Cheesy Black Bean Quesadilla
May 17, 2011 at 6:55 pm | Posted in Dinner | Leave a commentTags: Beans
There must be something that I’ve missed for a few weeks because I’ve been craving orange fruits and vegetables like crazy! I do believe that if your body craves something, it could be linked to a deficiency of a vitamin or mineral. Maybe. 
For the quesadilla:
- 1 orange bell pepper
- 1/4 yellow onion
- 2 whole grain tortillas
- black beans
- cheddar cheese3
- green salsa
- olive oil to cook peppers and onions
- cumin, cayenne, chili powder, garlic powder- all for the peppers and onions
(There was plenty of pepper and onion left over…and the rest of the beans.)
1. Saute the peppers and onion slices in some olive oil. Add the spices to taste and cook for an another minute until desired tenderness.
2. In another pan, heat 1 tortilla. I squished the black beans on the tortilla to make a chunky “refried” black bean base.
3. Top with cheeeeeesssseee.
4. Top with the tortilla # 2 and flip when the 1st tortilla gets crispy. Don’t worry, the cheese will melt once flipped.
5. Served with green salsa, a lot of green salsa…and the pepper/onion mix.
As fun as it will be, it’s time to get more work done.
Vegetable Curry
May 16, 2011 at 6:37 pm | Posted in Dinner | Leave a comment
Last minute dinner turned into a delicious curry dish. I originally planned on steaming cauliflower, making curry couscous and possibly something on the side. That quickly morphed into me trying my hand at making a curry dish. Mind you, I have never looked up a curry recipe or really tried to make anything with so much curry flavor.
Vegetable Curry
- 1/4 large yellow onion
- 1 orange bell pepper (I have been loving these recently!)
- 3 whole carrots chopped
- 1 sweet potato
- 1/2 head cauliflower
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 T table cream (coconut milk would have been nice)
- 1.5 T garam masala
- 1 T yellow curry
- 1/2 t cayenne
- salt and black pepper
The onions were sauteed in a bit of olive oil and the other vegetables were slowly added to the saute as they were chopped. I did microwave chunks of the sweet potato because I knew they would take a long time to cook. I added the spices and thought a can of tomatoes would be nice. Everything was finished with the table cream and served over jasmine rice. Any aromatic rice would have been fine. Oh yes, it was simmered for about 20 minutes just until the vegetables were soft.
The star spices:
Washed down with lemon water, served out of one of my absolute favorite microbrews- AVERY!
Halvsies for two meals
May 13, 2011 at 6:38 am | Posted in Dinner, Eating Out, Lunch | Leave a commentTags: fresh mozzarella, Salad, sandwich, Spinach
Sometimes life gets so hectic that there’s only time to eat half of your meals! Wednesday was like that for me. I ended up grabbing both breakfast and lunch out from the same local cafe next to my office. I had half a breakfast burrito that was stuffed with roasted potatoes, eggs, and chilis. Lunch was a veggie sandwich that is in the picture above. Half the Sammy was consumed Wed. and the other half on Thursday.
Thursday I had more time to enjoy lunch. The first half was actually eaten while I was running around the office trying to get things done! With the extra time I finally got to dig into the greens which had a wonderful fresh and bright basil vinaigrette on it.
Cherries were eaten throughout the afternoon…
Calzone for dinner!!! Mine was stuffed with a ton of spinach, onions, and fresh mozzarella! I ate the whole thing so no leftovers here for a second meal!
One of the most delicious dinners! The crust was pizza dough that was not the beat for me but I like to think the pound of baby spinach inside helps up the nutrient content.
Happy Friday!
Salad salad salad
May 9, 2011 at 6:44 pm | Posted in Dinner, Farmers Market | Leave a commentTags: Salad
Salads are a great way to use up leftovers of all kinds. Tonight we had leftover burgers topped w leftover sauteed veggies from our eggs, a tomato mozzarella salad, and leftover potato salad. Yesterday we roasted a whole chicken and I made a cranberry chicken salad out of that for lunches.
The spinach was bought at the farmers market at only $3 for a whole pound!
The tomato was also from the market. One tomato cost me more than all the spinach! Worth it for quality produce and a flavorful tomato. The basil was planted yesterday in pots in Kevin’s back yard. Dressed in a balsamic dressing. Plain balsamic vinegar would have been just as good.
Finally the potato salad was made with red boiling potatoes, parsley, celery, red onion, and mayo. I love the hearts of celery so I used a lot of the center stalks with the leaves.
Celery leftover from the Sunday cocktail!!
Time to move the potted herbs inside. It’s going to get chilly at night for the rest of the week.
Up the Mountain and Back Country
May 3, 2011 at 9:08 pm | Posted in Dinner, Workouts | Leave a commentTags: Pizza, Salad
Look familiar? It’s the flatirons! This is how I spent my Sunday afternoon this past weekend. After my indoor soccer game, I rushed home to change into hiking clothes. A few friends from the Ski Haus and I decided on the Royal Arch hike on the flatirons.
The total trip is only about 3.25 miles but it took us nearly 2 hours round trip. It was honestly like walking up 18 inch stairs for over an hour. My legs were KILLING because I did tons of lunges on Saturday after my run and I literally just finished my soccer game. The views were totally worth it though.
This was our path. At this stopping point, someone pointed out a sign that made me think I was in Jurassic Park!
The view part way up…facing east towards the plains….
The goal destination was in sight!
Victory!
Eye level with the flatirons
Kevin and I from the top…
It was super windy and getting very cold! On the way down just a minute after this picture was taken it started to flurry! We have seen snow come down in EVERY month here in Colorado. Crazy. We hurried down not only because it was cold, but we had plans to hit the Back Country Pizzeria.
Raspberry and Asparagus Salad
- mixed greens
- red onion
- goat cheese
- croutons
- asparagus
- raspberry vinaigrette
- some weird herb thing somewhere….
LARGE pizza (half meaty and half veggie)
My side, the veggie side, was loaded with tomatoes, olives, green peppers, onions, red peppers, and there was supposed to be spinach! The last time we had this pizza was in Nederland (their sister restaurant is here) for Frozen Dead Guy Days. The slice there was literally loaded with toppings. This was still OK but lacking in the spinach department.
Nonetheless, it was deliciously fantastic!
Green & Purple Salad
May 3, 2011 at 8:40 pm | Posted in Dinner | Leave a commentTags: Avocado, Broccoli, Salad
What is quick and easy to make after a long day of work? Pasta! I wasn’t actually finished with my work yet so Kevin kindly agreed to make dinner while I finished reading grants for my work. I said I had a few ingredients for pasta and a salad and he went with it.
Linguini with Marinara and a Green & Purple Salad
(Yea yea, it’s white pasta. It’s ok once in awhile right?)
In the bowl:
- mixed greens (butter lettuce, purple leaf, green leaf)
- avocado
- green olives
- purple onion
- parmesan
- pepperoncini peppers
- oil and vinegar
The red onions were cut large and I was worried about them, but it was the sweetest red onion I’ve ever had and the buttery taste of the avocado really helped that too.
Back to grant reading!
Taco Salad & Quinoa ‘Tabouleh’ Salad
May 1, 2011 at 11:31 am | Posted in Dinner | Leave a commentTags: Avocado, Quinoa, Salad
When I got back to Colorado, I decided I needed a mini- detox. A detox from fried foods and greasy meats.
Taco salad was up first:
- romaine
- tomato
- yellow bell pepper
- avocado
- corn
- a small bit of grated cheese
- corn
- salsa verde
Quinoa ‘Tabouleh’ style:
- quinoa
- cucumber
- yellow bell pepper
- scallions
- parsley
- chick peas
- fresh lemon juice
- olive oil
To cook quinoa, use 1 part quinoa to 1.5 parts water. Cook the quinoa just like rice until it’s nice and fluffy. Quinoa is one of the super grains that has all of the essential amino acids (meaning it’s a complete protein!). It’s nutty and has a small crunch to it. As it cooks it opens up just like a pop corn kernel. So good! It’s a very nice change from cous cous and other grains. I need to try the other more colorful varieties ASAP!!
Ski Haus
April 19, 2011 at 6:37 am | Posted in Dinner | Leave a commentTags: Salad
Goodbye to a wonderful ski season and to our beautiful ski haus! I’m happy to report that I skied 20 times for a total of 340,000 vertical feet!
Cozy fire place that kept us warm! (and burned holes in Kevin’s ski gear!!)
Where many dinners were cooked and devoured after a day on the slopes. I will admit, there was a good amount of pizza consumed. 
Jersey Boys Pizzeria was our savior!
Now it’s time to bring in spring! Last nights dinner was crab dip, French bread, and a spring salad.
This was a bowl of mixed greens, feta cheese, sliced almonds, and each had half a pear. The vinaigrette was my standard balsamic vinaigrette. Simple and delicious.
Bacon infused bourbon
April 10, 2011 at 11:55 am | Posted in Dinner | Leave a commentSpiced pork chips, potato pancakes, raisin spinach and salad.
Bourbon infused with bacon and then a piece of bacon in the side!!
It’s now Sunday around lunch time and I have an indoor soccer fame soon. U had cereal and tea for breakfast and I’m starved but have to play soccer soon. About an hour ago I made coffee and then broke unto the Kashi crackers with Adams organic peanut butter.
Time to go play! Then it’s BBQ time! My body needs a rest after thus though! Yesterday I went running, did walking lunges, kicked the soccer ball around, shirt bike rude, then three the dodgeball around!
Potato Pancake Love
April 6, 2011 at 4:44 pm | Posted in Dinner | Leave a commentGerman inspired eating!
Potato pancakes made from my housemate’s recipe box, pork, sauerkraut, and applesauce.
The best part…the potato pankcakes:
1. Grate 3 potatoes and 1 medium onion. Let the mixture sit over a colander to drain. Squeeeeze liquid out!
2. Separate 3 eggs. Use 2 egg yolks for the first part. Add salt, pepper, and 3 T mazo meal flour to a bowl. Add potato and onion mixture to combine.
4. Whip the 3 egg whites till shiny with stiff peaks. Gently fold whites into the potato mixture.
These are amazing!!!! You must try these! The best ever! Except for some I had at a lithuanian festival a few years back……
Is that not love??
The pork…it was pretty good. It has a dry spice blend from Savory spice shop. Cooked stove tip till medium well. Thank goodness for good spice blends!
Sauerkraut was made w onion, an apple, and veggie stock. The usual chicken stock was definitely missed. Veggie stock just doesn’t have the depth of flavor like the chicken. So honestly, we could have really used something green with this meal, but it was so so so good!
Yum, I already want to make more potato pancakes! You MUST try this recipe!
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