Prep It

Reid had the day off due to the hurricane so we spent the day hanging out at home. He watched Matilda this morning and I went on a solo run! It was pretty awesome, though I do like running with the stroller too. It was a little windy but the sun was out and it actually got hot!

I put on the Glee Pandora station and three miles flew by. I didn’t wear my Garmin but it took me about 35 minutes. I wasn’t pushing it at all and walked when I felt like it. 😉 It was so relaxing, and just what I needed. My arms were still sore from the sun salutations yesterday so I skipped the weights afterwards.

When I made my lunch yesterday I cut up some extra veggies for another salad. I need to do this more often! I know it doesn’t take too much time to make a salad but it’s so convenient to have it ready to go in the fridge (I don’t really care for the salad mixes that you can buy). It makes healthy eating much more probable when it’s already prepared!

I made another crispy chicken salad with honey mustard.

And sipped an iced coffee…of course it was pumpkin.

Dinner also utilized pre-cut veggies. I bought this huge bag of chopped kale and it’s very handy! I need to add it to my next juice…you can really add it to anything! Kale is awesome! 🙂

Reid and I worked together in the kitchen and this zuppa toscana came together quickly.

This soup is my favorite but I really need to try something else…it’s the only one I ever make! We ate it with crusty bread and it was amazing.

This is really random but I ran to Rite Aid for some Halloween candy after Tilly went to sleep and picked up these tights…I got four pairs for $8.58! I love surprise deals and the colors are awesome, and they’re opaque! Reid has always said that I could shop in a convenience store and…it’s kind of true! It’s even worse now since a solo trip anywhere is a little treat and I wandered around the drug store for 30 minutes, just looking! 🙂

I’ll probably have some chocolate for dessert and then I’m going to crash. Maybe I’ve been getting too much sleep…I’ve been exhausted lately!

Any soup recipes that I should try?

Powering Through

I hope everyone is safe and sound!! We were very lucky and didn’t lose power at all, though people in the surrounding towns are still in the dark. I woke up this morning to the sun shining! It was a welcome sight.

Lunch and dinner yesterday weren’t anything special but they were good!

A honey mustard crispy chicken salad…

And four cheese ravioli with marinara. Both were premade for a quick and easy dinner. I didn’t really want to start making something and then lose power. Or that’s just the excuse I used to be lazy. 😉

Mint chocolate chip ice cream and a chocolate for dessert. The green kind, since the white kind just doesn’t taste as good.

I was kind of hoping to lose power so I had an excuse to eat the entire carton of ice cream for dinner…though we have a generator, so there’s that.

Matilda slept for almost 13 hours last night (a record) and we both woke up around 9…I think she likes sleep as much as I do! It’ll come back to bite us when we have to get her up for school. I think it’s also a guarantee that any future children will be up every hour for at least two years.

I made a sweet and salty breakfast of an english muffin with butter and greek yogurt with chocolate chips. Yeah, I could probably find a healthier topping but this is just so delicious!

If you’re in the area, do you have power? Any home damage?

Pumpkin Roll

It’s no secret that I love all things pumpkin. Baked goods, oatmeal, pancakes, coffee…I definitely get my fill while it’s in season! I had an open can of pumpkin that needed to be used up so I decided to make a pumpkin roll.

It was definitely easier that I thought it would be and came together quickly (though I made the cake one day and frosted it the next). I think I over baked it a little but it was still good. It’s a little more spongy than a regular cake as it needs to be rolled without cracking. I decided to make a cinnamon cream cheese filling to spice it up a little.

Give it a whirl for an easy, yet impressive, seasonal dessert! Or breakfast…we don’t judge!

Pumpkin Roll

 

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin

Whipped Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (Filling)

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cool whip or homemade whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan; line with wax paper. Grease and flour paper. Sprinkle a thin, cotton kitchen towel with powdered sugar.

For the cake, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Beat eggs and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until thick. Beat in pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture. Spread evenly into prepared pan.  Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until top of cake springs back when touched. Immediately loosen and turn cake onto prepared towel. Carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake and towel together, starting with narrow end. Cool on wire rack.

For the filling, beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the vanilla and cinnamon and combine. Slowly add the powdered sugar, mixing well after each addition until smooth. Fold in whipped topping.

Carefully unroll cooled cake. Spread evenly with prepared frosting. Reroll cake. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar, slice, and serve.

Source: Adapted from Very Best Baking

Weekend Wrap-Up

Some random pictures from the weekend…

Vanilla bean greek yogurt

It’s as awesome as it sounds. 

Apple, spinach, and carrot juice

 

So good I had it twice

Whipped cinnamon cream cheese frosting for a pumpkin roll

 

It was a delicious weekend… 😉

Breakfast this morning was a jalapeño egg wrap (two scrambled eggs, cheddar cheese, and jalapeños) and a glass of milk. 

Followed by some yoga while watching the weather…very zen. 😉

We are just waiting for Hurricane Sandy to hit…hopefully it won’t be too bad!

Stay safe!

Measurements

I ended up getting a bad headache last night so I didn’t get around to blogging. We just hung out around the house…not very exciting!

We are very low on groceries (I’m not sure we have even one slice of bread) so I made some eggs and hash browns. I picked these up to make for Reid during the week but they take a while to cook, and who feels like spending an extra 10 minutes on potatoes at 5:30 in the morning? Not me.

It was good, but greasy. 😉 I’m still not hungry 5 hours later…

Matilda and I hung out, played a little, and then it was bath time and nap time. Love baby toes!

I think she’s outgrowing her tub. 😦

I quickly whipped up the cake part of a pumpkin roll while she was sleeping…it smells delicious. And yes, I love pumpkin everything and get my fair share in this time of year.

Side note: does anyone else have this measuring cup?? It has just about every measurement you could ever need and it’s one of my favorite kitchen tools. I love it for stuff like pumpkin, ketchup, oil or honey since you just push the bottom up to get it out, rather than having to scrape out a measuring cup. My mom had one and I found this one at a garage sale…it’s probably an antique.

I pulled out the juicer so I think a fresh juice will serve as lunch…I need to balance out my greasy breakfast! I’m thinking carrot, apple, and spinach sounds good…then it’s off to the grocery store!

See you later!