Butternut Squash and Black Bean Quesadillas

I can’t even tell you how good these were!!! OMG!! They started out as a way to use of leftovers, and WOW! Did they rock my world! I know- way to many exclamation points, I promise I’m not yelling at you, but these were so fabulously delicious that I actually made them 3, yes, THREE, days in a row.  I cannot tell you how monumental that is for me.  My Boy has been known to make the statement, once or twice, or a thousand times, “Mom, you just can’t make the same thing twice can you?” Well, Son, I can, and I occasionally do, but life is too short to eat the same foods over and over, so I like to try different things all the time.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I certainly make some things on a regular basis.  Spaghetti, chili, tacos, enchiladas, tuna, chicken & dumplings- but I don’t always make them the same way and I certainly don’t make them every week or even every month.  So these little babies started because I didn’t exactly plan dinner, but I did have some leftover BBQ ribs and I remembered a restaurant from years ago that use to offer a ribs and fajita combo.  It was one of Hubs favorites.  So I thought well, if you can do ribs and fajitas, why not ribs and quesadillas?? I had some leftover roasted butternut squash from the previous dinner and some leftover chicken from fajitas I had made a few nights ago, so what else can we pull from the pantry??  And they were so good I hardly ate any ribs, and made them for lunch for the next 2 days.  That’s unheard of in this house.  But I have probably peaked on these and they will be regulated to the, “remember when you made the… fill in the blank… think you could make those again” kind of recipe.   So I thought I better share.

This isn’t so much a recipe; I wasn’t able to list it in typical recipe fashion with amounts since the size of your tortilla will really determine how much you use. So let’s make this lovely yummy!

See I told you it was leftovers. You are going to start by just simply layering your ingredients onto you flour tortilla.

Next I added some leftover grilled chicken, I also happen to think these would be awesome without, but Hubs seems to think meals without protein are just snacks.  I also had some leftover sautéed peppers and onions from the fajitas, so throw some of them on as well.  I also used about a teaspoon of canned diced green chilies.  And then cheese, glorious cheese!

 I used the queso fresco on the bottom and a Colby jack on the top.  Variety is the spice of life! You could use cheddar, or montery jack as well here. Or really mix it up and try a smoked gouda. Yum…..

The I used my Misto with olive oil in it on my griddle, you could also just use a regular skillet.  And carefully placed the quesadilla on the griddle, I also sprayed more olive oil on the top tortilla for when it gets flipped over.  It cooks for 5-7 minutes on each side. Be careful when you flip it.  Your goodies may spill out, just take you spatula and gently remind them where they should be.   You want everything to warm up and get all nice and melty and the tortilla will brown and be nice and crispy.  Mmmmmm. Melty and crispy! The cut into quarters and serve with tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and or avaocado/guacamole.  You will NEVER see me put plain sour cream on anything to serve.  I am not a fan of sour cream.  I can cook with it, use it as a dip, but not as a garnish, never.  Hubs will but not me.  But I understand that some care for it, I just don’t understand why.

You really need to make these!

Flour tortillas

Roasted butternut squash

Grilled chicken

Black beans

Sauteeed onions and peppers

Dice green chilies

Queso fresco cheese

Colby Jack cheese.

Best I could do for a recipe J

Enjoy!  I really am going to go for a run now! Promise!!

C

I think... I might be becoming a scrooge!?!

Christmas Scrooge?? maybe….

So I am definitely not feeling the Christmas spirit yet.  And every year it keeps getting worse.  I used to LOVE Christmas- but… well as my kids are getting older, (humph- not getting older, they are adults).  There just isn't as much to get excited about.  So the tree isn't up yet, no gifts wrapped and I haven’t started to think about baking or Christmas dinner.  I've turned into my mother!! GASP! NOOOOOOO!!!

I remember the excitement my kids had every year as we would pull the tree and decorations out, yes- we are an artificial tree family, we tried the real thing, in Florida, and it’s not all that great. It dries up too soon!! Their adorable little faces as we would string the lights on the roof tops and through the bushes, them always wanting MORE LIGHTS! Every Christmas eve I would read a Christmas book out loud to my 3 babes and they would always be so excited to open their one Christmas even present, which was always pajamas. (Doesn't every parent do that??) In the days leading up to Christmas we would all pile into the car and drive around looking at all the lights trying to find the very best house, you know the one, the one that no matter how many lights you put up this year and how many hours it took still left your house looking pathetic? Yeah, that one.  The one that had all the kids saying, “we want our house to look like that next year!” as Hubs and I just gave each other a look that said, umm, yeah right!  They were quick to help put up the tree and put out all the Christmas decorations and couldn't wait to help make Christmas cookies.  And now? Well no one wants to help put up the tree, the girls are on their own and have their own to do now anyways, but my boy, he can come home after I have been working on the tree ALL day and say, “oh, you put the tree up, cool”.  And walk away! No one wants to bake anymore, they just want everything to magically appear and of course they still expect presents.  Not want presents, expect presents.  And we aren't’t talking reasonable gifts, like sweaters, ear rings, scarves, nope, not my kids.  Now it’s Michael Kors hand bags, Tori Burch riding boots, Kate Spade anything, $200 longboard trucks, (yeah, don’t even ask!) and 50” TVs.  Ummm, hello?  I’m not Santa and don’t have elves working away in a magical workshop out back.  Heck, I want those things, and I am in my forties and don’t have that stuff.  So Scrooge I have become.  I hate it.  I have tried to remind my kids about the real meaning of Christmas, it’s not about the materialistic gifts, it about the birth of Christ.  Which they have grown up knowing their WHOLE lives, nothing new here. It’s about family, quality time together and just enjoying each other.  Several years ago when things were financially very lean for us, we scaled back to just 3 gifts for each of the kids.  Just like baby Jesus received.  Each gift was something they really wanted and they seemed to be OK with the less is more concept.  As things improved financially for us we stuck to the 3 gifts concept but the dollar amount of the gifts grew. They are now 19, 23 (and on her own), and 26 (and MARRIED!), I don’t think they need to wake up Christmas morning and see the entire living room covered in gifts anymore.  And they no longer return 75% of their gifts now.  But even after the 3 gifts were instituted 5 years ago they still don’t seem to get that it is the new normal.  So here I am being a Scrooge because I  don’t like the new normal.   I want my kids to be little again.  But that is not gonna happen so somehow I have to get over it!! But it is so hard!

We do have fresh wreaths on our door and poinsettias lining our walk, but only because Hubs picked them up at Home Depot the other day.  I guess I need to suck it up and find some new Holiday spirit! I wonder if I procrastinate longer if he will also put up a tree by himself…….. not likely.  It could be my boy’s last Christmas at home with us, I guess I better step it up and make it a good one. 

I decided it was time to go buy some holiday spirit, my mom called while I was out and said how do you do that? Are you buying yourself gifts? Nope! Time to buy a few more decorations.  Hubs and my boy actually decorated the tree while I handed them ornaments.  But it was lacking something, Boy wanted gold & silver and there was no pop, the tree actually looked better bare with just lights. So shopping I went, and bought some new ornaments and picked up some fake tree snow.  It was only a couple bucks and looked fun.  And it was!! I blew some out of my hand into the tree and then just threw it all over! It went all over the floor and I didn't even care! It was fun! So I bought myself a little smidgen of Christmas cheer, now for serious shopping tomorrow! 

So I have a leeeettle bit more Christmas cheer.  Tomorrow is serious shopping day with BFF and then Christmas bunco.  Soooo, maybe I will come home with a little spring in my step for the season.  

So since this blog IS suppose to be about my exercise and rehab and FOOD, time for honesty... I have only done some core strengthening exercises twice in the last week and I haven't run AT ALL.  I need Christmas and exercise motivation! My younger daughter is trying to motivate me- she has run about 5 times in the last week.  Brat. She says motivating others helps motivate her.  I tried explaining that at the moment I was busy shoveling Nutella into my mouth by the spoonful and really wasn't interested in her motivational speeches.  Oi! I need help!!! 

Are you all done with the Christmas shopping? Decorations? Gifts already wrapped? Or do you wait until the last minute??

Trying not be a Scrooge,

Collette

Bonefish's Kate Grouper- my way!

So since I gave you all those awesome cookie recipes and tempted you with a few more still to come I felt like I needed to make a healthy dinner last night.  Well... if you call using a whole stick of butter a healthy dinner?!? OOPS! But it was divided between four portions.. I'm telling you I can justify ANYTHING.  But I did reduce the amount of butter Bonefish uses in their recipe, and they breaded their grouper and I did not.   See? Healthy.  But I didn't take pictures.  Eventually I will get the hang of this blogging thing.   I know you guys love to see pictures- gotta know if the recipe looks like its worth making, I understand.  And we are so tempted by visual images.  So I will try to be better about photos.

So this recipe- super simple and definitely can be changed up.  I NEVER leave a recipe alone.  Well... rarely anyways.  I am a firm believe that most all recipes are just suggestions anyways.  So make it you.  Use what you have, use what you like.  Both my boys were happy with dinner last night, but since I did not make a starch or even a salad we were all a little hungry after dinner.  So we all ate ice cream.  So much for eating healthy.  I am convinced I am addicted to sugar.  Very hard to break that addiction.  So I try to balance healthy foods with my not so healthy addiction to sugar.  If I could just break that sugar addiction I bet I could finally lose weight.  Ugh! So frustrating!

So here is what I did:

2 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
3 T onion, finely minced (recipe called for scallions and I was out- see, use what you have!)
1 stick salted butter
2-3 T of lemon juice, or one whole lemon
1/2 cup white wine (recipe calls for dry wine, I had pinot grigio)
1/4 tsp dried basil, (recipe called for fresh and I didn't have any- I would have preferred to use fresh, but again, didn't have any :( )

Combine all ingredients into a sauce pan, bring to a low boil and continue to heat until sauce has reduced by half.
While your sauce is reducing, grab your grouper fillets, season them on both sides, I used Badia's Complete Seasoning and Old Bay.  I lightly sprayed my skillet with olive oil using a Misto sprayer (please, please, for the love of all that is good, do not use PAM, I know it is simple, quick and easy to use, BUT it is putting so many chemicals into your body and ruining your cookware).  Place your fillets into a hot skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes on each side.  Your cook time will depend on the thickness of your fillets.  Sorry I can't give you a more accurate time.  Your fillets could even take longer? The fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork and you should see nice white flaky meat. If it doesn't flake it isn't done.  (Quick side note, if you have already taken your fish out of the skillet and served it and you find it's not done, fish actually cooks quite well in the microwave, I have had to pop it in the microwave on a few occasions myself. Start in small increments 15-20 seconds at a time, you don't want to overcook it). When the fish is fully cooked spoon a bit of the lemon butter wine sauce over the fish fillets.  Serve immediately.

I also roasted some asparagus with the grouper.  Wash and trim the tough ends of your asparagus, I just snap off the ends.  Place on cookie sheet spritzed with olive oil and spritz more olive oil onto asparagus, give the asparagus a light sprinkle of salt and pepper and roast in a 425 degree oven.  Again the time will depend on how thick your asparagus stalks are, and how soft or crisp you like your asparagus.  My son prefers his soft and then crispy from the roasting, I usually roast mine about 25 minutes. Spoon some of the lemon butter wine sauce over the asparagus as well.

Suggestions on the sauce- Bonefish uses artichoke hearts in theirs, I normally do as well.  But alas, I was out.  (I'm seeing a pattern here, I may need to get to the store.)  Sun dried tomatoes would also be yummy in this sauce, my boys are big fans of sun dried tomatoes though, even though I am! Bonefish also uses feta cheese on top of the grouper before spooning over the sauce.  Again, I was out.  Parmesan would also be good in this sauce. My boy tells me I never make the same recipe twice, now you see why.  There are so many options, how do you pick just one???

Do you change up recipes as well? Or do you stick strictly to the recipe? Do you tend to make the same dishes repeatedly? 

I'm off for day 2 week one of my running program!

Have a great day!
C

5K and cookies

Well I kinda gave up on exercise for awhile.  I was feeling more pressure and tightness in my low back and had the shocking revelation that THAT was the warning sign I ignored for 10 months!!! I just assumed it was tight muscles- no BIG deal!! Well... let me tell you! It was a big deal!!!!!  so I backed off the exercise for awhile and kinda gave up on trying to record my progress and TRYING to keep myself accountable.  'Cause really - how does this make me accountable?? I have not told not a single person I know about the blog! So... it is just little ole me on this great big huge world wide web. Unknown to every single person I know!  :)
Well on Monday, my daughter called and said that she and my son's girlfriend were going to sign up for a 5K.  Hmmmmmmm, I thought, I have done a 5K before, it will give me a reason to stay active, and it's not for 3 months?!?!?!  Sign me up!! So both my daughters, and my son's GF, and 2 of my friends have all signed up! Now?? Now I have some accountability.  The 5K seems pretty laid back and the perfect official 5K race to enter.  While I have run 5K before I have never entered a race.  I have run a 5K twice at CF and ran more than 5K while on vacation this past summer in Canada.  (can I just tell you how much EASIER it is to run when there is NO humidity!! OMG!)

So I am officially entered into Tampa's Run or Dye 5K on March 1, 2014.  YAY!!!!! It looks like it will be a blast- can not wait!
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Does that look like so much fun?? Maybe I will forget I am even running?!? Yeah- I doubt it.  Here is the website if you want to see if they have one near you.  http://www.runordye.com

So now I am back to trying to use the C25K program.  I like that it tells you what to do and for how long and there is no chance of overdoing it too much- too fast.  I am sure I have downloaded at least 4 different C25K apps, but I think I finally found the one I like.  This one I can actually hear over my music- it actually lowers the volume and vibrates as it tells you "start running", "stop running".  AND more importantly this one tells you when you are at the halfway point and says"turn around".  I cannot tell you how many times I was too far from home when the 30 minutes were up.  Now the hard part.  Will I stick with it? I have gotten to week 3 several times before and then I kinda fizzle out, well, actually I flat out quit and give up.  The weather here has been perfect for running lately- high 60s to low 70s, but now this crazy Florida weather is putting us back into the 80s.  Can we please have some cooler weather?? Hello? it is December.  Yes, I know its Florida, but come on! We like our boots and scarves too.  And being back in flip flops is just ridiculous! Since I have lived her for 38 years you would think I would be use to our warm winters and no change in the seasons.  But alas~ I still crave those seasonal changes.

There are more recipes to come, I just haven't been cooking much lately, or there have been remade leftovers going on! And I have some Christmas dinner recipes to share with you but I'm thinking its a little too early still.  Unless it's cookies! YUM! But I won't let myself make cookies yet because I will just eat them and that certainly isn't helping lose the weight I have managed to put back on since not being able to  go to CF.

So Since I am not making cookies for at least another week I thought I would share some cookies that I am dreaming about right now.

Gooey S'mores cookies


these are from Kevin & Amanda http://www.kevinandamanda.com/recipes/dessert/gooey-smores-cookies.html



Citrus Butter Cookies by the Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/10/citrus-butter-cookies/

Brown Sugar Pecan Cookies with a Caramel Glaze by Heather Christo  http://heatherchristo.com/cooks/2013/12/02/brown-sugar-pecan-cookies-with-caramel-glaze/


Chocolate Pecan Pie Squares   also by Heather Christo  http://heatherchristo.com/cooks/2013/11/15/chocolate-pecan-pie-bars/
I actually made these for thanksgiving, OH MY!!

I am also wanting to make my peppermint topped fudge, which is my own recipe and I have no pictures yet! So we will have to remedy that one!! And also Maple Crown Whiskey truffles.  Again, my recipe, oh my deliciousness! I promise to share!

What's on your cookie list?

Collette