All Squash Are Not Created Equal

Let me tell you a story, about a girl, who's never had spaghetti squash.. Until now.

First of all, I told ya'll I was meal planning this week. Basically I spent hours creating a pretty little sheet and then filled it out. I sat down with my calendar and figured out what days I'd have to eat easy meals, what nights I wasn't going to be home, etc. etc. Here's what it looked like when it was all said and done..

This is a guideline for what I'm eating this week. I should point out that it's not set in stone and I can change things whenever I want. For instance, I had a bagel and banana this morning instead of yogurt, granola, and grapes. I'm not gonna sweat it.

Using this sheet, I made a grocery list and went to the store. You'll notice on Monday I was going to make spaghetti squash. Well, I had never eaten spaghetti squash. It was going to be a new experience for me and I was really excited to try it.. Then I got to the grocery store..

I couldn't find the spaghetti squash and when I finally found it, they were not what I was expecting. But they were clearly labeled, so I did a quick shoulder shrug, grabbed two and went home.

When Sunday rolls around I start panicking about my squash. So I do what any other 23 year old does.. I called my mom.

momma and i circa 1994ish

My poor mother. She gets the best cooking calls from me. I called once and said "I bought raw chicken, now what?" True story. Anyway, I was really worried about my squash. So I called her, got advice, and continued on.

Monday rolls around, time for me to conquer cook this squash. Just to check, I hope on Google and search "how to cook spaghetti squash". And not one article said the same thing. 425 degree oven for 30 min. Microwave for 7 min and 35 seconds (because i'm really sure those extra 5 seconds count). 350 degree oven for 45 min to 90 min. That's when I panicked. Excuse me, what? 45 min to 90 min? That's a pretty big time frame, buddy. So I called mom again.

my mom and stepdad this past spring right before my stepdad dropped about 40lbs. and yes, my mom is old enough to be the parent of a child in their 20s. she gets that a lot. she loves it.

Because even if my mom says something completely different than Google, she's my mom, so whatever she says wins. 9 times out of 10 I go with her cooking advice over a recipe's and 10 times out of 10 her way works just fine.

So I selected 375 degree oven. If it was a regular sized spaghetti squash, it'd need about an hour. Mine was not. I apparently selected the smallest spaghetti squash anyone has ever seen, yay me. So I choose about 30-45 minutes.

First I cut it in half, and scooped out the seeds.

For anyone who doesn't know, scooping out the seeds is exactly like scooping the seeds out of a pumpkin. I used a scoop and just scraped them out. Easy peasey.

Then I placed them on a cookie sheet to bake. Just the way they were. Uncovered with no oil or anything on it. Mom told me to.

When they came out I waited for them to cool enough so that I could hold and and I took a fork to the inside. Going from stem to stern.

Then I had a pretty plateful..

The shells looked a little burnt on the bottom once I scraped all of the stuff out, but I don't know if that was wrong or right. Nothing tasted burnt, so I think it's fine.

I ate it with spaghetti sauce, chicken sausage, and mushrooms..

Verdict? I liked it. I didn't love it. I think I need to get used to it. Also, it wasn't pasta and it didn't taste like pasta, so as a pasta substitute, it'd be a bad one. I love me some carbs and so I guess in that way it was a little disappointing. The texture also surprised me. I thought it'd be a lot more.. mushy? Does that make sense? But it wasn't. It was actually kind of crunchy. Not like a raw carrot or something, but it definitely has a crunch factor to it.

I know that's sort of a ho hum post about spaghetti squash, so I'll leave you with this..

Last night I made Skinny Taste's Baked Spaghetti Squash and Cheese (inspired by Kassie's post about it) and it was amazing. I'm serious, it was SO good. No pictures because I was too busy stuffing my face enjoying it. If you're still on the fence about spaghetti squash, try this recipe. Trust me. If you still don't like this one, you're not going to like spaghetti squash.

Liebster Award Nominee

Okay, let's discuss really quickly how lucky I am that I have a job that I can spend some mornings on Blogger for hours. Because I thought this little Liebster Questionnaire would be quick and simple.. And I was wrong. So without further ado..

I was nominated for a Liebster Award.. twice! (i should point out that i'm still not sure what a liebster award is, but i'm gonna go with the flow) I was waiting to see if this was a joke or not, but so far no one has jumped out and told me I've been punked (i'm talking to you ashton k.) so I guess let's get a move on. #longpostwarning

First of all, check out the girls who nominated me! I stalk them on the regular, so join me in stalking them.

K from Keeping up with K ::AND:: Ashlee from Iseminger Chronicles

There are rules for this apparently..

1. The nominee must list 11 facts about themselves
2. The nominee must answer the 11 questions asked by the nominator
3. The nominee must nominate 11 other bloggers with less than 200 followers

So here we go..

11 Random Facts About Kay

1.  I have had a total of 17 teeth pulled. Say what? 3 were my wisdom teeth and 14 were baby teeth. When I was a kid I refused to wiggle my tooth loose. So I had quite the issue that my dentist resolved by pulling them out constantly. Sweet guy. 
2. I didn't break a bone until I was 18, when I broke 3.. in my foot.. stepping off of a curb.. 
3. I have a serious addicition to tv crime shows. NCIS, NCIS:LA, Criminal Minds, Bones, Law & Order: SVU, CSI, CSI:NY, Dexter, I could go on and on.. 
4. From age 4 to 14 I danced at a dance studio and loved it. 
5. I was in a show choir (singing and dancing, picture Glee) all 4 years of high school (hey, it's a really big deal at my high school) and I was dance caption for 2 years and president of the group my senior year. Holla.
6. I haven't had soda for over 2 years and I don't miss it, at all.
7. I cheated running the mile in high school gym. Could be part of the reason I'm not a size 6 now.
8. My step-dad and older brothers still call me "Stripe-r" because when I was 13 and in Florida I put my sunscreen on my face a little uneven somehow and ended up with a big red stripe down the middle of my forehead all the way down my nose. I will never live it down.
9. My family is one big bunch of smartasses. Seriously, we're a hot mess.
10. 2 out of my 3 grandmas have a Twitter account. They don't know how to use it, but they creep on my siblings and I. It's funny. All 3 of my parents also have Twitters. I totally don't mind or care. No secrets in this family.
11. I think I have a touch of OCD and I definitely can have a type A personality sometimes. Judge me.

 11 Questions from K

1. If the story of your life was being made into a movie who would you want to play you? I would totally want a no name to play me. Someone straight out of acting school or from Indie films. Then I'd want the role of Kay to give them their big break. Is that narcissistic?
2. What's your favorite alcoholic beverage? Cran and Goose all day long. That's cranberry juice and vodka for those who don't pretend they're a white rap star. Also wine.. lots of wine..
3. What is your favourite online shopping website? Can I just say Etsy and be done with it? I shop on Etsy a lot. Too, too much.
4. What is one beauty product you can't live without? Mascara.
5. What is your favourite season?  I think Fall is always going to have my heart, but the older I get the more I appreciate Spring and then of course, who doesn't love Summer? Basically I just loathe hate Winter.
6. If you had to live in a decade other than the current one, which would you choose, and why? Since I didn't get to see even a little bit of the 80's (i was born january 1990) I'd probably go to the 80's. My parents talk it up a lot.
7. Coke or Pepsi? Water.
8. If you could only eat one meal everyday for the rest of your life what would it be? Mac and Cheese.
9. What's your biggest fear? Right now, it's not ever getting married. Not ever finding "the one". Keeps me up sometimes, even though I know that rationally, I have plenty of time.
10. What movie makes you cry? Easier question.. What movie doesn't make me cry? I can be an emotional person and I've been told I have a lot of empathy for other people, so I cry at movies all the time.
11. If you could live in the home of any television series, which would it be? Is it weird that I totally love the 2 Broke Girls apartment? Totally not my usual style, but there's just something about it..

 11 Questions from Ashlee

1.  What was the happiest moment of your life? I'm not even sure how to answer this. I feel like my life has been filled with lots of happy moments. I have to say though, that my little sister (aka my best friend) graduated in the spring of 2012 and that day, man, I think that was the perfect day. Everything about it made me happy and seeing her happy made me happy. Seeing my parents proud made me happy. Seeing my siblings happy for another sibling made me happy.
2. What are your hobbies? DIYing, reading, blogging, obsessing over my favorite tv shows.
3. What is your dream job? That's a damn good question.
4. What is one of your guilty pleasures? Swamp People and Duck Dynasty. I'm addicted and I love them and I don't know why!
5. What is your favorite feature? I've been told I have pretty eyes and a pretty smile. I suppose I should be grateful for them, but I'd love to hear that I have great legs or perfect arms or a skinny waist. Ya feel me?
6. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be? In the process of exactly that! I'm going to lose weight. I'm going to be thinner. Maybe not ever "skinny" but damnit, I'll be thinner.
7. If you knew you had 24 hours to live, what would you do? Make sure my family knew I loved them and what I loved about them. Then I'd probably write letters. Write a ton of letters to tons of different people telling them whatever I needed to tell them.
8. Why did you start blogging? To comment on other blogs and hold myself accountable.
9. What is one thing you could not live without? My sister. End of story. I know one day I'll have to live without my parents, and I truly love my brothers, love them to pieces. But my sister and I are close, a lot closer than a lot of sisters, and I don't want to ever have to live without her. I must die first.
10. What is your favorite song? This is a joke, right? I could never in a million years choose just one song.
11. What is the worst thing you have ever eaten? Eggplant. I can't get into that.

 11 Questions for the Nominees

1.  What was the first blog you started reading?
2. If you were another person, why would you be friends with you?
3. What's the story behind your name?
4. If you had an unlimited budget and could travel anywhere for 1 week, where would you go?
5. Do you have a special talent?
6. What is your favorite TV show?
7. Most embarrassing moment?
8. What's hidden under you bed?
9. Describe the last dream you remember having.
10. What is the next planned event you're looking forward to?
11. What is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you?

Drumroll Please.. Ahemmm..

 And the Nominees Are.. 

1. Not Your Typical Jersey Girl
2. That Aha Moment
3. The Journey To Get ME Back
4. The Not So Secret Lemne Life
5. Code Blog
6. PG Sisters
7. My Inner Butterfly
8. Less of Me, More to Life
9. Write This Down
10. Life By Lex
11. Southern Sass

I tried to nominate all of the new blogs I've started stalking and loving. If you've been nominated, feel free to post about it and answer the questions I asked. Since I still don't really know what a Liebster is, I don't really have much more information for you. So if you want to, ignore this completely. I'll only cry a little bit about it. And maybe call you a betch once or twice. Okay, that's a lie, I probably won't because I actually hate when people say "betch". Just say what you mean girls, you mean bitch, so say bitch.

Anyway, rant over. Thanks again to the girls who nominated me, I feel so honored. Even though I'm still not sure what this is. But I love my little blog world and I'm happy to do my part!

Weekend Snip-its..

First of all, Good Morning, friends! Wait, its after noon you say? Yes, Kay it's actually almost 1 o'clock. Well shit. Good Afternoon then.

Without getting into how crazy my morning has been, let's just say "it's been crazy" and leave it at that. It doesn't help that I turned into some weird freak who wanted to work out last night. So I randomly popped Jillian into my dvd player and did a 30 day shred workout. Why? I have no idea. That's never happened before, ever. Needless to say in typical Jillian fashion, I'm sore today.

So instead of the post I had planned for this morning, I'm just going to post random snip-its of my weekend.

1. A client brought these chocolates for me. So I tasted each one, then threw them away. NSV for the week! (i didn't eat the bottom one, it just fell on the floor into a mess of shredded papers)
2. Had a hardcore jam session to my old school Nelly Pandora radio station. I felt like I was 14 again.
3. Found a puzzle I bought 4 year ago, so I started putting it together.
4. Food Network Magazine wrote an issue just for me. (aka the cheese issue. i love cheese, seriously.)
5. I went to Walmart for a new trash can and came home with all of these on sale candles.. Dangit.
6. Friday I went to Wine and Canvas (my friends call it "drink and paint") and I painted this. Go Hoosiers!
7. My man Nick Sparks needs a new book cover designer. On the real.
8. I made gluten-free, no-fat cornbread muffins. Good shit.
9. Watching my Hoosier. #iubb

So those were some little clips of my weekend.

I was also nominated (twice) for a Liebster Award. I had to research what the heck that was, but now that I know, I'm so happy and excited! Tomorrow I'll be posting about that! Thanks so much, loves! 

dear sexist co-worker..

And THAT is all I have to say about THAT!