Pardon the dog hair

Lemon Basil Fettuccine

2012-05-30T16:07:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Wes and I finally went down to the farmer's market in downtown Dallas. I live so close to it, but somehow always seem to forget that it is there. We scored some pretty awesome deals, like two pounds of blueberries for $5, three cucumbers for $1, two orange bell peppers for $1, and a bunch of peaches for $3. Really the prices couldn't be beat.

Our favorite find though has to be from the homemade pasta section at the farmer's market. A company called Pappardelle's pasta had a booth set up with a wide variety of pasta to choose from. After a few minutes spent trying to decide which flavor to get, we ended up choosing lemon basil fettuccine. This probably isn't all that surprising since I cook with lemon and basil on a weekly basis; I am never without those two ingredients.

We waited all of one day to make the pasta. I wanted to keep the sauce simple so that we could really taste the flavors in the fettuccine, so I just whipped up a simple lemon olive oil sauce. Good decision.

The pasta was delicious. I prepared this before we left for our workout so that it would have time to chill while we were gone. It just seemed natural to serve it chilled, especially with how hot it has been. Wes made several comments regarding how light and fresh the dish tasted. I have to agree with him.

The flavor was divine. And the fresh tomatoes, basil, and spinach I added just highlighted the beautiful fettuccine. If you look closely at the pictures you can see the flecks of basil in the fettuccine. Love! I would definitely recommend ordering some online if you aren't in an area where you can pick it up easily.

Lemon Basil Fettuccine

1/4 pound dry lemon basil fettuccine
2 lemons, juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp fresh pepper
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
10 basil leaves, chopped
1 cup spinach, chopped
1/4 cup shredded fresh aged romano cheese

Cook pasta by bringing several cups of water to boil. Add in pasta noodles, cook for about 8 minutes.

While pasta is cooking, mix together lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Drain water from pasta, add dressing, tomatoes, basil, spinach, and cheese. Toss together. Refrigerate for an hour. Adjust seasonings to taste and garnish with fresh parmesan if desired.

I'm so excited we finally went down to the farmer's market this weekend. I foresee quite a few trips in our future to try out some of the other pasta flavors. There was a chocolate dessert pasta that I am absolutely dying to try! Doesn't that sound delicious?

Cauliflower rice

2012-05-29T17:02:00.001-05:00

Ok, have you heard about cauliflower rice?

According to Pinterest and other food blogs, I'm super late to the party. This isn't really much of a surprise though. I'm not exactly cutting edge when it comes to my kitchen creations.

I do recall reading about this somewhere a few months ago and thinking like it sounded like a novel idea. However, my inner five year old caught hold of me and I just couldn't overcome my disdain for cauliflower. I've never liked it much on its own. Even when my mother would cover it in a nice cheese sauce, I still didn't like it. And that is saying a lot. There isn't much I wouldn't eat after it has been covered in cheese.

By the way, I keep reading that last sentence and thinking to myself that I need to freshen up on double negative usage. It sounds correct to me, but it's probably because I've read it twenty times. I apologize if my grammar isn't spot on today.

Cilantro Cauliflower Rice
Modified from this recipe

1 head cauliflower, core removed
2 tbsp melted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Juice from two limes
1 tsp garlic salt
S&P to taste

In your food processor, pulse the cauliflower head until it is finely chopped. Place cauliflower pieces in a microwave safe bowl, and microwave for 5 minutes.

Stir in butter, cilantro, lime juice, garlic salt, and salt and pepper. Mix together and adjust seasonings to taste.

I have to admit, this was pretty awesome. Despite my house smelling like steamed cauliflower for several hours, I was very pleased with the outcome. It could easily have been mixed into a taco salad as rice, but we ate it as a side. Even Wes who loathes cilantro, thought it was good.

I'm still praying that his tastebuds will eventually change and he will one day worship cilantro. I know this is highly unlikely.

The "rice" was fluffy, light, and full of flavor. It doesn't quite hold water to Chipotle's cilantro lime rice, but then again, what does? I do recommend it as a healthy alternative for sides on taco night.

My books have slowly started coming in the mail from last week's ordering fest. Expect some reviews within the next week or two!

Blueberry Peach Pie

2012-05-28T12:23:00.001-05:00

Happy Memorial Day sweet friends!

There is so much to be thankful for today as we are incredibly blessed to live in a country where our freedom is defended by many brave individuals. Thank you hardly seems enough, but thank you to all those who have served our country, all those who continue to serve, all those that paid the ultimate sacrifice, and to all the family members and friends who have had loved ones serve.

Like the majority of other Texans, Wes and I are off to a barbecue/pool party today to help us survive this Texas heat. Memorial day is without a doubt the kickoff to summer in Texas, which means lots of days by the pool, a few long weekends, beautiful produce at the farmer's market, and lots of sunshine. To officially kick off summer, I decided to make a pie with some of the sweet peaches and blueberries I picked up this weekend. I couldn't decide between a crumble, cobbler, or pie, so I kind of just combined it all.

Decision making has never been my strong point.

I'm also pretty excited to finally have one of these nifty little collages on the blog. They are so fun and really make use of quite a few more pictures.

Of course this blueberry peach pie/crumble would not be complete without a scoop of BlueBell homemade vanilla on top. We used the "light" vanilla, and honestly, it tastes just as good as the original to me. Which brings me to another thing I am thankful for on the long weekends in the summer, sales on Bluebell. How could I possibly say no to 2 for $7? Bargain!

Blueberry Peach Pie

Modified from this blueberry pie recipe
1 pie dough (use this recipe, or your own)
5 Peaches, peeled, and chopped
4 cups blueberries (I used about 1.5 pounds)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
7 tbsp corn starch
Juice from one lemon
3 tbsp water

For the crumble
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
3 graham crackers

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll out your pie dough and fit to a greased pie pan.

Pour peaches and blueberries into the pie dough. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, white sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, and water. Whisk together. Pour this mixture over top of the blueberries and peaches.

In a food processor, add all ingredients for the crumble. Pulse until finely chopped and combine. Sprinkle all over the top of the pie.

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Serve with Bluebell vanilla icecream.

What a perfect way to start the summer!

Don't be intimidated by homemade pie doughs. I promise they are so, so easy and just take a little practice. The end result is worth it. I absolutely love this crust recipe. It is flaky and buttery and just melts in your mouth. Also, this pie isn't overly sweet. It really lets the taste of the blueberries and peaches shine through.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day!

Street Corn

2012-05-24T11:53:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite little taco shops in Dallas, Velvet Taco, has some of the best "street corn." No the humor does not escape me in that it is called "street corn," but is actually purchased from a very trendy taco shop close to downtown Dallas. To be completely honest, I've never had legit street corn that I've actually purchased off of a vendor on the street.

I think I've had street corn from a food truck. But since those are incredibly trendy in Dallas, it can't be the real deal. So it probably doesn't count.

My recipe definitely isn't "legit street corn" as I didn't peddle it on the streets, and I subbed out all the unhealthy junk for healthy stuff. However, it tastes authentic and is full, and I mean full, of flavor.

Healthified Street Corn
Modified from this Food Network Recipe

2 cobs of corn, husked and rinsed
1 6-ounce container non-fat greek yogurt
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 jalepeno, chopped
Juice from one lime
1 tbsp fat free half & half

Using a grill pan or a real grill, grill the corn until it is slightly charred (ever so slightly).

This will take about 8 minutes. While this is happening, prepare the sauce. Whisk together all remaining ingredients, taste, and adjust seasonings as desired.

Once the corn is slightly charred, remove the kernels from the cob and stir into the sauce.

Serve with cheese, extra cilantro, more lime juice... whatever you want to add!

Wes thinks that this would be awesome over top of fish or chicken, and I have to agree. It was almost like a corn salsa, but with more of a sauce. I really enjoyed it. However, if you are not one for spice and a bit of heat, you will want to reel in some of the ingredients (i.e. the fresh jalepeno). Your mouth might be a little tingly after a few bites of this dish. But it's good for you, and your metabolism!

On a completely unrelated book note, I think I am single-handedly keeping the physical book industry thriving after this week. I still haven't jumped on the e-reader bandwagon and have purchased an abundance of books this week. Two of which I know are going to have me crying like crazy, but I just can't wait to read them! Here are a few that I have ordered:

Source

I seriously can't wait to start reading these. Have you read any of them? I will post reviews on each of them once I finish.

The best strawberry icing

2012-05-22T16:12:00.001-05:00

Every year I wait anxiously for strawberries to be in abundance. Strawberry season is one of my absolute favorite times of the year. When I walk into the farmer's market and see signs for 4 pounds of strawberries for $5, I load up. All those strawberries give me the perfect excuse to practice my strawberry icing making skills.

Of course I find other uses for them in things like smoothies and salads, but strawberry icing is the use of choice for this sugar addict.

When you are using super ripe strawberries, you actually don't need to use anywhere near the same amount of powdered sugar in your icing though. So you can almost think of it as healthy icing...

Almost.

Oh, and by the way, this icing is actually on the sugar cookie cake I've been working so hard at perfecting. It still isn't there. Next time I'm going to cut back on the oil and add a little more butter to see what I end up with. But I definitely think I'm getting closer.

Sugar Cookie Cake # 2

1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream

Fresh Strawberry icing
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup pureed fresh strawberries
Dash of half and half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixer, cream sugar, oil, and sugars together. Once blended, add in eggs, one at a time. Mix until smooth. Add in extracts and combine.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir together. Slowly incorporate the dry mixture into the wet. Once combined, beat in the sour cream

Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 pan, or you could use a sheet cake pan (this would probably work best). Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a fork inserted in the middle comes out almost clean. Since this is a knock off of a sugar cookie, you want it to be slightly under-cooked. If you are using a sheet cake pan, decrease the cook time by about 10 minutes or so.

While the cake is baking, make your icing. Cream together the butter and marshmallow fluff. Add in powdered sugar and strawberry puree. Add half and half if needed. Refrigerate.

Once cake has cooled, ice the cake.

I can't keep my fingers out of this icing. It is so fresh, and not too sweet... absolutely perfect! It is not the type of icing the will pipe perfectly onto a cupcake, so I don't recommend it for that if cupcakes are what you have in mind. It is absolutely perfect on a sheet cake though, where it can just sink right into the cake. Make some soon for the strawberry lover in your life.

Or stop by my house and grab a piece. I'm on serious cake overload right now. Every time I walk by the kitchen the cake pan beckons to me to come slice a tiny piece. It's not pretty. I'm still waiting for self control to kick in. It's yet to happen.

Product talk

2012-05-21T15:51:00.001-05:00

Hey Folks!

Happy Monday to you!

Usually I'm not super chipper on Mondays, but I am feeling particularly good today. Why might you ask?

Wes and I finally got our Save the Dates stuffed and the envelopes addressed (with the exception of a few addresses that are yet to come in, I'm not above harassing people for their address. Be warned). After a long wait in the local post office, I've got our stamps and they will soon be out the door. Hooray!

I know that things like sending out Save the Dates shouldn't stress me out, but they do. You know what else stressed me out and it totally shouldn't have?

Picking a honeymoon destination.

We finally decided on that last week. Belize!!

Doesn't our resort look amazing? Now that we have finally picked a place, I am so incredibly excited about going. And my stress levels have seriously declined. I can taste the boat drinks already.

After a weekend of not cooking very much, I am really excited to share some fun new weeknight meals with you this week. This week has a serious Chipotle theme going for it, as I've got several of their items featured on my menu:

Chicken Taco Salad
Cilantro "rice" (rice will be a mix of cauliflower and quinoa)
Street Corn

Other ideas I have for this week include some kind of chicken sausage pasta with maybe a pesto or a light white sauce. I will put my own little spin on all the recipes listed above, and am really excited to try making "street corn." It will be a newbie in my house.

Also this weekend I made another attempt at recreating the sugar cookie cake. I got really close with the recipe I came up with, but changed up the icing to make it fresh strawberry. You can expect that recipe later tonight or tomorrow.

For those interested in Isagenix and that are in the DFW area, the trainer who got me started on the product is hosting an informational session tomorrow evening in Southlake. There will be free samples of the product as well as a great Q&A time where they will be able to answer any question you might have. If you are interested, see the flyer below. I can also give you more information.

My new favorite website

2012-05-18T11:12:00.002-05:00

Ok, so maybe I am late to the party, but have any of you heard of the website Ebates?

Last month I joined after hearing about it from my friend Lindsay. She said one of her co-workers pretty much started buying a bunch of stuff online and gets a check in the mail every quarter from this website. Sounds like a scam right?

Well, I decided to try it out. Surprisingly I'm not much of an online shopper. I have a problem with instant gratification. If I see something I want, I like to be able to take it home with me that day, as opposed to waiting for it to come in the mail.

I blame this on being an only child.

Although I wasn't spoiled as a child, so technically I shouldn't blame it on that.

Anyway, last month I only remembered to use the site once. But that one use resulted in me getting a $2 check in the mail. Sure, $2 isn't much. But, imagine if I remembered to purchase everything online. All of the stores I love to shop at are there... Nordstroms, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Philosophy... you name it, you pretty much get cash back for it.

So, yesterday I had the brilliant idea to re-purchase my wedding shoes online through Ebates. I logged into my Ebate account and saw that Nordstroms was currently offering 13% back on your purchases.

13% back? That is awesome. Especially when you are purchasing Jimmy Choo wedding shoes. Of course the 13% promo was for a limited time, but luckily I was able to capitalize on that.

Once you log into Ebates, you simply search for the store you are wanting to shop at. So yesterday I typed Nordstroms into the little search box. Nordstroms popped up, I clicked the link, and it automatically took me over to the Nordstroms website in a new window. The shopping experience was exactly the same. My purchase was still directly through Nordstroms. Ebates just funnels you through to the place you want to shop with a code embedded so they know to link your purchases to your Ebates account.

Pretty crazy huh? So not only do you still get credit card points for shopping, but you also get a rebate.

A few more details because I'm still trying to figure it out myself... You won't see the purchase automatically show up in your Ebates account. Apparently there is a "return window" where the store will verify that you haven't returned everything you purchased online in hopes of getting a check. Some folks are sneaky like that. After that window has lapsed however, your purchase will show up. And then you will get paid for it!

Another really cool feature is that you can have your check automatically donated to charity or have it paid to you through your PayPal account. They really make it so easy to shop.

And they also have a feature called the Daily Double, where a store that typically offers 4% cash back offers 8% cash back for the day. Today's daily double is Sephora. Umm... yes please. Almost every girl I know has been to a Sephora.

Ebates should really pay me to advertise for them. Sadly they are not. Apparently my little blog isn't popular enough. However, I just had to tell everyone about this because I think it is so cool. Even if you are only getting $30 a quarter, that is still $30 you didn't have.

Go ahead, click it. Then do yourself a favor and sign up!

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. I will be at home enjoying my pink lady bars that I made earlier this week.

Check out yesterday's post if you want this super easy and yummy recipe.

And I will also be enjoying the beautiful birthday flowers Wes gave me that opened up so perfectly yesterday. Aren't the tulips gorgeous?

See you soon friends!

Pink lady bars

2012-05-17T14:34:00.000-05:00

Lemon is one of my all time favorite ingredients. It is fantastic in salads, adds the perfect tang to chicken, and is really perfect in desserts.

With that said, if I see one more lemon bar on a shortbread crusted dusted with powdered sugar and stacked with parchment paper in between each layer, I might lose it.

Not that they aren't delicious. And adorable. But that dessert has been done, over and over again, in the blog world. There just really isn't that much variation needed with a lemon bar. The recipe is good just as it is.

So that left me with a little dilemma last night when I came home and felt the urge to bake something "lemony." I wanted to do some kind of lemon bar that I could share, but it had to be something slightly different. Enter the pink lady bar. With all of this John Travolta talk in the news, Grease has been on my mind.

Now adding strawberry to a lemon bar isn't exactly an earth shattering idea, but it is a good one. So is making the crust a modified oatmeal brown sugar cookie.

Pink Lady Bars

Modified from The Best Lemon Bars

For the crust

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup flour

1 cup quick oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

For the topping

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

4 eggs

Juice from two lemons

Zest from one lemon

8 strawberries, pureed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a stand mixer, combine butter and brown sugar. Mix until creamy. Add in flour, oatmeal, salt, and baking powder. Once combined, mix in vanilla. Press into the bottom of a well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake for ten minutes.

While the crust is baking, combine sugar and flour in the stand mixer. Mix together. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing after the addition of each egg. Once eggs have been incorporated, add in lemon juice, zest, and strawberries. Mix together. Pour batter into the hot crust.

Bake for 20 minutes.

And if you are feeling particularly lazy, you know what would work really well instead of making your own crust? Buying the premade sugar cookie dough, crumbling it up, and pressing it tightly into the bottom of the pan. I actually think that would be really delicious. You would probably only need to pre-cook that for about 5 minutes before adding the filling.

Simple bars, featuring summer flavors... what's not to love? I personally think that they would be divine served at a wedding or baby shower.

On a non-food related note, we booked our honeymoon today! After so much research and reading thousands of reviews, we've decided on a lovely little place in Belize. I cannot wait.

Tilapia Burgers

2012-05-15T16:27:00.001-05:00

So, I saw this recipe about a week ago up on How Sweet It Is and actually meant to give it a try last week. But I had so many other meals on the agenda that I just didn't get around to it.

And, I wasn't necessarily sure how I felt about putting tilapia filets in my food processor. For whatever reason, I was having some serious issues with the thought of doing this. Luckily, I put my big girl panties on and got over it.

I'm so glad I did! Tilapia burgers are really good, especially when served with huge chunks of fresh mango and tomatillo salsa. It is the perfect light summer meal. I know we will be eating this multiple times throughout the summer, so hopefully Wes wasn't lying when he said he loved it...

Tilapia Burgers
Slightly modified from How Sweet It Is

1 pound tilapia filets
1 orange bell pepper
2 garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh parsley
4 sprigs green onion
1 jalepeno, seeded
Juice from one lime
1/4 cup white onion
2 egg whites
2 tbsp Saucy Mama dijon mustard (or your favorite mustard)
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Pam spray

In your food processor (trust me, it will be ok), combine tilapia, bell pepper, garlic cloves, parsley, green onion, white onion, jalepeno, and lime juice. Pulse until combined and well chopped.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg whites and dijon mustard. Add in tilapia mixture, salt, pepper, cayenne, and bread crumbs. Stir together to combine. Form mixture into patties.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, and olive oil and spray with pam. Cook patties for about 4 minutes on each side, or until a nice golden brown color is reached and they are cooked through.

Garnish with salsa, mango, pico de gallo... whatever your heart desires!

I would be eating leftovers of this tonight, but instead am going to a cute little Tuscan steakhouse to celebrate my birthday with Wes. We've never tried it before, so I'm quite excited. Then I plan on coming home and eating massive amounts of the sugar cake...the one I just can't quite seem to stop talking about. And after I've properly gorged on steak, sugar cake, and other birthday treats, I'm going to try on the new LuluLemon outfit that I got as a birthday present. I've never had fancy workout gear... sadly until just recently a lot of what I worked out in has been stuff from college.

Not only is that gross, it is just silly. For the amount of time I spend running and at CG, I know decent workout gear is definitely deserved. Most of the time though, I get my "fancy" gear from the sale section at Target or Sports Authority. I'm just hoping I don't get addicted to Lulu like everyone says I will. My budget cannot afford that. I'm sure Wes will keep me reeled in.

The egg

2012-05-14T15:48:00.001-05:00

I absolutely love weekends spent in town when you really don't have much on the agenda except errand running. There was so much that I needed to catch up on around my house; we were able to get through quite a bit of it this weekend. Ikea, wedding band shopping, a good long run with Suzie, Lowes, etc... And we still somehow had time for a 5 hour impromptu block party with the neighbors and the dogs.

My neighbors recently purchased a "green egg," which I knew little about before them. But every weekend on Sunday afternoon, Ryan will be out back with the green egg fired up. Lucky for Wes and me, we get to be their guinea pigs. This weekend Ryan smoked a brisket on the egg.

This was about thirty minutes into the process. It stayed on for several hours after this photo was taken and was eventually wrapped in foil. I made sure to take pictures early.

While we were hanging outside, the dogs had a pretty good time running around.

The green ball was the apple of both their eye, but they somehow managed to share just the one.

Lizzie looks like she is modeling in this picture... walking down the catwalk with her long strides.

Since the neighbors were providing the main course for our Sunday night dinner, I whipped up a few sides including my favorite coleslaw, tomatillo dip, and a new recipe jalepeno mac 'n cheese quinoa. The jalepenos from the green egg picture were what I used.

Jalepeno Quinoa Mac 'n Cheese
Inspired by Monica Nelson's recipe

3 cups water
1 1/2 cup quinoa
1 tbsp olive oil
2 jalepenos, seeded and chopped
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp barbecue sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1 1/2 cup mexican blend cheese, grated
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large deep skillet, add olive oil, quinoa, jalepeno, tomatoes, and garlic. Simmer on high for about 4 minutes. Add in water and barbecue sauce. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, place lid on skillet and turn heat down to low. Let simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed.

In a separate bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, paprika, salt, and pepper.

When the quinoa is cooked through, remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes. Slowly pour the milk combination into the quinoa, stirring as you pour. Once combined stir in the mexican blend cheese.

Pour quinoa mixture into a greased 8x8 pyrex dish. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese and bread crumbs on top. Bake for about 35 minutes.

Top with salsa, green onions, more cheese... whatever you prefer!!

Remember a few weeks back, when I wrote about the sugar cake we had when we went to visit one of Wes' friends? Well, his friend, Jeremy, went home this weekend and brought back a whole cake because I loved it so much and pretty much couldn't stop talking about it. It is the most amazing cake I have ever had. And I've had a lot of cake.

It is so dense, and perfectly sweet. Super sweet even. We shared a bit of it with the neighbors, but I just don't have it in me to bring this cake to work. I love it too much. So, I think we are going to try freezing parts of it. Or, I will just live off of this cake, and only this cake for the next week.

The jury's still out.

But, now that I have it here, you better believe I'm going to be making several versions of the recipe I came up with to try and find the exact one. Sure I may gain five pounds in the process, but I'm willing to do that in the name of research.

Up to speed

2012-05-11T12:01:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday y'all! I'm so excited for this weekend to be here. It is the last weekend before my birthday, we have hardly anything planned, and I'm finally going to get some stuff done around the house.

Tomorrow is the first day of my new running club for the summer. I've long been a member of the Dallas Running Club, but am yet to actually join any training groups. That all changes tomorrow when I start with the summer training group at the dreadful hour of 6am. I'm excited about running, but not excited about waking up in the 5 o'clock hour on a Saturday. However, I know I will appreciate it when it is blazing hot and my run for the day will be over.

But, that still doesn't stop me from complaining. Complain I will.

I also wanted to give an Isagenix update for those that have been following along with our little diet. It has now been about a month since I finished my first 30 days. I decided to continue using the shakes because they taste great, deliver all the necessary vitamins, minerals, calories, etc, and are just so easy. I've been having fun playing with my fruit/vegetable combination in the shakes, but am still particularly fond of this guy, the Blueberry Colada.

I've been adding in strawberries to it as well, making it more of a strawberry blueberry daiquiri. My results are about the same; weight is right where it should be. I haven't completely remeasured since the last time, but have checked a few of the areas where I lost the most inches. I've actually lost a little bit more across my chest and waist, which is always appreciated. And I had to go out and buy new bathing suits and can finally wear a bandeau top. This is a very big deal for me for several reasons with the most important being that I may finally be able to even out my sports bra/tank top tan lines from working out. This is of utmost importance.

My mom also wrote a pretty in depth review about her Isagenix experience which I posted over on my running page. She gave a very candid recap sharing her concerns and goals.

Despite me showing you cookies and waffle grilled cheese sandwiches all week, Wes and I are not completely indulging. A lot of those items get brought to our respective offices for sharing. Dinners around my house can be a little bit hard to recap because most of my creations do not stem from a recipe. They are more a little of this, a little of that. However, I did want to share one of my favorites from this week. Pesto Chicken a la king!

My mom would make chicken a la king quite frequently growing up. If we ever had any leftover chicken, she would chop it up and turn it into this creamy and tasty creation. Of course there was no given recipe for it, just a combination of the vegetables that needed to be used up that week, a few seasonings, and some kind of liquid combination. Regardless of how easy it was to make, it still remains one of my favorite dishes. Probably because the combination of peas and olives really just tickles me pink.

With the chicken fail I had earlier this week, I knew I could not force Wes to eat leftovers of it. So, I repurposed it into this delightful little dish. It is terribly sad that I didn't just make this from the start because we were both looking for more after we had cleared out plates. Unfortunately, there was none to be had.

Pesto Chicken a la King

2 cooked chicken breasts, chopped into small chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 can mushrooms, or fresh mushrooms chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup peas
1/4 cup flour
1 chicken flavored bouillon cube, chopped
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup fat-free half & half
12 olives, chopped
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup homemade pesto
Puff pastry for serving (optional)

In a large skillet, saute garlic, onion, bell pepper, mushroom, zucchini, and peas in the olive oil. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Add in flour and the bouillon cube. Stir together and let cook for two minutes. Add in all liquid, spices, pesto and olives. Stir together. Let mixture come to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Once simmering add in the chicken. Let dish simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve in prepared puff pasty tarts or all by itself over toast.

You can also choose to omit the pesto and just have regular chicken a la king. Truth be told, I just had some pesto in my fridge that really needed to be used, so in it went. And it worked great. However, this dish would still have enough flavor without it. I think this would be great to serve as appetizers at a Mother's Day lunch or dinner. They are cute and the flakiness of the puff pastry is really perfect with the dish.

Have a fantastic weekend my dear internet friends!

Banana Bread Cookies

2012-05-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

It has not been a healthy week around my house.

I had every intention of sharing a healthy recipe with you today. Pesto chicken pinwheels to be exact. But like I've said before, I seriously suck at chicken. In my defense though, I think it is because I have been buying crappy chicken. From now on, I vow to spend the extra money and get chicken breasts only from Central Market.

Tonight I will be turning the pesto chicken pinwheels into pesto chicken a la king, so hopefully I will have that recipe to share with you. Until then, I'm going to write about what I do best: bake.

Recently, I've been finding myself in a slight funk during the daytime. Traffic has been bothering me, the printers who charged me a ridiculous amount for a Save the Date proof upset me, the pile of clothing in my laundry room that I'm yet to fold has been eating away at me. I do realize that the pile of clothes bothering me is completely my fault. Yes, this does speak to my laziness, but it is the truth.

So what do I do when I get into a funk? I bake.

Mainly so I can have exorbitant amounts of cookie dough.

And I am absolutely in love with these banana bread cookies. In love I tell you!

Banana Bread Cookies
Adapted from Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 extremely ripe banana, mashed
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugar together. Once combined, add in egg. Mix until creamy. Add vanilla and mix until blended.

In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir together. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Once combined, blend in mashed banana, chocolate chips, and walnuts.

Refrigerate batter for 30 minutes. This will make it much more manageable when forming cookies. Place dough on a non-stick cookie sheet or a silpat. Bake for 12 minutes.

Oh my heavens are these ever good. Pretty close to a perfect cookie if you ask me. They have all the flavors that I love from a decked out banana bread, but still maintain their cookie form.

And they are definitely the kind of cookie you can eat for breakfast. Wes told me he accidentally had several for breakfast today when he shared them with his co-workers. It happens. They have definitely helped bring me out of my funk. So make a batch (or two, or three), save some for yourself and share the rest with your friends and co-workers. I bet they would appreciate it.

Waffle Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2012-05-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

This weekend a group of us went to the Ft. Worth food trucks for a birthday brunch for Meaghan. It was my first experience with food truck dining, and I must say, it was a pretty good one.

It was like going to a picnic that we didn't have to prepare for at all. And despite the abundance of flies, it was a great time with fantastic company.

One of the trucks there was a grilled cheese sandwich truck. I didn't try anything from that particular truck because I was too busy trying things from the taco truck, vegan truck, and slider truck (I like variety!), but it did get my mind thinking about grilled cheese sandwiches. So, yesterday after work, I came up with a brunch version of a grilled cheese sandwich. Enter the Waffle Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

You'll notice that I used frozen waffles in this instance, mainly because I wanted something quick and didn't feel like warming up my waffle iron. They served their purpose well, but I do think next time I might try it with homemade waffles. But, I'm not complaining. These tasted pretty awesome.

Waffle Grilled Cheese Sandwich

2 waffles, cooked (frozen or homemade)
1 tbsp butter
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, room temperature
2 tbsp cream cheese, room temperature
1 tbsp Nutella
1 tsp raspberry preserves
1 strawberry, chopped
1/2 pear chopped
Pure Maple syrup
Powdered sugar

Spread butter on one side of each of the waffles. This will be the outside of the sandwich. On the inside of the waffle, spread mascarpone and cream cheese. Stack the chopped strawberry and pear on top of this.

In a microwave safe bowl, add nutella and raspberry preserves. Microwave for 15 seconds, then stir together. Spread this on the other interior of the waffle. Sandwich the waffles together.

Over medium high heat no a non-stick skillet start to grill the sandwich. Cook one side until golden brown (about 4 minutes), then flip to the other side and cook for 2 minutes.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with maple syrup to dip the sandwich in. Pure messy goodness.

So this is a pretty heavy breakfast. It is definitely not one I would recommend before going to work, working out, or laying by the pool. It is perfect for a rainy Saturday morning when you don't plan on spending much time away from your couch. And every now and then, we are all entitled to a day like that.

Mango Pork tacos

2012-05-04T15:03:00.001-05:00

When I spent my summer in Virginia working towards my Master's degree, barbecue pulled pork was one of my absolute favorite dishes. I ordered it at least three times a week at one of our favorite restaurants on the Corner. I was 22 at the time and thought my metabolism was invincible. I was wrong of course.

But the pulled pork was worth the five extra pounds I put on. Lets be honest though, I can't blame it all on the pulled pork. Floating down the river in a tube drinking beer, too many pool parties, and general lack of exercise also added to my metabolism melt down. Those were the days when I still pretended to like beer. I've moved on since then.

However, I haven't moved on from pulled pork. While this recipe isn't necessarily authentic, it is delicious and easy. And utilizes my favorite kitchen tool, the crock pot!

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

Modified from SkinnyTaste.com
2 pound pork tenderloin
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp Mesquite Liquid Smoke
1 cup your favorite BBQ sauce
Salt and Pepper to cover the tenderloin
2 garlic cloves
For the Garnish
1 mango, chopped
Cilantro
Corn tortillas

Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the pork tenderloin. Place in crock pot with all of the ingredients, but only 1/2 cup of the bbq sauce. Set to cook for 6 hours. About 4 hours into the cooking process, remove tenderloin, shred the meat, return back to the crock pot, add remaining bbq sauce, and cook for the final two hours.

I also stuffed some homemade coleslaw into my taco to add a little more crunch and texture. It was yummy, but definitely isn't a necessity.

This post is short and sweet. Have a fantastic weekend and see y'all next week!

You Have No Idea: my review

2012-05-03T13:30:00.002-05:00

This month Blogher Book Club is reading You Have No Idea by Vanessa Williams and her mother Helen Williams.

Source

Prior to picking up this book, I knew very little about Vanessa Williams, her life, her hardships, and her mother. When Blogher sent out the email looking for reviewers, I responded because I thought it would be an interesting change from the types of books I usually read. Autobiographies aren't necessarily at the top of my list, especially celebrity autobiographies.

With that being said, I really enjoyed You Have No Idea. The dynamic between Vanessa Williams and her mother, and especially how the stories were written were captivating. Vanessa tells her side of the story, and then you hear her mother's perspective. Although my and my mother's life are drastically different from Vanessa and Helen (no Miss America, no fame, no nude photographs, etc), I can't help but draw comparisons between their relationship and ours. I think that is one of the things I enjoyed most about the book. Helen, a strong mother, makes it clear that no matter what Vanessa does, her family will always support her. My parent's are very much the same way. Through times when I have made them proud and other times when I have acted in ways I know better than, my parents have always stood by me. I am more than grateful for that kind of support.

Vanessa details a lot of the very public incidents of her life as a celebrity, but she also divulges information that is not so commonly known. Information that shaped the way she acted and behaved. Coming away from the book, I respect Vanessa and her mother Helen. Their work ethic and determination is commendable, but reading about their relationship with one another is what I enjoyed most.

If you would like to read more about You Have No Idea, please join the discussion on the Blogher Book Club page.

And for any of my readers in the Dallas area, please feel free to send me an email if you would like my copy of the book!

*This was a paid review through Blogher, but per usual, the opinion stated is all my own.*

Chocolate gooey butter cake

2012-05-02T15:48:00.004-05:00

This is a hard post for me to write today. Not because I don't have anything to talk about or because my dessert didn't turn out.

No. It is hard because I am voluntarily having an Isagenix "cleanse" day after my whirlwind of a weekend and have to tell y'all about something.

Chocolate. Gooey. Butter. Cake.

Regular gooey butter cake has been one of my favorite, go-to desserts ever since my freshman college roommate Julie introduced me to it. Her mother would make it all the time, and oh my heavens was it ever delicious. Whenever my college girlfriends and I would take a trip to her family's lakehouse, we would go through several 9x13's of it. Sad, but completely true. And I wonder where the freshman-fifteen came from.

This cake also goes by the name "earthquake cake." It does differ slightly from the recipe I use for my gooey butter cake, but it is remarkably similar in texture. Most people usually pour the cream cheese portion on top. I decided to sandwich the cream cheese layer between two chocolate cake layers. It made for much neater slicing, eating, and photographing!

Chocolate Gooey Butter Cake/Earthquake cake
Modified ever so slightly from Earthquake Cake II at All Recipes
1 box German Chocolate cake mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped coconut flakes
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the back of your box.

Sprinkle the chopped pecans and coconut flakes on the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Then pour half of the cake batter over top.

In a separate bowl, mix together butter and cream cheese. Once combined, add in powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix until well blended. Pour the cream cheese mixture over top the cake batter. Use a spatula to spread it out evenly.

Top the cream cheese mixture with the remaining cake batter, using a spatula to spread it out.

Bake for about 40 minutes. Do yourself a favor and place a foil liner underneath the cake pan in the oven to save yourself from any near death experiences due to smoke inhalation later when you open the oven. Not that I know from personal experience or anything.

I opted to not ice this cake. It was already plenty rich and basically at calorie overload. However, I'm not going to say that a chocolate icing wouldn't taste good on top. Because it definitely would... especially one similar to the icing used on a chocolate sheet cake.

Sidenote... I just searched through my blog looking for where I wrote about my favorite chocolate sheet cake and icing before and it appears as though I've never shared that with you. For this I am truly sorry. It is an absolute dream of a cake and so easy to make. The McAllen Junior League published it in their cookbook, "Some Like it Hot," and I will never stray from this recipe. I will make it soon so that I can share it with you. I've also made a peanut butter version of it, and apparently I didn't share that one either. Obviously I am selfish. Forgive me. I promise to make it up to you soon.

Vampire repeller

2012-05-01T21:33:00.004-05:00

This meal might be a little bit heavy on the garlic. Of course, if you aren't a fan of that you can always cut it back a bit.

I however am a huge garlic fan, so the more cloves the merrier. Whether or not it actually keeps the vampires away, I don't know. But I will say I'm yet to encounter one in all of my years.

Speaking of all my years, I have a funny story from this weekend. On the weekends I teach tennis to kids ranging in age from 4 to 14 as a part of Junior League. This last weekend, the class I was at had about 20 kids... and two coaches (one of those "coaches" being me, and lets be honest, I'm really not trained). It was a wild time to say the least. Since it was so bright out, I had on my sunglasses. One of the little girls came up to me about halfway through the lesson and said "Can you take off your sunglasses? I want to see your eyes."

Being the upbeat coach that I am, I happily obliged. She then looked at my eyes and gave me a very puzzled look and said "You're not old, you're maybe almost old, but you're not old." I really wasn't sure how to take this, but I'm pretty sure she was checking for wrinkles. I'm very glad I sort of passed the test, although it sounds like botox might be in my future based on her "almost old" comment.

Ok I'm kidding. Botox scares me. And until it is 100% proven to be a cure for migraines, I'm staying away.

Anyway back to the pasta. This is one of those meals that seems kind of time consuming and difficult, but it really isn't. It came together in about 30 minutes and had a wonderful garlic-lemon flavor that just can't be beat.

Garlic Salmon with Vegetable Garlic Gravy Pasta

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

For the salmon

2 1/2 pounds Fresh Salmon Filet

Juice from one lemon

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp Minced garlic

For the Pasta

3 cups prepared fettuccini noodles ( I cooked my noodles the night before)

1/4 cup butter

1 tbsp olive oil

8 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped white onion

3 tbsp flour

3 cups chicken stock

1 orange bell pepper, finely chopped

20 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1/4 cup low fat cream cheese (softened and cut into chunks)

1/3 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

Juice from one lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish

Lemon Zest

Parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

While oven is preheating, pour olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and minced garlic over the salmon filet. Rub into the filet using your fingers. Bake for about 12 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through. Remove from oven and cut into smaller chunks

While salmon is baking, combine butter, olive oil, garlic, onion, and shallot in a large deep frying pan or dutch oven over medium high heat. Let cook for about 4 minutes, until the garlic is very fragrant. Add in flour and stir to combine. It will almost be like a paste at this point. Cook for one minute. Add in chicken stock, bell pepper, basil, and parsley. Stir together and bring to a boil, then let simmer for about 4 minutes. The gravy should start to thicken up. Add in the three different cheeses and stir together. Taste, add salt and pepper to taste, and lemon juice. Stir together, then add in fettucini noodles. Let cook together for about 3 minutes.

Serve pasta in a bowl with salmon chunks on top. Lemon zest and parsley can be used as garnish.

Wes made his famous statement of "now that's what I'm talking about" after taking a bite of it. I'm pretty sure he stole this line from his brother Michael, but nonetheless it is always nice to hear after he tries one of my new dishes.

We were both big fans.

Alright, I supposed I've procrastinated long enough. Time to start the spring cleaning of my closet that I swore I would do while Wes was away. Here we go...

Time to relax

2012-04-30T16:15:00.001-05:00

This weekend was intense. It was extremely fun and I loved getting to spend so much time with all of my friends, but there was a point when I said "I can't wait for Monday."

After two birthday parties, a birthday brunch, a baby shower, and a charity event, I was ready for Monday to roll around so I could get back into my routine and actually get some sleep. I don't know how Wes is going to do it; he is off to Vegas for a work trip for the rest of the week. At first I was a little jealous, but now I'm quite happy to be staying home. Although I did ask him to put a quarter into the Sex and the City machine for me.

One of the other things I was really looking forward to about Monday was getting back into my Isagenix shake routine. The parties were filled with awesome food (fajitas, queso, fresh salsa, desserts, etc), and while the food was delicious, I definitely noticed a difference in how I felt after eating. It has been over a month since queso has touched my lips. That is a miracle in itself. And while it was somewhat missed, I think I can happily go another month. Ok, well maybe only two weeks...

To my rescue today was a pineapple strawberry shake!

I was searching for frozen mango at the grocery store but they didn't have any, so I settled on frozen pineapple. It was a good choice. Reminiscent of the tropical drink I created last week, this is another one of my new favorites. And it made for an extremely refreshing and surprisingly filling lunch.

Strawberry Pineapple Smoothie

8 chunks frozen pineapple
4 large strawberries
2 scoops Isagenix Vanilla Shake (or your favorite protein shake)
2 ice cubs
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp Chocolate PB2

Into the blender everything goes, whirl it around until is nice and frothy. Garnish with an additional strawberry.

A healthy lunch in less than five minutes. Can't beat that!

This weekend kicked off birthday season for my group of friends. We have five in the next month, so I anticipate quite a few busy weekends ahead of us. And quite a few birthday cakes....

Speaking of cake, I made a chocolate gooey butter cake that also goes by the name "earthquake cake" for April birthdays at my office. Completely decadent, but am excited to share that with y'all tomorrow. Until then, have a good Monday!

Havana daydreamin'

2012-04-27T14:38:00.003-05:00

My mind has been completely taken over by the thought of beaches, hot sun, the smell of sunscreen, and chi-chi's.

Source

But do we have a tropical vacation planned anytime soon?

No.

Our first and probably only vacation this year won't happen until November on our honeymoon. And while that is tremendously exciting and I can hardly wait, seeing everyone's facebook status updates and pictures of them in tropical places is making me a little green.

Ok a lot green. I am extremely jealous of people's vacations. In fact I have been searching like crazy for quick, affordable, but nice getaways. Sadly, I haven't found a single one. This whole expensive gas thing is totally killing the price of flights.

I will not give up. I know that Living Social or Groupon has a deal for two just waiting to be announced that will have airfare, hotel, and all the fresh pico de gallo and pineapple I can eat at a place somewhere other than Mexico for under $1000. Right? Am I delusional? Am I hoping for a deal that just isn't going to happen?

You can be honest with me. It's Friday. I can take it. Now, if it were say Monday or Tuesday, I would desperately need you to lie to me.

To help keep my sanity, I've been drinking quite a few of my Blueberry Colada's that I wrote about the other day and snacking on some of my favorite beach style dips. Here is one of my favorites from the week.

Spicy Avocado Hummus

3 Avocados

1 can chick peas

1 1/2 large jalepenos

1/2 cup cilantro

5 sprigs green onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp cayenne

Juice of 2 limes

Start by adding the chick peas and avocados to a heavy duty food processor. Pulse your little heart out until it is fairly creamy and have very few chickpea chunks. Add in remaining ingredients and pulse until well combined and smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Spicy avocado hummus sounds much more appetizing then it looks. The wheat color of the chickpeas and the green of the avocados turns this dip into somewhat of an unpleasant greenish brown color. There are a lot of things I can think of to compare it too, but Wes would be mortified if I wrote them. So, I will spare you for now.

Have a fantastic weekend. And if anyone happens across any tremendous vacation deals, please, please please, for my sanity and the sanity of those forced to spend time with me, pass them on.

Pumpkin spice granola

2012-04-26T16:14:00.004-05:00

When I was a little girl, I used to love it when we would walk through the bulk section at the natural foods grocery store, Sun Harvest. Every now and then my mom would let me pick out a flavor of granola to bring home. I always opted for the blueberry fields blend, and of course when I was shoveling it into my little plastic bag, I would sneak a few sample pieces. It was such a treat.

I wasn't really allowed to eat things like pop tarts, toaster strudels, etc for breakfast as a kid, so I am absolutely not exaggerating when I say that granola was a treat. Wes is still amazed by the fact that I have not had toaster strudels before. But, I am determined to make my own homemade version. Of course having no basis to work off of, they may not taste much like the original. Anyway, back to the granola...

Although granola seems like something that should be healthy, it often times packs quite the calorie and sugar punch. On occasion I will buy a small bag of it, but this happens rarely as I know it is one of those foods, like cereal, that I will mindlessly eat while hanging around my kitchen.

A sign of a true food lover... I hang out in my kitchen instead of on the couch. I'm not sure if I should be proud of this or not.

Earlier this week I was having a serious granola craving. So I thought instead of going out and buying some, why not try making it at home. I'm so glad I did because not only did I use up some leftover pumpkin puree I had in the fridge, but I'm pretty sure this granola is a whole lot healthier than the type you would find at the grocery store.

Crunchy and sweet, with hints of pumpkin, cayenne, and maple syrup. This granola has a few unusual flavors, but they paired together nicely.

Pumpkin Spice Granola
Modified from Bright Eyed Baker

4 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup whole dried cranberries
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 egg whites
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a large bowl, add oats, pecans, walnuts, cranberries, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne pepper. Stir together. Add in egg whites, pumpkin puree, honey, and maple syrup. Stir until completely combined.

Pour granola mixture onto a non-stick cookie sheet. Use a spatula to spread it out and flatten it. Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until your granola is crispy. I used the broiler on mine for the final 3 minutes to give it the extra crunch factor. Store in an air tight container.

This granola makes the perfect small snack, or is great sprinkled on top of greek yogurt (my favorite way to eat it). The flavors are definitely reminiscent of fall, but I think you can easily enjoy it year round. Plus, you could alway sub out the pumpkin and add in applesauce instead. It would be great with a variety of dried fruits. I am already dreaming up combinations for my next batch.

My only advice is to make absolute sure your container is sealed tight. I accidentally left a corner of mine open the other night and woke up to less than crunchy granola. :( Don't worry, I'm still eating it. I would just prefer it be slightly crunchier.

I am the queen of leaving containers and bags open to find stale food later on. My dad can attest to this. My mother and I both seem to share this problem and have received countless lectures from him over the years on the importance of properly sealing the bag. Guess we are a little stubborn.

Or we just really like stale food.

Sorry Dad.

Blueberry Colada Smoothie

2012-04-25T15:12:00.002-05:00

Earlier today on the radio I heard that we will be approaching 90 degrees this afternoon.

While the idea of 90 degree temperatures may send some of you running for cover, ready to amp up your AC and lather yourself in sunscreen, this little piece of news actually made my Wednesday. I'll be delighted when temperatures actually hit 100 degrees.

Why? Because it means summer time, the smell of coconut, the end of 10K/10Q crazy season, Saturdays at the pool, extra sweaty long runs at 6am, and lots and lots of smoothies. I'm pretty sure I could happily live off of this Blueberry Colada smoothie all summer.

Blueberry Colada Smoothie

1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 ice cubes
1 1/4 cups water
2 Scoops Isagenix Vanilla Shake (or your vanilla protein of choice)
1 tsp PB2
1/2 tsp Coconut extract

Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl it together until smooth and creamy.

You can choose to garnish it with some coconut flakes or additional blueberries, although the blueberries do sink right to the bottom.

Delicious and totally refreshing, leaving my fingers with the faintest smell of coconut extract on them, which makes getting through the 9-5 that much easier. I can pretend I'm at the beach when I'm actually in my little CPA world, practicing my ten key skills and calculating yields.

Thank goodness for an active imagination.

What are your favorite smoothie recipes? I am going to try adding spinach to this one just for the added veggie factor. Except for the tiny green specks it will leave in my teeth, I think it will go unnoticed.

Red beans and quinoa

2012-04-24T15:26:00.002-05:00

We've all heard of red beans and rice right? One of my favorite kitchen moves is to nix the rice and try substituting quinoa instead. It happens around here all the time. Here is my most recent example of this. Red beans and quinoa!!

I saw a recipe the other day on Iowa Girl Eats for a Jamaican Jerk'd Chicken dish with a side of red beans and rice. Neither of these have ever made an appearance in my kitchen, so just like that Monday night dinner was decided.

It was a pretty good decision. Wes claimed the meal tasted "very authentic." Although, I'm not entirely certain he has ever had authentic Jamaican Jerk'd Chicken. To my knowledge, he has not been to Jamaica, but I could be wrong.

Jamaican Jerk'd Chicken

Modified from Iowa Girl Eats
1 pound chicken tenders
1 pound chicken thighs
1 tbsp all spice
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp brown sugar
5 fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
2 limes, juiced
4 green onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Red beans and quinoa
1 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup marinade (from above)
1 cup quinoa
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 green onions, chopped

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly add in liquid ingredients, whisking together. Reserve 3/4 cup of the marinade for the quinoa. Add chicken to the bowl and let marinate for several hours.

Cook chicken under the broiler or on a grill. I let mine broil for about 10 minutes, flipping half way through.

While chicken is cooking prepare quinoa. Add water, marinade, and quinoa to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then let simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Add in kidney beans and green onions. Simmer for 2 minutes.

Chop chicken and serve on top of red beans and quinoa.

I know the ingredient list is slightly daunting, but I bet you already have the majority of these spices in your cabinet at home. And everything comes together so quickly. The chicken was good, but my favorite was definitely the red beans and quinoa. In fact, I could have done without the chicken and just had the quinoa. Pretty sure that is what I will be eating for supper tonight... along with handfuls of the homemade granola I have plans to make after work.

I have a serious love affair with granola. Yes, I'm aware that it is not, in fact, good for you. It was a sad day when I realized that. I'm still debating what I want to add to my granola... chocolate chips? dried fruit? walnuts? Guess you will find out tomorrow!

Talk about building anticipation.... :)

More pictures!

2012-04-23T22:20:00.003-05:00

We had a busy, busy weekend per usual. Our sweet friends gave us the best Margaritaville themed engagement party! And since I've been a bit behind uninspired in the kitchen lately, I decided it is high time for a picture post. So here is our weekend wrap up, as well as a few more of our engagement pictures.

And the professional pictures end with that one. Matthew Moore Photography are the photographers who did our engagement session. Matt and Katie make up the team (husband and wife); it goes without saying that they are pretty much amazing.

Now on to some of my favorite from our engagement party! I took my camera with me on Saturday night to try and capture as much as I could for our parents to see. Here are a few of them:

And we ended the weekend with the return of one of my all time favorite cookies....

That's right! Jam Jams! My all time favorite cookie. The perfect way to end the weekend. And they make for a great Monday morning breakfast. :)

Tomorrow I'll be back with a fun new Jamaican style recipe. Can't wait to share!!

Salmon & Potato Salad

2012-04-21T15:57:00.001-05:00

Such a beautiful Saturday afternoon here in Dallas. Wes and I have had a pretty busy day so far, getting a few things done for our registries, playing with the dogs at the park, running, cleaning cars, and now about to get ready for our engagement party!

Our dear friends decided to put together a Jimmy Buffett themed event to celebrate our engagement. I can't wait. I've been putting music together for it all afternoon and blared it on my Ipod during my run. It made for quite an enjoyable run.

And to top things off, our neighbors are throwing a pretty big little crawfish broil outside right now. While I'm not a big fan of the way crawfish taste (it's a texture thing), I love the way they smell. We've been sitting outside for a while, enjoying the sun and the smells.

Pretty good Saturday.

We also had this salad earlier in the week, so I thought I would share it with you. It is definitely different, but I really liked it.

Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad
Modified from this recipe
4 ounces Smoked Salmon
2 potatoes, peeled
1 bag Bibb lettuce
8 Asparagus stalks, chopped and cooked

For the dressing:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 cup fresh dill
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp fresh ginger
Salt
Pepper

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil, then drop in potatoes. Cook for about 6 minutes, until potatoes are able to be pierced with a fork, but are not at all mushy.

While potatoes are cooking, combine all ingredients for the dressing in a food processor and pulse together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add cooked potatoes, salmon, asparagus, and bibb lettuce. Add dressing and toss together.

Or you can just reserve some of the dressing on the side for dipping. This is how I prefer my salads.

So I know it sounds a little weird, but I really enjoyed it. The texture of the potatoes was perfect, and the dressing was fantastic over the smoked salmon. We will definitely be enjoying this again throughout the summer.

Well I'm off to enjoy the rest of our Saturday. Hope you are having a fantastic weekend!

Isagenix Review

2012-04-19T14:13:00.003-05:00

As I have mentioned before, Wes and I started on the 30 day Isagenix program last month, and have now completed all 30 days of it.

Going into it all, I was pretty skeptical and not really sure what to expect. But I did know that a lot of the friends I workout with had great results on the product, so I finally decided to give it a try. I really, realllllly, didn't want to have to do a "wedding diet."

Source

Funniest ad ever... I give you a little bit of credit Slim Fast, although I would never drink you. My love for Blue Bell and buttercream is documented quite well throughout the blog, so it is pretty obvious as to why I did not want to be on a diet. Plus I run marathons, do Camp Gladiator, and run the dogs on a pretty regular basis, so that makes me feel somewhat entitled to 1/2 cup of icecream each night. Perhaps that is the wrong attitude, but it is how I feel and will always feel.

But, I decided to give Isagenix a try. With the 30 day program comes a 9 day cleanse kit as well as a whole bunch of stuff to make for shakes. Honestly, shake days weren't really all that different from how I regularly eat. However, instead of oatmeal for breakfast, I swapped it for a shake, and then just kept my lunchtime shake pretty much the same. I still ate snacks. I still had icecream. I even drank wine and some very dangerous Joe T Margaritas! Cleanse days though? They were not fun. I will not lie to you and tell you they are anywhere even remotely close to fun.

Wes was a bit more strict than me. He apparently has an unbelievable ability to avoid eating ice cream straight out of the container with a fork each night. And the fact that I am doing it doesn't bother him at all. That alone is beyond my level of comprehension.

Regardless, the stuff worked. Although my pantry was over-taken by massive amounts of product and we had to create extra storage room, it was worth it.

Now I believe all the stuff my camp gladiator friends were telling me, and I am somewhat to moderately hooked on Isagenix. I have already ordered the next round of shakes and am going to stay on the one or two per day regime. My mom has also started on it, as well as my dad, and they love it. Of course my dad gets to have much more interesting things in his shakes than me because the guy needs the extra calories. One of the only benefits of Crohn's disease... crazzzzzzy metabolism.

So, our results? Here they are:

Wes, in 30 days, said goodbye to 19 pounds and 21 inches.

And me? Well I will not have to force 6 extra pounds and 15 extra inches into my wedding dress, and I get to take a trip to the alterations lady.

Curious about what we used? There is plenty of information here and I of course would love to talk your ear off about it.

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Salmon & Potato Salad

Isagenix Review

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