"Bloody" Tuesday

Now that we have a kitchen I have really been trying to be a good little wife. You know...cooking good healthy meals? So yesterday I decided that I was going to make my first soup! I love tomato basil soups (which is funny because I HATE tomatoes...I never eat them on anything). I saw on my friends blog the other day a recipe for Tomato Basil that looked so yummy and I knew I had to try it. I also planned to round out the meal with some crunchy balsamic chicken and roasted green beans.

I was doing sooooo good. I had the initial ingredients of the soup simmering...I prepared the chicken and green beans and they were both in the oven. Everything was timed exactly right!

Eric had taken Toby to the dog park that is right across the street so it was going to be a nice little dinner all laid out when they got home.

Then....well then the "event" happened.

I obviously do not have an immersion blender on the road with me...and the blender that is in this rental condo is like 100 years old. BUT! I do have my trusty magic bullet. After the starter ingredients of the soup simmer for about 30 min you need to blend it all up with basil to make it not so chunky. So, I planned to use the magic bullet for this. Everything was going fine...until the third batch of blending. I am not sure if I didn't screw on the top tight enough or there was just some kind of air bubble stuck in the magic blender...I truly do not know..it just happened too fast...all of the sudden while blending the bottom of the bullet like popped open and kind of exploded and hot RED soup contents splattered everywhere.

I was just standing there in awe. Soup...all over me...all over the counter...all over the cupboards ...all over the CEILING! It literally looked like there was some kind of mass murder in my kitchen.

And of course....Eric walks in right at that moment. There I am in the kitchen with red tomato soup all over. All we could do was laugh. Since I was still in shock of how I got soup everywhere Eric was nice enough to clean it up for me (what a nice husband I have!). He could not believe how much soup was all over the kitchen.

Toby was happy....he got to lick some up that splashed on the floor.

So I guess you are thinking...excuse me Sarah...where are the pictures? I promise. It went through my head right when it happened. But...I had too much soup on me to walk around the house looking for my camera. I guess the picture in your head is probably better than anything I could have captured on film.

Needless to say there was no soup for dinner last night. The rest of the meal turned out good...actually the green beans were super delicious.

The beans were "roasted green beans" and they are a great easy different way to eat your greens...I thought you might enjoy it too (stay tuned...I will be making that soup again...hopefully next time I won't ruin my shirt in the process)

Roasted Green Beans
from Recipe Zaar

2 lbs green beans
1 - 2 tablespoon olive oil (just enought to lightly coat beans)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste, may substitute with Mrs. Dash if desired)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (or to taste, omit if using Mrs. Dash)
3 cloves garlic (cooked whole with beans)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Wash, dry well, and trim green beans.
3. Put green beans on a jelly roll pan.
4. Drizzle with olive oil. (I suggest tossing beans in bowl with oil...you use less oil and it is easier to coat the beans)
   
5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste (I like them salty so I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and about 8-10 grinds of the pepper mill). *Mrs. Dash may be substituted for salt and pepper as desired.
6. Use your hands to be sure all the beans are evenly coated and spread them out into 1 layer.
7. Roast for 20-25 minutes, turning after 15 minutes, until beans are fairly brown in spots and somewhat shriveled.
8. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Road tripping....

Early sunday morning (after 2 shows on saturday) we packed up the car and started our drive to Scottsdale, AZ.

We have so much crap!!! Since we have our car I think we overpacked just a bit. Every time we pack up the car we say to each other ... we must thin out our stuff...and we never do. To give you a visual of what our life stuffed into a car looks like:


That colored pillow is Toby's bed...or his "home" while we are road tripping. So as you can see...our life fits pretty tightly into a Jeep grand Cherokee.

Not much scenery to tell you about. It took us about 12 hours to get from Sacramento to Scottsdale. It probably would have been a bit shorter but I was on my last day of my isagenix cleanse and was drinking a lot of water (therefore...having to make a ton of pee breaks). So I guess I could tell you all about the nasty bathrooms that I had to make pit stops in...but who wants to hear about those. Blah.

Instead I will entertain you with pictures of how Toby enjoyed his trip.

Toby loves the car. Toby loves the car so much that he usual jumps all around and gets super crazy. Eric & I were pleasantly surprised this car ride when Toby chilled in the back seat on his bed or calmly sat on our laps in the front.

This is a picture journey of how Toby spent the car ride:

Toby with his head out the window

One of Toby's favorite thing to do the car is to lay down and smell the air conditioning. He is a beagle for sure! Loves to smell everything!!

Toby laying on his bed in the back seat.

Just sitting...watching the sites go by....

Now we are in Scottsdale. It is great here. The condo we are renting is perfect...everything is just around the corner...and there is a dog park right across the street. We spent today unpacking and filling the refrigerator with groceries. Eric does not have a show until Thursday so the next couple days will just be nice and relaxing.

Garlic Filled Dinner!

So...we arrived in Scottsdale yesterday (full blog on the drive down later). Our condo is super cute and best of all has a nice big kitchen. I have missed cooking and was just dreaming about what our first meal in our new home would be. I decided in addition to this being a blog about my life and I would also make it a cooking blog and detail what we eat and the recipes!

SO....here we go....I was reading on my friends blog (Good Eats & Sweet Treats) about this delish lemon garlic tilapia and baked garlic rice. I knew I had to make it!

The garlic inspired meal actually started a little earlier in the day with some homemade hummus and fresh baked seasoned pita chips. The hummus was OF COURSE made in the ol' magic bullet.

Hallelujah Hummus

1/4 cup chicken (or vegetable) stock
14 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans),drained
3 cloves garlic
3 Tbs. lemon juice
3 Tbs. tahini (sesame paste)
sprinkle with paprika

First ... Add all ingredients, except for paprika and olive oil, into the Tall Cup.
Next ... Twist on the Cross Blade and blend until smooth.
Then ... Salt and pepper to taste.

******

Next up came the main course. I just want to preface these recipes by saying that my husband never ate fish before knowing me. I slowly broke him in by cooking a little salmon and recently have brought him into the world of tilapia.

Both of these recipes were from my friend Jaime's blog that I link above. My pictures are not as pretty as hers but boy was this meal good. Eric ate 2 pieces of fish and the rice was to die for. This is definitely going in the "make again" pile!


Lemon Garlic Tilapia
from allrecipes.com

4 tilapia fillets
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped (I used 4 - I do not think one would be enough)
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
pepper to taste (I seasoned with salt as well)
red pepper flakes to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a pan, melt the butter and sauté the garlic and parsley on low heat. While the garlic is cooking, rinse tilapia fillets under cool water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place fillets in baking dish and season with pepper (and salt and red pepper). Pour lemon juice over fillets.

Drizzle garlic butter over the fish.

Bake in preheated oven until the fish is white and flakes when pulled apart with a fork, about 15 minutes. (I baked mine for about 25 minutes.)

Baked Garlic Rice Pilaf

from Good Eats & Sweet Treats

2 tablespoons butter
3 garlic cloves, crushed (I used 4 cloves)
1 cup long-grain white rice
2 1/2 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Heat butter in a skillet; add garlic and rice and cook until both are golden brown. Add 1 cup of broth and the salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and pour into a covered casserole; bake for 25 minutes.

Stir in remaining 1-1/2 cups broth; cook for another 45 minutes. This recipe can be doubled without increasing the cooking time.

In 10 seconds or less...salsa!

I guess I have been a bad blogger lately. BUT! There is a reason for it. I decided that I was feeling totally toxic and gross and decided to do the Isagenix Cleanse. So basically I cannot blog to you about things I am eating because I am not really eating anything right now. Well, except for chocolate nutrition shakes and random 400 - 600 calorie meals.

I did this cleanse right before my wedding and seriously lost all bad cravings and lost about 10 lbs. It really helped jump start me into a good workout and eatting routine. I started the cleanse again a few days ago and I feel great. Plus, all my clothes are fitting better and a few people have told me I look skinny (hey....who doesn't like to hear that!).

So, one of the things on the cleanse is drinking these shakes. I feel they taste much better when blended. We bought a cheap-o blender a while ago from CVS and I opened it the other day to find out that it did not work. I needed a blender.

This was a perfect excuse to buy one of my favorite infomercial tools to mix up my shakes in! The Magic Bullet!!!

Don't lie. You know you have watched this infomercial. Every time this freaking thing comes on Eric & I watch it. If you have never seen it you are missing out! It is that typical infomercial format and then they have this loony lady with a cigarette and curlers come out randomly and question everything. Here is a short clip to show you what you are missing:



The magic bullet does everything...chops, juices...etc...etc. You can make everything in a magic bullet! In fact, we registered for one when we got married (and got one!! but it is in a box at home so I guess we will now have 2...thats cool...you can never have too many!!).

We have some good friends that are equally obsessed with the magic bullet and one night we actually had a magic bullet party. Everything was made in the bullet....hummus, salsa, drinks and more!

I love the bullet...it is one of those infomercial things that are actually worth buying and now I am so excited that I have it with me on tour!

I love to Yelp!

Whenever I am in a new city the first thing I do is research what is around me. My "go to" site is called Yelp.com.

Yelp was started in 2004 by a few guys looking to create a site where local businesses could be reviewed in a fun, entertaining manner. They started in San Francisco but it has quickly started to spread across the United States. Where as citysearch sometimes seems "fake"...yelp is true reviews from real people and they are usually extremely funny to read.

I have been frequenting yelp since I discovered it in San Fran and now I cannot go anywhere (dinner, coffee, nail place....) without looking to see what the yelpers think about it.

I don't know why I did not start before...but the other day I finally created a username and started submitting my own reviews. I mean these yelpers have helped me out so much....the least I could do was return the favor!! Now...I am addicting. I am writing reviews for everything that I have been to in the last few weeks. What also makes it addicting is that it is kind of like an online community. You have "friends", people can give you compliments on your reviews and they can rate your review on if it was funny, useful or cool.

So my challenge to you: Go to yelp.com and start making it popular in your area!!! Start writing reviews...spread the word! I know once you start reviewing things you will be hooked just like me!

My heart hurts...

I am a food network addict.

I swear the food network is always on the tv. When we leave the house/apartment/hotel room and Toby has to be home alone...we always leave the food network on for him so he has something to listen to.

One of the shows that Eric & I really enjoy is the show "Diners, Drive-In's and Dives" (or DDD's as it is also called). Basically this dude goes around the country and checks out all these local dives that have the yummiest (and greasiest) food.

When I found out one of these places was in Sacramento I knew that we had to make a visit. My friend Liz was in town for a quick visit and I new this was the perfect opportunity for a little burger lunch!

The Squeeze Inn is a tiny hole in the wall shack like building. They only have 10 bar stools at a counter and I think a picnic table or 2 out back.

They are known for their burgers. All of their stuff says "The Best Burgers in Town". Usually when you hear restaurants or stores make that claim you just brush it off. How many times have you seen something like: "Best Coffee in America". Well...I think this place was not just making a claim...these really were the best burgers in town!

I think we got very lucky when we made out way down to the Squeeze Inn. Every review I read spoke of people having to wait in an hour in a line out the door just to sit down at one of the stools. When we walked in there was no wait...just 3 stools sitting there beckoning us to sit down.

Oh the benefits of being married to an actor...you can always eat lunch at "off times"

ANYWAYS...back to the burger. We all ordered a "squeeze burger" with cheese. The cheese is the whole reason for getting a burger from the Squeeze Inn, not that bland American cheese, but cheddar...real good delicious greasy heart clogging cheddar. They put the cheese on the burger on the grill and then cover it up so that it melts nicely and gives you a cheese "skirt". umm.. YUM.

All the veggies on the burger are super fresh and crunchy. The french fries are delish too. Just the right consistency and huge portions (we all split a large).


As an added bonus...I have a thing for ice...I love good ice. You know..the old style ice that taco bell use to have...like ice pellets?? or the kind of ice you get in the hospital when you are nauseous? If a place has good ice I am so excited.

This place had delicious ice. See...the small things in life really do make me happy!

So if you are ever in Sacramento and need a good greasy burger fix you MUST make your way over to the squeeze inn. Trust me ... you will not regret the extra calories.

I'll Be Back...for some more coffee....

Short little entry this morning....

So, Eric and I went on our morning Starbucks run this morning. There is a starbucks just a few blocks away so I have already become a regular.

This morning was different though..because we had a special guest arrive for our morning coffee.

As I am waiting for my grande ice coffee with soy milk 2 huge black excursions pull up outside and men in black suits emerge. I am sitting there wondering what the F is going on...and then out walks the Governator. Yes, thats right. I had my morning coffee with Mr. Schwarzengger himself.

He is much smaller in person. Definitely not the body builder that we are all use to seeing in the movies. He was also surprisingly friendly. Chit chatting with everyone in the store..asking them how their day was going...and when they made his coffee wrong he did not whip out his AK-47 he just shyly asked for a new one.

Well, that is my excitement for the day. I guess fun things DO happen in Sacramento!

Bored Bored Bored

I have been a bad blogger!! But...it is hard to blog when you don't have much to write about!!

As you know we are in Sacramento...

I really do not mean to be down on this city but so far it is no fun. I am pretty bored already and we have only been here for like 6 days!!

I must give a special Thank You to Jaime who was so nice to send me a long list of places to eat in the city. That was amazing and I really appreciate it!

Eric is in rehearsals every day until 11:30pm at night. Toby and I try to make the most of the day but to be honest I am running out of things to do!

Today I went to the mall with a few friends...I mean...I can always find something to buy at the mall right? WRONG! It was a craptastic (yes I used the word craptastic) mall...and we went to the "good" mall in town!

We joined the gym again yesterday so that may help my boredom out a little. Plus I need to get back into shape. After the wedding I just kinda started eatting crappy and not working out. I must get back on some kind of program. Oh how I miss you S-Factor!

SO....food. Yes, I have actually found some delish stuff in this town.

Today my friend Michelle and I went to a pie place that we have been hearing so much about. The Real Pie Company is just around the block from the hotel (very dangerous!). They use all local ingrediants from local farmers and everything is made from scratch.

Michelle got the Nectarine-Blackberry pie and I got the Jumbleberry pie (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and cherries). Let me just tell you these were some of the most amazing pies I have ever had in my life! They were out of control and you could taste how fresh the ingredients were.

I had also read online how fabulous their chicken pot pies were...but apparently they are pretty impossible to get as they sell out so quick. We got there at 10am (when they open) and they did not have any. I asked if I could put in an order for tomorrow and I was quickly told that they are sold out for a week! Thats how many orders they had!!! SO...of course I now have an order for 2 chicken pot pies for next week Wednesday...I am counting the days.

What else did I find? Well we all know I am addicted to frozen yogurt. Much to my surprise a "Natural Frozen Yogurt" shop had recently opened in Sacramento.

Mochii yogurt is pretty delicious. It has that yummy natural yogurt taste that I became addicted to in Los Angeles. Pinkberry is still my ultimate favorite...but this place will feed my cravings while I am here.

I am hoping once Eric is done with rehearsals things will get better. Maybe we can explore the city a little more and I can begin to appreciate it. Who knows...right now all I am doing is counting the days until we make the drive to Tempe.

Home sweet home?

Well...we are here.

Our new home at the Best Western in Sacramento.

We got a late start on Friday as our usual trusty alarm failed to go off. I guess even the alarm did not want to go to Sacramento. We packed up the car (in the already 90 degree weather) and started our drive north.

The drive went pretty fast. We hit no traffic and only made a stop to eat lunch (In-N-Out of course) and to let Toby pee a few times.

Before we knew it we were pulling into the California state capital.

So our new digs...the Best Western. It's a Best Western. We do have a lovely "pool view" room that allows us to be woken up pretty early in the morning by little kids yelling and smacking those noodle toys in the water...so thats fun. It is certainly going to be a tight fit over the next 3 weeks. I am trying to make it as "homey" as possible...but there is just so much you can do with a small hotel room

Surprisingly...the bed is very comfortable. It has a nice down comforter and is a nice bed! Who knew the best western had nice beds!

I am not sure about the area yet. Sacramento has a ton of one way streets that are pretty annoying. I am not sure what kind of area we are in...if you walk in one direction there are cute little houses and nice tree covered streets...the other direction...not the best area. We are still trying to figure out what is around us and what there is to eat!!

Today Toby and I walked to meet Eric for dinner ... I guess I took the route through crack town (although it seemed like Beverly Hills compared to the area around the theatre in San Francisco). Toby met a new friend during our walk ...a nice homeless man that was wearing huge stuffed Tiger slippers (by the way it was 103...so his feet must have been pretty hot!). Toby thought the slippers were a toy and tried to play with the tigers. Oh the adventures of walking a dog in downtown Sac.

This week should be pretty exciting for me. Eric has rehearsal every day (except Labor Day) from 1 - 11:30pm. I can only go to the mall so many times...

I hope I can find a yoga studio or something. I have already scouted out a yogurt place that is supposed to be comparable to Pinkberry...so that is on the agenda. Other than that...hanging out with Toby and trying not to get overheated in the 100+ degree weather.

If anyone has any Sacramento recommendations please let me know (I am looking at you Rhonda...)