FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!

A couple weeks ago I had the brilliant idea to get a personal trainer. Frankly I hated the thought of wasting my money at the gym and fumbling around trying to use stuff I don't know how to use (both the machines, and quite a few of my muscles. lol!) I was so intimidated by my trainer, who looks something like this guy pictured below (ok, not really) and causes me to use muscles I didn't know I had. His name is PETE (spoken in a voice loud enough and low enough to wake the dead).

I have been sore since my last workout on Wednesday!!! I have sore muscles that I wasn't even aware were being used during that grueling half hour. I did discover a new love though, leg presses. I LOOOOOOOOOVE them. Next week I am working out with a muscular man beast of a woman named Denise. Oh boy. Can't wait. 

Cheers! 

At Last!!

After not cutting my bangs for 10 months they have finally grown out!!!!!! I have not had a hair cut since January and I started wearing my hair curly almost all the time in April. Without the constant cutting to maintain my angled bob and the constant heat processing my hair has grown out 5 inches this year which is a lot for me! My bangs finally reach back to my ponytail holder when my hair is straight :) (that was the ultimate goal)! They need to grow about 3 more inches to reach where I want them!

~ A boy makes his girl jealous of other women. A gentleman makes other women jealous of his girl. ~ 

Basic Quesadillas

Every home cook should master a few basic, go-to items for quick meals or a snack for a hungry hubby! Quesadillas are a hit in our house. They are very versatile. You can add so many things to them. I have made tuna, avocado, and cheddar quesadillas, black bean and cheese quesadillas, chicken and cheese quesadillas, and on and on it goes. However, the basic cheese quesadilla is quick and simple.

You wil need:

2 flour tortillas

shredded cheddar cheese

ground cumin

garlic powder

onion powder

cooking oil 

Swirl about 1-2 teaspoons of oil in a pan over medium-low heat. You have to keep the heat low enough to avoid burning the tortillas, and high enough to melt the cheese all the way through. Tricky, I know.

Place 1 tortilla in the pan and swirl to coat with oil. Add shredded cheese, leaving about 1" around the edges. If you put cheese all the way to edge, your cheese will melt out into the pan and make a big burned mess. Lightly sprinkle cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder over the cheese. Next, place the second tortilla on top. Press it down with your hands or a spatula. About two minutes from the time you added the tortilla to the pan, it will be ready to flip. Flip carefully! Cook side 2 for another 1-2 minutes. 

Slice into quarters with a pizza cutter and serve. You may serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream etc. if you wish! 

Basic Quesadillas

Every home cook should master a few basic, go-to items for quick meals or a snack for a hungry hubby! Quesadillas are a hit in our house. They are very versatile. You can add so many things to them. I have made tuna, avocado, and cheddar quesadillas, black bean and cheese quesadillas, chicken and cheese quesadillas, and on and on it goes. However, the basic cheese quesadilla is quick and simple. 

You wil need:

2 flour tortillas

shredded cheddar cheese

ground cumin

garlic powder

onion powder

cooking oil 

Swirl about 1-2 teaspoons of oil in a pan over medium-low heat. You have to keep the heat low enough to avoid burning the tortillas, and high enough to melt the cheese all the way through. Tricky, I know.

Place 1 tortilla in the pan and swirl to coat with oil. Add shredded cheese, leaving about 1" around the edges. If you put cheese all the way to edge, your cheese will melt out into the pan and make a big burned mess. Lightly sprinkle cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder over the cheese. Next, place the second tortilla on top. Press it down with your hands or a spatula. About two minutes from the time you added the tortilla to the pan, it will be ready to flip. Flip carefully! Cook side 2 for another 1-2 minutes. 

Slice into quarters with a pizza cutter and serve. You may serve with guacamole, salsa, sour cream etc. if you wish! 

Honey Seared Pork Tenderloin

I've been trying ridiculous amounts of new recipes lately. I love cooking but it's a real challenge to make meals that we both enjoy. My husband is pretty much a meat and potatoes guy. Really, really basic meat and potatoes. But we've been meeting in the middle lately. :) I made this meal in my Dutch oven, because it needs to go from stove to oven.

This recipe is also from Pinterest. It's a very simple recipe with few ingredients.

1 pork tenderloin, about 1.5 lbs
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp honey
Cajun seasoning
1/4 c water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Rub the tenderloin with the Cajun seasoning. Put the honey and butter in your Dutch oven over low-medium heat (I used medium heat, and in hind sight I would have preferred a lower heat). When the honey and butter mix has just begun to bubble, add the pork tenderloin. Allow it to cook on both sides for 5 minutes. Do not move the tenderloin around too much as you want the honey butter and spices to form a beautiful caramelized crust. I also held the loin up on the "small sides" to cook for 1 minute per side just for a more uniform appearance.

Cover the Dutch oven and place it into the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees. The original instructions say to remove the meat to a platter and deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of water to use as a glaze...however, the honey butter was a bit black and I did not want to. I just put a couple of pats of butter on top of the tenderloin and drizzled about a tablespoon of honey on top. It melted right onto the meat and it was AMAZING. :) Always slice a pork tenderloin against the grain into about 1/2" slices. The tenderloin had a beautiful textured crust on the outside.

I served this with honey-cinnamon carrots and mashed potatoes.

Tip: If you don't have a bottle of Cajun seasoning around, use a mix of salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and a generous sprinkle of cayenne pepper. This is what I usually do when recipes call for Cajun seasoning.

Homemade Cajun spice mix.

Everything you need to make this yummy tenderloin.

Sprinkle the loin generously with the spice rub and rub, rub, rub.

Side 1 after cooking for 5 minutes.

A perfect plate!

All done! I posted this pic because you can clearly see the crunchy dark crust on the meat. Yum!

Crock Pot Turkey Roast

I see absolutely no reason why turkey should be reserved solely for Thanksgiving. I know that the sheer size of a turkey breast can be a bit frightening at first. Do not fear! When cooked properly, turkey is moist and tasty. It's also lean and a great alternative to chicken. Due to its larger size, you will also most likely have leftovers for a turkey sandwich or another meal. When I  buy turkey, I go for one breast (a split breast) or a 2-3 pound turkey breast roast. You know the one I am talking about! It usually comes in a round or oval shaped package covered with that plastic netting that you have to cut off before you can open the turkey. When I open a turkey breast roast, the first thing I do is take off the stretchy netting from the meat. I rinse the meat and pat it dry. Next, I get out a frying pan, some cooking oil (olive oil, veg oil, etc), kosher salt, and cracked black pepper. Once my turkey breast is dry I salt and pepper both sides and then add to a pre-heated pan (medium heat) with a couple of tablespoons of oil. Cook larger pieces for 2 minutes per side, until the surface has a nice, golden-brown color. Cook smaller pieces about a minute per side. Searing meat before cooking keep the juices in, and when using the crock pot, it improves the appearance, flavor, and texture.

You may now place your turkey in the crock pot. Now, you can allow the turkey to cook several ways. You can add 1/2  cup of chicken broth and let it roast, or you can add some type of sauce for the turkey to cook in. Today I chose an orange-ginger-soy glaze. In a bowl, I combined 4 oz of orange juice, a healthy tablespoon of low sodium soy sauce, 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 teaspoons of ginger, and a light sprinkle of granulated onion and a hearty sprinkle of garlic powder. Next, heat 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Whisk all ingredients except the butter until combined. Pour the melted butter over the turkey, then pour the glaze over it.

I plan to roast this turkey on low for 4-5 hours, and I know from past experience that it will be tasty!! Happy Cooking!

***This glaze is easy to modify. For a stronger orange taste, you could add frozen OJ concentrate. You could also use fresh grated ginger root, real onion, garlic cloves, etc. instead of the dried varieties. It easily adaptable to whatever you have on hand in the kitchen!

My rinsed, dry turkey roast pieces. Once you take that netting off, you will realize it's not really a round shape, but a bunch of breast chunks. :)

One side of the largest piece, salted, peppered, and seared. 

The two smaller pieces. There were also some tiny chunks that I browned for just 30 seconds per side and tossed in the crock pot as well.

All of the nicely browned turkey pieces. This is a smaller crock pot made for meals for 2!

After pouring on the butter and glaze. 

Easy Chocolate Mousse

I decided to try making chocolate mousse to add to my list of "for company" things that I can make. But about the time I realized you're supposed to stir 2 raw egg yolks into it, I knew that mousse would not be for me. It sounded ridiculous anyway and there were way too many steps. I decided to try 3 ingredient, super easy mousse. There were two possibilities...either it would be an amazing discovery, or it would flop terribly and be disgusting.

I am fortunate that it actually turned out great! The texture was a bit lighter and creamier than traditional mousse, which I expected. I wish I would have measured the ingredients but I never do. I had some leftover heavy cream and milk chocolate baking morsels so that is what I used for the mousse. You could probably use whatever chocolate you want. I heated the chocolate in the microwave on very low power while I whipped the cream with my hand mixer on medium-high. When the whipped cream forms soft peaks, it is ready. The morsels will not lose their shape even though they are heated through. It only take about a minute and fifteen seconds to melt the chocolate. Take it out of the microwave and stir it until the morsels melt completely. If you try to melt it completely in the microwave, it will burn and be too hot to add to the whipped cream. Keep in mind when you whipping the cream that you will need to add some sugar. I added a tablespoon but I wish I would have added less. The mousse ended up a bit sweet since I also used milk chocolate.

Fold the whipped cream and melted chocolate together and refrigerate for an hour or so before serving. MMMM!!!

Ok. Quantities. After whipping, the cream was a about a cup and a half. I used about 1/3 cup of the chocolate morsels. I used a tablespoon of sugar for whipping the cream, but I feel that it was too much. I would probably use 1-2 teaspoons next time.

See, it has a nice creamy whipped texture!

Enough Rachel Ray, Already

On the days that I don't have to work, I love watching my favorite cooking shows while I am doing my house work. Food network has it right...about the time I turn on the TV I can watch Barefoot Contessa, Giada at Home, and other lovely shows where chefs and cooks do it up right. Today Ina Garten made Tuscan white bean soup, roasted leg of lamb, and roasted fennel with summer fruits and a mascarpone sauce for dessert. Giada made some amazing looking chicken and steak fajitas with a corn, black bean and tomato salad and espresso churros. I mean really. Great, quality food.

There's only one problem with Food Network's lineup. Right in between Giada at Home and 5 Ingredient Fix (my FAVORITE show), my day is interrupted with 30 Minute Meals. Sometimes what she makes is ok. But sometimes she leaves me grimacing in disgust at the different things she finds acceptable when thrown together. If I hear her remind her watchers one more time that OREGANO means "joy of the mountain" in Greek, I think I am going to throw a gyro at the TV.

My intense dislike of Rachel Ray began when I watched her make a 30-minute disaster that she claimed was intensely reminiscent of San Francisco. The meal included "chow mein" made with spaghetti noodles. Yes, you heard me. Spaghetti noodles. That left me convinced that Rachel has indeed NEVER been to San Francisco. Today's show really grossed me out. Ms. Ray decided to make "ballpark favorites" to eat at home. What in the world possessed her to make mac-n-cheese-dog casserole is beyond me. However, I suppose that just like beans and weiners, it's an acquired taste. But as I watched her pull out an icky little package of pork dogs (ewwwww!!!), cut them up, and pan fry them in EVOO (EVOO!!!!), I knew that olive oil makers around the world were probably mourning this horrid misuse of their treasured product. I know I almost was.

After this happened the only was I was able to survive the remaining 18 minutes of the show was by pressing the mute button.

Sunday Crock Pot Dinner... Sesame Ginger Chicken

I tried a new recipe today that I found on Pinterest. It came from the Keeping Up with the Joneses blog. You can read the blog HERE. The recipe is for Sesame Ginger Slow Cooker Chicken. It turned out so well!! I wanted to have everything ready to go in the crock pot this morning before I got ready for church, so I made the sauce last night, trimmed up the chicken thighs, and then left them marinating in the sauce overnight. I did not add the carrots until this morning. I made a couple of minor changes to the recipe. If you would like to view the original recipe click HERE.

Sesame Ginger Slow Cooker Chicken

6 skinless, bone-in chicken thighs, fat well trimmed
8 oz baby carrots
2 tsp ginger (the dry powder)
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon granules + 1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 c honey
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1/4 c soy sauce (I used low sodium)
3 tbsp corn starch + 3 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp dry roasted sesame seeds + 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
white rice--any kind you like. (I keep a container of steamed rice in the fridge all the time, so I have it to just heat and add to my slow cooker meals.)

In a bowl, combine the ginger, bouillon granules, honey, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, and soy sauce. Add the boiling water, then stir until well combined. Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker, put the carrots on top and pour the sauce over.

Cook on low for about 4 hours. I put this in the crock pot around 8:45 or so and it was perfect at 12:30 when we got home for lunch.

Remove the chicken and carrots to a serving bowl or platter. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a saucepan on medium-high heat. In a measuring cup, combine the cold water and corn starch, then stir till dissolved. Bring the cooking liquid to a boil, then stir in the corn starch mixture until the sauce thickens for a gravy.

In another small pan, roast 2 tbsp of sesame seeds for about 2 minutes. You can do this while you make the gravy if you can remember to shake the seeds every 30 seconds or so. You can get dinner on the table in about 5-10 minutes.

Pour about 3/4 of a cup of the gravy over the chicken and carrots, and reserve the rest for table use. Garnish with the sesame seeds and 1/2 tsp of black pepper.

Don't forget to cook or reheat your rice :)

Happy Sunday!

All for a Picture...

This week I had to write a short bio and get a picture in my scrubs with my pets for our website at work. I knew I would have a hard time getting a good picture because by the time Rich gets home to help me, all the natural light from outside is gone. It was quite a fiasco just to get one picture. Emmett was in a supremely bad mood today because I took him to the groomer this morning. Rich and I were laughing so hard by the time we finally got a decent picture, I think it was starting to scare the dog and cat.

 This is the one I will try to use. Enjoy laughing at the others. I know we did! 

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Rich & I haven't had a day off together in FOREVER!!!!! If one is home the other is gone. Today was my day off, and Rich said if things went smoothly he would take a half day off and then work from home in the evening. :) We slept in this morning till about 9:30 and then spent a couple hours straightening up the house. After my dental appointment we headed straight for the beach. We decided to have lunch there today. We walked a ways down and then had pizza outside (yes, of course I had a frozen drink!) with the waves rolling in right in front of us and a nice ocean breeze. :) It was in the mid-80's today so it was a perfect day for a beach walk! We ended up stopping at one of those cheesy tourist stores and buying "2 for $15" sunglasses since we both forgot ours and ultimately ended up getting our feet wet.... we hadn't planned to go in the water today, but it's so hard to stay away!! We enjoyed spending a couple hours at the beach...we don't do it enough!

We were stylin' in our awesome shades. Lol!

The view from our table...nice.

Caesar Salad Sandwiches

Caesar salad sandwiches...ah, what a simple and refreshing midweek meal.

2 chicken thighs per person

romain lettuce, shredded

parmesan cheese

Caesar salad dressing

sandwich buns

Cover the chicken with salad dressing and sprinkle parmesan on top. You can leave this in the crock pot on low for the day or make it in the oven. I baked it at 350 in my dutch oven for over an hour. Once it is done, shred it and put it back in the salad dressing. (As a side note: when I put the chicken on the sandwiches, I used a slotted spoon so that it drained.)

Make a mix of melted butter, "shaker" parmesan, parsley, and garlic powder. Brush it onto the buns and broil them for a minute or two. 

On each bun, place lettuce on the bottom and a good scoop of the shredded chicken. It's basically a Caesar salad on a bun. Yum. 

October Foodfest

Fall is finally in the air in Florida!!! Yes, this means that the weather has dropped slightly to about 85 degrees. :) I decided to try several new ideas this month for meals and so far, so good!! Tonight I spent about 2 hours cooking ahead. I made Bacon & Cheese "McMuffins" for Rich (he does not like egg) and also took the October Soup Challenge (click HERE to read it--4 GREAT recipes!) from my favorite blog "Because Chocolate Can't Get You Pregnant!!!!" I put 2 bags of ham & potato soup in the freezer and made 6 breakfast sandwiches for the hubs. Shortly I am going back into the kitchen to make a batch of marinara sauce to freeze. I will be making fresh bread in my bread machine to go with the ham and potato soup when we have that. I also just froze 6 cranberry-orange breakfast muffins for me and set 4 aside for the rest of my workdays this week.

Here's some photos of my October bounty!

Bacon & Cheese McMuffins (1 all wrapped up and ready for the freezer.) I can make 6 of these for about $5. Go check the price at McD's and see how much you can get for $5!! I also made them with whole wheat English muffins, and 1% cheese so hopefully they are a little less lethal. :) Each sandwich has 2 slices of bacon and 1 slice of cheese.

Ham and Potato soup. Very easy to make, and so delicious!! I froze two Ziploc bags with 4 cups of soup per bag. You can find the recipe HERE. The only things I changed--I used Yukon Gold potatoes and did not peel them before adding them to the soup. I also used more ham than what is called for, since Rich likes his soup to be "chowdery" in consistency. I did not add celery because I think it is gross. :)

Mini Pizzas

This is a mini pizza recipe using whole wheat wraps! These pizzas have 66 calories each so they are kind of a pizza compromise. Enjoy!

Click HERE to get the pizza recipe from Dashing Dish.