Here I go again craving things I really shouldn't have... pasta! How cruel of me to deny a girl pasta! Its just not right. To ease my growling tummy I had to get creative and think up a pasta dish without actually eating pasta. After thinking about it I wanted something light but with tons of flavor. Then it hit me- Shrimp Scampi! This was a bit of a splurge for me considering I spent $12 on 1 pound of shrimp but they were peeled, deveined, and fresh so in my eyes it was worth it! What a great dinner! Fresh seafood with perfectly cooked garlic and a sauce that you can slurp right up. My "pasta" was spaghetti squash and as Jason and I were eating this dinner he literally said "I feel like I'm eating pasta." I really think I have perfected cooking spaghetti squash in the microwave- its a gift! ha! You could easily serve this shrimp n sauce combo over rice, pasta, grits, or a veggie noodle like zucchini or squash. Either way, this dinner takes minutes to put together but tastes like what you would order at a restaurant. Plus it's low carb! I love the sauce or the gravy of dinners so as with most of my recipes there will be plenty of sauce for 2 people and you can certainly cut it in half if you're not a saucy person like myself.
Extra SaucyShrimpScampi (Serves 2):
1 lb Raw Shrimp, peeled and deveined- tails left on
7 Garlic Cloves, minced or grated
1 cup Chicken Broth OR Vegetable Broth
1 cup White Wine
1/2 cup Lemon Juice, fresh or bottled
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/4 cup Parsley, chopped- plus more for garnish
1 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp plus 3 Tbsp Butter
Add 1 tbsp butter and oil to a skillet on medium heat. Add in the shrimp and sauce for about 2 minutes- just until pink. Be careful not to overcook. Then add in the garlic and stir around for another 45 seconds. Remove shrimp from skillet and keep warm on a plate by tenting it with tin foil. Next combine the wine, lemon juice, chicken broth and 1/4 cup parsley. Stir to combine. While this is heating up add in salt and pepper to taste. Bring this mixture to a boil and reduce for 10-12 minutes uncovered. As soon as the sauce is reduced by about half add in last 3 tbsp butter and whisk furiously until melted into sauce. Arrange shrimp on top of spaghetti squash (quick preparation below) and top with desired amount of sauce. Garnish each plate with a sprinkle of parsley and a lemon wedge. YUM!
Pierce squash with about 8-10 knife holes. Microwave on high for 5 minutes then flip squash over and microwave another 4 1/2 minutes. Let sit in microwave of 1 minute. Remove with oven mitts, cut in half, scoop out seeds and mushy center and "rake" out the flesh to resemble noodles.
Should I bring your tab?! ...ha! Almost feels like a restaurant instagram pic! #foodie #nomnom #itoldyouitwassaucy ;)
Ok so I thought making goals would be simple; reading books, going for walks, all stuff I do normally. Well this month went by entirely too fast and I'm sad to say all my goals were not met haha- I think my famous last words were "4 goals is a good start."
Goal #1: Read two books. Which I normally do anyway! But not this November... To my credit, I tried really hard to get into the book Lizzy & Jane by Katherine Reay but it fell flat for me. I thought since Lizzy was a chef I would be entertained but shortly into the book the story shifted to her mother having died of cancer and her sister having cancer also and the two sisters do not get along- it just was not the book I thought it would be and in turn I did not finish it. I didn't finish that book and I never started the second book. Nothing bothers me more than buying a book that docent keep my interest. So much that I can't even finish it. But you'll never know if it will be good if you don't try! I should really try the library and save some money... Goal #1 not accomplished. Goal #2: Walking the dogs everyday. I started off the month very strong. About halfway through Jason was walking them all on his own. I missed 10 days out of 30. At least I walked them more days than not...Trying to make myself feel better here. -Goal #2- 2/3 accomplished! Goal #3: I wanted to walk 8,000 steps a day and 240,000 steps for the month. Here's my step breakdown: Nov 1: 4,132 steps Nov 2: 7,703 steps Week of Nov 3rd: 59,768 steps Week of the 10th: 61,038 steps Week of the 17th: 63,047 steps Week of the 24th: 52,073 steps Nov 30: 4,555 steps Grand Total: 252,316!!! I might not have hit 8,000 steps every day but other days I had 13,000 to make up for it and I crushed my goal by 12,316 steps!!! -Goal #3- Accomplished! Goal #4: Vino consumption- this one is laughable. I really did start off the month going strong. I said I was only going to drink Friday, Saturday and one other day during the week. In the first 10 days of the month I only had wine on 3 days! But it quickly went downhill. Between the holidays and shopping and decorating and cooking I had to celebrate with my beloved cabernet. -Goal #4- not accomplished. November Recap:1 2/3 out of 4 accomplished lol December Goals:
Goal #1: I am going to read the book I didn't get a chance to start last month! The Time Keeper by Mitch Albom. I'm sticking to one book this month. Goal #2: Since I crushed my step goal last month I'm going to up my goal to 250,000 steps for this month! Hopefully with all the mall walking I'll be able to meet the goal! Goal #3: I'm not going to mess with vino this month ha with all the holidays I know better! Instead I'm going to made an effort to watch my portions everytime I eat. I'm going to try extra hard to be conscious of how much I'm eating and to make sure not to overdo it. Overall, I survived my first month of goals! Decembers goals might seem wimpy but I want to get 3 for 3 this month so I'm making it easy for myself haha I hope December goes a lil slower than November!
All of my favorite cooking sites, shows and chef personalities are talking about ways to transform your Thanksgiving leftovers into something new and creative. Buttttt, am I the only one who has the turkey dinner and then is just done with it? Don't get me wrong Thursdays dinner was amazing and I love reheating a plate full of turkey slathered in gravy with cauliflower mash and some zucchini gratin and brussel sprouts and roasted squash- the list goes on but after that plate I don't want to make a turkey-stuffing-cranberry- panini or a turkey pot pie or a pumpkin pie milkshake... instead I am craving something different. Something that I haven't had in a few months. On a side note: none of those fun turkey diner leftover ideas are low carb so it takes the fun out of it for me anyway- bah humbug, I know haha
Not that we've had our first snow and the holidays have started I get nostalgic for summer and a good juicy burger! The best part about this burger is - Jason doesn't have to freeze out in the cold to grill it! I make it right on the stove top and believe it or not the cast iron skillet magically gets the same fresh from the grill flavor right into the meat. This burger idea came from me craving another favorite - Jalapeño Poppers! Everytime Jason and I used to order pizza we would get "Poppers"- as we call them- as an appetizer. They would come breaded and stuffed with cheddar and cream cheese... oh so good! ...too good! These craving fits have given me great inspiration for low carb dishes!
For Jasons burger I placed iceberg lettuce cups on a sheet of wax paper.
Then topped the lettuce with Mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and 2 slices of bacon.
Next comes the burger! Mmmm
Top the burger with the lettuce hat and I probably had another mayo dollop under there with more black pepper.
Wrap that yummy creation into the wax paper to hold it all together!
JalapenoPopperBurgers- Makes 4 burgers
4 Beef Patties
2 Oz Cream Cheese- I used whipped, chive flavor
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1/3 Cup Jalapeños, chopped. I use one that are called "tamed" and they are not spicy.
4 Oz White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Pepper Jack cheese for topping the burgers (optional)
Butter for the skillet
Burger toppings:
8 Slices of Bacon, cooked until crispy
Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper
Ice Burger Lettuce
Which ever bun you prefer, lettuce bun included
Cook bacon until crispy and set aside and try not to nibble- a task that is impossible for me.
Combine cream cheese, onion and garlic powder, salt and pepper, and chopped jalapeños. Stir mixture until combined. Then add in the shredded cheese and mix again.
Using your hand "cut" the patties in half. Form each half into a thin patty. Top each half with 1/4 of the cream cheese filling. place the other half of the patty on top and seal in all the sides and form back into a thick patty.
In a cast iron skillet melt a little butter and cook burgers for 4 minutes a side.
Then assemble the burgers. My way is: Bun-mayo-s&p-bacon-burger-mayo-pepper-lettuce-bun.
Then dive in- take a bit and enjoy the wonderful creamy cheese, the stringy monetary jack, the crunch from the jalapeño, all mixed with the mayo and iceberg lettuce- YUM! Brings me right back to the summer!
*Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone it's so important to remember to be thankful every day! I was delighted to see all over Facebook peoples statuses were saying what they were thankful and grateful for- do that every day! The world will be a better place!*
Good morning everyone! Thanksgiving is finally here! And it's our first holiday as husband and wife! Because I am extra, super grateful for my wonderful hubby (no he didn't pay me to say that hehe) I decided to make him a delicious low carb breakfast that I know he will love. Not only is this low carb and high in protein but this recipe can be tailored to whatever you have in your fridge and whatever you like in your eggs! All veggies have a place in this breakfast as well as meats.
Today I went in the direction of what I like to call Country Eggs. It's so important to eat breakfast and get your metabolism started. If you wait all day to eat Thanksgiving dinner you have a better chance over eating because you will be starving! Instead opt for a healthy breakfast and kick your metabolism into gear!
Start off with eggs and a lil half and half.
Then add in the spices, Sriracha, and tomato
Add in the onions and ham then finish with the cheese! It looks so good already!
Give it a good stir to get everything coated in egg.
transfer to a buttered, oven proof baking dish.
Lets take a moment and admire this yummy creation... hehe
...OK I lied, lets take 2 moments...
Stick this baby in the oven and wait about 30 minutes - the time will pass quickly.
... I hope!
Wow.YUMMY! Don't you just want to dive right in?! You can serve this with Ketchup, more Sriracha, Cholula Sauce, Tabasco or whatever you prefer!
Jason likes some good old fashion black pepper and a lil ketchup *not pictured* haha
CountryEgg Bowl:
3 Medium Eggs
1 Tbsp Half n Half
1 Thick Slice of Tomato, seeds removed and cut into small pieces
1 Tbsp white onion, minced
1 Tsp Green Onion
1 Slice of Deli Ham, Cut small
1/4 Tsp Sriracha Sauce or a few Dashes of Tabasco
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/8 Tsp Black Pepper
1/8 Tsp Onion Powder
1/4 Cup Monterey Jack, shredded
2 Slices White American Cheese, broken into smaller pieces
and the Kitchen Sink... just kidding hehe
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Start by whisking together eggs and half n half until scrambled and mixed thoroughly. Add in Sriracha, salt, pepper, and onion powder and whisk again until combined. Add in the ham, tomato, white and green onion and fold together. Lastly, add in the cheeses and give it one last mix. Butter an oven proof dish, the one I am using is 2 inches deep and a 4.5 inch diameter. Then pour in the glorious egg mixture and place in the middle of a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
Home early on a snow day all safe and sound in my kitchen listening to Christmas music (don't judge me) and smelling the aroma of freshly baked chocolate chip peanut butter cup cookies. I honestly couldn't get home fast enough to make these. This is a recipe that I got from my good friend Ree Drummond aka the Pioneer Woman... actually Ree and I have never met but in my eyes we are best friends lol luv ya Ree! She made these cookies on an episode of Pioneer Woman and I had to try them simply because I didn't believe they could be as easy as she said. Well I should never doubt a friend because these cookie are the easiest thing I've ever made and they are unbelievably delicious!
Here is the link to her RECIPE. But below I'm going to show you how I just whipped up 32 nuggets of peanut butter deliciousness.
Starts off with store bought cookie dough! Ree even says that homemade dough never comes out quite as good. I prefer to use plain peanut butter cookie dough but everywhere I went only had chocolate chip peanut butter so I changed the name of my recipe n moved on ha. I took the already pre-made squares of dough and cut them in half and just dropped them into mini muffin tins. I know- such hard work for this recipe ;)
Then bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes. Mine baked for 8 minutes today. You want to bake them up until they start to brown. As the cookies are baking get started taking the wrappers off the peanut butter cups.
As soon as the cookies come out of the oven stick a peanut butter cup right in the center. I let mine sit for a minute or so to set and then spooned them out and onto a plate to cool! I will be honest- I did eat one but in my defense everything in moderation is fine and I can't serve my family a dessert I haven't tried! What if it was bad?! hehe
These are almost too simple... I feel like I should be writing another step but really- thats it!!!
If you're scrambling for a quick 'cookie party' recipe or something to bring to Thanksgiving tomorrow this is the cookie. They're so yummy no one will even think to question you because their mouths will be full with your cookies.
