Monthly Archives: October 2010

It’s Nice to See You Too, Seattle

Posted on October 19, 2010 | 10 Comments

It was so bizarre to be in completely opposite environments on Saturday and Sunday.

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Fall continues to march on here in the Northwest.

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I woke up Sunday morning to a thick fog covering the ground and decided that there was no better time to reacquaint myself with the cold than the present, so I grabbed Prince and headed for a walk down to Lake Washington.

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One of my favorite things about this season is seeing the salmon swim upstream – talk about determination! It seems like it must take forever for them to make any progress. Most of the time, it looks like they’re swimming in place.

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So about a million years ago (or just a few weeks ago, depending on your frame of reference for time), I promised to show you my favorite way to enjoy spaghetti squash.

Spaghetti squash can be great on its own as a side dish with just a little butter and cheese on it. But, it can also be great dressed up a little bit in some cream, garlic, and pesto. Let me introduce you to my favorite pasta sauce…

Creamy Pesto Sauce

  • 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
  • 3 Tbsp of prepared pesto
  • 1 clove of garlic, chopped (or 1 Tbsp of minced garlic)
  • 1/4 cup parmasean cheese
  • splash of white wine

Directions: In a small saucepan over medium heat, add your garlic. Allow to cook for about a minute or until it starts to sizzle. Add a large splash of white wine to the garlic and allow to cook for one minute together. (Things are going to start smelling pretty amazing at this point.) Reduce your heat and add the cream. Stir the cream for 6-8 minutes until it starts to thicken. (Your arm is going to get tired at this point, but remember, the more calories your burn, the more cream you can have!) Add your cheese and pesto and continue to stir the sauce for another two minutes until the cheese has melted. Serve over your favorite pasta and enjoy with a glass of crisp, white wine.

I also tossed in some shredded zucchini and baked chicken for a little extra flavor variety.

The great thing about serving this sauce with spaghetti squash is that I can have huge quantities while knowing that I’m not totally going overboard in the calorie department. Let’s put it this way… this dish doesn’t come close to Olive Garden’s fettuccine alfredo  that packs more than 1200 calories!

Question: Are you a white or red sauce person?

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The NEW Breakfast Sandwich

Posted on October 18, 2010 | 6 Comments

Some of you might remember that for a really long time, I was addicted to my version of the Egg McMuffin made with a veggie sausage patty. Well, I think I got burnt out on having a veggie sausage upwards of four times a week. I haven’t had my faux sausage fix in months! In fact, from the blog, I know that July 27th was the very last day that I indulged on one.

It was a sad and abrupt end to a beautiful love affair, but I have a feeling that someday we’ll reunite again. For the mean time though, I have found my newest breakfast sandwich craze to take its place.

I’m trying not to go overboard this time with my obsession and try to limit this sandwich to a once a week occurrence – which can be hard to do sometimes.

So what’s in there, you ask? Excellent question! That would be a couple slices of deli turkey (my favorite is Hillshire Farm’s Honey Roasted Turkey), half a slice of swiss cheese, an easy-over egg, spinach, and a dollop of mayonnaise with salt and pepper. All stuffed between a whole wheat sandwich thin.

Paired with a strong cup o’ joe, this breakfast is guaranteed to get you moving in the morning!

Can I just reiterate how good it feels to be home with this guy?!

That’s all.

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Where’s Bethany?

Posted on October 17, 2010 | 6 Comments

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Any guesses on where I was last week? I’ll give you a couple clues…

The sun was just a wee bit stronger here than in Seattle:

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And there were all these prickly things around:

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Ok, for all those who guessed Arizona, you are correct!

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I had the opportunity to escape Seattle’s gray skies and spend all last week in Arizona on a business trip. It was wonderful to be in the warm weather (alright, that’s an understatement… it was definitely hot weather) and I seriously couldn’t get enough of the sun! The majority of my days were pretty packed with work stuff, but I did manage to get a few evenings to myself to do a bit of exploring.

First up was Echo Canyon trail on Camelback Mountain. Why do they call it Camelback Mountain? Well, it literally looks like the back of a camel lying down.

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(source)

Although the trail is relatively short (only 2.4 miles roundtrip), I was a little intimidated by it. It is described online as being strenuous and difficult and only recommended for experienced hikers. I was going at 5 o’clock in the afternoon when it was still 100 degrees out and was afraid of either dehydration or getting lost in the dark. I heard quite a few stories of hikers who had gotten themselves into one of those predicaments and had to be rescued by helicopter. I certainly didn’t want to be the tourist that made the 11 o’clock news for foolishly trying to hike the mountain in harsh conditions!

With a large water bottle in hand, I put my fears to the back of my mind and set off of on my journey. The trail varied from raggedy steps to rocky slopes and back to steps.

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Parts of the trail were definitely rough going, but the views were worth it!

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I started to run out of daylight and freaked out that I wouldn’t be able to navigate my way down the rocks in the dark, so I turned around before I reached the summit while I still had time. I saw plenty of people (with kids!)still heading up on my way down, so I have a feeling that it really wouldn’t have been that bad if I tried to come down in the dark. But always better to be safer than sorry, right? At least I was able to catch some amazing views of the sunset!

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Even though it wasn’t that long of a hike, I was a sweaty mess by the time that I got back down to the bottom!

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What’s a girl to do when she’s too much of a hot mess (literally) to go out anywhere to eat? Order room service, of course! Naturally, I treated myself to something a little extra special – banana rum cake. Yum!

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The next evening, I explored Scottsdale which had a very cool vibe. I stopped for dinner at a restaurant that had caught my attention, Slo Foods Organic Cafe. It was located in a shopping plaza that was reminiscent of an Italian plaza.

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The ambiance was wonderful, especially with the addition of live music. Practically everything on the menu grabbed my attention, but I ended up settling on their mozzarella caprese appetizer and the pear salad.

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Everything was so fresh and delicious tasting! The owner was very friendly as well and came by a couple times to make sure I was enjoying everything.

The next morning, before my flight, I went to check out a local Mexican market that was recommended to me by a colleague.

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Everything about this market was so much fun! From finding every kind of pepper you can imagine, to the endless shelves of tortillas, to seeing cow tongue and whole chickens (head still attached) being sold in the meat department – this was quite an experience! There was certainly no limit to the abundance of food – every pile of produce was piled at least three feet high! I managed to escape with three ginormous cookies and four pears all for $2.95 – what a steal!

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And just for size reference…

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Arizona was absolutely beautiful and I am so happy that I had the chance to explore a region that was entirely new to me. I never had much of a desire to visit the desert, but that’s all changed now! And good news, it looks like I’ll be able to go back again in a few weeks! Although I do miss the heat now that I’m back in Washington, it does feel good to be back home curled up with my slipper socks on, a cup of hot chocolate, and my fur babies snuggled up next to me!

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Some Days

Posted on October 2, 2010 | 8 Comments

Some mornings start like this:

Other mornings start like this:

Has anyone else tried the new bagel thins? I heard that the Plain ones aren’t so great, so I went with the Everything flavor, but still wasn’t that impressed. I miss my doughy carbs!

Some nights start like this:

Other nights start off like this:

When I made my Caramelized Onion and Pear Pizza the other day, I used a Boboli mini 8″ crust, which just happened to come packaged with another crust. What was I to do with a second crust? I decided to go with a guaranteed favorite of mine, BBQ Chicken Pizza! I love how this pizza requires very little thinking to make, but has big results in the flavor department.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

  • 8″ whole wheat pizza crust (pre-packaged or your favorite recipe)
  • 3 Tbsp of your favorite barbecue sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
  • 1 Tbsp ranch dressing
  • 1 cup shredded chicken
  • 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped
  • 1  Tbsp butter
  • 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
  • parsley (fresh or dried)

Directions: In a small pan, heat butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the chopped onion. Allow to cook 10-15 minutes until the onion starts to brown. In a small bowl, mix together shredded chicken and 1 Tbsp of the barbecue sauce. On your crust spread the ranch dressing and the remaining 2 Tbsp of barbecue sauce, leaving about a 1/2″ perimeter around the crust. Top with chicken, onions, and cheese. Sprinkle parsley on. Bake pizza on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for approximately 14 minutes, or until the cheese starts to get bubbly.

Pre-oven:

Yum!

Some days start off like this for Prince:

Some nights start off like this for him:

Wait… I think I need to introduce some variety into this pup’s life!

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What to do with Pumpkin Butter?

Posted on October 1, 2010 | 5 Comments

Fall has officially arrived in Washington state.

It actually arrived over a month ago, but I’ve been in denial about it until now. Some of us are a little bit more enthusiastic for it than others.

Of course, there are lots of things to look forward to with the arrival of fall, like pumpkin spiced lattes and boots. But to be honest, I still feel very new to the concept of fall. Living most of my life in Florida, autumn was mostly a nonexistent season for me. I’m still learning how to deal. Something that is helping me learn?

My newly acquired jar of Pumpkin Butter from the farmer’s market! The lady behind the stand suggested serving it on toast with cream cheese (which does sound absolutely amazing), but I knew right away what I wanted to try it with. Oats!

I was going to go for so good ol’ pumpkin oats, but then I thought how pretty it would look with some yogurt layered in. Enter: Pumpkin Oats & Yogurt Parfait!

I simply layered old fashioned rolled oats (cooked with almond butter), pumpkin butter, vanilla nonfat Greek yogurt, cinnamon, and walnuts. I added a cinnamon stick into the mix just to up the prettiness factor. :-D

All mixed up, this was delicious! I loved the creaminess that the yogurt added to my oats, and probably need to start adding it into my oats more often for a little extra protein punch.

Here’s where you guys come in. Since I’m new to things like pumpkin butter, I’m looking for suggestions. What would you pair it with?

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