Sunday, November 16, 2014

Green Drank

As you may have been able to tell blog posts have been lacking lately. I have been trying this new diet lately.. the 21 day fix, so a lot of our dinners have been boring ground chicken/beef with the occasional hot sauce or taco seasoning. But I having been trying to come up with recipes that are blog worthy (so I don't get any comments that include the words "that sucks" in it) and still on the diet so with all that being said I wanted to post my green drank recipe. I had no idea what to expect when I first made it but honestly diet or no diet I would drink this stuff for breakfast. 

What You Need

  • 1 Banana (broken into pieces) 
  • 1/2 cup ice
  • 1 cup spinach
  • 1/3 cup orange juice
  • 6 oz nonfat strawberry/banana yogurt (I have been getting Dannon light & fight 80 calories but go nuts) 


What to do (in 1 step or less)

  • Combine all the ingredients above in the blender (on high) until combined well, it might take a minute or two. 

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Asian Zing Wings..

The ultimate football sunday food is wings. Today was a take on asian zing wings (you know like the ones from buffalo wild wings). The only tweak I would make to this recipe next time is to add a little hot sauce .. but thats just because we like things spicy around here! 

The secret ingredient in this sauce is the chili garlic sauce.. its in the asian food section of any food store). 



What You'll Need: 
3 tablespoons cornstarch
5 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup chili garlic sauce 
2 tablespoons soy sauce
the juice of 1 lemon 
1 clove of garlic (chopped) 
1/2 tablespoon salt 
However many wings you think you can handle ( I think I used about 3 lbs) 

What to do

Sauce: 
1. Mix the cornstarch and rice wine vinegar (to make a slurry and set to the side) 
2. Mix all the other sauce ingredients in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk together and add in the cornstarch mixture. 
3. Bring to a boil and then let it cool (as a side note the longer you let this cool the better and thicker it is - also at this point you can store it in the fridge). 


Wings: 
1. Preheat the oven to 400.
2. Lay the wings on a baking sheet (depending on how you buy the wings you might have to break the wing from the drum stick).
3. Bake the wings for 30 minutes then turn the broiler on high an place the wings under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. 
4. Mix the wings with the cooled sauce in a large bowl! 


I hope you make these at home and enjoy them as much as us! 


Thursday, October 30, 2014

Turkey Meatballs & Kale

Today was an epic day.. no work.. instead went to THE CHEW with some great friends and had my first pickle dirty martini (stay tuned for an at home recipe as soon as I figure it out)! It was unbelievable how nice all the hosts were and what a great time the show is! Also one of the guest today was Ina Garten.. a personal favorite chef of mine, so that was REALLY awesome and now I am proud owner of her new cookbook! 

Inspired by the day, of course I had to cook. Tonight's dinner was Turkey Meatballs & Kale in a chicken broth. It was pretty healthy and really good! Hope you enjoy! 



What You'll Need (serving size 2): 

  • 1 lb ground turkey breast
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano 
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 2/3 cup shell pasta (or whatever kinda you like) 
  • 2 cups of kale
  • 1 tablespoon grated parmesan reggiano
  • 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes


What To Do: 

1. Mix together ground turkey, garlic (crushed), oregano and season with salt & pepper (your hands are the best tool) and form about 10 meatballs. 

2. In a large skillet brown the meatballs then set aside. (At this point you can let it cool and put in the fridge for an easy make ahead dish). 

3. In a pot bring 3 cups of chicken broth to boil and cook the pasta until al dente, add in kale and the meatballs, cover with a lid for 5-7 minutes. 

4. The broth will be thick, add in parmesan, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Serve in large bowls. (make sure to include the broth)! 

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Mexican Chicken Soup

It is a rainy wednesday night .. so tonight was perfect for soup. Tonight I made Mexican Chicken Soup! This meal can totally be made in 30 minutes or less. 

What You'll Need: 

  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 jalapeno (chopped) 
  • 4 gloves of garlic (chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 can of corn
  • 1/2 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 pound cooked and shredded chicken
  • 1 box of chicken stock (4 cups)
  • 1 cup ditalini pasta 
  • 2 shakes of hot sauce


What To Do: 

  1. In a large pot over medium heat add butter, jalapeno, garlic, paprika and oregano. Heat for 5-7 minutes. 
  2. Add in corn, tomatoes and chicken, season with salt and pepper. Add 1 box of chicken stock and bring to a boil then pour in pasta and bring back up to a boil. 
  3. Pour in hot sauce. Serve in large bowls & Enjoy! 


Thursday, October 16, 2014

Birthday Cupcakes!

It's a co-worker, friend, banana lover and crazy girl's Birthday at work tomorrow, so birthday cupcakes are in order. Some people live by "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" this particular birthday girl would replace that apple with an afternoon banana nanner. So in honor of her birthday I made: 

Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting 


Peanut butter and banana go together perfectly so I figured it would be a good combo for cupcakes! 


Cupcakes
makes 12 cupcakes

1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line the cupcake pan. In a mixing bowl beat together butter and sugar. Add milk and vanilla then eggs (one at a time). Slowly add in flour, baking power, baking soda and salt. Slowly add in bananas, then stir in chocolate chips. 

Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter among 12 cupcake cups. Bake in oven until golden, approximately 20 minutes, then remove and cool.


Peanut Butter Frosting: 
1/2 stick butter (softened) 
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
4 tablespoons milk
2 cups powdered sugar 


Cream the butter, peanut butter and vanilla together in a bowl. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time also adding in milk, until it reached the desired consistency. 



Once the cupcakes are cooled use a piping bag and pipe the icing onto the 12 cupcakes.