leftover extravaganza - mexican pasta!

i had a fun night out saturday, and yesterday was my first day in a long time to sleep in, and let's just say i took advantage of it- i slept til noon! it was AWESOME. can't remember the last time i did that. i slept longer than the fiance, which never happens, and felt like i could have kept going.

i did manage to get myself out of bed, probably because i had a bagel calling my name :) we were going to our new fav bagel place- Ess A Bagel on 1st ave and 21st. the bagels there are delish- they're big and dough-y, and usually warm out of the oven. i always get a whole wheat bagel with some varation of tofu cream cheese, and yesterday i had the tofu lox spread. they only had 9 grain bagels though, so i got that instead of whole week- it was a nice switch-up.

my 9 grain tofu lox spread bagel hit the spot (i always take off a lot of the cc, because they slab it on- there's enough for 2 more bagels)!

i also had a small coffee with a little skim milk.

the only downside to Ess A Bagel is that it can get pretty crowded, and since it's a small place that means sometimes no tables, although luckily that wasn't an issue yesterday. also, they don't toast bagels there, but i don't like my bagels toasted, and neither does the fiance, so this is the place for us!

after bagels we went home, and i did some work on the blog, some wedding stuff, and some work related to fundraising for team for kids.

i know i haven't really mentioned it yet on the blog, but i'm running the nyc marathon with a charity program called team for kids! more about that to come in a later post!

while i was working, the fiance and i watched a show on the discovery channel, or maybe the history channel? about earth after humans, which was seriously the most fascinating show- it was a little scary, but extremely interesting. it basically said that after humans, lots of other species will survive, and there will be no trace of us left excpet for bones!

after all that work/tv watching (and a snack - 1 kashi cruncy granola bar) i was ready for dinner. i had a mexican cheese blend that i was going to use for mexican lasagna, but since i didn't make it to the grocery store to get the other ingredients for that, i decided to use what i had to make mexican pasta instead.

ingredients:

• 2 cups whole wheat pasta (any variety- i used rotini)
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breast, sliced into strips
• 1 cup frozen green beans (can use fresh, or substitute another green veggie- i.e. broccoli)
• 1-2 tomatoes (i only had one)
• 1 half bag frozen corn
• 1 1/2 cups salsa (any variety- i used medium trader joe's salsa)
• 1 cup lite blended mexican cheese
  
  

directions:

• cook pasta according to package directions
• spray a large skillet with non-stick cooking spray. sautee chicken several minutes on high heat until no longer pink on the outside
• add veggies and salsa
• lower heat, and cook until chicken is done, about 10-12 more minutes
• slowly add pasta to skillet with slotted spoon and combine with chicken and vegetable mixture
• turn off heat; add cheese and mix well until blended, then serve!
  
  
  

it makes about 4 servings, so i have some leftovers for tonight. it was really good- you can add more flavor to spice it up if you like your food spicy. next time i might add an onion or some peppers too!