Zucchini, Black Bean and Rice Skillet

If only take one thing away from today... make it this recipe.
O. M. G. it is yummy!  It's so simple, but so good!  Here is the picture from the website where I grabbed this recipe (which can be found here):

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups quartered lengthwise, sliced zucchini
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
1 can (15 oz each) black beans
1 can (14.5 oz) Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with Garlic (undrained)
3/4 cup water
1 cup instant white rice, uncooked
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese blend

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add zucchini and bell pepper, cook 5 minutes, cooking occasionally.

2. Add beans, undrained tomatoes and water.  Increase heat and bring to a boil.

3. Add rice; stir well.  Cover, remove from heat and let stand 7 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.  Sprinkle with cheese.

And since I love cheese... I added a little bit more :)

Now get off your butt and go make this!!!!

Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins

One day I logged onto Pinterest and saw this...

Looks yummy right?  Well it's also healthy!  I had to try it!  Original website w/ recipe can be found here.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup plain low fat greek yogurt
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray tin with non-stick cooking spray or line 12 muffin tins with silicone or foil liners.

2. Place the oats in the food processor and pulse for about 10 seconds.

My parents got me this blender for my birthday and it has a food processor attachment! 

3. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor & process until everything is mixed together and oats are smooth.

4. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

For some reason I totally forgot to take an after picture?!  But it looked like a normal muffin.  I thought they were very tasty for not having any flour or sugar!

I would make them again... but add some nuts or chocolate chips. :)

Roasted Pears With Gorgonzola

We had employee appreciation day at work - it was awesome!  There were five surprises throughout the day... first we walked in to the smell of Belgian Waffles.  We could pick our own toppings.  My waffle had an "A" for Ashley :)

Second, everyone had one of these at their desk - how cute!  Mine had Coconut M&Ms... they were yummy!!

We had 15-minute chair massages, an awesome lunch from Mama's on the Half Shell (cheeseburger sliders, mini crab cakes  and the best mac & cheese ever!), and last, they closed the office early!  It was such a fun day I had to take a nap as soon as I got home!

I also got a really nice fruit basket from my boss.  I decided to do something fancy with the pears... so the next day I made Roasted Pears with Gorgonzola.  (Here is the website where I found the recipe)  I tried this once at a restaurant in NYC and it was so good, so I couldn't wait to have it again.

Ingredients:
4 Bosc pears, halved and cored, but not peeled
Extra-virgin olive oil
A few pinches of dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup crumbled good-quality blue cheese / gorgonzola
1/4 cup walnut pieces
2 tbsp honey

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Arrange the pears, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, honey and sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper.

3. Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake 15-20 minutes.

4. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spoon a generous teaspoon of crumbled cheese in the center of each pear half, return the pears to the oven and roast until they are tender and the cheese is soft, about 5-10 more minutes.

Modifications:

• I did not have any thyme, so I left that out.
• I also left out the walnuts.

My dad bought me Gorgonzola at the Eastern market. 

As soon as I opened it, I was totally grossed out... LOL!  I love blue cheese, so I don't know why this bothered me.  I ate one of the pears and it was ok... but I gave the rest to my parents... along with the rest of the cheese!   

7 Simple Logic Statements

My boss sent me a link to 7 Simple Logic Statements.  I love them and want to keep them.... so I'm sharing :)

1. Make peace with your Past, so it doesn't spoil your Present.

2. What others think of you is none of your business.

3. Time heals almost everything. Give the time, some time.

4. No one is the reason of your happiness, except You Yourself.

5. Don’t compare yourself with others, you have no idea what their journey is all about.

6. Stop thinking too much; it is alright not to know all the answers.

7. Smile, you don’t own all the problems of the world.