Weekend Round Up...

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

Whew... The weekend just flew by. I sure could have used a couple more hours of sleep this morning. Monday's are the worst!

My weekend was pretty easy going. Saturday morning I woke up and went to go see my little niece. As always, she was as adorable and fun as ever. Once I left my sisters place I headed to the happiest place on earth for me...Trader Joe's! OMG... I could spend HOURS at TJs. Stay tuned next week... I've got a whole post dedicated to this magnificent supermarket :-)

Anywho, we had a dinner party to go to that evening and I bought some bread and fruit for appetizers and dessert. My original use for the bread was to have with bruschetta. However, I forgot to bring the bruschetta so I made a quick pizza bites appetizer. I thought this was ok but must have been a hit since it was all gone!

For dessert, our wonderful hostess made delicious tiramisu (which I had boat loads of). Also, I brought a colorful fruit platter:

Yup, we got sliced mango, kiwi, strawberries and apple and non fat honey yogurt for dipping. Healthy and delicious!

The dinner party was great and I wish I had more pics of the food. All of it really was delicious. There was lasagna and Spanish omelets along with a variety of cheeses, crackers, olives, shrimp and mushrooms :-) All so delicious and so great!

The party was awesome and we had a great time talking and catching up with friends. 

The next day we woke up to such beautiful weather. Of course we made breakfast and ate on our little balcony. 

After that it was time to run errands! I went around town and to get things done which took me a few hours. 

I came home and this was waiting for me :-)

a delicious plate of channa masala and mustard greens with a roti on the side. Also, cut up veggies to have :-)

Dinner was probably the best butter chicken I've ever had. We used a masala packet which just had a bunch of spices, added the chicken, water and a little bit o butter. This meal tasted like it came from a restaurant. It was so good that we looked online to see how we could get more of these masala packets. Yum!

Also, on the side, a small salad straight from our patio garden :)

After dinner we plopped in front of the television and started a 24 marathon. OMG... This show is addictive and we've been watching it on Netflix. We are still in season 1. 

Well, that's a wrap for the weekend. I hope you guys had an enjoyable weekend. Now... off to start the work week...

Recipe Alert: Lentil Chili

Good Morning!

Boy, I woke up to a bit of a chill this morning. I checked the weather and saw this:

59 degrees!!! Are you kidding me?!?! It's June!! Anywho, as I was getting ready for work, I was thinking about what to make for dinner and all I can think about is having something warm, filling and of course healthy.  Then I thought about making Lentil Chili. A few weeks ago I modified a Whole Foods recipe for Lentil Chili and it turned out amazing. Yes, a big bowl of chili with a side of warm, crusty bread is certainly delicious!

Yes, this is a vegetarian chili but I promise you, you will not miss the meat. You definitely get more bang for your buck when using lentils. This chili is filled with protein, fiber and flavor.  Go ahead and make this. I guarantee you will not regret it!

Enjoy my recipe (modified from the Whole Foods app), for Lentil Chili!

Ingredients:

1TB Olive Oil

2 quarts vegetable stock

1 Onion, diced

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

1 jalapeño, diced

3TB Garlic, chopped

2TB Chili Powder

2tsp Smokes Paprika

1 16oz package Brown Lentils

2 15oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 bag Baby Spinach 

Optional: chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Heat the oil in a heavy pot on medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapeño. Sauté for 10 minutes or until onions are slightly browned. Add the chili powder and smoked paprika. Stir for another minute. Add the diced tomatoes and stir for a minute. Add the vegetable stock and lentils. Bring this to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the spinach and cilantro. Once spinach is completely wilted, turn off heat. Chili is ready to serve!

Enjoy with a piece of warm bread and a little shredded cheese sprinkled on top. 

Servings: 8

Calories per serving: 160

Monday...

Oh Monday's...it's so hard to get up on a Monday morning. It's even harder when the weather is cold and rainy! Anywho, you do what you gotta do!

Well, on that note, I hope you guys all had a great weekend. I enjoyed the hot weather very much. I also took ads vantage of summer nights by going for walks along the river front. It's so beautiful at night and the weather is so nice and warm at night. My weekend was also filled with delicious food. 

Here's a weekend recap through pictures (since I'm lazy to write right now :-p):

And that was the weekend! More to come later!