Five on Friday

One. Baseball Things - Well... strange though it may seem, Summer Training Camp for the 2020 baseball season started on July 3rd. The teams will train with face masks, social distancing and multiple COVID tests throughout and if all goes well (that seems like a big IF) then the Nationals will open the 2020 season at home on July 23rd playing the New York Yankees. 

Granted... it's now the 10th and Juan Soto has already had to sit out some practice after potentially being exposed and two Nationals players (no names have been released) have tested positive for the virus. So - who knows if the season will ever actually get off the ground? Who knows if it's even a good idea? Either way - I'll be here, watching and waiting to see what unfolds with my Champs!

Two. A Very Fine Meal - Wednesday night my ladies group met at the restaurant near my community; Regions 117, for a group meal and as always the food was absolutely divine! Regions debuted a new extended Summer menu on Wednesday and while the menu had so many mouth-watering options, I decided to start with the Apricot and Mint Soup, the Smoked Turkey & Avocado Wrap with Sweet Potato Wedges and one scoop of Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream!

The Apricot and Mint soup was a chilled soup and was definitely a step outside of my comfort zone - but it was actually pretty tasty! It had a yogurt base with Apricot and springs of mint and while I thought it would be sweet, it was a little more savory! The Turkey Wrap was absolutely tasty and I honestly could have eaten a whole plate of the Sweet Potato Wedges... and the best part of the meal? The Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream was DIVINE - it even had pieces of cheesecake mixed in! Yum!

Three. My Sweet Pup - I just thought I'd share this picture I took of myself and my pup, out walking earlier this week. He was probably a little frustrated because I made him stop his exploring to snap a picture but you've never know...

I think that perhaps he even looks a little bit like he's smiling - but maybe that's just me!

Four. Salsa Chicken Bake - I found this recipe on Pinterest and was very interested in this recipe because it has zero Weight Watchers points and so I decided to give it a try on Thursday night. I will say that there were some bumps in the road on this one - but alls well that ends well, right?

Ingredients 

• 1 14 ounce bag frozen corn
• 1 15 ounce can black beans; drained
• 1 15 ounce can petite diced tomatoes; drained
• 1 cup salsa; divided
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt & pepper to taste

How to Make It

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Spray a large (9x13 inch) baking dish with cooking spray.
• In the dish, stir together frozen corn, black beans, diced tomatoes, 1/2 cup of salsa, garlic and cumin.
• Place chicken on top of the corn mixture & season the chicken with salt & pepper to taste.
• Place the additional 1/2 cup of salsa on top of the chicken.
• Cover tightly with foil and cook for 60 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees.
• Remove chicken from dish and slice. Return to dish and stir to combine; serve.

*Just note that if your chicken is very large at all, you may need to cook it longer than 60 minutes. I cooked our chicken for 60 minutes with the foil and 25 minutes without - and our chicken breasts were not super large. So fiddle with the cooking time according to the size of your chicken! 

Five. Macarons - My sweet Mom surprised me with a box of macarons from Olivia Macaron, my favorite little spot in Georgetown! Macarons are one of my favorite treats and it's been ages since we've been able to pop over to Georgetown (or DC... or even Tyson's Corner, where there's a kiosk) - so I was pretty tickled to get them!

The Lemon Meringue and S'mores flavors are the July limited editions - and they are both fantastic! I can't wait to have a couple more this evening and I really can't wait to get a chance to cruise around Georgetown again in the future! 

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Y'all have a good weekend and I'll be trying to do the same!