a little bit of spice

We’ve made decisions on the paint colors finally, and our walls have little patches of color all over them from testing out the colors.  But our painting adventure is coming along pretty well.  I think we’re just exhausted from non-stop painting and lack of sleep!  It’s amazing how different colors look on a little swatch compared to when you get them on the wall.  We had a few ‘too bright’ surprises!

These next few weeks are going to be interesting, especially in the midst of painting, moving, finals and putting together a graduation/birthday party.  I am going to try to make the easiest things possible without resorting to the conveniences of eating out (well, as much as I can!).  That money can add up so quickly!  I have to say that I haven’t had much desire to cook (gasp!) with getting over being sick and all the craziness of this house thing.  It will be hard too when all the cooking utensils will be packed and we’ll be trying to get rid of all our food.  Bear with me!

Sometimes I wish I could afford to be a not-do-it-yourselfer.  We almost finished the downstairs and need to tackle a very high stair-case and most all of the upstairs. 

Taping is more than 1/2 the battle and takes up most of the time, especially since I am so darn meticulous with having straight lines.  But, they turned out pretty darn good!

 

I’m not sure what these colors will look like on your computer, but . . . This color is called greenfield pumpkin and is like a dark brownish, slightly orange-ish color.  (gotta get a new chandelier) 

 

Lots of cutting in and sore knees!  This color is called olivesheen, almost like a rich sage-y green.

 

This was interesting!  I still have to put the pumpkin in the alcove.

 

So far we have pretty much all the downstairs done (more than this photo), and need to start on the staircase and upstairs.  We also want to start the crown molding. 

 

You all know my love for spices because they impart such wonderful flavor without having to add extra calories.  I decided to play on the flavors of chicken shawarma with a simple yogurt-marinated grilled chicken and quinoa pilaf.  Super easy + good eats = extra yum!

 

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken

with a Quinoa Pilaf

For the marinade:

• 1 cup non-fat yogurt (I used greek)
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• salt and pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• juice from one lemon
• standard package of chicken tenders (1.25lbs)

Mix everything together in a zippy bag along with the chicken and marinate on the counter for 25 minutes.  Cook chicken on grill pan for about 3 minutes per side until charred and slightly firm.

For the Quinoa:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 bell pepper and 2 zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• garam masala, curry powder, garlic powder and cumin
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3 tbsp pine nuts

Sauté the bell pepper and zucchini in the oil until browned.  Add the quinoa and spices and let them get toasty.  Add the water along with the raisins, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Stir in the pine nuts.  Serve along side the chicken.  Yum!

Do you like to be a do-it-yourselfer, or do you prefer to have the professionals do it?

it’s getting hot in here . . .

We signed papers on Monday!  Woo-hoo!  We are still waiting for final arrangements from the bank, but it should be official by the end of this week.  Just crazy to think we could own a house, well townhouse that is, but it’s still ownership!  We are really into crunch time right now, and the other half and I are wondering what we got ourselves into trying to get situated in a house and take on projects at the end of the semester along with work???  We may have to hold back on some things.

I put some paint up on the walls from the colors we thought we would like and. . .whoa, they are so different!  Some of them turned out to be winners, but how anyone can tell what a color will look like on an entire wall from a tiny square I will never know.  Pretty soon our walls will look like all the colors of the rainbow before we can decide on a dang color! 

I wanted to make meatloaf for dinner, but being that it’s been in the 90s here in Vegas already, I’ve been trying to avoid that inefficient oven like the plague.  So I decided to make a quick alternative . . . stuffed meatloaf burgers!  I just had to mix the meat, form the patties, turn on the stove and sauté for a fraction of the time.  I served it with a fresh green salad on the side, although I really wanted some sweet potato fries!

Stuffed Meatloaf Burgers 

Yield:  About 6 patties

Ingredients  

• A little over 1 pound of extra lean ground beef (96% lean)
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1 egg
• 1/2 jar TJ’s bruschetta mix (this makes them so moist!)
• 1 tbsp crushed Italian herbs
• salt, pepper and garlic powder
• 1 small shallot, minced
• cubed mozzarella for stuffing
• whole wheat buns and all your favorite burger toppings

Directions

Place the first 7 ingredients (through shallot) in a large bowl and incorporate.  Place a handful of meat in the palm of your hand and form half a patty.  Place about 2 cubes of cheese on top and cover with another handful of meat.  Form a tight seal.

Repeat with remaining meat and cheese.  Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat.  Cook patties until 160 degrees or until desired doneness, about 5-6 minutes per side.  Place on a clean plate and cover with foil until all batches are done.   Serve with buns and your favorite toppings! 

I also used these burgers crumbled on top of some leftover pesto pasta for a quick dinner . . . yum!

For 6 servings (analyzed with 95% lean beef), one patty has about 180-200 kcals, 8g of fat, 23g of protein, 10% calcium and 15% iron, along with good doses of zinc, riboflavin, B6 and B12.      

Gotta love that ooeey, gooey cheese!  We put a little more bruschetta mix on top.

 

Any painting dilemma stories?  I’d love to hear that I’m not alone!

seeing green

We found out that we are going to close on Monday!  Woo-hoo!  Let the madness begin.  While we haven’t progressed in our packing endeavors, we did make a trip to drop off a load of furniture to the new place.  I also bought some quarts of paint to test the colors out and make sure they will work. 

At the moment I’m fighting off a viral URI (found out it’s not strep thank goodness!), but it’s been about 5 days and I’m hoping I’m half way through.  Plus that lovely time of the month has greeted me.  I guess they say when it rains it pours right? :)  I’m just looking through to the end of packing, moving, painting, flooring, getting settled, finishing finals and being able to . . . . RELAX!!  I see a little bit of light, but it’s in the distance.  Many thanks for all your kind words, I really appreciate it!

On to a lovely dinner . . .

Lemony Tofu Pesto Pasta   

Yield

4 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)

Ingredients

• 1 lb cherry tomatoes, halved and seeds squeezed out (I used TJ’s heirloom tomato mix)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• Cooking spray
• 4  teaspoons  olive oil, divided
• 1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 2  cups tightly packed fresh baby spinach (about 1 1/4 ounces)
• 1 1/2  cups cubed reduced-fat silken tofu (about 6 ounces, I only had firm on hand and it worked well)
• 1  cup packed fresh basil leaves
• 1/3 cup grated fresh Parmesan-Romano cheese blend
• 1  tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 3/4  teaspoon  salt
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• juice and zest from one medium lemon
• 4  cups  hot cooked whole wheat spaghetti (about 8 ounces uncooked)  We made fresh!  **Be sure to save 1/2 cup pasta water to thin sauce if needed.
• 3  tablespoons  pine nuts, toasted

Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°.

Place tomatoes, cut sides up, and mushrooms on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil; sprinkle evenly with 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper. Bake at 450° for 7 minutes or until tender.  Broil just until charred.

Combine remaining 2 teaspoons oil, remaining 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, spinach, tofu, and next 6 ingredients (through lemon) in a food processor; process until smooth.

Combine spinach mixture and cooked pasta in a large skillet; cook over low until thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally and adding pasta water if needed. Gently stir in tomatoes, mushrooms and toasted pine nuts; sprinkle with a bit of parmesan.  Enjoy!  We had the Bridlewood Chard featured here along with it.

This dish has about 300-350 kcals, 11g fat, 14g protein, and 44g Carbs

 

Here is the tower of pasta!  We like to place our pasta on this drying rack until we get ready to boil it all.  It helps it to rest and dries it out just a bit so they don’t all end up sticking to each other.  It’s also great if you want to dry the pasta out all the way and save for later.

 

 

A little close up . . . this dish was very refreshing!

 

I haven’t forgot about the demo site giveaway!!  I am planning to close the entry at the end of April and announce 5 winners with their choice of a 1GB hard drive or 3 iTunes downloads.  So there’s still time, I’d love to hear your feedback on the site survey!