Just wait one more day!

So, one day last week as the clock got closer and closer to 5 p.m. I started to think, what the heck are we going to have for dinner?

I usually have things planned out, but didn’t this time. In addition, our fridge was nearly bare! I was thinking, I should just go to the store and buy something yummy. I was absolutely starving as well! Then, I thought, no, I shouldn’t do that. We don’t get paid until Tuesday, and we were celebrating our anniversary this weekend, so will be eating out. I should hold off on the groceries until Sunday. Also, going to the store when you are hungry is a bad idea! As I had yummy shrimp kabobs floating in my mind, I said, forget it and went home to scrounge something up with things I had leftover.

I totally recommend waiting to go to that grocery store for just one more day than what you think you need to. You’ll use up food in your fridge you might end up throwing away and save money.

Pasta works good for this kind of situation. I boiled some linguine we had on hand, and combined that with some of my homemade pesto sauce. Made it extra cheesy by throwing in a quarter cup of Romano cheese that was nearly empty and a half a package of fresh mozzarella. (You actually need to use the fresh mozzarella up pretty fast as it goes bad after a week or so.) Also threw in a tomato basil turkey sausage we had grilled up on Friday night that was leftover. Also had overripe tomatoes that I diced up. Paired that with a slice of garlic bread with some old bread we had. Old bread tastes good when you put butter on it and toast it!

I get a little nervous when I whip something up like this because I am afraid Tim might not like it. However, as we were eating, what I called “kitchen sink” pasta (because I threw everything in it except the kitchen sink) he said, this is the best pasta dish you have ever made! ha! Score!

Another little thing I do, is every Sunday night I plan out what we are going to have for dinners for the week. It helps with your grocery shopping so you don’t buy things you don’t need. Our breakfasts are the same every day, usually a smoothies and granola bar or toast, bagel or english muffin, Lunches are leftovers or sandwiches with veggies and fruit. This week’s menu is grilled chicken and veggies with corn on the cob and salads on Monday; steak fajitas (with some extra steak I grilled up on a different night), rice and salads on Tuesday; spaghetti with turkey Italian sausage (quite yummy, BTW) and salads on Wednesday; and grilled tilapia (Tim, of course will get a burger (which I always have patties made and frozen, ready to throw on the grill) or chicken that night!) with probably some couscous and veggies on Thursday.

Thought I would share our smoothie recipe with all of you!

Serves 2

1 cup skim milk
1 cup OJ (we use the kind fortified with calcium)
6-7 frozen strawberries
1 container fat-free sugar-free yogurt, or about 3/4 cup (Vanilla, Strawberry, Blueberry works well)
1 Banana
A handful of ice cubes

Blend all together and enjoy!

Pesto, part II

So, last night I made the most awesome pesto pasta dish. I wish I would have taken a picture before I gobbled it up! It was so pretty!

I made a small batch of pesto, because I had limited ingredients and we aren’t going to the grocery store again until Tim’s pay day Aug. 13. So, just had about 1 cup basil, 4 t. olive oil, some garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste. Mixed all that up in my mini chopper and yum yum yum! I poured that over 4 ounces of pasta, and diced up two ripe garden tomatoes and two grill chicken breasts. It was a hardy meal full of garden goodness! Paired that with some creamy cucumbers and sauteed zucchini. Talk about yummy.

Sauteed zucchini is one of my favorite summer staples. Usually my mom keeps me well stocked as our garden isn’t big enough. I just like to slice up a real big one, close to a foot long, sprinkle with Mrs. Dash and a little olive oil. Like 2 t. Saute it until tender. Garlic power and salt and pepper are also good seasonings. Leftovers are great for lunch the next day.

Speaking of summertime food. Tonight it was more tomatoes. This time, on whole wheat bread topped with prosciuto, tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, drizzled with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkled with basil, salt and pepper, toasted under the broiler! I think a french bread would have been better, but again, this is what we had on hand. I paired that with corn on the cob and vinegar cucumbers. I made a big batch of those this week with the big grocery sack of cucs Mom recently gave to us. Oh how I miss the big garden on our farm!

I remembered to snap a photo of tonight’s yummy meal! Enjoy!

I hope you enjoy my blog!

So, I have been blogging now for about a month. I kept it private at first because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to write anything worthwhile. I guess it has gone pretty well. So, here it is for the world to see!

I hope you enjoy my easy recipes and random ramblings. I hope you enjoy reading about my travels when I actually have the money to travel! I hope you enjoy reading the life of Average Me. Maybe I’m just a writing, daydreaming fool, but I at least dream big.

I am a writer, a dreamer. I love to cook and travel. I am trying to save money and plan for that condo in the Carribean some day. Enjoy my life’s adventures with me! Stay tuned and enjoy!

Veggies, Weight Loss and Life

So, I so love this Weight Watchers Spinach Feta dip! http://www.weightwatchers.com/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeId=116251
It is super yummy and low cal!

Plan to make it next weekend when we are up in Okoboji for the BRASL bike ride. I really need to get back with the “program” these next couple of weeks. So, plan to bring this and make Garbage Salad (see recipe below) so I have tons of veggies to eat. That is what I need to do to lose weight and/or keep it off — eat TONS of veggies. I need something to fill up this huge appetite I seem to have!

Two years ago I lost over 40 lbs. However, it seems a few pounds has crept back. EEK! I cannot let this happen! I donated/sold all my fat clothes! And, really, I should lose about 40 more lbs! Yeah, I totally was not going to do a blog about weight loss, but it is a big part of my life. It seems I always need to be paying attention to what I eat and exercising at least 45 minutes for five days a week. Sometimes it depresses me that I have to devote so much time to it. I have had to watch my weight since the third grade. So, it has definitely and will continue to be a lifelong deal.

Combine that with trying to save money and life can really get depressing some days! ha! I wish I could combine all these into some sort of quick self-help blog that teaches people how to lose weight, save money and travel more. Now how the heck would that work?

I also have been trying to eat more like the Food Matters book. Very good advice and tons of good recipes. I really do love to eat healthy. I’ve said this 100 times — eating healthy makes me happy! I feel better! My skin is healthier, and yes, you really do have more energy. Then, why the heck can’t I do it all the time?

Another thing Tim and I have been talking about is a 5 and 10 year plan. Where do we see ourselves? What will we be doing? When? Where? What makes us happy? Right now it seems I am in a big rut. I have been at my current job for 9 years! I need a change! But I don’t know what to do! I have applied and gotten interviews to several different jobs and never have landed any of them. Then, I wonder, will a new job make me happy? Probably not. I enjoy doing what I do now. I LOVE working for the university (even though we didn’t get raises this year due to budget cuts). I love working in higher education. I love being in an environment of learning. And, ya know, I love the 24 days of vacation that come with this job! So, I have the time, just not the money to fulfill my quest of traveling around the world. How on earth will this all ever fall into place? One good piece of news, is next year around this time, a consolidation loan we have is paid off! That will give us over $700 more per month. That will be cool. So, hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel with all this.

Garbage Salad

1 head of brocoli, cut in small pieces

1 head of califlower, cut in mall pieces

1 can of black olives, sliced

1 small jar of green olives, sliced

1 can of mushrooms

Light Italian Salad Dressing

Combine all veggies, and add salad dressing to taste — starting with a cup and add more for your liking.

Getting Started with a Blog

Blog, blog, blog, blog, blog. Back in 2002 when I started graduate school, I didn’t even know what a blog was. A fellow grad student ended up doing his thesis on it. Since then, blogs have been growing like crazy. In fact, I don’t even think anyone even keeps track of of many blogs are actually out there today. I believe Technorati used to and recently stopped.

Anyways…I have been thinking of starting a blog for sometime now. Like as in the last several years. However, I never really knew what to write about. Do I really want my personal information out there? Do people really care? Then came along Julie & Julia. Dammit! Why didn’t I think of that? I so could have done that, got my book deal  and a movie deal and been famous by now.

Then comes the question, what do I write about? I could write about weight loss, but there seems to be plenty of weight loss blogs out there. I could write about travel, but don’t travel near enough to actually have a blog about it. I could write about money because I don’t have enough of it, hence why I can’t travel enough to write about it. And don’t have enough money because like all 20 and 30-something-year-olds, I have credit card debt, right? I hope there are others out there who know what I am talking about!? Oh, and then there is debt and money. Everyone’s in debt these days, right? I could write about how to reduce my debt, but don’t do a very good job with that as I am still in debt.

So, weight loss, travel, debt, oh, and for obvious reasons, work, were all out. I could have also wrote about books, but reading book a month if I am lucky probably wouldn’t keep my readers coming back for more. SO, I decided I am going to touch on all of these things from just my plain ol ordinary perspective.

Yes, as in ordinary. Ordinary me. I may not live next to the sea or have any mountain top views out my window, and I also don’t have an exceptionally fabulous job. I often daydream about hoping on the subway and working in a big tall building somewhere in NY City, or even working at home in my cute little apartment like Carrie Bradshaw. Then, I get off work and go out and talk about books and film with bright shiny happy people. Yay! I retire to my home and cook wonderful meals in a gourmet kitchen. And, of course, money is no object and I never gain any weight from eating. Yep. There is my dream world. Now, back to reality of average me. More about average me next time.