Spinach Alfredo Pasta

I was craving pasta last weekend, so I made some spinach alfredo sauce on Sunday. Making alfredo sauce from scratch isn't too difficult, and in my opinion, is better and healthier than store bought jarred sauce. You can use cream for a creamier, richer sauce, but I used low fat milk, instead. 

Spinach Alfredo Pasta

serves 5-8

3 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp flour

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 cups milk

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper to taste

3 large handfuls of spinach (frozen works fine)

1 lb pasta

Put a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta following the directions on the package. While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce.

To make the sauce, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan. Add the flour, and stir continuously for about 2 minutes on medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more. Slowly add the milk, whisking it in well before adding more. Heat the sauce until it starts to bubble, then add in the cheese. Whisk well to combine. Add in the spinach and cook about 2 minutes more. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, to taste.

Drain the pasta well and add the sauce. Mix to combine, and enjoy!

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Weekend Eats and Thanksgiving Errands

Whew, I've been running errands all morning in preparation for the holidays. I had to go to a supermarket, Whole Foods, and a Penn Dutch market to pick up the turkey, produce, and other groceries, City Sports to pick up my race packet, and finally, Cheesecake Factory to pick up the dessert (pumpkin cheesecake!)

It was really hard work running around so many places and lifting bag after bag of groceries, so I decided to refuel with some red velvet cheesecake from the Cheesecake factory (never mind that I bought an entire cheesecake as well). I ate a good half of this. Let the gluttony begin.

Speaking of gluttony, on Sunday, I mooched off of a Groupon for Kraze Burger and indulged in a burger and parmesan rosemary fries. The fries came out hot and crispy, just the way I like 'em.

The burger came topped with a huge onion ring (and bacon, but I didn't want it). The patty was a tad dry and that cheese could have been more melted, but overall, it was decent and I was stuffed. It looked ridiculously tall.

Sunday night, I finally chopped up my fairy tale pumpkin and used some of it for Thai coconut curry. The fairy tale pumpkin is the one on the right; it's really sweet! 

I'll share a recipe for this, soon! It's seriously good and really easy to make.



I already started to prepare the turkey by dry-brining it. This is my first year cooking the turkey, so I'm a bit nervous on how it will turn out! If it turns out well, I'll share my dry brine recipe and cooking method. Wish me luck and hopefully I won't ruin it!

By the way, I love the shirt design for this year's Turkey Chase shirt. And neon green is my fave color!

Are you excited for Thanksgiving? Have you finished all your grocery shopping?

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Turkey Day Running

I have FINALLY decided to do the Turkey Chase 10K and signed up for it this morning. I ran this last year, my first 10K, with my brother. This year, he won't be joining me, but my family will come to spectate. It should be fun :)

I was hemming and hawing about this for months. I can be really indecisive, sometimes. I'm glad I decided to do it because this will be the second year in a row, and I will try to make it a streak for as long as possible. Keeping up a Thanksgiving race streak is great because that means that I will be able to celebrate the holiday at home. I'm not sure where I will be this time, next year, but hopefully I will be able to make it home to run this race and be with my family during the Thanksgiving holiday.

But because I am greedy, I want to do another holiday race with my running club. We have a Turkey Burnoff 5 or 10 miler on Saturday, and of course I want to run it as well. I'm not sure which distance I will be doing, and I will probably decide on race day, or even mid-race. The course is a loop around a local park, and the 10 miler is just two loops. It'll be fun to run with the club (since the last run I've done with them was way back in August) and I will probably take this one easy.

And of course, I gotta fuel all this running with some delicious food! I usually cook the entire meal on Thanksgiving for my family, so after the Turkey Chase, I'm going to head straight home, shower, and fire up the oven for the turkey. 

I'm off to plan the big feast and get a turkey! I'll also make sure to share some of my Thanksgiving recipes later this week. 

Are you running any Turkey Trots?

What's your favorite Thanksgiving dish?

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Nutella Granola

I made a batch of Nutella granola for my foodie pen pal, and was waiting until she received my package before sharing this recipe. Is there anything more delicious than Nutella? Seriously, I can eat the stuff by the spoonful, straight out of the jar. Adding it to granola makes it practically health food, right? Yes. I am a genius. You're welcome :)

Full disclosure: this is a recycled pic of my Cinnamon Hazelnut Granola. I finished the Nutella granola before I had a chance to take a photo. I am lazy. Just imagine this in a more chocolate-y shade ;)

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Apple Crumble Cake

Every year, I stock up on apples fresh from the local farms. We buy at least 50 lbs to store and eat throughout the winter and spring. I like to eat apples as a healthy snack, as well as bake them into something delicious for a not-as-healthy snack. I made an apple crumble cake that's perfect with a cup of hot tea or coffee. The bottom layer is a moist, spiced cake, topped with a layer of fresh apples and a buttery crumble. 

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Pittsburgh Trip and Weekend Eats

On Sunday and Monday, I went on a short trip to Pittsburgh for another dental school interview. Since Pittsburgh isn't too far, I made the 3 1/2 hour trip by car on Sunday morning. My parents decided to join me for a little vacation and explore the city.

We got to our hotel around 3 pm and decided to take a walk around the campus. Unfortunately, the weather was kind of nasty. It started raining and it was pretty windy. Thank goodness we had a couple of old, but mostly functional umbrellas in the car trunk.

The Cathedral of Learning was close to the hotel, so we walked over to check it out. The Cathedral is a Pittsburgh landmark, and is the second tallest university building in the world! When you walk in, there's a spacious area where a lot of students study. The rest of the building has classrooms and administrative offices. 

Source

There are also many "Nationality Rooms" on the first few floors. Each room celebrates a nation and is decorated by committees of that nationality. I got to peek in to the German Room, and it was decorated for Christmas. The woodwork was really intricate and there were beautiful stained glass windows with German fairy tale characters.

There were captions in German (that I could read a bit of) and the pictures were of Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, and Cinderella, among many others.

I wouldn't mind being taught in this classroom!

After visiting the Cathedral, I wanted to walk to the dental school building just to check it out. It was at the top of a very steep hill, and though it was cold and windy, I was getting sweaty by the time I got to the top! I'm glad I walked there the day before my interview, because I decided to take the hotel shuttle so I wouldn't arrive all sweaty and disheveled. 

Pittsburgh is a really hilly city, and the school is kind of built on a slope. At least going from the main campus to the medical campus, it's all uphill. We walked a bit more around the school, and then decided to explore another part of the town and find a place to eat dinner.

Back at the hotel, we took the shuttle to a neighborhood called Shadyside. Despite the name, the area is not shady at all! It's a nice residential area and there's a street with upscale shops, boutiques, and restaurants. On a rainy Sunday night, it was pretty quiet. I was getting really hungry, so I got some gelato at Mercurio's, an "artisan gelato and neapolitan pizza" shop. I got peanut butter cup, birthday cake, and almond fig gelato. It really hit the spot!

For dinner, I chose a Mexican restaurant called Steel Cactus. The prices wasn't too bad, but the food was pretty mediocre. I got chips and guac and a burrito covered in cheese and mole sauce. Wasn't that amazing. Good decor, but honestly, that's all they have going for them.

Kind of disappointing, but oh well. I'm pretty bad at finding good restaurants, and it's always a hit or miss in an unfamiliar place.



The next day, I had my interview and got to tour the school. The interview schedule ended at 3 pm, and we headed home soon after. The drive back was pleasant, and the sun set was gorgeous with the mountains in the background :)




I'm a day late, but how was your weekend?

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Turkey Burger Recipe

It's November, the official turkey-eating month (I might have made that up). To celebrate all things turkey, I made some delicious turkey burgers! I topped them with a sharp and nutty cheese and avocado slices, all on a brioche bun. I'm so fancay ;) 

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