Goooooood morning people! Happy Friday to ya! Although this week was a short one, I think I kept telling myself a million times that it was almost over so it actually wound up feeling pretty long. Fail. Oh well, Friday is here at last and you know what that means…it’s Fashion Friday!

Dress: Target (or Targét as I like to call it)

Jean Jacket: Gap (from forever ago, but they are coming back in style!)

Shoes: Urban Outfitters

Sorry for my weird claw hand folding the phone. Not really sure what happened there. Oh, and also sorry for the big crack in the mirror. That happened an hour after we hung it up because Jack thought it was another dog and he was trying to play with it. Right. This is after we replaced the first mirror which he actually shattered in a million pieces because he kept running into it. Yes, my dog is insane.

Anywho, does anyone have any fun weekend plans? Tonight I’m hanging out with some friends to barbeque and then go out in DC. I picked up some delicious corn from Trader Joe’s this week and I can’t wait to grill it! Last night we tried broiling it in the oven after soaking it in water for about 20 minutes and although it was delicious, it was lacking that yummy grill taste.

Yumm!! Barbeques with friends are always a blast!

Then tomorrow I am heading to the National’s game with Fabio, my friend from work Ellen, and her boyfriend. They are playing the Braves and Ellen grew up in Atlanta so even though neither of us are big baseball fans, it should be really fun. The boys, of course, are both obsessed with baseball and are super excited. Fabio actually used to be a bat boy for the Yankees and the Mets in NY so he knows pretty much everything there is to know about baseball. I have a feeling the boys will be having one conversation while us girls gossip about everything else. It should be a great time!

Then on Sunday I am hoping to go to my dad’s house for some pool time. While I was at work yesterday he sent me the following text:

"The pool is waiting for you!"

Rude. Doesn’t he know I’m at work? Haha but it seriously made me want to go home this weekend and spend some quality time with the fam by the pool.

Anyway, what are you guys doing this weekend? Anything fun? Any pool plans?? If you are planning to be prancing around in a bikini, I recommend this article and this article for some last minute workout ideas!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Previous Fashion Fridays

P.S. My friend Catrina just posted another picture from Memorial Day Weekend so I added it to my MDW recap post. Check it out!

Hey people! Happy Thursday!! I always feel so drained on Wednesdays, but when Thursday comes around I’m picked right back up again! I think I spend too much energy on Mondays and Tuesdays trying to get a million things done and then by Wednesday I’m just beat. Oh well, now it’s almost the weekend and I have some fun plans in my future so I’m definitely in a good mood.

Workout

My workouts for the last two days have been fantastic! Yesterday morning I went for my run with Jack and then did Insanity afterwords. During our run, I ran into one of my coworkers and I stopped to chat. Jack, however, was not feeling the pause and kept pulling me to continue. He has so much energy! Eventually I said bye to my friend and we quickly ran off again. The sun was shining and it was nice and warm out. It was a great morning and pumped me up for the day!

Then yesterday afternoon, Jack, Fabio, and I ran up to the dog park (1 mile) and walked him home (it was hot and we worried Jack would be too tired. It had nothing to do with the free pizza sample we got ). It was a great workout indeed!

Today’s workout has been good so far, I had another fun run with Jack this morning (we saw lots of baby bunnies!) and then did Insanity after. Now I’m happy because if I feel like working out later I can, but there’s no pressure! It’s a good feeling.

Recipe

So I have teased you guys a couple of times now about this Mexican Veggie Quinoa. Well today I am finally giving you guys the recipe! Hooray!

I served this side dish with my fish tacos and I really loved that it packed a ton of flavor and included a good variety of veggies. I usually find that I’m a carb-loving girl by nature (bring on the pasta, rice, and potatoes!) so whenever I can get some extra veggies in with my carbs I am a happy camper! This side dish was super simple and tasty, so try it out! Here’s how I made it…

First I cooked the quinoa according to the package directions, but used slightly less water. I’ve said this before, but I think it deserves repeating. When I used to make quinoa with 1 part dry quinoa 2 parts water, it would always come out mushy. Now I use 1 part quinoa to 1.5 parts water and it comes out fluffy every time. I think this is probably because I rinse the quinoa first to remove the bitter taste, and that extra water was enough to make it mushy. That’s my theory, anyway! While the quinoa was cooking, I reheated some corn that I had left over from my Chicken Burrito Bowl in a small skillet.

While the corn was warming, I steamed some broccoli. When it was ready I mixed it in with the corn. When both veggies were heated through, I added some Mexican salsa to the mix.

Then I stirred in the cooked quinoa until everything was combined.

It was delicious! This side dish came together so fast and was incredibly easy to put together. The spicy salsa gave the veggies and the quinoa a good tomatoey kick and I loved it! If you’re looking for a healthy and filling side dish to accompany your Mexican meal, this is it!

Mexican Veggie Quinoa

Makes two large servings

Ingredients

½ cup dry quinoa
1 ½ cup water
½ cup corn kernels (could use more or less, depending on what you have available)
1 head of broccoli, chopped into smaller florets
¼ cup salsa

Instructions

Cook quinoa according to package instructions.
Meanwhile, warm corn kernels in a skillet (you could add butter or oil but I chose to omit).
Steam broccoli until tender-crisp, and mix in with corn.
Add salsa and stir to combine.
When quinoa is cooked and fluffy, mix it in with salsa veggie mixture.

Eat, and enjoy!

I always have a hard time thinking of side dishes to accompany meals. Chicken by itself is just so boring, so I try to liven things up with my side dishes. This was one that I thought was really flavorful without being too strenuous to pull together.

What are your favorite side dishes? Do you usually eat side dishes or do you just mix all your flavors together in a big bowl? My mouth gets bored if I eat too much of one flavor, so I love having other items on my plate to switch to!

Hello everyone! Happy Tuesday I hope your day is going well…mine has been very busy and productive! Even though I’m busy at work, I promised I would share my recipe from last night’s dinner and a promise is a promise! So, without further ado, I give you….Chicken Burrito Bowls!

Recipe

I don’t know about you, but Chipotle is one of my favorite “fast food” restaurants. I love that you can choose exactly which ingredients you want and switch up the flavors each time you go. While I generally try to get the healthiest options available (which is made easier by Chipotle’s recent addition of brown rice! Thank you Chipotle!), I knew I could make an even healthier version of my favorite chicken burrito bowl at home. So, whether it’s the spicy chicken or the sweet corn that tickles your taste buds, try this at-home version of Chipotle’s burrito bowl and get your Mexican fix without all the calories! Yay!

To make this dish I first combined brown rice with water and brought it to a boil over high heat. Once it was boiling, I turned the heat down to low, covered the rice, and let it cook for about 25 minutes.

While the rice cooked I started bringing together all the rest of the ingredients that would go into my burrito bowl. First I chopped a small onion, a medium-sized tomato, and some cilantro and combined it with lemon juice in a small bowl. Lime juice probably would have been better, but I didn’t have any on hand and the lemon tasted fine.

I set this mixture aside and let the flavors come together as I prepared the rest of my ingredients.

Next I opened a can of sweet corn and black beans. I made sure to get the low sodium kind because canned veggies are usually loaded with salt. Bleh. No thank you! I’ll add my own salt thankyouverymuch.

I poured these into separate bowls and gave them a quick nuke in the microwave. Once they were hot, I set them aside with my tomato mixture so they’d be all in one place when I was ready to add them to the rice.

Then I got started on the chicken. I made a quick rub from cumin, paprika, Mexican chili powder, and a little bit of cayenne pepper. I rubbed this on three small boneless, skinless, chicken tenders and cooked them up on the George Foreman.

They cooked up really quickly and once they were done I chopped them up and set them aside. Then I just had to wait for the rice to finish cooking!

As soon as it was done I dumped in the tomatoes, corn, and beans and mixed everything together.

Then I scooped the rice mixture into two bowls and topped it with the chicken! I added some extra cilantro for garnish (mostly because my cilantro plant is growing like crazy and I wanted to use more).

These were so good and really mimicked the flavor of Chipotle! The spicy chicken gave the dish a nice kick and the sweet corn balanced it out. Fabio couldn’t stop raving about how good it was and went back for seconds! He also topped his with shredded cheese but I omitted this to save calories. This really is an easy and tasty dish so you should try it out!

Chicken Burrito Bowls (inspired by Chipotle)

Serves ~~three~~ one hungry boy and his girlfriend

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice
2 cups water
1 small onion, diced
1 medium-sized tomato, diced
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp. lemon/lime juice
1/2 can sweet corn
1/2 can black beans
3 boneless, skinless chicken tenders (or other type of chicken breast)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. Mexican chili powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Instructions

Combine brown rice with water in a pot. Bring the water to a boil and then cover the rice and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 25 minutes or until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
Combine chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro in a bowl. Mix well and add in lemon/lime juice. Set aside.
Pour 1/2 can sweet corn into a separate bowl and heat in microwave for 1 minute. Repeat with 1/2 can of black beans. Set bowls aside.
In another small dish, combine cumin, paprika, Mexican chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Rub spice mixture on both sides of chicken breasts and grill until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Remove chicken from grill and slice into bite-size pieces.
When rice is done, add in tomato mixture, corn, and beans. Stir to combine.
Serve rice in small bowls and top with chicken. Garnish with extra cilantro, if desired.

That’s it! Super easy, huh?

So now let me hear from you. Do you like Chipotle? What’s your favorite fast-food option? Do you ever try recreating your favorites at home?