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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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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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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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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