Sautéed Spinach & Mushroom Quesadillas

Instead of pizza Friday night, I made this - sauteed spinach & mushroom quesadillas! I was inspired by this post from the Pioneer Woman :)  

To make, you will need:

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• Monterey Jack cheese 
• spinach, and 
• mushrooms

Rinse and slice your mushrooms (quantity is personal preference). Fry them up in a little butter and salt on medium to low heat until soft. 

Scoop out your mushrooms, leaving the juice. Then toss your spinach in for just a few minutes. 

Wipe our your skillet and place a tortilla in the bottom. Layer with your cheese, spinach and mushrooms and top with another tortilla. Cook on both sides for 2-3 minutes each or until cheese is melted. 

Slice it with a pizza cutter into eights. Serve it with sour cream :)

Last night was movie night. Sorry, no pictures! I'm not much of an animal movie person because most of them are just down right sad, but I did enjoy Secretariat! Minus a couple social agendas, and role reversal I'd say it was great. At the end, everyone was screaming at the TV rooting for Secretariat :-)

I had a late lunch today. I love feta cheese!

Chocolate vanilla cookies make a delicious dessert! Gluten-free :)

Today I did an easy workout. I only ran 1.5 miles at about a 9 minute pace and then did some stretching. The past couple weeks I haven't been in a really good workout routine - sickness and being out of town doesn't make it easy, but I'm kicking the excuses. :) Monday here I come!!! How do you motivate yourself to get moving?

Quality vs. Quantity

A defense for chocolate and cake! The question is, is it real food? Watch this little video clip from an Australian cancer survivor.

Well, yes - I admit it, this was me yesterday morning :) Cookies for breakfast! But, when they're made with ingredients that are both delicious & nutritious, how can you resist? They were quality :)

I recently made a trip to Kohl's as I needed a baby theme album for a recent photo shoot I did. While I was there I took a swing by the kitchen section - couldn't help myself :) Look at this steal! Too good to pass up!

These kinds of deals always make me feel really good :)

This was my salad from lunch today at a local restaurant. It was Cajun chicken with all sorts of yummy toppings!

My plate from last night :) I stuffed this roast chicken with carrot, onion and garlic - it turned out super moist! The wheat rolls turned out really well too. Here's the link for what I went off as my base and improvised.

We made ice cream yesterday! Ahh, the joys of summer!!! Nothin' beats it folks, nothin' . . .

Well, it's Friday! And since it is the weekend, I think I might make some pizza - that sounds good! Maybe even a dessert pizza . . . :) What foods to you plan to devour over the weekend? 

It's only mid-afternoon, though so I'd better get back to work! Hoping to do a quick DVD workout this evening before my pizza! :-)

Recent Eats

This was Sunday's dinner at friend's house after church :) The perfect way to start off a brand new week - fantastic food and fabulous fellowship!

Nearly everything on this plate was homegrown or from a local farm: the chicken was free-range and I know the guy who raised, butchered and sold it (pretty neat!), the cucumbers and tomatoes, zucchini and carrots were raised on the property we ate at last night. I enjoyed every bite! The tea was sweetened with stevia and given a little zest with a squirt of lemon. Delish!

That's right, you're looking at an orange watermelon! Talk about exotic :P 

My salad from last night. Refreshing! 

I tired this garlic vinaigrette dressing from Aldi's Grocery and it was really good!

Look at the range in color of these eggs! Farm fresh :)

I decided to make breakfast sandwiches this morning. To season, I just cracked a little fresh garlic salt and gave it a shake of nutmeg. I also threw in a handful of spinach at the last minute :-)

Fry everything up and then put it on some bread for a new twist to your egg breakfast!

Veggie sandwich midday at work today :) This picture was taken at the conference table; there were a bunch of us all gathered around and we were able to discuss business during our break- maximizing time!

I've had a salad with supper the last couple of nights with lots of delicious toppings: sauerkraut, carrots, red onion, and tomato. Soak up all the great fresh summer options while you can! What do you like to put on your salads?

Run for the Red 5K Race

I kicked off my race prep with 2.5 miles yesterday afternoon and a green smoothie for part of my dinner. Nutrition, nutrition, nutrition :) 

Here's a shot from last night's ice cream party!  

Out-of-this-world delicious homemade rocky road. Oh, my - was it good!!!

This was me after 11pm last night. Laying out my stuff - safety pins included! 

The race was at 7:45 this morning :) My time was 28:28. That including some walking too because I got a terrible stomach bubble after the 1 mile marker. Ouch, but who's quitin'! I'd love to know what time I could have gotten if I hadn't had to slow down :( Next time!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our group shot :-) So fun!

After the race, we all headed out for some breakfast.

My grandparents met us at the restaurant and we enjoyed time with them. Eggs, wheat toast and fruit make a great post-run meal :)

I was in a baking mood this afternoon! Fun, fun :) Mary and I went blueberry picking at our next door neighbor's so we could make some buttermilk blueberry pancakes. I know, heavenly . . .

They smelled wonderful! Good and buttery :P

I'll take that plate, thank-you very much!!! :-)

It was beautiful outside today :)

I also made some banana oatmeal cookies for dessert. We're going to dinner at my grandma Mimi's! This was first time making this recipe and I'd say they're definitely a keeper! I got the recipe from weelicious.com 

You will need:

3 bananas (super ripe)
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup dried dates, pitted and chopped
1 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I probably tripled this amount because we love the cinnamon flavor)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Mash your bananas in a bowl; mix your remaining ingredients. Let is sit for about 10 minutes and then scoop onto a cookie tray. Bake for 10-25 minutes. I like it less so you cook out less nutrients. Cool, serve and enjoy!

It's been a fabulous day! Hope you're having a great one too!!!

Drying Fresh Herbs

I love fresh food, but there's something special about fresh herbs. The aromatics are so calming, refreshing and rejuvenating - all in one!

I recently learned from a local farmer how to use up all that fresh basil that's overtaking the backyard :) It's simple. You can use a dehydrator, if you want, but there's an even easier method that is way less time consuming. I'm all for that!

Just cut off your plant at the base, throw it in a paper bag and let it sit in a dark room or closet until it's dry! That's it! Then, pick out the "bad" stuff and store it in an airtight container. This is a great economical option if you cook with a lot of fresh herbs and spices :0)

My delicious afternoon apple :) I don't normally buy organic apples, although I probably should! Check out this link to see the "dirty dozen".

New side dish for supper last night :0) Tex mex rice cakes!

These little babies were really yummy! Here's the link to the recipe.

That's all I have for ya in the way of pictures for today. It's been a relatively calm day :) I'm projecting a fun-filled weekend - lots going on! To kick it off, we're doing a game night with friends Friday night and then bright and early Saturday morning is race time!!! {Oh, and plus I have a 3-page speech and outline due for Monday morning - better finish that up ASAP!} What are your weekend plans?

Monster Veggie, Anyone?

A monster veggie sandwich! This was what I packed to take into work for lunch :) I'm really loving sandwiches piled high with all sorts of nutritious goodness! Let me know what your summer lunch favorites are!!!

After I got home this evening, I ran 3.1 miles. It was SO hot, especially in the garage! I had two fans going and I still thought I was going to die :) It was one of those moments where you know the cool down is going to hurt as much as it would to keep running.

{Romaine lettuce topped with sauerkraut and yogurt dressing, angel eggs, 

homegrown watermelon and a whole wheat roll makes a wonderful summer supper!}

Supper was refreshing, especially the watermelon but the conversation even more. Dinner time around here is something to look forward to! Hot topics, current events, business plans, life strategies and more - it's all here :D

Last Saturday, I went canoeing! The lake was beautiful and the water temp was perfect. There were 10 of us in our group with 4 canoes. A HUGE water fight broke and no one left dry! So, so fun!!!

I was out shopping with my sister yesterday and we picked up a natural protein powder with pea protein. Sounds interesting, huh? Not too bad . . . In fact, I'd say delish! What are your favorite protein powders?

Fresh Fruit & Yogurt

I've been trying out Chobani yogurt of late. It's delicious and so yummy with granola and fresh fruit! 

Sunday lunch was at a friend's house - organic granola, yogurt, fresh fruit and nitrate free bacon. We hung out the afternoon, sang around the piano and just talked. Friends are like gold! When you find a true one, it's a treasure.

I guess I've been eating lots of breakfast foods of late for meals other than just breakfast :) Last night we had fresh apple waffles (whole wheat) with lots of maple syrup. Bananas & PB make a great waffle topping :D The syrup was from friends - so sweet!

Whole wheat pita pockets stuffed with veggies was a recent lunch :)

Tomatoes are a great meat substitute for a summer sandwich and I love how refreshing and hydrating they are!

I was up and at it early this morning. For some reason, the weekend seemed to brew some unusual excitement and perspective into my daily routine. 

I did a quick 20 min workout + a stretch session this morning before heading out the door for work. I got home around 5:30 and by quarter of six I was in my gym clothes. This was the first time I'd gone for a "real" run {meaning more than just around the block :) } since my cold. Ahh - a cold will zap physical performance faaster than most anything, except maybe sugar :/ Glad to be back at it! 

Today's run was a test run more than anything else, to see how much endurance I'd lost and need to regain before Saturday as I'm running a 5K race this weekend! I went 2.5 miles this evening which felt great. Yahoo! I'm very excited about the weekend, especially since I'm doing the 5K with 2 of my sisters and a few friends :-) Anyone else training for a race?

Bubbies sauerkraut makes a great salad topping. I had some for supper tonight :) It adds great flavor & replenishes your GI tract with healthy "bugs" :) 

I'd had great of hope of going for an evening ride with my horse after supper, but I had music practice that was calling my name, plus overdue housework and it starting raining. Oh, well - maybe tomorrow!

It's been a while since I've done a recipe share . . . Any requests or suggestions?