Salmon with Avocado-Pineapple Salsa

Apparently, I'm not all that great at making a salsa topping.  Steve never seems to like it.  Maybe I make it with too much onion...I don't know.  I always seem to enjoy my salsas, but Steve is not as big of a fan of spicy/oniony items as I am.

This recipe sounded good to me because it had both avocado and pineapples in it.  It sounded really refreshing so I thought I'd give it a shot.  While not a favorite of Steve's, if you like salsa maybe you'll like this!  I think this recipe would be amazing during the long hot days of summer!

2 avocados, diced small

2 cups finely diced pineapple

1 jalepeno, minced

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

1/4 cup fresh lime juice from 2 limes

coarse salt and ground pepper

nonstick cooking spray

3-4 salmon filets

arugula for serving

Basically, chop up all the veggies and fruit and mix well.

I cooked the salmon in the skillet.  

Salsa

 Ready to eat

 The salmon

Happy cooking!

Beef and Tomato Stew

Instead of soup this week, I decided to make a beef stew because I didn't want to burn myself out on soups.  This recipe is also in the Everyday Food monthly magazine.

Instead of carrots, I used butternut squash.  Really tasty.

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced small

3 medium carrots, cut into 1/4 inch rounds (or 1 butternut squash peeled, cored, and chopped)

3 celery stalks, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

2 lbs beef chuck, fat trimmed, cut into 1 inch pieces (I just threw the whole thing in and tore it apart after it cooked)

1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

coarse salt and ground pepper

4 cups cooked brown rice (or basmati rice)

6 tbsp greek yogurt (plain, non fat)

1/2 cup fresh parsley

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium.  Add onion, carrots (or squash), and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 10 minutes.  Transfer mixture to 5 to 6 quart slow cooker and add beef, tomatoes, broth, garlic, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp ground pepper.

cover and cook on high, 6 hours, stirring occasionally.  To serve, divide brown rice and stew among six bowls and top with yogurt and parsley.  

Steve wanted to show the squash...

Again, genius slow cooker bags save the day on clean up!

Happy cooking!

P90X, Running, and Weight Loss

Alright y'all moment of truth.  I NEVER do this.  In fact, I'm hesitant to do this.  Usually what happens when I get on a diet or workout kick, I fall out of it...but for some reason this time feels different to me.  

So I started P90X on Sunday.  Yoga.  Y'all that one is a killer for real.  But man, do you feel good after you're done.  Anyway, so I've been pretty good at sticking with it.  I thought I'd try to take pictures once a week (wear the same thing and the same poses....) and even :::GASP::: post my weight loss (I'm assuming I'm going to lose weight running and doing P90X, but I mean...crazier things have happened!). 

So right now, I am officially 151.  Ugh.  But don't even ask me what I was at the beginning of January.  It was scary. I hadn't weighed that much since I first turned 21 and I was drinking pitchers of beer every other night of the week and EVERY night on the weekend (don't act like you didn't do the same thing).  So anyway, when I weighed myself and saw that scary number I was like "No ma'am!  You're getting this in check right now!  Plus, I really want to wear my skinny jeans with boots again" (Uh, I WISH it would be cold enough to even try wearing skinny jeans with boots...dang this Texas weather).  So my goal was to try to fit back into my skinny jeans by TMEA weekend (which is next weekend).  I'm not going to try those on until this coming Tuesday night because I don't want to stress myself out if they don't fit (which I'm going to be honest-they probably won't) ::so by telling myself they probably won't fit I won't get my hopes up...and then when they DO fit, I'll be queen of the world::

ANYWAYS, so my new goal is to lose another 15-20 lbs by the end of the school year.  Totally doable if I stick to what I'm doing right now.  I'm watching what I eat, I work out 4-5 days a week (which will now, because of P90X, be every day-give or take a rest day).  I'm just really trying to eat when I feel hungry and not because I'm bored.  I try to keep myself busy so that I'm not tempted to make bad decisions and I try to remind myself when I'm not feeling the motivation to work out how good I feel afterwards and the huge difference I can already see in my body after just 4 weeks.

So yo here I am, rockin' the guns.  Or lack of them.  Whatev.  You know you wish you looked this good.

Gonna get rid of that belly yo and firm up the tush.

Again, the belly.  Ugh.  The bane of my existence. And I'm going to try to get those hips in check.

Anyways, there ya have it blogging world.  Me.  At least I'm wearing clothes.  I wasn't about to post what I look like in just a sports bra and sports shorts.  No sir.  No one needs to see that.  Though, if I get down to my goal, I may just do it!  :)  

So I've been doing a pretty decent job of running.  I was going to sign up for a marathon in April, but I'm on a strict budget and just don't see spending that money on a race.  So I'm still going to train like I'm going to run it, and then just run a 26.2 around the area I live in.  Of course, the HH will be around to cheer me on and give me some water/Cytomax/food/extra push to finish.  I figured this was good....the only thing I'll miss out on is the medal.  ::sad face::  Maybe I'll change my mind...but I already need a new pair of shoes to run in (that in itself is $100) and going to TMEA is going to cost me money and the hope of taking my Orff Schulwerk Level 2 class in June (assuming I don't get any scholarship to help out with that) is going to cost a pretty penny.

Follow my running on the side bar.  I post my latest run pretty much as soon as I come in the door and catch my breath.

What keeps you motivated to continue working out?  

Chicken Saltimbocca

This week was kind of slim pickings for us...I'm trying to use up what we have in the house and what's in the freezer...so this was something that I found that sounded good.  Ham and chicken with some swiss cheese mixed in?  I'm game!

Also, can I just rave about these little plastic slow cooker bags??  Oh.Em.Gee.  Love. LOVE.  LOVVVEEE.  No clean up.  Fantastic!  Genius I tell you!

Chicken Saltimocca (from Taste of Home Casseroles, Slow Cooker, and Soups)

6 boneless chicken breast halves

6 thin slice deli ham

6 slices swiss cheese

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth (I used chicken broth)

Hot cooked rice

Flatten chicken to 1/4 in thickness.  Top each piece with a slice of ham and cheese.  Roll up tightly; secure with toothpicks.  In a shallow bowl, combine the flour, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.

Roll chicken in flour mixture; refrigerate for 1 hour.

In a skillet, brown roll ups in oil on all sides; transfer to slow cooker.  Combine the soup and wine or broth; pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.  Remove roll ups and stir sauce.  Serve with rice.

A watched slow cooker never cooks....

Ready to get on my plate!

Aw, yeah!  Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Give this one a shot.  Not too hard, filling and very tasty!

Happy cooking!

Lemon Pudding Cakes

Alright, y'all what can I say, I like my desserts.  This recipe is also in my Everyday Food magazine.  Little Ms. Martha Stewart knows what she's talkin' about yo.  These little babies are only 197 calories a pop and they're very rich and filling.  If you like citrusy foods this is for you!

Lemon Pudding Cakes:

2 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more, room temperature for ramekins

1/2 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 large eggs, separated

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest plus 1/2 cup lemon juice from 2 lemons

1 1/4 cup whole milk

confectioners sugar for serving.

Preheat oven to 325.  Butter 8 6 oz ramekins. Set in a shallow baking pan.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks with 12 cup granulated sugar until pale and smooth.  Whisk in butter, lemon zest, and juice, milk, and flour mixture.  Refrigerate mixture up to 3 hours.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer,beat egg whites with 1/4 cup granulated sugar until stiff peak forms, 5 minutes; fold batter.  With ladle, divide batter among ramekins (keeping sides clean).  Pour enough hot water into baking pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  Bake until cakes are puffed and slightly golden on top, 30 minutes.  Dust with confectioners sugar and serve immediately.

The mixture ready to go into the ramekins

In their water bath..

Ah, yeah, man! Yum, yum!

Happy cooking!

Strawberry Cake with Buttercream Frosting

I am a big fan of Strawberry Cakes.  On Saturday, I was looking in my fridge for ingredients that I was using for dinner and saw two containers of strawberries.  All of a sudden, I was whisked away to when I was younger and my Nanny would make the best strawberry cake known to man.  Oh my gosh, was it delicious...it was then that the seed was planted.  I knew I was going to have to make the cake, but when?  I was busy with cleaning the house, going to a baby shower, and cooking an already planned meal for my in laws... I decided that Sunday would have to be the day.  And I couldn't wait!

This recipe is from The Cake Doctor.  I've made a few other cakes from this cook book and have always been impressed with the outcome, this one though takes the cake (see what I did there?).

Strawberry Cake:

Solid Vegetable shortening for greasing the pans

Flour for dusting the pans (I used a short cut-baker's joy spray)

1 package plain white cake mix

1 package (3 oz) strawberry gelatin

1 cup mashed fresh strawberries with juice (1 1/2 cups whole berries)

1 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup whole milk

4 large eggs

1 cup frozen unsweetened (I used sweetened since it was something I already had) grated coconut, thawed

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I didn't have any of these, so this was left out)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350.  Lightly grease and flour pans.

Place the cake mix, strawberry gelatin, mashed strawberries and juice, oil, milk, and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend on low for 1 minute.  Stop the machine and scrape down sides with a spatula.  Increase mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more, scraping sides if needed.  The strawberries should be well blended into the mixture.  Fold in coconut and pecans.  Divide the batter among the prepared pans and place in the oven on the center rack.  

Bake the cakes until they are light brown and just start to pull away from the sides of the pan, 28-30 minutes (or if you only use 2 pans, around 35-40 minutes-just keep an eye on them).

Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes.  Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto the rack, then invert again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up again.  Allow them to cool completely for 30 more minutes.

Buttercream Frosting:

8 tablespoons (1 stick butter) at room temperature

3 3/4 cups confectioners sugar sifted

3 to 4 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

Place butter in mixing bowl and mix until creamy and fluffy.  Stop machine and add confectioners sugar, 3 tbsp milk and vanilla extract.  Blend on low until the sugar is incorporated (I slowly added in the sugar-I didn't put it in all at once).  Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy one more minute.  Blend in 1 more tbsp of milk if the frosting seems too stiff.

The cake mix and gelatin

Yum, mashed strawberries!

Coconut!

All mixed up!

In the pans

All cooked and cooled, ready for icing.

 Yum

The cake all iced.

This was a last minute decision...and might I say, a delicious one at that!

I love to hate to toot my own horn, but I'd have to say if my Nanny was here, she'd probably say this cake is giving her recipe a run for it's money.  I've gotten rave reviews already from my friends and family.  If I were you, I'd TOTES give this recipe a shot.  You won't be sorry and your friends and family will think you should open up your own bakery!  Just sayin'

Happy cooking!

Vegetable and Tofu Pad Thai

Thai food is a real treat for me.  I really enjoy going to thai food restaurants and I never knew why until I made this meal.  I finally figured out what it was.  The chili sauce-Sriracha.  Oh. Em. Gee.  This is another meal out of the Everyday Food magazine - Light issue.  This meal, per serving, is 473 calories....which I'm sure is largely in part to the noodles.

Like I've been saying, Steve has been requesting to add in meals with little to no meat to our every day dinners.  I happily obliged.  I saw this recipe and immediately knew I was going to try it, but I had to run it by Steve first.  Surprisingly, he was really cool about it and agreed to give it a shot.  I made sure my Chicken Minestrone Soup was readily available as a Plan B in case this recipe tanked and became a failure.  Luckily, I was able to put my soup in the fridge and we enjoyed this meal while we watched the NY Giants and San Francisco 49ers play some good football.  BTW, I HATE NY.  I DO NOT like Eli Manning.  Why?  I don't know...I think I've carried a strong dislike for him ever since he beat us (the Cowboys) in a playoff game a few years back.  Ever since then I've wished nothing but rotten luck on their team.  I know that's bad...but a girl can't help it.  You mess with the Boys, you mess with me.

Anyway, this was a surprisingly satisfying meal and I really recommend this for anyone wanting to try tofu for the first time.  It was a learning experience for me and I think I did an OK job with it...I mean, it's really hard to mess up soybeans, right?

I used egg noodles because I couldn't find rice noodles at Walmart (what IS it about that store?!  They never have the things I need..I guess I need to start going to Central Market or something for my unusually food items)
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tbsp soy sauce or fish sauce
1 tbsp chili sauce such as Sriracha (I may use a little less next time for Steve's sake)
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 package (14 ounces) firm tofu, drained, thinly sliced, and patted dry
2 medium carrots (I ran out of carrots, so I used zucchini) peeled and shredded
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
coarse salt
2 tbsp roasted chopped salted peanuts
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Soak noodles (or cook the egg noodles like I did if you don't have rice noodles) to package indications, drain.  In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, soy sauce, chili sauce, and brown sugar.

In large non stick skillet, heat 1/2 tsp oil over medium-high heat, tilting to coat pan.  Add eggs, swirl to coat pan and cook until just set, about 1 minute.  Transfer eggs to cutting board, loosely rolling and cut crosswise into thin strips.  Add tofu in a single layer and cook until golden brown on both sides about 7 minutes, flipping half way through.  Transfer to cutting board.

Add in 1 1/2 tsp oil, carrots (or in my case, zucchini), garlic and scallions-white to skillet and cook until softened about 5 minutes.  Add lime juice mixture and bring to a simmer.  Add noodles and cook, stirring frequently 1 minute.  Add eggs and tofu and gently toss to combine.  Season to taste with salt. Top with peanuts, cilantro, and scallion greens.

Here's all my veggies ready to go :)

 Mmmm tofu...

 The eggs all chopped up

 The tofu cookin'.  I didn't do a great job slicing it up.

 The veggies cooking

 Yummy!  All ready to eat!

 We ate this with the Naan from Friday night

The chili sauce really made this dish flavorful and I am contemplating buying some fish sauce because I hear it really adds another level to the flavor.  Definitely try this if you're feeling adventurous in the kitchen!

Happy cooking!