I promise the Hunger Games post titles will stop after this one, but I couldn’t help myself (again).
There isn’t even a pita in this post, technically, but this picture reminded me of one, and then I thought of my sister-in-law, Susan, who told me that “Peeta” always reminded her of “pita” as she was reading (fitting, since he is the boy with the bread).
And on top of that, I may be in the process of re-reading the series myself. Forgive me. The mania will subside soon.
As for the above picture, you probably guessed it’s actually a tortilla. Continuing on with the meal planning, I made myself a delicious quesadilla creation for lunch on Wednesday. I stuffed the whole wheat tortilla with an ounce of gouda cheese (insert pun here), chicken sausage and spinach, then cooked it on medium-high heat in a pan until the insides were perfectly gooey.
They didn’t slice into triangles as nicely as I had hoped, but it was still very tasty.
My dinner inspiration came courtesy of Pinterest. Gina’s Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Melted Mozzarella looked amazing. We don’t have a grill, so my solution was to bake the chicken at 400 degrees for 30 minutes first. I also added barbecue sauce, slathering a healthy dose on each side.
While the barbecue chicken baked, I took sliced regular red peppers (rather than roasted, since I didn’t have them on hand) and cooked them with olive oil on the stove over medium-high heat. Once they were slightly charred, I added in the spinach and cooked all the ingredients together until the spinach was wilted. Then, per Gina’s recipe, I took the (now cooked) chicken out of the oven, topped each with the wilted spinach, mozzarella and one pepper slice, then baked everything together at 400 until the cheese was melted, or roughly 6 to 8 minutes.
The verdict? We loved this recipe! Baked barbecue chicken is always a favorite, but the spinach and cheese topping added even more flavor. If I make this again, I will likely use roasted red peppers as Gina intended, but other than that, I was very pleased.
I can’t believe it’s already Thursday! This week has flown by, likely because things have been so busy with work lately that the hours all seem to blend together. Add to that my training runs and a stubborn desire to write, and there has not been much sleep happening over here. It’s all self-inflicted (1:30 a.m. bedtimes could certainly be changed), but there is also a part of me who doesn’t see an end in sight for the time being.
I’m not complaining – just observing. I thrive on having to-dos and get restless when I have nothing going on, but there are always limits and I’m fairly close to hitting mine. The “brain fog” is taking up temporary residence. Hopefully the weekend will bring some much needed downtime.
Ever feel as though you’re so busy you don’t have time to think? How do you unwind?
Abrazos,
I feel like I get more done and am able to focus more when I’m busier…didn’t notice until I wasn’t as busy, but it is interesting!
PS. Should I read Hunger Games? Or see the movie??
It’s definitely interesting – I also feel that I do my best work under deadline, which is why I am a procrastinator. 🙂
So I may be (very) biased, but I would absolutely recommend reading The Hunger Games! Pretty much everyone I know who has been hesitant ends up at least liking, if not loving, the series. It’s one of those plots that sounds crazy when you hear about it but ends up sucking you in! Let me know if you decide to read them. I’d recommend doing that before seeing the movie, although it’s great in its own right!
Hahaha I LOVE you and your Hunger Games, girl (super ironic wasn’t it that his name was Peeta and his family was in the bread business?). I am as sucked in as you are (currently re-reading Catching Fire. Ugh! I. Can’t. Stop. Lol. well, maybe I can stop long enough to make up some of those delicious quesadillas that you made me literally start salivating over 😉
I’m so glad to hear someone else is re-reading the series right now! Love it. We can be obsessed together. 🙂
Oh boy Jenn, you have me wanting some nice healthy home cooked food right now…I’ve spent so much time eating out of a jar/can/restaurant with this job that i want to scream. And I’m sorry I missed our chat date. Sunday night? Or Monday night!
I can’t wait for our chat lady! I miss you and hope everything is going well even amidst the craziness of the new job!
This week was nutso. I am ready to unwind with coffee, a nice walk & run, good food and time with friends!! That quesadilla looks great! I need more gouda in my life
Gouda is so…good-a. 🙂 Hope you’re having a relaxing weekend so far, Erica!
I, too, oscillate between feeling restless with not enough to do and feeling overwhelmed with a never-ending to-do list. Right now, I’m in the latter category! I need to graduate, pronto!
I know that feeling! It’s going to be so amazing when you graduate! So much to look forward to. 🙂
Mmmm…Peeta….ooops, I mean Mmmm…pita. haha. 🙂
Haha! Perhaps we should bring pitas to our movie date next weekend. 🙂
After the Hunger Games premiered, all I see on my timeline are Peeta related puns.lols. I haven’t read the series, but it’s definitely on my to do list. That recipe looks delicious, but I might just use the grill pan for the chicken, since I’m still not confident in my baking skills.