Spaghetti Sauce, Part II

Hi everyone!  I hope you are all having a good week so far... it's hump day tomorrow!  Which reminds me of a hilarious slogan at Bonefish when my friends were here.  They have this great appetizer called Bang-Bang Shrimp, and they were running a special this month for the appetizer for $5 on Wednesdays.  They said they were officially changing Hump Day to Bang Bang Wednesday.  Totally inappropriate and I laughed so hard.  Anyway, I was going to go for a run this morning but once again the temps were already in the 80's at 6:00am and it was so muggy.  Thankfully, it rained and stormed all day today so it's much cooler out now.  I actually shut my air conditioning off after letting Molly out and becoming chilly... since when does upper 70's, low 80's feel chilly??  Oh yeah that's right, when the past couple of weeks have topped out in the 100's.  That's when.

Last night I decided I wanted to make eggplant parm with the eggplant from the Farmer's Market.  In order to do that, I needed to make some homemade sauce.  Since posting the recipe last year, I have had a couple people ask for a little more instruction.  (Hi Juliana and Amanda!)  It's really not hard or time consuming, and it makes such a good sauce.  I wish I could take credit for it, but it's from my grandmother.  Here we go:

Ingredients- that's chopped onion in the bowl

Sauteing the onion in olive oil and butter

Spices on top!!

All mixed up and ready to cook down

That's it!  Simple right?  To get the entire recipe, click here.  I hope this helps a little for those who are interested.

I didn't take any pictures of the eggplant, but basically just sliced it, salted it, and let it sit for about 45 minutes.  I rinsed it off, patted it dry, then dipped in egg followed by Panko breadcrumbs.  Panko are the best breadcrumbs, try them once and you will never go back to the regular ones.  Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, flip, bake for another 10 minutes.  Put on top of linguine, place sliced mozzarella on top, sauce on top of that, and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan.  A-mazing.  I promise :)

I am off to watch a little TV and then bed early for me.  I went out after work with some friends for drinks and had one giant beer.  It was at least 2 regular beers, and I ate tater tots, and I'm not feeling great.. wonder why??  Here's hoping I can run in the morning!  Have a great night :)

I'm Melting!!!

Hello everyone!  I hope there are at least some of you who are escaping this heat wave.  It's officially unbearable in NC right now, with the Raleigh area having a heat index of 112.  (Actual temp: 102.  Insanity.)  I am sitting in my air conditioned apartment with the ceiling fan on high, and I'm still roasting away.  I'm sad because this means that at least for tomorrow, I won't be able to go on my run :(  It won't get below 80 tonight and it's going to be super muggy, so I don't think I will even try it.  I don't do well being overheated, I like the heat but this is above and beyond.  Hopefully it'll calm down for Tuesday morning.

Today was a good day.  I went to church this morning for the first time in probably 8-10 years.  I don't really discuss religion or my beliefs on this blog, but I have been feeling very strongly that I wanted to go since winter time.  My work schedule prevented me from being able too, but now that I am no longer at Target, I decided now was the time.  I had researched and found one right down the road from me, and it was very, very interesting.  I grew up in a very calm, organized, quiet church.  I hated going, I was always so bored, and that hour was the longest hour of my week.  Today was definitely not boring.  People were dancing, singing, running around, there was a full band playing music... It was quite a culture shock, but in a good way.  I liked it, and I think I will be back.  Everyone was so friendly, that was the first thing I noticed.  It seems like a really good group of people.

Anyway, I was going to do some cooking for the rest of the day after church, but that is out of the question.  I think I may need to go crawl in my freezer now.  I hope everyone on the east coast is surviving these temps and finding some way to stay cool!

Raleigh Farmer's Market

Today J and I went to the Farmer's Market for the first time.  I knew this place was hardcore, seeing as they are open every day of the year, with the exception of Christmas.  I heard it was huge.  I heard it was great.  But seeing was believing.... and DAMN.  I didn't bring my camera, but there was one giant building of all NC produce, and another building with meats, wares, jams, honey, and some more produce.  There were little restaurants all around.. it was insane.  We didn't go into the restaurants, but we definitely visited the 2 buildings.  They were open air buildings, and the heat index today was 112, but that didn't deter me.  Even when I got home and had to wring my soaking wet dress out, I was happy we went.  Everything we bought, (with the exception of strawberries and cherries,) was local.  The meat is local, free range, organic, etc.  And CHEAP.  Let's talk about a huge bunch of kale for 80 cents.

The finds

Blurry Cherries

Blurry Strawberries

Meat for J

Flowers for fun and because they looked pretty :)

Dinner last night was Carraba's with my friend Lindsay.  I asked the waiter if I could bring some of the spices home that they bring with the bread because I am totally obsessed, and he was able to hook it up.  So tonight, I added those to some pasta with a chopped zucchini and olive oil, and a little fresh grated parmesan cheese.  The fresh zucchini was SO GOOD.  I had forgotten how good fresh produce is, and even though I get organic and all that from the store, it still is probably at least a week old.  This was probably a day old, and there was a huge difference in flavor.

Tomorrow I have to finish up what little grocery shopping I have left, and J and I are going to church.  I always hated church growing up, it was the longest hour of my entire week.  But as an adult, I want to give it another try so we have narrowed it down to 3 to try, and tomorrow is number one.  Wish me luck!  I hope you all are having a great weekend :)

My Absence In Pictures

(Yes, this is beer, just for our table)

Hope you enjoyed!  I will be back with a real post tomorrow!!

Popping In To Say Hi!

Hello everyone!!!  Sorry that I've been MIA, and it's probably going to last a little longer too.. I have friends in visiting from NY, and I am also working 10 hour days at my job (my only job!!!) to make up for having Friday off.  Needless to say, I haven't really had time to even read blogs, let alone write anything fantastic.  I am so excited to have my girls here.  I haven't been home since Christmas 2008, so its been a LONG TIME since I have seen anyone.  Tonight we are going out to play Trivia at the bar, and tomorrow night we will be hitting up downtown Raleigh.  Friday is the beach, (and possibly Saturday as well,) and Sunday is their last day :(  Gotta make the most of it while they are here.

J started his new job yesterday and seems to like it.  He will be working days for the first two weeks, 7:30-5.  Since we share a car, this means that I am working long days by default, but my boss is nice enough to let me work 4-10's and take a weekday off.  This means that one day next week I will have all to myself, I can't wait!  When I think of having the full weekend, a weekday next week of my choosing, and then another weekend, I don't think I really understand it.  I haven't had a break in so long, or a chance to fully enjoy weekends, so I am really looking forward to being able to do this.  Starting out at the beach this weekend is a pretty great way to kick it off as well, don't you think?

Anyway my friends, I am going to get started on my day now.  I apologize for neglecting you taking a break, but real life is happening and I gotta take advantage.  I will be back soon, and I will still be reading blogs in my downtime at work :)  I hope you all have a great weekend coming up!!

My News.... Revealed :)

Sorry I have sucked so bad at posting this past week, I have been busy with working and being TIRED and wanting to sleep in my spare time.  I do have some pictures for my next post that I will share soon... whenever that next post is, either tomorrow or Sunday probably.  But don't worry, I will be posting much more regularly now.  Are you wondering why?
I have tonight off from Target so I am going to my friend Jenny's for a party that her and her husband are throwing for friends and neighbors.  (Yes, my friend Jenny whose wedding I was recently in.  Have I posted any of those pics??  Don't think so.  Here you go, isn't she beautiful?)

The Bride and I (not so great of me lol)

Happy Couple :)

Thank goodness I switched my shift tomorrow in order to recover:)  And then I work on the 4th for a small 4 hours. 

Are you still wondering?

Yeah... the 4th is my last day at Target.  My boyfriend got a full time job.

OMG HOORAY!!!!!!!

Sorry, but I am so excited.  Honestly, this may be the best news ever that I post on this blog, other than being pregnant.  And maybe my wedding announcement.  As of now, this is the most excited I have probably ever been, so I can't really compare.  Do you know what this means????  THIS means that I will have my nights free.  I will actually have a weekend.  It means that for the first time in almost 3 years, I can work a 40 hour week... and that will be enough. 

The job itself is another overnight job, Monday - Thursday.  Some people would be bothered by this, but I am a very independent person and need a lot of space, so having all that time apart is ok with me.  It means I can come home and watch whatever I want to watch on TV, I can be on the computer all night long without feeling bad, I can read, chill with Molly, whatever I want.  I am going to change my hours so that I don't have to be at work so early.  I will have time to work out!!!  Maybe I can lose this stubborn 20 pounds finally!  Honestly, I don't even know what I will do.  I am so happy that this happened at the beginning of summer so that I can enjoy the summer and good weather and be at the pool and beach on the weekends.  Ahhh....

So that's it.  My news.  10 more hours at Target and then it's over.  I still don't fully realize my new freedom, but I am definitely excited about it.

PS  If anyone is reading this thinking that it would be a good plan to try something crazy because my boyfriend won't be home, be warned that I own a LARGE pitbull, and she isn't friendly.  And her owner isn't either  :)

What Are You Drinking??

Hello everyone :)  I hope you all had a good Friday.  Mine is a REALLY good one, because not only do I not work at Target tonight, I don't need to go in tomorrow till 4!!  So it truly feels like a "Friday" to me, and not just another day.  I did of course work at my full time job today, and it went by fairly quickly.  I didn't have a lot of my own work to do, so I spent the day helping my boss with his grunt work.  I don't ever really want to be a manager, too much busy work, spreadsheets, and nonsense to do all day.
My older readers know that I started this position at my full time job back in January.  Before then, I had a position with the business-part of my company, with a small, close-knit team.  I worked with them for 2.5 years, and they were all pretty used to the stuff I ate, and were curious, and sometimes wanted to try it.  My new team, now on the IT side of the building, is a much bigger team, less close, and looks at me sometimes like I have 2 heads for what I bring in to eat.

Case in point...

                                          (Sorry for the dirty stove, I promise it's clean now lol.)

I have one of these most mornings of the week.  A much larger version, it usually fills a travel mug, and has some variety of fruit, powders, and spinach or kale.  I have been in my department now for 6 months, and people are finally letting their curiosity get the better of them, so I have been recently asked by a lot of people.. "What on earth are you drinking?"  I think it's hilarious.  I always ask if they just noticed that I bring this in all the time, and they usually say no, they have noticed for a while, but never wanted to ask.  I tell them, they usually get a grossed out look, smile politely, and walk away surely thinking, she's crazy.  I have posted about green smoothies before, I started drinking them during my raw experiment and never looked back.  I really like them a lot.  Mine usually contain some combination of the following: banana, strawberries, blueberries, mango, kiwi, spinach, kale, hemp protein powder, maca powder, raw chocolate powder, peanut butter, vanilla extract... one time I even put canned pumpkin in, added cinnamon and nutmeg, and it was pretty decent.  I have had them with all those fruits at once, and some with just spinach, banana, peanut butter and water.  I drink them because I really dislike cooked spinach, and I will put way more greens into a smoothie than I will into a salad.  Plus, who wouldn't want to get most of their veggie servings out of the way in the morning, and have it all taste like fruit? 

Sadly, this morning I had oatmeal.  Plain Jane, I know.  I jazzed it up with a half pint of blueberries and some cottage cheese, but then I realized tonight that I didn't get any greens today.  So..

This would be salad with spinach, kale, an apple, and some grated cheddar cheese, all drizzled with Annie's Goddess dressing.  Usually I like my salads with a lot more "stuff," but its so hot and I'm not all that hungry.  Plus, I made more guacamole and its chillin in the fridge, so I need room for that later!

Anyway, I am off to watch some Bethany Getting Married.. Lord knows I love me some Real Housewives and anything Housewives-related!  Tomorrow I am thinking I may wake up early to beat the heat for a run, and then off to the pool before work.  I hope everyone has a great Saturday!