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I hate it when I eat a meal and 30 minutes later - I'm hungry again. The way I figure it, a dinner that takes me 30 minutes to prepare, 20 minutes to eat and 10 minutes to clean up should keep me full for at LEAST that amount of time. Unfortunately, it's not unusual that we find ourselves reaching for a granola bar or a bag of popcorn, 30 minutes after dinner. I'm taking that as a sign that I need to add some more protein to the meals that I'm preparing for my family. This week, we're loading up our menu with both tasty and satisfying protein rich foods. The theory is that healthy meals that keep us fuller longer, will keep us from the grabbing the unhealthy snacks. (That's the theory anyway.)  Monday Baked Fish and Chips Celebrating meatless Monday with a healthy baked fish recipe from Martha Stewart. Tuesday Turkey Broccoli Rice Bowls Using up the last of the Tuscan Turkey from last week in this super quick and yummy rice dish. Wednesday Pecan Stuffed Pork Chops A new recipe from my Cook's Country magazine. Thursday Slow Cooker Meatloaf Friday Cast Iron Calzone Another new recipe from my Cook's Country magazine. Saturday Chicken Avocado Burgers Sunday Mexican Lasagna Last week marked the end of the travel soccer season and to commemorate the final game, the girls soccer team took on the parents in a friendly game of soccer. I wished I could have played in the game but I had to settle for game photographer instead. It was possibly the funniest game of "soccer" that I've ever seen.
Have a great week friends.
Ciao!
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 This month my Facebook wall has been bombarded with those super sped-up recipe videos featuring two disembodied hands that create an amazing looking recipe in less than a minute. I don't know what it is about those videos but sometimes, I just cant scroll past them without stopping to watch. I'm fascinated by the dessert recipes of course but lately, I've been drawn to the turkey recipes too. Facebook isn't the only place that turkey recipes are popping up lately though. It is November after all and I've got turkey on the brain. Since I'm only feeding 3 people, cooking a whole turkey every couple of days just isn't practical. I can't possibly imagine NOT making these delicious looking recipes so I decided to make them with a more moderately sized chicken instead of turkey. When I came across this recipe for a Honey Bourbon Turkey, I knew that I just had to try it. I really don't feel like the pictures that I took did this recipe any justice. You're going to have to take my word for it that this chicken was incredible. I LOVED the flavor of the brine and I will definitely be making it again - with a turkey next time.
Honey Bourbon Chicken 4 cups water 1/2 cup bourbon 1/3 cup kosher salt 1/3 cup honey 3 bay leaves 1 whole chicken
Place chicken, skin side up, on grill. Cover and cook until thigh registers 160. Remove chicken from grill. Let chicken stand, covered with foil, for 30 minutes.  I cooked this chicken on my Big Green Egg and it smelled amazing while it was cooking. Even though the skin didn't get evenly charred and crispy, the meat was super juicy and flavorful. I don't want to oversell this chicken but the pictures definitely don't do this justice. In retrospect, I wish that I would have made this recipe with a turkey instead of a chicken because we would have had more leftovers. The chicken was so good that we gobbled up almost the entire bird at one meal with very little left over to have for lunches.
Even the breast meat was super juicy and moist.   If you're on the hunt for a great way to cook your turkey for Thanksgiving dinner - let me suggest this honey bourbon recipe. You will not be disappointed.
Ciao! I traveled to Gainesville yesterday to watch my son play baseball. I wanted to leave dinner for my husband and my daughter before I left for the game so I tried a new recipe for chicken and rice bowls. This recipe is a great way to use up leftover chicken OR turkey. It probably comes as no surprise that I end up with leftover broccoli quite a bit too. A little cheese and some brown rice gives new life to my leftovers and my family has no idea they're leftovers.  Chicken and Broccoli Rice Bowl 3 cups small broccoli florets, steamed 1 cup brown rice (cooked) 1 Tablespoon olive oil 1 cup chopped, cooked chicken salt and pepper 1/4 cup chopped green onions 4 ounces light Velvetta cheese, cubed
Stir in rice and broccoli. Heat through.  I served the chicken rice bowls in these awesome little mugs that my sister in law got me for Christmas. They even have lids.
The verdict: They loved it! I have to admit that I was somewhat surprised that they liked it as much as they did. It was really quick to put together and the were easy to warm up in the microwave. This is a great healthy meal to keep in the frig for my hungry teenagers.
Ciao!  Tomorrow, Ben and I will celebrate our 20th anniversary. (It's hard for me to believe but it's true.) We started dating when we were in high school and after graduation we ended up going to separate colleges. Ben really wanted to study aeronautics and pursue his Air Force career at Miami and I was headed to Kent as an Interior Design major. (It didn't even take a semester before I changed majors.) While we were living at school, we didn't see a whole lot of each other so we spent endless hours on the phone and wrote good old fashioned love letters. No long distance relationship is easy but we made it work. Ben learned first hand, the joys of the Greyhound bus. I caught a ride to Miami for the weekend with a friend a couple times and we would meet at home over long holidays and of course, we coveted our summers together.  My very first trip to see Ben at college was not long after we had gotten settled into our respective campus' as college freshman. Ben's parents were heading down to Miami for parent's weekend and offered to take me along. Of course, I jumped at the chance to see Ben. (Check out those groovy hairdos.) I don't remember too much about the weekend except that we all went out for Mexican just before we left Ben and started our 5 hour journey home. Apparently, I ate A LOT of food because Ben's dad STILL talks about how much food I consumed that night. He was in total shock that I could eat that amount of food. (hehe) Maybe I was drowning my sorrows over having to say goodbye to Ben - maybe I was just a really hungry college girl, or maybe the food was just really, really good, either way - my father in law was astounded. I chalk it up to my love of Mexican food. I created a recipe for a Mexican Lasagna that is one of my very favorite Mexican meals. Even though it's delicious, I will try and not overeat - at least not when my father in law is around, that is.  Mexican Lasagna Sauce: 1 onion, peeled and chopped 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped 1 can chopped green chiles 1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon table salt 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro 2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes 1 tablespoon ketchup 1 lb lean ground turkey Filling: 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed 3 1/4 cups drained canned corn, from about 1 1/2 (15-ounce cans) 2 1/2 cups grated mature goats Cheddar, or cheese of your choice 6-8 soft flour tortillas (approximately 10-inch diameter) Salsa
Add the chiles and salt and cook gently for 15 minutes.
Add the chopped cilantro stalks.
Add the canned tomatoes. Spoon in the ketchup and let things come to a simmer, leaving the sauce to cook while you get on with preparing the filling- about 10 minutes. 
Layer on 2 tortillas so that they cover the bottom of the dish.
Repeat layering. Finish with a layer of tortillas and then a layer of salsa.   Finally, add the last layer of beans and cheese, nearly all of the remaining salsa and cover with the last 2 tortillas. Spread the very last bit of salsa over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. (I accidentally used up all of my cheese in the filling - oh well.) Place on top of the cookie sheet in the oven (to catch any over-flow from the lasagne) and bake for 30 minutes, and let it rest for a good before serving.  This lasagna was fantastic and it was even better the second day! 
Enjoy.
Ciao!
We can all agree that giant apples drenched in rich caramel, draped in rich, dark chocolate, and drizzled with decadent toppings that cling to the sides are simply irresistible. You know the ones that I'm talking about. Those scrumptious looking apples draped with nearly a half pound of sweet sugary goodness. Surely, I'm not the only one who finds these drool worthy apples, irresistible.  As scrumptious as these apples are - they're definitely NOT first date worthy food. Digging into a giant caramel apple can be pretty messy. It is not easy to be neat or even remotely graceful when indulging in a giant chocolate caramel apple. Trying to get a bite big enough to include some of the apple along with the outer coating can be difficult. The struggle is real people. LOL Not to worry though, I've figured out a way to enjoy caramel apples without getting a face full of chocolate and caramel. Caramel Apple Slices. These apples slices are everything that I love about chocolate and caramel apples in a neater, easier to eat slice.  Caramel Apple Slices Apples Chocolate Caramel White Chocolate Toppings (M&M's, Chocolate Chips, Toffee Bits, Nuts, etc.) Wooden Skewers
Slice apples into thick slices. Pat dry with paper towels.  Insert sticks (or skewers) into apple slices.  Melt chocolate and dip apple slices in chocolate. Place on waxed paper to set. Place in refrigerator until firm.  Melt caramel and drizzle over chocolate. 
 Sprinkle your favorite topping over white chocolate. These were some of my favorites: Chocolate Chips  M&Ms  Heath Bar Bits  Once the chocolate is set, gently peel the apples from the wax paper and place on serving platter. 
 I just welcomed the caramel apple back to first date status. Now you can enjoy these decadent treats without the messiness of a trying to bite into a whole apple. You're welcome.
It's too bad I didn't figure this out while my kids were in braces and trying to eat caramel apples with a knife and fork. hehehe Ciao! |
