Summer Soup: Homemade Gazpacho

Happy Memorial Day!  :)  Even though summer officially starts on June 22nd, Memorial Day Weekend marks the beginning of my favorite season in MY mind!  Hungry Hubby and I spent the weekend poolside with some of our best friends, good BBQ, and lots of beer.

My best friend Katelyn is awesome... a broken arm was not about to stop her from hanging out by the pool!

Since I now consider it summer, I wanted to post a perfect summer soup.  I absolutely LOVE soup.  I posted several soup recipes throughout the winter...  Chicken PotPie Soup, Broccoli Cheese Potato, Spicy Peanut-Curry Shrimp Soup, Vegetable Beef, you get the idea.  This Gazpacho is the perfect way to get my soup fix in the warm summer months.  It is easily blended up, then chilled for several hours before eating.  

I adapted this recipe from Gina's version over at SkinnyTaste.

The Gazpacho Goods:

• 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, sliced, and seeded
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• Red wine vinegar, 1 tbsp
• Extra virgin olive oil, 2 tsp
• Salt & Pepper

After peeling and slicing my cucumber, I punched the centers out to "seed" them.  Not chef-like, but easy and effective.  :)

Naked tomatoes!  I chopped them into large pieces before placing them in the blender.

I layered in the cucumber, onions, and tomatoes, and then added the vinegar, oil, and garlic.  Blend away!

Looks like a Gazpacho Milkshake, ha!  Chill the soup in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours before enjoying.

Add some diced tomatoes and onions as a garnish, along with some salt and pepper to taste. Delicious, easy, and totally refreshing!

Are you a soup fan like me!?  What is your favorite?

OOTD: The Last of the Sweaters

I live in smokin'-hot Dallas, TX, so the snuggly clothes are officially banished to the guest room closet until next November (or maybe even December).  We had some unusually cool temps (I freeze at 55, so you get the idea) a week or so ago, so the sweaters made their last appearance for quite awhile.

Of course I still insisted on wearing sandals.  Once I break 'em out in Spring, I won't wear anything else!  :)  And yes, I'm also wearing the same pants in both pictures.  I promise these OOTDs weren't back-to-back.

Sweater: Old Navy

Belt: F21

Khaki Cords: Ann Taylor LOFT

Brown-Studded Sandals: Old Navy

Purple V-Neck Sweater: F21

Gold Necklace: Nordstrom BP

Khaki Cords: Ann Taylor LOFT

Leopard T-Strap Sandals: Old Navy

What are the temps like right now where you live?  We are usually steady in the 90s this time of year, but have been in the low 80s recently.  I planned to lay out today, but the sun is nowhere to be seen, so I'm lounging around and doing a little cleaning in the apartment instead.  Boo!  :(

Work-It-Out Wednesday

Here are my favorite tidbits from my weekly reading:

Today was one of my "gym days" (as opposed to Power Yoga or DVD workouts at home), so I was able to read while I banged-out 30 minutes on the Arc Trainer, 10 on the Spin Bike, and 10 on the Treadmill. I followed my cardio with lots of push-ups, calf-raises, and ab work.

I love doing push-ups, and after a year of Power-Yoga, I'm able to do tons of them ON MY TOES!  :)  Such an accomplishment for a weak-armed gal like myself, and I love knowing that I am lifting 3/4 of my total body weight.  Do you like push-ups?  Have you gotten in some good workouts so far this week?

Happy Hump Day!

Church OOTD: Lace Shoulders & Leopard MaryJanes

I've decided to start posting some of my Sunday morning church outfits, in an effort to show that I actually do own and love wearing heels!  Kindergarten is not cut out for anything higher than a straight-up flat, but I LOVE wedges, platforms, and stilettos.  My newest favorite summer shoe is the Sam Edelman Kendall (in leopard print, of course).  I snagged them from my local Nordstrom but if you want free shipping to your house and back, Zappos has them here.

 Here was my outfit last Sunday...

Beige Shoulder-Lace Top: H&M (from my Seattle haul!)

Black High-Waisted, Pleated Crops: LOFT

Leopard Mary Jane Wedges: Sam Edelman via Nordstrom

 It's official: I'm obsessed with these shoes.  They are so cute and super-comfortable considering the height.

I also wore them with a Coral dress for a recent wedding.  (Never got a full-length shot, but I figured I'd post the rest of the outfit anyway.)  I got several compliments, and I was able to dance ALL night without resorting to the tres-chic wedding barefoot look.

Coral Dress: Mossimo via Target 

(this dress is cute and comfy but has MAJOR zipper and wrinkle issues... grrr)

Necklace & Earrings: F21

Here's one with Hungry Hubby for good measure.  ;)

I'm so glad that wedges are in.  I love 'em, as long as they're good and tall.  Have you bought any new wedges for this spring/summer?

Santa Fe Pasta with Shrimp, Spinach, and Tomatoes

When I saw the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme at the grocery, I figured I'd have to try it, despite its fairly high calorie count.  When I spotted the Santa Fe flavor, I KNEW I had to try it.  We love cream cheese in the Healthy Honey, Hungry Hubby house, and anyone who has read this blog before knows that my husband loves anything spicy or with southwestern flavor.  This is perfect for us!

You can find recipes on the back of the container, or on the Philadelphia website, but I wanted to use what I had on hand.  This isn't a super trim dish, but the shrimp, spinach, and tomatoes all have great health benefits.

My Ingredients:

• Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Santa Fe Blend, 5 oz. (Half of the container)
• Bow-Tie Pasta
• Raw Shrimp, Peeled & Deveined
• Baby Spinach
• Diced Tomatoes, optional

Start by sauteing the baby spinach over medium heat with a bit of PAM.

I used baby spinach that I had frozen.

Once it gets fairly wilted, add the raw shrimp.  Stir constantly.

Once the shrimp looks *just about done* (usually 5 minutes)...

Add the Cooking Creme.

Lower the heat, and stir.  Mix in cooked bow-tie pasta, and chopped tomatoes if you love 'em like me, and eat it up!  :)

Healthy Honey's version...

 Hungry Hubby's plate...

 This was creamy and delicious.  The tomatoes were refreshing.

Hungry Hubby was grumpy enough about the spinach... no chance I would have gotten away with tomatoes in his pasta.

Have you tried the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme yet!?

OOTD: Pink Feet

I absolutely love my GAP Patent City Flats in the gorgeous Guava Pink color.  (I posted about purchasing them here.)


Here are two recent outfits I wore with the flats.  I love how the pink color brightens up the whole outfit.  Perfect for Spring!  :)

Top: Old Navy

Khaki Skinny Cords: LOFT

White Watch: Charming Charlie's

Striped Tee: Old Navy

Black Cropped Pants: GAP

White Watch: Charming Charlie's

Do you have any pink shoes?

Grocery Store Sushi: What's Your Opinion!??

Today was a super long day.  I was at school at 7am as usual, and tutored after school.  My best friend Lisa then took me to see the wedding site for her June 25th wedding.  (It's PERFECT!  I blogged about her homemade Save-the-Dates here.)  After all of the wedding talk and decor scheming, we worked out to one of her Insanity DVDs.  If you have tried one of these you know what I mean... THIS WORKOUT IS INSANE!  The freakin' warm-up kills me!  


But, I digress.  After the true Insanity, we headed back up to school for our PTA-sponsored Multicultural Night.  The kids looked SO cute in their cultural attire.  :)  By the time I began my 30-minute trek back home around 8, I knew I would not have the energy to even throw a salad together.


I zipped into Walmart, grabbed a bottle of $3 Shiraz and some grocery store sushi.  Gourmet in my book, people.  And decently healthy, right!?

Brown Rice California "Plus" (<--- whatever that means...), Edamame, Shiraz, and some HtotheIzzO

So I've gotta know... what's your take on grocery store sushi?  I absolutely love it.  I think it tastes great, and the price is right.  I buy them from the stores that have an in-house "chef" rolling them there that day.  I know some people refuse to eat grocery store sushi... what's your opinion?

P.S. I didn't starve Hungry Hubby... he went out for wings with the boys after his soccer game!  ;)  I'm clearing out all of the Real Housewives episodes on my DVR!