Monday, July 5, 2010

And The Party Continues


Oh how I love 3 day weekends!  Seriously, what could be better than having an entire extra day tacked on?  I always feel like having a Monday off is really like a freebie.  Even on the weekends, I try to fit everything in that I can't during the week, so another day is like a day for me to do whatever I please.  And today, that is exactly what occurred. 

I slept in a little and demanded myself out of bed to enjoy the gorgeous morning running weather.  I don't get many chances to run outside when it's actually light out, so I did not want to miss this opportunity. 

I did 4 miles in around 33 min and came home hot, sweaty, and hungry. 


I needed to grab a quick breakfast so I made a bowl of cereal with bananas, blueberries, almond milk, and 1/2 vita top crumbled on top with some mighty maple PB. 

Followed with the refreshments, Iced Coffee and melon with cottage cheese. 


This ended up being just enough to fill me up and fuel me up for an hour Zumba class I went to next.  Our builder's wife is a Zumba instructor and invited me to come check out one of her classes today. 

Holy cow, it was honestly the best class I have ever taken!  I've taken Zumba before, and I think you remember my discontent with my previous instructor.  Well, I don't think I truly knew what Zumba was until today.  It rocked! 

When I got home, Toly whisked me away to my favorite place on this earth to do one of my favorite things. 

A little of this,


And a little of that, 



That's right, sipping margaritas by the pool.  What could be better right? Oh I know, sipping margaritas, poolside with your one and only. 


We got pretty hungry and decided to order lunch.  I had the Grilled Tuna Nicoise Salad.  It was good but the tuna was wayyyyyy overdone!  Toly actually thought they had given me chicken by mistaken.  



After lunch, we slashed around a little to cool off. 





We didn't last too long today because it was incredibly hot, so after a few hours, we were ready to be rescued by the AC. 

On the way out, I stopped at the coffee shop for an iced coffee to help speed up the cool down process. 


And Toly thought that a Chocolate Covered Croissant would bring him relief. 


 Such a fun day at the pool and we both have the sun burn to prove it. (Guess that SPF wore off pretty fast!) 

I didn't want to BBQ festivities to end, so I thought it would be appropriate to create the quintessential BBQ meal for dinner. 

Burgers, Corn and Watermelon! 

As much as I love Dr. Preagers Veggie Burgers, I was really feeling inspired to make my own tonight. 

Let's see if I can remember this recipe (since I hardly ever follow one) 

Homemade Bean Burgers



  • 1 can Pinto Beans
  • 1 small onion (diced)
  • 1 carrot (shredded)
  • 1/2 Zucchini (shredded)
  • tsp Chili Powder
  • tsp Garlic 
  • salt, pepper, oregano, rosemary 
  • 1 TBL Dijon
  • 1 TBL soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup oats
  • 2 TBL flax
Sautee the onion, garlic, carrot, and zucchini in a skillet until tender (about 5 min).  Place the beans in a bowl and mash with a fork (I used my hands which turned out being so much easier).  You want about 1/2 mush and 1/2 beans.  Add the carrot, zucchini mixture and the remaining ingredients. Form into 4 patties and grill about 4 min each side. 

The burgers turned out awesome! So full of flavor and they held up beautifully!  I had an all american burger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, pickles, and mashed avocado. 

Of course, hats off to the real reason these burgers turned out so well…..


Bobby Flay over here thinks he did a pretty fantastic job with cooking them.  I didn't deny it. 

I also had him grill sweet potato rounds and corn on the cob.  Both cooked to perfection! 


So the real test was going to be how I could get my mouth around this bad boy.  Oh, don't worry, extra napkins were brought to the table in anticipation on a major mess! 



Worth every messy bite!  Such a great way to end our fantastic Fourth of July weekend! 

Even though tomorrow is the start to a new week, it's always a good feeling going into it knowing that we are already one day ahead. 

Enjoy your evening! 




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5 comments:

  1. What a wonderful, refreshing day! I love a day by the pool! Your burgers look awesome! I have yet to try to make these!

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  2. Hey hey! What a fabulous day. Zumba is a lot of fun and is VERY instructor driven. Glad you found an instructor you really enjoy. The weather was gorgeous yesterday. I laid out just a bit too. Great dinner. I haven't made my own bean patties in a while- your recipe looks wonderful though- so I'm totally book marking. Hope your week goes well

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  3. Oh man your breakfast with that vita-top crumbled in looks sooo good! I love big bowls filled with food :D Girl, I can imagine how perfect a dip in the pool would be in the heat I hear the north east has been experiencing. Oi!!! You look gorgeous basking in the sun :) And Toly is right, it really does look like chicken. Yesterday I bought a mini grill that uses charcoal! You have inspired me!!! More than just the grill though lol. And you are right, cooking is an art. I have been realizing that more and more each day. You can really tell when a person takes flavor, texture, and just all the aspects into consideration + some creativity as well!!

    XOXO gorgeous, I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday!

    p.s. for some reason blogger didn't like me for awhile so whenever I was trying to comment it wouldn't go through :\ It would take me to an error page. Let's hope this works!!

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  4. Awww! What a PERFECT summer day! So jeal of the poolside drinks and festivities ;)

    Enjoy your short week!

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  5. Arrggghhh. I have to make these! They look amazing. Nom nom nom nom.

    Tinka x

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