Perfect for Summer!!

It's been a while since I busted out a recipe from my Cooking Light magazine... Honestly, this is the first recipe they've had the last few issues that seemed appealing and easy! No offense, CL, I still love you! We had the dish below for dinner on Tuesday, and it was actually prepared by Mr. B. I was at the gym :) He follows recipes to the T, so the recipe (and picture) below is from their website.

ENJOY!

Garden Alfredo with Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• Cooking spray
• 6 ounces uncooked pappardelle pasta
• 2 medium zucchini
• 2 medium yellow squash
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 5 ounces thin asparagus spears, trimmed 
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup half-and-half
• 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Preparation

1. 1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; let stand 5 minutes. Cut chicken across the grain into thin slices; keep warm. Reserve drippings in pan.
2. 2. While chicken cooks, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; keep warm.
3. 3. Cut each zucchini and squash in half crosswise. Cut 1/2-inch slices from outer "walls" of zucchini and squash; discard cores. Slice pieces lengthwise into thin strips.
4. 4. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil; swirl. Add zucchini, squash, asparagus, and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Sprinkle with 3/8 teaspoon salt. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
5. 5. Combine broth, half-and-half, and flour; stir with a whisk. Add broth mixture to reserved drippings in skillet. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until cheese melts. Add pasta, vegetables, and chicken; toss. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and parsley.

Ann Taylor Pittman, Cooking Light

Have you ever...

Created an entire recipe around 1 food item? Simply because the item is SO amazing by itself, you know it would be even better with a combination of other delightful items?!

There is a Trader Joe's within walking distance from our house. It may or may not be my favorite reason for the purchase of said house... If you've never been to Trader Joe's before, it is a lovely grocery store that sells a lot of organic and healthy (and some not-so-healthy) food, produce, and other sundries. They are quite a bit cheaper than your average grocery store too! The staff is super friendly and helpful, and are always making suggestions on what items are their favorite and the different things they've tried.

Case in point: Trader Joe's Old World Recipe Cookie Thins in the Toasted Coconut flavor.

Dennis and I are HUGE fans of coconut. I have found that coconut is something people either love or hate, I have yet to find an "in between". We had tried these cookies in a different flavor several months ago and were impressed, but when I came across the toasted coconut, I was hooked! The cookies have a wonderful buttery flavor (along with a subtle hint of coconut, of course), and for 8 of them is only 130 calories.
Last week, whilst purchasing a few boxes (one was for my sister in Spain), the cashier told me that their boss had made pie crust with them! Ummm... why hadn't I thought of that?

My result?

Creamy Dreamy Coconut Cheesecake

Yields 8-10 servings

-1 sleeve of Trader Joe's toasted coconut cookies

-4 tbsp butter, cold

-1 brick of cream cheese, plain

-8oz. marscapone cheese

-1/2 cup Truvia baking blend (or any other sweetener you prefer)

-1/2 cup ricotta cheese

-1/2 cup sour cream

-4 eggs

-1 tsp coconut extract

-1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350

In a food processor, pulse the cookies for a few seconds then slowly add the butter until you get a "sand-like" consistency. 

Pour cookie/butter mixture into a spring form pan and press into an even layer. 

Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and set aside.

In a stand mixer (or you can use a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese, marscapone, and sweetener with a wire whisk attachment. I beat this mixture alone for 10-15 minutes (or as I described to Dennis; "I beat it like it owed me money!"). Then mix the ricotta and sour cream in separately, allowing each to mix in completely. 

Add eggs one at a time, allowing each to combine before adding another.

Once all eggs have been added, pour in both extracts and beat for an additional 5 minutes.

Stir mixture with a spatula to ensure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of the bowl. 

Pour over crust and line spring form pan with foil.

**At this point, you can bake your cheesecake for 45-55 minutes. BUT I suggest the following, for the best results:

Set your foil-lined pan in the middle of a cookie sheet and add about 1-2 cups of water. 

Bake for 1 hour. Allow at least 1 hour to cool before serving.

2 Years ago today...

I made the SECOND best decision of my life! 120 pounds later and I will never go back :)

On the left, me on April 9, 2011 at 273 pounds. On the right, me on December 31, 2012 at 153 pounds

Weeknight Pot Pie

While attending a birthday party last weekend, I was chatting with my brother about how he hasn't been to my house in forever! Let's just say, the last time he was there, it was over 100 degrees... For those of you who were not aware of my brother's existence, here's a little background... His name is Joe, he's 5 years younger than me. People say we look alike, I'll let you be the judge.

So, I invited him over for dinner. When I asked him what he wanted, without hesitation, he replied "Chicken pot pie"! What is it with men and their love of all things pot pie?

Anyway, I was happy to oblige his request (as was my husband, the other pot pie fanatic in my life). I decided to try a few new things with my normal recipe, and it was for sure hit! With a few quickie tricks, this meal went stove to table in under an hour.

Weeknight chicken pot pie
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts (cubed)
1/2 large onion diced
3 tsp mined garlic
1 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup peas
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp heavy cream
1 cup baby spinach
1.5 tbsp butter
salt, pepper, parsley, celery seed to taste
2 ready-made pie crusts (I used Pillsbury)


Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
In a large pan, heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add garlic and onion and sautee until soft (about 3 minutes). Add chicken and cook until meat is no longer pink (about 8-10 minutes).
Lower heat and add carrots and peas.
In a microwave safe cup, heat cornstarch and broth together for one minute. Stir until combined and add mixture to chicken and veggies along with heavy cream, bring to simmer.
Add spinach, butter and seasonings; allow sauce to thicken for about 5 minutes.

In a non-greased pie plate, place the first pie crust and form to pie plate.
Add filling and place the second crust on top.
Press the ends of the crust together and cut 2-3 slits in the top crust.
Brush with egg wash and bake for 20-25 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

ALLOW AT LEAST 10 minutes to cool!

"Lori don't burn chicken"

During my recovery, I spent a lot of time in bed watching different shows and movies. I finally had the chance to see "The Help", a movie I've been dying to watch! My mom and sister will not stop talking about it. For those that have seen it, you'll understand the title of my post. Those that haven't, let's just say once you watch it, you'll want the exact same thing I did: FRIED CHICKEN!!! Not just any fried chicken, fried chicken in a cast iron skillet and lots of Crisco!

This was the best damn fried chicken I've ever had! The recipe is really simple too.

What I did:
Take a whole chicken and break it down into 8 pieces; 2 legs, 2 thighs, 2 breasts, 2 wings OR you can do what I wish we had done, buy the f-ing chicken already broken down!!

Soak the chicken in buttermilk anywhere from 1 hour to overnight. The longer you soak it, the juicier it is.
Place the chicken pieces in a large ziplock bag full of seasoned flour. I seasoned it with black pepper, salt, and ground mustard.
Shake until all pieces are coated. Shake off access flour and fry pieces (2 or 3 at a time) in 2 sticks of butter-flavored Crisco (Yes, TWO sticks. I said it was good, not good for you).
Fry about 8-10 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the pieces. The breasts will take longer.
Allow pieces to drain on a drying rack that has been placed on top of a cookie sheet to catch the access grease.

ENJOY

Cool story, bro...

So, my recent absence is due to ACL reconstruction surgery on my right knee.

I injured it back in December, and proceeded to ignore it for the last 2 months. Well, after injuring it AGAIN doing the same thing, I figured it was time to have it looked at. After an MRI, my worse fear was realized; "a complete tear of my ACL, cease ALL physical activity until you consult with the surgeon". Awesome. Exactly what I was trying to avoid.

I wish I had a super cool story to go along with this injury; but the truth is, I hyper-extended it during my favorite class at the gym, Turbo Kick. I told someone I was going to start making up how I hurt it because the real story is pretty lame...

It's ironic, I lose all this weight to avoid knee surgery, and end up having to undergo it anyway because of my work out!! I can't win for losing...

Surgery was February 19th and I spent the last two weeks recovering. Poor Mr. B had to do EVERYTHING for me. Get me water, help me walk, wash my hair, you name it! I could barely use the bathroom by myself. He was amazing, truly amazing.

The recovery hasn't been too bad. Not much pain at all. I have to say the worst part is the swelling; check out my "cankle"!!!

The best part? Getting to use the super sweet motorized carts at the stores!

OH YEAH!!

How sweet it is...

To be loved by Mr. B!!

He knows the way to my heart!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY