Day 312: New Recipe, New Dresses, Awesome Night!

Saturday I woke up around 10 and felt great sleeping in! I got up, had some cereal, and then got to work on photoshopping a pic of the birthday boy and his family for his gift! Austin put it on a zip, I cleaned up and then I headed over to the mall to get the picture developed, and stopped by Forever 21 and H&M for some great finds! Two dresses for $20, 1 top for $15, 1 dress for $10 and 1 and 1 dress for $5! Woo!

Click to make larger! I wore the dress in the middle for the b-day (heart dresses with pockets)!! I let the models show off the two on the left and right. Please know that they're not that short on me... at all - like 4" above the knee! haha

I also picked up a pair of cheapo sunglasses, then I headed home to cook a new recipe inspired by my friend Monica and using a new product: Trader Joe’s Quinoa! I call it Quinoa with Garlic Chicken & Veggies.



Here’s the recipe for two servings!

Chicken Breast, 8 oz.

Quinoa (dry) ½ cup

1 Can Fat-Free Swanson Chicken Broth, divided

56 grams Green bell peppers, diced

60 grams Tomatoes, diced

60 grams Red bell peppers, diced

60 grams Mushrooms, diced

1.5 oz. Fat-Free Feta Cheese

3 tsp Olive Oil, divided

2 tsp minced garlic

Fill pot with quinoa and 1 cup chicken broth. Once it boils, reduce to simmer, cover, and set timer for 12 minutes. Then get out two pans – one medium sized and one large. Spray both with nonstick olive oil spray, and add 1.5 tsp of olive oil to each pan. Set them both over medium. Add chicken seasoned with salt and pepper to the medium sized pan. Stir, adding ½ cup chicken broth. Cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 5-6 minutes. For the other pan, add garlic, then add all veggies. Stir until veggies are soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add chicken/broth mixture to veggie pan, add quinoa to veggie pan and pour the last of the chicken broth in. Sprinkle with feta and salt, and stir for 1-2 minutes. Then serve. Nutritional Information: 412 calories, 38 carbs, 12 fat grams and 39 protein grams.

It was so good and SO filling. I was super stuffed (in a good way) and am so glad my first attempt at Quinoa worked out thanks to Mon’s great tips about using chicken broth instead of water and tons of veggies with feta – YUM!

Afterwards we watched a couple of Veronica Mars and then it was time to get ready and head out to Andy/Mon’s, destination 1 before dinner at Taverna Plaka AKA greek food for Lincoln’s 30^th! The restaurant was fun! (i.e. lots of napkins being thrown, people dancing on tables, nasty liquorice-tasting shots, hummus eating, etc.) They had a great turnout and fun group – and the food was yummy too! I had 2 pieces of bread/hummus… then some eggplant spread and ½ a pita… then 1 chicken skewer with a small side salad and tzatziki sauce – nom nom nom. Afterwards we headed over to Frontpage News and the most fun band was playing – 90’s alternative! OMG we danced, sang, jumped up and down and yelled to classics including, but not limited to, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Buckcherry… I mean REALLY we had WAY too much fun and stayed until last call fo sho. I only have iPhone pics for now but here goes a few!

Mon bon outside at Tavera Plaka!

Me prepping for shot #2!


Brian brought a bottle of shots... oh my!

Austin being himself... weird :)

Yeah... need to work on my post-shot face.... I don't look happy-go-lucky at all

Once it was CLEARLY time to go we headed over to Andy/Mon’s for a sleepover! (i.e. me and Mon’s girl talk with Reuben while the boys CONTINUED drinking until after 3. ew. I tried to track and think I did a pretty good job!! Here goes: 2,458 calories, 226 carbs, 44 fat grams and 90 protein grams. Yes, I drank 866 calories in alcohol – LOVELY! Grrrr. But for real – I had a BLAST – such a good time with awesome friends. Eff it. Here’s what I ate.

Hope you all had wondermous Saturdays as well! I’ll post Sunday’s dealio tomorrow but, as you can imagine, it’s been a pretty slow day. I will say I made a yummy new recipe at lunch – Portobello Tetrazzini – and a new snack – Mozarella and Tomato Presses. YUM!