Lately...

Geia sas chicas!

Lately...
i've been busy with loads of homework, all of which involves math (which i am not very good at), it's been a major stressor and i'm worried about passing my advanced algebra class. I haven't done too many updates lately mostly because when i finally have a moment free i find myself collapsing on the couch or making myself working out. Most college students know how that is.

I think spring semester is the worst, it feels way longer & more draining than the fall...probably because where i live it snows all spring :'(

A main concern in my life right now is waiting to hear if i got into something i applied for but as much as i would love to tell you now i have a bad habit of jinxing things so i'll wait to announce it. Anyway just saving money for this & planning.

March has a lot of birthdays in it for my family including: my younger sister 18 on the 29th, & grandma 85 on the 10th.

Lately...
 i've been eating;

yes i finally found the chocolate!

mmm with some flax seed & blueberries

rotini & Sriracha creations
Kalinixta/Καληνύχτα its off to work tomorrow!

This Week

Geia sas!

This week has been stressful but had some good points, my mom & i made a lentil vegetable soup & a Portuguese white bean soup in which we used this lacinato kale.

I love the leaves, they're so pretty & unique to others!

(yummy too)

We also bought Bragg Liquid Aminos from our health food store, we've heard about it for a while so decided to try out the spray. Turns out its pretty good in things like our lentil soup.

That was so good! Its nice to have a little extra protein too.

I've needed a lot of yoga this week for stress relief also.

Looking forward to a better next week & hopefully my weekend of work goes by quickly!

What i've been Eating Lately

Boston Cream Pie yogurt with some chocolate swirl for dessert!

Blueberries!

Feta!

Every time we buy this feta my yiayia(grandma) says "Athenos, that's so close to my name" referring to her maiden name..its really not that close but she always says it every time so i think of that whenever i see it lol.

I start school Monday; boo. I just hope the semester goes by fast & i can pass my classes. In other news i had lunch with my really good friend today who i haven't seen since October so that was nice, i love her she always makes me feel better about life & i think i do the same for her haha.

Andd today i found out a singer i really like(& have had a huge crush on) is gay...way to crush my dreams buddy! (i won't say who for certain reasons but it was a sad realization)

I hope to keep up on blogging this semester but truth is i don't know how tough it will be with school & work so it may only be like two posts a month *insert horrified face* i hope not but i have to be realistic.

I wish all my fellow college students a good semester!

(my Louie)

A yummy snack

Geia sas!

I went to the health food store today & got some really yummy stuff that included a delicious tabbouleh salad & some organic pop-tarts that are way better than the regular, but also this yogurt..chocolate yogurt! MMmm i am a sucker for anything chocolate & this stuff is sooo good. 

I'm really busy over the next week with clinicals out of town so i won't have much blogging time but here's my Twitter which i use a little more frequently

@sassyagapi

Spice Up Boring Hummus

Geia sas!

I got some Sabra Artichoke Hummus from the store the other day expecting it to be delicious...

that was not the case; it was kinda tastless & boring for me, so...

Luckily i'm a hummus pro,

I threw it in the food processor & added 3 cloves of garlic, ex. virgin olive oil, & fresh lemon juice. The difference was incredible, it tasted awesome with some pita chips!

A Snack

Geia sas!

The past few weeks i've been having a few too many ice creams & that sort of thing so i'm getting myself back on track, here was my afternoon snack.



Cucumbers & red peppers with French dressing. Yum!
It's great for when you're craving that crunch.

Still waiting to hear about the job i applied for, she said to call her in 2 weeks if i haven't heard from her so i have about another week to wait. Working on getting things for school settled also. Life seems like a sea of phone calls & faxes lately.
I can't wait till i'm out of college!!

*p.s. Ohh & i don't think i told y'all i passed my CNA class, yup! But i still havta take my state registry test which is gonna be hard from what i hear. Great! -_-

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffin Recipe

Geia sas!

I posted on my Twitter that i'd be adding this recipe for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins,

so here it is!

(my twitter @sassyagapi)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

one large egg

one large egg white

1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

3 Tbs. applesauce

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (i used Ghirardelli they were awesome)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray muffin tin.

Combine dry ingredients and spices together in a large bowl.

Add pumpkin, applesauce, milk, and egg and egg white to a medium size bowl and mix thoroughly. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredient and mix well.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Bake for 18 mins.

Voila!

I hope you like them, they taste really good. I love oatmeal in bakery & i don't even bake that much only when i'm convinced it'll be delicious!

...i was right in case you were wondering :D

 

 

Basilikos Lasagna Recipe

Geia sas!

So remember this post when i told you i'd share the recipe for Basilikos Lasagna?

Well guess what; today is that day!

Basilikos Lasagna

4 Tbs. butter

4 Tbs. flour

4 cups milk

4 cloves garlic

1 box no-boil lasagna noodles

1 large bag shredded mozzarella cheese(use as much or little as you like)

3-4 large tomatoes, sliced

1 bunch fresh basil leaves

fresh grated nutmeg(as much as you like, i use a good amount)

a pinch of cinnamon

salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 375° F.

Sauce: In large saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Add garlic & cook till aromatic, about 1 min. Sprinkle flour over pan & cook for 1 min. Whisk milk into the pan & bring to a bubble. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, season with salt & pepper, & simmer until thickened(3-5mins.)

Lasagna: Ladle a small amount of sauce into bottom of a 9x13" pan & lay 3 lasagna noodles over sauce.

 Top noodles with about 3 tomato slices, a third of the chopped/torn basil, & a large hand-full of the cheese.

 Repeat until all ingredients are used up, top off the lasagna with a final layer of sauce & cheese.

Bake for 30mins. on bottom oven rack, then move to top rack & cook for additional 15mins. until cheese is slightly browned & sauce is bubbly. When ready to serve top with a few basil leaves.

Note: There will be a little extra sauce because there never seems to be enough! So add it all.

This is a family favorite & will stay in my family forever i'm sure. I hope you'll try it!

Kali Orexi!

καλή όρεξη

(bon appetite)

Olive Oil Bar

Geia sas everyone!

Last week my mom & i went to the olive oil bar & wow did we love it!

We bought Garlic Infused Olive Oil which is fabulous & their Greek Olive Oil grown in the Peloponnese where my family is from, this is has an incredible flavor; note they only sell extra virgin(the best).

They are set up like in the picture below that i took from their website. You can taste all the oil before you buy it.

They place a tag with the name of what you bought on each bottle, you can re-use the bottles & save a dollar next time you come in also.

They also have a few other oils such as nuts like hazelnut, almond, & they have avocado oil. Plus the best balsamic vinegar you will ever have in your lifetime; the 25yr Aged Balsamic Vinegar..its to die for good & a little pricey at $19 a bottle. The others oils average prices were $14.50ish, again not cheap in my opinion but they are amazingly good.

We'll buy the balsamic next time we come in for sure, they also have gift cards that would make a great gift for the right person.

Ah liquid gold.

Mmmm-mm-mmm with fresh bread; Heavenly!

 

Greek Gods Yogurt Review

Geia sas filoi/φίλοι!

                           (friends)

                       So the Greek Gods company sent me coupons to try their yogurt & i'm excited since i'd seen it before but never tried it.

*For a litte background, the company was founded in Seattle, WA in 2003 by 3 Greek men.

The bummer is that most grocery stores near me don't carry their products, on the Sentry does & they have a very limited section. They carry 3 flavors only in the tubs plain, vanilla, & honey. So i was disappointed with my local stores for sure but i bought the honey yogurt never the less.

And all i have to say is WOW, talk about amazing!! The flavor & texture was incredible, now i know why it's a pricey item, this would only be an occasional buy for me because as i said the price is a little high.

The only other thing i don't like about this product is how much fat is in it, 14g!!! Aeeyyeehyy my heart skipped a beat when i read the label. But the flavor & quality is undeniable!

I will probably buy it again if they have it in single portions at my store.

Now if i thought that was amazing i can't imagine what i would think of this; pagoto ice krema...in Baklava!!!!!!!!!!....& Chocolate Fig!!!!! ...& Honey Pomegrante!!

Oh dear Lord i have gone to Heaven...i need to somehow get my hands on this..!!!

'

You might have noticed each item has it's own Greek God or Goddess on it, though the pictures are less than authentic the concept it really cute.

                                                                        

School Rant & Breakfast

  Geia sou everybody!

So i've been really tired lately, especially after starting school yesterday. Today i officially started my CNA class, it's so long & really boring because she just reiterates common sense to us. Though i'm sure there are some people who need that...but they shouldn't be caregivers!!

 lol..anyway so a really strange girl sat next to me in our assigned seats, & i had a feeling she was going to be strange when she walked in. She was doing some weird a** stuff like staring at me every time i would use my pen, leaning over & reading from my book instead of hers(we have the same exact textbook), fidgeting & flailing her arms, biting her shirt, letting her butt hang out(eww she needed to pull up her pants), turning around every time the poor girl behind us with the sniffles would sneeze, & many other odd behaviors.

Needless to say i'm not looking forward to sitting next to her for the remainder of this class.

But anyhoo, on days other than school, a typical breakfast for me would be this:

Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt

with wheat germ, flax seed(ground), & blueberries.

The portion of blueberries & flax/wheat change slightly but its always with 1 cup yogurt. The yogurt changes between this & Greek depending on what i feel like.

Hopefully i can regularly post during this next month but i'll have to see how it goes. I have a feeling this is the year that turns me into a full-fledged coffee HOLIC drinker, but i guess i was doomed anyway it practically runs in the blood of all my ancestors lol. No surprise it's drank like water at my house.

*Random thought, i've always loved the name Alejandro & i love that it's singable now (Alejandro by Lady Gaga is on right now lol) but i still hate most of Gaga's videos.

Anyone else like that song?

**Random thought of the day #2, arn't Josh & Jake Harris from Deadliest Catch

(Cornelia Marie, Captain Phil's sons) total cuties?!

I was just reminded of this fact since i was watching an interview with them today.