Palm Springs: Part I

Hello everyone!!

Soooo, it turns out that 22 days is a loooooong time to be on vacation and out of my usual routine. But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't adjust well. I am very lucky to have a job where I can take so much time off!

California was beautiful and my remaining time off back here at home, in Minnesota, was nice also. We ended up cranking out some nice weather and you can feel Spring in the air! I almost started my herb seedlings garden, but decided to hold off until this weekend. **Yes, I do plan to blog about my seedling garden and indoor herb garden!**

Now, onto why we're really here ... FOOOOD!

We didn't do as much cooking as I'd honestly hoped or planned on and I was horrible at taking pictures of everything. So ultimately what we have here are instructions on what we made and pictures of the final results, for most everything. One of the recipes (Stuffed Peppers) I am still waiting for the details on from my friend. So please keep checking back for that!


First things first ...

Bloody Mary Bar & Nosh

This is my Blood Mary Bar!! And it was intense! Aaaand somewhat difficult to maintain in a house full of 8 people so I did change up the nosh menu often. I would basically just use leftovers from stuff we'd eaten for snacks and lunch to replace some of the random things you see here, but we obviously had the essentials at all times. 

The items you see in the Bloody Mary Bar pictured above are ...

• Cold Homemade Leftover Pizza Bites
• Grilled Johnsonville Cheddarwursts
• Swiss Cheese bites wrapped in Turkey
• Extra Sharp Cheddar
• Extra Spicy Pepperjack
• Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon
• Deviled Eggs w/ Bacon Sprinkles
• Bacon Strips
• Blue Cheese Stuffed Olives
• Dill Pickles
• ...and then the obvious (Salt, Pepper, A1 Steak Sauce, Hot Sauce, Climato, etc)

*Please, excuse the quality of these pictures - I literally cropped and zoomed in on these from the original.

For My Deviled Eggs I kind of just winged this one. (I had never made these, so I had asked my boyfriend what he does to his amazing Deviled Eggs and then I just kind of went off on my own with that). So for those I used ...

• Mustard
• Mayonnaise
• Diced up Pickles
• Paprika
• Bacon Sprinkles

I used 6 hard boiled eggs, cut them in half and removed the hardened yolk. With my yolk mixture I added about 2 Tablespoons of mustard, 1 Tablespoon of Mayonnaise, 1 large pickle very finely diced and then I sprinkled Paprika and some left over bacon crumbles on the top. If the consistency doesn't look right, just add more Mustard & Mayonnaise, as you see fit.

For my Blue Cheese Stuffed Dates wrapped in Bacon I went off a recipe from Pinterest, but these are about as basic as you can get. I had tried these delicious little buggers at Devil's Advocate in Downtown Minneapolis. We had a Groupon for breakfast and bloodies and this was on a hot skewer! I took one bite and had no idea what it was, so I pulled our server aside and I barely got the words out of my mouth to ask what this delicious little thing was and he knew immediately I was asking about the dates. Trust me, just try them, you won't regret it!

So for these I used ...

• Bacon
• Pitted Dates (I got mine in a package and already pitted, found in the baking aisle)
• Blue Cheese Crumbles

The building process of these is pretty simple! You want to take your bacon slices and cut them evenly in half. Cut open your date down the long side. Stuff some blue cheese crumbles inside and then wrap them closed with the slice of bacon. I suggest setting them on your baking sheet with the fold side down so that the bacon starts to stick to itself during the cooking process. 

Voila!!

The rest of the Bloody Mary Bar is pretty self explanatory and you can really get creative with it. I've seen Bloody Mary Bars where there are all sorts of different pickled vegetables. I once found some pickled baby corn at Target (Market Pantry Brand) and they are really tasty! And if you've ever pickled before you know there are many different things you can pickle! I like to try different types of cheeses and meats on mine.

I'll post Part II ASAP, and we'll take a look at a few of the things we made for dinner!

Here's a sneak peek!! ....

                               

                               


Until next time!


Crista

Cream Cheese, Artichoke & Pepper Stuffed Chicken Breast

*****First things first, this is likely going to be my last post from Minnesota for a few weeks. As of Monday I will be in sunny Palm Springs, CA for a week and a half vacationing with friends. We take this trip annually and every year the deal is that everyone is to choose a meal to make for dinner. So, we're going to be doing A LOT of cooking while there and I'm really excited to share the deliciousness with the rest of you! I have hopes of posting while there, at best, some short and sweet stuff. 

My menu items currently consist of Open Face Steak & Havarti Cheese Sandwiches and making all of the Bloody Mary Bar nosh. I am gonna try making some blue cheese stuffed and bacon wrapped dates, cheese curds, stuffed peperoncini's, meatballs and a few other random things. Some of the other people have already disclosed their menu items and we're going to likely see some Stuffed Peppers, Breakfast Quiche, Baked Ziti, Fish Taco's & much more!*****


Now, on to my blog post ...


I love to get creative with chicken and one of my favorite things to make is stuffed chicken breasts. You can get really wild with this one and combine a multitude of ingredients to make it really tasty! I've tried all sorts of different cheeses ... such as Mozzarella, Blue Cheese & Cheddar ... and a multitude of vegetables like Mushrooms, Tomatoes or even Spinach.

So last week for lunches, I made ...

Cream Cheese, Artichoke & Pepper Stuffed Chicken Breast

I like to marinade my chicken if I have the opportunity. This time around I used some Olive Garden Italian Dressing. I let it sit in the dressing for about an hour before cooking. You can certainly let it marinade longer ... because the longer the better! However, I wouldn't recommend exceeding 24 hours. :) 

Before taking my chicken out, I get my veggies ready. I used frozen artichoke hearts and mixed peppers from Trader Joe's, and then I thawed them by placing them in some water that was brought to a boil for about 5 minutes. And then drained them and let them dry a little bit.



 



Then I mix the dried veggies with the cream cheese. I had on hand some left over Onion & Chive and Garden Vegetable flavored cream cheese. I used about 2/3 cup. You can use more or less, depending on how creamy and cheesy you want it to be.


     


To prepare the chicken for stuffing, you want to cut off all the fat. The more expensive the chicken, the better quality it's going to be. I highly recommend buying the better of brands when you're going to be stuffing chicken breasts.

Lay the chicken breast flat on a cutting board, place your hand/palm on top of the chicken breast and using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breast almost in half. Using your fingers or a meat hammer, pound out the flatter portions of the chicken breast. Ultimately the goal is to make it so that you can stuff more in to the chicken breast and doing this makes the pocket you'll be putting your ingredients into more "roomy", if you will.

Then scoop about 2 Tablespoons worth of mixture in to your chicken breasts and fold two ends together. You can pinch your ends shut or use something like a toothpick to keep the ends together.

*I like use toothpicks to hold the ends together.

After I stuff all of my chicken breasts, I place them on a baking sheet lined with tin foil about 2-3" apart from one another. I then season the chicken with a few different things. This time I went with Kosher Salt, Ground Pepper, Spicy Poultry Seasoning & Red Pepper Flakes.


     


I then bake the chicken breasts at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until the juices are running clear.

*I'm personally a little finicky about chicken and like to cut in to the thickest portion of a chicken breast and see if there's no pink left. You can also use a meat thermometer.


This a really easy thing to make! And you can add it with all sorts of different sides. I of course needed a carb and then wanted to make sure to throw a veggie in there. So I went with a potato medley and steamed green beans.

       


Here's the breakdown of ingredients and instructions ...


Prep Time: 15-20 Min  Cook Time:  45 Min  Servings: 5-6 (How many ever Chicken Breasts you make)


Cream Cheese, Artichoke & Pepper Stuffed Chicken Breast


Ingredients

5-6                 Chicken Breasts
8-12oz           Marinade (your choice)
2/3 Cup         Frozen Artichoke Hearts
1/2 Cup         Frozen Roasted Peppers
2/3 Cup         Cream Cheese (Flavor of your choice)
Toothpicks
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Red Pepper Flakes
Poultry Seasoning


Instructions

Start by marinading your chicken breasts. If this is something you chose to do the night before or earlier in the day, then move on to the next step. Otherwise, add your chicken breasts and marinade to a large freezer/ziploc bag and let sit for 15-30 min.

Now, prepare your vegetables. If you're thawing vegetables, bring a small pot of water to a boil, remove from heat and add the frozen vegetables. Then let them sit for about 5 minutes. If you're chopping up fresh stuff, set off to the side once finished.

In a bowl, mix together your cream cheese and your vegetables really well.

Pull your chicken breasts out of their marinade and discard the remaining marinade and bag. On a clean cutting board, laying the chicken breast flat. placing your hand on top and using a sharp knife, slice the chicken breast almost all the way in half. Leaving about an inch of uncut meat at the far edge of the chicken breast.

Then spoon approximately 2 Tablespoons of your cream cheese mixture in to the center or bottom half of the chicken breast. Fold the top portion over the filling. Then using your toothpicks (approx 4) "pin" together the edges, placing the toothpicks about 1" apart from one another. Place the stuffed chicken breast on your foil lined baking sheet.

Once all of your chicken breasts are stuffed and on your cooking sheet, you can season them as you choose. I just sprinkled lightly a bit of kosher salt, fresh ground pepper, poultry seasoning and red pepper flakes.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, or until your juices are running clear. Feel free to use a meat thermometer!



Nutrition Information --->  Total Calories: 422  Fat: 14.6g  Protein: 65.8g


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I hope you enjoy this recipe! I would love to hear from you about this. Whether it's what you did differently or how it turned out! Post a comment or shoot me an email!


Until next time,


Crista

Turkey Breakfast Sausage Egg Scramble

Breakfast has got to be, hands down, my favorite meal of the day! Not just because it's the first meal of the day, but the foods that fall in to the average breakfast pyramid ... YES!!!

First of all, I LOVE eggs. I love eggs by themselves, on a sandwich, with just toast on the side or even hard boiled as a snack during the day. Then you have french toast, pancakes, hash browns, fruit, sausage ... and lets not forget BACON! Besides you non-meat eaters, who doesn't love bacon!!?

When I am trying to eat healthier, I like to make my breakfast big (portion speaking), low calorie and high in protein. This is so I have that full feeling well in to the latter part of my day. I work 11:30-9:30 p.m., so my morning routine usually consists of the gym or a jog around 8 a.m. and then I come home, make a fruit/protein shake and shower. Then I prepare my breakfast and lunch/dinner for the day. So I usually am not actually eating my "breakfast" until about 11:30 when I sit down at my console. So that meal has to get me through until 5:00/6:00 p.m. at best.

Two other things I love just as much as eggs, if not more is Turkey Sausage and Avocado. They're both healthy fats and high in protein foods that I never feel guilty eating. So with that being said, what I'm going to share with you this morning is ...

Turkey Breakfast Sausage Egg Scramble

This is super easy and quick to make! I cooked the Turkey Breakfast Sausage on my "Sunday" and stored it in some tupperware in the refrigerator. Turkey sausage is super easy to make and it's much like beef, in that your just brown it until the pink disappears. There's instructions on the packaging as well. 

             

Then the morning of I sauté my veggies. This time around I chose to use red pepper, onion and mushrooms. And after those have softened a little and the mushrooms are giving off moisture you can add your eggs. I use egg substitute or egg whites because it's easy to just pour it from the carton and there's less calories and fat! 

     

After the eggs have cooked I just throw the egg and vegetable mixture in to a pyrex dish, add about 1/3 cup of Turkey Breakfast Sausage and a 1/2 an Avocado and throw it in my lunch box! You can alter this recipe in many different ways by adding a different kind of vegetable or even throwing some cheese on it. I personally like to add some hot sauce to mine! It's a really versatile dish that can be fine tuned to your liking. 

Here's the breakdown of ingredients and cooking instructions ... 

Turkey Breakfast Sausage Egg Scramble

Prep Time: <5 Min  Cook Time: 5 Min  Servings: 1

Ingredients

1/3 Cup             Jennie-O Turkey Breakfast Sausage (cooked)

3/4 Cup             Egg Substitue (equals about 3 normal eggs)

1/2                     Avocado

1/8 Cup             Onion (Your choice on color - really any kind is good!)

1/8 Cup             Red Pepper

1/8 Cup             Mushrooms (sliced)

Instructions

First you want to brown your Turkey Breakfast Sausage until you see no more pink, or follow the packaging instructions and check the internal temperature with a thermometer. 

Then sauté your vegetables on Low-Medium heat in a small non-stick 10" skillet for about 4-5 minutes or until softened. Add your eggs at that time and continue to cook on Low-Medium heat for another 5 minutes or until your eggs no longer look wet. Add this mixture to whatever dish you plan to eat it from. 

Add your meat and avocado, and enjoy! 

Nutrition Information --->  Total Calories: 443  Fat: 28g  Protein: 33g

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I hope you enjoy this quick breakfast as much as I do! I would love to hear from you and what you did differently or how it turned out using my method! Please comment below or shoot me an email. I would love to hear from you!!

Until next time, 

Crista

Tabouli (Trial Run)

While cooking some food for the rest of my work week last night, I had some tomatoes and parsley that were gonna be going bad soon, so I decided to try making Tabouli. I personally enjoy it with a lot of different things; on a salad, with a chicken breast, or on a pita chip for example.

Traditionally Tabouli is made with tomatoes, onion and/or chives, parsley, mint and wheat bulgur. Then seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice and/or zest, salt & pepper. Some variations add garlic and lettuce. And either quinoa or couscous will sometimes be used instead of wheat bulgur.

I didn't have any mint or chives this time around and I opted out of using garlic in fear that it would be too potent. When I make it again I will definitely use chives, and maybe try a little mint and garlic.

Tabouli

First I started by getting my Wheat Bulgur cooking. This takes approximately 30 minutes to make. Follow the instructions on the packaging. 

Then while that cooked, I chopped up all my veggies, which included approximately two small bunches of flat leaf parsley, 2 1/2 tomatoes and 1/3 of a red onion.

              

Once I was done chopping all that up, my wheat bulgur was ready! Yes, it took me almost 30 minutes to chop up parsley, tomatoes and onions! You gotta make sure to de-stem your parsley, and I pitted the tomatoes so there weren't any seeds in there.

I mixed all that business together really well and then added my seasonings and juices. 

I just added the salt and pepper to taste and used about a tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon and a half of lemon juice. But even the lemon juice I did to taste. Some of you may be more in to the bitter lemon taste than others.

Here's the breakdown of ingredients and cooking instructions ...

Tabouli

Prep Time: 30 Minutes   Cook Time: 30 Minutes   Servings: 2 Cups

Ingredients

2 bunches               Parsley (Flat or Curly Leaf)

2 1/2 - 3                  Roma Tomatoes

1/3                          Red Onion (chopped)

1/2 Cup                  Wheat Bulgur

1 Cup                     Water

1 1/2 Tbsp              Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp                    Olive Oil

A pinch of Kosher Salt & Pepper (add to taste)

Instructions

Bring to boil 1 cup water, then add wheat bulgur, cover, remove from heat, and let sit for 30 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Finely chop up approximately 2 bunches of parsley. Dice 2-3 roma tomatoes and approximately 1/3 of a red onion. Add all of these ingredients to a bowl.

Once wheat bulgur is tender add to bowl with vegetables and herb.

Add in your lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper and mix well.

Nutrition Information --->  Total Calories: 123  Fat: 4g  Protein: 3g

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I hope you enjoy my trial run recipe! Please feel free to contact me with your thoughts, modifications or your own recipe!! I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for letting me share!


Crista

Broiled Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce Glazed Salmon w/ Fried Rice

Yay! I get to share my first recipe!! And, this is one of my favorites too!

I make this often because it's easy and I love salmon! The fried rice is probably not the best for you if you're watching your caloric intake, but I choose to pick my battles some days.

I like to cook meals for the work week ahead of time. Often I will do this on my Sunday, and I'm usually cooking at night. At this time of the day I find that I'm not as hungry and I'm less likely to snack on what I'm cooking. My mind also tends to unwind when cooking and I feel like I get a little "me" time in.

This meal will last me two days and it's very filling, so it counts as my "late lunch early dinner" meal and I usually just snack on some fruits and veggies throughout the day on top of this and the breakfast I likely had earlier that day.

Broiled Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce Glazed Salmon w/ Fried Rice

I like to make small variations to this recipe, based on what veggies I'm planning to add to the rice. This time I went pretty low key and just added in some left over frozen peas and carrots that I had on hand. In the past I've added things such as mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus or water chestnuts. **Trader Joe's sells what they call a 'Harvest Hodgepodge' .... 

... and this is a GREAT addition to your fried rice if you are a Trader Joe's shopper!** I wouldn't suggest adding much more than 2 cups of vegetables though.

I made my marinade/glaze first, using sesame oil, soy sauce and brown sugar. I usually just pour all of my ingredients in to a sandwich or freezer baggie (depending on how much meat I'm marinading) and then add the meat in. This time I had approximately 10 ounces of salmon and just cut it in half.

While that sits in the fridge for approximately 20-30 minutes I make my rice! I like to use Rice-a-Roni's Fried Rice because it's quick and easy to make. I have yet to make my own fried rice, and I will someday, but this will suffice just fine for now.

            

When I'm done with the rice, I ration it out 50/50, which usually turns out to be about 2 cups/serving. 

**Just remember (if your counting calories and logging your food) you added 1 1/2 - 2 cups of veggies, so realistically, you're meal contains 3/4 - 1 cup of veggies and approximately 1 1/4 cups rice.**

Now, for your salmon. This doesn't take long if you are going to broil it. Max 10-15 minutes! I like to flip my portions halfway through so all the glaze hardens and cooks on both sides of the fish. but you certainly don't have to do this. It will cook through within 15 minutes. 

I use a piece of tin foil (easy clean up) on a cookie sheet and fold all four sides of it up to create a little nest for my salmon. I like to pour all of the leftover marinade/glaze on the foil so it just permeates into my pieces of salmon while it cooks!

Here's the breakdown of ingredients and cooking instructions ....

Broiled Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce Glazed Salmon w/ Fried Rice

Prep Time: 5 Min or Less   Cook Time: 30 Minute Total (Rice & Fish)   Servings: 2

Ingredients

10oz                    Fresh Alaskan Salmon
1 Box                   Rice-a-Roni Fried Rice

2 Cups                Water
2 Tbsp                 Butter or Margarine

1 1/2-2 Cups         Vegetables (Frozen or fresh & slightly saute'd)

2 Tbsp                 Brown Sugar

3 Tbsp                 Sesame Oil

3 Tbsp                 Soy Sauce

Instructions

Combine your sesame oil, soy sauce and brown sugar in a sandwich bag, making sure the brown sugar dissolves in the liquids. Then add your salmon to the sandwich bag, seal it tight and place in the fridge for approximately 20-30 minutes. 

Using 2 tablespoons of butter in a non-stick skillet, add your rice and vermicelli from the Rice-a-Roni box. You're butter will start to melt, as this happens mix the rice and vermicelli so that the melted butter is coating everything. Continue to do this until your vermicelli starts to brown. Once brown, while stirring, slowly add 2 cups of water and the provided package of seasoning. Bring to a boil, turn heat down, cover and let simmer for approximately 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Just before your rice is deemed tender, add your vegetables** and turn the head down to low for approximately 2-3 minutes.

On a cooking sheet, place your salmon (and the remaining juices of your marinade if you'd like) on a piece of tinfoil. Place cooking sheet under a pre-heated broiler (medium/high setting). Cook for a total time of 10-15 minutes, or until the salmon is easily flaked. I recommend turning the piece of salmon over halfway through cook time so both sides get charred and the glaze bakes in to the piece of salmon. 

**If you're using frozen vegetables, running warm water over them so they thaw a little is recommended**

**If you're using fresh vegetables, saute them in a separate skillet while your rice is simmering**

And if you like a little heat, my favorite hot sauce to add to this is some good old Sriracha!

Nutrition Information ---> Total Calories: 690   Fat: 20g   Protein: 50g

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Like I mentioned before, this isn't the most nutritious meal out there. But I sure think it's delicious and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! So if you do decide to make it, I would love to hear from you and how it turned out, and what you thought. Post a comment or send me an email! 

Thanks for letting me share!

Crista

A Guide To Herbs & Spices

I LOVE cooking with different herbs & spices and I'm always up for trying something new! I stumbled upon these guides on Pinterest and I found them to be very helpful and informational, so I thought I would share!

**Two of my favorite herbs to use when cooking are Basil and Cilantro - I LOVE Italian and Mexican dishes! Some of my other favorites are Mint for my Mojito's, Chives with my potatoes and Dill with my eggs!

**Two of my favorite spices to use when cooking are Cayenne Pepper and Oregano - Again, I'm in to heat and Italian foods. A few spices that I would love to cook more with are, Ginger and Rosemary.


If you have any tips or guidelines that you like to use when cooking with fresh herbs and spices, please feel free to share! I'd love to hear from you!


Crista

Pinterest = LOVE

Oooh how I love thy Pinterest...

If you are a lover of food and cooking and aren't on the same page as me or don't even know what Pinterest is...then let me enlighten you!!

What I recommend first is that you create an account and follow me!! :)

Now, let the searching, sifting and inspiration begin! There is so much to do here other than look for recipes (but for me, that's the best part). You can find inspiration for an outfit for that hot date you have next week, a DIY project (my second favorite part) for that coffee table you want to refurbish, links to Etsy crafter's products, home decor ideas, travel hot spots, and SO MUCH more!

So what are you waiting for!? Get out there and pin something!


Until next time,

Crista

Welcome!!

First and foremost, a big WELCOME to any readers!!

Over this past Valentine's Day weekend, I was scouring the Internet for inspiration for our V-Day dinner feast. I started my manhunt on Pinterest and then found myself reading several different food blogs. Once at the grocery store and fully engulfed in my shopping list, I thought ... "Why don't I have a food blog!?!? I should create a food blog!".

And, Voila! Here I am.

I LOVE to cook and I LOVE food!! Most often I am trying to make a low fat and healthier version of something, recreating my favorite restaurant recipe, or modifying an existing one by adding my favorite ingredients to satisfy my taste buds. But I am slowly becoming more adventurous and trying to create my own recipes as well.

What I love even more than cooking and food, is sharing my creations with friends and family and then telling them what I did to make their meal extra special. So what I hope to do, is the same here with this food blog. Create inspiration and share with readers my recipes and enjoy talking food, with lovers of food alike!

A little bit about me personally ... I'm 30 years old, currently live in St.Paul, MN and work by day as a Fire/Medical Emergency Dispatcher for Ramsey County. I have one younger sister, two living and loving parents (my dad loves to cook and try new foods - so watch out for stuff inspired by him!), and an extremely handsome boyfriend - who loves to cook as much as I do, if not more, so definitely be watching for stuff inspired by him!

I encourage readers to contact me if there are ANY questions, suggestions or special requests! I truly would love to hear from you!!

I'm so excited for this blogging adventure!

Until next time,

Crista