Buffalo Chicken Salad

Happy Saturday! I started off my day with a yoga class with two of my good friends here in NN which was pretty comical. In the last 10 minutes of class a strange older woman came in and of course parked it right in our line of vision for the instructor. Naturally we followed what she was doing not realizing she was doing her won yoga moves. The instructor actually had to say specifically don't follow her to us...I couldn't awkward turtle away from that fast enough.

This week was fairly busy for me. I was trying to get in with my accounts and then preparing for my presentations this upcoming week. I have two more store manager presentations and one full-blown employee presentation. Very exciting! That being said, I needed something easy to make for dinner and this was definitely quick, easy, and relatively healthy. I adapted the recipe from one I found in Cooking Light magazine. I thought that their salad was really wimpy and then I made my own dressing. The chicken is prepared the same way as the recipe for the most part, but feel free to get creative with the other aspects!

Buffalo Chicken Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 1.4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup 1% reduced-fat milk
• 1 egg
• 1 pound chicken breast tenderloins
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup hot sauce
• 5 teaspoons butter, melted
• Faux Ranch Dressing
• Salad of choice

Directions:

Start by making a tossed salad of your choice. I decided to use romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and portabello mushroom pieces. In a shallow bowl add the flour and set aside. In a separate shallow bowl, add the egg and mix and beat thoroughly. Trim your chicken breast tenderloins of any excess fat and dry them. In a large pan, get the oil hot over medium heat. Sprinkle the salt over the chicken tenderloins and then dredge them in the flour mixture, the egg mixture, and back into the flour. Then, put each chicken tenderloin into the hot oil. Be careful not to get hot oil on you and NEVER pour water into the pan. Hot oil + Water = Grease fire. 

Cook the chicken about 4-5 minutes on each side depending on the thickness of the tenderloins. Be sure to check the chicken by cutting it in half if you are unsure and make sure no pink flesh remains. It is better safe than salmonella. Once each chicken tenderloin is done use tongs to remove them from the oil and lay them out on a paper towel to drain excess oil. In a medium bowl, combine the hot sauce and the butter to make the buffalo sauce, and toss the chicken in the mix and toss to coat.

Slice the chicken crosswise and serve over the salad of your choice! Enjoy!

What's a healthy buffalo chicken salad without some faux ranch dressing to go with it?

Faux Ranch Dressing

made with Greek Yogurt

makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 packet dry ranch mix
• 1 cup plain, non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1% milk (about 1 cup for desired consistency)

Directions:

Mix the packet of dry ranch mix with the Greek yogurt until it is evenly mixed and add about 1 cup of milk until the texture is the way you want it. More milk = thinner and better for topping a salad; thicker = better for dunking the chicken and vegetables in. Whatever you prefer! I like making a thicker version as a veggie dip to use for weekday lunches. 

Now I'm off to drink some of the wine I got from Naked Wines compliments of Cooking Light magazine just for entering into a contest. The grand prize winner was going to win their weight in wine...never have I ever until now wished I was 400 pounds. ;0)

Meatless Friday: Shrimp Etouffee

Happy Friday Everyone! As with the Lenten tradition, I am not eating meat today. I was talking to my mom earlier, who texted me to remind me to stay away from meat, which of course slipped my mind this morning while I was frantically packing a lunch because I was running late. She made me feel a little bit guilty about my leftover chicken I brought to eat. I decided while out running an errand on my lunch break that I would swing through McDonald's to grab a filet o'fish sandwich.

I will have to admit, I don't typically eat any fast food, but that was a decent sandwich! It was almost 1:00pm and the line was extremely long for the drive-tru. I only had to wait less than five minutes to order and then drive up to the window to pay. As I handed the money to the woman, she confirmed my order with me and I replied politely. She shocked me by saying that I was the nicest customer she had all day...not that I didn't think I was anything but nice, but I was shocked that she had such a bad experience for her day! It just goes to show how far common courtesy can go in making someone's day and how often the general population forgets that.

Ok, enough with my shpiel, but typically on Fridays during Lent I plan ahead with Tuna, PB&J, or other alternatives. Something I wish I packed for lunch is the shrimp etoufee I made for dinner on Fat Tuesday. It was absolutely fantastic, I could not have been happier with the turn out. I definitely would recommend making this for dinner or even to impress a date! ;0)

Shrimp Etouffee

serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons Butter
• 4 Tablespoons Flour
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 teaspoon thyme (I used dried)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups tomatoes (I used grape tomatoes and diced them)
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Creole Seasoning
• 1 pound shrimp (I used frozen, pre-cooked, shelled)
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Hot Sauce...for the daring

Directions:

In a large pot over medium heat, melt the butter until it starts to brown. Then, add the flour and stir well until it turns to a dark brown. In total, about 15 minutes and congratulations -- you just made a roux*! Next, add the celery, onion, bell pepper, and cook until tender. Once they are tender, add the garlic and thyme and cook for about one minute or until the garlic is fragrant. Then add the chicken stock, tomatoes, creole seasoning, and Worcestershire sauce and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.

View inside the pot :0)

Finally, add the shrimp and allow it to simmer for about 10 more minutes or until the shrimp are hot. This lets all of the flavors marry and develop.

It presents nicely, and tastes even better...I may or may not have licked my plate clean.

You can serve this over rice as it is traditionally served, but I served mine over quinoa. Yum! :0)

Cooking Termz:

*Roux: (n) base for sauce: a mixture of flour and fat that is cooked briefly and used as the thickening base of a sauce of soup.

A roux provides maximum flavor with as you can see, limited difficulty. It is one thing commonly used in Southern, Creole, New Orleans, refined French-inspired goodness. Definitely worth knowing and saving into your cooking repertoire.

5 Layer Mediterranean Dip

This post is far over due. It was my plan to post this the day of the Super Bowl and showcase my scrumtralescent contribution to standard Super Bowl Snacks. I asked around before I decided what treats I would bring. There were no desserts yet, and you all know I can't go a day without my desserts so I knew right then I would be making some form of cookie, but there also weren't a lot of guilt-free options. Some of the stars of the evening were buffalo chicken dip (Amazing), bacon-wrapped chicken bites (Baconazing), and a seven layer Mexican dip (Asombroso). The seven layer dip inspired me to make something similar, but with my favorite Greek flavors.

That's right, a new dip, but mine is only 5 layers, that is just about as guilt free as it gets...in moderation of course. Not only is it delicious, made with lots of fresh vegetables, but it is also really easy to make. I thought it was a real crowd pleaser, although, next time I think I will have to take it a little bit easy on the garlic... ;0) Sorry I'm not sorry!

5 Layer Mediterranean Dip

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 14oz can Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 14oz can Navy Beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup Plain, non-fat Greek Yogurt
• 2 Cloves roasted garlic, mashed
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• A dash of Italian Herb Blend, no salt added
• 1 6oz. jar artichoke hearts, diced
• 2 cups Cucumber, diced
• 2 cups Cherry tomatoes, diced or tomatoes of your choice
• 1 cup Kalamata olives, diced

Directions:
In a food processor or blender (or Kitchen Ninja if you are like me) combine the garbanzo beans, navy beans, Greek yogurt, and roasted garlic. Blend until the ingredients are mixed well. You will was to scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula when you notice the mix getting stuck or about every 20 seconds. Then, add some freshly cracked black pepper and sea salt. I never have a measurement for salt of pepper because I just eyeball it or taste test it. Then add a dash of Italian herb blend which I'm guessing was about one and a half teaspoons for me. Mix well and spread evenly on the bottom of an 8x8 pyrex service dish OR a baking dish if you don't have full kitchen equipment quite yet. ;0) Now, pat yourself on the back, you have just made homemade hummus.



Layer 1: Homemade Hummus

The homemade hummus was good on its own. If you think the layer is too thick, you can certainly save some to eat in another setting which is what I did and I ate it as a condiment on sandwiches or with pita chips.


Layer 2: Artichoke Hearts

Sprinkle your diced artichoke hearts evenly across the hummus layer, it isn't bright with color yet, but it soon will be!

Layer 3: Cucumber

Add the diced cucumber and make sure it is evenly spread as well. I cut the seeds out of my cucumber (and obviously ate them as I made the dip--again, I'm not sorry about that) but it is up to you whether they stay or go. Now we are getting some good color on this dip!


Layer 4: Tomato

Next, add the tomatoes to the mix and as always try to distribute them as evenly as possible. I just added tomatoes until I thought the layer "looked right" measurements clearly weren't my thing.


Layer 5: Kalamata Olives

Finally, add the Kalamata olives and you are done! It looks fantastic, I'm wishing I didn't wait so long to write about it because this is making me crave it, of course I certainly wouldn't mind making it again.

Ta-da! The finished product and the pretzel crisps I served it with

Other layers you could add include but are not limited too feta cheese, red onion, pepperoncini, etc. I thought this turned out to be really good and I was proud that I brought it after all of the compliments I got about it. My only complaint was that my garlic cloves were pretty big, but I am a garlic-lover and decided to put both in anyway...which made for a night with lots of garlic breath. hehe Oops!

Happy Humpday everyone! Just remember, we are all that much closer to the freakin' weekend!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

So, I suppose I am only four days late on the Valentine's Day post. I wish I could say it was because I was soooo busy doing glamorous and exciting things, but I was really just a super sloth all weekend long. Alex and I went for Martinis and Brews at a local bar with some friends on Friday, but other than that we just chilled in. It was beautiful here on Friday, so beautiful that the President of the company I work for sent us home an hour early to enjoy the day. I certainly made the most of it by going on a run around the neighborhood. (see what I did there...) Sadly, that weather did not last and it was snowing/raining the rest of the weekend, such a buzzkill!

For Valentine's Day this year I decided to go full force on some foodie treats for Alex. Because of all of the craziness that went on with my last job and recently starting a new one, I was on a serious budget. Ladies, let's face it, this is a holiday for women, second only to mother's day. I saw some pink cookies on Pinterest that I felt would be very appropriate for the day. I was also very curious as to how they would taste, but I am happy to say I was very pleasantly surprised. The original recipe can be found here, I highly suggest checking out this blog and all the yummy treats that are featured. This is my first recipe I have tried, but I don't think it will be the last!

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe from Sally's Baking Addition

makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 box Strawberry Cake Mix (I used an 18.25 oz Pillsbury Brand)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 splash vanilla extract
• 1/2 12oz. bag of chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and the baking powder. Next, add the eggs, oil, and vanilla extract and mix until incorporated. Be sure you don't over do it, less is more! Then, add in the chocolate chips and mix again to make sure the chocolate chips are evenly distributed. Line a cookie sheet with Parchment paper and drop spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet. 

The cookies won't spread and touch each other so you can bake more on a sheet, but leave at least an inch and a half between each cookie. When all of the dough is formed into balls and on the sheets, add any additional chocolate chips to the dough if you want a chocolate-y cookie. Let's be real, who doesn't want more chocolate?! 

hello lovers ... ;0)

Once you have added more chocolate, bake the cookies in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the tops resist a light touch of your fingertip. You don't want them to get brown, trust me, or else they lose their festive pink color! Let cool on a cookie rack before serving, but feel free to sneak a few -- I thought they were best still warm from the oven because the chocolate was very gooey!

get in my belly!

Overall, I think these were perfect for the day! The strawberry flavor was reminiscent of those strawberry eclair ice cream bars I would buy after lunch in grade school. A very much appreciated blast from the past!

I also decided to make some cute pancakes in the morning since Alex is on the night shift, we don't get a lot of time during the day to see each other. I decided to make a Valentine's Day breakfast and let him eat it when he was awake enough to do so. I think both pink treats turned out amazing! I made them on my Cuisinart Griddler, one of my favorite cooking tools for apartment living!

how darling are these??? My mom says I'm an artist :0P

My mom and dad sent me back to my apartment with more kitchen essentials, a bag full of groceries, and a bottle used for candy molds to make these pancakes. I just made a simple pancake mix, I would have used Bisquick if I had it, but I put some extra love in these and some pink food coloring!

The presentation

They got a good review from Alex and a leftover pancake or two for me which I didn't hate :0)

I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and a wonderful long weekend! 

Skinny PB2 Brownies

Happy Ash Wednesday everyone! I hope you all had a nice time celebrating Fat Tuesday -- and you better have made something incredibly decadent to indulge in. I made a really delicious shrimp etouffee that I will be posting here some time this week. I thought long and hard about what I really would give up for lent this year. In the past, I have been selfish and given up something like soda -- which I only really drink now and then. Other times I have given up "desserts", bad idea -- that category includes everything good in the world ;0) This year, I think I will try to give up a few things, one of which is cussing.

One thing I hate to give up is taste, especially when it comes to desserts. Most of the time I despise a dessert with "skinny" in the name; however, I can make an exception now and then when the right recipe comes along. I recently purchased PB2*, a powdered peanut butter, from our local commissary. I decided to try it on a whim because it looked interesting. The packaging caught my eye and whispered 'buy me, buy me' in my ear like a siren. When I got home from shopping naturally I sample almost everything I bought -- which has become somewhat of a ritual -- and tried the PB2 mixed with some water.

My first impression was that it was not as sweet as regular peanut butter, but tasted more like actual peanuts. This is fantastic for someone like me who eats peanut butter with other sweet things such as jelly, brownies, cookies, protein shakes, etc. Another great benefit is that because it is a powder, it has an incredible amount of versatility. I have tried PB2 added with my morning oatmeal, a sprinkle in a protein shake, with apples on a sandwich, and even sprinkled over frozen yogurt. The peanut flavor just elevated the complexity of everything I added it to. After arranging an impromptu girl's night with a friend, I decided to try PB2 as the peanut swirl in my favorite combination of peanut butter and chocolate -- peanut butter brownies.

Skinny PB2 Brownies

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup 1% milk
• 3/4 cup Organic French Vanilla Yogurt
• 3 Tbs PB2 and 3Tbs water

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, add the rolled oats and process for about 30 seconds or until they are finely chopped, into the consistency of flour. Then, in a medium sized bowl combine the oats, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. In a large bowl, add the yogurt, milk, and egg. Mix the liquid ingredients until they are just combined. Slowly, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until it is completely combined.

The mix will be much thinner than typical brownie mix because there is not much binding it as far as flour comparatively. Pour the batter into a greased, 8x8 baking pan. In a small bowl, mix the PB2 and the water until you get your desired consistency. I used an equal amount of PB2 and water. Looking back, I probably could have added a little bit less water and had a better consistency. Then, drizzle the peanut butter topping over the brownie mix and put in the pan into the oven. Allow the brownies to bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the middle has set. Once the brownies are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and cool for 15 minutes.

because the batter is thin, the peanut butter sinks, leaving just a trace on the top of the brownie, rest assured there are pockets of peanut butter that back under the top layer. AMAZING!

I suggest serving the brownies hot with a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. They tasted best fresh out of the oven in my opinion. I stored the left overs in a tupperware in the refrigerator. My only complaint with this skinny dessert is that the consistency was a bit odd when they were cold.

mmm Peanut Butter and Chocolate, my favorite combination!

*My use of the PB2 product was strictly for my own experiment. I was not asked to use it by the company nor did they provide me with any product for this recipe...but if they did provide me with some I wouldn't be upset ;0)

Lazy Man's Iron Man

This week marks the start of a new challenge for Alex and I, The Lazy Man's Iron Man Competition. On the base, they are having a challenge called the Lazy Man's Iron Man -- a full Iron Man competition that you must complete in 25 days. That seems pretty reasonable, but wait -- what are the events in an Iron Man Competition?

In a true Iron Man competition, all participants have to complete:

• a 2.4 mile swim
• a 112 mile bike ride
• a casual 26.2 mile run

All events must be completed in the order listed above, within 17 hours, and without taking any breaks. The Lazy Man's Iron Man gives you 25 days to complete all the above. It will be a lot, but I  think we can do it! During this challenge, Alex and I have both agreed we will not drink alcohol so we can do our very best at this challenge. I am very much looking forward to getting started! A very important part of completing this challenge is to feed our bodies right. We will both have to take in more calories and more protein to have enough fuel to complete the challenge without injury.

Today I started to plan out how I could start working on the challenge. This week I will try to get as much done as I can before I start my new job and don't have as much time. That's right -- I am starting a new job on February 4th! There is more to say about that, but I will wait until I have had some time to settle in :0) Like I said earlier, completing the challenge is heavily dependent on eating the right things so I can meet all of the goals of the challenge. I decided to make a really healthy lunch for Alex and I, I made some vegetarian stuffed peppers. I went round two with the stuffed peppers and I think they turned out even better than before!

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

makes 2 

Ingredients:

• 2 Green Bell Peppers, try to find some with flat bottoms
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 cup kale, stems removed and torn into small pieces
• 4 ounces shredded cheese, I used a cheddar blend
• 1 teaspoon Italian Blend Seasoning, no salt added
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. You can make these peppers in about 30 minutes if you expedite the process by steaming the green peppers in the microwave first, I found that this allows for a more evenly cooked pepper. First, cut the top off of the pepper and remove as much of the white spongy parts of the pepper. Discard the tops of the peppers and remove all seeds. Then, in a glass baking dish, add about 1/2 inch of water and place the peppers upside down in the water. Microwave the peppers for 5 minutes or until soft. 

Meanwhile, in a medium sized skillet saute the carrot, onion, and kale until soft using a splash of olive oil over medium heat. Season the vegetables with the garlic powder, Italian Herb Blend, salt, and pepper. Once the veggies are done remove them from the hot burner. When the peppers done turn them right-side up and dry them. Then, place them on a cookie sheet. Add 1 ounce of shredded cheese in the bottom of the peppers. Next, alternate one scoop of quinoa and one scoop of veggies until the peppers are full. 

 Gently press the contents down with the back of a spoon. Then, sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly between both of the peppers. Finally, place the stuffed peppers back into the oven at 375 for 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

The stuffed peppers were much more filling than I was anticipating. I ate my entire pepper and was fully satisfied up until dinner tonight. #nomnomnom I always eat my quinoa with savory seasoning, but I have seen a lot of recipes popping up that offers a sweeter option. That would be great to fulfill my sweet tooth! Do you eat quinoa? What's your favorite way to eat it?

Poached Eggs: My New Obsession

Poached eggs have found their way into almost every breakfast that I have eaten lately. There is so much you can do with a poached egg and you many different foods you can serve them with. My favorite way is the most basic way, over buttered toast with a little salt and pepper. They can really amp up a breakfast and make it more luxurious than just scrambling the egg.

Poaching eggs really isn't as difficult as it looks. That being said, I didn't just perfect my technique over night, it took a while to get it down perfectly, but once you do it is simple! I am going to share with you how I make my perfect poached eggs.

Egg Poaching 101:

First, fill a pot of water 2/3 full of warm water and heat over high heat uncovered. Then, add one teaspoon of vinegar and a few shakes of salt to cut-down on the cooking time of the water. The added vinegar gets the water boiling faster which is a little trick that I like to use.

 Once the water is boiling at a rapid pace, you want to crack the egg enough do you can open the egg and it will all hit the water at the same time. You must do this step quickly or else your egg white will fall apart. You want your egg white to wrap around the yolk and cook as together as possible. This gives the poached eggs a nice presentation.

 The cooking time varies depending on how runny you like your egg yolk. If you don't like runny yolk at all, you should cook the egg for about 4-5 minutes. I like my yolk silky and runny over toast. The yolk adds a creamy texture that compliments the crispiness of the toast. I let my egg cook for about two minutes or until it seems that the yolk is set. Then, I use a slotted spoon to get the egg out of the water and shake it gently to release any excess water from the egg.

I like my poached eggs served over a slice of buttered wheat toast with freshly cracked black-pepper and sea salt. This morning, I had mine with an orange and some lemon water, followed up my some coffee. Perfect start to my day!

Doesn't that look tasty???

Even if you are anti-soft yolk when it comes to eggs, I do hope that you will give this breakfast a try. Other ways I like to eat poached eggs are over a warm quinoa and kale salad, over some lucky black-eyed pea stew, and many other ways. Who knows what combination I will try next! Have you ever had poached eggs and if so -- what is your favorite food to eat them served on?

Happy Hump Day Everyone!