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An amazing dinner experiment and picture update


I am so excited I could literally burst! Not only did I experiment with tonight’s side dish and SUCCEED but we’ve also made amazing headway on our apartment. For your your enjoyment i’ve included a few pics!

Tonight I decided to go out on
a limb and experiment with our side recipe! dish. We were

having chicken/mushroom/tomato/pepper kabobs and I knew I wanted something tasty and summery to accompany the dinner. Bo’s favorite vegetables are squash and zucchini and we both love anything with Mexican flavors. That is when my Mexican Stuffed Squash and Zucchinis were created!
Mexican Stuffed Squash and Zucchini
* 2 medium zucchini and 2 medium squash(about 8 ounces each), washed

* Salt and ground black pepper

* Olive Oil Pam spray

* 1 medium onion, chopped fine

* 1 large red pepper or 2 small peppers (red or yellow)

* 2 large garlic cloves, minced

* 1 Tbsp Mexican seasoning

*1 large bunch of cilantro
* 1/4 c salsa
* 1 can (15 ounce) black beans, drained well (about 1 1/2 cups)

* 6 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups) (or other cheese)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, halve each zucchini lengthwise. With small grapefruit spoon, scoop out seeds and most of flesh so that walls of zucchini are 1/4 inch thick. Season cut sides of zucchini and squash with salt and pepper, and spraywith 1 Pam; set halves cut-side down on baking sheet. Roast until slightly softened and skins are wrinkled, about 10 minutes; Using tongs, flip zucchini halves over on baking sheet and set aside.

3. Heat approx tablespoon oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Add onion, salt and pepper, spices, and peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and salsa; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in black beans; cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 3 minutes. Turn off heat, stir in cilantro and taste to season.

4. Place filling in food processor and pulse for 2-3 seconds on low just to mix and smooth the ingredients. Divide filling evenly among squash halves on baking sheet, pack lightly; sprinkle with grated cheese. Return baking sheet to oven and bake zucchini until heated through and cheese is spotty brown, about 6 minutes. Serve immediately.

ENJOY! We loved it and enjoyed it with our salad and kabobs!

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Three questions Thursday, new pictures, and winner winner chicken dinner!

*I thought this post went up last night but evidently I saved it instead of publishing it. Sorry for the delay!*


Per Iowa Girl’s tradition , it’s 3 Questions Thursday so here goes. 


  1. What’s your favorite season?  I absolutely love summer. I think it has to do with the fact that it is light for hours so you can enjoy the day more and be more productive. In addition, I live in cute summer dresses and my rainbows though i’m currently searching for a more “NYC appropriate” pair of sandals. If anyone has suggestions please send them my way. I am looking for two- one for the commute/long walks in the city and the other are just for evenings out in the city. 
  2. What was your favorite television show growing up? My family would laugh so hard if they knew I was telling you this but I used to be OBSESSED with Rescue 911. I don’t know if anyone else remembers it but I think it was on around 8pm on Tuesday nights. (I have a really scary memory folks- ask Bo). I would make my family watch this show religiously and since we only had one tv when I was growing up everyone had the joy of hearing “Rescue 911 what’s the cause of your emergency” 
  3. Where/how do you want to retire? I want to retire and enjoy life. My goal is to do all the things that take too much time for me to currently enjoy. For example, I have the opportunity to play golf 3-4x per year right now which is far to little to actually hone my skills. My aunt has epitomized what I hope my retirement to be like. She is more active now than ever before, enjoys countless hours of cooking, entertaining, and laughing over great wine and activity. 

Yesterday was fabulous for many reasons some of which were the GORGEOUS weather we enjoyed in NYC, the breeze our apartment gets when I have all the windows open, our wonderful dinner which I’ll discuss later in the post, and OUR SOFA AND CHAIR ARRIVED! Seriously guys, I was jumping up and down when the front desk called to let me know they were escorting the van guys up with our furniture. The color turned out perfectly and now they are screaming to be adorned with a comfy throw and some vibrant pillows . I’m currently lusting over a few at Pottery Barn and think i’ll have to put our two 10% Welcome to the Neighborhood coupons to good use this weekend! Last night when Bo got home he graced the empty wall space with two more paintings. This nook is really starting to feel like a home. We can’t figure out what to do with the bare wall space above the chair. If you have any suggestions please send them our way. As for the corner between the chair and sofa, we’ve decided on this gorgeous piece and actually found the wall accessory that holds wine bottles and glasses on Craigslist last night! Bo is picking them up this afternoon in Chelsea for $100!! I love saving some money whenever possible!


Last but not least, as promised from the title, I have a winner, winner chicken dinner recipe! My local grocery store had their organic, kosher whole roaster chickens on sale this week and therefore knew that nothing would be easier and more delicious than a whole roasted chicken complete with fresh lemon, garlic, and herbs! This really could not be any easier though for some reason I think a lot of people are intimidated by whole roasters. Follow these easy steps below and I guarantee you’ll be enjoying moist, delicious chicken for at least two days!

Easy Roasted Chicken with lemon, herbs, and garlic

Ingredients:
1 small roaster (2-4 lbs)
1 clove garlic
2 large lemons cut in half
Fresh or dried herbs of your choice (I recommend thyme and rosemary) or Herbs de Provence
Olive Oil or Olive Oil Pam
Roasting Pan 

Directions:


Preheat oven to 425°.
Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Trim excess fat. Thoroughly rinse the chicken inside and out then dry completely.  Place chicken in roasting pan spray the inside and outside with Olive Oil spray or rub with Olive Oil. Salt and pepper inside cavity and outside thoroughly.  Place lemon quarters inside chicken cavity. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon thyme to chicken cavity. Squeeze one lemon half inside the cavity and then place in the cavity. Place four-five   peeled garlic pieces in cavity then sprinkle herbs or place fresh herbs (on twigs and all) inside cavity. Place other lemon half at the end to “close” cavity.
Squeeze other lemon all over outside of chicken and place lemon pieces in roasting pan. Sprinkle Herbs de Provence and/or dried herbs/fresh herbs on the outside skin of the chicken. Bake at 425° for 40 minutes then check for doneness using a meat thermometer. You want it to register at 160-165. Depending on your oven this could take up to an hour and a half. Transfer chicken to a cutting board; cover with foil, and let stand 5-10 minutes before carving.
Remove skin (if desired) and lemon slices/garlic/herb stuffing from chicken cavity, discard. Carve chicken, and arrange on a serving platter. Garnish with lemon slices and thyme. 
Enjoy!! We served this with a salad and roasted zucchini/squash that we put in the oven during the last 30 minutes! 


GIVEAWAY ALERT:
Sara is giving away some fabulous hummus so check her out here 

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Moving weekend Part 1 and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!


Good morning!!

This weekend has been an exhausting whirlwind and it’s not even over! On Friday, Bo and I signed our lease for our new apartment on Long Island City! This is exciting for so many reasons but first and foremost because this is our first place together. Bo and I have been together for 5.5 years and one of the biggest hurdles has been balancing two apartments through college and the work world. Last night we both realized that we feel this will relieve us of the largest stress in our life! It’s wonderful to finally create a home together. Initially, I was very against living together before marriage but over the years i’ve realized that life is a balance and sometimes things are better in different ways than you ever imagined. It was actually my parents who changed my mind as they helped me realize how much money we’d save, that it would give us an opportunity to become even closer, and simplify our lives. Without further ado, I give you the pictures from Friday. Our apartment is on the 25th floor and we were so blessed to find it on Craigslist. We knew we wanted to live in this development but they did not have an apartment with a deck open until July. When we settled on the location I typed the address in Craigslist everyday until something matched! It required us to act very quickly (think getting $7000 together in 48 hours) but is definitely worth it! The apartment has a porch that is large enough for 2 chairs and a small table, South facing (Manhattan) floor to celing windows in the living room, amazing closet space, and a high end kitchen. I can’t wait to take pictures throughout our process so you all can watch the evolution of white walls and parquet (what is up with that in NYC!?) to warm tones that will be an inviting space for all our friends and family!

Oh, and the most exciting thing about our new apartment? We will be neighbors with Melissa!!!
Okay, I have to get back to packing boxes as I have a long list of things I need to accomplish before Bo gets home. Bo is running the largest 10 miler in the world today. I was supposed to run with him but a twist of fate made it only possible for him to run. We’ve been so busy that we kept procrastinating and forgot to register. We didn’t worry because this race is famous for not capping. Well this year they decided to cap at 26,000 so we lost our chance to run. Bo has been doing a great deal of speed training lately and was really excited about setting a new personal record so I was able to find one bib for him to use. My friend Bonnie had backed out earlier in the race. So, Bo will be running as Bonnie whose goal pace is an 11 minute mile. He was going to try and be a renegade runner and move corrals but we’ll see how that goes! If he is able to make his goal of keeping an 8 minute mile that will be so exciting!! It’s amazing how things work though because after last Sunday’s Central Park half marathon I wasn’t really too excited about the 10 miler, nor was my body. This works out perfectly as I’m getting two days of awesome workouts from packing and moving (STAIRS!) but can focus this week on Phsyique and speed work. We have the NYRR Mother’s Day 4 miler on Sunday and my goal is to improve my time from my last NYRR 4 miler which means averaging a 9:54 or less pace! I CAN DO IT!!!
DON’T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY WHICH ENDS AT MIDNIGHT!!
Here is a picture of us after last year’s Broad Street 10 miler! 🙂

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