Itzy's Kitchen

Waffles of Insane Greatness

2012-01-26T09:22:00.000-05:00

I love breakfast for dinner…love! And I have a fabulous Belgian waffle maker that my Mom gave Josh and I at my bridal shower (almost 5 years ago- crazy!).

And Belgian waffles? So good. BUT, I do not like cleaning the waffle maker. THIS recipe changes all that. I made the waffles of insane greatness, based on this recipe. The waffles get nice and crisp (no soggy waffles here) and, as long as you spray the waffle maker well, the batter doesn’t get stuck! I made a few adjustments to the recipe (Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, almond milk instead of regular milk, and extra vanilla).

Waffles of Insane Greatness

Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
add the milk, sour cream, oil, egg, sugar, and vanilla and mix well.
cover with plastic wrap and let the mixture rest on your counter for 30 minutes.
when the batter has ten minutes left to rest, preheat your waffle iron.
when the batter is ready, spray your waffle iron with non stick spray. divide batter evenly amongst four waffles and cook according to the manufacturer's instructions.

I usually go for Chobani or Oikos Greek yogurt, but Fage was on sale- so Fage it was!

The batter (pre-rise):

Ready to cook:

Ok…so I didn’t spray the waffle maker well the first time through:

But I nailed it the second time around:

Waffles are amazing:

Give these a go!

I’m excited that its Thursday. Do you have any plans for the weekend? Tomorrow is Frank’s birthday- so he will get special treatment all day, including a nice steak! Sunday, we’re doing brunch with my parents and I have CPR training for the gym. Otherwise?? Enjoy!

Lighter Cream of Asparagus Soup

2012-01-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was a mixed bag of emotions.

The low: JoePa passed away. I graduated from Penn State and this makes me incredibly sad. That man dedicated his life to Penn State. He will be MISSED. (Edited to add: If you have a minute, read this article…it highlights what an incredible person JoePa was. “He was a humble, funny and giving man who was unlike any other coach I ever met in college football. He rolled up his pants to save on dry cleaning bills. He lived in the same simple ranch house for the last 45 years. Same glasses, same wife, same job, for most of his adult life.”)

The highs:

The Patriots are going to the super bowl (wahoooooo!)
Most importantly, Kaylin said her first word! Dada . I almost fell on the floor when I heard her say it. So cute.
The cream of asparagus soup I made Sunday night

After an indulgent dinner Saturday night, I wanted something lighter and greener. I have made cream of asparagus soup many times before, but I have made a vegan version from Tal Ronnen’s, the Conscious Cook. Since I didn’t have any raw cashews for the cashew cream, I tried to make a dairy version.

Ingredients:

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch of asparagus with ends trimmed off, chopped into bite sized pieces
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
2 cups of spinach

Directions:

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and heat for ~1 minute. Add asparagus, celery, and onion. Cook for ~10 minutes or until celery is softened up.

Add stock and red pepper. Turn heat to low and let mixture simmer, covered, for ~30 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt butter over medium low heat. Add flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in milk, turn the heat to medium, bring to a boil and continue to whisk until mixture has thickened.

Add milk mixture and spinach to vegetable/broth mixture. Cook for 5 additional minutes. Puree using an immersion blender or blend in batches.

The soup was VERY tasty! Everyone enjoyed it- Josh even went back for seconds. We also had a simple salad (bad picture) on the side of spinach, almonds, Chinese noodles, tomato and cucumber. We also had sourdough bread and fruit:

Yum Yum! Have you had any highs or lows this week?

Restaurant Week: Halls Chophouse

2012-01-22T13:14:00.001-05:00

Hey guys! How was your weekend? Ours was very nice. J and I had a date night with Kaylin on Friday. Saturday, I took Body Step, ran errands, VOTED, and then we went to Halls Chophouse for restaurant week. I’ve written a few posts about Grill 225, one of the other steak restaurants in Charleston that both Josh and I love (and I don’t even eat steak). After hearing rave reviews about Hall’s, we knew we had to give it a try (Christina has given Halls a lot of props).

We got all dressed up for the event. Kaylin wore an adorable Ralph Lauren outfit (that girl has way better clothes than me ):

Walking into the restaurant, you’re instantly greeted by the Halls family (very warmly- hand shakes, hugs, etc). We also heard the chatter of many dinner guests (the place was PACKED) and piano music. The restaurant is two floors and is stuffed full of tables to accommodate the many guests (maybe packed a little too tightly). The lighting is very dim, so a lot of my pictures are stinky (sorrrry!)

At our table, a few people went for the restaurant week menu, and a few of us ordered off the regular menu. Delicious drinks were also ordered. I got a diet coke, which was served from a mini glass bottle:

The waitress brought a basket of sourdough bread to the table, which was yummy, but doesn’t compare to the amazing bread basket at 225. They have a variety of salad offerings. Christina lovessssss the beet salad. A few at our table got the wedge salad that came with a giant piece of bacon and reminded me of something Jessica would love. This salad got rave reviews:

Josh got a Caesar that was a little meh. The dressing was very mustardy (which Josh isn’t a fan of). I actually liked the dressing and their croutons:

I got the simple greens salad (mixed field greens, goat cheese, pecans, tomatoes and a sherry honey vinaigrette). I’m a huge sherry fan, loved the dressing. Maybe some day I will edit my pictures before posting them haha:

The table also got three appetizers that I didn’t get pictures of: calamari, oysters rockefeller & a fried green tomato salad. They all got the thumbs up. I think the fried green tomatoes was the most popular.

For dinner, Josh got a filet and I got a crab cake. They place the crab cake on top of a salad which contains walnuts. It was a tasty crab cake, but seemed to contain a lot of filler. I also disliked the sauce on the outside…:

Josh liked how his filet was simply prepared, but again prefers Grill 225. The highlight of the meal…which sadly was not photographed…was the sides! The pepper jack grits were out of this world. I would come back to the restaurant for the grits alone. The table also really liked the lobster macaroni and cheese, but I wasn’t a fan…tasted like bacon to me .

Overall, I think Halls has some great dishes. However,I think our hearts still belong to Grill 225.

Kaylin slept through most of dinner and even pulled the blanket over her face near the end

What did you eat this weekend?

Buffalo Chicken Jalapeno Jack Pizza

2012-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I always wanted a pizza stone. I finally got one for Christmas and was super excited to give it a go.

Unfortunately, I didn’t read any of the reviews online and didn’t know this stone really needs to be “broken in” before the dough doesn’t stick…fail. Instead of giving up, I let the stone cool, scrapped off the pizza dough, and started over. I placed a piece of aluminum foil sprayed with non stick spray on top of the stone. This worked beautifully. I can already tell the stone is breaking in and will be ready for the dough to be placed directly on top soon.

For my first pizza on the stone, I made a buffalo chicken pizza with jalapeno jack cheese. I preheated the oven to 450 degrees with the stone in the oven. Once the stone was ready, I placed the dough on top of the aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray and baked for five minutes.

In the meanwhile, I prepared the toppings. For the sauce, I mixed hot sauce in with pizza sauce:

I also sliced up jalapeno jack cheese, and set aside a few slices of Boar’s Head buffalo chicken and artichokes:

Once the dough had baked for five minutes, I topped the pizza:

The pizza cooked for another ~15 minutes and was nice and crispy:

Yum!

On a side note, a BIG thank you to Lee for sending me chia muffins from her local farmers market. She talked about them on her blog and I SO wanted to try them. She was sweet enough to pick up a pack for me. They have the perfect amount of sweetness and moisture!

I ate one after I taught my new Body Attack class last night- it was heavenly!

Thank you Lee!!

What are you up to this weekend? We have a date night tonight (probably date night in) and are going out for restaurant week tomorrow. Otherwise? Maybe teaching attack and getting a quick run in. Enjoy!

20 Questions

2012-01-18T11:22:00.000-05:00

I’ve been slacking (again) on cooking up new dishes (sticking to old favorites). I did try Maria’s amazing potato soup (sans feta since Josh isn’t a fan) on Sunday and absolutely loved it!. BUT, no pictures. So, I decided to play along with the 20 questions post a couple of my favorite bloggers have done.

1) What is one of your favorite ways to spend a Saturday?

Gym! Either a nice run outdoors or Body Step
Brunch at one of my favorite spots
If its summer, going to the beach or pool. If its winter, watching a movie or college football
Lots of time with Josh, Kaylin & Frank
Easy dinner at home

2) List your top three favorite TV shows.

White Collar
Suits
Junk on Bravo (Real Housewives, Million Dollar Listing, Millionaire Matchmaker…you name it. I know you’re with me Julie)

3) Would you rather be in pictures or take them?

I think I like both equally. I love to take pictures to capture memories & places, but I think its important to celebrate yourself through pictures too! I definitely love to look back at pictures of myself at different times in my life.

4) Why do you blog?

To have a place to store and share recipes
To have a place to document whats going on in my life (I think it will be awesome to look back at later on)
To meet other wonderful bloggers

5) If you could have lunch with one person from your Twitter list who would it be?

I don’t twitter or really facebook either…I know, how do I survive?

6) List a few of your favorite snacks.

Apples & nut/seed butter
Rice cakes & nut/seed butter
Baby carrots and mustard (yup)
Smoothies

7) Share five websites that you visit regularly…

Google
Google Reader
Fox News
My company's internal website
Time card website for the company I work for (lame ).

8) Do you have a pet? If so, what kind?

Franklin Beans, English Bulldog

9) Which three material possessions would you struggle to live without?

Computer
Car
Phone (I think these three are everyone's staples)

10) What’s your favorite drink?

Coffee-specifically soy mistos from Starbucks

11) Do you enjoy cooking?

I am assuming this question set didn’t start on a food blog….

12) Do you have children?

1 peanut! Kaylin

13) What are your favorite hobbies?

Teaching group fitness classes
Running
Baking & cooking

14) Would you consider yourself to be shy or outgoing?

I’d say I’m right smack dab in the middle

15) If you could change one thing about yourself, what would you change?

I’m not a big fan of this question- all the little things make me, me! I guess if I’d have to choose, I’d want my hair to be the same color it was when I was younger. Trips to the salon are fun, but expensive .

16) Who is your favorite actor/actress?

actor: Marky Mark
actress: Reese!

17) What’s the coolest thing you’ve done this week?

The coolest things: Taken care of Kaylin, played trivia at Mellow Mushroom & taught some kick butt classes at the gym

18) Do you live near your family or far from them?

Close to some:

Far from others:

19) List three of your talents.

I think I’m a pretty decent group fitness instructor
Making cookies
Changing a diaper haha…jk…I’ve just been doing a lot of that recently

20) What is your greatest attribute?

I always try to do as much as I can for those that are important to me

Happy Wednesday!

DAHlicious Lassis Smoothies Review & Giveaway

2012-01-17T06:30:00.000-05:00

How has your week been so far? Did you have yesterday off? I hope so! My week has been OK so far. Kay has a cold and I had a root canal yesterday (which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be), but I also taught a great pump class and got to spend the majority of the day with Kaylin & Josh (awesome!).

I love a good smoothie! Whether homemade, from a restaurant, or from a store, they can be a totally delicious way to get in your fruits and veggies. I recently was contact by the nice people at DAHlicious to sample their DAHlicious Lassis (disclaimer: I received these samples for free). According to the company, “DAHlicious Lassis are an authentic Indian drink with a 4,000-year history, and we have brought them to supermarket shelves for a healthy and portable smoothie. Lassis are smoothies made from Indian-style yogurt blended with real fruit, and each DAHlicious lassi has fewer than five all-natural ingredients and 130 calories, and also contains more than 15 billion probiotics.”

We sampled four flavors Ecuador Banana (not shown- consumed before the picture could be taken ), Alphonso Mango, Oregon Strawberry & Wild Maine Blueberry.

Josh and I both loved these smoothies! The banana was our favorite, but all of the flavors are yummy. The yogurt drink is thick and fruity. Definitely a great breakfast or snack. I think they would be really great with protein powder or cereal mixed in. Yum Yum! Want to win a coupon to try a DAHlicious Lassi? I have FIVE coupons for a free DAHlicious Lassi. To enter, leave a comment on this post by Thursday, January 19 at noon telling me how you’d enjoy your Lassi. The winners will be randomly selected. You DO NOT have to have a blog to enter!!

As a side note, Kaylin tried another new food- Avocado!

First, she tried it alone and gave it an OK rating (based on her facial expressions). Next, I blended in banana and she seemed to really like the flavor combo:

I swear we have bibs other than Eagles bibs, I just always seem to take pictures when she is wearing an Eagles bib .

Anything exciting on tap this week? I just got a new Body Attack class and I am hoping it does well!

The Main Squeeze

2012-01-13T12:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! How has your day been so far? What are you up to this weekend? I’ve gotten a number of things done around the house today and I went food shopping. One of my favorite things about working part time is having Fridays off to prepare for the weekend.

This morning, I also met Amy (in person) for the first time. Amy writes an awesome blog called Sixth of April (her sons birth date). Amy and I had been chatting via comments, email, and instagram (@itzyskitchen) for a while, and it was about time we finally met in person! We decided to meet at a new juice and smoothie bar in Mount Pleasant called The Main Squeeze (such a great name):

The shop is super clean and colorful inside. Their menu offers everything from fresh fruit juice to smoothies. They even have a kids size (which I know Kaylin will love one day).

Christie Romine is the owner of The Main Squeeze. She is a Mount Pleasant local and is incredibly nice. I asked her what their best seller was and she said the Tropical Superfood. I ordered a 16 oz with protein:

You can see Amy’s Georgia on my Mind in the background:

This smoothie was seriously delicious! The pineapple flavor dominates- so good! I will definitely be back. Josh is going to be a big fan of their Hawaiian Honeymoon (named after Christie & her husband’s honeymoon in Hawaii and containing everything in the Tropical Superfood minus the spinach).

Here is a picture of Amy, her adorable son Ryan, Me & Kay, and Amy’s sweet neighbor Heather & her cutie pie son:

Seriously…how adorable is Ryan?

Such a fun meet up! If you live in the Charleston area- check out The Main Squeeze!!

On tap for this weekend? Teaching Body Attack, going out to eat, seeing my parents and ??

Chocolate White Chocolate Chip Cookies & Photos

2012-01-12T06:30:00.000-05:00

We had our Body Attack launch this week. It went well! What a kick butt release!! I’m teaching it again tomorrow and cannot wait. I always bring treats to the other instructors at the launch. This time, I made chocolate white chocolate chip cookies using this recipe (I omitted the coffee):

Josh’s Mom & sister make the BEST chocolate white chocolate chip cookies. I have the recipe and love it to pieces. This time,I figured I’d venture outside the tried and true. These cookies were pretty darn good!

I don’t really make new years resolutions, but I recently decided it would be my resolution to take a photo of Kaylin every day this year (minus a couple I missed during the first few days of January). I also want to capture lots of pictures of my first (fur) baby, Frank. Here is one I captured yesterday of my Mom with Kaylin playing how big:

and Frank being Frank:

And Kaylin tried another new food- an apple and banana puree! She really liked this one. She also just got her first tooth!! It broke through yesterday. Crazy!

Did you make resolutions this year?

Chobani Pineapple Turkey Chili

2012-01-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

Sunday was a really wonderful day! I got a lot done around the house and spent time with my family. My parents came down for a little brunch action (Kaylin was more interested in Frank than the camera):

Kaylin and her Ami (my Mom looks MUCH too young to be a Grandma):

I also made a really yummy dinner! Based on this recipe, I made a chili using ground turkey, pineapple and chobani! It was sweet and spicy!! Both Josh and I really enjoyed it.

Ingredients:

1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1/2 lb ground turkey
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon can chopped jalapenos (or ~ 1/2 fresh jalapeno, chopped)
1 15-oz can mixed beans
1/2 14.5-oz can low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped pineapple
1/2 C (8 ounces) Plain 0% Chobani Greek yogurt

Directions:

Heat oil in Dutch oven/larger pot. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Stir in garlic, ground turkey, cumin, oregano, and cayenne and cook, stirring regularly until turkey is cooked through (no longer pink).

Add jalapenos, beans and stock. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 30 minutes. Uncover and stir in Chobani and pineapple. Serve! Top with more tortilla chips, cornbread, cheese or more Chobani if desired.

Genius:

A great shortcut (especially if you won’t be using the jalapenos right away- they go bad so fast!):

Final product:

Yum! Thanks Chobani for all of the yummy samples (disclaimer: I received the chobani used in this recipe for free)! Have you tried any of their new flavors yet?? We have them all in the fridge and I can’t wait to dive in (especially the Cinnamon Apple!!).

So far…

2012-01-08T14:07:00.001-05:00

We’ve been having a great weekend including:

a date night in Friday night with dinner & a movie (hangover 2)
lots of walks:

Homemade baby food applesauce:

Body Pump 80 Launch:

Baking

A trip to the Charleston animal society to make our yearly donation of old towels, doggie treats and money:

and dinner at Sesame with friends:

Today includes learning lots of choreography, spending time with my parents, walks with Kay, housework and football watching with Josh! What have you been up to?

Mish Mosh

2012-01-06T06:30:00.000-05:00

I haven’t been cooking a lot. The holidays meant a lot of time away from the kitchen. On one hand, it was nice to not have to make a lot of meals! On the other, I missed cooking.

When I finally got back into the kitchen, I didn’t want to follow a recipe, I just wanted to cook. What resulted was a yummy mish mosh.

Ingredients:

1 medium sweet potato, diced
8 oz. Brussels sprouts
Olive oil spray
1/2 lb. lean ground turkey
7.5 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
VERY light sprinkle of ground red pepper- less than 1/8 teaspoon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with non stick aluminum foil. Place sweet potato and Brussels on sheet and spray with cooking spray. Roast for ~25 minutes

Meanwhile, brown up lean ground turkey until cooked through.

Add vegetables, tomato sauce and spices to turkey and cook for ~10 minutes.

Top with cheese! Would be yummy served with pasta, rice or scooped up with tortilla chips (if using tortilla chips, may want to dice up the Brussels a bit).

Weekend plans? We have our Body Pump launch tomorrow (whoop, whoop!). Other than that, a date night with the man and baby and brunch with my parents!

Chobani Nutella Brownies

2012-01-04T06:30:00.000-05:00

Inspired by many recipes I saw online, but not by the amounts of sugar & butter in them (1 cup of sugar & 1 stick of butter), I came up with my own version of nutella brownies using Chobani vanilla Greek yogurt (you could also use plain and add a teaspoon of vanilla extract):

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup vanilla chobani
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup Nutella (or combination of nutella and peanut butter)
3/4 cup AP flour

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease an oval pyrex dish or 9x9 inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and chobani. Add sugar and eggs and mix until combined. Mix in Nutella and stir until mixture is creamy. Add flour and stir until just combined.

Spread mixture into prepared pan and bake for ~25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean

I took these, along with chocolate chip cookie dough balls and later added peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, to a Penn State Bowl Game party:

Yum!

Kaylin’s First Food: Butternut Squash (Video)

2012-01-02T06:30:00.000-05:00

Kaylin had a doctors appointment last Friday! Everything went awesome! The doctor noted that she may be ready to start trying some food and recommended we give her a bit about an hour and a half after her “breakfast time” bottle and an hour and a half after her “dinner time” bottle. I had decided a while ago that I didn’t want to start her on the traditional rice cereal, but real, homemade foods. Josh’s Mom had purchased the Beaba baby food maker from Williams Sonoma for me for my baby shower:

I had wanted this gadget ever since we had started even just THINKING about having a baby! Although you can totally steam and puree vegetables and fruits using other methods, the baby food maker does it all. I decided to try butternut squash as her first food, and purchased a pre-chopped version from Harris Teeter:

I placed 200 grams in the baby food maker and added the appropriate amount of water.

The squash was cooked in 15 minutes. I drained the water and added 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and pureed away. I placed the baby food in the fridge over night.

And then we gave it a go:

After this video she really started trying more of the food and seemed to really enjoy it=success!!

Happy New Year (Kay Laughs)

2012-01-01T06:30:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!!

I hope you have a wonderful & joy filled year:

Christmas Pictures & Campbell’s Soup

2011-12-29T11:53:00.001-05:00

Long time, no blog! The holiday fun has continued this week, as our relatives are still in town. We’ve been going out to eat (at family members houses or restaurants) nearly every night. This has resulted in very little cooking and only some baking. Regular activities to begin again soon!!

In the meantime, I wanted to share my review of one of the Campbell’s Healthy Request soups I tried recently (disclaimer: I received this soup for free). I am a HUGE soup fan and usually like to experiment with recipes of my own. When I’m short on time, I do like to reach for canned or boxed soups.

The first soup of the bunch I tried was the Southwest Style potato, cheese & green chilies:

The photo below doesn’t really do the soup justice, it was pretty darn tasty. I do wish there were more vegetables (I may doctor it up next time), but the flavor of the soup itself was very good.

I also wanted to share some random Christmas pictures with you. I was so engrossed in the Christmas action that I didn’t take many pictures. Kaylin in her new jumper:

Frank getting presents:

Kaylin on her play mat (she's obsessed):

Kay & Aunt Jenny:

Kay & Dad (she has a thing for grabbing lips right now):

Present opening:

Pop Pop & Kay:

I feel like Christmas has a whole new meaning once you have a peanut! What has been the best part of your holiday celebrations?

Nutella Balls

2011-12-25T06:30:00.000-05:00

Merry, merry Christmas! I hope you have an absolutely fabulous day! We celebrated with Josh’s family yesterday and will celebrate with my family today. Kaylin is getting VERY spoiled

I wanted to share a quick, last minute cookie recipe with you! These cookies have that great nutella flavor without being overly sweet!!

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/3 cup nutella
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup WW flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Desired quantity chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Beat together butter, nutella & sugar. Add egg, milk and vanilla and mix until combined.

In a separate bowl, mix together all dry ingredients.

Mix together dry and wet until just combined and stir in chocolate chunks or chips.

Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon and drop dough onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes. Makes ~ 22 balls

Chick-fil-A Prize Pack Giveaway!!

2011-12-21T13:49:00.001-05:00

Hi All! I apologize for the lack of exciting posts this week. Like all of you, I have been cooking & baking away…but I’ve mostly been making old favorites (nothing new and exciting). SO, instead of sharing a recipe, I wanted to do a fun giveaway. I had posted about the fun Chick-fil-A widget once before, and I wanted to give you a second chance to win a Chick-fil-A prize pack (disclaimer: Chick-fil-A will be providing this prize to the winner for free). Whats in the prize pack?

Five Cow Watches!
Two Chick-fil-A Plush Cows!
A Free Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake Coupon with specialty Christmas ornament!

To enter, simply check out the widget:

Then, either

1. Leave me a comment telling me what you’re doing for the holidays

2. Take the holiday chick-fil-a quiz and share your results in the comments

You can also do both! Make sure you leave separate comments for each entry. You DO NOT need to have a blog to enter! The contest is open until Saturday, December 24 at noon.

Enjoy your day!!

Triple Chocolate Malted Cookies & Chobani Winner

2011-12-19T06:30:00.000-05:00

Did y’all have a good weekend? Ours was really nice. Friday- date night out with Kaylin (dinner and DVR catch up), Saturday-hair appointment, girl time, and College of Charleston basketball game! Josh and his Dad have season tickets, so we nabbed a couple more and Josh’s Mom, brother, Kaylin & I went as well:

Kaylin did awesome at the game, despite the noise. Sunday- walk with Kaylin:

outdoor run, baking, football! We did grilled pizzas and salad for football Sunday- delicious!

A while back I made these malted chocolate chip cookies. I decided to play around with the recipe a bit and make an extra chocolaty version.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup malted milk powder
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup chocolate chunks
1/4 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the butter, oil and sugars together until fluffy and creamy. Stir in the malted milk powder and eggs. Add the vanilla, baking soda and salt, mixing until blended.

Slowly mix in the flour, beating until the dough is smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, and space 1 1/2-2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes.

And the winner of the Chobani giveaway is…Vanessa! Vanessa- please send your address to itzyskitchen at gmail dot com and I will get your prize out to you!

Enjoy your Monday!!

Light Broccoli Soup

2011-12-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!! Weekend plans? Things are looking pretty low key around here. Date night Friday, hair appointment Saturday, couple workouts, otherwise?

Due to some major changes going on with the Secret Recipe Club, there will be no posting in January. This decision was made after group A (the group I’m in) received their assignments. I already had my mind set on making Susie’s easy and light broccoli soup. I decided to go ahead and make the soup anyways with just a few adjustments.

Ingredients:

1 bag of fresh broccoli florets
1 clove of garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 TBSP olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
2 TBSP low fat milk or almond milk
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
Optional: Shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Saute onion, garlic, and thyme in olive oil over medium heat for ~7 minutes.

Add in broth, red pepper, and broccoli florets and simmer for 15 minutes covered until broccoli is nice and soft.

Remove from heat and cool briefly then either puree with an emulsion blender or pour into food processor or blender and puree.

Stir in milk and desired amount of mozzarella cheese.

Enjoy! I made this soup earlier in the day and then reheated it at dinner time. I added chickpeas (not shown) and I think cooked ground turkey or chicken would make an awesome addition too:

Sun Butter Kisses & Chobani Giveaway

2011-12-14T06:30:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my last post, I had a chunk of leftovers from this past weekends cookie exchange. One of those leftovers was a previously un-shown container of Hershey kisses:

I had planned to make cookies this week to include in the packages of gifts I’m giving to Kaylin’s teachers at daycare. Once I saw the leftover kisses, I instantly thought peanut butter blossoms! And then I remembered the no nut rule at daycare. I adapted this recipe and made sun butter kisses instead:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sun butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 1/2 cups AP Flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Additional granulated sugar (about 2 tablespoons)
Hershey Kisses

Directions:

Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, peanut butter, butter and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, baking soda and baking powder.

Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll in additional granulated sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Immediately press 1 chocolate candy in center of each cookie. Let cookies sit one additional minute on the cookie sheet and then remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Allow cookies to cool COMPLETELY before packaging.

Makes ~ 28 cookies.

And now, for a fun giveaway! As you know, I love Chobani Greek yogurt. I recently received their new 32-ounce containers and used them in a batch of chocolate chunk bread and as a sour cream replacement in dip. Now YOU can receive two 32-ounce containers of Chobani!! This giveaway is open to all readers in the US and Canada. You DO NOT have to have a blog to enter. To enter, leave a comment below by Sunday, December 18 at noon, telling me one recipe on the Chobani Kitchen website you’d like to try. (Disclaimer: I received my Chobani for free and you will receive YOUR Chobani, if you win, for free)

Winners will be randomly chosen- good luck!!

Cookie Exchange

2011-12-11T15:00:00.000-05:00

Hi guys! Sorry I disappeared at the end of last week. Josh had been on travel all week, so I was playing single mama (props to all the single moms out there- boy is it tough work) and I was getting ready for my cookie exchange. Anyone else have trouble guessing how much food to make for parties? I always over do it and was trying to really be right on this time. For the twenty ladies and few peanuts we had over, I put out crackers and cheese (no picture), meatballs:

Hummus & Veggies:

Chips & Salsa

Chocolate mint M&M & sun butter cookies, pumpkin bars and TJs eggnog covered almonds:

Fruit & fruit dip

and tortilla rollups (tortillas topped with whipped light cream cheese, turkey, spinach & light mozzarella cheese (no pick):

In the end, I had too much food . But, I did better than I usually do!

For the exchange, I made sun butter cookies (Jenna’s from Eat Live Run!) with red & green chocolate covered sunflower seeds:

My final plate (I some how missed a few of the cookies on here):

We had a blast! A big thank you to my Mom who helped with prep, clean up, and taking care of Kaylin during the party!! And Josh for keeping Frank busy & helping with clean up. AND my Aunt for helping with clean up. Y’all are amazing!

What do you have on tap this coming week? Usual over here! Work/teaching at the gym/Kaylin/Josh/Frank!

Chickpea and Turkey Meatballs

2011-12-07T06:30:00.000-05:00

I had one of those nights where I just DIDN’T know what to make for dinner. As I was doing some blog reading, I came across Teresa’s recipe for Turkey Chickpea Burgers and knew I’d hit the jackpot! I adjusted her recipe a bit and made meatballs instead:

Ingredients:

15-oz can low sodium chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon water
1/4 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs:

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In a food processor, combine chickpeas, Worcestershire, onion, cumin and water and pulse until smooth.

In a bowl, combine chickpea mixture, turkey & panko. Form into meatballs a little smaller than a golf ball (I got approximately 16 meat/bean balls). Place a cookie cooling rack on top of a baking sheet and spray with pam (see picture here). Bake for ~20 minutes or until cooked through. Serve with vegetables or pasta and sauce.

AND…I finally got the Christmas tree decorated. Notice the tilt to the right…I kind of love that its totally not perfect :

Matzo Balls & Christmas Fun

2011-12-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

How was your weekend? Ours was was really wonderful, but so busy! Friday night, we did a family & friends dinner at Josh’s parents house. His Mom put out a great spread of salad, shrimp & meatballs. Delicious!

Saturday, we had a group fitness member appreciation event at the gym and then I ran lots of errands. When I got back, I got dressed up for a party at our group fitness managers house. I brought a simple appetizer and some cookies (unpictured):

My group fitness manager & I wore the same skirt in different colors, so we had to get a picture or two

It was a silly and awesome time.

Sunday, we went and got our Christmas tree! It was exciting to take Kay for the first time (even though she won’t remember it one bit ).

The rest of the day was spent on stuff around the house and changing up my choreography for classes this week.

For dinner, I made matzo ball soup! Its Secret Recipe Club time!! As a part of the club, each month you’re assigned another Secret Recipe Club blogger to make a recipe from. If you want to join, click here to sign up.

This month, I was assigned Gluten Free Judee. Judee is (obviously), GF, but she is also a vegetarian! She had a lot of fun recipes (I plan to make her crockpot falafel next), but I ended up going for her matzo balls. Instead of using GF breadcrumbs, I used panko. The result was yummy, but next time I want to add a little something something (spice) to it.

Ingredients:

2 T vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 t salt

Directions:

In a small bowl beat eggs and oil and set aside
In a separate bowl mix bread crumbs and salt.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and blend well with fork.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes ( this step is important)

Remove batter from refrigerator. Divide batter into just slightly smaller than golf ball size balls- I used my cookie scoop to make the balls (should make about 8-10) .

Put up an 8qt pot of water and bring it to a boil with a little salt if you like. When water comes to a boil, drop in balls one at a time into the boiling water. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 40-50 minutes.

I also made a throw together soup of vegetables, ground chicken, broth, tomato sauce & spices. The steps & results:

Thanks Judee!

Granola Bar Cookies & Goals

2011-12-02T06:30:00.000-05:00

Happy, happy Friday! I have lots of good stuff on tap for this weekend:time with my Mom, a member appreciation event at the gym, an instructor party, fun dinner with family/friends & football! What are you up to?

Thank you all for your cookie suggestions! I have about 10 new recipes book marked to make! I think I have finally decided to make a sunflower seed cookie. I ordered red and green chocolate covered sunflower seeds. Now, I am deciding between making Jenna’s awesome Sun Butter Cookies or my granola bar cookies. I made a batch of the granola bar cookies again yesterday to help me decide (I used regular sunflower seeds since my chocolate covered ones haven’t arrived yet):

I still can’t decide!

Since December 1st has come and gone….it is goal time review again! I’m only listing the goals I hadn’t met in the beginning of November or goals that are ongoing:

Diet

Get at least 75 grams of Protein a Day- Yikes….I’m hitting more like 50
Drink more water! At least 80 ounces/day (extra is required for breast feeding & working out) Still meeting/exceeding!
Eat more complete meals. Doing it!
Lose remaining pregnancy weight gain by Thanksgiving – I didn’t meet this one…BUT I only have four pounds to go. I’m setting my new goal as January 15

Fitness

Slowly increase Body Pump weight back to pre-pregnancy totals by end of December . Only have to kick my squat weight up one more notch and I’m backkkkkkkkk….I’m going to try to hit this on Monday
Take a Bikram yoga class Not yet

Life

Stress less about the little things- enjoy every moment with Kaylin! Definitely continuing to meet this one. I love feeding Kaylin. Shes so peaceful and happy. I also like taking walks & naps with her!
Make sure Kaylin gets in tummy time and a book reading every day. Doing great!
Continue to meal plan and cook nutritious meals at least 5 of 7 nights a week. SLACKED in November. Lots of guests in and out meant a lot more meals out. Refocusing for December
Purchase furniture for living room. I have it down to a few options. However, we did buy ourselves a Christmas present (new TV and book cases), so this may be on hold for a bit
Pick out paint color and paint two walls downstairs Not yet
Have a “date night” in or out with Josh (and Kaylin) at least once a week. Josh and I had an awesome solo date night! Hoping to have one this weekend too.

How are you doing on your goals? I plan to reset these and come up with new goals at the end of the month.

Cookie Experimenting & Winners

2011-11-30T06:30:00.000-05:00

Oh my! Isn’t the week back after a holiday always a tough one? Hope yours is going well! Usual stuff going on around here- teaching at the gym, working, taking care of the peanut & baking! I am hosting a cookie exchange soon and am trying to figure out what I want to make for it? Any ideas??? I want something SIMPLE, but delicious. Hmmm…

I tested out two recipes this week, Diana’s Mexican Hot Chocolate Dough Balls:

And Cate’s Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies:

The results:

Both were good (especially Diana’s- a totally unique flavor!!), but am still on the hunt! Again- ideas welcome!

And the winners of the two giveaways last week…

Chick-fil-A calendar…..Heather!

and the Treats Truck Baking Book…Lindsey Knudson!

Ladies- please send your address to itzyskitchen at gmail dot com and I will get your prizes sent to you!

As a side note, I will be reviewing an item soon from the new Wayfair (formerly CSN stores) website! Wayfair has all sorts of items for your home including kitchen throw rugs. Love this website- we ordered Kaylin’s baby room furniture from there. Check it out!

Buy Local & Family Pictures

2011-11-28T06:30:00.000-05:00

Hello All! How was the rest of your holiday weekend? Ours was very nice! Lots of family time, a couple of great workouts (taught pump & ran), and more yummy eats!

Before I show you a few of the pictures from our family photo shoot, I wanted to tell you about an awesome card I recently received (disclaimer: I sent Lowcountry Local First a donation, but received this card for free)- the Buy Local Lowcountry Local First card. According to Lowcountry local first, the card:

“gives people discounts at tons of locally-owned businesses all over town. This card program is designed to be a win for everyone: the local business gets more customers and return business, the customer gets amazing discounts, and our organization receives some of the funding to help recover costs and sustain our program.”

We have SO many amazing local companies and restaurants in the Lowcountry that I was more than excited to support this effort! I’m most excited to use my card at the following businesses:

Palmetto Moon
Coastal Cupboard (obsessed with this store)
Poe’s
Mosaic

More info about the card (according to Lowcountry Local):

Where people can get the cards:

Buy Local cards are sold in various local businesses around town. Check out our online business directory here. You can filter by Buy Local card sellers and/or Buy Local deals to see where the cards are sold and accepted. The cards cost $20 and the proceeds are split 50/50 between Lowcountry Local First (LLF) and that business.
There are also a few schools in the area selling the cards as a fundraiser. They also split the proceeds with LLF.
Or, people can buy the card directly from LLF at the downtown farmers markets on Saturdays or in our Buy Local Mom and Pop-up Shop at 359 King St (until December 15).

Where you can use the card:

Check the online business directory (link above). Our members are adding deals each day! Our goal is to get over 200 local businesses offering deals by the end of the year and we are well on our way.

Other goings on:

Buy Local month continues until December 15th and people can check out our Buy Local headquarters at 359 King street. We're calling it our Mom and Pop-Up shop :) and have 20 local vendors/businesses set up to sell their goods and spread the word about their shops. We're having many events at the shop throughout the next few weeks - the primary event being the Buy Local Bash on December 1st. You can check out the events here.

A few weeks ago, we had our pictures taken by Lee at Crescent Moon Photography. Lee is my neighbor and takes some of the cutest family pictures! I just wanted to share with you a few of my favorites:

We already used them to make our Christmas card! I can’t wait to get them and send them out! Thank you Lee!!

Thanksgiving Day & Eve

2011-11-25T17:29:00.001-05:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!! What was your favorite part? Mine was all of the great family time. I didn’t take too many pictures, but I wanted to share some!

Thanksgiving eve:

I brought Sabra spinach and artichoke hummus (disclaimer: a coupon to purchase the hummus was provided by foodbuzz as a part of the tastemakers program):

I brought veggies and tjs bean chips to enjoy with the hummus. I also threw together a Chobani french onion dip:

My parents made lasagna, chicken, and salad for dinner. I didn’t get any pictures, but it was very tasty!! A few pictures from the night, my cousins and Kaylin:

Kay and my Mom:

My Uncle & Aunt:

My Dad & Kay:

And Thanksgiving Day! I got up, ran, cooked & had coffee. My contribution to the day was two types of bars and a slightly adjusted version of Jessica’s fabulous lighter sweet potato casserole!

I left the skins on my potatoes, eliminated the marshmallow & only used about 1/3 the topping:

It was a hit! Thank you so much Jessica! Few random pictures from the day. Josh and Kaylin in her turkey onesie from Sarah:

Uncle Jer and Kaylin, reading:

Kay:

Kay & her Dad & Uncles:

Uncle Justin making peanut butter:

I somehow got no pictures of the food- but it was awesome! Josh’s Mom is a fabulous cook!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies & Cookbook Giveaway

2011-11-23T06:30:00.000-05:00

Its that time of year when you really need a simple, throw together, delicious recipe that can be done in a SNAP. Josh told me that he needed to bring a dish in for his work potluck and I instantly jumped on being in charge of a couple of desserts. I had just received The Treats Truck Baking Book (disclaimer: I received this book to review for free from the publisher) and couldn’t wait to test out one of the recipes:

According to the publisher: “Entrepreneurial baking queen Kim Ima invites you to climb aboard her famous NYC Treats Truck, “Sugar,” for an unforgettable tour of the world of cookies, cakes, pies, and all manner of scrumptious desserts.” Since I had planned on making pumpkin bars too, I figured I could go for something a little less holiday-ish for my second dessert, and decided to make flourless peanut butter cookies:

And then I saw this fun note at the bottom of the page:

I’m in! I made a half batch of the cookies and added chocolate chunks:

Soft and delicious! Definitely make sure you left them cooooool on the cookie sheet before removing….or you’ll have to eat a broken cookie (I some how managed to take that cookie down ).

All together now!

Yum! Another fun idea suggested by the cookbook is to make the peanut butter cookies into sandwiches:

This cookbook is totally fun! Filled with recipes for cookies (I plan to try the oatmeal jammy next), brownies, bars, etc! I totally want to go to NYC now and try out some of Kim’s treats fresh off the truck.

Want to win a copy of the book for yourself? Simply leave a comment on this post telling me what you usually bring to a potluck. Comments must be received by Sunday, November 27 at midnight. You DO NOT need to have a blog to enter!

Chobani Chocolate Chunk Bread & Chick–fil-A Giveaway

2011-11-21T06:30:00.000-05:00

mmm… Greek yogurt. Its totally delicious and protein packed- what could be better? Once I get this whole lactose issue figured out…I will find a way to get it BACK in my life!! The other day, I received an awesome package from Chobani. They now have 32 oz containers of their plain Chobani goodness (both 0 and 2% fat!):

I did a little dance when I opened the package (disclaimer: I received these products for free). Another great item in the package? This Chobani conversion magnet that shows how you can healthify your baking and cooking with Chobani.

Since Josh had a “mans day” coming up, I knew I could use the Chobani in a yummy & healthier baked good for the boys to enjoy. I decided to make a chocolate chunk bread based on this cinnamon chip bread recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (or half WW half AP)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Chobani yogurt
1/3 cup egg whites (or two eggs)
1 cup Chocolate chunks or chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a loaf pan with Pam.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, applesauce, butter, chobani and egg whites in large bowl. Beat on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Stir in chocolate chunks
Pour into loaf pan and bake for approximately 1 hour (check it as cooking time varies by oven) or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Let loaf cool completely before cutting

Yum! Thanks Chobani!

On a side note- do you like Chick-fil-A? I’m not much for fast food, but Chick-fil-A is the exception. They recently added a fun widget to their facebook page. A little about the widget:

“The Cow Watches are coming to Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals! During the holidays Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meals are featuring the never before seen Cow Watches to reach families with a simple and fun message: In your busy holiday season make sure to stop and take a few moments together as a family to spend quality “time” with one another. The Chick-fil-A Cow Watch widget is available now with fun and enriching activities, worksheets and quizzes so that your family (and readers!) can share in the holiday fun!”

And for more fun- one of you will win a Chick-fil-A calendar filled with awesome coupons (a $30 dollar value- disclaimer: this calendar will be provided for free from Chick-fil-A). Two ways to enter:

1. Check out the widget:

and leave a comment below letting me know you did so.

2. Leave me a comment telling me your favorite way to spend quality time with your family over the holidays.

Comments must be received by Wednesday, November 23 at noon. Good luck!

Green Giant Stir Fry

2011-11-18T06:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday!!! First, excitement in our house- Kaylin slept through night for the first time! It was absolutely wonderful to wakeup after solid sleep!

The rest of my week has been great. I finally got all of the cleaning done, took Body Combat Wednesday, and got in a nice run on Thursday. I also met up with Mandi for Starbucks. Oh, and worked. Today will include teaching Body Pump, running errands, and a date night ALONE with Josh! Whoop, whoop. Whats going on with you?

Recently, I received a coupon to try out a sample of Green Giant vegetables (disclaimer: a stipend was provided for free as a part of the Foodbuzz taste testers program). I choose one of my favorites, sugar snap peas:

I used them in an easy stir fry. First, I browned up a pound of ground turkey. Meanwhile, I cooked the sugar snap peas and a side of corn according to the package directions. I added the vegetables to the ground turkey

and then added my favorite pre-made stir fry sauce (I like to make my own sauce, but this stuff is great in a pinch):

I topped the stir fry with sesame seeds and served it with a side of pineapple. Its also delicious on top of greens:

Thanks Green Giant and Foodbuzz! The snap peas were awesome in this stir fry.

Last, I just wanted to let you all know that I am taking part in the Green Works Community. As a part of the community, I received a number of Green Works products to try (disclaimer: I received these products for free). I used the all purpose cleaner first and loved it. It did a great job cleaning the counter tops in my kitchen and smelled fresh, but not overpowering. I like that, unlike other cleaners, you don’t need to rinse your kitchen counters with water before they come in contact with food.

Do you use green products? I have used a few green cleaning products and love using easy/peasy homemade cleaners as well (i.e. white vinegar).

PA Food

2011-11-16T06:30:00.000-05:00

How is your week treating you so far? Mine has been good, but busy playing catch up! I’ve done wayyyy too much laundry & cleaning, taught Body Pump & Attack, and went to Mellow Mushroom for Trivia night (love!). What about you?

While in PA this past weekend, we had some pretty tasty eats. We didn’t hit up anywhere too fancy, but enjoyed our meals. In my opinion, no trip to PA would be complete without a trip to Wawa.

Yes, it’s a gas station, but they have great coffee and various food items.

We also went to Victory. Josh’s favorite beer is their Hop Devil IPA. I was busy taking care of Kaylin and didn’t get any food pictures (I had soup & salad and Josh had a burger), but the food was just OK. Their pretzel appetizer was very yummy though .

Our friends also took us to PJ Whelihan’s, which makes the official wings of the Wing Bowl:

The inside was super open and had TONS of TVs. We walked in just as the Penn State game was starting. Not going to lie….I shed a tear watching the long moment of silence. I won’t go on and on about my thoughts on the situation (I am a PSU alum), but it makes me very sad (both what happened to the victims and what is happening at/to the school).

I did try the wings and they were good! I also had their Greek chicken salad minus the feta.

On Sunday, we spent the day in the city with Josh’s brother. He took us to the Italian market which had an amazing array of meats, seafood, and produce:

We ate brunch at Morning Glory, a tiny diner with fantastic homemade goodies.

I started with coffee with soy milk. I love the containers they serve their coffee in:

We ordered a pumpkin muffin (sampled with their homemade jam):

Raspberry chocolate special waffle and monkey bread French toast:

It was terrible :

We walked around more afterwards and stopped at Sarcone’s so that Josh could get a sub for the plane and I could get an amazing barrel pickle:

and went through Redding terminal so that Jer could pick up his weekly produce:

And now its work time! Hope you have a good day.

Babyfest

2011-11-14T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!! I hope you’re doing well! Thank you for all the support on my decision to post/comment a little less- much appreciated .

When I last left you, I mentioned we had fun plans for the rest of the week. We spent Thursday night through Sunday in Philadelphia! We went to visit Josh’s friends and brother. I was very nervous because it was Kaylin’s first plane ride. We listened to the advice of friends and had her eat on the way up and on the way day and it worked like a charm! She did fabulous!

None of us were ready for the colder weather, so we bundled up:

It was a blast seeing all of Josh’s childhood friends, it had been way too long. Some of the guys:

Six of the guys (including Josh) all had babies around the same time. Two of them couldn’t make it to the reunion, but here are four of them:

Of the six, we were the only ones who had a girl. Kaylin was quite the flirt:

She seemed to like the older men better than the other babies….I think we’re going to have our hands full one day .

And the Mamas:

SO much fun to see all of the babies together. On Sunday, we spent the majority of the day with Josh’s brother, Jeremy. We walked around the city and ate lots of delicious food (food post to come):

And Jer got to spend some time with Kay:

Such a great trip! What was the best part of your weekend?

Changes & Football Food: Mini Meatball Soup

2011-11-09T06:30:00.000-05:00

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…we’re halfway there (a la Living on a Prayer).

How has your week been? Good stuff over here- just busy! Speaking of busy, I have felt like things have been a little out of control lately. I fall into the trap of overcommitting on a regular basis (as I’m sure many of you do too), and I’m starting to really feel it. Given this, I will probably only be posting 3 times a week now (vs. 4) and commenting only a couple days a week (vs. daily). I know I don’t “have” to announce this, but I wanted to! Hope you all understand

Moving right along! Football food was done on Monday night this week vs. Sunday. The Eagles were on and we needed some delicious grub to go with the game. I have made Aggie’s meatball soup many times and just love it to bits. Its super easy to make and tasty. I added some homemade arnolds thin croutons on top and cheese on Josh’s. Josh’s Mom also joined us for part of the game and brought along a bundle of fruit to eat with our soup:

We have some big plans for later this week, so you probably won’t hear from me until Monday! Enjoy the rest of your week- anything you’re looking forward to?

Malted Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-11-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Its Secret Recipe Club time again! Just as a reminder, as a part of the club, each month you’re assigned another Secret Recipe Club blogger to make a recipe from. If you want to join, click here to sign up.

This month, I was assigned Savvy Eats. Julie seems like such a cool chick! We actually have a lot in common, we both:

Went to Big10 Schools
Majored in Engineering
Have a love of food, health & working out

When I was searching through her recipes, there were SO many I wanted to try. However, when I saw her recipe for malted chocolate chip cookies, I knew this would be the one! Josh is a huge fan of malt and I have never used it in baking. I headed out to the store and picked up a container of malted milk. You can find the recipe on her blog here and I have also placed it below.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup malted milk powder
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Beat the butter, oil and sugars together until fluffy and creamy. Stir in the malted milk powder and eggs. Add the vanilla, baking soda and salt, mixing until blended.

Slowly mix in the flour, beating until the dough is smooth. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Roll tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, and space 1 1/2-2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes, until the tops are only lightly browned.

These were totally delicious! A great change up from the run of the mill chocolate chip cookie.

Burgers, Beer & Diastasis Rectus Abdominus

2011-11-06T05:30:00.000-05:00

How has your weekend been so far? Ours has been very nice! Friday night, we hit up Vino Burgerz with Mandi & Bryan. Vino Burgerz is a new addition to Wine A While and the menu was developed by Joey who used to own Joseph’s downtown.

For dinner, I got the Station 41 salad without the feta and with a turkey burger instead of chicken:

The sundried apricots were totally delicious and I really liked the champagne vinaigrette. I think the salad would be much more amazing with the feta (tear!), but it needs some additional crunch. I asked for croutons and that seemed to do the trick.

Josh did a build your own beef burger with mozzarella and pepper bacon. He said it was totally delicious.

Overall, the food at Vino Burgerz is good. My salad was a little on the expensive side (for what it was). The restaurant also definitely has some ventilation issues to workout (it was smoky as heck in there from the grill), but we will be going back for a second tasting at some point.

On Saturday, I taught Body Pump, baked a batch of cookies, and then headed to Mellow Mushroom for beerfest. I wasn’t drinking (since I’m feeding Kaylin), but enjoyed time with family and friends:

And now for the last part of the title. Lately, I had been noticing that my abs didn’t seem right. Yes, I had a baby three months ago and I do not expect them to be perfect, but they just didn’t seem right. There was an extremely strange liquidy feeling/soft spot above my belly button and I was starting to feel like holding my abs in was impossible. Josh’s Dad (whose a doctor) examine my tummy and said I have Diastasis Rectus Abdominus. So…what does this mean? Basically, according to Be-Fit Mom:

“About 30% of all pregnant women experience diastasis recti, or abdominal separation, a condition where the two right and left sides of the rectus abdominis-the "six-pack" muscle-spreads apart at the body's midline, the linea alba. Widening and thinning of the mid line tissue occurs in response the force of the uterus pushing against the abdominal wall, in conjunction with pregnancy hormones that soften connective tissue. Separation can occur anytime in the last half of pregnancy but is most problematic after pregnancy when the abdominal wall is weak and does not provide adequate support for the torso and internal organs.”

Good stuff, right? The bad news- there is not a whole lot I can do about it right now. In fact, crunches can make it worse!! So, I will be taking it easy on the ab exercise and trying to rebuild the strength in that area slowly! If anyone has any advice- I’d love to hear it!

On a lighter note , hope you have a nice Sunday! And…if you get a minute…vote for us!

Giant White Beans, Spinach & Tomato Pasta

2011-11-04T06:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday all! How has your week been? Mines been a litttttle tough! After I was finished with the tummy bug, Kaylin picked it up. It was so hard to see her sick. She is feeling much, much better now. And a BIG thank you to my Mom who came to take care of her on Wednesday so I could work. You’re a lifesaver Mama!

I love Trader Joe’s. Seriously, they have the BEST products! Recently, my Aunt was headed out for some shopping at TJs and asked if I recommended any of their products. I had just seen Katie talk about their giant white beans in tomato sauce and SO wanted to give them a go! My sweet Aunt surprised me with my very own jar:

I wanted to incorporate the beans into a comforting dish and immediately thought pasta. I defrosted half a box of frozen spinach and then heated it up in a skillet. I added the giant white beans and a little additional marinara sauce. Meanwhile, I cooked up spaghetti according to the package directions. As soon as everything was heated up & cooked through, I mixed them all together and topped the dish with cheese (cheese for Josh, none for me- darn this lactose issue!). SO good! The giant white beans are delicious:

Yum! Any new favorite TJ products??

Weekend plans? We’re going out to dinner tonight with friends and then are going to a beer fest tomorrow!

Reminder (sorry!): And, If you have a minute…Remember how Josh and I went on our babymoon in Jamaica? We stayed (for the second time) at a resort we LOVE- Secrets! I just entered a contest to win a free trip back to a Secrets resort. You can vote for my babymoon bump photo here. You can vote once a day (so I may be posting annoying reminders for a while) Thank youuuuuuuuuu!

Halloween & Goals Update

2011-11-02T06:30:00.000-04:00

November! So crazy that its November already. Anyone with me? I can’t even start to wrap my ahead around Christmas shopping. I got nervous about this when I got a red cup from Starbucks on Tuesday:

Did you have a good Halloween? I hope so! Ours started off a little rocky. As I previously mentioned, Sunday morning, I started to feel sick. By Sunday night I had a full blown bug and was getting sick throughout the night. I couldn’t even sit up to feed Kaylin. Lucky for me, I have a WONDERFUL husband who helped me a ton. He stayed home from work Monday to nurse me back to health and to help take care of Kaylin.

By noonish on Monday, I was starting to feel better. We took Kaylin to her doctors appointment where she got measured, weighed, and got shots. She is in the 76th percentile for length/height! Clearly, she’s taking after Josh in this aspect .

We had a GREAT Halloween. We dressed up as a Mickey Mouse family:

and we had friends over and enjoyed some Chickfila:

Then we got slammed with trick or treaters. We gave out five Costco size bags of candy and also gave out beers to the parents from our keggerator. It was a blast.

And for my monthly goals update:

Diet

Get at least 75 grams of Protein a Day- I am still doing pretty well on this one. I’m slipping on my AM protein a bit, so I need to get back in check
Drink more water! At least 80 ounces/day (extra is required for breast feeding & working out) Still meeting/exceeding!
Eat more complete meals, less random snacking SLACKED in October, getting back on it!
Lose remaining pregnancy weight gain by Thanksgiving – I am still needing to lose about 5 lbs…I made pretty much 0 progress in October. I am adjusting my workouts…and random snacking. No excuses….

Fitness

Start teaching Body Pump and Body Step or Attack by the end of September –Met in September, Continued in October
Slowly increase Body Pump weight back to pre-pregnancy totals by end of December . Increased my squat, back & chest weight in September, bumped up warm up, triceps and lunges in October, almost back to pre-pregnancy totals
Focus on increasing running endurance- complete the two races I signed up for in October DONE!
Take a Bikram yoga class Not yet

Life

Stress less about the little things- enjoy every moment with Kaylin! I think I really made strides on this in October. My favorite thing to do with Kaylin is go for walks or just make her laugh- especially when Josh joins in the fun!
Make sure Kaylin gets in tummy time and a book reading every day. Doing great!
Continue to meal plan and cook nutritious meals at least 5 of 7 nights a week. Rocking it!
Get back to work work (mid September) Yup!
Purchase furniture for new screened in porch and living room I spoke too soon on this one in September. We did get our porch furniture, but we’re still looking for living room furniture
Pick out paint color and paint two walls downstairs Not yet
Make weekend “dates” to see friends. YES!
Have a “date night” in or out with Josh (and Kaylin) at least once a week. Doing better than September on this one…but still slacking a bit.

My main goals moving forward are to drop the excessive snacking and finish off this weight loss! I also need to work on the house decorations more.

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Birthday Brunch & Football Food:Pizza

2011-10-31T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hello Monday. Hope your week is off to a good start. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I love this holiday, its my favorite. Tonight, we’re dressing up as a Mickey Mouse family and handing our candy to the kiddos and beer from our kegerator to the adults. We have a neighborhood FULL of kids, so we should get slammed.

We finished up our weekend with brunch with my parents to celebrate my Dad’s birthday! We took a “blue eye” picture pre-brunch- Me, Kaylin & My Dad! Hard to tell in the picture, but we’re all blue eyed babies:

We hit up one of my favorite brunch spots, Crave. Kaylin slept through most of the meal:

I got a ginormous egg white omelet with spinach, tomato and onion and fruit on the side. I also ate one of their amazing corn muffins.

Happy Birthday Dad!

The rest of the day was spent lounging. I was NOT feeling good. We also watched a lot of football. For dinner, I made the boys (Josh and his friend Andrew) pizza (I ate the rest of my breakfast…despite feeling like crud). I made dough using my favorite 101 cookbooks recipe. I topped the dough with pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella, pepperoni and jalapenos:

I also made up a batch of pumpkin chocolate chunk bars for dessert. And then it was sleep time! Do you have a favorite pizza dough recipe, or do you prefer to buy your dough/crust? Sometimes I buy my dough from Publix or TJs(depending on how much time I have).

As a side note (in case you missed it yesterday):

Help me pick my outfit for our family pictures

And, If you have a minute…Remember how Josh and I went on our babymoon in Jamaica? We stayed (for the second time) at a resort we LOVE- Secrets! I just entered a contest to win a free trip back to a Secrets resort. You can vote for my babymoon bump photo here. You can vote once a day (so I may be posting annoying reminders for a while) Thank youuuuuuuuuu!

Family, Friends & Spinach Salad

2011-10-30T06:30:00.000-04:00

How has your weekend been so far? Ours has been really nice! Friday, we went to a get together at Amelia’s house. Lindsay (formerly of Pancakes N Pajamas) and Mandi (who used to post with me on Itzy’s Kitchen) and their husbands came too!

We had a blast catching up and eating yummy food. Amelia made incredible burgers (beef and turkey) and we each brought a side. I made a spinach salad which contained spinach (duh ), chopped apple & pear, dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds. I used TJs balsamic dressing on top. My plate- salad, fruit, chips, pickles & a beef burger:

Amelia also made an awesome array of desserts. We were stuffed after dinner but she sent us home with adult goodie bags of cookies and crisp. The crisp was amazing.

Saturday, I went to Body Step, hung with Kaylin & went shopping! I got some new shoes and clothes for a family photo shoot we’re doing next weekend.

Speaking of the photo shoot, I plan to do some dressier pictures and some more relaxed pictures (jeans). We’re doing tans/creams/maroons as our color palate for the dressier picture. Which skirt do you like better, A- Light Brown, Cotton- Banana:

or B Maroon Corduroy- Banana :

Today, we’re celebrating my Dad’s birthday (which is on Halloween) with brunch. What are you up to?

Side Note: If you have a minute…Remember how Josh and I went on our babymoon in Jamaica? We stayed (for the second time) at a resort we LOVE- Secrets! I just entered a contest to win a free trip back to a Secrets resort. You can vote for my babymoon bump photo here. Thank youuuuuuuuuu!

Nutty Shrimp, Asparagus & Cashew Stir Fry

2011-10-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

Fridayyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Whoop, Whoop! Any exciting plans going on? Tonight, we’re headed to a friends house for a potluck. This potluck will include ‘smores. I am so excited! Sunday, we’re going to brunch for my Dad’s birthday. Otherwise? Few workouts, cleaning, football, relaxing!

I recently received a copy of a new cookbook, Ching’s Everyday Easy Chinese (disclaimer: I received this cookbook to review for free from the publisher). I enjoy Chinese food, but I rarely eat it due to the crazy nutritional stats. Ching put together an amazing cookbook full of recipes that are not only healthier, but are also quick to put together:

According to the publisher:

“With her trademark passion and deep appreciation for Chinese cooking, Cooking Channel star Ching-He Huang brings her charm and expertise to an eager audience with this outstanding cookbook. Ching fuses Chinese and Western cultures to create one hundred quick dishes full of natural ingredients and bursting with flavor.

Ching’s Everyday Easy Chinese makes it simple for home cooks to prepare their favorite Chinese dishes faster, cheaper, and more healthfully than their local restaurant. Enjoy a diverse selection of favorite recipes for every occasion and taste, including:

Traditional Hot and Sour Soup
Five-Spice Salted Shrimp with Hot Cilantro Sauce
Crispy Sweet Chili Beef Pancakes
Kung Po Chicken
Black Pepper Beef and Rainbow Vegetable Stir-Fry
Singapore Noodles
Egg and Asparagus Fried Rice”

When I saw the recipe for nutty shrimp, asparagus and cashew stir-fry, I knew I had to give it a go!

This recipe took me no longer than 20 minutes to put together (including cooking the rice and shrimp- not included in recipe time shown above). The finished product:

Have I mentioned that I hate that it gets dark out so early now . With sesame seeds:

So good! Josh couldn’t believe the sauce was homemade. Unfortunately, I can’t share the recipe for this dish for you (you’re going to have to run out and get this book!!). However, I can share a recipe for Kung Pao Chicken from the book (I plan to make this next):

Ingredients:

4 thighs, cut into ½-inch slices
Salt and ground white pepper
1 tbsp of potato flour or cornstarch
1 tbsp of peanut oil
2 tbsps of Sichuan peppercorns
4 dried red chilies
1 tbsp of Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
2 scallions, chopped into 1-inch lengths
Handful of dry-roasted cashews

For the Sauce

7 tbsps of cold vegetable stock
1 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tbsp of tomato ketchup
1 tbsp of Chinkiang black rice
vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp of hoisin sauce
1 tsp of chili sauce
1 tbsp of cornstarch

Directions:

1. Place the chicken in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the potato flour or cornstarch and mix well to coat the chicken pieces. Add all the ingredients for the sauce to another bowl and stir to combine.

2. Heat a wok over high heat until it starts to smoke and then add the peanut oil. Add the Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies and fry for a few seconds, then add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for 2 minutes. As the chicken begins to turn opaque, add the rice wine or dry sherry. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, then pour in the sauce.

3. Bring to a boil, add the red pepper, and cook in the sauce with the chicken for another 2 minutes, or until the meat is cooked through and the sauce has thickened and become slightly sticky in consistency. Add the scallions and cook for 1 minute. Toss in the cashews, then transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately.

Are you a Chinese food fan??

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T06:30:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe its almost Halloween! Where did the time go? This past weekend, we took our little Pumpkin (thanks for the onesie Mandi!) to the pumpkin patch for the first time. I just wanted to share a few pictures.

Please ignore the drool on my arm:

She got her first, tiny pumpkin:

Hanging with Dad:

All that fresh air will get to you:

Have you gotten your pumpkins yet??

Football Food: Pulled Chicken

2011-10-24T06:30:00.000-04:00

The rest of our weekend was pretty laid back! The family took a nap:

Josh and I did a lot of housework, took Kaylin for a stroll and I went for a run. We also watched lots of football! For football Sunday, I made up pulled chicken in the crockpot. I just threw crushed pineapple, barbeque sauce & chicken in the crockpot and then pulled it when it was done cooking. I served it along side some tortilla chips (for scooping) and green beans and potatoes from Bird’s Eye Chef Favorites (disclaimer: I received these products for free as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program).

A simple meal! I do promise those pictures from the pumpkin patch are coming! We didn’t take the pictures on our camera!!

Anything exciting on tap this week? For me=work, teaching at the gym (almost completely back to my old schedule), massage (!!) and hopefully lots of time with the family!

Vegan Almond Meal Pumpkin Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2011-10-23T06:30:00.000-04:00

How has your weekend been so far? Ours has been fantastic! Friday night, we went to our local high school football game and out to dinner with Josh’s family. Saturday, we had our Body Step & Pump launches at the gym and then took Kaylin to the pumpkin patch (pictures to come!).

I always bake goodies for the other instructors on launch days. I made these peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and then I made a patch of vegan almond meal pumpkin chocolate chunk cookies. I almost completely followed this recipe, with just a few alterations:

Ingredients:

2 cups almond meal
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Desired amount chocolate chips or chunks
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tblsp vanilla
1/3 cup pumpkin puree

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In two separate bowls, mix wet and dry ingredients
Fold dry ingredients into wet
Drop rounded tablespoons of batter onto a cookie sheet
Bake 9-10 minutes.
Let cookies cool for a couple minutes on the sheet and then remove to a cooling rack. Allow cookies to cool completely before handling.
Makes about two dozen cookies.

A couple pictures from the Step launch:

Doctored Butternut Squash Soup

2011-10-21T06:30:00.000-04:00

Thank goodness its Friday! Phew…its been a busy week! During weeks like this one, I lean on easy dinners. I love to cook meals from scratch, but sometimes you have to go the semi-homemade route. I picked up this low sodium organic butternut squash soup from TJs:

To give it a little more oomph, I added 1/2 lb ground turkey (browned up in a skillet), 1/2 cup frozen peas (defrosted), 1/2 cup frozen corn (defrosted) and 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper. Heat it all up and serve! With a nice side of bread or a grilled cheese sandwich, you have the perfect dinner!

This soup is full of different spices. While I enjoyed it, Josh wasn’t a huge fan of the level of spice.

What are you up to this weekend? Our launch week at the gym continues tomorrow. I am teaching during the Body Step and Pump launches. We are also taking Kaylin to the pumpkin patch (I can’t wait!!).

Shrimp & Peanut Butter Soup

2011-10-19T06:30:00.000-04:00

I know, right? Sounds odd and kind of gross…but stay with me! My girl, Julie, had posted about and emailed me about this curry and peanut soup. Problem- I don’t like curry and Josh isn’t a HUGE sweet potato fan. I reworked the recipe and loved the result. Please ignore the junky iPhone picture- I was in a hurry!

Ingredients:

2 T low sodium soy sauce
1 onion, chopped
1 small sweet potato, diced
1/2 a regular, white potato, diced
2 large carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 lb small shrimp, cleaned and deveined
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
32 oz low sodium veg stock
1 15 oz can low sodium garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
3 T natural peanut butter (I used TJs unsalted PB)
2 t cumin
1/4 t ground red pepper
2/3 cup frozen peas, defrosted

Directions:

1. heat 1/2 c water add soy sauce in large pot
2. add onion and potatoes. cook for ~8-10 min over high heat (until potatoes are soft), stir occasionally
3. add carrot and celery cover and cook 3 min
4. add shrimp and cook until no longer white, about 5 min
5. stir in tomatoes, stock and beans
6. blend peanut butter with 1/3 cup water and cumin & red pepper. add to soup with peas
7. stir to mix well. cover and simmer ten minutes

This was slightly spicy and totally tasty! Give it a go!

Football Food: Pineapple Jalapeno Turkey Burgers & Roasted Potatoes:

2011-10-17T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone has a great Monday! I am teaching Body Pump and Body Step and we’re launching new material! My head is spinning! I hope I don’t forget my choreography!

I wanted to do a quick post to share with you our football Sunday food-

Pineapple jalapeno teriyaki turkey burgers, pre-cook:

Post Cook (later put on top of buns with the pineapple, pepper jack cheese & bbq sauce):

Roasted potatoes:

Cookies (recipe to come at a later date!):

What did you eat yesterday??

First 5K

2011-10-16T06:30:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, three people did their first 5K:

Although I’ve run a few 10K’s and done a 10 –miler, I don’t think I’ve ever done a 5K! Josh and (obviously) Kaylin never had either!

We did the Komen Race for the Cure! My Aunt (amazing survivor) and Mom joined us:

As well as my Uncle, Dad &friends:

The race was a success! Josh and I both ran, while my Mom/Aunt/Uncle & Dad pushed Kaylin and took care of her. They even fed her a bottle while they walked (thanks SO much guys- especially Mom!). I ended up finishing in 24 minutes and 30 seconds (I believe), a 7 minute 54 second average mile. I was very happy.

Love these two:

How was your Saturday?

Tuscan White Bean and Broccoli Stew & Clif Bar Review

2011-10-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

I love soup/stew/chili. I know a lot of people need it to be cold to enjoy these dishes, but I can enjoy them year round! Good thing, because its still 80 degrees in Charleston (and this chick is NOT complaining!).

Recently, I received a copy of Emeril Lagasse’s Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders (disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher). According to the publisher:

“In chef Emeril Lagasse’s tribute to one-pot wonders, he shows there’s nothing more satisfying than a hearty meal prepared in your most cherished pot or pan. Whether baked in a cast-iron skillet, braised in a Dutch oven, seared in a hot wok, or simmered in a slow-cooker, Emeril’s Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders serves up delicious meals to fit any pan or palate.”

I fell in love with Emeril’s recipes when I reviewed his Farm to Fork cookbook. I have always been a fan of one pot meals (less clean up- yes, please!). Now that I have a baby, I love them even more. I book marked at least 10 recipes in the book during my first glance through. The one that intrigued me most was his Tuscan White Bean Soup with Broccoli Rabe:

What I liked most about this recipe is that Emeril used lima beans when he made it (although you can use any dried white bean).

I used broccoli instead of broccoli rabe and eliminated the fresh red pepper (as Josh isn’t a fan).I also halved the recipe, but apparently you can’t halve the liquid or you end up with a stew…..or clump:

but let me tell you, it was one delicious clump!

Both Josh and I were huge fans! I can’t wait to try more recipes from the book! Here is the original recipe:

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Broccoli Rabe

This is a comforting, hearty soup with flavors reminiscent of northern Italy. We used baby lima beans because we just love their tender, creamy consistency, although in Italy it would likely be made with cannellini beans or great Northern beans. Use whichever beans you love or have on hand; just take note that the cooking time will vary slightly.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups small-diced onion
1 cup small-diced celery
1 cup small-diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
8 cups chicken stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds dried white beans (cannellini, baby lima, or great Northern), rinsed, picked over, soaked overnight, and drained
1 piece Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese rind, about 1 × 3 inches
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
1 ½ pounds broccoli rabe, tough stem ends trimmed, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 sprig fresh rosemary
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, finely grated (about 1 ½ cups)
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1. Heat the olive oil in an 8-quart soup pot or stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, dried Italian herbs, and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock, beans, Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and water and bring to a low boil. Reduce the heat to simmer gently and cook, partially covered and stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, 45 to 60 minutes.

2. Using a slotted spoon, transfer about 1 cup of the beans from the pot to a small bowl and mash them with the back of a spoon. Return the mashed beans to the soup and add the remaining 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and continue to cook, uncovered, until the broth thickens slightly, about 15 minutes. Add the remaining black pepper, the broccoli rabe, and rosemary sprig and continue to cook until the broccoli rabe is just tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Remove the Parmesan rind, bay leaf, and rosemary sprig and discard them. Serve the soup in wide, shallow bowls, garnished with grated Parmesan and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

13 cups, about 6 servings

We also sampled the seasonal clif bars, including the newest seasonal flavor, Peppermint Stick (disclaimer: we received these products to sample for free as well….).

While I LOVE the iced gingerbread and spiced pumpkin pie flavors (the gingerbread is my favorite!), I wasn’t a huge fan of the peppermint stick. I feel like it needs some chocolate to go with it to make it all work. But…I’ll take an iced gingerbread any day!

What is your favorite fall/winter flavor?

Buffalo Chicken & Jalapeno Jack Macaroni & Cheese

2011-10-12T06:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Wednesday all! Since Monday was secret recipe club day, I had to delay my football food post until today. On Sunday, Josh had the guys over for football. I decided to make them something super comforting- macaroni and cheese! I knew I wanted kick it up a notch, so I added buffalo and jalapeno flavors to the mix.

Ingredients:

4 cups shaped pasta

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 cups milk

9 ounces jalapeno jack cheese (I got mine at TJs- you could use regular Monterrey jack and add chopped jalapenos)

6 ounces other cheese of your choice (I used an Italian blend)

1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons buffalo sauce divided

1/2 lb. chicken

Panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Marinate chicken in the fridge in 1/2 cup of the buffalo sauce for 1/2 – 1 full hour.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cook chicken through and dice into bite sized pieces.

Cook pasta according to package directions. Keep the cook time a little on the low end, so the pasta is al dente.

Meanwhile, in another pot, melt the butter over medium heat and then whisk in the flour. Cook for about a minute and then add the milk (continue to whisk). Cook for a few more minutes, until mixture has thickened up. Turn off the heat and add the cheeses and buffalo sauce, stirring until the cheeses have melted completely.

Add chicken and pasta to the milk/cheese mixture and stir to combine. Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with panko.

Bake for 30 minutes until bake is bubbling and panko is browning.

I served fruit:

and sun butter cookies with chocolate chunks on the side:

Between three guys, they ate the entire bake! I’d say it was a success

Are you a macaroni and cheese fan? I was …until the lactose issue!

Two more important items! One, the winners of the NuNaturals giveaway:

Jo Anna

Beth

Heather

Congrats Ladies!

And second, I’m sure you all have heard about the shape magazine best blogger awards?! I wanted to endorse (? if that’s the right word ) MizFit for the Fitness Junkies category! I have been reading MizFit for….forever (since I started blogging) and love her positive and informative views on fitness and life. Go MizFit! There are tons of awesome nominees- check it out!

Nutty Beef Burgers

2011-10-10T07:00:00.000-04:00

I’m not a red meat girl! Its true….I haven’t enjoyed eating it since I was a kid. On rare occasion, I will crave a good burger- this was one of those times! Luckily, it was also Secret Recipe Club time. As a part of the club, each month you’re assigned another Secret Recipe Club blogger to make a recipe from. If you want to join, click here to sign up.

(Chopped nuts)

This month, I was assigned Bizzy Bakes. As indicated by the name of her blog, Bizzy has all sorts of delicious baked good recipes on her blog. Normally, I am instantly drawn to the sweet goodies, but this time, I went savory! These burgers contain walnuts (craziness!) and other great flavors. I made a few adjustments and came up with the following:

Nutty Burgers

Ingredients:

2/3 lb Ground Beef
1/2 cup mixed chopped nuts (I used walnuts and almonds)
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
1 1/2 teaspoons Montreal Steak seasoning

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients except for the ground beef. Use your hands to gently fold the beef in. Form into 4 patties. Grill ~8 minutes per side or until cooked to desired doneness.

Josh had his on a bun with cheese, barbeque sauce & jalapenos. I had mine on top of a salad (note: I like my burgers cooooooked ):

These have such an awesome, unique flavor! Both Josh and I were huge fans! Thanks Bizzy

Peet’s Coffee Chocolate Chip Bars

2011-10-07T12:06:00.001-04:00

I recently received samples of Peet’s coffee through the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program (disclaimer: I received the coffee samples and mug for free).

I knew I wanted to not only drink the coffee (I’m a Peet’s fan!), but also bake with it. I decided to play around in the kitchen and came up with a coffee chocolate chip bar.

Ingredients:

2 cups dry oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons Peet’s ground coffee
3/4 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup oil (you could also use applesauce)
2 eggs or ½ cup egg substitute (or equivalent- check your egg substitute container)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients (first six ingredients). Add wet ingredients (oil & egg) and mix until combined (it will just come together). Spray an 8 x 8 pan with non-stick spray. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for ~25 minutes. Let bars cool, cut and enjoy (maybe with a cup of coffee??).

You can see the coffee in there!

These turned out better than expected! If you love coffee and chocolate- give these a go! Thank you FoodBuzz & Peet's!

Pumpkin Spice Café Au Lait & Stevia Giveaway

2011-10-05T20:05:00.001-04:00

I’m sick…..Not super sick, but a little sick! Kaylin has a cold (I think she caught it at daycare ), and now I have a sore, sore throat! Bahhhh! To make me feel a bit better, I decided to use my Godiva Coffee sample (disclaimer: I received this coffee for free as a part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program) to make myself a warm beverage.

I couldn’t wait to dive into this Pumpkin Spice coffee! I heated up a half a mug of almond milk in the microwave (~1 1/2 minutes) and then added a strong pour of Pumpkin Spice coffee (which smells amazing). For a little sweetness, I added a packet of NuStevia:

And cinnamon:

The result:

in my favorite mug:

From one of my favorite ladies:

LOVE this coffee! So tasty!! And it made my throat feel better.

And now, for a giveaway! FOUR winners will win ONE box of our NuStevia Packets, 50 ct. Box, AND (1) ONE bottle of our NuNaturals Vanilla Stevia Liquid, 2 oz. bottle!! To enter, leave a comment on this post by Sunday, October 9, telling me what you would do with your winnings! This contest is open to Continental U.S. residents ONLY.

Goals Update & More Football Food

2011-10-03T06:30:00.000-04:00

Did you guys enjoy your football Sunday? Ours was lovely. I started the day off with a recovery run (after my 10K) and finished it off with lots of food, football and friends & family! On the menu, I made up my baked Italian turkey meatballs stuffed with mozzarella. After I baked them up, I put them in the crockpot with extra sauce to keep them warm:

As another main, Josh’s family brought over a bundle of wings:

I also chopped up a bunch of fruit and served it with fruit dip:

and I made two batches of Sabrina’s Zaatar bread:

We also had a bundle of beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic):

Full spread:

For dessert, I made big Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk cookies:

And Josh’s made some delicious chocolate cookies:

So much fun!

A while ago, I posted about my goals. And now its update time!

Diet

Get at least 75 grams of Protein a Day- I have been exceeding this most days! I have to keep track though, or I get lazy
Drink more water! At least 80 ounces/day (extra is required for breast feeding & working out) Rocking it!
Eat more complete meals, less random snacking Rocking it!
Lose remaining pregnancy weight gain by Thanksgiving (~8 lbs to go! Post Pregnancy updates will be monthly now). 5 to go now! Feeling pretty good.

Fitness

Start teaching Body Pump and Body Step or Attack by the end of September Teaching Body Pump & Attack!
Slowly increase Body Pump weight back to pre-pregnancy totals by end of December . Increased by squat, back & chest weight!!
Focus on increasing running endurance- complete the two races I signed up for in October One down, one to go!
Take a Bikram yoga class Not yet

Life

Stress less about the little things- enjoy every moment with Kaylin! We have been enjoying a LOT of time together! She loves going for walks. I still stress a little too much
Make sure Kaylin gets in tummy time and a book reading every day. Doing PRETTY well with this. We read a book most days and do tummy time most days.
Continue to meal plan and cook nutritious meals at least 5 of 7 nights a week. Rocking it!
Get back to work work (mid September) I’m backkkk
Purchase furniture for new screened in porch and living room Done!
Pick out paint color and paint two walls downstairs Not yet
Make weekend “dates” to see friends Doing OK on this one
Have a “date night” in or out with Josh (and Kaylin) at least once a week Slacking on it!

How are you doing on your goals?

8 is the Magic Number

2011-10-02T06:30:00.000-04:00

Friday was prep day. I drove over the bridge I would run on Saturday morning to pick up my race packet.

I took a walk and hung out with the peanut:

You’re running how far tomorrow Mom???

At night, we went to dinner at Sesame with Josh’s family. We got frickles (which, again, always remind me of this lovely lady):

They do frickle spears which are yummy! I ate mine with some of their house made mustard. For dinner, I got a black bean burger in a bowl with zucchini, pineapple, tomatoes, red onion and their pineapple vinaigrette (their black bean burgers are amazing-excuse the flash, its dark in there):

And then we headed home to try and get some sleep. Kaylin had an upset tummy, so Mama didn’t get much sleep. I got up around 5:30 and headed out:

8 weeks after having Kaylin, I was running my first 10K race:

The result? I finished in 50 minutes and 32 seconds (this picture was taken prior to me crossing the finish line obviously), an 8 minute 8 second average mile:

Myself with a few of the other group fitness instructors & friends:

Love! The rest of the day was spent with friends, family and good food!! How was your Saturday?

Week in Review & Turkey and Pasta Stuffed Squash

2011-09-30T06:30:00.000-04:00

How has your week been so far? This was my first full week into my new work schedule. Work went great!

I took Kaylin to daycare for the first time. Her daycare is amazing- the people are SO sweet. Kaylin seemed to enjoy it, Mama shed a few tears after she dropped her off (I made it all the way to the car and only cried for a half a minute ).

Workouts are going well! I taught Pump Monday and Attack Tuesday. It was my first time teaching a full attack class in over a year!! I somehow made it through. Love attack. I also fit in a bundle of great runs. I have a 10K race tomorrow (yikes!). My goal is to finish (last year I placed).

In terms of eats, lots of yumminess has gone on this week. A few highlights:

On Monday night, I made a stir fry of veggies and turkey. I usually make my own sauce, but I tried TJs satay peanut sauce this time:

Stir fry makes such a great meal! I liked the sauce, but I didn’t LOVE it. I prefer my homemade version, but its definitely good in a pinch.

I’ve been hoarding pumpkin (but I know I’m not alone!):

I used some of my stash to make another version of these bars. I love the flavor, but want to work on the consistency a bit:

Last night, I used a new-to-me squash (carnival) in our dinner.

I cooked up ground turkey and added marinara sauce and cooked pasta. I then cooked up the squash and stuffed it with the turkey/marinara/pasta. I put cheese on top of J’s (I miss cheese!). The outcome (sorry for the dark pictures!):

Delicious and easy. LOVE winter/fall squash.

Weekend time! What do you have on tap? Outside the run, we have dinner out tonight and lots of football.

Cookie’s Flour Free Energy Bars

2011-09-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago, Josh’s Mom (Cookie) was sending a package of energy bars to Josh’s brother. She noted that they contained no flour and gave me a piece to try before she packaged them up…I was HOOKED!

She recently sent me the recipe and I just had to share it with you. I have shown two sets of ingredients below; the set she used and the slightly adjusted set I used.

A lot of the ingredients can be switched out/adjusted. I made these for a friend of mine who just had a baby (congrats Ally!!!!). These are very yummy!

Cookie’s Ingredients:

2/3 cup pumpkin butter (TJs)
1 cup sunflower seed butter (TJs)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups TJs multigrain oats
1 small container sugar free granny smith applesauce
1/2 fresh apple diced in small pieces

My slightly adjusted ingredient list:

2/3 cup honey apple butter (TJs)
1 cup creamy unsalted peanut butter (TJs)
1/2 cup seeds and nuts (I used sunflower, flax and sesame seeds)
2 cups old fashion oats
1 small container unsweetened applesauce (1/3 cup)
1/2 fresh apple diced in small pieces (I used a Macintosh)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Hand mix together apple butter, peanut butter, apple sauce and apple.

Mix in oats and nuts/seeds.

Spray an 8x8 inch pan with non-stick spray (note: Cookie didn’t spray her pan, I’m just paranoid ). Spread mixture in pan. Bake for 40 minutes and cut bars while warm (not hot).

How has your week been so far?

Football Food

2011-09-26T06:30:00.000-04:00

Monday, Monday! Today, I am teaching Body Pump and then I have errands and baking to do. My new schedule means my “work week” starts on Tuesday, so I am trying to get a chunk of my to-dos done today. How about you?

Yesterday was a good one. I went to the gym in the morning to take a CX30 class (soon to be called CXWorx). My head group fitness instructor was filming her certification video. CXWorx is Les Mill’s newest class that focuses on the core. Its 30 minutes and totally rocks.

When I got back to the house, I got our football food together. I made chili and pumpkin chocolate chunk bars:

I served the chili with jalapenos, cheese, and Chobani plain Greek yogurt:

J’s bowl:

Josh’s Mom brought over cornbread and an amazing fruit tray!

I had a little chili on top of a salad with fruit and cornbread (plus about 3/4 of the remaining fruit tray and more cornbread ):

Love football Sunday’s! Josh’s Mom & I are looking for some cool appetizers to make for next football Sunday. Any ideas? Any links? Please share!

Weekend & Kaylin/Frank VLOGs

2011-09-25T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi guys! Hope your Sunday is off to a good start. How was the early part of your weekend? Mine was good. Friday, my Mom came down and I got to go for a run and get my closet cleaned out(very necessary). I took a BIG step and put all of my maternity clothes away. No more leaning on the larger sizes. Now, I’m just working with the part of my “old” wardrobe that fits and focusing on losing the rest of my baby weight so I can fit into it all again. My Mom and I also hit up an awesome sale at Ann Taylor loft. I got three new tops. Friday night was a lazy date night in. Josh and I had chicken burgers and caught up on our DVR.

Saturday, I got my hair done. My hair dresser is amazing. The rest of the day was spent getting things done around the house. Josh put together our new screened in porch furniture too.

Saturday night, we went to dinner with Josh’s Mom at Capriccio’s.

The restaurant is super cozy and the family who runs the place is SO inviting! We really loved the service. We started off with bread. They provide olive oil with cheese for dipping:

Since I’m on dairy restrictions….it was tough to find an option without cheese! I ended up getting a salad with chicken (note the fresh rosemary on top and excuse the flash):

Josh got chicken parm. They bring the chicken out in the pan they cooked it in- so cool!

Josh and his Mom:

Kaylin & Me:

A great spot!

And last, but not least, I put together Kaylin & Frank’s first VLOGs. Enjoy!

Kaylin’s debut:

A little Frank:

Coconut Oatmeal Cookie Pancakes & Clif Mojo

2011-09-23T06:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday!! Thank you all for your sweet words of encouragement on my first day back at work/having to “give up” Kaylin for the first full day. I am VERY lucky that Josh’s Mom is here to watch her and, as Biz noted, our quality time yesterday felt even more special. I didn’t cry when I dropped her off- I’m so proud of myself

My plan for dinner last night was to make coconut flour pancakes. I found a few recipes on the web, but tried to lighten them up…epic failure! Bahh! As a backup, I ended up messing around with my oatmeal pancake recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup AP Flour
1/3 cup WW flour
2/3 cup Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1/3-1/2 cup coconut 2 teaspoons baking powder
2-4 tablespoons brown sugar (depends how sweet you like it) 1 1/4 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1/4 cup egg beaters
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (or you can substitute applesauce)

Directions:

In large bowl, combine flours, oats, coconut, baking powder; mix well.
In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, milk, egg beaters and oil; blend well. Add to dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not over mix)
Preheat electric skillet to 375 or skillet on stovetop to Medium, Medium High. Spray pans with Pam.
For each pancake, pour 1/4 cup batter into hot skillet. Turn when tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Turn only once.

This time, I used a smaller about of batter for each pancake. I loved how they turned out! I do NOT like that its getting darker earlier….means not so nice pictures!

On a completely separate note, I recently received the new Clif Mojo flavors to taste test (disclaimer:I received these products for free from Clif and Double Forte). According to the company:

“CLIF MOJO, a delicious trail mix bar made with 70 percent organic ingredients, has introduced three new flavors that deliver a mouthwatering array of chocolate, nuts and coconut for a crispy, crunchy texture in bars that taste both sweet and salty.

CLIF MOJO Chocolate Almond Coconut blends toasted coconut, chunks of indulgent chocolate and deliciously salty whole roasted almonds. CLIF MOJO White Chocolate Macadamia combines freshly roasted macadamia nuts with richly flavored soy white chocolate chips. Not to be outdone, CLIF MOJO Dipped S’Mores is a healthy take on a classic campfire favorite, featuring crunchy graham cookies, creamy soy white chocolate and organic chocolate chunks. The new CLIF MOJO flavors (SRP: $1.39) are also on shelves now.”

Josh and I are HUGE mojo fans, and the new flavors did not disappoint! In fact, the White Chocolate Macadamia is our new favorite flavor!

What are you up to this weekend? I’m getting my hair done (whoop whoop!), spending time with my Mom, watching football and going to dinner with friends. I can’t wait!

Turkey Taco Filler & Jitters

2011-09-21T06:30:00.000-04:00

Have you been enjoying your week so far? Mine has been great! I taught Pump, ran, met up with Amelia for coffee and Trader Joes, and spent lots of time with Josh, Kaylin & Franky. Tomorrow….I go back to work, gulp! As I mentioned before, I’m very sad to be giving the peanut up. Luckily, Josh’s Mom will be taking care of her for my first three days back (one day this week, two next), before she starts into daycare. I’m not sure if I will ball my eyes out tomorrow, but I can totally see it happening (and I am not a crier). In the past week, the peanut has started waving and has been giggling and smiling a ton. I don’t want to miss a minute of it! But, I know getting back into work will be good for me mentally. Plus, I get the best of both worlds only working half time.

Enough of my jitters, lets get to the food! I had been wanting to make Janetha’s green enchilada pie. When I looked back at the recipe, I noticed the cheese on top and figured this probably played a pretty large role in keeping the pie together. Since I have to stay away from dairy, I decided to just make taco-ish meat instead. I browned up ground turkey:

Once the turkey was cooked through, I removed it from the skillet and added yellow squash, corn and jalapenos. I cooked them for about 10 minutes (until the squash was soft and browning a bit) and then added the turkey back into the pan. I also added a teaspoon of TJs taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cup of enchilada sauce:

The taco filling was super tasty! I served Josh’s up with tortillas, cheese and pineapple:

I had mine on top of a salad with a side of toasted tortilla:

A great, easy meal! How do you prepare your taco filling?

Ghirardelli Sea Salt Double Chocolate Cookies

2011-09-19T06:30:00.000-04:00

Lets start this Monday off with something sweet, shall we? As a part of the FoodBuzz Taste Testers program, I was sent a bundle of Ghiradelli chocolate to play with (disclaimer: I received these products for free). Aside from eating it straight up, I knew I wanted to bake with the chocolate, especially the Sea Salt Soiree.

I have made a few different double chocolate cookies, but wanted to play a bit with the recipes and add in some oat bran. I was happy with how the cookies turned out, but still want to tweak the recipe a bit. These cookies are soft and big! If you want a puffier cookie, eliminate the oat bran and use all flour.

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

3/4 cup unbleached AP flour

1/4 cup oat bran (or ground up old fashion oats)

1/4 cup dark cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 Sea Salt Soiree chocolate bar, chopped

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In the bowl of a stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugars. Add the vanilla and egg and mix until combined. I love this vanilla:

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, mix together the flour, oat bran, cocoa powder and baking soda:

Add the dry mixture to the wet and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate.

Drop by the rounded tablespoonful onto a cookie sheet. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Makes ~ 1 1/2 dozen large cookies:

Milk or dark chocolate?

Week in Review & Baked Almond Butter Chicken

2011-09-16T06:30:00.000-04:00

Hi Friends! Happy Friday to each and every one of you! How has your week been treating you? Mine has been wonderful. It is my last full week off before I start work again(yikes!). I’m only going back half time, but ….I’m getting a little nervous about giving the peanut up during work hours. So, what did I do with my last full week? I ran, I strolled with the peanut:

I got a lot of soy pumpkin spice mistos:

I went to Menchies and got dairy free sorbet:

I spent time with friends and family, including Frank & Peanut:

and I had my post partum doctors appointment. I was VERY nervous for this. The thought of getting checked out just gave me the chills, but my Doctor (whose fabulous) made it easy peasy. Everything looks good!

Onto the food! I have a really bad habit of opening new jars of nut/seed butter to use in a recipe. I will use ALMOSTS the entire container and then leave it in the fridge with just a smidgen left. I noticed this bad habit when I had about 6 jars of almost completely empty nut/seed butter jars in the fridge. I figured it was about time I did something about it! Around then, I saw Renee make peanut butter chicken and decided to whip up a batch of almond butter chicken! I leaned on my hot and cold sesame noodle recipe for the marinade:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons almond butter (I used TJs raw, unsalted, AB)
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
3/4 to 1 lb chicken (breast, tenders, whatever you’ve got!)

Directions:

Whisk together first 4 ingredients.

Place mixture in a freezer bag and add chicken. Place chicken/marinade in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a cookie sheet (or cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil) with non stick spray. Place chicken on top and cook through, flipping once (I used tenders and this took me about 7 minutes per side).

Josh’s tenders went on top of brown rice mixed with peas, corn and additional soy sauce.

I had mine on top of a salad. Delicious!

Nut butter is so good in unexpected places!

Weekend plans? We have a date night in tonight, restaurant week out tomorrow night, and football time on Saturday/Sunday. I will throw a couple workouts in there too. Enjoy!!