Snowed in

I’m really behind. I have a few recipes to share and a few photos of the “Blizzard of ‘09.”
We’re from upstate NY so 18 inches of snow isn’t an issue for us, but to those south of the Mason-Dixon line, it’s a big deal. I don’t even want to start getting into the insanity we experienced driving to the grocery store this morning…people stuck in the middle of the roads trying to turn into their driveways/parking lots, groups of people walking in the middle of the streets because the sidewalks were non-existent. The busses weren’t running so people were just wandering around like mad. We even got flagged down by a man who almost got hit by a car trying to walk home, so we gave him a ride.

I’ve never seen this much craziness from a snowstorm before, but I’ve always lived in the north so I guess it’s to be expected. I went for a really long walk, which was an awesome workout for my legs. Nothing was shoveled, so I spent a lot of time pushing my way through the snow. I ran through the really high parts as well.

The first picture shows I-395 in the distance. As you can see, it was empty. And the picture of me below, I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of layers I had on. It was 25 degrees out and really windy! I don’t know how I was able to move!

I had so much fun walking around in this snow. I actually met a couple walking their dog that grew up near us in upstate NY. Also, they live in our townhouse development. Sweet! I made some friends!

Recipes:

I was fumbling around and came across a recipe for cauliflower rice and thought immediately that I had to try it. What I made was the coolest version of a Chipotle’s burrito that I’ve ever had. Period.

I introduce to you the Cauliflower burrito (for the low carb people in your life)

Holy cow this was GOOD. I mean, lick your lips and stop talking while you’re eating because it’s so good good. I couldn’t believe I was eating cauliflower instead of rice. I’ve made this twice already in the past week and will definitely continue to make it again.

Click here for the recipe.

Also, for Slow Cooker Sunday I made another pot of Split Pea Soup. Check this bad boy out:

I used a combination of yellow and green lentils, as well as a carrot, onion and celery base.

Oh, and to make your life easier:

Trader Joe’s sells Mirepoix for soups. It’s so much better/easier than chopping up your own carrots, celery and onions.

Trader Joe’s also sells frozen avocados. I used them in my burritos above. You get 4 halves for $1.99. What a steal!

They don’t have as much flavor as a fresh avocado, but they’re still pretty good. I would recommend buying them just to have them in your freezer.

I’ll have more for you tomorrow including a new kick-ass pancake recipe and fun with dark chocolate. And I will also share how I’ve been making the gym more tolerable. It’s really been a crazy week!