Easy & Delish: One Dish!

You can cook all of this meal in one dish!...that doesn't include the containers for prep though :) I got everything ready ahead of time this afternoon when I had about 15 minutes. When it came time to cook, it was super easy to assemble the meal!

One Skillet, Greek Lemon Chicken with Mixed Grains 

For the chicken...get 1# of chicken breasts 

Mix your marinade of:

4 garlic cloves, minced 

The juice of 1-2 lemons +4 Tablespoons (I used 6 T of pre-squeezed lemon juice today!) 

1 T oregano

1/2 t table salt 

--> marinate your chicken for about 2 hours at least or overnight 

For the rice mixture:

1 small onion, chopped

1T oregano

2.5 c chicken broth

Grain of your choice, I did a mixture of pearled couscous, bulgur wheat and quinoa 

1/4 t salt 

Preheat oven to 350

Step 1

Heat 1.5 T olive oil in a large, oven proof skillet. Brown chicken on both sides. Once browned, set aside.

Wipe pan down with a paper towel to remove the blackened bits.  

Step 2

Add ~1T of olive oil to the pan, over medium/high heat. Add onions and stir until translucent.

Step 3

Add rice mixture (all remaining ingredients) to the pan and stir. Bring to boiling. Remove from heat, place browned chicken on top of the rice then cover the dish with the lid. 

Step 4

Put into oven. Bake approximately 30 minutes covered then another 10 minutes or so uncovered, until the liquid has evaporated and the grains are tender. 

Enjoy! 

DELISH Weeknight Dinner

I know, I know, I must be CRAZY to have friends over for dinner on a weeknight with 2 kiddos under 2.5 year old BUT I still do! I love having weeknight dinner parties, despite how crazy they might become (like tonight, W was all over the place with his toddler-ness). It's great to spend time with friends who are just glad to get together and enjoy good food. Which brings me back to the point of this post - DELICIOUS FOOD!

My neighbor shared this pork crock pot recipe and boy was it amazing; it's one of my most favorite pork crock pot recipes to date: Balsamic Pork. I served it with Hawaiian rolls, the au jus from the crock pot and golden yams (just like sweet potatoes, maybe better! but golden like Yukon gold potatoes, plays a trick on your eyes) and a garden salad. We finished our meal with  Triple Berry Pretzel Pie finished (no baking!) with freshly whipped cream - yum!

Happy cooking!

Balsamic Pork
2# boneless pork shoulder (sirloin roast)
kosher salt, to taste
1/2 t garlic powder
1/2 t red pepper flakes
1/3 c chicken broth
1/3 c balsamic vinegar
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 T honey

- combine salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes & then rub/season the pork with them
- place pork in the crock pot
- combine broth, vinegar & worcestershire sauce then pour over the pork
- drizzle honey over the pork
- set crock pot on low & cook for 6 - 8 hours (or on high for 4 hours)
- pork should be fork-tender and easily shredded with two forks
- serve with juice from the crock pot

Golden Yam!

Baking Golden Yams - use the same method as you do for sweet potatoes:
- wrap in foil
- bake at 425 for approximately 1 hour until tender
- serve with butter and brown sugar

No Bake Triple Berry Pretzel Pie
Crust:
2 c pretzel crumbs
1/8 c sugar
1 stick of butter
Filling:
1 c water
1/2 c sugar
2 T cornstarch
1/2 package of strawberry jello
2 c sliced strawberries
1 c blueberries
1 c blackberries

For the crust: crush pretzels into smallish-sized crumbs. Mix with sugar and melted butter. Press into a 9-inch pie plate and refrigerate for 2 hours to set.

For the filling: mix water, 1/2 c sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute then remove from heat. Stir in gelatin until dissolved. Refrigerate the mixture for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes so that the mixture thickens but isn't set.

Once the mixture has cooled, fold in the fruit. Pour the mixture into the crust and chill for at least 2 hours.

Whip your cream and serve each slice with a dollop on top! Yum!!!

Summer Veggie Goodness

A few nights ago, I made a dinner that just didn't quite deliver on the flavor I had anticipated. Feeling slightly defeated, I was inspired to try something new that would utilize the amazing produce we had gotten at the farmers market the previous weekend. I now give you...drumroll please...

Summer Zucchini, Corn & Red Pepper Salad!

This is an amazing side dish (we ate grilled sockeye salmon with it) or you could even make it your main dish.

The original recipe inspiration came from foodiecrush.com via Pinterest (original link: here). She recommends serving the squash and corn raw...I don't like to eat my vegetables that way :) so I lightly sauteed them to soften them up and give them a little more flavor.

Here is my version of the recipe.

2 squash (either 1 zucchini & 1 yellow squash OR I used a light green and a yellow zucchini squash, yum!), ends cut off
2 cobs of corn (shucked and with the corn kernels sliced off of the cob)
2 T olive oil (separated)
1 package of mixed greens or arugula
1/4 c very thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 oz of goat cheese (I bought this then forgot to use it...I can't wait to try this again WITH the goat cheese...if I remember :)

For the dressing:
1 T chopped fresh basil (do not use dried, it will not give you the flavor you want)
1/2 C olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
1 t dijon mustard
1 t minced garlic
- chop some additional fresh basil to use as a topping at the end (if you love fresh basil like I do, you'll want this for extra flavor!)

Steps:

1. get a vegetable peeler and peel your zucchini squash into thin ribbons strips
2. shuck your corn & cut the kernels off of the cob
3. heat 1 T of oil in a medium sized skillet, add a little freshly ground salt and pepper to the oil. once the oil is warm, add the zucchini ribbons and toss with the oil until they become slightly transulcent in color. Remove from heat, place in a bowl. I use salad tongs to gently turn/toss the ribbons. 
4. heat the additional 1 T of oil in the same skillet, add a little freshly ground salt and pepper to the oil. Add the corn and sautee about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, place in a separate bowl from the zucchini.
5. slice your red bell pepper, set aside
6. Make your Dressing (this makes too much dressing for these 2 servings, it is great to save and use later on a salad!)

Dressing - mix all ingredients together!

Making your salad:

- put your mixed greens on a plate

- then top with the zucchini ribbons

- next spoon corn on top of the ribbons

- place the red pepper slices on top of the corn

- finish by drizzle about 1 T of dressing on top of your salad

- then crumble goat cheese on your salad

- top with a few more pieces of chopped basil

Then VOILA! Enjoy your fresh summer salad masterpiece!!!

Potato Salad Perfection

I've never met a potato I don't like (potato chip, French fries and baked potatoes included)! I have however, met plenty of potato salads I don't like! They can be too mayonnais-y, too mustard-y, too yellow, you get the picture!

This potato salad recipe from Smitten Kitchen is fabulous! I've made it twice now and it will be my go-to recipe from here on out!

The recipe for Rosanne Cash's potato salad can be found here: link to original recipe.

Here are my recommendations to make this recipe a home run:

1) I definitely recommend making the potato salad a few hours before you need to serve it, so the dressing has time to season the potatoes properly! 

2) I'm always a fan of using fresh herbs but you can use dried dill in this recipe. Reduce the amount to about 1.5 tsp (or the amount you deem appropriate!) 

3) definitely use cornichons, it makes the flavor pop just a little bit more than classic dill pickles! What are cornichons? They're very baby size pickles that pack a much greater tart/vinegar flavor punch. You can get them in the pickle aisle - I've used brands from Fresh Market and Trader Joe's. 

4) I don't normally like raw celery but it is so delicious in this recipe; definitely do not skip it! 

Grilling Inspiration - Tomatillos, Chipotle Peppers in Adobo and Grilled Corn

Two recipes for your grilling pleasure this summer!

First: Bobby Flay's Smoked Chile Butter-Brushed Shrimp with Tomatillo Salsa: his recipe packs such a flavorful bunch, it's addictive!!!

Second: the EASIEST way to make corn!

Bobby Flay's Smoked Chile Butter-Brushed Shrimp with Tomatillo Salsa - here is the link to the recipe.

• We had grilled corn with the shrimp and it was plenty filling. I would say the plate looks empty though - perhaps add a light summer salad or some grilled zucchini and squash to your plate too!
• I had no idea what tomatillos were before we got Bobby Flay's Boy Meet Grill cookbook about 8 years ago. They are phenomenal to use. If you are not sure what they look like, here is a photo - the outside is covered in a husk of sorts, you peel this off, then wash them. They are very sticky when you wash them, I like to wash them in a little bit of water and soap. I'm also posting a pic of the inside - they are so interesting! The last pic is the gorgeous tomatillo salsa. 

• I also had no idea what Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce were until Bobby Flay (he's introduced me to an all new world!) - they are dried peppers put into this amazingly flavorful and smoky sauce. Don't be deceived though, these peppers still pack a HUGE punch, so you don't want to over do it in a recipe. You can find the can of them in the Mexican food aisle. Look at the beautiful color of this butter:
  
  
• Funny story about this recipe (I'm slighly infamous for not fully reading recipes, I glance :) I didn't read that you only needed a couple of peppers, instead, I put the whole jar in the recipe! While it was still deliciously addictive, our mouths were on FIRE! 

Folks...corn season is upon us! The weather has warmed up and it's grilling time! There is nothing I enjoy more with a meal than corn on the cob (it's still a vegetable y'all, despite the fact that it's a starchy one). You know what I do NOT enjoy though, is shucking corn (southern verb for removing the husks and the silk!).

The EASIEST solution and best TASTING version of cooking corn is here:

Step 1: Buy fresh ears of corn (unshucked)

Step 2: Bring your corn home

Step 3: Heat up your grill or your oven

Step 4: Place ears of corn direclty on the grill (top shelf is recommended) or on a bakign sheet pan and put into the oven. Bake for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Step 5: Remove corn from heat, let sit for a moment. Cut the end of the corn off, then pull husks off of corn (and voila! like magic, the silks come off with the husks!), eat and enjoy!

Chicken Lasagna

So y'all remember my post last week regarding 2 week night prep shortcuts for chicken! This is a recipe you can utilize that delicious chicken in.

I LOVE this recipe. It is delicious and filling and not too heavy for a lasagna. I also think it creates a nice substitution to the traditional lasagna, but keeps the ease of heating for a weeknight dinner.

One of my favorite ways to make a savory recipe have more "good for you" nutrition is by adding diced yellow squash! I have added it to the recipe below :)

White Chicken & Cheese Lasagna

9 whole wheat lasagna noodles (not oven-ready)
1/2 c butter
1 whole onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 c All-purpose flour
1 medium size yellow squash, diced
1 t salt
2 c chicken broth
1 1/2 c milk
4 c shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 c grated parmesan cheese, divided PLUS 1/4 c for topping
1 t dried basil
1 t dried oregano
1/2 t ground pepper
2 c ricotta cheese
2 c cooked, cubed chicken
1 pkg (10oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
1 T chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna, drain & rinse with cold water & layout on waxed paper.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion, diced squash & garlic in the butter until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in flour & salt; simmer until bubbly.

Mix in the broth & the milk and boil; stirring constantly for 1 minute. Stir in 2 cups of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 c Parmesan. Season with basil, oregano and ground black pepper. Remove from heat & set aside.

Mix the ricotta, 1 c of mozzarella and chicken together.

Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture on the bottom of the 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows:
- 1/3 of noodles
- all of the ricotta, mozzarella & chicken
- spinach
- 1/3 of noodles
- 1/4 of sauce mixture
- the rest of the ricotta, mozzarella & chicken mixture
- 1 cup of mozzarella
- 1/2 c parmesan cheese
- 1/3 of noodles
- spread remaining sauce evenly over the noodles
- top with additional 1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in the preheated oven. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting & serving.

Chicken AGAIN?...Oh yeah!!!

How many of you are SICK of eating chicken for dinner? I am totally raising my hand right now. The thing is it's an inevitable you're going to use this meat in the next 7 days - why? Primarily because it's affordable, readily available and a healthy choice relatively speaking to other meat options. What is is not usually, is convenient. I want to share 2 chicken cheats with you that will make meal prep a BREEZE! One is an easy item to purchase and the other is an easy item to prep in your own home. I'm also including one of my favorite recipes utilizing either prep method of chicken.

First up: Already Prepped Rotisserie Chicken from Costco. 
It comes with over 2.5# of chicken. Can I repeat this beautiful phrase: already prepped rotisserie chicken! This means, you don't have to open the gross plastic clamshell or bag to get your greasy chicken out, remove the skin, remove the chicken and still have an appetite to eat it. Instead, you buy the package at Costco. Once you're home, you open it, remove the amount of chicken you would like to use for whatever purpose and VOILA, you're done handling chicken.

Simplicity is a beautiful thing!

The package isn't much to behold, in fact, it looks quite gross and I would have never found it myself in the store, except that my uncle recommended it to me. Do note though that after you have opened the package, you have 6 days to use it before it spoils. If you're worried you can't use that much that quickly, freeze what you don't use before the 6 days pass.

Second Up: Prepping a large package of chicken for the week by precooking it. 

I had never tried this method until last fall and it is SO easy! The only true work you have to do is take it out of the package (which is always a little gross, chicken juice...ICK!). All you have to do are these easy steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
2. Line a jelly roll sheet pan (that's the cookie sheet with the edges on it) with foil
3. Spray the foil with cooking spray - I use the olive oil kind, then sprinkle with fresh ground sea salt and pepper
4. Place chicken breasts on the foil
5. Spray the chicken with cooking spray (or brush with olive oil) and then sprinkle with your choice of herbs - I do an everything seasoning (Trader Joe's!) and then sea salt and pepper
6. Cover the chicken loosely with foil & bake for 1 hour

I guarantee this cooking method is the best and easiest way to cook chicken and for it to be moist and ready for almost any recipe!

I used my oven baked chicken in Chicken Poppyseed Casserole last night - so easy - here is the recipe:

Chicken Poppyseed Casserole

1.5 - 2 Lb of cooked and diced chicken (or more if you prefer!)

8oz sour cream

8oz Plain Greek Yogurt (I use this instead of only sour cream, lightens teh recipe and gives you a higher protein content)

2 cans of Cream of Chicken soup (I swear using Campbell's makes it have more flavor!)

2 cups of precooked rice (I cheat and use Uncle Ben's 90 second rice pouches, such a time saver)

Topping below (the best part!!! :)

Mix all of the above together and place in a 9x13 pan. We can't eat this whole casserole in one sitting, so I split it into 2 casseroles. One for this week and then freeze one for later. This casserole reheats beautifully.

Ritz Cracker Topping

1 T poppyseeds

60 Ritz crackers (2 sleeves)

1 stick of butter (melted)

Place crackers in a large ziplock bag, then crush them into small pieces. Add poppyseeds and butter to thoroughly mix together. Top casserole with the cracker topping. Freezing tip: I place the cracker topping in a sandwich bag and freeze with the casserole, this way when it's thawing, the crackers don't get soggy. You can freshly top them like normal, when you're ready to heat the casserole. 

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes covered and 5 more minutes uncovered. Your casserole should be bubbling with deliciousness when it's ready to take out of the oven. 

Mascaras - A WOW Look for your Eyes

I would never tell my friends to come to me for makeup advice. I'm not the person that explores with makeup or frequents Sephora or Ulta with confidence. In fact, those places intimidate me quite a bit!

I recently asked a college friend for mascara recommendations because she always posts fabulous fashion and beauty advice. I was looking for a mascara that could help hold my eye-lash curl for the day and give my eyes a little more "pop" without having to apply eyeliner everyday. She gave me 3 fantastic recommendations. I was so blown away by one of them though, that I had to share it!

Here are the 3 I tried*:

1. Benefit: They're Real! Lengthening Mascara, $24
2. Too Faced: Better Than Sex Mascara, $23
3. Cover Girl: The Super Sizer Mascara, $7.49

The WINNER: I liked the Cover Girl mascara best, which was shocking to me! It's only 1/3 of the price of the other two but it delivers results for the whole day! It holds my eyelash shape/curl and gives my lashes better definition than the other two. The brush seems very underwhelming and almost too small but the size actually gives you very good control to do a broad application and detailed application. I put a photo below that is a close-up of my eyes...let me tell you, that is TRICKY to do and not look totally scary :) I applied my mascara at 9am and you can still see my lashes at 2pm in the afternoon - woot woot!!! Usually, my lashes have melted back into the curve of the edge of my eye lid by this point...I digress.

One other thing I learned during these tests - you need to rotate your mascara every 3 months! Who knew?! I only replace my mascara when it's clearly drying out :) Replacing a $20+ mascara every 3 months really adds up, which makes me so pleased with my new budget find!

What's your favorite mascara and why?

*Prices listed are from ulta.com

Focaccia - A Crowd Pleaser

They always say, you shouldn't try a new recipe for a party...and yet, I always do! This weekend, we hosted a Super Bowl Party. Cory & I wanted to make fresh pizzas (one of our favorites & family specialties) but sometimes they can be quite a hassle with a crowd. As I was brainstorming on an alternate food to make, I thought, ah! Focaccia with some yummy toppings. Last time I tried to make focaccia, it did not turn out well (it was tough and didn't have the nice airiness that focaccia should have) which made me a little hesitant to make it again. Then I found this excellent recipe on Allrecipes.com (original recipe). The reviews were great and the amount of time it took was even better (sometimes doughs can take SOOO long!).

Quick summary: this foccacia came out incredibly nicely! If you are hesitant to make doughs, don't be with this one, your efforts will be rewarded! It is also a great recipe for a crowd.

Focaccia Bread
Makes 1 large, jelly roll pan size loaf

1 T honey
2 C warm water
1 T active dry yeast
1 T kosher salt
1 T olive oil
1/2 C diced onions
5 C all-purpose flour
3 T olive oil
2 T freshly chopped rosemary
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan
1 T sea salt

Step 1: Dissolve honey in warm water in a large bowl. Then sprinkle the yeast on top. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast softens & foam begins to form.

Step 2: Stir in 1 T kosher salt, 1 T olive oil, diced onions & the 5 cups of flour. Mix until the dough begins to form.

Step 3:  Cover the bowl of dough with a damp cloth. Let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. Becca's tip for a warm place: boil your kettle with water, place the bowl of dough & the tea kettle in the oven. Open the kettles stopper to release the steam into the oven...voila! You have a warm place.

Step 4: Once the dough has risen (or if you have a double oven) preheat the oven to 415 degrees.

Step 5: Line your jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment & sides of the jelly roll pan with cooking spray. Place dough on the parchment and spread out, making sure to make indentions with your fingers as you gently spread the dough. The dough is very easy to work with.

Step 6: Drizzle the foccacia dough with 3 T of olive oil and spread evenly with your fingers or a pastry brush (lightly brush though). Then sprinkle with the rosemary and parmesan cheese. This is the part where you can add your own toppings. I also sprinkled freshly ground sea salt on top. This time as additional toppings, I used:
- sliced cherry tomatoes (I sliced them, then placed the slices on a paper towel to drain some of the liquid from them)
- asiago cheese
- thin slices of pepperoni
- other topping options: olives, red onions, feta cheese, other fresh herbs

--> I made the dough several hours ahead of time. I wanted the bread to be warm when our guests arrived, so I wrapped the dough with saran wrap and put it in the refrigerator. About 30 minutes before I wanted it to go into the oven, I took it out of the refrigerator to let it come back to room temperature. I would dare to say the pre-baked dough would be OK to refrigerate overnight. Let me know if you try this!

Step 7: Bake the in preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes, until bread is golden! Cut into large squares (about 3x3 or 4x4" squares) and enjoy!