Beach Day

Went to the beach today and walked for 2 hours. My legs ache. I thought walking on the sand would be a good "kick it up a notch" from my regular walking because this damn 1 pound (to goal) is holding on for dear life. This is frustratingly typical for me though. I tend to lose two weeks out of the month and nada the other two. This was not my week.




I cautiously fed this guy some of my Lime and Salt Peanuts though he looks like he's doing pretty well for himself. Baby Got Back.


Last time I went to the beach I had a bag of Soy Nuts and decided to share them with a few of the squirrels. Within minutes hundreds of hungry squirrels were chasing me down the beach like a scene from a B horror movie. I'm still traumatized.

Besides going to the beach I went shopping (mostly window shopping) but I did spend that Border's Gift Card I found buried in my crap the other day. I bought a knitting book for Mom, 2 cookbooks for me (yeah I know like I need more), and a DVD of the BBC version of Emma (I didn't have if you can believe it) all with my Gift Card and I think I have a bit to spare for next time.

Then I walked over and drooled at the stuff in Sur La Table. I was looking at blenders. I'm going to need one soon. My beloved Oster Beehive is starting to wig out on me again my fix-it job lasted a day and since I use it everyday for my protein shakes it is getting on my nerves. It's quite old... maybe 12 years at least maybe more. So I guess it has had a good run. A lot of frozen mudslides, frosty margaritas and now protein smoothies later.

I came home and made a Cannelini Bean Salad and a Chicken, Avocado, and Provolone Wrap for Dinner. Here's some food porn and the Cannelini Bean Salad Recipe. This time I made it without tuna since it was a side dish. I threw some diced cucumber in instead. I also didn't have dill or parsley (they've both gone to seed in my herb garden) for the dressing so I just used a store bought Balsamic Vinaigrette. I'm going to make this again later this week with smoked albacore.


Cannelini Salad

1 can Cannelini beans, drained
1 can Italian Tuna (packed in olive oil, drained) *
1 quart of Grape Tomatoes washed and halved
1 small Red Onion, diced
2 cloves of Garlic, minced
Kalamata Olives, pitted & halved
Greek Feta cheese, coarsely chopped
Several twists of freshly ground black pepper and
kosher salt
Dressing

*Omitted Tuna, Added 1/2 cup chopped cucumber

Can also be made with leftover grilled chicken breast instead of tuna. You can make this in advance it tastes even better the next day. Can also be served in a wrap.

Highlights of the day:

* Drooling over stuff in Sur La Table.

* The weather was beautiful.

* It was a cheap day (beach is free, shopping with a gift card, 1/2 a tank of gas)

Listening to: "Take the money and run" Steve Miller Band

Kicking ass and taking names

I beat the crap out of my BOB today. When he's not being used he's wearing a ski cap and looking fierce in my garage. When I first got him my cats freaked out and kept giving him the evil eye (malocchio) but now he's a member of the family. They rub up against his base. Once a week or so I put on my Everlast gloves, turn up LL Cool J and take out my aggression. It's some workout let me tell you. Ooooh does it feel good. Everyone should have a BOB.

We're almost finished with the major photo organizing project. Yeah! I just have a box or two of college years photos to go through. The important albums are done. Thank goodness. I'll share a few of the fun pics I came across in the coming weeks. I'm going to start scanning some of my favorites.

I made Crab Stuffed Mushrooms for dinner. Yum! A very nice summery (is that a word?) supper with a salad. Ate it on the patio which was nice but I did notice the spiders have made a few cobwebs again so I added cleaning the patio to my list of things to do this week. Here's a daily dose of food porn and the mushroom recipe.


Shelly's Crab Stuffed Mushrooms

12 fresh Mushrooms, large (I use Crimini)
1 Tablespoon Butter
1 small Yellow Onion, chopped fine
2 Green Onions, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 6 oz. can Crab Meat
1/3 cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Prepared Horseradish
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Italian Blend Cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Italian Breadcrumbs (almond meal is what I use to sub)
Salt/Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

Remove the mushroom stems and chop, set the mushroom caps aside. In a skillet, melt the butter and add the onions and cook till golden. Add the garlic and chopped mushroom stems. Saute' for a few minutes. Mix onion mixture with crab and allow to cool for a few minutes. Add mayonnaise, horseradish, cheeses, and bread crumbs or almond meal. Mix well and season with salt and pepper as needed. Spoon the mixture into the mushroom caps and place them on a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes.

Lazy day

I had plans to hit the Farmer's Market this morning and I hit the snooze instead. Guess my new fresh veggies will have to wait till Wednesday when the Farmer's Market opens up again and I'll have to change up tomorrow's dinner plans. I was going to make a Grilled Veggie Noodle-less Lasagna.

I think I'm still playing catch-up from my stint on my bathroom floor. So my lazy day... I slept in, boogered about on the computer, made a Spinach Gratin for tonight's dinner and then took a walk. Came home and watched Top Chef Mmmm hottie Rocco DiSpirito was the guest judge. Then what did I do... I crashed again. I was out like a light for 2 hours. I'm telling you my body wants back that missing 12 hours.

I did make a seriously yummy Taco Salad for lunch.


Taco Salad

Romaine Lettuce
Cucumbers
Tomatoes
Mexican Blend Cheese
Black Olives
Avocado
Sour Cream
Salsa

Taco Meat - Ground Beef (approx. 1 lb. package) browned with 1/2 yellow onion, sliced garlic and 2 T of Taco Seasoning.


Highlights of the day:

* A perfect avocado.

* While going through some papers I found a Border's Gift Card from Christmas. Woo Hoo I'm going shopping this week.

* Watching concert videos on You Tube and Daily Motion.

Morrissey - How Soon is Now

Listening to: see above

A yummy snack

I picked some of the apples off my trees today. I saw a bird giving them the eye yesterday. So before he had a chance to call for reinforcements I got them. I might have left one or two for the feathered friends ;)


Tonight's snack was sliced Apples with Justin's Almond Butter smeared on them. OMG!?! So good.