Pasta Slim and MorningStar Farms Tomato and Basil Pizza Burgers

This is what I made for dinner tonight:

A very appetizing dinner, no?

Yeah, I didn’t think so either. It looks like what I imagine Frankenstein’s intestines look like.

Green and bloody. Although I’m not really sure if Frankenstein has blood…

Anyways!

I made Spinach Fettuccine Pasta Slim topped with marinara, a crumbled MorningStar Tomato and Basil Burger, and Parmesan.

Pasta Slim is a low carb alternative to traditional pasta. It’s a Japanese noodle made from tofu, traditionally called tofu shirataki. When these noodles first hit the market there were only a couple different brands, but now there are many brands and varieties of shirataki noodles.

This was my first experience with shirataki noodles. I was excited to try Pasta Slim specifically because they claim their noodles don’t have to be rinsed like other shirataki noodles. (Typically shirataki noodles come in a fishy smelling liquid. They must be rinsed and excess moisture must be pressed out of the noodles before cooking.) However, right when I opened the bag, I knew I would have to prep the noodles. The fishy smell was d.i.s.g.u.s.t.i.n.g.

I rinsed the noodles for about a minute under hot water. Then I pressed out the moisture with paper towels. I was still a little afraid of ending up with fishy tasting noodles, so I sauteed the noodles in a hot, dry pan to evaporate any moisture the paper towels didn’t get. Then I sprinkled the noodles with salt, oregano, and garlic powder. By then, my noodles were smelling quite good, so I set them aside to prep my sauce.

I’ve eaten this burger plain, and it’s quite good. I like that they have 10g of protein, but I don’t like the super long ingredient list. Frozen veggie burgers definitely aren’t the cleanest, least processed food, but they’re quick and easy.

I cooked the burger as directed by the package instructions. They can be microwaved, so that wasn’t too hard. Then I chopped the burger into little pieces and put it in a pot with a jar of pasta sauce. I added the noodles to the same pot, letting everything warm up. Then I dumped it all out onto a plate and topped it with Parmesan cheese.
So what did I think?

This meal was okay.

I kind of had an issue with the texture of the noodles. They were chewy as you might imagine a noodle made out of tofu would be. I kind of got used to the texture as I ate more of the noodles. By my last bite I was much more okay with the chewiness. The noodles tasted fine though, which was really my biggest concern going into the meal.

I really, really loved the addition of the veggie burger to the pasta sauce. It was such a quick, easy, and really delicious way to add some protein to the meal.

I was actually pretty full and satisfied from this meal, although I don’t know if I would ever make it again. I would definitely add this particular veggie burger to pasta sauce, but I’d use it to top whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash. The tofu noodles just weren’t my thing. I’m glad I finally tried them though!

Have you tried tofu shirataki?

Do you have a favorite frozen veggie burger or veggie burger recipe?

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve eaten recently?

XOXO,

Jamie

 

Baked Wonton Ravioli

Today I had the pleasure of cooking dinner for the family I’m staying with this summer. I had a bunch of wonton wrappers left over from my blueberry tartlets, and I wanted to use them up. I came across a recipe on the Nasoya website for spinach ravioli that sounded really great, so I gave it a go!

What I love about this ravioli is the high protein content which comes from the addition of tofu to the filling. Making each of the raviolis seems like a long, time-consuming process, but it’s really not! It probably took me about a half hour to make the filling and assemble the raviolis. Then they simply go in the oven for about 10-15 minutes, during which time you can do the dishes and prepare a salad.

The wonton wrappers give the ravioli a nice crunch that you don’t get from normal pasta. The tofu filling makes for a great meatless meal that’s still high in protein. And to those of you who are wary about tofu, you can’t even taste it! The filling really just tastes like ricotta and pecorino romano cheese.

I really enjoyed this meal, and I would definitely make it again. Emily’s family complimented me quite a bit on it, so I think they truly enjoyed it as well. In fact, Emily said, “This is really hitting the spot.” I love when people enjoy the food I’ve made!

Baked Wonton Ravioli

recipe from Nasoya.com

Ingredients:
1 pkg Nasoya Won Ton or Round Wraps
1 pkg Nasoya Firm Tofu
10 oz fresh spinach (I actually used 10 oz frozen spinach that I thawed in the microwave)
15 oz ricotta cheese
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Preparation Method: Cook spinach with 2 tbsp of water in the microwave or on the stovetop for 5 minutes or until just wilted. Let cool and drain excess water. Place tofu in food processor and pulse until it is pureed. Add the ricotta cheese, pulse until combined, then add spinach and grated cheese and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or spray sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Take a wrap and place approximately 2 tbsp of mixture in the center if each wrap. Do not place filling near the edge. Use a pastry brush dipped in water and brush edges of wrap. Place a second wrap on top, then crimp edges together tightly with your fingers or the tines of a fork. Brush ravioli lightly with olive oil.

Bake in 375° F oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve ravioli with your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.

Have you ever used wonton wrappers? If so, for what?

XOXO,

Jamie

Charlie’s Dad’s Quick but AMAZING Spaghetti Sauce

whew. That’s quite the mouthful.

Last weekend Charlie and I planned to cook his dad’s spaghetti sauce recipe and have a romantic Italian dinner for two.

á la Lady and the Tramp.

Okay, so honestly the first thing I thought of when Charlie talked about cooking a spaghetti dinner was this scene in Lady in the Tramp. Can you blame a girl!? Back in the day this scene made my 8-year-old heat melt to a puddle on the floor. Okay, if I’m still being honest, it still makes my heart melt.

Also, I’ve seen Lady in the Tramp approximately 239480203 times. It was one of Taylor’s absolute favorite’s growing up.

Okay, back to reality. I was super excited about cooking this recipe for several reasons. One, Charlie said it was delicious and I love delicious food. Two, as we’ve already established, spaghetti is weirdly romantic. Three, a man in the kitchen is insanely sexy.

I had a great time cooking with Charlie. He taught me how to properly use a knife, and I taught him that the palm of one’s hand is an extremely accurate measuring spoon. Also, the spaghetti sauce really WAS as good as he said it was. It comes together super quickly too.

Dad’s Quick but Delicious Spaghetti Sauce

For a vegetarian version, just leave the meat out and substitute Kalamata olives, red or green peppers, mushrooms, or other vegetables

Ingredients

One 15 oz can of chopped tomatoes, with the liquid 470 ml
One 8 oz can of tomato sauce 240 ml
One 6 oz can of tomato paste 180 ml
(NO garlic or seasoning in the above, just plain!)
1 lb or a bit less of very lean hamburger (or ground turkey) ½ kg or less
2 teaspoons olive oil 10 ml
One medium to large yellow onion
2 large cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil 5 ml
1 teaspoon dried oregano 5 ml
1 large bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 oz dry red wine (essential!) 180 ml

Instructions
1. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Saute together in the oil until the onion is translucent.

2. Add the meat and saute and fully cooked. Drain off any fat or oil that you can capture.

3. Add all the other ingredients, stir together.

4. Simmer for 30-­‐40 minutes…or even just 20 minutes, if you are in hurry.

What’s the most romantic date you’ve ever had?

XOXO,

Jamie

Brinner

I love breakfast, but I especially love breakfast for dinner.

Enter, brinner:

Tonight’s dinner was three pieces of cinnamon french toast topped with vanilla yogurt and syrup! For me and probably the rest of the world, dinner is usually a more savory meal. However, today my sweet tooth was raging, so I went with it! The warm syrup made the yogurt all melty and yummy.

Okay, now this picture just cracks me up. I am the kind of person who continually adds more syrup to my french toast/pancakes/waffles as I eat them. So of course, when I got to my last piece of french toast, I needed more syrup. I poured the syrup in one spot, and accidentally made my yogurt/syrup look like a fried egg! Don’t you think so?! I love food that looks like other food. Meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting anyone?

So that was my most exciting eat of the day. Now onto other things…

Today was a super happy day. I took a scary exam this morning that I’m so thankful to have behind me. The last week or so has been really stressful and busy. Today I finally felt the return of normalcy (which will be short-lived thanks to my approaching final exams). The weather was beautiful! I was able to just lay out in the sun, relax, and clear my mind for a little while.

But even on beautiful, relaxing days, I still have to make time for academics.

This is my friend and I in bio-organic chemistry lecture today. We should probably pay better attention so that we don’t have to repeat the labs five times each before getting them right….

Nah.

This is a page from today’s bio-organic chemistry notes. After I took this picture, I was thinking to myself, “When did I become such a bad student? I was so studious in high school…” Then I realized…no, I was exactly the same in high school. I just had all the teachers fooled into thinking I was studious! I admit it, I fell asleep in Spanish 4 every day. Also, I may have skipped VHS on occasion for coffee.

Oh who am I kidding…I’m hardly a slacker.

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! I might be setting a new personal distance record on Saturday, so I will let you all know how that goes!

XOXO,

Jamie

A Random Assortment of Eats and Life

This semester is out of control. It’s without a doubt the most academically challenging I’ve had so far in my undergraduate career, and on top of that, I am a TA and a research assistant. Sleep has been my best friend this semester.

Sleep and running. They will keep me sane.

Because of the major mental energy that has went into memorizing all the skull bones, vertebral columns, and pelvic girdle of every living vertebrate class, I have no brainpower left to form a cohesive blog post. Enjoy the random assortment of eats, life tid-bits, and whatever else comes to my mind.

These are carrot fries. You should welcome them into your life.  To make them, cut up carrots into thin french fry shapes (or be lazy like me and buy carrots already thinly sliced). I lightly coated the carrots with olive oil and salt. You can add other seasonings and get creative with it, but I just wanted to stick to the basics my first time. I baked on 425 for about 35 minutes. They turn out crispy on the outside like french fries. Trust me on this, these veggies are so good any kid will eat them.

This is my frozen hot chocolate which was consumed after a 7 mile ride on the stationary bike. It is the perfect post-workout food! Check out the recipe under my recipe tab.

Yes, I managed to do about 7 miles on the stationary bike. Which is amazing because I normally get bored on gym machines. How did I manage to keep myself glued to the bike so long? Well…I kept myself glued to a good book at the same time of course!

[source]

I bought this book on a whim yesterday (with my parents’ money….Thanks mom!) In my defense, there are much worse things I could spend $8 dollars on and much worse things I could do with my time than reading dystopian fictions written for teenagers. I’ve been thinking about reading this book ever since I heard it recommended to people who love The Hunger Games. I’m only 50 pages in and its great already. Can’t wait to squeeze in some reading time tomorrow.

Breakfast was for dinner tonight. I love breakfast. I also love eggs because they are so beyond quick and easy and satisfying. It took me about 5 minutes to make this dinner. Not too shabby. Haven’t done the dishes yet though…

I want this shirt in sapphire. You can check it out here. It’s from www.onemoremilerunning.com

And with that, I’m off to bed.

XOXO,

Jamie

 

Mock Chipotle+The Beginning of the Semester

I made it through the first week of the semester! My classes are definitely rigorous this semester. My schedule includes bioorganic chemistry, vertebrate structure and evolution, human origins, and running conditioning. My favorite class is (by far) running conditioning. In our mile pre-test on Wednesday I ran an 8:45 mile. That’s actually faster than I thought I could run a mile. Our goal for the 9 week course is to improve our time by 15%. That means my goal is about a 7:26 mile. Regardless of whether or not I meet my goal, I’m having a fabulous time in the class. It’s been great to work-out with a group of people. I feel like I’m on a sports team again like I was in high school

Anyways, Darren visited me last weekend to celebrate Valentine’s Day early and also to go snowboarding. Darren did an amazing job this V-day. He always calls me his princess, so for my present he got me colored pencils and a Disney Princess coloring book. How thoughtful! For dinner Saturday night I made mock Chipotle.

I made cilantro lime rice by making quick cook rice as per the package directions and stirring in Goya Cilantro Seasoning Base and lime juice. The rice tasted so similar to Chipotle’s! I topped the rice with black beans, shredded lettuce, cheese, and salsa. This was such an easy and delicious meal. It took about 10 minutes to throw together and Darren loved it. He ate two plates full, and he is going to buy ingredients to make his own mock Chipotle tomorrow.

After dinner, we took a walk downtown for coffee. On the way, we spotted these gorgeous ice sculptures.

Random displays of beauty: one of the many reasons I love Oberlin.

What’s the most fabulous thing you’ve eaten recently?

Mine is probably the bean burrito I made for lunch with my mock Chipotle leftovers.

How have you been de-stressing lately?

I’ve been running, reading blogs, and watching trashy television. There’s nothing a few episodes of Desperate Housewives can’t cure.

XOXO,

Jamie

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna: A great fall dish!

Darren and I love to cook together. I give Darren all the hard tasks involving knives while I get to do all the fun, easy stuff! I’m pretty sure using sharp knives makes him feel manly though, so he doesn’t mind. I also love to bake with Darren, but I’m not sure Darren enjoys it quite as much as cooking. I’m very particular with my baking methods. I tend to bark orders at my baking assistants and then end up doing everything myself when their measuring, mixing, piping, etc. doesn’t live up to my perfectionist standards.

Darren visited me this weekend, so naturally, cooking and baking adventures ensued. We made a delicious spaghetti squash lasagna, yummy pumpkin muffins (which I will post the recipe to soon), and terrible pumpkin pancakes. I will spare you my recipe for the failed pumpkin pancakes. They were terrible. So yucky. I don’t know how I managed to make pancakes taste so bad!

Anyways, enough talk of failure, and onto the successes!

This spaghetti squash lasagna was so delicious. It had all the great flavors of traditional lasagna, just with spaghetti squash instead of noodles. This entire pan was gone within 24 hours. Needless to say, this recipe was a winner with both me and Darren. If Darren loves a recipe, it’s totally man approved. Just don’t tell your man how super healthy it is It will be our secret.

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

Recipe by SkinnyTaste

Ingredients:

• 2 cups marinara sauce
• 3 cups cooked roasted spaghetti squash
• 1 cup part skim ricotta
• 8 tsp parmesan cheese
• 6 oz part skim shredded mozzarella (I used Sargento)

Preheat oven to 375°.

In a 9x 13, ladle 1 cup quick marinara sauce on the bottom of each dish. Top with of cooked spaghetti squash and spread evenly. Top each with 1 cup ricotta.

Sprinkle 4 teaspoons of grated parmesan cheese and 3 oz mozzarella on each.  Add the remaining sauce, parmesan and mozzarella cheese.

Cover with foil and bake for 15 – 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges begin to bubble; uncover and cook an additional 5 minutes.

Stay tuned for those pumpkin muffins!

It’s WIAW time again :)

Hello lovelies!

These are my eats from Wednesday Tuesday!

Breakfast:

Chocolate Oats!

To make these oats, I prepared my oats as normal. When they were done cooking, I added two tablespoons cocoa powder, lots of sugar, a splash of coconut milk, and a dollop of whipped cream on top! Everything is better with whipped cream!

Lunch:

Grilled Turkey Sandwich with Laughing Cow Light cheese.

Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger Tea

Wheat puffs with vanilla yogurt and cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Snack: Lots of jelly beans that I forgot to take a picture of before I devoured them! I needed a sugar rush before my three hour stint shadowing Doc (I will now refer to the Doctor I’m shadowing by the name Doc because it conceals his identity, and it prevents me from having to repeat the phrase “the doctor I’m shadowing”….whew)

Dinner:

Veggies and white beans sauteed with a wedge of Laughing Cow Light

Hot Chocolate with whipped cream! I’ve been on a whipped cream kick lately. Yummmmm.

And now I’m off to probably make a smoothie or some other delicious snack. I’ve been revising a problem set for the last hour and I’m still on the first question. I need brain food…majorly.

XOXO,

Jamie

All Good Things Come to an End

Don’t you wish you could relive all the wonderful times in your life? I know I do! I had the most fabulous weekend, and I so wish it wasn’t almost over. My amazing boyfriend Darren visited me here at Oberlin.

This is actually an old picture from when he drove all the way to South Carolina to visit me last January. That is another weekend I wish I could re-live over and over. I think quite a lot of the joy in my life comes from my amazing man. (This isn’t getting too lovey-dovey for ya’ll I hope!)

Anyways, this weekend was great! Darren got here Friday evening, and we cooked a nice dinner. Of course, before dinner, we had dessert!

Yes, we had dessert before dinner. Why? Because this is my apartment, and I make the rules. Actually I was starving while dinner was cooking, and I terribly needed something to assuage the empty pit in my stomach. I made these “Grown-Up” Mocha Mudslide Milkshakes. These milkshakes consisted of mocha mudslide flavored ice cream (any chocolate or coffee flavored ice cream would work), coconut milk, whipped cream, and…..Bailey’s. The last ingredient is obviously optional. However, my belief is that unless you have an allergy, an intolerance, or a chemical dependency (such as alcoholism), every food or beverage is fine in moderation. Neither Darren nor I binge drink, but we do like to indulge in a glass or wine or delicious cocktail (such as this milkshake!) every once in a while.  To make these milkshakes we just used a blender to mix the ice cream, milk, and Bailey’s, and topped them with whipped cream. Yum! These made the perfect appetizer for dinner.

I served this black bean casserole as a salad for dinner. The next day for lunch, we ate the left overs on tortillas. I think it was even better the next day!

Southwest Black Bean Casserole

adapted from pinchofyum

Ingredients

• 1/2 chopped onion
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I actually used mozzarella because it’s all I had on hand)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add onions to the pan and saute until browned.
3. Add salt, cumin, red pepper, and garlic. Saute for 1 minute, stirring constantly (I added a tablespoon or two of water to keep things from sticking in the pan.)
4. Stir in broth and black beans. Bring mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Mash beans to desired consistency.
5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top tomato sauce and cheese. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for atleast 10 minutes (otherwise it will be too runny).
6. Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, over rice, on tacos, on a salad, or just eat it plain!

Such a yummy dinner. Darren and I went to an American Folk-Jazz concert Friday night. I love all the free concerts at Oberlin. Then we headed to bed early because I took a practice MCAT Saturday morning. The test went surprisingly well. I’m really pleased with how I did, especially considering it was my first practice test.

After my test, we watched a bit of the Michigan football game, ate lunch, napped, then headed to dinner and the mall.

I had this for dinner. It was Bob Evan’s cinnamon stuffed pancakes. I was totally in a sugar coma after these. I don’t get to Bob Evan’s very much though, and I absolutely adore these pancakes. At the mall, Darren bought a new pair of shoes. He doesn’t spend money on himself very often, so I like when he does. He deserves it!

This morning, Darren and I went for a walk around campus and said our goodbyes. It’s always hard for me when he leaves. I get to see him again in 3 weeks. So until then, there will be skype, phone calls, and reliving all the wonderful time we’ve spent together.

XOXO,

Jamie

The semester is finally getting underway

The semester is finally really starting up. My classes are in full swing. I’ve got plenty of assignments to keep me busy. I’ve started shadowing a local pediatrician. My first day was last week, and I absolutely loved it. And my research job is getting underway. I, along with two professors, am studying abortion discourse in Kenya revolving around their new constitution which has a more progressive abortion law (although abortion is still illegal there except when the health of the mother is at stake).

A busy girl needs lots of fuel, so here’s a few of my recent eats:

Friday, my roommate (and amazing friend), Emma bought a popcorn popper. You just pour kernels in and it pops them! Besides getting to eat delicious (and healthy) popcorn, you also get the added entertainment of watching popcorn fly from the chute. This girl is easily entertained, obviously.

This morning’s breakfast: pumpkin pie oats! I love that canned pumpkin is finally hitting the shelves! This oatmeal consisted of 1/2 cup oats cooked in 1 1/2 cups water on the stove. Once my oats were at the thick, pasty consistency I love, I added 1/2 cup pure canned pumpkin puree, 2 tsp cinnamon (I love cinnamon!), and a packet of splenda.

Now, what is that shiny stuff on top of my oatmeal? MAPLE SYRUP! I drizzled maple syrup on top of my oats, and microwaved the whole bowl for about 15 seconds to warm up the syrup. The syrup takes this bowl of oatmeal from amazing to “omg I love fall and pumpkin and syrup in all its glorious amazingnessssssssss.“

This evening’s dinner: a grilled chicken breast, shredded and combined with about 2 cups of sauteed veggies (bell peppers, brocolli, carrots, mushrooms) and topped with a lot of Parmesan cheese. I love pairing tons of veggies with any form of protein.

Alright, well I have a lot of background reading to tackle for my research project, so everyone enjoy their Monday evening! Dancing with the Stars premieres tonight! <—- totally going to use this as a homework distraction.

Have you eaten any foods recently that remind you of fall or the holiday season?

Do you use television as a distraction?

What show are you super excited for this fall?

XOXO,

Jamie