Tag: grilling

Five on Friday {6.3.16}

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Good morning and happy Friday, friends! Can you believe it’s JUNE already?! Even crazier, is tomorrow will mark the official 30 day count down until the big day. I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself… which is why there are a few wedding-related topics in this post- #sorryimnotsorry 😉

  • Thirst for Wellness: B Strong Bootcamp- Thirst Juice Co. is launching a summer wellness series that I think you’ll all be very interested in. From their Eventbrite page: Our slogan is “Thirst. For Life.” That means many things, including living fully, joyfully, and generously. Wellness is an essential component to living the kind of life we aspire to. You’ve loved our Sip & Learn events, and now we’re rolling them into a broader series of wellness events. For our Thirst for Wellness event series we’re partnering with some of your favorite Boston fitness pros to bring you great workouts with healthful plant-based refreshments.
    What: B Strong Bootcamp is an outdoor HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout led by Trainer Cassie B., that combines intervals of running with bodyweight exercises for a complete total body cardio and strength workout experience. WHEN: Tuesday, June 7, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (EDT). WHERE: Thirst Juice Co. – 44 School Street, Boston, MA 02108All you have to to do is head on over to this page to sign up ($15 is the cost)! Unfortunately I teach on Tuesdays, so I won’t be able to make it which I’m super bummed around!
  • Bags & Beats– The above bullet was a perfect segway into this topic! So far, I’ve taught 4 classes and it gets more and more fun every class! This past week was especially awesome because I had so many familiar faces in the crowd, including my sister, a coworker and her friend and Athena… oh, and some repeats from last which, which is always the best compliment an instructor can get! GF3 paid me a surprise visit halfway through my second class of the night which was a little nerve-wracking, but he seemed pleased so I’ll take that as a good thing! If you’re interested in checking it out, I’m at GymIt in Watertown on Tuesdays at 5:30 and 6:30pm… with the exception of next Tuesday since I have to travel to CA for work 😦

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  • Summer Eats- With the warmer weather upon us, my appetite has been craving all things summer, including the most amazing lobster roll from the Raw Bar near the Popponesset Inn, grilling and loaded salads.

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  • Wedding Songs- We are in full on wedding mode, including figuring out what songs we want the band to play. RM said he thought we should walk in to the reception to the “Marry Me” song by Bruno Mars so I downloaded it the other day and it’s pretty much been on repeat every since! I cannot wait to marry him! Also, do you have any dancing song suggestions you love hearing at the wedding?! Do share!

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  • Monogrammed Jack Rogers– The monogrammed Jack Rogers I ordered for the big day finally came in and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they came out. I got my mom and sister a pair too (they found out about it, so it’s not a surprise) and I think it’s going to be so cute to all have them on when we are getting ready!

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And that does it for me! RM is in Nashville for his bachelor party this weekend- if you’ve ever been and have “must visit” suggestions for me to send to him- let me know! With him gone this weekend it means that I will have time to get {hopefully} some serious wedding stuff done. I have a laundry list of things to do so I hope to be able to really attack that list!

I hope you all have a great weekend!!

Questions for you: What was your best workout this week? What’s a song you love to hear at a wedding? Have your eats changed at all with the nicer weather? What is your go-to summer meal? What’s on the agenda for the weekend?

Sausage, Veggie & Pineapple Grilled Summer Skewers

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Good morning! I am so happy to say that I FINALLY have a recipe for you 🙂 RM and I have been grilling quite a bit lately and this meal was so healthy, tasty and fun I figured it was perfect to share with you. I loved the colors from everything and it was like a flavor party in your mouth between the sausage, veggies and sweet pineapple.

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We decided to amp the skewer meal up even more by serving them on a bed of deliciousness- spinach, quinoa and corn and everything was topped with a really simple and fresh EVOO/fresh lemon juice/s&p/garlic powder concoction.

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Of course, if you don’t have sausage, you could do this same meal with steak or chicken- no problem at all!

Ingredients

Skewers:

  • 4 sausage links (we used RM’s homemade sausage- 2 were plain and 2 were garlic, parmesan and parsley)
  • 1 small green pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 small red pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 small onion, cut into thick slices
  • 1 cup chopped pineapple

Salad:

  • Spinach for 2 people (about 1/2 a box for us)
  • 1/4-1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1 ear of corn, steamed and then the kernels shaved off
  • 2-4 tbsp. EVOO per salad
  • Juice of 1 lemon- 1/2 lemon per salad
  • Salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste

Directions

1. Cook quinoa according to the package and let cool. Steam the corn and let cool- once cool, take a knife and shave off the kernels.

2. Turn on your grill to heat. Cut up your veggies, pineapple and sausage and arrange them on skewers. Place on grill, rotating sides every 3-5 minutes. I think it took about 15 minutes for the sausage to be cooked through on low heat.

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3. Combine the EVOO, lemon juice and salt/pepper/garlic powder and set aside. Place the spinach in the bowls, top with the quinoa and corn and then the skewered items. Lastly, coat everything with the dressing and serve.

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This meal came together so quickly, which was perfect for a weeknight meal. I was also able to enjoy leftovers the next day, too. We decided that we are big fans of quinoa spinach salads- so much so that we made them on Thursday of last week, too, to go with the burgers we grilled. Great texture/flavor combo!

Would love to know if you see these- take pics and tag me @Burpeestobubbly.

Questions for you: What’s your favorite thing to grill? Do you like sausage or do you prefer chicken or steak? Cooked pineapple- yay or nay?

I ate a real cheeseburger… white bun and all…

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“I’ll have a ground turkey burger, no cheese and no bun, please”

Umm. No thank you. While that was something I maybe ordered once in my life years ago when I had some food issues, these days I’ll take a real beef burger, with cheese and with a bun, thankyouverymuch. A cheese burger isn’t something I eat on a weekly basis, so when I have the opportunity to eat one, I want it to be good. Real good. And to me, that’s accomplished when you use good, organic, grass fed beef, a nice strong cheese and a simple bun.

Over the weekend, RM and I grilled on my back deck and when I was going to the store to get the necessities, he specifically requested “those white buns, the cheap ones, with sesame seeds on top.” Granted, my first thought was “you’re kidding me, right?!”, because standard, basic, “cheap” white bread is not something we generally eat, but I have to say- it made for a pretty fantastic burger.

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The thing is, when you get all fancy with a super big, bulky, non-white roll, it generally ends up taking over the lead role (I initially wrote ‘roll’… subconscious pun intended??) in the dish. No offense to all you bun lovers out there- I want the meat (and cheese!) to be the start of the show. That’s what I’m most looking forward to when I have a burger. And even though that’s the case, it doesn’t mean I am about to order a bunless burger because where is the fun in that?! I often pick off the extra bread/roll for my burger, but there’s something to wonderful about grabbing a bunned burger and taking that first bite. Summer perfection, in my eyes! Served with a side of corn, pasta salad and/or chips and I’m pretty darn happy 🙂

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If you’re interested, here’s the “ingredients” list for the burgers we made over the weekend:

  • 1lb. organic, grass fed beef (ours was Angus and delicious)
  • 1/2 small onion, chopped very small
  • 1/2 chopped red pepper, chopped very small
  • garlic powder, salt & pepper, oregano and/or any other herbs/seasoning you prefer- to your liking (a few shakes for each is what I did)
  • 8 slices of block pepperjack cheese
  • 4 hamburger buns (we used standard Shaw’s brand white sesame seeded buns, but feel free to go a healthier route if you want!)

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Chop your pepper and onion and use your hands to mix the beef with the veggies and herbs/seasoning. If you want big burgers, create 4 equal size patties and grill ’em up! I ended up making 6 smaller size ones and we froze 2 so that we could have them on hand for the next time we wanted a spur of the moment burger.

Questions for you: Do you like cheeseburgers? Do you prefer fancy rolls, simple white rolls or no rolls? What’s your favorite thing to grill?

Weekending & Life Lately Catch-Up

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Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend 🙂 Mine was really pretty great and I actually took pictures so I thought I’d spend today sharing those with you! But, before I get to that, let’s catch up over the past couple of weeks. I can’t believe we’ve been back from Italy for over 3 weeks- seems like just yesterday we were packing up to go there.

  • I’ve been working out outside a lot- whether in the form of running or bootcamp style workouts. With the nicer weather upon us, I just want to be outside as much as possible!

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  • But, I’m also loving being back in the gym with weights and strength training! Feels so good to leave the gym with jello-feeling everything 🙂

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  • I’m participating in Neghar Fonooni’s Bikini Rebellion challenge this month and am more than obsessed with it. If you follow me on Instagram, then you’ve probably seen some very personal, “leave it all on the table” types of posts, which has been hard, but also really refreshing.
  • We’ve been loving healthy, light meals. In the heat, it’s awesome to throw something together quickly!

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  • My curly hair is back… BIG and back! I was afraid my curls were going away over the winter, but fear not… it was just the dry weather that made my hair less curly than usual!

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Ok, I really need a grill…

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Yeah, I mean, this meal came out SO good, but I think it would have totally topped the charts had I been able to cook it on a grill. Next gym paychecks go to: buying a grill! I don’t know how we survived all of last spring/summer/fall sans a grill, but I know that I won’t be able to do that this year. Maybe I can get my dad to go shopping with me for one (hint, hint).

Anyway, before I get into the details of the meal I made on Tuesday night, let’s chat about how much I have learned to LOVE Tuesday’s. Don’t get me wrong, I love teaching so much and love my current schedule of Monday’s, Wednesday’s, Thursday’s (double) and every other Saturday, but there is really nothing like the feeling I have all day on Tuesday knowing that I can go home right after work.  I also like that I have the option of working out or taking a rest day, pending on what I have going on after work, what my week of workouts looks like, and how I am feeling physically. The nice weather makes me want to work out more (ie: go running, walking, anything outside), so on Tuesday I got home relatively early (6:15- that never happens) and decided that I could squeeze in a quick 30 minute workout, focusing mostly on strength and core. 32 minutes later, I was done, ready for a shower, glass of wine and a meal I had planned out in my head since Sunday, so let’s get to it, right?!

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We New Englanders are finally experiencing the spring weather we have been waiting for since, oh, the past couple of months.  Along with the warmer, sunnier weather comes my craving for all things associated with grilling and BBQ’ing, so I decided to take one of my favorite grilling meals and make it in my oven.  And, you know what? It came out WAY better than I had hoped it would. I marinated the chicken overnight and I cannot describe in words how flavorful it was.  The shrimp was just OK, but the veggies, especially the mushrooms, more than made up for it. And, what’s not to love about corn on the cob and baked sweet potatoes?!

Chicken, Shrimp & Veggie Kabobs

For the chicken marinade:

  • 4 chicken breast tenders
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • ~1/4-1/3 cup white wine
  • ~1 tsp. ground pepper
  • ~1/2 tsp. sea salt
  • Few heavy shakes of Mrs. Dash

Veggies:

I cut up peppers, onion, zucchini, summer squash and mushrooms.  I didn’t measure, but I eye-balled about how many I thought I would need to make the skewers figuring there was really no right or wrong with how many I used.

Directions

1. Create the lemon-pepper marinade the night before and let the chicken sit in it for about 24 hours to get that really delicious lemon-pepper taste.

0292. The next day, when you’re ready to make the meal, pour yourself a glass of vino, get your apron on, and get to work!

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3. Pre-heat your oven to 375*, wrap your sweet potato in aluminum foil and place it in the oven right on the metal racks.

4. Cut up your veggies and chicken and arrange everything so you can easily skewer however you desire.

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031I created my kabobs by alternating veggies and chicken on some, veggies and shrimp on some and then for the leftover chicken, I just put all of the pieces on one skewer. I sprinkled on a little more pepper, sea salt, garlic powder and Mrs. Dash once the skewers were created.

5. Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes (watch closely because you could need more or less time depending on how you cut your veggies and chicken). While the kabobs are cooking, steam your corn.  I also had to finish off my baked potato in the microwave since I didn’t start it early enough.

032When everything is done, place on a plate, add some butter to your corn and sweet potato (yes, this is a must) and enjoy!

035Look at those colors!! My mouth was so happy as it tasted all of the different flavors in this dish, especially the chicken. Wow, was that good! I am so excited for leftovers and think I will probably put the kabobs on a salad for a work lunch this week.

Questions for you:Do you have a grill? Suggestions for a good, affordable, no-frills grill? What’s your favorite summer meal?