Spinach Chicken with Cream Cheese and Mozarella

Heyyyy!!! I've been a busy bee, between work and school I barely have a life and for sure not very much time to cook. I usually try to cook things that will last me a couple days so i don't have to cook every single day. As it is i only have time to cook when i  half asleep at like midnight or so. This recipe is super quick and easy to make and it was a perfect meal for me to make with so little time.


Marinade Ingredients:

• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

Ingredients: 

• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half horizontally
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 2 cup spinach, rinsed
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Put all the ingredients for the marinade in a zip lock baggie and then add the chicken into the bag. Massage the chicken in the bag until it is all well covered with the marinade and seal the baggie, set aside for 10-15 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, in a skillet with 1 TBS of olive oil wilt the spinach. Remove the chicken from the baggie and place in a casserole dish, spread cream cheese onto all the chicken and then top with the spinach. Sprinkle mozzarella over the top and bake in the oven for 20-30 min or until the chickens internal temperature is at 165°F. 

Disfrute de su comida!!

Twice Baked Cauliflower

Hey All,
 Well it's already 2019. Wow i can believe it, the years are just flying by so fast. With the New Year comes New Year Resolutions, and I'm sure most of us are trying to lose weight and save money. I am one of those people. About a two years ago I had finally hit my goal weight, after plateauing for years i finally broke the weight i couldn't break and hit my goal. I was so very excited and was happy I was finally where i wanted to be and then (BAM!!) just like that i gained it all back and then some. So here I am back way above the weight i am used to. So now here's my next issue, i work a full time job I go to school 4 days a week and get out of school mon-thurs right before work. I literally wake up have some coffee get ready for the day and then I'm off to school and I only stop at home after school long enough to grab my lunch and then head straight to work. I don't get home till at least 11:30 pm or later. So with all the time i don't have I have to try to make healthy meals, eat 6 times a day and get some kind of work out in. Ugh!!! The eating part I'm getting down pretty well its the making time for the gym that's hard. I do try to get up early enough in the morning to do a workout at home but that doesn't always happen.
  I am pretty good with nutrition usually. I am doing low carbs right now and and no soda or junk food. I went grocery shopping which consisted of tons of veggies. Today I meal prepped a little bit and made kale chips, protein snack/lunch bowls and Twice Baked Cauliflower. All of it was super yummy. I don't usually have to worry about sweet foods because I rarely get that sweet tooth. I am, however; totally addicted to chips, so I decided Kale Chips should help that craving. I use cauliflower for like literally everything because its a great alternative to carbs such as pizza crust and rice. Well this recipe is like twice baked mashed potatoes and just as good but without all the carbs.

Kale Chips

To make these yummy salty snack alternative, Kale Chips, first preheat your oven to 275°, next separate the leaves from the ribs and then place on a baking pan drizzle with some olive oil and add salt then mix them up and place in the oven for about 20 minutes flipping halfway through. Easy Peasy!! 

Twice Baked Cauliflower

Ingredients:

• 1 large Cauliflower
• 4 oz. cream cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup minced green onions
• 1/4 freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 slices of bacon
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese 

Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350° and spray baking dish with non-stick spray. Cook bacon until very crispy, use a paper towel to blot out excess grease from bacon then cut or crumble bacon. Put Cauliflower in large pot of boiling water and cook until tender, but not super soft. When the cauliflower is done drain well and then either mash with potato masher or in kitchen aid but leave some chunks.

  Transfer cauliflower into pan and mix cream cheese, sour cream, green onions, Parmesan cheese and about 1/2 the bacon. Mix ingredients well until everything is melted and blended. Transfer to baking dish top with cheddar cheese and the rest of the bacon and put in the oven for about 20-25 min. until hot and bubbly if you want that pretty brown color you can sit in under the broiler for a few min . 

Serve hot add green onion on top for garnish. 

Buon Appetito!!!

Pumpkin Chili

HAPPY FALL YA'LL 

Well we are just a few days away from fall and our lovely fall weather has started here in Washington. I am super in to Pumpkin EVERYTHING!!! Pumpkin Chili is one of my things to make in the fall. I have been waiting all weekend to have a day off so i could make this amazing chili and have a pajama day at home with chili and hot chocolate. I you Enjoy this wonderful dish. 

Ingredients: 

1.3 lbs ground turkey

6 small sausage links chicken maple sausage 

1 sweet onion, chopped

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 15.5 oz can red kidney beans

1 15.5 oz cannellini beans

1 29 oz can pumpkin puree

1 228 oz can diced tomatoes

1 12fl oz bottle pumpkin beer

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 TBS chili powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp brown sugar

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

4 TBS olive oil

sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by thinly slicing your sausages or taking it off the casing, if you can. Reserve with the ground turkey.
In dutch oven or large heavy bottomed pot, add 2 TBSP olive oil and saute the garlic and the onion until translucent. Add the bell peppers and saute for about 5 min. RESERVE.
In the same pot add 2 more TBS of olive oil and brown the sausage and turkey. Season with salt and pepper.
Once the meat is browned add the vegetables and the rest of the remaining ingredients.
Lower the heatto low and simmer for 1.5-2. hrs. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Mexican Style Brushetta & Chili Colorado

We did a whole Hispanic themed dinner this evening. It was fantastic. I have, after a month, gone back to eating meat again. This was the perfect meal for that.
 The Brushetta was a great appetizer for our meal. Nice toasty bread topped with guacamole, salsa and jalepeno peppers. The  Chili Colorado is stew meat cooked to perfection, nice & tender, in a homemade red sauce.
 My husband loved this meal and even took leftovers to work with him today. I hope you Enjoy it as much as we did.


Mexican Style Bruschetta:

Ingredients:

8 slices sourdough bread
Pam olive oil Spray
2 cups salsa
2 cups of shredded cheese
2 avocados mashed
1 cup pickled jalepenos
2 cloves garlic
pepper
salt
lime juice
pinch dried oregano

Directions:

Heat oven broil. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Lay out the bread slices and spray with Pam. Put in the oven for a few minutes until nice golden brown.
Mash avocado and sprinkle with salt, pepper and oregano. Squeeze about a tsp of lime juice.
When bread is ready rub garlic on it then top with cheese, salsa and guacamole and 1-2 jalepenos


CHILI COLORADO

Ingredients:

4 cups chicken broth
6 dried large red chili peppers such as new mexico, Guajillo or Anaheim. Stems removed
3 Dried ancho chilis peppers stems removed
2 lbs stew meat
1 Tbsp corntstarch
1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper, or to taste
2 TBS olive oil
 1/2 medium white onion, chopped
1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
juice of 1/2 of a lime

Directions:

In a stockpot or dutch oven, bring the chicken broth to a boil. As the broth heats, tear the chili peppers into large pieces and place them in a large bowl; once the broth is boiling, add it to the bowl of peppers. Loosely cover with a towel and steep for 20 minutes to soften the peppers. 

 About 10 minutes before the peppers are softened, prepare the meat. Toss the beef with the corn starch, salt, and pepper. In the dutch oven, heat the oil over med/high heat until hot, about 1 minute. Add the beef pieces and brown, about 5 minutes altogether, turning occasionally (brown in batches if needed to keep the beef from overcrowding). Remove the beef and set aside, then reduce heat to medium and add the onions. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Blend the sauce. Pour the reconstituted peppers, chicken broth, and jalapeño into a blender and blend until smooth, then set aside.

 Once the onions are soft, add the garlic, cumin, and oregano. Sauté until aromatic, about 30 seconds, then return the beef (and its accumulated juices) to the dutch oven. Through a strainer, pour the sauce into the dutch oven. Discard the solids that accumulate in the strainer (see the picture below). Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until the beef is tender, about 45 minutes.

 When the beef is ready, uncover and add the lime juice and taste; add salt and/or pepper if needed. Increase the heat to medium and allow to simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, about 5-10 minutes. 

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Taquitos/Flautas

Hi! Today has been quite a good day! I have finally started to try to get back on track with the gym, after not going for a couple of weeks. I absolutely have to try to get back into my routine and keep it. I am going back to visit the states soon and I just know I am going to eat everything i see.
 I've been trying to get my house together again as well. I'm not going to lie I have been a lazy bum the past couple of weeks and let my house go a little, so its time to get it back in shape too.
 So after a great day of working out and deep cleaning I was able to cook dinner for the husband and I. I think he might die soon if I don't start cooking meat again soon btw. I am as well, I'm for sure ready for some meat. 
 Anyways. I decided to make this for dinner tonight. Now some people would call these taquitos some would call them flautas. I personally call them taquitos. To me flautas are about the same but made with flour tortillas. But whatever you would call them they are delicious. Here is the recipe hope yall enoy!

Ingredients:

9 corn tortillas (you can also use flour if you prefer)
1 cup black beans
1 can of corn
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 small-medium sweet potato
1/4 cup diced yellow onion
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4-6 ounces of grated cheese (i used habenero cheddar, you can use whatever you like)
1-2 tablespoons enchilada sauce
olive oil spray
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425. Poke a few holes in your sweet potato with a fork and wrap it in a damp paper towel. Microwave on high for 5-10 min or until soft.
While the potato is cooking spray a pan with the olive oil spray and saute the corn, peppers, onions and black beans. Once warm put in a bowl and add the spices and enchilada sauce and mix together.
Remove the sweet potato from the microwave and take off the peeling and mash the potato and add to the mixture. Add salt and pepper

Next wrap 3-4 tortillas at a time in a damp paper towel and microwave on high for about 30 seconds or so until they are soft. Spray them with the oil on one side of the tortilla then on the other side fill with veggies and cheese and then roll the tortilla leaving the seam side downs. Line a baking pan with tin foil and put the taquitos on the the pan seam side down bake for about 15 min and then broil for a few seconds just to get the tortillas a little more crispy.

I topped mine off with lettuce and tomatoes on top, you can also put guacamole, sour cream, or anything else that sounds good to you.

Hope you get to make this plate of yumminess and you enjoy it as much  as the husband and I did.

Chickpea Tikka Masala

My husband and I both love Indian food. Its full of flavor and most of it is pretty good for you. Tikka Masala is probably my husbands favorite. I love fish tandoori the most. 

 Right now I am trying this whole pescetarian thing for a month or so. I dont want to eat nothing but seafood ALL the time even though I love it. I have found it a little hard to go without meat.  I miss it but i am also enjoying trying new ways to cook food and different foods to replace the meats. 

 I am realizing more and more that I am not a big fan of chickpeas. I never liked hummus, even though most people i know love it, including my husband. However the chickpeas in this Tikka Masala came out awesome. I love the flavors, the spices, the texture, everything about how this dish turned out. I hope yall like it as much as we did. 

ENJOY!!

Ingredients:

2 TBS olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 2-inch piece of ginger, finely chopped

1 TBS Garam Masala

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp paprika

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (garbanzo beans)

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 can coconut milk

1 tsp cornstarch

salt to taste

fresh chopped cilantro

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat.Saute onions with a pinch of salt until translucent, stirring every now and then. Add garlic saute for about a minute, then add ginger and spices. Saute for about 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add chickpeas and tomatoes, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and let simmer for about 5 more minutes. In a small bowl whisk together the cornstarch with 2 TBS of water and then add to the chickpea mixture. Cook for about 5 more minutes or until the sauce has thickened. 

ALL DONE!

serve with rice and top with cilantro. 

Fig and Prosciutto Pizza

If you like figs this a great pizza. I love prosciutto and the figs go well with it. A little sweet and a little salty go perfect together. This is a fast and easy pizza. 

 We were having a lazy Sunday and didnt want to make the pizza dough so we bought pre-made crust which we would normally not do. Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

pizza dough 

1 cup fresh figs, pureed

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup sliced goat cheese

1/4 lb sliced prosciutto

1 TBS Balsamic Vinegar

you can add other toppings you would like, i wasnt planning on putting mushrooms on the pizza but per the husbands request i did. 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F

If you are using fresh pizza dough roll dough out onto a  baking stone. Spread pureed figs over crust for the sauce. Crumble feta and goat cheese over the fig sauce. Arrange prosciutto slices evenly over cheese layer. 

Bake in the preheated oven until crust is crisp and browned, 15-20 min. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over pizza. 

BAYREUTH, GERMANY

Guten Morgen, 

 I get updates on all the food truck round-ups here in the area. They always let me know when and where they are having them. This past weekend we had made plans to go somewhere else and instead i found that there was a Bockbier vs Craftbeir food truck round up in Bayreuth. We have been wanting to visit the city but haven't had the chance. 

 My husband loves, loves, loves trying new beer, so this was the perfect time to go and check out the city. We took the train just to make it easier so we didn't have to drive back. It was an easy train ride and only took about 30- 40 minutes to get there. 

Pressath Train Station

 Now a little about Bayreuth. The towns roots date back to 1194. Bayreuth is the capital of Upper Franconia. It is world famous for its annual Bayreuth Festival. The festival features performances of Operas by the 19th century German  composer Richard Wagner. The festival is held every year for a month from July- August. 

 The Tourist information office provides lots of very detailed information. They are located at Luitpoldplatz 9, between the city center and the train station. Hours are M-F 9 am - 6 pm and Sat 9:30 am- 1 pm yearlong and Sundays 10 am- 2 pm May- Oct. For visiting the sites and taking the buses, they offer the Bayreuth Card, which provides 3 days of free bus travel, the city tour and entry to 9 different museums. The cost is 11.50 Euro. available at the tourist information office, at many attractions and at some hotels. 

  We visited Maisel and Friends Brewery where the food truck round- up was. This was our second time going to one of these and there was only 5 food trucks. The last place had probably about 20 of them. My husband tried the oxtail sandwich which he thought was pretty amazing. I just had doughnuts, which were ok. 

 I have given up alcohol for lent so was unable to drink but Pat tried a few of the beers and thought they were pretty great. We walked around the brewery and its very nice. We plan to go back sometime for food and drinks. 

 We walked around the city did some shopping and visited the Richard Wagner Museum. We stopped to see the Opera House but it was closed when we got there. 

 A little about Richard Wagner, he was born May 22, 1813 and died February 13, 1883. He was a German Composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor. He is mostly known for his Operas. Wagner had his own Opera house built, the Bayreuth Festpielhaus. 

Richard Wagner Museum
Hours: Tues-Sunday 10 am - 6 pm
July & August open everyday 10 am - 6pm 
Cost: 8 Euro per person 
Children are free