person. HOW you may ask? Let's break it down...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b>Personalized wine glasses:</b></i></u></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8r4BNtDFAZo/UH3aoKa4_cI/AAAAAAAAFLw/ztCF-14PWBI/s1600/bachelorette+party+005.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8r4BNtDFAZo/UH3aoKa4_cI/AAAAAAAAFLw/ztCF-14PWBI/s400/bachelorette+party+005.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h6cQXpzPfNA/UH3azpqg-8I/AAAAAAAAFL4/uVvFUKDYoTM/s1600/bachelorette+party+007.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-h6cQXpzPfNA/UH3azpqg-8I/AAAAAAAAFL4/uVvFUKDYoTM/s400/bachelorette+party+007.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I bought
wine glasses from IKEA and personalized each glass with
paint pens. I did their initial with polka dots and then wrote "Fill it Up, Drink it Down, Repeat" on the bottom.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b>Wine Labels and Bottle: </b></i></u></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P6wo1cmXado/UH3acebg2WI/AAAAAAAAFLk/OSurbV-NoHw/s1600/bachelorette+party+002.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P6wo1cmXado/UH3acebg2WI/AAAAAAAAFLk/OSurbV-NoHw/s400/bachelorette+party+002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
I found a <i><b><a href="http://www.bottleyourbrand.com/personalized-wine-labels" target="_blank">website</a></b></i> that I could
customize and order wine labels for just $0.99 each. I made a commemorative
wine label and was so excited to reveal my tagline, "<i>You Had Me at Merlot</i>!" <br />
<br />
I asked my
MOHs to find out from each girl if they preferred Red or White wine and gave it to them accordingly. For the wine, thank heavens for friends in high places! I was able to work with a wine distributor who I've developed a great working relationship with. I told her what I was looking to do and asked if she would
be able to sell me two cases at whole sale cost. She did me one better and GAVE me the bottles of wine! For her, it was promotion. For me, it was awesome.<br />
<br />
I soaked off the front but left the back label with brand information on it so it didn't defeat her purpose of giving them to me. I then took the
commemorative wine label and affixed one to each bottle. If you are going to soak bottles, the best method that worked for me was to fill a bathtub or kitchen sink with hot water to a shallow level. You only need enough to cover the label, not to submerge it. Squeeze a little bit of dish soap in, and place the wine bottles in, label-side down. Leave for several hours and use a razor blade to help remove the label and residue. My first soak was 4-5 hours, then I just decided to do them overnight and that was easier. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b>Sleep Masks: </b></i></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b><img alt="Dream Essentials Snooz™ Airline Style Eye Mask" height="219" id="ProductPic50" src="http://www.dreamessentials.com/images/variant/medium/231.jpg" style="display: inline;" title="Click here to view larger image" width="320" /></b></i></u></div>
I mean, who doesn't love some
serious shut eye after lots of wine consumption? I spent some time googling and comparing, finally finding a <i><b><a href="http://www.dreamessentials.com/product-50/snooz-silky-soft-eye-mask" target="_blank">fabulous site</a></b></i> to bulk order these sleep masks. I got a fun hot pink color and I think they came in handy. I know I was able to use one on the way home when my lack of sleep caught up to me. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b>The Wine Yoke:</b></i></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b><img alt="http://www.everythingbutwine.com/images/8044_pink.jpg" class="decoded" height="320" src="http://www.everythingbutwine.com/images/8044_pink.jpg" width="320" /></b></i></u></div>
This was an impulse purchase, I had already finalized everything but I was in World Market and saw the Wine Yoke. I sat there and had a left-brain/right brain conversation to myself for about 3 minutes. I decided to leave it to fate and if I could find them online for under $3/each, I would order them. Sure enough, <a href="http://www.everythingbutwine.com/Wine-Yoke-Wine-Glass-Holder-Pink" target="_blank"><b><i>I did</i></b></a>, AND they were pink which is only right for a girls bachelorette weekend! Order placed, shipped, delivered. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b>The Packaging:</b></i></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ow0T4CoHyk4/UH3aRNUJs4I/AAAAAAAAFLc/9S2jRwKUuBw/s1600/bachelorette+party+001.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ow0T4CoHyk4/UH3aRNUJs4I/AAAAAAAAFLc/9S2jRwKUuBw/s400/bachelorette+party+001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Working in events, you bulk order a lot of stuff and know where to get some good wholesale prices for things such as crinkle paper. I was able to go to a wholesale store by our office to get a box of the crinkle to use as padding in the boxes and add some flare. The Duck brand corrugated boxes were ordered from <a href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a> and were easy to assemble!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><i><b>Others:</b></i></u></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="spotlight" height="213" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/522396_10152184080125591_1189586510_n.jpg" style="height: 408px; width: 612px;" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
My MOH's also included a cute little favor of their own for the girls with personalized cups, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
straws, beads and blinkie rings. </div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/62005_10152184068480591_1733262104_n.jpg" style="height: 520px; width: 347px;" /></div>
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To close, here are some of my favorite group shots with the girls...<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/581023_10152184083175591_723732991_n.jpg" style="height: 341px; width: 612px;" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Some of us posing after breakfast, getting ready for the bus to come pick us up</i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<img alt="" class="spotlight" height="300" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/598887_544930282199041_1416494754_n.jpg" style="height: 459px; width: 612px;" width="400" /></div>
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<i> Group at Pedernales Cellars for first tasting, with wine yokes in tow</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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<i> <img alt="" class="spotlight" src="https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/1051_10152184078155591_1632260847_n.jpg" style="height: 450px; width: 612px;" /></i></div>
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<i>The full group at Hondo's for dinner to start the night off - I love all the colors going on here!</i><br />
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Thank you friends for helping me celebrate the best weekend of my life,</div>
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I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!<br />
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-59921236599796624992012-10-11T13:13:00.003-07:002012-10-11T13:13:50.460-07:00Tortilla Soup (Lightened Up)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bWPHl4zdKBI/UHcn1w6QvbI/AAAAAAAAFK4/dMY3MgyYCoY/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bWPHl4zdKBI/UHcn1w6QvbI/AAAAAAAAFK4/dMY3MgyYCoY/s400/photo+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
With the barbecue pot roast and this soup, it has been a week for comfort food! Both Mr. Max and I have felt a little puny with fall allergies on top of being generally run down from a very hectic September. Experiencing a bit of real fall weather, we decided to make a big batch of our favorite soup for the week. <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2010/11/giadas-tomato-tortilla-soup.html" target="_blank">Giada's Tortilla Soup</a></b> has been our go-to the past few years, it is so easy to make and truly delicious, but this time I decided to change it up a bit.<br />
<br />
I wanted to turn up the heat a bit to help clear some serious sniffles so cayenne pepper was included, I added black beans for additional protein, and used a low-sodium vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. <br />
<br />
Nutritional facts can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=4582,11282,11215,3097607,2031,2009,2014,2027,432758,17633296,912148,539233,38551557,541360,&amounts=25262,28601,28497,3126493,24138,24093,24104,24130,444360,17662484,929616,552161,38577943,554316,&qtys=1,1,3,1,1,1,1,1,3,.5,1.5,2,8,1,&servings=6&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>, calculated through SparkRecipes.com; one serving of soup is 3 WW points. <br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 7-8 servings </i><br />
<ul>
<li>3 cups vegetable broth</li>
<li>12 oz. can of roasted tomatoes, diced</li>
<li>1 tbsp. canola oil </li>
<li>1 cup onion, diced</li>
<li>4 cloves garlic, minced </li>
<li>1 poblano pepper, minced</li>
<li>1 tsp. cayenne</li>
<li>1 tsp. chili powder</li>
<li>1 tsp. cumin</li>
<li>1 tsp. oregano </li>
<li>12 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed</li>
<li>2 cups rotisserie chicken, shredded</li>
<li>1/4 cup cilantro</li>
<li>1 avocado, cubed</li>
<li>Cheese for garnish</li>
</ul>
To start, combine the vegetable broth, diced tomatoes and peppers in a pot on medium-high heat. Add the cayenne, chili powder and oregano.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--EYQoMXP33M/UHY05RnKcEI/AAAAAAAAFKE/TwlZDzzebOQ/s1600/october+022.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--EYQoMXP33M/UHY05RnKcEI/AAAAAAAAFKE/TwlZDzzebOQ/s320/october+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Take an immersion blender, or dump contents of pot into a blender, and blend the diced tomatoes and peppers until smooth and creamy. In a different pot, begin to saute the onions in canola oil over medium heat. Add more cayenne pepper and cumin. After cooking for about 10 minutes, add the garlic until fragrant.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pet7zbl81ak/UHY04i_bz2I/AAAAAAAAFJ8/ib4nLQ-fqOI/s1600/october+021.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pet7zbl81ak/UHY04i_bz2I/AAAAAAAAFJ8/ib4nLQ-fqOI/s320/october+021.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pour the soup mix into the pot with the onions, then add the black beans, shredded chicken and cilantro. Let simmer for about 30 minutes to allow the flavors to conjure, or until you are ready to serve.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ghe1OqEwCTc/UHY06mV_-EI/AAAAAAAAFKU/oo-EYq88TeY/s1600/october+025.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ghe1OqEwCTc/UHY06mV_-EI/AAAAAAAAFKU/oo-EYq88TeY/s320/october+025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Add the avocado to each individual bowl, garnish cheese and additional cilantro then ladel and enjoy!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rsbJmg5Uq18/UHcn4hBSw9I/AAAAAAAAFLA/nVuZ4T1Jj8A/s1600/photo+1.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rsbJmg5Uq18/UHcn4hBSw9I/AAAAAAAAFLA/nVuZ4T1Jj8A/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i>Tastefully yours,</i></span><br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-54865710445503126642012-10-10T19:49:00.001-07:002012-10-11T07:40:09.042-07:00Barbecue Pot Roast<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22fWIi3K0Wg/UHYwn2wwLII/AAAAAAAAFJQ/H0c0p4gb5D4/s1600/october+016.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22fWIi3K0Wg/UHYwn2wwLII/AAAAAAAAFJQ/H0c0p4gb5D4/s400/october+016.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a recipe that I can't wait to share! When you have something that you just loved to make and eat, it's really fun to run and tell everyone about it in hopes that they can then enjoy it like you did. Mr. Max and I have simply not been very creative with meals lately. We've had a lot of repeats or easy meals like salads, or simple fish and chicken breasts with roasted veggies. Blame that partially on a whirlwind event schedule and needing the ease, and maybe partially on trying to eat very basic because of the wedding that is approaching.<br />
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I can't say that I've been a dieting bride necessarily. I know how to eat well and I know what's good and what is not so good for me. I've just become a little more diligent on those <i>what's good</i> with more veggies and protein, and really strict on the consumption of the <i>not so good</i> like unneeded sugars, excess carbs or salty foods. <br />
<br />
Well.... all that is fine and great but sometimes you just need some <i>comfort food!</i> Feeling slightly under the weather and having just one of <i>those</i> weeks, I decided that a pot roast seemed appropriate because it gave me a perfect reason to make a cauliflower and potato puree - mmm potatoes! Pinspired by the fabulous <a href="http://www.plainchicken.com/2012/05/bbq-pot-roast-over-cheddar-ranch-grits.html" target="_blank"><i>Plain Chicken blog</i></a>, I used this for reference but made my own version based on what I had in the fridge.<br />
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Nutritional facts can be found <a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=32516958,334987,2048,6211523,6211976,33793351,11124,11143,&amounts=32543920,345543,24172,6240466,6240919,33820081,28358,28395,&qtys=32,16,.25,1,1,3,2,1,&servings=6&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank"><u><b>here</b></u></a>, and they were surprisingly not <i>as bad</i> as I thought; this is 8 WW points per serving.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields six servings</i><br />
<ul>
<li>2 lb rump roast, trimmed (rump is leaner than chuck roast)</li>
<li>Garlic salt to taste</li>
<li>Pepper to taste </li>
<li>1 cup chili sauce</li>
<li>1/4 cup apple cider vinegar </li>
<li>2 tbsp. BBQ sauce (I used our favorite, Austin's Own, Medium Heat)</li>
<li>2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce</li>
<li>1 tbsp. Sriracha</li>
<li>2 cups carrots</li>
<li>1 cup celery (optional)</li>
<li>1/2 cup water (optional)</li>
</ul>
To start, sprinkle your roast with the garlic salt and pepper, then place in the crock pot. Surround with the celery, then the carrots. I thought I got most of what Plain Chicken used but come to find, I did
not. I didn't have a Coke, and didn't want to use one, so I subbed the
taste of apple cider vinegar for a little bit of tang and to help
compensate for the missing liquid. I decided to start with just 1/4 cup
so that it didn't over power and could somewhat keep sugars low, and
that amount was perfect. In a bowl, mix the chili sauce, apple cider vinegar, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire and sriracha together until blended. At this point, I looked at it and thought I needed to "water" it up more so that is when I added the water.<br />
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Once mixed, pour the sauce over the contents in the crock pot, put the top on and walk away. If you are cooking for over 6 hours, cook on low-medium heat. If you are cooking for under 6 hours, cook on high heat.<br />
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When you come back, test the roast to see if it falls apart at the touch and move the contents around to get everything a little saucy.<br />
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When the roast is ready, scoop the meat and veggies into a bowl, top with some extra sauce and serve! <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Served with cauliflower-potato mash</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Kate's Easy Cauliflower-Potato Mash </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Boil 1 large Yukon gold potato, cut in on inch cubes </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>and 2 cups of cauliflower florets.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>When soft, drain and add 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>with 1 tsp. garlic powder and 1 tsp. butter.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Use electric beaters to mash until smooth and creamy</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Serves 3-4</i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i><span style="color: #660000;">Tastefully yours,</span></i></div>
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-50235560216970365302012-10-08T11:35:00.003-07:002012-10-08T13:30:55.971-07:00Barbecue Kolaches<div style="text-align: center;">
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This is an easy recipe to whip up for brunch, tailgates or a potluck need. In April, I was making kolaches one morning and as I stared at the little smokie, I thought to myself: <i>self, you love dousing these and cooking them in BBQ sauce, and you love them rolled up as kolaches. Why couldn't they be both?</i> I decided they should be, but then filed that thought away for another day.<br />
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That day came in August when I decided to try it out for a fun girl's potluck brunch hosted by sweet Sara. The result was a very delicious combination that was gobbled up, and if it was gal-approved, I was certain the boys would love it too.<br />
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As football season began, my friend Elizabeth and I planned our spread for the first upcoming home football games on the SMU Boulevard. This is our 5th season on the Boulevard together and for all that time, our boys have been talking about <i>someday</i> when they have a tent spot. Their <i>someday</i> came this year when the group was able to finally get a coveted lot in a prime location on the Boulevard. This meant fabulous food spreads would be made, decor would need to be set and a TV with satellite to keep the boys distracted from realizing their tent was becoming a picture out of Southern Living. <br />
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Elizabeth and I brought a number of things and this was one of my contributions to the first game day spread. I hope one that you can enjoy them for your next tailgate! They are a little messy to make but sometimes in the kitchen, you just have to get your hands dirty. <br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 32 kolaches</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 package of your favorite Little Smokie brand sausages (I got Hillshire Farms)</li>
<li>1.5 cups BBQ Sauce (I use Austin's Own with a little heat to it)</li>
<li>2 packages Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent Rolls </li>
<li>Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese</li>
</ul>
To start, pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and set out two cookie sheets, greased with non-stick spray. Place the little smokie's into a pot, then smother in the BBQ sauce. Cook them like this on low heat for about an hour. <i>Note: the time frame is really up to you, I like to think that the flavor penetrates the longer it is cooked.</i><br />
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As your sausages sizzle in sauce, roll out the crescent dough and cut each individual triangle in half to create two mini triangles. If my memory and math serves me correctly, you get 8 regular crescent rolls per package, so with this method, you should get 16 per package.<br />
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Now the first time I did this, I used finely shredded cheese, which I preferred. This time, I thought we had shredded cheese but we did not, so I cut slivers of the colby-jack cheese instead. This works but if you can do shredded cheese, I would recommend that because it melts better.<br />
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Top the dough and cheese slice with a bbq-drenched little smokie and start to roll from widest end to skinny end. This is where the BBQ sauce may cause a little bit of a mess, but that's okay!<br />
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Place your rolled bbq kolache on a greased cookie sheet and when ready, pop it in the oven for 15 minutes, or until bread is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling. <br />
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Remove and enjoy your little bites of barbecuey, cheesey, sausagey heaven!<br />
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<span style="color: #660000;"><i>Tastefully yours,</i></span><br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-31921830241782952672012-09-13T12:09:00.002-07:002012-10-09T12:35:16.301-07:00Make a Meal: Spinach-Basil Pesto Pasta with Caprese Chicken Stacks<div style="text-align: center;">
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For Labor Day, I had a fun little girls weekend with my two Maids of Honor. Amy and I went southbound 35 to visit Greer for a little time together, just the three of us and one thing I knew I could count on was a fun cooking night. We went to a local farmers market to find inspiration and ended up deciding on an Italian theme. We bought fresh vegetables and Italian peppers, then found a fresh <b><a href="http://www.austinpasta.com/" target="_blank">pasta place</a> </b>where we bought three fresh pastas: a fettuccine, a spinach fusilli, and a pecorino-peppercorn cavatelli pasta. For sauces, we bought a vodka sauce from the pasta place then made our own fresh basil pesto. For toppings, we sauteed the fresh farmers market vegetables to toss with pasta and olive oil, then made some easy balsamic chicken chunks. When we put it all together, it was <i>ahh-mazing. </i>See below for our little pasta bar!<br />
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<i> <img alt="" class="spotlight" height="400" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/582683_10102384620074134_216571333_n.jpg" width="400" /></i></div>
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Fast forward to this week, Mr. Max and I were meal planning. <i> </i>I was still having some serious food envy of all the leftovers that Greer had, and DVR envy from the ridiculous amount of recorded hours of <i>The Hills</i>, but that's another story. We may or may not have bypassed our Saturday plans to explore Austin so that we could watch 10.5 hours of that reality TV gold.<br />
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<img alt="" class="spotlight" height="400" src="https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/549660_10102383801090384_600428749_n.jpg" width="400" /></div>
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Busted. Name that scene! The "he's a sucky, sucky person" confrontation was one of the best between Lauren and Hiedi, next was the "you KNOW what you did" at Les Duex. <br />
<br />
Back to the featured post dish, I was craving some pesto after thinking about the delicious stuff we made over Labor Day and decided to pick up some whole wheat fusilli to revamp my ever-changing <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-caprese.html" target="_blank">chicken caprese</a></b>. This recipe was quick and easy, I made it on one of my busiest work weeks of the year, meaning I was tired, maybe slightly grouchy and was ready to eat some dinner so I could go to bed. That said, this took all of 20 minutes from prep start to plated finish.<br />
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Nutritional facts can be found <a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=11457,2044,11215,41483802,12147,517153,10269933,5062,517153,28638815,1028,13357814,&amounts=28810,24163,28497,41510612,29692,529829,10299722,503521,529829,28666314,23718,13387475,&qtys=2.5,10,3,2,2,4,2,12,1,1,2,4,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank"><u><b>here</b></u></a>.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
Recipe Yields 3-4 servings <br />
<i>For the Pesto Pasta (forgive me, rough estimates I tried to track as I went)</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1/2 cup spinach</li>
<li>1/2 cup basil</li>
<li>3 cloves of garlic</li>
<li>3 large pinches of Parmesan </li>
<li>2 tbsp. pine nuts</li>
<li>1/4 cup olive oil</li>
<li>1.5 cups spinach, packed</li>
<li>2 cups pasta (I made extra for Mr. Max's appetite and a lunch portion)</li>
</ul>
<i>For the Caprese Chicken</i><br />
<ul>
<li>3 chicken cutlets (4 oz. each)</li>
<li><i> </i>1 tbsp. olive oil</li>
<li>Italian seasoning</li>
<li>2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar</li>
<li>6 thin slices of part-skim mozzarella</li>
<li>1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved </li>
<li>Balsamic glaze </li>
</ul>
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To start, pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring salted water to a boil and add the pasta noodles. Cook for about 8-10 minutes or until al dente. <br />
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Next, combine the spinach, basil, garlic, pine nuts and Parm in the food processor and grind. Add the olive oil slowly and continue to grind until you've reached a smooth, desired pesto consistency. <br />
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Toss your tomatoes in just a splash of olive oil. Spread the halves over a baking sheet covered in aluminum foil and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Roast in the oven for twenty minutes until puckered and slightly browned. <br />
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Take your chicken cutlets and cut them in half so you have small, slider size slabs of chicken. Place them in a bowl and toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to evenly coat the chicken. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning.<br />
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Place the chicken in a foil lined baking dish and place in the oven for 4 minutes to cook. After 4 minutes, remove from the oven, flip and add the sliced mozzarella to the top of each chicken. Cook for another 5 minutes.<br />
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Once the pasta is ready, drain and dry with paper towels. In a large saute pan, combine the pasta with the pesto and add the additional spinach to let wilt over low-medium heat.<br />
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Once the chicken is ready, make a bed of the pasta on a plate or bowl and then top with the chicken and scoop of roasted tomatoes, then drizzle with an ever so slight balsamic glaze. In the picture at the very top of this post, I had stacked the chicken with layer of tomatoes between and again on top. In the one below, the two chicken pieces are side by side. <br />
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<i><span style="color: #660000;">Tastefully yours,</span></i><br />
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Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-5767399263324749552012-08-27T16:37:00.002-07:002012-08-27T16:37:41.132-07:00Girls Night In: Hatch Fest!<div style="text-align: center;">
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Our <i>Girls Nights In</i> group resumed this month and we were excited to kick-off the second half of the year with a menu all about an August culinary staple - hatch chile peppers. When planning, I looked up a Central Market Cooking School Menu that Mr. Max and I wanted to go to. It was already full, so I thought this would be perfect for our girls night in! <br />
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The Central Market menu consisted of:<br />
<ul>
<li>Hatch Ceviche with Avocado</li>
<li>Hatch Stuffed Flank Steak</li>
<li>Market Veggie in Hatch Butter</li>
<li>Hatch Corn Bread</li>
<li>Hatch Chocolate Cake</li>
</ul>
In communicating with the girls, we liked where they were going with this. We decided on doing the ceviche, the flank steak, veggies sans hatch butter and adding in the quinoa mac and cheese that Amy made only this time, with hatch chiles. We divvied it up and I volunteered the flank steak with a hatch-chimichurri that I concocted.<br />
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Meredith took the ceviche, Chandler brought the veggies, Amy revised the quinoa mac and Lindsey brought amazing wine to compliment the meal! Such a fun night, I love quality time with these girls. Stay tuned for the recipes coming soon!<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;"></span><i>Ceviche with Hatch and Avocado </i></div>
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<i>Hatch-Chimichurri for the Flank Steak </i></div>
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<i>Hatch Quinoa and Cheese</i> </div>
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<i>Carved Flank Steak with Sauce </i></div>
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<i style="color: #660000;">Tastefully yours, </i><br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-88338887902431925752012-08-26T15:16:00.002-07:002012-08-26T15:17:04.768-07:00Cauliflower Pizza Crust<div style="text-align: center;">
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After months of seeing this circulate the Pinterest blogosphere, I decided maybe we needed to try it. Max Man enjoys making a homemade pizza. We haven't done this in a long time but I could tell he had a hankering for it. I decided to beat him to the punch and let him know that I had a <b><a href="http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/16/cauliflower-crust-hawaiian-pizza/" target="_blank">special crust</a></b> to try from Recipe Girl. <br />
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To be honest, this was really easy to do. However, I don't know if it is a testament of the cauliflower recipe, my oven, or lack of a proper pizza stone/crisper but the crust didn't crisp the way a pizza crust should have. I give the taste a B+, I never once had the thought that I wasn't eating a conventional pizza crust, it was only lacking the even crisp throughout the pie, namely the middle area. Since the days of braces, I've always eaten pizza with a fork so that was an easy remedy when it came to eating. Max Max, on the other hand, well he was having a hard time trying to pick it up and shovel in his mouth, finally conceding to my fork method. <br />
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Regardless of the crust, the taste was great and I would definitely recommend trying this. I am looking forward to making it again and working on ways to improve the crisp factor using a pizza stone, grilling it, broiling longer, who knows! Because I was so skeptical to begin with, I did not change this crust recipe at all from the source. We used it to make a half goat cheese-pesto pizza, half japapeno-pepperoni pizza, our favorites!<br />
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Nutritional facts can be found in Recipe Girl's <b><a href="http://www.recipegirl.com/2012/01/16/cauliflower-crust-hawaiian-pizza/" target="_blank">post</a></b>.<br />
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<b>Grocery List:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>1 large head of cauliflower</li>
<li>1 egg</li>
<li>1 cup mozzarella cheese, finely shredded</li>
<li>1 tsp. dried oregano</li>
<li>1 tsp. garlic powder</li>
<li>1/2 tsp. onion powder</li>
</ul>
To start, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Next, use a cheese grater to grate the cauliflower head until you've reached the stems. Should equate to about 2 cups.<br />
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Cauliflower produces a lot of water so you will want to take a few paper towels to help squeeze the moisture out of the grated veggie.<br />
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The blogger whose recipe I followed also recommended nuking it in the microwave to help dry out the moisture. I did this for about 6 minutes and then removed. Then, I placed in the freezer to help with the time of cooling down so I could add the egg without it cooking into the cauliflower flakes. Once cooled, you may add the egg, cheese, oregano, garlic and onion powder. Stir well to combine.<br />
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Grease your surface of choice, whether you use a cookie sheet or pizza stone. Pat the dough into a thin and even layer on the sheet, about 9 inches in diameter. This does not stretch like a regular dough so be gentle and pat it out to stay connected. Spray the crust lightly with nonstick spray, this will help it brown. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. If your edges are browned but your middle still feels doughy, I would in hindsight cover the edges with foil, only exposing the middle, and allow the pizza to cook for another 3 minutes to help firm up that middle area. <br />
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Next, remove the crust from the oven and it should be a firmer, golden brown.<br />
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Turn the oven up to broil. Top with your sauce and pizza toppings of choice, then place back into the oven and let broil on high for 5 minutes. <br />
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When ready, let cool for a few minutes, slice and serve!<br />
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<div style="color: #660000;">
<i>Tastefully yours,</i></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PLStQ4f5p9Q/UDqbyavoNSI/AAAAAAAAFDk/MEKEOiBhz8Y/s1600/signature.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PLStQ4f5p9Q/UDqbyavoNSI/AAAAAAAAFDk/MEKEOiBhz8Y/s1600/signature.png" /></a>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-47277818522414673262012-08-24T05:38:00.001-07:002012-08-24T05:38:35.491-07:00Make a Meal: Soy-Mustard Glazed Salmon with Bok Choy Fried Rice<div style="text-align: center;">
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This dish happened in one of my favorite ways: by accident. I had fully intended to do a different salmon dish based off a recent menu sampling for wedding food. I had sent our chef some of our recipes for the dinner portion but we were having a hard time narrowing down the passed appetizer options that both matched our dinner "theme" and were easy enough to eat. One of the choices he served was a jumbo bacon-wrapped shrimp with a dipping sauce. It was like a barbecue/poblano chutney; there was a sweet tang to it and a subtle smokey heat. We nixed it for an app because it was too high maintenance to consume, not a good finger food, but we just<i> loved</i> the sauce. He told me that since I shared my recipes with him, he would return the favor. He came back with a printed copy of his recipe and I was ready to use it!<br />
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I was all set for that until I left my wedding binder (with recipe tucked in the pocket) at work. Arriving home and realizing that, meant I had to come up with another plan.<br />
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Enter the Soy-Mustard Glaze Salmon. First of all, I don't really like anything that has mustard in the title. I can do mustard when it is a simple ingredient, an undertone of a recipe, but not as a prominent feature. However, I found this in America's Test Kitchen <i>Light and Healthy 2012</i> when I was making the <a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/03/miso-orange-glazed-fish.html" target="_blank">Miso-Orange Glazed Fish</a>. I remember this second glaze recipe and decided to try that, since I had all the ingredients on-hand already. <br />
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Now let's discuss the bok choy fried rice. My friend Greer had recently asked me how to make bok choy so I had it on my mind. I got brown rice, some chopped carrots for another meal in the week and the bok choy. Max Man was ready to help so I asked him to chop the bok choy to fit the saute pan. I meant in half but didn't articulate that, and sweet man chopped it like lettuce for a salad. As I prepared it, I started to think through how I would pull this off, because it was shrinking like spinach. I looked at the finished brown rice and decided to dump that in the skillet with the bok choy and add the carrots along with other tasty ingredients. Yes, I liked where this was heading.<br />
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Nutritional facts for the salmon are located <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=15209,19334,7724306,10737987,16124,15572444,&amounts=31884,34587,7753216,10767782,32128,15601873,&qtys=10,4,1,2,1,1,&servings=2&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>; 6 WW points per 4 oz. salmon filet. Nutritional facts for the stir-fry are located <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=20041,48640,11215,4058,11124,542384,&amounts=34803,55629,28497,25018,28358,555357,&qtys=1,2,2,1,1,2,&servings=4&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>; 2 points for 1/2 cup serving of the rice.<br />
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<b>Grocery List:</b><br />
<i>For Salmon - </i><i>Recipe yields two servings</i><b> </b><br />
<ul>
<li>2 salmon fillets (4-6 oz. each)</li>
<li>2 tbsp. light brown sugar</li>
<li>2 tbsp. tamari (organic, low-sodium soy sauce)</li>
<li>2 tbsp. mirin</li>
<li>1 tbsp. sherry vinegar</li>
<li>1 tbsp. whole-grain mustard</li>
<li>1 tbsp. water</li>
<li>1 tsp. cornstarch</li>
<li>1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes</li>
</ul>
<i>For Bok Choy Stir Fry - Recipe yields 4 servings</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 cup brown rice </li>
<li>2 cups bok choy, chopped</li>
<li>2 cloves garlic, minced</li>
<li>1 tsp. sesame oil</li>
<li>1 cup carrots, diced<i> </i></li>
<li>2 tbsp. low sodium stir-fry sauce<i> </i> </li>
</ul>
To begin, let your grilling surface start warming up (if you decide to grill) or heat your oven at 350 degrees. Next, cook the rice according to the package. As the rice cooks, begin your salmon glaze by placing the brown sugar, tamari, mirin, sherry vinegar, mustard, water, corn starch and red pepper flakes into a shallow sauce pan. Let simmer on medium heat and thicken for 5-7 minutes, whisking well. <br />
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As your glaze perfects, pan sear the salmon. When you flip the salmon skin down, you are allowing the omegas to permeate down through the rest of the fish, fully getting those vitamins. Thank you Central Market man for enlightening me on that little brain nugget. <br />
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Once salmon fillets are seared on both sides, prep your cooking method. I use a grill basket and cover with aluminum foil, then place the salmon down. Lather the glaze on the tops of the fish and set on the grill for 15 minutes. <br />
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Oh hey, chopped bok choy! <br />
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In a large skillet or chef's pan, let your bok choy begin to wilt with just a splash of oil and garlic. When wilted, add the rice and carrots. Add stir-fry sauce and mix well on medium heat for 5 minutes. <br />
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Once the salmon flakes at touch and is a light pink, dish out the stir-fry and top with the fish. Enjoy this taste foodie friends. I'm actually about to make this salmon <i>again</i>. For the fourth time this month but new side dish! <br />
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<i><span style="color: #660000;">Tastefully yours,</span></i> <br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-91134707010679233262012-07-20T09:51:00.002-07:002012-07-20T09:51:44.803-07:00Make a Meal: Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Sweet and Spicy Cucumber Salad<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3BW8t7TlITc/UAmLkbgLgII/AAAAAAAAFBA/OefmEHjYFVE/s1600/FotoFlexer_Photo5.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3BW8t7TlITc/UAmLkbgLgII/AAAAAAAAFBA/OefmEHjYFVE/s400/FotoFlexer_Photo5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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While I was on the same grocery trip that inspired the <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/07/apple-banana-muffins.html" target="_blank">Apple Banana Muffins</a></b>, I also grabbed a recipe card for grilled chicken with cucumber relish while at the meat counter. It sounded light and refreshing for a summer evening so it made it home with me. Like kismet, the next day I stumbled upon another <b><a href="http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/08/sweet-and-spicy-cucumber-slices/" target="_blank">cucumber recipe</a></b> on pinterest and decided to grab inspiration from each, adapting and combining the two for this dish. The chicken kabobs were easy, the cucumbers were easy, what more can you want in a week night meal? Health and nutrition? You are in luck, because this dish has that too.<br />
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I loved the sweetness and kick of heat to the cucumber salad. It was a tasty contrast and something that would work great on its own at a BBQ, a shower or like this for dinner. <br />
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Click <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=5062,11215,6211976,11206,2047,14429,19335,11282,1019,11457,15572444,&amounts=503521,28496,6240919,28480,24171,31389,34589,28603,23683,28810,15601873,&qtys=16,4,1,1,1,.25,1,2,1.5,2,2,&servings=3&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b> for the nutritional facts calculated at SparkRecipes.com and 6 WW points for one serving.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 4 servings</i><br />
<br />
<b>For Chicken </b><i><br /></i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 lb chicken, cubed </li>
<li>4 cloves garlic, minced</li>
<li>3 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce</li>
</ul>
<b>For Cucumber Salad</b><br />
<ul>
<li>1 cucumber, peeled and quartered</li>
<li>Salt </li>
<li>1/4 cup Mirin (rice wine vinegar)</li>
<li>1/4 cup water </li>
<li>1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes<b> </b> </li>
<li>1 tsp. sugar</li>
<li>2 tbsp. red onion, minced</li>
<li>3 tbsp. feta cheese, crumbled</li>
<li>Baby spinach (optional for salad greens) </li>
</ul>
<br />
To begin, heat your grilling surface and brush with oil to help prevent the kabobs from sticking. Next, take your cucumbers and set in a colander. This next step I learned from the original recipe, it's very important to season with salt to help dry out the fruit. Otherwise, they will water down the final product. Salt and let sit for about 15 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzE160ePQNo/UAmLH5o6z-I/AAAAAAAAFAA/S8iv1GlQlKc/s1600/Summer+cooking+445.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YzE160ePQNo/UAmLH5o6z-I/AAAAAAAAFAA/S8iv1GlQlKc/s320/Summer+cooking+445.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In a mixing bowl, combine the cubed chicken with the minced garlic and Worcestershire sauce. Let marinate for about 10 minutes and then thread bamboo or metal kabobs with about 5-6 pieces of chicken, resulting in about 4 oz. on each kabob.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3oOxJMJh87U/UAmLIuAmOxI/AAAAAAAAFAI/74ji2TTwltU/s1600/Summer+cooking+447.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3oOxJMJh87U/UAmLIuAmOxI/AAAAAAAAFAI/74ji2TTwltU/s320/Summer+cooking+447.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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While the chicken is marinating and the cucumbers are "salting," you multitask and move on to the cucumber salad sauce. In a small sauce pan, heat the mirin, water, sugar and red pepper flakes over medium high. Whisk together and let reduce to about 1/3 cup, about 10 minutes.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eKW1yZiWwGY/UAmLJGamjKI/AAAAAAAAFAQ/WD-PhuFZxZg/s1600/Summer+cooking+448.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-eKW1yZiWwGY/UAmLJGamjKI/AAAAAAAAFAQ/WD-PhuFZxZg/s320/Summer+cooking+448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once reduced, set to the side, add the red onion and let cool to room temperature.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GujJmxqThSw/UAmLJmke6-I/AAAAAAAAFAY/E_uJEbcJ9zA/s1600/Summer+cooking+449.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GujJmxqThSw/UAmLJmke6-I/AAAAAAAAFAY/E_uJEbcJ9zA/s320/Summer+cooking+449.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Toss with cucumbers and add feta cheese, then place in fridge to serve chilled.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUZXrkY8sj8/UAmLKwEXgbI/AAAAAAAAFAo/7uN_mFatANI/s1600/Summer+cooking+451.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUZXrkY8sj8/UAmLKwEXgbI/AAAAAAAAFAo/7uN_mFatANI/s320/Summer+cooking+451.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PRYmRQ4lecU/UAmLLKdQNiI/AAAAAAAAFAw/dwmtUuZ9Lgs/s1600/Summer+cooking+452.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PRYmRQ4lecU/UAmLLKdQNiI/AAAAAAAAFAw/dwmtUuZ9Lgs/s320/Summer+cooking+452.JPG" width="320" /> </a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rUZXrkY8sj8/UAmLKwEXgbI/AAAAAAAAFAo/7uN_mFatANI/s1600/Summer+cooking+451.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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Grill the chicken kabobs, about 6 minutes on each side.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0KI-MURjlGE/UAmLKDUICiI/AAAAAAAAFAg/cECDxQ9DVl0/s1600/Summer+cooking+450.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0KI-MURjlGE/UAmLKDUICiI/AAAAAAAAFAg/cECDxQ9DVl0/s320/Summer+cooking+450.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Once done, bring inside and assemble your plate. We used a bed of spinach leaves to enhance the green factor and add nutrients to the dinner. Spoon the cucumber salad atop the spinach and grab a kabob, dinner is served my friends!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgdyplLc94I/UAmLMvYeSTI/AAAAAAAAFA4/AnvOFJ3irYw/s1600/Summer+cooking+453.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sgdyplLc94I/UAmLMvYeSTI/AAAAAAAAFA4/AnvOFJ3irYw/s320/Summer+cooking+453.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="color: #990000;">
<i>Tastefully yours,</i></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjnA5fnBnKw/UAmDRWr7DXI/AAAAAAAAE_0/jg2rA4QwXbs/s1600/blog+signature.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjnA5fnBnKw/UAmDRWr7DXI/AAAAAAAAE_0/jg2rA4QwXbs/s1600/blog+signature.png" /></a><br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-6101775974128832502012-07-20T09:17:00.000-07:002012-07-20T09:17:10.848-07:00Asian Veggie and Chicken Wrap<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mbnqbL2QeVc/UAmDPjMXNvI/AAAAAAAAE_s/S-XO-qYJW2Q/s1600/FotoFlexer_Photo3" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mbnqbL2QeVc/UAmDPjMXNvI/AAAAAAAAE_s/S-XO-qYJW2Q/s400/FotoFlexer_Photo3" width="400" /></a></div>
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I told you we've been on a wrap kick lately! Following the <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/07/grilled-teriyaki-salmon-and-veggie-stir.html" target="_blank">salmon and veggie stir fry</a></b> dinner, I had about half a box of left over veggie strips from the produce area of Whole Foods. I used half of them for dinner and decided to prepare and use the rest for lunches during the week. I was able to simply saute in just a pinch of olive oil and then pair with shredded rotisserie chicken. Equipped with whole grain lavash bread and baby spinach, I quickly assembled an easy and healthy lunch! To decrease the sodium levels, I sauteed these veggies plain, using only the stir fry sauce to add a little flavor in the end.<br />
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The benefits to using a whole grain lavash bread over a tortilla or pita is that it has less carbs, no cholesterol and lavash is higher in protein and fiber.<br />
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Nutritional facts can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=8243035,11457,12049797,11478,11641,5118,542384,&amounts=8271973,28810,12079613,28840,29021,25563,555357,&qtys=1,1,1,.25,.25,.5,.5,&servings=1&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com; one serving of this lunch is 6 WW points. <br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 1 serving</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 whole wheat lavash </li>
<li>1 cup baby spinach leaves</li>
<li>1/2 cup sauteed vegetable strips (bell peppers, squash, zucchini, carrots, red onions)</li>
<li>1/4 cup shredded chicken</li>
<li>1 tsp. stir fry sauce </li>
</ul>
<br />
Just like with the <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/07/chicken-caprese-wrap.html" target="_blank">Chicken Caprese Wrap</a></b> and the <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2012/03/mexi-texi-chicken-wraps.html" target="_blank">Mexi-Texi Wrap</a></b> we will want to leave about an inch from both ends and
begin to layer the filling 2 inches into the wrap. Layer the lavash as
follows: spinach, veggies, chicken. Take the stir fry sauce and
drizzle a light layer across the top.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W7yRS2Gm8q8/UAmDNZMIkUI/AAAAAAAAE_c/tcUB0WEwP5I/s1600/Summer+cooking+434.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W7yRS2Gm8q8/UAmDNZMIkUI/AAAAAAAAE_c/tcUB0WEwP5I/s320/Summer+cooking+434.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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To wrap, fold the ends inward and
try to tightly roll, starting with the end where the filling is. Set
seam side down. Cut in half on a diagonal bias and enjoy!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IuHGfKeJqg8/UAmDPLYTVvI/AAAAAAAAE_k/_m9YUDk_dAk/s1600/Summer+cooking+435.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IuHGfKeJqg8/UAmDPLYTVvI/AAAAAAAAE_k/_m9YUDk_dAk/s320/Summer+cooking+435.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="color: #990000;">
<i>Tastefully yours,</i></div>
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjnA5fnBnKw/UAmDRWr7DXI/AAAAAAAAE_0/jg2rA4QwXbs/s1600/blog+signature.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SjnA5fnBnKw/UAmDRWr7DXI/AAAAAAAAE_0/jg2rA4QwXbs/s1600/blog+signature.png" /></a><br />
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</ul>Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-3710149588251451102012-07-19T12:35:00.001-07:002012-07-19T12:52:14.613-07:00Grilled Teriyaki Salmon and Veggie Stir Fry<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iuzQec38AL8/UAhd3GNCmEI/AAAAAAAAE_I/SS2WrTL5nuc/s1600/FotoFlexer_Photo2" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iuzQec38AL8/UAhd3GNCmEI/AAAAAAAAE_I/SS2WrTL5nuc/s400/FotoFlexer_Photo2" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is an easy two part meal that is both delicious and nutritious! I had started to make a Teriyaki sauce from one of my first posts but right before I placed the salmon into the marinade, I remembered I hadn't tasted it yet. I'm glad I did because something in the ingredients was <i>not</i> good. There was a rancid taste to it so I threw out some things that <i>may</i> have been past their shelf life, oops! Lesson to why you always taste test in the cooking process...and clean out your pantries every few months.<br />
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I had used the last of my soy sauce with the bad batch, and threw out my rice wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar. I paced between my pantry and fridge to come up with an alternative and decided to combine ponzu, honey and hoisin, add some sriracha and call it a marinade. Stuck my finger in that bowl, that was a good taste, we can move forward with this goodness. <br />
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Nutritional facts can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=15209,6175,20097049,19296,2021,517153,11641,11478,12049797,45859179,&amounts=31884,26226,20125836,34536,24118,529829,29021,28840,12079613,45887246,&qtys=10,1,1,1,1,1,.25,.25,1,2,&servings=2&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>, calculated at SparkRecipes.com; one serving of this whole meal is 10 WW points.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields two servings</i> <br />
<ul>
<li>Two 4-6 oz. salmon fillets</li>
<li>2 tbsp. low sodium Ponzu sauce (a citrus soy sauce)</li>
<li>1 tbsp. Hoisin </li>
<li>2 tsp. Sriracha</li>
<li>1 tbsp. Honey</li>
<li>1 tsp. Ginger</li>
<li>1 tsp. Olive oil</li>
<li>1 cup mixed vegetables, julienned or chopped (squash, zucchini, bell pepper, carrot)</li>
</ul>
Start by whisking together the ponzu, hoisin, sriracha, honey and ginger. Make sure that it tastes to your liking and you don't want to add anything!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azQ_q8Tv9JI/UAhci2EiRZI/AAAAAAAAE-Y/4iTXt77wdiQ/s1600/Summer+cooking+422.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-azQ_q8Tv9JI/UAhci2EiRZI/AAAAAAAAE-Y/4iTXt77wdiQ/s320/Summer+cooking+422.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Reserve about 3 tbsp. of it and then use the remaining to marinate your salmon, skin up, in a bowl at room temperature. Let this soak for about 20 minutes.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f9BoLF6uaco/UAhcjuC4hNI/AAAAAAAAE-g/XMtAuv7UbnM/s1600/Summer+cooking+423.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f9BoLF6uaco/UAhcjuC4hNI/AAAAAAAAE-g/XMtAuv7UbnM/s320/Summer+cooking+423.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In the meantime, heat your grilling surface. We decided to use the grill, but if you are looking for less complicated cooking methods, you can pan sear or griddle the fillets as well. For the E-Grill, we used a grill pan, covered with foil and coated with non-stick spray. Place your fish on the heat and cook covered for 15-18 minutes.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FS9nluFwcyA/UAhcj2lv4rI/AAAAAAAAE-o/6V_sF3iPpwI/s1600/Summer+cooking+425.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FS9nluFwcyA/UAhcj2lv4rI/AAAAAAAAE-o/6V_sF3iPpwI/s320/Summer+cooking+425.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For the veggies, I grabbed a pre-chopped box labeled as an Asian stir-fry in the produce section at Whole Foods. With strips of red onion, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper and carrot, it was perfect for this dish. The veggies were fresh and helped me cut down on at least 15 minutes of chopping. When the fish goes on the grill, it is veggie time. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium and add your veggies. Take the reserved teriyaki sauce and cook into the veggies for about 8-10 minutes on medium heat, until softened.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i58_onWNDEQ/UAhckTl2wGI/AAAAAAAAE-w/nMRsLGIEcsc/s1600/Summer+cooking+426.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i58_onWNDEQ/UAhckTl2wGI/AAAAAAAAE-w/nMRsLGIEcsc/s320/Summer+cooking+426.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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When salmon flakes to the touch and a nice light pink color, it is ready.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LAzz5NmvUbc/UAhclEB50qI/AAAAAAAAE-4/A3hJtTmYdCI/s1600/Summer+cooking+427.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LAzz5NmvUbc/UAhclEB50qI/AAAAAAAAE-4/A3hJtTmYdCI/s320/Summer+cooking+427.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Pile your stir fry veggies on a plate, top with the salmon and dinner is served!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nIOJxi4xtU/UAhcuov37uI/AAAAAAAAE_A/aNbHSVXtIQk/s1600/Summer+cooking+431.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_nIOJxi4xtU/UAhcuov37uI/AAAAAAAAE_A/aNbHSVXtIQk/s320/Summer+cooking+431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="color: #990000;">
<i>Tastefully yours,</i></div>
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-57057391837493101592012-07-19T09:39:00.001-07:002012-07-19T09:39:34.752-07:00Apple Banana Muffins<div style="text-align: center;">
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<i>I</i> am posting about a baked good. This one earned me a real-world girl scout patch because not only was I able to accomplish the task successfully, I also pushed the limit and added ingredients that were not on the trusted recipe card. When I do that in the baking world I fail miserably but not this time people!<br />
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So there I was in Whole Foods gathering my food needs for the week.... as I passed by the bananas I saw a stack of recipe cards sitting there staring at me, calling out "<i>take me, read me, make me</i>." I looked at it, almost dismissed it because it was a <i>baked good</i> but I held onto it. I walked around finishing my shopping and still had it in my hand, just studying it; the recipe was for Banana Apricot Muffins.. However, there were a few ingredients that I wanted to remove. I didn't really want to use dried apricots and I'm not the biggest fan of walnuts in muffins. I have seen and read about using apple sauce in baking in place of butter, sugar or oils and decided that sounded even better, banana and apple muffins. My curiosity and sudden need to bake this won in the end, I grabbed some applesauce and almond flour, the only two things on the card that I didn't already have at home, and I was on my merry way.<br />
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I get home and I am <i>still</i> in the mood to bake. Sometimes I have these urges and then in the car ride home I snap out of it, but on this car ride home I decided that I wanted to make them into mini-muffins b/c I never can eat a whole muffin. Great thought, but ill-prepared. You see, I don't own a mini-muffin pan. It's on the wedding registry but that won't help me right now. Instead of going right up the street to get a cheap disposable version at Tom Thumb, I went to Target and I bought a real one. So now, I am <i>invested</i> in this process.<br />
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I start to bake, channeling my inner "Mr. Max" mindset of measuring everything perfectly, pre-reading instructions to make sure I follow correctly and all that left-brained stuff, while still not really following the recipe at all with my additions. A little oxy-moronic. As I grab for the apple sauce, I realized that I bought a <i>cinnamon</i> apple sauce and have a mini-dramatic meltdown to myself. <i>OMG, of course, here's the downfall, hrmph. </i>Then princess in my head gets slapped by reasoning and I come to the conclusion that I'm very content with this <i>oopsie</i>. We love <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2011/02/bananas-paradise.html" target="_blank">Bananas Paradise</a></b> and that combines cinnamon and banana. We love the <b><a href="http://kitchenwithkate.blogspot.com/2011/09/apple-crisp.html" target="_blank">Apple Crisp</a></b> and that combines apple and cinnamon. So all I'm doing is marrying the two combinations to make us a<i> love</i> muffin.<br />
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I paced the floor as they baked. Ten minutes in, I could smell them and that passed the first test of "is this going to turn out well?" Then at fifteen minutes in, the smell permeated a richer aroma and they were rising correctly, passing test two. I removed them from the oven when the timer went off, toothpick tested and felt they needed 5 minutes more after toothpick tests. After that timer went off, I was confident. Just as I was thinking, <i>this is too good to be true</i>, I popped one into my mouth and burned the heck out of it. My personal baking flaw #27 - I can't let something cool long enough, too greedy for the first taste. Thankfully, this was the only flaw and we had some tasty muffin bites to enjoy!<br />
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Nutritional facts for this one can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=9040,30821705,8928373,1123,515996,1145,18369,2047,&amounts=27318,30848876,8957350,23968,528659,24009,33717,24170,&qtys=2,2,3,2,8,3,1,.25,&servings=24&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>; one bite sized muffin is 3 WW points. This took 35 minutes from start to finish and to avoid damaging the roof of your mouth, an additional 5-8 minutes outside of the tin to cool.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<ul>
<li>2 ripe bananas, mashed </li>
<li>1 cup unsweetened cinnamon apple sauce</li>
<li>3 tbsp. agave nectar </li>
<li>2 eggs, beaten</li>
<li>3 cups almond flour</li>
<li>1 tsp. baking soda</li>
<li>1/2 tsp. salt</li>
</ul>
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees and grease the muffin pan. If you prefer to use paper cup liners, place those in the tin. In a large bowl, combine the bananas, apple sauce, agave nectar and eggs. Stir in the baking soda and salt, followed by the almond honey until just combined.<br />
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Using a large spoon, fill each mini-muffin cup until just above the pan line.<br />
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Bake for 20-25 minutes and poke with a toothpick to make sure they are done. Let cool and enjoy!<br />
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<i>Tastefully yours,</i></div>
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3286676741024806212.post-57785824510777886942012-07-12T10:24:00.000-07:002012-07-13T05:24:14.754-07:00Chicken Caprese Wrap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mr. Max and I have been on a wrap kick lately, this kind of lighter meal is just perfect for the summer. At our weekly grocery trip routine, I grabbed a package of lavash bread and set out to make daily wraps for the week, with this one loosely based on the beloved Caprese salad. I love to get a whole rotisserie chicken and shred it on Sunday, using the shreds for wraps and salads all week. Instead of basil, I used spinach leaves to add the green also giving it a more nutritious and full base. Does anyone else ever have the problem when you bite into a sandwich or wrap and the whole tomato slice slides out with that one bite? This is why I chop the tomato up into small bite-size chunks to avert that issue. Lunch or dinner, this dish is a winner :-)<br />
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Nutritional facts can be found <b><a href="http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/cookbook_calculate_popup.asp?ingredientIDs=3398940,11457,5062,1028,517153,507546,14319074,&amounts=3427831,28810,503521,23718,529829,520092,14348673,&qtys=2,.5,3,1,.5,.5,.5,&servings=1&food=User%20Entered%20Recipe" target="_blank">here</a></b>; one wrap is 7 WW points. If the chicken is already shredded, this takes all of 8 minutes to make.<br />
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Grocery List:<br />
<i>Recipe yields 1 wrap</i><br />
<ul>
<li>1 piece lavash or whole wheat tortilla</li>
<li>1/2 cup fresh baby spinach leaves</li>
<li>1/4 cup chicken, shredded</li>
<li>1-2 tbsp. part-skim mozzarella cheese (depends how much cheese you want to add)</li>
<li>2 tbsp. tomato, diced </li>
<li>2 tsp. olive oil</li>
<li>1 tsp. balsamic vinegar</li>
<li>Italian seasoning </li>
<li>Balsamic glaze or vinegar</li>
</ul>
Take your tomatoes and let them soak in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sprinkle with some Italian seasoning and let sit for 5 minutes to really absorb the flavor.<br />
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For the best wrap technique, leave about an inch from both ends and begin to layer the filling 2 inches into the wrap. Layer the lavash as follows: spinach, tomatoes, chicken, cheese. Take the balsamic glaze and drizzle a light layer across the top. To wrap, fold the ends inward and try to tightly roll, starting with the end where the filling is. Set seam side down. Cut in half on a diagonal bias and enjoy!<br />
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<i style="color: #990000;">Tastefully yours,</i> <br />
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<br />Katehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12950250352835893369noreply@blogger.com0