Here’s a glimpse into my Friday night so far…
- PJs before 5:00
- Do it yourself pedicure & manicure
- Quality Abbie & me time
- One Tree Hill Marathon
Exciting stuff right? 
This is the first Friday night I’ve had to myself in much too long. It is nice to play catch up and to just breathe for once. Plus, I think Abbie is digging the one on one attention. She is definitely enjoying the non-stop game of fetch that has been going on all night. Does this girl ever quit? I need her energy.
Among many things I love to do when know one else is looking ( *wink ) is experiment with new vegetable discoveries at the grocery store. I found this little baby at Publix on Monday and have been dying to give it a whirl.
After a quick google search, I discovered a Malanga is a root vegetable that often acts as a thickener to make creamy stews. It has a fairly good source of riboflavin and thiamine, as well as provides a modest source of iron and vitamin C. Unfortunately the Malanga is also fairly high in calories coming in at 135 calories per 1/2 cup serving.
I treated the malanga as I would any other root vegetable. I peeled it, cubed it then roasted it in the oven at 450 for 15 minutes.
The results were actually pretty good.
It had the texture of a potato, but the taste was a little off. Not in a bad way at all, just different. I liked it with a little ketchup for dipping.
Of course my whole meal wasn’t just malanga. I actually had a pretty balanced plate.
WIld Alaskan Salmon was on sale this past week at Publix, so I happily picked up a small fillet.
I marinated the fillet in this really yummy Apricot Mustard Sauce I found in Publix during the same trip.
The marinade was wonderfully thick and tasty. Plus the ingredient list wasn’t too shabby either.
After I baked the fillet for 450 at 15 minutes I sprinkled some shredded parmesan cheese and ground flax seed on top while the salmon was still hot.
The cheese and flax gave the salmon a nice crust. I really enjoyed it. 
I steamed fresh green beans to finish balancing my plate out.
They still had a nice crunch to them, just the way I like them.
I finished the eating portion of my meeting with the best dessert ever. I mixed crumbled Honey Graham Bears, Mini Chocolate Chips, & Strawberries with some Part-Skin Ricotta Cheese.
Holy Yum! It was the perfect end of the week treat.
This afternoon I had 2 of my Blueberry Chia Muffins before I left work.
I’m kind of sad I only have one of my mini muffins left. Don’t worry I haven’t at them all myself. I did share.
So, yeah I totally just shed a tear while while watching an episode of One Tree Hill. This show has a lot of emotions!
I am currently catching up on the 4 or 5 seasons of the show that I’ve missed since I stopped following the show sophomore year of college. NetfFlix is the best! I have to admit I am starting to understand why I stopped watching the show, but atleast its keeping me entertained on my Friday night alone.
I hope you’re Friday night is more exciting then mine. If you are heading out please have a shot in my honor and if you’re staying in please have a scoop of ice cream in my honor. Either way I hope its a great night!
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
One Tree Hill used to be my fave show!! Seasons 1 2 and 3 were awesome.. it started getting eh around season 4. I loved Nathan, he was hot!
I’m in tonight, too.
Love it! Enjoy yourself.
sounds like a perfect night in!
I love One Tree Hill!! haha. Perfect couch potato night marathon
Haha I bought that same salmon at Publix today. Sales FTW!
i’m having a similar friday night, but mine also includes washing some of our dirty clothes from the trip
I also think just about EVERY veggie is better roasted, especially root veggies.
enjoy your night in with Abbie!
I think I stopped following One Tree Hill around the same time you did because I got too busy! I miss it though! I used to watch that and Gilmore Girls religiously. I kept my Gilmore Girl obsession but lost One Tree Hill somewhere!
You have such great cooking ideas!!
I skipped the middle seasons but the last one was soooo good! Lots of tears but quality
I have some old episodes on my DVR… guess what I’ll be doing in the next 10 seconds? lol
Malanga sounds cool, you Floridians are lucky to get that kind of stuff!
I just had a nice scoop of bliss coconut ice cream (for me) and an extra few spoonfuls straight from the carton (for you)
Enjoy your mellow night. Why is it that sometimes a night of doing nothing is oh so good?!
I stayed in tonight, too. Sometimes, going out is overrated
I love One Tree Hill!! It’s my favorite show! This past season got pretty good!!
I love speding nights in, but I’m staying in tonight because I work tomorrow:(
I LOVE One Tree Hill! So that sounds like a nice relaxing Friday night to me!
I totally cried through a few episodes! I always watch it when hubby is out of town…my guilty pleasure show! Enjoy your night in!
Meghann! Those kind of nights are my absolute favorites – kick up your feet, put in a good movie and just relax! You deserve it!
Whenever my friends and I have nights like this we tell people we are “lamping”. Then, when they look at us like we are crazy, we point to the nearest lamp: “See that lamp? What’s it doing? NOTHING. So am I.” Amen.
Oh my goodness. I know everything there is to know about One Tree Hill. The second season is crap, the third is actually pretty good though slightly ridiculous, the fourth is more ridiculous, and then it gets worse and more ridiculous… doesn’t stop me from watching, though
You need a 5th bullet point on your list.
My Friday night was pretty similar – just me and my dog, oh and my husband and cat
.
I love when food experiments turn out well! I tried taro root the other day and turns out it makes excellent fries. I’ll be posting about this veggie sometime this week.
I’ve recently been into whipped cottage cheese with crumbled graham crackers and fruit – I’m sure ricotta tastes even better! Healthy cheesecake, please
Quiet Friday nights are always nice. You should totally host a show on Food Network called “The Creative Chef” since you always come up with such great ideas!!!
I’m actually WAY jealous of your friday night!! I can’t wait to have nights like that AFTER the wedding haha. Seriously its getting ridiculous, but anyways hope you had a great time with Abbie and OTH (I love that show too hha)!
I watched OTH last night as well. I’m new to the show and I can’t.stop.watching. Love it!
HEY MEgan!!! How many calories do you eat at breakfast? Does it depend on the amount you run? I run on average 2 miles every morning right when I wake up? I take in about 300 calories at breakfast is that to many?
I love one tree hill, I used to be obsessed! hah I’m glad you enjoyed your night megann =]
I’m glad the new root turned out good!
Sorry that you don’t have any muffins left on account of me taking some, and jason eating them!!!
I’m sorry I did not mean to misspell your name meghann!
I had a scoop of fro-yo before I read this post, does that count?
I ADORE OTH!!!! Desperately awaiting the arrival of season 6 on DVD this month! It killed me having to go a month and a half without knowing who Luke… well… I’ll leave that for you…
PJs before 5 is totally my kind of night
malanga – it’s just fun to say
thanks for reviewing – i’ve never even seen one of those before!
Love those kinda nights!
My mama makes a soup with malanga and it’s delicious
I always admire your bravery in trying new foods! I have never heard of that vegetables, I don’t think I’ve ever seen it before! Netflix is awesome, esp if you have an XBOX (my boyfriend’s) and you can connect it to instant Netflix and watch a bunch of TV shows and movies for free right on your TV!
I came across your blog today and noticed that you try the malanga “new root”. I was born in Puerto Rico and my dad used to grow these roots when I was younger. Next time, if you try it again, boil the malanga instead of roasting it, but make sure to put a little bit of salt in the water (also add enough water just to cover it). Malanga has starch just like potatoes and if you put too much water it will foam out of the pot. Then, if you like fish, you may want to get some codfish and bake it. Saute some onions, green, red and yellow peppers and when you serve your malanga and the codfish, top them both with the saute veggies. You will see what a delicious combination they make. You can also use tomatoes (either sliced fresh or saute with the rest of the veggies. Enjoy.
Ooops, forgot to say that you must use olive oil to saute the veggies.
Meghann, I just realized that in a way, you kind of said goodbye without even knowing it. You made sure to give Abbie some one on one QT the night before her untimely death. I hope realizing this brings you some peace.