I haven't had a chance to update in a while and I still don't but I just have to say... a new twist on my oatmeal-- a tablespoon of peanutbutter in the mix. This adds rich creaminess to a bowl of already creamy tastiness. Love it. That's all!

Grilled Vegetable Pizza

Tonight I came home to this Grilled Vegetable Pizza meal made by Susie. Unfortunately, I love the sauce on pizza and this was a white one--meaning only olive oil. No ooey gooey red sauce dripping out of the sides. It had a good crust but the toppings were more aimed toward my parents likings than mine: I hate olives, love sauce, think artichokes are okay, and prefer peppers in my tacos, not pizza, None-the-less, it's still a good Za, if you like that sort of thing! I ended up dipping it in Ragu pizza sauce...shh....

Doesn't look too glamorous in this picture, but I'd eat it again...with a few changes. I'm attempting to avoid sweets tonight... so I'm downing a diet soda. Cross ya fingers for me.

Modeling Debut

Look out top model!! Haha... this picture is featured on the Fairfax County Infoweb on the Live Well site. Live Well is a wellness campaign aimed at Fairfax County employees to get fit and healthy!! Love the idea...but the model looks nerdy. Too bad my name isn't spelled "Jesse." Editing at it's finest!

Thought everyone could get a kick out of this one...

Texas de Brazil

Last week I got the chance to finally try a restaurant I've been itching to try since it came to Fairfax: Texas de Brazil. For those of you who haven't heard of it, its a Brazillian Churrascaria, basically God's gift to man, if you ask me.

Though this restaurant is known for its meat selection hot off the fire, there are tons of options outside of that for those vegans out there. Note: if you are a vegan, don't go here! Though the bill was pricey, the ambiance and the food was well worth the pretty penny. I knew that none other than Alex would appreciate this restaurant more, so naturally, he was my date.

We got there and I was quickly in awe of what I saw. Clean tables, a busy seating scheme, and tons of food. The waiters carry giant skewers of meat around the entire restaurant. You're given a flip card (green on one side, red on the other) and depending on which side is up, you'll either be bombarded by the waiters or left alone. It's hard to turn the card to red as the mouth watering meats come by, so if you're on a diet, I'd avoid this place at all cost! At the same time, like I said, there is a huge side bar that has vegetables, cheese platters, shrimp, sushi, Brazilian cuisine,salads, sauces, dips, and tons of bread.

It's hard to pace yourself here, and although I wanted to gorge on all the meat, I took a trip or two up to the side bar before I completely lost it. On the table there are these little dough bread balls, mashed potatos and fried plantains to cleanse your palate.

Here I have some asparagus, salad, prosciutto, grilled provolone, sushi and shrimp-- all delicious, but not as exciting as what's to come.

This is my second platter including: potatoes au gratin, grilled mushrooms, black beans, pancetta, mozzarella, and flank steak.I love love LOVED the potatoes au gratin.

Holy delicious.. but here is an up close pic of my favorite morsel: the sirloin! Who would have thought? The filet wrapped in bacon was a close second. Just thinking about these makes my mouth water.

All the meat was tender, juicy and cooked perfectly. You won't find overdone or undercooked meat here--every skewer is made with perfection and goes along perfect with all the side choices. The all-you-can-eat mentality is so fun, and if you go with someone who enjoys to eat, it's a great experience. I definitely left feeling full, but happy.

There is a difference between overeating on junk food and overeating on good food. This example of the latter is one I will remember and think fondly of until next year (when I'm allowing myself to have it again!!)

Paul's Famous Friday Night "The Rut" Cheesesteaks

I kept saying “it’s my first expose!” Yep, you heard right—I did a full on expose on the most famous Cheesesteak of all. No, not Pat’s or Geno’s… Paul Garrity’s. The home-cooked version of the legends, and in my humble opinion, the best. No grease dripping off this sandwich, and no fast food feel. The bread, meat, cheese, even oil chosen specifically for the master crafted Rutledge delicacy.

Like I said, everything is picked specifically. I’ve tried making these before but I can never find the right kind of meat, and it never looks as fresh as the kind used here. Paul uses Rib Eye Chip Steak, and you can see how red it is. I think there was about 2 pounds of the steak for 5 sandwiches. Here’s what you need and what you need to do:

Paul’s “The Rut” Cheesesteaks (Makes 5)
Rib Eye Chip Steak (2 lbs)

Cheese (the cheesier, the better… pick your poison: American, Provolone, even Cheese Whiz)

5 fresh soft sub rolls

Diced yellow onion

Olive Oil (“Extra Virgin, not the used and dirty type”)

Garlic Pepper

Salt

Pepper

Watch and learn…
1. Your steak should be easy to tear by hand... you can see Paul doing this here.

2. Make sure you give the job of dicing the onions to the sous chef!! ()

3. In a medium frying pan, place about a tsp of olive oil and let it heat over medium

4. Add 1 lb of the rib eye steak 

5. Season with pepper, salt and heavily garlic pepper (order matters! Decent pepper, light on the salt, heavy on the garlic)

6. Sauté and add onions. Cook until meat is browned and drain!!! (Note the slotted technique)

7. Add cheese Smother in cheese

8. Place cut sub roll over sandwich, open toward the pan. Press down (note rotation of the wrist!)

9. ATTEMPT to flip with a spatula (this is an art form… keep trying)

Voila! Enjoy! It's always better with Utz Sour Cream and Onion Chips... duh. No mayo here... just ketchup!

Banana Bread on a Rainy Morning

So, before I forget everything I need to let you all in on, I must must must add this banana bread recipe, because it's fantastic. I got the pleasure of cooking for the UNC Women's Varsity Lacrosse team. Don't let that fool you-- I just cooked it so Alex's mom didn't have to, but it's her recipe, so she gets the credit:

Banana Bread:

2 medium bananas mashes

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts (don't like nuts in my bread, so these are optional.. try it with chocolate chips!)

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup + 1 tbsp buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees;

Flour a 9 x 5 loaf pan (we used a glass one)

Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix well (there will be some lumps from the bananas)

Transfer into prepared Pan

Bake until top is golden brown and splits slightly (about an hour and ten-twenty minutes)

It filled the house with the warm aroma of bananas and it took all I had to not lick the bowl clean. I didn't even get a chance to eat it but it's one of those tried and true recipes I can tell will be delicious. Give it a go!

See, Alex likes it too.

Found the camera cord... I didn't really look too hard, I guess! So, yesterday (and today for that matter) was a whirlwind of a day. I felt like I had no time to breathe, but alas, I'm a loyal blogger now, so I took my pictures!

Thursday morning is always fun... 5 am work = oatmeal at 6:00 am. I am newly obsessed with oatmeal, and between another blog's tribute to oatmeal, and the Quaker site, I have tons of yummy ideas to try out. Aubrey Aden-Buie, if you ever read this blog... you'd probably love that site I sent :) haha. Doubtful. Anyway, so back to my day. Right before my class I had some yogurt with some vanilla wafers my boss brought me... so tasty.

I taught the most fun Jump and Pump yet on Thursday. Little did they know they were doing division 1 athletic conditioning... brought to you by Kirk Adams via me. Awesome. For those of you who know what I'm talking about.. think shadow work, and also that game we used to play where we split into two groups and tried to knock over the cones...

SO funny to watch it, and not have to run it. My class did awesome and the whole competition thing really got them going in a way I've not seen them work. It was great. We ended with a torturous workout which is easy to do with just a couple of dumbbells.. stress LIGHT dumbbells. Anyway, it's fun and a "one-and-done" type of thing.

 

 So, after this I crammed lunch down my throat before I did my own 20 minute workout and got ready for my first personal training client!! I was super excited/nervous but it went really well. After my training session I had about 45 minutes to take a breather and get to soccer practice. Yep, Coach Davis. Well.. .that's what I was introduced as but I told the head coach that I prefer the girls call me Jessie... so Jessie it is.

I ate this apple right before we went into train because I ended up playing for about 20 minutes. I had a broken ankle this time last year, and surgery March 30th, I think. So.. I haven't played soccer since then. I mean, nada. So I'm sore today.. but not so much my legs, mostly my back. Strange. So fun though. I miss soccer. Nutrtionally speaking, soccer is the thing that makes me forget about food. I love what athletics can do for girls specifically. There is so much pressure to conform to look a certain way. I've coached 6 year olds who tell me they are fat. It's so, so sad. Athletes, however, look at food a little differently. Athletes see food as fuel for their body. Typically, they eat what gives them good sustainable energy, and I love it. They see their muscular legs as powerful. They appreciate their body for what it can do, not what it looks like. So, if you have a little girl... enroll her in sports. Anyway, enough of my tangent.

So, after my practice, I had another training session. I had a Fiber One pop-tart to tide me over til dinner... definitely not as good without the toaster.

Dinner was made by Susie, because I didn't get home until late. She prepared a recipe we love, Chicken with Rosemary Sauce, from Cooking Light. She also roasted some squash (yum) and brussel sprouts (not so yum), and we had good farmer's market rolls (yum) and plain cous cous (not so yum). After dinner I needed something sweet, and since I'm off sweets for a little, I settled for a yogurt. Um, lame? Yes.

Breakfast this morning was rushed because I had another client to meet. I did my own workout and then came home craving avocado. So I made, yep you guessed it, a sandwich with bacon, avocado, a little light mayo, and cracked pepper. I had a cherry cobbler yogurt on the side (the best kind, in my opinion!).

This recipe, gotten straight off the Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice, is so simple, you have to try it...

If you like key lime pie, you should try this because it takes no time at all, and four ingredients (without the whipped cream).

 

Here is my finished product, just waiting for me to dig into.... took all my will power to not lick the bowl. Okay, I did a little. Okay... just like a spoonful (or two).

I needed major coffee by 4:00 today, so I got some Einstein's on the way from my meeting. I also had a banana with peanut butter. I'm going to a team dinner but not eating because I have a hot date with my main squeeze tonight... More updates later. Ta Ta!!!