A Good Friday for sure

NOW we can jump for joy!

Just one class today, and it’s finally the weekend. My work is not over for sure, but at least I have some time to relax in the next couple of days!

Yesterday after I got back from the gym, I was stopping at Belmont’s for a dinner ingredient when I noticed frantic texts from my friend Eric, Nick’s roommate. Apparently his car was broken down and he was late for a doctor’s appointment, hoping I was on my way to prepare dinner, which I was! So I paid for my cilantro and quickly made it there, where it took less than 5 minutes to jump his car, but it was already too late to go to his appointment, so I got to chat with him for a while, which was nice. I sipped on a passionfruit Vitacoco, and had a light string cheese to hold me until dinner when I got home.

For dinner I made one of my old favorites, with a twist. Nick has never had my stuffed peppers so I was curious to find out what he thought about my using crumbled sausage and sticky rice instead of my usual ground ‘meat’/short grain. I made two, his is the bigger one!

The recipe is simple:

Stuffed peppers for two

Ingredients:
2 large bell peppers, tops off and dug out
1 cup short grain rice, cooked
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 spicy Italian sausages, casing removed (I used chicken)
1 cup no-salt-added diced tomatoes, drained
1 small onion, diced
cumin, cayenne, paprika, chili powder to taste
Reduced fat Mexican blend cheese to top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and preheat pan on medium high with cooking spray
Place rice and water in pan to heat (I used a rice cooker)
Meanwhile, chop onion and mince garlic.
Throw onion in pan with garlic, and sautée until soft
Crumble sausage into onion, stirring, and cook until sausage is warmed (or cooked through) and onions are translucent.
Add diced tomatoes and rice, stir
Add spices to taste, stir until flavors meld.
Place cored peppers in 1” water of small glass baking dish. Stuff peppers to brim with sausage/rice mixture
Bake for 15 minutes
Take out, add cheese to top, and continue baking for another 10-15 until cheese is melted and slightly golden.

Before adding cheese:


I served mine with a black bean corn salad:


Tangy Bean and Corn Salad
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup thawed frozen corn
~1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp canola oil
1 tablespoon lime juice
cumin, cayenne, chili powder (to taste)
3 squirts green chile sauce (I used Tabasco brand)



It all came out really well, Nick described it perfectly- not too spicy, but balanced and flavorful. Filled me up for a while, but not too much for dessert- a big slice of Danielle’s fantastic banana bread!!



So I’m pretty much a loser, because URI is the ONLY school around without Good Friday off… =(
But luckily I only had my one (favorite) class- Sports Nutrition.

I woke up and had a big bowl of oat bran- ½ cup oatbran cooked with 1 cup nonfat soy, with my usual mixins- sliced banana, 1 tsp ghee and a sprinkle of cinnamon.


I went to the gym for a sweaty elliptical/strength workout, which was good despite the fact that my headphones died, and I missed my usual eclectic mix of Ramones/Dropkick Murphys/Britney workout music…

For lunch, I packed some leftover bean & corn salad, with some leftover diced tomatoes I squished in the bottom, a honey chobani and an apple.


For snacks I packed a light string cheese I ate before class and a new Powerbar I’m excited to try for when I’m out and about doing errands.

I plan on doing some studying (more of my HUGE lab, groan…) and then grocery shopping before going home and meeting my lovely friend Katrina, who is home for a few days for Easter (she goes to Sacred Heart). We plan on having a fun night filled with our favorite food, and some girly stuff like hair dying (my boyfriend is going to hate all the giggling). Should be a fun night, TGIF!

Tomorrow I work early (8-3) and then I’m doing some Easter shopping, so my post will come later in the afternoon. Thanks for understanding, and have a fabulous start to your weekends!