I have been surprisingly social all weekend. I went to a football game on Friday (we won!) (Go Wolfpack!) and then my roommates and I spent the rest of the night with Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen and Cards Against Humanity. If you have never played Cards Against Humanity, let’s just introduce you to their slogan : A party game for horrible people.
And that it is.
Just take a look at their website. Or check out this and this.
I also spent my Saturday night bar hopping with one of my best friends/pseudo cousin. Except that I had to drive home so my bar hopping experience was mostly just me getting leaned on by a bunch of drunk people.
Good times right?
The whole drinking and Cards Against Humanity thing ties together because:
1. Most of the time, if you’re playing Cards Against Humanity, you are simultaneously drinking.
And 2. When I told my roommate, “The only two games I know how to play are beer pong and Cards Against Humanity. What does that say about me?”, his response was, “You’re an evil alcoholic.”
So there’s that.
And now about Zuppa Toscana. It is that delicious soup at Olive Garden with sausage, potatoes, and kale. The broth is lightly creamy and a little spicy.
It is also 220 calories for a bowl of it at Olive Garden. That doesn’t seem tooooo bad, until you consider that it has 15 g of fat and 990 mg of sodium in it. And when you consider that you’re going to have another bowl of it. And a glass (or two) of wine. And probably some type of pasta. And that salad, which also doesn’t seem too bad until you see that there are 150 calories, 10 g of fat, and 760 mg of sodium in it. Also, don’t forget that you’re going to eat like, 4 of those bread sticks (140 calories, 2.5 g fat, 460 mg sodium)
Holy shit, what is in this stuff?
Anyways, I definitely recreated the recipe and lightened it up quite a bit. I calculated it all up and it was about 350 calories per serving. The recipe serves 4, so you get quite a big serving of soup for less than 400 calories. Also, you just throw it in a crockpot. So easy guys.
Ahem.
*thunderous applause*
*The recipe was originally from Fix it and Forget it, but has been changed dramatically*
Ingredients:
6 c. low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. whole milk or half and half
2 carrots, grated
3 russet potatoes, sliced
4 cups kale, chopped slightly
1 lb. turkey Italian sausage
Dash salt and pepper
Sprinkle of garlic powder
Sprinkle onion powder
1/4-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Parmesan cheese, for sprinkling
Grate 2 carrots into your crockpot.
Pour in chicken broth.
And the whole milk/half and half.
Slice up your potatoes.
Add them to your broth.
Brown the sausage.
Add it to your broth.
Sprinkle your spices!
Cook for 3-4 hours on high, stirring every once in a while.
1 hour, I REPEAT, 1 HOUR before serving, stir in kale. If you do it any earlier, it will be grossly soggy. Do you want soggy kale? Do you?!
No. You really don’t.
Serve with a light homemade salad and some whole wheat rolls. Sprinkle it with a little parm.
Yum yum yum. This is definitely going to be my fall favorite.
Bonus: It’s gluten free naturally!
It doesn’t taste exactly like the Olive Garden version, but it’s pretty damn close for a light version. Sometime (when you feel really naughty) go ahead and use regular chicken broth, cream, and pork Italian sausage. Or just go to Olive Garden and really go all out. I’m normally not a fan of chains, but I still love Olive Garden every once in a while.
But just make this, okay?
XO Sara
Midterms are finally over. Hallelujah.
This past week was what I liked to call “hell week”. First, midterms all week. Also, school from 9ish-12ish everyday, work from 12:30-6 after that, and then go home, study, and go to sleep.
Needless, to say, I did not eat healthy or work out all week. Partly because I didn’t have time and partly because I was feeling sorry for myself.
Because normally my work day and school day only goes from 6:30-12ish. Which gives me plenty of time to do homework, clean, make dinner, and exercise.
I’m kind of a princess aren’t I?
But this week should be much, much better, and it’s only a four day week because this coming weekend is Nevada Day (Thanks Nevada!) And my mom is coming to see me!!! Needless to say, I’m excited. SO EXCITED.
Plus I got to make these delicious roll ups for dinner this weekend. Like I said, I normally cook healthy. But on the weekends I like to have more fun with my cooking by making whatever I want.
The normal schedule is dinner out on Friday, easy meal/breakfast for dinner Saturday night, nice Sunday night dinner. Anyone else have these kinds of traditions? It’s what my mom does at home too! Some things never change, even if you move away 😉
Anyways, about these cream cheese sausage roll ups. It’s one of B’s faves and it’s a family recipe. His brother sent it to me and I adapted it just a tad. And thus, Brandon was a very, very happy man 🙂
P.S. These taste kind of like biscuits and gravy, which is one of my favorites! Luckily, these are easier!
P.P.S. These are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
Ingredients:
1-2 package(s) refrigerated croissant dough (cresent roll dough)
1 lb. breakfast sausage, regular
8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. mustard powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
First, prepare by opening the roll(s) of dough. Spread it out so that it is flat. Preheat the oven to 350* F.
Brown the sausage in a pan. Drain fat.
Add cream cheese, garlic powder, mustard powder, salt, and pepper. Mix together.
(I know, it’s not very pretty. But it’s delicious!)
Place about 3 Tbs. of mixture into each triangle (for 1 package dough) or 1-2 Tbs. of mixture into each triangle (for 2 packages of dough). (I like it better with less filling, so next time I will use 2 rolls of dough. If you like lots of filling though, go for 1 package :)) Roll them up around the dough and place on greased baking sheets. Some of them were messy because Brandon and I had an important rerun of The Office to get to, and the commercial break was over!
Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve these babies! Yum!
They’re even kind of pretty rolled up and baked (in my opinion).
I would serve them with orange juice. Just my opinion.
You could even make them mini for appetizers!
Because that’s what I would do.
Have a great week everyone! And if this is your hell week, good luck my friend.
XOXO Sara
