Monday, January 30, 2012

Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies

Some of you may know that I love caramel. like a lot. I recently saw a recipe on Pinterest (imagine that!) for Rolo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies----wa-hat? Okay...so I took the easy route and used Nestlé Toll House chocolate chip cookies to save some time, but they were AMAZING!


All you do is take the Rolos, stuff them into the Nestlé cookie dough, and bake on a lined baking sheet at 350 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes. Then eat them all.


It can't be easier or more delicious! Check out the recipe I found here. Here is to a a beautiful week ahead!




Sunday, January 29, 2012

Tasty Tuesday {Low Cal Baked Potato Soup}

Tater soup.

I found this recipe on Pinterest (do I sound like a broken record or what?) and I needed to make it.


Click here to see the original recipe. I substituted green onions for chives and I also used turkey bacon to make it even more low calorie.

Ingredients
4 small Russet potatoes
1 small head of cauliflower
1 1/2 c. fat free chicken broth
1 1/2 c. almond milk (or any fat free milk)
1/2 c fat free sour cream
salt & pepper to taste
4 slices of turkey bacon cooked and chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 scallions, diced

How-To:
1. Heat the potatoes in the microwave (poke them a few times with a fork first) for 5 minutes, let them cool, then peel them and cut them into 1 inch chunks
2. Steam the cauliflower in water in a covered large sauce pan
3. Drain the water from the cauliflower and return them to the pan on medium heat
4. Pour in the milk and chicken stock, salt & pepper then add the potatoes and bring to a boil
5. Scoop the soup mixture into a blender (you might need to do this in two sets...the top of my blender popped off a bit and soup went splatter!) and blend until smooth
6. Return to the pan and stir in the sour cream, cook for another 5 to 10 minutes
7. Serve with the turkey bacon, cheese and scallions


You should definitely make this recipe and let me know how it turns out! Check out where I pinned this recipe and lots of other yummy meals here.




As always I'm linking up with Alissa as part of Tasty Tuesdays!

Here's What's Cooking {No. 4}

It is Sunday already. This week is shaping up to look a lot like last week...but I am going to stay positive and trust that I am not alone and I don't have to do it alone. That will be the cry of my heart this week.

One important thing for me when my week looks like it's going to kick me around and spit me out on Friday evening, is to have a well planned menu. A tasty, healthy meal at the end of an altogether miserable day can really turn it around!

So here is what's cooking...

Sunday / Monday: Low Calorie Baked Potato Soup (see last week's post to check it out)



Tuesday / Wednesday: Mushroom Marsala Pappardelle




Thursday / Friday: Honey Sesame Chicken w/ Brown Rice





Saturday / Sunday:  Stuffed Shells w/ Sausage & Spinach




Grocery List:
olive oil
garlic
Chives
flat leaf parsley
2 lbs cremini mushrooms
Marsala wine
Parmesean-Reggiano
spinach
chicken broth
jumbo pasta shells
1 lb fresh pork sausage
1 can diced tomatoes
1 package frozen spinach
chicken breasts
honey
soy sauce
sesame seeds
frozen broccoli

In the kitchen: 
pappardelle pasta
butter
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
onion
ketchup
red pepper flakes
cornstarch
brown rice


I'm really excited about these meals! Check in on Tasty Tuesday to hear how last weeks menu shaped up!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Where have I been????

I've had one of those weeks. I'm sad I missed out on Tasty Tuesday and Get Fit Friday this week, but I'll be right back at it next week.

On this sunny (soon-to-be-sixty-degrees) Saturday, I am chilling at my graduate school crafting desk, listing to the "Rumours" album by Fleetwood Mac on Spotify (I watched the Glee Season 2 episode about them this week!), drinking coffee and getting ready to work on my last, first course assignment! Just a little under 4 months left to go and I will be finished with homework FOREVER. If you ever hear me mention that I want to get a PhD or something, sent me a virtual smack and tell me to check myself! haha.

Forrest decided to go surfing today, but he invited his surfing buddy to go with him...mostly to give me a time to focus on my grad school work today (and to let me sleep in after my week from "down there"). No ocean for me today...but that's okay.

So remember a few weeks ago I was talking about that amazing caramel glazed butter cream filled doughnut? Well...I have stopped in twice to get it...but evidently it is a weekend doughnut...so I stopped by the Main Street Grille and picked one up this morning (and a NY Cheesecake one as well).  I came home, made myself a cup of Joe and caught up on some Bible reading that I missed out on yesterday.



I had to take a break after eating the NY Cheesecake doughnut because I'm not used to having sugar in the morning and I actually started to feel a little sick! haha. I am taking my time every 30 mins or so eating a bite of the caramel one so that I can enjoy it without having some sort of sugar attack!


What a quality start to the weekend!? Happy Saturday!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

What I'm Loving Wednesday {No. 4}

Whew...is it really just Wednesday? What a long week. But here is to Wednesday almost being over and just two days left in the work week...woohoo.

Here is what I'm loving today:

1) I'm loving my sweet sweet husband & his love of the ocean. We are watching the surf reports and waiting to see if we can make it to the beach on Saturday. Did I mention that my gift to him for Christmas was to travel with him to the beach one Saturday when the surf was good and take some pictures? I'm looking forward to some coffee, a good book, a big blanket and the sound of the waves.


Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest


2) I'm loving my church and our study "Castaway" on the book of Jonah.


Source: summitrdu.com via Megan on Pinterest


3) I'm loving these color combos...totally marinating on any color decisions for another month or so.












4) I'm loving yellow and green...can't let go of my roots (Go Tribe!)




Source: polyvore.com via Megan on Pinterest


Source: polyvore.com via Megan on Pinterest


Source: etsy.com via Megan on Pinterest


5) I'm loving avocado...






6) I'm loving mustaches.






Source: theberry.com via Megan on Pinterest


7) I'm loving these words.

{dame un beso = gimme a kiss}







working on teaching my students to be more creative...{they need more fairy tales}



Forrest and I have so learned this to be true this year...

Source: dribbble.com via Megan on Pinterest


8) I'm loving baby animals.








9) I'm loving this idea for organizing my jewelry.




and finally...

10) I'm loving this idea for stenciling a pillow...I want to do this...





I feel better about Wednesday already.

As always, I'm linking up with Jamie and Krystina.

Join in the fun!




lollipops

Monday, January 23, 2012

Getting Connected!

I have some very exciting news today...


You can now follow the Casita Cory Blog right here where you are (are you following yet?).

Or...

you can see what I am pinning over here...

or check out what I'm tweeting over here...

or stay up to date at the Casita Cory Blog Facebook page. 

my niece is pointing to the awesome ways you can stay connected!
If you haven't yet, take a second to follow my blog by selecting the 'Join' button down by my list of followers (My goal is to reach 100 by Dec. 2012!). I added the buttons to the right of my blog to make it easy for you to connect to those social media tools. Thanks for supporting me so far in this journey, and I look forward to growing this blog with all of you. Be sure to tell your friends and family about how they can join in on the Casita Cory fun!

Don't forget to grab the Casita Cory button if you would like to promote my blog on your site!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Here's What's Cookin {No. 3}

Have you ever planned out a weekly menu? Once you start, it will totally change your life. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but seriously...it's a game changer. It takes some time, and you have to be willing to stick to it to save money (you don't want to end up wasting food if you change your mind last minute), but it takes away so much stress!

Last week I kind of over planned. By a lot. But it worked out rather wonderfully.

Forrest made dinner on Monday night, and on Tuesday I baked a Chicken & Broccoli Casserole which took us through Thursday night. Thursday I was itching to bake something so I made molasses cookies. I was feeling it in the kitchen, so I went ahead and made the curry I had planned on making that night anyway. Forrest surprised me with a date night Friday evening, so we enjoyed the curry Saturday and Sunday instead. So "Whatever happened to the Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie?" you ask...well I am making it tomorrow night. So here is the menu I have planed to take us through the week of 1.23 - 1.30:

Monday / Tuesday:
Sweet Potato & Ground Turkey Shepard's Pie


Source: oxygenmag.com via Megan on Pinterest


Wednesday / Thursday:
Mexican Lasagna



Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest



Friday / Saturday:
Low Calorie Baked Potato Soup



Breakfast:
I'm sticking with the cocoa, peanut butter and banana smoothies and hard boiled eggs (1 whole & 1 w/out the yolk).

Morning Snack:
1 grapefruit

Lunch:
I'm going to simplify a bit this week and take leftovers.

Pre-Workout Snack:
1 chocolate crunch rice cake w/ 1 tbsp peanut butter
 

Grocery List:
rosemary
2 lbs ground chicken or turkey
1 can black beans
frozen corn
1 package spinach tortillas
2 packages shredded cheddar
scallions
1 small head of cauliflower
1 box of chicken broth
1 package turkey bacon

Substitutions:
Lasagna -- yellow onion instead of red
Soup -- scallions for chives, almond milk for low-fat milk

Already in my kitchen:
sweet potatoes
1 lb ground turkey
Greek yogurt
salt, pepper, olive oil
onions
celery
1 bag frozen mixed veggies
russet potatoes
fat free sour cream
chili powder, cumin
taco sauce


I get so excited every week about the recipes I find! Be looking for my take on Vegetable Curry coming up on Tasty Tuesday, and tomorrow you will find out a few other ways you can be following the Casita Cory Blog! Stay tuned!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Get Fit Friday {no. 3} 25 At Home Exercises

It's Friday. Thank goodness.

I cannot wait for this weekend, because (check this) we have no plans. For the first weekend since Thanksgiving we have zero plans. Oh, and being the overachiever I am, I have already cooked the vegetable curry that will take us through the weekend...so no cooking either! I already feel less stressed!




For this Get Fit Friday post, I wanted to share with you an article I recently stumbled upon about at-home exercises. This article was published by ACE Fitness and has 25 exercises you can do from the comfort of your home. You can click on the links for each exercise to read details about what muscles it works, how to safely complete each exercise, and photos of what it looks like.

Check out the Top 25 At-Home Exercises and let me know what you think. Until then, have a very fit Friday.

PS- My workout for today is a Kettlebell class after work!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Snack Attack

I'm a huge snacker. I snack throughout the day when I'm hungry (mid-morning, post lunch, pre-workout, post-workout...and admittedly after dinner). Most of the time I am a really healthy snacker...but every now and then I'll reach for something a little sinful. Today I want to share with you some snacks that you can eat and don't have to feel guilty about. period.

I love keeping these in the pantry because that way I plan my snacks and don't get the sudden urge to stop by MacDonald's on my way home for a caramel sundae (ps...have I ever mentioned these $1-and-change snacks are my guilty pleasure?). I pack several snacks in my lunch everyday to last me until I get home. Sometimes when I am out running errands, I'll throw one or two of these snack ideas into my purse to have in case I get hungry on the road.

So here they are in no particular order...the Snack Stars of the Casita Cory Pantry (wow...cheesy...right?):

Cocoa Roasted Almonds


Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest



Trader Joe's Omega 3 Trail Mix

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest


Yoplait Coconut Greek Yogurt 

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest


Quaker Chocolate Crunch Rice Cakes

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest



 Peanut Butter & Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest


and right now I'm really loving...York Peppermint Patties (Valentine's Hearts)

Source: google.com via Megan on Pinterest


I also keep a variety of assorted seasonal fruits (I'm loving citrus right now) and veggie snacks, like carrots and grape tomatoes, around the house as well. So there you have it. If you haven't tried out some of these products they are amazing, and a great way to snack.

Have a great Thursday y'all. We are almost ready for the weekend!