Bittersweet Happy Sunday, everyone! I hope you have been enjoying your weekends so that the coming Monday is a little less of a groaner.
Although the football team got their butts kicked over the weekend, I’ve still had a lot of fun! On Friday, I went to one of Bobby’s friend’s apartments and played Mario Kart Wii for several hours straight. I got first place once, and twelfth place nearly every other time 😳 But hey, it was on the hard setting, so give me some credit! Those boys play that game all the time and have no lives, right?
Last night, K and I went to see The Duchess with Keira Knightley. I think for most people it’s a love her or hate her relationship, and I think she’s a great actress, so I loved the movie! I’m a big fan of Pride & Prejudice, and this one was nothing like it – no happy ending this time because it was real life. As a result, K and I decided that the next movie we see is going to be a happy one because we keep crying!
To make ourselves feel better – and because we wanted to anyway! – K and I had a roomie brunch this morning. We decided to make Kath’s Oatmeal Pancakes. It has been far too long since I had one – I’d forgotten how easy they are to make and how great they taste! I will be making these more often in the coming months!
Mm Mm Mm! I followed Kath’s recipe almost exactly, with the exception of substituting Original Egg Beaters for the egg whites. This substitution made the pancakes even more omelette-like in consistency, but combined with mashed banana and oats, they still took on a characteristic pancake taste. It was the best of both worlds! I topped mine with a mixture of whipped banana and maple syrup.
I also had a delicious mug of Coffee Cocoa to round out the meal. It’s always fun to take some extra time in the morning with my roomie, where we can talk about anything and everything and ease into a day of homework and studying!
BLOGGER SECRET INGREDIENT
So I bought a log of polenta at Whole Foods the other day…
And I had no idea what to do with it, since I’ve never had polenta before 
But not wanting to disappoint Miss RhodeyGirl, I eventually came through (on the last day of the challenge, no less) with today’s lunch.
Egg McPolenta
Hm, what’s with my recent tributes to McDonald’s?
I tried to get some fall foliage in the background for you 😉 Basically, I started by microwaving an egg white to give it that “poached” look. Then I cut two 1/2-inch disks of polenta and topped one disk with reduced-fat Mexican cheese and the other with two slices of deli turkey. I then microwaved them together with the “poached” egg white for roughly 45 seconds until everything was nice and warm. Simple, quick and oh-so-delicious!
The polenta made a really nice substitute for the English muffin you would normally associate with this meal. And I still have plenty of my log left, so you can be sure I will come up with more ways to use it this week! As for right now, I’ve very impressed with this week’s secret ingredient choice!! Kudos, Sabrina!!
Nutrition Information (one McPolenta):
- 150 calories
- 2g fat
- 17g carbohydrates
- 1g fiber
- 16g protein
~*~
Obviously, this is a pretty small meal and I would recommend having something on the side! I chose a spinach salad and a banana smeared with almond butter 🙂 but to each her own!
CLEANIN’ OUT MY CLOSET
A couple of weeks ago, Heather from Hangry Pants and I decided that we would rummage through our closets and make a donation with the clothes we never wear anymore. I’m proud to say that I came out with quite a haul to give away – hopefully to someone who can use it!
The bag on the left is my roomie’s donation – the others are mine 🙂 I think I need to start doing this more often because otherwise someday I will have no room to walk in my house! Pack rat, pack rat!
That’s it from me for now! I’ve been taking advantage of an unusually warm day and have gone to the beach (no, not the ocean – Lake Michigan!) to do some reading and am now heading out to Bobby’s club soccer game. And I can’t wait for Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters later tonight! They are the two shows I most look forward to throughout the week!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday evening!
I am loving all these polenta recipes. I never even knew I liked it before this week!
It’s always nice to have quality roommate time 😀 Before Bobby was my roommate I loved chatting and staying up late at night with my girlfriends.
I’m glad you and your Bobby had fun on Friday! Have a good Sunday 🙂
_______________
magpie ~ Roommate time is the best time!
No worries, at least you had FUN playing Mario Kart – that’s what counts!! 😀
There’s nothing like a plate of Kath-inspired pancakes and a mug of coffee-cocoa to cheer up one’s spirits, and spend quality time with a great friend/roommate – looks scrumptious!!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your BSI challenge dish – so cute!! And hooray for capturing the fall foliage in the background of one of the photos 😉
Kudos to you for “cleaning out your closet” (reminds me of those lyrics from an old Eminem song…) for a great cause!!
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, Miss!!
_______________
VeggieGirl ~ Thanks! The Eminem song was definitely what inspired that line 😉
what a nice brunch to have with your roomie. i did that with mine for dinner last night using the secret ingredient. don’t roomies just rock?
and bon travail for cleaning out your closet! i started doing that and need to finish that…
hope you had a good sunday and monday won’t be too bad..i’m lucky to have the day off because the govt takes the day off…:D
_______________
Melissa S. ~ Roomies definitely rock! Hope you enjoyed your day off!
beautiful new picture on your header, jenn! your polenta creation is ingenious – yum. your pancakes looks great, too! what a successful foodie-day you had!
_______________
wholefoodswholeme ~ Thanks, Mi!
aw i love the new banner Jenn! It’s very FALL! Pretttty pretty!
And mmm your oatmeal pancake looks delish. I’m not a huge fan of egg sammys, but yours still looks pretty amazing to me!
Hope you have a great rest of your Sunday!! HAHA and I ADORE Mario Kart, but haven’t played in AGES!
_______________
glidingcalm ~ Thanks! Haha well then you and I should definitely pay each other a visit sometime and play blogger Mario Kart because we’d be an even match 🙂
What a fun way to enjoy polenta! Excellent idea.
It’s awesome that you are donating all that stuff! I need to do that soon, my small room is overflowing!
_______________
Nicole ~ Thanks!
McPolenta!! You kill me!
That is genius.
Oh! And I love your new picture and colors. Very soothing. 🙂
_______________
Erin ~ Thanks – that’s the look I was goin’ for 😉
I’ll be watching Brothers and Sisters too! That show rocks!
What an amazing use of Polenta! I would have never thought of that!
First of all, I’m loving the scenic picture as your header – very nice!
I really like the picture of your cocoa – I like the way the placemat spirals beneath it.
Egg Polenta? That is seriously the coolest idea. It looks really good too. I love when food both looks AND tastes good.
Way to go with the cleaning out 🙂 I didn’t end up doing it today because homework got in the way… sigh. someday!
Interesting idea for the polenta! And those pancakes…I must try them soon!
I LOVE “Brothers & Sisters”!! A very good show that doesn’t get nearly enough attention!
Have a great week!!
~Erin @ “Vegan & the City”
i love your recent tributes to mcdonalds b/c u show you can eat foods that remind you of fast food but taste 10000000 times better and are that much healthier for you 🙂 delish!
I LOVE playing Mario Kart on the Wii. Isn’t it addictive?!
And I love polenta. What a fun, unique way to use it!
this sunday is definitely bittersweet! we still need to get the mario kart game for our wii– we keep saying we will, and then just turn on rockband and forget about it 😀
the egg and polenta-wich looks so good! so does the oatmeal pancake– i haven’t had one in a long time either and i’m glad you reminded me 😀
hope you have a great night!
Your idea for polenta as the “bread” in your eggwich is genius!
I love kiera precisely as much as I loathe here 🙂
we’ve a lovehate thing going on so Ill definitely be hauling the kleenex and seeing that …
you are SO creative! im so jealous! if i bought polenta, it would ither sit in my (whever you store it) and rot, or i would try to be creative, bring it out and burn it (if its possible). i think im in a rot. i only know how to cook with familar things. when i first bought a butternut squash i tried to skin it. WITH A KNIFE! gosh were my hands ever sore!
i wanted to tell you that i LOVE your blog, and would LOVE if i got a comment from you!
(it feels like im meeting a famous person when i read someones blog all the time, weird i know?)
_______________
lexisuzanne ~ You’re so nice! Thanks for reading 🙂 You should include a URL link to your blog next time you post a comment!
Love the McPolenta. Looks very delicious right now actually!
I have my bag of clothes back home in R.I.!!! I will take a picture to show you my donation when I get back home.
Brilliant idea for the polenta breakfast sandwich!!
Your post reminds me that I need to clean out my closet… ugh
Love the polenta recipe creation you came up with! So simple and looks mighty tasty!
What an awesome lunch to make with the polenta!! I LOVE how creative you are!! You muuust try the baby food for tummy trouble days…it sounds weird, but hey, whatever works! :0) And yay for Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters!!
First of all, your new header is gorgeous!
I haven’t seen The Duchess yet, but I love KK. I can’t stand sad endings though 🙁 what a great brunch to make up for it!
LOL and I am lovin’ (lovin’ it… McDonalds… get it?! :p) the “McPolenta.” you’ll put Micky D’s out of buisness! I am way intimidated by this week’s BSI. if I were to enter it would probably be like me going to The Cheesecake Factory, ordering their sweet polenta cakes, and photographing my plate 😉
hurrah for clearing out stuff! and yes… I am a HUGE Desperate Housewives fan. I’ve got last night’s episode TiVo’d to watch this afternoon, so excited 😀
~Chandra
Good for you for getting all of those clothes together to donate!
Hoorah for Brothers and Sisters, I just watched it on the dvr!
That oatmeal pancake looks so perfect! I think I’ll have to try one with egg beaters next time. YUM.
I’ve never tried polenta either. I really really need to. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen it though. Not that I’ve been looking. But now I will! I like your McD’s inspired meal haha.
I’m super impressed with all of the clothes you got rid of! I try so hard to get rid of stuff but I just can’t make myself do it. But I need to because I have no more room in any of my drawers or my closet. It’s getting kind of ridiculous haha.
love the mcpolenta! You should contact mcdonalds and tell them your idea – i guarantee they will be coming out with a healthy menu at some point down the line and that would be a great addition! 🙂
That is one of the most creative uses of polenta I have ever seen! I have always made it from ground corn meal, I will have to try this ready made version!
I bought polenta before, but tossed it because I couldn’t find any good recipes! But this! This sounds..McDelicious! 😛
I will definitely have to try..
[…] And a bag of too small clothes that depress me. I am giving them away per Jenn’s example. […]
Love the polenta burger! I totally would have this for lunch–or for any meal of the day! Calling it McPolenta is quite clever XD
Best darn pancakes I’ve ever seen!! Love the McPolenta! Yum!
You can’t go wrong with a Katheats Pancake and your polenta dream looks amazing. You definitely have it going on… great blog – regulare reader now and loving it… zesty
_______________
zestycook ~ Thank you so much! I’m glad you like the blog 🙂
Too funny….I was an arms length away from buying that polenta at whole foods on saturday then I got scared! I love your idea….healthier than a McGriddle 😉