A Day of Eats and Accomplishments

It’s Monday again!  The weekends always seem to pass by so quickly.  And on that note… the summer seems to be passing by extremely quickly!  :(  Boo.  I love my job.  But summer is just so nice.

Today was a pretty busy day in the Confessions house.  This morning, I got up early to get Sadie off to school.  She didn’t get to go all last week and she really missed her friends and her teacher.  She was so excited to go today!  Once I dropped her off, I came home to make breakfast and coffee, and to prepare my grocery list.

Breakfast was an egg-and-spinach scramble with almonds on the side.  Nom… have you tried this out yet?  It’s seriously a power breakfast.  While I ate, I planned out my grocery list.  This involved looking at a few websites like Nom Nom Paleo and Everyday Paleo.  I’ve spent the past few nights looking at recipes and thinking about what we might eat this week. 

Then I hit the stores.  I had to visit 2 stores today: Harris Teeter and Earth Fare.  I did most of our shopping at HT, but I had to get some Kombucha at Earth Fare.  (Harris Teeter doesn’t sell it.)  I really don’t drink soda.  Most of the time, I drink water.  But occasionally I need something different, and Kombucha does the trick: fizzy, tart, and refreshing.

By the time all the shopping was finished, it was lunchtime.

Leftover chicken, watermelon, carrots, and Sunbutter for carrot-dipping.

Then I did something amazing.  I made mayo.  I attempted this once before (prior to owning a food processor), but it didn’t work.  I got a sauce instead.  But now I am the proud owner of a food processor, and I made this amazing light, silky mayo. 

Can you believe oil and an egg turn into this?

(Yes.  My mayo is stored in a holiday jar.  Note to self: get some plain, clear jars.)

Want to make your own mayo?  Click here to find out how to make it yourself.

And this mayo made my lettuce wraps extra delicious tonight. 

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I’m not the only one who did something amazing today… check out what Miss Sadie did for the first time today…

 

 

Another proud mama moment.

A couple of notes to the readers:

I did more photo editing tonight than I usually do.  I love editing, but I’ve gotten lazy about doing it lately.  How did you like tonight’s food photos?

Also… did you notice the new header?  What do you think?

Photo Shoot and Sushi Night

On Saturday, I had a photo shoot.  You know what I think of when I hear the words “Photo shoot?”  This song:

This song was actually on a list of the top 10 WORST songs of all time.  But I can’t help it.  It’s fun and I like it.

Back to the photo shoot.  The dance fitness company I work for was having a photo shoot on Saturday to shoot new pictures for our web site and promotional materials.  I have to say, from the moment I knew the date for this, I started getting nervous.  I couldn ‘t decide what to wear and how to pose!  These shots were Zumba instructor shots, so it wasn’t like posing for just any old picture.  In fact, I spent a lot of time practicing my poses and even had Ryan take some practice shots of me!  (Go ahead, laugh.  I know, I am a total dork.)

 

The shoot was a lot of fun.  And I think the photographer actually got some pictures of me that don’t look totally ridiculous!  YAY!  Here I am, posing:

 

(Thanks, Jay, for this photo!)

Thank goodness for the “directors” who helped give us ideas!

It was also fun to just SEE all the other instructors.  Often, we don’t see each other because we’re all teaching in  different locations.

(again, thanks Jay!)

Afterwards, we headed out to one of my favorite Sushi spots: Ru San’s.  I am really bad about always ordering the same thing every time I get sushi, so this time I decided to try out 2 new choices.  I ordered the Grinch Roll and the Rising Sun. 

 

(Rising Sun: I think it had tuna, salmon, onion, cream cheese, and more— and then the whole roll had a crispy tempura crust)

Grinch Roll (can’t remember what was in it—but had tempura bits on top, and eel sauce)

Both were delicious, but the Rising Sun was AMAZING!  It had a spicy aioli sauce on the side that was the perfect combination.  The rising sun is a BIG roll, but it’s sooo pretty! 

Do you like sushi?  What’s your favorite thing to order when you go out for sushi?

Hope you all are having a great start to the week!  I just got home from teaching a high-energy, crazy Zumba class!  Now I am about to settle in  with some soup, wine, and a new episode of American Horror Story, if I can get the husband to watch it with me.  Anyone else watching this?  LOVE this show!!!

Fever, New Arrival, and Comfort Food

Today was such a strange day.  It was not at all the way I imagined it would go.  But… in a good way.  First of all, I stayed home today.  On a Tuesday.  That felt weird.  Remember that little fever Sadie had yesterday?  Well, it was back this morning, so at 5:45 a.m. I was giving out Motrin instead of getting in the shower. 

(Watching “Annie.”)

I don’t think it’s anything serious.  I think that Children’s Motrin + Annie + a princess dress + arts and crafts have cured her.  I am planning to go to work tomorrow.  I hate to miss work… and I hate for my little munchkin to be sick… but sometimes it’s nice to have an unexpected day at home with her.  During the school year, we stay so busy that we don’t always have all this cuddle time. 

There was another plus to me being home today.  You see… I was expecting a package to arrive today. 

I originally thought I wouldn’t get my hands on it today.  I figured I would come home this afternoon to one of those “We missed you!” notes from Fed Ex.  BUT… since I was home… I got to sign for my package early…

…which was good because I have been SOOOOO excited about getting…

…my new camera!!! 

She’s beautiful, right?  I’ve been scoping her out for the better part of 6 months.  (Seriously, I look her up on Amazon every day and drool a little.)  But now she’s HERE!  So this morning was spent playing and reading instructions, and taking random pictures. 

I took a little break to bake cookies, though.

I used this recipe from Weight Watchers.  They turned out really well.  Very soft and chewy… but I did not get 48 cookies out of the batch—I got 28.  Maybe mine were too big… although they were pretty small.  I did not make many adjustments—I had light brown sugar on hand, so I used that instead of the dark brown kind.  Yumalicious.

And I showed off my camera to the husband when he got home.  (Doesn’t he look cute in his dress-up clothes?)

Then it was time for Zumba class… SO much fun!  We had several new people—yay!  It was a high energy class!  My favorite song of the night was “On the Floor” by J-Lo and Pitbull. 

And now… I am about to eat this delicious meal that I made yesterday: my Memama’s Chicken Divan.  It’s going to be my newest “Dixie-Style Dining” recipe. 

This is some serious comfort food, and I cannot believe how it is bringing back memories of eating around the dining room table at my grandparents’ house in Philadelphia.  I can’t wait to share the recipe with you so that you can make it this fall.  It’s the perfect recipe for a family dinner on a fall evening.  I am hoping to post the recipe tomorrow evening, so check back!

Finally, I don’t usually do this, but I’d like to ask for prayers for the University of South Carolina community.  One of their professors was killed over the weekend, and it has hit the students (current and former) and faculty very hard.  (My sister included.)  It’s always so sad when a life ends early, but this senseless act is just so tragic.  I am sure that this community could use your prayers. 

Crispy Mini Margherita Pizzas

Sometimes you just need a pizza fix, you know?  I have a love-hate relationship with pizza.  I love pizza.  But I hate that it’s so fattening.  So… what’s a girl (or guy—we’re equal opportunity here at Confessions of a Former Couch Potato) to do?

Friends, I have got your answer: Crispy Mini Pizzas… Crispy Mini Margherita Pizzas, to be exact.

Doesn’t that look delicious?  I promise, it’s light, crispy, and a delicious blend of flavors.  Oh, and did I mention that it takes about 5 minutes to make? 

Ingredients:

• small tortillas (I used Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas—they are only 80 calories!)
• roma tomatoes, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup low-fat shredded mozzarella
• 3-4 large fresh basil leaves, sliced thinly
• cooking spray

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray baking sheet with cooking spray.  Lay tortillas on the baking sheet.  Bake for about 3 minutes, just until the crisp up a little.  Remove from oven.  Spread a light layer of cheese over both tortillas.  Then lay tomato slices and basil on top.  Top with the rest of the cheese.  Pop them back in the oven for 2-3 more minutes, just until the cheese melts. 

These will be crispy and light, and oh-so-delicious. 

So there you go… pizza without the guilt!  Dare I even say they are GOOD for you???

You’re welcome.

Now… on to some related news… another one of my photos was published today!  This time it was published on the Tastespotting web site. 

See that photo on the left?  It’s my Margherita Chicken Pasta Salad! 

OK… hope you all are having a wonderful week!  The husband and I have special plans tomorrow night… it’s date night!  I can’t wait to tell you about it.  I know it’s gonna be good… and it involves delicious food! 

An “Out of this World” Day

Happy Hump Day to all my reader-friends!!!  Thank you so much for visiting tonight!  I’m going to go back in time tonight… I’d like to tell you about my “Out-of-this-World” day on Monday.

I was really excited to get to school on Monday morning because it was shuttle launch day!  Did any of you watch the launch?  I streamed the video live on my computer from the NASA web site…

…but when it was time for the actual “blast-off,” I ran down the hall to watch it with one of the science classes at my school.  It was really cool to be able to watch it live. 

It really made me think back to my second grade class and how we watched the Challenger take off.  The excitement was HUGE because Christa McAuliffe, a teacher, was going to do a live broadcast from outer space.  What a terrible tragedy. 

So… something else big happened on Monday, too.  Every so often, I submit a food photo to Food Gawkers, a website that features photos taken by food bloggers.  Usually, I get a rejection.  My main issues were usually due to poor lighting, and you may remember that I built a lightbox to help with that. 

Well, on Monday morning, I woke up and checked my email and found that… one of my photos was accepted!  I was thrilled.  All day  long, my photo was featured on the Food Gawker site.

Here’s my photo that was accepted:

“Noodle Bowl”

I really must give the credit to my friend Diana, because she’s the one who got me started making these Noodle Bowls!

Ok, friends… I hope you’re all having a fantastic week!  I’ve got another post coming soon… because we made a return visit to Amici Italian Lovin’ Oven tonight and it was delish!  Stay tuned to see what I got this time!