i had an idea…

…and it was a yummy one!

A couple days ago, as I was packing Andrew’s lunch (yes, just one of the gazillion things I said I’d never do) all I had left in the bottom of the Julio’s chips bag was a bunch of crumbs.

And immediately, I thought of a mexican breakfast/egg dish kind of thing. Why? No idea.

I held onto the bag of crumbs and finally made my concoction this morning, sauteeing onion and red bell pepper with the eggs, and added leftover chorizo (score!), some salsa, avocado, green onion and monterey jack cheese. All this atop Julio’s seasoned chips. Just delightful.

I kept it light be serving just these on the side:

Strawberries and half an orange. Just delightful 🙂

Happy Wednesday afternoon! I’m making some King Arthur Flour’s Banana Chocolate Chip Squares (another blogger was nice enough to type up the recipe) to bring to the co-op‘s first annual meeting (!!!!) tomorrow night, and will be continuing The Hunger Games.

Oh, and do any of you like radishes? I admit I’m not a huge fan, but after writing my latest ‘Eat This’ column for the co-op’s blog, I think I might give them another try.

Does life get better than an afternoon of baking and reading, all after having had a great workout and painting my toes?

what’s new around here

I know, I’ve been slacking.

Well, maybe with the blog, but everything else just seems to find its way into my already packed schedule. In addition to the massive amounts of chemistry studying that has been going on for the past week or so (and will continue until 10:59 Monday morning), I’ve been able to fit in a batch of yogurt, Mother’s Day cards/gifts/trips to the post office, multiple hairball clean-ups (eeewww) and some Big Bang-watching. Thank you, Andrew, for doing my dishes and folding laundry. I know I whine and complain and can be a bit of a perfectionist; thank you for being patient.

It will all be over after by 1 p.m. Monday–hurray! I can already taste the margarita I’m ordering afterward…

Anyway, here’s something of a re-cap:

1. Starbucks has had half-price fraps since last Friday, and I didn’t get one until Tuesday, which I think showed great restraint. The kicker? I tried their new ‘mocha cookie crumble’ flavor and I was so not that impressed. Oh well, guess that’s what I get for obsessing over it. I even brought some of my own sweet potato tortilla chips for snacking along with the drink (I love salty with chocolate!), and they are the same kind you can BUY at Starbucks. Ha! Bonus: I’ve been looking for one of their ‘city/state’ mugs that either said ‘Buffalo’ or ‘New York’ that I liked–loved this green one featuring the Statue of Liberty and the NYC skyline. Would love to find one that’s more local to Western NY, but until then, this will have to do.

Side note: I’ve visited more coffee shops in the past week studying for the final than I care to admit. However, I have a post going on my coffee preferences, so I suppose I could chalk them all up to research…

2. We recently received a giant box in the mail–it contained FOUR bags of Julio’s tortilla chips that Andrew mailed back from Texas. He even included a giant bottle of their seasoning blend–think he’s trying to tell me something??

Please note the first ingredient is MSG… Really? Like I’m really going to feel good about shaking THAT all over my organic sweet potato fries… I swear, you guys, it’s like I’m sleeping with the enemy, sometimes.

3. I made Graeter’s Black Raspberry Chip ice cream from Pioneer Woman’s new cookbook awhile ago, and I still have a little in the freezer. Here are a couple photos:

All the blackberries I used turned into this leftover pulp–what a waste! I tried it, just out of curiosity. Big mistake–all it needed was cobbler on top with some vanilla ice cream! I had to stop myself after two spoonfuls.

While the ice cream flavor was pretty spot-on, the chocolate I put in left something to be desired…. Instead of melting INSTANTLY in your mouth like real Graeter’s, these chunks of chocolate were crunchy and almost flavorless…almost no melting whatsoever. At first, I thought it was the kind of chocolate I used: bittersweet vs. semi-sweet, or milk vs. dark. However, upon further research into their methods (yes, I googled for their ingredients), I realized it’s all about the melting point and temperature…! Duh, Holly, did you not just learn about this in Chemistry? Basically, because ice cream is frozen, there is no way the chocolate can ‘melt in your mouth’ very quickly, unless you change the chocolate itself. Graater’s actually adds oil to their premium chocolate to lower the melting point… Now, all I need is their ratio of chocolate to oil…

4. So there is this long piece of carpet scrap we keep near the front door to help minimize mess on the carpet from coming in and out the door. Obviously, it’s not nailed down or anything, so EVERY TIME Hadrian gets in one of his “zoomies” moods, he kicks it up into a wad under the dining room table. Heck, even just normal walking moves the thing around. THIS. MAKES. ME. INSANE. I must bend over 900 times a day to fix the thing. Yet another reason our forever home will not have carpet.

5. I ate sardines the other day for the first time! Yes, I said sardines. Honestly, they taste just like chicken. Ha! No, they don’t…but they do taste just like tuna. Kath made a video of herself making a sardine salad and I was intrigued. I bought a can of them last time we were in Ohio at Trader Joe’s and finally gave them a whirl. Not bad at all! Seriously, just like tuna. I used her basic recipe and added some relish for a little more moisture.

6. Emily and I are plowing through Made to Crave and loving every moment! We both agree that these last couple weeks have been really neat and there just seems to be so much ‘synergy’ going on with everything we’re learning. For example, the beginning of the study focused more on simple principles of emotional eating, whereas now we’re moving into self-control (which was my first major break-through) and obedience to God. The other night, I had a little bowl of ice cream (small, self-controlled and completely permissible for me), but afterward I realized I had eaten it ‘just because I wanted it.’ A perfect example of giving in and meeting a need–even with something permissible–when I should have been strong.

And another example: yesterday, Andrew and I ate a late lunch, so we didn’t want dinner before going to see The Avengers with the Layers. It was about 5:45 p.m. and I’d just gotten a 100% on my final Chem quiz and was craving a walk and some fresh air, so we decided to walk to Vincenzo’s to get some water ice with our Groupon. Anyway (I have a point here, I promise), we indulged a little in some liquid sugar (smalls!) before the movie, but passed on popcorn at the theater, which was easy since the line was long and we were already late. However, by the time the movie ended we were both a bit hungry and Andrew suggested Kone King. Now, I tell you what, I LOVE Kone King–their custard is just wonderful! But you know what my first thought was: “I’ve already had my dessert for today–I don’t need any more.” VICTORY!!! Despite it being 9 p.m., I felt I needed some ‘real food,’ so we opted for subs, where I chose a turkey on wheat. VICTORY!

7. My friend, Regina, took me to the local Yogen Fruz here at the mall. Big mistake; it’s just another thing to crave. At least it’s (pseudo) healthy, right?

8. I’ve come to the conclusion that Hadrian and I are on some sort of weird circadian rhythm… Nine times out of ten, I wake up–moments before my alarm–only to hear him start getting up (his collar jingling, a familiar whine/yawn and stretch from the living room, followed by the clacking of his nails on our wood bedroom floor), also moments before my alarm… As long as I can switch him from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. while I’m on summer break, we’ll be alright.

9. Speaking of Hadrian… I’m the worst dog-mom EVER. I went out on a study break tonight to grab a Starbucks and run a few errands, one of which being to buy dog food–he’s dangerously low. Well, I was apparently more concerned with getting to Ulta before they closed on Sunday than PetSmart… Between that preoccupation and the onset of a sudden “shopping mood” (probably more like procrastination, in this case), needless to say, I arrived to PetSmart too late. Reason #536 that we don’t have (real) children yet.

Guess I’m going in the morning… (Which really just means an excuse to get Starbucks before school, but who’s asking??)

10. Hours to final exam: 12!

Easter weekend

Happy Belated Easter! I had all sorts of fun things to blog about this weekend, but kinda took the weekend ‘off’ and this is my first chance to sit down (Not really, I still have TONS of schoolwork to do, but this is somewhat time-sensitive, too. If I wait too long, it will be old news!) and type it all out.

There was LOTS going on this weekend for us, with Andrew’s grandmother visiting and Abigail home from school…

I ran in the Bunny Hop 5K…and scored SECOND PLACE in my age group! Holy smokes! Seriously…despite some of my recent PRs here and here, when I saw the 1,011-runner crowd lining up, all hopes of placing went right out the window. In fact, I was having a bad morning due to a sudden neck spasm and stress (what else is new?), so I really had to pep-talk my way through the entire (almost all uphill, if that’s possible) race.

The neat thing was that the course went right by Andrew’s parents’ driveway! I waved as I passed the first time… (I’m in pink and purple.)

Andrew’s family (and the dogs!) came out to cheer me on…

Here I am on the way back, just a 100 yards or so from the finish. LOVE my purple running pants!

Andrew was convinced I’d placed in my age group (based on the small number of ladies who finished ahead of me), so we waited around for what seemed like forever at the finish for them to post results.

At least the oranges were good and even the store-bought oatmeal raisin cookies were decent. Andrew ate my hot dog, but I caved and got another one and ate about half when the results still weren’t posted…

Sure enough, I DID place–I got SECOND! Prizes for the Bunny Hop are chocolate bunnies, which, despite their appropriateness, are (in my mind) a bit counterproductive. Carolyn had the brilliant idea to throw mine in the freezer and use it to bake with later. It’s currently crushed into small pieces and chilling with my other chocolate.

We spent the day relaxing at Andrew’s parents’ house and running errands on Main Street. We wanted to show grandma the new cupcake place, and while there, I picked up this little guy:

Perhaps the most memorable event was our dinner Saturday night, and, as usual, I got no photos. We ended up at a local hibachi grill/Japanese Steakhouse/sushi bar due to our large party (8) and lack of pre-panning (it was 6:30 and we were trying to find a restaurant without an hour wait). Can I just say the Layers aren’t big on change, ethnic food OR fish??

Let’s just say that if Carolyn’s face had frozen they way she was turning up her nose at the menu, she’s be one unhappy camper. In all honesty, Andrew and I were pretty nervous–we’d taken everyone here thinking it was akin to a Benihana, but it turned out to be about 95% sushi and sans-hibachi tables. Our table ended up with five chicken teriyakis, one beef teriyaki, one soba noodle and one edamame order with an Alaska roll. Can you tell which one was mine??

The night wasn’t a total loss; we ended up in a room of our own and had a few good laughs, and everyone got to experience a few things out of their comfort zone 🙂

Happy Easter morning! I got up early to cook breakfast 🙂

I made the Clinton Street Baking Co.’s buttermilk waffles (thanks for the book, Susy!), maple-roasted bacon and fruit. I even made the maple butter from the cookbook and it. was. divine. Even Andrew loved it.

As always, we did Easter baskets. Andrew’s is full of junk food and candy. I threw in a Bananagrams game, thinking it would be a good 2-person game for the house.

Andrew (as usual), went way overboard with my basket this year:

He collected all sorts of my favorite gourmet/health foods, like sweet potato chips, Luna bars, flavored seltzer, Starburst Jellybeans, Ritter chocolate with Marzipan (Heather introduced me to it before we moved last year)…

…brie and special topping…

…I’ve been DYING to try this chocolate bar since I saw it in a Food Network magazine like two years ago!

Dave sent me home with some Cadbury creme eggs last weekend, and I broke into it Easter morning! (I was good; I only ate half, though.)

Andrew particularly liked his tangerine-flavored Jelly Belly carrot. I had to force him to eat one before church… Seriously, who has to be forced to eat ONE jelly bean EVER? I wasn’t going to eat a bunch of candy all alone!

After church (we accompanied the Layers), we rushed home to finish our contributions to the meal and walk the dog before heading back to their house.

Butter ‘lambs; are a big deal around here. I saw them at the grocery store a week or so ago and wondered where they’d been all the other Easters of my life. Not where I lived, apparently.

I made caramelized pear, sage and orange biscuit bites, a recipe I found in a cookbook of Susy’s last time I was at her house. They were pretty darn good, but I don’t know if I’d make them again.

I also made Pioneer Woman’s Tres Leches cake for dessert. I. CAN’T. STOP. EATING. IT. Seriously. I had two pieces yesterday and two pieces (so far) today. Not good.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out before Abigail had to head back to school. I studied for my Micro test (I have THREE tests and a quiz this week…say a prayer for me, people!).

The rest of the family played ‘bean farmer,’ which I believe is really called Bonanza.

Andrew taught grandma.

Carolyn opted out and instead searched for dishes on the iPad.

After a light dinner of sandwiches and leftovers–not that anyone was terribly hungry–Andrew and I headed home to rescue the puppy and prep for the week ahead…if only I’d had another day off!

I’ll be up for air sometime on Thursday!