Final Month of 2013! December Goals and Plans!

I cannot believe that 2013 is only 29 days away from ending. I cannot believe that in 29 days, I'll of been engaged to the most AMAZING man for a year. I am so excited for 2014...because we can really dive into wedding planning! I am also so sad because I still feel like I am suppose to do more with my life...I know I am only 27...but it still seems as if I'm stuck and need to pull myself in a new direction. I need to find a way to take my passions in life and make them into something. On top of that...I plan on applying to grad school in 2014. I really want to get my masters of fine arts in creative writing. If I could somehow write everyday for the rest of my life, whether it be this blog, newspapers, magazines or novels...I'd honestly be in heaven. I never get bored of writing and developing new ideas. One day...

The month of December gets crazy at work because of course its holidays! Thankfully, only Christmas is in December...which should take some of the usual brunt of multiple holidays. I had one last vacation day to use...and my manager is the best and gave Marco and I two days off together! So...we are planning a trip to Sea World. I am seriously obsessed with dolphins...like I TEAR up when I am up close with them. Insane...I know. But it's my favorite thing in Sea World...and the penguins! :) My family and I also have a list of movies and TV shows that have Christmas involved, that we make an effort to watch every year. Some years we have missed a few, but we always watch Home Alone and Home Alone 2, A Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story! :) I am so excited!!

 

 

December Goals-

 

1. Run 22 miles (I did 19 last month!)

2. Sign up to take my GRE's

3. Start the process for Grad School

4. Write 5 pages in my novel

5. Finish Christmas shopping early :)

6. Finish decorating SOON!

7. Spend every moment with my family and friends

8. Enjoy the season and the holidays!

9. Go through my closet and cleanse it

10. Attempt one DIY project from Pinterest!

 

 

Most of these are attainable just by having a positive attitude...others I'll have to work into. I'm excited to succeed this month. I didn't want to set a goal for blog entries...I'd love to write everyday...but realistically...with work, I am just not sure how things will go! I will definitely post whatever pinterest project I do and I'll make an effort to do an entry after we finish decorating!

 

What are your goals to end out the year? Any family traditions? 

No Table is Complete Without a Centerpiece!

I believe that no table is complete without a centerpiece. We might not have a huge group for the holidays anymore, as we did when my brother and I were much younger...but we still use the Holidays as a time to sit at the formal dining table and enjoy our meal! We are that family that has serving ware and such for specific holidays, and Thanksgiving is not different! Along with stuff we purchased, my mother makes these AMAZING centerpieces. I cannot wait to show you guys the ones she makes for Christmas. She did a specific to Thanksgiving one and she has several fall ones around the house currently (although, they will be coming down today and tomorrow for Christmas decorations).

The fall ones are so cute...fall color flowers and in a pumpkin. Our two centerpieces for our dining table were so perfect. One was the traditional cornucopia and the other was a turkey with fall colors and a little scarecrow in it. She is so talented with these pieces! We keep telling her she should open her own Etsy shop and sell them. Or at least teach me...so that I can post a step by step and video!

Making our Thanksgiving table was fairly simple. We used the centerpieces to break up the length of the table. And placed the napkin holder and salt/pepper shakers in the center-ish. The turkey went in the middle on the platter and the sides were placed in Thanksgiving themed serving dishes surrounding the turkey. The platter of potatoes and the wine are off to the side. We passed around the dishes and served ourselves!

What do you all think? Would you buy one of these? How much would you be willing to spend? She would make each one custom to order, if we can ever convince her to do so!

Best Turkey EVER! Alton Brown's Brine Recipe!

 

Alton Brown is seriously a genius when it comes to food! My family uses a lot of his recipes and Thanksgiving is no different! We use his Brine/Aromatics for Turkey Recipe and it is seriously the best turkey we have ever had! We use to have a good turkey and then next year, it would end up dry...but we never run into that problem anymore!

If you love moist and flavorful turkey...you have to use his recipe! For Christmas, my brother wants to try his aged turkey recipe...so we will see. :)

As a side note, we make our own vegetable broth so we had to add more salt because we realized that box/canned broth has more salt than our homemade broth. Without the added salt, the turkey comes out drier. And then we just add the rest of the brine ingredients!

You can really add whatever vegetables you have on hand to make the broth. We used carrots, potatoes, onion, celery and cabbage. I chopped the vegetables into smaller sizes, quartered the potatoes and onion and chopped the carrots and celery into thirds. You don't need to spend a crazy amount of time chopping, just enough to make the pieces manageable and to let the flavors seep out.

After the broth is done...we let it cool and chill it for about 30 minutes.

We then put the turkey, the broth and ice into a cooler and let it soak for 8 hours. Then you flip it and let it soak for another 8 hours. Then cook it for the recommended time, stuffing the turkey with the aromatics mix (also chopped to make it more manageable, but no need to finely chop).

Do you have a specific way to cook your turkey? Do you try something different each year? Have you found a recipe that is now the only way you will cook turkey?

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Turkey Day/ Hanukkah!

I will be back this weekend with recipes for dishes that I make for the big Turkey Day meal! I did want to stop by before the Holidays...and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Hanukkah!

I hope everyone enjoys the time with their families and friends!

One Week Left! Gobble Gobble!

I know I said it before...but I truly love the Holiday Season! I love the food, the crafts, the weather (as "fall" and "winter" as I can get in S.Fl), the decorations and most importantly the time with my family!

We use to do a HUGE Thanksgiving when we lived in Broward County...my family in Miami would come up and it would be huge! When my grandparents were still alive, we would pick them up and they would it spend it with us too and if my uncle and aunt were in town, they would also join. It was so much fun. After we moved to Palm Beach...and all the kids were older (16-18), the families did their own thing. Except, my uncle and aunt...they always came up and brought my grandmother. A few years ago...all that stopped and now my grandmother is no longer with us...so Thanksgiving is really just me with my mom, dad and brother. My fiance came over for the first time last year, and I'm hoping that he joins us again or that his whole family does!

Over the last few years (at least the last 7!), I always help my dad with the cooking. EVERYTHING! Christmas gets REALLY crazy! We go all out! :) Thanksgiving is much more simple...Turkey, Sweet Potatoes (White Potatoes for my brother), stuffing and rolls. Of course...pumpkin pie for dessert. This year..I also want to make this delicious sounding Brussels sprouts recipe and a yummy salad. We don't make too many side dishes because it's only 4-5 people eating. I also want to make a creative appetizer (still playing around with some ideas) for everyone to snack on while we cook. We go big on wine, but I want to see about creating an after dinner cocktail or trying out a fall sangria recipe I found.

What are your must have favorites for Thanksgiving? Do you travel or do you host? Are there any special traditions your family does?

One of My FAVORITE Things!

I have a horrible habit of biting my nails...it sucks because I love all the nail art in current fashion right now. I refuse to go to a nail place to get tips put on for two reasons...one, the PRICE and two, they don't last. I am also not a big fan of using glues or anything that could damage my nails. It makes me thrilled when I am able to find a product that I can easily purchase, use and is not expensive. Enter Broadway Nails -literally the best fake nails I have ever worn!

I first stumbled upon these last October when looking for something to dressy up my nails for my best friend's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and needed cleaner looking nails. I stopped at Walgreen's before we went to get our makeup and hair done, and searched with the help of my mom and found these. I loved that they were quick, easy, inexpensive and best of all-no glue so no destroying my nails! I had a friend of the bride help me put them on and no one was able to even tell that they were fake! Best of all--I went out of town with my fiance almost a week later and the nails were still intact! They lasted about 10 days!


This year...my awesome mother painted sets of the nails in Miami Hurricanes colors, different variations, so that I could go even more extreme and decorated for the games! I placed my most current set on my nails on November 9th and 9/10 are still holding strong. The one I lost was a work incident, or else I'd still probably have all ten! Now, I usually buy them at Walgreen's, but they also sell them at Publix and I'm sure Wal-Mart would to!

Painting them is easy! The only suggestion I have, as my mom and I learned...is that the protective seal coat needs to be added so that the color doesn't chip off as easily. The nails fall off naturally when the adhesive (similar in texture to a gel-plastic) wears off. I love this product because it allows me to have the nails I wish I had, and keep them professional looking or painted to fit a situation (sports, holidays) and does no damage to my nails and lets them grow for once! Each set comes with 24 nails...so you have at least two full sets...which if you apply properly...can last you at least two weeks...one set has basically lasted me a week...and I popped on one replacement nail for the one that popped off after 5 days. I can see this set lasting me through Thanksgiving! I plan on removing them by then to place on Christmas decorated nails! Excited!

Tuna Salad 2.0! Yum Yum!

So I love making tuna salad...it's quick, it's easy and you can pair it with anything. Sometimes I make it into a wrap, other times an open faced sandwich and even with tortilla chips or crackers! Almost every time I make it..I switch it up based off what I have in my fridge. The only change is really the veggies I use, the rest stays the same every time. This recipe contains only 182 calories and whether making it into a sandwich and adding yogurt or fruit as a side...it still remains a healthy and balanced option for lunch.

Every once in awhile, I use mayo. I know people substitute it with hummus and plain Greek yogurt (neither of which I had at this time) and my brother even uses sour cream in place of mayo as a healthier, just as tasty option! For this recipe, I did use mayo, but instead of the full 1tbsp serving, I used 1/3 of that and with the other creamy ingredients it all came together.

Tuna Salad 2.0

 

 

Makes One Serving

1 can of tuna in olive oil (drained)

1/3 tbsp of mayo

1/2 tsp of horseradish

1 tsp of Sriracha Chili Sauce

1/4 tsp of yellow mustard

1/3 to 1/2 tbsp of onion*

1-2 lettuce leafs (rinsed and chopped)*

A dash of celery seed, sage and dill weed

 

 

 

 

 

I started by draining the tuna through a strainer and chopping the onion and lettuce (both of which you can use more or less of depending on tastes). I threw all three in a bowl and added the Sriracha, the mayo, the mustard and the horseradish. I mixed it together and then added the dashes of celery seed (which I use when I do not have celery in the house), sage and dill weed (gives such GREAT flavor to tuna salad or chicken salad!). It took me about ten minutes (mostly because of the chopping and picture taking!) I toasted two slices of bread and had two open faced sandwiches with kettle chips (Cape Cod Jalapeno) and a Dannon light and fit pineapple yogurt! So delicious!

 

Like I said, sometimes I change up the veggies...I also like to use carrots and celery and pickles! We do not always have, so I go with what I can, I am not a huge tomato in tuna salad fan, but if you are you could definitely add it! I love a good and quick meal. And I promise...you don't even notice that it's only a little bit of mayo (which you can even omit and it's still just as yummy), but I was just in a mayo kind of mood...but I usually make my tuna salad without it also.

 

Enjoy! What kind of ingredients do you like to add to your tuna salad? What are your must haves? I love onion and dill weed! Always got to have those two!

Wishing For Snow

Sometimes the hardest part about being a Florida girl is that I miss out on fall and winter. I could never give up the beach, the sun and the warmth for months of cold, but part of me always longs for the experience of the leaves changing and the snow blanketing the ground. I would never want to live permanently where this happens...but it would be nice to see what winter is REALLY like. I always consider planning a trip, but you never really know when to expect snow...so what if I plan the trip and it does not snow...that would suck!

Back in late 2005/early 2006 (New Years Eve and Day to be exact), I happened to go to New York City for New Years and while standing in Times Square...freezing and listening to Mariah Carey perform, the snow flurries started. It was more than just magical, it was breathtaking and captivating. We headed back to Connecticut the next day...and that very night, it snowed and amazed me. It was only the second time in my entire life that I had seen snow...and I enjoyed every moment of it...catching the snowflakes, making a snowball and even just laying in the snow.

I know I could never live where it snows....I get sick and tired of the cold weather VERY quickly. It makes me lazy and blah! My workouts usually stop, I stay bundled inside when the temperature hits anything below 70 for more than two days. My lips get chapped and I feel like I can never get warm enough. Plus, the whole...icy roads, shoveling snow and car not starting does NOT appeal to me. I am in love with the temporary and pretty factors of a white Christmas, so to speak.

Although my dreams of seeing snow for Christmas in Florida are basically impossible...I do hope for colder temps...at least for the holidays...it makes that warm cocoa and turkey so much better!

Chicken Quesadillas YUMMY!

I had a recipe for my breakfast quesadillas that I have made twice now for noon football game tailgates last week and now I want to share the recipe I did for chicken quesadillas. I made both for that noon game, because at some point...you stop wanting breakfast and start wanting lunch like food.

The recipe itself is simple because for football games, especially noon games...I like to keep it easy so I don't stress out. As I get more into this, I would love to add other ingredients and I think next time I want to make a dipping sauce (a mix between something creamy and spicy).

 

Ingredients-

 

 

Makes about 3 quesadillas

 

*About 6oz of fajita seasoned chicken strips

(I used Tyson Grilled and Ready)

 

*About 4oz of Shredded Cheese

(can be adjusted for taste)

 

*1/4 cup of chopped onions

 

*6 tortillas

 

*2/3 cup of bell pepper mix

(I used pre diced-yellow, red and green)

 

 

 

 

Instructions-

 

1. Using one frying pan, coat with butter and turn on to med heat and add the onions and bell peppers to heat, stirring occasionally.

2. Take the chicken out of the package and chop it up, place to the side.

3. Once the veggies start to soften, add the chopped up chicken to the pan. Stir as needed. Cook for about 5-6 minutes.

4. Take pan off of heat and transfer to a bowl. Butter a second pan for cooking the tortillas and turn burner to med-high heat.

5. Take one tortilla and place about a cup of mixture to tortilla and sprinkle with desired amount of cheese.

6. Top with a second tortilla and place in pan. Cook about 5 minutes (or until you notice cheese melting) and flip to cook other side.

7. Repeat steps 5&6 for two more tortillas- re-buttering pan as needed

8. Allow quesadillas to cool and cut into slices. Serve and Enjoy!

 

 

It's NOVEMBER! Goals and Other Randomness

I can't believe it's already November. Does anyone else feel like 2013 has just flown by? It is crazy that the Holidays are right around the corner. I really love the season from Halloween through Superbowl :) The food, the crafts and decorations, the weather, the holidays and the family time!

I failed horribly at my October goals. Well I wont say failed...that sounds so negative, but I missed my marks. Work really killed me this month. Between football and working out (when I could) and work, I had like no free time. I did not have my me day, I did not cook a healthy meal and I did not hit my goal for blogs or miles. This also means I did not get my mile to the 9minute or under mark. I never give up though! My November goals are going to be similar to some of the ones from October, but I am going to adjust slightly...November is VERY busy for where I work and it gets crazy as the holidays get closer. And this year Thanksgiving and Hanukkah are right on top of each other.

I sometimes wish I lived somewhere more North just for Fall because the leaves are just BEAUTIFUL! But I would not give up my breezy, sunny weather for snow at all. Being a Florida girl has made me prefer warm weather over cold any day!

November Goals-

 

*Run 22 miles

*Workout (weights) 3x a week

*Run a 9.05 mile

*Write 12 blogs

*Create something (recipe, craft, etc)

*Try something different (style, food, activity)

*Cherish every moment and spend time with family

 

 

 

What kind of goals do you have? Do you find yourself overreaching or setting reachable goals? How do you feel is you miss a monthly goal? What is your favorite part of this season?



Breakfast Quesadillas--Tailgating at Noon!

 

We had another noon game this past Saturday, so I wanted to make the breakfast quesadillas again and this time, make more (they were a big hit last time!). I also made a lunch like variation with chicken (will post tomorrow) and we had mimosas and jelly filled doughnuts too. One of these seasons, I'd love to get a portable grill and do the cooking on sight...but for now, I can only do it at home and keep it warm for the hour drive down.

I woke up at 6am and got everything ready. Last time, I only used one pan...so this time I decided the best solution for speed and time was to use two pans. I did two egg ones and three chicken ones. I usually like to buy my veggies and chop them myself, but I didn't want to feel pressed for time, so I bought pre diced bell peppers; yellow, green and red. I did however chop the onions. :)

I think if I made them again this season...I would also add some time in the oven to really get them crisp. They are loved the way I make them now...but I just think that will put them over the top!

Breakfast Egg Quesadillas-

(serves 3-4 people easily!)

 

6 large eggs

butter

3 slices of bacon (can use more or less)

1/2 cup of bell peppers

1/4 cup of onions

4 tortillas (I used don pablo corn/flour)

~3-4oz of shredded cheese (I used four cheese)

 

 

 

 

I started by putting both pans on med heat and placed three slices of bacon in the smaller pan. While the bacon cooked, I chopped the onions and scooped out about a 1/2 cup of the pepper trinity and placed to the side. I then took the six eggs and cracked them and mixed them, flipping the bacon slices at this time. Took a coffee break ;)

 

 

 

After the bacon finished, I set the slices on a paper towel to soak up extra grease. I like using bacon grease for eggs, so I tossed the veggies into the pan and let them soften for a few minutes (about 5-6 minutes)...I then poured the eggs into the pan and mixed everything. I let them sit to start cooking and continued mixing to break them up and scramble them. I turned off the heat and allowed the pan to continue cooking the eggs while I chopped the bacon and added it to the pan. I did one final mix through and moved the pan off the heat.

 

 

After the eggs cooled slightly, I began assembling the quesadillas. I placed a few spoonfuls onto one tortilla and then added some cheese. I placed the other tortilla on top and pressed it down. I buttered the second pan and turned the heat up slightly. I put the quesadilla into the pan and pressed down again.

After several minutes (once I could see the cheese melting), I used a paper plate to flip the quesadilla and heat the other side (also for several minutes). I moved the finished quesadilla to a plate to cool and placed the next assembled one into the pan (with more butter!). I was only using the one pan at this time because in the other pan, I was cooking the veggies and chicken for the other quesadillas (come back tomorrow for that recipe!). Once I flipped the second one, I used a bread knife to cut into the first one (next time, I want to try a pizza cutter). I cut six pieces and placed them into a Tupperware dish. Repeated this process when the second one was done and had cooled (another coffee break!). They were scarfed down super quick! Definitely seems to be a favorite! :)

 

 

 

Easy Crafty Gift Idea---Make Your Own Tickets!

Times are hard! And on top of that, it can be hard to shop for a guy! I like to balance out my gifts for my fiance. I don't spend crazy amounts of money, but I like to make the gift more personal and crafty. For Valentines Day, I bought a little stuffed lion and wrote 101 Reasons why I love him. I printed the list and decorated it with confetti hearts and marker. The list took me about two weeks to complete...mostly because of work and going out. The reasons aren't just the standard ones, but silly things that only we would understand and that's what makes it such a simple yet meaningful gift. You could even take the list and make it into a poster, with photos of the two of you and maybe add some mementos (like movie tickets or a clip from a menu or an empty candy wrapper- depending on the two of you).

I also bought Heat tickets (we are both biiiiig Miami Heat fans) and they were playing Atlanta for a VERY reasonable price (shocked me, since Atlanta was a conference game and were definitely going to the playoffs. Now, the problem with buying tickets online is that 99% of the time, you don't get the physical ticket...you print a ticket offline. I didn't want to just give him that...and I also usually hold on to our tickets for events because I don't lose them. And I didn't just want to tell him about the tickets...so I decided to MAKE my OWN tickets!!!

These tickets can be made for any team, for any event...I made these as Heat tickets because we are fans of the Heat and it was a home game for them!

The steps are easy....

1. You take the cardboard (you can use whatever type of cardboard you have, an old shoe box, a box from a package, the cardboard piece they place in cookware boxes to separate pieces...) *The best thing is you don't need a lot!

2. Cut out two ticket size pieces, as close to the same length as possible, or you can use a ruler and mark the lines to cut. Keep in mind, that you will need them to be slightly wider than an actual ticket, in order to write on them (unless you have REALLY good small handwriting!)

3. Next you cut out white poster board pieces to place over the cardboard (I only covered the "top" piece)  -I cut a single strip from the poster board, and cut it in half. I then cut it down to the size of the cardboard. I glued the poster to the cardboard and allowed the glue to dry before writing on them.

4. Next, I googled Heat ticket images and using red and yellow markers, created the lines on the top.

5. From previous games, I had the programs which had the Heat emblems in the perfect size. If you do not have something similar to this, you could google the emblem and print it and cut it out. I glued the images to the tickets and let the glue dry.

6. Finally, I wrote down the information for the game, just like a ticket has. The Section/Row/Seat...the date, time and location and who was playing.

I left them on a flat surface and put them in the lions arms for him for Valentines Day, along with the list! He thought they were real tickets at first glance but once he realized I made them he laughed and told me he loved it!!

 

 

 

Gift giving does not have to be expensive or difficult. I love making gifts! Even though, for this gift...you might have to buy the actual tickets...you could realistically...spend almost nothing on tickets...if you pick a game that isn't pricey and shop around on the various sites. The gesture in this gift is the time and effort you put into making the tickets and the fact that whether or not you are also a big sports fan of said team...you thought to buy him a ticket and one for you to join him, or send him with a friend!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I haven't really been able to cook much or get to creative...work has been BRUTAL! My day off, I am so exhausted that I just...want to relax! I haven't even gone for the haircut I have been wanting to get for about a month now. Soon though...maybe even next week. This month is really exciting for me. My fiance and I are going to look at our FIRST possible wedding venue on Sunday. This makes it feel SO real. I'll post photos and tell you all about it after! :)

Since I have been a little lazy, I figured a good entry for today would be to talk about one of my new obsessions. A coworker of mine hosted a jewelry party about two weeks ago. Her sister is an independent seller and she hosted it. I was unable to attend, but had already fallen in love with the merchandise from the booklet. The company is called Origami Owl and they specialize in lockets with charms, dangles, plates and all in a LARGE variety!

I love it! I was hooked. My first purchase was a little pricey because the lockets range from small to large and a price of $12-30. But EVERY charm I picked was $5 and some of the ones I held off on (for now) are also $5. I did not purchase a chain because I have a plentiful amount of chains, so I used one of my own. I purchased a medium size locket and six charms to start with. I wanted to get ones that represent me, so I chose the palm tree, the wine glass, the cowboy boot, the cross, the heart with amor, and the football. There were so many more that I could have chosen and now that I've started...I even told my fiance that buying me a few charms or a dangle or even a small locket...would be a GREAT gift for ANY occasion. The six charms fit perfectly in the locket and I could easily add a few more.

One of my favorite things about this jewelry is that it's interchangeable. For now, my charms just represent me as a whole...but as I build my collection I would love to have the original "Me" set and then, a sports one, a date night one, a girls day, a beach/pool day, vacation mode...etc. Another AMAZING thing about this jewelry is that a 16 year old girl created this and made the dream of hers a reality. It's inspiring because she is so young and she is showing that you can make your dreams come true...which really pushes me to continue striving to be a published writer and not give up.

I definitely want to give my bridal party something unique that is similar but also fits to their individual personalities. I am actually considering making this part of their gift. A small locket with a few charms that fits who they are...which they can then start creating their own sets.

The above picture is my locket on a chain I already owned. The palm tree charm is slightly hidden, but as you can see...it definitely fits!

Reference-Origami Owl  (if you love jewelry and want something that represents you or to give as a personal gift...THIS IS IT!!!!)

It's October! New Month Means New Goals!

I cannot believe it is already October! It's crazy! Halloween in a few weeks, then Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Eve! Just...WOW!

I was reading back on my entry to start September- September Goals and realized that although I did not 100% achieve every goal, I feel good about the progress I did make and I am using October as a way to further achieve those goals and new ones! As I've mentioned in previous entries...I am engaged and slowly planning my wedding. October 13th we are FINALLY going to go see the place that I am absolutely CRAZY about. I hope he is also, but if he isn't...then we will move on and look elsewhere...because it is HIS day too. I am so excited because we have been engaged almost a year (New Years Eve 2012) and other than talk about it...nothing has been done. I really want to move forward with planning so that I can start posting entries of my ideas and DIY projects!

We are also looking to move out. I want to live with him before we get married because I want to know that we CAN live together. I mean, we have gone on vacations before...but it is just not the same. I also want to start budgeting with him and saving for a house...so living together will definitely change his habits. I gave my dad a list of criteria (he's got his real estate license) and he has been helping us. He found us three places and hopefully this month we can go see them, and maybe even move out. I had originally wanted to be moved out before the holidays (end of October)...but if we have to wait until after Thanksgiving so that we have our dream place...I can wait! :)

October Goals:

• Run 25 miles by the end of the month (I succeeded in 20...so now I have to push it!)
• Have a COMPLETE GUILT FREE me day (haircut, Mani/pedi, massage, shopping spree, junk food!)
• Get my mile to under 9 minutes! (maintained the 9.10 for Sept)
• Write three blogs a week! (wrote 7 in Sept, I can do 12!)
• Get another 5 pages done on my novel
• Start looking at apartments/town homes/houses
• Go to possible wedding locations
• Cook dinner for my family one night (healthy, yummy and creative!)

What are your October Goals? :)

 

 



Quick and Easy Breakfast Shake!

Yesterday I wanted a quick breakfast and was so tired of cereal or oatmeal and I had the idea to make a shake! The best thing about shakes is that you don't have to go out any buy certain things, if you regularly eat yogurt and fruit...you have all you REALLY need for a good and quick shake! I had bananas, strawberries and some vanilla yogurt (which to be honest...I don't like plain, so this was a perfect way to use it!). I decided to skip on the strawberries, only because I wanted to make this quick and I didn't feel at that moment like washing the strawberries and cutting them...so I stuck with the banana.

This recipe can be done with a variety of different ingredients, including blueberries, raspberries, peaches and even different flavors of yogurt and for an extra quick boost for after or before a workout, you could even add protein powder. I have protein powder on hand, but opted not to use it in this shake because the vanilla yogurt I was using had 2x the protein as regular greek yogurt.

Recipe for Vanilla-Banana Shake:

~One Medium Banana (ripped into smaller pieces- could also be cut)
~1/2 cup of whole milk (or whatever type of milk you prefer)
~1 5.3-6 oz cup of Greek Vanilla Yogurt (or any flavor)
~About 4-5 ice cubes

Place all above ingredients into a blender, cover and turn on to low speed and blend until all ingredients have been incorporated and there are no chunks (approx 2-3 mins using above ingredients). It could take less or longer depending on what fruit is used. Next time I think I want to throw in a scoop of peanut butter. I think it would make it a little thicker but the combination of vanilla, peanut butter and a banana sounds yummy!

For this recipe, I used Dannon Light & Fit Greek Yogurt which I am OBSESSED with! They are 70-90 calories and 7-9 grams of sugar! And taste good!! I also like Yoplait's Greek yogurt for the same reasons, but buy between the two based off of what is on sale!

All the flavors are good too (well those that I've tried). I don't like coconut so I have not tried that one. I really like the blueberry and black cherry and the vanilla is just perfect for shakes or even a parfait!

Tired of Chipotle Everything? Sweet and Spicy Mayo!

Here is the awesome creation from the tailgate Saturday! :) I mean, the sandwich itself was pretty simple and based off the tastes of those eating it (for example...we ALL HATE bologna), but it has my yummy sweet and spicy mayo on it! My mom had originally wanted to just be boring and pick up some subs from Subway, but I told her lets just make our own sub, it's cheaper and more variety...plus I got to play with the mayo idea I had been wanting to do!

The sandwich itself is one loaf of Cuban bread, cut in half with pepper jack cheese, swiss cheese, roast beef, salami, turkey and ham. I also cut up tomato and onion slices and lettuce leaves. We had to travel about an hour for the game, so I packed the veggies separately and the mayo was kept in the container (and this also allowed for those eating to put as much or as little as they wanted). The sandwich was not soggy at all and didn't fall apart in travel! Score one for us! :) We got creative with transporting it too. I wanted to pre-cut the sandwich and we came up with placing it back in the plastic it had been wrapped in (this was a two person job...one to hold the sandwich and lift at times and the other to slide the plastic on) and then placing it into the paper bag it had been in and sealing it.

I really wanted to do something different for the mayo. I wanted to use our sriracha instead of anything chipotle. I'm thinking peach or apricot would taste just as yummy, but I went with strawberry preserves for the sweet balance. It was simple and quick and there isn't really much measuring (although I can estimate) because I added based off personal taste. So, the recipe is going to be a rough idea of amounts, but you can alter it to your own wants. My fiance and I like spicy, but my mom likes more sweet.

Sweet and Spicy Mayo-

2/3 cup of mayo (I used Publix brand)
About 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup of Sriracha
About 1/3 cup of Strawberry Preserves (Smuckers Brand)

I started with the mayo (still in the jar and put in about a tbsp of sriracha and 2 tbsp of the preserves. Mixed it up and let everyone taste it...but it still had too much of a mayo taste. So I continued to add and mix until it came out sweet with enough of a kick to give you the sniffles! :)

If you try it out...what would you change? Did you make it more sweet or spicy? A different type of preserves? If so, which kind and how did it taste? I really think next time I want to try peach or apricot. I feel like it will have a good balance with the sriracha. :) I really am a big fan of sriracha. I like chipotle, but it is always fun to try new combinations! Enjoy!

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Onion and Bacon Dip

Yummmmmmmmy! With football season in full swing, I have been enjoying taking ideas for tailgating food and making recipes my own. This past Saturday, Miami played Savannah State...a 7pm game, so it gave me the whole morning to get my stuff done (including a needed gym workout!). I had been wanting to have some sort of dip that would go good with kettle chips (I love the extra crunch) and veggies (we had an abundance of carrots and celery) and I decided onion dip would be perfect! My mom use to make it a lot when I was younger, and she always used the handy Lipton mix, but I wanted to make it from scratch. My dad has really taught me that those mixes can be easily done with spices and such.

This would be my first time ever making an onion dip without the mix so I googled it to see what I would need. The first recipe I came across was from Alton Brown of Food Network; Onion Dip and the easiness and reviews is why I picked this one. I did make a few changes that I really feel added to my own tastes and likes.

The ingredient list was basic and simple, plus I had everything on hand (except the white ground pepper which I just substituted based off my tastes).

The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of diced onion (I used sweet although the recipe does NOT specify), 1 1/2 cups of Sour Cream, 3/4 cups mayonnaise, 1/4 tsp of salt (for the onions), olive oil (to cook the onions, which I did not use), 1/4 tsp of garlic powder and white ground pepper and another 1/2 tsp of salt.

This was my first alteration. I LOVE bacon and I had some extra available. I took three slices of Publix center cut bacon and fried them in the frying pan. The perfect part of this is that while the bacon was cooking, I was able to chop the onions and get them ready!

I actually don't mind chopping onions. When I first started learning to cook with my dad, my jobs always involved chopping the veggies we would need and gathering all the ingredients and washing the dishes. One medium to large size sweet onion is plenty to get 1 1/2 cups. I like to dice them in sections. It makes it easier and allows me to take breaks to check on the bacon. :)

During this time, I had flipped the bacon and after about 10 minutes of cooking, turned off the burner and left the pan (I like crispy bacon!). Once I was done chopping the onions, I removed the bacon from the pan and placed the slices on a paper towel to drain. This is why I did not use olive oil, because I decided to use the bacon grease left in the pan to cook the onions. It worked great!

 I placed the onions in the pan, added 1/4 tsp of kosher salt, turned the stove top back on (medium-high heat) and began measuring out the sour cream and mayo. I mixed the onions periodically and waited for them to caramelize.

When the onions resemble a slightly brown color and have softened, they are ready! It takes about 20 minutes. I placed the pan on another burner that was cold, so that the onions could cool. At this point I took the bacon and chopped it up and added it to the onions and mixed it together. While the onions cooled with the bacon, I chopped up the carrots and celery.

 

I took the onion/bacon mixture after it had cooled (about 5 minutes) and mixed it with the sour cream and mayo that I already had placed in a Tupperware container (I find this to be the easiest way when I plan on taking the dip immediately for travel, in this case; a tailgate) and began folding in the mixture. I added the 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of garlic powder. As I said earlier, I didn't have white ground pepper and had originally planned to just use black ground pepper but saw we had chipotle Chile powder and decided that I wanted to add a spicy and smoky flavor to compliment the bacon. So, I added a 1/4 tsp of the chipotle Chile powder and mixed everything together. I stuck it in the fridge until we were ready to pack up and go, about an hour and a half. I tasted it before we left and OMG! The bacon and onion with the creaminess of the sour cream and mayo and then the slight kick and smokiness from the chipotle powder was a perfect combination!

 

My tailgating group felt the same! Everyone gave rave reviews and loved it! This is a recipe I will definitely be making again! Tomorrow I'll tell you about my sub sandwich creation and the sweet and spicy mayo I made! If you end up trying this dip, what changes did you make or did you follow the original recipe?

 

Also, for those who worry about calories and such, I created this as a recipe in MyFitnessPal and here is the breakdown-

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups diced sweet onion

1 1/2 cups regular Publix Sour Cream

3/4 cups Hellman's mayo

1/4 tsp and 1/2 tsp of David's Kosher Salt

1/4 tsp of McCormick's Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp of McCormick's Chipotle Chile Powder

3 slices of Publix Naturally Hickory Smoked Center Cut Bacon

 

I approximated that based off the ingredients, this recipe makes about 4 cups of dip. Although it seems small, I did a serving as a half cup (which if using chips and veggies to dip is actually a lot and makes you more mindful of not overeating)

 

Based off a 1/2 cup serving, this recipe contains-- 247 calories, 23.2g of fat, 40mg of Cholesterol, 473.8mg of Sodium, 5.6g of carbs, 2.1g of sugar and 2.4g of protein. For me this recipe is good because I watch my sugar content and my carbs. Even if I had two servings (which I don't think I would need based off how many carrot sticks you could easily eat with 1/2 cup of dip), it would be less than 5g of sugar! Granted, I'm not thrilled about the sodium, but that has to do with the bacon and salt.

 

Hope you enjoy!