Roasted Pepper Salad

I made a delish salad with leftovers tonight. 

3 cups chopped romaine

1 cup chopped bell peppers

3 oz leftover shredded rotisserie chicken

1 oz shredded white cheddar

1.5 oz cup of Naturally Fresh Lite Ranch

paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder to taste

toss bell peppers and chicken with olive oil and seasonings and put under the broiler about 7-8 minutes until the peppers begin to blacken. Toss with lettuce, cheese, dressing, and extra seasoning if desired. yum.

The Green Oatmeal Smoothie

I got the idea to make a green oatmeal smoothie after seeing some oatmeal smoothies on Pinterest. They all used berries as the fruit, which I didn't hate the thought of, but I rarely accept an idea as is. :) I decided to make a yummy oatmeal smoothie...so I devoted some time to it this morning.

Try #1: I used 2 oz. of avocado (1/2 of a regular Hass), 2 oz of banana (1 small), 1 cup ice, 1/2 cup steel-cut oats (that's all I keep in my house--smoothie recipes called for quick oats), 1 cup of fresh baby spinach, 1 cup vanilla coconut milk, 1 tbsp honey, and a generous dash of ground cinnamon. The overall taste wasn't bad, but the texture I could not handle. The steel cut oats did not blend up well. It tasted WICKED nutty and gritty. I tried to enjoy it but it wasn't happening. So I threw it down the sink and drove across the street to pick up quick oats.

Try #2: I used the same ingredients except a light 1/2 cup of quick "1 min" oats. I let it blend and blend and blend. I did not want that gritty taste. The result, I found delicious! I can't taste the avocado or spinach at all. The oats blended perfectly. Basically it tastes like banana-cinnamon oatmeal. It's very yummy! I wouldn't drink it on a day that I'm not working out because it's definitely higher calorie/carb/etc. than I allow myself for breakfast. :) But, quite good. I think next time I will make a smaller batch next time. This was waaaay to much, I didn't even end up able to finish one 16-oz glass and I still had a cup or so left besides the leftover in my glass!

I'm still thinking of making one with raspberries...bananas are high in carbs and sugar. I probably wouldn't put avocado in that one. That may happen next week :)

Official Green Oatmeal Smoothie Recipe (2-3 servings)
1 cup ice
1/2 Hass Avocado, chilled
1 small banana, ripe, chilled
1/2 cup quick oats
1 cup vanilla coconut milk
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 tbsp honey
dash (or two) ground cinnamon

Blend 2-3 minutes and enjoy!

Parmesan Asparagus

I love, love asparagus. Enough that I hereby dedicate this entire post to asparagus. :)

When I cook asparagus, I cut off a generous 2-3 inches at the bottom. Only the prime portion makes it to my plate! If I am making asparagus for myself, I spray it with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" spray, sprinkle on a tad of salt, pepper, and garlic, and broil on high for 3-4 minutes.

But not tonight. No. Tonight's asparagus will be shared with the husband, which means it will be delightfully prepared. Mmmm.. First I brush the asparagus with extra light-tasting olive oil. Next I sprinkle on Kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper. Then, I sprinkle on real grated parmesan cheese. This delicacy goes under the broiler about 4 minutes, until the cheese turns golden, and then it is ready to eat. For proportions--I use about 25-30 stalks of asparagus, 1 tbsp olive oil, and 2 tbsp parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper I just sprinkle on. Yum-O.

Silly Sunday

I thought of the most lame, boring, but (to me) funny thing today.

I realized that if I say "C'mere," my dog won't come to me.

He will only come to me if I say "Come."

Hahaha.

Perfect Cocoa

I was craving hot cocoa tonight...perhaps because I keep my house at 62 degrees all the time, so it constantly feels like winter inside. :)

I stirred and heated it "low and slow" and made homemade whipped cream for the top. I dusted it with cinnamon and added a few sugar pearls for decoration. Do I take this much hassle with everything? Yes, mostly. After all you kinda-sorta eat with your eyes, right??

Project Clean: Black Light Mission

Earlier in the week, I was convinced I could smell cat pee-pee near the litter box. Poor cat has a UTI again. However, I couldn't shake the question in my head of whether or not any pee was outside the box. I had it out for the cat. I coldly informed Rich that if there was ANY cat pee around the house, the cat would be GONE! Was the cat ever in for the laugh of his life.

We went to Wal-Mart together to pick up a 18" black light first. When I came home, I shut off every light in the house and shined my black light on every possible surface of every room. The good news, my living room, dining room, and bedrooms look pretty stinkin' good. :) Then I went into the kitchen. Oh my, the floor. The floor that I scrub weekly (on hands and knees) with floor cleaner--horrid. Streaks and "black light stains" everywhere. The cabinets also were very streaked and some spots on the walls. The washer and dryer area looks insane. It appears that detergent is somehow EVERYWHERE. But that was not the worst thing. I went into bathroom #1, where the cat litter box stays. It was, indeed, streaked and stained--but NOT with cat pee!! The black light illuminates *every* speck of dust, every water spot, every hard water stain, I mean EVERYTHING. Bathroom #2 was worse. I could hardly believe that both bathrooms appear relatively clean and orderly with the regular lights on. Frightening.

Rich kindly utilized his 6'5" frame to hold the black light for me as I scrubbed both bathrooms from ceiling to floor with hot bleach water. My hands feel like sandpaper now. It took me about an hour and a half to get the bathrooms to pass the "black light test." The kitchen is tomorrow's project. I am exhausted.

P.S. I did not find a single drop of cat pee anywhere but the litter box. I was trying to dig up some dirt on the cat, and ended up incriminating the humans. Smooth move, genius.

P.P.S. I have added monthly "black light cleaning" to my chore list. It was life changing. Whether it's true or not I now feel that I can "breathe better."

Cheesy Penne

Lately I've been cooking "man food" and "chick food." My husband would not appreciate it if I asked him to eat what I eat...the first spinach salad would send him running for our local drive-thru. I've been making dinners for him and then he eats the leftovers the next day. Tonight I made Cheesy Penne which is a hit in our house. I originally got the recipe from Claire Robinson's "5 Ingredient Fix" and I make it every couple of months. It's so, so simple. I have to admit I change the recipe according to whatever I have on hand and I always use a bit more dijon than is called for. If you've read my blog before you'll know that I am really, really bad at measuring things. Just pour, stir, and taste. :)

My recipe for Cheesy Penne

2-1/2 cups cooked penne pasta, al dente (today I used rotini--salt your water liberally!)
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
4 oz. grated white cheddar
1 oz. fresh grated parmesan
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 oz grated sharp cheddar
1 oz grated mozzarella
kosher salt
pepper
seasoning salt
paprika

Set the cooked pasta aside. Over low heat, whisk together the milk and mustard. Add the cream and stir for about 1 minute. Add the cheeses, one at a time, whisking until melted. Add the pasta and season to taste. Serve warm or reheat later but add 1 tbsp milk to reheat!

I enjoyed a couple of bites while I was seasoning. Mmmm. In a perfect world I'd be able to eat cheesy penne and simultaneously be a size 8. :)

VIEW THE ORGINAL FIVE-INGREDIENT RECIPE HERE. IT IS DELICIOUS!