Double Points

We all know a great trick or two for getting an easy dinner together quickly, and I bet one of the tricks on the top of your list is a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.  From the deli section of the market to your dinner table...it really is great.  No, it isn't the same as when you make it at home and yes, I am sure if you use this trick too often the magic fades.  My whole strategy is never to use the chicken as it comes, the whole magic for me is creating something else out of it.  Whatever you make is still going to take less time and if you are really creative, you can get a great dinner together and still have time to do something extra you normally wouldn't be able to fit into your day.  

Double points this night because this fab dinner idea got me two rewards: A relaxing bath while the potatoes baked and an extra 30 minutes to an hour to watch some TV that I didn't spend in the kitchen on my very tired feet!  Sound nice to you?  Keep reading.

Triple points if you count that my husband loved it.  I don't know if I should be offended that he talks about this potato more than almost any other thing I make, or just take it as a compliment and move on?  I am going to move on.  A compliment is a compliment!

Stuffed Sweet Potato

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 Sweet Potatoes or Yams, punctured with fork a couple times

1/2 cup Pico de Gallo 

1/2 cup Mashed Avocado or Guacamole

1 cup Rotisserie Chicken, shredded

Plain Non-Fat Greek Yogurt

Scallions

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Bake sweet potatoes for  30-40 minutes until tender.  Cut the potatoes vertically and open to expose inside.  Mash the potato a little till fluffy then top with half of each of the remaining ingredients.  Repeat for the other potato.  Serve.  Yes, it was that easy.

Fact Section:  What the grocery stores call "Sweet Potatoes" and "Yams" are actually both Sweet Potatoes.  Yams are another thing all together that you don't normally see at the market.  The purple one with the orange inside has just been dubbed "yam" so that all of us who don't know can distinguish between the two.  I like Yams better for this recipe, the purple one with the orange inside, but in the picture above I used a traditional Sweet Potato (yellow inside). 

Also, this has to be the most nutritious way to eat a potato!  Instead of butter use healthy fat-avocado.  Instead of Sour Cream- use Greek Yogurt.  Instead of Cheese- Use Salsa for more flavor.

Pico de Gallo

I love making things that the start of the week that I can utilize in other things throughout the week.  Also, my husband loves snacks.  Actually that is an understatement, he LOVES snacks and always appreciates fresh salsa.  It is so quick and easy to make, so why not make it yourself? 

Stay tuned for later this week where I turn this into a main ingredient in the easiest dinner ever!

Pico de Gallo 

Ingredients

5 Plum Tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup White Onion, chopped

1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro, chopped

3 tablespoons fresh Lime juice

2 tablespoons Jalapenos, chopped

Salt and Pepper

Directions

Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl and toss gently to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Use What You Got

This past weekend my family travelled to Chicago to celebrate my dad's birthday in his hometown.  I was working down in Palm Desert all week, so when I got home late on Thursday night I still had to pack.  After a long day I wasn't too hungry and just wanted to use things from my refrigerator to make something light.  I had an apple, a pear, a rotisserie chicken and some lettuce.  With that, I made a beautiful salad with a recipe my mom gave me for an apple juice salad dressing.  It was fantastic!  Full of protein, greens and flavor.  The perfect thing to give me just enough energy to pack and then fall fast asleep before our very early flight!  We had the best time in Chicago seeing old friends and all the sights, but I am happy to be home today and back to my normal schedule.  I am currently counting down the days to Brian and my summer trip to Cabo San Lucas on Saturday!!

Apple and Pear Salad

Adapted from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 cup Apple Juice

2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

1 teaspoon Olive Oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

10 cups mixed salad greens

1 cup seedless red grapes, halved

1 medium McIntosh Apple, cored and diced

1 medium Bartlett Pear, cored and diced

1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled

2 cups shredded Rotisserie Chicken

Directions

Place apple juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Cook until reduced to about 3 tablespoons.  Combine reduced apple juice, vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, stirring with a whisk.  

Combine grapes, apple and pear in a large bowl.  Drizzle with dressing; toss gently to coat.  Sprinkle with cheese.  

Enjoy!!

Shrimp in No Time!

As as was passing by the seafood section at Bristol Farms, they were having a great sale on these beautiful shrimp.  I picked up some and made a really fresh, flavorful pasta and sauce to compliment their flavor.  I can't help but want to use all the fresh lemons that are in season now and all the lovely herbs from my patio garden.  This dish was quick and besides the shrimp I had everything else at home, so it was 1, 2, 3!

Garlic Lemon Shrimp

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1/2 dry white wine

4 lemon slices, about 1/4 inch thick

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Directions

Sprinkle salt and black pepper over shrimp evenly.  Meanwhile in a large skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Add shrimp, red pepper and garlic.  Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat. Add wine and lemon to pan.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Cook until liquid has reduced to 1/2 cup, about 3-4 minutes.  Add shrimp back to sauce and remove from heat.  Add parsley and butter, stirring until butter melts.  Serve shrimp with pan sauce over pasta.  Recipe below.

"Roasted" Garlic and Light Tomato Pasta

Ingredients

1/2 lb Spaghetti

4 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons oil

1/2 cup marinara sauce

Salt and Pepper, to taste

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Directions

In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions till just al dente.  Meanwhile, in a large saute pan, heat oil over medium heat and add garlic.  Stirring frequently over medium-low heat cook the garlic till oil and garlic become a thick paste.  Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water to the garlic mixture.  Let reduce by half and add the marinara sauce.  Add cooked pasta.  Toss to combine.  Remove from heat and top with Parmesan.  Serve with shrimp.  

Enjoy!

A Fresh take on Cucumber Salad

We went to a new Japanese Sushi Restaurant the other night and when perusing through the menu I saw something interesting.  Plum and Cucumber Sushi.  At first I thought it sounded weird, but then I started thinking it would probably be a really lovely combination.  One of Brian and my favorite things when we are going for Sushi is the cucumber salad which I also make at home fairly often.  I have tried rolling my own sushi at home and it just never comes out exactly like the professionals so I wasn't going to embark on that again.  Not to mention buying all the necessary tools to make sushi is more expensive than going down to the restaurant and paying the whole $5 for the roll.  

Anyways, below I made my own rendition of Cucumber Salad with Plums.  It turned out beautiful and the flavors were perfect together.  This is the season to make it too with Plums so ripe and gorgeous right now.  Just looking at the picture is making my mouth water because it was so fresh and light!

I know this picture isnt that attractive, but I had to show you how to best sliver the plums.  Using a mandolin, slice the plums into fairly thin slices (upper right).  Then using your knife, stack a couple plum slices together and sliver them vertically (lower left).  I also used my mandolin to slice the cucumbers since I already had it out.  Usually I am so lazy to wash it I just use my knife!

Cucumber Plum Salad

Ingredients

2 cups Cucumber, thinly sliced

1 cup Plum, thinly sliced and slivered

1/4 cup Red Onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup Carrot, match-stick cut

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 tablespoon Cilantro, fresh and chopped roughly

2 tablespoons fresh Lime Juice

2 tablespoons Rice Wine Vinegar

1 teaspoon Soy Sauce

1/8 teaspoon pepper

salt to taste (won't need hardly any)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium sized bowl and toss gently making sure to combine all ingredients.  Enjoy!

New Obsession

Yesterday I was at the Beauty supply place near my work trying to find the hair stuff Brian likes and I found the greatest new thing!  In the past I have had bad luck with buying random beauty products without trying them out first, but I took a $16 chance and it paid off!  I have been using Bare Escentuals Mineral Makeup since as far back as I can remember.  I really like the all-in-one aspects of it, natural finish and sensitivity to my very sensitive skin.  Although I am very fond of the face makeup and face lotions, the eye shadows have never been my favorite.  I normally do not like things super shiny or sparkly which most of them are and the little pots are SO messy.  

That said, their New High Shine Eye color Tubes are great!

It is basically a tube with their eyeshadow in it and a built-in foam applicator.  You just shake it, pull the applicator out, tap off the excess and then swipe the whole thing over your eyelid.  It totally eliminates the need for eye shadow brushes, multiple eye shadow colors and the extra 10 minutes it usually takes me to create what I like to call, "My every day, trying to look effortlessly polished look" that is anything but effortless.  I bought the "Meteorite" shade, but they all looked really beautiful.  Now that I have tried it, I am going to go back and get another color or two.  

A few tips for use:

-DO use an eye shadow base or some concealer on your eye lid first as a layering base, it will keep the eyeshadow on like glue and will keep it from creasing

-DO NOT put this on after applying your concealer and face makeup. I always do my eyes first, clean up underneath and then start my face, but I know not everyone does it this way.  With this product you need to because some of the product tends to fall underneath there and you will look like you have raccoon eyes if you aren't careful.  

-DO put on your lids, only apply in your crease or all over if you want an extremely dramatic effect.  I would guess with the lighter colors you could put them all over.

-DO blend any mishaps with a Blending Brush

Hope everyone is having a good week, half way through!  

What is Succotash?

Saw something about a "Corn Succotash" the other day in something I was reading and the first thing I thought is, "What exactly is a succotash?"  Is it always made with corn?  Does it always contain lima beans?  Gross.  I looked it up.  

Succotash: is a food dish containing primarily of corn and lima beans, or other shell beans.

Hmm...Corn, yes.  Lima beans, no.  The concept had potential though, so I just changed a few things around and out popped this very easy, delicious meal in minutes.  You have to love meals that contain a store bought rotisserie chicken.  

Corn Succotash (Sort of) with Tomatoes and Rotisserie Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 earns corn, kernels cut off the cob

2 small zucchini, chopped into medium pieces

1 tablespoon minced garlic

salt and pepper

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 avocado, chopped

3 ounces Goat Cheese

4 basil leaves, chopped

2 cups grape tomatoes, halved

1 rotisserie chicken, shredded

Directions

In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add corn and saute for 2 minutes.  Add zucchini, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar and saute for an additional 4- minutes until just done.  Transfer corn mixture to a bowl and toss with basil leaves.  Top with cheese and avocado.
Serve with tomatoes and shredded chicken.  Enjoy!

Turkey Lettuce Cups

In a constant quest to eat healthy and low calorie, I am always trying to find dinner ideas that are tasty.  The weather also has such a profound affect on what seems appetizing to me.  When it is hot, I do not want anything heavy, but at the same time I might be starving.  When it is cold I want something warm and comforting, but not overly caloric.  Summer in the desert is especially hard, when it is so hot you can't imagine eating anything remotely hot or heavy.  

When I came across this recipe for Lettuce cups, it seemed like the perfect answer to dinner at the end of a 98 degree day.  I used ground turkey instead of chicken breasts because it cooks quicker and is lower in calories.  Less time in front of a hot stove is key in this weather.  The cool, crunch of the lettuce provided the perfect compliment to the warm, sweet and sour turkey mixture.  I left feeling satisfied and not stuffed.  Brian on the other hand ate a 4 person serving size so I can't say the same for him.  He still managed to knock back 3 low calorie ice cream bars.... 

Turkey Lettuce Cups

Adapted from Guy Fieri, removed some ingredients to adjust calorie and fat content

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon oil

2 carrot, diced

2 celery ribs, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 cup snap peas, diced

1/2 cup red onion, diced

1 package ground turkey, lowest fat possible

6 ounces Apricot Sambal Szechwan Sauce, recipe follows

Iceberg Lettuce Leaves

2 tablespoons scallions, sliced

Directions

In a medium saute pan over high heat, add oil.  Add vegetables and turkey, saute till turkey is almost done.  Deglaze with sabal sauce for 30 seconds.

Scoop turkey mixture into lettuce leaves and garnish with sesame seeds.

Apricot Sesame Sambal Sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons minced ginger

3 tablespoons sambal hot sauce 

3 tablespoons apricot preserves

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon minced cilantro

2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix well.

Happy Friday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Warm Pasta Salad

I love coming up with things to use a lot of leftover vegetables in my refrigerator.  Seems like I buy lots at the beginning of the week and end up with a little of each at the end of the week, but I hate to throw perfectly good food away!  Pasta salad is one of those great things to make on a hot day, but can be filled with lots of calories and too much pasta most of the time.  I threw together this Warm Spinach Pasta Salad easily in just the time it took to boil the pasta water and cook it!  

Warm Spinach Pasta Salad

Ingredients

2 Packages (about 10 oz each) Cheese Tortellini

2 Rotisserie Chicken Breasts, shredded

2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup Peas

1/2 cup Red Onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cup Basil, thinly sliced

1 can Artichoke Hearts (14 oz), drained and quartered

4 cups Baby Spinach, washed

1 cup Fresh Asparagus, washed and sliced into 1.5 inch pieces

Reduced Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette, about 4-5 tablespoons

3/4 cup Shaved Parmesan Cheese

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

Boil a large pot of water and cook pasta according to the directions on the package.  During the last minute or so of the pasta cooking, add the asparagus and peas and cook with the 

pasta for the last 2 minutes.  

While the pasta is cooking chop and prepare the other ingredients (except cheese) and put into a large bowl to wait for the pasta, peas and asparagus.  After pasta mixture is cooked till al dente and drained, add to bowl and toss with salt, pepper and dressing.  Sprinkle cheese on top.

Serve warm, at room temp or cold.  

You could alter this for any vegetables you want, this is just what I had on hand, but the combination was very flavorful, filling and healthy!  Great for lunch the next day!

Fresh and Fabulous

Tired of your regular, old, boring side dishes? Want something new that is satisfying and tasty? This recipe for Green Bean Salad has a boring name, but it was delicious!

Green Bean Salad

Ingredients:

3/4 lb Green Beans

3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

3 Tablespoons Reduced Fat Balsamic Vinegrette Dressing

3/4 pint Grape Tomatoes, halved

1/8 Red Onion, diced

1/2 can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and dried

1/4 cup Reduced Fat Feta

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Boil water in a medium pot over high heat. Cook Green Beans until slightly tender, about 4 minutes. Immerse in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together dressing and lemon juice. Stir in tomatoes, onion and garbanzo beans. Add feta and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Arrange green beans on a platter and top with tomato mixture. Serve!

BLT...again!

I had another BLT reinvention the other night, but I wanted something that tasted a little fresher. We were in the desert, where inside every steakhouse you will find a wedge salad, so I morphed the two into this BLT Wedge Salad. I felt full and satisfied without a heavy hot meal in the 90 degree plus weather.

BLT Wedge

Ingredients:

Iceberg Lettuce, washed and quartered

1 cup Reduced Fat Blue Cheese, crumbled

2 cups Grape Tomatoes, halved

1/2 Red Onion, chopped

1 avocado, diced

8 slices Bacon or Turkey Bacon, cooked

Fat Free or Reduced Fat Balsamic Vinaigrette

Directions:

Place an iceberg wedge in the middle of each plate. Top each wedge with 1/4 of each ingredient. Drizzle with dressing. Serve!

This is a "no big deal" dinner that I was able to use all the ingredients for other things all week! So if you are in the mood for something simple and fun try this out!

On the Search

I had fully planned on making these Pesto Halibut Kebabs, but of course when I got home the only necessary item I needed was something to skewer the fish on and I had zero. I don't know where my brain was at when I was getting all the ingredients for this dish, but I found myself searching high and low for something to make this happen. Believe me...I considered all the options and tried to use all my skills I learned from Macgyver, but alas I found nothing.

What is a girl to do? Rethink the whole thing. I opted for simple and effective because at this point I was more exhausted and hungry. I decided to slice up some vegetables I had on hand including the peppers I was going to use for the kebabs and just pan saute the whole thing. I just brushed some of the pesto on the fish front and back and threw it in the pan with the rest. A couple minutes on each side later it was finished and delicious!

So easy, regardless of the skewer conquest.

Everything in the pan sauteing

I also boiled some garlic pasta I found while searching for the kebab materials and tossed it with a tablespoon of the pesto and some Parmesan. It was very tasty and went along with my on-the-fly meal preparation theme that seemed to be taking place!

Sometimes no matter how hard I try to have all the right ingredients, make perfect dinners and relax after a long day it usually doesn't happen the way I want it to! I will keep trying though!

My Kind of Slam Dunk

I am always looking for recipes that either require a large percentage of items I have at home or that require very few items that I have to go buy. Why?

-I live 5 floors up from my car and want to carry the least amount possible

(Yes, I have a cart, but I am too stubborn to use it)

-It is less expensive

-If I buy some weirdo ingredient, I like to use it as much as possible

This Beef Noodle Stir Fry not only captures a lot of my favorite flavors, but also contains a lot of things I have in my pantry! It was flavorful, extremely fast to make and delicious. Actually, it was so fast to make, it was done before I had my Miso soup ready to go. Whoops! Dinner on the table in less than 20 minutes? I think that is a slam dunk!

Miso Soup

Ingredients:

4 cups Water

3 Tablespoons Miso Paste

6-8 oz Silken Tofu, diced

2 teaspoons dashi granules (or 4 teaspoons fish stock)

3 Scallions Sliced

Directions:

Using a medium saucepan, combine water and dashi and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and stir in miso. Add tofu and scallions. Simmer for 3 more minutes. Serve.

I ended up using the thin rice noodles because I forgot that is what kind I have at home, but it worked fine. Next time I plan on buying the wider ones because I like them best!

You could only find a big package of tofu and don't know what to do with the rest?

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post! Happy Stir frying!

Fast Fiesta

I would like to start off by saying that I am sorry my blog entries have been few and far between lately, I just have had so much going on it is hard to get myself together right now. I am planning on organizing things better from this point forward!

Sometimes I get myself into a rut on auto-pilot making the same types of things and going through the same sources to find recipes. Lately, all that has sounded appealing to me is beef, mostly steak. I think I am on red meat overload and so I spent some time the other day searching for some recipes for some different proteins that were fast and seemed appetizing. When you don't have a ton of time to make dinner, but you want it to be flavorful,

this is the recipe to make.

I found this treasure amongst some of my Bobby Flay recipes and was so excited to go home and make it. I love Bobby Flay; his personality, his restaurants, his recipes, even his wife who used to by on my favorite show Law and Order: SVU. The only caveat is that his sauces and preparations usually take hours...hours that I never have. That is the great thing about these Shredded Chicken and Tomatillo Tacos with Queso Fresco, they take hardly any time at all and taste like you have been cooking all day!

A few months ago I got a free subscription to Bon Appetit for being such a great customer at Sur la Table and finally I have started getting my issues. Of course, I didn't pick up my January issue till this week, but I did find some things I am excited to try. Unfortunately, some of the ingredients that star in the recipes are now out of season (like Pomegranates). With a few creative substitutions I made this great Rainbow Chopped Salad.

Rainbow Chopped Salad

Recipe Courtesy of Bon Appetit

Dressing

1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar

1 1/2 Tablespoons Finely Chopped Shallot

1/2 Tablespoon Honey

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salad

6 Cups Chopped Romaine Hearts

4 cups Sliced Red Cabbage

1 Large Fuji Apple, diced

1 Asian Pear, diced

1 Mango, diced

3/4 cup Hazelnuts, chopped and toasted (I used Walnuts)

1/2 Cup Pomegranate Seeds (I used dried Cherries chopped)

1/2 crumbled Blue Cheese

Dressing and Salad Instructions:

Whisk vinegar, shallot and Honey in a small bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and ground pepper.

Combing Romaine and next 6 ingredients in a very large bowl; toss to blend. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad amongst plates and sprinkle with Blue Cheese. Serve.

After toasting my tortillas, I served the tacos with some Fat Free Greek Yogurt instead of Sour Cream or cheese...they were delish! Enjoy this weeknight dish that is so fast and easy to make!

Cooking for One, Part II

There are a lot of reasons that I love having my husband around, but I do have to say one of the positives to him not coming home for dinner is that I can eat whatever I want...even if that means Lucky Charms! I didn't get a chance to make myself breakfast this morning or eat a normal lunch, I just ended up eating junk and snacks all day. Horrible. I needed protein, and some Lucky Charms just for good measure...

I made myself a beautiful egg white omelet with diced grape tomatoes, fresh spinach, mushrooms and a sprinkling of reduced fat cheddar. I bought myself a piece of filet, I know how decadent, and seasoned it with some McCormicks Grill Mates. That stuff is great, but a little goes a very long way. There is nothing like breakfast for dinner!

The other great thing about this meal is that it is so easy to prepare one or 5, so you aren't stuck with a ton of extra food.

So if you find yourself cooking for one, consider having breakfast for dinner, you might surprise yourself with how delicious it can be!

Asian Flavors

I love steak. I don't think I could ever be a vegetarian. I try to limit making any kind of beef to one night a week, and it is hard! So, if you are trying to do the same, have no fear with this Steak with Ginger-Hoisin Sauce...it was excellent!

I love when I can make something quick and easy that tastes like more effort than it actually was. I like to get a good "bang for my buck" with flavor! This meal had some Asian flavors, but they were light enough to really allow the ingredients to shine.

I also made a quick Asian Slaw to go with it. Kind of a hybrid side/salad...I am obsessed with "slaws" lately so you will be seeing a lot of them. I hate mayonnaise, but now that I have found some more interesting ways to make this kind of thing I really like it. I have also found that substituting things like fat free Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream instead of the Mayo makes a really nice slaw and I feel so much better about what I am putting into my body. It is a great way to use up random leftover vegetables in a great new way!

Cooking for One

This week Brian has been on a business trip in Texas and I took the opportunity to indulge myself in things I enjoy SO much: Homemade Tomato Soup and my DVR!!

To me there is nothing better than a comforting, warm bowl of tomato soup. Nothing I have ever tasted comes close to the Tomato Basil Bisque at Nordstroms. I have been trying out recipes for years that claim to come close, but none of them ever succeed. Today you are in luck, I have found a recipe that is very close. It is delicious and EASY. We can all thank Theresa for this Double-Tomato Soup that satisfies what I like to call "The Nordstom Cafe" craving.

Another thing I am constantly missing, but can never do anything about is the Buttermilk dressing from Malibu Chicken. Malibu Chicken was the best place ever. Best salads, best chicken, best salad dressing, best everything. They closed while I was in college and it was very upsetting to everyone who had ever eaten there. Such a sad day. Their buttermilk dressing died with the restaurant and I have been craving it ever since.

Today was the day I attempted to recreate it...

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

1 packet Ranch Dressing Mix

1 cup Low Fat Buttermilk

4 tablespoons Non Fat Plain Greek Yogurt

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 tablespoon Oregano

1 tablespoon Dill

Mix well and serve over cold salad.

Finished meal! Everything was great. You have to try out these new recipes!

Superbowl Sunday

Superbowl Sunday to me is like the equivalent of Arbor Day. Actually, Arbor Day may be more interesting because it actually promotes planting trees for a good cause. In fact, when looking for the perfect mate back when I was dating, one of the attributes on my "must have" list was: Someone who is not obsessed with any big sporting event.

Nothing is more unattractive to me than someone who doesn't want to go anywhere because they "have to watch the game". Fortunately, my husband is only a pretender. I worked Sunday, and when I got home the Superbowl was on in the living room, but he was in his office studying.

Clearly an avid sports fan.

Even though I don't care much for professional football, I do care about Sloppy Joes! When I think of Sloppy Joes it brings me right back to 1st grade at Chadwick. It was the one day a month my mom didn't make me lunch and I got to eat from the Cafeteria. Her lunches were always great and involved hand drawn flowers on the bag with cute notes inside, but I still looked forward to Sloppy Joes every once and awhile!

It seemed like the perfect thing to make Sunday night!

Super Sloppy Joes Simmering. Love this recipe because it had tons of great flavor and no ketchup involved at all! Sorry Jack...

I served my Sloppy Joes with some Roasted Corn and Blue Cheese Cole Slaw. I came up with this recipe after having something very similar and amazing at the Crow Bar in Corona del Mar.

My adapted (less caloric and fattening) recipe is the following:

-1 Bag Shredded Cabbage (or 1/2 head of Cabbage Shredded)

-1/2 cup Shredded Carrots

-3 Tablespoons Plain Reduced Fat Greek Yogurt

-2 Table Spoons Crumbled Blue Cheese

-2 Tablespoons Reduced Fat Blue Cheese Dressing

-1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

-Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and Chill Before Serving. Done! Easy! Tasty! Enjoy!

Going Bananas!

I love bananas. I can't understand why a lot of people don't like them. They are full of nutrients and are a great way to have a snack that actually fills you up. I do my best to make food with ingredients that are in season, even though in California we are lucky that we can pretty much get anything all year round.

This recipe for Monkey Bread looked good, is fairly healthy and I bet you have most of the ingredients in your cabinet! I had everything, including the squishy banana!!

As you can probably see, those little dark brown things are not wrinkly like the raisins should be...they are chocolate chips. I have to give Brian some incentive to eat it!

Bananas aren't his favorite...

How good does that look? It tasted great too. The whole pan lasted 24 hours.

High Hopes

I really had high hopes for this recipe I tried last night for these Wild Mushroom, Flank Steak and Poblano Tacos. I followed the recipe exactly (unusual I know) and it just wasn't great. After reading all of the reviews this morning, I realize it might have just been a yucky piece of flank steak that I bought. I am going to blame it on that I guess. I think if there would have been a marinade then it wouldn't have been so chewy and kind of flavorless.

Next time, I would get my meat from where I usually do, Bristol Farms, and maybe marinade it in something first. I am just feeling blah about it....I promised to be completely frank on this blog and that comes with the good, great, okay and the bad! Tonight's dinner will be better!

My salad! One of the highlights! Had to post a picture and look at the glass half full!

I rubbed some chili powder as well as salt and spray butter on the corn and it turned out excellent! If someone tries this recipe and it turns out well, you have to let me know what you did differently!