Detox

Today was a great food day.

I'm trying a detox for the next couple of weeks, and today's recipes were yummy!

I'm working on having four to five small meals throughout the day to hopefully speed up my snail-speed metabolism.

I whipped up a Carrot-Mango Smoothie I found here.

It was the perfect pick-me-up for my afternoon meal.

Next up was dinner-Salmon with Herbed Mustard Sauce paired with Spicy Cauliflower-found here and here.

 I was a little nervous about the boldness of each dish, but Seth and I loved it!

We ate in front of the TV tonight.

The picture in the recipe left the sauce on the side, but we went for it and spread ours on top.

The vegetables had so much dimension with the cumin seeds and mustard seeds.

I ended my night with the best homemade tea I have ever tasted!

Warm Grapefruit Tea-found here.

This was so refreshing and comforting! 

It made two mugs-I get to enjoy it again tomorrow night!

Seriously, all you readers out there need to get yourselves some grapefruits and whip this up!

(Jordan, if you try this, make sure you add extra honey-those grapefruits are tart! ;))

Cheers to a delicious and sunny day!

   

Chicken Fetish

No, I have not cooked any recipes with Julia Child lately (I am planning a meal into next week's menu), 

but I have found a new favorite way to cook chicken-stuffed chicken!

I was so excited when I saw that my January 2011 edition of Cooking Light featured 

25 Quick & Easy Weeknight Chicken Inspirations.

I always find myself scrounging to meet my daily protein intake, 

so inspiration is welcome anytime.

These meals were two of the most delicious forms of chicken Seth and I have enjoyed together.

Pimiento Cheese Chicken

We were so excited and hungry after work/school for the first meal that we forgot to document, so here is what it looks like in the magazine.

The chicken was so so tender, and the filling was so creamy and flavor-packed.

 Bacon and Goat Cheese Chicken

I was a little nervous using these ingredients, bacon can be too strong for my taste at times, and Seth turns up his nose every time I have crackers and goat cheese.

You can imagine my shock when the bacon was so subtle, and Seth complemented on how yummy the cheese was!

We paired both chickens with one of our favorite vegetables-grilled asparagus.  We love it simple with just salt and pepper, but sometimes we like to liven it up.  I sprinkled this little concoction over them-dijon mustard, lemon juice, melted butter, garlic powder, and minced onion-and it was a fantastic burst of flavors.

We both voted these dishes as keepers.

Cheers to many more 'keepers' in our future!

The Vintage Inside Me Dying to Be Let Out

I am going through a vintage craze right now!

I totally do not have the money or time to start collecting 

vintage decorations, clothes, household items, etc. 

So I have just been 'ooh'-ing and 'ahh'-ing over blogs and numerous Etsy groups.

One of my new favorite blogs to drool over is vintage junky.

I. Love. This. Clock.

My dream is to be able to infuse my entire home (once we get one, and have the resources and time) with vintage charm.

But for now my college student budget, and small apartment leave me stuck, drooling.

Family Style

Tonight is the last night before my parents leave on a two-week trip to Israel.  

I decided this called for a great big family dinner-but at our apartment this time.

On the menu was my very first recipe from Mastering The Art Of French Cooking with Julia Child!

I started out with the first recipe in the book-potato and leek soup.

It was so simple!

Just slice up some leeks.

Dice up some peeled potatoes.

Add a few diced parsnips.

Toss in a pot with water and lots of sea salt.

Simmer for 45 minutes, mash until desired consistency, add a few tablespoons of butter, and correct the seasoning.

I accompanied the soup with a broiled sandwich I got from Iowa Girl Eats- Turkey Cheddar Pretzel Bread Sandwiches.

I piled on garlic peppered turkey and sharp cheddar cheese and let the broiler do the work.

They were such a hit!

We ate family style (I had to set out some soup condiments for the family-shredded cheese, green onions, parsley and bacon).

I will never get a perfect family picture (even when only half the family is present!).

We were so stuffed afterward, Seth even needed to 'lay it off.'

I am so excited for my parents to experience the Bible in a whole new way in Israel these next couple weeks.

I hope this was a great send-off and I know they would love it if we all kept them in our prayers as they travel!

...These Are a Few of My Favorite Things!

I bought a bag of oranges the other day and they were not a hit with the husband.

It just shows how particular he can be about his food! We have been going through an orange craze lately, but apparently he only like Navels and Clementines, and these were neither.

So I took advantage of his disapproval and juiced the bunch.

I got out my handy juicer that just takes a little elbow grease.

Now I get to enjoy freshly squeezed orange juice for breakfast this week. :)

These are the Navels Seth and I are addicted to-how can one not be when they taste as refreshing as they look?!  Whenever I beat him home from work/school I make sure I have a fresh plate ready for us to snack on together. :)

I have been hydrating with lemons lately and I cannot get enough!

This is by far my favorite indulgence-sparkling flavored water with a splash of pure pomegranate juice.

I justify my daily afternoon glass with the fact that there are 0 calories in the sparkling water and the juice is nothing but pure unadulterated pomegranate.

One of these days I'll wean myself off, but for now I invite you to indulge with me!

Boys Night

One of the nights this past week we had Seth's good friend, Cole, over for dinner.

We have a little deal going on-he comes over to help me with my Chemistry, and I cook him a yummy dinner with the possibility of watching/playing sports with Seth.

That night I made chicken fajitas and they were a hit!

I marinaded the chicken and bell peppers/onions overnight (separately of course!) in a mixture of dark Mexican beer (yes, my dad had to buy it for me), soy sauce, lime juice, canola oil, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic.

It smelled so delicious!

We had to grill the chicken inside this time (chicken looks so weird!).

We made a huge spread with lots of condiments.

Earlier that afternoon I had tried out a very interesting recipe.

I have been trying to eat more vegetables because I know I am sufficiently lacking all the nutrients vegetables give. So I was excited when I came across this idea-Kale Chips!

Kale is a leafy green vegetable, and is jammed packed with lots of antioxidants/vitamins.

Unfortunately, it is not the most tasty, so the idea of tossing it in olive oil and salt and pepper and baking it until crispy sounded amazing. 

I was a little nervous when the house started smelling like poop (literally!), but I deem this experiment successful when I found out that my husband liked them (he is a very picky eater, especially when it comes to healthy snacks).

Don't be fooled by appearances-it is actually a nice, light, crispy snack.

Plus, it feels so good to know I'm filling my body with great antioxidants.

I dare you to give it a try!

Breakfast and Dessert

Today was a simple day-it mainly consisted of studying for my Chemistry Exam.

I am not a fan of Chemistry in the least, so I distracted myself with a couple tasty treats.

Yesterday I found lots and lots of smoothie recipes-from the February Real Simple magazine, and also from the Whole Living Action Plan that Jordan told me about.

So I decided to try the Blackberry-Cinnamon Smoothie- it was one of the few that I already had all of the ingredients for.

It was a refreshing way to start off my day. The sweet blackberries mixed wonderfully with the hint of cinnamon-plus I was getting lots of protein from the Greek yogurt I used.

Tonight I decided to try out some No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls I found on one of my favorite blogs-Iowa Girl Eats.

They turned out as delicious as hers looked.  I could only eat one, they were so rich! 

I think these are my new favorite thing. 

I got excited thinking about all the other ingredients I can make them with.

Well, I better get back to studying for my Spanish test tomorrow. 

But, I have not forgotten about cooking with Julia Child!

My first recipe will be coming up this week.

Stay tuned!