Just another marinara Monday
Hiiiii 😀 How are ya? Hope you had a lovely day <3 Enjoyed reading your comments this morning about budgeting! Some of you are totally on the budget bandwagon, while others, like the college days Gina, just go with the flow 🙂 Don’t let budgets stress ya out though- it can be intimidating at first, but they can be extremely helpful, especially if you have savings, upcoming big purchases or future financial goals.
It was cloudy and rainy all day over here… I loved it so much. Arizona monsoons are crazyawesome.
The rainy day was a good one- a few things had to be shuffled around since I had to wait for the mattress guys to get here, but my mom and nana came over to keep Bella and me company 🙂
Lunch was a date with the girls at Renee’s Organic Oven.
It was fun because I almost always get meals there to-go, so it was nice to enjoy a chat sesh with some friends while I devoured my salad and gluten-free slice: avocado salad with red wine vinaigrette and cashews, pizza had goat cheese, tomatoes and mushrooms.
[At Renee’s, slice = half a pizza. I fully support this]
Marinara and I kind of have a *thing* right now. Why is it so good?
You’ll never guess what the star of dinner tonight was….
Marinara.
Fun new recipe coming atcha in the am, too 🙂
Tonight the Pilot and I ran errands, including a trip to Lowe’s. They own us.
I was the preggie walking around with her little white dog, looking for lightbulbs.
Some of the sales associates know Bell already- she gets lots of scratches and a milk bone when we take her with us. She loves it 🙂 It’s weird to have to buy things like light bulbs- we’ve always rented in the past, so it was just a phone call away to get new light bulbs and stuff like that.
Since I had to miss spin this morning to wait for a mattress, I’m going to bust out a TurboFire HIIT workout instead.
Have a great night and I’ll see ya in the morning!
xoxo
Gina
Something to talk about: Are you obsessed with a particular type of sauce or dressing? [And no, I don’t mean that type of sauce, haha] I’ve always been a salsa fanatic, but lately marinara has been taking over (with lots of red chili flakes). I’ve also heard great things about Mama Pea’s mmmm sauce, and always love spicy almond butter sauce, too 🙂
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I’m a marinara lover too! To me it’s just not pizza without the red sauce– I can’t get on board with white sauce or BBQ sauce. This goes for pasta too!
The another sauce I like is green curry sauce at Thai food 🙂 mmm
i’ve never had thai food! can you believe it?!
Mmm I love green curry too! You HAVE to try Thai food some time Gina! So good!
omg!! tofu pad thai is amazing! i highly recommend getting asap!
You are missing out, it’s my faaavvoorite!
Gina you would LOVE Thai! SOOO delish 🙂
are you serious gina??? you have HAVE to eat thai food!!!!!! my sis and i go all the time, look at the menu and always get the same thing hahaha. get tofu pad thai, tom yum soup, and green curry (w/ chicken or tofu). ahhh the bomb!
Agreed, you’d LOVE Thai food! With your love of Indian food, and sauces and spices, Thai would be right up your alley! Come to San Diego, I’ll buy you dinner 🙂 There are about 17 Thai restaurants within a couple blocks of my place!
Ahhhh! You HAVE to have Thai food. It’s the best!!!!
I just posted about trying to take my new pupper into Publix & Walmart & they kicked me out 🙁 Tell me your secret! I need an all-access puppy pass
lowe’s is pet friendly. it’s one of the few stores that allow us to take her with us
It’s the food thing… animals + pets = health code violation. Bummer I know (I also found this out as a new puppy mother). Restaurants can be ok (it’s up to them and their own policies) as long as they’re serving you outdoors. But any store that sells food to eat or groceries (including wal-marts and targets) are not pet friendly. Enjoy your new puppy! I’m jealous 🙂
My Italian Nona’s marinara is, the, best…need to make it again soon!
I am obsessed with Angela’s Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto <—–there I go with capitalizing things that aren't proper again 😉
I made it over the weekend and had it for dinner-lunch-then dinner over zucchini pasta. I also added red pepper flakes. Incredible.
Mama Pea's Mmmmm sauce gets lots of publicity in the sphere…need to try that soon!!!
Have a great night cute preggie 🙂
ooh, i saw her recipe for that and totally want to try it!
hope you have a great night too, friend!
I often get on a “marinara kick” where I have to make fresh batches all the time and figure out new recipes to use it in…extra basil ALWAYS! Kind of an addict 😉 Can’t wait for your recipe coming in the morning!
Wow, I didn’t know you could bring dogs to Lowe’s!
The Programmer* and I like Newman’s Own Sockarooni sauce. It’s pasta sauce with oomph – but not too much. It’s good with kamut spiral pasta! 🙂
*The Programmer = my husband (He’s a software engineer). Like how you call your hubby “The Pilot.” lol. 🙂
yes, they’re pet friendly! it’s one of bella’s favorite outings 🙂
haha the programmer! LOVE it
One of my favorite things about Lowe’s is their pet-friendly policy. Who doesn’t want to see a cute white dog in the lightbulb isle?! 🙂
I’m a very easy marinara sauce person. I love just about any type but just cannot get behind fettucini sauce or any other white sauce. Eww!
You must try Thai food soon. Pad Thai noodles are scrumdiddlyumptious!
Marinara is always a winter craving for me. Right now I cannot get enough of any sauce made with peanut flour. You’d think I was pregnant. 🙂
I’m such a marinara lover…and Giada de Laurentiis is my girl crush so that *might* have something to do with it 😉
And I ALWAYS take Boo (my pup) with me to Lowe’s or Home Depot. He enjoys the outing and the employees always get a kick out of him 🙂
I’m all for bringing your dog EVERYWHERE!
me too- i wish more places were pet-friendly
ever since I made a vegan mac n cheese sauce using nutritional yeast (a recipe from healthyhoggin), I LOVE that stuff, but haven’t had it in a while due to the use of cashews (too pricey and the calories add up)! Before trying to eat more healthy, my favorite was alfredo sauce, or tomato-alfredo…mmmm.
I want it to start raining here in TX and be Fall already!
I’m a huge fan of ketchup, marinara, salsa… basically anything tomato based I guess! I love it all. In fact, we had marinara sauce atop turkey meatballs tonight! Yum.
My current obsession is with Vindaloo paste – I even had it with ravioli last night! I’m also hanging out to give Mama Pea’s Mmmm Sauce a try but as yet haven’t been able to find nutritional yeast anywhere nearby.
I personally am not really obsessed with any type of sauce. My boyfriend on the other hand…he has stated numerous times on his tombstone he wants it to read “The sauce is the boss”. And his sauce of choice? BBQ. We’re both vegetarians but he still figures out a way to put BBQ on everything. Seriously. Everything. Name it, he’s probably already put BBQ sauce on it. He goes through it by the gallon.
I’m digging white clam sauce on pasta lately.
Funny thing about Mmm Sauce. I want to buy her cookbook but the only recipes I’ve tried of her’s are two variations of Mmm Sauce and I didn’t like either one! So I’m afraid if she loves it, we must have opposite tastes.
Frank’s RedHot. I put that, um, sauce on everything. It’s so great on a salad with ranch. And anything else.
Thai food rocks my face off. If you like spicy, try the Shrimp Gang Gai, red coconut curry with mushrooms, bamboo shoots and red/green/yellow peppers. So. Awesome. With a little brown rice (over over a big bowl of greens) it is a Wonderful meal, and easy to recreate at home.
weird you posted a marinara love post bc i also made my own homemade marinara sauce earlier and it was pretty much awesome! i used fresh tomatoes (no canned) and it was sooo soo good over some brown rice pasta.
You look so little in that pic at Lowes! So did Bella! I have gone through my phases, miso, salsa, mustard have all had there time in the sun!
I have a love affair with pesto. And it’s so simple and can be so easily varied. One of my absolute fave pesto variations is the “matchstick pasta” recipe on 101 Cookbooks site. It’s a pistachio pesto of sorts and completely amazing. Served over pasta with kale and pomegranate seeds. To.die.for. No joke. Sounds crazy but makes for a delicious, healthy, and beautiful meal. Now I want a little dog to take shopping with me. It might help me make some new friends! 🙂 Adorable. I’m excited for your marinara recipe too.
I can’t believe you didn’t have to buy lightbulbs when you were renting! That must be an American thing. When I moved interstate, I had no furniture except my blow up mattress six weeks until my husband arrived. Two of my light bulbs blew and I lived in the dark for three weeks because I had nothing to stand on to change it!
Must be a certain apartments thing, because I’ve rented for 3 years at 3 different places and have always had to buy my own lightbulbs!
My husband and I rented at two different places before buying our house and we had to buy lightbulbs, filters for the AC, etc, at each place.
Us too. Always have to buy your own light bulbs and ac filters. Gina – you must have always had really nice landlords!
I am a goner for miso sauces right now. On salads, on stir fried veggies, on fish…sometimes just on a spoon…Nothing like a little saltiness to make your tastebuds do a happy dance.
YES! I can’t get enough of my Carrot Cheese Basil Sauce (like the recipe here http://www.caseylorraine.com/2011/09/raw-juice-pulp-burgers-with-carrot-cheese-basil-sauce-no-dehydrator-required/) and I also adore a mix of mustard, stevia and lemon juice. ON salads, steamed veg, all veg, anything in fact. Even as a dip. So good! 🙂
Sauces…that’s the reason to have the main dish..is for the sauces, dip, spread, or dressing.
Same principle with frosting. That’s a main reason to have cake or brownies is to have frosting 🙂
Never met a dip, sauce, or spread that I didn’t love. Ok, I lie. Anything with too much added sodium or garlic, not a fan. Other than that, I looooove sauces & condiments!
I love Annies Goddess dressing….. whenever I have it I randomly make salads until the bottle disappears (I’m not a salad dressing person either!)
Lately my two favorites have been Mama Pea’s mmmmm sauce and Goddess Dressing from Trader Joes.
HAHA, I love taking our dog to Lowes too! They are so nice! Lately, I’ve been obsessed with Frank RedHot Buffalo sauce. It doesn’t have all the calories of a typical buffalo sauce and has a nice amount of heat. I think we’ve had buffalo chicken 1-2 times per week for the last month! That sauce looks delicious!
Does Trader Joe’s Eggplant Garlic spread count as a sauce? Because I put it on EVERYTHING. I could inhale a jar in minutes if possible.
I am a big fan of Trader Joe’s Pasta Sauce with garlic………………….So good-so affordable:)
It’s hard to find a favorite. I love all sauces and salsa. I need to try some new recipes though. You and Bella look cute as always!
I recently have been loving the mixture of chicken and marinara sauce. But I am also obsessed with Olde Cape Cod Soy Wasabi dressing. So good. I could drink it (kidding.. kind of)
I too love marinara — I dump it on roasted veggies and it tastes so good!
You can ask your landlord for lightbulbs!? Totally need to start doing that!
Favorite sauces:
1. Mmmm sauce….it is awesome. It takes willpower not to drink it straight from the vitamix.
2. Tomatillo salsa verde
3. & 4. “shrimp sauce” and ginger dressing that you get from Japanese steakhouse restaurants -> don’t know what is in these, have tried to make them at home with no success, strong suspicion that both recipes include crack because these are the only two tastes that I periodically get mad cravings for
5. vegan “cheeze” sauce (OhSheGlows recipe) -> I’m not vegan, but I love this stuff.
I love yellow curry sauces. Can’t get enough!
OMG My boyfriend and I always go back and forth wondering if you can bring your dogs into home depot or lowes! Is it really aloud? Or only special exceptions for bell cause she too cute to say no too?
Love Marinana:)
Tahini and I are currently dating:)
B
Hot sauce – the more I can layer on the better 🙂
That marinara looks amazing! Can’t wait to see the recipe.
I’ve been on a huge marinara kick lately too. Mixed with Lentils today, but I also love it combined with cottage cheese.
I’m usually a salsa girl, but the kind I have right now is too spicy. And I LOVE hummus. Always.
There are two that I love
1) Amy’s tomato basil marinara. Perfect for veggies, bread dipping, chicken, etc.
2) Crystal Hot Sauce. Perfect for eggs, anything Mexican, salads and also chicken
I have a few questions…
1. about how you lost weight, because you seem “tiny” to begin with. I have the same problem, I’m petite, so I always looks small, but there is fat hiding (pretty well under clothing) and I don’t know how to shed the 30-40 lbs back to my pre-college weight (115lbs) . Do you have any before/after posts? What helped you “kickstart” weightloss? Any tips?
2. how did you know you were allergic to gluten? What does it feel like? Im afraid to ask my doctor because she just brushes it off
Sorry for all the questions! I read your blog first thing every morning for inspiration, but I still cant figure out how you do it!
I put sriracha on almost everything. And if sriracha doesn’t go with it, Frank’s probably does. So I guess my answer is hot sauce 🙂 I love it!
Yum, that marinara looks delicious!!! Can’t wait for the recipe! =)
Homemade pesto with home-grown basil and pine nuts is amaaazing! Totally worth watering twice a day for! Also, I love home-made salsa. I use the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/restaurant-style-salsa/
i made that salsa for our house warming party, and it’s now my favorite thing ever 🙂
I love pesto sauce WAY too much! I could eat it on everything!
I am so jealous you got rain yesterday! We got the wind, clouds and gorgeous weather (I’m in Phoenix) but it only sprinkled on me when I was walking out of the gym. Boo 🙁
Salsa, definitely salsa. I could live off of salsa if it were nutritious enough. I don’t go as far as my dad who literally puts salsa on everything (pizza, pasta, chicken, burgers, everything) but I do love a good salsa.
I never used to like salsa or hot sauce before. None of my spicy genes worked, but now I am loving the Tapatio on everything. I think the spicy genes finally kicked in. Sprinkling cayenne or Hungarian paprika on my watermelon makes me a happy girl.
I like my marinara with red pepper flakes, too. Lots of ’em. Yum!!!
My favorite dressing for salads is this one: http://www.maries.com/product-detail.aspx?productID=26&catID=1&pcatID=1 Marie’s Sesame Ginger dressing. I have tried other brands and they have been YUCK but this one tastes incredible.
I love marinara too! Sometimes when I make myself a bowl of pasta, if I’m still feeling a little munchy I’ll just have a bowl of plain marinara after! 😛 My other favourite sauce is a mixture of sunflower seed butter, soy sauce, lime juice, and a bit of water. It’s amazing on stir fries!
1. Go for Thai food tonight!
2. Did you and your Pilot know that he gets a 10% military discout at Lowe’s and Home Depot? You have to ask for it.
I am obsessed with marinara sauce that has a lot of basil and a little kick to it. I also really like salsa! 🙂