A Pin a Day: Chicken Lo Mein

We love Asian foods, both eating and cooking them.  In fact, on Tuesday, we celebrated our first date anniversary (its been 9 years!), by heading to PF Changs.  Last night, I tried a new recipe: Chicken Lo Mein.  I love dining out, but I also love cooking at home because I can control the ingredients and the spice level.  (I like mine spicy!)  This recipe was pretty easy to make and would be a great last minute meal, with most ingredients being staples in our home.  I know that Mike loved that it was a one pot dish and that I didn't use every pot and pan in the kitchen.  I followed the directions exactly, with the exception of using baby carrots instead of full sized carrots.  I threw everything in the pot, brought it to a boil and then turned it down for about 20-25 minutes until most of the liquid was absorbed.  I knew that I hadn't added much spice while cooking, so I added some soy sauce, sriracha, and spicy Asian mustard to mine before I ate it.  It was so good and made plenty of leftovers.  The only shame being that I won't be in town long enough to eat all the leftovers.

A Pin a Day: Copycat Healthy Starbucks Frappuccinos

My love affair with coffee is a most recent one than that of many.  I have only really liked it about 2 years and I still don't like my coffee black.  I love the various blended and iced drinks now that summer is approaching, but I don't love the price tag that often comes with it.  So, I searched until I found a recipe that would work for me.  I liked this Healthy Copycat Starbucks Frappuccino because I didn't have to go to the store-it was all stuff that was already in my house.  I even made my own modifications to make it healthier and enough for 2.  I added a bit more coffee, ice, and used skim milk instead of almond milk.  So when I was done, there was enough for Mike and I each to have 1.5 big cups full.  We also skipped the whip and I added a little bit of caramel syrup to mine. Overall, they were pretty good, but it will not be an everyday thing.  

New Girl

Who's that girl?  Its Zoe.  This past Saturday we went to a new place right by our house called Zoe's Kitchen.  I may have referred to it as the Greek Bread Co.  Its seriously amazing.  We have now visited a second time before I had a chance to blog about our visit, so you know its yummy.  For our first visit, we arrived and it was pretty crowded.  Mike had pre-screened the menu so he had an idea of what he wanted.  I went in and let my stomach do the deciding.  Mike ordered the grilled pimento cheese sandwich with a side of potato salad.  I selected the club pita with a side of marinated slaw.  We sat and waited for a bit, but we understood because it was really crowded.  It was definitely worth the wait.  Our food was awesome.  Mike's sandwich was so good and I almost didn't notice that it was on rye bread because the cheese was so good.  The potato salad was excellent too.  It was made with baby red potatoes and best of all no mayonnaise.  My club pita was tasty too.  The pita itself was great and everything tasted really fresh.  I also loved the marinated slaw, which was marinated in a Greek dressing and had green onions and feta cheese in it.  We really loved our lunch and knew we'd be back.  Fast forward to today... I went and got a pedicure at the salon right next to Zoe's.  It was 12:30 when I was leaving and asked Mike what I could get him for lunch.  His answer was Zoe's.  This time he tried the Greek pita with potato salad and I got the turkey pita with pasta salad.  Mike loved his food again and so did I.  My pita had turkey and the marinated slaw on it so it was amazing.  The pasta salad was almost a combination of pasta salad and caprese salad.  It had pasta shells, fresh basil, tomatoes, feta cheese and Greek dressing.  Once again, no mayonnaise.  We love Zoe's and it has such a varied menu that we could go several times this week and not be sick of it.

A Pin a Day: Smoothies

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, however, it is my least favorite.  I don't usually like "typical" breakfast foods, especially at breakfast time.  I also can't skip it because it ruins my day.  I have to eat close to when I wake up or things go sour fast.  I have done many things over the years to combat the breakfast blues.  I'll eat leftovers, cake (its like a muffin), granola bars, and even periods of time where I'll eat typical breakfast foods.  I think I found a new breakfast trend for me-smoothies.  I used this recipe as a basis, but I think I can branch out to different combinations.  I liked that it was easy to make and had several ingredients I have at home on a regular basis.  This smoothie was delicious and was a great way to get in some fruit (my least favorite food group).  I also liked that it made enough for 2 smoothies.  So, I drank one for breakfast and had the other the next day.  I just added a little more ice, blended, and was ready to go.  Another nice thing about the smoothie was that it was pretty filling.  I didn't feel starving at lunch time.  I used orange juice as my liquid and strawberries, but you could easily change up the liquid and berry options.  Plus, by the time I had finished my smoothie, my coffee was cool enough to drink.  Win-win.

A Pin a Day: Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

I love soup.  Its easy to make, makes your house smell good, and usually provides plenty of leftovers.  So I was really excited to make this Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup.  I really liked this recipe because it was quick to make.  I did have to make a few modifications as I was cooking.  Ground chicken was hard to find and pretty expensive, so I used light meat ground turkey instead.  I also had a bunch of fresh basil so I added that into the soup.  It all cooked pretty fast and then we had some yummy soup to eat.  My one comment is that it really didn't have much liquid to it, so I added more before I put the leftovers in the fridge.  We really liked the soup and it went well with salad and bread.  I noticed when I had the soup for leftovers, that the orzo seemed to soak up all the the liquid so each time I eat it,  I will probably need to add more broth.  This was a great recipe and allowed us to try something new (orzo).

A Pin a Day: Tortellini Salad

Once again, I am on a quest, building healthier and tasty recipes that are light for summer time.  I think I found a contender with this Tortellini Salad.  It was very simple to make and would be perfect for a hot Texas summer.  The biggest thing I need to remember is that it takes about an hour for it to chill in the fridge to be ready to eat.  I used an organic tri colored tortellini for this recipe, but any would work.  As I was waiting for the water to boil, I chopped up the basil, tomatoes, pepperoni, and fresh mozzarella.  I added another healthy touch by using turkey pepperoni, which seemed a little less greasy.  After I cooked the tortellini, I rinsed it and added it to the other ingredients.  I added the dressing and gave everything a good mix and stuck it in the fridge to chill.  The salad was quite delicious.  It was cool and flavorful.  A few modifications could be made for various occasions.  For Lent, we could skip the pepperoni.  To make it more healthy, I would look for a different salad dressing.  This is definitely a recipe that will be used again this summer.

Deep In the Heart of Texas

Last Saturday, Cecil was finally starting to feel better and we felt safe leaving him home by himself for a little bit.  We decided to head out to Texas Land and Cattle.  We had passed it several times and mentioned wanting to try it.  I was excited to see upon arrival that there were a couple of groups of kids going to the prom there as well.  They looked pretty cute.  The menu was pretty broad and had lots of choices, but we both wanted steak.  We each ordered filets, but with our own unique touches.  Mine was the smaller size with BBQ seasoning cooked medium well.  Mike went with the larger size, cooked medium, and seasoned with salt and pepper.  That's where the similarities ended.  For my sides, I ordered the side salad with a cilantro lime vinaigrette dressing and the jalapeno cheese grits.  Mike went all out with the carbs and ordered the mac and cheese and fries.  The food came pretty quickly and everything was delicious.  The steaks were cooked perfectly and well seasoned.  My salad was pretty basic but I really loved the dressing.  I will have to find a recipe or a place to buy a similar version.  I also enjoyed my grits.  They tasted just like my favorite cheese grits with an added kick of well chopped jalapenos.  Mike's sides were good too.  I really liked the mac and cheese and was impressed by the unique shape of the pasta.  It was definitely a good meal and was nice to get out of the house for a bit.  We look forward to going back and trying out some of the other options they have to offer.

A Pin a Day: Tex Mex Margarita Chicken Salad

After all of our various vacations, the plan is to start eating a little bit healthier.  I know that I have to ease Mike into this way of thinking by finding foods that are good for you, but also very tasty.  This Tex Mex Margarita Chicken Salad fits the requirements.  I always love a good salad, especially in summer time when it gets super hot.  The only major prep work on this recipe was to marinate the chicken over night in the margarita mix.  The next day when we were ready for dinner, Mike grilled up the chicken while I got all the components ready.  We had black beans, canned corn, diced onions and tomatoes, shredded cheddar and tortilla chips.  Avocado is another option, but we aren't fans.  For the dressing we used a southwest ranch, but next time I will probably look for a lime vinaigrette.  The chicken was really good-moist and tender.  I have a feeling we will be using the marinade recipe for more than just salad.  This was a delicious salad that fit my need to eat a little healthier and it was tasty enough for Mike.  Happy summer!

A Pin a Day: Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas

After we came back from St. Louis, we had a very long week.  Cecil was a sick little pup and it seemed like I did nothing, but laundry and snuggle with my pup.  One of the new recipes I tried was Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas.  As far as slow cooker recipes go, this one was fairly quick at about 4 hours to cook with very little prep time.  I sliced the pepper and onion and added the chicken and butter to the crockpot along with the fajita seasoning and salsa.  I let it cook for 4 hours and pulled out the chicken to shred.  I let it cook a little bit longer while I got everything ready and we were good to eat.  We served ours with tortillas, lettuce, and shredded cheddar.  This was a good fajita recipe, but not as quick as just making it on the stovetop.  I liked it, but I am not sure it was great enough to spend 4 hours making fajitas.  

A Pin a Day: Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

Last week was a blur after dealing with coming home from our trip and a very sick pup.  One day last week, I made Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup.  I had all the ingredients on hand already so it was easy to make.  Probably what took the longest was chopping up the vegetables.  I loved that it immediately started making my kitchen smell amazing.  I cooked it about 6.5-7 hrs and then pulled the chicken out and added the noodles in.  The chicken was moist, tender, and shredded very easily.  The noodles cooked at high for about 10 minutes and then I put the chicken back in.  I let it cook about 15 more minutes until Mike was done napping. We followed the suggestions and added a little freshly grated parmesan cheese and some crackers and it made for a delicious and filling meal.  It was also nice to get in something healthy after some of our extravagant, but tasty choices while at home. 

Ad-Verts-isment

After our trip to St. Louis, we were really tired.  We left the airport, picked up our pup, washed him, ate a late lunch, and took a nap.  (Well, Cecil and I did.)  When I woke up, I was not in the mood for grocery shopping or cooking for dinner.  I looked through the mail and realized we had a coupon for Verts Kebaps, a new restaurant in our subdivision.  I was excited to try a new place that was so close and was very healthy.  We had never tried kebaps before so it was nice to try something new.  First, you had the option of kebap, wrap, or salad.  Then, you chose your protein option.  Next, you added vegetables and finished off with sauce.  At our location, they also sell local beer and coffee.  Mike tried on of the kebaps with the traditional beef and lamb and I had a salad with chicken.  It was a great meal to have after heavy eating while visiting family.  The food was delicious, healthy, and a great way to get a quick meal.  We will be back again for sure.

Wokka, Wokka, Wokka

This post goes out to my St. Louis friends as a recommendation for a great place to try.  When we visited St. Louis for Easter, we were able to do some exploring as Mike's parents have moved to a home in a different neighborhood.  As you know, this means we need to taste the various new food options available.  I was very impressed by the fancy Dierbergs right by their house, as I am a grocery snob, and try as I might, I do not enjoy Texas grocery stores.  Most of our meals were eaten with family at the various homes, but on Monday we decided to venture out to a new place recommended by Mike's brother.  We headed to Fozzie's Sandwich Shop on Manchester.  Mike and I prescreened the menu so we had an idea of what we might want, but there was also a daily special menu that threw one of us for a loop.  I loved everything about Fozzie's!  There was a huge variety of things to eat including sandwiches, burgers, hotdogs, and shakes.  The atmosphere was cool and I loved the bright green walls.  I knew exactly what I wanted, which made ordering easy for me and Mike thought he knew what he wanted, but changed his mind when I spotted a delicious special for him.  I ordered the pretzel, which was ham, pepperjack cheese, and honey mustard on a pretzel bun.  It was so yummy!  The only thing that could make it more perfect would be turkey instead of ham.  I also tried their homemade potato chips, which were quite good as well.  Mike went in wanting a philly cheese steak, but ended up ordering the screaming bird.  It was a buffalo chicken sandwich with blue cheese and jalapenos on a pretzel bun.  Mike really loved his sandwich, but it was a huge mess.  There was buffalo sauce everywhere!  I was so proud of him for not getting it all over himself.  :) My inlaws got a French dip and chili dog, both of which were very good and offered huge portion sizes.  We were all happy with our lunch choice and we look forward to going back to try out even more delicious items!

A Pin a Day: Happy Birthday Mom!

Last weekend, we traveled home to St. Louis to visit our families for Easter and my mom's birthday.  Its no fun to have to make your own birthday desserts, so I told my mom I'd make her desserts, she just had to decide what she wanted.  She chose an orange cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting.  This is a little atypical for my mom because she loves chocolate.  I also have a husband and cousin, who really believe its not dessert if its not chocolate.  So, I decided I would make something chocolate as well.  I opted for a chocolate bundt cake with chocolate glaze.  I woke up at a reasonable hour (thanks to Lucy) and began working.  First I made the bundt cake, using a recipe from Kiss My Bundt by Chyrsta Wilson.  It was fairly easy to make and my mom greased/applied cocoa to the pan ahead of time to make sure it would come out easily.  I did miss my stand mixer while baking, but the handmixer worked well too.  As, I was baking the bundt cake, I started the orange cake.  My mom had picked up a cake mix for the orange cake so that was very easy.  I opted for a 9x13 because I don't really have the patience for a layer cake.  We pulled the bundt cake out and inverted it immediately, hoping it would come out easily.  Next, I worked on the glaze for the chocolate cake.  I got it from the same book as the cake.  The glaze was easy to make and a little bit different for me.  I have never made a glaze with corn syrup in it before.  Once the cake was out of the pan and cooled (Thanks Mom!), I added the glaze.  The glaze was pretty runny, but I knew it would taste great.  Finally, I made the white chocolate buttercream frosting.  I opted to melt the white chocolate chips in the microwave vs. using the double boiler method.  The frosting was fluffy and delicious.  I was a little worried that it might melt so I popped the frosted cake in the fridge until it was ready to be served.  Both cakes were a hit!  Chocolate was great for the chocolate lovers and the orange cake was very refreshing.  Best of all there was plenty leftover for my breakfast before I flew out Tuesday morning!  The only change I might make was to pull the cake out of the fridge to let the frosting warm up a little bit before serving.  However, I had a few people who were a little anxious to eat the cake so it worked.  

A Pin a Day: Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Although I knew this week would be busy getting ready to go out of town, I still wanted to make a few new things.  On Monday, I made this Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken.  It was very easy to make and smelled so good as it was cooking.  I also liked that this recipe only took about 4 hours, when many slow cooker recipes take much longer.  I changed up the recipe by using boneless skinless breasts instead of bone in breasts.  I took that into account with cooking times and cooked it for 4 hours.  At that point I started the rice and added in some broccoli and carrots that I found in the fridge.  Overall, it probably cooked about 4.5 hours.  It tasted great and I was glad that I was able to add in some vegetables to make it a little more balanced and to help stretch the dish a little further.  This dish will definitely be added to our menu.

A Pin a Day: Uncle Bob's Fresh Apple Cake

This weekend we had some friends over and Mike volunteered me to make dessert.  (I never really need to be volunteered, if there's an occasion, I'm making dessert!) I decided to try something new with Uncle Bob's Fresh Apple Cake.  It was a Paula Deen recipe so I knew I was in good hands.  I also got to make use of my Bundt pan, which I hadn't tried out yet.  With baking, I try to follow directions as carefully as possible, but I did have to make a substitution.  I ran out of vegetable oil so I had to use some olive oil as a replacement.  The prep for the cake took a long time and it was another hour and a half to bake.  This definitely isn't a recipe to make if you are short on time.  Once the cake was finished, I had to let it cool completely before I could take it out of the pan and put the glaze on.  Even though I greased the pan, the cake was still pretty hard to get out of the pan.  I managed to get it out finally and did have to place some chunks on top of the full cake.  Some of the areas that stuck had lots of apple chunks, so that my have been the problem.  I was also a little sad to see that I had scraped up my pan a bit trying to get the cake out.  I drizzled the glaze on the cake, making sure to cover the less than perfect spots first.  The glaze was really good with the addition of honey.  I was a fan of the cake and I think our guests liked it too.  It did make a full size cake so this is not something I'd make for just the two of us.  However, I have enjoyed having apple cake for breakfast this week.  Its a fruit so that makes it okay, right?

Don't It Make You Want to Scream and Shout When You're In and Out?

Last Thursday was a fairly uneventful day.  We were out running a few errands and on the way home we realized we had a new restaurant open by us.  As we turned into our subdivision, we saw tons of signs and people waving and full security team.  How could we not follow the signs? As we got closer, the signs were all leading us straight for the brand new In and Out, which was having its grand opening.  I have never tried it before and Mike had it once in California several years ago.  The first thing I noticed was their amazing customer service.  They had people directing traffic and pointing out parking spots, greeters at the door, and even the cashier was nice, patient, and eager to help.  I ordered a cheeseburger and fries and Mike got the Double Double with fries.  Despite the crowd, we didn't have much trouble finding a place to sit.  Our food came out quickly and we were ready to eat.  The burgers were really tasty.  They were juicy and flavorful without being greasy.  They were much better than your typical fast food burger.  I thought the fries were just okay.  They were similar to McDonald's fries, but fresher and possibly a little healthier.  We will definitely be back- its within walking distance of our house, but we may wait until the crowds die down a little bit.

A Pin a Day: Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork

Another recipe I tried last week was Easy Crockpot Pulled Pork.  I loved that it really was easy to make and made a ton of leftovers.  I had limited choices at Target for pieces of pork so I used a 3.75 lb pork roast.  I prepped it and put it in the crockpot at 10-10:30 pm on Tuesday and set an alarm for 8 hours to check on it.  I checked it bright and early and let it cook about another hour to hour and a half and it adjusted to warm until I woke up. Another item I changed was adding all the vinegar mixture during the cooking process.  I didn't want the pork to dry out so I added all the mix.  After it was cooled, I put the pork in the fridge for later.  I served it with pasta salad and baked beans and it was so yummy.  We each added our favorite sauce and then did several different things with the leftovers.  I like to eat the meat just plain with a little BBQ sauce.  Mike had pork nachos one day and was planning burritos for another day.  I froze the rest in ziploc bags before we got tired of it.  This recipe was easy and works great for leftovers or for a large crowd.

A Pin a Day: Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

After some time making old favorites, I started making more pinned recipes.  One of the first I tried were these Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.  I have tried many different enchilada recipes and most of them are okay, but these were really good.  I also liked that they were really easy and a Weight Watcher recipe, so they were pretty healthy too.  The biggest thing I changed was the amount of time I cooked the enchiladas in the oven.  It called for 30-40 minutes, but I probably cooked it for 20-25 minutes because the chicken was already cooked and we were getting hungry!  I also replaced the whole wheat tortillas with the carb control variety.  This was definitely a success and will be my new go to enchilada recipe!

A Pin A Day: Easy Dark Chocolate Truffles

Sometimes, we have what are known as Pinterest fails.  These Easy Dark Chocolate Truffles were a fail for me.  It started easy enough with me trying to make something delicious.  I should have realized something was wrong when my carton of heavy cream started leaking all over my groceries, but I carried on.  I followed the directions completely when making the chocolate ganache and made sure to chill it over night.  After dinner the next day, I gathered all my supplies to make the truffles.  I made a huge mess with cocoa powder, which should have been my second warning.  I tried scooping the chocolate with the melon baller to make the truffles and I couldn't do it.  It was a misshapen chocolately mess.  I tried numerous times with increasing frustration and more chocolate on my hands.  I tried scooping and then chilling again before rolling in cocoa or crushed pretzels, but nothing seemed to work.  The truffles were great, but the frustration level was not worth it.  I will be searching for a new recipe next time I decide to make truffles.

We're Super, Thanks for Asking

On Wednesday, we had to get up earlier to go to an appointment for Mike.  Cecil had lovingly wakened us up numerous times over night so we were really tired and didn't even grab a coffee before heading out the door.  As I was driving, I noticed a sign for Super Donuts and promised Mike we'd stop there on the way home.  It was a small shop in a strip mall and in fact, we almost missed it.  They had all the Texas breakfast staples: donuts, kolaches, and breakfast tacos.  We showed restraint and order 2 donuts each and were on our way.  Mike ordered two chocolate frosted cake donuts and was happy with his choice.  I loved my donut with chocolate icing and sprinkles.  My other donut was a chocolate cream filled and it was pretty good too.  The shop was not too far from our house so chances are that we will be back.  However, I must say, I am counting down to Easter when I can have an Old Town Donut from home.