Yesterday was a day full of doctors appointments and driving.  Until I arrived back in Indianapolis and picked up my brother, Kenny from my sister’s apartment.  He is on spring break right now, and came home from his school in Florida to visit.  He kind of has a backward spring break mentality I guess, we usually go to Florida for our week off, but since he is already there…why not come on back up to Indiana!

Once we got to my apartment, we were both ready for dinner.  I wanted to whip up something nutritious, quick, and tasty…isn’t that what we all aim for every night?  Well, let me tell you, this little meal comes together in about 20 minutes…can’t beat that!

Baked Pollock, Broccoli, and Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients for one serving:

• 1/3 sweet potato
• 1/2 cup broccoli
• 1 fillet of pollock
• salt, pepper, and garlic pepper to taste
• non-stick cooking spray

Directions:

Simply begin by spraying your baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Thinly chop the sweet potato and place on the baking sheet, chop the broccoli and place on the baking sheet, and place the thawed fillet of fish on the baking sheet.  (I placed all of mine on the same baking sheet!)   Sprinkle with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you may want to try.  Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.  Check the “doneness” of the veggies and fish at 10 minutes, if the veggies aren’t quite tender enough, or if the fish isn’t flaking yet, then put it back in for 2 more minutes.  Remove from the oven, place on your favorite plate, and enjoy!

After our speedy dinner, Brian, Caitlin (our friend from Butler who lives downstairs), Kenny, and I headed out to run some errands.  We were one happy foursome all packed in the car 😉

While we were at the mall, I saw something that I had never seen before…in fact, none of us had ever seen this before!  It was a parking spot with a charger for electric cars!

How neat is that?!  Someday I hope to have a hybrid or an electric car.  They are just so much better for the environment and great on mileage!  I love that Indianapolis is putting in parking spots like this to be accommodating to those who have electric cars.

On the way home, there was a special request to make some cookies.  Not only do I love baking for others and make sure to always have the ingredients on hand, but you have to remember that I have just been completely deprived of my baking hobby for the past 5 months…so of course I jumped at the opportunity and said yes!  I opted for the simple, classic, but always delicious chocolate chip cookie.  Or “Chocolate Chippers” in my book.  Me, my siblings, and my mom have been baking these cookies since before I could even walk.  They are probably one of the first things I have baked on my own, and they are my grandpa’s favorite.  When Grandpa comes into town, we better have some fresh chocolate chippers in a tupperwear container just for him.

Chocolate Chippers

Yield:  makes about 2 dozen medium-large size cookies (if you make them with a tablespoon you will get way more!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla (I always put a little extra!)
• 3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 12 oz bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375.  In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar (firmly packed) until creamy.  Then, add eggs one at a time and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt , and baking soda.  Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, constantly scraping down the sides of the bowl to make sure that everything gets mixed in.  Once the batter in completely mixed, add in the chocolate chips.  Scoop the dough into little balls on an ungreased cookie sheet (you can determine the size).  Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on a piece of wax paper.  Enjoy!!!!

Today

This morning was off to an early and busy start.  I was at the gym by 5:30am to do another 5×400 run before attending a BodyPump class.  I then quickly hurried home, showered, got ready, made myself a little coffee and then ran out to meet with Kris the owner of Avec Moi, a local eatery that offers different homemade to-go food items daily, caters an array of different gatherings, and uses fresh ingredients that are local and organic whenever possible.

We chatted at one of my favorite, local restaurants, Petite Chou about blogging, how she started her business, tips on how to brand Treble in the Kitchen and take it to the next level, and just life in general. Right now, I am at a point in my life where I am wanting and needing to start a career.  One of the hardest things about the situation is because I have so many interests, Kris could definitely relate to me with that.  It was great to talk with someone who is pursuing her dreams while still coming up with new goals, challenges, and interests everyday.

I think that part of my struggle right now is that I absolutely LOVED my major in college, and I still love the non-profit arts industry, but I also have always had a passion for health, nutrition, and fitness.  I have never had to choose between the two loves, and I don’t want to start now…I just need to figure out how to do it all. The important thing I need to remember and constantly tell myself (and have my mom tell me) is that there is not a “right” way to do things.  The “plans” will always change and as long as I am happy doing whatever I am doing, then I am successful 🙂

Question of the Morning:

• How did you decide what career you wanted to pursue?  Did you know from day 1 that you wanted to pursue a certain goal and figured out the steps to follow in order to get there OR
• Did you have a lot of different interests and figured out your own unique way to combine them all into one unique career just for you?

I hope everyone enjoys this Thursday!