Monday, November 15, 2010

6.75 Miles, New Recipe, Book Review and New Dress

Thanks you guys! We DID have a great weekend - always a good time in Auburn with our friends and family!! Looks like you all had fun weekends too - i'm looking forward to a nice relaxing one this weekend - YAY! Happy Monday! It was raining and ugly here but whatevs - I didn't want it to get my mood down! I woke up feeling fairly well rested, fought traffic/rain into work and worked all a.m. During lunch, me and Stacy walked 4 miles and caught up on our weekends. Then it was just more work. Blah. After work I headed back to the gym (didn't want to AT ALL) but walked a quarter mile, ran 2 miles, walked a half mile, and did back and biceps! Then it was time a new recipe (i'll post later this week!) and for family movie night - yay! Not bad for a Monday!!

Friday I finished Sue Grafton's M is for Malice, part of her alphabet series. It was an audio book and was definitely a quick/easy listen. This one didn't captivate me as far as OMG I can't get out of the car until I know what happens next, but it did keep me engaged, had a lot of suspects to keep the twists coming and had a good mystery/surprise ending. I give it a 3.5/5 - and definitely plan to listen to more of these books as they're easy to follow with lots of reinforcement of characters, and just solid.

Last night I made two new recipes. One is a Mediterranean Wrap from eatingwell.com. Here is the recipe for four servings:
½ cup water
1/3 cup couscous
1 cup parsley
½ cup mint
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
¼ tsp salt, divided
¼ tsp pepper
1 pound chicken
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 cup chopped cucumber
4 10-inch spinach or sun-dried tomato tortillas

Bring water to boil. Stir in couscous and remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Meanwhile, combine parsley, mint, lemon juice, oil, garlic, 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper in a small bowl. Toss chicken tenders in a medium bowl with 1 tbsp of parsley mixture and the remaining 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Place tenders in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove from heat and cut into bite-sized pieces. Stir remaining parsley mixture into couscous, along with tomato and cucumber. Assemble wraps with a quarter of the couscous mixture and a quarter of the chicken. Roll like a burrito and cut in half.

Nutritional Information: 468 calories, 50 carbs, 13 fat grams and 35 protein grams.

Review: SUPER filling - I felt downright stuffed after eating which is great! I liked the addition of couscous and had truly forgotten how easy that is to cook! I like the fresh herbs and the addition of mint was really nice too. I think it will be even better after the flavors mingle overnight. (I put mine straight into the wrap last night - the rest are in tubs as I didn't want to wrap them up until read to eat to avoid sogginess). For now, i'd definitely make it again but it's not an absolute favorite. Again, want to see how it is after the flavors mingle. P.S. I think it looks even yummier in a spinach wrap with all of the pretty green. :)

Last but not least, here is a pic of a new Free People dress I got on sale!
It's covered in leaves! Also, the straps are suede and the dress is tiered (hard to tell in this pic). Anyway - I LOVE IT. Originally $168, on sale for $55 and, because I had a coupon and used my Macy's card, I got it for $47 including tax. Fab. It's still $74 at Nordstrom! I plan to wear it year round! This season, i'll wear it with my brown/cream tights, a fitted brown/cream long-sleeved shirt underneath with boots or booties. Plan to wear this week - yay!

Q: Do you ever winterize your dresses? I try to get patterns that are season neutral... but of course sometimes I love a bright yellow dress in the summertime, winterizing be damned!

Q: Do you like couscous? I'm a huge fan. I may actually like quinoa better though - but to me they're a lot alike!