Goat Cheese + Apple + Honey Drizzle "pizza" LIIIIIKKEEEE WHAT

You know how Trader Joe's does samples at lunch time? Well last week they had this quinoa-goat cheese-bean concoction and I have been on a goat cheese kick ever since. As I was drooling over Pinterest pictures of goat cheese plates I came up with this baby and oooommmmgggg. I died a little with every bite, it was that good.

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 tortilla (I use Ezekiel)
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 apple, diced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 onion, sliced thin
• 1 Tablespoon honey

Caramelize the onion slices (do this by heating them slowly over low heat with a little bit of oil until they are brownish). Combine the water and apple in a small frying pan and cook the apples over medium heat, covered, for about 5 minutes. Uncover and cook a little longer until the water cooks off.

Brush the olive oil on the tortilla. Cover the tortilla with the apples, onion and cheeses. Drizzle honey over the top and pop it in the toaster oven (or real oven) at 350 for about 5 minutes. Trust me, you're going to die. It's so. so. GOOD.

Linking up at Delicious Dish Tuesday and Tuesday Recipe Swap

Clean Spaghetti = Squoodles + Meat Sauce and a weekend recap

Last week I mentioned squoodles + meat sauce being my favorite meal of the week- my friend Maggie brought me squash from her mom's garden so I made it out of those, something about knowing my own friend picked the squash out of her garden made the squoodles taste so much better!

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 3 large squashes (squash? squashi?) (FREE from your bff's garden)
• 1 lb lean ground turkey ($3.50)
• 1/2 onion, chopped ($.50)
• 1/2 green pepper, chopped ($.50)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup mushrooms, diced ($1.00)
• 1 jar clean pasta sauce (I get mine at Trader Joe's for $1.89)
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Season the ground turkey with the Italian seasoning and parsley. Brown the meat over medium-high heat. Once the meat is almost browned, add the green pepper and onion to the pan. Stir constantly over the medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes, add the jar of sauce and garlic. Cook for an addition 5-7 minutes over medium heat.

While the sauce is cooking, slice the squashes long-way into thin strips, then chop those thin strips into about 4 long skinny strips like this:

Toss the squoodles with the olive oil, salt and pepper then microwave for 2 minutes or until tender.

Once the meat sauce is done cooking, top your squoodles with it and enjoy! We also sprinkled some parmesan cheese on top and enjoyed with 2 buck chuck. Life is good!

This weekend was the first time I was at home with no major plans, visitors, weddings, etc in over 2 months!! It was so great! Friday I had a half day at work and stayed hungover until 10 pm so spent some quality time with Olivia and Elliot and the rest of the SVU crew.

Saturday we went to my friends' wedding brunch. They got married a few weeks ago in Seattle but we couldn't go because Harrison was the best man in another wedding so I was so glad we got to celebrate with them! 

Harrison and I grabbed lunch at Ted's Bulletin where we had- wait for this- homemade bacon and peanut butter poptarts. Liiiiikeee whaaaat

Then we did a little bar hopping for a friends' bday and I tried all kinds of new beers, my favorite being the 312 Urban Wheat.

I bopped over to Bethesda to meet up with other friends for the World Cup and we turned it into an all-night affair ending with karaoke, always a good night.

Sunday I did some massive cleaning and planted some herbs to grow myself (after asking above-mentioned Maggie 10,000 questions):

Andi had a play date with a neighbor named Ruby and they were adorable as usual- Andi clearly loves the camera, look how she is looking at it! That's my little diva!

And that was it! This week I am SUPER PUMPED because it's one of my college BFF's bachelorette parties in CHARLESTON!! I'm flying out Thursday afternoon and cannot freaking waaaiiiittt!

Linking up today with Biana, Leeann, Kimberlee

Beets + Greens Dilla (sounds weird but tastes amaze FOR REAL)

Ok first of all let me get this off my chest: there are a lot of confessions wrapped in this quesadilla.

1. I may or may not have played accomplice after my friend's wedding, egging her on to open a wedding gift when her husband wasn't there and to tell him we didn't realize it was a wedding gift
2. It may or may not have been a really really sweet book from his sister, that included all of their family's favorite recipes (yes we were feeling super guilty at this point)
3. I may or may not have taken a picture of a recipe to try
4. This is that recipe with some of my own little touches
5. I don't think the married couple has even tried it.
6. At first I couldn't stop laughing at the name "beet quesadilla" because I picture a quesadilla full of these guys:

Servings: 4 quesadillas

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized beets, unpeeled and sliced thin
• Beet stems (I cut off below the leaf and chopped it up)
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1.5 Cup of greens (I removed beet greens from the stems and used kale removed from the stems), sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon parsley
• Goat Cheese (to taste)
• Tortillas (I always eat Ezekiel)
• 1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan. Add the onions, beets and stems over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Next add the garlic, beans, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and greens and mix well over the medium heat for about 5-7  minutes (still stirring constantly). 

Heap the mixture onto the quesadillas and add goat cheese to taste. I can't even believe how much I liked these! Harrison thinks he hates beets (surprise!) but even liked this!

Ok so I am newly really into beets so  question: What are other good ways to eat beets?

Best Clean Eating Breakfast Burrito EVA + Best 4th of July Weekend EVA Recap

Oh hay Monday, I was hoping you'd forget to come this week! Womp womp. This weekend while experiencing a massive hangover I concocted a breakfast burrito that fixed everything (the lifesaver also could have been the bloody mary that accompanied the burrito but I think it was a team effort).

Servings: 1
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato, baked (I poked a few holes in mine and threw it in the microwave for 8 minutes- hangovers do not allow for oven waits) ($.80)
• 1/2 Cup Black Beans ($.50)
• 2 Eggs, cooked over easy (or however you like your eggs)
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon onion salt
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tortilla (I use Ezekiel tortillas)

Scoop the sweet potato out of the skin and spread it evenly over the tortilla (your sweet potato should be soft and cooked through, if it isn't microwave it a little longer). Layer the black beans on top of the sweet potato, then add the eggs, then add a layer of salsa. Sprinkle the seasonings on top, roll up and enjoy (a full stomach and less of a hangover).

Soooo 4th of July was awesome this weekend! I live across from a big park (in DC! I know!) that has a giant open field where people shot off huge fireworks all night. We cooked out with a bunch of friends and my parents came too! It was a blast (pun intended, man I'm funny).

tried to capture it on my iphone...not so much

Saturday was my mom's birthday and I was so excited to celebrate with family and friends in DC! We did bottomless mimosa brunch at Chadwick's followed by kayaking on the Potomac. Could not have asked for a more perfect day.

Then I had some epic CHICKEN AND (red velvet) WAFFLES- WHAT - at a new restaurant near my house called Smith Public Trust:

Sunday Andi had a friend over and I died from cuteness. Meet Eva:

Sunday night we had a little Netflix binge and I watched E-mail Order Bride. Just trust me on this one. It's worth the hour.

Tell me: do you have any good clean eating hangover remedies? What should I watch on my next Netflix binge?

Linking up today with Bella, Bianna, LeeAnn, Kimberlee, Wendy, Secret Blogger Club

BBQ Chicken Salad + Weekend Recap

Ahhh the longest week in the history of the work world, at least in DC. Anyone else feel that way? Like most of the city is on vacation so no one is doing work but I am saving my vacation days for other things, and every tourist in America is in DC for the week so my commute is longer (STAND TO THE RIGHT ON THE METRO ESCALATORS, WALK ON THE LEFT- people breaking this rule literally add 10 minutes to my morning commute! Wait I think tomorrow's post will be about how to be a good tourist in DC), the highs this week are close to 100 so we are slowly melting to death and I can't think about anything except how excited I am for my favorite holiday: the fourth of freaking JULY! AMERICA! COOKOUTS! ALL THE THINGS!

Ok anyway onto the recipe, this is super easy and a great refreshing summer salad. The chicken and avocado add lots of protein and other stuff to keep you full so it's niiice.

Servings: 2
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, thawed and sliced into strips ($5.00)
• 3 tomatoes, diced ($2.00)
• 1/2 red onion, diced ($.50)
• 1 cucumber, diced ($.80)
• 1 avocado, diced ($1.00)
• Optional: 4 slices of bacon, chopped up (we use turkey bacon)
• 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce of choice (I always use Sweet Baby Ray's, duh)
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• Any other seasonings you normally add to barbecue chicken (we have a grilled chicken rub that I looove and I usually add some cayenne pepper too)

Cook the bacon in a large frying pan. Season this chicken with the garlic power, onion powder, and seasonings of your choice. Once the bacon is done cooking, remove from the frying pan and allow to cool for a few minutes. In the same pan, cook the chicken strips for 15-20 minutes flipping occasionally, until they are cooked all the way through and there is no pink left.

Chop up the bacon and chicken strips, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Enjoy! I took mine to lunch the next day, Harrison ate all of his at one time as an after dinner "snack". Typical.

So this weekend one of my high school friends got married in Lancaster, PA. This was my first time in that area and it was definitely interesting, and of course it was a blast to reunite with my best friends from high school. Here's a little recap of the interestingness of Amish Country:

Saturday morning before we left I received a 911 text from a friend who got there the night before that it was impossible to buy booze in the county the hotel was in so I packed a suitcase of the essentials:

The reception was held at a nice country club, this is our attempt at a reunion picture but we're missing tons of people because it is impossible to get everyone in a group picture, even though Katy Kodak over here gets pushy and bossy to try to get one every time:

Took some nice pix on the golf course and I wore my first Rent the Runway dress and loved it (Sachin + Babi):

Bride and groom had their first dance:

After partied at the hotel bar until 3 am (I am getting too old for this)

Stopped at this barn-looking place for some Amish lunch:

With this guy in the front:

Sampled everything from the "Lancaster Favorites" section of the buffet- sidenote: I thought Amish food would be pretty clean, like from the ground and meat and stuff but no. Amish food = heavy cream, butter, milk everything. I tried everything since we were on vacay and I paid for it later.

Tried a slice of Shoofly Pie:

Sat in some traffic...

Most of the town looked like this:

Stopped in to some Amish markets and found some interesting items such as this Poo-Pourri which you spray in the toilet before you doo doo and it supposedly masks any odors...

So no one warned me that there would be OUTLETS AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE in Lancaster! LIKE WHAT? This is me in front of the Loft Outlet feeling slightly excited but slightly terrified for what was about to happen to my bank account:

I booked a dog sitter through a site called Rover.com which was recommended by a friend. You type in your zip code and search sitters by people who are willing to come to your house or let your dog stay at their house. We had an awesome sitter named Dana H who sent picture updates all weekend like this one:

We will DEF be using Rover again- it was so easy and inexpensive, and I loved that Andi could stay home. The sitters have background checks and recommendations, and this service is available anywhere. AND if you use my unique link you get $20 off your first booking! Click here to receive $20 off and definitely let me know if you have questions because as a crazy dog lady who feels bad taking advantage of her friends 5 weekends in a row, this is the best possible service.

Linking up today with Biana, Kimberlee, Leeann, Delicious Dish Tuesday, Tuesday Recipe Swap- come play!

Clean Eating Taco Salad + Weekend Recap

Ok so I just had the best. weekend. ever. It was one of my best friend's weddings at a campground in Hanson, Massachusetts and it was the happiest, lovingest, most wonderful weekend ever. We all did a program called City Year together in 2008 in Rhode Island, and this was a big huge happy reunion with the people I spent one of the most transformative years of my life and the two of them just love each other so much and it was just a big fat lovefest. And dance party of course. Pix below.

Ok so enough with the mushiness, today's recipe is one of my go-to lunches for the week- the ole taco salad. It's really easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground turkey
• 1 can black beans
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Pair it with: salad greens, tomato slices, salsa, Greek yogurt, raw onions, tortillas.

Season the turkey with the garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and brown the in a frying pan. Add the black beans (with the juice) and stir together with the meat over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes, or until the juices are absorbed. Add in the garlic and onions for the last 5 minutes. Use as a salad topping or taco filler and enjoy!

So, more about my mushy lovey dovey weekend. The bride (you may remember her as the one who knocked my tooth out in Milwaukee) compeletely DIYed this entire shindig at Camp Kiwanee. We all pitched in and threw together this incredible party. Just look:

Friday we bopped around Boston in their perfect weather- WHERE IS THE HUMIDITY?

Got some mani-pedis and drank a million bottles of  champagne:

Cried through the entire Enjoyed rehearsal dinner:

Don't mind me with the awkward high-5 in the back...

Saturday morning we picked up $200 worth of flowers from Trader Joe's. $200 on flowers. For the entire wedding. This. was. genius.

Transformed the camp mess hall into a beautiful wedding venue:

they got married right in the middle!

I KNOW.

 LOOK what you can do with Trader Joe's flowers!

I MEAN:

Did a lil yoga while the flower girl stacked champagne cups for us:

Took some professional wedding photos:

They got married (no pix because I was maiding), then we had some serious BBQ- PS how awesome are these bmaids outfits? Our skirts were $60 on Etsy. They look so great in the pictures and were perfect for camp wedding!

Then we partied our asses off:

Photo cred to my buddy Nan via Wedpics

Then we had an afterparty with a bonfire, dancing, s'mores and a keg and eventually made our way back to our cabins ( I KNOW!). We got up in the morning to mimosas and home cooked breakfast made by the groom's parents (like what!):

Then we finished the day with a kickball tourney and old City Year games. It was really one of the best weekends ever. And don't fret- I got Amanda (the bride) to agree to write a guest post on alllllll her details so stay tuned!

Linking up today at Delicious Dish Tuesday, Motivation Monday, Wedding Wednesday, Treat Yo Self