I don’t do April Fools. I think my father tainted it for me the year he set all the clocks wrong and woke us up to run around the house getting ready for school at 2 am. I assure you there will be no April Fool’s pranks in this post. Instead, I will happily recap my day and the joke or no joke moments that ensued.

Upon arriving to spin, our instructor informed us she planned an easy ride for the day. Joke. She promptly informed us that was her April Fools on us and then laughed an evil laugh. Needless to say, I left class drenched in sweat. No Joke.

Isn’t it spring? Joke, apparently. The weather this morning still had quite the chill to it. However, that didn’t stop me from satisfying my cravings for a yogurt bowl for breakfast.

I coupled a container of pineapple Chobani yogurt with strawberries, coconut, and a couple of large handfuls of Cheerios. It was tasty. No joke.

After breakfast, I took a long and peaceful hot shower. Joke. I have two kids hanging with me remember? Within two minutes of hopping in I had Braedon fussing for some random reason and Makenzie telling him to “Stop it! I reading, BraeDON!” There was absolutely nothing peaceful about that shower. And keeping your eye on two kids while scrubbing with soap will inevitably leave your eyes stinging. It all turned out okay, though. I did finally get myself dressed in “real” clothes after my shower for the first time in almost a week. No joke. It felt so good to break out of the yoga pants rut!

My breakfast held me over for a long time. Joke. I knew I needed more fat in the meal to fill my belly! I was ready for lunch just a short 2ish hours later, so I whipped up a very satisfying meal.

I cooked some mushrooms and spinach together, scrambled an  egg, and tossed it all together with some goat cheese in a wrap. I had an apple and some carrots with hummus to round out the meal. Actually, my spoonful of peanut butter afterwards rounded out the meal. Peanut butter makes an excellent post-lunch dessert. No joke.

I think I am finally over my goat cheese kick. Joke. Who are you kidding?! I just can’t stop. Which is why I made meatballs with the good stuff and wonder when I can make more. Clearly, I’m obsessed. No joke.

Spinach & Goat Cheese Meatballs

• 1 lb lean ground beef (LOVING our cow share for this meat!)
• 4 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 2 large handfuls fresh spinach, chopped/shredded/torn apart
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1 egg

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix well with your hands. Roll into 2” meatballs and place on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Should give you anywhere between 12-16 meatballs. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through.

Et’ voila! A perfect little meal in no time at all.

Now, it’s 8 pm on Friday night and I’m ready to climb into bed. You may think I’m joking, but I promise that is no joke at all.

Question of the Evening – What joke or no joke moments did you have today? And are you a fan or hater of April Fools?

I’ve had a few requests to share some of the recipes of meals I have shared in recent posts, like my Ode to Trader Joes. I originally didn’t think to share them because they are a) more just throwing things together or b) turned out tasty, but different than expected. I’m still happy to share, though! So, here you go…

Roasted Eggplant & Hummus Panini

Preheat oven to 425. Cut a large eggplant into 1/2” rounds and place on a baking sheet. Spray the eggplant with cooking spray and roast for 25 minutes, flipping halfway.

Layer up your favorite bread with your favorite sandwich toppings. I used pesto, TJ’s White Bean Basil hummus, tomato, sautéed mushrooms, olives, the eggplant, and spinach.

Press in a panini press or cook on the stovetop until the bread gets toasty and crunchy.

Spicy Jalapeno & Veggie Jambalaya

Prepare a package of Spicy Jalapeno (or other spicy variety) chicken sausages, according to package directions. Slice into rounds when finished.

While sausage cooks, take the “kitchen sink” method and toss your favorite vegetables or what you have on hand into a pan with a small amount of oil or coated with cooking spray. I used squash, zucchini, onion, mushrooms, and broccoli. Cook 5-10 minutes.

Add one 15 oz can no-salt-added diced tomatoes. Add Louisiana Cajun/Creole seasoning (or other spice component) to desired spice level. Let simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Serve the vegetable mixture over cooked brown rice and top with the sausage.

Enchilada Polenta “Stew to Bake”
(adapted from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker cookbook)

• 1 small onion, diced small
• 1 1/4 cups cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups boiling water
• 2 cups salsa
• 1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup sliced black olives
• 1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 1/4 red onion, diced small
• cilantro, for garnish

Combine the diced onion, cornmeal, chili powder, and salt in a crockpot. Pour the 4 cups boiling water over and stir to combine. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

30-60 minutes before ready to serve, combine the remaining ingredients (besides cilantro) in a medium bowl. Mix together.

Spread atop the polenta base in the crockpot. Allow to cook 20-30 minutes, until bean mixture heats through.

Here’s where things got crazy. The polenta mixture should have “set to firm” while cooking. It never did for me, so I ended up serving the meal in bowls as a soup that night. I garnished it with the cilantro and a sprinkle of cheese and it still tasted great.

Then, the next day when I went to have leftovers the polenta had firmed up while in the fridge overnight. It ended up more like a casserole or bake. Interesting, no? I just served it as such for my lunch and it actually turned out really well.

I preferred it in the casserole/bake form, but only got there through the minor “kitchen fail”. Now, I have to find a way to recreate the recipe to just produce the casserole. I tell ya not to trust me in the kitchen…but I promise it is still very tasty!!!

Questions of the Day -

• Have you ever had a recipe “fail” actually turn out pretty good?
• Any ideas on fixing my recipe?