WIAW: Pumpkin Risotto {20 Minute Pantry Meal!}

Hello!!  Happy Wednesday!  We are halfway through the week--yay!

I expect most people are feeling a cold front in their neck of the woods.

Although I really don't know for sure.  I should do some research, but I think I'll just ride on that assumption ;) #lazyblogger

So, with assumed cold fronts coming your way, I'm sure you are in need of some comfort foods!  I have a million...no, probably not even 50, but whatever...comfort food fall recipes on the blog.  Feel free to search over there on the right side of the page for fall recipes to get you all warm and toasty.

But for anyone without the extra time for searching through my poorly organized recipes, I bring you another 20 minute meal!  This time it's pumpkin risotto!!! We'll get to that.  First, let's discuss the eats for the day...

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Breakfast: Healthy Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes

These oatmeal cookie pancakes are super dense and healthy, but also delicious.
For breakfast, I whipped up a batch using 1 mashed banana, 1/2-3/4 cup of quick oats (I did not measure), 3 tbsp egg substitute and about 1/4 cup almond milk.  After all was mixed together, I just scooped out 1/2 cup portions onto the oiled griddle and cooked until they were brown on both sides.
I added some thawed (frozen) blueberries on the top and sugar free syrup.  Yum!
Also, I had 2 cups of coffee.

Morning Snack: Yogurt

For snack, I actually ate a yogurt.  I like yogurt alot, but it is one of those things that never sounds very appetizing to me.  So, this container has been sitting in the work fridge for a week, while I just ignored it.  But, today, I topped it with the remaining blueberries (from breakfast) and it was so super tasty.  Makes me wonder why I never want it as a snack.

Lunch: Fish Taco & Soup

For lunch, I made my boyfriend and I some leftover fish tacos and we split a can of Italian wedding soup.  Kind of a random meal, but it was filling and quite delectable.
On the taco--blackened tilapia (I made Monday night), shredded lettuce, cilantro, tomato, avocado and goat cheese on a carb smart tortilla.

For dessert, we had some knock off Samoa type cookies and some coffee.

It was too cold out to walk, so we just hung out with Reggie inside (Bizzy stayed home.  No use in driving her across town to watch us eat).

Afternoon Snack: Graham Squares

I got hungry for a snack around 3:30, so I went rummaging through my work snacks that I stash in the kitchen.  I found some unopened graham squares, so I enjoyed two of those...I might have added peanut butter after the picture was taken ;)

Perfect to hold me over until boot camp, which was filled with squats, jumping and shoulder presses..oh my.

Dinner: Pumpkin Risotto & Spinach

Dinner came together so very quickly!  I made this dish last week when I was just searching through the pantry for something to make.  A box of chicken broth, a box of orzo and a can of pumpkin and 20 minutes were all I needed to get me started.
This is comfort food, for sure.  If you aren't crazy about pumpkin, try it.  It tastes like the best mac and cheese of your life...without all the calories.  I added some cooked frozen spinach on the bottom of my dish.

Pumpkin Risotto
serves 4, as a main dish

3 slices of bacon--optional, but delicious*
2 tbsp olive oil
1 box of chicken broth (32 oz)
1 small box of orzo pasta (1 lb)
1/2 can of pumpkin puree (1 cup)
1-2 minced garlic cloves
1/3 cup goat cheese crumbles (or any kind of soft cheese-I also have used Lauging Cow Swiss wedges in this and they are amazing)
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat and add half of the olive oil to coat the bottom of the pot.  Cook bacon until crispy, and remove from the pan. 
Add the rest of the olive oil and garlic & pour in your orzo, stirring to coat. Toast the orzo in the oil for about 2 minutes. Stir it the whole time (or most of the time) it is toasting.
Add 1 cup of chicken broth to toasted rice and stir, stir, stir. Once that liquid is absorbed for the most part, add another cup of chicken broth and repeat.  Keep doing that until it tastes done.  It takes about 15 minutes until it is done.
Stir in pumpkin and cheese.  Chop the bacon and add as a topping.

*Again, the bacon is totally optional.  If you want to make this a vegetarian dish, omit the bacon and use vegetable stock  instead of chicken broth.

*Also, you can use arborio rice instead of orzo,  if you want to make a more traditional risotto.  Or you can use brown rice to make risotto.

All mixed up..a beautiful mess!

After dinner, I did a few house chores and cuddled with this gal.  Unfortunately we had no dessert in the house, but I stuffed myself full of risotto so it wasn't really necessary.

Have an amazingly awesome rest of the week!  Thanks for reading :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Bizzy the Dog!

Happy Birthday to my sweet puppy girl.

I can't believe how much you've grown since we met last March.

Thanks for always making me laugh!

And for taking me on walks.

And for making life just seem happier.

I'm glad you're cool with dressing up.

And that you like to participate in my antics.

Looking forward to every day with you.

I love you alot.

And yes, you are a dog and cannot read.  But I'll say these things to you and you'll get it.

Dogs are amazing anyways, but Bizzy, you are one of a kind, boo.

WIAW: Shrimp Poboy & Recipe Testing

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Good Morning, Sunshines!

Hope everyone is having a great week.  Mine's been good.  Wow, I can't believe that Summer will be officially here on Friday!  I have a special skinny cocktail recipe I'll post then, so pop back over and check it out.

Now, on to my eats!

Breakfast: Salmon Omelet & Fruit

Last week, I bought some fresh cod and smoked salmon and they were in the same grocery sack.  I didn't get to use the cod, so I threw it in the freezer...and the salmon went with it.  I didn't know how well smoked salmon would thaw so this was a risky breakfast.  But it worked out!  The salmon was delicious and I couldn't even tell it was frozen.  Victory!
Ok, so for breakfast I had an omelet with a whole egg, an egg white and chopped smoked salmon in the middle.  Paired with a piece of wheat toast and strawberries and you got yourself a superstar of a breakfast! Coffee, repeated twice, on the side as well.

Snack: Oatmeal

I wanted something different for my sensible snack today, so I packed up some oatmeal.  Here's how I packed it.

Perfectly portable!!  

I just measured 1/2 cup of almond milk in a mason jar (you can microwave a mason jar without the top) and grabbed an oatmeal packet and some strawberries on the run.  This is my favorite oatmeal!  It's soooo good!

On my lunch break, we had to take Reggie home and I was sad.

We kept my boyfriend's parents' dog, Reggie, for a little over a week while they were out of town and we really enjoyed hanging with him around the house.  We still go over and walk him a couple times a week, though.  So, all of us look forward to that!

Lunch: Roast Beef Lettuce Wraps

I whipped up a lovely summertime lunch of lettuce wraps (with romaine lettuce, roast beef, sharp cheddar, avocado & tomato), some chopped watermelon and baby carrots for lunch.  Fresh & delicious!

After we left Reggie, Bizzy was sad and needed to be spoiled with a puppacino from Starbucks.

She is a diva dog.

I don't know where she gets it from....

So, yeah.  I had an iced coffee and cake pop and had to pose like a cheeseball with both of them.
It was funny!  I embarrass my boyfriend with my antics.

Snack: Peanuts

Around 4 p.m. I had a handful of peanuts.  I never usually buy peanuts, because I assumed they were not as healthy of a nut as almonds, but according to this infographic they are pretty dang healthy:

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Dinner: Light Shrimp Poboys & Grilled Veggies

After a rigorous boot camp workout, I walked the Bizzy dog and made my favorite Healthier Shrimp Poboys (<--click there for my recipe.  It's worth it)

It was so yummy!
I also grilled some asparagus in my grill pan & microwaved a few red potatoes til cooked, then sprayed them with cooking oil (and added salt and garlic powder) and grilled those in the same pan.

A perfect, light meal!

After dinner, I was stuck.  Bizzy camped out on my lap and literally would not let me move for like an hour.  It's kind of nice being forced to relax.  Thanks, Bizz!

Dessert Testing: Microwave Muffin Thingy

Ok, so I was testing out a recipe for a singe serving microwave dessert and I really wanted to make a healthy cookie.  This ended up more like a muffin, but it was really good and dense...and worth sharing.  So, here ya go.  I'll share the cookie recipe once it's perfected: 

Single Serve Microwave White Chocolate Macadamia Cookie Muffin 1 tbsp coconut oil, melted 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 1/8 tsp vanilla Pinch salt 1/2 tsp baking powder Egg white 2 tbsp wheat flour 2 tbsp flour 2 tbsp white choc chips 1 tbsp chopped macadamia nuts Combine all in a small bowl.  Spray a microwave safe ramekin with cooking oil and microwave for 30-40 seconds.

Yum!

Ok, have a lovely Wednesday, everyone.

If you want more single serving desserts, check out my:
Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treat for One
Single Serve Chocolate Cherry Cake
Peanut Butter Toast Crunch Cake for One
Chai Latte Chocolate Chip Mug Cake
1 Minute Bailey's Chocolate Cake
4 Cookies

WIAW: Thai Inspired Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce

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Well, hello there, friend!  Thanks for stopping by ;)

This week has been full of crazy excitement...due to only one thing: my boyfriend's parents' dog, Reggie, is staying with us this week.

If we thought Bizzy was crazy before, Reggie intensifies her craziness tenfold!  He is also super full of energy, himself.  I could not even get a picture of my breakfast without dogs in my face.  I'm cool with it, though!  Love those pups!

Breakfast: Shake

Good Morning, Reggie!!  

I woke up late this morning.  No reason, just couldn't pull my lazy butt out of bed, so breakfast was on the go.  Made a quick shake containing: frozen banana, 1 cup of strawberries, vanilla protein powder & almond milk.  Simple & delicious.

Also, had a giant mug of coffee on the run!

Forgive my dirty windows.

 Not much going on at the office today, so I just read blogs.  I came across this awesome menu printable from Back to Her Roots & did some menu planning for next week.

Nerd Alert! 

A.M. Snack: Bar

Honestly, a protein bar is not my idea of a sensible snack.  It's fine when you are on the go, but not when you are at the office and too lazy to cut your apple (referring to myself, here).  Still, a decent calorie count from this Aldi protein bar.  Not the best in texture & taste, though.

Lunch: Grilled Cheeeeeessseee!!

It was 100 degrees today, so no walk with the dogs :(  Of course that gave me extra time to burn cook a grilled cheese! This charred delight included muenster cheese, avocado & tomato on whole wheat bread.  A side of carrots and berries just rounded out the meal.
Here's a closer shot.  Can you spot the avocado & tomato?

Got back to work and squealed with excitement when I saw my package from Old Navy had arrived!!  They had a killer fitness sale (that is possibly still going on...too lazy to check) & I scored all this loot for around $40!

My boss loves sweets and has a stockpile in the kitchen area.  Usually I ignore them, but the siren call of the Nutty Bar was calling my name.  Like, hardcore.
Buuuut, I went and looked at the calories and a Nutty Bar has 330 calories for both bars.  Can we say, "Not worth it!"?
So I Googled the calories on fun sized Twix and had that and a diet coke instead.
Healthy choice--NOPE!  But, a better choice, at least :)

P.M. Snack: Berries & Cheesy Wasa

Even after knowing the calories in the Nutty Bars, a few hours later I was singing, "Oooh, I want you I don't know if I need you.."  A little Savage Garden for your Wednesday ;)
But I resisted again!!  Go me!
I had the rest of the berries from lunch and a Wasa cracker with muenster cheese.  Perfectly satisfying and sensible.

Before I headed to my evening boot camp workout, I played with the dogs and did some colorful dinner prep.  So pretty!

Ok, so chopping these veggies & microwaving my spaghetti squash made cooking dinner fast & easy.
And so freaking delicious.  I kid you not.
I had a Thai noodle dish a few weeks ago with rice noodles and I could just taste the fat.  It was yummy, no doubt, but not great for you.  So I made a healthy copycat of it!  And it was even better!!
Are the exclamation points adequately expressing my excitement?!
Probably not.

Thai Inspired Spaghetti Squash with Peanut Sauce

serves 4

Spaghetti squash (cooked)

Zucchini, carrots

Chicken breast

Coconut oil

Soy sauce

Salt, pepper, garlic powder

Chopped peanuts

Cilantro (optional)

Peanut sauce (below)

Peanut Sauce:

2-3 tbsp creamy peanut butter

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbsp rice vinegar

red pepper flakes, salt & pepper to taste

Chop your zucchini and carrots as close to matchsticks as you can get (I didn't get that close) and slice your mushrooms.

Poke your spaghetti squash with a knife and microwave for around 7-8 minutes.  Allow it to cool.

Season 3-4 thin chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder & soy sauce and sear in a pan coated in coconut oil.  Set aside.

In the same skillet, throw in a little more coconut oil and the sliced carrots.  Season with salt and cook for about 5 minutes.  Toss in the zucchini and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

Chop the chicken in bite sized pieces and throw it and the sliced mushrooms in the pan.

Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl and pour over all the stuff in the pan.

Cut your spaghetti squash in half (lenghtwise) and scrape out the seeds.  Use a spoon to scrape out the innards and add them to the pan.

Mix everything together and season to taste.

Add chopped peanuts and cilantro as garnish.

Yum!!!!

After eating, I, of course, played with these crazy dogs:

Bizzy plays hard & rests hard.

In Case You Missed It:

I'm blogging on Endless Simmer again!!

Creativity is a'flowin'.  Check out my recipes!

Single Serving Fruity Pebbles Marshmallow Treat

Cauliflower Crust Pizza with BBQ Shrimp and Veggies

Have a great week, all!