Ciao Bellas!  How was your Wednesday?  I, for one, am totally loving how fast this week is going after having Monday off.  Tomorrow is Thursday already!  Hip hip HOORAY!!!

Tonight, I have your second Party of One recipe featuring Fresh Mozzarella!  Are you ready for a bella?  Portabella, that is!  Yep, we’ve got:

Portabella Caprese

Now, before I go any further, you might be wondering, Does this chick eat any meat??? The answer is YES!  I do enjoy chicken, fish, pork, beef, bacon, etc. etc. etc.!  But being on my own, I find it less expensive to eat meat-free a few nights a week.  Plus, I don’t really miss the meat, so it works for me.

I picked up a couple of portabella caps and some fresh basil on my way home from work, and I was ready to go!

First, I pre-heated my Griddler to high heat and sprayed my mushroom caps with some cooking spray on the top.

Then, I gave them a little special treatment on the other side in the form of this baby:

In case you didn’t know, Garlic Gold is this:

I love how it says, “That’s all.”    I spread a little Garlic Gold on the other side of my bellas and seasoned with S&P.  Griddler time!

While they cooked up, I sliced some cherry tomatoes and basil.  I seasoned them with some more S&P and a little olive oil.

About 5-7 minutes later, the mushrooms were good to go!

You’re probably wondering where the mozzarella is, right?  Don’t worry, I gotcha!

Top your bellas with the tomato and basil mixture and about a slice of mozzarella each.

Under the broiler for 5 minutes and . . .

 

But a caprese salad isn’t a caprese salad without a little balsamic syrup!

Sadly, my balsamic syrup never really turned into syrup tonight, but it was still tasty! 

And while the cheese was melting, I threw together this guy for lunch tomorrow!

Just mixed greens with whole cherry tomatoes, some fresh basil, and a few cubes of mozzarella.  My dressing trick is simple.  I just pour a little in the bottom of my plastic container and put the salad on top.  Then, when I’m ready for lunch.  I just shake up the container.  Take the lid off, and your salad is perfectly dressed without getting soggy!

So, let’s see . . . that makes 2 lunches + 2 dinners out of my mozz so far this week!  Pretty good, if I do say so myself!

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In case you were wondering, pole dancing last night was crazy tough!  The class I attended is called Pole Fit.

POLEFIT an unconventional way to strengthen, tone and cultivate flexibility using the pole to provide resistance. This intense hour long class begins with a cardio warm up and maintains the workout through a series of pole maneuvers working your upper body, core and legs. Learn to climb and spin at a pace that is comfortable for you.

Intense doesn’t begin to describe it!  I was huffin’ and puffin’!  We did a lot of weight exercises and used a stability ball, but the pole was by far the hardest part of the class.  We learned how to grip it and then did a lot of ab work holding onto the pole and raising our legs or knees up to waist level.  As you can imagine, holding your hole body weight is a great workout for the arms, too.  My hands kept slipping on the pole, so the instructor let me borrow some pole grip (yes, there is such a thing!), and it helped a ton!  The exercises were so much easier!  We didn’t do any climbing–honestly, I don’t think I’m strong enough to do that!–but I did learn how to spin!  It was my favorite part of the whole class!

Overall, I enjoyed the workout.  It gave me a new appreciation for people who can pole dance!  You have to be super strong and have a ton of control.  I also learned that the faces I make while pole dancing are decidedly unsexy.  Good thing I’m not planning on a career in it!  Tee hee.

Have a lovely evening!

Have you ever tried an unconventional workout?