Fingernails Don't Belong Here

This whole eating better and getting off our butts thing has been working out pretty well...much better than I would have thought originally.  We are still trying to get used to some things.  For me that includes still having energy at the end of a more active day and eating things that I know are better, but that I'm not a huge fan of.

Yesterday and today have been filled with trying to fix the exterior of our new house.  We've finally have the front yard sprinklers working...only had to dig up half of them.  Luckily none of the pipes underground have broken.  But I've been pretty drained of energy by the end of it all.  I know that with time that will lessen, but it's a pretty big hurdle to overcome - because some days I'm still just looking for an excuse to stop.

Last night for dinner we had Roasted Tomato and Basil Casserole and I am anything but a tomato person...it's mostly a texture thing, but I also have a bit of an issue with the flavor.  I wanted to try it because I am extremely fascinated by the spaghetti squash, but I had to talk myself into it because of the tomatoes.  It was a bit of a struggle, but I figured the worst thing was that I didn't like it (Kurt, of course, will eat most things) and I just make something else.  It was a good thing though - I very much enjoyed it.  I still had a little difficulty getting past the skins and the sliminess but it's something that I would eat again.

With healthy eating comes new experiences.

If I had to complain about one thing though...it would be fingernails.  After 30 years on this planet and the conscious ones of biting my fingernails, I had finally given it it.  They were growing out and actually looking great.  Between mixing and kneading dough, continuous chopping of vegetables, grating garlic and cheese and working in the yard, I decided that fingernails don't belong here.  See...and you thought I was going to complain about all the food I'm "missing". :)

If you haven't seen it already, check out our breakfast this morning...Baked Banana Oatmeal.  It was super yummy!!

Excited for dinner tonight...making BBQ chicken pizza pockets with homemade barbecue sauce.  Will keep you updated!!

Roasted Tomato and Basil Casserole

This was a difficult one for me to want to make given that I'm not the biggest fan of tomatoes - little bit a flavor thing, but mostly texture.  The funny thing was it kind of just tasted like pasta with a fresh tomato sauce.  We broke it into 8 servings which meant that you really had to have something else with it (garlic bread, a vegetable side...something), but it's more filling than you would think.

From eatnourishing.com

Yields 6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 medium to large spaghetti squash
• 2 pints grape tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1/4 cup butter
• 20 fresh basil leaves, chopped roughly
• 1 cup grated romano cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375*F
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds
3. Place cut side down on a baking sheet filled 1" high with water (mine isn't even 1" so I just filled it 3/4 high)
4. Bake for 30 minutes (you can do this earlier in the day before preping for dinner)
5. Remove from oven and let cool
6. Preheat oven to 400*F
7. While preheating, place butter into a 9x13 baking dish and place the dish in the oven to melt butter
8. When preheated, place grape tomatoes and garlic into the baking dish.  Stir to coat with melted butter and sprinkle with salt
9. Roast tomatoes for 10 - 15 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst
10. Remove from oven and carefully smash tomatoes with a fork
11. Use a fork to scrape squash into spaghetti-like strings
12. Gently fold spaghetti squash, basil and cheese into smashed tomatoes
13. Add more salt, as needed
14. If desired, top with additional cheese and place in the still warm oven to melt