Rowdy

One of the best things about eating at home more, besides saving money and my (hopefully) shrinking booty, is that we have more free time in the evenings. Tonight was one of those perfect nights when the stars align and I actually have dinner ready when Brian walks in from work- so we took advantage of the extra hour and took a nice, long walk after dinner. We ventured over to the neighborhood across from ours. Jack kicked back in the jog stroller, Brian admired landscaping and I spied on people through open windows.

And just a couple blocks before we were home, can I tell you what we saw in a front yard?

You’ll never guess…

A stuffed dog.

Like a real, honest to god, taxidermied Collie. Just sidled up to this big tree in someone’s yard. It was beyond disturbing. THIS is why I should bring my phone on walks… words just don’t do it justice. I’m going to have to do a drive-by tomorrow to make sure that my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me in the dim light, but I’m 99.9% sure that it was a real (dead) dog.

Back to less creepy topics. Like breakfast.

Newflower has berries on crazy sale this week- all varieties are 4 for $5, so I stocked up. For breakfast I had my usual plain yogurt topped with a chopped peach, fresh blackberries, chia seeds, chopped walnuts and a honey drizzle.

After breakfast Jack and I went on a run around the neighborhood. We had rain in the forecast so I thought it might be a little cooler out. Wrong-o. The run apparently wore him out, though- he took a 2 1/2 hour nap this afternoon.

Last week I baked a few chicken breasts to eat throughout the week, and we still have a couple left. For lunch I decided to make an improvised quesadilla out of random ingredients in the fridge: Chopped chicken, baby spinach, leftover roasted eggplant, chopped roasted hatch chile and Mexican blend cheese in an Ezekiel tortilla.

Folded and cooked in a skillet for a few minutes per side. Proof that completely unrelated ingredients can result in quite the delicious creation.

Newflower also had pork chops on sale, so guess what we had for dinner tonight?

A Giada recipe, Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops, topped with fresh lemon juice. It’s super easy- you just dip the chops in grated parmesan,  then in an egg wash, then in bread crumbs. Sear in a cast iron skillet and then toss in the oven for a few minutes to cook through.

On the side is one of my favorite veggies, Swiss chard, sauteed in olive oil with sliced garlic and crushed red pepper, then finished off with a little buttah. I forget that chard is like spinach: You start with this huge bunch and then it shrinks to the size of your fist. Next time I will buy TWO bunches. Or three.

And finally, quartered cherry tomatoes with balsamic and garlic salt.

Hey, isn’t tonight the Real Housewives of NJ reunion show??? Gotta run…