Pumpkin Bars, Oats in a Jar, and a Mexican Buffet

How is it that the weekends fly by so darn quickly? I can’t believe it’s already Monday, we’re already half way through January, and we’re going to be moving in less than 2 weeks! I guess we should have gotten a ton of boxes packed over the weekend, but that wasn’t quite the case. Instead, we worked on finishing up some things in the fridge and pantry..

Bye bye almond butter. I’m already looking forward to making another batch after we move.

It’s always bittersweet to finish a jar of nut butter. Can’t complain about the oats in a jar, though.

Lindsay’s Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars

I made a few substitutions to the bars based on what I had in the pantry. I subbed peanut flour for the tigernut flour, goji berries for the cranberries, White Chocolate Wonderful Peanut Butter & Co. for the coconut butter, and I added an egg and the xylitol. They turned out wonderfully and I might have had one as an appetizer to dinner…

Leftover citrus chicken with all the veggies in the fridge!

… a dinner that was to use up whatever we could from the fridge.

Yesterday I decided to suck it up and go for a run. I had a discussion with Nathan last week about how I’ve recently been frustrated with my body; if I want to see the changes I’m looking for, I need to make changes in my routine. So a 5K, I ran.

The fuzziness represents how I felt afterward. Ha!

Some people run a 5K in their sleep; heck, I used to! But since I’ve cut back, not only on my running, but also my cardio, a 5K isn’t as easy as it used to be. I’m determined to get it back though.

And this was just plate #1…

We treated ourselves to a Mexican buffet right down the street from our apartment and it was SO good! They had 8 different kinds of chicken mole, pork carnitas, pork belly, and tons of veggies. We definitely ate too much [hence last night’s dinner..] but at least we stuck to mostly veggies and meat, yes? I can’t believe it took us so long to go!

This week is going to be a doozy but we’re gonna get through. And I’m definitely looking forward to dinners..

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday – Cottage cheese, apple, and rice cake with peanut butter
Monday – Chicken bacon fra diavolo with potato noodles

Tuesday – Nathan’s night to cook!
Wednesday – Thai chicken salad with sweet + spicy tahini dressing & sesame chili-lime cashews
Thursday – Chicken & broccoli over soba noodles with red Thai curry sauce
Friday – Out!
Saturday – Leftovers

Food for Thought

Did you do anything exciting over the weekend?

What I Ate Wednesday #111: 24 Hours in San Francisco

Have you entered my WIN Detergent giveaway yet?

If you had 24 hours [or maybe just a little more] in a city, how would you explore? Or on the other side, how would you show someone around? I mentioned the other day that my friend, Jordan, was visiting over the weekend for work. We had Friday evening as well as all day Saturday to take him out and show him the city. He’d never been to San Francisco before so Nathan and I had our work cut out for us! No problem though; we let our taste buds lead the way.

[Friday Night]

First stop was for beer at Thirsty Bear. Nathan and I had been before but it had also been a few years since. Let’s just say next time, we’ll pass.

We more than made up for that with our Moscow Mule pitcher from B Restaurant. Jordan said it might have been the best cocktail he’s ever had!

After some strong drinks, Fresh Roll was the perfect dinner. It’s like a Chipotle-style Vietnamese restaurant and it was delish!

[Saturday]
We started our day at 10 a.m. for a dim sum brunch at Yank Sing in the Financial District.

Steamed Pork Buns

Seafood Basil Siu Mai.. my fave!

Shanghai Pork Dumplings

Shanghai Pork Dumpling

Taro Cake

From there, we stopped at Tout Sweet in Union Square. That was one of Jordan’s only requests, and it just so happens the owner and winner of Top Chef Just Desserts was doing a demo and book signing that day! We made a second stop back there in the afternoon to say hi 😉

Raspberry Peanut Butter Macaron

Jordan & Yigit

They’re famous for their macarons and having been disappointed when we bought the real deal in Paris on our honeymoon, Nathan and I had our doubts. These macarons, however, were fabulous! I may have to get more if we go back again.

After sweets, we trekked over to the Mission for a beer..

.. a few relaxing minutes at Dolores Park..

.. and our final stop in the Mission, El Farolito for some amazing Mexican!

The biggest plate of al pastor and beans I’ve ever seen! And demolished 😉

We waddled out of there and hopped onto a train and then a bus and into the Fisherman’s Wharf area all to see the beautiful bridge.

We finished our night in North Beach with a proscuitto and parmesan pizza from our favorite place, Il Casaro.

Best Italian-style pizza since Italy!

It was a long, fun, and very filling day and I’m glad we were able to show Jordan so many areas of the city and our favorite spots to eat in such a short period of time. So…… who’s visiting next?! 😉

Food for Thought

What are your favorite restaurants to take visitors?

What I Ate Wednesday #11 – Day Tripper

I bet you have that song stuck in your head now.

No? How about now?

Over the weekend, Nathan and I were tasked with seeing 2 wedding bands. The first one was in DC and with that being at least an hour away, we decided to make a day trip of it. Clearly the first thing to do when deciding on a day trip is to pick out where we can stop for lunch, drinks, and dinner. Who doesn’t plan their day around food?

Breakfast

Typical.. a chocolate coconut zucchini protein pancake (similar recipe to this guy!) topped with the new Earth Balance coconut & peanut spread, coconut, and cinnamon. Of course, I ha my Tone It Up Bombshell Spell and Chocolate Coconut coffee with almond milk. Between the coconut & peanut spread and the chocolate coconut coffee, I was in heaven!

P.S. Make sure to check back soon.. I’m hoping to be doing something fun with Earth Balance!

We made our way off to DC where we had reservations at Oyamel, a José Andrés restaurant. I love tapas restaurants and being able to taste a bunch of things makes it such a fun experience. I would definitely go back!

Lunch

We had to do it fancy and got a pitcher of Farmer’s Fresh Mimosas with plum and lemon verbena. Delicious! I could have had the whole pitcher myself 🙂 The fresh salsa was wonderful and the Mexican squash salad was light and delicious. I loved the topping of queso fresco and crushed peanuts. This is definitely a dish I would consider a summer staple.

I followed that up with a chicken taco with their homemade guacamole and grilled scallion. I have to admit, the guacamole might have been my favorite part of the meal (other than the mimosas!) Next time, I’m definitely getting that to start! I also had a fish taco with pico de gallo. Once again, so fresh and light. We each finished off our meal with Mexican coffee. Full of flavor and a nice jolt to our systems! It was a great meal and so nice to have a light lunch before hitting the town!

After lunch, we explored DC a bit. We took a nice walk over to the Lincoln Monument and then found some much needed air conditioning at the American History Museum. The heat must have messed with our heads; once we cooled off at the museum, we realized we’d much rather cool off with a beer. Off to RFD! After splitting the pitcher of mimosas, I decided to keep it at one beer. What was that beer you ask? Oh, I can’t remember because I forgot to take a picture! Professional blogger over here 😉

Don’t you worry though, I definitely didn’t forget to take a picture of my froyo!

Snack

I don’t mess around with froyo (also a very important summer staple.) Mostly peanut butter with a touch of cheesecake, dulce de leche, and coconut. And of course I had to top it with peanut butter cups. I have a slight obsession with chocolate and peanut butter. Can you tell?

Dinner

Since Nathan indulged my obsession, I indulged his and we went for pizza for dinner! Matchbox features tons of pizzas with a thin, crispy crust. We started off with the large apple/pear salad. I would give the salad a big miss next time. I wouldn’t call it a large and, unfortunately, I had no desire to take a picture of it. But at least we got a little veggie!

When it came to ordering the pizzas, we went back and forth with what we wanted to split. They have so many different kinds and they all sounded wonderful! If we could have, I would have gotten a different kind of pizza for each slice, but since we could only split it in half, we went for the Oven Dried Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella (their version of the margherita pizza) and the Veggie with roasted garlic, artichokes, oven dried tomatoes, pecorino romano, and mozzarella. We each tried a piece of each and went our separate ways. He finished the margherita and I finished the veggie. It’s why we work 🙂

And dessert? Oh right.. had that before dinner. Whoops! (I would have had another one if I had my chance!) We did finally make it to see the band, but the food was the real highlight of the day trip!

Speak Up!

Where is your favorite day trip? Do you plan where you’re going to eat before you head out or just see where the road takes you?

5-Minute Chunky Guacamole

Guacamole is one of those condiments that makes just about everything better. It’s definitely a summer staple in my house!

Whether you’re eating it with chips and salsa or as an accompaniment to a protein (a tortilla-less chicken enchilada, maybe?) it just gives everything that little extra bit of flavor and creaminess. And this recipe could not be any easier!

Makes about 3 cups

Ingredients
4 ripe Haas avocados, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced; preferably red, but white or vidalia works too
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

Directions
Dice the avocados, onion, and tomato into 1/2″ chunks. Toss into a bowl with the lemon juice, to prevent the avocado from browning. Add your minced garlic clove and jalapeno, plus salt and pepper to taste, and toss gently. You just want to mix enough to combine all of the ingredients well, but not mash anything up.

Enjoy this as a dip, on top of fish tacos, or any other way you prefer!

Speak Up!

Do you prefer your guacamole chunky or mashed?

Tortilla-less Chicken Enchiladas and a Frontera Product Review!

Recently I’ve really been enjoying making my own sauces from scratch. I can control what goes in and adjust the flavors to my mood. However, when my local Harris Teeter had Frontera sauces on sale, I decided to check them out. I picked up the Green Chile Enchilada Sauce and was pleasantly surprised when I flipped it over.

The rather short list of ingredients include:

Tomato, tomatillo, water, poblano chiles, onion, milk cream, lime juice from concentrate, cilantro, garlic, salt, serrano peppers, evaporated cane juice, xanthan gum.

And to top it off, check out the nutritional info!

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

I figured with stats like that, I couldn’t go wrong toat least give it shot!

Tortilla-less Enchiladas

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 bell pepper, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3 cups button mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 packet Frontera Kitchen Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp oregano
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix all spices together in a small bowl and sprinkle on the chicken. Feel free to adjust the amount of spice to taste. Place the chicken on a sheet pan and pop it into the oven for about 30-40 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken, and flipping half way through.

While your chicken is in the oven, slice your bell pepper and onion. Sautee on medium heat until tender, then add your sliced mushroom. Sautee for a few more minutes until the mushrooms are tender too.

By this time, your chicken should be just about cooked through. Remove from the oven and slice into about 1/4″ pieces. Toss your garlic into the pan along with the sliced chicken and your Frontera Green Chile Enchilada Sauce. Sautee just until heated through and serve!

My favorite way to serve this dish is with my quick and easy chunky guacamole.. recipe coming soon!

Product Review

To say that we were pleased with this sauce would be an understatement. It tasted clean and fresh, definitely not something you expect from a packaged sauce! We also have a package of their Red Chile Enchilada Sauce and I cannot wait to give that a whirl!

With a product like this, I would 100% recommend purchasing not only their enchilada sauce, but any of their products. Next up? I’m thinking hot sauce and salsa!

Speak Up!

Have you tried Frontera products? What is your favorite packaged sauce?