Category Archives: Recipes

Spectacular Views + A New Week

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Happy happy Monday! What a cold morning to get the week going, I’m already wishing I was back on the mountain!

Happy birthday, Dad!

My amazing dad is 57 today! He is such a great man, and has been a role model of perseverance, trust, and love through my life. Here’s to many more years! Happy birthday, Dad! Love you lots!

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Weekend

This was just a glimpse of my weekend view. It was spectacular!

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The weekend at Wintergreen Resort (although we stayed in a rented house) was so relaxing and lots of fun! Here’s a couple pics to sum up the weekend:

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  1. Beer tasting at Devils Backbone Brewery
  2. The mass amount of meat, cheeses, dips, chips, and bread that we snacked on after our wine/beer tasting tour
  3. The two bottles of wine I bought at Wintergreen Vineyard
  4. The cool cabbage plant and Devils Backbone Brewery signage
  5. Enjoying the best pumpkin beer I’ve ever had via Devils Backbone Brewery

Work Week Meals

Since I was out of town, and driving home on Sunday, I planned out meals and grocery shopped when I got home. Here’s what we’re having this week:

Mon Tues Wed Thurs Fri
Breakfast Eggs + Turkey Bacon Eggs + Turkey Bacon Eggs + Turkey Bacon Eggs + Turkey Bacon Eggs + Turkey Bacon
Lunch Chipotle Chicken Salad on lettuce with avocado Chipotle Chicken Salad on lettuce with avocado Chipotle Chicken Salad on lettuce with avocado Chipotle Chicken Salad on lettuce with avocado Chipotle Chicken Salad on lettuce with avocado
Dinner Steaks + Acorn Squash Leftovers from last week Wedding food tasting!! Open-mouthed smile Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf with Roasted Broccoli Chicken Tenders
Snacks Apples Apples Apples Apples Apples

One quick note regarding the chipotle chicken salad via Simply Scratch which you may have seen me post on instagram (julie_quinn)… go make this now! It is so delicious and a great change of pace for lunches.

Workouts

When the fiancé asked me last night if I wanted to workout, I didn’t even hesitate to say no. I knew after the enjoyable weekend I had, the gym must be my friend this week! It’s all about balance right ;)

This morning I did the Monday GPP workout, and holy cow…this workout was a chest burner! Since I am new to the whole GPP workouts, I have been modifying, so the workout for me was about half of what was prescribed, and thank goodness. Overall, it felt to be back in the gym and get a good sweat in! Looking forward to a full week of workouts (and sweating).

QA:

1. How was your weekend? What’d you do?

2. What kind of meals are you eating this week?

3. What does your workouts look like this week?

Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini Boats

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Man, did I make a good dinner tonight (if I have to say so myself!)!

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Based off this recipe via Skinny Taste: http://www.skinnytaste.com/2012/07/sausage-stuffed-zucchini-boats.html

My only tweak to the recipe… I used ground turkey meat instead of sausage! Otherwise, followed it as detailed in the link.

QA: What’s your favorite new recipe?

Italian Salsa & Pork Chops

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Sometimes you just don’t have much in your fridge/freezer. This is one of those times. This is also a time when I decided to make up a recipe, and it turned out really good. Thank you Italian genes for pulling me through and coming up with an Italian salsa (of sorts). 

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As I put my ingredients into the pan, it started to smoke. I have this very natural fear of fire, and every time a pan starts to smoke because I haven’t properly cleaned the grease off it, I get anxiety. So first I turn the burner back off and pull the pan off stove. I make sure it’s just grease burning off, then I grab a salt shaker and prepare to dump it on the burner, then I curse myself for not having bought a fire extinguisher yet! I can’t handle the anxiety any longer. Extinguisher is being bought this weekend if it’s the last thing I do. The pan goes back onto the stove and cooks.

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While ingredients are cooking on the stove, pork chops are drenched in basting oil, and stuck into the oven. Like my countertops? me too… not. Can’t wait to go Young House Love on a house I own.

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While the chops are cooking, you try to not eat the delectableness in the pan on the stove. I couldn’t stop nibbling on it… SO GOOD. I could have eaten a whole bowl of just that, but I didn’t.

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I took the ingredients and carefully spooned it over the perfectly cooked pork chop. If you’ve ever cooked pork, you probably know that pork is so temperamental! That stuff will over cook in a matter of seconds, and luckily I took it out of the oven seconds before it over cooked.

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ITALIAN SALSA & PORK CHOPS

Ingredients:

  • 1tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 green pepper
  • 1/2 red pepper
  • 1/2 yellow onion
  • 3 tbsp bacon bits
  • 2 tbsp sundried tomatoes
  • chopped garlic
  • pinch s + p
  • 2 pork chops
  • basting oil
  • 2 sprinkles of parmesan cheese
  1. Turn oven to 350
  2. Warm olive oil in large frying pan on medium
  3. Once oil is warm, place diced onions and peppers, bacon bits, sundried tomatoes, chopped garlic, pinch of s+p into frying pan (creating Italian Salsa)
  4. Let cook until vegetables become soft, continually stirring
  5. In the meantime, pour a small amount of basting oil in the bottom of a 8×8 baking dish, place pork chops on top of basting oil, and pour more basting oil on top of pork chops
  6. Cook pork chops for 30 minutes (this depends on thickness and size of pork chops)
  7. Take pork chops out of the oven when done, and top with Italian Salsa
  8. Mangia, Mangia!!