Friday, January 13, 2012

Updates

Well, I must say that technology is pretty awesome. I'm currently blogging in the car on my way home from Florida. Thanks to my fiance's (more on that in a second!) 4G mobile hotspot, it is possible to be super productive during this long car ride!

It has been a very busy couple of weeks!

Mike and I got engaged on December 23rd! We were on our way home to New York for Christmas, but he had been scheming and we ended up taking a pit stop at the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge, MA.


We spent Christmas Eve with Mike's family.


And Christmas Day with mine.


We came back to Boston, worked for a couple of days, and then were on the road again! We headed to Rochester for New Years to visit Mike's brother.  Those boys made some good food!



Back in the car again.  To Boston for a few days to work (geez, that work stuff really gets in the way).  And then we were off again! This time to Florida for a little vacation!




I had a great time in Florida. It was so nice to finally be able to relax for a couple of days. We have been on the go since before Christmas! Now, I have just one week left of my winter break, and then it's back to school.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Christmas Cheer

So, it's been awhile! School and life got busy and I just didn't have time to blog.  But now finals are over and I have a life again for about a month :)

I wanted to share some of the Christmassy things that have been keeping me sane this past month!

Our beautiful tree and fireplace!

New stockings!

Spinach, pomegranate, and walnut salad I made for the last day of class.

Cookie making factory!

Cookies!


Mike and I in front of our first Christmas tree.

Christmas card collection!

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Autumn Quinoa Bake

Sometimes I just randomly come up with really good recipe ideas.  Like today, I was in the car driving to work, thinking about what to make for dinner tonight, and then it hit me!  I wanted to use a butternut squash that I had on hand, and maybe incorporate some quinoa.  Then I decided that I should keep the autumn theme going and add some dried cranberries and feta cheese. The result? Delicious! You should definitely make this and serve it at/bring it to Thanksgiving dinner!





Autumn Quinoa Bake

2 cups quinoa, cooked in 4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup feta cheese
3/4 cup dried cranberries
roasted butternut squash, peeled and cubed
(add cinnamon and/or nutmeg as desired...I think next time I'll add some roasted pecans to the mix, too!)

Peel and cube the butternut squash and bake at 425F for about 35 minutes, until softened.  Meanwhile, cook the quinoa per package directions on the stove top.  Combine the quinoa and butternut squash, and add dried cranberries and feta cheese.  Bake for 10 minutes at 350F and serve!




Hope you try it and enjoy it!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Loving Bok Choy

Ever since I tried bok choy for the first time at Shabu Zen a couple of weeks ago, I've been wanting to make some of my own!


I sauteed tofu, bok choy, onions, mushrooms, and broccoli with some Trader Joe's Soyaki, and ended up with this delicious creation!



I have been so busy this past week. Can't stop, won't stop. I had 3 tests within 18 hours of each other on Monday and Tuesday. That was joyous. I am so glad to be done, and am just chugging away at some more assignments so I can hopefully have a fun and relaxing Thanksgiving break!

Off to play trivia!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Foodservice Day 1 & My Favorite Food

Today I started my foodservice internship at a local high school.  It was a good first day, and actually better than I had imagined.  I'm still very uncertain about which path I would like my career to take, but today surprisingly left me feeling way more interested in foodservice than I ever thought that I would be.  I should probably keep in mind that it was only my first day, but who knows!

I met with my preceptor, and she gave me a tour of the facility, told me her educational and career background, and then we spent some time doing a question and answer session so that I could answer some of the questions on my list of objectives.  Two things that I love about her job: she gets summers, holidays, and all school vacations off but gets paid for 12 months (!), and she gets to design menus, search for new recipes, and directly influence what kids are putting into their bodies for 2/3 meals per day!

This high school actually has a pretty impressive school lunch (and breakfast program).  The director (my preceptor) has been in her position for 11 years, and has really made some great changes to their program.  They have a main entree, hot sandwich, deli sandwiches (made-to-order), salad bar and various other options daily.  I get lunch for free when I'm interning (score!), so today I tested out the salad bar.  It's great!  There are over 30 toppings and also several options for protein, like teriyaki chicken, spicy chicken, hummus, sunflower seed butter, etc.

I got home and had a good portion of the afternoon available to get work done.  November is going to be a very busy and very stressful month.  I have 2 internships going on simultaneously, plus 3 projects, 3 tests within 20 hours of each other (and another test a week or so later), at least 2 papers, work, and other weekly school work.  Phew.

On the menu for tonight? My fave, pizza.  I think it's safe to say that we have pizza every week in this household.  It's good for the soul.  Tonight I made chicken, broccoli, and spinach pizza on this awesome pizza dough from Shaws. It gets all bubbly and delish.





When I was in kindergarten, each student was "star of the week" for one week of the school year.  This involved you making a poster of all of your favorite things, and bringing in a treat for the class.  My favorite day of the week used to be Tuesdays, because that is when I had dance class.  Um, let's just say that now, any days that start with an "S" get a thumbs up from me.  My favorite food in kindergarten was pancakes.  I still love those, but I really think pizza has taken the top spot.  I really like the trend of brick oven, artisan pizzas.  All of the different unique toppings and delicious crusts are fabulous.

As usual, back to the books!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Because All Soon-To-Be Professional Engineers Need Good Luck




...and a full belly of turkey meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and sauteed kale/spinach!

Good luck, Michael!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Hocus Pocus

So, clearly school has consumed my life.  There is just so much to do and so little time.  As an assignment for my Computers in Nutrition Education class, I have been working on designing a website about healthy eating and grocery shopping. Let me tell you--when there are outdated instructions on making the website, a list of very specific things to include in your website, and it is not something you are doing by choice, it isn't very fun. In fact, it's been quite a headache.

I also got another one of my internship placements this week.  I was placed in one of my first choices--a public school district pretty close by.  I think I will be working at both the middle school and the high school.  I will be doing an 18 hour orientation at the facility starting in November, and then next year, I will spend 7 weeks interning there.

Anyways, what else has been going on in my life?  I had a nice weekend.  I did some work, ate some pumpkin oatmeal, babysat for my favorite fur niece, Pixie, went to a nice 1.5 anniversary dinner, and picked some delicious apples. Not too shabby!





This weekend, Mike and I are headed to a wedding in CT. The wedding circuit never seems to stop for us.  I was just emailing with one of my friends today and she mentioned that she and her husband don't have any weddings to go to yet for next year. This made me realize that we already have 3 to go to next year! Crazy!

Tonight I made a sort of random but yummy dinner.  I had a baked sweet potato with pesto tofu pasta.  I'm pretty sure anything covered in pesto is delicious.




Okay, time to get some more work done and then probably watch Hocus Pocus! I love that movie.  It brings me back to my youth!
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