Spinach, Feta, Egg White Casserole and Sunday Funday!

For whatever reason, I woke up at 6:30am Sunday morning.  Who.  Does.  That?!?!

I took advantage of the early morning and ran to our local Hy-Vee to grab a few things for a new breakfast casserole I wanted to try out.  I LOVE Hy-Vee, and love it even more now that they have the Fuel Saver Card.  Seriously makes my heart happy.  My vehicle isn’t the most economical for gas mileage.  

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Before we get to the casserole, let me give a quick recap of my Sunday Funday.

1) Breakfast with my hubby

2) Church with one of my best friends, Tyree.  Their guest musician and speaker that day was Roddy Chong.  He was phenomenal and I could have listened to him play for hours! He currently tours with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  How cool would that be?  His testimony was interesting and entertaining and truly showed how the right amount of tenacity, perseverance and faith can get you where you never imagined. 

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3) Harley Time!  The weather will soon be against us in regards to motorcycle riding, so my husband and I took off for a few hours Sunday afternoon.  We toured a few Nebraska back roads to soak up the crisp fall weather and took a pit stop at Dog House Saloon in Waterloo for a bite to eat and a cocktail.  Their watermelons are seriously yummy!  And one is plenty if you want to think straight!  WOW!  I didn’t get any pictures of the two dogs my husband ordered, but they received high remarks from the man himself.  A traditional dog was topped with cooked onions, pickles and mustard.  The Italian Dog had roasted peppers, pepperoni and some sort of sauce.  They also weren’t your typical dogs… more like hamburger/sausage mixture.  He recommends highly.

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For the record, that stupid Styrofoam cup has been there since our Milwaukee trip.   Boys….

 

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4) After our afternoon ride, we returned home, I worked on a new TurboKick Round (I start teaching at the YMCA tomorrow), blogged and watched a little TV.  Great little Sunday!

 

Now for the recipe.

 

Spinach Feta Mushroom Egg White Casserole

100% Liquid Egg Whites, 16 oz.
Spinach, 9 oz.
Sliced Mushrooms, 8 oz.
Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta Cheese, 3 oz.
Diced Red Onion
2 cloves diced Garlic

In a large nonstick pan, saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms with a little bit of EVOO. Transfer to a bowl once cooked

Add spinach to same pan, cover, and let wilt (a few minutes)
Remove from heat. Drain liquid. Toss lightly before adding to mushroom mixture.

Pour half the egg whites into 8×8 dish. Mix in the spinach, mushroom, and onion mixture.  Sprinkle Feta Cheese on top.

Bake at 350-375 for 30 to 40 minutes or until light brown on top.

 

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Healthy, Nutrient Rich, Protein loaded.  Can’t ask for much more!

Hope your Monday has been a good one!

 

Do you have a favorite breakfast casserole?

The Weekend in Review

Why is it that the weekends just fly by?  Sigh…..

What a great weekend it was, though!

Friday, 4pm, Happy Hour.  Check Friday Faves for a recap.

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After Happy Hour with the girls, I met up with my husband at The Anchor Inn for some dinner and beers.  The Anchor used to be located on the Missouri River and was THE place to be during the summer months.  They had a large outdoor stage right by the river where multiple bands played every weekend.  On site was the main bar and grill where you could sit inside, or you could enjoy the outdoors and visit any of the Tiki-Hut bars (number depending on the size of crowd).  It was definitely a one-of-a-kind place to hang out during the summer.

Unfortunately, the floods of 2011 put the entire place under water for months, and in the end they were prohibited from re-building.  So sad.  They have relocated to an in-town location, which is still a fun place to hang out and we always enjoy our time there, but it is definitely a completely different ambiance.  The new building doesn’t allow for the crowds and atmosphere as the Anchor Inn once had, but I have to commend Junior (owner) for re-opening and continuing on.  Business is still booming!

Clint and I were actually supposed to be married in 2011 at the Anchor.  I’ll tell that story at a later date.  We found an alternate location, but it was a bit stressful, to say the least. 🙂

Below pic is an example of the old Anchor Inn parties.  So fun!  Click here for more pics.

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Saturday!  Woke up and watched my favorite Food Network TV Shows and started my BFY Chicken Tortilla Soup.   I love Crock Pot recipes!  Throw in the pot, close the lid, set the temp and walk away.  The house smelled SO good while the ingredients cooked down and melded together.  Delicious!

The end product:

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My husband worked on the house replacing a few boards and painting some of the trim.  Sure is handy when he has the proper equipment to reach our rooftop.

ImageChamp and I hung out on the front stoop enjoying the beautiful weather while the hubby slaved away.

What a cute guard dog.

He’s likely to lick you to death, so a little less guard and a lot more cute is probably the reality.

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ImageI took advantage of the gorgeous day and went for a nice 5 mile jog with a 1 mile walk to cool down and take in the sights.  There is a pretty nice trail (cement trail, not off-road trail) near my house, so I always like to hit it up when running more than 3 miles.  I maintained a nice and easy 9 1/2 mph pace which is right where I wanted to be since it’s been about a month since I have done any real jogging over 2 miles.  Needed a break after training for two half marathons.  My back was thankful for that break, but it was nice to be back out there again.

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We capped off our Saturday evening staying in.  We were planning on attending a Halloween Party, but in the end, decided to just stay home.  Sometimes we just need that down time.

Sunday morning I was up at the crack of dawn (seriously, 6:30AM), so I went to the grocery store and bought ingredients to make the most delicious egg white, spinach, feta cheese casserole.  I will post that recipe and my full day tomorrow.

Now, it is time for BED!

Enjoy your Sunday evening whatever you do and wherever you are!

Friday Faves

It’s Friday! Finally, finally Friday. And I’m at DJ’s Dugout drinking a beer.

By myself.

That’s cool.

Actually, meeting two friends afterwhile but I was lucky enough to sneak out of work early.

Helloooo tall, semi-dark and handsome.

Friday Fave 1

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Another favorite on this fall Friday is Luke Bryan. I CANNOT get enough of his new album. I admit, when Luke first came on the scene, I had a hard time falling in love. Country Girl Shake it For Me just wasn’t cutting it. But, ladies and gents, I can officially say I love the fella now.

A few fave songs from album:

We Run This Town
Drink A Beer
Play it Again
I See You

Sigh………

Friday Fave 2:

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Subway. I’d wither away without my Subway. Well, probably not, but I’d be very sad without it.

The new garlic bread?? Yes, please!

Veggie for me. Lettuce, spinach, pickles, olives, onions and sweet onion sauce. Delicious.

Friday Fave 3:

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Short post today. My girls are here! I don’t look like a lonely creeper with no friends at the bar anymore! Score!

What are your favorite things on this beautiful Friday?

Airports, Delays and Florida

Here I sit, on a Monday night, in the Chicago airport, waiting for my connecting flight home. Of course it would happen that we’re 2 hours delayed… Such is life when at the mercy of the airlines.

My whirlwind weekend trip to Florida started Saturday afternoon with a 2:45 flight out. Goodbye 40 degree weather, hello 80’s and humidity!! Not complaining here!

My trip to Florida was for a national conference and my attendance turned out to be quite beneficial! I have many new ideas swarming around my little brain.

The conference was held at the
Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort and Spa. Hello gorgeous!

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My room was a villa, an apartment really, if you ask me! I had to walk over that bridge you see above to get back and forth between the main center to my “apartment”. So fun!

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Oh, and this little beauty awaited all walkers at the end of the bridge.

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#floridaproblems

Sadly, no gators to be found.

Absolutely stunning resort. Top notch customer service and amenities. If you’re a golfer, this is a must stay for you. It was rated #1 for golf resorts in the Travel and Leisure Magazine. The resort is also less then 3 minutes from the ocean, an added bonus!

Sunday was full of keynote speakers and breakout sessions. No conference would be complete without a dose of Starbucks. Sometimes you just need a caffeinated pick-me-up to get you through those afternoon sessions.

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The real fun of Sunday started at 6 when one of my college girlfriends drove over to see me! She currently lives around 2 hours away from Jacksonville, so seeing each other while I was in “town” was a must!

We went to this bar and grill called Pusser’s. Not quite the name I’d choose, but hey, it works! I wonder if I’ll be questioned when I turn in that receipt for reimbursement. 😉

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We had some absolutely delicious crab dip and shared our entrees of crab cakes, salmon and coconut shrimp. De.lic.ious.

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Highly recommend, even though the name of the place resembles a sort of club that I don’t particularly frequent. =D

We spent a good three hours catching up and reminiscing until we parted ways. So happy it worked out to see her while in the beautiful state of Florida.

And now we are at Monday. A morning filled with speakers and sessions and now a full afternoon of flying and airports. I started AND finished The Fault in our Stars by John Green today. Such a great read! I’ll recap on that at a later date. I am part of a little movie/book club and this was our October read. 🙂

They just announced we will be boarding in 15 minutes. Woot woot! Homeward bound. My husband is just thrilled to be picking me up two hours late.

Cheers!