A Royal Foodie Friday

something "borrowed" from the Daily Mail

Did you really think I was going to let this week go by and not mention the Royal wedding? I admit it, I'm one of those that's been all over the coverage and totally woke up at 4am to tune in. No big deal really, it's only about one hour earlier for me to wake up than I do most days of the week.

I took this special occasion as an opportunity to try out another Ina dish I've had my eye on, a roasted vegetable frittata! I figured if I was going to spend 4+ hours watching the pageantry, then a breakfast fit for a queen was in order, no canapes for this girl.

So there we sat (Tallulah and I) coffee in hand (wishing it was a mimosa...stupid work) eating my frittata and watching a "commoner" transform into a princess.

Best dressed guest was clearly socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, in my humble opinion.

However, no one could upstage the future "Mc"Queen. She was stunning. I've never seen a dress fit so well, Sarah Burton must have sewn her into it this very morning at the Goring.

It's obvious that my invitation was lost in the mail, but had it made it to its intended destination I would have donned a fascinator (preferably designed by Phillip Treacy as I'm sure he would have had time to make one for me personally), maybe one like this:

Or this...smaller with a little feather flare:

Oh, who am I kidding - I'd have to consult my personal stylist, I can't make any decision without her. *sigh*

So, without further ado, the "royal" roasted vegetable frittata:

1 small zucchini, 1-inched-diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and 1 1/2-inch-diced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1 1/2-inch-diced

1 red onion, 1 1/2-inch-diced

1/3 cup good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves minced garlic

12 extra-large eggs

1 cup half-and-half

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3 scallions chopped, white and green parts

1/2 cup grate Gruyere cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the zucchini, peppers, and onion on a sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and toss well. Bake for 15 minutes. Add the garlic, toss again, and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and turn the oven to 350 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

In a 10-inch ovenproof saute pan, melt the butter and saute the scallions over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Add the roasted vegetables to the pan and toss with the scallions. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cook for 2 minutes over medium-low heat without stirring. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the frittata for 20 to 30 minutes, until puffed and set in the middle. Sprinkle with the Gruyere and bake for another 3 minutes, until the cheese is just melted. Cute into 6 or 8 wedges and serve hot.

Even though I enjoyed this as my breakfast, I will definitely be having the leftovers throughout the weekend as my lunch, maybe with a mixed green salad on the side.

What made this dish even better was the farm fresh eggs I got last weekend from Eastern Market. I didn't realize the difference between farm fresh eggs and your regular grocery store eggs...let me tell you - there is one! I don't know if I could ever go back. So next time you have a special occasion, splurge for the farm eggs, huh-mazing.

And they lived happily ever after...

Foodie Friday: Fresh Every Day

I heart Sara Foster - especially her cookbook, Fresh Every Day. We have a few go-to recipes out of this book, like this:

Seared grouper with lemon and capers

and this:

we call this "adult" mac and cheese, because it has spinach and chicken in it - so good!

and this:

Succulent grilled pork chops

Not to mention, a few that I can't wait to try this summer like the fresh mozzarella salad with avocado, roasted corn and grape tomatoes with a summer herb vinaigrette. That's the kind of recipe that has me running to one of the many fabulous farmers markets that surround us. That, and the fried green tomato and ripe red tomato salad with goat cheese and sweet basil vinaigrette - yes please!

And this week I tried another one that will earn it's rightful spot as a "repeat offender." I am calling it an "offender" because even though it has lots of healthy veggies in the dish, it isn't so much healthy with the cream it calls for. But as winter is coming to a close (so-long February...finally) I was trying to cram in one more of the comfort food dishes I had earmarked to attempt this season.

That being said, I am going to be embarking on a healthy cooking adventure, so it's time to get serious. I did a fantastic job of losing 5 pounds during the months of October and November. And then I achieved a feat I've never achieved before - making it through the holidays without gaining a pound! It seems as if I am running and working out at the optimal level for me to basically eat and drink whatever I want to maintain my weight. Which, don't get me wrong... has been fun! But there are still a pesky 7 to 10 pounds that I want to lose. (yeah - i just said that...to the internet. But I feel like if I say it here, then it kinda forces me to actually do it) So if anyone has any yummy, healthy recipes - please send them my way.

But, here's to one more yummy comfort food dish (and hopefully the last). With my luck, we will have a March snowstorm and you'll see me revert back to trying something like Guinness beef stew (yes, I have a recipe for that).

Without further ado, the recipe for creamy chicken with biscuits (it's basically Chicken-pot-pie deconstructed)

For the life of me, I cannot get this picture to turn the correct way

Serves 4 to 6

2 leeks, trimmed and chopped

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 bunch small carrots, trimmed and scrubbed

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chicken broth

6 store-bought or homemade biscuits

1 cup fresh or frozen petite green peas

2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves or chives

1. Preheat the oven to 250

2. Place the leeks in large bowl full of cold water and let them soak for 10 to 15 minutes to remove all the sand and dirt (leeks are dirty man - but I love 'em). Carefully skim out the leeks, leaving the grit behind. Drain well and dice.

3. Rinse the chicken breasts, pat them dry with paper towels and cut on the diagonal into 3/4-inch strips. (because you have to do this - you very well could just by the chicken breast strips and save yourself some time)

4. Mix the flour, salt and pepper together in a medium bowl. Toss the chicken strips in the flour mixture to coat them evenly. (I decided to "kick it up a notch" and added a little bit of cayenne pepper)

5. Warm the olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until the butter has melted and sizzles when you add a drop of flour. Add the chicken strips and saute until they're golden brown and slightly crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to an ovenproof dish, cover loosely with foil, and place them in the oven to keep warm.

6. Add the leeks and carrots to the skillet you cooked the chicken in, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook and stir the vegetables until the leeks are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cream and chicken broth and bring to a low boil over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until the carrots are tender and the liquid has reduced by half.

7. Meanwhile, place the biscuits in the oven for about 10 minutes to warm through. (or in my case, cook the store bought biscuits)

8. Return the chicken to the skillet, add the peas, and simmer about 5 minutes longer, until the peas are tender and the chicken is warmed through. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parsley or chives. (I went with chives...I highly recommend it - for some reason parsley doesn't do that much for me). Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

9. Slice the warmed biscuits in half and place the bottom halves on individual plates. Spoon the chicken pieces and carrots over the biscuits, spoon the gravy with lots of peas and leeks over the chicken, and cap with the biscuit tops. Serve immediately.

We had the leftovers for dinner last night, and I swear it was just as good, if not better, the second time around. If it's still a little cold where you live...do it, make it now. You won't regret it.

Foodie Friday: Back at it

Neither the hubster nor I know exactly where this little cooking magazine came from, but the point is, it showed up. It's called Cousine at Home, and it's awesome. It has zero ads, just 100% cooking. The great thing about this magazine is that each of the recipes lists the amount of calories and other nutrition facts per serving. So what did I cook from this magazine first? Old-world greek chicken roulades with a side of creamy feta & sun-dried tomato orzo. Another great thing about this recipe; serving size = 2.

It's not that I haven't been cooking all of 2011, it's more that I haven't been cooking so healthy in 2011. As I'm sure you'll learn through my future complaining ramblings, the months of January through basically April are what I call my "busy season." Which results in later nights at the office and easy-to-cook (read: not always the healthiest) dinners. But this week I'm back at it with something that was yummy and healthy to boot.

For the Greek Chicken Roulades with white-wine reduction:

12 pitted kalamata olives, divided

3 Tbsp. fresh bread crumbs

3 Tbsp mined oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1 Tbsp minced lemon zest

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp. dried oregano

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (magazine recommends 6oz each in weight for the chicken breasts so they'll be big enough to hold the filling when pounded thin and rolled. I didn't actually know this before I purchased my chicken, I don't think they were a complete 6 ounces and it turned out just fine.)

2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. corn starch

Start by dicing 6 olives; set aside. Process remaining 6 olives, bread crumbs, tomatoes, zest, garlic and oregano in a food processor until minced.

Pound the chicken between plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/4 inch (or whatever seems thin enough to you, I definitely didn't get out my ruler to measure). Spread olive-tomato filing on chicken. Roll chicken; secure with toothpicks.

Saute the roulades in oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, about 4 minutes (pretty sure I browned for longer than that). Remove roulades to a plate. Add onion to skillet; saute 2 minutes. Add wine; cook until liquid is reduced by half, 1-2 minutes.

Add broth; Bring mixture to a boil; add diced olives and roulades.

Cover the skillet and reduce heat. Simmer roulades 10 minutes; remove roulades to a plate. Whisk together lemon juice and cornstarch; stir into sauce in skillet. Simmer 1 minute. Slice roulades; serve with sauce.

Per serving nutrition facts of chicken with sauce: 389 cal; 10g total fat; 102mg chol; 770mg sodium; 19g carb; 45g protein; 3mg iron; 64mg calcium

Creamy Orzo with feta & sun-dried tomatoes:

Start boiling the pasta before making the roulades, then finish the orzo dish while the chicken simmers.

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup dry orzo pasta

2 Tbsp. minced oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

2 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese

1/8 tsp. each kosher salt and black pepper

Bring broth to a boil in a small saucepan; stir in orzo. Return liquid to a boil. Cook orzo, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed, about 9 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat. Stir tomatoes and feta into orzo, mixing until feta melts slightly. Season the orzo mix

ture with salt and pepper.

Per serving nutirtion facts: 293 cal; 5g total fat; 16mg chol; 424mg sodium; 47g carb; 13g protein; 2mg iron; 87mg calcium.

I pretty much followed the directions to a T, except I added a teaspoon of capers to the chicken...because capers are amaze-balls.

Also, when creating the lemon juice, cornstarch mixture, I didn't really measure the lemon juice to ensure I was only using 1 tablespoon. I just used the juice of one whole lemon, and because of that I feel like the sauce might have been a touch too lemony.

Big fan of Cousine At Home. I've already cooked another successful meal from this issue and I will share it next Friday.

PS - I took a picture of the completed dish...but lets face it, I need a lesson in plating and in food photography - thus, I defer to the picture from the magazine.

A Foodie Friday of the Traditional Sort

For the second Foodie Friday in a row - we are not going the healthy route. But 'tis the season people, reserve your judgement for another week - it's time to eat, drink and be merry y'all! So I'll make the same disclaimer that Sal made last week - WARNING: judgy healthnuts need not read beyond this point!!

Everyone has their usual Christmas traditions. Most of mine revolve around meals and the amazing dishes that we have every year. Because let's face it - the most fun with friends and family is always had around the dining room table....once we've all properly popped the champagne, spiked the 'nog, and poured the wine. We kick it off on Christmas Eve by having my favorite meal of the year, seafood gumbo! It's the best gumbo you've ever had in your life, I kid you not. My mom has been expertly cooking it for - I don't know...25 years or so and she can get the roux so dark it will bring tears to your eyes, it's beautiful. It's a top secret recipe that was passed down through my dad's family.

[a little side rant: When my great-great grandparents on my father's side, Charles and Marie Lusco, came from the mother-land of Italia, they eventually settled in a little town called Greenwood, MS. Guess who else is from Greenwood, MS...that's right, the hubster - i know, kismet. Anyway, they opened up a little grocery store in Greenwood where my great-great grandmother started serving meals, so it eventually became a restaurant, a restaurant called Lusco's (as in my maiden name), currently run by some of my cousins, the Pinkstons. Other than the fabulous food, the neatest thing about Lusco's is it's atmosphere. Still at its original location from 1933, it has these private booths maintained from the prohibition era when people had to secretly get their drink on. Lusco's is amazing, and if you are ever in the Mississippi Delta you must go there. I insist. And if you don't get the onion rings, the broiled shirmp, the pompano, or a steak - shame on you!]

For Christmas day supper, we always have a yummy beef tenderloin. A lot of people have turkey on Christmas day - and to each his own - but I love the fact that we change it up with beef tenderloin. I feel like I was just stuffed with turkey and dressing less than a month ago, and there is so much yummy amazing food in the world, why repeat when you can have beef tenderloin! So anyway - Christmas dinner consists of the roast beast, normally with some sort of amazing potato side dish (accordion potatoes are my favorite).

While those two traditions are the longest standing....for the past five years or so we added a new one - where I cook the Christmas morning breakfast feast. And in this Christmas morning breakfast feast there are always two staples. The Beautiful Breakfast Strata from Notably Nashville, the Junior League of Nashville cook book, and cheese grits. How did I get assigned the task of breakfast chef? Well when the stresses of preparing three huge meals took a tole on my mom and she threatened to cut one - I saw the breakfast strata was in jeopardy and I knew I had to rescue it (it was in everyone's best interests). So I did what any good daughter would do and took over the meal.

So today, on this Eve of Christmas, I'll be baking the strata and carrying the breakfast tradition to my in-laws, where we'll be spending Christmas. If you're looking for something to add to your holiday recipe arsenal, or looking to make your family drool, I recommend this recipe. And as much as I look forward to eating it on Christmas morning, I can't wait to eat the left-overs throughout the rest of the week.

Beautiful Breakfast Strata

1 cup milk

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 loaf dried French bread

2 cups loosely packed cilantro

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces smoked Gouda cheese, thinly sliced

3 ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/2 cup basil pesto

4 eggs

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 cup whipping cream

Blend the milk and wine in a shallow dish. Cut the bread into 1/20inch slices. dip 1 or 2 slices in at a time in the milk mixture and press gently to remove excess liquid, taking care not to tear the bread. Arrange the bread in a lightly greased 12-inch baking dish or 10-inch pie plate (note: it makes quite a lot and I don't think I've ever been able to fit it all into one baking dish. Be prepared to have a small auxiliary dish on hand for what won't fit. You can freeze it and bake it later if needed.) Sprinkle with the cilantro and drizzle with the olive oil. Layer the cheese, tomato slices and pesto 1/2 at a time in the dish.

Beat the eggs with the salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour evenly over the layers and pour the cream over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 8 hours or longer. (this is definitely a make ahead dish - which actually makes Christmas morning easier and stress free. I've even made it on the 23rd).

Let stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours. (seems like a lot - but no worries, just set an alarm to set it out and go back to bed...or start w/ some mimosas and see what Santa brought ya!) Place the baking dish on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until puffed and golden brown.

Take a bite. Let the swooning commence. Amen.

Serves 8

[photo disclaimer: Since I have not yet made the strata and am currently making the recipe myself, I therefore do not have a picture for this post. And I found no strata picture on the internet to do it justice. Stay tuned, I'll tweet-pic the final product]

Whatever you do....just don't spill the strata

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

Fatty Foodie Friday

Shaking things up a lil' bit this week with a Foodie Friday post from the non-cooking Footsy gal. While I haven't exactly given my culinary skills any fine-tuning this week (though I did turn on my oven... to heat up a frozen pizza... and then set off the smoke alarm), I have most certainly given my taste buds a workout (I plead the 5th on whether or not my running shoes have gotten a workout too).

I've made it my personal mission this week to fatten up a certain someone who "accidentally" lost 15 pounds recently (obvi we hate him for that). And clearly, it just wouldn't be right if I didn't take one for the team and match him bite for bite.

It's quite possible that I'm taking the "December Bender" to a dangerous extreme, but after all, it's basically charity work. Call me Mother Teresa if you must, but I've felt a personal calling to eat an excessive amount of not-exactly-fat-free-foods this week... for the sake of others, of course.

In case any of you folks are feeling called to join my cause - and if you happen to find yourself in the DC area soon, I've included a little highlight reel from this week's binge fest. WARNING: judgy health nuts need not read beyond this point. you simply won't be amused.

I wish I could say that this was a comprehensive list. Or at least that all of my other meals consisted of fresh green salads with lots of seasonal vegetables. But sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's certainly not helping either that it's that "send-an-absurd-amount-of-cookies-to-the-office" time of year. I have absolutely zero will power when my route to the copier just happens to pass by 10 varieties of cookies and a barrel of popcorn. To make matters worse, this weekend will more than likely involve a lot of these...

and a lot of this...

 

Though I'm certainly feeling a wee bit convicted by the absurdity of my current eating habits - and perhaps a lil' guilty about ignoring the SOS calls from my arteries, I vow to soon return to my healthy healthIER lifestyle (and I'm hoping Liv is running enough for the both of us). In the meantime, hopefully this list will make you feel better about yourselves this week - or maybe just give you some foodie suggestions for the next time you're in the 'hood.

Merry Merry, folks! 'Tis the season for celebrating little round bellies that shake when we laugh like a bowlful of jelly!

Foodie Friday: “For those who love breakfast”

Today's Foodie Friday is a little unconventional; it's a restaurant review y'all! There hasn't been too much cooking going on in the Footsy households lately with last week being Thanksgiving and our travel schedules and this week being, well, recovering from Thanksgiving.

Whenever we migrate South to B'ham, we obviously have to plan our schedules around all of our favorite places to eat at home that we miss. So naturally, when one of our besties's and her husband (Ashley and Steven) opened a restaurant in our hometown, it was a priority to check it out. Imagine the feel of small town diner, but with a retro-modern flare, and you've got Over Easy.

I went with my mom Wednesday morning AFTER my run (so that I could eat more). For someone who is indecisive to an annoying fault [sidenote: sal can attest to the "annoying" part], the menu had way too many amazing looking items to choose from. So in typical Liv fashion, I narrowed it down to my top two choices and deferred the decision to Steven.  

First, let's describe for you these two options and you'll understand why such a decision was so laborious:

Italian Eggs Benedict – a poached egg with crispy prosciutto and house made pesto (made lovingly by Steven himself ever morning) served on a polenta cake

-OR-

The "Easy Does It" - a three egg omelette with spinach, sautéed mushrooms, goat cheese, and basil pesto

Exhibit A

See – hard decision. Steven indicated that the Italian Eggs Benedict was his own personal creation so I went with that. [Plus I'm like 1/8 Italian – so duh]. Oooo emmm gee! When the plate was delivered, you could smell the freshly made pesto - it was scrumptious. 

My mom ordered some "fluffy stuff," their oh-so-cute name for the pancakes and French toast deliciousness. I can attest to the fluffiness because I may or may not have polished off tasted hers. Rhonda (that's my mom) cannot go to any breakfast place (at least a place that just opened) without sampling their biscuits and gravy. So she ordered some – and it too was yummy.

Sal hit it up on Friday morning with her parents and had the Heuvos Rancheros. Description: two crispy flour tortillas, scrambled eggs, bell peppers, onions, diced tomatoes, Monterey jack, jalapeno peppers and chorizo sausage, topped with sour cream and spicy salsa! And word to the wise – it ain't for the faint palette. It packed quite a punch of spiciness – but was unbelievably tasty.

Ash + Steve-o

But don't worry – just because WE may not have ordered the healthiest of options, there is a whole section of the menu dedicated to the health conscious. Oh! And we must not forget to mention the coffee... it's basically a custom brew they concocted with Royal Cup. And soon you'll be able to bring the Over Easy coffee to your breakfast table, complete with their signature cute yellow packaging, designed (of course) by our extremely talented friend, Ash – she cooked up all of their graphics, helped Steven select the decor and designed the amazingly creative and eye-catching sign on the front of the restaurant. 

So for our first Footsy restaurant review we give Over Easy two big toes ways up! And we're super proud of our friends Ashley and Steven, for opening such a fine establishment. We look forward to many returns and can't wait to go back when the weather is a little nicer so we can sit outside on the patio with a perfect cup of joe after a morning run. Also, we're both eyeing the 'Bama style pimento cheese for lunch (pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, and arugula on toasted sourdough bread)! So if you're ever I the 'ham (like maybe for the Mercedes Marathon?) – you should take yourself to Over Easy, open every day but Mondays for breakfast and lunch!

lylas,

Foodie Friday: Fall Comfort Food

This week's meal is coming at you from Cooking Light! We LOVE Cooking Light and Cooking Light recipes. We love Cooking Light because at one point our own Sal worked there. And when she worked there she may or may not have been in charge of the Cooking Light Ship Shape Cruise, and she may or may not have brought Liv along on the Cooking Light Ship Shape cruise her second year of running it.

And on this particular Ship Shape Cruise, we may or may not have become besties with running coach extraordinaire and ship shape cruise talent, Jenny Hadfield. But that's a little teaser...for future stories.

Back to the dish at hand. We love Cooking Light recipes because while they are light yes, they do not compromise taste. It's like they figure out the optimal level of healthiness and tastiness simultaneously.

Today's cooking light recipe is "Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta" - perfect use of one of our favorite fall vegetables! Even the hubster who claims he doesn't like butternut squash, was a fan. The one way in which I altered this recipe is where it called for penne pasta, I used whole wheat penne pasta. I thought it was an easy way to make the dish even healthier without sacrificing taste. So without further ado....the recipe:

Yield: 5 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 cups (1-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• Cooking spray
• 6 sweet hickory-smoked bacon slices (raw)
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 8 ounces uncooked mini penne (tube-shaped pasta) - or whole wheat penne, healthy grains and tastes great too!
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sharp provolone cheese
• 1/3 cup (1 1/2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, rosemary, and pepper. Place squash on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt mixture. Bake at 425° for 45 minutes or until tender and lightly browned. Increase oven temperature to 450°.

Cook the bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 1/2 teaspoons drippings in pan; crumble bacon. Increase heat to medium-high. Add shallots to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Combine squash mixture, bacon, and shallots; set aside.

Cook pasta according to the package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain well.

Combine flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. (note - I do not have a Dutch oven, yet I've got a Le Creuset one I've been drooling over on my wish list. But a normal sauce pan worked just fine) Gradually add milk, stirring constantly with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add provolone, stirring until cheese melts. Add pasta to cheese mixture, tossing well to combine. Spoon pasta mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; top with squash mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Parmesan cheese. Bake at 450° for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and begins to brown.

Okay - tisk tisk, shame on me....I'm, still training my brian to remember to take pictures after my adventures in the kitchen, and with this one I plum forgot. So picture credit goes to Cooking Light.com (which is, I'm quite sure, much better than the one I would have taken myself.)

Bon Appetit!

Foodie Friday: Let's talk lunch

Don't mind my uber cool lunch box

My husband might be a bit of a penny pincher. Which, as much as it drives me crazy sometimes - it's actually needed to keep me in line great that he is thoughtful like that. One of the ways that he watches our wallets is by insisting suggesting that we bring our lunch to work every day. While packing the tin pail definitely helps the bank account, I've realized that it also helps my waistline. Nobody loves to eat out as much as this girl, but it's clear that bringing my lunch every day keeps the calories consumed down and the portions in check.

Even so, I like to keep things interesting. My husband could eat a turkey sandwich every day of his life and be perfectly content - but I need a little more variety. One night for dinner last week we had fajitas (I used whole-wheat tortillas to make our meal a little healthier). As I was planning out my weekly trip to the grocery I got an idea to use the left over tortillas for my lunch this week - so I will be having wraps instead of the usual sandwich. And then I got a little more creative and decided to add more vegetables to my lunch (which was clearly needed considering this not-so-lovely article from Health this week).

I purchased some humus (the roasted garlic kind - yum!), a red and green pepper and a red onion. I also got the usual turkey - for the hubster - and a few slices of havarti cheese from the deli.To make my mornings easier, I sliced up all the vegetables Sunday night and put them in baggies.

For Monday I went the vegetarian route [editor's note from sal: thanks for NOT thinking of your vegetarian running/blog mate. and yes, my pb+j was perfectly scrumptious. why thank you for asking!] and spread a thin layer of hummus on the tortilla and then added a slice of havarti and all the veggies I wanted.

For Tuesday I left off the hummus and did a little mayo, two slices of turkey, cheese and veggies.

Wednesday I wanted to try the whole shebang, so I did a think layer of humus, a slice of cheese, a slice of turkey and a few veggies. I loved how each day I could mix up the wraps and make them different. 

I got mega-sick before I could add more, but in the future, I’ll be adding some 'shrooms, maybe some spinach or arugula, or even sprouts. Love that the options are endless. My lunch looked so good that I even had a co-worker ask if I bought it from a nearby deli. Yay for a successful and veggie-filled idea: I was able to use the leftover tortillas and now I’ve got another option for my lunch routine.