Buffalo Chicken Burgers

I was driving home from work today, trying to figure out something quick and tasty to make for dinner. I wanted something I hadn't eaten in a while, but would also be simple for me to put a healthier spin on it, and for some reason burgers kept coming to mind. So I decided to make buffalo chicken burgers. Using ground chicken or turkey is great because you can make a leaner version of a burger. :)

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Chicken Rice Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

I'm almost finished with week #4 of working on my fitness and I've dropped 4.5 LBS since I started... not bad I guess. I've been really trying hard making sure I work out regularly and eat healthier. The last four weeks have gone quickly, and I'm really missing the salt, mayo, and all the other yummy fatty foods. I even relapsed once and found myself eating a sausage, egg, & cheese croissant in the car on the way to work one morning. :/ I had instant regrets, I promise!

But eating healthier doesn't mean it can't be yummy!! I found this quick salad idea online for my dinner tonight, but I made a few changes to make it slightly healthier. 

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Lemon Roasted Chicken with Warm Bell Pepper Salad

Yesterday, I visited our local Farmer's Market. My market finds: a whole chicken, yellow squash, bell pepper, bib lettuce, nectarines, wildflower honey, and kettle corn. Score! Supporting our local farmers and entrepreneurs is part of the American Dream and we need to help keep that dream alive!

Using my market finds, I decided to make a Lemon Roasted Chicken with Summer Squash Warm Red Bell Pepper Salad. Ok, so I had planned to make a Summer Squash side dish. Fail! Right as the chicken was finishing up and about to rest, I began slicing the squash... OH NO! They were completely dry inside. Agh, are you kidding me?! My squash from the Farmer's Market was not fresh! I was devastated.

Left scrambling and trying to figure out what to do instead, I let instinct kick in. I still had the bell pepper and bib lettuce from the Farmer's Market and decided to make a warm balsamic dressing for a salad. I rescued my dinner, and pulled together a fantastic side salad with zero time left on the clock. Phew, that was close!

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Chicken Marsala, the Low-Fat Healthy version :)

I've finally motivated myself to get in shape and eat healthier. I'm not going to let myself quit! I just finished my first week of daily workouts, and I'm finally starting to feel the effects of more energy. Being a mom wears you out so even if I don't lose some weight, the extra energy will be worth my effort. Working out alone will not help me get back to pre-baby weight that I desire(go ahead and point it out, that was over four years ago E), so it's time to start making healthier meals too. Not that I don't LOVE the French cuisine that Julia Child has been teaching me, but all the butter and oil doesn't help my situation. So onto the health websites to search for some yummy sounding meals. This one I found from womenshealthmag.com, a low-fat Chicken Marsala, oh yea! Lets see if it lives up to the taste of the full fat version. :D

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Impromptu Burrito Bowl

It's been a great weekend filled with stuff I wanted to do (for a change), instead of stuff I had to do. No grocery shopping, no paying bills (for now), & no cleaning (ok, maybe a little cleaning)! :D Friday (the 13th) was scary movie date night with Davey. Saturday I went to Ikea with Darcie (to get a bunk bed for the wee ones.) & Today is a PJs-all-day kind of day. 

This Sunday afternoon, I craved a simple but delicious lunch. However, I have been avoiding the grocery store this weekend and my pantry & fridge are both sadly about empty. A delicious lunch would have to be a miracle; time to whip up a 'something out of nothing' kind of meal. What do I even have in my kitchen? A box of mac&cheese for the wee ones, rice, 1 frozen chicken breast, a can of black beans, some shredded cheese, and a cabinet crammed packed with spices. Burrito bowl instantly came to mind for Davey and I...

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Jambalaya

Sorry for my hiatus! It's not that I haven't been cooking. I just didn't feel like blogging about it the last few weeks because of the whole song and dance that comes with it. Snapping pictures and cooking at the same time isn't as simple as it may sound. Lately, I've just wanted to relax and cook. No fuss; no muss. But now I'm back!! And I came with a recipe for JAMBALAYA. (Ok, I'll admit, I said that with some zest in my head while I typed it out. HA!)
So... I've never even been to Louisiana before and I have no idea how the heck to make jambalaya. This is where the good ol' internet comes in to play: 
First - get some inspiration! Google Images: "Louisiana scenery" & "New Orleans", search and sigh. Then Pinterest for a bit. You know you're addicted to... don't judge. :)
Second - research! Google: "jambalaya", and then read recipe, after recipe, after recipe. Once I understand the concept, I put my ingredients (and shopping list) together, and write out my steps. 

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Brie & Mushroom Tuna Steaks

WOW, has it really been a month since I've cooked for the blog? May has been a whirlwind of a month. We've had lots of ballet activities, a trip out of town, and celebrated Marley's 4th birthday. I threw her a cowgirl party this year. I learned after her first birthday and the ridiculous menu I came up with to start keeping the parties simple. So no blog meal for her birthday since I'm sure you all know how to grill hot dogs and serve store bought effortless sides. HAHA!
So now that summer is unofficially here (marked by Memorial Day,) it's time to share a dish I learned one summer years ago while I was attending Culinary Art classes through the University of Richmond. Brie & Mushroom Tuna Steaks, need I say more?! And it's surprisingly simple.

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Beef & Spinach Stuffed Shells

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Surf & Turf Soup & Salad

Tomorrow is David's birthday and Friday is my birthday, so this weekend began a week long celebration for the both of us. :) I wanted to make a delicious dinner tonight as part of our celebration, and he loves surf & turf. I browsed the web all morning and found ideas for my dinner at epicurious.com but I altered some of the steps and ingredients to my style. 

This dinner was wonderful and tasted like your dinning at a fancy expensive restaurant. The price tag was almost fancy restaurant too, it cost about $50 dollars and an about an hour to make. But it was so much more intimate to eat in your own home, and a great way to celebrate with you're loved one.

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Creamy Pasta Bake

I'm sure you've had them too but it was one of those "What the heck am I going to make for dinner?" kind of nights. Somehow against all odds, when I have these nights I can usually pull off something pretty tasty. Between the hectic Easter weekend, and my daughter having a stomach bug today, I was feeling completely unprepared for a spectacular dinner. Luckily, I pulled some ground beef out of the freezer at 6:00am. So I looked at the now thawed ground beef and I asked it, what do you want to be tonight. It told me a Creamy Pasta Bake. HAHA!

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Crisp Chopped Coleslaw

Spring is almost here, YAY! David and I spent the evening at his Dad's house for our first barbecue of the season. I love bringing side dishes to cook-outs, so I decided to make coleslaw. Fresh coleslaw is so much better than the store bought alternatives, it's much tastier and crisper.

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Bacon & Cheddar Croissant Bites

As much as I hate to admit it, Marley is getting older. I'm trying to embrace it and let her help me more; cleaning up, setting the table for dinner, and cooking with Mommy. She is always so excited when I let her help like a 'Big Girl'. I hope I can show her how much fun cooking is and maybe one day she'll love it as much as I do.
This morning, we made up our own breakfast croissant concoction together. The great thing about buying the crescent dough is that you can put just about anything in it and it will be good! Other croissant bites I've made before: PB & J, mozzarella stick & pepperonis, roast beef & provolone cheese, party size pigs in a blanket, and ham & cheddar.



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Chicken Simmered with Cream & Onions with Baked Cucumbers

Fondue De Poulet  La Crème avec Concombers Au Beurre

St. Patrick's day was yesterday, who ate corned beef and cabbage? YUM! If I was a organized blogger I would have correlated my posting with the holiday. Especially because I have a really yummy recipe for a corned beef and cabbage dish... but I'm not always organized. I'm an impromptu chef, a working Mommy and life just sucks sometimes. So when life sucks you pout for a few days and eat take-out. Then you put on your big girl panties and get back in the kitchen.
Julia Child has come to rescue me with her French cuisines. She always knows just what I need: a dish cooked with butter, heavy cream, and wine with a side of veggies. Hooray for Julia!!

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Pancake Breakfast for Dinner

Today is National Pancake Day (2/28/12)... Some of you may have gone to IHOP to indulge in their free pancake give away, but I wanted to make some special pancakes for Marley.

I usually just grab a box of the pre-made mix from the store... if you want quick, you can totally dress up these mixes. 

But it being National Pancake Day and all, I wanted to try out a homemade pancake mix. I found many mixes online, the one I used tonight was from allrecipes.com and I just added vanilla extract to the recipe.)

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Mini Cheesy Meat Loaves

As a kid, I loved when my mom made meat loaf. So now as a grown-up, it has become a nostalgic meal. This is a great recipe because the meat stays moist and nothing is worse than a dry meat loaf. I like the mini loaves because the end pieces on a big loaf were always my favorite and each mini loaf is like an end piece. Plus, it is super easy to make and great to serve. :)

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French Onion Soup

Soupe à l'Oignon Gratinée
Yummy doesn't even begin to describe this soup. Whenever I'm out at a nice restaurant and see French Onion Soup on the menu, I jump for the chance to eat it. But making this authentic onion soup from Mastering the Art of French Cooking was unbelievably more flavorful than the soups I've tried in the past, and the best part... it was super easy to make.

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Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

This creamy chicken enchilada dish is not an authentic mexican dish, but certainly tried and tested to be super yummy! I learned the recipe from my sister a few years back, who I think found in from Betty Crocker.


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E's Chili

I've been making my chili for years... but I've never written it down, just made it over and over from memory. So now it's official and I'm sharing my secret recipe with you!

Time: 15 mins prep, and 6+ hours to stew in your crock pot. (Start around noon and it will be perfect by the time you are ready to eat dinner.)

Feeds: Your whole family or a loving couple with days of leftovers.

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Fish Filets Poached in White Wine with Mushrooms & Cream Sauce

Filets de Poisson Bercy aux Champignons & sauce à la crème

"Most of the famous French Dishes involving filet of sole center around fish poached in white wine and coated with a lovely, creamy sauce made from the poaching liquid." - Julia Child

Say no more Julia... throw it over some pasta and I'm in! Tonights dish was very easy, although when I was reading through the recipe and got to the 'Butter brown paper' part, I was wondering if it was going to more difficult than I first anticipated. But it wasn't... just a few simple steps  & in about 15 mins you'll be eating dinner.

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Bang-Bang Shrimp

A few weeks back, I found a homemade Bang-Bang Shrimp recipe on Pinterest. And for those of you who've been to Bonefish, probably know exactly what I'm talking about, YUM-MMY! I thought today would be a perfect time to take a little break from Julia's French cooking and go Asian for the night. Courtesy of a fellow foodie, FakeGinger, I made her Bang-Bang Shrimp(click here for the recipe).

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Oeufs pochés ... échec

The French language is so beautiful! Oeufs pochés ... échec certainly looks a lot better than Poached Eggs... Fail. Late Sunday morning, I finally took on the poached eggs recipe and attempted to make Eggs Benedict with asparagus for brunch. Maybe 'Fail' is too harsh, because it wasn't entirely bad... just not up to my own personal expectations. I often find myself having too high of hopes for my cooking. I let it get to me when something doesn't turn out right. But I'm trying to accept and anticipate that I won't always get it right the first time, but I will always have a second time to try again.

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Poulet Poêlé Á L'Estragon & Risotto-Pilaf-Plau

[Casserole-roasted Chicken with Brown Tarragon Sauce]

I was supposed to be bold enough to try two french lessons from Julia for Saturday: poached eggs for lunch and roasted chicken for dinner. Feeling overwhelmed and underzealous, I saved the poaching for Sunday brunch and invited some good friends to join David in the panel of judges for the roast chicken dinner extravaganza. After all, how can you know if your food is good if you only ever get one opinion. :) 7pm was gonna come quick...

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Bifteck Sauté Béarnaise

Tonight's to do:

• Pan sear the filet steaks
• Roast red fingerling potatoes
• Sauté spinach
• AND don't mess up the béarnaise

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A Simple Start

My loving and very supported boyfriend, who has always been my meal time guinea-pig, gave me the much desired Mastering the Art of French Cooking books for Christmas. Wow... speechless! Julia Child, I bow to you. So of coarse, I can't just use these masterpiece recipes as a decoration on the shelf... 

LETS GET IN THE KITCHEN!

The Menu

Thursday

dinner: Pan Broiled Steak with Bernaise Sauce

Saturday

lunch: Poached Eggs & asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

dinner: Casserole-roasted Tarragon Chicken

Ok, I can do this. Simple start. Riigghht...