Boston Bound

Sunday afternoon I arrived into Boston and was greeted with 60 degrees and sunshine beaming through the clear blue skies. A great start to a vacation! I love flying into the Boston airport—right over the ocean!

I was ready to get off the over-packed plane and stretch my legs—where better to do it than Harvard Square!? It’s been a tradition to go there every time I come out east—so much energy, people, and sights to see.

We had planned on eating at the renown Bartley’s Burgers, but being Sunday it was closed unfortunately.

 

My aunt & I

So instead of eating there, we walked around and stumbled on a little cafe. I ended up getting a bowl of unpictured blueberry chicken soup which sounded different, but was surprisingly delicious!!

Then of course I had to venture inside the gourmet cooking shop! So many things to browse through.

But backing up to Saturday—I made up a new strata recipe to clean out the fridge. I wrapped it all up in tinfoil to take for snacking on the plane. Then Saturday night, I went out to eat at the Green Mill and got my favorite, the Chicken Parmesan. They upped the serving to 3 chicken breasts now instead of 2, which is way too much to eat at one sitting, especially when you have a big baked potato too. So instead of getting rid of it, I decided to wrap that up to and made this for Monday’s lunch…

A chicken parmesan sandwich with mushrooms, and some roasted kabocha squash. 

I also tried a newer flavor of yogurt in the Dannon Light N’ Fit line, the Banana! It was actually really good—no artificial banana taste.

It was even better topped with some  Tropical Dried Fruit pieces on top…

 

Here's the new strata recipe!

Start Your Day Strata

‘Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c yellow onion, sliced
• 1/2 c yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 c mushrooms
• 1/2 c spinach
• 1/2 c cottage cheese
• 1/2 c eggbeaters
• 1/2 c milk (I used 8th Continent soymilk)
• 1/4 c chunky salsa
• 2 light whole wheat buns (I use Village Hearth)
• 5 thin slices of deli ham
• 1 Yukon gold potato—sliced very thin
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Take whole wheat buns and split in half. Tear up into cubes and press evenly into the bottom of the dish.
• Mix cottage cheese, milk, egg beaters, and salsa until combined.
• Meanwhile, sauté onions, mushrooms and bell peppers on medium until fork tender—5 minutes. Pour on top of bun cubes and spread evenly.
• Next, pour egg mixture over the vegetables and let sit for 15 minutes. Layer spinach over the top.
• Cover the egg mixture evenly with the slices of ham and top with the thin slices of potato. Sprinkle seasoning and fennel seeds evenly over the top.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Cool and cut into 4 large slices.

We finished the day with dinner at Pub 99. I was craving some good New England seafood, so luckily they had just what I was looking for.

Captain's Combo Platter - A hearty sampling of all your fried favorites - shrimp, sweet scallops and haddock served with french fries and coleslaw.

I got it broiled instead of fried, a baked potato instead of fries and butternut squash instead of coleslaw—so good!

**Stay tuned for the other half of my trip!**

Video Post Numero Dos!

Yay for video posts! I got two for you today—one for Whole Wheat Fennel Rolls and one for my homemade Rustic Tortellini Soup! I will post the recipes below in case you don’t want to watch me blabber on for 10 + minutes!(Don’t worry I will understand ha!) Have a wonderful Sunday.

 Whole Wheat Fennel Rolls

 Rustic Tortellini Soup

<<Recipes>>

Rustic Tortellini Soup

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C butternut squash, chopped
• 1/2 C zucchini squash, chopped
• 1/2 C diced bell pepper(preferably not green)
• 1/2 C sliced yellow onion
• 9 oz bag of frozen spinach, thawed
• About 8 oz of cheese tortellini pasta
• 6 C beef broth or other broth of choice
• 1 C water, or 1/2 C water-1/2 C red wine
• 1 can of sliced carrots
• 1 1/2 tsp of minced garlic
• 1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
• Seasonings of choice

Directions:

• Chop all veggies(including carrots with a little juice from the can, otherwise strained) and add the a skillet sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Sauté at medium heat until fork tender 3-5 min, adding the minced garlic right before the next step. Then add in both cans of tomato sauce, turn on low and let simmer until needed in the next step.
• In a stockpot, add broth, water, noodles, stewed tomatoes, and spinach—stir together. Put stockpot on another burner and turn on low heat.
• Add the sautéed veggies/tomato sauce to the stockpot, pouring carefully. Once you’ve done that, make sure to give it a good stir.
• Add in seasonings of choice or even a shot of lemon juice, let simmer on low-medium for about 25-30 minutes until heated through. Make sure to keep stirring to avoid things stuck to the bottom of the pan.
• Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Fennel Rolls

Makes: 16

Ingredients:

• 1/3 C warm water (105-115 F)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 envelope (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp fennel seeds + 1 more for sprinkling
• 2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 C whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup warm skim milk
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Directions:

• In a small bowl, whisk together the warm water and honey. Stir yeast into the water mixture and let stand until foamy, about 7 minutes.
• In a large bowl and add fennel seeds, all-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour. Whisk to blend, then make a well in the center of the mixture.
• In a small bowl, stir together milk, olive oil and salt. Pour into well of flour mixture, along with yeast mixture. Stir until dough comes together. Knead until smooth, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a damp, clean towel and allow to rise 45 minutes. Punch down dough, then knead lightly. Divide into 16 pieces, then roll each into ball, tucking any seams under. Place on a large nonstick baking sheet and cover with damp towel. Let rise in warm place for 45 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375°. Uncover dough, brush rolls with egg white, then sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon seeds. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes, until lightly browned and hollow-sounding when tapped lightly. Serve warm.