Mission Statement

Culinary Adventures in a College Kitchen

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Viva Las Vegas!

Hello!

Sorry that this post is so late. I planned on doing this at breakfast time and then slept right into the afternoon. Oh well. Jet lag will do that to you!

Vegas was an AMAZING time with some AMAZING food. To start off with- the greatest pork sandwich you will ever have in your life. Salt cured pork with pineapple slaw and a bunperfectly toasted to hold all the delicious goodness. So good.

There was also a Buffalo Ranch chicken sandwich that rocked my socks off. It was spicy but then the ranch cooled down each bite. Perfection.

We hit up the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) and I ate (re:devoured) a Greek pizza. Who knew taziki sauce would taste so good on a pizza?


Along with eating, I was quite the little traveller. I went to Venice...

And Paris.

And Greece.

And New York.

And even Excalibur.

While in Venice I took some time to visit old friends.





While there I scolded Tiger Woods for his sordid behavior.

And George finally asked me to marry him. About time, huh?

I had such a great time in Vegas. It was really one of the best trips that I have been on. I ate. I partied. Did I mention that I ate?? Oh my word, did I eat this trip. Expect to see some cleaner eats than usual for the next week or so. I got some damage to repair, lol.


Friday, July 30, 2010

Back to the BlogWorld

Hello all!! Liz here :-D

So...the reason that I have been missing for the past week was because I have been in LAS VEGAS!!


It was really a fun time and I intend on doing a full recap post in the morning!! I took pictures of the best meals and some celebrities (!!). Let's just say I took a trip to Madame Tussaud's and George Clooney finally made an honest woman of me :-D

Pictures will be posted in the morning! See you all then!

Vacation!

So remember when I said I was hoping I would not get sick with that stomach flu that my family had, well I got sick. Big time. In fact I just got somewhat back to normal today so I would like to apologize for not posting at all but alas this really wouldn't be much of a food blog if there wasn't a post with food included.

On a happier note, I was able to have food today so at least I can post what I had. I haven't been working out but I'm sure I lost at least two pounds after lack of eating and well, unfortunate bowel symptoms. Sorry if that is too much information.

Anyway, for breakfast I had some granola with vanilla soy milk and bananas on top. (You'll be seeing pictures as soon as camera recharges itself.)

For lunch I had a delicious strawberry greek yogurt with granola (again) as well a piece of toast smothered in peanut butter. I didn't do anything too heavy because I was trying to take it easy on my stomach so unfortunately there was no iced coffee for me :( It was quite sad but I figured I would regret it later if I did have some of it.

As for dinner my mom made some delicious veggie pizza which had a bit of a modern twist. I really wish I could show you the picture. But picture this: A crush made out of crescent roll dough topped with a light creme cheese and dill sauce with every veggie known to man! Tonight included mushroom, tomato, cucumber, black olives, green pepper, onion and cauliflower. It was overflowing with deliciousness!

On an even happier note tomorrow at 5 in the morning I am leaving for my vacation in Orland Florida to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I am beyond excited and prepare to see a lot of pictures with me giving a lot of thumbs up from sheer excitement!!!!

On terms of food, I am bringing my camera so hopefully the pictures I will be including some pictures with the food I have been eating.

So I am off to bed, hope you all have a great day and I will hopefully see you all soon! :)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Good Eats

This morning I woke up with the intention of eating an omelet, however I really was not feeling it. So instead I tweaked Allie's 2-Minute Peach Crisp. I didn't have any peaches which saddened me deeply but I did come across a delicious apple which I took the core out and sliced it thinly.

After the recipe was finished I received a not so pleasant phone call that my father was in the hospital getting tests done because his flu was escalating into something else. Needless to say I really did not enjoy my crisp as much as I hoped I would. I'll have to make it again when I'm less distracted.
Looks delish right?

So on the agenda today is lying low because I wasn't feeling the best yesterday, hence why I had the lack of posting. I had very little foodwise because I really did not have the taste for anything in general so I pretty much was grazing.

I also have work from around 6-10, that is if my stomach behaves itself. Otherwise, I may be stuck home packing for vacay while watching Youtube videos and reading food blogs. While that does sound very appealing, I do need the money.

Apart from that, have a great day and hopefully to see you at lunchtime!

Monday, July 26, 2010

The Art of Inception

Jen here! I hope you all had a fabulous day. I, while I had work, surprisingly did. I think it really had something to do with my lunch. I managed to also sneak in a workout though this one wasn't as conventional as my other ones at the gym are.

I hit up the library for a total of 6 CDs and 3 books all for my trip to Orlando, Florida on Saturday. I will be visiting the Harry Potter theme park in Universal Studios. Expect to hear a lot about this because I am going to be too excited to sleep. In fact, I told my mother than she would probably be embarrassed by me and my love of all things HP.

For my workout ran the track of the rec center of my town and then used the outdoor amphitheater and the stairs of it to do some well, stairs. Afterward, I did some abs and then stretched a little in the dance studio. If you didn't know I took dance for a few years of my childhood and took ballet last semester :)

When I got back from that, I made myself a tomato, cucumber and carrot salad tossed with red wine vinegar, olive oil, garlic salt and onion chips. So refreshing!
I also had some protein with two scrambled egg whites (Not pictured).

Once I returned from work I made myself some broccoli and chicken pasta and a Boca burger (Tomato Basil and Parmesan) between two slices of romaine lettuce.

Not pictured are fresh green beans and small piece of bread.
I think the two look awfully lonely. But they weren't after I added the green beans and bread in my stomach ;)

I also saw Inception tonight! I highly recommend it and I love how it gives you a whole new perspective on dreaming and the conscious and sub conscious. Next on the agenda is 'Charlie St. Cloud' with the beautiful Zac Efron. Yum!


Don't lie. You like him too.

Hope you all have a great rest of the night. See you all tomorrow morning!

Just a Little Hungry

So this morning I woke up in a famish which happened to be the complete opposite of everyone else in my family, each of them recovering from a terrible stomach flu. I am the only one out of five to escape the plague. I've been trying to keep my distance from the sicklings in my household but well, that's a little difficult to do so when they keep running to their respective bathrooms.

Gross yes, but oh so very true.

So while everyone else was eating their toast, I made myself a mixed berry and banana smoothie along with a large bowl of muesli. Needless to say all that deliciousness was gone shortly while I was watching 'Never Been Kissed'. I've seen the movie so many times but I still love it. Fortunately I can't say I feel the same way as Drew did. And I say fortunately again. Ha.


Well I'm off to go get a workout in before work. Have a great morning and see you all around lunch!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Hello!

This morning I had some oatmeal to hopefully keep me full for the next few hours. I'm leaving on a little vacation (I'll give you all the details when I come home!) so probably will not be able to eat for a bit. I tried to make more than usual (1/3 cup) but predictably ate my usual 1/4 cup, haha. Why do I even try?

I got to say, I am pretty excited about this trip. I LOVE airplanes. Granted, I get a little nervous at take-off but I love that it is time completely to yourself. I usually bring a book, a granola bar, and I am happy as a clam :-D

Well, I am off to get ready. Posts will be a bit erratic for the next few days but Jen should be on here fairly regularly :-) Enjoy the rest of your day!!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Pasta!

So Jen here, and as my post states, I had pasta for dinner tonight! It was absolutely delicious and I believe my brother enjoyed it as well. It was a quick dinner which was extremely easy to make since I had my hands on a George Foreman grill. It was by far the best investment since it is so versatile!

I was able to grill my chicken and spinach sausage and my onions to perfection!

I tossed the whole wheat rottini with some olive oil and threw in some chopped tomatoes and it was completely amazing! I was even lucky to have some leftovers so I will be enjoying the rest of the bowl for lunch tomorrow. I really do enjoy not having to scrounge my cabinets for something good. Oh the beauty of food containers!

After dinner I enjoyed some tasty blueberries while watching the show called 'The Gates' on ABC. It is about vampires, werewolves, witches and other creatures. I really did not think I would like it at all but it's quite interesting and almost twisted in a way. I recommend it!

What is one of your favorite TV shows?

I'm off to bed shortly so I will see you all in the morning. Enjoy the rest of your night.


Carrot Cake Time

The family graduation party was lovely. While I do not have pictures I can tell you what I ate! I had a big ol' heap of salad with a small serving of both pasta and pineapple glazed ham. Sounds like a weird combo but it was wonderful. Or as my grandpa would say- wah-nderful!

Sadly, we left before dessert. Well, this was easily fixed. After my dad and brother left to run some errands my mom and I went to Bakers Square.

Oh yeah. You know exactly where this is going.



Carrot Cake and I have a love-hate relationship. Tonight, I was feeling the love.

This pretty accurately sums up my expression before/during/after the eating. Well, I am about to slip into a food coma. Good night everyone :-D

Back from a Long Weekend

Hello all! It's Jen and I apologize for my obvious lack of posting for the weekend. I left bright and early on Friday for a road trip with the girls to my lovely college to finish moving some stuff in and then I got to pay a visit to see the boy.

While I didn't manage to take any pictures, nothing on my trip was fit for this blog. In fact my stomach is basically cringing at the lack of nutrition I had but well, things unplanned made an impact on the weekend and that of the food I was supposed to eat.

To recap: We were supposed to spend the night at my boyfriend's apartment and he was not getting back till Saturday afternoon. We contacted his roommate and he forgot to mention that he was out of town. Thus our sleeping quarters disappeared and we stayed at my friend's where there was no electricity and water. So we slept in the Chicago heat without air conditioning. I woke up at six in the morning and found myself sticking to the leather couch. I seriously felt like I had been swallowed by the evil couch.

I also woke up with a huge aching stomach along with the rest of my party and at 7 in the morning we trudged to iHOP. Fortunately they list calorie content on their lower-cal meals so I got 2 slices of turkey bacon, wheat bread, a bowl of fruit and some scrambled egg substitutes. It was 380 calories and boy was it filling!

To top matters since we needed a shower to feel like we were human so we snuck into my friend Lynn's old dorm to shower. It was surprisingly refreshing :)

After all was said and done we celebrated my boyfriend's friend Shane going away party for grad school. It was a great time especially with an amazing strawberry daiquiri.

So that was my weekend!! It was long winded but I'm going to try this new thing called posting on time so there won't be anymore of these ;)

See you all for dinner!

Successfully Spiced

So, remember when I said I wanted to spice up my morning routine? Well, this morning I woke up to French Toast made by my very own mama! I heated up one banananer in the microwave and mashed it. The banana and some syrup were added to the French Toast. And then eating commenced!

Unfortunately, while my breakfast was exciting it had absolutely no staying power. Half-way through church my stomach started making noises. And while I appreciated the guest nun's talk on insufficient water in Rwanda, all I wanted was some food. And then I immediately felt guilty for thinking this.

Once home, successfully absolved of my sins, I heated up a piece of sausage and recreated my dinner from last night.


Side note: I did not eat all of this. Just the red portion. Because red is always the best.

Twas delicious.

I then had some $13 tea.


I had to tell you it was thirteen dollars because I think that is preposterous for tea but I could not help myself, therefore I drink it every chance I get. I intend on getting my thirteen dollars worth.

Later today I have a family graduation party. I probably will not have pictures because this is extended family and I don't want them to remember as the girl who took pictures of all her food. I will probably post a little recipe, though :-D

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Catch Up

Sorry, everyone, it seems this post is something of a catch up.

No, not that type.

Sorry, that was corny even for my sense of humor.

Anyhoo, lunch today was shockingly similar to Thursday's. It could have to do with the rather large amount of spinach in my refrigerator. And the fact that I think every meal should include feta cheese.

On the side I roasted up a butternut squash and then let it have some fun with the ketchup. When I did this my mother informed me I was being disgusting. She has obviously never tried it.

The day progressed and I ran some errands with my mom while listening to my very first mix CD. In case you were wondering, it had a whole lot of Glee on it.

A few hours later my stomach growled and dinner magically appeared. Well, there was some cooking and grilling involved but I won't bore you with the nitty gritty. Pictures!


Bread, obviously



Bruschetta Topping

The Greatest Fried Zucchini Known to Man-Kind

There also was some sausage that I cut up and mixed with the bruschetta topping. I did in fact take a picture of this but it turned out looking like a five year old took it. Thus, no picture. Use your imagination :-D

After consuming my weight in fried zucchini I drank a cup of coffee because I had BIG plans for the night. My family and I all went and saw Inception!

Let me tell you. It was good. Crazy good. Like, I wish I had Leonardo in my room right now, good. Anyway, if you have not seen it you really, really should! Enough said.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your night! See you all tomorrow :-D


Spice Up The Morning

Good morning :-D

This morning I spiced up my normal oatmeal a bit with some granola and walnuts. I LOVED the taste this made. The granola must have had some cinnamon in it so every bite was a crunchy-cinnamony dream :-p

This may have just fixed my breakfast rut.

I had some coffee on the side which was much needed this morning. It was storming all night and I kept waking up. The storms last night were crazy! Lightning, thunder, and hail. It was one for the books!

Well, I am off to run errands. And then Inception tonight!! Can't wait :-D

Friday, July 23, 2010

I Dream of Lunchables

Sadly, I did not have a Lunchable for lunch :-( I kind of wish that I did, though. I know they are overly processed and the meat-cracker ratio is totally off. But, man, did they taste good. And the treat you always got? The cookie that tasted like cardboard. The jello that was medicinally sweet. Blast from my past, friends. Blast from my past.

During my dreams of Lunchables I consumed an Indian veggie burger, some carrots, and a very small smoothie.

Once again there was a photo shoot with my beverage. This is becoming a habit.



Demolished.

After lunch I settled in for two hours of LSAT prep. In case you're wondering, it's about as fun as it sounds.

Honestly, though, it wasn't that bad. I just started yesterday so I haven't really gotten into the nitty gritty stuff. I'm sure my opinion will change after my first full practice test. Eek! While studying I had a cup of English Breakfast tea and a piece of dark chocolate. Both of these were very, very necessary.


Alright, with LSAT studying done for the day I am going to go and do everything else that is 80 times more interesting than that book. Maybe I'll go to the grocery store. Pick up some Lunchables ;-)

Breakfast Rut and Coffee Confessions

Good Morning!!!! Liz here :-D

Lately I feel like I've been in a breakfast rut. Don't get me wrong- I love oats and greek yogurt parfaits. And I LOVE waffles loaded with almond butter and bananas. I just feel like I'm in a bit of a rut.

Any suggestions to spice up my mornings?

Anyhoo, I had the waffle option this morning. It was good, of course, but I am craving some variety.

I had some coffee on the side. I staged a photo shoot.

Anyone recognize this cup? It was totally in Princess Diaries. Yes, I am a dork for knowing this, lol.


That cup of coffee of mine is ginormous, but an article I just read in Food Network Magazine that now supports my addiction. According to the article, drinking 3 or more cups of coffee per day can help fight the effects of aging on the brain. Yes, I may only be twenty but I'm starting early!

It's nice to see an article on the supportive side for coffee because I feel like many have negative things to say about my morning drink. To be honest, though, no article would really make me stop drinking coffee. I love everything about it. Well, besides coffee breath, stained teeth, and tremors. That's what they created whitening toothpaste for, though. And I really don't get tremors. Well, unless it is one of those mornings.

Are you a coffee drinker? Do articles and such affect your consumption?