Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Oh Hey

So, I realize that it's been a very long time since I've written here, but I've been spending a lot of time on this old blog and looking up old recipes. I then decided that it would be good to come back and check in with anyone who actually looks at his or her blog feed... :-)

Well, I have to say the biggest thing that's happened is...

Brand New
Newborn Shoot
One month!
Twins fan!
Mommy's little Packer
Two months!
Three months!
Thanksgiving and four generations!
All bundled up
Four months!
Christmas!
Opening my presents
Daddy will not sway me to the dark side...
First (real) snow at five months!

Little Discovery is almost 6 months old now! CRAZY!

I haven't had as much time to cook lately, but there have been some yummy things made in our house. I had Mr. Discovery take pictures, so I will be sure to post those later. I really would like to do this blog thing again. :-)

Well, it's about time to hunker down and brave this big snowstorm headed our way! :-) Good luck to you all if you are facing the same!

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

It's SUMMER!

So... teaching 9th graders is incredibly awesome, but also incredibly time consuming. Many sincere apologies.

We are two weeks into summer vacation and I've been all over the place. Our first week off we spent at Myrtle Beach. It was very relaxing and I read two books (The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure, both by James Dashner; they are the second and third books in the Maze Runner series, which I highly recommend).


Our second week of vacation was spent at none other than... DISNEY WORLD! It was exhausting (we have got to learn to slow down when we go down there), but AMAZING. I didn't eat desserts for two and a half weeks before going down there in preparation for the gluttony that would commence.


We spent one final day at the beach on our way back up where I read another book (The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks- a really great beach read). We got home on Sunday afternoon and went to see Brave, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Soon we are off to the Midwest to see Mr. Discovery's grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, et cetera, and then my family is coming to us after that! A great summer still stretches out in front of me.

I do have a delicious recipe to share with anyone out there who actually looks at my blog. This was dinner tonight. It really doesn't get much simpler or more delicious than this.

Asian Vegetable Pasta
courtesy of Healthy Cooking Magazine


Ingredients
8-10 oz angel hair pasta
1 lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 cup julienned carrots
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar (to make clean, use Sucanat... I didn't have on hand)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 chopped peanuts

Directions
1. Bring 4 qts of water to a boil, add pasta and asparagus; cook for 3 minutes
2. Add carrots; cook 1-2 minutes more; drain.
3. In a saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients (minus chopped peanuts) and bring to a summer, stirring constantly.
4. Toss the sauce with the pasta, divide among 4 plates, and sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

The Verdict: We both loved it and decided it'd be easy for Mr. Discovery to make. :-) The magazine says it serves five, but I think it really serves four. Enjoy!

Saturday, December 31, 2011

2012

It's been a long time, my friends, but I was in the mood for some blogging during these last few hours of 2011.

I know I have my 101 in 1001, but I do have some new goals for 2012.

Fitness: Run a 10 miler (registered TODAY) and a half (probably Richmond again). DO NOT QUIT RUNNING OVER THE SUMMER.

Food: Try at least one new recipe a week.

Marriage: Less "eating out," more dates.

Health: Floss.

Spiritual: Read my Bible more often.

Intellectual: Read more books just for me. Blog at least once a week.

There we go. :-)

Mr. Discovery and I are going to have our Christmas morning tomorrow. We waited to get things on sale for each other since we bought a house. (Oh, I never told you that we bought a house, did I?)

Other 101 in 1001 Updates... I have crossed off the following...

1. Run another 5k

18. Buy a home

27. Buy a new rug for the living room

38. Save up for house down payment

54. Go to Disney

58. Go to Busch Gardens

93. Discover a new musician

97. Go to a Flying Squirrels baseball game

Happy New Year!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Well, it's been a while. I started school a few weeks ago, and we moved back to Charlottesville last weekend. It's been quite a rollercoaster the past month. It's hard to believe that we no longer live in Richmond and that we won't be going to Gayton anymore. That was one of the hardest goodbyes for sure. School is going well, but it is very busy for sure. Mr. Discovery has stepped into the classroom for the first time this year; he actually accepted the job while we were on vacation in Disney World! It has been an adjustment and he finally is able to see how tiring teaching is. Haha.
We had a pretty crazy week weather-wise. First some intense thunderstorms, then an earthquake, then a hurricane, which left us without power for days, and finally flooding! All of this was in about 10 days or fewer. It was crazy!
Obviously, the weather and the transitions have made training for the Richmond half marathon quite difficult, but I have been able to get some good longer runs that have been encouraging. :-)

Today, I want to take a moment to thank those who gave their lives on this day ten years ago. May God be with our country and especially those who lost loved ones that day as we all remember 9/11.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Some Recent Eats

We've had some travelling, houseguests, and sicknesses around the Discovery household, so the cooking took a bit of a sidebar, but here are some recent eats. :-)

Spicy Chipotle Meatballs, Real Simple Magazine

Buffalo Chicken Salad, Clean Eating Magazine, March 2011
 Ingredients:
-1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
-Olive oil cooking spray
-1 tsp smoked paprika
-1 tsp chile powder
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/2 sweet onion
-1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
-5 tbsp low-fat buttermilk
-1 to 1 1/2 tbsp all-natural hot sauce
-1 head romaine lettuce, thick spines removed
-1 head red leaf lettuce, thick spines removed
-1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
-1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
-1 cup peeled and shredded carrots
-2 oz blue cheese, crumbled (I omitted)

Directions:
1. Preheat broiler to high. Place chicken on a baking sheet coated with cookign spray. Lightly mist chicken with cooking spray and sprinkle both sides with paprika, chile powder, and salt. Broil 6-8 inches from heat until center is no longer pink, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting into bite sized chunks.
2. In a blender, puree onion, yogurt, buttermilk, and 1 tbsp hot sauce. Taste and add remaining hot sauce if you want more heat. Divide romaine and red leaf lettuce among four plates and top with bell pepper, tomatoes, carrots, and chicken, dividing each evenly. Serve yogurt mixture on the side or drizzle evenly over each plate. Sprinkle with blue cheese and serve immediately.

The Verdict: Very tasty. Will make again.

Orange Salmon with Asparagus, Clean Eating Magazine, June 2011
Ingredients:
-Zest one orange
-1/4 cup freshly squeezed OJ
-1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
-2 tsp grated ginger
-4 6oz boneless, skinless salmon fillets
- 16 asparagus spears, trimmed

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine first four ingredients and set aside.
2. Cut 4 large pieces of parchment paper and place 1 salmon fillet onto each piece. Divide asparagus spears among pieces of parchment, topping the fillets. Pour orange juice mixture over each fillet, and, working with one piece of parchment at a time, wrap fillets in parchment packets.
3. Place parchment packets onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until salmon is solid and firm and asparagus is cooked through but al dente. Serve with quinoa, whole-wheat couscous, or wild rice, if desired.

The Verdict: Very tasty. I've never de-boned a fish, so that was an adventure! :-) Next time, I might marinade the salmon in the juice for a little while. I don't feel like the flavour permeated the fish enough. I will definitely make again!

Have a great day! I start running again tomorrow after a month's hiatus! Gotta get in shape for that half!

Thursday, June 30, 2011

I must be crazy...

I just registered for...


 McDonald's Half-Marathon Logo


I can't believe I'm going for number two! I want to do a time goal for this one, but it's going to be a lot hillier than the absolutely flat VA Beach course of March. We'll see what happens!


Also... McDonalds and running? Hmm... An odd combo, I think.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Strawberry Shortcakes

Adapted from Good Housekeeping, June 2011

I cleaned this recipe up a little bit as I made it, but not entirely. It was really tasty. I think I'll have one for breakfast tomorrow!

Extremely tasty, yet... HEALTHY? Well, healthiER.


Ingredients

3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used 3/4 cup AP and 1/2 cup Whole Wheat)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons sugar, divided (I used both sugar and Florida Crystals Pure Cane Sugar*)
1/2 teaspoon sugar, for shortcake tops ( I used Florida Crystals Pure Cane Sugar*)
2 tablespoons cold margarine or butter, cut up
3/4 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 large egg whites
2 pounds strawberries, hulled, cut in half (I for some reason only bought a pound, but I doubt we'll make it through all eight servings in the next day or two!)
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel (or more...)
1 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream (I used fat free)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil.

2.In food processor with knife blade attached, pulse oats until coarsely ground. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 3 tablespoons sugar (Here is where I used the Florida Crystals). Pulse until combined. Add margarine; pulse until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add buttermilk and 1 egg white; pulse just until dry ingredients are evenly moistened.

3.With 1/4-cup measuring cup, scoop mixture and drop onto prepared sheet, 2 inches apart.

4.In small bowl, lightly beat remaining egg white. Brush on top of mounds, then sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon sugar/Florida Crystals.

5.Bake 16 minutes or until shortcakes are golden brown. Cool completely on sheet on wire rack. Can be kept, tightly wrapped, at room temperature up to overnight. (Refresh before serving in toaster oven or preheated conventional oven at 375 degrees F for 5 minutes.)

6.Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine strawberries, lemon peel, and 1 tablespoon sugar. Let stand. Can be refrigerated, covered, up to overnight.

7.In medium bowl, stir yogurt, sour cream, vanilla, and remaining 3 tablespoons sugar. Can be refrigerated, covered, up to overnight.

8.Split open shortcakes. Divide strawberries and filling among shortcakes.

The Verdict: Mr. Discovery said they were very good and he'd eat them again. I really liked them. They weren't too sweet and they were very filling. I didn't feel guilty eating this at all! :-)

*Florida Crystals states that it is "less processed pure cane sugar with the flavor that nature intended." I was searching for Evaporated Cane Juice all the live-long day and found this at Kroger. Upon just now searching the label, it says that the ingredients are... drumroll please... EVAPORATED CANE JUICE. I guess I bought the right thing without even knowing it! :-)