Category: Dinner

Extended Time In Maine: Spending lots of time with family and friends!

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I can’t remember the last time I spent more than a few nights home in Maine. Actually, that’s a lie. Last year for Christmas, my sister and I were able to spend a lot of time in Maine, mostly due to the fact that I came down with pneuomonia and we couldn’t leave when originally planned. Thankfully, I survived the holiday sick-free this year.

Since I’ve already caught you up on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I’ll pick up after that! Thursday morning, my mom, sister and I all went to the gym, which is my favorite way to start the day 🙂

After we got home, my dad and I got busy putting together my new mini-kitchen island. I thought I could do it on my own, but I am so happy my dad suggested doing it together because he has all the tools and knowledge to make sure it’s done right.

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Charlie thought he was going to be a good helper… he wasn’t.

It took much longer than expected to put it together, but I am so happy with how it turned out! It’s not great quality, but until I buy a place and know I won’t be moving every couple of years, I don’t want to have super nice stuff that could get damaged. This is absolutely perfect for my little kitchen because not only does it give me extra counter space, but it’s on wheels so I can move it around as I need/want. Love it- thanks mom and dad!!

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We went to the movies in the afternoon (nothing like $6.50 matinees in Maine!) to see Anchorman 2, which, sadly, was a big disappointment. Has anyone else seen it? I just thought it was slow and not that funny. At least the beers were $2, which kept me entertained 😉

We made the most delicious chicken parmesan meal when we got home from the movies. Holy moly. My mom really does make the best chicken parm (Danielle and I served ours over spaghetti squash… the best way to save on carbs and calories!)!

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After dinner, we spent a lot of time listening to my parents talk about their parents and their childhood. My dad’s parents passed away when he was in his young 20’s and my mom’s mother passed away when she was in her mid-late 20’s, so we haven’t really gotten to hear much about them over the years. It was so fun to look through old photo albums and listen to their stories.

I started my Friday just like most “off” days from work: at the gym! I took a great cardio and core class, which was perfect after a weights class on Thursday. After the class, I headed to the AT&T store to get a new iPhone. I was using an old iPhone 4 and was long overdue for an upgrade, so I finally headed in and made the upgrade! So far, I am LOVING my iPhone 5S and can’t wait to see the difference in picture quality.

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My family headed to the mall in the afternoon and I scored a number of deals- have you guys been shopping since Christmas? The sales are unreal! I got 2 shirts a dress and lotion for $30! After the mall, we headed to the Back Street Grill for some happy hour wines with my mom’s friend, Jean. When the $3 happy hour wine ends at 6pm and you get there at 5:30, you order 2 😉

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We made a nice, healthy chicken and veggie teriyaki stir fry for dinner- all of us agreed we needed more veggies!

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Saturday, Danielle and I made the trek back to Boston, with a quick stop in Kittery to exchange some things (I just ended up buying more. whoops). With the looks of the back of her SUV, though, you’d think the last thing we’d be doing was shopping!

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Once I got back, I unpacked everything, went for a 5K run and then had a quiet night in. I had wanted to do something, but it ended up being nice staying in. I needed to get my iTunes updated so I could put music on my new phone, catch up on blogging and have some alone time, all which I accomplished on Saturday night!

Sunday morning I woke up pretty early, which was expected since I’ve slept a lot the past handful of nights, so I went to a 9:30 spin class, followed by upper body strength and core work. The gym was dead, which is my favorite way for it to be unless I’m teaching 😉

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The rest of my Sunday was pretty quiet… I’m ready for some serious social interaction! I went grocery shopping, prepped lunches/meals and did some other random stuff around my apartment. I hung out with my sister in the afternoon for a few hours before coming home and making a delicious chicken, butternut squash, Brussels sprouts and quinoa dish.

Although it was a quiet weekend, it was good. I started Monday feeling refreshed and ready to get back on a schedule!

Questions for you: Have you seen Anchorman 2? Do you have the new iPhone? What was the best part of your weekend? Any fun plans for NYE tonight?

Weekending: Granary Tavern, Birthday Lunching, Jingle Bell Running

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I’m pretty sure the weather this past weekend did nothing for getting people in the holiday spirit, right? Nothing like 60 degree weather in December! Oh well, by the end of the weekend, I was able to ignore the weather and fully get into the Christmas/holiday spirit!

Friday Night

Friday night, my sister came over and we headed into the city to meet up with my former yoga instructor and current friend, Alyson. We decided on Granary Tavern, which I love. Alyson was running late so Danielle and I grabbed a drink at the bar while we waited. I splurged on the La Crema because, well, why not?

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We shared a few things like the Fondue, Ahi Tuna and Pizza. So good!

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After dinner, we bounced around to a few places before going our separate ways. Such a fun night and we definitely need to do it again, Alyson!

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Saturday

For the first time in a month, I didn’t have to teach last Saturday! But, to be honest, I missed it 😦 I really love starting my Saturdays teaching at the Oak Square Y because the energy is so good in that class and it gets me pumped for the whole day! Last Saturday, I decided to head to the Wellington BSC for some cardio, core and BodyPump. It was great!

After lunch, I met up with some of my college girlfriends (I love when I get to see them more than once in a week!) at the Yard House for our friend Lauren’s birthday. Have you guys ever been to the M Street Shops? They have so many stores (including a Lulu!), coffee shops and restaurants. I’m seriously obsessed with it and cannot wait to go back. Lunch was delicious, but what made it even more special was the fact that our friend, Kelly, who lives in San Francisco now, joined us. It was perfect!

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I hope you had a good birthday lunch, Lauren!

Saturday night was amazing- I did absolutely nothing! I feel like I’ve been on the go a lot on week and weekend nights so the fact that I had the chance to be home, alone, with no plans was awesome. I was in bed at 10pm and slept until 8am. Boy was that necessary!

Sunday

I woke up feeling like a new woman after 10 solid hours of sleep! After breakfast, I headed to Somerville to meet up with my sister and our parents for the Jingle Bell 5K. I will recap on that later, but it was such a fun race and day! We are so lucky that our parents are so supportive and love coming down to do things with us. They braved the ice storm and everything. Thanks mom and dad!

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After the race and lunch, I was SO happy to have a chance to hang out on my couch and shamelessly watch cheesy romantic holiday movies. I’ve been seriously obsessed with these movies this year!

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I don’t have many Sundays where I have no meal prep to do, no lunches to make, no grocery shopping to do, etc. I had a little blogging to do, but besides that, I was faced with an afternoon with no plans and it was lovely 🙂

Questions for you: Have you ever been to Granary Tavern? Did you or do you know anyone who ran the Jingle Bell 5K? What’s your favorite Christmas movie?

Friday Things & A 25 Days of Christmas Workout!

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Happy Friday, B2B readers! I hope you’ve had a good week. Mine has been good… let’s catch up quickly!

  • Tuesday- We got so much snow! I went to the post office at 3pm and there was no snow. When I left work at 5:45, there was probably 4 inches. I loved it!

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  • Wednesday- We had a company holiday dinner at The Palm (it’s in the same building as our new office!), but since I was going to a SMC girls Yankee Swap after, I just had wine and a few bites of the passed apps. Dinner at Jessi’s was amazing!! Honey mustard glazed chicken and cheesy mashed potatoes with a side spinach salad. So good! But even better? Getting together with some of my favorite girls. And presents. I love presents.

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I ended up with an Alex and Ani bracelet. It was my first one and I was so excited about it, not to mention the one Nikia chose was perfect for me. Very special!IMG_6131

  • Thursday- I treated myself to Cosi for lunch as I got home a little late on Wednesday night and didn’t have the energy to pack a lunch for myself.

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SO good. Do you guys like Cosi? Their signature salad is absolutely delicious. It was the perfect fuel to teach my Thursday double, which consisted of the following 25 Days of Christmas workout and then kickboxing. It was so fun!

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This workout was awesome. It was a total body workout and I loved that once we did something (besides burpees… there can never be too many burpees 😉 ), we didn’t have to do it again. A bunch of members came up to me and said the same thing, so apparently it was a crowd pleaser! If you’re running short on time, feel free to skip the second round for the various exercises where I wrote “X2 rounds” after the exercise.

**Edited to Add: I was so tired when I was writing this last night that I forgot to say where I got this idea! I was looking through Facebook a while ago and came across this workout and just loved the idea. I took the first few exercises from Aimee’s Fitness Advent Calendar, but the rest were just random ideas I came up with. I also took the chest press & leg lift exercise from Athena, which I learned during her Fall Into Fitness challenge. It’s one of my favorite moves at the moment!

I’m hoping work flies by today because I have after-work drink plans with my sister and my old yoga instructor/friend Alyson, who I love! I think we are going to Granary Tavern, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Saturday will consist of a workout, birthday lunch for my friend Lauren and Sunday will hopefully will be ok weather for the Jingle Bell 5K!

Questions for you: What’s your “go-to” lunch place during the week (if you get lunch out)? Do you have any Alex and Ani bracelets? What are you looking forward to this weekend?

PS- We got new computers for my new company because we finally moved offices and they are tracked a lot more than before, so I haven’t read any blogs this week 😦 I will catch up over the weekend!

Quinoa, Black Bean, Veggie & Spinach Stuffed Peppers

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For me, Sunday mornings usually consist of getting up, having a relaxing breakfast while watching TV and then thinking about what I want to make for dinner. It’s easy to always think back to the same things, but I try to make something new each week because my list of things “to make” is, seemingly, never-ending. This past Sunday, though, I wasn’t in the mood for anything labor intensive, but I knew I wanted something healthy and “homey”. After a little brain searching, I decided I would make stuffed peppers! I’ve made stuffed peppers before, but since I never make the “stuffing” the same way, I figured it would be like trying a new recipe!

The best part of the recipe? It was so easy! As I was making it, I actually thought to myself “wow. Not a lot of chopping or simmering or dishes. Awesome”.

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Quinoa, Black Bean, Veggie & Spinach Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients (my recipe makes 2 stuffed peppers)

  • 2 Green Peppers
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1tbsp minced garlic
  • 1tbsp EVOO
  • 1/2 cup chopped onions
  • 1/4 cup frozen corn
  • 1/4-1/2 black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
  • Big handful of spinach
  • 1/2 cup marinara sauce
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese (1/4-1/2 cup… or as much or as little as you want!)

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Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Cut the tops off of the peppers and remove the seeds. Place on a tray and set aside. (Tip: I cut up the tops of the peppers and use that for the stuffing, too.)

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2. Cook the quinoa according to the package (1/2 cup quinoa, 1 cup of water, bring to a boil and let boil for about 12-14 mins or until the water has been absorbed). Cut up your onion and pepper tops and sauté with 1tbsp minced garlic and 1tbsp EVOO. I also added a few dashes of white wine… because, well, wine why not?

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3. Rinse your beans and add those, the corn, diced tomatoes (drained) and spinach. Sauté until the spinach has wilted.

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(Note: I made way more stuffing than needed… I could’ve made 4+ peppers. whoops. The amounts above should be good for 2 peppers)

4. Add 1/2-1 cup of the cooked quinoa to 1/2-1 cup of the veggie and spinach mixture. Mix together with 1/2 cup marinara sauce and a small sprinkling of cheese (1/8-1/4 cup to keep everything together).

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5. Stuff the peppers and top with additional cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese starts to brown. I also broiled mine for 2 minutes to get extra browning 😉

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Mmm. Now doesn’t THAT look delicious! What I love about stuffed peppers is that they are a complete meal on their own. Veggies, protein, dairy… Love it!

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I had lots of stuffing mixture leftover and have been adding it to salads all week. I also see myself making a quesadilla with it!

Questions for you: What’s your favorite stuffed pepper stuffing? What’s your favorite meal that has all the food groups in it? When do you meal plan?

Thanksgiving in Maine {Recap}

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My family doesn’t really have a “tradition” for Thanksgiving, but I think that’s what makes it fun- every year we have the “what do you want to do this year for Thanksgiving?” conversation? I’ve spent Thanksgiving in Bath, England (studying abroad), Athens, Greece (visiting my sister when she was studying abroad), Quebec City (family trip) and Burlington, VT, to name a few. This may seem weird to some, but we love it! It makes Thanksgiving an adventure each year and as long as the 4 of us are together, it doesn’t really matter what we do. Our tradition is to not have a tradition.

This past year, we went back and forth, debating on whether to do Thanksgiving at my sister’s apartment in Somerville or to do Thanksgiving in Maine. In the end we decided to do it in Maine, and I couldn’t have been happier. I got home late on Wednesday night (taught a 5:30 class and then met up with friends at a bar not far from my parents’ house), but still, waking up to a snowy, Thanksgiving morning on Thursday was perfect! Not long after waking up, we all got very busy in the kitchen doing all the prep work for our meal. IMG_5892 IMG_5891 I made these Pumpkin Pecan Bars, which have been a hit every time I make them! IMG_5919

And this delicious Pumpkin Pudding:

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Once the prep work was done, I got busy doing this workout. Fitness instructors: do you ever make workouts and then do them, only to hate yourself for making pieces of it so hard? Yeah, the 5 minutes of cardio (3 times) in this was killer. But, it was an effective workout since I did feel quite sore yesterday! Good thing it was my rest day 😉

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The best way to hydrate after a good workout is by drinking bubbly, right?!

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Our meal was absolutely delicious and it was so fun prepping for it together! Here’s the spread of what we had!

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Is it just me, or is it really hard to keep “portion control” when you’re serving your Thanksgiving meal? Granted, I don’t ever eat everything I put on my plate (my eyes are always way bigger than my stomach), but I cannot help but fill my plate to the brim every.single.time

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SO good! Everything was unbelievable, but I am happy to say that I saved plenty of room for dessert (my Thanksgiving could consist of stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie… lots of pie). My dad canned his own pumpkin this year and made pumpkin pie with his own canned pumpkin, which is pretty cool if you ask me. Mom was quite skeptical about the pie, but I had faith in papa bear and he did not disappoint! I was REALLY impressed with how delicious and REAL his pie tasted. Nice work, dad!

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After we digested most of our meal, we headed over to our family friend’s house… for dessert… round 2.  Christine always makes the best desserts, so even though I was full, I had to have some more. On top of dessert, we got lots of Zeke snuggles! I cannot believe he is almost 6 months old and 20 pounds!!!

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Oh my goodness, I cannot even handle his cuteness!

Phew! That about covers our Thanksgiving. Even though it was a low-key day in that we didn’t have a huge family get-together, it was a perfect Thanksgiving. My life in Boston is so go-go-go, that when I come home, I appreciate just being home and with my family. I appreciate the slower-paced lifestyle and the ability to “recharge” my batteries.

I hope all of you had a fantastic Thanksgiving!

Questions for you: How did you spend your Thanksgiving? Do you have family traditions? Do you workout before you indulge in treats and drinks?