Zuccini Meatballs - Good and Healthy

Hello everyone,

It's been a long time since I posted. I have been doing a lot of cooking lately, as I am trying to ensure that I eat more. However, I still want to be eating healthy, so I made some pretty healthy dishes that I like. If you don't tell anyone, they won't know how healthy these recipes are.

Zuccini Meatballs
1lb to 1.5lbs 97%free hamburger (or 99%fat free turkey)
1c Kashi Asiago Cheese Crackers (you can use Cheese Nips, or any cracker or bread crumbs)
3 egg whites
2 zuccinis (shredded into the meat)
Garlic powder
Basil 1tsp
Parsley 1 tsp
1.5oz Feta Cheese

Mix all ingredients together. You can change the spices to your liking. I don't measure anymore, just eyeball them. Use a small scooper to make the balls. It save a bunch of time. The meatballs will seem a little wet, due to the egg whites, but they will hold together just fine don't worry. Put on a cookie sheet. Use aluminum foil on the cookie sheet, makes clean up a breeze. Spray the aluminum foil with Pam. Cook for about 15-20min until done. Let sit for about 20min. If you let them sit overnight they taste even better. You can dip them in Honey Mustard, Ranch, etc. I eat them plain, as I think they taste just fine this way.
This is a good way to get in your veggies without even knowing it. You can't taste the zuccini at all, trust me. Josh really likes them as do I, and they are really healthy.
Enjoy

Eric Church & Norfolk VA Weekend

NORFOLK VIRGINIA GET-AWAY WEEKEND

What a great weekend! This weekend Josh and I went to Norfolk, VA to see Eric Church. Eric Church is Josh's favorite country singer. We were supposed to see him in Raleigh the week of the state fair, but the tickets were sold out. Since he couldn't see him then, I looked to see when he would be playing somewhere relatively close to Fayetteville and Norfolk was the only place. So we decided to go see Eric Church and make a weekend out of it. Norfolk had the festival of lights on Saturday the 22nd, so I thought it would be great to stay there for the weekend to see that as well.

The concert was great! Josh and I both had a great time. Eric Church is a great artist and has some great songs. It was one of the best concerts that I've ever been to, and I know Josh had a lot to do with that. After the concert we went downtown to a sports bar and had cheese fries with ranch! The diet was out the window but I could care less, as life is just too short.

Saturday Josh took me to Virginia Beach. It was only the third time in his life that he had been to the beach. We walked the beach for a few miles, just taking our time and enjoying the scenery and one another. We got some great pictures of the ocean and of us together. Josh was trying to find seashells during our walk, but there were none to be found except some broken ones. He was looking for the "perfect" seashell, one that wasn't broken. However, he found one and decided not to get it because it was broken, but I thought it would be cool to keep it as it didn't matter if it was perfect, just that we had something to remember the day by. Right before we left we hit the jckpot of seashells and we collected a few of them. I showed Josh what a razor clam was, an oyster shell, and explained Quahogs to him as well. It was really cool.

After our beach excursion, we went to the Pirate exhibit. Not something that I would usually do, but I have to admit I really enjoyed it. The beginning was really depressing, as it discussed the slave trading and how the slaves were treated back in those days. I was about to cry, it was really sad. Then it changed to more of the pirate stuff and that was really cool. The coolest thing was seeing hundreds of pounds of silver coins. There were a lot of coins!!

After the exhibit we grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the parade. Again, we were close enough to walk as everything was only 5-10 minutes from the hotel. The festival of lights was a little weak. The only thing they did was to light up the buildings. But it was cute none-the-less. Then they had a parade. It was cute for the first 45 minutes, but then it got really repetitive. There were at least 10 JROTC teams out there. It was funny to watch them trying to march and stay on foot. It reminded me of my boot camp days, and Josh was just shaking his head at how bad some of them were, lol. We left the parade early because I was about to freeze. My teeth were chattering I was that cold. We went back to the hotel and I took a nap while Josh got to watch his football team (Nebraska). We were both exhausted and passed out by 10:30pm.

Sunday morning I woke up before him (as usual, but I am learning to let him sleep in). I walked downtown to the Starbucks to get him some Apple Cider as he doesn't like coffee, and something to eat. The walk was really relaxing for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Josh liked the fruits from that labor, as I mentioned, he loves Apple Cider.

We left Norfolk at 11am to go back to Fayetteville. On the way we listened to Dane Cook, one of his favorite comedians. This guy is really funny. Then we stopped in Smithfield so he could get me a coffee cup to remember the weekend by. What a sweet, great guy. I ended up getting a travel mug that had tractors on them, as it reminded me of a song that we listen to. The coolest part was that I didn't even have to explain the reason why I chose that cup, he already knew. After that we went to Wilson's Leather to look at some jackets, and then went to Reebok so I could get some new sneakers. I now have a pair for Josh's, a pair for the car, and a pair for my house. How awesome is that!!!

Once we got home Josh told me not to worry about cooking, as he had a surprise. That amazing man cooked me breakfast for dinner. Pancakes, eggs, and a bagel with orange juice. He even did the egg whites for me, as he knows I like them. Also, he used the sugar free syrup I like instead of the regular kind. What a considerate man!! This was a great way to end a great weekend.

I have never really done anything like this before, just going away for the weekend like that. It was something that I always wanted to do, but never have. I am so glad that we went and that Josh had such a good time. I look forward to many more weekends with him, and many more fun times. I have the greatest boyfriend ever!!!!

What a sexy man!!

The Great Weekends Continue

Had another phenominal weekend with Josh! Things are going great, and we are both having a great time. Josh had Friday off after working crazy all week. I had an interview for a job with a headhunter in Charlotte. It was a good interview, I learned a few things, but will not take a job that far away from Fayetteville. Then I got a call from Bill for an interview with a great corporation on Wednesday. Fingers crossed on that one, and I will keep you updated on how that goes.

So about the weekend. Josh surprised me and just came over around 5pm on Friday. After I finally got ready, we went to his place so he could get ready so we could go out. We planned on doing dinner and then pool. Dinner was good, and I even had fried zuccinni sticks!! It was good. By the time dinner was over, we just decided to go home and chill, pool can wait.

Saturday morning he cooked me breakfast again. What a great man, he cooks my egg whites for me!! The only thing missing here is the coffee, but we are working on that one, lol. We hung out for a while, and then went to mom's so I could pick up some clothes. That is the only pain, in that I have to pack a bag whenever I go over there. However, I am slowly leaving stuff over there, but not too much. I don't wanna move too fast, and am cool with the way things are going right now. One day at a time I believe. Josh was sweet and helped mom fix her phone. Then we went over to Christian's to get the dress altered for his wedding. Then it was off to Tre's to hang out with them. It was cool. There was no schedule and we just did whatever and hung out with friends.

Then it was off to Greenville. We stopped in Smithfield so I could get a watch. Lost my last one. I got two, and they are very similar and cute. Josh got some things as well. The drive was great. We listened to country music and sang the entire way. That man can sing let me tell you!! THe 2 hour drive flew by. Got there and did dinner. Sandy said 5pm, but ya, the party didnt start till 9pm. Oh well. We hung out and he met everyone. We both came to the realization that while we both like going out and having a few drinks, doing it with a bunch of 18-20yr old college kids is not as much fun as before. Their mentality is very different. We both just sat by the great fire Josh made and relaxed. I forgot there were even other people there. We left about 11pm, we had had enough. The next morning we met Lee, Jan & Roger at Starbucks for the Sunday ritual we all started when I lived in Greenville. That was one of the best parts of the weekend. It was great a nd relaxing, and I just love them! They are some great people and really seemed to like Josh, but who wouldn't. Then we went home, yet another great drive. Once back, we relaxed, took a good nap, and hung out. Finished the night with some pizza. Josh was sweet, took me to get mom dinner, and then took me home. Then we just relaxed till it was time for him to go home, as he had to work on Monday.

It wasn't anything too exciting, but it didn't have to be. I had a great time with a great man. It's amazing how someone can make things so much fun and relaxing at the same time, and you can be yourself the entire time. How cool!

Here are some great pictures of us from that weekend. Looking forward to many more great weekends to come!

Awesome dinner tonight

I cooked dinner for Josh tonight and I have to say that it was really good!! My friend Jennifer had posted the recipe on her blog, and it looked easy and healthy so I decided to try it. The only problem? Well, there were two. The first one was that Josh has nothing in his house for cooking. Everything is instant and either cooked in the microwave or in the oven. So, we went to the store to get food. Besides chicken, eggplant was a main ingredient. Go figure, Food Lion didn't have eggplant. So we got everything there and then went to Wal-Mart and yup, they had sold out of eggplant too!! By this time I was flustered cause I didn't know what I was going to cook. Josh was great though, and said just improvise and cook whatever, plus I made sure that there was peanut butter and jelly in the house just in case!!

I cooked the Mediterrean Chicken but just left out the eggplant. I also did mashed potatoes and a veggie. It was all really good, even if I did have to mash the potatoes with a spoon as Josh has no mixer, and the skins were left on the potatoes because he doesn't have a potatoe peeler either!! Nor is there a strainer. So, I will be bringing a lot of my kitchen stuff over there, so when I do cook there will be something to cook with. However, I will give him credit, as he has pots and pans!! Josh liked everything and even went back for seconds!!! It was really cool getting to cook for someone other than myself or mom. I had a lot of fun this weekend, and am actually excited about the next meal I will cook. I am thinking about eggplant parm this coming weekend. He's never had it before!!! And he's never had hummus or heard of it! It was hysterical. I told him, I am going to learn a lot of things from you, and you are going to learn a lot of things from me. This man will know all about food if I have anything to do with it.

Here's the recipe. I added half a red onion and a Tbsp of garlic as well

1 pound chicken
1 pkg baby portabellas
1/2 red onion
1 pkg cherry tomatoes
1/2 lg eggplant
1 Tbsp garlic
1 tsp oregano
1 tps italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/4 to 1/3 cup Basalmic Vinegar

Again, this is the receipe that Jennifer created. She's got some great recipes on her blog. You should give them a look.

Tammy & Matt's Wedding

Matt & Tammy October 10th, 2009

Matt & Tammy were married on 10-10-09. It was the best wedding ever! There were only 50 people there, so it was very quaint and intimate. The ceremony was in Southport, NC at the Shoreline Church Chapel. It was a small cute little chapel. The wedding was at 4pm, and it was supposed to rain pretty badly right at four. However, the sun was out nice and bright and filled the chapel full of sunlight. It was beautiful. The ceremony was 15 minutes. They even had a sand ceremony, which I thought was really nice. After the ceremony Tammy had all the guests do a group picture. It was just great, as everyone there knew Tammy & Matt really well and everything was really relaxed.
After the ceremony, we went to the Oak Island Golf & Country Club about 5 min away. What a beautiful golf course. The trees were amazing, and you could see the ocean from the club. It started to rain when we got there, but it only lasted 5 min. O'dourves were served, and they had beer & wine there for everyone. Then everyone across the stree to the beach where we did a prayer and made wishes on sea shells that Matt & Tammy had collected and then we threw them back in the ocean. It was absolutely beautiful!! The sun was setting and I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful.
Afterwards we headed back to the club for dinner. The tables were decorated very well, and the color theme was purple, Tammy's favorite color. It was just what she wanted, and it looked great. They did the toast and then we ate. Food was great. Baked ziti, green beans, prime rib, and mashed potatoes. All of it was delicious.
After dinner we danced all nite on the patio. It was so much fun, and I even danced even though I can't do it very well. Once the party was over, we all headed to Matt & Tammy's condo and partied till 2am. It was just the most perfect night. Full of friends, laughter, and fun.
If I decide not to elope, I will do this for my wedding. I don't want too many people there, just my close friends and family. I want it to be a day of celebration, but most importantly, a day that is all about me and my husband and us committing our lives together. I think people forget what the wedding day is all about, and instead just focus on the party. Tammy definately did it right, and I may just take her up on her offer and let her plan my wedding, whenever that may happen (prob no time soon lol)!!!

Here are some pics from that great day!

Firefighter fighting fire - a must see

I saw this and thought it was hysterical. At first I thought it was set-up, but nope, it's for real. I feel bad for the poor fire fighter. The media made him look like a pot head, but you must see this. I have no idea how to post the video, but here is the link. You have to watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuecxDm2B9w

SICK

I tell you what, I am sick of being sick. Mom and I have both been sick as dogs for the past 2 weeks. I first got a cold, it turned into bronchitis, and then I got a fever! Mom had some sort of flu, got better, caught my cold, and now she has a fever! I don't like being sick, but would rather it be me than her as she has too much stuff going on. This is crazy! We both need a vacation and we are both exausted. It's been nice living with mom though, as she has really helped me out when I was sick and too busy, and I am able to do the same for her. It's nice having someone there to help you out when things are crazy, and crazy they have been. It's going to slow down a bit for me in another week, and I hope it slows down some for mom as well. We just need a break!