food

It’s been the weirdest week ever, and it’s only Wednesday. For all of the ups there have been an equal number of downs. Just today I was given some news that has taken some time to sink in. It’s both good news and bad, and at the same time it’s neither bad nor good.

It’s something that I’ve been wanting to happen, yet unexpectedly, made me a little sad. I will share this news in the next couple of weeks when everything is said and done. In the mean time, in case you were wondering, it has nothing to do with pregnancy. (I’m 38 people…there are cobwebs on these here ovaries!)

I can share that this news will mean bigger and better things for AquaSeventy6, and for that I am STOKED! Stay tuned….

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One of my ups this week was my monthly girl’s night out. Mention GNO and visions of dance clubs and male reviews, jager shots and streaked mascara come to mind….yeah, none of those. In our ~~late~~ mid-30s, we try to maintain a level of decorum that won’t leave our teenagers horrified or scarred for life when opening their social media accounts. “Hammered-mom-at-a-bar” is not a good look, ladies–at least not for me…anymore…at this age. 😉

Instead we choose a nice restaurant where we can have a glass of wine (or a Captain and Coke), ~~bitch~~ chat about our hubbies, ~~brag about~~ discuss our kids’ recent accomplishments, ~~complain~~ talk about our jobs, but mostly just laugh and have a nice time. (Sans kids, sans hubby.) Our kind of GNO may not be one for the Richter Scale, but it’s much needed and suits us just fine.

At the end of the night, it was so awesome to see my friend Kristy pull out her keys and slip her AquaSeventy6 Key Ring over her wrist. Love it!

So, how do you unwind with your amigas? Tell me in the comments! xoxo

A post like today’s is like last night’s Blood Moon—RARE! (The kids and I did get up at 3 am to see the eclipse…it was pretty awesome!)

If you know me, you know I really don’t cook. At least not often, and certainly not as well as my husband. Early on in our marriage Hubs realized I had exactly 3 menu items in my repertoire and took over the majority of the cooking. He has a great affinity for chopping and sauteing, braising and reducing…I have a great affinity for eating and drinking, relaxing and enjoying.

I am proud to say that I have added several new dishes over the years, but alas, this kitchen ain’t big enough for two chefs, so unless Hubs is working late or I get a crazy inspiration, I don’t cook dinner very often.

Yesterday morning, however, I was inspired.

I introduced my family to quinoa a few months ago and my daughter LOVED it (my son, the pickiest of all eaters ever, not-so-much.) I wanted use quinoa in a new way, and came across a few recipes for quinoa meatballs, so I decided to give it a try, giving it my own touch.

Here’s what I came up with:

My family doesn’t follow any specific diet plan. I just try to find the healthiest options of what we eat which fit into our lifestyle. If we can make something from scratch, hooray! If it comes from a jar, hoorah! And, if it’s made at a restaurant by someone else who will do all the dishes afterward, yippee! It all works for us.

Today we may make braised lamb and baby spinach and tomorrow we may pick up a pizza from the corner pizzeria. We are equal opportunity eaters.

Because of this, you will want to tweak this recipe in order to suit your own specific dietary restrictions.

Yummy Quinoa Meatballs:
Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg
3/4 – 1 cup cooked quinoa (I used rainbow quinoa)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 – 1 teaspoon Sriracha (hot sauce)
1 tablespoon minced garlic

Mix all of the ingredients together in large bowl and form into balls. I got about 24 smaller meatballs from my mix (about 1.5″ – 2″ each).

Place them evenly on a baking sheet or casserole dish. I sprayed mine lightly with cooking spray. Put them in the oven at 450 degrees for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. I turned my meatballs over at about 10 minutes.

I won’t lie…these were THE BOMB! I had a couple for lunch, and then reheated the rest to eat over linguine marinara for dinner. My daughter loved them, as well. Woot! One more dish for my collection! I’m about 1/16 way to my own cookbook! 😉

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it comes out for you! xoxo