Dear Costco, Will you Marry Me?

Costco-
You make me so happy. You're produce? DELICIOUS. The Samples? The best part of the trip. The random kitchen items and cute tops? a wonderful combination. Unnecessarily large boxes of cereal and bags of almonds? irresistible. The bargains? RIGHT UP MY ALLEY!

Love,
Kara

This past weekend I hijacked my mom's Costco card and loaded up on TONS of food. Fresh organic fruits and veggies, meats, breads, cereal, the works. In fact, I just ate one of the most yummy plums of my life. While I was there, I picked up a box of individually packaged roasted red pepper and mango glazed mahi mahi. I couldn't wait to try it!

Now, I'm a convenience girl. So I just popped that lil' fishy right into the microwave for 6 minutes and let it cook, you could bake it if you want. In the meantime, I needed some sides. So I busted out the ol' George Foreman, some fresh asparagus, and THESE!!!!

Please tell me these are not the cutest little peppers you ever did see!!



I didn't really "cook" anything in this meal.
Here's what I did:

- Put package of fish in Microwave
- Sprayed George Foreman with olive oil cooking spray, threw on the asparagus, some kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper, then I topped it off with a little dusting of Parmesan
- Cut up those tiny little bits of joy called peppers and grilled them up
- CHOWED DOWN

It was such a satisfying meal, in such a short amount of time, I couldn't help but post it.

Here's what I got:
Roasted red pepper and mango mahi mahi with grilled asparagus and peppers


What I learned:
- I may try baking the fish next time, I may not
- I'll go home and figure out what brand this stuff is and let you know
- I rekindled my relationship with the Foreman
- I still love you Costco

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara

Pasta Al"fake"o

Call me fat and happy! I have fallen into that trap of being in a great relationship, and enjoying great food together, and not enjoying my weight gain. So I went on a rampage of produce, protein, and light food shopping. Now my fridge is full and there are no excuses for not cooking, or updating the blog for that matter!

Last night I got home and decided to throw together a fake Alfredo sauce made with The Laughing Cow light cheese wedges. These things aren't really as wonderful as nice, real, yummy cheese, but they do make for a great sauce! I've seen this recipe all over the place, so I'm not quite sure who to attribute it to.

All in all, al"fake"o sauce is NOT as good as the real thing, and even after years of eating it, I'm still trying to get used to whole wheat pasta. But this was a great dish for one, and so filling I thought I was going to EXPLODE! Although it did remind me of a frozen dinner, I think I'll make it again. It's quick, simple, and healthy.

Here's the Recipe:

Sauce:

- 3 light Swiss Laughing Cow cheese wedges

- 1/2 Tablespoon margarine or butter

- 1 Tablespoon Parmesan

- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1/2 cup skim milk

Combine all in a sauce pan and stir until smooth, might take up till 20 minutes. Pour over pasta

Pasta:

- Eyeballed amount of whole wheat pasta you think you can eat

- Water

- Salt

Cook according to package directions

Others:

- Steam fresh broccoli in the microwave

- Pre-cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast

Combine into pasta, after heating each in the microwave, or any other method you desire

Here's What I Got:

All the goods for the sauce:

The rest of the dish:

I kind of love the look of steamed broccoli (please notice my Amish Friendship Bread started in the background. This is an upcoming blog post):

Whole Wheat Pasta, cooked and ready to go:

The sauce:

All together now!

What I Learned:

- I don't like garlic powder, and I would've rather just used fresh garlic, I'm not sure why I didn't

- This is a good fast "I live alone meal" and I'll make it again

- I LOVE FRESH PRODUCE! I'm in such a better mood when I'm eating healthy fresh veggies and fruits. In fact I'm snacking on blueberries, blackberries and strawberries as I type! yum.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Kara