Abbie Update & BSI Meal

I had every hope and intention to pick Abbie up from the Vet after work this afternoon. Unfortunately, the Vet had other plans and would like to keep her overnight for observation. They assured me that she is doing fine; they just wanted to hold her to make sure whatever was wrong with her is now out of her system. Of course, I have now been thrown into Concerned Mommy overload. I will hopefully be able to pick her up tomorrow during my lunch hour. Until then my apartment is sad and lonely without her to keep me company.

After I talked to the Vet this afternoon I decided it was the best time to indulge in my afternoon snack. Nothing like something sweet and creamy to lift my spirits. (Yes, I am an emotional eater L).

I broke into my second Peach Chobani and packed a ¼ cup of Quaker Oatmeal Squares to give the yogurt a crunch. Do you like the fork action? Its all we had in the office kitchen.

I know this is only the second flavor of Chobani I have sampled, but it is definitely my favorite. I meant to try the others and then come back to peach, but this morning I saw the pretty orange container calling my name and just had to grab it. Sigh.. now I am sad all of the peach flavors are gone, maybe the Blueberry flavor I had left will intrigue me as much as the peach has.

Too keep my mind off of Abbie I decided to get crafty this evening and attempt my BSI submission for the week. I was overly excited when Lindsay selected Pumpkin for this week’s BSI and had a zillion possibilities of what to make. First I narrowed down that I wanted to go out on a limb and attempt something savory. Second, I decided to I wanted it to involve either chicken or tofu, since that is what I currently have in my fridge at the moment. Finally, Third, I of course wanted to think of something I had never seen before to boost up the creativity points I am so fond of.

So what did I come up with?!?!?!

Pumpkin Pecan Encrusted Chicken

• 1 Chicken Breast
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin
• 1/4 cup Egg Whites
• 3 tablespoons Fat Free Milk
• Pumpkin Spice
• Cinnamon
• 1/2 cup Crushed Pecans
• 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

2.  In one bowl combine the pumpkin, egg whites, fat free milk and a dash of each of  the seasonings.

3.  In a separate bowl combing the pecans, bread crumbs and another dash of spices

 4. First coat the chicken with the pumpkin mixture and then with the pecan mix.

5.  Bake the chicken at 375 for 30 minutes.

Mmmmm….. the chicken reminded me of Thanksgiving! The perfect Holiday meal.   Pumpkin and Pecan are an ideal combination which complimented the chicken perfectly. This meal also got me thinking how great a pumpkin and pecan stuffing would be for Thanksgiving Turkey. I think I am going to work on that for next week!

On the side of the chicken I attempted Yucca for the first time.

I have always been a huge fan of Yucca, but have never attempted to cook it. The exotic root was tempting me during my ill fated grocery trip so I threw it in the cart and decided to give it a try.

I was too lazy to look up instructions how to cook it properly so I decided to just bake it as I would any other root vegetable. I peeled it, cubed it, seasoned it with salt and pepper, then placed the root in the oven to roast with the chicken.

As with any other new cooking experience I’ve had, simple is always the best. The Yucca came out amazing! It was perfect and starchy. The Yucca was also really cheap, less then 50 cents! I will be sure to buy and prepare this vegetable a lot more in the future.

I also steamed some Snap Green Peas to add some pretty color to my plate.

The meal is filling and satisfying. The perfect combination to keep my mind off of my poor puppy.

For dessert I had a half a cup of Peanut Butter Cup Frozen Yogurt with some Puffed Brown Rice.

I do love me some Frozen Yogurt.

Now I’m off to catch up on the DVR and then get some sleep. I am going to hopefully attempt another run tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers I can actually make it out tomorrow.

Good Night!