The Life of a chronic procrastinator

Barley Stuffed Tomatoes

2012-06-26T08:41:00.000-04:00

Last night, I made a delicious recipe that I felt I had to share. Of course, I didn't write it down as I went(I know, what was I thinking), but I'm pretty sure I still can come up with it from memory.

1/2 uncooked barley
4 tomatoes on the vine
1/2 small white onion, chopped small
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 green bell pepper,chopped small
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Shredded cheese(optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Cook barley. To do this, boil about 1 1/2 cups of water or broth. When boiling, add uncooked barley, lower heat, and simmer until soft(about 35 minutes).
3. While barley is cooking, slice off the very top of the tomatoes and scoop out the pulp and juice. Reserve pulp and liquid.
4. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
6. Add green pepper, spices, and about 1/4 cup of reserved juice from tomatoes. Lower heat and cook about 10 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary.
7. Add cilantro to pepper mixture, and cook about 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
8. Mix pepper mixture with cooked barley.
9. Lightly spray a square baking dish with cooking spray. Place tomatoes in, open side up, and fill with the barley-pepper mixture. Poor about 1/4 cup reserved tomato liquid into the bottom of the baking dish, and cook for about 10 minutes.
10. If adding cheese, sprinkle it on top each tomato and place back in the oven 5 minutes(if not adding cheese, leave the dish in the oven for 5 more minutes)
11. Remove from oven and let stand at least 5 minutes before eating.

I'd have to say, I was concerned this recipe wasn't going to work, but overall, I think it turned out great. I served it with some spiced black beans on the side for protein, but I'm sure it would also go great with grilled chicken or other meats.

Weeknight fun with the Tribe

2012-06-21T10:27:00.001-04:00

Last night, in the attempts to do something fun, the hubby and I went to the Indians game. Since the Entertainment book has coupons for buy on get one tickets that are only good Monday through Thursday, we figured yesterday was as good a day as any to go. Even with the 88 degree temperature at the atart of the game, the night was pretty good. Nick decided to get some ridiculous Grand Slam Nachoes(pulled pork, cheese, jalepenos, lettuce, tomato, and tortilla chips inside a tortilla bowl), which I had to snack on a bit, despite how horribly unhealthy they were. But just look how delicious they looked.
Of course, the game was great too, with free t-shirts, homeruns, and my first win of the season!! GO TRIBE!! We even almost caught a homerun ball, but instead I got elbowed in the head and have a bit of a bump today. Oh well, it was still fun. Going to the game did mean, however, that I got no workout in, and that I was up past my normal 10pm bedtime(yes, I know that is early, but I like sleeping!). On the plus side, I found a new way to get to Tower City Parking that doesn't involve any of the closed bridges(Welcome to Construction season, Cleveland!) Overall, it was a great night in Downtown Cleveland, and I'm so glad we go to see a win!

Finding the silver lining...

2012-06-20T09:14:00.000-04:00

Recently, I have experienced a great loss. On June 1st, I lost my Gran-pa to cancer. It has been quite a struggle for me, working through the emotions and getting back to the point in which I feel normal. This is where the silver lining comes in. Sometimes, you need to get lower before you can realize that something needs to change. I think I am finally at this point. Because of this, I am trying now to do things that make me happier, healthier, and an overall better person. This may be a slow-go for me, since I am stubborn and set in my ways, but I know now that I need to try to do something to make me happy. So, I am focusing on hobbies that make me feel better(even if they feel stressful while I am doing them). Starting off, I am making a dress. I am using a great pattern from Sewaholic, and am so far IN LOVE with the dress, though I haven't finished it quite yet. On top of that, I have been cooking ALOT. I've been perusing food blogs like crazy lately, and have been testing out as many recipes as I can handle. Last night, I tried the new "revolutionary" way of making macarroni and cheese, where you cook the noodles themselves in a few cups of milk. I'm not sure I loved the recipe, but it may have had more to do with the noodles I used(25% veggie puree noodles from two different companies) than the actual method of cooking. I also made homemade lowfat tortillas which, though they didn't turn out perfect, were still completely and totally delicious. Let's just say, my tummy was plenty happy after dinner last night. The next step on my mission to be a happier me is to add exercise back into my routine. After a few failed attempts at Couch25K in the past few weeks, I am going to try once again(thoguh today's 90 degree weather may make it tough). I know exercising makes me feel better, and I just need to get back into it and enjoy it again. Today I will work at becoming happy again, and hopefully soon, I will feel like my true self again.