Fall Fare + Life Lessons

Okay, so there's really no way to take a non-phallic picture of butternut squash.  Trust me, I tried.  Anyways, here is a simple, healthy, fall-themed recipe for you to try!


Cinnamon-Infused Stuffed Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash, halved and seeded
• 1 cup brown rice
• 1 can black beans
• Cinnamon to taste

Directions:

1) Bake squash with cut sides facing down in a small amount of water at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

2) Cook brown rice according to directions and set aside.

3) Drain and rinse the black beans and simmer in a little bit of water and cinnamon until softened and warm.

4) Combine the rice and black beans and sprinkle with more cinnamon.

5) Remove some of the squash flesh from each half and mix with the rice and bean mixture.

6) Add the mixture to the hollowed-out areas of the squash and serve.

Today was my first time seeing a new client for work and she was the cutest little old lady.  She was telling me stories about her childhood and about how she met her husband.  Apparently, she had plans to go to a dance with her current boyfriend and he ended up also bringing his friend who had just gotten out of the service.  Her current boyfriend left early because he didn't feel well, which apparently was a big mistake.  She ended up with his friend!  I love hearing stories about how people met because everyone's story is unique and it's fun to hear about how everything started.

What I learned today from little old ladies:

• It doesn't matter if your house is a little messy--life happens.
• It is incredibly hard to lose the people that mean the most to you.
• Appreciate your parents while you still have them here.

Mmmkay, I'm off to do some school work. Night!

A Dose of Home

This weekend, Jennifer, Bill, Mike and I, headed back home to celebrate my brother, Jared's birthday and to visit with my parents.  In case you are wondering about who the above peeps are: my sister, sister's boyfriend, and my boyfriend.  We arrived home to upstate NY on Friday night and enjoyed some pumpkin beers while catching up with my Mom.  It's always nice to have everyone together in the same room.  Without fail, the conversation flows from one topic to the next and we always end up laughing and sharing fun stories.

We woke up on Saturday, had a leisurely breakfast, hung around, and then headed over to my Dad's house.  We spent a couple of hours over there catching up (and playing catch with his doggy), before leaving so Jared could head to a friend's BBQ.  For his birthday dinner, we went to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que (hmm, I guess that was a lot of bbq'ing for Jared).  

Dinosaur was a really cool place.  We were surprised to learn that it is a big biker bar.  Leather chaps and tattoos everywhere!  When we got seated, we decided that wings were in order.  We got one order of honey bbq and one order of wango tango.

 We hated them.

I would have been perfectly satisfied with my Blue Moon and wings, but alas, when you're at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, it only seems right to eat bbq like a dinosaur.  I ended up ordering the 1/4 rack of ribs with pulled pork.  For my two sides, I got the maple whipped sweet potatoes and simmered greens.

Deliciousness.  The sweet potatoes tasted like pumpkin pie.  They were easily my favorite part.  The pulled pork was really tasty too, and the ribs were so tender that they practically fell off the bone.  Plus, they gave you cornbread.  I heart cornbread.  We had a great time celebrating Jared's birthday and eating delicious food!

This morning, my Mom made a lovely brunch for everyone.  The spread included a veggie frittata, a ginormous fruit salad, bacon, and an assortment of breads (pumpkin, banana, and blueberry).  Mmm mmm good!

I had a great weekend at home.  Lots of good company and yummy food!  I just wish that the weekends were longer...

 Oh, and who could forget the fun times on the ride home:

Sunday Funday?

I wish.

Something tells me I am going to become quite familiar with this view.  My dining room table (aka my workstation) is getting a lot of love this weekend.   All I can say is that I'm glad I'm not a die-hard football fan.  I don't know how I would get anything done on Sundays.

Now that I'm back in school full-time, working part-time, and will soon be going to internships as well, I have been thinking about meals that I can start preparing when I have some extra time on the weekends.  I decided that meatballs seemed like a good idea for today.  Meatballs are great because you can make them ahead of time and either refrigerate them or freeze them until you're ready to use them.  Plus, I know a certain boyfriend of mine that likes spaghetti and meatballs.


Meatballs


Ingredients:

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1/4-1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients.  

3) Shape mixture into balls and place on a baking sheet about one inch apart.

4) Bake for 22 minutes.

Now, back to the books.

Back To School

Well, the summer is officially over.  It was back to school for me today!  My morning started early, but not too early.  I really wasn't feeling a 5:00am wake-up call for the gym since we got in late last night from our Labor Day weekend getaway.

I made sure my school bag was all packed.  Isn't this a cute bag?  It was a bridesmaids gift from my friend, Katie.

My first class, Foodservice Systems, was at 8:30am.  It was great to see my school friends again!  Luckily, we have the same schedules, so we'll be suffering learning together all semester long!

Had a little break in the grad student lounge.  It's the first day, and things already seem crazy.  I found out in my first class that I have not one, but two internships this semester.  I previously only knew that I would have to do one of them.  In my first class, I told my professor that I had Thursday or Friday mornings available to do the internship for her class.  Then my work schedule was emailed to me after class.  Mind you, ALL summer, I have not worked Thursday mornings.  And what do I get on my schedule "from here on out"? Working Thursday mornings.  Oy vey.  My approach is to take this all one day at a time.  


My second class, Introduction to Nutrition Practice, was good.  The professor seems really nice and interesting.  She specializes in pediatric nutrition which I'm definitely interested in learning more about, so that is exciting!

So, since my day had some good points (seeing friends and getting back into the swing of things) and stressful points (internship craziness and work schedule nonsense), here's an appropriate recipe that I made for dinner tonight.




Sweet & Sour Chicken with Vegetables


Inredients:

• 6 small skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 2 cans of cubed pineapple
• 1 bag sugar snap peas
• 2 heads of broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup cashews
• gyoza sauce (or some kind of sweet & sour stir fry sauce)
• 1/2 cup scallions
• brown rice cooked in pineapple juice

Directions:

1) Cook brown rice according to instructions, substituting pineapple juice for some of the water.

2) Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium.

3) Cut chicken into small pieces and add to skillet.  Add about a 1/2 cup of gyoza sauce and cook until no longer pink in the center.

4) Add snap peas, broccoli, pineapple, scallions, and cashews.  Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.

5) Serve over brown rice.

One more sweet to end the day: flowers from a cute boy!

PuMmmpkin

Tomorrow is September 1st, which means that the official start of Fall is right around the corner.  The weather this week (aside from Hurricane Irene, of course) has been beautiful.  Crisp mornings, blue skies and sunshine in the afternoon, and cool cricket-filled evenings.

On Monday when the power came back on, I had the urge to cook and bake since I hadn't been able to at all the day before.  There was a lonely can of pumpkin in my cabinet from last fall that had survived the year (and the move!), and I knew that it had to be put to good use.

Source

Pumpkin Bread
Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1 t allspice
• 1/2 t salt
• 2 cups pumpkin
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 flax eggs (1T flaxseed + 3T water for each "egg"...I just didn't have any eggs on hand!)
• 1 cup each walnuts and raisins (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Spray 2 loaf plans with cooking spray.

3) In medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt.  Set aside.

4) In another bowl, use an electric mixer (or super-human strength) to combine the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs.  Mix until well blended.

5) Add dry ingredients and mix well.

6) Stir in walnuts and raisins if desired.

7) Divide batter equally between loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

8) Cool in pans on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then remove from pans to cool completely.

Now, if I could only find a pumpkin beer and a pumpkin coffee/latte, we'd be in business!

What To Do When You’re Stuck At Home During A Hurricane

This involves activities both before and after losing power.

1) Play Yahtzee.

2) Stay up-to-date on the latest hurricane news.

3) Contact your family to see how they’re doing.

4) Try not to open the fridge.  Worry about all of the perishable food you stupidly bought yesterday.  Grr, I was thinking that I wouldn’t be able to get out to the store today.

5) Study for the Professional Engineer exam…using a headlamp and candlelight.

6) Stock pile water in case of an emergency.  Even though you just bought a case of bottled water.

7) Read your new magazine that conveniently came in yesterday’s mail.

8) Play more Yahtzee.

 9) Go for a walk to assess the damage in your neighborhood.  Make sure to wear your Sunday best.  And appropriate footwear.

We found a big wishbone!

We ended up taking refuge at Jennifer and Bill's for a few hours to hang out, reconnect with the world (aka watch TV), and play some Monopoly.  Board games rule!  Our groceries were also happy to spend the night in their cold fridge.

The power was out for 21.5 hours.  That was enough for me!

Rants

My favorite local radio station has been doing this new segment called "Enough Already."  At 8:45 each morning, right before people head into work, they call and rant about the thing that is currently driving them crazy.

My current enough already list:

• Dealing with insurance companies
• Dealing with incompetent people at my school
• Dealing with rude people
• Narrow doorways

My current more please list:

• Golden Retrievers
• Ice cream
• Family
• Breaking Bad
• Good friends
• Days off
• Michael
• Curried chicken with couscous and kale

 

• Soy & maple glazed salmon

Gender Differences & Toiletries

So, this isn't really a rant.  More of an observation.  Have you ever thought about how differently men and women are targeted by manufacturers in regards to toiletries?

His & Hers

Men get one product that apparently is good for body wash, shampoo, and probably face wash too.  Let's face it, men want the simplest solution to their personal hygiene needs.  As Mike puts it, "Guys don't want to be bothered."  Women, on the other hand, tend to purchase face wash, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and all sorts of other creams, lotions, exfoliators, etc. Women love things that smell pretty and make their skin soft.  Just kind of interesting to think about.

What's on your enough already and more please lists?