10.25.2010

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10.17.2010

In extraordinary hunger, I ate my dinner so fast I forgot to take a photo.  And it was certainly worth sharing.


Turkey Burger w/BBQ rub from Flea Market (awesome)
Little bit of mozzarella on top of said turkey burger
Turkey Burger placed on salad- not a bun- with Fat Free balsamic dressing.

I was inspired by Bobby Flay's topless burger- and it was just about as good at home as it was at the restaurant!!

10.16.2010

MAC N CHEESE PREMIER! Recipe will not be revealed, as it is property of my wonderful Grandma Barb.  Sorry!

I promised it would make an appearance, and it sure has.  This was by far the best batch to date, and not to brag or anything, but it was dammmmmmmn good.  I'm pretty sure that Sara, Jordan and Kevin would agree.

Saturday was a fabulous day in general.  I survived the full 18 mile run, took a nap with the cat (called a cat nap), cleaned up the place, hung out with Steph, decorated for Halloween (note the table runner!), baked muffins and brownies, perfected my mac-n-cheese recipe AND won Scategories.  Best. Game. Ever.  Okay well maybe not ever, but very fun.   The Phillies didn't quite win Saturday, but I forgave them because everything else was pretty darn awesome that day.

I wonder what will be for dinner tonight?!  I sense...chicken and vegetables!

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10.15.2010

Pre long run meal

Includes:
Edamame
Baby ravioli's with a bit of butter
Scrambled egg whites with fake pepperoni. 

Full of protein and all other sorts of good things.  I think it worked!

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10.14.2010

Sorry the picture is so horrible- it was late, I was cranky, and I didn't feel like messing with it.  

My neighborhood bar, St. Stephens Green has an awesome salad- the Isabelle Salad that has toasted goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and normally portobello mushrooms (I ask for Grilled Chicken instead).  Last night I didn't finish up at the gym until 9PM, which meant dinner was a lovely 1.5 hrs later thanks to my subway commute and need to shower.

Anyways food was delicious, and company was good too - I made my awesome neighbor Rob go with me.  I refuse to go to the restaurant/bar solo, especially when I want to be left alone!  Given my mood, I of course had to have a beer.  The bartender knows me, and every time I get to sample at least 4 of the beers on tap.  The choice last night was Southern Tier Pumking- like Pumpkin Pie in a glass!  Delicious, and perfect for just having one.  Tomorrow I have my big 18 mile run (the farthest so far!), so dinner tonight is going to be very important.  Anyone have any pre-race favorites?

10.13.2010

Left over taco salad!

Funny realization that was made after making and eating my dinner: the sour cream had expired 09/01/2010.  Whoops.  Looks like I'm still standing though!

Ingredients:
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Lil bit of cheese
- Salsa
- Sour Cream (Fat Free!)
- Turkey Taco meat!

10.12.2010

Fresh Field Green Salad

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce

Finally got the chance to meet up with my cousin Amy and her boyfriend Dan for dinner and drinks.  The lovely venue of choice?  Bellini Grill on 16th St somewhere near Locust.  It's a wonderful, hidden Italian BYOB.  Dinner was amazing- Kevin even showed everyone the cork trick and tried to get us a free meal out of it. 

Tips for success:  Go to www.Restaurant.com and buy a $25 gift certificate (don't complete the purchase without using a coupon code!! They ALWAYS have them from 50-80% off!).  We walked away paying less than $20 per person- including tip!!

 As I get further into my marathon training (going for 18 miles this Saturday), my meals will hopefully start including tons of protein & veggies.  Anyone have any good recommendations?

10.11.2010

TACO NIGHT!

Believe it or not, this was my first time (that I can recall) making taco meat!  It's quite easy, but because of my years of being a vegetarian in high school, and then having a dining hall for all 4 years of college, my cooking skills never fully developed (hence the blog). Why are tacos so delicious?  I have left overs in the fridge- regretting not bringing them in for lunch today.  MMMM tacos!  A healthier spin?  Ground turkey instead of ground beef.  Tastes just as good, but better for you!

What are your favorite taco toppings?  Mine- SOUR CREAM, the fat free kind of course.

10.10.2010

 Given that its about a week into October, I decided it was time for my monthly grocery shopping trip.  It takes hours, and lots of dollars, but it's worth it and will last me almost all the way through the month!  I usually head to Whole Foods for anything fresh, but for the basics, it's Path Mark all the way.  I mean boxes of spiral mac & cheese for $0.49?! That's what I'm talking about.

Now, my meal Sunday was nothing worth posting (had dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse), but I did bake some delicious cupcakes in celebration of the upcoming holiday- HALLOWEEN! Those bright pink foil cupcake liners are for Breast Cancer awareness- I thought they added a nice touch to the final product.  I even left a plate for my neighbor downstairs.  How nice was that?  Plus, I figured it's less I'll eat on my own...

Want to know what else is awesome?  Cookbooks.  I went to my favorite used bookstore on Saturday, and picked up 3 new cookbooks.  One is from Julia Child & Company! I am trying to continue to motivate myself to stop eating out (or eating boxes of macaroni and cheese) and cook delicious, non-frozen meals.  Step 1: TACO NIGHT tonight!

10.09.2010

 

Saturday night was pizza night!  Met Kevin at City View Pizza & Grill- the best cop watching restaurant in town!  We saw PA State Troopers, Fairmount Park Rangers, and Philly cops!  How much fun! After wandering around the city all day solo (and with Sara) I needed to fuel up before our big night on the town for Sara's Birthday!  Those nails holding that piece of pizza were newly manicured too.  What a great day!

10.08.2010

Dinner at Devils Alley with Liz...more to follow!

Alley Salad & Mac + Cheese with Tomato jam

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10.07.2010

What a very typical dinner guest!  That giant spray bottle on the table is supposed to be my weapon against Claddagh, but as you can see it doesn't work so well.  After most dinners, the table is wet, the cat is soaked, and the spray bottle is empty.  SOME DAY he will learn- I'm determined!!

So yesterday was a pretty nice evening.  Got home by 6, was running by 6:10 with my awesome neighbor Rob, and then met Kevin (with Rob in tow) at Whole Foods to pick up a "fresh dinner" by 7:30.  Now this is the fun part.  I decided in a furry that fresh just meant different frozen food.  I have very little motivation to cook for an hour at 8pm when I'm starving, so the best solution always seems to be grabbing a frozen meal (this was Amy's Spinach Pizza and Sweet Potato fries w/Chipotle seasoning + green beans because you ALWAYS need a vegetable- thanks Mom!).  I usually do this because conveniently by the time I get home and shower, Kevin's got dinner ready! We can discuss the deeper meaning of that later if you really insist. Anyways, the dinner was delicious, even though it wasn't as fresh as I had hoped.  PLUS it's apple cider season, a perfect drink to have with dinner.  Unless I'm drinking beer.

On schedule for tonight?  Dinner out with my best friend forever (bff) Liz at Devil's Alley!

10.06.2010

I don't kid.  Spiral mac-n-cheese from the box with Hebrew National 98% Fat Free hot dogs (two of course) mixed in.  Add my favorite condiments- ketchup, mustard, and hot sauce- and I had a lovely night to myself!  Add Teen Mom on Demand, and I was in a cheery mood.  I was incredibly tempted to order my usual from City View Pizza & Grill, Buffalo Chicken Cheesesteak with no bleu cheese on the sandwich, just on the side but I opted to save the money, and the walk to the restaurant to pick it up.  After an 8 mile run yesterday in the rainy cold, the last thing I wanted to do was move.

Key tips for success:

1) Don't follow the instructions on the box.  You've been making this since you were eight- you can do it!

2) Add those hot dogs right on in there- and do it while it's hot!  Some people are scared of the combo, but I promise it's delicious.

3) Do your best to keep any furry animals away from the stove. 

What's for dinner?

Welcome!  I'm glad you've taken a moment to check out my new blog.  You may have visited the old one before, http://abbydineen.blogspot.com/, but this is a whole new spin on me as a blogger.

For now, it's going to work a little something like this.  I'm going to do my best to blog about my dinner every day.  Hold off on your judgments- you'll see take-out, cereal (it's a favorite), nights out, Grandma Barb's homemade mac-n-cheese (also a favorite), mac-n-cheese from the box (spiral, from Wegman's is the best) and whatever else I cook up.  Some nights, the post will be a picture and a few word.  Others- maybe a bit more informative about the recipe and everything else going on in the big, bad real world.  I'd love for recipe suggestions, too! You post it, I'll do my best to make it and include it on this here site.

If you're new to me as a blogger, here's some key pieces of need to know information: I ramble, I really like using "-" in my posts, and it hurts my feelings when you don't comment.  I'm a recent Drexel graduate (as of June), and am finally living on my own with OUT 40 other freshmen girls.  No more RAing! I moved into a cute studio over in the Fairmount area in Philly, and commute to work every morning on the subway.  I have a kitten named Claddagh.  It's a male cat, even though you think his name is feminine. He doesn't mind. He's pretty involved in my dinner as much as I'd that not be the case. I'm also training for the November Philadelphia Marathon (that's the full 26.2 miles).  It's my first!

You'll probably learn a lot about Kevin too, whether he's on board with it or not.  We've been dating since August '09, and he will be the chef of a few of these dinners I'll be posting about.  

Stay tuned...I need to figure out what's for dinner tonight!