April 03, 2015

Friday Favs

April 03, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Happy Friday! What a week it has been! I'm so thankful to be off on this Good Friday as I am working tomorrow and I have lotsssss to do before Easter on Sunday. I am hosting for the first time so I need to get my tiny condo organized to fit 10-11 adults and 3 children. Send me some warm weather vibes so that the deck can be utilized! Gah! My plan is to organize, clean, and prep one of the appetizers today. Tomorrow after work, I'll start the marinade for the pork, and on Sunday morning - the rest of the food! Luckily, everyone is bringing something so it should all be pretty manageable. I hope you all have super fantastic weekends planned! Here are my sunniest moments of the week - be advised: they contain A LOT of outdoor photos as the weather was actually seasonable for once!

The sunrise on Monday morning was spectacular.

The sunrise on Wednesday morning was also quite beautiful!

A lot of my neighbors in Southie put up decorations for most holidays. I always appreciate the effort and seeing these pastels definitely made me smile.

Yesterday was a balmy 56 degrees and the kite surfers were back at Castle Island. It was a GREAT site to see!

I'm rather chatty, however, I realize the true importance of listening. This quote serves as a nice reminder.

Have a WONDERFUL weekend! xo

April 01, 2015

15 Minute Meals: General Tso's Lettuce Wraps

April 01, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

I'm pretty pumped to share this meal with you all because it jussssst sneaks into the "15 Minute Meals" category. Plus, Rob and I flipped with excitement over the flavor. So, so, so good! Now, it is extremely rare that you'll ever see a non-homemade marinade on this blog (besides Cindy's buffalo sauce), but, I am in a conference this week which means I don't have much time to do anything at home. So, on Monday when I went food shopping, I thought it would benefit me to cut the whole "homemade marinade" step out of the equation. The result? Total and complete success. Here's how it all played out:

NEED:
- 1LB Organic ground pork or (beef, turkey, or chicken)
- 1LB Quinoa
- Boston lettuce or Iceburg lettuce
- Whole Foods General Tso's Sauce (the ingredient list is spectacular - no crap allowed)
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 1 zucchini (optional)
- Couple pads of organic grass fed butter
- Crushed red pepper

HOW:
- Cook 1 cup of quinoa (follow instructions - usually takes about 15 minutes)
- Saute Pork (or other meat) in a healthy pour or two of the Whole Food's Brand General Tso's sauce
- Spiralize the zucchini (optional - I only did this because I needed to use a zucchini)
- Julienne the pepper
- Once the pork is cooked through - spoon a couple of tablespoons into 3 lettuce leaves per plate
- Add a couple pads of the butter and crushed red pepper (to taste) to the quinoa mixture, then spoon to the plate
- Add the veggies for "building" the lettuce wraps and serve!)

Pork/General Tso's

While everything is cooking... build the plate.

Plate, serve, build, & eat!

I am so impressed with this sauce... it is only 15 calories per serving and has a REALLY nice ingredient list. Whole Foods is seriously the best. This meal is jam packed with protein, b-vitamins, magnesium, fiber, and FLAVOR. Enjoy!

Have a great Thursday! xo

March 30, 2015

Weekend Sunshine XXV

March 30, 2015/ sherri d'alessandro

Whew what a Monday. This week is jam jiggity packed and I'm hosting Easter for the first time this year (more on that later). I'm glad I've had a few weekends of organization because I'm not going to have a whole lot of free time this week. Grateful to have a full plate though, right? Won't be hearing that "b" word over here. No siree mister! Moving on... the weekend was nicely and lovely. Aren't most weekends nice and lovely? Here are the sun-shiniest moments:

Back to Townsman will my tribe on Thursday. I am so grateful for these ladies - they mean the WORLD to me.

We ate a hen. See that mangily little claw up on the right? Lol. Honestly it was so good though... those are chickpea gnocchi plated around it. OMG good.

On Friday after the gym, I made this little salad which was SCRUMPTIOUS. Spiralized zucchini, roasted chickpeas, tomatoes, and a tahini/rice vinegar dressing. Yum Yum.

This watermelon vodka drink got a lot of love on Insta. Here's what I did:
1 shot vodka
1/2-3/4 cu cubed water melon and a few leaves of mint, mashed
Lots of ice
Club soda
Squeeze of lime

On Saturday, I worked and then Rob and I had dinner with our parents. It was FANTASTIC and I didn't take one measly little photo. Whoops!

In almost 10 years, I've never had breakfast at L Street Diner. (Did you know they have breakfast?!). Rob and I went on Sunday morning and it was delightful. Great prices, super nice staff, and great food.

On Sunday, my brother and I visited the fam. It was nice to see the witch hazel tree that my mom planted in memory of my Nana, finally in bloom. So pretty against the snow.