Green Mac ‘n’ Cheese + A Rare Restaurant Repeat

Today’s Workout: 6.70 miles, rolling hills

Still freezing.

Need more comfort food.

It looks pretty gross, right? I’ll admit it. I was afraid to test it. I’ve added greens to things before, but usually to things with red sauce so they don’t look so, well, green! Now that I see this picture, I can’t believe I ate it. I would have never even tasted it out of anyone else’s kitchen, but I saw what went in it… so I had to try it. And it was really good! Like better than the Buffalo Chicken Mac ‘n’ Cheese. Seriously!

It all started with this:

I haven’t been able to find my beloved kale mix in our neighborhood King Sooper’s lately. Boo!! So I decided to try this giant bag of greens. It was the cheesy POWER bubble that won me over.

Here’s how I did it:

• 3/4 box whole wheat pasta, cooked & drained
• 4 cups of POWER GREENS blended with 1 cup of skim milk
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp Melt
• 2 cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

I cooked ingredients 2-6 on the stovetop for a bit to get the cheese melted and then combined it with the noodles in the pot. I topped it with some a few TBSP of Panko mixed with a swig of EVOO.

I swear it was so good, but you don’t have to believe me. I can’t believe Kevin didn’t complain more. I guess he trusts me because I’m a pretty harsh critic of my own cooking.

Kevin has been absolutely swooning over this big container of crushed red pepper he found today. That should last at least till the end of the month. The man’s obsessed!

Okay. Done with the pictures of ugly green things… and I don’t mean Kevin although he is wearing green. Total coincidence!

Last night…

We went out last night! On a SATURDAY! In the RAIN!! You know it had to be somewhere special for me to risk getting my hair wet…

We first went to Sazza Pizza in September when we were brand spankin’ new to Denver, and I’ve been wanting to go back ever since. We just have a hard time repeating restaurants. Perhaps because I grew up in Wabasha, MN, where the options were Chinese or DQ? Not bad options. But we’re loving the variety.

And guess what? The owner (? pretty sure he’s the owner) remembered me! My name even!! I was so shocked. How sweet of him! We were really impressed. He’d seen my blog back in September and still rememered.

Well, I had to order practically everything on the menu. I was thinking of you guys!

Sunshine salad.

Just as I suspected, I would totally go there just for the salad. The lemon dressing was delicious. It totally tasted like sunshine!

FIELD GREENS, TOMATOES, BELL PEPPERS, CUCUMBERS GARBANZO BEANS, AVOCADO, SUNFLOWER SEEDS, CHEDDAR tossed with our creamy lemon vinaigrette

Now I’m on a quest to recreate that salad at home!

I wanted to go for the chicken enchilada pizza, but changed my mind at the last minute for bbq chicken. I wanted the pineapple! I love pineapple on pizza so much, and Kevin turns up his nose when I do it at home. So I feel it’s silly to buy pineapple topping just for me.

I noticed in the reviews that some people complained that it wasn’t enough food. I think they are crazy. I ran 4 miles, lifted weights, and cleaned for 2 hours before coming, and it worked for me! I actually love that it’s a little lighter fare and you don’t feel gross inside afterwards! I think we ordered small pizzas both times, but if you aren’t ordering anything else you could also order one that’s a bit larger.

I think Kevin was hesitant to come back because they don’t have Diet Coke. They’re mostly organic! Diet Coke is basically the anti-organic so it’s perfectly understandable. But we loved our little Virgil’s sodas. Kevin went with root beer and I had the cream soda. It was totally a treat.

I talked Kevin into ordering the dessert pizza because I knew he would love it. It was a berry cobbler pizza. Totally up his alley. You guys know I’d eat cheeto and avocado pizzas all day before choosing a sweet one, but I felt I should taste a slice. But I let Kevin eat the rest, and he was in heaven. I think that thin crust is perfect for dessert pizzas.

Happy girl. We stuck around quite a while, just chatting and enjoying our evening. Kevin told me a story about how he once went on a date in high school and saw Big Daddy in the theaters. How OLD is he? Haha. You learn something new every day!!

P.S. Girls, Sazza would be a great place for a blogger meet-up someday in the distant future when I’m feeling brave. I might need a few months to work up the courage. You’d think be less chicken. After all, I met Kevin online…

Do anything cool for your mom on mother’s day? If you call a blog post cool… Nobody? I did manage to send some healthy snackables that arrivedearly.

Will you eat food that looks gross like my mac ‘n’cheese? Only if I made it… Although I did have to eat sancocho a few times due to social situations… Love you, Dominicanos!

Favorite green? Spinach is my safest bet still, but kale is closing in on my heart.